Past

Chapter One: Naivety

Five year old Kakashi clambered onto the couch beside his father. Craning his neck upward, Kakashi peered at his father's sleeping form, head cocked to the side, mouth slightly parted open. His father's sandals were still on, as was his weapons pouch and all of his armor, like he had been so tired he just collapsed on the nearest surface.

Frowning, Kakashi hopped down from the couch and went to work, removing his father's dirty sandals. Holding them at the very tips of his fingers and stretching his arm out as far as he possibly could, Kakashi scampered across the living room, placing his father's sandals neatly next to his own, smaller ones. Then, Kakashi went back to his sleeping father and began to unhook the weapons pouch, relieving his father from having an uncomfortable lump digging into his backside as he slept. The next to go was the kunai holster wrapped around his father's thigh, followed by the tanto strapped on his father's back.

That had taken a bit of maneuvering. Kakashi lifted his father's right arm, wrapping it around his own shoulder while he grabbed onto the holster. Sliding it up his father's body, Kakashi slipped it through his father's right arm before gently setting his arm back down to his side. He placed the tanto next to the weapons pouch and kunai holder on the couch next to Sakumo.

Kakashi inwardly debated whether or not he should remove his father's flak jacket; it looked uncomfortable to sleep in, but it would take too much effort on Kakashi's end to remove it. In the end, Kakashi decided to leave it and went to retrieve a blanket for his father.

Climbing on the couch once more, Kakashi hovered over his father as he draped the blanket over him. Satisfied with his handiwork, Kakashi hopped down. Grabbing a nearby notepad, Kakashi hastily scribbled that he was going out and would be back for dinner. Tossing one last look at his father, Kakashi left the house.

Asuma was already there when Kakashi arrived, right by the spot they had agreed on: under the big oak tree by the Academy. The older boy's eyes flickered upwards as he noted Kakashi's presence, but Asuma remained seated on the tire swing. His feet dug into the ground, gently rocking him back and forth.

"You have it?" Kakashi questioned.

Asuma had the audacity to look mildly offended. "Of course, what do you take me for?" Asuma reached into his pockets, rummaging around before pulling out two sheets of chakra paper. He handed one over to Kakashi, who took it with a nod of gratitude.

"Besides, my old man is so busy with war nowadays that he doesn't have time to pay attention to me. He doesn't even know I left," Asuma added. Though he tried to play it off like it was nothing, Kakashi could tell that his father's absence affected Asuma's mood.

Kakashi sat down by the base of the tree, leaning his back against the trunk and stretching his legs out.

"Did you ask your father yet?"

Kakashi shook his head. "When I went home, tou san was already asleep. I think the war is taking a toll on him too."

"And a kid to care for too," Asuma added. "At least you're relatively independent and don't cause too much trouble for your dad."

Kakashi hummed in agreement as he absently stared at the blank piece of paper in front of him. Asuma hopped down from the swing, landing in front of Kakashi. Plopping down onto the ground, he sat cross legged as he held up his own piece of paper.

"You ready?" Asuma questioned. Kakashi nodded. Both of them channelled chakra to their fingers and awaited for the paper to react. Asuma's eyes widened as his paper sliced in half, fluttering to the ground. Kakashi's paper wrinkled between his fingers.

Asuma grinned, pointing a finger at Kakashi. "Ha! Wind is stronger than lightning. Finally, something that I'm better at than you."

Kakashi rolled his eyes, swatting Asuma's finger out of his face. "We'll see about that. You forget that I already know doton."

"Of course, of course," Asuma said sarcastically. "Everyone knows that you are a prodigy."

From others, being called a prodigy was either an insult or a sign of high expectations. From Asuma, it contained neither, just a lighthearted jab between friends.

"Is being a prodigy that good of a thing though?" Kakashi questioned. "Prodigies get sent out to the battlefield at a younger age."

Asuma's eyes widened. "You don't think they're pushing your graduation date because they want to send you to the battlefield, do you?"

Kakashi shrugged. "It's plausible. During wartime, our forces are pushed to our limits, so it would make sense that they would want as many shinobis on the field as possible, regardless of age. Besides, there's no point for me to stay in the Academy any longer; I already know everything that they teach us. I'd just be wasting time there."

