Work Text:
He didn’t understand the obsession people had with ‘info cards’. The information on them was miniscule, and while it could help an intelligent person figure out ways to fight an opponent without having to face off against them in a real battle, they served no real purpose for anyone who didn’t test their tactical skills in that way.
Or in any way, if one considered Uchiha Obito.
And right now, Kakashi did consider him.
He considered him a lot more than he would like, since he was the one currently standing before him waving one of those ‘info cards’ in front of his face.
“See, this is proof,” Obito declared proudly, that stupid card still waving frantically in front of Kakashi’s face as if it was the most amazing thing in the world. “Official, undeniable proof that I’m a Shinobi.”
Lifting his arm, Kakashi extended a single finger and pointed at the blue headband wrapped around Obito’s forehead. “ That is proof that you’re a shinobi,” he corrected his teammate. “This,” his nose scrunched up in disgust as he looked at the tiny piece of cardboard. “It's just a card.”
Obito began sputtering when he heard that. “A card!? A CARD!?” He raised his voice, but Kakashi stood his ground. A volume increase wasn’t going to convince him to change his mind on that matter. “This is an official ninja info trading card. These are only made for shinobi who have completed at least ten missions.”
A low requirement, if you asked him.
Ten missions was a simple goal to achieve when the majority of D-ranked missions were inside of the village. He’d completed that many before the end of his second day as a genin of Konoha.
Still, his interest was piqued.
He’d heard of these ninja info trading cards before, but never paid them enough attention to figure out what the ‘info’ part of their name actually entailed. Now, with one of them being waved so insistently in front of his face, he couldn’t help but wonder what was so fascinating about them.
“Let me see,” not waiting for an answer, he snatched the card out of Obito’s hand and examined it. There was information about the shinobi in question, in this case Obito, printed on the back of the card, but it was all basic information.
Strengths, weakness’, a circle with all of the elements displayed and the ones the shinobi can use coloured in. Things that one could easily figure out if they paid any attention to their opponent in a fight.
“Trash,” he declared, flicking the card back to Obito and watching as he scrambled to catch it. “There’s no point in it. Nothing to be proud of.”
“Now Kakashi, let’s not be too harsh,” Minato-sensei said in that annoyingly passive tone he used whenever he was trying to stop a fight between him and Obito. “It’s important to Obito. We should respect that.”
“Instead of fan boying over this,” he gestured to the card that Obito now clutched protectively to his chest. “He should be focused on training. Improving himself so that he can be a shinobi worth being talked about, or put into another village's bingo book. Now that would be an achievement.”
Obito glared at him. “This,” he growled. “This is why your card says you don’t work well with anyone. You’re always such an ass!”
“Obito, don’t say that,” Rin insisted as she moved herself between them, acting as a physical block just in case the two of them decided to turn this verbal argument into a physical one. “Kakashi’s just… well.”
“An ass,” Kakashi finished for her, sighing when both his teammates and his sensei looked at him with wide eyes. As if he didn’t know exactly what kind of person he was. “It’s alright, it’s not like he’s the only one who thinks it. It’s better if people think about it.”
That way, they wouldn’t try to get in his way. They’d leave him alone, and they’d learn to take care of themselves so he didn’t have to worry about them.
“Besides , if my card says that because I'm an ass, then what does that make you?” seeing Obito raising an eyebrow, he gestured back to the card. “Look at it.”
“Mine does not,” his eyes lowered, his hands coming down so he could read the card. “I know what it says. It says I work best with-”
Silence enveloped the training field.
Obito stood there, eyes glued on his little info card, processing what he had just read. At the bottom of the card, where the printers listed who the displayed shinobi worked best with, it said the exact same thing Obito claimed Kakashi’s did.
‘ Works best with: No one’
"this can't be right," Obito fumed. "This is supposed to say- well..." his eyes darted between the card clutched in his hand and Rin. No matter how many times he checked, though, the results hadn't changed.
the words were still there, printed in black ink for the world to see.
