Thanks for all the feedback so far! :D I'm really glad you guys are continuing to enjoy this! I know not a lot is happening yet, but it's coming! Slowly. In the meantime, have some character interaction! Because part of the reason (okay, a BIG reason) why I'm doing this is because of the characters and their relationship, so I hope you continue to enjoy that aspect. Since it's going to be a large piece of this fic.

I hope you enjoy! :D

Chapter 3

Usually, when one was faced with a ten-tailed monster that had rampaged across the earth centuries ago and destroyed almost everything before being sealed, the logical thing to do was run. If one didn't, then one could be classified as insane.

He wasn't sure if he was insane or not. He did know that he was doing something incredibly stupid. The terror surging through him was enough evidence of that.

The Kyuubi wasn't enough. They had the Hachibi, but the Juubi had shrugged off the attacks like they were mere annoyances.

They were so small. And nothing he had was enough against a monster of that size.

He'd dragged Naruto away before the other could throw himself at the Juubi and kill himself. They wouldn't have anything if Naruto died.

Only Naruto wasn't there any longer. He'd slipped away in the dust and smoke, but hadn't Naruto just been there? He hadn't let go, had he?

Where was he?

There was an ear-piercing scream that drowned everything else out. It shattered the air, cracked the ground, and the rush of chakra that followed was overwhelming.

He whipped around, gaze going up, up, and up, only to see exactly what he had feared: Naruto, blazing with the fire of the Kyuubi's chakra, and surging headlong towards the Juubi, an enormous bijuudama ready to be fired.

But they'd tried that before. It hadn't worked.

And…it hadn't gone like this, had it? No, he'd pulled Naruto away, they'd run, Minato grabbing hold of them to use his Hiraishin and take them as far as possible from the monster.

So why was this happening? Why was Naruto going against the Juubi?

There was a breathless moment where even his terror seemed to be drowned out by the anticipation roiling through the air.

The bijuudama fired, only to be instantly swallowed by one dozens of times its size, and everything in its wake followed suit.

His arms were shielding his face, he was somehow still alive, but Naruto – Naruto—

Kakashi jerked awake, nearly rolling right out of his bed as he struggled to get out of his blankets. He pulled his arms free, and then did actually fall out, hitting the floor with a painful thud. His legs were still wrapped up in the sheets and in the bed.

Breathing heavily, Kakashi pressed a hand to his left eye, bidding the burning behind it to disappear. His chakra roiled, begging to be used against an enemy that was no longer here.

It took several long moments, but the burning eventually subsided, and Kakashi could be sure that the Mangekyou wasn't present any longer. Letting the hand drop to his side, Kakashi stared up at the ceiling, focusing on his breathing.

A nightmare. Only a nightmare.

Based off something that had actually happened, but it hadn't happened like that. They'd gotten clear, but had lost more of their forces as a result. And after that…Naruto had asked for specific training from Minato.

It hadn't been the first or last time they'd had such a close call against the Juubi, but it had definitely been one of the most memorable.

Not that they weren't all memorable, but stare death in the face too many times and it started to get a little routine. He hadn't told anyone else that, since the first time he'd tried cracking an inappropriate joke about sitting down with the Juubi for tea everyone had gone dead quiet and stared at him like he'd lost his head. Except Naruto. Naruto had laughed about it afterwards and then almost cried.

Anyway.

Kakashi was a little more interested – in a detached sort of way – at how the nightmare hadn't felt as vivid as it usually did. Even now, when he cast his mind back to the battle scene, remembering how it had felt to be in the presence of that terrifying, primordial monster, he felt a step removed from the images.

Usually he tried not to remember. It was too dangerous, leaving him twitching and raw for hours afterwards.

But now?

Kakashi untangled his legs from the blanket and turned, leaning his back against the bed as he crossed his ankles and brought his knees up. He wrapped his arms around his shins, tangling his hands together as he thought.

