Kakashi argued with Minato the following morning. He wanted to go train with Obito and Rin, but Minato wanted him to stay home. Kushina had offered to help him with his time travel seal, and while it was tempting, he was feeling too antsy to focus. He needed to do something. The research was fine and all, but frankly, seals were quickly becoming the bane of his existence. Kakashi was actually considering going to Fugaku to ask for his help in exchange for any information he wanted. Kakashi was still holding back, but even he was beginning to question why.

Kakashi had been solely focused on protecting peace they achieved in the future, but who is to say they wouldn't have peace in this future too? It may come about differently. But if the shinobi world managed to achieve it once, then surely they could do it again. Kakashi wasn't completely sold on it yet, but he still had time to figure it out. Those events surrounding the Uchiha don't happen for several more years. Even Kannabi Bridge was still months down the line.

When he arrived with Minato, both Obito and Rin greeted him enthusiastically and were eager to spar. Kakashi was honestly surprised how much they had grown in so little amount of time. He Had suspected Rin would, only because she was finally getting the attention she needed and was being trained to do something other than run away. Obito was unexpected. He was hitting harder, but stranger still, he had been there early and was already doing his warm-ups when they got there. Minato-sensei didn't bat an eye at this, but Kakashi was thrown entirely off-balance from it.

Kakashi felt the ping of chakra from a summon. He squinted up into the bright noon sky and saw a hawk making lazy circles above them. He glanced over at Minato, who was looking up at it too.

"Obito. Rin," Minato-sensei call for them, "I'm sorry, but it seems I have to cut today's training short." He gave them a sad smile.

Kakashi wanted to inquire if Minato knew what the Hokage wanted. Sensei had been meeting with him often but kept the details of the meeting to himself, so he knew Minato-sense wouldn't tell him.

"It's okay, Sensei, we'll practice on our own," Rin assured him.

"Yeah! We'll continue to work hard!" Obito grinned.

Minato-sensei looked at Kakashi, and for a brief moment, Kakashi wondered if Sensei was expecting some sort of enthusiasm from him too. But dismissed it because it was well outside of his personality even at this age.

"Kakashi, you should head home," Minato ordered.

Head home so Kushina could watch him. Since returning, he hadn't had a moment to himself. Kakashi frowned, "I don't need to be babysat."

"It's not like that," Minato held his hands out in front of him, "I don't want the assassin showing up when um-" he glanced at Obito and Rin, then swallowed the rest of his sentence, " Kushina's chains have proved to be able to stop the assassin, so I think it would be best if she was nearby."

Rin entwined her arm with Kakashi's, "We'll escort him to Kushinan-nee-chan. We can keep training there. Right, Bito?" Rin glanced behind her.

Obito saluted, "Leave it to us! We'll deliver Bakashi safe and sound."

Kakashi looked completely unimpressed and tried to pull away from Rin, but she kept clinging to him. "I'll be fine on my own."

"Alright. Rin and Obito, be sure Kakashi is delivered safely to Kushina." Minato order.

"I'm not a package." Kakashi was rudely ignored. No wonder he had been such a moody child.

"Yes, sir!" Both chuunin readily agreed.

Minato gave a sharp nod and ruffled Obito's hair before taking off, leaving Kakashi with the other two. He sighed and started down the path that would lead him to Minato's house. Maybe if he was lucky, Kushina wouldn't be there. Not that he was trying to avoid her, but it would be nice to have a moment when no one was breathing down his neck. He thought things were bad in the future with the ANBU and Shizune following him around everywhere, but at least they didn't give him a bedtime.

Rin tugged on Kakashi's sleeve, and for a moment, he was reminded of Kurenai, who had the same habit. Then, he turned to look back at Rin, and she pointed to a store they were passing, "let's go in there and get some bento for lunch. We'll pick one up for Kushina-nee-chan, too."

Kakashi glanced at the store and shrugged his shoulders because he didn't mind taking a detour. Obito and Rin raced each other to the store. They had tried to convince Kakashi to join in, but he would rather watch. Call him an old sentimental fool if you must, but their innocent energy was enjoyable to watch. He didn't want to diminish it by pretending to be a part of it all.

Kakashi leaned against the shop front and waited for them. He didn't want to deal with the potential drama of the 'Hatake Brat' entering the store. Being adopted by Minato actually decreased that significantly, but that may be because he didn't have to shop as often. When he did, he was with Kushina or Minato.

Obito and Rin emerged from the store and hurried to him, excited to show what they had purchased. Obito already had a piece of candy in his mouth. It was such a stark difference from when he had actually been this age. Back then, there had been this wall between him and his teammates. But, somehow, it had broken, and now they were eager to include him. Kakashi couldn't help but wonder if he had just tried even a little bit back then to be friendly, could they have become a decent team?

