I don't own.

Kakashi dropped the baby off with Kushina and made his way to training ground seven. The moment he stepped into the training field something shifted. The day almost felt like a dream, a non-reality.

He knew the second Rin and Minato arrived and greeted them in a harder manner then he had been for months now. They didn't seem to notice. They congratulated him on his promotion and Minato gave him advise.

They waited in uncomfortable silence for Obito. Kakashi felt more stiff then usual—even more then he had been an hour ago at the memorial stone—but couldn't bring himself to relax. He tried to tell himself it was the nerves, but wasn't quite convincing enough.

When Obito arrived... Kakashi felt like a totally different person. He watched, detached, as Obito broke into the clearing and looked up at him in slight desperation, "Did I just make it in time?". Kakashi just felt like sighing and inwardly rolling his eyes, but that was not what happened. Instead Kakashi made an arrogant pose with his arms crossed, "Nope, because you're late! What time did you think we were meeting... idiot...fully-fledged ninja... should follow the rules and regulations strictly..."

What was he saying? It felt... wrong. Stupid. Insignificant. It was true, but the voice in the back of his skull was scoffing and, even though it spoke no true words, Kakashi felt it making fun of him and hating him. This made the new Jonin sure that he was crazy, after all, voices were bad, but voices that mock themselves? Yep, mad.

Obito made a pathetic excuse, Minato tried to save him from the entirety of Kakashi's wrath, and the silver-haired teen rebuttaled with a usual phrase, "Those ninja who don't follow the rules and regulations are called trash."

That was it. He had said it a million times since his father's death, but right now it seemed... incomplete. It was frustrating. "Have you no kindness in you? It's all about the rules..." Obito shot back and continued to rant as Kakashi outwardly watched him stoic. On the inside Kakashi wondered where the last few months had gone, they had not had this argument in a long while and Kakashi found he kind of missed the almost easy atmosphere that had appeared since Naruto had shown up.

Usually he was less likely to comment on Obito's lateness (unless he was really late) because he was late sometimes as well. Naruto loved making him late. Sometime the tot would not let him go or cry until Kakashi was sufficiently late. The teen had no way to predict when the tot would be in a clingy mood and Kushina had threatened him into giving in to the baby unless it was an emergency.

Thankfully, Rin stepped in and pulled them apart. After a bit of Obito's absentmindedness Minato spoke up, but Kakashi wasn't really listening. He watched as Obito glared at him and felt himself glaring back. Rin seemed more annoyed with Obito then usual and Minato just seemed exasperated. What was going on, why? Things were more tense then usual to a higher degree then Kakashi becoming jonin and leading the mission required.

Had he done something wrong? Yes, the voice in the back of his head whispered, sad now.

Suddenly, Minato smiled, "I'll give you this! It's a special kunai!' and handed a three-pronged blade to the teen. Stiff gratitude given with a strait back Kakashi also accepted Rin's gift. Something was wrong and Kakashi felt the voice at the back of his head as it seemed to prompt him to look at Obito. Obito looked slightly lost and there was hate in his eyes. No, they had almost been—friends, why was today so different? He wonted to say something to take away that look, it was wrong (Naruto would have cried if he saw it) but... the script had already been written.

As they headed out Kakashi realized he had been distracted. He needed to focus. He would not fail. As they walked there was a sound and so the teen halted the group. Someone was there, perhaps this would be the time to test out the new move. Inwardly Kakashi smirked. This could be fun.

Stepping up and talking Minato into letting him handle it Kakashi started to charge his new technique in the palm of his right hand. As he pushed the chakra a loud chirping sound filled the air. Minato tried to stop him, hesitation filling his eyes, but the teen faced him with pure, smug confidence.

Time seemed to slow and everything became a blur and the boy, Chidori blazing, began to crush the opponent's clones one by one in search of the original. There! His boots squished into the mushrooms that covered the ground and trees as he ran at the enemy nin. He was almost there, he almost won... no. Every power has a weakness. Even this one the voice again.

