Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto – although I think that's pretty obvious
A/N: I've been thinking about writing something like this for a while, so here it is :)
Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Doubt and hesitation
It wasn't his choice, it really wasn't.
Kakashi didn't know what to expect when he woke up on the edge of a small clearing in the late afternoon, or how to process being half his normal size - sporting a scarf instead of a mask, and one normal eye rather than two.
It really wasn't his choice.
In fact, Kakashi had no clue how he got there in the first place. His memories of the past few days were blurry, and his pint-sized body left him with a lot of questions. He concluded that he was either having a strange dream, or he was under a genjutsu.
So, without sitting up, without tearing his gaze from the rays of sunlight tearing through the overhang of trees, and without hesitation, he spoke a half-hearted:
"Kai."
And nothing happened.
Well then, not a genjutsu.
With a resigned sigh, Kakashi sat up and observed his surroundings. The grass was worn with use and slightly singed in some places, but still alive and well-kept. Some broken kunai and shuriken were strewn across the field, and a few training posts lay off in the distance. A small pond located just to the left of Kakashi sparkled in the scattered rays of sunlight that fell between branches of tall trees worn with age.
It was a training ground. Albeit one Kakashi didn't recognize, but still a training ground nonetheless. The climate, weather and terrain seemed to match that of fire country as well, which was strange, but still not as strange as Kakashi's height and sharingan eye.
He needed more information. The dream felt too real – real enough to put him slightly on edge. And in case it wasn't a dream, he needed to find out what was going on. Sooner rather than later.
So, Kakashi left the training ground in search of something that would give him more information. Before departing from his solitude, however, he pulled down the fabric of his Hitai-ate over his left eye. The chakra that had been leaking from his eye (even though it was closed) immediately stopped as soon as the fabric locked it in.
The chakra leakage was something he hadn't had to deal with in a while. Not since the fourth war, when his sharingan was stolen and left eye promptly healed.
"Maa, life never gets old, does it?" Kakashi walked along a downtrodden path until he reached a bustling street filled with talkative civilians. Yet, as he walked through the lively crowd, Kakashi could sense overlying tension in the air. What happened?
Then he looked up and saw the looming Hokage monument of Konoha. A monument with only three heads. The sight reminded him of a time plagued with nightmares. He hoped this wasn't a nightmare, they had started going away recently.
Kakashi sighed. He had no clue what was going on, and he was too exhausted to put up with the strange situation. Could you really blame him though? At this point in Kakashi's life, the number of things he experienced had worn him down; he lived through two world wars, survived while the majority of his friends died, and watched his students surpass him to literally become gods.
Becoming Hokage didn't help with this disposition either. He never really wanted that honor. It wasn't one of his dreams or aspirations - unlike his predecessors that fought so hard for it.
He wished he could just pass the hat off to his student, who was obviously more deserving of the role. But not yet. Kakashi knew that even though Naruto saved the world and became the strongest shinobi in it, he was still too inexperienced in politics and too unprepared to become the Hokage.
Of course, these facts still didn't help him embrace the situation. Not to mention it got under his skin when people called him "Lord Sixth".
Kakashi's thoughts were interrupted when he noticed the strange looks passing civilians were giving him. He tried to ignore it at first. It would make sense for them to look at him with confusion, considering his predicament.
A small child that looked exactly like their Hokage when he was younger wandering around? The sudden disappearance of half of a mountain? Yes, that would warrant confusion.
But these people… they were looking at him with distaste – like he disgusted them. As he passed by, happy faces dulled and slowly screwed up. Eyes narrowed, and glares pierced him from all sides.
This circumstance would then repeat. The previous civilians would return to what they were doing before with slightly less vigor, and new ones would continue on with the action.
It brought back memories from long ago.
Kakashi walked slightly faster, trying to get away from their heavy stares. His feet unconsciously led him to the place that was so ingrained in his memory he could probably paint a picture of it in his sleep. He only stopped once the memorial stone was in sight. It looked about the same if you weren't paying close attention, but as he got closer, Kakashi noticed a jarring difference.
The names.
The names were… less.
Not - not... not the countless number of names he remembered.
Not his memorial stone.
Kakashi stumbled away, nearly tripping in his haste. He became hyper aware of his small stature and sharingan eye. The distasteful stares, the three Hokage faces, the training ground that he recognized from only so long ago, the dull ache in his heart.
A silly idea popped into Kakashi's head.
With a frantic few steps forward again, he fell to his knees and traced his hand across the accursed stone, scanning it desperately for one name in particular.
Obito Uchiha.
The name was not there.