Uchiha Obito worked as well with others as his teammate Hatake Kakashi, Konoha's least popular shinobi.
“It’s here,” Kurenai’s cheerful voice cut through the dango shop. Dragging his eyes away from his book, Kakashi watched as she practically skipped toward them, a tiny card hovering in front of her face like some sort of trophy.
He wasn’t sure what it was, and he wasn’t interested in finding out.
Returning his attention to his book, he paid no further attention to whatever it was Kurenai was trying to show him.
At least, he’d like to say he paid it no further attention.
The unfortunate truth of the matter was that as soon as he noticed Gai shifting beside him his eyes flicked up from his book, and when he saw him reaching out to take the mysterious item from Kurenai his interest was officially piqued.
It was annoying how easily he could change his mind about things when Gai was involved.
“Is that really it?” Asuma leaned over the table to get a better look. “I thought it would take longer for them to finish it.”
“They’ve had the information the entire time, they just needed permission to actually print it,” Settling into the seat beside Asuma, Kurenai swiped a stick of dango from the middle of the table.
Watching as Gai turned the item in his hand, Kakashi raised an eyebrow. Now that he had a good look at it he could see that it was a card. On the back there was lined of information.
Age: 26
Height: 5’11”
Hair: Silver
There was no need for him to read any further. Just from those three tiny lines he could tell it was a card about him.
There was no one else his age that was exactly his height with the same silver hair he had. The only other person his age who had silver hair at one point was Ibiki, and he was bald now.
Not to mention Ibiki was a giant compared to him.
Clearing his throat, he waited for his friends to look his way. Asuma and Kurenai did it quickly, those bright red eyes of Kurenai shimmering with an excitement he usually only saw when she was talking about her latest Genjutsu training.
Gai took longer to drag his eyes off of the card. Unsurprising, since it was a Kakashi card.
If there was one person in the world who would go out of his way to collect every little card that had even the smallest picture or mention of Kakashi, it was Gai. a fact that most people would find endearing, but which Kakashi couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed at.
He was there, right beside Gai. the real, living and breathing, person.
What was the point of having a card when he already had the real deal?
Once Gai finally managed to tear his eyes off of that tiny piece of cardboard to look at Kakashi, he spoke. “What exactly is the excitement for? It’s just a card.”
“It’s your card,” Kurenai clarified, as if that would help him understand their reactions. “The first Ninja info card about you since we were Chunin.”
“Has it really been that long?” he asked, his tone dripping with boredom.
Even back then, when all of his friends had been excitedly showing off their new ninja info cards to each other, he hadn’t found any interest. The first time he’d been introduced to them sprang to mind, an image of Obito’s beaming face as he waved his new card in front of Kakashi like some sort of trophy.
Even now, knowing what would happen to that triumphant smile on their next mission, he couldn’t find it in him to be excited about the card. Especially one that was about him.
“Anbu operatives can’t have ninja info trading cards printed about them,” wrapping an arm around Kurenai’s shoulders, Asuma relaxed back into his seat. “So the last time you had a card made about you, you would have been thirteen.”
“Twelve,” Gai corrected, his attention focused once again on the card in his hand.
“And how do you know that?”
“Hmm?” turning those soft black eyes back to Kakashi, he grinned. “I have all of your cards.”
“All of them?”
“How is that surprising?” Kurenai snickered. “I’m sure Gai was the first person in line the day those cards dropped. He would have been today too, but he was busy.”
She put emphasis into that last word, hinting not so subtly at the fact that Gai had spent his morning at Kakashi’s apartment. What they had been doing exactly she wasn’t aware of, and he wasn’t about to give her the details.
Laying his head down on Gai’s shoulder, he watched as he turned the card over in his hand so the front was now showing. The picture they’d chosen was a rather plain one, Kakashi standing in front of the Hokage’s monument with one hand buried in his pants pockets and the other hand holding his favorite book open off to the side so that tiny section of visible skin on his face was still showing.