Suddenly the world shifted and the colors around him continued to blur. Pain flared in his shoulder and suddenly he was back with Rin and Obito. Minato took out the enemy nin. As Rin healed the wound as best she could Kakashi kept his face blank, but his mind... it failed. The technique he had been working on for months, after Naruto went to sleep, before the others showed up at the training grounds, in every spare moment he could find spilling over scrolls and books from the library and archives, practicing molding his chakra just so, taking out trees on the grounds, it all meant nothing.

Then to compound his shame Minato wanted to go back to camp! Kakashi had promised, sworn even, that he would not fail this mission so when Obito spoke up it was so easy to react (too easy) and he took his frustration out on the other teen.

"I don't want to say anything to you. To the 'Elite Uchiha' a coward and a crybaby!" the furious shame that ran across the dark-haired boy's face for an instant made Kakashi want to back down. It was his own fault and Obito wasn't that bad of a teammate to deserve being the scapegoat for Kakashi's insecurities. He would never admit it, even to himself, but the voice in the back of his head had no such issues as pride and was wordlessly chastising him.

"Let's go," Minato ordered and the teens fell in behind him. They traveled until nightfall when Minato decided it was time to stop for the night and they set up camp. They set up next to a large bolder in the off chance it would offer some protection. At the very least it was a good vantage point for the lookout. Because they were out in the open they couldn't light a fire to cook so they were stuck with ration bars which left a horrible aftertaste. Kakashi fell into a shallow slumber unusually fast, but he was grateful for not having to think on the harsh things that had happened that day; high tension from the mission and some discontent from his upcoming leadership was expected but he felt kinda guilty.

The next morning they packed up and continued on.

Around noon Minato stopped and turned to them, nodding at Kakashi. "From here, we split into two groups. Good luck everyone." he said, "It was only chance that the enemy yesterday was scouting was alone. From now on, it will be team battles. Take care." They all nodded with anticipation and trepidation. Suddenly Obito looked up, "let's get going... commander." Kakashi held a stoic front but, inside, he was relieved and more determined then ever to make sure this went well. The strangeness was still surrounding the group and the voiceless presence was sobbing helplessly for some reason, but Obito deferring to him gave him hope that it wasn't all that bad.

Then they were on their way; Minato going one way and the teens the other. They encountered traps and natural obstacles that hindered their progress so it was several hours before Kakashi felt they were being watched. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he could faintly feel the chakra of what was most definitely an enemy nin. He signaled the other two to stop and focused on his surroundings.

Suddenly, there were projectiles incoming at an amazing speed. Obito was the most effective one to react; he cast the signs for a Katon jutsu and burned the bamboo spears before they got too close. But, as the debris fell, the smoke rising and water splashing hindered their sight. Next thing Kakashi knew, one of the enemy nin was coming at him so he reacted. He pulled out a kuni and lunged at the nin, propelling himself off nearby trees and getting in as many hits as he could—which were sadly not many. His opponent had skill and experience beyond what Kakashi had been expecting.

Then he noticed. His opponent's partner had Rin. Quickly, Kakashi landed next to Obito, observing and analyzing the situation and environment as best he could. There were only two enemies. Obito was no match for them (and Kakashi would have to push it to face them both). They were on water(distracting). Trees with few branches surrounded the water making for a good springboard.

Then the bigger nin, holding Rin, cast a technique allowing them both to escape, leaving Kakashi and Obito alone. They took Rin. The silent voice was urging him to chase them down and save Rin, and for once, he agreed with it. If they hurried they could help Rin before the enemies found out their plans and they could continue. He would never sacrifice the mission, but … it was kinda nice having friends and they had helped him so much when he needed them.

But, the heavy atmosphere seemed to press him down and someone else took over his voice, his body. Obito turned to run after them when Kakashi called out, "Obito! Don't run after them!" no, no, let's go! Obito turned to him with a look of abject horror, "what?!" he said, "what the hell are you saying?!" Nothing, let's go, Rin babysat for me two days ago so I could get some training done, I owe her. "The two of us will resume the mission." Kakashi stated with finality.

