Heads up for true Boruto fans I really haven't watched much of that series. Just like the first bit. Which is okay I guess given that they're pulled back in time from like shortly after Sarada became a genin.
As I'm wont to do, this story begins after the inciting incident that's cast the three back. No, I'm unlikely to get into what sent them back other than it was a mess and is going to call for research to find a safe way to reverse it.
Pain. Pain overwhelms all of Naruto's senses. He cannot do anything but grind his teeth and hold on as he waits for either the end of it or for death. After what could have been seconds but sure as Hell felt like an eternity the pain ebbs away to a body-encompassing ache. Naruto breathes out.
He has survived.
Aware of his body once more, he carefully relaxes his limbs and takes stock of himself. He doesn't think he has any noteworthy injuries. No part of him hurts more or less than another part.
Except, perhaps, for his head. There is a steady hammering at the base of his skull where it connects to his neck. He wonders if it's a migraine. He sort of remembers Sakura mentioning a time or two when bringing Himawari to her for neck pains that some people experience pain there when a migraine comes on.
Naruto heaves himself into a sitting position and, immediately, his sore eyes catch the bright red of Sarada's kimono. He grimaces as he whips his head toward her prone form. The preteen is curled on her side, legs tucked close to her stomach and arms stretched out before her. Shakily, Naruto gets on his hands and knees and reaches out to touch her neck.
He breathes out long and low when he feels a steady pulse. "Sarada," he murmurs.
The girl's dark brows twitch. "Hrn," she mumbles.
Naruto winces. Something tells him she's feeling no better than he is right now. Maybe even worse. She's so young. This kind of all-encompassing pain is no doubt a new experience for her.
"Sensei…?" a little kid's voice warbles.
In a split-second, Naruto has a hand fisted in Sarada's kimono and crouches in front of her as he directs his body towards the origin point of the child's voice. The child is unlikely to be a threat but their teacher? Naruto's not taking any chances.
His eyes blow wide when he sees the owner of the voice. Just feet away, a little, gray-haired boy wearing a face mask sits. His knees are pulled up in front of him and his hands are planted behind him.
His head is tilted up, eyes full of wonder as he stares at a young blond shinobi half-knelt before him.
That's—
"Kakashi!" exclaims the young man as he drops to the ground and grabs the boy (Kakashi-Sensei!) by the shoulders. "Kiddo, we've been looking for you all over," he says, tone half-scolding, half-relieved. "How in the Hell did you just vanish like that?" the bemused young man asks while inspecting the boy for visible injuries.
"Minato-Sensei," Kakashi-Sensei murmurs instead of answering, a little hand hesitantly brushing the blond's jaw.
"Hey," says the shinobi, alarmed. "Hey, 'Kashi what's wrong?" he questions as he envelopes the small hand with both of his own.
"This is real?" Kakashi-Sensei questions, looking at their hands.
The blond scrunches his face in an expression that has Naruto touching his own cheek. He's seen pictures of himself making a confused look just like that. It's one he's witnessed Boruto and Himawari make too. It's amazing, what can pass from father to child, child to grandchild.
Out of the corners of his eyes, Naruto sees Sarada shift, palms planting themselves in the dirt. He stretches out an arm to her and offers assistance up from the ground and to sit beside him.
"What's happening?" she whispers when her eyes find him.
Sharply, Naruto gestures for silence and looks meaningfully at the two before them. Sarada's eyes follow his gaze and she rears back at the sight, shocked. He smiles at her reaction. He is sure she didn't even fathom the possibility of seeing the Yodaime and a little Kakashi-Sensei in front of her today.
"Of course!" Minato says, recapturing Naruto's attention. The blond is apparently over his bewilderment and has settled on some kind of plan. He lets go of Kakashi's hand and reaches for the other. He shapes them into the hand-sign to release a jutsu.
Taking the hint, Kakashi-Sensei firms his digits and recites the words to dispel a typical genjutsu. When nothing changes, Minato grins at the boy. "See?" he prompts.
"Sensei!" Kakashi-Sensei cries before launching himself at his teacher.
Naruto's dad seems to have expected such a reaction and catches Kakashi-Sensei easily. "It's okay, I have you," he says while wrapping his arms around the boy. For the first time, the young shinobi notices them. He stiffens.
Naruto sucks his teeth. His dad is young. Like teenage-young. Apparently, though, he's already a teacher. That has to mean he's already a formidable shinobi. Why didn't he realize before he and Sarada are here too?
Was he that worried about Kakashi-Sensei? His dad had mentioned the boy disappearing. How long ago did that happen? What's the distance Kakashi-Sensei has seemingly traveled since his vanishing? Naruto has to assume his dad feared the worst when Kakashi-Sensei went missing. The sight of his student alive and whole must have narrowed his perception to a pinprick.
As Konoha's Hokage, a leader who is in charge of an army of exceptional men and women, displeasure pulls at him. A shinobi of his dad's apparent rank should not be so single-minded. As a father, however, Naruto understands the young man too well. If it'd been one of his kids who pulled a vanishing act like Kakashi-Sensei apparently did nothing in the world but Boruto or Himawari would matter when he finally found them.
"Who are you two?" the blond demands.
Naruto tenses as Sarada jolts at being addressed. "Ah, uh," he stammers as he scrambles for a fake name. He doesn't yet know what's going on but he's pretty sure he and Sarada are in the past (maybe, Kakashi-Sensei too? His reaction to his teacher…). In case this next bit goes badly, he doesn't want his dad to have a sour connotation connected to his name.
Naruto likes being Naruto.
