HybridTrash13: Haha, yeah. You'll definitely see it some time in the future. Half-Uzumaki Kakashi is never around lmao, so I just kinda thought what he would be like. Uhh…not really much of an official jōnin sensei, but yeah close enough. Oh yeah, definite trouble between Obito and Naruto. Haha, thanks for your review! :3

yo no: I know that. Did I get it wrong somewhere?

Zombiegirl2323: Haha, thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying this. :3

What no I totally didn't forget to update what are you talking about

Recommended songs: Monody by TheFatRat (feat. Laura Brehm).

Original word count: 4.8k~

Enjoy! :3

Chapter 6: Syntrofosphobia

Awakening in a different dimension must've done something to Kakashi, because he just didn't feel like he was in-place when he woke up early the next morning. He felt very uncomfortable, and when he sat up, he felt like he was going to vomit.

He swallowed and pushed himself onto his feet. He noticed that his breathing was kind of loud as he got himself dressed and geared up, something he didn't understand.

"It'll pass," Obito said as he stepped into the bedroom. "It's six in the morning. Go sleep some more, yeah?"

Kakashi blinked and looked at the spirit with a dead pan. "Not with what's happened in my mind," he grumbled. He rubbed the sweat away with his gloves, sighing and settling them aside to dry off. "He's dying…and we can't do anything about it."

Obito patted the eight year olds head and smiled in reassurance, dipping to the Hatake's level while keeping his cold hand on silver hair. "He deserves the rest," he pointed out. "He's fought for the entire world for two years with little to no sleep or relaxation."

Kakashi frowned, but eventually he nodded his agreement. "Yeah," he agreed quietly. "But he deserves a better ending."

"Death by bijū extraction would've been that better ending," Obito pointed out as he stepped away. "We all know that it's painful."

The boys frown deepened, his head lowering. He sighed and didn't say anything, instead just grabbing his gloves and slipping them on. "Will we be able to do anything about the Kyūbi…?"

"…That depends," Obito stated. "You'll have to decide."

"…Kakashi?"

The Hatake bunched up and turned his head towards his door, true grey eyes wide.

Obito stiffened as well. "Shit…"

"Yeah?" he responded calmly.

Sakumo opened the door, and Obito disappeared. The man frowned. "Who are you talking to?"

Kakashi blinked and looked at the Konoha headband he still had yet to put on. "No one," he said. "Just thinking out loud."

Sakumo's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he glanced in between the headband and Kakashi. But then he smiled, though it seemed tad too forced. "Alright," he said.

The younger Hatake felt rather uncomfortable under the beams of that forced and faked smile. His brow creased as he stared at the metal plate of the headband.

Sakumo's hand touched his sons shoulder. "What's wrong? Tired?"

Kakashi suddenly winced. He felt like he was remembering something, but when mere feelings and sensations raked at his memory, he could only wave it off. "I guess."

Sakumo looked at Kakashi again before smiling. "Alright, then. Since you're up so early, why don't we go and get some dango at the dango shop? I hear they have some new recipes."

The young Hatake focused on the very moment of getting dango. He loved sweets in all honesty, but he came to dislike them primarily because of the memories they carry. So he brightened up. He probably looked like a very happy puppy at the mention of the dango, because Sakumo laughed warmly and loudly.

How can I forget…? Sakumo is doing this…he needs to be gone.

Kakashi thought he would feel uneasy meeting his "new" team, but upon seeing them, he never felt more relieved in his life. They looked…happy. But he could instantly tell that the happiness on their faces were more like masks and less genuine.

Instead, his uneasiness rose from their happy masks. It made him almost scared. Why did they need to wear those masks…?

He crossed his arms and stared them down. It was portrayed in a way that made it seem like he didn't take a liking to Nohara Rin and Uchiha Obito. Kushina knew better though. She recognized the face he was making, as it was a guarded one: One of sensitivity and fear.

She slapped his back, pushing him forward a little. "You look constipated," she said. A grin stretched across her face. "Relax, will ya? They're still your friends."

