Studying his fingernails, Kakashi makes a note to himself to trim them later. They're looking quite ragged. As he does so, Obito, who sits on the rock he's leaning on, swings his feet and makes a noise of exasperation.

"I can't believe you said no to extra training!" he complains when Kakashi ignores his huffing and puffing. "I would never," he declares.

Kakashi doesn't even bother to glance up at his teammate. "Uh-huh," he says.

Out of the corners of his eyes, he sees Obito lean over and squint down at him. "You've been super weird lately," he tells Kakashi.

He rolls his eyes. Yes, he turned down extra training with Minato-Sensei but that's not entirely out of character. Kakashi used to do that sometimes as a kid when he suspected such offers were a trap.

This extra training is definitely a trap.

Minato knows he's been spending a lot of time with "Menma" and "Saraka" since their "return" last week. He's highly suspicious of this. Kakashi isn't sure if Minato is afraid Naruto's trying to poach him or if he's worried that Kakashi is helping them under some kind of duress.

Either way, they'd have trained another hour together, and then Kakashi would have been interrogated about what's going on. Chances are all of Kakashi's assurances would have fallen on deaf ears. Minato's only going to be comforted when the two "leave" for another long-term mission and Kakashi returns to being his singularly devoted student.

"Have not," he lies to Obito.

The boy scoffs and hops off the rock. "Come on," he chides, arms crossed and using his superior height to loom over Kakashi. "What is it?" he demands. He pokes at Kakashi, forcing him to slap his hand away from him. "You hurt yourself or somethin'?" he asks. "If you did, Rin would help you and never tell."

Kakashi almost smiles. The concern is sweet. He's sorry he never noticed this when he was really a kid. Obito was such a good teammate. It's been nice, in a way, getting to spend time with him. This is the person he admired; shaped himself after. It comforts a part of him he didn't know even needed it.

Kakashi hadn't been wrong to hold him in high regard. Obito, before the failed mission, before being twisted and manipulated, before making bad decision after bad decision, was a good person. A hero.

"I didn't and I know," he assures.

Obito cants his head to the side. "Hmm…" he mutters as he studies Kakashi.

He sighs. "Look," he says. "Would you just go?"

The boy prickles at his words. "Make me Bakashi!" he snaps.

Kakashi bites back a frustrated growl. This isn't the direction he'd wanted things to go. He'd just wanted his teammate to leave before—

"Bakashi?"

Obito yelps and spins around as Kakashi slumps in place, a hand finding his forehead. This is just perfect. He'd been hoping to avoid this inevitability a while longer. Putting on his big boy pants, he squares his shoulders and steps forward. "Hi," he says to Sarada as the girl quirks her brows. "That's just Obito's favorite insult for me," he explains.

The girl's eyes drift to the boy, mouth firming into a disapproving line. "I see," she replies.

A sheepish pink, Obito tries to defend himself. "He's being annoying," the boy explains. "You'd probably call him a name or two if you were in my place too."

Sarada sniffs. "Hmph."

Sighing, Obito turns to Kakashi, expression pitiful. "Sorry," he mumbles.

Kakashi lets his lips curve into a smile knowing Obito can't see it. "It's okay," he says. "Honestly, it's more funny than hurtful to be called that by somebody like you."

For a split second, Obito's body loosens with relief. However, once the rest of Kakashi's words register, he bristles and grabs him by the front of his shirt. "What's that supposed to mean!" he demands.

Kakashi puts his hands on Obito's knuckles and is ready to break away from his grip when Sarada snaps, "That is enough!"

Obito lets go as Kakashi whips his head to the girl, surprised at her angry tone. He is doubly so when he sees she's scowling at both of them. "You're teammates!" she yells. Eyes flashing, she hisses at him, "Has it all been lip service from you?"

He swallows and looks away. "Sorry," he whispers. He wants to explain. To reassure Sarada but Kakashi can't. Not now. Not with Obito here, not when it would mean telling her how he failed his teammate.

How it was Obito who taught him how important teammates and teamwork are.