Trauma was a tricky thing. Kakashi knew the tricks to adapting and getting around a lot of it. How to appear normal even if everything inside you was turning around and burning the world to ashes. But it was easier than expected now. He'd expected to be jumpier than he currently was, and the smell of barbeque didn't make him remember—

Well, it wasn't as bad as he had expected given that he'd essentially just returned from a war without any kind of debriefing or psychological counseling.

Not that Kakashi liked going to psychological counseling. He usually just bullshitted something and flitted away.

No one had ever dragged him back. He was sane enough and completely competent, so they couldn't force him.

In any case, Kakashi didn't entirely understand all the effects trauma could have on the mind. Just that he wasn't as affected here as he had been in the future, and he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

That said…

Kakashi still wasn't going to be sleeping for the rest of the night.

It was too quiet.

"Goooood morning, my esteemed rival!"

Startled as he was at the loud voice (because he'd registered the presence but the voice was entirely unexpected), Kakashi lost hold of his chakra and dropped underwater. He took a moment to be justifiably peeved that his record of being able to stay on top of the water since the sun had risen was broken. Then he shook it off with an exhale and surfaced, treading water to see Gai on the shore.

"Are we practicing swimming this morning, my rival?" Gai asked, teeth gleaming brightly in the sunlight.

Exhaling again, this time without the satisfying release of bubbles, Kakashi pulled himself out of the water entirely, balancing precariously on the balls of his feet. He'd so far managed to walk on water and do his katas. He could have a conversation, couldn't he?

"All skills are important for a shinobi," Kakashi answered eventually, standing upright. "Did you need something?"

Surely Gai didn't want another competition, did he? They'd just had one yesterday.

"I challenge you, rival!" Gai announced, promptly dashing all of Kakashi's expectations.

Kakashi slipped a hand in his pocket, bringing the other one up to rub the back of his head. "Oh? We just had one yesterday."

"Youth waits for no one!" Gai shouted, pointing a finger to the sky. "You should know that, Kakashi!"

"Right, right." Kakashi made his way to the shore, pleased as punch when he managed it without slipping up. It was pitiful, but at this point he took his victories where he could get them. "So…it's your pick this time, right?"

Gai pumped a fist in the air. "Indeed, my rival! And I have selected the perfect challenge for us!"

Kakashi took a brief moment to hope that the challenge wasn't anything insane like climbing up the Hokage Mountain with nothing but one's feet and no chakra. He'd done it once before but it hadn't been fun. Because feet weren't meant to be used as climbing instruments. Kakashi still wasn't sure how he'd managed to finish that challenge; he must have blotted it out.

"I challenge you to a race!" Gai said, catching Kakashi's attention. "First one to the top of the Hokage Mountain wins! But!" He grinned again, winking. "We must race to the gates first!"

Okay that…wasn't so bad.

Kakashi bent to pick up the small bag he'd left on the shore so it wouldn't get wet. "To the gates and then to the top of the mountain?"

"You are correct!" Gai turned to face the same direction Kakashi was, pointing to a floating leaf in the sky. "That leaf touching the ground will be the signal!"

The leaf was floating around like a butterfly. Kakashi thought it would take a while to touch the ground.

Still, he prepared to begin at a moment's notice, catching Gai's eye when he shifted his head. His friend gave him a fierce grin, one which Kakashi didn't return beyond a slight inclination of his head.

Gai was a dear friend, and Kakashi felt rather blessed that he could spend time with him again. That feeling was only a bit soured by the knowledge as to how he even had this chance to begin with, but that didn't matter.

The point of this was that nothing that had happened would happen again.

Kakashi would make sure of it. And if he failed, Naruto would succeed.

The leaf was swirling down, several feet from touching the ground.

Taking in slow, measured breaths, Kakashi braced his feet for an instant takeoff, pulling up a mental map of Konoha to plan his path. He only hoped that he remembered it well enough to manage properly. Taking the roofs would help.

The moment the leaf touched the ground, he took off in a blur, feeling Gai do the same.

Kakashi instantly took to the trees, wincing when his chakra-enhanced jump took out part of the ground. He quickly modulated the ratio, and he managed to not break any branches until he exited the trees and landed on the ground, just ahead of Gai clearing the tree line.

