Can you do some headcanons for Kakashi, Iruka, and Gai and if they started getting love notes from a secret admirer?
asdfghjkl youāre like the sweetest person ever!!! I love you!! š Also this is so me, you have no idea.Ā
Hey guess who canāt write short stuff? It me. These always turn into headcanon-scenarios. But itās not going under the cut, sorry! Please forgive misspellings and errors. I started watching Death NoteĀ on a whim while editing this.Ā
KAKASHI, IRUKA AND GAI GETTING LOVE NOTES FROM AN ADMIRERĀ
KAKASHI
I feel like Kakashi isnāt a stranger to randos fawning over him. Either theyāre in awe because āitās Kakashi, the Copy Ninja!ā, or they somehow sneak a peek at him maskless, or they spend 30 seconds around him (letās face it, heās that cool) but he doesnāt think about it much because itās all very shallow to him. He doesnāt like the attention and most people donāt know the āreal Kakashiā, so he feels that most peopleās idea of him is very false and inaccurate. His mindset is, āThey love me for who theyāve made me out to be, but they would hate me for who I actually am.āĀ
When Kakashi first finds a love note from a secret admirer, heās not sure what to do about it. Heās gotten confessions of love before but heās always ignored them because - as stated - theyāre seemingly shallow and only confess to loving the person everyone thinks he is. But this letter seems different - it doesnāt gush about his abilities, or how sexy he is because of the air of mystery around him, or simply fangirl because heās Kakashi of the Sharingan. The letter doesnāt try to explain away his issues (āI know youāre like this because of what happened, but ā¦ā) and it doesnāt come across as someone with a savior complex (āI know that if you let me, I can heal you with my love!ā) so heās pretty intrigued. Who is this person? How do they know him, and how have they managed to cut through all the nonsense the village praises him for?Ā
It kind of scares him if this person seems to know a truer version of Kakashi. Heās afraid of being found out, afraid of people seeing heās scared and weak and royally messed up. But heās also drawn to this mysterious writer - how did they manage to see right through him? Does he know them? And heās really curious depending on where he finds the letter. If itās delivered to him through the post, heāll figure itās just someone whoās seen him on his walk home/has known him for a while and knows where he lives. If itās given to him via a teammate or by the Hokage during a meeting, heāll be kind of suspicious. (āHow do they know who Iām working with? Is it ⦠one of them?ā Then heāll study all the people heās working with or that passes in and out of the Hokage building and see if any of their eyes linger a bit too long on him.) If he finds it in his book or his gear, heāll be bound and determined to find out who it is because how the heck did they get into his stuff without him noticing?!Ā
After a couple of notes (and failed attempts to figure out who it is), Kakashi has 2 tactics he goes for. The first is to enlist Pakkun and the rest of his ninken into sniffing out the culprit. Heāll give them the letters to pick up the scent and then send them off into the village. The ninken try to pick up clues in the note (if there is any perfume or lotions, or certain smells thatād only be present at a particular shop or area of Konoha - such as ramen or varnish or flowers). (But I imagine the letter writer is too scared about being discovered, so each and every letter smells different and the ninken canāt figure out who it is for the life of them. How many different perfumes and lotions does this person own? Do they write these at restaurants and cafes? āLISTEN KAKASHI, FIVE PEOPLE HAVE HANDLED THIS LETTER BEFORE YOU GOT IT, OKAY? THE ORIGINAL SCENT IS GONE. SO UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO CHASE DOWN THE MAILMAN LIKE SOME KIND OF COMMON DOG, YOUāRE NOT GOING TO FIGURE THIS OUT.ā)Ā
His other tactic is to leave his own notes where heās found the love letters. If theyāre in his stuff, he figures that the person will find his notes when they go to hide theirs. Heāll tuck some into his scroll pouches, pockets, in the pages of Icha Icha, wherever he found them. (But heās kind of nervous about it and doesnāt want the person to miss his letter - so heāll leave another piece of paper that says something like āCheck front left pocketā or āGo to page 138ā, asdghjkl Kakashi that defeats the purpose of āfindingā the letter on your own!!)Ā
