A/N: so. uh. this fic has been completed since sept 12, 2020, on AO3, and i honestly just completely forgot that i was also uploading it to too. i'm so sorry. so i'm just uploading the last couple chapters right now. surprise?

Kakashi was tired. And anxious, too—it seemed as if every waking moment was consumed by his thoughts of Kannabi Bridge.

And yet, he was feeling oddly happy, too. After a good shower, a hot meal, and a restful sleep, Kakashi felt actually decent. Minato had instructed them to "train individually" for the next week, which essentially meant that they had the days off. Kakashi had expected to spend those days training and lounging around with his ninken.

Which he did, but he was also spending his time hanging out with Rin and Obito, and occasionally Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai. Strangely enough, he found himself enjoying it. More than once he ended up loitering outside Rin's apartment, waiting for her to come outside, rather than waiting at his apartment for her and Obito to go get him. And he had three more "challenges" with Gai, although two of them were a bought of rock paper scissors. Their score was 3-2, in Gai's favor.

And no one was letting him live it down.

"Enough, already," Kakashi groaned, smacking his head on the table. "Is it really such a big deal?"

Through his mouthful of barbecue, Obito shouted, "Of course it is! You lost!"

"I'm losing," Kakashi corrected. "I'll win the next one."

"I think everyone's just a little surprised," Kurenai offered. "You don't usually lose."

Rin hid a chuckle behind her hand, whereas Asuma and Obito were not even trying to stifle their laughter. Gai, meanwhile, was wearing the largest grin that Kakashi had ever seen.

"You all must think I'm invincible," the Hatake sighed. He righted himself only to slouch in the booth, propping his cheek on his fist. "Am I supposed to predict if Gai's going to throw paper or not?"

Obito adjusted his goggles. "If you had the Sharingan, you could! I would be unbeatable at rock paper scissors!"

"You don't even have the Sharingan yet, moron."

Gai added, "That would be against the rules."

"Alright, alright, break it up," Kurenai sighed, waving her hand dismissively. "Let's talk about something else for once."

Kakashi let out a relieved breath. Finally.

"Well then, what should we talk about?" Asuma questioned.

"Minato-sensei and Kurenai's wedding!" Rin said.

All four boys immediately nixed the topic. It had been all the girls were talking about since Team Minato had gotten back from their mission. Kurenai and Minato's wedding was Saturday, so it was the hot news in every corner of the village. Even when Kakashi was training at ROOT, the damn ROOT agents were gossiping about it!

Rin frowned, poking at her barbecue with her chopsticks. "Well, alright then. What should we talk about?"

The table was silent for a long few moments. Then, Gai blurted, "Did you know Kakashi has ninja hound summons?"

Every eye turned to him, and Kakashi leveled Gai with a withering glare. "How do you know that?"

His question went ignored or unheard, given the other four voices overpowering his.

"You do?!"

"Ninja hound summons?"

"What? How many?"

"I thought you had to be older to have summons."

Kakashi rubbed at his eyes with a heavy sigh. Today, he'd decided to forgo wearing the hitai-ate over his left eye as he had been. Training many hours with ROOT agents had drastically improved his chakra storage, and his control over the pseudo-Sharingan was getting better and better. Almost like a real Uchiha, he could nearly turn the thing on and off. He didn't have full control yet, so it was never completely off, but it was close. His left eye just saw things a bit sharper, faint wisps of chakra floating off shinobi and civilians. Soon, he would have full control. It would be his own Sharingan eye.

Yet, he was tempted to pull down the hitai-ate just so he could see less of the all-too-eager Genin around the table.

"Yes, I have summons. They're called ninken, and I have a contract with eight of them."

"Eight?!"

Before Kakashi could get another word (or sigh) out, Rin slammed her hands on the table, startling and silencing everyone. Her pleading eyes zeroed in on Kakashi.

"Can we—"

"If I summon them, will you all leave me alone about it!"

