PAINT ME A PORTRAIT

I fear I'm dying from complications
Complications due to things that I've left undone
That all my debts will be left unpaid
Feel like a cripple without a cane
I'm like a jack of all trades
Who's a master of none. - City & Colour

xxxxx

Grief overcame me as I released a groan of defeat; I had been spending the last two days locked up in my studio in a desperate attempt to complete the multiple projects I had due at the end of the month and I was finally reaching the end of my limit.

To the untrained eye, the canvas before me would have been considered a completed work but I knew better. Being in my third year the expectations of my work were much higher and demanding and at best what was done now would be given a C.

A loud grumble from my stomach dragged me away from my internal debate whether to pull an all nighter or not and I glanced at the clock on the wall. Six-thirty, that seemed like a reasonable time to take a break for something to eat.

I grabbed my paint brushes and set them into a glass of water, promising myself to clean them later, then screwed the caps back onto the open tubes of paint. Walking over to the sink at the back of the studio I washed my hands and contemplated what I felt like eating tonight.

Cheap chinese take out sounded heavenly.

Drying my hands on a random cloth hanging over the faucet I briefly wondered where my sensei/foster father had meandered off too. Shutting the lights off to the studio and locking up, I shouldered my backpack and went to search for the ever elusive dean of the Konoha University of the Arts.

It wasn't difficult to find Minato if you knew where to look, he was a well involved dean and loved to drop into classrooms unannounced to view the students' artwork and most often you would find him poking around the drawing studios. There were two reasons for this, one being that his best friend and partner in crime; Jiraiya-sensei was a drawing professor and second being that those two were massive perverts and enjoyed ogling the live nude models brought in for students to sketch.

Kakashi rounded the corner that led to the hallway of drawing studios and tried to mask his mild irritation with his sensei, he hated peeking into classrooms in search of Minato as there would always be a few students bored out of their minds who would notice him and stare at him while he quickly glanced over faces for the golden-haired man. Kakashi did not like being the center of attention, he preferred the attention to be directed to his artwork rather than the artist himself but he understood that the artist was just as important of a factor as the work when it came to gallery openings.

Being only a third year Kakashi had yet to experience the awkward social situation of having his work displayed in a gallery and having to attend the opening reception to meet possible cliental. As a student it was very crucial for Kakashi to get his name and face memorized by as many people as he could, the more people who knew him the more opportunities he would have of them later calling on him for commissions or requests for his work.

Much of Kakashi's understanding of social politics in the art community stemmed from the many gallery openings he had attended with Minato, some of which were even openings for his own sensei's work. Kakashi tried not to let himself get too intimidated by the expectations of the 'artsy folk', he knew trying to surpass Minato's shadow was most likely impossible and so steeled himself to at least be on par with his sensei.

Kakashi silently reflected on how much his life had changed ever since Minato knocked on the door to his shoddy one bedroom apartment.

Hiss. Clack. Clack. Clack. Hiss.

Kakashi momentarily relaxed as the sound of the paint leaving the aerosol can in his hand was the only noise he could pick up in the alley way. He was always tense and on high alert when he was out 'beautifying' the walls of Konoha. Vandalizing sounded much too harsh for what he was doing and he reasoned a little color never hurt anyone.

Adjusting the bandana around his face to filter out the fumes, he squinted in the dark and analyzed his piece; the body was finished and the fill was a simple blue, all he needed now was to add more color and rework the lines and the piece would be done.

He rummaged through his bag eagerly for another color and missed the footsteps drawing towards the alley.

The hallway was for the most part deserted, everyone having gone home for the day, the only exception was a classroom on the right with the door cracked open that had classical music drifting quietly out. Kakashi made his way to the classroom and slipped in quietly in hopes of not alerting anyone to his presence, he immediately received a silent glare from the model, which he ignored, and spotted a mop of blonde hair on the other side of the classroom.

