NARUHINA ONESHOTS

☪ | time

Kakashi grew slightly irritated, he'd admit. Why couldn't he figure it out? Sakura, Sai, and Shikamaru, the others who had been on the mission with Naruto, all seemed to know what was going on with him, but they simply shook their heads and rolled their eyes. (Well, in Sai's case, stared blankly with a vague smile.)

It was one of those days when the Sixth Hokage did not feel like staying in the office for hours after hours when he found himself walking along the lake, the thoughts of his student rolling through his mind. His spot provided a great view of the water, glistening in ripples beneath the afternoon sun. It was beautiful, a place villagers often came to appreciate Konoha's peace, but Kakashi had never been one to care so much for those things.

It was the almost absolute quiet that he welcomed, letting the breeze flit around his figure. Here, no one dared bother him, because here wasn't a place for business. He was the Hokage, surveying his people and his domain. Villagers didn't often approach boldly when he was no longer in  the office.

Perhaps he'd do a bit of reading. 

Kakashi had been able to slip in a few chapters here and there, but even he knew the job of a Kage was nothing to be taken lightly. His simple, lazy tendencies were almost diminished at this point, as scary as the thought was.

Boy, he couldn't wait for Naruto to take the hat.

Unfortunately, that seemed a ways off. Naruto wasn't anywhere near ready to take the position and, quite frankly, and he wouldn't be for a while. He had the ideas straight, he was definitely going to get there, but as of now he stood in a period of immaturity. Naruto had a lot to learn and would have to create an entirely new thinking process -- decisions would have to be made and rules carried out, a Hokage had to be ready to make them.

Hushed voices from somewhere to Kakashi's right inconveniently interrupted his thoughts, pulling him back to Konoha's present. They'd been there all along he knew, but after a while had become hard to ignore.

Kakashi released a long sigh and focused his attention on the conversation. He had nothing better to do. People-watching wasn't one of his hobbies, no -- the man couldn't care less what went on in others' lives, really. But eavesdropping was something he often did, no shame. 

"Are you alright, Hinata?"

Naruto. It was Naruto. And Hinata as well, apparently. Kakashi didn't particularly find it odd -- Naruto was often found with at least one of his friends, specifically those who'd been in the Academy with him.

"Of course, Naruto-kun."

Hinata's voice was significantly quieter, but even so Kakashi couldn't help but notice how gentle the conversation was on both ends.

"Then why do you look all sad?" Kakashi could hear the blond shifting a bit. He couldn't resist the urge to locate the pair, and eventually his eyes settled on a spot below him. The two shinobi sat together on a spread blanket, side by side, facing the water.

"I-I don't look sad, do I?"

Naruto tilted his head, glancing at Hinata from the side. "I'd say so. . .I've never been good at this kind of stuff, but you haven't been smiling as much today. And you didn't touch your ramen." He faced forward, spreading his arms out behind him for support. "You can tell me if there's something bothering you," he said softly.

Kakashi's brows rose. It was becoming apparent to him that this was no simple outing with a friend. It wasn't very often he heard Naruto speak so gently about anything. And he'd never really been delicate with women, Kakashi knew that because he'd seen how Naruto treated Sakura when they were young.