Author's Note: You'd think that the world closing and not having to run all over creation every day would mean plenty of time to write. Turns out, not as much as you'd think. Ah, well. Anyway, the next chapter...


Chapter 12

Minato glanced back at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye. The boy trailed behind him as they walked down the path that would return them to the Hidden Leaf. His head was bowed, his gaze fixed on the ground before him, his face twisted into a fierce scowl. He was clearly angry and upset. Minato was unsurprised. Kakashi was accustomed to being the best, to handling situations that his peers could never hope to. The mission had gone as he had expected, forcing Kakashi into a situation where he was in over his head. He was not taking it well.

"Kakashi," Minato said, deciding that he had been brooding long enough.

"Yes, Minato-sensei?" He looked up, expression going blank. It was a bit disconcerting, Minato thought, how well Kakashi was able to hide his emotions when he wanted to. Budding genius shinobi or not, it was unnatural in a child his age.

"You did well out there."

Kakashi scowled. "I would have gotten killed if you hadn't –" He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. He was displeased with his own performance on their mission. He had been so excited to finally go on a real mission and he'd blown it. If he'd been alone he'd be dead right now. It had been a sobering and eye-opening experience. Until now, Kakashi had never doubted his own skills before. His confidence had been badly shaken. It was not a feeling he enjoyed.

"I know. That was the entire point."

Kakashi halted as he stared up at the blond jonin. "What?" he asked, certain he had misheard.

Minato knew what he was going to say was not going to be well received. But the entire point of this exercise had been to teach Kakashi that teamwork was important and that he needed his teammates, even if they didn't match his skill. "I knew you would be in over your head."

Kakashi simply stared at him for several moments, dumbfounded. Minato-sensei had wanted him to fail? The bitterness of betrayal welled up within him. He had liked and respected Minato, thought he was different from the other jonin leaders who had resented him or simply dismissed him out of hand. How could he have been so wrong? His other instructors may have wanted him to fail, but none had ever set him up to do so in such a cruel way. "W – why?" he finally managed to choke out past the tightness in this throat.

Minato's expression softened at the hurt on the boy's face. For all that he was a brilliant shinobi, he was still a ten-year old child. "Because you needed to learn. You are an extremely talented shinobi, Kakashi. It's true that your abilities far surpass your peers and teammates. But that doesn't mean you don't need them. It doesn't mean you can do everything on your own. I wanted you to experience what Obito and Rin feel while on missions with you. They may not possess your skill, but they are not useless." He continued walking, giving the boy time to process his words. For all his hurt and anger, Kakashi wasn't stupid. Given some time to mull things over, he'd understand what Minato had been trying to accomplish. At least, he certainly hoped so. It was hard to say how Kakashi would react sometimes and the last thing Minato wanted was to create friction and resentment among the team.

Kakashi remained silent as they continued their journey back to the village. Minato had to forcibly stomp down the urge to put a hand on his shoulder and reassure the sulky boy. Kakashi was not like his other students. He didn't like being touched and wouldn't welcome soothing words right now. It went against Minato's nature – he hated to see his student so upset – but he let Kakashi be. He would talk when he was ready; Minato would help him best by waiting until he was ready to do so.


Sakumo knelt in the large garden that was set to the side of the house, tending the plants there while he waited for his son to return home. Kakashi was due back any minute from the A-ranked mission Namikaze had taken him on. Sakumo was secure in Kakashi's skill as a shinobi but that didn't keep him from worrying. Kakashi still lacked experience and A-ranked missions were only assigned to experienced jonin or squads led by such. Minato was young, but was already making a name for himself among the shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. Kakashi actually respected the man; he was the only jonin-leader who had earned his son's respect. Curious, Sakumo had made a point to learn more about the younger man. From what he learned, it seemed that his son's respect was well-earned but t hat didn't mean he didn't worry for his son's safety.

He absently wiped the back of his hand across an itch on his cheek, leaving a smudge of dirt behind. His hands and clothes were streaked with dirt. Sakumo found the work soothing. He had recently returned from the front and would be returning again shortly. He welcomed the calming break from the war that the Hidden Leaf was embroiled in. The garden had been planted years ago by his great-grandparents when they had first come to the Hidden Leaf. A reminder of their clan's lost heritage.

The Hatake Clan had not always been a shinobi clan. In generations past, just as the name suggested, they had been farmers and growers, working their lands to provide rich harvests. The Clan had always been small and humble, but proud of their simple lives and hard work and loyalty. They had been all but wiped out during the Warring States Era; the Clan Wars decimating their already small numbers. The larger clans had overrun their ancestral lands, destroying their fields and orchards and slaughtering the all but defenseless people. After the Wars had ended and the Hidden Leaf had been established, the few remaining Hatake had settled in the newly-formed village. They laid down the tools of their agrarian lives and took up the weapons of the shinobi, trading their ancestral fields for the safety and security the village walls offered in exchange for their service.