She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Whatever," she says. "Are you ready to go?" she asks him. "Fair warning, Menma-Sensei will join us later. The third asked for his advice on something."

Kakashi frowns beneath his mask. "He did?" he says, not liking the sound of that. They should be interfering as little as they can in the past. If they change anything too big Naruto and Sarada existence could be put at risk.

The girl nods. "He was pretty reluctant," she admits. "The sandaime assured him he can say as much or little as he wants on the issue. Sensei agreed after that."

He dips his chin. He supposes that's okay. As long as the hokage's prepared for Naruto to say nothing and Naruto is too all should be well.

"Hey," says Obito, reminding both of them he's still here.

Kakashi crosses his arms as Sarada eyes him coolly. "Yes?" she says.

"You're an Uchiha, right?" the boy asks with furrowed brows.

Saraka tips her head in assent. "Yeah," she answers. "Uchiha Saraka." Grudgingly, she puts out a hand.

Obito takes it. "Cool," he replies. "I'm Uchiha Obito." He frowns. "I don't think I've seen you before."

Sarada takes back her hand. "Mhm," she replies, looking away. "I've been away from the village a while with my teacher," she explains.

This story excuse only serves to deepen Obito's frown. "I don't think I even knew you at The Academy," he says. His frown turns into a scowl. "Are you a prodigy too?"

Sarada looks at Kakashi and then back at Obito. "Ah," she says. "I'm good if I say so myself but no. My situation's a bit… odd. I was taken by my teacher on a long-term mission as a toddler out of the village. I've been training as his apprentice since I became old enough."

Obito's scowl disappears as understanding dawns. "Oh!" he exclaims. Smiling, he kindly tells her, "That's not so strange! There's a girl I did go to the Academy with who's kind of in the same situation as you! She didn't leave the village with her teacher until after she graduated though."

Sarada not quite smiles at the boy, soothed, it looks like, by how easily Obito accepts the cover story. Kakashi knows she's been sort of nervous since they started using it and had Naruto and Kakashi practice throwing questions at her to make sure she didn't accidentally poke holes in it while telling it to others. He thinks the practice has paid off.

"Thanks," she says to Obito. "The last thing I want to seem like is a weirdo…" she confesses with a giggle.

"There's nothing wrong with being different," Kakashi tells her, feeling a little pang of sympathy for the girl.

She laughs. "That's easy for you to say, Gramps!"

Immediately her eyes blow wide as she realizes her mistake. Kakashi, for his part, does not react. Instead, he replies, "Hn."

"Gramps?" Obito repeats, looking between them.

Sarada winces. "A nickname," she says. "It's a nickname. Kakashi likes to act like he's an old man since he knows so much!" She laughs nervously and tries to buddy up with Obito by elbowing him in the arm. "You must know what I mean, right?" she asks. "You're his teammate!"

Obito squints and rubs his chin. "Gramps…"

"No," Kakashi says curtly. He hates monikers. Even benevolent ones like 'Kashi. And Gramps, while not as bad as "the baby" (a favorite of his generation to use when they were young), is still one he's going to quickly come to hate. He points at his teammate. "You'll pay if you call me that," he swears.

The boy pouts. "You're no fun," he grumbles.

"Good," he huffs. "Just the way I like it."

Obito rolls his eyes. "Can you believe him?" he asks Sarada.

The girl blinks. Sarada then smiles. "I know, right?" she replies.

"Hey," Kakashi calls out, half-annoyed, half-warning them.

They stare at him then turn their backs on him in unity. He wants to stamp his foot. Mentally, Kakashi rears back at the feeling. He hasn't had such an urge in years. Not since he was—

He looks at his too-small hands. They've been in the past a week. Barely at that. Already though it's getting to him. Kakashi swallows. He hopes a solution presents itself to them soon. He's not sure how much longer he can take being eight years old.

"Kakashi."

He snaps his head up to see both Sarada and Obito staring at him with impish dark eyes. Wearily, he asks, "What?"