"Yes!"

Kakashi relented, and the subject continued to switch around until the end of lunch. He didn't want to summon the entire pack just in the middle of the street, and the training grounds were being used by other teams, so he was left with little choice. Kakashi brought them all to the Hatake compound, and if they knew that this was the place where the White Fang drew his last breath, they wisely didn't say anything.

A month or two ago, he'd chosen not to renew his apartment contract and simply move back into the compound. Being here didn't bother him nearly as much as it once used to, and while the space was much, much bigger than anything he could ever use, having the room for his ninken to stretch their legs was nice.

In the backyard, Rin and Kurenai were admiring the garden while Obito was awed by the sheer size of the yard. Gai was challenging a very disinterested Asuma to race the whole thing thirty times.

After only a few short minutes of gawking, however, everyone refocused on why they had come here in the first place, and Kakashi was feeling a lot like a cornered animal. At least, his ninken would be here to suffer with them.

"Alright, alright."

Everyone backed up a little at Kakashi's motion, but they kept a loose semicircle around him. With a fast flurry of signs, he slammed his hand on the ground, and up bellowed a giant well of smoke. The smoke quickly dissipated, and standing at attention were all eight ninken.

Pakkun, sitting neatly on Bull's head, eyed the five Genin around them before finding Kakashi. "Boss," the little dog started, "what—"

But before he could finish, the pack was swarmed.

Everyone began cooing and gushing about how cute or cool all of them were. Rin picked Pakkun up right from Bull's head to snuggle him, whereas Obito was sizing himself up compared to Bull. It was downright chaotic.

The dogs didn't seem to mind, though, so Kakashi let it be. If anything, his ninken enjoyed the attention. Several of them rolled onto their backs so they could get their bellies pet, while others were playfully bantering back and forth (to the amazement of Obito, who hadn't realized that ninja hounds could talk).

The few intended minutes of ninken-time turned into an hour, actually. All the Genin (plus Kakashi) found themselves lounging in the grass, with at least one ninken within petting reach. Their conversation had drifted from topic to topic until a comfortable silence overcame them.

Kurenai eventually propped herself up on her elbow. Guruko was stretched out beside her, enjoying the sunrays. "Kakashi," Kurenai started, "aren't the Jonin exams coming up?"

Kakashi was reclined against Bull, and Pakkun was on his stomach. "Yeah." His eyes were closed. He didn't bother to open them.

"Are you going to take them?"

"...Yeah."

It had been a tough decision, at first. If he were a Jonin, then he would be assigned to lead Obito and Rin on the Kannabi Bridge mission, and Minato would be separated from the group like last time. But choosing to pass on the Jonin exams would raise a lot of questions, and ultimately remaining a Chunin would set him back in the long run.

...The long run. It was something he didn't like to think about much. He didn't really have a way of returning to his time, and even if he did, it wouldn't be his time if he saved Obito and Rin. The future would be completely different.

Assuming he was stuck in this body and this time, he'd have to grow up all over again. Who knew what kind of affect that would have. Would he be mentally sixty while physically thirty-three? Would something else happen? Kakashi had no idea. But that was a problem for after everyone came home from Kannabi Bridge.

Rin perked up at the mention of the Jonin exams. "Kakashi!" She exclaimed. "You should have said something! When is it?"

Kakashi flushed, although it wasn't visible from beneath his mask. He already knew she was going to be planning a gift. And he didn't want to think about Obito's gift. "It's Friday."

"The day before Minato and Kushina's wedding?" Asuma asked. "You gonna be alright to attend?"

The Hatake scratched at his nose. "I doubt I'll end up in the hospital," he said, "so, yeah, I'm still planning on going."

From where he was laying with Bisuke, Obito piped up, "You'd better! I won't forgive you if you have Minato-sensei worried sick on his wedding day because you got beat up!"