He knew from yesterday that he was faster than Gai, which was very much a first for him for years. Just about the only edge Kakashi had had on Gai was his speed in ninjutsu, but now that wasn't the case any longer.

Reaching the gates took a few more minutes, Kakashi quickly redirecting his trajectory and stopping briefly to wave to the startled guards. They looked vaguely familiar but he wasn't able to place their faces just yet.

Then, eyeing the Hokage Mountain, Kakashi jumped onto the nearest roof and started running. He could sense Gai just a little behind him.

His chakra control came much more smoothly this time, and he managed to not break any rooftops this time. There were genin on the roofs, and Kakashi darted past them before they could react beyond startled yelps.

Kakashi jumped again, landed, and skidded through a mess of paint and water that appeared out of nowhere, colliding with someone much smaller.

"Hey!" Naruto protested indignantly from under Kakashi. "Watch where you're going!"

Quickly rolling off Naruto, Kakashi pulled him to his feet, checked that he was okay with a swift pat down, and offered a brief "Sorry" before taking off again. Gai had just about caught up with the distraction.

"Oh sweet!" Naruto shouted from behind him. "I want to be a shinobi, too!"

Naruto was laying it on a bit thick there, wasn't he?

For that matter, Kakashi wanted to know just what Naruto had been planning before he ran into him. Now Kakashi was covered in orange paint that stung his nose.

The Hokage Tower was coming up, along with the Academy and all the other administration buildings.

With a giant leap, Kakashi cleared the street and landed just at the base of the tower.

From there it was easy enough to get to the mountain, and Kakashi could hear Gai yelling happily from behind him.

Kakashi wasn't climbing this with his feet (he was dead certain Gai had won that challenge, even if he couldn't remember the details because his rarely used sense of self-preservation had kicked in), so he wasn't hampered by anything other than shoddy chakra control. And this wasn't water.

Climbing up the mountain went faster than traversing Konoha, and soon Kakashi found himself sitting on top of Sarutobi's head, extremely pleased with himself. Gai cleared the top thirty seconds later with an enthusiastic grunt, plopping himself down next to Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't say anything, tucking his right foot under his left thigh while his free leg dangled over the edge. He inhaled, hoping for a whiff of fresh air, only to get a breath full of the metal smell of paint. Coughing sharply in shock, Kakashi rubbed at his mask, unsurprised to find his fingers coming away orange.

Or more orange than they had been before.

Kakashi looked ruefully down at his clothes and noted that he would need to wash them.

Gai was looking at him, a small frown on his face. "It was most un-youthful of you to leave that child alone after running into him!"

"He was fine," Kakashi said, rubbing his hand off on his pants. "I checked before I left."

"I admit, I'm more surprised that you didn't notice his presence!"

Kakashi was, too. He'd been too engrossed in staying clear of the other shinobi to register Naruto's familiar presence. Normally Naruto stayed clear, but Naruto was pretending to be a civilian.

"I didn't expect the paint," Kakashi admitted after a moment, lifting his hand to demonstrate. It was still orange; the paint wasn't coming off.

Gai burst out into laughter, clapping Kakashi on the back before he could flinch away. "It was quite a trick! The young boy must be extraordinarily youthful!"

That was one way to describe Naruto.

Kakashi inched away from Gai, setting his hands down on the stone and breathing through his mouth so as not to sicken himself with the metallic, artificial smell of paint.

Turning his gaze back to the view of Konoha, Kakashi let the silence sit, comfortable doing nothing else but enjoying what he'd been unable to in the future. He would eventually have to get up and start working again, but why not take the peace he could?

He had been going nonstop for years now. No shinobi could do so forever without burning out.

Really, Kakashi was lucky he hadn't burned out yet.

"I admit that I hadn't expected you to accept my challenge," Gai said long moments later. "Not after yesterday."

Kakashi glanced askance at him, glad that Gai was on his right side so he didn't have to move his head much. He knew what Gai was referring to. It wasn't like he'd ever made it easy to be dragged into their challenges at this point.

