In repsonse to Goldenkizamu's fic "Iruka's Real Worry." So read that first if you want this to make sense. I'm am somewhat of a Kakashi writer, and my muse-bunnies took the inspiration and ran with it. So thanks! Er…the last half wrote itself and came out of nowhere. Sorry if it makes no sense. But I've always seen Kakashi as a deep character who thinks on several levels at once. Anyway, enjoy.

Disclaimer: My art is terrible. Obviously, I am not Masashi Kishimoto. Ergo, I don't own anything.


I didn't hope they'd pass. In fact, I was hoping for the opposite. The fact that you could believe otherwise states quite clearly how much you know me, which is not at all. Then again, I like it that way, so I suppose you can be forgiven.

I know better than you do how harsh the world is. I am the one who goes out there, risking my life and my sanity, on a daily basis. Or I did, before I took a team. I am the one wielding a kunai while you make diagrams on the chalkboard. While you teach, I kill. I live in that wild world you spoke of. I know and fear it, down to my bones. So do all the jounin instructors.

But our students don't. They don't know, can't understand. You're right, they aren't mature. They're children, every one of them. Some less than others. Shikamaru has never been naïve, I think, and I'm not even going to mention the handful of orphans making it on their own every day. However, they cannot possibly conceive of the horror you and I know exists beyond the walls of our protected village.

So why did I—no, we—do it? Because it was necessary. Because walking dogs and pulling weeds will not teach them what they truly need to learn. Capturing lost cats and cleaning up garbage does not even begin to introduce them to the cruel lives they will soon lead.

You and I and every other adult they trust can talk to them--or at them, as the case usually is--until we go hoarse about teamwork and the duty of a shinobi. All the skill-building and team-bonding we put them through would remain a game to them. Until they are put into a life-or-death situation with no one to depend on but each other, they would not understand. Sakura, Ino, and even Hinata for that matter, would still be more focused on impressing the boys than on improving the skills that would keep them alive. Naruto and Kiba would never learn that they needed to keep their heads cool in a real fight. Shikamaru, Shino, and Chouji would never really understand that their teammates could die if they don't find some motivation. And Sasuke needed to learn that he was not always going to be the best. They needed to learn these things, you know that as well as I. And I wanted them to learn them in a controlled environment, where the possibility of dying was present but minimal.

Besides, the longer they keep their innocence intact, the greater the shock when reality intrudes. I'm not saying your work was wasted. Not at all. I think what you taught them was the most important lesson they could have learned. But this one is almost as important: that death is part of their lives. If they start adjusting to that idea now, maybe they'll be able to retain their sanity when they finally do lose someone they know. Or worse, when they finally do make their first kills.

Keeping them innocent of the wild world outside our walls will not keep them alive when they are thrust out there alone. I knew they wouldn't pass, and so I felt safe in submitting their names for the exam. They would have a chance to learn valuable lessons, to gain some of that maturity that they needed.

Judge me if you like, but they needed to take the exams. They needed to fail, because that is a lesson, too.