Kakashi rubbed his back awkwardly, glaring up at the woman. "That hurt, Kushina…" he grumbled.

"Kushina-sensei," Obito was quick to correct. A baby grin of pride mimicked Kushina's own grin as he gave a thumbs up.

"Yeah, sure," Kakashi mumbled.

Rin smiled brightly. "It's great to see you again," she said. "It's been three years, right? I can't really remember the last time I saw you."

Kakashi snorted almost sheepishly. "I've been busy," he pointed out.

"I'm sure of it," Rin agreed. "You're jōnin now, right? You've certainly grown a lot."

Obito crossed his arms and glared. "So we have two jōnin? That's unfair."

Kushina smiled. "Play nice, children," she said. "It was Kakashi's choice to come here, and it probably would've been bad if he didn't. Genin teams always need four man cells until they are chūnin."

Obito still kept his glare. "So? Two jōnin and two genin still is unfair."

"Yes. Yes it is. We've evaluated that," Kakashi grumbled. He rolled his eyes. "This team would've been put on-hold until another genin was found and put here, and trust me almost all of those genin are dead physically, emotionally or mentally."

Kushina bopped his head. "Hush 'ttebane," she snapped. She turned her face back towards the two other genin. "The war isn't making it easy is what he's saying. This was convenience at its finest, kiddos. So can you at least appreciate that much?"

Rin nodded her understanding clearly, but Obito was a different story. He just huffed and turned his glare back into a stare at the floor. But Kakashi knew better. Obito did understand, to a consent, but what he most likely didn't understand was what made the Hatake so strong.

"Well, I know that you guys can pass the test in a jiffy, so we'll just skip it," Kushina said. "Introductions or ramen first?"

"Ramen."

"Introductions."

Kakashi huffed a little. "Can't we just get dango…"

Kushina laughed. "How about introductions during ramen and dango?"

Obito gave a toothy grin in agreement while Rin just nodded. Kakashi himself didn't make any physical response, but the look in his true grey eyes told Kushina the story.

He was afraid of judgement—and a distraction would be an amazing relief.

The Uzumaki would have to talk to Rin and Obito about that later. Or have Minato do it…after she acquainted them…maybe…

"Oh, I saw that a new ramen shop opened," Rin chimed. "I hear it's amazing. Should we try it out?"

"We're stopping and getting dango, though," Kakashi interrupted. "I've been craving it all day."

"I didn't know you have cravings," Kushina muttered. Then she frowned. "Actually, aren't you a bit young to have cravings?"

"Well…I do stay up late a lot…" Kakashi muttered back almost sheepishly. They turned and walked away from the training grounds where they met up, heading towards the assumed Ichiraku's.

"That's not good," Rin started. "You'll have unbalanced hormone production."

Kakashi shrugged, raising his arms and making a practical expression that emphasized his apathy towards unbalanced hormones. "Adrenaline works wonders."

"That's even worse!" the brunette cried.

The Hatake chuckled nervously as he scratched his cheek unconsciously, Obito looking very confused and Kushina just looking amused.

Their team was one step closer to what they formerly were: Content.

But Kakashi couldn't feel like home just yet, because the uneasiness was still scratching at his stomach ominously.

As suspected, the "new ramen shop" was indeed Ichiraku's Ramen.

That made Kakashi feel a little bit happy but at the same time nostalgic. This shop was a memorial to him. Naruto was almost always found here, in his Hokage work or with his family.

(Kakashi was hoping for the latter).

He could practically feel Kushina's overwhelmed happiness as she raced through bowls of the ramen. Obito went through two; Rin went through one, and Kakashi decided to stop at four to eat his dango. As expected, Kushina kept going strong till the shops ingredients were practically gone.

A young Teuchi was a little irritated but glad for the income.

It totaled up to twenty-seven bowls, each costing more than twenty-some ryo. So, by the end of the ramen binge session, Kushina was broke.