If itās delivered through the post, heāll hand over his own letter to the mailman and say, āGive this to the person who sends me these notes.ā (But thatās super vague and Kakashi gets a lot of mail from people - even though he hardly reads it, and it sits in a pile on his table - so the mailman is like ā??? Sure??ā and thereās a 100% chance it ends up going to someone like Kotetsu or Gai or even Tsunade and everyone is really confused and Kakashi is horrified because theyāve just read his love letter?!?!? It happened like once, and Kakashi is now so paranoid and embarrassed that he either stops this idea altogether or gives the mailman the most serious, deadpan look and says, āGIVE THIS TO THE PERSON WHO SENDS ME THESE *flips love note*, OKAY?ā)Ā
(Or heāll write a note and give it to Lady Tsunade and just say, āThis ⦠goes to whoeverās been leaving me notes ā¦ā And sheās like, āUh-huh ⦠You know, youād think with all of your capabilities, youād have found out who it is by now.ā And heās like, ā?? Wait, do YOU know?ā And sheās like, āHello? I give you these letters all the time; I sit in this office all day and see who comes in and out of the building from that window. For a guy who can copy every jutsu with his Sharingan, you sure arenāt all that observant. Maybe if you uncovered that half of your face for a while youād be able to see who it is. But itās none of my business ā¦ā)Ā
Kakashi is basically just a huge dork and tries to play it cool but inside heās freaking out because thereās somebody out there in the village who is leaving him love notes and itās driving him insane because he DOESNāT KNOW WHO IT IS. He knows he tells a lot of people to ālet things goā, but this is something he needs to know and he probably wonāt stop until he finds his secret admirer. (And when he FINALLY finds them, heās so flippinā nervous heāll mess things up and that once they spend time around him theyāll realize heās a loser and give up, so he almost wishes he hadnāt figured it out.)
IRUKA
Iruka has had his fair share of women flirting with him. Usually single moms, aunts, or grannies of the kids in his class that show up during Parent-Teacher Conferences/school events (like graduation), but thatās about it. He is pretty oblivious with most of the flirting tactics the women employ, but a few of the more bolder ones make him a little nervous so he tries his best to brush them off. (āDinner? Oh, aha ha ha ⦠Iām sorry but Iām incredibly busy grading homework tonight ⦠and for the rest of the week. But Iāll see you at the next Parent-Teacher Conference!ā) What a dork. (He hates this memory, but half of his coworkers will randomly bring up the time a drunk obaasan was having a good time at one of the villageās summer festivals and followed him around all night, pinching his face, grabbing his butt, and playing with his ponytail. Genma volunteered him to āwalk the poor woman homeā at the end of the night and Iruka was horrified to find out how strong such a small and old woman was, because he had to basically fight her off when she tried to drag him inside. RIP.)Ā
When Iruka first gets a love note from a secret admirer, his first thought is, āOh, please donāt let it be a student.ā Heās very likable and personable and more than one student has developed a crush on him. Itās always a little awkward for him but he does his best to discourage them and let them down gently. So when he reads the note and sees that the handwriting and the level of skill the writing took, he gives a huge sigh of relief because oh my gosh, itās not a student, thank goodness. But now he has a new question - who IS it from? Another teacher? A parent? (Urck, heās not sure how he feels about dating a studentās mom tbh.) Someone else? His list of suspects narrows depending on where he found it - in his desk drawer, hidden between a stack of ungraded homework assignments, or delivered to his classroom by a teacherās aide.Ā
The note makes him quite flustered, ngl. Whether itās super articulate and poetic, or just a short and blunt note, heās blushing like mad because someone out there took the time to write it and leave it for him to find. (For a moment he thinks itās a mistake and itās meant for another teacher but - nope! His name is on the front, itās definitely for him. He also wonders if itās a prank by his co-workers since they know how he feels about women flirting with him but something about this seems genuine.) He hides his note somewhere close - either on his person or in his bag - and thinks about it for the rest of the day until he can do some investigative work.Ā
Iruka is, like, 10000x more per perceptive now and he pays attention to everything and everyone. He needs to know if his admirer left the note themselves, or if they had someone else drop it off. Heās almost suspicious of anyone who comes by his classroom and even briefly thinks that one of the kids was employed by their parent to hide the note in his desk. He has so many wild conspiracies running through his head, and he seems a bit like a madman. (Like ⦠imagine the Pepe Silvia scene from Itās Always Sunny.) So anyway, he mostly watches intently and keeps track of who comes into his classroom, who has access to his papers, and who seems to be acting strange. (It drives him absolutely bonkers if he finds ANOTHER love note and didnāt even see anyone leave it!! How could he miss it?!)Ā
