Okay, honestly I wasn't expecting another chapter so quickly either. But Chapter 8's done, so I'm gonna go ahead and put up this one for now. No promises on how quickly Chapter 6 will go up, though.

That said, I am living for your reviews. They are awesome. Thanks so much! It's been enjoyable writing this, so I'm super glad to see you guys enjoying it as well.

Plot... We're slowly getting there. In the meantime, have more character interactions! This chapter is a bit of a rollercoaster emotionally speaking, but then this is Kakashi we're talking about.

Chapter 5

Kakashi couldn't remember the last time he had gone shopping. It must have been…six years ago? Five? Since he hadn't really gone shopping after the war started. Foraging for weapons and food didn't count. There was no exchange of money involved.

So now he was shopping in Konoha. And trying not to look too out of sorts while he did so. He wasn't sure if he was succeeding, but thankfully his rather standoffish demeanor at this age had something going for it.

It was just too bad that he didn't yet have any of his books to pull out and read. They generally did a fantastic job of scaring away anyone who wanted to engage in conversation with him (unless that person was Gai). Kakashi needed to get them again, even if it would make Naruto groan because "sensei, those books are so boring."

Some people just didn't appreciate the artistry of funny sex and plot mixed together. Not that Kakashi really understood the whole sex thing, but Jiraiya made it seem more interesting with his vivid description. For one thing, it was downright hilarious, and the plot was a benefit, along with how the protagonists fell in love with each other.

Other people probably found it funny, too, didn't they? Giggling while reading was normally a way to convey humor.

Not for the first time, Kakashi was rather glad he wasn't a kunoichi specializing in those types of missions.

Bags in hand, Kakashi walked down the street, attention split between his destination and his surroundings. Everyone seemed so happy and bright. It was jarring after spending so long in misery and gloom.

Naruto was probably doing well in this kind of environment. He had always been the type of person to like being around other people, even more so when the people were upbeat and happy.

Of course, that was without factoring in the Kyuubi, since he was currently five and not the adult that had gained the village's respect.

It was a messy aspect of time travel that Kakashi wasn't too fond of.

The other aspect was having to pretend to be more standoffish and angsty than he was used to being. (He got the sensation that someone was laughing at him. Probably not Naruto.)

"Hey, Kakashi!" Gai's voice caught his attention, and Kakashi turned his head just enough to see Gai eating dumplings with several other jounin. He thought he recognized Genma, and that was definitely Kurenai and Asuma.

Kakashi didn't verbally respond, but he shifted his bags so he could raise a hand in acknowledgement, continuing to head down the street.

He had no desire to interact with three jounin that he hadn't seen in years. Asuma had been dead for months before the Fourth Shinobi War, and Kurenai had died in childbirth, her child following soon after. As it turned out, giving birth in war conditions wasn't necessarily the smartest idea. Even with capable medics on hand.

Shikamaru had never really recovered afterwards.

Kakashi…well, Kakashi had plenty of practice at ignoring what needed to be ignored to focus on what mattered.

He hadn't seen Genma after the war started since the man had been responsible for guarding the daimyo. That job had gone tits up and all they'd been able to find were corpses.

"My rival!" Gai's voice sounded muffled, like he'd just stuffed a bunch of dumplings in his mouth.

"Hm?" Kakashi didn't stop, didn't acknowledge Gai in any other way.

"It's time for another of our challenges!" Gai continued, snatching one of Kakashi's bags out of his hand before he could protest. Kakashi almost whipped out a kunai but managed to stay his hand at the last second. "I could not find you yesterday."

"I was around," Kakashi said noncommittally, eyeing his bag in Gai's hand in dismay. There were eggs in there. He hoped Gai wouldn't smash it against something.

"Around where?" Gai asked enthusiastically, swinging the bag around dangerously. "Ooh, I bet you were doing something hip and cool, weren't you?"

Kakashi made a vague noise of agreement, calculating whether he could snatch the bag from Gai's grip before his eggs were a lost cause. Knowing Gai, it might just turn into an impromptu wrestling match, and then the eggs would be goners.

He'd been working on stealth the other day, which was another exercise in chakra control. Some stealth tactics required no chakra control at all; others were a little more delicate and elaborate.

Yesterday had seen him stalking several ANBU patrols without anyone being the wiser. He wasn't sure whether to be proud of his skills or mortified for the ANBU.

Kakashi was going to go for mortified.

But then maybe he was demanding too much of them? It wasn't as if one needed to be a jounin to get into ANBU. Itachi had been chuunin when he joined.

Kakashi had been – as he usually was – an anomaly.

