Naruto limped stiffly onto the bridge, every muscle in his body throbbing in unison. Sasuke and Sakura were already there, both leaning on the guardrail and watching the meandering flow of the water. He slumped onto the rail next to them and groaned.
"Everything hurts. And I keep finding dirt in my hair," he grumbled. Sakura scowled at him.
"You're late, Naruto."
"Ah, who cares. Kakashi-sensei isn't even here, Genma told me he's always late," Naruto said, grinning.
"I'm not late," Kakashi said, popping out from under the bridge and perching on the railing. Sasuke jumped and Sakura let out a startled yelp. "I've been watching for a while."
"Why?" she demanded, glaring at him. "We've been waiting for an hour!" Kakashi shrugged.
"I like messing with you. Naruto, you're late. That means our training will be extra rigorous today!" Kakashi's eye crinkled with a cheerful smile, and Sakura shot Naruto a venomous glare.
"Good work, idiot," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the other boy.
"Shut up, before I make you shut up, bastard!"
"Hm. I've seen you fight. I'm not particularly concerned."
"Do you want to go right now?" Naruto snarled, lunging at him. Kakashi sighed wearily as he grabbed Naruto by his collar.
"Are you two done?" he said, pulling them apart. "Sakura, you're my favorite right now. You get to stay here with me while these two run laps around the village."
"What? Why?" Naruto whined. Kakashi turned to face him, fully drawing himself up and glaring down at the boy with one piercing eye.
"Because I said so," Kakashi thundered.
With a squeak, Naruto and Sasuke started running.
Kakashi began the genin's days with rigorous physical exercise, which he would alter frequently depending on his mood. Some days he'd cut their workouts short and let them go into the village for lunch. Other days, when he was hungover, he'd be hellbent on making them as miserable as he was. After all, adversity was great for team building.
In the afternoons, the genin would work on various other activities, ranging from shuriken practice to chakra control drills. Regardless of the activity, however, Naruto and Sasuke would manage to pick fights with each other. At first Kakashi had thought it was one-sided, since Naruto always started the yelling. After getting to know the kids better, though, he realized that Sasuke would purposefully antagonize the other boy at every possible opportunity with a quiet insult or a condescending eyeroll.
It was ridiculous. He was seriously considering bringing a bottle of liquor with him during the days, because dealing with that shit sober was draining. At least Sakura didn't make him want to fling himself into the Naka River.
He also got to know the genin's personalities. Naruto was reckless and energetic, constantly fidgeting and running into things without considering the consequences. Yet he also tenacious as fuck. Once he got something in his mind, he'd never give up.
Sasuke was nothing like that. He was deliberate and reserved, always calculating and examining with a hooded look in his dark eyes. He still refused to use his Sharingan; sometimes he'd freeze up in training at the sight of blood, and other times he'd show up in the mornings with dark rings under his eyes, exhausted. But he would coldly rebuff any attempt Kakashi made to talk to him about it; his face would settle into a neutral mask. The only person who seemed to be able to elicit any emotion from the damn kid was Naruto.
Then there was Sakura. She had somehow figured out how to manage Sasuke and Naruto, which was a feat Kakashi was certainly not capable of. For whatever reason, the boys actually listened to her. She was a poor fighter and couldn't take a punch, but she was cunning and smart where it mattered.
It wasn't a bad team, he had to admit. The past four weeks of training had molded the three of them into decent enough ninja.
Kakashi had to admit that he no longer hated the idea of being a jounin-sensei. It was… kind of nice, some days. He felt good. He liked listening to their laughter, watching them figure things out together, and the way they'd all groan when he assigned them exercises. Maybe the Third Hokage had known what he was doing when he gave Kakashi a genin team.
Of course, there were bad days too. After a particularly rough Monday, where Sasuke and Naruto managed to get into no less than four brawls before lunch, Kakashi snapped. Staring at his little orange Icha Icha book, scorched and ruined by a stray fireball Sasuke had spat out, he dismissed the genin with a growl. They scampered away meekly.
He punched a tree, his fist plunging straight through the bark and splintering wood. Holy fuck, he seethed. I'm actually going to lose my mind. He rubbed his forehead, then sighed as he walked back to the village. He was going to get absolutely wasted tonight.