Rating: T

Summary: Team Minato departs on their mission to Kannabi Bridge. Meanwhile, the older Kakashi and Obito are nowhere to be found.

"I'm sorry," Mikoto answered with a shake of her head. "I have no idea where they are. In fact… I haven't seen them since yesterday night."

Minato nodded regretfully. "It is of no fault of yours, Mikoto-san. I was just hoping to ask them a few questions…"

He tried to keep the worry from his face. Today, he and his team would be leaving on a mission to Iwa. By all appearances, it would be nothing out of the ordinary – while this would be Kakashi's first mission as jounin, he had dealt relatively well with leadership in the past. The mission should be easy for his team of two chunin and a jounin, even if he couldn't be there with them. It had taken a lot of meetings with the Hokage to even keep his team together for this long, but there had to be an end to everything.

But the arrival of the two time travelers, Minato felt afraid for what was to come. Something would happen on the village to Kannabi Bridge, something that would break his team forever. And with the ominous lack of Rin… there was only one conclusion that he could make, and it was one that made his gut churn.

The Uchiha matriarch sighed. "Good luck, Minato-kun. But, I'm sure they'll still be here when you and your team return from your mission!"

"No," he bit out, dragging a hand through his hair. "No, I… I really need to talk to them before that."

Mikoto frowned sympathetically. "Well, you've better hurry. It's almost five, already!"

Minato winced, but nodded. Yes, he knew that. He had been looking for the duo for a few hours now, without unearthing a single clue of where the future Kakashi and Obito had gone. Had they returned to their mysterious future in the same inexplicable way they had come to the past, at the worst possible moment? "Thank you for your help, Mikoto-san," he said with a bow.

"Honestly, Minato-kun," the woman said with a wide smile. "Always so formal. You know how close I am with Kushina-chan, and don't pretend that you only get along with Fugaku-kun for our sakes! At this point, our children are practically destined to be best friends!"

There was no hiding it. Minato's own friendship with the Uchiha head had come… unexpected, to say the least. From everything he had heard about the man, he had honestly expecting a dead-eyed shell animated only by ideals of honor and Uchiha supremacy. That had changed, especially after he underwent a few of the man's drunken rants on clan politics, war, and – strangely enough – the ridiculously inflated price of foreign sweets.

"My son is eating me out of house and home," the man had said mournfully. "He's a good boy, but… I will never understand his love of those candy coated biscuit sticks."

"Yes, well." He coughed. Children? Already? "…I –"

"Go find your students, Minato-kun! And…" She pursed her lips. "Tell your team to be careful on that mission of theirs, alright? Especially Obito-kun."

Minato nodded, though with some confusion. Why Obito?

The next two hours is as hopeless as the first few. He had even knocked on Kushina's door, to ask if she had ended up talking to the time traveling duo as she had exclaimed. There had been a brief silence, then a chilling killing intent had become practically palpable in the air. Then had come the demonic screech of, "It is six in the fucking morning and I am busy, you damn vacuum sellers –"

Minato had fled in a panic.

Now, he sat in the patch of forest in which he had arranged to meet with his team. It seemed that the older Kakashi and Obito really were gone, and Minato wasn't sure how to feel about it. Why hadn't they done anymore to change the tragedies of their past? Or, had they simply been caught unawares before they could enact their plans?

Kakashi arrived first. "Are you ready for the mission, Kakashi-kun?" Minato asked. "It is your first time taking full command."

"I'm ready," was his curt reply. "As long as Rin and the idio – Obito follow my commands, we'll be fine."

Five minutes before the agreed upon time, Rin ran up to the two of them, a bright smile on her face. "Minato-sensei! Kakashi-kun! You two haven't been waiting for me too long, have you?"

"No," Kakashi said shortly, either ignoring or outright missing the way Rin wilted at his reply.

"It's only been a few minutes," said Minato consolingly. "It's alright – Obito isn't here yet either."

The silver-haired jounin next to him snorted with disgust. "When is he ever? We might as well leave now. It's not as if he'll contribute to the completion of the mission anyways."

"Kakashi!" He reprimanded, eyes narrowed. "Obito is a valuable member of the team. His occasional tardiness is no reflection of his shinobi ability."

"No," the boy agreed. "No, his total lack of shinobi ability is obvious enough without it."

"Kakashi-kun –" Rin tried.

Kakashi scoffed, and turned away without a word. Minato sighed. How had the older Kakashi and Obito ever gotten as close to each other as they did?

…Was it because of what happened to Rin?

Ten minutes pass without Obito's arrival. As the minutes tick by, Kakashi's scowl grew more and more intense.

Finally, the boy stood up like a shot. "This. Is. Unacceptable. Obito is thirty minutes late," Kakashi growled. "What the hell does he think he is doing."

To be honest, it made Minato wonder as well. Obito had never been more than ten minutes late before, and always with an excuse about an old granny who need a person to carry her bags, or an old man who was blind and couldn't cross the street without assistance. Kakashi had once struck out to catch Obito "red-handed with his lies," only to slink back a few minutes after, admitting that – as impossible as it seemed to him – Obito was telling the truth about the constant crowd of elders asking for his help.

It did nothing to mollify Kakashi's anger at Obito's tardiness, however.

"Sorry I'm late, guys!" Minato heard Obito shout, moments before he landed on the grassy field. "I saw a black cat crossing the road, so I ended up taking a completely different route! Before I knew it… I was lost on the road of life." The Uchiha scratched the back of head in embarrassment.

"You –" Kakashi managed, before growling, "That is the single shittiest lie I have ever heard."

"Eeh? But it's the truth!" Obito protested, voice strangely high.

