Wow… it's been way too long. Windows crapped on me and deleted all 6,000 words of this chapter. Not to mention that the entire operating system stopped functioning. So now I have my beloved Linux(Ubuntu) back and am ready for some cranked out chapters.

Thirteen, and maybe Fourteen, will end the beginning exposition and set-up. Then we can get into some good ol' plot. I've got so much in store for this, and I won't be giving up anytime soon.

"I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality." — Frida Kahlo

Thirteen

"You know, for some reason I feel like this didn't happen last time."

"Honestly? You're probably right."

For two men discussing time-travel, Sakumo and Jiraiya were being downright phlegmatic about it. After the Hokage dismissed them, Jiraiya had suggested grabbing Kakashi and stopping by the Yamanaka Clan's compound to pay Inochi a visit. Translation: we might as well get this over with now before you can take off in the other direction.

Now, though, they needed to figure out the best way to drop a bomb like time-travel on a man like Inochi Yamanaka, who was a loyal ninja to the Hokage. Not that Sakumo wasn't, but Kakashi felt strongly about not letting Sarutobi in on the secret just yet and he trusted his son's judgement. Anyone would agree that Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't the best with conflicting situations, and the future knowledge couldn't be leaked or found by Danzō, who probably had spies crawling around the Hokage Tower.

Luckily, Sakumo was pretty good friends with the Yamanaka Clan Head, and hopefully that would convince Inochi to keep a lid on things for now. Not to mention that Sakumo was pretty certain of his suicide in Kakashi's future, so things had already been changed. Kakashi didn't know anything about Sora, but he had a feeling that it happened a lot differently the first time, and that could completely change the outcome of the future. Even if the Hokage were to know, the memories wouldn't be nearly as useful as they would sound.

"Do you think Kakashi's back from training?" Sakumo asked as they approached the Hatake compound.

Jiraiya scratched his chin in thought. "Probably. Although Minato told me something about looking for Kakashi yesterday. Not sure why."

Swiping his blood on the lock of the front door, Sakumo didn't comment as he entered the front room of the compound. The first few days after his mission were somewhat fuzzy, but he did recall Minato being with Kakashi when he returned. It might have something to do with that.

The inside of the Hatake compound wasn't anything fancy considering Sakumo remembered his parents well enough to know that they didn't appreciate frivolous things, especially gaudy frivolous things. (Not that he found curtains gaudy, frivolous things, but that goes to show how much he agreed with his parents. Kaiya practically had a conniption at the lack of what she called "basic human conveniences" such as comfortable chairs, curtains, and wooden doors. She hated shoji doors.)

As soon as Sakumo entered the front room, he called, "Kakashi? Are you home?"

He received a halfhearted "yes" from most likely the living room, and walked in to see Kakashi and Minato sitting on the sofa covered head-to-toe in mud and leaves. If the sofa wasn't leather, then it would've been utterly ruined, not that it wasn't replaceable. He was more concerned with the bruises standing out on his son's pale skin and the exhaustion lining his face, though there was also a barely-noticeable amount of content.

"Hey Sakumo," Minato greeted as soon as Sakumo entered the living room. "I saw Kakashi training earlier and thought I'd help him out." For a brief moment, something akin to suspicion flitted across the new Jounin's features, but it was gone quickly and replaced with some concern. "He definitely needs some help with chakra control."

Sakumo nodded, already knowing as much.

Jiraiya stepped forward and gestured for Minato to follow him as he left for the kitchen. Sakumo knew his friend wanted him to tell Kakashi that they were going to go to Inochi's within the hour, but he was reluctant to drop that on his son so soon. He wouldn't want to relive all of his mistakes either, and that didn't account for the horrors that Kakashi had experienced only a few days ago. It hadn't even been a week since Kakashi had lain on a bloody battlefield with his only surviving student, slowly dying. That wasn't something that anyone would want to relive.

"What's up?" Kakashi asked. From the expression on his face, it looked like he might have his suspicions.

