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Kakashi liked this time of day. A little past noon, summer sun baking the dusty streets of Konoha. Most adults were inside, avoiding the heat. There was no one around to ask why he wasn't at the Academy even though his forehead protector should have told them he'd graduated already.
Normally, there was solitude to these moment, but today he wasn't alone. The passing serenity Kakashi had been experiencing shattered the moment he had to sidestep a brown-haired kid who seemed hell-bent on running into him. The kid came careening around a corner at top speed, his sandals kicking up clouds of dust as he sped straight towards Kakashi.
He didn't apologize for the near collision, instead his small hands latched onto Kakashi's elbow, trying to pull him down the street. Kakashi planted his feet, unwilling to let himself be moved.
"Hurry!" the kid hissed. "The missing-nin are coming!"
That got Kakashi moving, his mind spinning into overdrive. Why hadn't the village alarm been sounded? Had the guards who manned the gates been compromised? There wasn't any malicious intent in the air. The missing-nin had to be concealing themselves. He didn't have many weapons on him, just a few kunai and a handful of exploding tags. He needed to get more supplies before he could join the battle. There was a weapons shop down towards the end of this street. It had to be where this kid was heading.
The kid was breathing hard, like he'd been running for a while. His hands were hot and clammy through the material of Kakashi's sleeve. Just before they got to the weapons shop, he pulled Kakashi hard to the right, into an alley and around a corner, so they were hidden from sight by an old fence.
Kakashi frowned. They were hiding, and not very well. This went against protocol. They should be sounding the alarm, they should be fighting. He turned towards the kid to tell him as much, but the words died on his lips when he saw the kid's face. His eyes were shining bright and his grin could light up the world. He looked thrilled, and Kakashi wasn't sure what was going on anymore. He enjoyed a good battle as much as the next shinobi, but this kid seemed downright gleeful.
He was also younger than Kakashi had originally thought, not even a genin yet. He couldn't fight missing-nin. Protocol dictated Kakashi should minimize the risk to noncombatants before engaging in battle. He would see this kid to safety then fight the missing-nin.
He started to explain what they needed to do, but the kid shushed him, pointing towards the direction they had just come from and peering through cracks in the fence. Against his better judgment, Kakashi found himself doing the same. Moments later, three pre-genin rushed down the street, each one wearing a red hachimaki headband. Once they'd disappeared around the corner on the far end of the street, the kid next to Kakashi gave a little, victorious fist pump. He turned towards Kakashi.
"Whose forehead protector is that?" he asked.
Kakashi stared at him. He'd been wearing this forehead protector for years now.
"You could get into sooo much trouble for that," the kid said, sounding a little impressed. There was mischief in his eyes.
It hit Kakashi that this kid didn't realize Kakashi was two ranks above him. He was about to fix that, but the kid was already turning away, peering through the fence again. Kakashi stared at the back of his head.
He knew how he looked, wiry and thin, skinny for his age. He'd used it to his advantage countless times and cursed it countless more. Just because he'd been made a chuunin three years ago didn't change the fact that he could easily pass as an Academy student. They didn't make chuunin vests in his size.
He'd be ten in less than a month. Turning double digits should stop people from saying he was too young to do certain things. No one took him seriously enough. Just because he hadn't hit his growth spurt yet didn't mean he was still a child. He had been taking care of himself for a while now. There was no reason he shouldn't make jounin soon.
His mask covered his frown, but the kid was too busy peering through cracks to notice it anyway.
"All clear," he announced, pulling away from the fence. "If we take the alley behind the dango shop and cut through the vegetable stands, we might be able to get to the goal before they can set up a perimeter."
Kakashi blinked. "The goal?"
The kid tilted his head to the side, like he was trying to find an angle where Kakashi made sense. "You don't know where the goal is?"
Kakashi stared at him. It was ridiculous that he seemed confused when he was one of the most confusing things Kakashi had ever come across.
"Oh!" the kid said. "Is this your first time?"
Kakashi frowned again. Of course it was not his first time dealing with missing-nin. Though, the three that had just gone by were definitely not missing-nin. And even if they were, it still wouldn't explain needing to get to a goal.
"Don't worry," the kid said, "the rules are easy and it's the best game in the village." He leaned in like he was about to tell Kakashi an important secret. "This is only my third time playing. They don't let you join until you're six." He wrinkled his nose to show what he thought of that, the scar across it bunching up. It looked new.
