"You're going to be a teacher," Sandaime announced solemnly as if the addressee should be honored or at least surprised by such distinction.

Kakashi was neither. He barely fought down the urge to sigh loudly. How many years had they been playing the same game and none of them had called the bluff yet? Hatake, surrounded by death, and a bunch of loud, annoying, and helpless creatures just didn't mix well.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," he curtly said instead and straightened his posture. He was in the village leader's office, summoned for one-on-one meeting, possibly to impose on him the feel of duty and seriousness. To no avail, but clearly that also wasn't supposed to be a friendly chat. He got a direct command and he knew better than to question it. Still, in the end he would have it his way - like in previous years.

"You'll get the files of your future team from Iruka-san. I hope all of them will pass and the team could be formed in this shape. Please report to him for further information." Hokage didn't try to coax him or give a better justification this time. Instead he leant back on his chair, pulled out his pipe and lit it with a small fire jutsu, as if showing off he believed he and Kakashi agree on the matter. "This year I have a perfect team for you, Kakashi-kun," he shifted to his grandpa-like tone. "I know that you demand a lot from your students, but I'm sure they won't let you down," he sent him off with a benign smile even though he just admitted he knew the man had been failing his students intentionally.

Hatake left the office and made an effort to forget about the task for the next days. Although he would never act neglectful on purpose, he openly admitted he didn't have a way with children. He was just not a material to be a teacher to extremely-easy to die pre-teens who will get themselves kill thanks to their recklessness, and he couldn't understand why Sandaime insisted on it. Wasn't he more useful to the village undertaking special missions? Or had he been falling in this area as well? Instead of dwelling on the nuisance he jumped on the roof and dashed to the training fields. He promised his dogs to spend some time with them and honing skills had always helped him to forget things. Maybe that was the reason he was considered elite. He just had many things he didn't want to think of.

[***]

Days passed and the graduation ceremony kept getting closer. This time of the year was an unofficial holiday in Konoha. Besides passing the academy students into the rank of gennins, a lot of other nominations and personal changes were announced. Ninja's families took work leaves to be present at the events, not urgent matters postponed, missions almost withhold.

Konoha buzzed like a hive of well-rested and a little-bored ninjas who spent a lazy few days speculating and commenting on the only available topic at hand. Kakashi tried to kill the time with the usual stuff: updating his bingo book, treading grass before the memorial stone, brushing off some of the least-used ninjutsus, wandering without a purpose, getting his hands on Icha-Icha spin-offs or just sleeping off in his tiny flat. Unfortunately, the topic of new gennin teams rolled on through every of these few conversations with fellow ninjas he had just like a monsoon in the rainy season. You can pretend it doesn't affect you, but you'll get wet either way.

"And who are your students?" Kurenai and Asuma ran into him in a dango shop. Not that he didn't like them - as much as you can gift your colleagues with deeper feelings, but can't a man eat his sweets without being pestered with the topic?

"A bunch of kids," he barked off. He didn't indulge himself often and he certainly wasn't thrilled that they decided to interrupt his little precious time.

"Whoh, whoh, don't tell me the famous Copy-Ninja is freaked out!" Asuma sat at his table uninvited. Sarutobi was practically his sempai and apparently Kakashi's cold shoulder never made an impression on him.

Kurenai followed suit, a little bit intimidated. Kakashi inspired younger shinobis, yet he didn't really hold an opinion of a friendly person.

"No need to worry, in contrast to a popular belief, kids are not monsters - at least not all the time. I keep repeating it to Kurenai-san," Asuma continued cheerfully.

"That's easy to say when you're so experienced, sempai," the woman huffed. Sarutobi had already graduated one gennin team, participated in dozen training projects and now was getting another group under his wings. The kunoichi however was a freshly appointed jounin and she stressed out a lot about her new position both as a ninja higher officer and a teacher.

"Please, don't sempai-me, we're equal now," he laughed good-humouredly. "So, Kakashi-san, who are they? I'm getting Ino-Shika-Cho next generation! Wow! The kids seemed already well integrated, I expect a lot from them."

