[Sorry if I misunderstood the time-frame you were looking for; I took it to mean when Naruto was twelve, and had been placed on a genin team. I won’t write a Kakashi/Naruto pairing at that age, but I hope their interaction here works for you anyway!]
what lies beneath
“You’re dismissed for today. Remember not to have breakfast tomorrow, or you’ll just end up throwing up,” Kakashi says happily. “Naruto, stay back for a bit, will you?”
The other two leave, clearly worrying about what their test tomorrow will be like. Naruto stares up at Kakashi, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. Not unfocused, like so many of his Academy teachers had reported – just too full of energy to contain himself, and clearly never having been given appropriate outlets to channel that energy into. That much is already apparent to Kakashi, as is the fact that most of Naruto’s old teachers had been hopelessly biased against him.
“The Hokage told me you know a few things you’re not supposed to,” Kakashi says, once they’re alone.
“About my tenant?” Naruto asks, unsurprised. “Yeah. I guess no one expected that?”
“I’m no seal specialist,” Kakashi says. “But from what I know, yours was meant to block it off completely.”
“I was trying some meditation exercises,” Naruto explains, hopping up on the railing beside Kakashi. “Iruka-sensei said that I was too hyper and I needed to learn to focus and the leaf exercises he made us do were so boring, so I went looking for other things I could do. I tried a whole bunch of meditation styles, and then one day I opened my eyes and I was outside this cage.”
He shrugs, glancing at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye.
“You seem to have taken it well,” Kakashi says, mildly.
“I’ve had a year to get used to it,” Naruto says. “It can’t talk to me unless I go back in, which I don’t do unless it’s by accident and then I leave straight away, so it’s okay.”
Kakashi nods understandingly. It’s a brief enough conversation, but he’s seen more than enough to put the Hokage’s mind at ease. There’s no sign of the Kyuubi’s influence on Naruto; the inconsistencies in some of his reported behaviours are likely due to the biases of his observers. “You’ve had some bad teachers in the past.”
Naruto frowns. “Iruka-sensei’s great.”
“You didn’t have him long,” Kakashi points out. “And he only taught you one subject.”
Naruto shrugs, but doesn’t respond. Watchful, when he’s not certain of the lay of the land. There’s far more potential here than he’d been led to believe.
“Self-taught, mostly,” Kakashi says, thoughtfully. “And yet you managed to learn the Kage Bunshin in under an hour?”
“Yeah,” Naruto says, warily.
Kakashi ruffles Naruto’s hair affectionately, laughing at the startled look on the blonde’s face. “I think I’m going to enjoy teaching you,” he decides, and smiles behind his mask.
no subject
what lies beneath
“You’re dismissed for today. Remember not to have breakfast tomorrow, or you’ll just end up throwing up,” Kakashi says happily. “Naruto, stay back for a bit, will you?”
The other two leave, clearly worrying about what their test tomorrow will be like. Naruto stares up at Kakashi, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. Not unfocused, like so many of his Academy teachers had reported – just too full of energy to contain himself, and clearly never having been given appropriate outlets to channel that energy into. That much is already apparent to Kakashi, as is the fact that most of Naruto’s old teachers had been hopelessly biased against him.
“The Hokage told me you know a few things you’re not supposed to,” Kakashi says, once they’re alone.
“About my tenant?” Naruto asks, unsurprised. “Yeah. I guess no one expected that?”
“I’m no seal specialist,” Kakashi says. “But from what I know, yours was meant to block it off completely.”
“I was trying some meditation exercises,” Naruto explains, hopping up on the railing beside Kakashi. “Iruka-sensei said that I was too hyper and I needed to learn to focus and the leaf exercises he made us do were so boring, so I went looking for other things I could do. I tried a whole bunch of meditation styles, and then one day I opened my eyes and I was outside this cage.”
He shrugs, glancing at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye.
“You seem to have taken it well,” Kakashi says, mildly.
“I’ve had a year to get used to it,” Naruto says. “It can’t talk to me unless I go back in, which I don’t do unless it’s by accident and then I leave straight away, so it’s okay.”
Kakashi nods understandingly. It’s a brief enough conversation, but he’s seen more than enough to put the Hokage’s mind at ease. There’s no sign of the Kyuubi’s influence on Naruto; the inconsistencies in some of his reported behaviours are likely due to the biases of his observers. “You’ve had some bad teachers in the past.”
Naruto frowns. “Iruka-sensei’s great.”
“You didn’t have him long,” Kakashi points out. “And he only taught you one subject.”
Naruto shrugs, but doesn’t respond. Watchful, when he’s not certain of the lay of the land. There’s far more potential here than he’d been led to believe.
“Self-taught, mostly,” Kakashi says, thoughtfully. “And yet you managed to learn the Kage Bunshin in under an hour?”
“Yeah,” Naruto says, warily.
Kakashi ruffles Naruto’s hair affectionately, laughing at the startled look on the blonde’s face. “I think I’m going to enjoy teaching you,” he decides, and smiles behind his mask.