Kakashi let out a staggering breath of relief that he didn't realize he was holding; but through that relief, he noticed that some things weren't adding up.
"How… How could Obito's name not… my eye is… -it doesn't make sense!" Kakashi punched the base of the stone in confused frustration. "It's a dream though. It has to be, so of course it wouldn't make sense… of course…"
Kakashi felt childish. What had gotten into him? What a foolish idea. Time travel? Yeah right, that wasn't possible. It was a dream. A dream.
Kakashi walked again, leaving behind the haunting memories that surrounded the memorial stone, and cleared his head. No need to get worked up. Kakashi put his hands into his pockets and slouched slightly, ignoring the out-of-place stares directed towards him.
He acted like he would in any other situation, but the monotonous steps that he forced to remain even wracked at his insides. The wait heightened his anticipation by the second. His body felt cold.
He had arrived at his destination.
The gates of the Hatake compound soared above his tiny frame. Kakashi slowly placed a hand on the gate and pushed it open, noticing that the entrance seal still responded to his chakra signature.
He cautiously walked into the yard of the compound. Even if this was real, there was no way his father would be alive. It would probably be right after the Kannabi Bridge mission, and right before Obito's name was carved into the stone.
Yes, that's it. So, don't.
Don't get your hopes up.
The scarf around his face felt suffocating and out of place. He never wore it after the academy, except for that one day - the day…. the day his father….
Kakashi walked through the front door of the compound and lifted the headband off his sharingan, using it to look for anything suspicious. After seeing nothing, he headed directly through the hallways towards the study and stood outside the door.
He won't be in there. He won't. He...
SHLUUNK!
Kakashi threw the door open.
A choked, tortured noise that clawed at his heart and turned his body inside out emerged from his lips. Kakashi cautiously walked over to the man slumped against the floor. His eyes felt hazy despite the sharingan capturing the moment with perfect clarity.
A cough.
"K-kaka… shi…"
Kakashi's eyes darted up. His father was still alive.
In a flash, he was kneeling by the man's side, forcefully pushing away his suspicious thoughts. Thoughts about how it was supposed to be a dream, how his father was still alive despite the sharingan that weighed heavily in Kakashi's left eye.
How everything was beginning – but only just beginning – to make sense. The naïve idea that the world just might be giving him a second chance was steadily gaining more weight.
Kakashi flipped his father onto his back and maneuvered his hands around the tanto to put pressure on the wound. Sakumo could only look at Kakashi through dying eyes as his son fought to save his life.
Kakashi ignored the blood on his hands that slowly pooled around him and his father. He needed help. Kakashi spiked his chakra as intensely and sporadically as he could while still maintaining focus on his father. Hopefully that would catch someone's attention.
Next, he quickly unwrapped the scarf from around his face and placed it against his father's wound in place of the gloved hands. They had allowed too much blood to seep through already.
He focused his sharingan on the wound and tried using what little healing jutsu he had learned from her. The bleeding had gone down, but there was still so much.
Oh God, oh God! Please hang on a little longer! Please!
The sun set completely. His father's breathing began to slow. Kakashi's eyes started filling with the tears he had been holding back.
No…
A burst of light engulfed and enshrouded him taking him out of the shadows. Loud voices filled up the silence and medics rushed over to his side. Kakashi quickly covered his left eye again before anyone could see what was really there.
"Someone take care of the kid! This man is still alive!" The medic to Kakashi's left shouted, noticing his dazed look and signs of shock. One medic immediately picked him up and began to carry him out of the room.
"You and you," she pointed to two other medics, "stay here with me to help me stabilize him enough to transport him. The rest of you, go back to the hospital and wait for our arrival!"
"But ma'am, with all due respect… that man is -"
"I don't want to hear it when I just gave you a direct order! Now, get moving!"
That was the last thing Kakashi heard before the medic carried him out and shut the door. Kakashi didn't have the heart to protest as he was brought outside and set on the steps of the porch. That was, until the medic reached for his face.
Kakashi slapped his hand away with a fierce look.
"I just want to pull down your mask, so you can breathe easier."
"My… mask? But…" Kakashi reached up to touch his face feeling the familiar fabric against his fingers.
He hadn't realized it was under the scarf the whole time. Kakashi relaxed only slightly; the barrier between his face and the world comforted him, especially in a moment like this, where his emotions were raw for the world to see without it there.
"Uh, kid? Listen, we're going to go to the hospital and do a quick check up on you to make sure you're okay, alright?"
Kakashi nodded. He was too exhausted to think. It was scary how much things could change so fast - as if he needed a reminder.
He was scared.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
After reading my chapters
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