In any case, Kakashi was going to up the training regime for his team once he was allowed to show his masked face again. They'd hate him, but they'd thank him for it later when it would save their hides.

"Well, rival?" Gai said when Kakashi didn't speak. "It's your turn to pick!"

They had three stalkers today, Kakashi noted. They weren't doing a very good job of being subtle, but then Kakashi should've expected that.

He'd never acknowledged Gai before when walking by that dumpling shop.

"I need to drop this off," Kakashi said instead. He took the bag with eggs from Gai before the other could protest. "You head to the third training ground. I'll meet you there."

"Yosh!" Gai gave him a thumbs up, teeth gleaming as he grinned. "I will see you there, my rival!"

Kakashi ignored the others, continuing on his slow pace back to his apartment.

Gai was patient, and it wasn't like Kakashi was in a hurry.

Asuma, Kurenai, and Genma were also at Training Ground 3 when Kakashi finally made his way there. Gai was doing push-ups in an exuberant manner that was unique to Gai. And Rock Lee when he got into it.

Kakashi kind of missed Rock Lee. The boy had been their taijutsu powerhouse after Gai—

In any case, Gai was here, and Kakashi was rather nervous about this challenge. Not that he would publicly admit it, but he was honest with himself.

"Rival!" Gai sprang to his feet, pointing at Kakashi. "What is the challenge?"

Kakashi walked past Gai and to the edge of the water, hands in his pockets. He looked over his shoulder to his friend. "Taijutsu only, this time on the water. Same rules as last time. Since they're here"—he nodded to the other shinobi—"they can keep track of the time. It's half an hour unless Gai manages to hit me."

"I will definitely hit you this time, Kakashi!" Gai proclaimed. "And if I do not, then I will do two thousand push-ups on my thumbs!"

Kakashi spared a brief moment to wince for Gai's thumbs before nodding. It wasn't as if he could say anything. He'd done those types of push-ups in the hospital when no one was around.

"Oh, this should be good," Asuma said, cigarette in his mouth. "Thirty minutes, you said?"

"Unless he hits me," Kakashi clarified, taking a few seconds to properly channel his chakra before stepping on the water.

Gai joined Kakashi on the water, putting an appropriate amount of distance between them.

"All right, you two," Genma drawled, senbon wiggling with the movements. "Ready…begin!"

It was definitely more official than most of Kakashi's challenges with Gai were, but he wasn't complaining. Not that there was room to complain given how fast Gai was on him.

Kakashi sprung backwards, avoiding most of the water that Gai displaced with his punch.

At least now he wouldn't have to deal with cleaning up the training ground.

No, focus!

Sparring with Gai on water was a great deal more difficult than doing it on dry land. Kakashi definitely still wasn't up to par, too much attention focused on keeping his chakra balanced properly so he wouldn't go under the water.

It might work for a dodge, but only if he could follow up with ninjutsu. And that wasn't an option here.

Kakashi backpedaled rapidly as Gai came after him, eventually darting past him and back in the direction they had come from. He leapt forwards just as Gai tried to jump on him.

He landed, chakra almost slipping through his grip as he had to also sidestep Gai's next punch. Then it was back to a whirling dance of dodging Gai's attacks and blinking water out of his eye.

His eye.

Kakashi still hadn't uncovered his Sharingan.

And at this rate he wasn't going to because using his Sharingan in conjunction with water walking might be overkill.

Not that he needed it. Gai's movements were easy enough to read, and Kakashi wasn't that slow even with half his attention focused on his chakra.

As if to spite him, Kakashi's grip on his chakra slipped, and his feet sank several inches before he could grapple it back to where it needed to be. At the same time, Gai's foot went through the space where Kakashi's head had been moments before.

Oh, like hell was Kakashi losing this challenge because of lousy chakra control.

Determination surging through him, Kakashi kept up the pace, attention narrowing to the beat of his heart, Gai's steady presence, and the balancing of his chakra. The burning in his muscles was inconsequential; he could push through this.

Gai was also beginning to look just a little winded from trying to keep up the pace.

How much longer would it take? Kakashi had stopped keeping track of the time since they had others to do it.

Most battles were over in minutes. Unless one was Naruto and had the stamina to go for ages longer. Kakashi wasn't Naruto, and he always tried to get fights over as quickly as possible.

If fights went on for longer periods of time, it was usually interspersed with moments where he could take a break. Where the enemy also had to pull back and reevaluate what their next move would be. It was never thirty minutes of nonstop fighting, because Kakashi was better than that and no enemy would give Sharingan no Kakashi thirty minutes to get the drop on them.

Because inevitably it would end with the enemy's death. Or incapacitation.

