Heads or Tails

Theme: Humor/Comedy, Friendship, Adventure

A/N: Another fic with my favorite Jounin trio!

Deep underground, in a maze-like network of dark, damp tunnels. The faint sound of dripping water echoes in the cave system as Kakashi, Genma, and Asuma try to find their way out after completing their mission. Tension is rising, not because of the mission, but because of the bickering.

"Asuma, you've completely lost it if you think that way is the right one," Genma mutters, adjusting the senbon in his mouth as they reach another fork in the tunnels.

Asuma rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm telling you, this tunnel is more efficient. It's a straight shot. We'll be out of here in no time."

"Efficient?" Genma scoffs. "That tunnel looks like it's about to collapse. 'Efficient' doesn't mean much if it's also suicidal. Let's take the other path—it's more stable."

Asuma jabs a thumb toward the tunnel he's advocating for, the one that looks slightly more ominous with cracks running along the ceiling. "That's fine craftsmanship. It's not gonna fall apart. And it's faster."

Genma points down his chosen tunnel. "Faster doesn't matter if we're buried alive, Captain."

Kakashi, walking behind them, yawns audibly, his mask slightly askew. He's been tuning out most of their argument, glancing around the cave walls with mild disinterest. Finally, they both turn to him, clearly looking for some kind of tie-breaker.

"Kakashi," Asuma says, his voice full of forced calm. "Which way?"

Genma gives Kakashi an expectant look, tapping his foot. "You know I'm right."

Kakashi blinks slowly at them, clearly uninterested in their little spat. His hand goes into his pocket, and after a brief pause, he pulls out a small coin. He holds it up in the dim light, the metal catching a glint from the glow of Asuma's lighter.

"How about a coinflip?" Kakashi suggests lazily. "Heads, we go left. Tails, we go right."

Genma frowns. "Are you seriously leaving this up to a coin?"

Asuma shrugs, clearly on board. "That sounds fair."

Kakashi flicks the coin into the air with an almost too-relaxed movement, and they all watch it spin in the faint light before it lands on the ground with a soft clink. Kakashi kneels to inspect it, then nods. "Heads. Left it is."

Genma sighs but relents. "Fine. But when that tunnel collapses, I'm going to remind you all that I called it."

Asuma smirks. "Good luck with that when you're buried under rubble."

The trio heads down the left tunnel, their footsteps echoing through the cavern. For a while, all is quiet except for the occasional drip of water.

"Kakashi," Genma asks after a while, "you actually awake back there?"

Kakashi makes a vague humming noise. "Running at half capacity." He admits.

Asuma smirks and shakes his head. "You know, one of these days, you're going to run out of excuses for being lazy."

They walk in relative peace for a bit longer before the tunnel starts to narrow and curve upward. Genma shoots Asuma a glare when they reach a particularly unstable-looking section of the cave.

"See?" Genma says, pointing at the precarious rock formations above. "I told you this way was dangerous."

Asuma rolls his eyes. "It's not going to—"

Krrkk!

Before he can finish, a few loose stones tumble from above, causing all three to freeze. There's a beat of silence.

Then Kakashi yawns again, completely unfazed. "Maybe... speed things up a little?"

They pick up the pace, weaving through the narrowing tunnel until they finally see a faint light ahead. Asuma grins. "See? Told you this way was faster."

Genma grumbles under his breath, but before he can retort, they hear a distant rumble behind them. Without hesitation, they all sprint toward the exit, the sound of crumbling rock growing louder as the tunnel begins to collapse.

They barely make it out, bursting through the cave's mouth just as a cloud of dust billows behind them. Once they're outside, they collapse on the ground, breathing heavily.

Genma glares at Asuma. "I told you that tunnel was going to get us killed!"

Asuma shrugs, lighting a cigarette with a satisfied grin. "But did we die?"

Genma rolls his eyes. "Barely."

Kakashi, meanwhile, has already laid back against a tree, his head resting against the bark, eyes closed. He's fallen asleep, his coin still clutched loosely in one hand.

Asuma notices first, raising an eyebrow. "Is he... seriously asleep? Already?"

Genma glances over and snickers. "And I thought I was the laid-back one."

They both stand, shaking their heads as they hoist Kakashi up between them, each grabbing one of his arms to sling over their shoulders.

"You know," Genma says, grinning, "I could get used to this. Carrying Kakashi for a change instead of following him around."

Asuma chuckles, adjusting Kakashi's weight. "Let's not make a habit of it."

They make their way back toward Konoha, Kakashi's soft snoring the only sound breaking the silence of the forest. Asuma and Genma share a look, both of them trying not to laugh at how absurd the whole mission had been.

"Think we should wake him up before we get to the village?" Genma asks, smirking.

"Nah, let the kid sleep." Asuma replies. "Let's enjoy the peace while it lasts."

END

A/N: Ugghh! Their friendship that I built inside my head is so cute! (TT^TT) But Kakashi, baby? Why are you asleep? hahaha