The White Fang sucked in a breath and ran his hands through his hair, one of his nervous habits when he wasn't on duty. He exhaled slowly and said, "I'm going to Inochi's today."

It was a testament to Kakashi's professionalism that he didn't show any outward reaction to this statement other than a brief closing of his eyes and a soft, almost inaudible exhalation of breath. Sakumo could almost see the brief emotions flit across his son's face, but they quickly settled into a mildly blank look, reminiscent of the vacant stares that ANBU most often sported. It bothered Sakumo somewhat, but he knew that it was a defence mechanism more than anything, and accounting for the current set of circumstances, he was completely content with letting Kakashi find any way possible to deal with them.

After the worst of it was over, after Kakashi could utilize his chakra effectively, after the immediate issues were resolved, that's when Sakumo would talk through everything with his son. When they'd both be able to really start fixing the things that were broken.

"Are you going right now, or…?" Kakashi asked, already rising from the sofa. Sakumo just nodded.

Jiraiya and Minato came in from the kitchen, the Toad Sage shooting him a searching glance before ushering Minato out the door. Sakumo watched them go when suddenly, Kakashi's tiny hand was in his and squeezing for all the kid was worth, as if he would disappear at any second like the remnants of a nightmare.

Konoha's familiar streets was a comfort for the White Fang. It might be subdued and the mood dampened, but he knew the layout like the back of his hand. No matter what would happen in the future, Konoha was a steadying constant that always pricked the back of his senses like a long-time friend. The people, while flawed and scarred and unerringly human, were also hopeful beyond all reason. They endured the worst hardships of war and survived the painful betrayals of their own; when life got tough, Konoha got going, and for that he was ridiculously proud of his village. Even during one of the worst moments of his life, he could still call Konoha home.

And that was something he would protect with his life.

The Yamanaka Clan compound was confusing, to say the least. Sakumo had only been there a few other times in his life, mostly when Inochi had needed a favor for T&I, but it would be hard to forget the ridiculous twisting hallways and purposefully confusing layout that most people found disorienting. Since he had the Lesser Dog Contract and his father had held the Wolf Contract, he found it pretty easy to navigate by scent alone so that the confusing twists and turns didn't get him lost. Yamanakas loved their flowers, and he could find the correct rooms by sniffing for Inochi's customary Bloodroots that sat on his desk.

The clan member at the gate was a short, sturdy woman with a gruff disposition and a perpetual frown. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a severe bun that pulled at the corners of her face, and from one look Sakumo could tell that this woman would take zero shit from anyone, elite Jounin or not.

"What's your business here?" the woman asked, moving to stand in front of the gate. She was shorter than he was, but that didn't diminish her intimidating air. He was impressed, really, since the woman was only a Chuunin.

"I'm here to see Yamanaka-sama," Sakumo replied respectfully. "The Hokage instructed me to visit sometime this week for an evaluation."

With a terse nod and a short "One moment", the woman disappeared inside the gate for a few minutes. Once she'd returned, the gate swung open to reveal the sprawling compound in all its confusing glory. Honestly, the place didn't look near as impressive as it was on the inside.

"Will you need an escort, Hatake-sama?" the guard asked, but Sakumo waved her—and the honorific—off.

"No need for that. Hatake-san is fine," he said, giving the woman a small smile. "It's hard to be the Clan Head of only two members." She didn't laugh, but the small upturn of her lips indicated her amusement and he counted that as a win.

During the entire encounter Kakashi was utterly silent, and it didn't take a genius to know what that meant.

Following his nose, Sakumo lead his son through the monotonous, twisting hallways of the Yamanaka compound with a sure step and confident nose. He didn't try to talk to Kakashi but instead let his son gather his thoughts and his courage because both of them were going to need it.

Inochi Yamanaka's study was just as unassuming as it was the last time Sakumo had been there. A worn wooden desk polished to perfection stood at the far wall of the room with a small vase of Bloodroots on it, giving off that subtle acidic smell like a mix between vinegar and bleach. It wasn't particularly pleasant, and he saw Kakashi's nose wrinkle as soon as they entered the room, but he was long used to it and found that most people couldn't detect an odor from the flowers at all.

