Published: 7/22/2015

Edited: 8/2/2015 for a very embarrassing word-switched typo. thanks to the reviewer who pointed it out.

Kakashi: The World is Changing

Kakashi is used to going far from home on his own. He is used to taking missions in foreign lands, away from the support of the village, and he is used to doing it on his own. A-rank at the least is his usual fare and everyone knows it. So when Minato sends Suzu to him with a glorified C-rank, its only pretense of danger its proximity to Earth Country, he knows right away he is not taking a mission so much as he is babysitting.

Kakashi is not overly irritated, though. Minato-sensei, after all, is very busy, and the idea that he could teach Team 7's little chuunin the ins and outs of commanding is laughable. It is an involved process to take an inexperienced unit used only to obeying orders and teach her how to wield authority. Someone has to do it in his stead. What is pleasing is that Minato has chosen Kakashi. Kakashi is not particularly inclined to teaching, but his sensei entrusting him with this major task makes him willing. The mission itself is mostly inconsequential—in the very unlikely event of a failure, there will not be political or financial fallout—but Suzu's tuition is a different matter. The fact that Minato is willing to entrust his beloved little sister to Kakashi's hands speaks volumes of his trust in him. After all, Kakashi knows how he dotes on her, so it is not a decision he would have made lightly.

And, he reflects, he is not totally opposed to spending time with Suzu. With Obito gone, Rin suspended on the verge of death, and Sensei otherwise occupied with his new duties, things have been a bit… lonely, he supposes, as of late. It is refreshing to have a companion to spend time with and, having come to an accord with her, there is an ease in their interaction that had once been absent. She will be appreciable company. After all, the alternative to taking solo missions is to find a partner, and most of the people who are familiar enough with him to operate on a team are either already spoken for, blatant fangirls, or Gai.

So when they depart the village, Kakashi is ready for a nice, low-key month. With circumstances like these, what else could it be? They would go up to the border, Suzu would try her hand at running the investigation, he would clean up any loose ends, and then they'd finish the mission and return home.

What a laugh. He should have known better than to let his guard down like that. He pays for his laxity.

This incident at the mines shatters Kakashi's naive expectations with the force of a thousand sledgehammers. His lapse in emotional control is not even the worst part of it—nearly killing the beloved little sister he has supposedly been guiding is. The fact that she goes on to completely rip command from his hands and use it pound the Akiyama brothers into submission only makes it worse; the walk back to the village is one of complete and utter shame. What is the point of him, then, if this is all he will do? She seems perfectly capable of taking charge without any help at all.

Of course, that is before she starts crying.

Oh, by the Will of Fire, Kakashi thinks as the piteous girl weeps into her hands across the table from him. She had not been ready for that. He hasn't nearly prepped her enough to deal with enemy ninja, let alone a rogue superior. To think that he had not only thrust her into situation like that, but also added to it… Kakashi need not be reminded she is mere months out of a psych ward. What will Sensei say when he hears he has allowed this trauma to occur so soon after such mental distress? And to think he had been so happy to have Minato put Suzu in his care.

He holds up his right hand, the hand that has always held the Chidori. He had been so proud to have invented that technique. It requires the finest skill in nature and form manipulation, intense physical fitness, and perfect chakra control. It is a fast jutsu. It is powerful. And yet…

"Kakashi," Suzu sighs after he bitterly says aloud his thoughts on the cursed jutsu called Chidori. Her voice croaks and wavers, but at least she is no longer crying. "It's not your fault. Those were all accidents. Maybe you were reckless the first time, but you couldn't have helped those last two. Rin and I both intentionally got in your way. And besides, I'm not even hurt—"

Another flare of temper shoots through him. Not even hurt? Does she not realize what too much mental stress can do to her right now? Kakashi has seen ninjas break and he does not want to see that happen to her, especially on his watch. Has she no regard? For that matter, what business does she have jumping in front of enemy ninjas, ready to sacrifice her life? During the war, such behavior had been treason.

For the second time that day, Kakashi lets his anger get the best of him. Before he even realizes what he is doing, he is slamming his hand down on the table and yelling at the top of his lungs, shoulders rising with fury. Shocked, for a moment all Suzu does is stare; then she cringes and tries to wave a dismissive hand, succeeding only in angering Kakashi further. When he slams his second hand down, she shrinks further, wide-eyed. Kakashi is not surprised; beneath her bluster, Suzu has always been easily cowed by loud displays of violence.

But then something unexpected happens. Suzu surprises him again when she gathers herself, steps forward, slams her own on hand on the table, and yells right back. He is blindsided by the words that come from her mouth.

Every mission in a post-war climate has the potential to be difficult. It all depends on you as a person. Sensei's words, said to Suzu and parroted to Kakashi right before they had left the village. She had only shrugged and said "I dunno," at the time, and now Kakashi knows why.

Those words had not been said for her; they had been said for him.

War is the only life he has ever known. Sensei had often sighed and said he wished Kakashi had had a more regular genin life, the kind where he wouldn't have been expected to kill fresh out of the Academy, but until now Kakashi has never minded. Killing enemy ninja, in his opinion, had never been a big deal. People did it all the time. What was there to be bothered about? They were hardly people at all.

But that, Kakashi has now learned, is wrong. And the girl that he is supposed to be instructing has been the one to teach it to him.

Kakashi is a jounin and a prodigy, but he knows that this will not be the last time he will have to learn the hard lessons. The world is changing, whether he likes it or not, and with a cold dread he realizes he must keep up or be left behind.

A/N: Look what I found while rifling my Sidestories dump document! A one-shot in Kakashi's POV from the Sakuya arc. I didn't think it was too terrible upon rereading it, so I polished the ends a bit and decided it was good enough to share.