If I Could Start Over Again
Chapter 4
Time Travel AU
KakaxFem!Naru
Sakumo Hatake has enemies. Being one of the strongest of Konohagakure, he is aware of the threats posed by his position.
As the current Head of his now quite small clan, Sakumo Hatake sat in his office in the front East portion of his home, completing a myriad of documents the council required yearly for those clans that held council seats.
Contemplating his somewhat stoic, stubborn child, he couldn't help but smile and wish his lovely wife and mate could see who their child was becoming.
Amidst the threats of war and turmoil, he was talented, smart and loyal as only a Hatake could be.
It's one of the reasons he is grateful that his little genius of a son is so strong at such a young age. Not that he specifically wished it so or that he would have to be.
His son was talented. . almost frustratingly so.
He missed him when he was just his cute little son and not a shinobi too.
Sending a prayer up to his wife as he tipped his head down to continue the arduous paperwork, he couldn't help but want to have hope for the future.
For all the tragedy and darkness that came with their lives, he applauded the dedication his son showed, as much as Sakumo missed his more innocent years.
But his son like him needed purpose and both enjoyed and excelled at the shinobi arts.
Twenty or thirty minutes passed, only the barely heard noises of shuffling papers and brush and ink to page Sakumo's company.
So, it was alarming when an explosion rocked the back outer courtyard of the Hatake Compound, ringing in the Clan Head's ears.
Racing through his home, the sight he was met with left him cold.
The back courtyard was once a beautiful green space with bamboo and dark trees lining a large koi pond with a stone walkway at an angle across one side. Off to the right when facing behind the house were 3 alcoves, entryways usually barely visible, well hidden within the foliage, each being separate training areas. Off to the Left had been an outdoor space with an awning and stone oven and grill.
The Hatake had once been quite a large clan, much of their time spent in the acres of woods the compound was buried in. The only lands comparable in size were the Nara, though the compound itself of the Uchiha was larger, the largest in Konoha, the land was not. And the Wolves of Leaf, the Hatake needed land to roam, much like the Deer of the Nara.
So, to look back and see the exposed ground and blown trees and bamboo, water and stones once lining the koi pond flung hundreds of yards in all directions, the back of the house, heavily damaged, his heart stuttered as his dark gaze franticly searched for his son.
A flash of silver and he was there, throwing debris and shifting large pieces of wood carefully away from the still form of his beloved and only son.
Kakashi woke to his brief touch and immediately asked where he was, dazed and appearing to struggle to piece together that he was looking at this father. It made Sakumo worry at the unfocused, desperate, confused look on his young son's face.
Who?
What 'he' did his son speak of? Sakumo had to wonder.
Assuming delirium and head injury, the tall silver-haired man bundled his son to his chest, careful of any injuries as his child faded in and out of consciousness and shot towards Konoha's hospital as fast has his body could bare them.
As he ran, he could hear his son mumbling, his small hands clenching in his vest.
Face a thundercloud as he listened to his son's faded mumbles and pleas . . saying that he had to find "him," begging his father to find "Naruto."
It left him worried and confused, but he would ask his child, when he woke again.
For now, he needed medical treatment and rest.
Sakumo sat vigil at his son's bedside.
Sandaime had asked what had happened. Honestly, he had no idea. What had his son attempted?
And what power.
And who was this male he was asking for, pleading for?
It was both amazing and concerning. His son was severely chakra depleted, but even with the Hatake's kekkai genkai, their super dense white chakra and heightened senses, to elicit a blast that large at 6 years old?
It was stunning.
It left the White Fang of Konohagakure both proud, worried and just slightly amused.
Leave it to his wayward, stubborn son to pull something like that off. . . . though next time, it would be with supervision, he thought darkly to himself, both annoyed and impressed and full of paternal protectiveness.
When Kakashi Hatake woke the second time, he could feel the oppressive pressure of chakra depletion, first and foremost. And his whole body felt like a bruise that weighed that of Hokage Mountain, pressing his limbs and body into the mattress of . . .based on the antiseptic smell, a hospital.
