Five-year-old Kakashi clung to the side of his father's pant leg as they were forced to stand in a single line. The little boy was somewhat frightened by all the strangers around him and couldn't quite understand why he was standing in a river. His ears seemed to be muffled by some unknown force, but he could faintly hear the sound of bells ringing and nameless voices.
Kakashi's father put a firm hand on his son's back, urging him forward with all the other people moving. At the front of this line, Kakashi saw an old man in white robes holding a book and raising his hands in the air to make some sort of sign or seal, Kakashi decided. It scared him, really, when he saw a person dunk another into the water with his chest facing upward, forcing the person to stay underwater until the man in white finished his words and made his sign from his forehead to his chest, then left to right.
Kakashi's heart raced when he thought that they were going to drown the man, but was slightly relieved when they pulled the man up to breathe in the precious oxygen into his lungs. He turned to look at his father, but noticed that he wasn't paying any attention to him. Sakumo's eyes seemed rather blank to him, so he tugged on his pant leg, "Dad, what are they doing?" he asked nervously.
His father didn't answer him but pushed him forward instead. The line was moving and they were next. Treading through the water, Kakashi's anxiety began to build until the man in white motioned him forward. He still couldn't hear anything and was startled when he felt his father put a hand on his back and chest, immersing him under the water.
Kakashi thought he stopped breathing and he opened his eyes to look up at his father under the water. Everything was frozen in time at that moment, and he started to feel cold. The young boy jerked his head up when he felt like his lungs were burning, but he felt the strong hold his father had on him that kept him under the surface. He kicked his legs a little when he felt himself take a breath and swallow the water that strained its way down his throat. Why wasn't his dad letting him up to breathe, he wondered fuzzily, did he do something wrong?
His chest burned and his limbs were moving on their own accord now as he shook and thrashed in his father's strong hands. Soon, all he could see was black. He was numb and didn't feel it when his father lifted him from the water to cradle him in his arms, close to his chest. Maybe he had a seizure; maybe he died, but he wasn't sure because Kakashi could feel something in his head start to change and form. Perhaps it was giving birth to a new insight, but he couldn't remember now.