If Sakumo hadn't known Inochi better, he might assume the man wanted to irritate him on purpose.

"I heard you were ordered to come, but I thought you'd wait as late as physically possible," the Yamanaka Clan Head mused as soon as the Hatakes entered the room. "You're not exactly known for your sensitivity."

Understatement, Sakumo thought sardonically, but just replied with, "I, unlike you, am a busy person and have other things to do than jab about how boo-hoo my life is, thank you very much."

He received an uninterested shrug in return. That's when Inochi realized Kakashi's presence and his eyes narrowed a little in suspicion and concern. "Why'd you bring the kid?"

Kakashi stiffened at "kid", and Sakumo idly wondered whether it got irritating for people not to have any respect for him. Since he was an ANBU captain and one of the most respected Jounin, the White Fang was sure that people talking down to him now probably drove him up the wall. Not that Sakumo would ever want people calling him kid again either.

"He's got a little problem that needs your expertise, but let's get this hour of whining out of the way first, shall we?" Sakumo said, already heading toward the door behind Inochi's study.

Shooting Kakashi a final glance, Inochi nodded and followed his friend. They entered a large, bright room with open blinds and some comfortable-looking chairs around a low coffee table. It was dust-free and gave off the impression that it was a lot more spacious than it really was. And although the clean, open feel gave most people comfort, it put Sakumo on edge. It was too innocent, too clean, too unassuming.

"I would start but I know you won't say any more even if I prompt, and we both know what you're here to talk about," Inochi said, leaning back in his armchair. "And I know as well as anyone that if you really don't want to talk, you'll sit here and bullshit me the entire time."

Sakumo hid a wince, but didn't refute that statement.

The problem wasn't necessarily that he didn't want to talk to anyone, but honestly, he didn't know exactly what he thought about the whole thing. First, he had to come to terms with the death of two of his original Genin students because of the betrayal of the third. Now he finds out that, never mind, one of them is actually still alive, but just chillin' in Suna for whatever reason. Excuse him for being confused as fuck and pretty unwilling to unload his weakest, most vulnerable emotions on another person, friend or not.

Inhaling slowly to stall, the Leaf's White Fang sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I don't know what to think," he admitted.

"About?"

"Any of it," he continued, gesturing vaguely. "This whole thing is such a clusterfuck and I'm just kind of stuck in the middle. As ninja, we're supposed to always complete the mission no matter the consequences, but I knew from the second we stepped foot in the way station that shit was about to go down. Akio was acting out of character, and I just assumed it was an ANBU thing, but I didn't think to ask if the Hokage really ordered him on that mission or not at the time.

"I can't help but blame myself for it. If I hadn't ignored one of the most important of the shinobi rules, looking underneath the underneath, then I wouldn't have gotten Korharu killed. They might not've been Genin anymore, but they were still my responsibility!

"How am I supposed to look Korharu's family in the eyes? How am I going to justify being a captain again if all I get my subordinates is an early grave? Yes, I've lost team members on missions before, but this time was different because this time I knew something was wrong. I knew that Akio was off. I should have known that the mission wasn't worth my loved ones' lives."

As soon as he'd begun, Sakumo found that he couldn't stop. The words just tumbled out of his mouth like vomit, unable to hold anything back or sensor. At the end, he was breathing heavy and his fists were clenched and trembling at his sides. Inochi looked a little stunned (probably because of how animated he'd gotten), but not surprised at what he'd actually said.

"You probably should've talked with the Hokage before taking Akio with you," Inochi began, startling Sakumo. "And you probably should've turned back when he started acting weird. But Korharu was a ninja and Sora still is. They knew the risks and they accepted them, accepted the fact that they might die at any time in their lives. You were their captain and they were your responsibility, but just because you're responsible for something doesn't mean that you're God. Shit happens, Sakumo. Don't take all the credit for it."

It's hard not to, the White Fang thought. Not with Kakashi also being my responsibility.