It… wasn't what Kakashi was expecting, actually. He'd thought Obito might still resent him for being further along than him in rank, but it seemed as if the progress he had been trying to make with his teammates was really working. He wondered if this is what it might've been like, had he accepted that olive branch from Obito at Kannabi Bridge, the first time around.

"I won't ruin Sensei's wedding," Kakashi murmured. "...I promise."

And that was a promise he was able to keep.

The Jonin exams were easy. They had been easy when Kakashi was actually thirteen, let alone now. He passed with flying colors, but there wasn't much time to celebrate (thankfully), because the next day was Minato's wedding day. And the entire village was invited.

Or at least, it felt that way. Kakashi didn't remember the ceremony feeling this crowded, but at the very least his friends had saved him a seat. He was one of the last ones to arrive, save Obito. The Hatake squeezed his way into the rows of seats, in between Rin and Asuma.

"I swear," Rin hissed, "if Obito is late to Sensei's wedding—!"

"He won't be," Kakashi answered, sounding a lot more confident in Obito than he actually was.

Considering how many people had gathered here, the wedding was held outside. It was a beautiful day to be married, too. Foldable chairs made for several rows of seating, but many were standing around. Kakashi suspected they weren't officially invited to the wedding to begin with, but seeing as the village was in the middle of the war, everyone needed a reason to celebrate something.

There were a few seats that were reserved, and that included ones for Kakashi, Obito, and Rin. So, while they didn't have to worry about Obito not having anywhere to sit, the odds that he would be walking down the aisle at the same time as Kushina were uncomfortably high.

Asuma leaned over to Kurenai. "I'll bet you a round of dango that he's late."

He earned a punch on the arm for his efforts. "Don't say that," she laughed. "You're going to owe me dango, though."

Asuma scowled. "What makes you so sure?"

Kurenai smirked, and at that moment, Obito launched into his seat, out of breath and looking like he'd sprinted the whole way here. Asuma immediately groaned, burying his head in his hands.

Obito blurted, "I'm not late, am I? I got—"

"Lost on the path of life," Kakashi finished for him. The group quieted, looking at him oddly, before bursting out into laughter. Kakashi didn't quite get the joke, but he felt warmth blooming in his chest when he looked at their smiling faces.

While they waited for the ceremony to begin, they all talked amongst themselves. Kakashi got several questions about the Jonin exams and congratulations on his passing. Even Obito told him that he had done a good job, and Kakashi wasn't sure if he or Rin were more surprised. Nonetheless, the Hatake sheepishly thanked them, and he was saved from any more embarrassment by the wedding getting underway.

From where he stood, Minato was absolutely beaming. Kakashi had never seen the man look so happy, and Kushina hadn't even walked down the aisle yet.

Small murmurs were still rippling through the crowd of people, and yet every single one of them fell silent as Kushina emerged in her gown. She was glowing. Her gown was pure white and dazzled in the sunlight, her hair half done-up to leave some of it flowing down her back.

Kakashi tore his eyes away from her to look at Minato. His sensei's eyes were watering, but the smile was splitting his face in two.

Maybe the first time around, Kakashi couldn't appreciate the happiness these two shared with each other and especially on their wedding day. He had been too young to truly understand—but after living for quite a few more years, it truly touched his heart. Happiness was hard to find. If anyone were to find it, he was glad that it was Minato.

Watching Naruto's parents meet at the altar hardened Kakashi's resolve.

The hushed silence remained over the crowd as the couple began their vows. From what Kakashi could remember, they had gone with the traditional vows.

"Kushina," Minato started. He fumbled to pull a wrinkled paper out from the pocket of his tux, hastily trying to smoothen it out against his thigh. Even from where Kakashi was sitting, he could see Minato's hands trembling. His sensei's voice even had a little bit of a quake to it.

Minato cleared his voice and started again. "Kushina." He glanced down to his paper, then back to his bride. "Aw, shucks." His hands crumpled the paper again, shoving it into his coat pocket. Then he took Kushina's hands, looking the happiest he had ever been.