Not being a large or prominent Clan and having no secret Clan jutsu or kekkei genkai, those who had settled in the village did not have their own district or compound. Modest houses with large gardens or small orchards set away from the bustle of the village center had suited them quite well. Though they no longer planted or harvested large fields full of crops, all children were still taught the secrets of growing things. Perhaps in the hopes of one day returning to a simpler - or at least less violent - life.

After the Hidden Villages had been established, there had been a brief peace. Then the First Shinobi War had all but wiped out the remainder of the small Clan. Now only Sakumo and Kakashi remained.

Though often neglected when he was away for extended periods, Sakumo had always been able to bring the garden back to life. A talent for coaxing plants to not only grow but flourish was as much of a Hatake Clan trait as a somewhat unhealthy dose of stubbornness and unruly silver hair.

"You don't have to walk me home, Sensei," came Kakashi's petulant voice.

Sakumo was relieved. If his son could complain, then he likely wasn't hurt. Other than perhaps his pride, Sakumo reminded himself, recalling the entire reason for this mission. He stood, dusting the loose soil from his hands. He walked to the front of the house just in time to see Kakashi and his jonin instructor approaching. His son appeared to be sulking. Not surprising, Sakumo mused. Kakashi had never taken failure well. He gave a welcoming smile as they reached the house.

"How was your mission?" he asked.

"Fine," Kakashi said shortly.

"I'll see you in two days," Minato said to Kakashi.

"Yes, sensei." Kakashi turned and sketched a short bow to Minato before heading inside. Minato watched him go with a soft sigh. He turned his gaze from the door Kakashi had disappeared through to find Sakumo's weighted gaze on him.

"How did it really go?"

"About as I expected," Minato replied honestly. "Kakashi handled himself well, even when he was outnumbered and outmatched." His expression dimmed. "He's angry with me right now. I suppose I can't really blame him. It was an unfair situation to put him in."

"We are shinobi. Fair doesn't enter into it." Sakumo said flatly.

"I know, but – "

"Would you have rather left things as they were?"

"No, of course not."

"Then stop second guessing yourself! Kakashi needs to learn to work with others. You may have finally succeeded where everyone else thus far has failed and made him understand the why. Now you just have to work on the how."

Minato sheepishly ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn't certain if he'd just been praised or insulted or perhaps it had been a bit of both. Even with hands and clothes covered in dirt and a smudge across his cheek, Sakumo still intimidated him. He knew it was foolish, but he couldn't help it; even Jiraiya admitted he wouldn't challenge the White Fang without good reason. Minato had thought Jiraiya had been exaggerating until he had met the man himself. An air of quiet confidence surrounded him. Sakumo was someone who knew his own power and felt no need to boast about it.

"That should be interesting," slipped out quietly before Minato realized he had spoken his thoughts out loud.

"Well, I'm certain you'll figure it out," Sakumo said.

"Uh. Yes… Of course." Minato flushed slightly. He hadn't meant to give voice to his thoughts.

Sakumo resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the younger man's nervousness. It wasn't like he was going to bite his head off. Probably. Though he just might if he didn't relax a bit. "You're the first jonin-instructor that Kakashi actually respects. He listens to you and values your opinion." He nearly smirked at the shock on Minato's face. Kakashi would be properly respectful to Minato as his instructor, of course. Sakumo knew his son; he suspected he didn't show more than polite indifference to his face. Kakashi would never admit to Minato that he actually liked him.

"I -" Minato didn't know what to say to that.

"Good luck," Sakumo said, turning to head inside himself. "You're going to need it."


"What was it like going on an A-ranked mission with Minato-sensei?" Obito asked, practically bursting to hear all about Kakashi's latest adventure. Hearing about Kakashi's missions served to push Obito to train even harder. He was determined to catch up to the other so he could go on better missions, too. The next round of chunin exams was approaching and Obito was determined to pass this time after failing at his first attempt.

Kakashi shrugged. "It was a mission. That's all. Nothing special."

Obito rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Kakashi! Even you've never been on an A-rank before! What was it like? Did you fight enemy ninja? How many? Is Minato-sensei really as good as everyone says?" he asked rapid-fire.

Kakashi sighed, resigning himself to answering Obito's questions. He'd get no peace until he did. "We encountered some enemies," Kakashi conceded. "I don't know how many – a lot."