A teacher with connections, Shikaku-san probably had the whole future strategically outlined for his oldest son, the thought crossed Kakashi's mind. What a relief he didn't play that game. He didn't care about the intrigues, he had no clan, no profitable friends and being the dead ex-Hokage's apprentice didn't count.

"Mine are Hyuuga Hinata-chan, Inuzuka Kiba-kun and Aburame Shino-kun. I've already seen their performance, so I am sure they'll pass. They're from the clans with distinctive techniques... " Kurenai finally melted down and kept talking about how she spoke to their parents, about her doubts and plans to help the kids develop their unique abilities... Kakashi had it all over his head. Getting too attached was foolish. Something only inexperienced ninjas did.

Asuma and Kurenai got on really well together, sharing chaotic news and speculation about possible lists of teams. Some children, mostly form civilian families were supposed to drop out, others would probably repeat the last year in academy to improve their results and thus get a better teacher, a few parents still debated about sending their children straight into specific training rather than into field missions, so not everything was set up yet.

"And your students?" Hatake stunned when the woman finally asked him a direct question.

"Kakashi-kun, and yours?" Asuma repeated.

All he could do was to shrug his shoulders to his interlocutors' consternation.

"Ah! here you are! And my eternal rival is here as well, how lucky!" the voice of Might Gai cut through the dango shop. "Kakashi! I expect you to hurry up and finally train your gennins! You're already one year behind me!"

Hatake huffed. Hokage wasn't so stupid to give him anybody important who could compete with Hyuuga kid in Gai's team. Not that he cared. Even though he had a reputation of a great shinobi, no respectful ninja family would give their precious children in his hand, to waste one year of the kid's life, because he had a whim to fail kids for behaving like kids. He would not have their blood on his hands.

"Don't worry Gai. They are drop-outs and they will stay that way. I won't take lost causes. If their clans or other teachers want to train them, that's their business."

Awkward silence shrouded their table and the temperature seemed to suddenly drop.

[***]

When he ran out of excuses, he showed up at Iruka-kun's to get the files. The younger ninja welcomed him in his teacher's office with a wide smile and open admiration in his eyes. What did the man see in him to offer such kind treatment?

Kakashi opened the first folder and the picture of a young cheerful girl caught his eyes. His brew knitted. If the whole situation had been a tiring nuisance before, now he felt a gulp in his throat. Rin had the same delicate smile, the same hopeful look in her eyes. Was this old manipulator Sandaime aware of the resemblance, or was it only his mind, projecting the memories at the girl? Yes, it was definitely his own fault. He should just stop mixing past and present.

"This is Haruno Sakura, a very clever girl from a civilian family; due to her origin she clearly has some drawbacks, especially in physical strength, yet, she's quite promising. I proposed her for the team also because of her sense of duty and respect she could pass to her teammates."

Hah, Kakashi could imagine it. Rin too was far cry from Kakashi's strength, yet, her presence was crucial to enable teamwork. She was the very soul of their team and its most rational mind, not blinded by silent rage or the inferiority complex. Sure the girl would be devastated when Kakashi failed her, especially because she as a civilian must have put so much effort to earn her place in the academy. But pity alone should never earn you a ninja title.

He took out the picture of a blond kid in a confident pose. Iruka's face brightened up.

"And this is Uzumaki Naruto..." but Kakashi stopped listening. The boy didn't look exactly like Minato-sensei, yet the resemblance struck him every time he saw the kid. So what, was he going to walk around with a grim reminder of his past... His anger at the Sandaime rose. The old man couldn't refrain from hitting where it pained the most. Besides Naruto should get an individual tutor. His very presence brought a risk for the other teammates. Hokage's policy concerning Naruto seemed more and more unreasonable and neglectful. Or, taking account Kakashi's reputation, it was too much likely Hatake was going to be a tool to crush the kid's dreams and persuade him to live a dull but safe life within Konoha's borders. Ha, if Kakashi was... had... more will to do anything, he would graduate the boy just for the sake of spiting the old geezer.

