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Kakashi casually side-steps a jab meant for his throat, already thrusting his own blade upward. Sakura blocks with little effort and enough force to set him off-balance, and drops low to get past his guard, kicking out in a circular motion. He wisely jumps just in time not to get swept off his feet, flipping backwards to put more distance between them.
He sheaths his katana, and pulls a storage scroll out of his vest, his weapon vanishing in a cloud of smoke. Sakura frowns at him. “Why are you packing up, Sensei?”
Kakashi inclines his head, glancing at his alarm clock. He braces himself and says conversationally, “You need to be in the Hokage's office.”
His cute student sighs, rising to her feet. “How long ago was that?”
Yes, that. He makes quick work of the calculation, but pauses just long enough to decide on the wording, halfway confident it's the correct one for a question like this. “136 minutes ago.”
A smile curls her lips and she's next to him in a heartbeat. They set a leisurely pace. “You're hopeless, sensei,” she informs him.
Smile indicates amusement. Wording indicates disappointment. What does that make? He throws her another bone, just to make sure she's not disappointed in him.
“You've been, ah. Promoted.” He points out helpfully, giving her a thumbs-up. That's what you do, right?
Her jaw has gone slack, surprise written across her face, a stutter to her walk. “I – what!?“
He hums non-committally, not quite feeling up for another sentence today. She twitches, uncomfortably close to throwing her arms around his neck. But both grappling hook and prospective hug seem like a bad call, so he whirls away in a Body Flicker, knowing better than to try and dodge her dogged pursuit.
Kakashi is perched a safe distance away on a tree, angled to the wind so she doesn't catch his scent. Despite attempts to squander it, warmth swells in his chest as he ticks the box to Left Your Dog A Treat Today? He shoves pen and list into his boot and does his best to shove that confusing feeling away too, effectively ignoring it.
He almost reflexively pulls his well-worn book from his pouch, letting out a giggle when an interesting passage catches his eye.
Three hours late won't be that much worse than two hours late.
His words are a comfort, a philosophy he can abide by. Kakashi has a lot of rule books and lists to tell him what’s what, but no shopkeeper ever bothered instructing him what to do when they contradict each other.
He looks back at the clear-cut structure of ANBU and he wants to have that again. Then again, teaching Sakura his craft may be harder, but she never pushes him to talk.
Ah, he's lucky to have had such a gifted little Genin. Such an efficient aide on missions. And only one of them too! Three, he finds, would have been a bit much on his hands.
The first thing his adorable student, now decked in green, does is bully the Hokage's civilian secretary into handing her a B-Rank on a silver platter. He almost sheds a tear. They grow up so fast.
Sakura is about to shoulder her sword and break the seal to the scroll, so Kakashi slumps forward, wincing at her excitement.
“Come on, pup, we'll have a look at this outside.“ Pakkun prods her with his snout and turns, stalking out of the building.
His ninken has a point. It smells awful in here. Someone in this building must have clogged up a toilet again. Kakashi shuffles after him, not mustering up enough energy to raise his hands into the sign for a Body Flicker – let alone open a window to hop out.
Back outside where he can breathe, his student fumbles with the seal and finally unravels the scroll with greedy hands, eyes skimming the text. “A hunt!” She exclaims, grinning widely.
He too likes hunting missions.
There is a thrill to the chase and an inevitable struggle by the end of it, and he likes doing well on missions to make Sensei proud, always has. It's the one thing he can do.
Sakura rolls her shoulders, gives Pakkun's belly a quick rub, and tosses Kakashi her sword. He catches it with ease and straps it onto his back, the additional weight forcing him to change his posture. Sakura laughs at him and Kakashi pouts, not that she can see it. He likes being underestimated and unapproachable. Social interaction is ever so draining.
They take off in a run, picking up the traitor's scent just like they practiced. Pakkun pads ahead, and red tile gives way to tree bark under his paws as they leap from branch to branch, putting the village behind them.
Kakashi thinks he should get Sakura candy again when they're back. She's doing so well. Her weapon of choice, more meat cleaver than sword, is still too large for her to carry, but she handles it the way kids her age spin their pens, and she's got her jagged signature down perfectly. He should know. He's seen her slice up men older than him with an efficiency he can only admire.
There’s that feeling again, laying a stubborn claim to his heart. Ah, he realizes with a start. It's pride.