Yet Kakashi wasn't aiming to kill anyone here. Playing defense was much more tiring than going on the offensive and trying to end the fight quickly. Especially since Gai had a lot of stamina.

Kakashi hoped that it was almost thirty minutes by the time he felt his grip on his chakra slipping more and more. His fumbles at least didn't cost him anything beyond a few precious seconds where he had to get back on top of the water. It probably didn't even look like anything since Gai's hits kept missing because he clearly didn't expect Kakashi to suddenly drop.

Since Kakashi didn't expect it himself, how could he telegraph it?

Still, it sucked.

Pulling in a ragged breath, Kakashi kept low and jumped out of Gai's reach.

This time when his feet hit the water, his chakra faltered entirely, and he dropped like a stone. Just in time to hear Genma yell "Time!"

Kakashi spent a moment giving fervent thanks to the person watching over him.

Then he hauled himself out of the water and walked back to dry land, taking no shame in sitting down to catch his breath.

Gai joined him seconds later, hands on his knees as he caught his own breath. He was as soaked as Kakashi was, but he didn't look nearly as exhausted. "Well done, my rival!" He grinned widely, teeth gleaming. "You win another one!"

Kakashi tipped his head in acknowledgement, planting his hands behind him so he could lean back.

"Well, that was something," Genma said, sounding carefully bland.

"He won our last two challenges as well!" Gai stood upright, rolling his shoulders.

"When did you guys have two other challenges?" Asuma sounded surprised.

"This week!"

"What – seriously?" Asuma stared at Kakashi like he was sick. Considering Kakashi normally did his best to get out of challenges issued by Gai, this wasn't surprising.

Kakashi shrugged, keeping his tone dismissive as he responded. "It's training."

"Doing rock-paper-scissors is training?" Asuma asked, disbelieving.

"This was." Kakashi turned back to the water, raising a hand to tick off each of his points. "Agility training, chakra control, and endurance. Rock-paper-scissors has its own merits," he added mildly.

Asuma snorted. "Luck?"

"Reflexes," Kakashi answered, only half-bullshitting it.

Kurenai tilted her head. "I can see that…"

"Uh-huh." Asuma still seemed rather dubious, which was to be expected given his familiarity with Kakashi's usual tendencies. Kurenai was still too naïve – had been even as a jounin. Her indignation over Kakashi reading Icha Icha in public was still amusing to remember.

It wasn't as if it was hurting anyone, was it?

"As expected from my rival!" Gai proclaimed, dropping to start his push-ups. "No challenge goes without merit!"

Okay, Kakashi couldn't honestly see the merit behind a sushi-eating competition, but then not every challenge needed to be related to training. Although maybe competing to see who could eat the most was good for any food-related missions?

But those missions would go to the Akimichi. They could beat almost anyone when it came to eating.

Sighing, Kakashi pushed himself to his feet, rolling his shoulders as he stepped back out on the water. He only had a few days before he would be sent back out on ANBU missions, so he should do a thorough rundown of his jutsu and see which ones he could use easily.

Raikiri was up on that list, although Kakashi would prefer not to electrocute himself. Just because he had a lightning affinity didn't mean that backlash from an electricity jutsu stopped hurting. And since he was wet and standing on water…

Yeah, he'd go for some other jutsu instead.

Or maybe he should just stick with taijutsu because the others weren't leaving…

For once it was peaceful. Granted, it was the type of peace that gnawed at his nerves and had him twitching, but he was experienced enough to tune out the superfluous and focus on the important.

But it was peaceful now, the caves they had sequestered themselves in safe enough with the barriers put up and shinobi on watch.

"How long are we going to stay here?" Sakura asked him, voice quiet.

"Until we heal as much as possible," he answered, not looking up from the maps they had laid out on the ground.

"That will take a while." Sakura sounded weary, exhausted. She was their only field-capable medic after Tsunade had died.

"Any little bit helps," he said. He didn't reach out to comfort her, but he looked up, offering her a smile, visible eye closing.

"Any little bit, huh," Naruto's voice said, and the other sat down beside him, clothes rustling with the movement. "Doesn't seem like it."

He didn't speak for a moment, evaluating Naruto's somber mood and how best to shake him out of it. "Ahh…doesn't sound much like you, Naruto."

Naruto's smile was bitter. "What good's hope if it keeps getting beaten down? I'm tired, sensei." The words left him on an exhale, quiet enough that only he could hear them. Sakura was gone.

He hesitated briefly, then reached out to rest a hand on Naruto's shoulder, squeezing gently. "If there's no hope, then we can't move forward."

"Can we?" Naruto's eyes flicked to him. "Move forward? What's there for us if we succeed?"