Quickly cataloging issues, he then struggled to clear the jumble in his thoughts, memories. . . .
H knew he had seen his Father . . . .
She had said . . . he would be the age he arrived at . . . it was making his memories. . . faded, opaque, seen through the lens of the child he was now, unable to process everything he had as an adult.
But he remembered enough.
He had drunk her offerings . . . The Goddess Inari . . .
He was alive . . . and so was . . . his Father. . . he was home and yet . . .
Naruto . . . Naruto . . . he hadn't seen him . . . Inari said . . . Kami-sama . . the panic began to swell as his mind, his soul seemed to shriek . . .
Had Naruto been brought2 back and was so injured . . . that he hadn't been there for him? That he could be just as injured or worse?
Where was Naruto?
He was awake and out the window of his hospital window before his Father, dozing at bedside could register it.
Wide eyed, Sakumo cursed as he flew too out the 6th story window, already struggling to catch sight of his wayward, fleeing son.
Was his concussion worse than they thought? Sakumo wondered as he applied more chakra to his legs.
Sakumo was officially frustrated and done with this miserably day.
His son was going to get himself killed.
The only way he was staying at a distance from Sakumo was using chakra on his already severely depleted system. The notion made his fears press into his throat.
Where the hell was his son going?
Kakashi had passed their compound and its decimated outer courtyard, feeling a growing pull to the North and East. His legs were shaking and burning and he knew he needed to find him now. His body wouldn't do what he asked of it much longer.
And then he saw it . . smelled it.
He jolted to a stop at the edge of an even larger crater than the one behind his compound, dug into hard packed dirt, trees flattened for hundreds of yards encircling it.
He could hear his Father behind him, close enough now to shout his name, pleading with him.
But taking another deep breath, he could smell it, smell them.
Naruto.
They were here.
Alive.
And bleeding.
A tanned hand caught the now young silver-haired child's dark grey eyes and he was off like a shot, his father's own hand missing grasping him by inches.
When his Father reached him, he rolled his shoulders out of his Father's strong grip, turning his face for the briefest of moments to snarl at him, his hands still occupied at moving the soil and large tree debris before Kakashi's kneeling, shaking form.
Sakumo's eyes widened. He froze for just a second, at his son's territorial response, only to see a tiny tan hand in the maelstrom as his son struggled to dig. Kneeling to assist, the two Sakumo men managed to pull debris away from the small form.
And Kakashi's emotionally shattered, physically depleted form froze.
There lying before him was Naruto. He could smell, that scent.
And yet, it was different, lighter, warmer, just a bit floral scent, mixed with the wind, cut grass and slightly spicy scent he knew so well.
It took a moment for his rattled, exhausted brain to sort what he was smelling, let alone what his eyes were telling him.
She . . . . she was here.
And with that world-tilting realization, Kakashi's awareness began to fade, the strong arms of his father helping him gently lay next to her in the dirt.
She was here.
Huh, came the unintelligent mental grunt from the now silver-haired child.
With a small smile and a sense of calm, completeness he hadn't felt in weeks, hell years with his Father next to them, Kakashi Hatake relaxed.
I could work with that, he thought absentmindedly as he began to slip into unconsciousness.
And Inari had said some things would be different, he thought amused as fatigue and pain finally took him.
Hope yall enjoyed so far!
A/N: A bit shorter again, partially cuz I moved some of the content into the next chapter to help the flow!
Hope to have that up sometime tomorrow!
Hope yall have a great night!
snm1 - I appreciate yall visiting! So sorry, again I can't see text, but I hope yall liked!
Amaterasu53 - Thank you! I love your work and hope to get within a few miles of it with these amusements of mine! And I call it like I see it, your depth (and volume of work!) is phenomenal! Oh and I should have another chapter up sometime tomorrow as long as I can flesh out these last two parts and not hit any snags! Hope yall enjoy!
Ja Ne!
-TheFoxandHerShadow