Author's Notes: This is actually my very first take at Kakashi. Hehe, I've never tried looking at things from his perspective. Well, I thought it'd be fun. XD This is pretty short, but.. mm.. uhm... yeah. Oh, and, I might try turning this into an assortment of interrelated oneshots.. hehe so uhm... Please read and review?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

An Amendment

One of these days, you're going to abolish the three-man cell rule.

You'd think that, after all the failures and tragedies, God, after all the deaths, they'd see that there's an error somewhere, a chink in the chain, something… something wrong.

Yes, the three-man cell rule has got to go.

But no, the elders won't listen. It's tradition, they say. Well, how much do they like their "tradition" now that three of them are dead and the fifth's dead and you're, by God, you're Hokage? You're Hokage and you wish you're not, you're wishing that your student – the stupid one (who was not so stupid after all) – is here and you're perfectly willing to place the burden on his equally willing shoulders. But that would be irresponsible of you, wouldn't it?

And you wouldn't, not really. You'd rather die than add more misery to his miserable life. The story of that kid's three-man cell already has more angst than is normal. Seriously, how could a team get anymore dysfunctional when it's composed of an orphan boy with a monster inside him, another orphan boy whose family was killed, murdered, by his own kin, and… and Sakura?

Sakura was the normal one. There was no tragic story for her, just a bit of teasing from the other girls, hardly what you'd call a tragedy. In a world where wars and skirmishes are a way of life, people like Sakura are lucky. But that didn't last long, did it? She got her heart broken.

Yes, the three-man cell rule has got to go.

To hell with the elders, they're useless anyway. They're secretive and stupid and, well, they're mostly dead. At least your student did one thing right… and well, since there's only one elder left, then maybe you can easily strip him of his authority. Nobody's there to veto you, anyway, and you don't plan on refilling the roster of elders, either.

So, yes, this is probably the end for the three-man cell rule, as well as the elders. That's two traditions you're going to take down now.

Well, you guess you're going to have to abolish some of the old rules as well, particularly the one about traitors and executions and other things like that. Second chances, after all, never get old.

But that's really a lot of work. You're not sure you're up to it. You hate paperwork. Besides, you've yet to reread that latest (and last, regrettably… it's that three-man cell issue all over again and you're sicksicksick of it) issue of Icha Icha Tactics. And how can you give someone a second chance when he doesn't even want it?

"You can't expect me to let you pass, Sasuke."

"I have my reasons for doing this, Kakashi."

It gives you a slight pang of pride and hurt seeing him like this. He's strong, he's very strong, and he's as strong as you always knew he could be, maybe even more. He's your protégé, you've always favored him, you've always wanted him to be the strongest, only, and you wanted to be the one to teach him. And it hurts, God, it hurts, it hurts to know that he chose to learn from someone else. Because, really, what was it that you lacked?

"Move, Kakashi, or I won't hesitate to kill you."

Yes, the three-man cell rule has got to go. You've never been too keen about this rule anyway. And to think you thought they were different. Your team… they were yours, yours. God, you were cocky. You actually thought that you could break the cycle. They were supposed to prove that three-man cells could actually work.

You were wrong.

You'll probably die here, probably through that same technique you taught him… well, at least he considered one of the things you taught him useful… though, his life would've been better if he took to heart that one about teammates and trash instead…

Oh yes, he would've done a lot better. Why, he's seventeen now. He could've made it to ANBU and he would've probably had a girlfriend by now. You would've only had to wait for one year, just one year, and you could've shared the magic of Icha-Icha with him and Naruto. That would've been fun. You were actually looking forward to it.

Too bad… looks like the three-man cell rule's here to stay, after all.

Fin.