A/N: Naruto is Kishimoto's. Enjoy! And if it pleases, plase leave a review? Thanks!

Who knew that the hardest part of having your face carved into a mountainside was not the earthworks? Not Kakashi.

As per tradition, the Fire Daimyou had sent his court's top artists to paint the new Hokage's portrait and design the base model of his likeness that was to be carved into the Hokage Mountain. It was supposed to be a welcome gift from the Daimyou – allegedly.

Kakashi hadn't thought much of it at first, assuming that it would be a straightforward affair: just sit still for a couple of hours while the painters and sculptors did their work. It would be boring, but painless, which was all that mattered in the end.

He was only half-wrong.

For the past six hours, the group of artists had been in heated debate. Over his mask. Whether they actually disagreed with one another was yet to be determined though. Kakashi couldn't tell because their words said no while their loudness said yes. In ecstasy or anger, that wasn't entirely clear either.

"The mask must absolutely be as smooth as possible! It is a blank canvas, a mirror, an uncompromising wall, a dangerous unknown quantity!"

"It stands as a beacon of unity, a great protector ever present and a promise for the future that anyone can have their face beside it! There, allies can see their greatest desires reflected back at them, while it inspires respect and orderliness in the hearts of those who look upon it!"

"And we haven't even talked about the scar yet! It must be set apart from the natural texture of the terrain to ensure its readability. It must stand unmistakable as a representation of pain and sacrifice and the vertical fortitude necessary to withstand it! Everyone who has lost a limb or some other intangible part of themselves will be able to see their own suffering acknowledged."

(Incidentally, it was at this point that Kakashi realized that he'd been keeping his left eye closed out of habit. He opened it then, but none of the artists noticed.)

"But if you add the scar you take away from the universality of the piece and exclude those that don't necessarily see themselves represented that way! The Hokage must be there for everyone, not just a few! I say we take artistic license and minimize it so that it rests at the border between intentional carving and a natural feature of the rock. It will enhance the idea of strength, making sacrifice literally 'only natural'."

Kakashi sighed. The arguments went round and round and back to where they started, with nothing gained in the process. At least they had finally moved on to a different feature of his face (though he hoped that they didn't spend another six hours discussing the finer points of that). Did any of it matter? Kakashi only had the one face. Civilians were weird.

He consoled himself with the thought that it was good practice for the future. He expected a large part of his job would be like this, sitting down patiently while others talked themselves to exhaustion around him. There was also comfort in the fact that no one had felt the need to ask for his opinion yet.

Six months later, Kakashi's face joined the others on the mountain. Out of curiosity, he dredged up the memories of everything that the artists had said that it "should be" during those long hours.

He didn't see any of it. It was just his face.