"Menma!" he declares while the young shinobi narrows his eyes. He glances away and laughs. "Yeah, I'm Menma…"
"I'm Sar—" Sarada begins only to cough to give herself a second to come up with something like Naruto. "Saraka," she says when she finishes with her fake fit.
Minato tilts his head. "Uchiha?" he inquires.
The girl blinks but then smiles. This is a time when the Uchiha are numerous. And Sarada, who takes so strongly after Sasuke, can easily be identified as one of the clan. "That obvious, huh?" she murmurs.
Minato shrugs as much as he can while still clutching Kakashi-Sensei to him. "One of my students is an Uchiha," he replies. "My girlfriend's best friend is too. It's safe to say I'm quite familiar with your clan's people."
Kakashi-Sensei, who's been wriggling in the blond's arms while he spoke, is, at last, turned around and looking over at them. Naruto catches his gaze for a second. The boy's brows lift and Naruto feels his own eyes begin to crinkle at the corners with a smile.
Yeah, his teacher is in that little kid. Which, objectively, is hilarious. Right now, though, it's kind of putting them in a pickle. How are they gonna regroup and figure out what the Hell's happened when, apparently, Kakashi is supposed to be a kid learning from Naruto's dad?
The young man clears his throat and Naruto's attention snaps back to his dad. He's frowning at him, head canting as he squints in consideration at him. "You know, Menma, you also remind me of someone," he says, adding, in a mutter, "who I'm not sure."
Naruto does his best not to freak out. The reason the blond can't put his finger on it is probably that he's seeing the similarities between them. "Ha! Isn't that funny," he replies, voice pitching high.
The young shinobi's scrutinizing stare intensifies.
Kakashi-Sensei sighs and squirms some more until he has an arm free. He reaches up and tugs on the blond's ear. His dad grimaces at Kakashi-Sensei's demand for his attention. "Sensei," the boy huffs.
"Yes, Kakashi?" he replies through clenched teeth, his gaze flickering between him and Naruto.
The boy juts out his chin. "Please stop glaring at them," he requests. "They're friends."
"Is that so?" Minato grumbles. He readjusts his hold, allowing Kakashi-Sensei out of the circle of his arms. The boy doesn't move far from the blond; he only takes a step to the right to stand beside Naruto's dad. "You were pretty shaken Kakashi," he remarks as he follows the boy with his gaze. "You know you don't have to lie to me."
"I know," assures Kakashi-Sensei, eyes curving.
The blond shakes his head, apparently amused by the boy's reply. He then turns his attention to Naruto and Sarada. Offering them a stiff smile, he tips his chin at Sarada and asks Naruto, "Is she your student?"
He looks at Sarada and tries to gauge her feelings on the situation. She stares back, clearly willing to go along with whatever he comes up with. "I… In a sense," hedges Naruto; he doesn't want to commit to anything too strongly at the moment. They might need to switch up their story later for the safety and well-being of the future. "She's the daughter of my old teammates."
The young man's face dawns with what looks like understanding. "An apprentice," he murmurs.
Naruto shifts, uncomfortable. He isn't sure he likes the conclusions his dad is drawing. This isn't a Tsunade and Shizune situation. He's not trying to hold onto the last bit of his friends and teach Sarada their arts and techniques in the absence of them. He couldn't; not even if it was something he wanted to do. Naruto isn't an Uchiha nor is he very knowledgeable in the healing arts.
Awkwardly, Naruto suggests, "I think we should go see the old man."
The blond opens and closes his mouth. "The Sandaime?" he asks.
Naruto nods. "That's what I said."
His dad sighs. "Right," he mutters. "Sure. We can go together." He shifts and puts a hand on Kakashi-Sensei's shoulder. "Kakashi," he begins.
"Yes?"
"Go back to Field Eleven," he orders the boy. "I'm supposed to regroup there with Rin and Obito in ten minutes." Gripping onto Kakashi-Sensei, he forces him to turn around. "You can show them you're okay and tell them I'm escorting your… friends… to the Hokage Tower."
Kakashi-Sensei twists his head around, looking up at Naruto's dad and over at him and Sarada. "Maybe I should—"
"No, go," cuts in the blond, pushing him forward. "That's an order."
Naruto grimaces. "Can't he come too? You could send a clone to let your, um, students? Know you found Kakashi?" he suggests.
The blond's face snaps to him. "Menma, please do not undermine me," he nearly growls with a surprising amount of nastiness. "Kakashi is my student."
"S-Sorry," Naruto stutters out.
The blond stares a moment at them, almost daring Naruto and Sarada to criticize him again before he returns his attention to Kakashi-Sensei. "Now, Kakashi," he says in an almost playful tone to his leery student. "Don't think I won't know if you don't do as I said," he warns.
Kakashi-Sensei looks away from his teacher. "Yes, Sensei," he defers. He then starts to march off under the watchful gaze of Naruto's dad.
Naruto, who is this close to panicking because he doesn't know what'll happen now, calls, "Kakashi!"
The boy pauses mid-step. "It's okay," he assures Naruto when he glances back. Eyes curving, he waves and promises, "I'll see you around."
Naruto bites hard into his tongue to keep himself from saying anything more that might be misconstrued or lead to new problems between him and his dad. Kakashi-Sensei starts up again, taking his lack of protest as assent. The boy's teacher stays in place, blocking Naruto and Sarada from running after Kakashi-Sensei. He stares them down until his student is well and truly gone.
"Shall we?" he asks
Naruto sighs. "I—" he begins only to stop himself. He'd been about to apologize. But for what? He hasn't done anything new in need of one. Naruto just feels bad. He hates the way his dad is looking at him and Sarada. "Yeah, let's go," he agrees.
Thank you for reading and let me know what you think!