And maybe that was the real problem. Time-traveler or not, mentally thirty or not, ex-ANBU or not, Kakashi was his son, damn it! His five-year-old son, and Kaiya's only legacy. Kakashi had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and it was breaking his back, had been for a long time, ever since Sakumo had gone and left the suffering for him to deal with alone. Kakashi was falling apart, unraveling at the seams, and there hadn't been anyone there to pick up the pieces in far too long.

If Sakumo couldn't protect two fully trained Jounin, how was he supposed to protect Kakashi? In the next few years the ninja world would probably be in the midst of a bloody war, and with Kakashi's genius (that was even greater this time around) he'd be thrown into the thick of things faster than Kushina could say "ramen". The time-travel just complicated the entire thing a thousandfold, and it left Sakumo spinning and unable to get his bearings.

He'd never been able to hold onto anything. Whether it was the fraying ends of a bad relationship with his parents, the last members of his dying clan, his only sibling, his amazing and determined and beautiful wife, or his teammates, Sakumo was always forced to watch as it slipped through his fingers like water even as he clawed and scraped and strained to hold on for dear life. No matter how much he asked or demanded or pleaded, the world would always see it fit to take what he loved away.

That's why he would fight to his dying breath for Kakashi. He would not let the same thing happen to his son. There was no room for half-assing or self-pity or going in half-cocked. Kakashi, even though he'd confided in Sakumo, didn't really believe he would have any help in his mission. Anyone could tell that, even if he had let a few people in on the secret, he wasn't expecting any help or anyone to watch his back when he inevitably got himself in a fucked up situation.

Fuck that, Sakumo thought viciously. Kakashi is going to have my help whether he wants it or not.

A cleared throat brought his attention back to the matter at hand. Inochi stared passively at him, and Sakumo was sure that the Yamanaka was quite aware of his internal contemplation. He gave Inochi props for not asking, but just raising an eyebrow and giving some final advice.

"Look," the Clan Head affirmed. "Korharu, Sora, and Akio were your original Genins; we both know they meant more to you than the teams you've worked with briefly since. But Sora is coming back, and you can talk then. Just don't pretend this didn't happen, Sakumo." Here, Inochi paused and allowed a wry twitch of his lips to pass fleetingly across his features. "I know how you are—-so damn stubborn that you'd take a kunai to your balls and say you were fine."

"That was one time, and it was my upper thigh," Sakumo grumbled, but the poor attempt at humor got him to cough out a laugh.

Inochi cracked a shit-eating grin. "Keep telling yourself that, Hatake. Maybe one day someone'll believe it."

"I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" Sakumo asked rhetorically, throwing his hands in the air.

"Not a chance in hell." They both laughed.

Inochi had seen a lot of things in his life, but a time-traveler he had not. Interestingly enough, it wasn't because he hadn't heard rumors of it being done. While most people tended to be the 'see-it-to-believe-it' type, he was a mind expert, and he'd ripped apart so many minds in his long tenure as a T&I ninja that there wasn't much he hadn't heard about or come into contact with. People in general were fickle, and that's why he didn't have the patience that his son did to methodically sift through a spy's head; his job was to get information, and he'd trash someone's psyche until he found it. He slept just the same at night. (Not that that was always good, mind you.)

So after the standard session with Sakumo, which was truly more for everyone else's benefit than the man himself, Inochi found one of the most interesting people he'd ever come across: Sakumo's son, Kakashi.

He'd felt off-put when he first saw Kakashi in his office with Sakumo but hadn't paid much attention to it, but now that he'd gotten a closer look, he realized why. The kid was absolutely, irrefutably, and very likely irrevocably shattered. It didn't even take a psychologist to see how the kid was in a constant state of awareness, as if at any time someone would jump out of the shadows and shove a kunai for his throat. Kakashi was uncomfortable with any type of physical contact that he hadn't initiated himself, as demonstrated by the suppressed flinch when Sakumo put a hand on his shoulder, which spoke of years of fighting and hostile engagements. It was an all too familiar sight to Inochi, who had been tasked with rehabbing veterans of the Second Shinobi World War, but it drove a wedge in his armor to see that look on someone so young, whether that was counting Kakashi as five or thirty.