"Are you ready though? To face the horrors of war? I know we heard a lot of stories, but experiencing them…"

"It's different, I know," Kakashi acknowledged. "However, no matter the age, I don't think anyone can be truly prepared for war. It's just one of those things...like making your first kill."

"Do you think…?" Asuma didn't even need to finish his train of thought; Kakashi understood.

"No, I don't think so. I'll probably end up being on supply delivery duty to the outpost or other things of the sort," Kakashi told him. "I don't think they'll send a five year old out to the battlefield to die. Besides, I'm sure tou san wouldn't let me anyways."

"But do you want to?"

"To be on the battlefield? Not particularly, but as shinobis, we are often asked to do things that we don't want to do."

Asuma huffed. "Why do you have to sound like my old man? I feel like I'm getting another lecture from him."

Kakashi stood up. "Well I can't help that I am so much wiser than you are. Come on, didn't we agree that we were going to work on learning a new jutsu today?"

Asuma nodded.

Going to the library was a viable option, but Asuma insisted that they should get the scrolls out of his father's private library. Kakashi suspected that Asuma wanted to go back to his house to see if his father would notice him this time, but he didn't comment on it. After all, Kakashi was curious to know if there were scrolls that they wouldn't be able to find at the library. Asuma's father wasn't known to be The Professor for nothing.

The house was silent when Asuma opened the front door. The two of them slid off their sandals, leaving them by the door before Asuma motioned for Kakashi to enter. Kakashi stood off to the side, waiting for Asuma to shut the door before he followed after the older boy, feet padding quietly down the hallway.

Asuma's eyes flickered to the light that spilled through the closed door, located three rooms away from the library. He didn't say anything as he pushed open the door to the library.

In the next instance, Kakashi's attention was captivated by the multitude of scrolls that lined the shelves in the library, possibly offering even more information than the public library. Kakashi went down every aisle, eyes skimming the various titles. Genjutsus. All five elemental ninjutsus. Taijutsu. Beyond the three most common areas of shinobi arts, there were plenty of books on other topics, such as medical ninjutsu, fuinjutsu, and various kekkei genkais. He was particularly drawn to the section that contained scrolls on jutsu creation.

Asuma wandered over to where Kakashi was standing, eyes fixed on a few titles.

"Jutsu creation? A bit ambitious, don't you think?" Asuma commented, eyes sliding over to gauge Kakashi's reaction.

"Strategic," Kakashi offered. "We can learn the jutsus that someone else has created, but the chances are that there is already a counter for it. With original jutsus, we can catch the enemy off guard."

Asuma resisted the urge to facepalm. "You're already thinking like you've been to war and back."

"And that's a bad thing, how?" Kakashi questioned, as he stood on his tippy toes, trying to reach one of the scrolls. The tips of his fingers brushed against the scroll, but he wasn't tall enough to get a grasp on it. Asuma, who was relatively the same height as him, would be no help.

"I'm just saying you should at least try to enjoy your childhood, at least for a little bit."

Kakashi didn't bother to respond to Asuma and instead attempted to reach for the scroll once more. He jumped, stretching his arm to grab the scroll, but failed to get a grip on it before gravity took over and brought him back down to the floor.

"Is there a stool around here?"

Asuma nodded, pointing in the direction near the front door. Before Kakashi could move towards that direction, he heard a new voice interject.

"It's this one, right?"

Kakashi whirled around to see a tall blonde haired man standing there, with the very scroll that he had been trying to get in his hand. His heart was pounding rapidly, from the shock of not even having sensed the arrival of the stranger.

He was young, but he wasn't incompetent. He was even good enough to sense his father on most occasions, so to have someone sneak up to him was such an unsettling feeling.

"Thank you." Kakashi hated the quiver in his voice. The blonde man most certainly noticed, but chose not to comment on it.

"Ah, so this is where you have been, Asuma. Your father told me you were out of the house when I asked to see you."

Asuma shrugged. "Just got back."

"Just here to grab a few scrolls for your father, I'll be out of your way in a moment. Oh! How rude of me to not introduce myself. I'm Minato Namikaze, but you can call me Minato."