The girl smiles sweetly at him. "I was thinking, since Menma-Sensei is going to be a bit, we could do something sort of fun before we go back to the apartment?"

Kakashi wants to say no. They need to be doing more not less to fix this. Yet. How can he? This is a mess but it is a gift too. He's not going to get the chance to spend time with Obito ever again when they go back to their rightful time.

He should try and enjoy this at least a little bit, right?

Still—

He crosses his arms. "What do you have in mind?" he asks.

"I'm supposed to be meeting up with Asuma and Raidō soon. The weather's nice today and we're going to go swimming in the Naka River!" Obito tells them. "I'm sure they won't mind if you join."

"Hmm. I suppose," he agrees. If Sarada thinks they have time for it, Naruto is probably going to be running much later than half an hour or even an hour. Hopefully, he will show up at the apartment with some takeout in time for dinner.

Both cheer at his consent. "It'll be so much fun, I promise, Saraka!" Obito tells the girl.

She grins at the boy and then at Kakashi. "Thanks," she says. "I really needed a break like this."

He feels himself soften at the confession. Yeah, Kakashi can understand that. This has been a pretty stressful time. Sarada's been acting admirably; holding it together in the face of their current uncertainty and doing all that's asked of her with little to no complaining.

"Of course," he says. Then, teasingly, to Obito, remarks, "Let's get going now. I'm sure we'll only be a little late rather than half an hour or more if we head there now."

His teammate turns bright red. "Oh shut up," he grumbles.

-O-

"—Helped us with walking on water!"

Kakashi cracks open an eye. He grimaces when he realizes his mask is damp. He's been drooling in his sleep, it seems. How gross. It's too bad he's already changed into his extra mask after swimming and water-walking in the river with the others.

"That sounds like it was fun," says Naruto to Sarada in the next room.

He picks up his head from the table and furrows his brows. All of the scrolls and books he and Sarada had been going through are neatly put away at the other end. Even the paper Kakashi had been writing on is tucked away in one of the books. How long ago had he fallen asleep?

Why hadn't Sarada or Naruto woken him?

There's a bit of clanking from the kitchen. "You got those?" asks Naruto.

"Yes!" assures Sarada.

A moment later, Naruto walks into the room with a tray of bowls. His eyes crinkle at the corners when he sees Kakashi sitting up at the table. "Have a nice nap?" he asks.

He frowns. "You didn't wake me when I fell asleep," he says.

The blond shrugs before placing the tray on the table. "Eh. You needed it," he says. "From what Sarada's been telling me you guys had a busy afternoon."

The girl, now visible as Naruto sits down at one of the table's chairs, beams. "Yeah!" she agrees. Passing out glasses of water, she tells Kakashi, "I figured it wouldn't hurt you to rest a bit before dinner."

Kakashi frowns behind his mask. "Our research—"

"—Is coming along," breaks in Naruto as he grabs his chopsticks from the tray. Gathering some noodles on his chopsticks, he points at Kakashi with them. "You gotta be a bit more gentle with yourself, Sensei." Slurping up the noodles, he says through his mouthful of food, "You're stamina's not what it usually is, you know."

Kakashi balls his hands into his pants. He wonders what Naruto would think if he knew it wasn't just his stamina that's changed. Now is not the time to bring it up. If he's lucky, he won't ever have to. Instead, he sighs. "Yeah," he agrees with reluctance.

"Here," says Sarada as she passes him his bowl. "Naruto made sure to get your favorite."

He wraps his hands around the warm ceramic and stares into his ramen. "Thanks," he replies.

"You could spend the night," suggests Sarada when Kakshi fails to pick up his chopsticks.

He looks over at the girl and she smiles. "That way, in the morning, before you have to leave for training with your team we could go through another book or two together."

His chest warms at her idea. That would make Kakashi feel better after all of the time they've wasted today. He nods. "Yes, let's do that," he murmurs.

"Great!" the girl declares. Then, with a glare that's decently threatening, she orders, "Now, eat up!"

Kakashi picks up his chopsticks.

Thank you all so very much for reading and let me know what you think!