The Temple of Artemis(Pre-Event/Intro Thread)

[Kakashi Hatake]

Kakashi stood in shock as Minato Namikaze strode forward, beaming. He looked as lively and kind as he always had, adorn in the same garb he had worn during his tenure as the Fourth Hokage. The masked ninja could hardly believe his eyes. It had been over a decade since he had heard the news of his sensei passing, valiantly defending the citizens of Konoha from the Kyūbi. Following his father’s death and the incident at Kannabi bridge, Minato had been the one person that had made Kakashi feel like anything more than a tool. He had kept him as his side, appointing the youth as his personal bodyguard. Kakashi had watched over his wife, Kushina, during pregnancy, ensuring that Minato’s son would come safely into the world. What Kakashi could not do, however, was save his sensei’s life. On the order of the Third Hokage, he would stay behind.

“Kakashi, how is Naruto?”

Jarred from his awe, the scarecrow thought for a moment. Truthfully, Kakashi had not spent a great deal of time within the village’s walls since his assignment to captain. The Third had appointed his own personal guard when he took office once more, nominating Kakashi to his current role as head of Team Ro. In this capacity he lead many missions, most lasting for weeks before he would return home. What he did see of the boy, however, was not promising. Naruto had become an outcast, shouldering the burden of jinchūriki and taking on the blame of the village for the passing of his father. Confused and angry, he acted out.

“Um...he’s a handful,” Kakashi replied sheepishly, half-shrugging.

“Just like Kushina,” Minato laughed softly, shaking his head.

“Sensei, what happened with the Kyūbi?” He had so many questions for his former teacher. Much of the detail of what happened that night was pure conjecture. Kakashi acknowledged that asking such a question was a tad presumptuous, but he didn’t care. Though he had grown up in the late Hokage’s shadow, Kakashi was now nearly his age. Old enough to hear the truth.

“Yondaime Namikaze Minato-sama…! Rokudaime Hatake Kakashi-sama…!”

Before Minato could form a reply, a young girl raced into view, breathless and barely coherent. She look to be, if Kakashi were to guess, just approaching teenage years. Something about her, though, was off; he couldn’t put his finger on it. Her clothing was plain, as was the light brown hair that fell in a long braid down her back. Whatever the case, the thought of someone as young as her winding up in this temple, faced with such imminent danger, made the shinobi a bit uncomfortable. He had to remind himself, however, that in the shinobi world children her age would have already killed for their village. He, himself, had already become Jonin before his teens. Such was the life of a weapon.

“Forgive me please Yondaime-sama, Rokudaime-sama.” The youth sputtered, offering apologies before the duo could utter a word. “In my enthusiasm I forgot myself.”

“Uh, hello.” Minato replied, chuckling sheepishly. “It’s alright, don’t worry about it.”

“I’m sorry,” Kakashi said, tilting his head inquisitively. “But who are you, and why do you keep calling me ‘Sixth’?”