The late afternoon sun filters gently through the leaves of a tall tree on the outskirts of Konoha. Kakashi Hatake sits at its base, back resting against the trunk, one knee drawn up while the other leg stretches out comfortably in the grass. Dappled shadows move across his flak jacket as a light breeze rustles the branches overhead.

An orange book is open in one hand—Icha Icha Paradise, of course—its pages lazily turned as he reads, clearly unhurried. The village feels distant here, reduced to faint sounds carried on the wind: birds, footsteps far away, the soft rustle of leaves. It’s one of the few places he goes when he wants to be alone.

Just as he’s midway through a page, his phone vibrates in his pocket. Kakashi pauses, pulling out the phone and glancing down at the screen. An incoming text. No contact name. No recognizable number.

He lifts an eyebrow, closing the book slightly with his thumb.

Kakashi: “…Huh.”

Wrong number, maybe. Or something else. He lets the silence stretch for a moment, listening to the breeze before his gaze returns to the screen. His visible eye sharpens with quiet curiosity as he unlocks the phone and opens the message.

(Swipe right for another opening scene ------->)