Here's Chapter 2. I honestly don't know what my update speed will be concerning this story, seeing as I chose to write it in my spare time. I can only hope that I don't disappoint when my chapters do manage to come out.

After some research, I also have finally decided on a rough timeframe and ages for this story. Here's what I've decided (in handy list-mode).

It is some random day in August (take your pick), the year before Obito's death.

Minato- 23

Obito- 12

Kakashi- 11

Rin- 11

All the three students are Chunnin at the moment. Minato is now 23 instead of 20, since, apparently, he becomes Hokage a few months after Obito's death. I've yet to find a specific age stated for when he became Hokage, and 24 just seems to stick with me, so that's what it'll be for this story.

"Blah" = talking

'blah' = thinking

Now that all that's out of the way, please enjoy this next chapter.

Disclaimer: Naruto and all things associated do not belong to me.

Chapter 2

It was definitely a sensation that Minato hoped to never experience again. Not that the jutsu was painful so much as…strange. He doubted he would ever find the words to explain just what it felt like.

"I think I'm going to be sick…"

That would be a good place to start.

Obito clutched his stomach as he picked himself off the floor. In all twelve years of his life, including the ones he'd spent as a ninja, he'd never felt anything like this before. Just standing up alone was sending another wave of nausea all the way down to his toes. The closest he'd ever felt to this was that one time his two-year-old cousin, Itachi, threw up in his face while he was yawning-

He ran for the bushes and promptly emptied the contents of his stomach.

"How do you even throw up if you're a spirit?"

Rin, though she couldn't help but agree with Kakashi's question, also felt like joining Obito. The aftereffects of the jutsu had her pale and shaky, and she felt sick. In all honesty, she couldn't fault her teammate for throwing up, despite them being ninjas. Not when her own stomach was pleading for her to do the same.

Kakashi…Well, he seemed unfazed by the whole thing. Though if one were to look carefully, they would see that his face was indeed paler than usual.

While waiting for Obito to finish, Rin and Kakashi sat themselves down around Minato, who had seated himself on a log, his arms crossed and a thoughtful frown on his face. He looked up at Obito's approach, his frown easing into a smile as he regarded his students.

"Now that we're all here, I guess it's time to figure out just how far into the future we've traveled."

"How do we know it even worked, Sensei? I mean, we're in the same clearing, aren't we?"

"Yes and no."

Kakashi frowned, which only made Minato's smile widen. Kakashi hated vague answers.

"Do you notice anything different about this clearing?"

There was a brief moment of silence before-

"Ah! Old man Sarutobi and your perverted sensei are gone!"

Obito received a smack to the back of the head while Minato chuckled softly.

"Yes, that's one thing, I suppose."

"The trees…"

"That's right, Kakashi. If you notice, all the trees are taller. It's not a huge difference, and not easily noticed, meaning that we haven't gone too far. My guess is somewhere between eight to ten years."

"And that's not a lot of time?" Kakashi asked skeptically.

"Not for trees," Minato teased, slightly pleased at the slight glare he'd garnered from the stoic boy.

Now if only he could get him to laugh…

"The time of day is different too."

"Correct, Rin. We left at dawn. It's easily early afternoon right now."

Obito, after his failed contribution, was muttering to himself.

"Let's see, Sensei said ten at the most…so that means I'd be…"

He suddenly jumped up with a shout, gaining the attention of his team.

"Twenty-two!Twenty-two! That's almost as old as you, Sensei!"

Minato huffed.

"I'm not that old, Obito…"

Obito wasn't listening. Instead, he was practically jumping in place with a grin.

"Can you imagine all the cool stuff I must be doing right now?! I'm definitely in ANBU, since I can't imagine being in the police force. Not only is it boring, but I'd never get away from my family if I was."

Obito grimaced slightly at that, his eyes flashing in a few indiscernible emotions for a moment. Only Minato caught the brief glower Kakashi sent his teammate at the statement. A glower that made him sigh.