A memory unbinding, however, was a bad, bad idea. Any shreds of sanity Kakashi was still holding on to would be obliterated as soon as Inochi was finished. Binding memories might have been a fairly new technique, but that didn't mean he hadn't seen the effects of spies that they'd experimented on.

An Iwa spy that had participated in the Second Shinobi World War as a very young kid was driven insane within hours, and her memories had only been bound for a day. Granted, she'd been a part of Iwa's ANBU since she was fifteen and her specialty had been seduction (not to mention multiple POW situations), but from the little he'd been informed of Kakashi's past, there was plenty of experiences that would be equally as traumatising, if in different ways. Not to mention that Inochi had absolutely no idea how long the memories had been bound. It seemed highly unlikely that Kakashi's student had had the time to bind the memories and explain the pretenses of the time-travel, especially without the younger Hatake's knowledge.

So Kakashi could be looking at weeks, or even months, and Inochi had no idea what that would do except that it would probably be bad. Foaming-at-the-mouth type of bad.

When Kakashi was informed of this, however, he said something that sparked an idea in Inochi.

"Everything has to be so abrupt, doesn't it?" Kakashi grumbled. "I wake up straight away to see my dead father, I meet my dead sensei within a day, and I see the ghosts of the Third Shinobi World War within the week. No warning, no nothing, and now this."

"Wait," Inochi said, the idea forming in his mind. He could see how it was possible, though it hadn't been attempted before, nor would it be pleasant, but it was possible and that's all that mattered.

"I'll gradually unbind the memories," he said, looking between Kakashi and Sakumo. "I can go into your mindscape and find the memories that need to be unbound, and then as soon as one of them is free, your father or anyone else you want here with you can help you deal with whatever the memory was. That way, thirty years of shit won't just be dumped on you, but instead you can work through everything as you go. It won't take me long to just find a specific memory, and it won't look suspicious to the Hokage to stop by maybe once a week. Large sections of relative calm can be done together, while the more distressful stuff can be done with more precision and isolation." Hopefully, he added on in his mind.

Sakumo glanced at his son before turning to Inochi, and the Clan Head found it amusing that, while the White Fang wasn't deferring to his son, he was being more conscientious than the Yamanaka had ever seen the man. He'd seen Sakumo talk disrespectful Chuunins and enemy Jounins into blubbering heaps with ease. Everyone knew who the White Fang of Konoha was, and it was common understanding that enemies avoided Sakumo Hatake like the plague else they see what kind of tree-huggers the Land of Fire was supposedly raising. (Inochi scoffed every time he heard that particular jab; it wasn't original or imaginative.)

It wasn't that it was uncalled for or unexpected, but Inochi just wasn't used to seeing Sakumo in such a personal setting. In fact, the previous meeting had gone more in-depth and resembled a true therapy session more than any ever had in the past, and if Kakashi's time-travel was the cause… Well, Inochi figured it couldn't be the worst thing to happen.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he payed more attention to the situation at hand. "Either way," he added, "it would be beneficial to begin now. Unless you want to wait until tomorrow, of course, since memory unbindings can take hours."

Kakashi took a deep breath and gave a resolute nod. "I'll do it. What will we start with first?"

"I thought it would be easiest to start from the beginning of your memories through about right now. I'm assuming, of course, that nothing traumatic happened up until this point in your original timeline?" Inochi ventured. Remembering the mission Sakumo just got back from, he added, "I can leave out the last month or so, if you want."

"If you would," Kakashi said, bowing his head just slightly in thanks.

Sakumo asked if he could stay, which Inochi insisted on, and Kakashi sat down on the floor in the middle of the room with all the furniture having been pushed to the side. Inochi knew that if they weren't on the floor to begin with they'd end up there eventually, and it would make it easier for the mind-walk to take place if there weren't any outside disturbances, especially ones like hitting the ground mid-way. In the T&I interrogation rooms, prisoners were restrained so they couldn't move, but that wouldn't be, well… preferential in this situation.