Kakashi didn't really care. He could've eaten another ten, since he could withstand it thanks to millions of competitions with Naruto over the peaceful years. Boredom really did do wonders, and it was because of Naruto's boredom that he could eat up to sixteen bowls. He would get sick afterwards, but that was part of the fun.

"Why are you so obsessed with dango?" Obito suddenly asked. Kakashi looked up from where he sat on his stool of Ichiraku's, a bento of dango in hand. The Uchiha's nose was almost touching the dango, and instantly, Kakashi poked the dark haired child with a dango stick.

"Back off," he said as the child flinched away with a pouty face. He wanted to say that he was practically free of the sad memories that were carried with them, but he didn't feel like he could trust those words with anyone but his spirit bestie. "This is my dango."

"Ow…" Obito whined. He held the button of his nose. "Was that necessary…?"

"You were about to snort my dango," Kakashi pointed out. "Or…breathe it in like sensei did with her ramen."

(Kushina's loud burp of response was gross).

Rin laughed. "It did," she agreed.

Kakashi glanced at the two. Something within Obito's eyes were dangerously close to a certain darkness that the Hatake was far too familiar with, and Rin's smile looked fake again. He blinked monotonously and looked away, eating the rest of the dango in under a minute. He closed the bento and hopped down. "I'm off," he said.

Kushina sat up and looked at him curiously. "Oh. Why?"

"I forgot about something," he said. He looked at the trio and gave a cheesy Gai-like thumbs up, but his expression was otherwise dead and gave nothing away. "I should've put it away earlier but it slipped my mind."

"Wait, what about introductions?" Rin suddenly inquired.

"Bah, forget those!" Kushina bellowed. "We already know each other."

"Well, we don't know you very well as a person, sensei…" Rin pointed out.

Kakashi shook his head in disagreement. "I've known her for four years," he said. "Why don't you three catch up instead? You guys know me, after all."

Obito gave a troubled frown. He looked like he was going to object, but Kushina interrupted him.

"Alright. Come back to the training ground tomorrow if you can," she said. "Same time, same place. I think some sparring would be nice."

Kakashi nodded and walked off, slipping past people and leaping into the roofs.

Obito looked at the Uzumaki. "Why'd you let him go?" he asked. "He's our friend, right? I feel like we're excluding him."

Kushina blinked and sighed when she realized what his thoughts were all about. "Kakashi…is kinda complicated for his age," she said. "He's always got something to do, and when he leaves it's always for those somethings. He isolates himself a lot, too, but he's an introvert. That's just his natural mindset."

Rin looked rather bothered by the word isolation, but she smiled in understanding.

(A spirit, on the other hand, who was watching from afar, got what he needed and disappeared).

Kakashi stormed into his room, sliding his door closed with a deadly calm before turning his head towards the neat space. He ripped his headband off and threw it to the side, yanking his zori and gloves off with obvious frustration. That uneasiness seemed to have left behind more irritation than expected.

He ran his fingers through his silver hair, teeth baring in the frustration he was feeling. He easily looked like a complete mess and few second later, exhaustion overlapping frustration with a huff. He rubbed his eyes with his palms, another huff escaping his chest.

The Hatake didn't feel right around those two, and he didn't know why.

Yes, they did seem to have certain reactions to certain actions but that could've been normal to prior—

He sighed again, running and hand through his hair.

This wasn't "prior".

"They're troubled."

"Tch, obviously," Kakashi bit back.

Obito stepped through the wall, his arms crossed and his brow pinched. "Frustrated?"

"Fuck off," the young Hatake hissed. "I'm so—just…I'm irritated. I…I don't feel right around those two. They're giving me an uneasy feeling."

Obito smiled and sat down on Kakashi's bed that replaced his futon. "That's your instinct telling you they are troubled," he pointed out. "Rin is sensitive to isolation, it seems, and Obito to exclusion."

"There's more to it."

"Then investigate."

"Off of this so-called instinct?"

Obito laughed. "Why not?"

