Warning: Foul/sexist cursing.

Xenophile

Kakashi remembered the last mission that he went on with Minato-sensei before his coronation as Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure. It was hard not to when it was such a messy, unhappy one involving an underground, lawless, fighting ring with exceptional rules that included no ninjutsu and a 'fight to the death' scenario.

…

"Son of a bitch!"

Panting lightly behind his mask, Kakashi tiredly inched against the arena cage wall, eying his enraged opponent from Wind Country warily. He had purposefully extended the match to buy more time for his sensei but he knew he had to end it soon before his stamina reached zero.

His adversary, now with mottled bruises from his forehead to his chin, growled at the young teen. "Stand still and fight like a man, you pussy."

Still with his back against the wall, Kakashi taunted through an aching jaw and mouthful of blood, "Talking about yourself now? You're being beaten by a one-eyed kid, asshole."

The crowd who was watching the spectacle jeered loudly. The enemy's face purpled dangerously. "You shut your trap!"

Breath caught in his throat, Kakashi jumped away nimbly when the large beefy man lunged at him. He skirted the arms that were trying to strangle him and placed a well-aimed kick at the other's midsection. With the kinetic momentum, he swept the legs out from underneath his opponent and locked him down in a taijutsu hold.

"Must not think uncharitable thoughts at sensei. Must not think uncharitable thoughts at sensei." Kakashi, through gritted teeth, bit out, "Stop struggling."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you, you little brat!"

Hissing dangerously, the 'little brat' leaned close and said lowly, "We know exactly what you and your crazy cult are trying to do. As of right now, your leaders are being picked off. One by one. Give up."

The thug seemed to struggle that much harder when he realized just who exactly was holding him down. "You won't succeed you bastards!" babbled the fanatical xenophile that was 'helping' Land of Water. "We'll raze the Land of Fire and-"

"Can't hold…much longer…" The Leaf-nin managed to free one hand and 'illegally' jabbed at a nerve cluster at the base of his opponent's neck.

The enemy immediately ceased all movement, knocked out. The crowd that surrounded them beyond the chain-linked cage booed loudly and began throwing food articles at the centre stage. Kakashi, alert with adrenaline, disengaged his hold and staggered onto his feet. He winced slightly, feeling the bruised ribs and broken jaw keenly, and eyed the rowdy crowd.

"…Next time I have to remember not to get wheedled into being the punching bag decoy," muttered the young jounin under his breath.

A loud commotion drew his attention. The angry referees were unlocking the door to the cage but a sudden blur repelled them away before they could enter the arena.

"Good job, Kakashi. Our mission is almost complete."

The teen, recognizing the back of his compatriot, felt relieved for the backup but grumbled nonetheless, "You owe me, sensei."

Minato Namikaze, standing at the entrance of the cage that held him captive, tilted his head over a shoulder to give him a winning smile. "At least I'm not late – just in time, even."

"Ah." Kakashi dipped his head and rubbed his sore neck, walking slowly towards the man. "I guess. They are foaming at the mouths, aren't they?"

One of the referees he was referring to, who was also a shinobi from Land of Water, opened and closed his mouth upon recognizing the blond Leaf-nin.

"It's the Yellow Flash!" Panicked, the shinobi yelled out, "Scatter!"

This triggered pandemonium.

"Well now…" As the crowd ran for the exits, Minato calmly scratched a cheek, grin just a touch evil. "Is this really necessary?"

Standing beside his sensei, Kakashi stared at the man blandly, "I hate chases."

"Sorry." The blond jounin passed back his pupil's hitai-ate that he had kept for safe keeping and teased, "I didn't peg you as a complainer though."

He tied the item over his left eye. "This really is all your fault sensei," drawled the teen as the pair made for the exits at a more sedate pace.

"I'll overlook the fact that you're in pain and likely trying to take out your frustrations on the only living, breathing person willing to listen, Kakashi-kun."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that and said seriously, "Next time you can be in the dangerous fighting ring and we'll call it even. Though we'll need a disguise so you don't scare off the enemy…What about purple hair?"

"Sure," agreed the blond gamely. "But let's agree to go over your evil plans after finishing this mission, neh?"

Without warning, Minato grabbed his wrist and in a flash they were gone.