Obito's anger was almost tangible and getting hotter, "Rin... What about Rin?". Kakashi was getting mad too, at himself. Why wasn't his body listening? They were wasting time and he acknowledged (respected) his teammates too much for this! "Leave Rin for now." the words scalded his tongue as they left his mouth, "The enemy wants to know our aim. They won't kill her yet. [but they will hurt her and we might not make it back in time to save her!] Besides, luckily, Rin's a medical ninja [med nins focus so much on medicine they have less training in other areas, she won't be able to get out alone.]. Even as a prisoner, she should be well treated, as long as she looks after the enemies casualties."

And if he didn't hate himself enough he had to continue, " more importantly, the issue is the enemy discovering our aim..." Well, if he wasn't going to stop talking, maybe he could stop listening. Finally, Obito exploded, "What your saying doesn't include Rin's safety! If those guys were just unthinking flunkies, what would happen then?!" Exactly! Please, me, listen to him! Why can't I control my own actions? More important that the mission," Obito continued, "we have to rescue Rin!".

There was a long pause at that and Kakashi felt himself cry a little on the inside as he realized: he wasn't going to be able to reply with any form of acquiescence. Whatever had overtaken him was set in the decision to leave Rin. Honestly, Kakashi was surprised that Obito argued with him for so long with so much patience before he swung. The hit landed solidly on his cheek.

"I definitely can't stand you!" he yelled as Kakashi (outwardly) calmly faced him. "Whether you hate me or not, I am still your commander" the new jonin stated, his voice hard, "You must obey my instructions.". He thought back to when their group had split with Minato and Obito had sacrificed a bit of his pride to put his faith in him and here he was, throwing it back in his face. What kind of … teammate was he?

"If you let your emotions run free and fail the mission, you'll regret it in the future. Because of that, the rule was decided that a ninja must kill his emotions. You must understand that too." as he said that Kakashi watched Obito's face and felt confusion as the hothead silently listened; how he argued his point as calmly as he could when it was becoming obvious that (the outside) Kakashi couldn't be persuaded.

"The most important thing to be a ninja is to be a tool in order to complete the mission. Emotions are unnecessary things." he finished. Obito looked at him with growing horror. Kakashi knew it was true, but he felt the guilt swell as he said it so casually, in a manner meant to hurt his teammate. Why was he being such a jerk? Obito's eyes shifted into a glare. "... Are you serious?", he asked, then paused as if waiting for time to suck everything Kakashi had said out of existence. "Do you seriously think like that?"

Even if Kakashi could control his actions, he wouldn't have known what to say. It was true. It wasn't pleasant, but … it was life. "Yes," he answered, "That's right."

He watched Obito as he turned, declaring he would rescue Rin, and felt the hard voice vaguely arguing with him to continue the mission. Inside, it was a relief, if he wouldn't help Rin then Obito would. The enemy was strong but Obito wasn't all that— HE WAS NOT GOING TO COMPLEMENT THE LOOSER! Sheesh, he knew he was getting soft, but really? He wasn't that far gone.

Obito's parting words struck him right between the eyes though.

Kakashi felt himself turn and he walked away. From Rin. Obito. The mission always came first. No matter what. He carried on alone, jumping through the forest in the direction of the bridge and away from his team. He was so alone right now. After a few minutes he paused as his arm throbbed in pain from the cut he gained during his failure the previous day. The heavy haze seemed to lift enough for him to stop completely and think. Obito thought his father—a failure—was a hero. He could barely believe it, but … once, before the man killed himself, Kakashi thought he was a hero too. Even after the mission.

He owed it to Rin to help her, he knew that, but he promised he would fulfill the mission and that he wouldn't fail Naruto like his father failed him. What if it had been Naruto who was captured and his teammates went on without him? What if he grew up only to die a genin because no one would be there to cover his inexperience, his weaknesses? The thought made him sick and gave Obito's words merit. Even if he isn't right Kakashi found himself hoping he was.

Sorry for taking so long to update. Naruto has kinda ceased to entertain me; I will have the next part of this up within the week, though. together all three parts are 8 pages, which is outrageous! Most of the dialogue is from Kakashi Gaiden and does not belong to me. Some authors can pull off following certain chapters as closely as this, but I am not sure that I have been able to. So, tell me what you think?