"I love you, so much," he told her, as if she were the only other person left in the world. "And I promise, I'll love you for every second of our lives. If we live until tomorrow or a hundred years from now, I'll never stop loving you. You're everything to me, Kushina. I'll be by your side through it all, everything. Sickness, health, poorness, richness, life, and death. I'll be right there. I swear it. I really do love you."

Tears were streaming from Minato's eyes, dripping from his chin, but his voice remained steady, as did his hands as they held tight to Kushina's. Even the Red Hot Habanero was blinking away tears.

"You- You'd better, yanno!" She exclaimed, even as the tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and started to slip down. "And I'll do the same! Nothing'll ever separate us. Believe it!"

There wasn't a dry eye in the entire area. Even Kakashi's eyes were misted. Obito and Gai were openly weeping with joy, while Rin, Asuma, and Kurenai were wiping away a few tears. The happiness was almost palpable, infectious. Watching those two be so happy, it was hard not to feel happy just by being in their presence.

The wedding officiant looked to Minato and Kushina with a gentle smile. "If that concludes your vows," he began, "Namikaze Minato, do you take Uzumaki Kushina to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Minato nodded his head fiercely. "I do."

"And Uzumaki Kushina, do you take Namikaze Minato to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," said Kushina.

"Then I pronounce you husband and wife!"

The new couple kissed, and everyone stood, cheering loud enough to be heard across the village. Minato swept Kushina off her feet with the largest smile Kakashi had ever seen. Then, his Sensei carried his bride down the aisle. They looked as if they were the only two left in the world.

Everyone filtered out from the ceremonial space after that. A much smaller reception was held not long later, filled mostly with Minato's and Kushina's friends. Kakashi and his classmates attended for a short while to give their congratulations and the like, but as the sun began setting and it was clear that the adults were ready to buckle down on their drinking, the children left.

Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai went their separate ways soon enough. Team 7 remained, sitting on an empty park's bench as the last of the light died away.

"Their wedding was so cute," Rin was gushing. Obito was vehemently agreeing, waving his soda can around in excitement.

Kakashi was… less enthusiastic. He sat leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, his drink in his hands. And a single thought stirred slowly in his brain, pushing its way down his throat, past his teeth, to the very tip of his tongue. The sudden, overwhelming need to confess his secret ate at him like a possession jutsu.

"Kakashi?" As always, it was Rin to notice. "You're quiet."

Obito glanced down the bench. "Yeah, what gives, Bakakashi?"

Kakashi chewed nervously on his lip and didn't respond for a moment. Should he tell them? If he did, would they believe him? Would it help to change anything, if they knew? Or would it make everything worse?

He cleared his throat and sat back, forcing himself to relax against the metallic armrest of the bench. "Oh, it's nothing," he lied cheerily. "Just thinking."

"Careful not to use up the rest of your brain cells, Jonin," Obito teased. Rin stifled a laugh and hit Obito on the shoulder. "Ow!"

"That wasn't nice." She looked to Kakashi. And her eyes were so genuine, so concerned. "Seriously, is something the matter? You haven't been quite like this in a while. You're gonna make me worry."

Kakashi propped his elbow on the armrest, casually resting his cheek on it. The anxiety of making this decision thrummed through him like a thousand bees. "Just thinking about… a dream I had."

If Rin and Obito's attention hadn't been focused on him before, it certainly was now. "A dream?" Obito asked. "About what?"

Kakashi inhaled. Now or never, he supposed. "About being grown up, I guess," he admitted. "I was almost thirty. Everyone was. I'd even gotten roped into being a Jonin-sensei to these brats."

"Aw," Rin cooed, "Kakashi-sensei."

Obito made a face. "Ew."

Rin ignored him. "Well, what about it?"

"It…" Kakashi paused, struggling for the words. "It was my life. It felt… so real. The day-to-day, taking my ki— my team on D-ranks, getting dango with Kurenai and Gai."

