Hatake Itsuki had had a bad feeling ever since he woke up.
He didn't know why.
The afternoon sun was shining, the birds were singing, and his mother had prepared a hearty breakfast.
When he heard that his cousin Shū and Kakashi-sensei had returned safely, though earlier than expected, he was so relieved. But that nagging feeling in his gut only grew worse.
There was no point worrying over nothing, after all. He had enough to worry about already.
He pushed those feelings aside and decided to focus on his work.
Itsuki arrived at the clan head's residence. Kakashi-sensei sat in the main room. A steaming cup of tea sat on the low table in front of her, and Elder Tane sat across from her.
Itsuki paused when he saw tears in Kakashi-sensei's eyes.
For a moment, Itsuki was deeply concerned that something had gone wrong, but it turned out Kakashi-sensei had managed to sell their crops for a much better price than usual.
She had also apparently caught a band of bandits and was expecting someone to arrive with a bounty in a couple of days.
He sat with them for a bit to listen to how their journey had gone before getting up to do some paperwork. He wanted to finish what was on his desk before giving everything he had signed for Kakashi-sensei to examine.
Honestly, he was the clan head in name, yet he felt more like an assistant who had accidentally been handed a fancy title. Meanwhile, Kakashi-sensei had taken charge of everything with such ease that he sometimes wondered if she had been born to sit behind a desk and give orders.
Either way, everything was going well.
So why did he feel as though the gods were about to drop a boulder on his head?
"Itsuki-kun."
Hearing his name, he looked up from the document he was reading to look at his new mentor. "Yes?"
Kakashi's eyes curved into what looked like a pleasant smile.
Seeing the bright look on her face, Itsuki smiled back at her just as pleasantly.
Kakashi had to hold back a laugh when Itsuki smiled. The silly guy didn't know what he was in for today.
"I've decided we should start your training today."
"Oh, that's great!" Itsuki's smile widened, and he jumped to his feet in excitement. "Are we doing it right now?"
"Yes, come on, Itsuki-kun." Kakashi turned toward the door. "Let's take this to the courtyard."
Itsuki followed Kakashi-sensei into the courtyard, practically bouncing on his feet.
He had been looking forward to this.
If he could become even half as capable as Kakashi, he would be satisfied.
"Well, I have to assess your level." Kakashi turned to face him. "What I expect you to do is very simple. Demonstrate your taijutsu, throw a few kunai at some targets, and tell me what you know about chakra control."
Itsuki nodded eagerly. "Understood!"
"Good. Then let's start with taijutsu." Kakashi gestured for him to take his stance.
Kakashi watched him throw a series of punches, her visible eye growing increasingly blank with each movement.
His stance was unstable. His footwork was predictable. Every time he prepared to attack, his shoulders tensed a split second before he moved, practically announcing his intentions to his opponent.
"How much formal training have you received?"
"None, really. My mother taught me some basic self-defense, and I've picked up a few things by watching the other shinobi."
She wasn't expecting him to be a prodigy. Not everyone could be born with monstrous talent, and frankly, she had no intention of turning Itsuki into another brainless shinobi who would sacrifice everything for his village. One self-destructive idiot in their clan was more than enough, thank you very much.
"Now, let's move on to kunai throwing."
They spent the next thirty minutes running through what he knew.
By the end of the assessment, Kakashi had reached a simple conclusion. Itsuki's throwing technique was inconsistent, his footwork was predictable, he telegraphed every attack, and his chakra control was practically nonexistent.
"So how was I?" Itsuki finished his demonstration, slightly out of breath, and looked at her expectantly.
"You are kind of really bad."
"Oh." His face fell. Itsuki looked as though someone had stabbed him in the heart.
God, this kid is too easy to bully. Kakashi almost felt bad. "Don't look so depressed. You're not completely hopeless."
His face brightened. "Really?!"
"Being bad at something doesn't mean you can't improve. It means you have a lot of work to do. And believe me, Itsuki-kun, you have a lot of work to do."
He straightened. "I will work hard!"
"Alright, then let's start the real training!"
"Will we start with taijutsu?! Or chakra control?! I've been practicing the exercises Mother taught me, but I'm not sure if I'm doing them correctly..."
"Hmm." Kakashi tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Let's start with something simpler."
"Run," Kakashi told him with a bright smile.
"...Run?"
Kakashi nodded. "Yes, thirty laps around the entire Hatake territory."
"Thirty?!" Itsuki squealed.
"Ah, you are right. Let's make them fifty."
Itsuki paled and tried to object. He would die if he had to do that many! "Wait, sensei, that is-"
"Off you go." Kakashi cut him off and waved her hand, signaling him to start running.
"Don't you think that is a lot-"
"Ah, I see, you need some motivation!" Bumping her fist with chakra, Kakashi threw a punch at him.
Itsuki barely leaped out of the way to avoid the punch. Kakashi let herself fall forward with the momentum until her fist connected with the ground.
Kakashi's fist slammed into the ground with a deafening boom.
The courtyard shook violently beneath her. Cracks erupted from the point of impact, spreading across the ground like a spiderweb.
In the next instant, the ground beneath her fist caved in. A circular crater formed around her hand, and a thick cloud of dust billowed outward.
Then Itsuki stared at Kakashi, and very slowly, he looked down at the crater in the ground and was struck with a sudden, terrible realization. He was going to die today.
That was what his gut had been warning him about all day!
"Fifty laps," Kakashi reminded him cheerfully, straightening up. "And you better not stop if you don't want to get hit!"
Itsuki's eyes widened. He closed his gaping mouth and watched as she started to pull his fist back, readying herself for another punch.
Was she supposed to train him or send him straight to his grave?!
Itsuki swallowed his protests and ran out of the courtyard. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he ran.
Even if Kakashi-sensei's training was brutal, even if he had to run until his legs gave out, and even if he felt like he was going to die a hundred times over...
He would endure it!
He would become stronger!
He would make the Hatake clan proud!
...Assuming there was enough of him left by the end of this to do so, anyway.
Kakashi watched him run off with a satisfied smile. Ah, youth. So full of hope. So blissfully unaware of the horrors awaiting him.