Obito would grow up to be one of few, of this he was sure. His compassion for others was evident in everything he did. His actions. His words. He was fiercely loyal to his friends and family (no matter how much he complained about the latter), and would move the world for them if he could. He had absolutely no doubt in his mind that Uchiha Obito would become a great man…

…but that didn't cover for the fact that he could be unwillingly inconsiderate at times.

Granted, he wasn't aware of Kakashi's past, but he had the feeling that the slip would've been made regardless of whether he'd known or not. It didn't help that Kakashi never opened up to anyone. It was only after being with him for so long that he began to see that the shield wasn't always there. There were looks of longing and loneliness. Looks of anger and envy. Looks of anguish and grief. All were gone in an instant, and all were there when he thought no one was watching. The times he'd caught those looks always made his heart ache.

It only made him realize how vulnerable Kakashi really was.

There was a lot that he wished he could do for him, but he knew that the only way for Kakashi to change would be if he wanted to. What good was advice if it was ignored or comfort if it was shunned? No, Kakashi had to come to terms with his past before he would be able to move on. Whether he did this alone or not was up to him, seeing as he could name three people that would be there in an instant should he only ask.

'Well, Obito might be a little late…'

He allowed himself a smile at that.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So where are we going first?"

"We have to figure out how much time has passed, remember?"

"Oh yea."

Team Minato (or Team 7 as they were also called) had entered the village without much difficulty. So far, it seemed the jutsu had done its job, as no one had called them out or even seen them. The difficulty they did have was mostly on Obito's part, and that was because he was the first to experience the shock of having someone walk through them.

"This is still really creepy," he muttered.

"I would've thought you'd find it cool," Minato asked in amusement.

"Don't get me wrong, Sensei. I'm sure it's every kid's dream to walk through walls-"

The thing that bothered the man was that he couldn't tell if his student was being sarcastic or not.

"-but it's just that…Well, it's almost like we're…dead."

An involuntary chill ran down Minato's back at the morbid observation.

"Don't say things like that!"

"Sorry, Rin-chan."

Rin felt her glare fade at Obito's obvious discomfort. Was he afraid of death? If he was, it would seem a little contradictory considering their position. She quickly discarded the option. Obito was many things, but she never once thought him to be one that was afraid of death (it was something she admired him for, actually). It had to be something else.

But what?

She stored the thought away for a later time. Right now, Obito seemed genuinely bothered by something. There was no way she'd let him stay that way. She was well aware of his role as the group's morale. He was their emotional support, and whatever mood he was in always leaked to the others, no matter how much Kakashi denied it to be the case. Not to mention that her own concern for him cancelled out any anger she might have held. He may be loud, tactless, and more than a little rash, but she didn't hate him. He could actually be really thoughtful and nice sometimes. She smiled slightly.

"I know what you mean," she said softly.

She knew she'd said the right thing when he turned and smiled gratefully at her.

"Thanks…"

To the others' surprise, he left it at that.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Remind me again why we're going to the academy?"

Rin withheld an annoyed sigh. Obito's strange mood hadn't lasted very long, and he was now back to his usual self…

She was finding it harder and harder to convince herself that this was what she'd wanted.

"Sensei told us to take turns choosing where we went. I want to go to the academy."

"She's right, Obito," Minato said lightly from his place behind them. "And since she's the one that won first choice, she chooses first."

He glared back at Minato, as if he were to blame for his loss. Minato only grinned cheerfully and continued to look around with his arms crossed behind his head.

'The buildings are newer,' he mused. 'Did something happen or did Sarutobi-san decide it was time for some renovation?…Is he even still Hokage?'

His eyes, as if to answer the question, focused on the Hokage Monument. Unfortunately, from their position, it was obscured, so he would have to wait. He shrugged, it was probably Jiraiya or something.

…He suddenly burst into laughter, scaring the crap out of his students.

"I am curious though," Minato added after he'd finally calmed down. "Why the academy?"

Rin, who had still been looking him a little warily, finally turned away and smiled.

"I want to see all the children. Maybe we'll know some of them. It's only been ten years right?"