"And this is Uchiha Sasuke..." the picture of the pale kid with a dead eyes popped out. Had Kakashi just complained about having a ghost in his team? The boy was said to be capable despite no guidance a family normally provided, yet he was about to be send to academy again - Kakashi's test didn't lay in individual skills at all. He almost laughed out loud. The boy was the talk of the town and yet he was shoveled to the worst teacher ever, that only ruined children's career. It would never happen if he had family to support him.

He collected the papers at once and walked off with a short nod to Iruka. Hopefully the fame of being a cold bastard protect him from being seen through. He was right in one thing. His team was really just a bunch of drop-outs that didn't fit anywhere else in the ninja world. Except with the drop out teacher.

[***]

Reluctantly, Kakashi let himself be dragged to observe the graduation tests and the ceremony. Gai decided it was a great idea to look for rivals for his own team among the rookies. Intelligence gathering, he said, dragging Kakashi along. Green Beast possessed ridiculous amounts of persistence and once he set his mind on a task, there wasn't much you could do about it, except complying.

There was a hidden entresol in the class room where the teachers-to-be, examinations and practically anybody who was interested, crowded. Children first wrote a paper test and later on formed a waiting line to present a few jutsus.

It wasn't hard to spot his trio. The trio, he meant. Especially Naruto was hard to miss. He was everywhere. Loud, obstinate, embarrassing. Not Minato-like at all. Still, the kids seemed to keep together and one might think there was some kind of friendship among them. But a minute of observation was enough to see how false this assumption was. They were rather being distanced by others, but it didn't help them to reach out for each other in a proper way. The blond boy tattered between trying to get the attention of Sakura and constantly snipping at the Uchiha to the point Kakashi was tempted to call bullying. The girl apparently wanted to start a conversation with the raven boy and got angry at the blonde for ruining her chances. Uchiha however didn't seem to notice, staring at the distance with a blank expression, as a big-eyed doll. Oh, Sakura just smacked Naruto and yelled at him. A dream team.

The jutsu test went on. The ninja kids generally stood out from the civilians, with the benefit of early training. There were few good ones in the second group as well. Sakura stepped out and presented a perfect copy of herself, with the richness of details that surprised Kakashi. Her figure however quickly poofed away. She jumped in joy as she received her forehead protector and cheered for a moment with other girls, among which Kakashi spotted Inoichi and Hyuuga daughters. But the merry group soon disperse, as the others joined their team, leaving Sakura alone.

Uchiha executed the task properly, and collected his prize as if he was a robot. No interaction, no interest in the world around him. Somehow it irked him. The kid was even worse than hyperactive Naruto. Speaking of which...

Uzumaki's test was a disaster. If Hokage didn't appoint the tutor, maybe, just maybe, like the next year, he would apply to help out Minato's son. But that was all about great Hokage's schemes. Team 7 didn't even manage to be formed and Kakashi's greatest nightmare had passed. Yeap, there might be some replacement, but with the kids totally immature attitude there was no way they could work in a team. Soon it would be all over.

Just when he was leaving the school, he could hear Naruto screaming that Sasuke didn't deserve to pass. Sakura joined in to the commotion.

[***]

A few days later Mizuki's incident happened and Kakashi's team was complete again. He couldn't care less. He was not interested, yet a heavy stone set in his stomach at the sole though about it. They would get killed, sooner or later, and he wouldn't be able to prevent the tragedy. Children were weak, stupid, easily manipulated and helpless, especially those who refuse to value each others.

Before he knew it, he was standing in Sandaime's office.

"Hokage-sama, I was pondering, if I could bring it to your attention, I don't feel fit to be a sensei, nor do I feel the choice of the team members is correct." His stoic attitude was gone. Nerves. Fear? He hadn't felt it for years, so why this situation weighted on him so much?

"What is it about, Kakashi-kun? Have you met your students?" the old man answered without leaving his eyes from the papers.

"No, but..."

"Mhm? "

"But why them?"

"You might not see it yourself, but you are very capable teacher, Kakashi-kun. Haruno Sakura is from the civilian family, without any inherited style or technique. You've mastered thousands of jutsus, I believe you will be able to help her find a suiting fighting style."

"And...?"

"Forgive me favoritism, but I'm sure Yondaime would like to see his son under your tutelage. You were his precious student and it's only natural..."