“So you asked Kurenai to pick it up for you?”
“I can’t have an incomplete collection,” Gai’s laughter vibrated against his ear. A soft, comforting feeling that had Kakashi’s guards breaking down bit by bit every time he heard it. “One day people are going to be scrambling to get their hands on merchandise of the great Hatake Kakashi,” he snorted at that, forever amused by Gai’s insistence that people would look at him and see someone worth admiring. “And when they do, I’ll be able to say I was the first one who got every bit of merch available. Even the smallest piece of cardboard.”
He waved the card in front of Kakashi’s face as he finished.
“Hmmm, well now I feel bad. I don’t have anything of yours.”
‘Not even the smallest piece of cardboard’
“Ah, but Gai gets something better than knowing his eternal rival is collecting every little piece of merch of him that’s available,” Kurenai spoke, though her attention was focused devoutly on tracing her fingers along the hand Asuma had hanging over her shoulder.
“And?” He tried to push for her to continue, only to have her hum an affirmative note while she continued her affectionate assault of her boyfriend's arm.
“Surely you know the answer to that, Rival,” glaring up at Gai, he huffed when he was rewarded with a deep, joyful laugh that reverberated through Gai’s entire body so hard his head actually bounced off of his shoulder.
“If you’re not going to tell me-” moving to retract himself from Gai’s presence, he grunted when an arm wrapped firmly around his body and tugged him back into his spot. He wanted to complain, but as Gai’s laughter died down that violent shaking turned to a comforting vibration that made his body melt.
“You,” Asuma finally answered. “Specificlly, your attention.”
“My attention?” it was hard to believe that was worth anything. Countless people got his attention when the moment called for it. His teammates, his friends, his superiors, the civilians he did work for.
Whoever needed his attention in the moment, got it. Even if he would try to make it seem like he didn’t care about what was going on around him, he was more than capable of giving people attention at the appropriate moments.
“That’s a bit basic, don’t you think?” Kurenai stopped tracing her fingers over Asuma’s hand and stared at him with a soft expression.
“How would you explain it then?”
At that question she tilted her head to the side and placed a single finger against her chin. As he watched, Kakashi could see her delving into her own mind in search of an appropriate answer.
She never got the opportunity to provide whatever answer she managed to think up. Before she could, Gai had set his new card down on the table and cups Kakashi’s cheek. The warmth of his skin seeped into his cheek, and for what felt like the hundredth time since they’d started dating just a week ago, Kakashi felt like he was falling in love all over again.
“This,” Gai answered with a smile that could melt the coldest of hearts.
Kakashi would know, he had one of the coldest hearts in Konoha and it stood no chance against that charming smile.
“You get me,” he agreed, understanding sinking in as Gai moved his hand up and gently brushed some stray hair back behind Kakashi’s ear.
It was a small thing, but something he was more than happy to continue giving if it was really all Gai wanted from him.
His undivided attention and love, and maybe just one of those little cards full of information about Gai.
“Oh, his eyes darted back to the card sitting on the table, Gai’s hand dropping away from his cheek to allow the movement. “Does it say…” his hands itched to reach out and take it. To see for himself if that one little line had changed over the years, or if it still held the same words that Obito had said to him all those years ago.
Seeming to understand his sudden interest, Kurenai reached over the table and flipped the card over so gently a passerby might think she was handling a precious note.
There, at the bottom of the card, were those words he was looking for.
Three simple words that had once meant nothing to him, but now seemed to hold the world in their non-existent hands.
Works best with.
His breath caught in his throat. The answer could be a range of things, from ‘no one’ to the name of a teammate he’d worked countless missions with over the years.
There was only one answer he wanted to see, though.
One answer that would feel completely and utterly right.
“Works best with,” Kurenai read aloud.
Feeling Gai’s lips pressing against the side of his head, Kakashi smiled as he finally read the answer to a question he’d once thought was pointless.
The name fell from his lips like the sweetest song. “Maito Gai.”