Late!
Age: 8
"Late!"
Iruka's lecture about chakra manipulation gets interrupted by the door bursting open, a cloud of smoke blocking the entry, a Shunshin, which then immediately confirms to him who the late comer is. There is only one academy student capable of doing a Shunshin at such a young age that also happens to be chronically late.
"Nice of you to join us for class today, Sakura. Why don't you say your excuse and then go to your seat so I can resume class, alright?" Iruka tells the pink haired girl as she emerges from the smoke screen.
"I am so very sorry for my tardiness Iruka-sensei! 'Kashi told me to tell you that he is sorry as well for delaying me, he said that there was a cat and this old lady who went grocery shopping with—"
"That's fine Sakura, just don't let it happen again." Iruka interrupts irately but sighs in defeat moments later as he ushers her to her seat.
Honestly, Sakura was one of his brightest, most promising students. She was intelligent for her age, has a great grasp on chakra manipulation and is very well-mannered. But alas, anything that seems too god to be true, is probably too good to be true in reality. Which in Sakura's case is true—she was chronically late. Every day, without fail, she would walk in to the classroom twenty five minutes late.
He supposes that he couldn't really pin all the blame on her, just because she was the charge of the most chronically late ninja within Konoha doesn't mean that she means her actions as an impolite gesture. Especially since he knew the true reason for her tardiness….
It was the first and last time that Sakura had come late and given an excuse that is not fabricated by the Copy-nin.
It was her first day at the Academy as a late enrollee.
"I'm very sorry for my tardiness, Sensei-san! My name is Hatake, Sakura and this is my first day at the Academy. I hope you treat me well. Once again, I'm really sorry, I lost track of time while having fun with Mama, Papa, Uncle Obito and Auntie Rin!" Exclaimed a petite pink haired child, entering the classroom with a suitably repentant look.
Iruka guessed that Kakashi told her not to tell the truth anymore, based on his own reaction to the child's excuse. He knew of Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara. He knew they were the Copy-nin's former teammates. He also knew they were very much dead. The same could be said about Sakura's parents, who suffered the same faith as his own; death caused by the Kyuubi attack. To say that her excuse shocked him was an understatement.
He later realizes that the excuse was genuine and that his student spends who knows how long a time at the cemetery before going to school. He doesn't know how to react to the realization. So he reacts in the best method he's employed in every strange situation he's come across in his life so far; he accepts it and moves on.
He shakes off his thoughts and continues on to lecturing. Resigning to the Copy-nin's, and consequently Sakura's, chronic tardiness is a better course of action than struggling against it. He had a feeling that neither of them would change their habits any time soon.