Game. Play. They weren't words Kakashi used often. This kid had dragged him into some sort of pre-genin game that he'd never heard of before.
"I'm Iruka," the kid said, barely waiting for Kakashi to reply with his own name before he was taking off, running back out into the street.
Kakashi didn't know why, but he followed. It'd be so easy to get away from Iruka. He could body flicker to somewhere else. He could be training or reading or doing a dozen other things, but instead he was running beside Iruka, stretching out his senses to try to find the location of the pre-genin they'd been hiding from.
They raced down alleyways and backstreets, snuck between buildings and through yards. It'd be much easier if they just hopped up onto the roofs, but Kakashi doubted Iruka had the kind of chakra control needed for that just yet.
As they ran, Iruka breathlessly relayed the rules of the game to Kakashi. Avoid the groups of missing-nin that roved the streets. There were three groups of three this time. Only E-ranked ninjutsu and evasive taijutsu were allowed, no real fighting. Getting tagged by a missing-nin meant you lost. Winning required reaching the top of Hokage Rock undetected.
It wasn't long before he had to admit Iruka knew Konoha better than he did. He led Kakashi through shortcuts he hadn't even known were there, pausing for breathers in spots perfectly sized for kids to hide, ducking into places that were definitely off-limits like he had done it a hundred times before. It exposed a weakness within Kakashi. He always used the main streets or the roofs. If Konoha were attacked by missing-nin, he'd need to be able to get anywhere in the village quickly and without drawing notice. He vowed to learn the winding streets better. Being away on missions more than half the time wasn't an excuse.
But for all his knowledge of invisible cubbyholes and disused pathways, Iruka wasn't good at sensing when the so-called missing-nin were close. He dashed out onto a main street before Kakashi could breathe a word of warning. There was a group of missing-nin heading away from them, just a block down. Iruka let out a sudden, surprised squeak at the sight of them.
Kakashi acted without thinking, grabbing Iruka by the arm and performing a quick body replacement jutsu. If the pre-genin turned around to see what had made the noise, they'd be greeted by the sight of two very confused looking stray cats.
"That was SO AWESOME," Iruka said. His delighted laughter should have been giving them away, but it wasn't. A benefit of having pre-genin opponents. It made Kakashi's chest feel oddly light and the corners of his mouth want to curve upward.
They ran on. Time flew by, Kakashi only noticing when he caught sight of his shadow stretching longer as they snuck by the missing-nin's last line of defense and made their way up Hokage Rock.
As they reach the top of the mountain, Iruka let out a whoop that echoed out over the village. They were the first ones there.
He turned toward Kakashi, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement. "You've gotta be my partner next time too! We'll kick everyone's butts!"
It was hard to remember he should say no when Iruka was looking at him expectantly. He didn't say yes, but that didn't stop Iruka from pushing on.
"If we're the missing-nin, we'll get everybody!"
Kakashi made a face. He still didn't like the fact that they were running from missing-nin, even if they weren't real ones. "I don't want to be a missing-nin."
Iruka thought for a moment, then lit up. "Everyone else can be missing-nin and we'll be ANBU!"
Kakashi liked that idea a lot more.
Iruka kept up a constant string of excited jabber as they waited for the other players. Kakashi didn't add a lot to the conversation, but Iruka didn't seem to mind.
When the other kids arrived, the older ones shied away from Kakashi. A few had been at the Academy when he'd been pushed quickly through. They knew he didn't belong here. Iruka either didn't notice or didn't care, he just kept talking Kakashi's ears off until one of the oldest boys blew a whistle. The kids who'd made it to the goal without being caught cheered, Iruka the loudest among them.
Everyone scattered quickly, hungry after hours of playing outdoors. It'd be dinnertime soon and their families would be waiting for them. Kakashi needed to stop by the market, he was low on vegetables again.
Iruka turned towards Kakashi, his grin stretched wide. "I have to go home now, but remember next time!" He waved goodbye as he ran off.
Kakashi watched him go, still not entirely sure what had just happened. But as he stood on top of the mountain, looking out over the village, the corners of his lips kept twitching upward whenever he thought about the possibility of a next time.
Somewhere above him, a bird called. His mouth drew back into a straight line.
He had a new mission.