safety [Kakashi Hatake x OC]

eleven

Kakashi brought Eri to one of the highest points in the Land of Fire where his three genin were waiting impatiently. They were clearly irritated, each scowling bitterly as the adults approached.

"Kakashi-sensei! You're late!" Naruto whined, sitting cross-legged on the ground and narrowing his eyes bitterly. His childish nose was scrunched, and he lifted his chin in a confident and demeaning manner.

"Yeah, yeah." The said man waved off the kids' anger as if he weren't in the wrong for being late. He then mumbled sarcastically, "It's not like you three can possibly train without me."

"Hey, Kakashi -sensei, isn't this the girl from the other day?" Sakura questioned, any irritation she had falling from her shoulders as she blinked her large green eyes, taking in the mauve-haired stranger.

Eri smiled and gave a small wave as Kakashi said in a tired voice, "Ah, right. This is Eri Zayaka. She's going to be here in Konoha for a while."

"What happened to the shinobi that were after her?" The curious pinkette asked.

"I took care of them." The jonin answered nonchalantly.

"At least he shows up for something." Sasuke huffed in a low, barely audible voice.

But Naruto certainly heard his bitter comment and yelled, "Yeah! For a pretty girl! Clearly, we're not as important!"

"Of course not." Kakashi smiled, teasing his students as he typically did. "I will always come to the aid of a beautiful young woman over training you little brats any day."

Eri blinked quickly, trying to comprehend what was just said; her particularly attractive - although ironically, since most of his face was always covered - roommate had so casually called her "beautiful." But he had also just directly put down his students. She didn't know him well enough that he just had a warped sense of humor. "That's mean." She stated bluntly, raising a brow at the strange teacher.

"Oh, really?" The man hummed, clearly becoming amused by the confusion and disappointment he was causing. "I'd say that it's quite chivalrous of me."

"Abandoning your students certainly is not." The dark-eyed woman pressed further.

"But to save a beautiful young lady such as yourself?" He felt heat begin to rise in his face, though his mellow personality and smiling eye hid how embarrassed he actually was with being so forward about calling Eri "beautiful," although it definitely was true.

She remembered the three genin watching them; they had grown suspiciously quiet as the two adults had a rather private conversation in front of them. A blush was painted across her cheeks and she couldn't bring herself to meet his intense gaze as he watched her reaction. "It wasn't your battle to save me from." She muttered.

"Aren't you so thankful that I did save you, though?" He continued to taunt.

"Oh, whatever." She sighed, clearly a bit flustered.

Kakashi breathed out a laugh, amused by her reaction. She certainly was not this shy when they were alone the previous afternoon, and he wondered again if it was just an isolated occurrence where she was testing him, or if she only acted that way when they were alone and was shy in front of others. Either way, he took note of it as intriguing.

Finally, Sakura interjected, "Oh, come on already! Stop flirting and train us!"

Their questionable teacher sighed heavily, not bothering to argue with them. He shoved one hand in a pocket and rubbed the back of his head with the other. "Right." He started to compose himself as a responsible adult. "I want you three to focus on chakra control today."

"Kakashi-sensei, that's easy!" Naruto whined.

Kakashi further explained the genins' training, describing technique that was more sophisticated than simply channeling chakra to stand upside-down or walk up a tree. It wasn't long, however, before Naruto started to challenge Sasuke in a fiery, one-sided rivalry.

The blonde boy was becoming increasingly angry, his rage filling him dramatically as the less emotional boy simply took his threats nonchalantly and seemed to be completely uninterested and unaffected. It was quite an immature spat, and their teacher dismissed it entirely.

Until Naruto threw a strong punch, intending to cause serious damage to the black-haired boy's face. But he just effortlessly stepped aside and dodged.

The weight behind Naruto's punch kept him from planting his feet on the ground. He was unstable on his toes, and rather than gaining his balance, he toppled forward...

...offthe edge of the cliff-side.