Kakashi sighs as he glances at the clock. He looks over to where Tenzo's sitting on one of the lumpy armchairs in Team Ro's ready room.
"They're late," he grumbles. "Again."
"You're one to talk about tardiness," Tenzo replies, raising an eyebrow at him. Kakashi shoots him a sour look, but he can't really argue with that point.
"Well, I usually have a good reason for being late," he counters, crossing his arms defensively.
"'Getting lost on the path of life' is not a good reason," Tenzo says, chuckling. Kakashi's about to say something back, but then the sound of muted running and stifled laughter drifts from the hallway. The ready room's door flies open, and two dark-haired teenagers burst in.
"Sorry! Fuck, I know we're late, please don't eviscerate us, Cap!" Shisui Uchiha says. He leans against the wall, laughing and panting for breath. "It's Itachi's fault."
"It was not." Itachi's normally impassive face is marred by a little frown. "You're the one who-"
"Okay! That's enough!" Kakashi says, jumping in. "Shisui, Itachi, just… try to be a little punctual in the future, alright?"
"Well, I mean, I'll try-" Shisui starts to say, and then yelps as Itachi punches him in the arm.
"Yes, Captain," Itachi says. "It won't happen again."
Kakashi takes one look at the shit-eating grin on Shisui's face, and knows that Itachi is lying through his damn teeth.
"Right," he says drily. "Well, we have a new mission. It's a high-profile escort to Wind Country. We'll be leaving in a couple days."
"They're assigning a full ANBU team to an escort mission?" Tenzo asks. "Who the fuck are we escorting?"
"Our charge is a Konoha council member. Shimura Danzo," Kakashi says, handing out three copies of the mission assignment. Shisui frowns down at the piece of paper.
"Why does he want an ANBU escort? He could just get an escort from his goons," Shisui says, scratching the back of his head.
"Goons?" Kakashi asks.
"He means Root," Itachi says with a sigh.
"Firstly, they probably don't want other countries to know that Root exists. Even allies," Kakashi says. "Secondly, Root members are our comrades, not 'goons'."
"Have you seen them?" Shisui demands, suddenly animated. "They're goons."
"He has a point," Tenzo says thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "Have you ever seen one smile?"
"Whatever," Kakashi says, rolling his eyes. "All the information you need is on the mission assignment sheet I just gave you. If you have any other questions, ask me now. I have to head to Root Headquarters for a debriefing after this, so I won't be free later."
"You mean Goon Headquarters," Shisui corrects him, and Tenzo snickers.
"I'm going to throw you off Hokage Mountain one day," Kakashi grumbles, and even Itachi smiles at that.