He wanted to say what he was thinking, that he'd realized hard work was so much better than natural talent. That having connections and risking that pain of losing everything was better than remaining alone.

But it would be strange if he bared his soul now.

"It's training," Kakashi said finally, keeping his tone carefully dismissive. He stood, bracing his hands on his knees so that he was still somewhat on Gai's level.

His friend looked just a bit crestfallen at Kakashi's dismissive tone, although he hid it well.

Kakashi straightened, moving closer to the very edge of the mountain. He didn't look back as he tucked his hands in his pockets, saying casually, "The next challenge is mine, isn't it?" Turning his head to meet Gai's wide eyes, he inclined his head in farewell before disappearing in a shunshin.

It would be all too easy to slip up around Gai, saying something uncharacteristic that would raise some kind of suspicion. Or maybe not necessarily suspicion, but concern that Kakashi wasn't quite fine.

Which…was probably true, but Kakashi was as fine as one could be.

Sighing, Kakashi headed back to the training ground. He still needed to get his chakra control up. With luck, he would be back to somewhat normal by the time he was permitted to show his masked face around Sarutobi.

"Were you racing Bushier Brow-sensei?" Naruto demanded when Kakashi saw him later that night.

Kakashi stifled a smile at the familiar nickname. Even with his mask, Naruto would see it. "Yes. What were you doing with the paint?"

Naruto pouted, closing his apartment door behind him. "It was supposed to be a prank," he muttered. "But you knocked everything over." He shot Kakashi a look. "Why didn't you notice?"

"I had an eye out for other shinobi," Kakashi admitted, not proud of his earlier lapse. "Usually it isn't a problem."

Naruto's natural speed made it a good fighting style in conjunction with him. It meant Kakashi didn't have to worry that much about watching where Naruto was because he would get out of the way first or base his movements around Kakashi's.

"Yeah, but usually I'm a lot older, taller, and people know I'm a shinobi." Naruto elbowed his leg. "Eh, it's good to know you make mistakes."

Kakashi didn't look down to meet Naruto's eyes. Of course he made mistakes. Naruto knew that.

"That was a joke, sensei," Naruto said when Kakashi didn't speak.

"Ha ha," Kakashi said dryly. "Come on."

Once out of the ANBU range, Kakashi picked Naruto up and whisked them both to their training ground.

"Seriously," Naruto said once Kakashi let him down, "it's not the end of the world, Kakashi. It's not like you ran into Madara because you mistook him for a friend."

Kakashi deliberately didn't react, eye on the mess of trees that Naruto had made the previous night. He was rather surprised that Gai hadn't noticed the general condition of the place earlier. "I can't afford lapses like that," he said.

"Then don't," Naruto said simply. "You don't make the same mistake twice. I know you, sensei."

Kakashi's shoulders inched up slightly, his muscles tightening. "Don't I?" He tried to keep his voice light, but he wasn't sure if he succeeded.

"You don't," Naruto said firmly, tone forbidding further argument. "Stop being an idiot."

How could one stop being an idiot if that was what they were?

Kakashi didn't voice the thought, finally looking down to meet Naruto's eyes with a small smile that he knew Naruto could see. "Ahh, who's the Hokage here?"

"You are," Naruto said candidly, shrugging. "But I'm your student, friend, and partner. So if anyone's going to kick your ass into your gear, you better bet it's going to be me." He gave Kakashi a fierce grin. "So, Kakashi-sensei…what've we got planned for tonight's training?" His eyes turned steely. "If you say tree climbing—"

"Did you reach the top without destroying the tree?" Kakashi asked, only to dodge a punch a second later. "I'll leave you to it, shall I?"

He fled to the water, where he knew Naruto wouldn't follow because the other still hadn't been able to reach the top of a tree without cracking the bark.

"You're in charge, Kakashi."

He stared in disbelief at Tsunade. "What?"

Tsunade stared back at him, pushing something heavy and soft in his hands. "You're the Rokudaime Hokage. Take care of them."

