Sasuke, Kakashi noted, was a strange kid.
This fact was understandable, of course, as Sasuke was an orphan with a reclusive nature - along with the leagues worth of trauma behind him. Yet it still rang true, no matter what any of his peers might say, (Except for Naruto. Sasuke weirded Naruto the hell out, and that was saying something.) Sasuke still behaved in ways that set him apart from others, the small habits Kakashi has picked up on betraying his oddities. Though, Kakashi had to hand it to Sasuke, despite his self-imposed isolation from any and all interpersonal relationships and prickly, cold demeanor, he was quite adept at hiding it.
… but not perfect, Kakashi finds. Since this is quite obvious, and by the looks of it, something Sasuke does not enact on purpose. The jounin finds it useful, but quite preterbing that a 12 year old fresh out the academy can sleep anywhere, in any position. The man was cynically impressed by the ability, and from a purely militaristic perspective, it's a useful skill for a ninja to have. It's never really known what situations you could end up in while out on a mission, and being able to sleep in uncomfortable or stressful situations is considered paramount, as is sleeping lightly. Though Sasuke was yet to be skilled in the last part.
Kakashi, mistakenly he later laments, disregards it. He acknowledges it as a painful, but necessary skill, and ignores the freaked out faces of both Sakura and Naruto as Sasuke sleeps in such a weird position. Sakura seems more concerned than anything else, hesitantly approaching Sasuke as if he were to awaken the moment she got too close, all in an effort to… help him, it seems? Kakashi doesn't know what her version of helping seems to be, but he doesn't think that waving her hand in front of his face and fretting is really doing much.
Naruto on the other hand, is of course, envious of the attention the unconscious Sasuke is receiving, and hangs back, a sour look on his face as he glares holes at Sasuke. Kakashi, himself, deigns to act as if none of this is happening, as if everything is normal and a-ok, even while one of his genin has fallen asleep sitting up, a glass of lemonade halfway to his lips; something Kakashi has only seen happen to older, hardened shinobi.
… Kakashi ignores a lot of things, even some that are potentially amusing.
(Who falls asleep holding a glass, anyway? Shouldn't it have fallen to the ground by now?)
On team seven's second D-rank mission, one that has thus far gone better than the first, Sasuke sleeps standing up. The boy is upright, his arms are folded and locked in place, while his face is as still as stone, expression smoothed out and less pinched, though more expressionless than the one he wears when awake, disregarding his tendency to radiate "menacing" vibes.
Kakashi can't say he's sure that Sasuke is even breathing. He almost looks dead on his feet - literally. He neither twitches nor sways, he stands in the middle of the garden as a firm pillar of slumber.
It kinda freaks Kakashi out too, if he's honest. There's something unnerving about watching a 12-year-old do things only hardened ninja are able to.
...Except that Naruto, the loudest ninja Kakashi has ever seen, seems to be hell bent on making as much noise as possible. Sasuke, in response to this, does nothing. His eyes never even peak open before closing again, and he does not stir.
…Maybe the technique isn't as perfect as he thought. A crash resounds somewhere hidden in the foliage, and peering at rambunctious, utterly obnoxious Naruto, who blusters and postures as a way of distracting everyone from his blunder.
Kakashi finds himself wanting to mimic Sasuke, in that moment. To be able to hide that deep in your mind that not even Naruto's high-pitched, air-horn voice can reach him and yank him back to awareness sounds like a miracle from the Sage.
'Must be nice…'
They're supposed to training. This is a training exercise, albeit an extended one.
Yet, Sasuke is asleep.
He isn't asleep in a normal fashion, slumped against a tree or laying down on the grass. No, Sasuke snoores as he hangs upside down from a tree, his chakra - somehow - keeping him attached to the branch during his risky cat-nap. Somehow. Naruto is fuming and Kakashi suddenly really regrets accepting this team, he'd honestly rather be doing anything other than this, anything but dealing with three prepubescent brats. If the Hokage has approached him with an espionage mission in the heart of kirigakure, one that was sure to be suicide, Kakashi would take him up on it in an instant, dying safe in the knowledge that his responsibility for dumb tweens has been absolved.