"I will warn you that it's going to feel extremely weird and most likely uncomfortable—-" Inochi began, but Kakashi cut him off.

"Like a nail through the forehead." The words were straightforward enough, but there was a layer of meaning underneath the surface that the Clan Head couldn't begin to fathom, nor was he going to bother trying.

Let's get this over with, he thought as he formed the hand seals for one of his clan's newest and most adventurous jutsus. He felt more than saw his surroundings dissolve away, and the familiar blanket of another's mind settling on his shoulders was comforting in a way he was sure was unhealthy. He spent so much time within other people's heads that when he was left alone with his own thoughts, he found it both painfully loud and disturbingly quiet. There wasn't the lulling background static that surrounded him when he delved into another's psyche which just accentuated his own thoughts until sometimes he swore he was yelling at himself.

As Kakashi's mindscape faded into existence around him, he figured that even if this kid was miles off the deep end and not a single word of his story was true, Inochi at least had the opportunity to alleviate the piercing persistence of his own thoughts.

Right off the bat, Inochi knew something wasn't right. Instead of a field or a house or any of the typical scenes that comprised the majority of humanity's mindscapes, he came face-to-face with a completely blank white room. It was square with no windows or doors, and it was perfectly clean with no scuff marks, no dirt, and no signs that anything had ever been in here.

And yet, this mindscape was as familiar to Inochi as the back of his hand. Whether it was Konoha's or another village's members, every ANBU he'd ever interrogated always had this as their first line of defence if it came to a mind-walk from a Yamanaka. This was how ANBU could appear so outwardly robotic and statuesque. They cleared their mind of everything but the mission. Unfortunately, that required Inochi to break into Kakashi's mind rather than wade through it, and if he didn't know better, he'd say this, over anything else, would probably prove the kid's story—-children were just incapable of this kind of organization and focus.

Before Inochi could contemplate how to proceed, a man appeared before him decked out in typical Konoha Jounin gear, and at first glance he mistook the man for Sakumo. Upon further inspection, the man had the shock of gray hair like the Hatakes, but had his headband tilted over his left eye and a thinner build than Sakumo. Inochi guessed that this was Kakashi as he saw himself in his mind.

If that wasn't proof, Inochi didn't know what was.

"I figured it would be easier if I met you here. I knew you wouldn't quite believe me since almost no one in their right mind would, and I didn't want you to drop unprepared into a mess of memories that would probably shock you out of my mind," Kakashi said, voice low with unnamed emotion. He suddenly sat down cross-legged and the scenery around them changed.

They were at the Memorial Stone, its face carved with many more names than present, and the ground around it was scorched and upheaved. The training ground close by was nothing but a mess of wood chips from obliterated trees and the faintly metallic scent of blood, but Inochi was more focused on Kakashi, who was running the tips of his fingers over the engraving almost reverently. At the end of the list, another engraving appeared, but Inochi wasn't able to get a glimpse of it.

He cleared his throat. "The Third War?" he probed tentatively. It revolted him that so many names would be added for the sheer stupidity of a dick-measuring contest.

Kakashi shook his head and said, "Only some. The Third Shinobi War was a bitter fight of attrition, a disgusting claw for bragging rights, but it wasn't the scale of the Fourth." The gray-haired man ran a hand through his hair. "Some of these nins weren't even from Konoha."

Not from Konoha? Inochi thought, bewildered. What kind of threat would convince Iwa ninja to cooperate with Konoha?

"I'll have to look for your early memories," he said as he approached Kakashi. "There wasn't anything traumatic for the first five years, was there?"

"If you leave out the last month or so, then no," Kakashi replied. He exhaled sharply through his nose as if amused, and Inochi chuckled.

"Careful," Inochi mock-chided. "A lesser man might've mistaken that for a laugh."