Minato had bent down slightly, extending his hand outwards for Kakashi to shake. Kakashi shook it while his brain racked of where he possibly heard that name before. It sounded so familiar...but he just couldn't pinpoint it.

"Kakashi Hatake."

Minato smiled. "Ah, so you're Sakumo san's kid. He told me lots about you when we were stationed to the same outpost a while ago."

Then it clicked. His father had told him multiple stories about Minato.

"He's a good kid. He has immense potential," Sakumo told him, chuckling lightly. "He even created a jutsu that allows him to detect foreign presence from a distance. Obviously, that's all because Kushina taught him so much about fuinjutsu in the first place…"

"Kushina nee san? Are they friends?"

Sakumo smiled. "They are, but kami knows Minato wants to be more than that. For all of his brilliance on the battlefield, apparently it's not the same when it comes to love."

Three year old Kakashi scrunched up his nose at that prospect. "But I don't want someone to hog Kushina nee's time."

Sakumo lightly patted his son's head. "Don't worry, you'll meet him one day. Then you can decide if he's good enough for your Kushina nee."

Minato Namikaze, one of the few subordinates that had earned his father's respect.

"He told me a lot about you too," Kakashi mumbled. "Is it true that you can cross an entire battlefield in a second?"

"I suppose so. I can show you one day if you would like." Kakashi's expression lit up, but he quickly reverted back to his impassive expression.

"A scroll on jutsu creation?" Minato questioned. Kakashi mentally prepared himself; he most likely was going to get something along the lines of overly estimating his own smarts or being too young to do it. "Do you have anything in mind?"

This time, Kakashi couldn't even hide it. Surprise was etched all over his face. Was Minato actually interested in hearing what he had to say?

"Nothing at the moment," Kakashi told him honestly. "I just found it interesting, that's all."

Minato nodded. "I'm currently working on another jutsu myself. I'll show it to you one day when I'm finished with it, maybe you'll have gathered some inspiration by then. I better get going...it's best to not keep Hiruzen san waiting."

Tossing one last smile at both of the boys, Minato quickly pinpointed the scrolls that he wanted before exiting the library as mysteriously as he came.

"Your father's second in command?" Kakashi asked, wandering back to the section with the scrolls on elemental ninjutsu. Grabbing one on wind and one on lightning, Kakashi tossed the wind one to Asuma.

Asuma shrugged. "There's a lot of talk of Minato san becoming the fourth leader, but I don't know for certain."

"The fourth leader? Your father is retiring?" For as long as he could remember, Kakashi always thought of Hiruzen sama as the leader. Even in his father's stories of the time before he was even born, Hiruzen sama had always been the leader of the Senju force. To have a different leader, it seemed oddly strange and hard for his mind to grasp.

"He's wanted to for a while now," Asuma admitted. "But his students weren't interested in taking over. He's been waiting for the right person to come along and I think he's found it, but Minato san is still a bit too young. Besides, I'm sure my old man wants to wait until the war is over before he changes hands."

"If it ever ends," Kakashi corrected. "Come on, let's get started before it gets too dark."

Kakashi had gotten back home later than he had anticipated, but he figured it would be alright since his father was probably still asleep. What he hadn't anticipated was his father already seated at the dinner table, two bowls of noodles on the table. Both bowls remained untouched.

"I'm home," Kakashi called out softly as he took off his sandals. Sakumo's head jerked upward, like he had been on the verge of falling asleep. Shooting Kakashi a soft smile, Sakumo motioned for him to join him at the table.

Kakashi slid in the seat across from his father.

"Did you enjoy your day?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Just did some training."

HIs father chuckled lightly. "You need to learn how to have some fun, Kakashi. Do something other than training."

Kakashi ignored his suggestion. "I met Minato san today."

"Did you?" Sakumo's eyes was twinkling with amusement. "How was he? Do you approve?"

"He's an interesting person," Kakashi answered. "He inspired me to create my own jutsu too; I want to make one that's going to be better than his."

Sakumo laughed at Kakashi's declaration, reaching across the table to ruffle his son's hair. "I'm sure you will be able to do it. After all, each generation always finds a way to surpass the previous."