People at the Academy notice how weird heās acting and he finally breaks down and confesses to one or two close friends that heās been trying to figure out whoās leaving him notes (he may or may not leave out the āloveā part). They agree to help him figure it out, but they think this is really funny because of how stressed and flattered he is. Mostly theyāre not much help because they end up delivering a few love letters to Iruka hidden between copies of assignments, shrug and say, āOh I donāt know, I got this from so-and-so in the break room. Mustāve been stuck in there earlier.ā They have their own suspicions but donāt say anything because itās more fun to let him figure it out.Ā
Finally Iruka is near his breaking point, so he ends up stalking around the Academy, practically harassing everyone there as he watches their every move. He hangs around the break room and copy room, watching with eagle eyes to see anyone shuffling love letters into his mailbox or papers. 90% of the teachers have no idea whatās going on, and the people who do know think itās hilarious and terrifying.Ā
Lord help the person Iruka catches hiding the love notes in his papers. He runs over to them, grabs the note, shoves it in their face, laughing hysterically as he says, āI CAUGHT YOU! FINALLY! IT WAS YOU THE WHOLE TIME!ā If the person he caught is only the delivery person for the secret admirer, theyād probably quit right then. (āAre you sure you like this guy? Heās so weird. You shouldāve seen him when he saw me with your letter! Iām never doing that again!!ā) Theyād also straight up tell him, āYeah, I left them for you but I didnāt write them. And I took a vow of silence so I canāt tell you who theyāre from.ā And after a lot of confusion and begging on Irukaās part, the delivery person would give up and say, āOKAY. I canāt tell you who it is but if you write a letter, I can get it to them ā¦ā (Cue the fastest letter writing in the history of the world and Iruka frantically saying, āHere! Take it! Let me know what they say!ā)Ā
If it IS the secret admirer heās caught, theyāre probably horrified - especially since Iruka wasnāt very subtle and there were other people in the room with them ⦠and now theyāre all staring ⦠and now they all know they were writing love notes ⦠to Iruka ⦠Itās so embarrassing omg. But once heās calmed down, heās blushing again because this is the person who was writing love notes to him oh my gosh theyāre so cute !!! and he gets enough sense in him to talk to them in private and ask about the letters, and about themselves, and heās still so confused why they like him but heās happy he found them - and everyone else is happy too because HE FINALLY STOPPED FOLLOWING THEM AROUND AND WATCHING THEIR EVERY MOVE, THEYāRE FINALLY FREE!!! Iruka gets a little overzealous sometimes ā¦
MAITO GAI
First reaction: crying about how youthful it is to receive love notes. Second reaction: a hearty chuckle of success because he realizes no one can resist the Green Beast of Konoha. Third reaction: he shoves the letter into Kakashiās face and asks, āDid YOU receive such a youthful and lovely letter, filled to the brim with kind words and compliments, signed anonymously - too shy to reveal their true selves?! There is something so wonderful about the unsure confession of love by a secret admirer.ā Everyone is in shock that not only does someone like Gai, but theyāre actually writing him love notes.Ā
Gai is probably the type to make an assumption about who wrote the letter, find himself around them, give a āknowingā laugh when they say/do something contradictory to liking him, wink, give a thumbs up and say, āDonāt worry about it ⦠We both know the truth. Thereās no need to be shy!ā And they ?? have no idea ?? what heās talking about ?? (Tenten looks on in secondhand embarrassment, trying to gingerly break the news, āGai-sensei ⦠I donāt think it was them ā¦ā Gai is confused because, no - heās sure itās them. Right? Itās obvious. Theyāre just shy! Gai theyāre not shy, theyāre wondering why the Green Beast of Konoha is trying to make the moves on them when they have done absolutely nothing to indicate that theyāre interested.)Ā
Rock Lee is just as invested in this as Gai because he thinks itās so lovely; Neji is wondering who in the world would send a love note to his teacher; Tenten very surprised but also intrigued; they all end up helping Gai find his secret admirer because theyāre all curious (and Gai definitely sees this as an opportunity to turn it into a training exercise in information gathering, stealth tactics, and teamwork - as well as trying to one-up Kakashi by proving that he too has hoards of fangirls). (āGai-sensei, it was ONE note ā¦ā)Ā
