A/N: In case you didn't know, a hitai-ate is a forehead protector, usually engraved with the symbol of the ninja's Hidden Village.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything to do with it.

Chapter 2: Team Minato "Reunites"

Kakashi arrived at the training grounds right on time. Running to get there before he was late actually helped him to adjust to moving in his smaller body. However, he wasn't sure if he was up to par with his taijutsu yet. Kakashi told himself that now he needed to get closer than usual if he wanted to land a hit on an opponent because of his change in height, but it would be harder to remember that in the heat of battle. It seemed that while he had kept his knowledge and skills, he needed to train some more before he could use them effectively.

As he walked closer, Rin and Minato finally came into view. Kakashi paused. They were right in front of him, alive and well. He felt overjoyed that he hadn't messed up yet, but so afraid that he would mess up and lose them once again.

"Good morning, Kakashi," Rin greeted him while smiling.

He was about to say "Yo", his standard greeting, but he found that he couldn't bring himself to speak. Kakashi just nodded in acknowledgement before turning away. He needed to stay composed, and he had just realized that not properly greeting someone was the norm for his younger self right now. Minato raised an eyebrow when he saw that Kakashi barely made it in time, but since Kakashi hadn't been late and broken the rules, it barely caused any suspicion. Kakashi was relieved. However, he noticed Minato and Rin were glancing at him worriedly. What did he do?

"Kakashi, what happened to your eye?" Minato questioned, concern evident in his tone. Kakashi froze. Since he was more used to seeing with one eye than two, he had almost forgotten about covering his Sharingan with bandages.

"It was a training accident," Kakashi replied with the excuse he had come up with in his apartment before putting the bandages on. He recalled that he had been obsessed with training at this time. Kakashi inwardly sighed with exasperation at his younger self. While training wasn't a bad thing, he had been no fun at all when he was this age. He could have at least been a nicer training-obsessed genius.

Minato frowned at him. "Did you get that checked out by a doctor?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Kakashi was notoriously stubborn.

"It's a minor injury, and I bandaged it just to prevent infection. It didn't damage my eye. I should be fine in a few days," Kakashi stated, crossing his arms and pretending to be slightly irritated at Minato's attention. He was actually elated. He had missed his teammates so much. The guilt he had carried around after their deaths was both lifted and heavier than before. He was determined to fix things.

"Just to be cautious, we should get it looked at. We don't want you to get permanent damage or anything just because you hate hospitals," Minato pointed out. This was why Kakashi had told Minato that his eye was barely injured, temporarily covering it with bandages instead of his hitai-ate. If he had lied and said his eye was unusable, Minato would have demanded he go to a doctor. Also, Minato knew Kakashi wasn't clumsy enough to permanently injure himself during training. He needed to get injured or fake an injury in actual combat somehow. Minato wouldn't question it if that was the case. Although, he would still have to deal with the problem of a doctor after that.

"I'm fine, Sensei. It was barely even a scratch," Kakashi said. Minato was clearly skeptical of Kakashi's statement, but he reluctantly let it go. However, Kakashi could tell that Minato was keeping a close eye on him, and that any sign of pain or discomfort would cause him to be dragged off to get his eye looked at by a professional.

"If you don't mind, I could heal you," Rin offered shyly.

"Save your energy," Kakashi replied, his response already prepared beforehand. "It'll be fine on its own." Rin pursed her lips worriedly, but she dropped the subject. Kakashi knew that Rin and Minato were used to his obstinacy, and it was this that caused her to stop so quickly. They knew now that if Kakashi said he wanted it to heal naturally, he would most likely not allow anyone near it.

Kakashi stood around for a few more minutes before starting to walk away. He had to train. He knew that he had just made fun of his younger self for doing nothing but training, but he really needed to get stronger. Not to prove himself different than his father anymore, but to protect the village and those he cared about. He would not lose them again.

"Where are you going, Kakashi?" Minato asked. Kakashi paused and turned back to face Minato.

"Training," Kakashi replied.

"We train as a team," Minato scolded. "I'm sure Obito will be here very soon."

Kakashi highly doubted this, but he sat down cross-legged and waited. Rin tried to start conversations with him, and Kakashi genuinely wanted to speak with her, but that would be out of character. He really needed to start introducing his new personality soon. It would be a lot more convenient. Instead of properly answering, he responded with grunts, one word answers, and sometimes even silence. Also, he didn't face her directly. If he looked at her for too long, he saw her bleeding, his hand going through her chest as her life faded away right before his eyes.

Nearly an hour later, Kakashi could hear painfully loud footsteps running towards the training grounds. That could only be one person. He got up off the ground, Rin quickly following suit. Obito burst through the trees.

"Did I make it?" he asked, slightly out of breath, most people not bothering to ask that question when they already knew they had kept everyone waiting for over an hour.

Kakashi has been prepared to respond with "You're late", the same as always, but the words died in his mouth. He had thought that he was finally getting used to seeing his teammates again, that he had prepared himself, but he had been wrong. The sight of his old team together was almost too much for him. In the past, he had failed all of these precious people. No… he would fail them in the future. Kakashi wanted to fall to his knees and beg for their forgiveness. He forcefully reminded himself that there was no need for forgiveness since he wouldn't fail them this time.

Kakashi finally noticed that everyone was looking at him, and he realized that he has been silently staring at Obito. "You're late. What's the excuse this time?" Kakashi scoffed a little too late, his tone less hostile than usual. No one seemed to notice, and if they did, they chose not to comment.

"Well," Obito began after sending a glare in Kakashi's direction, "there was a little girl who lost her cat, and she asked for my help. I agreed, and we searched all over the village. We finally found it in a tree, and I had to get it down for her."

"That's great, Obito," Minato said patiently. "However, keeping everyone waiting is very impolite." Kakashi wasn't sure if Minato believed him or just played along. Obito grinned sheepishly and Kakashi rolled his eyes. This movement didn't go unnoticed by Obito, and he opened his mouth to pick a fight when Minato cut him off before he started.

"Now that everyone is here, I have something to tell you." This piqued the curiosity of the three students.

"What is it, Sensei?" Obito asked excitedly.

Minato smiled. "We're going on a mission tomorrow. It's border patrol." Obito grinned and Rin seemed pleased as well. Kakashi was contemplating this newest development. He remembered this mission. They had actually run into enemy ninja while patrolling. This could be the perfect opportunity to fix the problem of his Sharingan and get his eye "injured" so he could cover it up with his hitai-ate like usual, no questions asked.

"Are you up for this, Kakashi?" Minato asked. Rin watched him worriedly, and Kakashi noticed Obito glaring at him. He could also tell that Obito was wondering how he had gotten injured, but he didn't want to speak to Kakashi. Kakashi opted for ignoring him. He nodded to Minato, showing that he would go on the mission.

After that, they started training. While he trained, Kakashi was also thinking hard about tomorrow's mission. It would be his best chance to get rid of his Sharingan problem. He began to sketch out a plan, using his knowledge of how the mission had gone before.