"And the Uchiha boy?"

"As a Sharingan bearer I hope you could give the boy the most proper support. Each team was built on the children's performance. Sasuke-kun was the best among his peers in ninjutsu, Sakura-chan is doing great in theoretical subject and Naruto... has... a lot to learn, but is really determined. They are perfectly balanced."

"I can't help but see the accumulation of issues in my team..." he bit his tongue. there was no "his" team yet and it would never be.

"What do you mean Kakashi-kun? It is normal to be stressed out before a new task, but I'm sure you'll do great as always. No need to worry, in contrast to a popular belief, kids are not monsters - at least not all the time, " he repeated the phrase Kakashi heard from Asuma a few days before.

[***]

Another days passed and he met them more out of sense of duty than anything else. And he was both relieved and disappointed - these kids were not entirely like little Rin, Obito or Minato, but in the same time his mind played tricks on him again, forcing him to see the similarities at every step.

Sakura seemed to be a cute well-behaved girl, yet, she was an active participant in creating overall discord within a group. She glued to Sasuke, which he seemed to hate, and she constantly quarreled with Naruto. Well, that was at least understandable with the blond pestering her all the time. Funnily, Sakura's attention on Uchiha led to even greater hostility Naruto held for Sasuke, who repaid him with arrogant ignorance. Not quite Rin, but just like her Sakura was caught between the two other's teammate emotional problems. He felt sorry for her.

Sasuke, despite the striking physical resemblance to his late cousin, turned out to be an angry kid obsessed with a revenge, aggressive to anyone who dared to disrupt him. Well, that was what Kakashi expected, but still, a forest of red flags raised in his mind. The kid were like Kakashi himself at his age and look what he had done, he brought his teammates to their graves. He hated his past self and he despised himself for his stupidity. Those who abandon their teammates were the worst trash and the pre-teen in front of him hardly acknowledge the presence of his two companions.

When it was Naruto's turn to introduce himself, he boldly declares becoming Hokage. Hyperactive, ever positive under-dog. Yeah, that was more like Obito, whose dreams got crushed alongside with his body. And then he talked about ramen. Great.

What a mess he got himself into. He didn't want to witness again the demise of his teammates but with them being highly dysfunctional together he just couldn't see it how the kids could grow into responsible adults Now he was almost sure the kids were shoveled to him, because no one else wanted them.

Naruto was a Kyuubi-containter and Sasuke was beyond the scale of what "troubled teen" meant. Only Sakura seemed quite a normal girl with normal insecurities and favouritism, but apparently didn't get to a better team due to her civilian origin. And who in their right mind would team up the kids with a long history of animosity? To work together you need a certain level of trust and camaraderie, and no, there were people who were just not compatible.

Not to mention a reluctant instructor who couldn't trust his apprentices or get to know them good enough to be aware of their weaknesses. What if his attitude lead to negligence? Kids weren't safe with him and with each other. That was why the bell test was needed.

[***]

"There are only two bells," he shook the round objects in his hand. "Those who won't get the bell till noon will fail and be sent to academy," he added in a sweet voice. "Let's start" and he sarcastically pulled out Icha Icha.

That was not half as bad as he imagined. Kids were quite good individually. Surely not a match for him, but he surprisingly could see potential in them. Naruto showed a great dose of strong will and his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu was really impressive, especially considering his failure during the academy exam. If used wisely, it could be his triumph move. Yeah, but charging straight at his opponent hardly ever brought desired results, even with the best techniques. Then the kid lost all the interest in the task as he found lunchboxes. So much about determination to complete mission objective.

On the other side of the spectrum was Sakura-chan. He was pleasantly surprised she actually started observing, planning, setting some simple traps, but lost quickly in a direct confrontation, shocked by a simple genjutsu.

Sasuke was above average for his age. He had the Uchiha-style combat skills, trademark Katon ninjutsu and tactical approach. All-rounded little ninja, except immature and emotional approach. How could he even believe he would be able to match jounin's skills alone? Of course the test was unfair. It was supposed to be, so the kids were forced to realize that they needed to cooperate! The trio was just a group of stupid egoists that could recklessly throw themselves into danger. He was no better their age and look where was now. Or where his teammates were now. Failing them was in fact a favour.