Kakashi isn't really sure why Sasuke hasn't yet woken up from all the blood that must be rushing to his head, or maybe from the chakra in his feet cutting off and causing him to fall, but nonetheless, they have an exercise to complete. So, the jounin takes it upon himself to wake the Uchiha up, personally and efficiently.
Smiling through his mask, Kakashi walks up the tree and cheerily kicks Sasuke off of it, leaving Kakashi.
Sasuke's ensuing curse and the heavy thunk as Sasuke hits the ground is music to his ears, honestly. Even better is the glare he gets when he admonishes him for trying to sleep through a lesson.
With an assortment of vegetables in his hands, Kakashi skillfully (and carefully, this ghost town is known to him by it's rusty bits and shards, god knows Kakashi had avoided enough random, potentially dangerous objects) navigates his way through the empty streets of the Uchiha compound, taking care to avoid the streets where most of the bloodshed hard occured, a little over a decade before. Making his way towards where Sasuke lived without tripping one of the (many) alarms hidden away in the place, still active and as dangerous as ever, dead as though most Uchiha may be.
The man slips through the heavy alarm sets around the house Sasuke resides in, sliding in through the window while protecting his vegetables. He notes the dust along the windowsill, and how this house, like many others in this district, are slowly but surely falling into disrepair.
It makes him almost sad, leaving a bit of an ache in his chest, but Kakashi has since come to reckon with it all, with the passage of time and how even the largest and most powerful beings fall. Kakashi knows Sasuke shouldn't be alone like this, in this bloodied, empty district, but he can do nothing to resolve the situation, and Sasuke's insistence on torturing himself like this was cemented long ago. Plus, Kakashi can't try to tote himself as a figure of healthy living, thinking back to his barren, one room apartment.
The window is one that leads into the kitchen, and when Kakashi pulls himself through it and settles himself on the counter, the jounin finds Sasuke in the kitchen, as well.
Only one of them is aware of the other, though.
Sasuke, it seems, has fallen asleep in a weird and uncomfortable position again. The boy has draped himself over the counter, snoring slightly into his granite countertop. He's in his pajamas, obviously ones of high quality, as Sasuke is a Uchiha and Kakashi knows that Sasuke's sense of superiority wouldn't settle for anything less. God knows the Uchiha ego is legendary among the general non-Uchiha population. Kakashi notes that his head is pillowed on one arm, the other stretched out on the counter. He'll likely wake up with pins and needles in his arms and a crick in his neck. But Uchiha Sasuke couldn't just sleep on top of the counter, instead he had to simply fall asleep slumped over, his legs planted firmly on the floor.
Kakashi's eyebrow twitches, furrowing slightly. 'God, this kid is so weird.'
Nevertheless, Kakashi hops off the counter, observing the kitchen for a moment and then efficiently and meticulously putting the vegetables in the places designated for them. Then, the jounin turns his attention back to Sasuke, who is undisturbed by Kakashi's presence and half-curled over the counter.
The jounin sighs, rubbing his neck slightly. What a pain.
'… ah. He was starting to sound like that genin from asuma's team… Shika-something… eh.'
Shrugging, Kakashi then picks Sasuke up off the counter, adjusting his grip on the genin to something more comfortable for them both. He clumsily flips Sasuke over, attempting to maneuver the genin so Kakashi isn't holding him like a sack of potatoes.
Then, Kakashi wanders through the house, searching for what looks to be Sasuke's room, a place with an actual futon. The jounin then places his student down onto the large cushion, Sasuke merely twitching in response before settling down again. He does not stir, which is… impressive, frankly. Kakashi only knows how to hold kunai and other shinobi-related items, not how to carry a weird kid to bed so he doesn't wake up cranky and regretting his choice in sleeping places.
Kakashi just ruffles Sasuke's hair lightly, smirking at how his fair puffs up in a way that, when awake, would surely anger and embarrass him.
If only Naruto were here to see this, Sasuke wouldn't ever be able to live it down.
Silver hair glinting in the light, Kakashi gently pulls the covers over the sleeping genin, before quietly exiting the room and from there, the Uchiha district.
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