Minato was settled in front of a drawing board, like the rest of the students, multi-tasking between chatting with Jiraiya and sketching the model. Kakashi grumbled to himself knowing that there would be no way to get his attention from across the room unless he called Minato's name and then that would drag everyone's eyes onto him. He opted instead to slink behind the students and make his way to the two old perverted men.

Kakashi unfortunately miscalculated a step (the amount of students and the size of the room had made his creeping quite awkward and difficult) and accidentally jostled one of the drawing students. "Fuck." He heard a whispered curse from the student he bumped into, he turned to mutter a quiet apology and was met with disapproving emerald green eyes. He blinked dumbly at the girl whose kissable full lips were now curled into a frown and his apology stuck in the back of his throat. He wasn't sure if he choked because of her expression or because her hair was the most peculiar shade of cherry blossom pink.

'Haven't seen someone dye their hair that color before...' He silently mused to himself as he thought about how art school introduced the conventions of alternatively dressed people and lifestyles as the norm. He sighed to himself as he noticed that she was now talking to him and he had not been listening in the slightest. 'She probably thinks I'm a clumsy idiot.'

"-fix it or what?"

"Huh?" Kakashi responded, his logic reasoned if she already thought he was retarded he might as well play dumb. The pinkette seemed ready to lose her marbles before she took a deep breathe and pointed to her drawing board. Kakashi's gaze slipped away from her mesmerizing green eyes to look where her finger was pointed, his jostling had caused her to accidentally draw a line straight through the torso of what otherwise would have been a very technical and well drawn portrait of the nude model. Realization suddenly dawned on him as to why the girl was so peeved at him, if he was in her position he would've been too.

"Aahh my apologies, I had not meant to ruin your lovely drawing." Kakashi whispered, hoping flattery would get him somewhere. The girl said nothing, the frown still evident on her attractive features, and merely handed him the stick of charcoal in her charcoal-smudged hand. He discerned that that was she had meant earlier by fixing it and reluctantly grabbed the piece of charcoal out of her hands. The portrait was mostly ruined at this point from the line so he figured there was no harm in trying to fix it for her.

He smudged the line with his fingers and worked on making the values around it darker, with an eraser he tried his best to remove most of the line knowing that it would never fully disappear but would at least be less visible. After he was finished, the line was barely noticeable and the drawing had taken on much more value, something that was lacking prior to his accidental shove.

Kakashi handed the stick of charcoal back to the nonplussed girl and continued on his way to Minato, praying that no more incidents like that would happen. When he finally reached his sensei he was unsurprised to see a realistic and well drawn pair of breasts on the paper before him.

"Aah Kakashi, I haven't seen you around since I had you for drawing in your second year. How have you been?" Jiraiya asked pleasantly, albeit louder than Kakashi would have liked as he felt a few annoyed stares on his back.

"I've been well sensei, how is your next novel coming along?" Kakashi feigned curiosity, unbeknownst to Minato he was secretly quite a fan of Jiraiya's infamous pornographic novels: Icha Icha Paradise. The exciting story line appealed to him and he reasoned that by studying the 'complicated' positions the characters were drawn in he was taking an active role in his learning on how to improve his figure drawings, or at least that's what he told anyone who asked.

"It's going along marvelously, I've done quite a bit of research for this one and I'm sure you'll really like this one." Jiraiya winked as Minato turned and looked at him with a disapproving frown.

"Ha-ha very funny Jiraiya-sensei you know Minato-sensei doesn't approve of me reading such material." Kakashi joked, sending a sharp glare at Jiraiya when Minato's back was turned. One thing Minato did not approve of was his 'innocent' son reading pornographic novels written and drawn by the likes of one very perverted drawing professor that also happened to be his best friend.

"Well I think I'm finished for the day friend, I'll see you Thursday?" Minato questioned as he packed his things up, Jiraiya nodded and waved goodbye as the two made their leave. Kakashi stopped himself from sparing a glance at the pink-haired beauty he had bumped into and exited the classroom with the uncomfortable feeling of many eyes (including one from a pair of lovely jade orbs) on him and Minato.