"Maybe." Kakashi was doubtful. From his father's accounts and meeting the man himself, Kakashi had gotten the impression that Minato was a really impressive shinobi. Not to mention, there were rumors that he would become the fourth leader; Minato must have been really impressive if that was the case.

Kakashi shoveled the noodles into his mouth, determined that he would just have to work harder to surpass the blonde haired man.

"Whoa, whoa slow down before you choke," Sakumo commented, reaching out to stop his son. Yet by the time his hand reached across the table, Kakashi had slammed his chopsticks down on the porcelain rim of the bowl. Sakumo was alarmed, black eyes following his son as he slid out of his seat, taking his bowl with him to the sink basin. His son returned to his line of sight moments later; eyes imploring him to finish his own food.

"Hurry up, tou san! I want to go train!"

Sakumo blinked in surprise. One because Kakashi had never asked to train with him; they only ever trained together upon Sakumo's insistence. Two because it had been such a long time since he heard the childish whine in the back of Kakashi's voice; he always thought that his son had been maturing too quickly for his taste.

Shaking his head out of amusement, Sakumo began to eat as his son seemingly stared him down. A warm fuzzy feeling appeared in his chest as Sakumo watched Kakashi try his hardest not to fidget as he impatiently waited for him to finish eating dinner. Sakumo hid his smile by ducking his head downward and taking another bite of his dinner.

He missed this. The feeling of being home. The feeling of being a father again.

He wished it could last an eternity.

Kakashi Hatake was officially the youngest person to graduate from the Academy since the start of the program. When he left the Academy that afternoon with his newly issued hitai-ate bearing the Senju clan symbol proudly on his forehead, it was received with mixed reactions.

"He's so young!"

"Are they that desperate for shinobi?"

"His father is a genius after all. Guess his kid takes after him."

"Can't believe they let someone so young graduate from the Academy."

"I heard he is leagues ahead of his peers, so it makes sense that they let him graduate early. Can't imagine Hiruzen sama sending him out to the battlefield though."

And so on.

Kakashi heard every single word, even if the adults thought that they were being discreet, but ignored them all. Instead, his eyes roved the crowd of adults, desperately hoping that the only person he cared to see was present.

He knew there was a chance that he wasn't; his father did mention he was on call to be sent back to the field at any moment, but for once, Kakashi selfishly wanted his father to be there for this occasion. The long absences, the loneliness and solitude, the forced independence...all of that Kakashi could handle. But for once, he wished his father could be here.

The more Kakashi searched, the greater the feeling of dread built up in his chest. Brown, black, red, yellow, blue, purple...why couldn't he spot a mop of silver hair just like his own among the crowd?

Kakashi was acutely aware of the other kids exiting the Academy now, running up to their own families to show off their newly minted status as a shinobi of the Senju clan. He was acutely aware of the laughter, the congratulations, the smiles, the happiness that radiated from these families. Kakashi was also acutely aware that he had absolutely no one to share his own joy with.

Crestfallen, Kakashi retreated to his favorite tree, taking a seat on the tire swing. The heel of his sandals dug into the dirt, before he released his hold, letting himself sail through the air. From his vantage point, Kakashi observed the other kids, proudly showing off their brand new hitai-ate to their parents. The parents shone with pride; the younger siblings were envious.

Reaching to the back of his own head, Kakashi tugged on the fabric, loosening the knot. The hitai-ate fell onto his lap. He stared into the metal plating, shiny enough that he could see his own reflection within it.

What was the point of having this if he had no one to share it with?

Angrily, Kakashi flipped the hitai-ate over so he didn't have to see his own forlorn expression staring back at him. Hopping off of the swing while it was in midair, Kakashi landed on his feet with the grace of a shinobi. Clutching his hitai-ate in his right hand, his fingers curled around it with even more force with every step he took.

Kakashi had barely taken five steps when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He whirled around, hand reaching to grab a kunai from his back pocket in the process. The hand was brushed off his shoulder, kunai pointed at the person's abdomen before Kakashi recognized the familiar green of the flak jacket worn by Senju shinobis. His eyes flickered upwards, taking in a familiar pair of startling blue eyes and blonde hair.