"The future," he said. "Maybe our generations won't see it, but future ones will. If we let Madara's will come to pass, then there will be nothing."

"More like Zetsu," Obito said, sitting where Naruto had been a split-second before. His head turned so his right eye was visible, Sharingan active. "We know who's been pulling the strings all this time."

He blinked slowly. "Yes. But does that change anything?"

"I don't know." Obito turned fully to face him, mouth twisted unhappily. His hair was stark white, having remained so even after the extraction of the Juubi. "Doesn't it? What can we do against something that despises humans with every fathom of its being? Against something that's planned for this for millennia? You don't know, do you, Kakashi? Even now."

"Obito—"

"Back in the past," Obito continued ruthlessly, eye narrowing, "but what can you do? Against that?" He thrust a hand out in the direction of the cave's opening.

Unbidden, his gaze followed. A numbness seemed to settle over him when he saw nothing but an overwhelming purple beginning to fill the sky. A very familiar shade of purple.

"That didn't happen," he said dully.

"I don't think that matters, does it?" Obito closed his eye, shoulders slumping. "It probably will this time. You fuck everything up, don't you?"

He had never been at ground zero of the Juubi's bijuudama before, but he thought it would feel something very much like this.

Kakashi startled awake with a sharp inhale, blinking up at his ceiling. His left eye burned, but the Mangekyou dissipated more easily this time. It should worry him that he was getting used to waking up with an activated Mangekyou, but he didn't have the energy to do so. Forcing his muscles to relax, he sank back into his mattress, letting the dream/nightmare fade into the vestiges of his mind.

Or trying to let it fade.

"You fuck everything up, don't you?"

Hissing, Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose. He was trying, wasn't he? Even if he might not succeed…

And he had Naruto here as well. He wasn't doing this alone. Because if he was doing this alone…

Yeah, it'd be messed up. Everything he touched usually fell to pieces in one way or another.

There was a small tap at the window, like someone knocking.

Startled, Kakashi pulled his mask up and turned, grasping a kunai just in case. But the view behind the curtains only showed Naruto.

Kakashi opened the window, letting Naruto climb through before shutting it. "We're not training anymore tonight."

Naruto ducked his head, nudging his shoes off and shuffling them under Kakashi's bed. "I know."

"Was there something else you forgot to tell me?"

"No," Naruto murmured, shoulders hunching. "Um…"

Kakashi leaned an elbow on his knee, propping his head up with his hand as he waited patiently. His head felt muzzy, thoughts moving like mud. It had been part of the reason he'd called it quits early tonight after Naruto had told him about Kurama and Sasuke.

He'd be no good on ANBU missions if he was dropping from exhaustion.

"Can I…stay here tonight?" Naruto whispered, looking up with pleading eyes. He looked just as exhausted as Kakashi did, even though he had been bouncing around mere hours ago.

Damn it, why hadn't Kakashi noticed? He was failing utterly at watching out for Naruto, and it hadn't even been a week yet.

There were reasons Kakashi should say no, should bring Naruto back to his apartment before the ANBU realized he was gone. But those reasons seemed inconsequential in the face of Naruto's desperate exhaustion, in the silent plea embedded in every inch of his small body.

And…Kakashi was tired of sleeping alone. Without someone else there to watch his back in case something happened.

Reaching over to his alarm clock, Kakashi reset it so that he could wake up in time to make sure Naruto was back in his apartment. "Sure."

Kakashi's bed was small, but Naruto wasn't exactly an adult either. Especially when he curled up in a ball into Kakashi's side, face hidden in Kakashi's shirt like a small child.

Which…Naruto was right now. Even if he was mentally an adult.

Even so, Naruto was Kakashi's responsibility. He should have noticed that Naruto was tired. Cancelling training again tonight wouldn't have been a great hardship, even if Kakashi had missed being able to talk to Naruto.

Sighing, Kakashi closed his open eye, letting his own exhaustion drag him under.

His room didn't feel so empty anymore.

Kakashi wasn't technically supposed to be meeting his team since he was off duty, but what Sarutobi didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Besides, his team all respected him too much to go tattling. Not that ANBU did that.

The first to show up was Tenzou. Seeing him was like a punch to the stomach, a reminder of how badly Kakashi had failed him.

Tenzou had disappeared into Kabuto's clutches, and they had never figured out where he was. Only he had to have been dead, because being alive through that hell would have been worse.

Kakashi's chest squeezed tight, and for several moments breathing was painful. He was glad for his mask, which covered whatever expression his face must be making. It was easier to keep it out of his body language, so Tenzou didn't notice a thing.

"Taichou." Tenzou came to a stop beside Kakashi. "I thought you were off duty?"

