The classroom had emptied, sunlight spilling across abandoned desks. Every other team had already been claimed by their jōnin instructors—every team except theirs.
Sakura groaned, tapping her pencil against the desk. "What's taking so long? Why isn't our sensei here yet?"
Naruto had already given up waiting. Head down on the table, snoring softly. Sasuke sat in his usual silent cool pose, pretending to ignore everything but occasionally glancing at the door.
Sakura sighed. "Naruto, say something! You're not even a little curious?"
He cracked one eye open, looking more annoyed than awake. "What's there to say? He'll come when he comes."
Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Naruto wasn't wrong.
Naruto yawned and turned toward Sasuke. "You know, brooding over there won't make him arrive faster. Maybe this is part of the test. Some missions take days of waiting—ambushes, assassinations, that kinda thing. Sensei might be seeing how long we can keep our heads straight."
Sasuke didn't answer, but his eyelids lowered. "Hn," was all he muttered before crossing his arms and closing his eyes.
Naruto smirked. "See? You agree."
Within minutes, both boys were dozing off. Sakura stared at them in disbelief. "Unbelievable…" She regretted waking Naruto up earlier. Somehow his laziness was contagious—even Sasuke had joined in. Now she was the only one awake, stewing in a mix of boredom and quiet panic.
Time crawled by. Eventually, the door creaked open.
Kakashi Hatake stood there, mask in place, silver hair tilted like a question mark. His uncovered eye drifted across the room—three students, two asleep, one barely holding on.
"Well," he said flatly, "my first impression of you guys… pretty bad."
Sakura sprang to attention. "You're late, sensei!" Tears of frustration nearly spilled from her eyes. (Her inner voice, however, was less polite: Two and a half hours late?! I'll strangle you myself!)
Kakashi scratched his head lazily. "I saw an old lady crossing the street. Helped her out a bit. That's why."
Sasuke's brow twitched. Sakura's jaw dropped. Neither believed a word.
Naruto lifted his head just enough to glare. "You've used that excuse since forever, Kakashi-sensei."
The jōnin tilted his head. "Oh? Naruto's here too. How nostalgic."
"Can I hit him?" Naruto muttered to no one in particular.
Sakura blinked between them. "Wait—you two know each other?"
Naruto sighed. "Unfortunately."
Kakashi gave a lazy smile under his mask. "That hurts my heart, you know."
"Yeah, sure it does."
Kakashi clapped his hands. "Alright, follow me. Let's go introduce ourselves properly."
They followed him to the rooftop, the wind sharp and cool.
Kakashi leaned against the railing, casual as ever. "Okay, introductions. Name, likes, dislikes, dreams, and whatever else."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"
"That's it," Kakashi said. "You first, blondie."
Naruto grinned, sitting forward. "You already know this, but fine. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. My hobbies? Not a lot, but I like eating Hinata's desserts. My dream is to become Hokage—and…" His grin softened for just a second. "To keep my promises."
That last line hit with more weight than expected. Even Kakashi's single visible eye sharpened slightly.
Then he nodded. "Alright. Noted."
He turned to the others. "Next."