Kakashi lowered his kunai, tucking it back into his pocket.

"Minato san," Kakashi greeted, slightly bowing his head just like he had been taught. "Sorry about that, I thought you were an enemy."

Minato smiled. "Your reflexes were good. I suppose it's my fault for sneaking up to you. My apologies for being late."

"Late?" Kakashi repeated. "For what?"

"Your graduation ceremony of course." Upon Kakashi's confused expression, Minato took it upon himself to elaborate. "Your father told me about your early graduation. Since he wasn't sure if he would be able to make it and Kushina is currently out of the village, I decided to come."

"Thanks, but you didn't have to waste your time. It's just graduation, that's all." His words had been meant to be a dismissal, so Kakashi turned to leave himself, but to his surprise, Minato's hand wrapped around his arm, stopping him from leaving.

"Nope, none of that negativity. Prodigy or not, graduating from the Academy is a huge milestone in your life. I'm not letting you go until you let me take you out for a celebratory lunch."

"Do I even get a say in this?" Kakashi deadpanned.

Minato was all smiles when he responded with a cheerful, "Nope!"

And that was how Kakashi found himself being dragged along by the overly enthusiastic shinobi down the street to Ichiraku Ramen. Kakashi sat down in the stool closest to the right wall while Minato took a seat next to him, seemingly towering over him.

"This is my favorite place to eat," Minato commented, eyeing the young shinobi out of the corner of his eye.

"You mean you like to come here because Kushina nee does," Kakashi responded. He didn't miss the way the older man's cheeks turned slightly pink and how his hand moved to rub the back of his neck. Thankfully, Minato was saved from that particular conversation when Teuchi came to get their orders.

"Are you disappointed that your father couldn't be here?"

"No." There was no hesitation in Kakashi's response, but his expression told a different story.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"I-what?"

"You don't seem very happy to see me," Minato pointed out. "I realize that I'm not your father, but I'm hoping that you'll be able to see me as a friend?"

"Fine. I really hoped that tou san could have been here today, but I understand that war…" Kakashi couldn't even be bothered to finish his sentence because what did he know about war? Why were they even fighting in the first place?

Minato placed a hand on Kakashi's head, lightly ruffling his hair. "Don't worry. I'll do my best to end the war soon."

Kakashi was skeptical but didn't say anything in response. After all, this was coming from the man who was rumored to be the fourth leader, so his words were supposed to be somewhat reassuring, right?

"Are you free this afternoon?" Kakashi piped up, after ten minutes of silence. Curiosity was reflected in Minato's eyes as he wondered what was going through the young boy's mind.

"It's my day off. Why?"

"Can you train me?" Minato was taken entirely off guard. Never in a million years did Minato think that Kakashi would ask him for help, not when it seemed like the boy could hardly seem to tolerate him.

"Of course."

"Good," Kakashi said, tossing a few ryos onto the counter, despite Minato having said it was his treat. Grabbing him by the wrist, Kakashi began to tug him out of his seat, much to Minato's dismay as he wasn't able to get the opportunity to finish his ramen. "I told tou san I was going to surpass you one day, so I better get started."

Minato laughed.

Kakashi was certainly a character.

A/N: Hi again!

Going to mention this again: the story will follow two different plotlines, the past and the present. The past plotline will answer a lot of questions, such as how Kakashi ended up working for the Uchihas, explore Kakashi, Itachi, and Rin's background and what shaped them to become the people they are in the present time. For now, I would treat them as two separate plotlines but as we dive further into the story, you'll start to see why. :) Also! Definitely pay attention to the ages in the past chapters because I don't stick to one time period.

Reading this chapter really made me smile because I love Minato/Kakashi relationship. I sort of see Minato as the awkward older brother who's not quite sure how to act around a kid. And of course, he'll become his sensei :P And I love the fact that I get to explore Sakumo and Kakashi's relationship since we didn't get too much of that in canon. Let me know what you guys think!

Thanks for the feedback last chapter! Glad to see a lot of readers from The Catalyst! I hope you'll like this story as much as I do! As always, thank you so much for reading and until next time!

-MM