Kakashi glared. "That's not my style."

"So you say," the Uchiha disagreed. He chuckled again. "Just snoop. You're a respected jōnin and such a great ANBU that not even a living soul knows you're actually ANBU."

"You're such a great pep talker," Kakashi snarked sarcastically.

"Thanks," Obito said in a cheeky mockery. "You know I try when it matters."

"Obito. Shut up."

The dead man teared up. "You're hurting my feelings."

Kakashi wanted to stab Obito then and there. He grumbled an insult and sat down on his bed, his eyes dragging across the room in an irritated glare. "But in all seriousness…" he murmured. "What's wrong with them?"

Obito hummed thoughtfully. "The Obito of here, Obito-nijiteki, is sensitive to exclusion. That suggests social neglect, parental neglect, peer neglect or possibly superior neglect. Basically, abuse."

Kakashi flinched so hard at that word that he could feel the adrenaline stay in his system for a good full minute. His breathing became rather uneven, too, and he could feel paranoia chew him up from the inside out.

"I know you've gone through it in the past," Obito stated. His cold fingers dragged through silver hair in reassurance. "That's almost why you have DID. You were a bit older and the person who did it was just an assassin target but it's still scarring. It might be triggering enough to bring Inu out, so be careful."

Kakashi simply nodded.

"For Rin, it's a bit harder to evaluate," Obito continued. "She's sensitive to isolation. That can suggest neglect just as much as it can suggest general loneliness. But she has friends that I remember, for sure, trusts. So it's gotta be a family-related thing—or…her mother, Nohara Ren."

"She wasn't around last time."

"This isn't last time."

"Yes, thanks for telling me," Kakashi mumbled. He hummed tiredly and laid down on his pillow, Obito's eyes staring at him. "It's like what Hashimoto said about bottled feelings…do you think Ren is going through the same thing?"

"Most probable."

"Alrighty, then, we can rule out that Rin has familial problems and Obito is emotionally and mentally neglected—which is abuse," Kakashi evaluated. He sighed and crossed his arms.

Obito chuckled. "Are you sure about this?"

"We've gone through worse," Kakashi pointed out. "It's not like handling this will be easy, but comparing it to other things…it's actually kind of mellow."

Obito blinked and looked away. "Sad."

"Very."

A calming silence blanketed the room. Obito laid on his back, Kakashi's legs going through the spirits chest. The Uchiha's lungs inflated, mimicking the action of breathing. "There's a bug in here."

"…Where."

"Northeastern corner. It's just an audio bug, but…it's a very sensitive one. It might pick up on my voice."

"A dead man couldn't possibly have a voice," Kakashi spoke. He released a breath he didn't think he was holding, hopping off his bed. He stacked things up in the mentioned corner, the cold hands of his spirit friend stabilizing it. His hands reached up—

He peeled away the audio device from the shadowed corner. It looked like the latest model, too, which wasn't too shabby for this age because the device was no bigger than a wasp. His eyes narrowed. There couldn't be more than one. "Anymore?"

"None."

"Rest of the house?"

"Nothing."

"So just my room."

"Correct."

Kakashi huffed and hopped down with a displeased look. "It's…hurting more than it should…"

Obito crossed his arms, his face also painted and wrinkled with disappointment. "I'm assuming Sakumo put it there."

"Maa, maa…tou-chan is the only living person I let roam around my room freely," he pointed out. "ANBU can't creep through these walls, floors or ceilings. I know you can't touch anything without a vessel, therefore tou-chan is the only option left open."

"You could rule Minato and Kushina out, too."

"They don't possess the skill level," Kakashi murmured.

"Should we really be talking about this with a recording audio device in hand…?"

Kakashi's smile was bitter. He flipped the small device over to show its back, where a purple light was flashing. "It's live feed," he pointed out. "Purple is the one color that the Sharingan has some difficulty seeing for unknown reasons. So we know for sure that an Uchiha is on the other side. It's small. Advanced. Wireless. Easy to hide, too, considering we're in traditional manor."