"This – this isn't—"

But Tsunade was gone before he could finish his protests, leaving him standing there with something heavy, warm, and soft in his hands.

He looked down to see the Hokage's hat in his hands, surprise ringing through him. Tsunade never carried the hat, so why did he have it?

This wasn't how it had happened, was it?

But he had the hat – he could feel the hat in his hands – so maybe he wasn't remembering right.

Only when he looked down again, the hat wasn't just a hat. Tsunade's bloody head gazed blankly up at him.

Kakashi woke with a ragged gasp, heart pounding in his chest and eyes flicking around his room in search of an enemy. His left eye burned, and it was a moment before Kakashi could cover it with a hand, tamping down his chakra until he felt the Mangekyou dissipate.

Ugh, fuck.

That was the second time he'd woken up with an active Mangekyou. The next thing he knew he'd be using Kamui on random objects and passing out from chakra exhaustion.

Still keeping his eye covered, Kakashi focused on breathing, curling up under his blankets. It was a stark reminder that he was in Konoha, not in a dark cave or on the ground of a forest.

Everything was fine.

When his breathing had evened out and his heart was no longer beating a rapid staccato against his ribs, Kakashi sat up, turning so that he could lean back against the wall his bed was set up against. He pulled his knees up to his chest, pressing his forehead to them and focusing on the sensations he could feel now.

Reminding himself that it hadn't actually happened that way was another thing he needed to do.

There'd been no hat. Tsunade had never bothered with the physical trappings of being Hokage unless it was a formal event, and even then she threw it off when drunk enough.

No, it had just been Tsunade pulling him aside and telling him that in the event something happened, he would be the next Hokage. Kakashi had said it wasn't the best idea. Tsunade had just stared him down and said he was the only one she would consider for the job because Naruto was too young and hadn't the necessary experience.

Then she'd patted him on the shoulder and said she didn't plan on dying just yet.

Kakashi had been reassured for all of a week before they came under an attack from Madara, then the jinchuuriki of the Juubi, which had cost them a large number of their forces before Tsunade, A, Mei, and Onoki had distracted him. Kakashi and Gaara had been the ones to call and order the retreat.

There'd been no doubt what they had sentenced the four Kages to, but there hadn't been any choice.

It had left them down to two Kages, since the others hadn't appointed anyone else, refusing to consider the possibility of failure.

Which had been utterly stupid. They knew they were outclassed by Madara. But Tsunade had been the only one to actively pick a successor for the worst case scenario.

Not that it mattered. Rankings meant little in the face of what they had been dealing with.

Kakashi exhaled, knocking his head back against the wall.

He'd been Hokage, and then he had also ended up as the overall commander of the Shinobi Alliance. The job had fallen to Gaara after A's death, since he had been the general of the different regiments. But…

He'd said someone more experienced needed to be in charge of everything.

And Kakashi had said yes, of course because what else could he do?

Kakashi closed his right eye, focusing on his breathing. After another moment, he opened it again, turning his head to look out the window through the crack in his drapes.

There hadn't been anything else he could do. And now he was here.

Sighing, Kakashi rubbed his eyes, exhaustion tugging at his mind like another limb.

He should try to sleep, but Kakashi dreaded the dreams.

Honestly, Naruto couldn't wait for the Academy to start up. And he never thought he'd say that because he hated school. It was so boring.

Yet here he was. Hoping to be enrolled soon so the monotony of his life would be broken.

And so he could finally use chakra without making his ANBU guards suspicious.

He'd managed the tree climbing exercise last night, although Kakashi had just hummed mysteriously and told him to keep working on it before moving to water walking.

Considering Naruto had seen Kakashi fall under the water multiple times while doing katas or jumping around, there was probably something to be said about getting tree walking down perfectly. Especially if his own sensei was having issues.

At least Naruto didn't have to go on S-ranked missions anytime soon. Kakashi would have to once his reprieve was over, and Naruto worried.

What if something went wrong? Yeah, Kakashi was a badass, but he wasn't up to his usual self yet.