Kakashi led them back to the house while he listened to Rin and Obito chat animatedly behind him. The lights were off in the house, and Kakashi couldn't help but sigh in relief. Kushina wasn't home. Maybe he could get Obito and Rin to leave, too, then he could finally have some space.

Kakashi turned to the Chuunins and gave them his most charming smile. "Maa, thanks for walking me home. I guess you two should be heading off. You probably have a lot of things to do." He fully expected them to take off. What reason did they have to stick around?

"No, way Bakashi, we still have training to do. I need you to help me with my taijutsu!" Obito crowed.

Rin nodded, "besides, Minato sensei ordered us to take you to Kushina-nee-chan, not to the house. It doesn't look like she's home."

"Yeah, you're not going to make us fail our mission, Bakashi," Obito accused him.

"It wasn't a mission, dumbass," Kakashi muttered. Sensei just asked them to do him a favor. "I'm sure she'll be back soon."

"Well, we'll have lunch while we wait for her," Rin said and led the way to the front door.

Kakashi sighed and unlocked the front door to let the gremlins go in. After his 'run away,' Minato and Kushina had restricted his movements. Kakashi would even venture to say he was grounded, but they hadn't been bold enough to say it to his face. He was probably lucky that he was allowed to sleep alone in his room. But that may have more to do with two teenagers visiting each other at night more often than not. Talk about awkward.

They entered the house, and Kakashi headed straight to the kitchen to grab some chopsticks. Neither Obito nor Rin followed him. Instead, they stood in the living room, looking around as if they hadn't been in the house before. It caused Kakashi to pause and try to see what was so odd. Minato and Kushina were just as messy with their research as Kakashi was, so papers, pens, scrolls, and books were everywhere. No one had been willing to pick up because they didn't want to lose where they were at.

"Wow, you guys sure do research a lot!" Rin commented on the mess.

"Are they teaching you fuinjutsu? No fair! You're getting extra training, and you don't even need it!" Obito complained.

"Obito, sensei adopted Kakashi remember. So it's like he's learning clan stuff," Rin nudged Obito with her elbow.

"Oh, oh yeah. I guess I forgot about that," Obito scratched his cheek. "What kind of fuinjutsu is it?"

"Obito!" Rin hissed, "It's clan stuff," she reminded him.

Obito being from a rather large clan, should know better than to ask about clan secrets. Still, the question wasn't surprising coming from him, of all people. Obito had never been all that loyal to the Uchiha clan. He was more interested in Konoha as a whole. Even when he was older, while he did take out the Uchiha clan, his real goal was much larger. That was Obito, big vision.

"Maa Maa, Rin-san, it's fine. It's not actually clan stuff; it's just fuinjutsu. We are working on time-related seals," Kakashi shrugged.

"Like time travel?" Obito looked at Kakashi doe-eyed.

"Hmm? Surely, you don't believe in that," Kakashi dismissed.

"If you do, then I do. Are you trying to go back to the future?" Obito knelt by the table to look at the research scattered about.

Kakashi's face scrunched up, "who told you about that?"

"Sensei did," Obito shrugged, not seeing the problem with it.

"Ah! He wasn't saying anything bad about it, Kakashi. He was just keeping us up to date on your health. We're a team, right?" Rin tried to smooth things over.

Kakashi released a heavy sigh. But, of course, Minato couldn't keep his mouth shut, nor could Kushina. There was nothing Kakashi could do about it now. He had been trying to keep the little chuunins out of the whole mess. "Let's eat outside," Kakashi declared, wanting Obito away from his notes.

The sun warmed Kakashi's skin, and a light breeze kissed away any possible burn. It made him feel drowsy in the early afternoon. It wasn't often he found himself able to settle into a peaceful day like this. He blinked slowly as he watched small white clouds streak thinly over the blue sky. Obito and Rin were still munching on their bento boxes, equally as quiet.

Despite Kakashi's cloud watching, his teammates' stillness prompted Kakashi to watch them equally as close. Rin kept glancing at Obito, who had as much ability to decipher her looks like a rock. Finally, she gave up and decided to address what was on her mind. "Sensei, mention you have a genin team you train in the future," Rin picked at the corner of her bento, "Umm, I found it interesting because I never pictured you as a jounin-sensei. What-what was your team like?"

Obito scoffed, "probably perfect little soldiers all wearing masks and reciting the shinobi rule book."

"Obito," Rin scolded.

"Actually, they were really colorful," Kakashi offered, still looking up at the sky.

Rin blinked, "colorful?"