"Your point?"

"Do I seriously need to explain this to you?"

Obito raised an eyebrow. "Kakashi, I used a gunbai, Kama, katanas, Sharingan, Mangekyō—every ancient weapon possible. I used chakra. I use mental connections instead of audio devices. Does that tell you something?"

"Alright, princess," the Hatake grumbled. "An advanced engineer designed this, one from not around here. Black market, I'd say." He smirked. "The one thing they didn't predict was its discovery, so there is no self-destruct mode. There is just the feed."

Obito snorted. "Whoever made it obviously didn't make it for shinobi."

"We can assume it's a stolen item, then." Kakashi sighed, lying the object out on his gloveless palm. "They know everything I've said up until this point. I'm assuming tou-chan does, too."

Obito grunted.

"That explains certain periods of absences," Kakashi hissed under his breath. He glared down at it, his eyes turning a bright red. "I can't decide between crushing it or sending it away."

"I'll handle the witnesses," Obito informed. "You are so fucking lucky that I can erase memories, you shitbag."

Kakashi deactivated his dōjutsu, his fingers curling into the device and crushing it with the strength obtained from Tsunade. "I'm just a kid, what are you talking about."

The Uchiha chuckled and rolled his eyes before disappearing off the face of the earth.

Kakashi looked down, the dust falling onto the floor as he unfurled his hand. He was angry, now, specifically towards the authorities of the village.

He couldn't trust them—and where there's his authorities, there's his comrades.

"I can't trust anybody I consider comrades, can I…?" he whispered sadly. "That's…eye-opening…"

Sakumo couldn't believe his ears as the earpiece he wore got disconnected.

It was a wireless audio connection that was put into Kakashi's room—and it had let him hear everything.

His son wasn't his son…or at least, not the one who walks around with cheeky smiles all day…

He couldn't understand it. Kakashi knew so much more than he let on, and he was barely ten. The words he spoke were the words of an experienced, broken man—older than time and sadder than death. He could evaluate and come to conclusions so easily, but at the same time it was done so logically it actually hurt.

Nohara Rin and Uchiha Obito lived hard lives, that much could be extracted. It wasn't anything new to Sakumo, he's seen the result of living the type of life those two did. However, the way Kakashi spoke of it was of pain—like he was being reminded.

That scared Sakumo. Did it all originate from his stay in Iwa…?

He turned his head when he felt the ANBU chakra signature behind him flicker and become dim. The shinobi had fallen unconscious, sprawled out and shivering. He blinked and became alarmed, a kunai fluently flowing into his hands.

He felt movement to his right. He swiped his arm in hopes of catching the origin of the phenomenon, but his hand merely gained the chills. But it was an eerie chill, and he backed away.

A cold spot was behind him not even a few seconds later, and he dodged the cool breeze that came from a diagonal angle.

His grey eyes narrowed. "Who's there?"

When no one responded, he discarded the kunai and unsheathed his saber.

"I'll ask again," he snapped. "Who's there?"

A man dressed in black appeared from seemingly nowhere, his skin pale and his face scarred. Dark hair framed pale cheeks, and pale skin made bright red Sharingan eyes pop out and glow dangerously in the shadows. His mouth was tightly pressed together, his eyebrows pinched in rage and his posture tense.

Sakumo blinked in surprise. He didn't recognize this man—and yet he was an Uchiha. He grew up playing with Uchiha, most not surviving past twenty, and he's worked with them countless times. He's hung around their compound, talked to them like casual friends—hell, he even dated an Uchiha before he married Kikku.

But this Uchiha? Sakumo did not know him.

"Who are you?" the Hatake asked.

"I can't believe I already used it on you…" the Uchiha seethed. His fists clenched and unclenched, shadows stretching across his face from the candles burning on the desktop.

Sakumo narrowed his eyes. "Used what?"