"Hm." Kakashi forced himself to take a deep breath, relaxing his chest. He was able to speak now, keeping his tone light. "Is training with my team a crime now?"

Tenzou's body language didn't shift much, but there was definitely curiosity there. "You called us out for training?"

Kakashi leaned back against the training post behind him, folding his arms over his chest as he waited for the other members of his team to come. He wasn't a natural sensor, and he hadn't been with this team in a long time, but he was able to feel their chakra if he stretched his senses. They weren't too far off.

"Stealth training is always a good thing, wouldn't you think?" Kakashi said after a moment. He almost let a teasing note slip into his tone, but that wasn't his personality at this point.

Had he mentioned undercover work was exhausting? Especially undercover work as an earlier version of himself?

"Ah…stealth training?" Tenzou said with trepidation.

Kakashi hummed in acknowledgement, waiting until his other team members arrived before saying, "I've been informed that our current standards of stealth are lacking. With that in mind, we'll be doing stealth training."

"Stealth training, taichou?" one of his minions – ah, teammates – asked, sounding dubious.

"Yes." Kakashi resisted the urge to chirp the word. It would freak his team out, but it would also be too out of character. He was looking forward to the day that he could cheerfully chirp and be intimidating without worrying anyone. He supposed Naruto would have to be his only victim for now. "Your enemy is me. I'll give you a ten second head start. Starting now."

To their credit, his team vanished immediately, scattering to the trees.

Kakashi counted down slowly from ten before taking off, tracking down the first of his team. He tamped down his own chakra, blending in seamlessly with the surroundings.

It took a minute to track down his first teammate – the mask indicating him as Mouse. Kakashi waited for a few moments to see if Mouse could pick up his presence, but there was no indication that Mouse noticed he was there.

Sighing in disappointment, Kakashi deliberately broke a twig, letting his hand fall down on Mouse's shoulder a second later. The surprised twitch was gratifying.

"One down, hm?" Kakashi whisked Mouse back to the clearing, leaving him by the training post.

The other two were found just as easily, neither of them noticing Kakashi either.

Tenzou on the other hand…

With his Mokuton, Tenzou was practically impossible to find without using some kind of enhanced sensory skill. Kakashi didn't possess any such skill, but he had experience on his side. And years of avoiding Zetsu.

When it came down to it, Tenzou's skills weren't that different from Zetsu's. It was something they hadn't been able to explore, and Kakashi had his suspicions that he hadn't ever voiced. It would have made things too tangible.

Crouching on the tree branch, Kakashi glanced askance at the trunk, senses stretched to the max to make out the tinge of not quite natural chakra that was embedded in the bark. He moved to the side, channeling just the slightest bit of lightning to his fingers as he touched the trunk.

With a yelp, Tenzou materialized, nearly falling off the tree entirely before Kakashi snagged his arm, slipping into a smooth shunshin and dropped them back to the clearing.

"Solid effort," Kakashi said after a moment, "but none of you pass. Cat came the closest, but you're relying on the Mokuton."

"We're supposed to use all tools in our box," Tenzou protested.

"How's your stealth without it?" Kakashi let the question hang for a few seconds. Then, "I'll give you all another chance. Ten second head start."

He didn't have to say anything else before they all vamoosed.

It took a little longer for Kakashi to find everyone this time, largely due to the fact that they'd spread out wider this time.

Tenzou had taken Kakashi's advice to heart, although his normal stealth tactics left something to be desired. As a result, Kakashi went after him first.

"You want to blend in with your surroundings," Kakashi said once they were all back in the clearing. "If you're hiding in a tree, be the tree. Sometimes literally." His open eye flicked to Tenzou. "If in water, be water. Earth, be earth. Etcetera, etcetera."

"Are you suggesting we suppress our chakra entirely?" Mouse asked.

"Hm, no. It has its advantages, but not in a fight. As I said, blend in. Everyone has a different way of doing it." Naruto could use natural energy to blend in. Kakashi used a mixture of old-fashioned stealth and chakra to do the trick; the exact combination varied from shinobi to shinobi. "Since I'm being nice, I'll give you all a minute to figure something out. And then a ten second head start." It was probably mean, but they were ANBU. He wasn't going to treat them like green genin.

This time his team did a better job of hiding. Kakashi said as much afterwards.

"Now you find me. Tracking goes hand-in-hand with stealth, as you may have noticed. I'll go easy on you."

"Taichou," Tenzou complained, clearly put out.

Kakashi waved him off. "None of you noticed me coming up behind you. As I said, I'll go easy. For now."