Kakashi hummed, "one was orange, one was pink, and the other," he paused for a moment, "he changed colors. At first, he was blue, then black, and then purple. I guess he was a bruise."

"What the hell does that even mean, you bastard? Can't you give a straight answer?" Obito complained.

"Maaa, who knows," Kakashi shrugged.

"Were they even real?" Obito challenged him.

"I suppose that's the question," Kakashi said as if he was unbothered. Yet, the thoughts of his students left him aching inside. How was it that he spent most of his life wishing for those he lost back, but when he finally has them all, he wants those he left behind.

The group fell into a lull, so Kakashi decided to close his eyes. He focused on the sensation of the breeze moving his bangs. Obito and Rin whispered to each other as if Kakashi couldn't hear them just because he closed his eyes. It was such a childish thing to do.

"Bito, stop being rude!" Rin hissed.

"I'm not. I'm treating him like I always do. Besides, that wasn't a real answer. That was a list of colors. You weren't asking what color to paint your room," Obito pouted.

"That's not the point, Bito. Maybe he doesn't remember them clearly. Maybe they are just colors. We don't know," Rin argued.

"You must really think me crazy, Rin-san," Kakashi said, opening his eyes enough to peek at her from his lashes. He was glad he did because her face was quickly becoming a blaring red.

"I don't! I didn't mean it like that, Kashi-kun," she began to wring her hands in distress. But, oddly enough, Obito didn't immediately come to her aid and defend her.

"Maaa, it's fine, you don't have to believe me," he closed his eyes again.

"That's not true!" Rin busted.

Confused, Kakashi sat up to look at her. "What isn't true?"

"That I don't have to believe you," she clarified.

Kakashi glanced at the ever-unhelpful Obito and then back at Rin, "You really don't. And I remember my students well enough; I'm just not sure I should talk about them."

"Why not?" Obito finally asked.

Kakashi looked between the two of them. Did he really have to get into this with them? They weren't actually his peers. Obito and Rin were little more than strangers he obsessed over for the majority of his life. He hardly knew them, and they certainly didn't know him. He dropped his chin into his hand and crossed his legs, "Hmmm, are you two done yet? We should start training."

"Hey, why are you always dodging the question?" Obito insisted.

"I thought you wanted some help with your taijutsu?" Kakashi stood up and dusted off his pants.

"I do, but you're a jerk. We are trying to get to know you. You could give us something to go off."

Rin chewed on her bottom lip. She seemed to agree with Obito and hoped he could wrangle some information out of Kakashi. However, she seemed uncomfortable with his methods. Kakashi stuffed his hands in his pockets and considered the two before him. "Alright, so if I tell you that I'm from the future and I don't want to stay in the past. In fact, I am trying to develop a seal that will take me home, but first, I need to deal with the chakra construct that keeps eating away at my chakra. What would you do with that information?"

Obito jumped to his feet. "We'd help you, of course!"

Kakashi frowned. Obito was a little too eager to believe all this. Was Minato behind it? A weird team bonding method? "And if I said I'm not actually 8 but 33?"

A grin pulled on Obito's face like he had been waiting for this. He rose to his full height and stepped up to Kakashi. Kakashi took a step back to give them some distance, but Obito only leaned closer in. "I'd say you're short for 33. Sucks to be you, huh?" Then the boy threw his head back and laughed at his own joke.

Kakashi was wholly unimpressed, but he wasn't a child. He wouldn't behave as one either-oh. Apparently, his body still retained his childish impulses. Kakashi looked down as Obito was crumpled forward and had fallen to his knees, gripping his stomach. Kakashi had just railed him in the gut with a chakra-infused punch that he had seen both Sakura and Tsunade use. Just because he didn't use the technique didn't mean he didn't know how to. Kakashi sniffed, "you seem closer to the ground than I am."

Kakashi glanced over at Rin and found her eyes bright with mirth as she hid her laughter behind her hand. He couldn't help but smile back at her. Apparently, Rin's humor was more violent than he remembered.

Obito rolled onto his back, groaning dramatically. Maybe it wasn't entirely uncalled for. Kakashi knew how much those hurt. "I'm dying," Obito whispered hoarsely.

"What the hell happened here?" Kushina demanded. She suddenly appeared at the back door with her hands on her hips.

Kakashi lulled his head over to look at Kushina and shrugged, "He was fine one minute, and then the next he wasn't."

Rin doubled over in laughter, and Obito started to realize who was laughing at him. "O-o-obi-To, was-" another peel of laughter tumbled out, and Rin sucked it back in, "picking on Ka-ashi's height," she struggled to get out.

Kushina stepped onto the back porch, and Fugaku, of all people, followed her out. Kakashi had not expected to see him.