The man's fist hit the stone wall, smashing it to chunks and pieces. It revealed nothing but another wall of stone. He turned his head towards the eld Hatake. "I am the spirit who follows your son around," he answered. "I do his bidding. I help him make the decisions. I am the motor to this world, and you are not even a drop of fuel to me."

Sakumo felt his eyes widen, shock making his jaw slack and shoot adrenaline through his veins. "S-spirit?"

The man glared, eyes spinning dangerously. "Let me tell you, Sakumo, I don't trust you," he continued. "The opposite, as a matter of fact. I want you chained down and restrained to the point of where your only privilege is breathing."

The Hatake almost stumbled.

"Listen," he hissed. "Kakashi is much more sensitive than you think. You're the one thing that he trusts in this world other than me as of now, and I'm positively sure that the trust he's got in you either broke or shattered to nothing. If you bring this up in an unruly way…prepare for Hell. I'd love to give you a tour."

Sakumo felt cold sweat drip down his back. He swallowed the lump in his throat, but then he let the fear slide best he could to speak up. "Can I at least find out what's going on?"

The man sneered. But then his irritated expression faded, and he just crossed his arms. "However is fit."

Kakashi could taste the procrastination while he ate the dango his father came home with. They were a new flavor, so he accepted it with a mask of glee.

Sakumo, on the other hand, sat down next to him with a questioning look.

Honestly, it was bothering him. He glanced at his father. "What?"

"Huh?"

"You look like you're gonna blow up with questions."

The elder man looked sheepish. He chuckled nervously, grabbing a stick of dango and eating it. "Do I?" he mumbled around a mouthful of sweets.

"I already erased his memories once," Obito suddenly spoke. "I can't do it again on the same person. He remembers everything you said, and he knows that I exist and that I am here. He can't see or hear me right now, though."

Kakashi felt his muscles become loose with shock. He glanced between the dango and his father with an alarmingly blank look before just consuming another sweet.

"It'd be best to educate him," Obito stated. "My sanity won't do any good here, and sanity plays a huge part in fairly changing events. Your sanity is just as bad as mine at this point, too. As of now, Hatake Sakumo is the only sane person we're closest to."

The dango stick in Kakashi's hand suddenly snapped under the pressure of his grip. It made Sakumo jump and Obito a little bit wary. The child gritted his teeth together. He wasn't insane. The thoughts he's been getting on a constant scale feel too normal. He could tolerate them, sometimes he'd bask in silence to listen, but it didn't make him insane. Cravings of death were becoming routine; routine was normal. Kakashi was normal. He was not insane. He could make a perfectly reasonable decision whenever.

He just didn't want to.

He didn't know why, but it most definitely was not because he was insane…because he isn't.

"Kakashi, are you okay…?" Sakumo asked. He put a hand on his sons extremely tense shoulder, setting down his own, unbroken dango stick with a concerned frown.

"You heard what I said," Kakashi murmured. "Earlier, I mean…you heard it all, right?"

The eld Hatake blinked, feeling a heavy guilt rest on his shoulders. "Yes, but—"

"Don't explain yourself," the traveler interrupted sharply. "I don't want to hear what you have to say."

"Then what do you want to hear?"

Kakashi turned his head towards his father, grey eyes wide and face just—scarily close to…insanity.

Sakumo's eyes widened. "Kakashi—"

"I want to hear what you're gonna do about it," he demanded. His eyes narrowed dangerously, untold and probably unrealized threats shining in them. "Will you tell me shitty lies again?"

"I never lied in the first place," Sakumo pointed out.

While those words did strike an emotional cord, it didn't feel very real. The unrealized threats shimmering in his true grey eyes faded, but the pressure was still very real. "Sure."

The eld Hatake sighed, looking a few years too old. But he let a smile expand his lips into a happy expression. "I'm not gonna do anything about it," he said. "Instead, I'm gonna hear you out. I'll listen to your story."

"And if you don't like it…?"