If Kakashi had his proper chakra control back, he would have popped a kage bunshin, revealing he was already gone. Unfortunately, he had to go for the less intimidating route of vanishing in a shunshin, already erasing only most traces of his presence.

He wasn't that mean.

"Senpai," Tenzou said hours later, "you're awful."

"Clearly not awful enough if you're complaining," Kakashi said dryly, browsing through the books available in the bookstore. He couldn't deal with not having his reading material anymore. Maybe he wouldn't go for Icha Icha straight off the bat, but something else wouldn't be so bad…

Corny romance?

Kakashi inspected the cover, which depicted a woman swooning into the arms of a muscular man. It looked like it would be hilarious and sweet at the same time.

"Our stealth is up to par," Tenzou said, eyeing the book dubiously.

"It could be better," Kakashi said, taking another book off the shelves. This one's cover had the backdrop of a ship at sea. The swooning maiden and muscular man were still on it. He would be disappointed if there was no swooning in it.

Glancing up at Tenzou, Kakashi pointed out, "You rely too much on your unique skill set."

Tenzou frowned, arms folded over his chest. "We use all tools at our disposal," he countered.

"And if the tool is broken? Or nullified?" Kakashi had to drop his gaze, pulling in a pained breath. He forcefully relaxed his grip before he crumpled the books. "I'm just saying…branching out wouldn't hurt."

Tenzou narrowed his eyes. "Compared to rooting down?"

"Exactly," Kakashi answered cheerily, not at all ashamed at his accidental pun. "It's fir the best," he added.

"Don't," Tenzou muttered, aggravated. A moment later, he sighed. "I can see the point," he admitted. "I've let my other skills grow rusty."

"Don't you mean mossy?" Kakashi suggested.

Tenzou dropped his head with a faint whine.

Taking his books to the counter, Kakashi paid. They doubtlessly wouldn't be as good as Icha Icha, but he needed to start somewhere.

"I wouldn't have picked you as someone interested in those types of books, Kakashi-senpai," Tenzou said.

"Everyone needs a laugh," Kakashi said, accepting the bag the clerk handed him. "I've been advised I should expand my horizons." Gai had definitely hinted as much whenever he stole Kakashi's shinobi-focused books before. Kakashi hadn't found them again, although he hadn't made an effort either.

"Wouldn't the comedy section be a better idea, then?"

Those books were embarrassing. Kakashi couldn't get through ten pages without chucking it out the window. He'd hit someone on the head one time. Kotetsu hadn't stopped staring suspiciously at him for weeks afterwards.

"These are better," Kakashi said instead.

There was, Kakashi reflected, absolutely no reason for Tenzou's deadpan expression. No reason at all.

"You look like you had fun today," Naruto told him, hopping up on the nearest training post and crouching.

"Do I?"

"Yup. Who'd you torture, sensei?"

"I didn't torture anyone," Kakashi said lightly. "It was training."

"Oh man." Naruto's grin was wicked. "I bet they loved that."

"They'll learn." Kakashi would make sure of that. Even if they ended up cursing his name by the end.

"Right on." Naruto sat down on the training post, legs spread wide to make room for his hands. He leaned forward. "Got any specific plans for tonight? How are you feeling?"

Kakashi waved a hand dismissively. "I'm fine. I'll be checking in with the Sandaime tomorrow—"

"You're taking on a mission?" Naruto's eyes were wide. "Now?"

"It probably won't be anything much," Kakashi said, glancing at Naruto. "But I need to start taking them again."

"What if something goes wrong?" Naruto was leaning so far forward it was a miracle he hadn't fallen off. "What if you get hurt? I can't help!"

"Naruto."

Naruto ignored him. "I can't do any of my seals! What if you run out of chakra—"

"Should I be insulted?" Kakashi asked the empty space before him. "I feel like I should be insulted. My own student is doubting my abilities…" He affected a woebegone expression. "Here I am, a jounin of Konohagakure—"

"I thought you said you were ANBU?"

"—and I'm being doubted by a little boy who never made it past genin," Kakashi continued, ignoring Naruto's interruption and indignant "Hey!" "It's like I have no idea how to work on my own or any ability to strategize… Maybe I should just turn in my hitai-ate since I'm clearly inept without outside help…"

A rock bounced off Kakashi's head, lacking any offensive power beyond getting his attention.

Naruto looked sheepishly offended when Kakashi gave him his attention, scratching the back of his head. "All right, Kakashi. I get it. It's just…we've been together the last so many months – years. I haven't forgotten you're a scary badass, all right? But…our chakra control is still shot to hell, and I hate sitting out on the sidelines."

"Really?" Kakashi's tone was bone dry. "I never would have guessed."

