Hello all. This is just a little drabble that I've been tossing around in my head. I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any associated products.
"That Naruto!" Haruno Sakura grumbled. "Does he have any idea what time it is? Even Kakashi-sensei is here. Timeliness is of the utmost importance at the begging stages of the mission."
Hatake Kakashi glanced up from his book and smiled through his mask at his student. "There's no rush with this mission, Sakura. Don't worry."
The kunoichi crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "It's just bad manners," she grumbled. "Right Sasuke-kun?"
The ink-haired Uchiha was leaning casually against a tree, hands in his pocket. He glanced at his teammate before shrugging and turning his attention to the ground.
"Sakura-channnn," a bubbly voice called as Uzumaki Naruto came into view. "Kakashi-sensei! Sasuke! I'm here!"
"Baka! Where have you been?" Sakura shouted at her teammate as she banged him on the head. "We were supposed to leave half an hour ago!" Sasuke grunted in agreement as Kakashi chuckled at his students' energy.
"Ahhh, Sakura-chan, that hurt," Naruto whined, rubbing the newly forming lump on his head. "And it happens I have a perfectly good excuse."
"You're going to try to make excuses after having us wait this whole time?" Sakura shook her head indignantly.
"What's this excuse, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, snapping his book shut. The jounin hadn't ever been particularly concerned with promptness, but it was out of character for his number one unpredictable genin to be late. Usually Naruto would be the first on the scene, eager to begin another mission.
The genin turned his blue eyes on his sensei. "Well, I would have been here on time, but along the way I ran into an old lady with her groceries, so I offered to help her carry them home. Then…."
The boy prattled on but Kakashi was hardly paying attention. Instead, he stared nostalgically at his student, reminded of another boy shinobi who would have stopped to help an old woman. Suddenly, he felt old.
"Sensei?" Naruto and Sakura were looking up at him inquisitively. Their innocence and confusion charmed him right out of his bad mood. Apparently Naruto had finished with his explanation and they were expecting him to respond. He sighed and rubbed his neck, then instinctively reached his arms around his two students' shoulders in a rare form of affection. The past is the past, but I have their future to worry about.
"A fine thing to do, Naruto," he announced as he pushed them forward. "But don't start picking up my bad habit of forgetting the time. Now, let's get going."