A/N: Drabble.

Disclaimer: OHGODNOWHY, WHY? I'll miss you Naruto. Thanks ff dot net.

Genre: Kakashi Gaiden dribble drabble...

And Thank you readers, for putting up with me all these years. I hope I can keep getting better this year! (And you know, post stuff occasionally...I'm really sorry for the lack of stuff lately.) :)

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"Careful, you'll break it," she warned.

"You shouldn't be handling it in the first place," he said, a touch bossy.

Obito put his lips together and blew…off dust.

Rin sneezed, Kakashi turned his head and thanks to his mask was able to keep composure from the array of glittering dust particles now spinning in the air. And even though Obito's curiosity is totally unwarranted as usual, his teammates can't help but steal a guilty look at the ornate brown box in Obito's brown dusty fingers.

They're sitting on the floorboards of an attic in Iwa because they had nothing else to do. Sensei told them to stay put in this stone house mostly comprised of old and new protective seals because his students are only twelve years old and a bit too wandering lately for his peace of mind. But this abandoned pueblo, nestled in the corners of more rock and sand, smelled of secrets…the Konoha kind, where this small house had once been the only fortress against a rock nin army. Kakashi had been eager to scour this place inch by inch until he smelled some familiar smells that made his stomach do backflips, "Sensei, really, why do we have to—" Because teacher said so. Rin found old medical supplies grossly covered by cobwebs, but she seemed content. Nervous, but satisfied. And Obito, dammit Obito found this old wooden box with one faded seal overtop an old brass lock. And dangit, did it look secretive.

"Obito, the seal is from the intel ward."

"I know that," he said through gritted teeth, still trying to ascertain what exactly it said.

"You shouldn't open it," Kakashi continued.

"Buzz off, stupid! You couldn't wait to get in here two hours ago."

"Yeah, well, there's nothing here. Just put that down."

Then Obito resorted to the only tactic he knew: "Is Kakashi-kun scared to know what's in the box?" With a little grin at the end that inflated more than his ego.

"Fuck off, stupid," Kakashi retorted.

"Guys!" Rin clenched fists over top her whitish-brown skirt. She had some dirt on her face because neither man wanted to point it out.

"What?"

Obito glared at Kakashi who promptly glared back.

Rin leaned forward, as if trying to be as analytical as their fair-haired team member. Turning her head only turned the symbols and the floral designs engraved in the cedar. Each scroll like a vine, each wave like the ocean until it turned inside itself with small circles guarding bottomless shadows on this mysterious little box. She swallowed, looking at Obito.

Obito noticed her interest and knew he had to open it. "Kakashi," he said.

"What?" Kakashi's folded arms rose and fell in a huff, "I'm not fucking opening it for you."

"Kakashi," Obito egged him on firmly.

The Hatake growled.

"Kaaa-kyaaaa-sheeeee?" Obito said again, unafraid of the only stone monster in the stone house.

The silver haired boy glanced at Rin, who wore a look of hopeful expectance upon their resident genius.

"Oh, fu…." Kakashi turned his head, "This is ridiculous."

"But come on, come on! You have too!" Obito wailed. "I don't know the seals," he admitted.

Kakashi stood, glancing around broken spindles of wooden chairs, a dusty table, the dusty medical gear Rin literally unearthed from floor below, and the small little window with black bars just like a jail. Sunlight through this place filtered in slowly, and time seemed to pass just as much, with every little dust mote turning in the vast emptiness of this place with no pictures and no life but for these three little warriors, awaiting their leader's return. The Hatake growled again. He was going to regret this. "Fine. Let me see," as if he hadn't already.

Obito passed him the box and Kakashi performed the first seal he knew that might work—"…Rat!" And slapping on some chakra, the green border around the seal glowed and changed. All of a sudden the symbols morphed into:

HOW TO WIN THE WAR.

Suddenly the coldness of this place bumpled their skin and froze their voices.

The three looked at each other in perfect, reverent silence.