A slightly intoxicated Minato made his way home from a night of drinking and socializing with his old friends and fellow coworkers; Jiraiya and Tsunade, he was somewhat proud of himself for not being as drunk as he could've been considering his drinking partners. He felt the rapid urge to piss though and kept his eyes on the lookout for any nearby alleyway where he would be able to relieve himself.

He spotted one and hobbled over to it unaware that there was another occupant in the alleyway and unzipped his fly, a clacking sound from what he assumed to come from an aerosol can alerted him of another's presence and he peered with unease at the individual. His eyes stopped however, on the painting the person was working on and he felt a small wave of awe wash over him. The lines were impeccably clean and the color scheme was very appealing to the eye, Minato noticed with delight that the dynamic typography read 'scarecrow' and an ironic but well painted scarecrow had been placed compositionally in between 'scare' and 'crow'.

'Whoever this person is they have excellent skill with line and color. I wonder if they go to the university..' Minato mused, he perked up and decided to approach the mysterious character in hopes of acquiring a name. (He would later defend himself when retelling the story to some friends that approaching a stranger in the midst of doing something illegal made perfect sense to a drunk person.) "Hey you there!"

Kakashi blanched, how did he not notice somebody in the alley? He cursed and grabbed the other paint can by his feet and bolted down the opposite side of the alley hoping the person who called out to him hadn't already contacted the cops. It was only after Kakashi was safely home and his adrenaline had drained that he had realized that his wallet had fallen out of his pocket.

"Kakashi you know how much I hate that filthy habit of yours." Minato grumbled as they exited the school. Kakashi shrugged and responded with taking another drag from his 'filthy habit'. Minato sighed, "What do you want for dinner tonight?"

"Takeout's fine, I can't stay too long tonight I'm behind on my assignments."

"As long as you hand them in on time, how is your abstract series coming along? I hope the artists I recommended you to research helped."

"Yes they did... Thank you." Kakashi grumbled in between drags from his 'filthy habit'. He remembered bitterly how he had come across the dangerous and unhealthy habit of smoking. He had taken up the habit as a means of coping with the events of one tragic night that occurred in his teens. Needless to say Obito would have not been happy with Kakashi's self deprecating life choices.

"Kakashi?" He was pulled out of his reverie and glanced at Minato questioningly, only to notice they were standing outside their favorite chinese take out place a couple blocks off campus. 'Wow I must've drifted off for some time...'

"As I was saying, there are only a couple of weeks left before midterms start and I know a lot of your projects are due but I really hope you'll be able to make it to the opening reception of my show down on 17th on the 13th."

"I will try my best Minato, you know how it is. I promise if I can't make it that night I will make time to see your work before the exhibition is over."

A wide grin spread across Minato's face and he patted Kakashi's shoulder in adoration. "Now... Should we get the sweet and sour chicken or the barbecue pork?"

Kakashi anxiously chewed on his lip, he had spent most of the night and the better half of the day expecting a knock on his door and two cops on the other side. Unfortunately his day had been quiet and filled with anxiety and he once again cursed himself for being such a careless idiot, not only had he exposed his identity to the mysterious person, his rent for next month was now gone.

A sharp rap on the door pulled Kakashi away from his worrying and he felt a knot of unease form in his stomach, he walked the short distance to the door and peered through the peephole to find an older blonde haired man wearing some albeit quirky clothing with... his wallet in hand.

The knot in Kakashi's stomach grew tighter as the man knocked on the door again, what was he going to do? He could pretend he wasn't home and make a run for it in case the guy contacted the cops but he'd never get his wallet back and his most prized possession was tucked into that wallet. Another knock on the door startled Kakashi out of his thoughts and he quickly tried to weigh his options.

"Kakashi Hatake? Please answer the door I don't mean you any harm."

Kakashi swore heavily under his breath, he absently wondered what he had ever done to fall into these sort of situations. With a sigh and some semblance of resolve he opened the door.

"Hello."

