Finally! I've got this chapter done. :P Every time I wrote, I hated it! This one is like the seventh or eighth draft or something, I forget which. But at least now I have a chapter I don't vehemently hate.

Disclaimer that I don't own. And enjoy!

Chapter Two

They were frozen in one place, and it took the two ANBU escorting them, giving them a nudge to break them out of their shock enough to step fully into the room, the door closing behind their guards who strode in with them. Stepping into the Hokage office, Minato hadn't expected to see his lost student before them, taller than before, of course. And older, so, so much older. A name was pulled involuntarily from his lips, a name he hardly spoke without feelings of nostalgia and self blame.

"Kakashi," Minato managed once more, this time sounding a little more composed. "You're Hokage… I didn't think taking up the Hat was something you were interested in doing."

He knew that the Hokage wasn't another version of himself, there'd been clues for that. So. Was he dead then? Perhaps retired? But that question could wait for the moment.

"Well, life throws continuous surprises at us," Kakashi remarked, noting with a pointed look, "We all find ourselves in situations we'd never considered."

That was certainly true.

"I'm assuming that you wanted to discuss our circumstance," Minato said. "What you're going to do with us, how much freedom we'll have, if any."

"If any? What do you mean by that?" Obito demanded, looking surprised at the idea that he wouldn't get to just roam around the village, with or without an ANBU tailing him.

"It's only logical," Rin said. "We're not from here. Imagine if someone had turned up in our village like this, 'Bito."

Obito frowned, but let it be.

"It's already been decided," Kakashi said. "After a lengthy discussion with the elders and my advisors, we've decided to put you in temporary accommodations until we can figure out how to send you home again. The research division has already requested assistance if any of you know how the device works."

"None of us really worked on it in our own world," Rin said. "But sensei might be able to help, after all the briefings he had to go to."

"That's true," Minato mused.

"That would be a great help," Kakashi said. "Right now, though, we can go over everything briefly, so you can help me understand why you're here."

"Since you've read likely the reports," Minato said, "you would know the reason we're here, even though the three of us weren't the first choice for the mission."

Nodding, Kakashi said, "That's something that the council is still debating."

The man before them was so different, Minato realised, truly comprehended. And yet, there were still something he could spot instantly. Like when his former student was uncomfortable in a situation, as he was right now. It was obvious that it was because they were there, but to what extent was it? Pushing that aside for the moment, he listened as Kakashi spoke once more.

"Tell me yourself, then, why you're here," he asked. "From what the report says, you were sending a team on with the device anyway."

"Well…" Minato started, only for Obito to interrupt.

"We were going to see if we could find someone willing to help," he said. "The village was under attack, and we were losing, badly. In fact, everyone else might have already lost while we've been here."

"We were hoping to get a boost in numbers, if only just to repel the invaders," Minato added in. "But with the direct attack on the village… Well, I don't know how much of it will actually still be there if and when we go back."

"If?" Rin and Obito both asked at once.

"That depends on what happens here," he told them, "and whether or not the device can be reversed. Didn't anyone tell you two that?"

His two former students and fellow dimension travellers shook their heads.

"Anyway," Minato went on. "The three of us were cornered near the device with no escape. I suppose it was an act of desperation that had us activating it and coming here."

This whole time, Kakashi had been listening attentively, and now, he sighed and briefly closed his eyes. "I don't know about if we can actually figure out how to send you back," he said. "In the meantime, it's been decided that the three of you will be housed in one of our guest safe-houses. You'll be able to go into the village if you need to, but you will use a henge, and be escorted by ANBU at all times. We would prefer not to advertise that you're here, for various reasons."

"Why do we need a henge and escort to go in the village?" Obito demanded.

"Think about it, 'Bito," Rin told him, jabbing him in the ribs. "We don't want to run into someone we know and mess something up. Or even into ourselves!"

Obito grunted, whether in pain from the jab to his ribs, or acknowledgement of Rin's words, Minato had no idea. What he did know, was that Kakashi stiffened at her words. It was slight, barely noticeable, but Minato saw it. And it seemed the so far silent Shikamaru also noticed, because he chose that moment to speak up.

"That's only half right," he drawled in that typical lackadaisical Nara way. "You may run into someone who would recognise you here, but none of you will be coming into contact with yourselves."

Minato went cold at that, just knowing what was about to be said. Obito, on the other hand, certainly did not get it.

"What? Did you send us off on some mission or something?"

Kakashi and Shikamaru exchanged a look, then, after a nod from his Hokage, Shikamaru said plainly, "You're not on a mission. You're all dead."

Minato sighed even as Rin and Obito's jaws slackened. Way to break the news, he thought.

So what did you think? Review please! :)