Obito noticed the not-yet-clan head and scrambled to his feet. He attempted a bow to Fugaku. Fugaku nodded his head in return, but he looked far more amused than he had any right to be.

"Uchiha-san," Kakashi bowed, not sure what to make of this visit.

"Hatake-san," Fugaku nodded to Kakashi as well.

"I thought you lot were training with Minato today?" Kushina walked over to check on Obito.

"Mah, he was called away unexpectedly," Kakashi explained and stuffed his hands back into his pockets.

Rin nodded, "we were ordered to deliver Kashi-kun to you, but you weren't here, so we had lunch together while we waited."

"And that turned into Kakashi punching Obito over a joke?" Kushina looked at Kakashi incredulously.

"I have no recollection of such an event. Perhaps it's my head injury," Kakashi shook his head sadly.

"Pfft. You have jokes now. I didn't realize you developed a sense of humor." Something was biting in Kushina's words. Kakashi looked at Fugaku and decided he must be the source of it. They had been fine this morning.

"I have my moments," Kakashi said. He refused to rise to the bait.

Kushina dusted the dirt off of Obito's back. "Well, thank you two for delivering Kakashi to me. I'll let Minato know you two did a good job."

Rin smiled and thanked her politely.

Obito frowned, though. He looked at Kakashi for a moment, then up at Kushina, "we want to help find a way to get Kakashi back to his time."

Kakashi made a throaty noise. It was a good thing Fugaku-san already knew about his time travel; otherwise, Obito would have made them all look stupid. Kids.

"You want to help?" Kushina parroted.

"Umm, yeah, or even with the assassin. We are Kakashi's teammates, and well... he's the youngest, so we gotta watch out for him," Rin declared.

Kakashi was not the youngest. In fact, he was the oldest. Rin was being rude, "I do not need to be watched over," he groused, knowing it would fall on deaf ears.

"Hmmm, I think you two might be right." Fugaku stepped in. He had a gleam in his eye that Kakashi was entirely uncomfortable with. "I will make this an official request and assign you two to the mission. I want you both to guard Kakashi both night and day. We don't know when that assassin will appear. It's best not to leave him alone, even for a moment. You'll be able to pick up the official mission request tomorrow morning from the mission desk. I'll retroactive it so that it starts now," Fugaku explained to the two chuunins.

Both Obito and Rin nodded excitedly, "Yes, sir!" they chorused.

"That is not necessary. I can manage just fine, Uchiha-san. Thank you for your concern, but please don't waste the money. Besides, what would the other clans think of the Uchiha clan protecting the disgraced Hatake? Or your clan head?" Kakashi tried. Fugaku was a logical man, right?

"That as Chief of Police, I am taking care of a vulnerable member of our society that has been attacked multiple times. It is my duty to see to the safety of the citizens of Konoha. I would be acting on behalf of the police force, not the clan. While I thank you for your concern, Hatake-san, we can't very well lose such a valuable member of our village. It would be cruel of me to stand back and do nothing, don't you think?" Fugaku asked, holding Kakashi in his dark stare.

"Fugaku-san is the best!" Obito cheered.

"Thank you, Obito-kun, but I am only doing what any loyal Konoha shinobi would do," Fugaku sniffed.

Kakashi looked to Kushina, who was biting her lip to keep from laughing. What the hell? He released an irritated sigh and marched his way past the group and into the house with Rin hot on his heels.

"Kakashi! Get back out here and clean up your mess!" He heard Kushina screech at him.

He gritted his teeth and stomped back out, picked up his bento box, shot Kushina a glare, and then headed back inside.

Minato-sensei arrived home an hour later. Kakashi was working on his seal pointedly, ignoring everyone else. Obito and Rin were drinking tea chatting with Kushina while Fugaku simply listened to them quietly. Why was Fugaku-san even here? Didn't Obito and Rin plan on training more?

Minato-sensei's appearance drew everyone's attention. "Wow, I didn't expect everyone to be here," he said as he pulled off his shoes.

"We got a new mission, Sensei!" Obito sprang out of his seat to meet Minato at the entrance. "We're supposed to guard Bakashi on behalf of the police force!"

Minato looked startled and looked to Fugaku for confirmation. "Ah, Fugaku-san?"

"I'll have the paperwork filled out and ready for official pick up in the morning. It will be retroactive," Fugaku said smoothly.

"Do you really think that's necessary? I appreciate your concern, but Kakashi is usually with Kushina or me," Minato-sensei's attention swung over to Kakashi.

Kakashi was really surprised that Minato-sensei hesitated on the idea. Kakashi thought for sure he had no hope of getting out of it. "It's a bit much, Sensei," Kakashi tried to appeal to his Sensei.