"All of you should quit as ninjas" he growled, hovering above them, when he managed to gather them for lunch. Their last moment together. That was really for the better. Naruto was tied to a pole, but the boy didn't seem to care about the predicament. As usual he tried to get Sakura's attentions, from time to time he pulled a face on Sasuke, and happily fidgeted with bursting energy. Until Kakashi's words sank in.

"What, quit as a ninja?! All because we didn't get these stupid bells?! Ha?!" he strained at his ties, yelling around. Sakura lowered her head and said nothing. Sasuke didn't bulge, staring ahead with a stern expression.

"Because all of you are just a punks that don't deserve to be ninjas," jounin clarified. He saw it coming. He did. Apparently that was the last straw that breaks the camel's back and the always passive Uchiha kid dashed forward with a murderous intend. He had the boy pinned to the ground in a split second. Seriously, the boy deserved to be sent to first grade of Academy for pulling this one.

"That's why you're a punk," he hissed. "Why do you think you were divided into teams and why are you doing this training? You failed to understand the answer to this test."

"Huh? Answer?" Sakura's eyes sparked and as she started to mull over it.

"Why couldn't you tell us that straight away?!" Naruto yelled angrily.

"The answer is teamwork. Individually none of you is on the jounin level. But if you had worked together you might have been able to get the bells. "

"But, sensei, how! There are only two bells!" the girl was still confused.

"Exactly. The purpose of it is to see if you can forget about your own interest and successfully work together. Duties and missions are done in a team. Instead, you just ignored each other, letting your animosity," he looked at Sakura, "jealousy," at Naruto," and arrogance, " he added pressure to Sasuke's back, "stopped you for seeking within others things you needed to complete the mission. In real life situation that's asking for failure. By acting selfish, you put each other and yourself in danger! You see this stone? There are names of the heroes of Konoha carved on it. My friends are there too," he added quieter.

"Then I want my name on that stone too!" Naruto's resolve was back.

"These are KIA, Killed in action, you moron," Sakura cut in.

"Oh," the boy made a serious face. A moment later the sadness was gone and he was fidgeting again. Short attention spans, Kakashi added to his mental list of problems in his team. That was, in a potential team consisting of these three little disasters. But he could play with them a little longer, so his lesson would sink deeper. They would have a long year to mull over their failure, before they might get a chance to prove themselves in front of another teacher. If they wouldn't quit earlier.

"I'll give you one more chance after lunch, but it'll be even tougher than before. Don't give Naruto any food, that's his punishment. If you do, you'll fail immediately." Divide and rule. And he jump out of the sight.

None of his previous teams ever did something useful with the extra time. Usually now they started to blame each other and still continued solo.

But it wasn't like Minato Team passed these test either. He got the ball for himself, ignoring his teammates, thinking he was better than them. Despising them for choosing to care about each other emotional well being than pursuing mission objective. Sensei scolded him for an hour but it was long before he truly understand his words. And then it was too late. Nonetheless, Minato accepted him despite Kakashi's flaws, or, as he once said - because of them. To help him overcome them, because children, no matter how untalented or skilled, needed somebody to guide them.

What was he thinking? Let Sandaime be damned for choosing these ones as his kids. Not his. The kids. But it was high time to check on the brats.

Oh, well.

The brats were eating lunch. All three of them. This little arrogant boy that irked him for being on the straight path to repeat Kakashi's mistakes, was just doing what Kakashi could have never done. Taking care of a teammate despite the risk to his career. Sakura quickly joined in, forgetting about her annoyance at Naruto. How this could happen. Didn't they hate each other a few minutes before?

Kakashi took a deep breath. Wasn't it the result he wished for - kids communicating and caring for each other? Wasn't it what he dreamt his team could have been from the start and they would be alive today? Maybe he would regret it later, but ninja's life was all about taking the risk. Let Sandaime be damned. His kids passed.

AN: 20200217 I was gonna write here something meaningful, but, eh, the text should be self-explanatory. I'll be happy to hear your feedback.