"You idiot –"

"Kakashi, Obito – stop it," Minato snapped. "We do not have time to argue over this, not when we have a mission we have been assigned to! Kakashi, Obito is your teammate – respect him as such. Obito… I am disappointed in you. You have made our team extremely late for our mission, and it seems that you are not telling the truth for the reason of your tardiness."

Obito bowed his head slightly. "…Sorry, Sensei. The real reason I'm late… well, the truth is, I was getting a present for Kakashi's promotion to jounin!"

Kakashi paled with stunned disbelief. "Y-You… got me a present?" He stammered, eyes widening. At the same time, Rin said weakly, "Obito-kun… you got a present for Kakashi-kun?"

"Maa," Obito said, obviously put-upon, "why is that surprising that I'll get my teammate a present for his promotion?"

"Because you hate me," said the other boy, too bewildered to be anything but blunt.

"Why would I hate you?" The Uchiha repeated, head cocked. "Sure, you can be an uptight little brat sometimes –" A vein throbbed in Kakashi's head. "But I don't have any reason to hate you. Sure, you call me a disappointment and a deadlast… but you're hardly the only one."

Kakashi stared, speechless. "Obito," Rin said, voice small, shooting Obito a look that Minato couldn't identify. "…What's your present to Kakashi?"

A bright grin appeared on the boy's face. "It's great! I put a lot of thought into it. I hope you like it, Kakashi!" He held out a brightly wrapped package to Kakashi, who took it with some apprehension. And, just as Kakashi rips open the package, he adds, "The older you suggested it to me when I asked him!"

Minato and Rin paled with stunning alacrity. Kakashi stared blankly at the bright orange book cover in dull shock. It was like watching a volcano, Minato decided with a wince, and waited for the eruption. By his side, Rin placed her face in her hands.

Except, Kakashi stuffed the book in an empty kunai pouch without a word, eyes deliberately not looking at Obito. "…Thank you," he bit out.

For a moment, it seemed as if everyone was shocked by Kakashi's action – even Obito, for a split second. But as quickly as it appeared, it was replaced by an expression of – understanding? And then, clueless confusion. "…Eh? Is there something wrong with the book?" He asked, head tilted.

"No," Minato said quickly. "No, it's just –" He tried to think of an explanation that didn't involve 'pervert,' 'porn,' or any reference to human reproduction in general. "Kakashi doesn't like his older self very much," he finished weakly.

The Hatake had already begun walking away, back purposefully facing them as he strode away, hands in his pockets.

"Maa, that's not as bad as I thought!" Obito decided with a grin, his eyes curving into crescents. "Then Kakashi will just have to wait a few years, and I'm sure he'll love it!"

Kakashi twitched in the distance.

Minato stared into the dark night sky silently, but his thoughts were settled firmly on the matter of his team – the three children who slept on behind him, trusting him to look after them.

He thought of cheerful Obito, who was destined by time to become a man disillusioned with the world, who had even given up his dream of Hokage. He thought of stoic Kakashi, who would become blithe and playful over the years, in a way that still could not disguise his haunted eyes. And last, he thought of Rin, who was talented and hardworking, with a naturally precise control over her chakra that even the most skilled medic nin would envy – Rin, who would not survive to adulthood.

How had he failed so badly as sensei? He had even been relieved, Minato realized, that the older Obito and Kakashi had disappeared before doing what he feared from them most – confronting their old sensei about his failures. And what else could he call them? When Minato had left his students to be twisted by the horrors of the shinobi world…

Earlier today, Kakashi had gone after enemy nin with an untested, experimental technique. It was obviously powerful, but was not suitable for practical use. Kakashi had been injured, and it had been clear that both his teammates had been worried.

Even Obito had turned uncharacteristically serious, coldly lecturing the jounin in a way that had seemed as if Obito had a lot of practice with dealing with overpowered young shinobi without common sense. It had been enough that Kakashi had accepted his words without arguing.

Yes, Kakashi was learning, it seemed. But would it be enough to get his team through the mission alive and unscathed? As much as Minato wished, he could not accompany the three – there were dozens of shinobi relying on his completion of his mission. He would have to trust in his students.

"This is where I have to leave you," Minato said seriously, and hoped that it wouldn't be the last time he would see his team, healthy and whole.

He had given Kakashi his jounin present – a Hiraishin kunai – earlier the morning, the same time as Rin handed the boy a specialized medic kit with a blush on her face. He hoped that Kakashi wouldn't have to use it, because it would certainly be a last resort – his student would certainly exhaust all other options before utilizing a weapon with such a strange shape.

His students nodded at him, faces serious except for Obito, who wore a wide smile on his face. "Maa, don't worry - we'll be careful, Minato-sensei!" The boy promised, his eyes curved into crescents. "Isn't that right… Captain?"

Minato blinked, and couldn't hide his smile. Kakashi had tilted forward slightly in a vain attempt to hide his face, but Minato could still see the faint upturn of his lip under his mask.

Maybe… his team would be alright.

Still, as he leaped away from his students – his kids – he wished that Kushina had come to say goodbye to their team as they had left. Even though she wasn't technically apart of Team Minato, she might as well be.

No doubt, she was busy with something important - she would not have missed their departure otherwise. But with what?

"Alright, I know you two are confused. But I swear there's a good reason why the both of you are tied up in my living room, so don't worry about that mission of yours." Kushina paused. "But before I get to that… are any complaints about ramen for every meal for, uh… the next few days?" She grinned sheepishly. "Because that's all I have, dattebane."

[A/N: Update in honor of the first day of my internship in the molbio lab. Yo.

So, this turned out more serious than I would like - more serious than the first draft, even, but that turned a bit more forced than I wanted. Don't worry, any OOCness is intentional. Probably.]