It wasn't a response Sasuke would have accepted from many people, the calm I understand: but there had always been something about Kakashi that inspired confidence. Inexplicable, given how many people were technically closer, but then that might have been it -- the distance, and maybe something about the fact that behind the slouch and the embarrassing reading material, Sasuke had always found Kakashi's fighting style refreshingly honest.

A lot could be read in a blow thrown or feinted. Sasuke bit into the remainder of the sandwich, taking the time to chew and formulate a response that wasn't awkward. It was probably a lost cause, and what came out was a little drier than he'd intended:

"I'll know whom to count on the next time I embarrass them, then," he said -- though this time, at least, he'd managed to avoid most of his relatives before he'd run into Kakashi.