"We found Kakashi home alone just an hour ago, Minato-san. What if something had happened then?" Fugaku asked.

"I wasn't alone," Kakashi bristled at the lie.

"You would have been if Obito-kun and Rin-chan hadn't decided to follow their orders and made sure you ended up Kushina, right Hatake-san?" Uchiha pettiness was an ugly thing.

"Why are you even here?" Kakashi asked rudely.

"Kakashi, don't be rude. Fugaku agreed to help us capture the assassin," Kushina chastised him.

"You did?" Minato asked. Kakashi mentally echoed the question. He thought for sure he burned that bridge.

Fugaku nodded, "The Hokage would find it difficult to spare much attention to such a situation. It's not necessarily outside my jurisdiction, anyway. Regardless of my personal feelings, Hatake-san is still being attacked inside the village. I believe we have a decent chance of ending this today. I can see the entity just before it appears, and Kushina can capture it. With the adjusted seal you and Kushina created, I see little reason to involve anyone else."

"Except us, right? Cause we want to help too!" Obito bounced on his knees. "You hired us to protect him, right? Besides, Rin-chan is a medic-nin. So we'll need her."

Kushina grinned and reached over to ruffled Obito's hair, "You're right, Obito-kun, we'll definitely need your help and Rin-chan's too."

Minato didn't look as sold on the idea. Finally, he cleared his throat, "Ah, but we'll have you both hang back. Kushina can't move well when she uses her chains, so I'll entrust her safety to you both, okay?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. Sensei sure was good about keeping kids out of danger but making it sound like they're helpful. He tried that technique on his own genin, but it never worked. They just blew past him and jumped into the fray, regardless of what he told them. He briefly thought back to Obito's comments about his team. A part of him wished he could introduce them all. They certainly weren't copies of him, and he was sure only Sakura was aware there was even a rule book. Though she was more likely to use it as a bludgeoning weapon than recite it.

Both chuunins readily agreed to their 'important' roles, and Kushina gave them an indulgent smile. Kakashi dropped his cheek into his hand, "when are we planning to do this then?"

The three adults looked at each other as if asking the question again. So, Kakashi decided to step in, "We're all here. We might as well get it over with."

"Ah, but the seal is untested, Kashi-kun," Minato said nervously.

"I know, but how else are you going to test it than to use it? Last time I only suffered some chakra exhaustion. I didn't even pass out," Kakashi pointed out.

"Last time, the assassin nearly killed you," Minato reminded him.

Kakashi waved it off, "But he didn't, and we have a bigger force now. It was just the two of us before. We shouldn't wait." Kakashi didn't want to wait. He wanted to know if this would work. He wanted this parasite off of him, and he wanted to go home and sleep in his own bed with his ninken.

"Come on, Minato, let's go scribble out that seal. Fugaku can watch the kiddos," Kushina jumped to her feet to drag Minato out to the back.

"Wait, my shoes," Minato complained. Kushina released his hand, and he went back to fetch both of their shoes before heading to the back. They were like kids.

Kakashi got up to follow them out but was stopped by Fugaku, "Going somewhere Hatake-san?"

"To the back yard," Kakashi was sure that had been obvious.

"You're supposed to stay with me. Let them have their...fun without you always tagging along," Fugaku said.

Kakashi scowled. Why did Fugaku-san have to say it like that? He wasn't following them around because he wanted to. Kakashi didn't want to be stuck in the same room with Fugaku-san. Still, he kept his thoughts to himself. There was no need to give him more ammunition. Kakashi went back to his research instead. Rin noticed his irritation and went to sit next to him like a bug to a zapping lantern.

"Kashi-kun," Kakashi picked up a book and stuffed his face into it in response to Rin's calling. Couldn't they all just leave him alone? "What will you do if you can't get back to the future?"

That was a question he was trying to avoid thinking about. "I'll deal with it if it comes to that, but it won't."

"How can you be so sure?" Rin pressed.

"Because I have to believe that. I have to believe I didn't destroy what everyone worked so hard for and all the sacrifices it took to get there," Kakashi couldn't see the words on the page, but the book still brought him comfort.

"But could some sacrifices not be necessary? Perhaps you are too narrow-minded. There are many ways to achieve peace," Fugaku's low voice rumbled.

"Perhaps, but there are things I can't stop no matter how much future knowledge I have. Things are coming so much bigger than you or me," he lowered his book and shook his head, "I don't know the right answer, Uchiha-san. If I tell you the future, my future, the information is obsolete. Things have already changed. Has it changed enough? In what direction did the changes bring us? I don't know. I could answer your questions, but what if that information destroys more than it saves? Whose fault would that be? We all make the best decisions we can at the moment we make them. But the future and what will happen, what could happen, my answers would be no different than your best estimations at this point."

