I had this idea after going over a couple time travel stories and always wondered one thing. "Why is it only the primary characters of the canon that ends up going back in time (aka looping). This is what I thought would be a good choice for a returning character. Enjoy!

Snapping a hand over his chest, Kakashi Hatake woke up in his room. He was alive?

The last thing he could recall was his childhood friend having turned into some world destroying monster, and how they fought in a realm removed from this one. All through the use of his Sharingan eye, something he thought wouldn't be possible to evolve as it was a transplant. He had used up so much of his chakra, he didn't think he would survive, but hopefully some of the other ninja could take down Obito before he strayed even further from the path he had chosen as a boy.

Taking a deep breath, he looked around his room, hoping for some sign of how he got there. What he noticed was that the dust wasn't nearly as thick as it should be, his wall had cracks which had been fixed when the repair crews replaced it after they were destroyed during the Sound Invasion, and he was missing a picture. Where was his team photo?

After attempting to dispell the genjutsu through both of his means, he pushed up off the bed and explored a little more of his surroundings. There was something odd going on, and he was determined to find out what. Levering himself off the bed, he wandered out of his bedroom and into his living room before spotting something that caused him to freeze and his heart to stop. It was the day before he was to meet the trio that would be the first team he ever passed.

Somehow, he was being granted a second chance, or so it would seem. Swallowing against the lump that was forming in his throat, he wondered just what the hell was going on. First thing's first, he would report to the Hokage and find out just how far gone his mind was to be hallucinating all this.

When he arrived at the Hokage's office shortly after daybreak, he nearly gave a cry of joy at seeing Sarutobi-sama sitting there. That exclamation died in his throat when he saw the man eyeing him suspiciously, that's when it hit him. Kakashi, for the first time since Obito's 'death' under the boulder, was early for a meeting. Swallowing again, he flashed a sign that only ANBU and the Hokage knew before starting, "Hokage-sama, this is hard to explain but-"

"Not here Kakashi," Sarutobi stated calmly as he nodded towards the doorway where a nervous looking chuunin stood, glancing between the two powerful men. "Perhaps in a secure debriefing room?"

"Yes Hokage, I will await your summons," Kakashi agreed, wondering just how deeply he was in it this time, and just how completely insane his explanation would be. Turning, he marched out the door and settled into the waiting room, for all the world appearing to read his book.

If this was real, and he really was back in time before his students were his, he could do so much to fix things. He could stop Sasuke from turning traitor, encourage Sakura to blossom under his tutelage more before letting Tsunade take her under her wing, and Naruto. His breath caught in his chest, which he forced out as a giggle over a passage in his book. Naruto, he could be the teacher to Naruto that he deserved, the council be damned.

He had failed them the first time, he wasn't going to fail this time around.

First thing's first, he would start lying at Rin's marker to mislead Obito. He wasn't ready to attempt to save his friend, nor to strike him down, but it would come, and Kakashi wanted to be sure of what he was going to do before that confrontation arose. As the half-hour passed, so many plans ran through his mind, yet through it all, Kakashi only had one thought.

He would not fail, not if he could help it.