It wasn't like Naruto could give him backup either. His control was too sloppy for the Hiraishin, and he wasn't touching any other jutsu with a ten foot pole until he could be sure he wasn't going to blow something up.

Explosions were cool, but not if his brain was at risk. Or his arm if he messed up a Rasengan.

And Kakashi had so many awesome jutsu, but how many could he actually use now?

Naruto scowled down at his feet, pausing in the middle of the street.

It wasn't like he could talk to Kakashi. His sensei would just pat him on the head and give that eye-smile that wasn't actually a smile and go on about how it was so cute Naruto worried about him.

Considering Kakashi hadn't done that when Naruto was an adult, Naruto had another reason to hate being five and short.

Biting his lip, Naruto thought back to the conversation they had last night. Kakashi had seemed…odd. More frustrated than usual.

It wasn't like Kakashi had said as much, but Naruto had gotten good at reading him. There wasn't a lot Kakashi could hide from him, mask or no mask. (Although Naruto had gotten a look at that face in the future, so take that! But the circumstances behind Kakashi's mask getting ripped hadn't been all that funny.) Still, Kakashi was so very private, and while Naruto knew he wasn't the best at picking up social cues sometimes, he knew enough to not pry into another person's secrets.

Only it was hard when the other person was the only one he could interact with normally. And when he didn't want the other person to be hurting.

Besides, Kakashi was so good at reading Naruto that it kind of sucked that Naruto still couldn't do the same for Kakashi.

Naruto glumly kicked a rock to the side, head down.

A lot of things sucked right now. They had time, but Naruto wanted it to be over with.

He hated waiting for the war that would be coming. It hung over his head like a gloomy cloud, threatening everything that he held dear. It wasn't even like he could just wave a hand and tell it to go away.

But that was the point, wasn't it? To make it possible so Naruto could get rid of that cloud and make sure that nothing bad happened.

So Granny Tsunade didn't have to die. So Gaara would still be alive and not buried under a mound of sand as he tried to take down as many white Zetsus as he could in a suicide run.

Those white Zetsus.

They were like zombies. Short of annihilating their bodies entirely, somehow they kept regenerating and coming back.

Kakashi had come up with several cool jutsu that did the trick pretty well, but Naruto had never gotten the hang of lightning affinity. No, all he had were his bijuudama and Rasenshuriken. They were effective, but the most damage they caused was in a central location. The further out one was from the impact zone, the less damage was caused.

Kakashi was able to spread it out. And so could Sasuke once he learned the same jutsu.

Sasuke…

Naruto sighed, scratching his neck as he considered his best friend. Sasuke would also be five and happy with his family. Because the Uchiha weren't dead yet and Naruto was planning on making sure they didn't die this time around.

Kakashi was on board; they just needed to figure out when to take care of the mess.

Would Naruto still be friends with him? Would Naruto even be on the same team as Sasuke?

Naruto could probably pull a dead last position again. It would suck, but that wouldn't be too much of an issue.

He wouldn't graduate early either. He could easily substitute the bunshin jutsu for kage bunshin when the time came so he didn't have to fail.

Which reminded him about the whole mess with Iruka and Mizuki. He didn't want to lose that bond with Iruka.

Growling under his breath, Naruto pulled at his hair, barely aware of the looks people were shooting him. It wasn't until someone roughly bumped into him that he darted off at top speed, pelting through the street.

He didn't know what to do. Just sitting and waiting wasn't his thing. He needed to do something, but what he could do without completely messing things up?

Naruto dashed past a crowd of civilians, turning abruptly and running down another street.

Become friends with Sasuke earlier? Somehow reach out to Iruka and make it clear that he wasn't the Kyuubi but a child?

He ran over a bridge, legs burning with the effort.

What of Team 7? How could he be sure that team would form again?

Kakashi hadn't said a word, so Naruto didn't know if his sensei was willing to take on that team again. He probably was, but what if Kakashi somehow ended up with another team?

So many things could happen that Naruto had no way of keeping track of them all.

