Knock, knock!
The moment he stepped inside, Kakashi heard someone rapping on his door. He opened it with a puzzled look—only to break out in a cold sweat when he saw who stood there.
"…Why are you here?" he asked flatly.
Homura Mai smiled and pointed behind her. "He sent me."
The "he" was Izumo. Seeing the obvious displeasure in Kakashi's single visible eye, Izumo's lips twitched. He quickly waved his hands. "Ah, it wasn't me! Homura insisted on coming to see you! I'll… just leave now…"
Kakashi's gaze sharpened as he turned back to her. "What are you doing here?" His tone was colder than the evening air.
Homura Mai slipped off her shoes and walked inside uninvited, glancing around his home. For someone who lived alone, Kakashi kept everything unnervingly neat. "I heard you're going to become a Genin instructor," she said lightly. "I came here to ask you to teach me ninjutsu."
He frowned. "Who told you that?"
"Does it matter?" she countered. "The point is, are you going to teach me or not?"
"No," Kakashi said immediately.
Just like that—refusal. Homura's eyes narrowed. In Konoha, there weren't many strong shinobi of his age left, and among them, Kakashi knew the widest range of jutsu. Why was he so stingy? Later, when he trained Naruto and Sasuke, he wasn't this obstinate!
She crossed her arms. "Why not? We're both from Konoha. I came to you because you're young enough to understand me. Otherwise, I'd have gone straight to the Hokage! Asuma, Kurenai, Gai, Kakashi… who do you think is the most reliable out of them?"
"I have no obligation to teach you," Kakashi replied icily, arms folded. Then the Third Hokage's words echoed in his mind, and his tone shifted ever so slightly. "Unless you tell me your true identity. Then, maybe, I'll consider it."
Identity?
Homura blinked, confused. The Third had told her she must not reveal it. So why was Kakashi pressing her now? Was he even the real Kakashi? She eyed him suspiciously, scanning him as though trying to detect a flaw.
Kakashi sweatdropped at her narrowed gaze.
The Third said only Tsunade can know her identity, he reminded himself.
Meanwhile, Homura's thoughts drifted. Tsunade… she's technically my aunt? No—my grandmother's cousin? Or… something like that. Ugh, clan relationships are so complicated.
In the end, she decided to use the safest rule: when in doubt, call any older woman aunt, and any older man uncle. The elderly? Grandpa or grandma. Simple.
Noticing her zoning out, Kakashi pressed a hand against his temple, exasperated.
"I believe in you, Kakashi-sensei!" she said suddenly, flashing a grin. You've copied over a thousand jutsu—if you can't teach me, who could? Out of all those, at least one must suit me!
Kakashi sighed. "Fine. First, tell me your chakra nature."
"My mother said it's fire. Granny Jianhua swore it's wood. So… I don't really know."
"Wood?" Kakashi almost staggered. What kind of nonsense was this? The girl was a complete ninjutsu amateur.
To be fair, it wasn't her fault. Though she carried chakra in her body, she had never been taught to use it. That chakra belonged to her late mother, who had been a kunoichi. But after her father's death, her mother died in childbirth, and no one had trained Homura properly since.
Granny Jianhua, her caretaker, knew nothing of ninjutsu—just an ordinary maid. She had handed down scrolls as Homura's "inheritance," but with no real training, Homura had never been able to use them.
Suppressing his headache, Kakashi decided to start from the very basics: chakra control and nature affinity.
To his surprise, she carried multiple natures—fire, wind, lightning, water, and earth. Fire clearly came from her Uchiha blood, wind perhaps from her father's lineage, and as for the rest… Kakashi didn't even want to speculate.
But at this stage, learning to channel chakra was far more important than ninjutsu.
"It's late," Kakashi finally said. "Go home, rest. We'll continue tomorrow."
He hadn't even finished speaking before he noticed her curled up on the floor, fast asleep.
"What are you doing? Planning to sleep here?" Kakashi muttered irritably. If the Hokage hadn't ordered him to keep an eye on her, he would've thrown her out immediately. He was not the type for gentleness.
"Ah… good morning, Kakashi-sensei—ahhh!"
Homura's sleepy eyes widened as she sat up. Kakashi stood in front of the mirror, shirtless, tugging on his mask. She shrieked.
"It's half past ten. Still think that's morning?" Kakashi deadpanned. He tossed a towel at her and pulled on his flak vest. "Wash up. Then get to class."
"Half past ten?!" Her heart lurched. She had been so excited about ninjutsu the night before that she lost track of time. Now she was late! Iruka-sensei won't wait for me!
Grumbling about Kakashi's lack of hospitality, she jumped to her feet.
"Hey, Kakashi, take me to the Academy—I don't even know the way!" she demanded shamelessly.
He gave her a blank look, waited until she slipped on her sandals, then scooped her up without warning and dashed out the door.
"W-wait! At least give some warning!" she yelped, clutching his waist instinctively. Kakashi's face darkened. He seriously considered dropping her.
A short sprint later, they landed in the Academy square. He deposited her unceremoniously and turned to leave.
"Hey, don't go! Where's Iruka-sensei's class?" she called after him.
Kakashi paused. He didn't know Iruka's exact location, but he knew Naruto's class—and that was Iruka's. With a weary sigh, he grabbed Homura by the collar and tossed her toward the open classroom door.
"Kakashi? Homura Mai?"
Iruka's voice rang out as he spotted them. He stood at the podium, chalk in hand.
"Sorry, Iruka-sensei, I'm late!" Homura bowed quickly, then spun around to point at Kakashi's retreating back. "It's his fault—I was exhausted last night, and he kept me up. That's why I overslept!"
Kakashi froze mid-step, his eye twitching. Unbelievable. The guilty one always complains first.
He vanished in a blur before Iruka could say anything.
Iruka, meanwhile, flushed bright red. His thoughts spiraled. Could it be… Kakashi? Cold on the outside, but secretly… interested in younger girls?!