Naruto's face heated. "Shut up! I hate it, but that doesn't mean I won't do it! You're right; I doubted you and I shouldn't have. You're better than me."

Kakashi let the statement hang for a moment before saying, "For now." He'd gotten his point across; he didn't need Naruto holding his hand, and it was ridiculous that Naruto even thought that.

"Uh-huh." Naruto narrowed his eyes at him. "Sure." He folded his arms, leaning back until he was sitting entirely upright. "So, you're going to see the old man tomorrow. Even though it hasn't been a week yet? He isn't gonna kick you out on your ass for another week? And what did you even do in the first place?"

Kakashi ignored the last question. "He's expecting it. Technically…it has been a week. Any longer and it would raise suspicion. In any case, it'll probably just be some routine missions."

"What if they're not?"

"It won't be an issue." Kakashi flipped through a series of hand seals, focusing his chakra in his right hand until it formed a familiar chirping mass of electricity. He let it fade a few seconds later before going through the same series of seals and focusing the chakra more intently, this time coming up with a more condensed ball of electricity that simply crackled.

"It's really not fair how quickly you get the hang of things," Naruto grumbled. "I'm still struggling with water walking."

"You might be able to manage the kage bunshin jutsu now," Kakashi said, letting his Raikiri go. He couldn't do his signature jutsu sans hand seals – not at the moment – but at least he could do them. "You couldn't even do tree walking when you learned it initially."

Naruto tilted his head, nodded, and then formed the hand sign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A puff of smoke later, and two Narutos were grinning at Kakashi. "All right!"

The Naruto on the training post turned to the second. "You go walk on water."

The bunshin saluted. "You got it, boss!"

Naruto watched the bunshin run off, a considering expression on his face. "I'm not going to try the advanced version just yet, but the regular one should do for now." He turned back to Kakashi, grinning foxily. "I'm gonna catch up to you, just wait and see!"

"I've no doubt," Kakashi said sincerely, smiling. He pulled a kunai out, gingerly cutting his thumb.

"Oh!" Naruto jumped off the post, crouching by Kakashi. "Are you going to try summoning?"

Kakashi didn't answer, flipping through the hand seals and focusing his chakra. He hadn't summoned any of his ninken since coming back for a myriad of reasons. Chakra control was just one issue. The other was that he didn't really want to look at his pack and know that years of history and bonding were gone.

And his ninken were definitely more astute than most of the shinobi he spent time with.

Slamming his hand to the ground, Kakashi retracted it as the ensuing smoke cloud erupted from the black seals. Once it cleared, Pakkun was standing there, alert and ready to go.

"What is it, boss?" Pakkun demanded. "What d'you need?"

Kakashi blinked, not having expected such an aggressive reaction from Pakkun at this point. "Uh, nothing?"

"Nothing?" Pakkun stared at him in disbelief. "You don't just call me out for nothing! What happened to things being too dangerous for regular outings?"

His breath stuttered in his chest, and Kakashi couldn't help but hope. "P-Pakkun?"

"Yeah, it's me." Pakkun narrowed his eyes. "What? Are you sick or something? It's not like you to – oh shit, is that the kid? Did he shrink? Is that why you need me?"

"I didn't shrink!" Naruto protested. "I'm gonna grow taller!"

"Technically speaking," Kakashi said, "you did shrink. From a certain point of view."

Naruto elbowed his leg. "We're not getting into that! I have to go through puberty again!" He said this with all the horror it deserved.

Kakashi wondered just when Naruto had figured this little bit out. Kakashi himself had realized that he still had another inch to grow before he'd reach his final height. Thankfully it hadn't affected his taijutsu since an inch wasn't that much.

"Oh shit," Pakkun repeated, eyes on Kakashi now. "You shrunk, too! And you're younger! Does that – it actually worked?"

"Yeah." Kakashi sat, crossing his legs and leaning his elbows on his knees. "About seventeen years in the past. I…I don't know how you're here, too."

The jutsu had been keyed into Kakashi and Naruto. They didn't have the chakra to bring back anyone else, even though it would have been helpful.

Naruto perked up. "D'you think this means I can summon the toads, too?"

Kakashi hesitated before answering. "I'm not sure. I don't even know how Pakkun is here. It might be a fluke."

"I'll cancel it," Pakkun said, "and you summon me again."

Pakkun waited for Kakashi's nod of acknowledgement before he was gone in a puff of smoke.

Two seconds later, Kakashi summoned him again, heart in his throat.

"It's still me," Pakkun said, baring his teeth in the equivalent of a grin. "Not a fluke, then."

Kakashi dipped his chin as he considered how it was possible. Summoning animals lived in the world, even if their locations were secret and difficult to get to. It wasn't like they lived outside of time. The kuchiyose jutsu was just a space-time… Space-time.

