"Good morning, Kakashi-sama!" A young Hatake farmer looked up from her work and beamed the moment Kakashi walked by.
"Morning, Kakashi-sama!"
"Good morning!"
"Have a wonderful day, Kakashi-sama!"
Three more people greeted her as she passed, each wearing a smile that was far too enthusiastic for this early in the morning. Kakashi smiled and waved back awkwardly.
It had been a little over two weeks since she had arrived here. Somehow, in those two weeks, the entire Hatake clan had apparently decided to celebrate her overnight.
The farmers greeted her whenever she passed through the fields. The children had started waving at her from a distance. Even some of the older clan members had begun seeking her out whenever they needed advice.
It felt like she was suddenly wearing the Hokage hat all over again. God, she missed retirement. And Konoha in general. It didn't matter how many days had passed. She still woke up expecting to be back in her small apartment.
To walk down the street and see Sakura chasing Naruto with her fist raised.
"Kakashi-sama!"
Kakashi turned at the sound of her name and found an elderly man hurrying toward her, a basket tucked beneath one arm.
Here comes the reason for all of this.
"Good morning, Elder Tane," Kakashi greeted him.
The old man grinned.
"I brought you some fresh vegetables! My wife insisted you should have them!"
"Ah," Kakashi reluctantly accepted the basket pushed towards her. "Ah, that's very kind of you, but you really don't have to-"
"Nonsense! You've done so much for our clan. It's the least we can do."
Elder Tane had been treating her this way ever since he realized Kakashi had doubled their profits on their latest trade and would tell anyone who could stand still long enough about it.
And since the clan shares any income they get from the crop, you can guess how they reacted after hearing this.
"Maa, please thank your wife for me, then."
"Of course, of course! Have a nice trip today, Kakashi-sama," Elder Tane said over his shoulder as he scurried off, acting as if he were still in the dawn of his youth.
Kakashi looked down at the vegetables. At this rate, she was going to have enough food to feed an entire platoon.
Kakashi sighed, held the basket securely in the crook of her arm, smoothed her clothes, and started to make her way to the training ground.
Every now and then, Kakashi glanced down at her new outfit with no small amount of satisfaction.
She now wore dark shinobi pants and a sleeveless, masked shirt, with a haori over it. She had gone back to Komori Village, thankfully without any more run-ins with Uchiha, and picked up the custom clothes she had ordered.
They were simple, but Kakashi had never been more comfortable in her own skin. No more fighting in a loose yukata, worrying about exposed legs or an accidental wardrobe malfunction during an ambitious kick.
And her new mask properly covered the lower half of her face. A vast improvement over the ridiculous piece of cloth she had been forced to wear when she first arrived.
She had also discovered that bras existed in this era, thankfully. Unfortunately, the ones available in the village were not exactly designed with shinobi in mind. Read this novel at novelping.com for the best experience.
After some rather awkward discussions, the tailor had agreed to work on a custom design for her. The result wasn't bad, all things considered, though Kakashi had to pay a frankly outrageous amount for it.
It was also rather uncomfortable to wear for long periods, but maybe that was just how these things worked. She had never exactly paid much attention to women's undergarments before. Her knowledge of the subject had been limited to the occasional disguise mission.
Either way, at least she wasn't being assaulted by her own breasts every time she used a high-speed maneuver.
Now that she was starting to look more like herself, she was getting used to the new body.
"Good morning, Kakashi-sensei!"
The moment she arrived at the training ground, Itsuki waved at her with enough enthusiasm to power a small village. She would have thought he would have lost the bright light in his eyes by now, but the guy was a true optimist.
He stood there with a beaming smile, in stark contrast to the other young man next to him, who was still warming up and shooting Itsuki a disgusted glare.
At some point, completely against his will, Shū had been pulled into their training. Kakashi had suggested it offhandedly, but Itsuki had clung to the idea. Something about wanting someone to suffer with him.
In the time since they started their little routine, both young men had made progress.
They stumbled less, shifted their weight properly, and no longer telegraphed their attacks as obviously. Especially Itsuki, who had been guilty of tensing his entire body before throwing a punch.
Their kunai throwing had improved too. While neither could reliably hit moving targets at long range, they could consistently strike stationary ones and were beginning to understand that sometimes the best target wasn't the chest, but the hand holding a weapon or the ground beneath their opponent's feet.
Their chakra control was progressing just as steadily. They wasted less chakra, maintained basic exercises longer, and showed improved stamina from their daily drills.
Neither of them was ready to challenge a low-level jōnin, of course. They weren't even close. But they were no longer quite as easy to knock flat as they had been on the first day.
Kakashi smiled beneath her mask. "Morning, you two!"
Shū merely inclined his head. "Good morning, Kakashi-sama."
Both Kakashi and Itsuki gave him a blank-eyed stare.
"...Kakashi-sensei."
Shū had been desperately trying to weasel his way out of the physical training to no avail. He had started to lose hope of doing so recently.
"Good boy!" Kakashi patted the top of his head, the same way you would pat a dog who had done a fun trick.
In response to the praise, Shū rolled his eyes, hoping that if he heard enough, he would pass out and skip this lesson.
"So what is today's lesson, sensei?"
"There is no lesson today."
Shū barked in excitement.
Any life Shū's face might have gained was immediately spirited away. Itsuki, on the other hand, couldn't be happier.
"What kind of a trip?"
"Well, the two of you have been making wonderful progress so far, but neither of you has any real experience."
Kakashi watched as Itsuki straightened with renewed determination, while Shū's expression grew increasingly suspicious.
"Experience with what, exactly?" Shū asked cautiously.
"Combat, of course."
Shū pouted. "...but we've been training in combat every day."
"Yes, but there's a difference between fighting in a controlled environment and fighting someone who's actively trying to kill you," Kakashi told them lazily, setting the basket she was holding down on the ground. "I'm taking you both on to hunt a bounty."
Itsuki fist-bumped in excitement. "Yes!"
Shū sat on the ground in defeat. "Ugh."
"Maa, don't worry, Shū-kun. I will not give you anything too difficult to do." Kakashi patted Shū's shoulder sympathetically. "It is best to test your skills when I'm there to watch over you."
This would be the equivalent of a first C-rank mission.
The real reason was that Kakashi was running out of ways to distract herself from thinking about the home she had left behind.
Since the Izuna incident, she had been careful to stick to the Hatake grounds as much as possible, for fear of running into him. The downside was that she was starting to get stir-crazy and needed to get out.
She had already spent a decade chained to a desk, filling out report after report. Her heart was unwilling to let a repeat happen.
"Anyway," Kakashi continued, clapping her hands together, "I've already spoken to Elder Tane. He would be handling all the paperwork for the next four days."
"Four days?" Itsuki said in excitement. Just the idea of not having to fill out paperwork for four days almost had him flying in daylight.
"And where exactly would we be going?" Shū grumbled.
"We would be going to Kaneishi town in the north."
That was the one town in the exact opposite direction from Komori Village, so hopefully Kakashi wouldn't have to look over her shoulder for any Uchiha. "Now, you two go get ready."
Shū sighed tiredly. "I will go get the cart."
"Cart? Who said we would be using the cart?" Kakashi asked with a bright, beaming smile.
The two exchanged a look that could only be described as the silent conversation of two baffled, confused men.
Whatever conversation they were having ended with Itsuki behind the loser, who winced and gingerly turned to Kakashi.
"Erm, how exactly are we going to Kaneishi if we are not going to use the cart?"
Kakashi's smile widened beneath the mask. "We will run, of course."