Naruto turned on his heel and ran back down the path he had just come from. He darted past the ANBU following him, who were both probably rather confused at his sudden mad dash through Konoha.

Naruto didn't want to be alone anymore. He'd gotten used to not being alone – to being seen.

Now it was just Kakashi, but Kakashi couldn't see him during the day. Not without putting on a henge or having some other kind of disguise.

So should he? Should he reach out to Sasuke now?

Sasuke wasn't alone yet, would hopefully never be alone like he had been, but Naruto wasn't the same either. He could do something about it.

Naruto didn't slow down, but he let a smile pull at his lips as he darted past the Academy, head turning slightly so he could look at it.

Okay, he had a small bit of a plan. Now he would just need to run it past Kakashi.

Hopefully, he wasn't going to stay alone now.

"You want to talk to Sasuke?"

"Yeah – urk!" Naruto yelped as he went under with a loud splash. A few seconds later he was back on dry land. "I want to reach out to him."

"Hm…" Kakashi flicked his tantou around, moving through the first stances of the dance his father had taught him. He was managing to stay successfully on top of the water now, although it was still taking more focus than he would have liked.

"What?" Naruto demanded, back on the water, fingers linked together in the ram seal as he channeled chakra. He managed to stay on top of the water for now. "Don't tell me it's a bad idea!"

"I don't know if it's a bad idea," Kakashi answered, hesitating as he blanked on the next stance. After a moment he simply decided to wing it and go with whatever felt natural. "What are you hoping to achieve with it?"

"Achieve? I just want to be friends with him, ya know!" Naruto shouted, only to lose focus and slip under the water again. He surfaced, shaking his head like a dog before simply treading water. "We can't plan for everything, Kakashi. You know that. We're going to need to take a leap of faith sometime."

Sighing, Kakashi sheathed his tantou and walked over to Naruto, pulling him out of the water and setting him on the surface. He didn't let go of the back of Naruto's shirt until he was sure Naruto could stay on top.

"I know," he said, still keeping one hand at the nape of Naruto's neck just in case. With the other, he lifted his hitai-ate so he could more easily read Naruto's chakra flow. "But this is personal, isn't it?"

"Everything's personal, ya know," Naruto grumbled, folding his arms and glaring angrily at Kakashi. "Otherwise we would've just rolled over and died, yeah? But we're here and we're doing this. What does it hurt if I talk to Sasuke and make friends with him earlier? Maybe he won't go to Orochimaru this time!"

Kakashi gripped hold of Naruto's shirt just before he dropped, keeping him upright until Naruto stabilized his chakra flow. Once he was sure Naruto wouldn't drop again, he spoke. "That's seven years down the line, Naruto. If we change what we need to in the next year or so, it's very likely that Orochimaru will never be in that forest with you. You might not be in that forest. As for Sasuke…I can't tell you what's going to happen. You know him best."

Naruto's chin dropped until the back of his head was all Kakashi could see. "Yeah…I do. Which is why"—he lifted his head to meet Kakashi's eyes, a fire burning in his own—"I need to do this! Sasuke is my friend! Even if he's never going to be the same, I'm not the same either! And I can't just sit around and do nothing but train, so I'm gonna do something that I know will help! And you know it, too!"

Kakashi's grip tightened on the back of Naruto's shirt, holding him aloft for a few seconds before Naruto regained his balance, chakra flow stabilizing. Kakashi let his shoulders go loose, his other hand coming up to rub the back of his neck.

"You're going to do it anyway," Kakashi said, holding Naruto's gaze. "Does it matter what I say?"

Naruto flinched slightly, eyes widening. "Of course it does! We're partners, Kakashi-sensei! But you said it yourself: you don't think it's a bad idea."

"We're partners," Kakashi agreed. "Which also means you don't need my permission to do something if you think it'll work."

Naruto's mouth set in a thin line that signaled he was either going to be mulish or deliver a passionate speech that would change an enemy's lifelong ideals. It could also herald a punch.

Kakashi hoped it wasn't a punch.