"Coooool!" Obito breathed, wide-eyed. "I heard Minato-sensei is really fast. I bet he ran circles around you!" he teased.

"Well, he's not called the Yellow Flash for nothing, you know," Kakashi huffed.

Obito snickered. Needling Kakashi never got old. He didn't do it to be mean. The other boy was simply entirely too serious for his own good. And he made it so, so easy sometimes.

"You know what'd be super awesome?" Obito mused a few minutes later. "Seeing Minato-sensei take on the White Fang! I wonder who'd win."

"Meh. Dad could take him," Kakashi replied absently.

"Huh? Who said anything about…? "Obito trailed off as he remembered that Kakashi rarely misspoke. He replayed the last few moments in his mind. Then he turned and took a hard look at his teammate - silver hair, lightning chakra, and a genius by anyone's standards… His mouth fell open as he suddenly recalled the White Fang's given name, which he had completely forgotten until that moment – Sakumo… Hatake. And the only other person he'd heard of with that surname… "Your dad's the White Fang?" he demanded.

"Yeah."

"Seriously?" Obito tried to reconcile the reputation of the White Fang with the kind man with the easy, welcoming smile that he'd met a handful of times when he'd hung out at Kakashi's. He'd always known Kakashi's father was a high level jonin but he'd never made the connection before now. "Why –? "he sputtered. "Why didn't you ever say anything?!"

"It wasn't important."

"Wasn't important!? Are you nuts?! That's so cool! Why wouldn't you tell everyone!?"

Kakashi frowned, not understanding the other's consternation. He never mentioned it because he didn't want people assuming he had gotten to where he was because of his father's name. In idolizing his father and striving to be like him, Kakashi had unconsciously picked up some of his personality traits. In spite of his power and fame, Sakumo was a kind and humble man. He never felt the need to boast about his prowess, never threw his name or reputation around demanding recognition. Even though Kakashi looked up to his father and admired him greatly, at the end of the day, he was simply "Dad". To his son, Sakumo was the man who sometimes over- or under-cooked dinner, who had first taught him to throw a kunai, who had tucked him in at night when he was little (and still did sometimes when he thought Kakashi was already asleep), who beamed with quiet pride at his son's accomplishments, even as his eyes clouded with worry.

"Because Dad's just… Dad?" Kakashi replied.

Obito shook his head. Sometimes he just didn't understand Kakashi at all.

"Can I ask you something?" Kakashi suddenly said.

"Duh!" Obito sobered as he realized that Kakashi was fidgeting. Kakashi didn't fidget. Whatever was on his mind was bothering him greatly. He sobered. "Yeah, sure. What is it?"

"Am… am I difficult to work with?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"The mission I went on with Minato-sensei... He said the whole point of it was to put me in over my head so I'd understand how you and Rin feel being on a team with me." He lowered his gaze to the ground. "I – am I - am I really that awful?"

Obito was silent. Kakashi felt his heart sink. Was that why he kept getting shuffled around? Had he been the problem all along but he'd been too arrogant to see it? He swallowed hard and bit the inside of his cheek. It would be a bitter pill to swallow.

Kakashi jumped as Obito placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up reluctantly, not wanting to see the scorn in his friend's face but knowing he deserved it. Instead of disgust, Obito was smiling, warm and friendly. "For being a genius, you sure are stupid sometimes."

"Huh?"

"Well sure you can be a bit of a prick at times. I get it, you're jealous of how awesome I am," Obito said with a grin. He shook his head. "Seriously, Kakashi, you're a bit uptight but you're not a total jerk or anything. You just keep trying to do everything yourself."

"That's what Minato-sensei said."

"So why do you do it?"

Kakashi was quiet for several long moments. He wasn't used to opening up about his feelings and he was having trouble finding the right words to explain what he didn't even fully understand himself. "I just… I want to protect you and Rin," he finally said slowly. "The Hidden Leaf is at war. It's only a matter of time before we're sent out into it. I… I don't want to lose you guys…"

"Lord Third isn't going to send a bunch of kids to the front for a long time yet. The War will be over before we're sent out," Obito declared confidently. "It's too bad, too because I really want to show what I can do! All my training's been paying off big time!" He laughed. "Besides, do you really think it's going to be that easy to get rid of me? You just wait, Kakashi! Someday soon my Sharingan will awaken! And then I'll be leaving you in the dust!"

Kakashi managed a weak smile. He desperately hoped Obito was right. He recalled his father returning recently, his grim expression as he told Kakashi he'd be heading back to the War soon and had the sinking feeling that he wasn't.