A/N: I'm rather proud of this story, so reviews would be greatly appreciated!

Kakashi and Rin are on time, as usual. They all wait by the trees for Obito, who is perpetually late. Minato was sure to impress the importance of today's mission, though, so perhaps Obito will surprise them.

He doesn't.

The sun makes its lazy crawl higher and higher and Obito still hasn't arrived. Minato scans his team from his perch on the great boulder. Rin sits in the grass, meticulously rearranging her medical supplies for the tenth time, while Kakashi stands and leans against a tree. His eyes are closed so he almost appears relaxed for once, but his arms are crossed and his brow is furrowed in frustration. Prime position, Minato thinks, to chastise Obito the minute he falls into the open.

Tensions are already high before they make it to the border, and Minato feels the resentment radiating off of Obito when he announces Kakashi, on account of his recent promotion, will be leading a separate three-man cell. Rin is proudly affectionate, though, as she presents Kakashi with his gift: a personalized medical kit. Minato inwardly praises her for her thought; it will surely come in handy. Kakashi is no doubt brilliant, but at times reckless. For this reason, Minato decides to give one of his custom kunai knives to his pupil. Unbeknownst to Kakashi, the seal on the handle will alert Minato to when it is thrown. Minato trusts that Kakashi will realize the kunai is special and will only utilize it in the most dire of situations.

His thoughts are broken. Obito and Kakashi are at it again. Minato listens silently as they exchange remarks, Rin breaking it up before it gets too serious. Minato nods at the interference and gathers them together to explain the mission. The three are to destroy Kannabi Bridge, a key avenue the Rock use to transport supplies. It's a straight-forward case, the only real danger arising from the fact that the bridge is deep within enemy territory. This doesn't deter Kakashi, who sounds almost exasperated that the Leaf hasn't stepped in until now.

Indeed, Kakashi's energy is up, seemingly encouraged by his status of captain. As they crouch behind a rock formation, Minato senses the boy is more impatient than usual: normally he defers to Minato in acting as backup, but today he requests to take the lead and wastes no time in conjuring up his new jutsu. Minato doesn't even have time to marvel at Kakashi's mastery of chakra control at such a young age. Kakashi's eyes are set; he is ready to attack. Minato holds his hand out.

"It doesn't matter how many enemies there are; this'll end it in a flash," Kakashi says. "It's the same as your nickname. Besides...it's like you said, Sensei. The leader of this mission is me. It's a rule that a team must follow its leader's orders. Right, Sensei?"

There it is again. The rules. Obito is right, Minato thinks. Kakashi is always using the rules to justify himself. Looking at the boy here, though, Minato sees the frustration, the resentment, the great fear of failure most of all. He knows he may have to reprimand Kakashi later, but if this doesn't go as planned, Minato knows all too well Kakashi will spend the night doing a good enough job beating himself up on his own. Conceding, he withdraws his hand.

Kakashi immediately destroys their hiding spot, blowing rock and dust everywhere with the rod of lightning in his hand. A hail of shuriken and kunai come after him, which he runs through fearlessly, the weapons bouncing off against his armored sleeves. With snide confidence, Kakashi identifies the closest attacker and is on him in a second. Minato flings a shuriken at the Rock ninja, drawing his attention away so Kakashi can make his move. The man grunts in pain, then disintegrates into a cloud of smoke. Unfazed, Kakashi moves on.

Minato signals for Rin and Obito to move into the open. Kakashi is off somewhere above them all, lost to Minato. He figures Kakashi is probably doing fine, though, and turns his attention to Obito, who is suddenly frozen as a shadow clone appears before him. Minato runs a kunai through it and warns Obito to stay alert.

Kakashi is working quickly, Minato thinks, clones being taken down every minute. And there he is, some distance in front and to the left. Minato briefly sees Obito and Rin have made it unscathed to the other side. It's not time to be distracted, though. He hears the Rock ninja cursing and then the long sword being swung around. Minato suddenly whips around—something's wrong. Kakashi is speeding towards the Rock ninja like a bolt of lightning, extending his arm for the kill.

