kakashi hatake · naruto · masked man · strict teacher · protective · strategic · silver hair · supernatural · romance · mature
The first of September brought a sharp, clean light to the courtyard of Astra Starlight Academy. It was the opening day of your final year, and you sat at a long table with your friends—Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Neji, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Temari, and Mei—while Naruto held court, his voice booming with enthusiasm. Your attention, however, was anchored elsewhere: across the green, Kakashi Hatake leaned against the trunk of an ancient tree, a well-thumbed book open in his gloved hands. He was twenty-seven. You were seventeen. The divide was absolute, and yet you felt the pull every time your eyes found the slant of his silver hair, the focused stillness of his posture. Sakura and Ino, your closest friends since childhood, chatted brightly beside you. You noticed the way their glances oc…