Kakashi cracked a grin and covered up his chuckle with a suspicious cough. Inochi figured that if he could still laugh (which was no small feat when it came to the Hatakes. Christ, he dealt with Sakumo enough), then there was still some hope. He hadn't been around the kid enough to see for himself how far over the edge Kakashi was—and he was over the edge—but humor was one of those things that was hard to get back after it was gone.

Getting down to business, Inochi pulled his finger into a series of hand seals: rat, dog, ram, rat, monkey. He gathered his chakra and spread it out, feeling the surrounding mindscape for old memories. The kind that most people forgot about and the ones that would eventually fade. In tandem, memories began to flash around them, and the Memorial Stone faded away to flicker between different snippets of childhood memories. Once he'd found the unbound childhood memories, the ones from this timeline, he sent chakra snaking through Kakashi's physical body like prodding wires to find the seal that bound the old timeline. He'd closed his eyes by this point, but he could feel Kakashi's gaze on him like a bone-crushing weight.

He wasn't stupid. There was so much riding on this that he could be single-handedly destroying Konoha's future or, conversely, saving it. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if more than just Konoha was teetering on a knife's edge, and it wasn't exactly reassuring that the fate of the world was left up to a borderline suicidal time-traveling kid and said kid's emotionally unstable father. It wasn't exactly—-

Bingo. There was the seal, resting smack dab on Kakashi's heart, the foreign chakra scrawled across the epicenter of the kid's chakra network and circulatory system. It was barely detectable, but it was there like an ugly smudge on the otherwise clear stream of chakra flowing through Kakashi's body. Inochi explored further, own chakra probing like fingers, but retracted back like he was burned when he realized exactly what he was looking at.

A binding seal, sure, but a binding seal that was fraying at the edges and a hair's breadth away from shattering into a million pieces. Which, considering the nature of the binding seal, would mean it had to have been put on Kakashi an impossibly long time ago. Years, though he couldn't be sure how many until he got a better look, and getting a better look would require poking at a precariously frail seal that was the sole barrier between Kakashi and a mental breakdown.

But he had to do it.

Without full control of his chakra, Kakashi wouldn't be able to even graduate the Academy, let alone become a ninja, and if he couldn't be a ninja then the future was so far beyond screwed that Inochi didn't want to imagine it. He also didn't want to imagine what could possibly be left of Kakashi should he break this seal. He didn't even want to touch it.

But he had to do it.

Carefully maneuvering his chakra in the finest threads possible, he inspected the chakra of the seal and the decaying edges to determine the time-frame, and outright gasped at what he found. This seal had to be a quarter of a century old, and it was modified so that whenever it was activated, it would continue binding memories even after it was first applied. Inochi could see the minuscule changes to the structure that made it continuous instead of finite, and he filed that away for further study, but that caused so many more problems than they already had.

Opening his eyes, Inochi met Kakashi's demanding gaze and asked, "What happened when you were five originally?"

Kakashi tensed and his fists clenched at his side, but Inochi could wait. After a few moments, Kakashi whispered, "My father committed seppuku."

"...I'm sorry," Inochi offered, but really out of a need for something to say. That future was gone, and there was no point in making a big deal out of something unlikely to happen. It did explain some things, however, like Kakashi's aloof but emotionally reticent demeanor.

"You've had your memories sealed for twenty-five years," Inochi said, gesturing to the still-flickering memories. "I can't imagine who would've done it, but this seal has been binding your memories since you were around this age, and I absolutely refuse to unbind anything. I can't be selective because if I jar the seal too much then the whole thing will collapse in on itself and not only do I have no idea what will happen, I am one hundred percent positive that it will be fucking horrible."

Kakashi bristled. "Then what am I supposed to do? I need my chakra, and I can't even climb trees like this!"

"Talk to Jiraiya," Inochi said. "He might be able to work around it, and even if he can't, there are still two others in Konoha proficient in seals. And I know you know who they are."

That deflated Kakashi's ire as fast as it had come, but Inochi was feeling pretty similar himself. The only person he could imagine having the ability to do this was another Yamanaka of high rank, but they all fall under the purview of the Hokage, and Sarutobi would never in a million years order the binding of an ally's memories. And until Inochi found who was responsible the first time, he won't have any idea if Yamanaka clan techniques were floating around in the wind. Konoha definitely didn't need that right now, and Inochi would rather not report to the Hokage that their enemies might have advanced interrogation techniques up their sleeves.