In an instant, Minato is there. Hand on the man's foot, he discreetly impresses a seal. It's time to stop playing around. He can tell he wasn't fast enough, seeing rivulets of blood on the ground below, but there isn't more that could have been done. Minato pushes himself to his feet and drops down to where Rin and Obito wait, setting Kakashi down to rest. A short but deep slash has torn his side. Despite this, he hardly even acknowledges the pain. Even Obito is invested and gets closer for a look as Rin examines the wound, but whatever happens next, Minato doesn't witness.

It's rare for Minato to kill someone in cold blood. He certainly remembers his own reluctance in his younger days. Even on the battlefield, he feels a certain amount of remorse for the opposition. He is strangely empathetic for those who are after him—but he shows no mercy for those who target his students. A sense of vindictive relish flows through Minato when he hears the regret in the man's voice. You should be sorry.

Kakashi and Obito are once again verbally sparring. The stress of the mission has finally made Minato put his foot down. The battlefield isn't any place to be having juvenile squabbles, and they both are at fault anyway. Besides, he grimly reminds them, teamwork is the most important on a mission. They look properly ashamed, so Minato is relieved to have finally gotten to them.

They travel in silence for the rest of the day. Minato takes the rear and spends the trek staring at Kakashi and Obito. There is never a day that goes by without one of the taking a jab at another. Minato doesn't worry about Kakashi's confidence, but he is does about Obito's. It almost seems like Kakashi should be the one carrying the burden of a renowned clan name. Obito is certainly an anomaly within the Uchiha clan, but it doesn't mean that later he won't grow into the name, and Minato fears his inferiority complex will prevent him from doing so.

He is sure Kakashi will keep going further until he drops from exhaustion in an effort to make up for lost time, so he calls out to stop Kakashi near an enormous boulder and announces they'll camp here for the night. They sit in a circle and eat their rations, all of his pupils decidedly distracted. It's hard to blame them; their first solo wartime mission is in less than twelve hours, after all. Minato is at a loss of what to say. Talking about tomorrow will probably make them nervous, but talking about home seems like it will just raise the stakes and won't be much of a comfort, either. He wishes he knew some good jokes but they have all escaped him.

Kakashi offers to take a part of the watch and is promptly refused. After today, all three will need all the rest they can get, Kakashi especially since he was injured and will be acting as captain to boot. No, Minato will take watch.

The night is peaceful and he is content to close his eyes for a spell, until he hears Obito. Minato doesn't feel wholly comfortable revealing Kakashi's history and without Kakashi's permission, but he also knows that Kakashi is too proud tell anyone himself, least of all Obito. Tomorrow they'll be on their own, and any disagreement could mean death. Obito has to understand Kakashi.

The next morning, they rise early. Kakashi is moving well enough, Minato decides. There isn't any need to delay the mission any longer, so in a bamboo forest, he delivers his parting words. If his students are worried, their stoic expressions reveal nothing. Obito even calls Kakashi captain, the first ever acknowledgement of the title. Minato smiles. They'll be all right, he thinks to himself. Then he quickly calls the order to scatter and the groups have split. No handshakes, hugs, or goodbyes. It is a tacet expectation that signals they will see each other again. And Minato doesn't want to act like today is any other day, even though for him, it does feel like it. Better to separate on impersonal terms, before he remembers how young they actually are and calls the whole thing off.

It's easy to find a trail that he knows leads to the front line. The advantage of fighting the Rock is that they can't leave the battlefield unmarked. Minato follows the rupture lines for a few days until he hears the chaos. He impulsively reaches to check his summoning scrolls are still safe; they are. There's been too much going on for him to actively keep up with his habit.

It's a desperate situation that greets him. Four Leaf ninja are hiding in a ditch, attempting to conjure a plan that will minimize their already heavy losses, but there's not much that can be done when forces are down to just a handful. Beyond the ditch, the ground is exploding every minute. Minato lands and gets a quick rundown of the situation, then pulls out his scrolls. The next moment, he stands and waits for the men to follow his orders. Execution isn't perfect, but Minato is still able to dispatch most of the Rock ninja handily. When night descends upon them, the dust has settled. The men gather around Minato, grabbing onto his jacket and sobbing into it for his rescue. He comforts them as best he can, staying the night to help administer first aid and scrounging for food and supplies. After a day, though, he has to leave. Kakashi, Obito, and Rin should be close to completing their mission, and Minato wants to be sure they'll see a familiar face when they cross back into friendly territory. He is forced to move slowly, taking care to hide his tracks and blend in with the shadows when possible. It's a tedious thing, he thinks, then is almost amused that he's annoyed at taking life-saving precautions. He's about to settle down atop a tree after covering a few miles when he is jolted out of his rest.

