Annoying. That was the only word the silver-haired jonin could use to describe the blue-eyed blond before him. It wasn't because he was loud and always fought with one who was supposed to be a part of his team while swooning over the other, no; it was because he found the Genin rather intriguing with his adorable whiskers etched into his cheeks and his spirit that never seemed to pass. Kakashi Hatake never found anyone interesting in the least before, only his book could keep his eye until he had first seen the Yondaime's child. When he had first seen the blond spikes, it made his breath hitch, but when the blue eyes came into view...he wasn't sure how to react. He was the spitting image of his father with a few attributes from his mother. At first, he had wondered what the boy may be like. Would he be clever, calm, and wise like his father? Or would he have the temper, kindness, and loud personality that his mother had? His curiosity got the best of him at that time, and he spent large amounts of time watching Naruto; the strange hobby being the only thing keeping him sane and away from his thoughts of his deceased team. At least until he was unable to do it any longer when his missions became more frequent. The more that time passed, the less he could see him, and eventually he forgot about the adorable brat. But when he found out that Naruto was going to be on his team, he was reminded of his curiosity. He started it up again, the careful watching. Just to see how he would do with the others that were to be on the team.

They became a somewhat close group and went through a lot together. They may have their difficulties due to rivalry and a love triangle, but they were a team nonetheless. Now, sitting directly in front of him at thirteen years old, Naruto Uzumaki looks at his sensei, eyes expectant and questioning as he waited for the jonin to finish explaining the mission after having stopped for several moments; distracted with his thoughts. He tried to remember what he was saying, but pushing himself back into his thoughts to figure it out caused him to become distracted again. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him at the moment, but he was spacing out more than usual.

"Kakashi-sensei?" The man snaps out of his thoughts yet again, his uncovered eye hesitantly tearing away from the space that Naruto inhabited. Glancing in the direction of the voice, his attention shifted to the pink-haired genin that was also on his team. Concern fills Sakura Haruno's emerald orbs as she stared at him, the silence dragging out as the jonin still tried to register what he was originally saying.

"Uh...right...what was I saying again?" An arrogant sigh sounds to his farther left, his gaze turning yet again, but to a raven haired teen who had his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. He barely heard it, but he was sure that he heard him mumble something crude while giving a look of irritation. Sasuke Uchiha could sometimes be known not only for his skills and looks among the females, but his arrogant and impatient behavior as well among everyone else. The older male wondered what it was that was so appealing to the kunoichi of the village when it came to the survivor of the Uchiha clan. Then again, Kakashi himself was once that way when he was the boy's age. He was a little arrogant and had the habit of believing he was better than everyone else. It was a good thing that he snapped out of that.

"You okay Kakashi-sensei?" For what felt like the tenth time, he moved his attention yet again, his eye turning back to the main subject of his recent thoughts; a small and apologetic laugh escaping from him. He had been around Naruto for some time now, but he couldn't figure out why he was suddenly filling his brain now. All he could do at this point is nod stiffly and rub the muscles on the back of his neck. He needed to get a grip, and soon.

"Yes, just lost my train of thought is all." Kakashi sighed quietly under his mask as he caught Naruto's expression, which clearly read he wasn't convinced. And of course he also found that strangely interesting. It brought on a couple of questions for which he felt he could not avoid. What was bringing this on all of a sudden, and what was wrong with him today? Was it because each expression he made reminded him of the boy's parents that he was beginning to miss dearly?

"You were in the middle of explaining our mission..." Kakashi dropped his arm as he gave another small nod; finally remembering what he was saying before the past came back to distract his brain.

"Right. The mission is simple; we will retrieve the item requested for transport and safely deliver it to the owner. If we are lucky, we will avoid any thieves along the way." Sakura raises her hand a moment, Kakashi nodding in her direction before she let her arm fall.

"What if we do run into thieves along the way Kakashi-sensei?" The shinobi rubs his chin in thought as he tried to come up with a reasonable answer.

"We don't have any particular gang of thieves that we need to look out for so my advice is to stay close and be on your guard." Two of the three nod in agreement as Naruto just gave a thumbs up with a smile.

"Let's get this over with shall we? I would like to return to my books as soon as I am able." Naruto jumps up with a loud "yeah!" before adjusting his headband, Sasuke and Sakura quietly getting up after glaring at the loud genin. With a small chuckle, Kakashi motions for them to follow and begins to walk in the correct direction of their destination. Of course, he was trying not to smile when he saw Naruto glance at the Konoha gate and clench his fist with a determined smile. At this, he also remembered Naruto's dream and thought that maybe one day, the idea of Naruto becoming a hokage wouldn't be so silly. He would become stronger than anyone could ever believe and undoubtedly earn the title of hokage, this, Kakashi was sure of.

'I suppose it is alright to put my faith in this one...'