"Wait wait wait." Obito interrupted, raising his hands. "First, was my face on the mountain? Second, what about me and Rin? Did we have our own teams too?"

Kakashi's discomfort must have been obvious, because Obito and Rin looked much more uncomfortable than they had a moment ago.

"You weren't there," he murmured. "None of you were there. You, and Minato-sensei, and even Kushina… you'd all died."

Rin's voice was as quiet as a mouse's. "We did?"

Kakashi nodded. He didn't want to look at them, so he didn't. He stared down at the soda tab instead. "Obito died first, on a mission that went… wrong."

Obito's posture stiffened—Kakashi could see it even out of the corner of his eyes. "That wouldn't happen!" The Uchiha exclaimed, but Kakashi could hear the bravado covering the fear. "Minato-sensei wouldn't let—"

"Minato wasn't there." Kakashi looked up, locking eyes with his friend. "Because I was the Jonin on the mission. I was team captain, and you died on my watch."

His teammates fell deathly silent. Obito's face was pale. Kakashi turned his eyes to Rin.

"And you died not long after him. A few months, maybe."

Rin looked shaken. "How…?"

Kakashi's throat tightened. He looked her in the eyes and said, "By my hand."

"That's—that's not possible!" Obito shouted. "You would never—"

"I didn't want to," Kakashi stressed. He felt desperate, trying to convince them that he never wanted them to die. And yet, no matter which way he turned it, he was still guilty. He was Friend Killer Kakashi. "She jumped in front of my attack. But I still killed her."

Rin gently touched Kakashi's wrist. "If you didn't mean to—"

Kakashi recoiled from her touch. She froze, and slowly withdrew her hand. The Hatake shook his head and soldiered on. "Sensei and Kushina died in an attack on the village a year later."

Silence weighed heavy on all of them. Briefly, Kakashi remembered the happiness thick in the air just a few hours ago. Now it was replaced with something much more terrible. But there was just one more thing that Kakashi had to say.

"Waking up here again made it feel like I had a second chance. And I don't want to fuck it up again. I…"

I can't.

"Kakashi…" Rin started.

Abruptly, Kakashi stood up and vanished in a puff of smoke. His feet landed in the Hatake compound, and he felt dizzy, off balance. He blindly reached for the wall to steady him and set his soda down on the floor.

What had he done? What had he done? Telling Gai about some dream months ago was one thing, but telling his team? On the night of Minato's wedding, and the day after Kakashi became a Jonin, no less? What was he thinking?

His body kicked into autopilot. Eventually he found himself in bed, staring at the ceiling.

Minato and Kushina used traditional wedding vows in his time, he was sure of it. His actions had somehow managed to change that even when he was doing his best to be normal, to do something right. So what would happen now, that he went and told Obito and Rin that?

The anxiety ate at him. He didn't sleep until the sunrise.

The next day, Sunday, they had no training as usual. Kakashi avoided everyone for the entire day, even when Rin and Obito came knocking at his door. He didn't know how to face them after that.

Telling his sins to the Memorial Stone was so much easier.

But Monday came, and Kakashi couldn't avoid them any longer. A war wouldn't wait for a wedding or a honeymoon, and so Minato was there bright and early for training. Kakashi arrived as late as possible to still be on time. He made a point not to look at Obito or Rin, instead keeping his eyes fixated on Minato's overly happy face.

His sensei's joy had turned from infectious to sickening, and Kakashi had no one but himself to blame for that.

Kakashi could only blame himself for everything.

"Good morning, everyone!" Minato cheered. "Before we start our training for today, I have something to tell you. We have a mission. Come here."

Minato kneeled on the grass, and hiis students joined him. Then, the Namikaze pulled out a map, smoothly unfolded it, and pointed to a river.

Kakashi recognized it instantly. He thought he might be sick.

In big, bold letters circled in red above the river were the words:

KANNABI BRIDGE