The scene that he lands in is calamitous. He's standing suddenly on top of a Rock ninja, who Minato kills easily. He allows himself to fall with the body before examining the situation. Bodies are hanging from the trees. Minato can't see any of his students. Where are they? The seal was right on the handle of the kunai; if Kakashi just threw it, he should be nearby. Minato listens. Combat is close. He can hear it...along with a familiar chirping sound.

Minato freezes. He approaches one of the bodies and picks it up. With a shock, he sees a hole cleanly cut through the chest. Is Kakashi using that technique again? I told him not to—With the speed required, it's at least understandable why Kakashi would be here a second ago and gone the next. Minato stands up, scanning the field. He's suddenly gripped with panic. Is Kakashi dead? Minato thought he'd made an impression with how serious a drawback tunnel vision could be, but perhaps even he had underestimated Kakashi's stubbornness.

It's no good to stand here speculating, though. Minato begins to spring from branch to branch. There's no sign of his students until he hears a wild scream.

"Sensei!" Minato looks around suddenly. The chirping has stopped—

"Rin!" The girl is completely overwhelmed but thankfully alive. "What's going on? Where are Kakashi and Obito?"

"He told me to run; I came from over there—I think Kakashi is—"

"Stay here!" Minato orders, and starts in he direction Rin pointed to. Finally, there's Kakashi. He's lying facedown, no less than seven Rock ninja closing in. Minato reaches into his pocket, pulls out another custom kunai and throws it as hard as he can towards the ninja in the middle, teleporting the moment the knife leaves his finger tips.

The enemy is dead as soon as Minato touches down. The others are just shocked enough to hesitate, and Minato wastes no time in taking advantage. He lands on the branch and falls to his knees, breathing hard before he finally raises his head. The forest is quiet once again. It seems they are safe for now. He hears Rin appear and kneel across from him. Minato looks directly at her.

"Where's Obito?"

Her face suddenly drains of color as she stares at him, unblinking. "He—He—!"

She doesn't have to say anything, though. Her eyes are answer enough. Minato drops his head again. The breath in him has escaped his body and he isn't able to move. He can only stare down, numb. All the sound in the world has been muted, collapsed into a black void, and Minato can only hear is his own thumping heart, his rushing blood. Obito is dead? A sense of failure crashes down upon him. If only he had been sooner, or refused the mission—

"It wouldn't have been different," Rin says quietly. "It's not your fault, Sensei."

Minato starts and looks down, then back up and nods a little. What could he have done? Whatever happened, it was before he had arrived. Still, it hurts. Minato shuts his eyes and clenches his hands into fists. But then he remembers. Here he kneels, and another one of his students lies in front of him, unresponsive.

He opens his eyes, rolls Kakashi over. The first thing Minato sees is a fresh scar, cleanly healed over his left eye. He'll ask Rin about it later.

"He's breathing—he's breathing," she cries. "Thank goodness." Her voice shakes, tears welling up. She thought he was going to die too, Minato thinks.

"He's only unconscious," he says. "Probably from chakra depletion." There's blood splattered on his front, but upon closer inspection, it's the enemies', so it doesn't seem like he's injured. Minato picks Kakashi up and shoulders him. "Come on. We need to get out of here."

Rin looks up, something having been made clear. "Sensei—we didn't finish the mission," she says bleakly. "The bridge. We never got to it."

Minato waves her confession away. The mission is the least of his worries at the present time. "It's all right. It doesn't matter right now. What's important is recovering."

Rin deliberates and then nods. Together they set off back towards the Leaf. Over the course of the few days, Minato gets the story out of Rin, how she was captured and rescued. That Obito saved Kakashi's life, and that Kakashi now has a single Sharingan. Minato quietly admires her resilience, as shaken as she is. She dutifully helps with navigation and cleverly hides their trail during the day, while using her medical ninjutsu knowledge to keep Kakashi in a stabilized state.

Rin is different around Kakashi, Minato sees. Had he just not realized before, or is it because of what's happened? It has always been obvious enough to tell that she has been fond of him—overly fond. But this—this is more than a juvenile affection. It's love. Her eyes never leave him, and the first thing she does when she and Minato stop for the day is to run trickles of water into his mouth and feed him an energy supplement. She's infinitely gentle, even though Minato is sure Kakashi can't feel a thing.

