Title: No Regrets
Author: BitterEloquence
Disclaimer: You'd think after listening to Gai rant for volumes on end that Kishimoto might be inclined to accept my offer of two jolly ranchers and a gumdrop but I've yet to receive my Gai in the Mail so I can only assume the offer was rejected and he still owns both Gai and Kakashi. Drat...
The Green Monster of Konoha and Copy-Nin Kakashi had been rivals since their days as teenagers. Gai remembered looking on as everyone fawned over him in public. Then turn around and whisper secretly behind his back about how a child should not be that strong, should not possess something like the Sharingan.
The Uchiha in particular had been especially bitter and almost vindictive in their disgust that someone not of their bloodline had come to possess what many considered the treasure of their family. Being a genius, especially a child-genius, was not something to be envied, the young Gai had secretly surmised.
That was why he had picked a fight with Kakashi.
When the mood struck, the pale-haired jounin was standoffish at best and coldly distant at worst. He was an alien caught between two worlds. He was too strong, too terrifyingly powerful and blood-soaked to be able to associate with kids his own age, yet exiled from the world of adults because of his age; exiled because they feared him.
Innate genius was to be feared as well, Gai decided. If people couldn't understand how it worked, then they were scared by it. He was not scared of Kakashi and thus he'd strode right up to the boy and challenged him to a match.
Kakashi had declined.
Not about to be turned away so easily, Gai had continued to stride up the jounin each day and challenge him once more. At first, Kakashi had just coldly ignored him for a few moments until finally telling him to get lost, thus ending the daily ritual.
Thus did the rumors about one Maito Gai and Hatake Kakashi begin to circulate... Gai was soon known as the loud 'Weird Eye-Brow Guy' (an obvious play upon his esteemed name) who continually followed Kakashi around and demanded that they fight.
Kakashi was soon known to be anywhere but where Gai was and the snide whispers about him began to include the possibilities that he just might fear the 'Weird Eye-Brow Guy' The rumors continued to grow and circulate over the coming weeks and months. Each day when both were in the village, like clockwork, Gai would seek Kakashi out and demand that he fight him.
"Why?" The exasperated jounin finally asked out of sheer desperation. That had Gai pausing in surprise and he blinked slowly for a moment. Why? What kind of stupid question was that?
"Because I want to prove that I can beat a genius like you with just my two fists!" Gai found he rather liked the surprised look on Kakashi's face when the jounin took in the unconscious pose he'd fallen into. The chuunin made note to do that more often since it seemed to get people's attention and his point across.
"...right..." He'd then promptly proceeded to ignore him once more, his nose becoming buried in a book that no thirteen year old should never be allowed to possess.
No amount of Gai's loud protestations would get the jounin's attention after that and once more, Kakashi had fallen back into his single-worded treatment of the dark-haired boy. And the only word Gai heard out of the slender jounin for the next month was a firm "No" each time he challenged him.
Eventually however, even Kakashi was worn down and he agreed to fight Gai. Of course, it might have been he coming across Gai bleeding and exhausted as he forced himself to beat a rather sorry looking excuse for what was once a practice post into sawdust that changed his mind. Blood had soaked through the bandages tied about Gai's hands and left smears across the wood as Kakashi looked on with something akin to pitied horror in his eye.
"What are you doing?"
"I..." The sound of his fist hitting the wood was sharp and the wood cracked beneath the pressure. "...must hit this one-thousand times or I..." There was pain written across Gai's face as he continued to decimate the once stout tree trunk. "...will do two-thousand laps in the lake."
"...it's almost winter..." Ever the logical one, Kakashi calmly pointed that out.
"It doesn't matter!" Sweat beaded on the boy's forehead and crimson flicked through the air with each furious punch.
"Tell you what. If you can do a thousand punches to that tree, I'll spar with you like you've been asking." Though the mask hid his wolfish smirk, Gai could sense it all the same as Kakashi laid his hands on his hips and eyed him with cool scorn. "I'm a lot worse then the lake..." Gai froze then, surprise written on that rough-boned visage as he turned to study the lither jounin with careful dark eyes.
"Promise?" Kakashi snorted and rolled his eyes heavenward with a disgusted snort.
"You're going to take the word of a ninja? You really are stupid."
"Your word as a man then..." Who would have thought this loud pest could be so intent and serious?
"Fine, I give my word..." Gai grinned and turned back to the post and punched it one last time
"One-thousand," He proclaimed with a hearty laugh and planted his hands on his hips. "I have managed to out-smart you Kakashi! You are worthy of becoming my rival!"
"Huh? Ugh...whatever..." Deciding he didn't want to know, Kakashi shook his head. "Go get cleaned up, I'll meet you here tomorrow morning..."
Kakashi was late of course and after they had managed to beat each other into near pulps, Kakashi asked Gai why he'd insisted on stalking him for almost a year strait. Gai's answer?
"You looked like you needed a friend. So now we shall be friends and rivals to our dying days!" Gai had picked up the habit of posing when he got excited.
"Friends, huh?" Well...he could probably have done worse...
I can't thank Nezuko enough for having taking the time to review this story not once but twice and for the wonderful suggestions they made to help me smooth out the rougher parts of this work. I can only hope it is an easier read though I'm sure my grammer skills are once more less then 1337 and must beg forgiveness...chagrined look