"But if I understand what befell my clan, perhaps I could help avoid the trappings," Fugaku argued.

"Just because you avoid one trap doesn't mean there isn't another one. The decisions you make at that time will be what you believe are the best. I cannot decide your fate. Sure, I could tell you the dangers that surround you even now. The angst that befalls us, but who's to say it will actually be avoided? I come from the future, but none of this had ever happened, and I couldn't have predicted it either," Kakashi explained.

Fugaku-san studied him for a moment, and Kakashi studied him right back. They were on opposite ends of the room, but their conversation was much closer than either was comfortable with. "So, you say we are on a different path than the one you know."

"I would assume so, yes. There have been big and small changes in my life alone. Some key players that I know of may have different trajectories as well. I couldn't tell you for sure because I cannot see into the future. But Fugaku-san, I will say this, if nothing else, rely on your comrades."

"I could say the same to you," Fugaku said evenly.

Kakashi didn't understand what Fugaku meant. The question must have been written on his face because Fugaku expounded on what he meant. "You lack faith in those around you. Minato and Kushina are up-and-coming seal masters, and yet you were following them out to do what? Supervise? You withhold information, but you are willing to offer it if you think you'll get something in return for it. Rather than just asking what you need and seeing if it will be given."

"I seem to recall you doing much the same," Kakashi snapped. And the accusations were not true. He was following them out to escape Fugaku-san; being able to supervise was just a bonus.

"I'm not claiming to be innocent of the same. It's why I can spot the distrust when I see it," Fugaku sniffed.

Kakashi snorted, "You're just mad and trying to turn this back on me. I've worked with enough Uchiha to know your ways."

Kakashi turned away from Fugaku and noticed Rin and Obito giving him a strange expression. He supposed that conversation did look odd. He was lecturing Fugaku-san, and neither of them had acted like it was weird to do so. Kakashi wanted to be tall again, then he could interact with people appropriately without it looking strange. Once again, he felt grateful that Fugaku-san treated him like an equal.

Kushina poked her head in. "Kakashi, come outside. We gotta draw on you too."

Kakashi got to his feet, bowed respectfully, and left the room. Outside he could see they had down a lot of work. Once again, scrolls were laid out in a starburst pattern. He scanned the inked design of the seal. It was a shame that fuinjutsu fell out of favor among shinobi. It was rather remarkable.

"What do you think?" Minato asked. He was on his knees with a brush in hand next to one of the arms of the seal.

"It looks a lot like the other one that trapped me," Kakashi remarked.

Minato laughed nervously, "It's different. I had the right idea, but we needed a secondary seal to supersede this seal. You'll need to be the one to activate it, but once you do, the seal will create a type of barrier that will prevent chakra absorption. Then you can cross through the barrier quickly because it won't last long. So once the parasite detaches from you, activate the seal."

Kakashi nodded and began removing the leather straps that crossed his chest. Most seals were elaborate and required as much space as possible—Kushina motion for him to lay down on the porch and dipped her brush in the homemade ink. The tip of the meeting felt cold, but the ink dried quickly under the warm sun. Kakashi watched Kushina's face as she focused on her task. He was once again reminded that Kushina was helping him when she had sworn she would do no such thing.

"I spoke to Fugaku-san," he said quietly for her ears only. Kushina's hand stilled for a moment and then resumed.

"And?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"You'll have to ask him. I'm not sure how he took it." He watched her face pucker like she bit into a salted plumb.

"So, did you tell him about the massacre and why it happened?" Kushina tried.

"No, because I don't have relevant information anymore. Instead, I offered advice. I'll do the same for you if you want," he really just wanted to smooth this over.

"But what about keeping things the same?" she asked.

"Mah so much has already changed. I can't begin to predict where things will go from here. I'm not sure if you intended to get pregnant or not, but maybe not have the child in the village. And have a better contingency plan in case things go bad, then both of you dying. Surely, if you start planning now, you can do a better job handling that mess."

Kushina blinked, "I knew it."

"Huh? Knew what?"

"I knew we weren't alive. Is Rin alive at least?" she asked.

"Ah, well-" Kakashi started uncomfortably then sputtered to a stop.

"During a kidnapping?"

"Something like that," Kakashi murmured. "But it may not happen this time around. Sensei is training her better."

"Yes, thanks to you. I think you wanted to change the past the whole time, Kashi-kun. Even if you were trying to deny it." Kushina gave him an impish grin. Kakashi couldn't return it and turned his head away from her. Changing the past may have destroyed the future he came from. Burned it all to ash. He wasn't sure if he could do all of this a second time around. Shinobis persevere. But could he? Could he really walk through another 20 years as if the last 20 didn't mean anything?