Yearnings

Leadership. Yondaime Hokage-sama thinks a lot about the future, about the enemies that circle Konoha like hyenas hidden in the wings of night. He considers the way verbal skirmishes between nations toe the lines of war only to be smoothed away by political charisma. He has the memories of the confrontations etched down on paper and ink – the Kumo-nin and their suspicions, the Iwa-nin and their blood-drenched ties with Konoha, and the Suna-nin who keeps them in arms length. He worries if enough funds are entering the coffers – will the missions pour in with war ending? Will the population have an economy to sustain on into the next generation and generations later? He reflects on the state of their young children living in a struggling Konoha, the ones who will someday carry and guard the Will of Fire. He hopes with his all that they keep this mantra close to their hearts with hands aimed to protect.

The life he had yet to live.

Family. Minato Namikaze thinks of the present and the wonderful Kushina Uzumaki who he is married to, claimed all but in name. He makes a list of what still needs to be bought for the nursery and remembers how two became three in their little home by the skirts of Hokage Mountain. Yearnings of everyday normalcy are especially strong when he is with his family; there is just not enough time with his obligations to really live. Regardless, he can see the heart in the smiles shared and feel the love in their daily routines. Happiness dwells under their roof and he cannot ask for more.

The life he is living.

Melancholy. Minato-sensei thinks of the past and wonders how he could have done better for his students. Where did he go wrong? How did his actions ultimately lead all his students to meet such untimely ends? He regrets how he failed and left Obito to his fate in the rubble, unable to save the boisterous Uchiha from his compassion. He is remorseful over Rin who was left to die during the final skirmishes of the war, still vividly remembering finding her cooling corpse, her hands clutching the Hiraishin dagger close to her heart in a prayer. He repents on how he lost Kakashi to the identity of ANBU Dog without a fight, his rule overturned by the council and the regretful Sarutobi-sensei.

He worries. How can he protect Konoha when he couldn't protect his precious students?

The life he lived.

Zealous

He watched as zealous Naruto Uzumaki dashed ahead of the team, chortling gaily as he provoked the ever staid Sasuke Uchiha. The latter boy grumbled under his breath as he chased after the 'blond idiot'. Sakura Haruno, the volatile female of their 'two boys, one girl' team dynamics, walked at a more calm pace, long pink hair swaying with each step.

My team.

"Hey Sasuke, you bastard! Betcha can't run up those trees faster than me."

"Naruto…" growled Sakura in warning. "What the heck do you think you're doing? We're on a mission you can't-"

"In your dreams," retorted Sasuke, interrupting the girl.

"-challenge Sasuke-kun with something so trivial…" Her voice trailed off and she started, "But Sasuke-kun, you can't seriously-!"

"AWESOME! HAH!" Naruto grinned and crouched into a 'start' position. "Three…"

Sasuke shifted his feet into a better position.

"…Two…"

Sakura frowned severely at Naruto and turned to look at him. "Sensei…"

"…One…"

Sighing, Kakashi said curtly, "Naruto. Sasuke."

"But Kakashi-sensei…" whined the blond pitifully. "This C-rank is so boring!"

He was still not used to the pout from Minato's look-alike.

Sasuke snorted, "You would have lost anyway, idiot."

"You mean I would've won!" screeched the blond indignantly. "You're the slow one, bastard."

"Stop arguing with Sasuke-kun, Naruto, and don't call him names!"

"Sakura-chan…" balked Naruto when he was reprimanded by the pink-haired girl. "Sasuke started it first!"

"Tch." Sasuke turned away from his two teammates coldly. "You challenged me and then backed down. Coward."

"What did you say?"

"Here we go again." Kakashi looked up at the sunny sky and heaved a big sigh as Team Seven squabbled away. "We weren't that bad, neh, Obito?"

No, definitely not.

…Or were they?

At least, he didn't think Obito and him were as bad as Team Seven…Then again, maybe just in case…

...

The letter Kakashi penned that night curled delicately in the bonfire. Smudged words turned ivy green then grey as the ink and paper dissipated into ash.

...

Dear Minato-sensei,

Thank you for having the patience of a saint.

Kakashi

A/N: And that's it! Thank you everyone for reading this story. A special thank you to all the reviewers over the last two point five years (in order of reviews :D!): DRAGONLILIES, Black Firelight, Dubhshlaine d'Aubigny, ToastWeaselofDOOM, charredfeathers, SlimReaper, Prescripto13, DarkAngelJudas, Jumpingbeans480, cdkobasiuk, Sarcastic Tofu, Mama san Saki, stoneygeek, dragonwitch250, Furionknight, WitchOfTheWilds, upandover, Wolf Named Deidara, Seiffer, Angelforver06, narutofan, intoxicatedasphyxiation, Wenxi, Immortalis Cruor Elf, tigsterz, JaketheDog33, 3, Seeing Sasha, and last but not least, Mir.

Ciao.

~Phoenyxx