"Are you sure he's all right?" Minato asks. "He still hasn't woken up."

Rin looks up briefly and then gazes back down at Kakashi. "Part of it is plain exhaustion," she says at last, sounding tired herself. "And it was his first time overusing his chakra, so his body will be in more shock."

Minato doesn't object. Although he is older, Rin is the medic.

It is half a day later when they reach the rock where they had rested before splitting. "Let's stop here, Rin," Minato says. "It's safe. We can wait." He sits on top of the boulder, laying Kakashi down next to him. Rin joins him, but after a moment she moves to take off Kakashi's forehead protector and scabbard.

"He doesn't need them for now. It'll be more comfortable for him this way," she says softly.

Minato understands, but all he can think is how much younger Kakashi looks now. Sometimes Minato wonders if Kakashi would have been made jōnin had there not been a war going on. The war effort forced children into adults far earlier than was standard. Kakashi is certainly skilled enough, but he could have been kept a chūnin on account of age and lack of experience. That excuse, however, is rather flimsy in the face of a war.

"Sensei. Look." Rin has left the rock and is staring upward. A magnificent display of stars was peeking down at them, more stars than Minato has ever seen. Minato's breath catches at the beauty. For what seems like the first time in an eternity, he feels at ease. He leans back on his hands. He can feel a sense of Obito tonight.

And then a minute later he feels a stirring next to him. Minato's heart relaxes and he smiles a little. "Looks like you're awake now."

Kakashi vaults upward violently. "Sensei—how—?"

"The jutsu inscription on this kunai acts as a beacon for my space-time ninjutsu," Minato says, holding the knife up.

"So...the enemy?"

"I took them out."

Kakashi's eyes widen, one of the rare times Minato has seen his pupil surprised. "Rin," Kakashi says then, suddenly remembering. "What happened to Rin!?"

Minato points to where Rin is standing, alone and looking at the stars. "I'm sorry, but I failed to make it in time, Kakashi. Rin told me what happened."

A breeze sighs through the plain. Minato watches as the leaves whirl around Rin, as the wind teases her skirt. Slowly, she turns around and sees Kakashi sitting up. She stands still for a long moment, before walking towards them, gaining speed until she collides with him and has thrown her arms around him. No words are spoken; she only holds him, tightly. When she releases him, she only half does, her hands still clutching his sleeves, not wanting to let go.

"I'm sorry, Rin," is all Kakashi says. He stands a moment longer, and then falls to the ground on his knees. "I'm sorry." He's still weak. Rin joins him on the grass. Kakashi hesitates, and then leans into her for support.

"It's all right," she murmurs. "I'm still here. You don't need to worry."

In his heart of hearts, Minato wants to return to Konoha. It isn't good to continue this mission, not in the current state of his students. But when he poses the proposition, they both flatly turn it down, insisting they go in together to destroy Kannabi. They don't say why, but Minato knows it's so Obito's death is not in vain, and he can't argue with that.

When Rin deems Kakashi healthy enough, they set off. Enemy activity isn't as rampant as it was before. Minato speculates the last offensive may have drawn more Rock ninja to the front lines, instead of lingering behind to ambush sneaking teams. There's a skirmish on the second day of travels, but it's quickly ended.

They go to bed that night hearing the faint roar of rushing water. The bridge is near, and it's only an hour's trek the next morning before they reach it. Some brief scouting reveals no enemies, so each of them takes a bundle of demolition and rigs it periodically along the bridge. As a team, Minato, Kakashi, and Rin trigger the explosion. In the aftermath, Kakashi jumps down to one of the pieces of debris that juts out of the water and stands there for a moment, an affirmation of their accomplishment. Minato lets him have his time before calling down.

"Kakashi! Time to go home."

The boy moves slowly, his face expressionless. Minato recognizes the behavior, the same behavior Kakashi exhibited after Sakumo died. There's a certain amount of silent dignity involved, as much as there is pain. At last he joins them back above, and they begin their way back to Konoha. Kakashi keeps his head down for most of the journey, more taciturn than usual. This mission has been a rude initiation into the life of a jōnin and captain. Minato can't help but think of how cruel the world has been to this child.

fin