"Kashi-kun, don't get stuck in your what-ifs. You don't know yet. They may still be there waiting for you to get back," Kushina reminded him.

Kakashi said nothing, but he'd continue to believe it. He didn't know what else to do.

The seal was done, and it was confined to the middle of his torso. Kushina explained how to activate it and how long to expect it to last. Minato was done with the primary seal and was hovering over the two quietly until Kushina was done. Minato rested a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "We're all here, so rely on us, okay? Get out of the array as soon as you can, and don't engage him if you don't have to."

Kakashi nodded his head. If this worked, the main seal would pull on Kakashi's chakra until the parasite was forced to detach itself. Once separated, Kakashi would activate a seal creating a barrier on his chakra to keep it from being absorbed further. This barrier would allow him to escape the containment portion of the primary seal because it would be as if Kakashi had no chakra at all. Once Kakashi was away, they would drop the field, and Kushina would capture it. Fugaku would keep track of the parasite when it phases out of view and let them know when it detaches. Minato would be managing the primary seal. Obito and Rin would stay near Kushina, and Rin would help Kakashi if he sustained any injuries. Once captured, they would rely on Fugaku to help them extract the information; otherwise, Minato would seal the parasite in a scroll.

That is if it all went according to plan, and Kakashi knew that wasn't going to happen. Things don't go according to plan in his life. Kakashi was fully ready to die to protect the world from an angry Otsutsuki.

The group relocated back outside, and Kakashi put his shirt back on. He was checking his supplies when he felt it. He rolled out of the way as a kunai stabbed into the ground where he had been standing. The assassin wasn't there, but his sudden movement caught the attention of the others.

Kakashi scrambled over towards the array, but his eyes widened when he was suddenly swapped with another object landing back to where he started. He was disoriented for a moment, but Minato-sensei blitzed behind Kakashi, grabbed the back of his shirt, and teleported to the array. Kakashi dashed into the array.

The starburst design flared to life, and Kakashi's heart fluttered in trepidation. Standing in the middle of an active array would always be disconcerting. A light exploded under Kakashi and shot down the spindles of the starburst, then up out of the ground. They then connected to one another, creating a kind of light cage. Thousands of crickets seem to strike a chord, and Kakashi felt a strange tugging sensation. What if the assassin was still outside of the barrier? Would this work?

"Uchiha-san, where is the assassin?" Kakashi called out over the crickets. He waited for a moment but didn't get a response. At least not one he could hear. Kakashi cursed. This sound hadn't happened the last time. What had caused it? Not being able to communicate with the others outside of his cage was a huge problem.

The smart thing would be to end the experiment now, but Kakashi stayed. He wanted this over. He was tired of running from something he couldn't outrun. There wasn't ever going to be a good way to handle this assassin, so Kakashi was just going to face it head-on. He would have to trust those on the other side of the wall to be ready at the right time.

Kakashi's eyes drifted as more of his chakra was drained out of him. The parasite had already struck once already, so he was clearly riled up, but where was he?

Despite Kakashi's vigilance, a fist flew out of the empty space in front of him and smashed into his face driving him back against the seal wall. The light wall was as unyielding as reinforced concrete. Kakashi tasted copper. Already blood was drawn, and it pissed him off. He swallowed it, refusing to give that parasite the shallow victory.

Kakashi shoved off the wall and created a lightning clone, but it fizzled out of existence as soon as it formed, decimated by the seal. Kakashi cursed. He had hoped it would last longer than that, but the pull from the seal was even stronger than it had been before. The walls began to spark, added to the roar of crickets. Kakashi dodged as a fireball bloomed to life and hit the wall where he had been standing. The wall absorbed it, adding a menacing orange glow to its pops and crackles.

Kakashi flipped a kunai into his hand. He didn't have much hope using a kunai against a chakra entity, but it was better than nothing. He dodged to the left and took off, running to the other side. He just needed to keep dodging until it finally detached. The entity appeared with a rage-filled screech. His long white hair bellowed from the heat springing off the walls.

"I'm going to kill you, Hatake! Then I will compress your life to a blood pill, and all of your memories will be mine once I consume you," The Otsutuski sneered.

Kakashi threw the kunai at the Otsutsuki, who twisted out of the way. Kakashi quickly latched on the fact that the enemy dodged rather than letting it pass through him. Was it possible he couldn't? Kakashi decided to test the theory and launched three shurikens at him. Again, the attack was dodged, and Kakashi grinned. This was going to be easier than fighting that punk, Obito.

