Video | January 25th | Evening

[spandexisyouth]

[The device is turned on to show a cheerful Gai. There’s some flour in his hair for an unknown reason and he seems unaware of it, or uncaring.]

Chipotle is not really spicy at all, is it?

[Kakashi's voice comes from off-screen, not far from the device. He's probably working next to Gai in the kitchen.]

Anything is 'not really spicy' to you.

[Gai looks off to the side.]

But this pepper especially is not very spicy! I am sure! I do not see why we cannot put some in dinner!

[An audible sigh from Kakashi.]

Obito will side with me. Two to one, you're outvoted, Gai-kun.

[Gai straightens, looking defiant.]

I am quite certain that Obito is up to dealing with spices! And I am asking the city, not just him! Perhaps you should build up your tolerance!

[A pause.]

The city isn't eating your food. We are. And we'd like to live through dinner.

[Gai sighs, looking down at the food.]

It would not kill you. Especially something this mild! It should not even... Very well.

[Gai steps away from the screen to put the peppers back in the fridge.]

[Kakashi moves into the frame just enough to be seen for a moment, before blocking the camera with his hand. The visual may be blocked, but the audio is not. The tone of his voice is playful and somewhat suggestive.]

I promise to make it up to you later.

[Gai’s voice is on the quiet side, but it’s no longer disappointed, not at all. If anything, it’s rather warm.]

Ah. I... Good. Then I would not mind dinner being... very mild.

[A bit of a chuckle from Kakashi.]

Dinner has to be Obito-friendly. Dessert-- [He stops abruptly and his hand moves away from the camera slightly.] You should really turn the communicator off.

We were-- I was asking-- [In the middle of verbally flailing Gai gets the communicator. There’s a glance at his face - his cheeks are red - and then it’s off.]

Comments

[weaponry]

Yes, but if everyone was welcoming and cheerful we wouldn't have any variety and our lives would be missing something. You know, it'd be like having a spice but only one spice. You wouldn't want that, Guy-sensei.

[spandexisyouth]

Yes, but... but... All food has a little sugar in it, I think! So sugar is like happiness! Everyone could use some happiness!

[weaponry]

Everyone has a little sugar but you shouldn't add more than what's recommended! That's why some foods are called sweet, they're loved by everyone. Some foods are bitter, or sour, or have a sweet aftertaste that no one can stand long enough to get to, but there are a few that do and love the food.

Just let Kakashi-sensei be as sugary as he wants to, he's perfectly fine and content with the level he already has. He's more like a starch, not a sweet. [ ....Tenten will hide the fact that she mostly pulled that one from air and she has no real clue what she just said or how it relates to sweets. Yep. Ninja life. Making stuff up on the spot. ]

[spandexisyouth]

Except he is not perfectly fine and content, I do not think. And I am not going to stop something that has been a central part of our relationship for about twenty-five years!

[weaponry]

He's not going to be perfectly fine and content with your suggestions to turn him into some hyper youth-obsessed go-getter like you!

[grab_my_bells]

He wouldn't enjoy that. If we're not different, there's no point in the rivalry.

...I think.

[weaponry]

If you bought into the rivalry with the same zest he did, I'm sure he'd definitely enjoy it.

[grab_my_bells]

Well, I think I bring my own zest to the rivalry.

[weaponry]

I suppose you do. You bring even more energy because you let Guy-sensei put in twice the amount for both of you, right?

[grab_my_bells]

Something like that, yeah.

[weaponry]

[ She'll just watch this for Guy-sensei's reaction now. ]

[spandexisyouth]

...Except a Rivalry is equal parts! It does not work if it is unbalanced!

[spandexisyouth]

I would not have a rivalry with Lee, that is true! But you could still stand to have some youthful zeal!

[spandexisyouth]

I will never turn him like that! He would not survive it, I think.

[weaponry]

I can't think of too many that would.

[spandexisyouth]

I think that you would!

[weaponry]

Are you kidding me?! [ No! She will never be remotely similar to you, Guy-sensei!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ] I'd die before I ever end up spicing my food to the point where it burns my tongue! I'd never be able to live like you! You're just too... [ She struggles to find the right word. ] active!

[spandexisyouth]

Active is good! Lively is good! Enthusiastic is good! They are all good and perhaps one day I will help you understand more of their goodness!

[weaponry]

They're fine and all, but in moderation. Not everyone can be too hyper. There has to be some really mellow people to balance out the energy you exude. [ beat. ] Like tons of mellow people.

[spandexisyouth]

Kakashi alone balances me out because he is so far beyond mellow he is aloof! The world does not need more mellowness! It needs more cheer!

[weaponry]

It needs both. If people are too cheerful, then it'll be a very active world where people wouldn't know what true cheerfulness is because they don't experience some calmness every once in awhile. I think Kakashi-sensei is warmer than he lets on but he does have a really mellow exterior. [ Yes, she'll invoke the cheesy speeches she heard over the years. ]

[spandexisyouth]

But... but he... [Darnit, Tenten, you're more right than you know. Gai's known for years that Kakashi cares. Track change time.] But I know what true cheerfulness is, because I have known the exact opposite! I am not immune to painful things! That is what makes me value it! And then they should embrace cheer because it is far better!

[weaponry]

[ Tenten is always right! Or, at least, she thinks she's always right. ]

You recently went through Rock Lee leaving and Kakashi-sensei getting injured. You've dealt with sadness, so that's why you're able to be happy when it really counts. The moments where Kakashi-sensei is truly happy are twenty times sweeter but less expressive. It's a different kind of cheerful, a genuine warmth that can't be seen easily but it's definitely felt.

[spandexisyouth]

[Gai is silent for a moment. That... wasn't the pain he meant. Those were surface things compared to other things. But he doesn't want to drag that up. Instead he can raise an eyebrow at Tenten's last statement, because that's a rare thing in his experience.]

...You have noticed a time when he is happy?

[weaponry]

They're subtle moments but they exist. Like that time where he was smiling and all loopy when you carried him back to Konoha. [ Canon, you sure are weird. ] And the obligatory, "My students are okay" and things like that. [ She has seen a couple of glimpses of happiness from him. They weren't all that noticeable though, but that's why they're so noticeable when they happen. ]