"It's a space-time jutsu," Kakashi said slowly, swallowing. "I suppose it's a little more tied into the 'time' aspect than most people knew."

"Wait, so that means—" Naruto turned, bit his thumb, and ran through the sequence of seals for the jutsu. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

The smoke cloud that erupted was a great deal larger than Kakashi's usual, so he expected to see a large toad come out of it.

But when it disappeared, there was absolutely nothing there.

"I suppose it didn't work for you?" Kakashi tried, patting Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto slumped. "I – agh!" He slapped a hand to his forehead, gawking at something on the ground. "A tadpole?"

Blinking, Kakashi looked closer at the ground, making out what Naruto had. There was a small, wiggling tadpole hidden in the grass.

Okay… Kakashi deliberately looked away, trying his best not to break down laughing. Naruto didn't need that.

"A freaking tadpole? Agh!" Naruto threw up his hands, knocking Kakashi's hand off his shoulder. "I haven't summoned a tadpole in years!" Scowling, he slammed his hand on the ground, and the tadpole disappeared with a much smaller smoke cloud.

"So you did summon tadpoles at one point?" Kakashi couldn't resist asking.

"Yeah, when ero-sennin first had me sign the contract. It was all I could summon until he chucked me off a cliff and I had to use Kurama's chakra." Naruto sighed heavily, dropping his head to a hand, whining under his breath. "I'm back to square one. Tadpoles."

Unable to resist a snort, Kakashi turned back to Pakkun, who looked to be doing his best not to smirk. "What's happening there? I would have thought that since we went back, the timeline would have been erased."

"I dunno about that," Pakkun answered. "But then you shouldn't ask me about physics. I'm a ninken, not a scientist. As far as I can tell, it's still moving along. No idea what's happening with your group, though. None of them can summon us."

So what did that mean? Had he and Naruto gone back in time for nothing? Or were they writing an entirely new timeline altogether? While the old one continued on without them?

Shit, what did that mean for the remnants of the Alliance? They'd hinged everything on this. They hadn't expected that it wouldn't help them.

Kakashi glanced over to Naruto, who was still grumbling to himself and plucking at the grass. He didn't seem to have realized the ramifications of what this meant, and Kakashi hoped he didn't. Kakashi certainly wasn't going to enlighten him.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. What kind of leader was he? What kind of Hokage?

He didn't deserve the hat.

"Boss?" Pakkun sounded wary, like he knew what was going through Kakashi's head. He probably did.

"It's fine," Kakashi said quietly. Exhaling slowly, he changed the subject. "What do you think happens to your counterpart in this time?"

Pakkun gave the equivalent of a shrug. "You're asking me? I've no clue. Probably still around. And he'll get pissy if you stop summoning him."

"Right…" Kakashi wondered if he could somehow manage to summon his ninken pack from this time. It would take some experimenting.

"The world's still moving, you know," Pakkun said, coming closer, voice soft. "So I'm guessing your friends are still alive. They're a tough bunch."

Kakashi didn't doubt that, but they'd been on their last legs at the end. They were doubtlessly still fighting, but for how much longer?

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" About ten more Narutos popped into the clearing, all of them wearing determined expressions. "All right, let's do this!"

Some of them went for the trees, but the rest ran towards the water. The original Naruto was one of them.

Naruto was…Naruto really was something else. He just kept going, even when others would have given up.

He didn't know what Kakashi had realized – most likely didn't care because he was going to move forward and save everybody. That was the type of person he was.

No…Naruto would care. But he'd take it as motivation to try even harder.

Because if their friends had sacrificed their future so that another future could be better…wouldn't it be an insult to them to let that sacrifice go to waste?

Kakashi had failed them as their leader – as their Hokage. It was the least he could do to make sure that there would be a future this time.

Yes... I did warn you guys about the rollercoaster, yes? It took me a little to figure out exactly how I wanted to play the summoning jutsu, settling on what you see in this chapter. The thing with time traveling is that there are a lot of options with how it can play out, so why not this one?

The next chapter's split between Naruto's and Kakashi's POVs, and it's also where things start to pick up just a little. For now they've been getting their footing, but they're soon going to start pushing things.

Again, I would like to reiterate that there's no romance in the picture for either Kakashi or Naruto. These are two traumatized shinobi who have been through hell, and they are extremely used to living in close quarters with others or with each other. That said, physical affection doesn't have to be romantic, and that's what we have here. It's a sad thing that our society sexualizes most forms of physical affection, but I'm not doing that here.

Anyway! I hope you enjoyed it! :D I'd love to hear your feedback!