One of the shuriken from the volley was throws viciously back at Kakashi. He tried to dodge, but the ground below him suddenly gave way to mud. The shuriken sank into his upper arm as the mud gripped his ankles. Kakashi cursed. The mud would slow him down a lot, and now was not the time to be without speed. He sent a burst of chakra to the bottom of his feet, and he shot up out of the mud. Kakashi needed to be careful with how much he used. The last thing he needed to do was pass out in here from chakra exhaustion.

Then it happened. Like getting shot with a rubber band, a sudden sharp sting, and Kakashi was free of the parasite. He grinned and activated the seal. Another fireball raced towards him, and Kakashi lunged out of the array and was caught by Minato-sensei.

Sensei yanked him by his shirt back onto his feet, "Kushina!" Minato shouted.

"Ready!" she shouted back, already hunched over.

For as loud as it was within the walls, not a sound escaped them. The walls flared to life and sparked, but everything stayed confined within them. So far, things had worked just as they had hoped, aside from the lack of communication. But even that worked itself out.

Minato deactivated the array, and the walls fell, revealing a massive swirling firestorm. Lightning zapped at the ground. Kakashi had to abandon his position next to Minato to dodge one of the bolts. Kushina's gold chains lashed out into the middle of the firestorm and pulled tautly. Kakashi held his breath for a moment. Did they do it? His heart hammered in his chest as he searched through the swirling chakra to see if she had captured the parasite.

"Kushina, drop the jutsu!" Fugaku shouted.

Minato and Kakashi's heads snapped over to them. Kushina dropped to her knees and dug her fingers into the dirt. "I can't. It's latched on to them. I can't drop the jutsu."

No. Surely, the parasite didn't just latch onto Kushina with her incredible chakra stamina. Kushina screamed as her body was jerked forward then slowly dragged. Obito and Rin grabbed Kushina's arms and tried to pull her back.

Fugaku rushed forward, his eyes blazing red with his mangekyou. The firestorm swirled faster and then, like it was sucked into a vacuum, dissipated into the imposing figure of the Otsutsuki. His horns were longer than before, jutting out of his head like a lopsided crown. His long white hair moved as if it breathed a life of its own. His eyes reflected the brilliant gold of Kushina's chain that he had wrapped around his hand. He glanced at Fugaku and used his other hand to fireball blast him away. He didn't use a single hand sign, just an open palm.

Fugaku took the hit directly and skidded across the ground on his shoulder. When he came to a stop, he was back on his feet.

Minato tossed an hiraishin kunai and blitzed behind the Otsutuski. "Sensei, no!" Kakashi yelled as the Otsutuski released a widespread lightning cutter attack off his body. Minato's body went rigid and convulsed where he stood. His eyes rolled back in his head, showing on the whites. Kakashi cursed and sent out a volley of shuriken to stop the attack.

Minato sagged forward, and suddenly Fugaku was there to catch him. He then rushed him away from the scene. As he did, there was a popping sound as air bullets blazing past them. Instead of striking the Otsutsuki, they dissipated. Kakashi looked up at the roof of their house and saw a line of ANBU.

Kakashi didn't have time to be relieved when the roar of chakra blistered across his face. He threw his hands up to try and protect himself. He was not ready for this kind of battle. None of them were.

The ANBU launched a coordinated attack, but a chakra pulse would send them flying in the opposite direction every time they got close to him. The parasite also maintained his hold on Kushina's chakra chains.

Kakashi's mind raced. The parasite was only getting stronger. He was absorbing attacks and sending them back. Minato was the only one that could possibly get close enough to strike. Currently, Minato was shaking off the lightning jutsu with Rin's help.

If Minato could get someone with a sword close enough to the parasite, but they would only have one shot at this. Unfortunately, this entity wasn't stasis. He learned and adjusted accordingly. Otherwise, he wouldn't have grabbed ahold of Kushina's chains.

"Sensei!" Kakashi ran to Minato to tell him the scrap of a plan when he felt an unnatural split in the air. Kakashi turned around to the void behind him, and his mind stuttered to halt.

I was really behind on editing this week. Sorry about the delay! I debated only posting half this chapter, but I managed to get the entire thing through two rounds of editing. It was a lot of work, but here it is!

I also finished writing this story over the weekend too! So this is a time-travel story that will actually be completed! Thank you to those of you that have been cheering me on each week!

Kakashi is making the case not to tell people about the future because things are already different from the past he once knew. He'll explain his reasoning in more depth later on too. Kakashi is struggling on multiple fronts here, the loss of personal space, the loss of people he loves, the realization that the past is completely messed up now, and his own inability to do anything about any of it. Kakashi can't fix this situation; he has to rely on the people around him. Not even his future knowledge can fix things.