Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters. Not that that's out of the way...

Genin's Gift

Regret...

That was the one thing that always filled his mind whenever he stood here...

Standing before the Memorial stone in the barely-recovered Konoha, the famous copy-nin, Kakashi Hatake looked down solemnly at the names of the fallen heroes of the Leaf Village. A part of him was grateful that this wasn't destroyed by the Pain invasion, but that wasn't what was on his mind right now. His eyes (or rather, eye), centered in on the names of his team. Obito...Rin...Yet, this time, his focus was on one name in particular...

'Minato-sensei...'

For awhile now, the regrets he had with regard to his teacher had never been too bad. In fact, Kakashi could think of none whatsoever. As he was a great leader, Minato was an equally great teacher. Kakashi's only regret with him was the fact that he survived him. He knew it was survivors' guilt and that he wasn't responsible for what happened to his teacher. They were shinobi after all; dying on a mission is a natural consequence; protecting the village more so.

But the guilt was there all the same...

But in recent times, he had felt a new source of guilt and regret, one that began to equal even the death of his comrade Obito. And the source of it was coming up behind him; diving down from the trees in a blur of orange and black.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei. You wanted to see me?"

The jonin said nothing at first; merely continued to look down at the stone in silence. Naruto frowned slightly and looked around to see what he was standing in front of; memories of Team 7's first training exercise came into his mind upon seeing the stone. But that didn't explain why Kakashi had sent for him or why he was silent now. Kakashi wasn't the talkative type, true, but neither was he the deathly silent type, which was what he was acting like right now.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"I'm sorry, Naruto..."

Naruto blinked and Kakashi could just imagine the dumbfounded look on his student's -his former student's- face. It would have made him chuckle, if only a bit, under normal circumstances. But this was too grave a matter on his mind to act as though nothing was wrong.

"I should have been there for you."

"What do you mean?" Naruto replied, blinking again.

"When you were growing up, it shouldn't have been in an orphanage. And even then... To live your life with everyone hating you without knowing why..." His eye closed and his head bowed down. "You are the son of my sensei. I should have been there for you..."

During that time, he was a member of ANBU and his duties following the attack of the Nine-Tails had kept him heavily occupied. He had to be available for numerous missions in order to keep the village save from any who might try to take advantage of their moment of weakness. But he knew that even if that wasn't the case, he had his own personal issues at that time.

'No. No excuses...'

"But I wasn't. And for that, I am sorry."

The face of the young jinchuuriki became solemn for a moment. This was something that he had been recently thinking about since he returned from his trip to Mt. Myoboku. On how he was now accepted by people who, years ago, had scorned him. He had turned from the village pariah to the village hero and they acted like his years of rejection never happened, leaving him unsure as to how to feel about it.

But this was the first time he had heard someone speak that they felt remorse over it. Or at the very least, something related to it. To think that it would come from Kakashi of all people, that was the last thing Naruto would have expected. But that was for a good reason. Moving beside the elder shinobi, Naruto folded his hands behind his head.

"There nothing for you to be sorry about, Kakashi-sensei."

"I thought I already told you before that we were equals now." Kakashi replied, shaking his head. "Why do you insist on calling me 'sensei' still?"

Turning to him, Naruto grinned. "To me, you'll always be Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi just became silent as he stared at the young man. Naruto, who had already surpassed him as a ninja, still viewed him no differently than he had three and a half years ago when he was just a little kid under his supervision. As a teacher and mentor... The elder shinobi couldn't help but chuckle at this and for a while, the guilt and grief he had felt had subsided.

'How does he do that?'

It has always been a wonder, no, a miracle of the highest order, to Kakashi that Naruto turned out the way he did despite the life he had as a child. To have that kind of spirit and will despite all those years of hatred and abandonment.

Perhaps Kakashi should take a lesson from him...

Perhaps the teacher can learn from the student...

His expression picking up, Kakashi turned to Naruto fully. "There is a little tradition we have when a shinobi becomes a jonin, each member of his or her team give him a gift. You're not a jonin yet, but I think this would be the right time for this."

With that, reach reached over to his side and pulled out a small wrapped object. Handing it to the young man, he watched as Naruto slowly unwrapped it. "Minato-sensei gave that to me as my jonin gift and I think he would more than agree with me that I give this to you now."

The gift was completely unwrapped and in his hands, Naruto was holding a kunai. But this wasn't like any kunai he had seen. This one was slightly longer than most, with the blade being separated into three points. And on the handle, there were what appeared to be inscriptions -seals- of some kind.

"This was one of his special kunai." Kakashi explained. "It's part of what made him the Yellow Flash of Konaha."

Naruto's eyes widened at this. "This was...his?"

Holding it up, Naruto's eyes took in every corner of the weapon. The care Kakashi had put into it was seen as the weapon was this in top shape. But that wasn't what was going through the young man's mind and Kakashi realized that from the start. The wonder and attachment... To have something, something solid that belonged to his father. Kakashi began to feel his previous guilt come back to him, knowing that this was something that should have been done sooner and that Kakashi should have done more, and this thought began to be reinforced upon seeing Naruto's eyes beginning to water.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei!"

Those thoughts were soon dispelled however, when Naruto suddenly lunged at the copy-ninja and swung his arms around him in a fierce hug. His visible eye widening, Kakashi realized that he shouldn't have been surprised by this and yet, he was. Taking a second to find a bit of composure, Kakashi looked down at the boy and patted him on the back. Naruto then backed away, chuckling embarrassingly at his reaction.

"Don't worry about it." Kakashi waved off. "Besides, this may be the only chance I have to give this to you." True enough, Naruto would be departing again, at the (reluctant) order of the revived Tsunade and the ninja alliance in order to keep him safe from the Akatsuki.

"Better to give a jonin gift to a genin than to a Hokage."

Naruto was about to retort about being called a genin (even though he still was), but then the full message of Kakashi's words hit him. "Wha..?"

Kakshi chuckled again, but replied seriously. "You still have things to work out, but you've already surpassed me as a ninja. Not only that, but you have a strong spirit. You possess the Will of Fire. Genin or not, I don't think it will be long before you do become the next Hokage."

Naruto was struck speechless, which was a shock in itself. No one has ever said out loud, that they believed that he would become Hokage. And to hear that come from Kakashi, who was for a time chosen as a replacement Hokage, say it was something truly heartwarming.

"Of course." With an honest smile, Naruto pumped his fist in front of him. "Believe it."

Kakashi smiled and placed a hand on the blonde's head.

"I do, Naruto. I really do."