"I'm still your father," Sakumo pointed out. He pulled his tense son into a one-armed hug, his cheek resting on another silver head of hair. "Whoever you truly are, I do imagine that I'm still a fatherly figure to you. Fathers listen, and he is there to help his children grow. I've come extremely close to failing you once as a father, and I feel like I'm failing again. I don't like that feeling. So whatever story you tell me, I'll support you however I can because I don't want to fail my son."

Kakashi let the words sink in. He could instantly relate. He's failed many close friends and distant comrades included. He's gotten so hopeless at times that he just let a few of them die. He was accused of friendly-fire more than a once during his ANBU reign, each wrong even though some were sent towards teammates on purpose. It kinda went away over the years…but it was still looming somewhere.

"So, will you explain?"

The young child looked at his hands. His fingertips suddenly became prune and he felt the warmth of blood soak his skin and soon enough, he was looking at a rainfall of blood originating from his palms. He just let them limply fall, which broke the hallucination, and he closed his eyes. "Ijigen no Jutsu," he murmured.

"What's that?"

"A dimension-creating time travel jutsu," Kakashi explained. "A jutsu meant to be used when all hope is lost. Time travel alone is impossible, thus dimensions, and thus this situation. Some people who are familiar with the technique might get a Déjà Reve or Déjà Vu…but that's slim to nothing."

"So you hail from another dimension," Sakumo evaluated. "That…explains a lot."

"I died in my original dimension, though," Kakashi continued with a quiet voice. "So if I were to return there I'd be a spirit."

The eld Hatake remained silent.

"I came here mainly for experimentation," he murmured. "Or—or maybe to find a new place…I don't know. I didn't really feel like I belonged in my last ten or so years."

"How old were you?"

"Fifty," he said. "I'm fifty-eight right now, counting the years here." He opened his eyes in slits. He only has seven more years.

"You're older than me?" Sakumo said in disbelief.

Kakashi could feel a smile of faint amusement pull at his lips. But it quickly faded as he closed his eyes again. He felt depression curl its fingers around his chest, making it tingle and tighten only to loosen and make it difficult to breathe properly.

"Um…did I…"

"Die? Yes," he said instantly. "You were supposed to die the day I had that seizure almost three years ago. Everything kinda went downhill after that, because then my teammates died when I was twelve and thirteen. I was put into ANBU, and I went through six teams in six years…and at fifteen, Minato and Kushina died after the birth of their son." He sighed a little. "I guess…I kind of let my comrades die during my ANBU years…I mean, that went away when I left, but…"

Sakumo was still, his heartbeat even and his body stiff. He was staring at the tabletop when Kakashi opened his eyes to look at him, and they were glassy. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"Don't worry," he murmured. "I've already made my peace with it…but coming back here seemed to have made me subconsciously become riled up with it again."

His father pulled his son into his lap, a tight hug captivating the motionless traveler. Sakumo buried his nose into his sons crown, tears falling into silver hairs. Meanwhile, Kakashi was apathetic towards it. He didn't exactly understand why…but that was a lie.

He knew why. He lived a ridiculous life, and is still living that life. He's off his rocker, and he was in denial about that; he was dead in his original dimension and one could say he's slowly dying here, too. He wouldn't tell Sakumo that he would most definitely die in about seven years—or that he had plans for the tenth day of the tenth month; or even that he still needed to go out and find the damnedest of beings.

Yes, he had a lot of plans. Almost three years of standing by contributed to that, and with more time, he'd get more developments under his belt.

He wouldn't approach Uchiha Madara or Kuro Zetsu for another few years. Ready as he may be, he couldn't just leave Konoha unexplainably.

Well, he could, be his explanation would be something similar to the ridiculous excuses he picked up and created after Obito's deaths.

"You look lost in your thoughts," Sakumo commented with a cracking voice.

Kakashi almost chuckled, his eyes opening and looking up at his dad. "No. But I'm lost on the road of life."

Sakumo's only response was a frown, and that was all Kakashi needed to get the itching chuckle out of his system.

(…Okay…maybe he could somewhat trust at least one person of this dimension).