"Why did you drag me out here, Kakashi-sensei?"
"I told you, Naruto and Sasuke forgot to gather firewood. And they've fallen asleep, as per usual. Now we have to do their job," Kakashi sighed, holding up the lantern they were using to see through the dark.
"Couldn't you just wake them up? It's their fault, anyway," Sakura groaned in complaint.
"Well, I wouldn't want to bother them, we have a big day tomorrow. Those rogue ninjas aren't going to fight themselves."
"Yeah, I guess." Sakura shrugged her shoulders.
Suddenly, a series of pops and snaps sputtered through the air, causing Sakura to turn her head towards the sounds. The lantern!
"Damnit," Kakashi grumbled, whacking the lantern with his other hand.
That wasn't a smart move.
With a final crack the lantern died, leaving Kakashi and Sakura in the pitch black of the night.
Instinctively, Sakura yelped and grabbed Kakashi's arm.
"Calm down, Sakura."
"But we can't see!"
Sakura heard the rustling of fabric and the sounds of fingernails clinking against metal.
"Sharingan's not much help," Kakashi muttered, then pulled his headband back down.
"W-w-well, let's retrace our steps," Sakura stuttered nervously, still gripping on to her sensei's shoulder. Her eyes were gradually adjusting to the darkness, but she could only see the fuzzy edges of trees as they passed by them.
"No use. We'll most likely get lost," Kakashi explained. "It's best to play it safe and wait until we have some more light."
"But that could take hours!"
"Better than us stumbling around like a pair of idiots."
"I guess." Sakura, being a bit calmer, let go of her hold on Kakashi.
Let's go." Kakashi roughly grabbed hold of Sakura's hand, leading her through the dark.
They eventually found a sturdy tree. They sat down with their backs against the tree, and that was when Sakura realized she was still holding Kakashi's hand. Her heart jumped in nervousness as she thought of what this could mean.
Stop it, Sakura, she thought, he probably isn't even noticing.
But her heart wouldn't slow down. She convinced herself it was the dark of the night that was scaring her and shut her eyes tightly.
In the morning, Sasuke and Naruto woke up with no sign of Kakashi or Sakura.
"The lantern's gone," Naruto mumbled.
"No kidding." Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Wait- you hear something?"
"Yeah…"
It sounded like…
"Sensei's snoring," Sasuke chuckled, "It sounds like his snoring. "Come on, let's follow."
It didn't take them long to find the two missing teammates.
"Well, this is interesting," Sasuke said with mild surprise.
Kakashi and Sakura were asleep, fingers intertwined.
"Let's give them some alone time," Naruto laughed, turning around and heading back to camp.
Sasuke started to follow, then stopped. "Hey, weren't we supposed to get firewood last night?"
A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews make the updates come out faster. ;)