AND BACK AGAIN [ NARUTO ]

[ 15 ] team meeting

"Late again! Ne, Sakura-chan, how long've we been waiting here?"

Sakura sighed, reluctant to play along with her teammate but exasperated all the same. "Fifteen minutes. And counting."

Sasuke, as per usual, leaned silently against a nearby tree.

Naruto felt out of place. The atmosphere was so familiar, and, yet, Team 7 hadn't been this way for a long time. At least, not together. The last time they'd complained about Kakashi-sensei being late, all three of them, was probably right around this time. Naruto felt selfish for wanting to grab hold of the moment and never let it slip from his grasp again--he wasn't even in his own time.

Once he got back, they could rebuild this. After, of course, they'd kicked Madara's butt.

He sighed with a smile and a shake of his head. Kakashi wouldn't be here for another half-hour if his past was anything to go off of, so he settled beside Sasuke against the tree.

Although it was obvious his young Uchiha friend meant to be inconspicuous, Naruto most definitely picked up on the side glance he was given. In fact, the entire team had been eyeing him when they thought he wasn't looking. Instead of being weirded out, Naruto decided he'd done something right training all those years, considering he could sense their gazes.

"You want to ask me something." He didn't state it as a question. Naruto knew there was a lot on the Uchiha's mind right now, and he wanted to take a shot at unraveling the mystery like he hadn't been able to do in the past.

Sasuke tched. "Why ask? You won't answer."

Naruto looked down on him. For a moment, he wanted to revel in being so much taller, but he pushed the urge away. "Won't I? I only denied you the answer to one question earlier, not everyone you can come up with. Don't make me ask, Sasuke."

Sasuke's coal eyes met his gaze. How could this guy go from completely immature to a mindreader? "It's not something I'm willing to bring up here."

"Where else? I might not want to answer another time."

Sasuke ground his jaw. This Naruto was sounding way too much like Kakashi, cryptic and analyzing. It was completely unnerving, though he'd never say it aloud. He was clearly enjoying messing with him, something he could now successfully do as a time traveler. Sasuke didn't know a thing about what'd gone on in his life the past few years, so he couldn't say a word.

"Fine. You--"

"Hey! What're you two whispering about? Sasuke's not getting an extra question, is he?" Past Naruto and Sakura joined them at the tree, still awaiting the arrival of their sensei. "'Cuz I've got a lot of stuff I wanna know--you're my future self, after all."

"Sasuke-kun can ask whatever he wants, Naruto," Sakura said. "It's not up to you, it's. . .up to the other you." She sure came off as irritated, but there was an underlying motive--she was troubled with everything that had happened to Sasuke recently. If someone from the future was going to give him answers and be of any kind of help, she was all for it. The young Naruto must've sensed this since he stayed quiet.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, Sakura-chan, you never did change."

She crossed her arms proudly, smiling wide.

"Oi, by the way." Younger Naruto scratched his whiskered cheek, thinking for a moment. "I meant to ask you on the way here, but I was more focused on breakfast, so I just remembered!" He held up a finger, leaning towards his older self. Sakura and Sasuke leaned backward with disturbed expressions.

"Were you having trouble sleeping last night?"

Naruto, having expected something involving ramen or nonsense of the like, raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"