The entire time, Inochi had mostly been ignoring the flashes of memories that played around them, but a shock of bright yellow caught his attention and he turned to the side to watch what was going on. Kakashi followed his gaze and suddenly a small but genuine smile spread across his face.

Bewildered but glad, Inochi watched as Minato Namikaze instructed Kakashi and a boy that looked to be an Uchiha of the same age how to climb trees. Kakashi was unable to do it, but the Uchiha was slowly but steadily getting better because of Namikaze's direction. The kid must've had a crazy amount of chakra for his age if he was struggling that much, but Inochi was more impressed with Namikaze's teaching ability. He was a natural at it for sure, and he even summoned his toads to help demonstrate and motivate.

"For tree-climbing, a steady stream of chakra has to stick to the tree at all times. Imagine it like glue, where too little isn't sticky enough and too much makes you slide right off. In this case, your chakra will blow you from the tree, but it's the same idea."

The Uchiha was about to run at the tree when Minato caught him by the collar and told him to slow down. If he walked up the tree slowly, then he'd hold himself at his highest possible point until he fell, and there would be less likely of a chance of hurting himself when he did fall. The Uchiha beamed and agreed, while Minato turned to Kakashi.

"Do you want to spar?"

Kakashi nodded and slid into a taijutsu stance. Inochi could tell right off the bat that the kid was still way too used to being as tall as his past counterpart and that his stance was slightly too far apart for his current height. It seemed memory-Kakashi figured that out too and immediately fixed the problem. Minato cocked his head at that, but didn't comment.

"Begin."

Minato quickly realized that Kakashi wouldn't go on the offensive right out of the gate and decided to get a feel for the kid. From the look on Kakashi's face, Inochi guessed that he already knew that. The blonde's attacks were precise and slow enough for Kakashi to see and respond to, but they weren't too slow as to make it easy. The Hatake was fighting against himself, though; he'd stick out a block that wouldn't reach because he was fighting as if he was two and a half feet taller. He'd try to deliver a kick to Minato's solar plexus, but it would swish harmlessly in front of its intended target because he was fighting against himself consistently.

It was obvious that Minato picked up on that, but all he did was fix an arm here, a leg there, and adjust Kakashi's stance when it inevitably became too wide again. Inochi wasn't surprised in the least that Kakashi's taijutsu was taking a big hit, but from what he'd seen from Minato, it would be fixed fairly quickly if the blonde was the one to train Kakashi.

"Are we done here, then?" the present Kakashi asked from behind Inochi. He looked impatient and kind of disgruntled, but the Yamanaka figured that it was just because of the privacy infringement. He hadn't actually meant to view any memories specifically except for the ones he had intended to unbind, but curiosity killed the cat and satisfaction brought it back.

"Yeah, we are." Forming the ox hand-seal, the Yamanaka Clan Head watched his surroundings dissipate and blinked rapidly as the room around him slowly came into focus. Sakumo was sitting there just barely containing his worry, and the sun had gone from high in the sky to the slanting shadows of mid-evening. He heard a groan from beside him and glanced at Kakashi as the kid pulled himself up to a standing position. (Inochi was going to wait here on the floor a moment, thank you. He wasn't as young as he used to be.)

"So?" Sakumo asked. The only thing betraying his uncertainty was the slight tapping of his foot.

Inochi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Where to start? How would he explain how exactly messed up this whole thing had just become—-

"Damn it all to hell," Kakashi bit out, not looking his father in the eye. "Waterboarding someone in the middle of the Wind Country desert would be easier than this."

Not the analogy Inochi was looking for, but that about summed it up.

Why did he get himself into this again?

This is around 7,000-ish words, but I don't like it. It feels, I don't know… just bad. It feels like filler even though it's not. I'd like feedback. I'll definitely star this for revising later.