Gaiās secret admirer would have to be pretty creative and sneaky to get the notes to him if they didnāt want to get caught, especially now that heās looking for them. They probably do something ridiculous like tie the note to a bird, set the bird off towards the training fields, train the bird to steal something/pester the genin or Gai until they canāt take it anymore so theyāll grab the bird and find the note (all the while the secret admirer watches from a distance as Gai reads the letter). Or they tack love letters on the trees all along the path Gai takes when he jogs in the morning, so that only he can find them. He is both in awe by their dedication, and really impressed because only he and Rock Lee get up that early to train - so this person knows his schedule pretty well. (Is it really a crush if you havenāt stalked them a little bit?)Ā
Gai respects boundaries and he understands some people are more reserved about their feelings (heās been friends with Kakashi since forever), so he wonāt try to do anything to embarrass or publicly out his secret admirer. As stated above, he may get a little ahead of himself and start hinting towards someone that he knows itās them - even if itās not. But as soon as he understands thatās not the person, he backs off and apologizes, saying, āIām sorry - I thought you were the person Iād been corresponding with.ā (He doesnāt want so many other people to know this person has a crush on him - itās not his secret to tell, so he tells little lies like that theyāre a penpal or something.)Ā
He isnāt super perturbed if he canāt immediately find this secret admirer. There are some moments when he clenches his fist in frustration because he just wants to meet them - but he also enjoys the surprise of finding a new letter for him on the training field, waiting for him at the counter of a weapons shop, or even slipped under the door of his apartment. (He cried once when he got a poem instead of a letter, and it compared his green jumpsuit to the ācomforting forests outside the villageā, his hair to āthe blackest of starless skies, still aglow with the halo of a new moonā and his smile to āthe most radiant beam of sunshine to warm the heartsā of those around him.) He saves all of these and keeps them where he can read them every day. The poems he tacks to his fridge door, and the very first one he received he keeps in his vest pocket.Ā
Since this secret admirer knows Gaiās schedule pretty well, theyāve been watching him to make sure he doesnāt catch them leaving notes - and theyāve seen him mistakenly think a few other shinobi/civilians were writing the love notes. They can see that he isnāt turned off or weirded out by it all, so they gain some confidence and decide to reveal themselves. They show up to the training grounds at 4am (when Gai shows up to start his morning routine) and Gai is there alone, already training. He notices them right away but doesnāt say anything so he wonāt scare them off. When they get close enough, he stops his training and looks at them, giving them a gentle smile. Nervously, they approach and shove a final letter at him. He reads it and then grins at them, āSo itās you. Iāve been waiting for you to show up. Would you like to take a walk?ā
Gai totally walks them down the same path he jogs every day and he points at every tree that used to have a love note attached to it, recounts which note it was, and heāll tell them his favorite part about the note, and when they get to the end of the walk heāll pull out the very first letter he got so they could see he kept it āclose to my heart, where it belongs!ā And then, in a final act (with his genin watching from the bushes), Gai pulls out another piece of paper, unfolds it, and proudly starts reading a poem that HE wrote for his secret admirer. Rock Lee cries, Neji shakes his head seemingly in resignation (but heās secretly happy for his teacher), and Tenten is honestly surprised at how talented Gai is (āWho knew he would write like that? Do you think he ever did a writing competition with Kakashi-sensei?ā Donāt give him any ideas, Tenten). Of course, after all of this Gai would ask his secret admirer if they were okay with other people knowing who wrote the letters. If yes, then heād proudly tell everyone so he could brag about their talent and their kindness. If not, then heād quietly keep the letters to himself and when people asked about it, heād just say he hadnāt figured it out yet but he would eventually. (Way too sweet, 10/10 best person ever.)

