"I'm surprised you actually opened the door."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Well... You have my month's rent and you're not a cop... Well I hope you aren't."

"Ah yes, my name is Minato Namikaze and I'm the dean of the Konoha University of the Arts. I came to your doorstep today Kakashi because I would like to make you an interesting proposition."

"Why do I get the feeling this has something to do with last night..."

"I saw your work Kakashi and you young man have a lot of potential. I know a great artist when I see one although I have to say your choice of canvas is less than savory."

It suddenly dawned on Kakashi why Minato hadn't ratted him out to the authorities. "Your... proposition. What is it?"

"I want you to enroll as a student at my school.-" Kakashi was already ready to protest, he didn't accept hand outs."-I'll give you your wallet back if you agree."

"Didn't you come here to give my wallet back in the first place! Now you're trying coerce me with it?!" It was too generous of an offer to not be suspicious, who the hell would hand out free tuition to a post secondary institution just because he saw one painting? What if this guy had a connection to Obito's death? Kakashi's fists clenched, if this was a cruel joke someone was playing on him...

"No no no! Don't get me wrong! I would just really like you to consider, here's my number... and your wallet."

Minato left as abruptly as he had appeared leaving Kakashi standing on his doorstep a little dumb struck and suspicious. He stared down at the card in his hand and sighed heavily.

'What should I do Obito...'

Minato gave a muffled but satisfied burp and patted his stomach in stuffed bliss. Kakashi had been unusually quiet through the meal and he felt it was time to ask him what was on his mind.

"What's bothering you Kashi?" Minato prodded, purposely using his pet name for Kakashi in hopes of getting his attention.

"Don't call me that and I'm just thinking about a small altercation I had with a student today."

"Small? Kakashi you know I don't allow violence on my school grounds."

"No it wasn't like that. It was back in Jiraiya's class when I came to get you. I accidentally bumped into one of the girls and messed up her drawing and then she made me fix it." For some reason Kakashi couldn't get the beautiful young woman's angry jade eyes out of his mind. They were so captivating, bright, and he couldn't stop thinking about them, he felt inspired to paint. "Now that I think about it I didn't even catch her name."

Minato perked with interest, Kakashi never talked about ladies around him and for the longest time a small part of him wondered if his son was gay. This was later proven false when Minato had uncovered some of Jiraiya's pornographic novels under Kakashi's bed while cleaning.

"Did she have any distinctive features? I might know her, I usually try to get to know all the names of my promising students."

"Actually.. She had the most unusual shade of pink hair, not the typical hot magenta pink you usually see in the halls on those alternative chicks but a soft cherry blossom pink."

"Oh! That's Sakura Haruno! I remember her at the orientation, the young lady came right up to me and introduced herself and we had a very pleasant conversation about what she was interested in achieving at the college. I managed to get a glance at her portfolio as well and she's quite talented with a pencil, I can see why she may have been upset with you for ruining one of her sketches."

Kakashi blinked at the sudden flow of information and quickly processed. Orientation? So she's a first year... Not that it mattered to him he told himself, he was just curious whether he was likely to run into her again or not. The school was a moderate size so it wasn't impossible for someone to run into one another now and again but since Sakura was a freshman that meant that she would be going through her exploratory first year studies and would unlikely have any classes around the painting studios.

Kakashi found a small part of him was disappointed with this new information, it was unlikely he would get a chance to spot Sakura in the halls unless he went out of his way to linger around Jiraiya's class every Thursday afternoon. He glanced at the time and slumped dejectedly. "Hey Minato.. It's late, I'm going to get going and see if I can finish the project I have due for my Conceptual Painting 311 class before the night's over. You know how upset Kushina gets if I don't hand things in on time. Thanks for the food."

He gathered up his trash and threw it out in the garbage can before picking up his bag and leaving the two bedroom apartment that he shared with Minato. The brief walk to the university campus gave Kakashi enough time to gather his thoughts and he was sure of at least one thing; Haruno Sakura had most definitely caught his attention.