Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ 11 Ways ❯ Hesitant ( Chapter 3 )

Three: Title

 

The first time Sakura addressed him without the usual title he was hesitant.

 

Safe within the confines of the Konoha training grounds Kakashi had been working on developing a new jutsu. He'd already been prodigiously praised for creating the chidori, and between that and the sharingan he felt the niggling presence of a new force just begging for release. As such, he'd been experimenting with a new technique when it all literally blew up in his face.

 

He woke up with Sakura kneeling over him and he could feel the lingering effects of her chakra against his temple. The wry smile on her lips and the humor lacing her voice as she chided him “Are you alright now, Kakashi-san” let him know just what she thought of his…inventive move.

 

It must have been the emphasis she put on the “san” with her playful mockery that finally alerted him to the fact that she had addressed him in another fashion aside from his being her sensei. Granted, he was a bit confused at the moment, what with the recent head injury and all, but now that he paused for a moment to think about it he thought he could recall that she hadn't addressed him as such for a while now. He'd just never really noticed.

 

He wasn't quite sure what to make of that. On the one hand he was delighted that she'd finally dropped the antiquated title. He hadn't been her teacher for years and they were now jounin of equal standing on the same team. Aside from that the two of them also worked continually with other shinobi, who of course viewed them as equal peers since she'd been out of his tutelage for some time and studied instead under the Hokage, and it could be quite awkward for her to address him as her sensei when he was no such thing in the eyes of those around them.

 

Neither could he deny that the title occasionally made him feel a bit older than was fair for someone of his age. There was no way he was really old enough to have been sensei to a woman her age…right?

 

Yet on the other hand he was a bit skeptical of the changes even such a miniscule alteration could bring. Did the switch indicate that she no longer respected him as someone above her? After all, she did just see him ignite his own jutsu and do more damage to himself than he'd felt from any other enemy in a long time. As small as it was, he didn't think he could do with losing respect from someone he'd worked so closely with for so many years.

 

But then again this was Sakura. What was she if not devoted, right? More than anything maybe he just had to admit he was hesitant about the way their relationship may proceed from here on out. Before now it had always been simple and easy, a clean cut teacher-student relationship. He had a feeling things wouldn't be quite so clear from this point out.

 

Sitting up he brushed himself off and stared at her pointedly, all seriousness in contrast to the humor shining in her eyes. Apparently she found it quite amusing to finally see the famous Copy-Nin foiled so well, and by his own hand no less. He had no doubt that by the end of the night the story would be all over the town. He'd have been able to trust her to secrecy but there were still others present, so the point was moot. Glancing over his shoulder he took in the countenances of the other shinobi who were present to help him keep control during the dangers of jutsu experimentation and manipulation, their faces showing everything from shock to horror to amusement, `just like Sakura' he glowered , upon seeing him up and well.

 

He stood and turned his back to her, flooding his chakra through his system to get it running in a consistent manner again. It was good enough for typical training but not enough for him to continue in any experimental fashion that day.

 

Giving a weary sigh he began to make the hand gestures for his teleportation jutsu, pausing on the last sign. “Just Kakashi, Sakura,” he said, back still turned, and with one final motion he was gone in a puff of smoke.

 

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A/N: Wow! Thanks for the reviews. I can't believe you guys like this that much, especially since so many of you reviewed both chapters! And here I was just trying to get this silly little idea out of my head just so it wouldn't bug me anymore. But you have seriously kept up my motivation to write this in a timely manner as opposed to…well…how I usually write (unfortunately). So Thanks!

 

Caitiy: Thanks for the detailed reviews. If you want, please point out to me the sentences in the first chapter you thought had `weird verb tense' or whatever it was that made them seem odd. If I can I'll try to fix them but I also warn you that I do tend to write (and speak) in what is `grammatically correct' but often quite odd ways of saying things. So we'll see. Hopefully nothing throws you off from here on out ^_^