She blushed happily at the thought that, perhaps, one of her children was in there. She always wanted children…

"That is a possibility…"

Obito snorted.

"Yea, maybe my cousin Itachi's still there. He'd be what, twelve? Hey, that's the same as me!"

His face grew strangely pensive.

"On second thought, maybe that's not such a great thing," he muttered quietly. "Sure hope the little squirt is out of the academy, at least…"

The concerned tone his voice had taken confused them, but before anyone could question him, he turned to Kakashi.

"What's with you? You haven't said a word since we got here. That's weird even by your stick-up-the-ass ways."

"Obito!"

Kakashi didn't reply, which only made Obito scowl. He would never, ever admit it, not even if he died, but he was starting to get a little worried. Kakashi would've usually said something by now, even if it was just to insult or criticize him. Not a word had been uttered since they left the clearing. It was unnerving.

"Would you just say something already?!"

"…You're too loud."

"What was that?!"

Even as he and Kakashi argued (well, more him than Kakashi), he couldn't stop the relief that flooded him at the comment or the smile that was tugging at his lips. He preferred this Kakashi to the other any day. At least this one gave him something to do…

They arrived at the academy not long after the end of their argument. Instead of immediately entering, they paused to study how it had changed. It was bigger, which was a good sign for Minato. It meant that there were enough children for a bigger size to be required. Could the war have ended? He hoped so. Also, like most of the buildings in the village, it was relatively new. Whoever was the current Hokage better be using their money wisely-

"Sensei is going to be Hokage."

Three startled heads turned from looking at the academy building to look at Kakashi.

"W-What did you say, Kakashi-kun?"

Kakashi merely pointed up to the monument. When they turned to look, Minato felt his heart stop. There, beside the three faces of probably the greatest ninjas the village had ever had, was a fourth face.

His face.

He couldn't breathe.

"Sensei!"

"Nice going, Kakashi! You killed him!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

And that's how the Yondaime really died.

Heh, not really, but it seemed like a good place to end this chapter. I know there wasn't much plot wise, but I started writing and then the characters sort of got away from me. They have a life of their own, I tell ya.

Ah, so some facts about how far they've gone. They are on the same day of the same month they left, only ten years in the future. Yup, Minato is that good. He can guess how many years have passed by looking at trees, and guess what folks?

Ten years means that they're just in time for a certain clan massacre.

Needless to say, Obito is going to get a big chunk of the next chapter to himself.

Now that I'm on the subject, I apologize if I seem to focus on any one character too much. I'm not going to lie and say I like them all equally, as I know for a fact that I love Obito and Minato to death, but I will definitely try to keep it even. If I do start playing favorites, let me know and I'll…write a chapter specifically for someone else or something…I dunno. I'll figure something out if it comes to that.

So far, no one has seen or heard them, keeping up the spirit thing. As to whether or not it'll stay that way…Well, you'll find out. This story will definitely focus more on Team Minato than anyone else though. Maybe Naruto will get a chapter to himself at some point, but it won't be anything you haven't already read in the manga or seen in the anime.

In reality, I had planned to include a few more things in this chapter, like a certain Kyuubi container and the Uchiha massacre, but I thought it would seem a bit strange considering it's going to take a much darker tone when I do write about them. While this chapter isn't exactly fluffy bunny and pretty rainbow material, it's still lighter than that stuff at least.

I do have a question, and hopefully one of you out there can help me out. From what I've read, Itachi is 5 years older than Sasuke. He graduated from the academy at age 7, and became Anbu captain at 13. If Sasuke is the same age as Itachi was when he graduated, that would put him at 7 and Itachi at 12. Itachi killed the clan that same year, right? If that's the case, then how could Itachi possibly have become ANBU captain at age 13 if he'd already killed the clan? It's something that's been bothering me for a bit now, which is also another reason I didn't get as far as the massacre in this chapter. It's probably a misunderstanding on my part, so if any of you know exactly how that works, I'd appreciate it if you let me know.

Anyway, I'm going to cut these notes off here, before they become as long as the actual chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time!