"You're my Hokage," Naruto said, steady and sure. "You're my Hokage, my teacher, and my partner. So what you think matters, even if it's stupid and I need to argue with you about it."

It was the speech, although a lot shorter than Naruto's usual. Maybe it was because Kakashi wasn't an enemy.

Exhaling, Kakashi dropped his head, eyes closing. He pressed his free hand to his right eye, considering.

Sasuke was five. Even though Naruto looked five, he was twenty-two years old. There was a world of difference there. A world that might actually change things for the better.

This would cause ripples Kakashi couldn't predict, but their very presence here was already changing things.

And that was the point.

"Okay," Kakashi said finally, letting his hand drop and opening his eyes to meet Naruto's. He nodded slightly. "Okay," he repeated. "I'll let you decide what to do regarding Sasuke and how you want to handle that."

It was only a moment before Naruto broke into a beaming grin. "All right!" He leapt up, throwing himself at Kakashi in a tackle hug, arms squeezing tightly around Kakashi's neck. "Thanks, sensei!"

Kakashi stumbled back slightly, both arms coming up in reflex, hands braced defensively. "No need to thank me!"

Naruto hung onto him like a limpet. "Ehh, c'mon, Kakashi-sensei, you can hug me back! There's no one else here."

That wasn't the problem. The problem was the touching.

Kakashi gripped hold of Naruto's sides and pulled him off, for once rather glad that Naruto was so much smaller and weaker than his adult self. Because then all he would be able to do was a kawarimi, and even that wasn't reliable given how fast Naruto could be.

"It's fine," Kakashi said before Naruto could protest at the manhandling. He set Naruto down without warning, and the other went straight into the water with a yelp.

"Agh, sensei!"

Kakashi jumped back before Naruto could swipe at him. "As your sensei, here's a shinobi lesson…always have your guard up!"

"You just made that one up!"

"Do I need to give you the rulebook?"

"Screw the rules! I make my own path!"

"Great! Now say that again once you can walk on water!"

"Damn it, Kakashi! Get back here – ack!"

Obito was lunging at him, mismatched eyes furious, a deadly spike jutting out from his right hand.

His own hand had a Raikiri crackling. He moved to pierce through Obito's chest, angling his own body so that Obito's weapon pierced through his side and not his torso.

Only it was Rin's chest he had pierced through, and he was twelve again, exhaustion dragging at his limbs and grief wrenching through him.

But Naruto's face stared back at him when he looked, blue eyes accusing and mouth bloody.

"You're trash, sensei," Naruto said, blood dripping from his mouth and down onto his skin, burning with the touch. "Why didn't you protect us?"

"I'm sorry," he said, numb. He couldn't move his arm, the all-too-familiar warmth of being inside another's body sickening.

There were hands all over him, pulling at his limbs and streaking blood over his clothes and skin. One went to his left eye, scratching at Obito's Sharingan—

There was a stifled cry, and it took Kakashi too long to realize that it had come from him. His blankets were twisted around him, and it was a minute before he could untangle himself from the sheets and sit up, wiping at the cold sweat that had formed on his forehead.

Kakashi shivered slightly, the air in his bedroom cold against his skin. He felt tacky with sweat, and his breaths came harshly, sounding loud to his ears.

There was no one else here.

It shouldn't have felt as awful as it did.

In case it's not clear, Kakashi is suffering from PTSD. So's Naruto, but Naruto's been doing his best to ignore it. Granted, they're both getting off a little lightly compared to what they left behind, since Naruto is physically 5 and this brain hasn't actually experienced that trauma. So it's his mind that's dealing with the aftereffects of what he remembers. Same for Kakashi. Because the mind and the brain are different things from what I know.

But you guys aren't here for a biology lecture. Neither are the characters. But guess what's coming next chapter? It's a Naruto-focused one, and it was kind of fun to write. Like I said, there isn't going to be any character bashing this fic, and all characters get a fair shaking regardless of how jerkish they become in the future in canon.

I thrive off feedback! :D Hopefully I'll have another chapter finished so I can post Chapter 4 next week.