The war in context had been over for a decade, but this box had been there to tell them how to win it. Perhaps it could even help them win the current war, or wars in the future…

Kakashi swallowed. "Ok…" The green border changed to red, requiring a higher set of seals and power to unlock the next stage. "I admit…this might be worth opening. Um…" He strained to remember sensei's scrolls. "Um…I hope…this is…right…"

Kakashi weaved hand signs quickly and applied more chakra this time…

All of a sudden Rin and Obito were looking behind them to find Kakashi's head under the table and his limbs tangled up in splinters. "Kakashi!" Rin gasped, immediately rushing to his aid. Obito started laughing. He looked back at the box, and knew Kakashi hadn't succeeded in opening it. The seal was still intact.

"Ow…"

"Kakashi! Are you ok!" Rin asked, though she had already begun flowing chakra to the back of his head.

Kakashi groaned as he sat upright. "Guess…that wasn't it," he grumbled.

Obito continued chuckling.

The young Hatake brushed off their young medic and massaged his own head thank you very much. He came back toward the little offender and sat down Indian style for a more concentrated approach. "…Need any help?" Obito asked.

"No." Kakashi quickly. "Maybe…this one," he decided.

It was a less complicated set of seals than the first because maybe to win a war, everyone needed to know, not just the jounin. Kakashi knew this was a big gamble of reverse logic, but even if this didn't work, he'd still have chakra enough to try again.

The red border glowed as he slapped his hand on the seal. Expecting a whirlwind like last time, Kakashi was disappointed and instead they each heard a metal clink in the room.

The box opened.

The three young ninja held their breaths and Kakashi slowly lifted the lid and inside…was an old wooden top.

Engraved on four sides of the circumference was the Konoha insignia, and on the tip of the pole was Iwa's symbol.

"…What?" Obito's voice was dry—he started coughing which startled all of them. Luckily, Rin produced the canteen and shoved it in his chest as she was coming around for a better look. Swallowing his hard dry knot, Obito crawled over to the other side. "…A top?" he said quietly. "A play-top? That's how we won the war…?"

"Is it…dangerous?" Rin wondered.

Kakashi was most confused, because as he could tell, there were no other safety precautions or booby traps. Carefully, he set the box aside and held the top, inspecting it further.

Then, on the old dusty floorboard of this attic space, Kakashi held the post with his thumb and forefinger and placed the pyramid end on the wood. He paused before spinning it.

…whoosh!

They each held their breath as it was in motion.

The insignias were invisible as it spun quickly, at first perfectly still in it's rotation. It was a good spin for a child who hadn't played much with these kinds of toys, but then again, spinning a top isn't much different than spinning a shuriken. Then, as the toy lost momentum, the spindle top began to weave and wobble—wider and sloppier as it began to fall. The top finally crashed downward, spinning first into Kakashi's pant leg and then rolling to rest right in front of Rin.

The Iwa insignia was pointed on the floor, and Konoha was pointed up….not without it's own casualties from the other side…

The three leaf nin were silent.

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Minato returned in a few hours upon his word. Kakashi smelled wind of him first, as he'd smelled the scent of his father earlier. The three youngsters had been spread out: Kakashi was still in the attic and Rin and Obito were below, looking at other ancient artifacts on the dusty grey floor.

"Hello!" The jounin called cheerfully, and his hair popped in the doorway like a sunrise over gloomy greys and frowns. "What's up?" he asked.

Kakashi was on his way down when Obito looked up, "Nothing, sensei."

Minato's smile turned over in an inquisitive fashion. Rin's face absorbed the remaining light, "We're fine sensei. How did things go on your end?"

"Good," he said, "The coast is clear, and there are no traps. We can proceed. I told you guys I wouldn't get lost, and I didn't," he grinned. "A shinobi can't afford to get lost, especially when I have you three to come back to."

"Does that mean you were worried about us?" Kakashi wondered aloud, because any trace of concern was going to be considered an affront to his leadership skills. (Which he was working really hard on, mind you.)

"No. It just means that I missed you guys."

Kakashi rolled his eyes: that was even worse…

Obito smiled, "Aw, we were fine sensei." he said quietly.

"…You sure?" Minato asked, sensing a dim chill in the air.

"Yeah. Oh…and…thanks," Obito added. "And tell Jiraiya-sama thanks too."

"For what?"

"For…well…winning the last war."

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-Caliko, KarikoEmma