Chapter 6: Mistakes I've made in the past.

Kakashi: Every day, I eat, sleep, and worry about stupid things.

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Kakashi is afraid to set his foot away from his apartment.

He's gone back and forth across the door for two hours.

He almost forgot that his past self is a major ass that spouts rules, and he is already failing the first task of being a time traveler. He is now running late from a team meeting.

And now, instead of hurrying to catch time, he lays on his couch wearing the clothes and mask he remembered wearing in the past. He is dwindling his kunai, calming his nerves, before finally facing the people he dreaded to meet.

Shikamaru should've agreed with his idea to become missing-nins. This mundane task of pretending is hard, especially if he's the one facing his past demons. And they have the audacity to send him back to this god-forsaken village first. Those bastards don't respect his feelings. He wants to strangle the neck of each one of them.

What would his fellow travelers say if they saw him self-doubting and complaining like this? He can already hear the laugh of his bumbling student, the sneer of the snake sannin and the exasperated sigh of the lazy chunin.

Life is always ready to mock him.

This is such a drag...

What the...?

Kakashi pinches his nose for echoing the lazy chunin. His self is already having an identity crisis.

"Kakashi!", a knock made him jump from his couch, "Are you home?!"

They are already here!

What should I do?!

"Kakashi?! Are you here?! Are you sick?!"

No! No! Go away!

I am not ready!

"Sorry, Kakashi! We're entering your apartment! We have to check if you're here! I will use the spare key you gave me!"

Shit!

He can hear his heart pounding wildly.

The lock clicked. The door started creaking.

Kakashi did what any affrighted dog does.

He jumped from the window.

Fuck!

This is the fifth floor!

Argh!

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"Kakashi, what do you think you're doing?!", his female teammate demands him angrily as she patches up his scratches from the fall. She looks the same. Her brown hair. Her large brown eyes. The purple stickers he mimicked on his (future) disguise.

What is the significance of the purple markings on her face? Did she put it there to hide some scars? Does her family relate to the Inuzuka? He didn't have the opportunity to ask all those questions before she died in his past.

Ocean blue eyes blink at him, with kindness and worry he knows he doesn't deserve. "Are you alright, Kakashi? Why did you leap from the window?"

Kakashi failed to respond as he drinks up the image of his sensei, fearing they'll disappear if he didn't stare too long.

"What's with you, Bakakashi?!", his other teammate loudly complained, but he can hear the hidden concern beyond the shallow annoyance. His teammate is still wearing the hitai-ate on his forehead, orange goggles in his eyes, and the jacket that blares the combination of his and Naruto's colors. "I didn't know rules can sometimes be broken if you're too sick. You should've sent your ninken to send us a message! You even got your hitai-ite slanted in your head! Did you give your eye away?!"

Oh, the irony.

He wants to laugh and say 'Kamui!'.

But there are three voices in his head.

Remember what yourself was in the past. Orochimaru reminded him.

Slowly change yourself. Avoid getting detected. Shikamaru suggested.

You always lie, Sensei! You got this!Naruto claimed. Kakashi rolled his eyes on that one.

If his fellow time travelers expect him to do his role, then that's what he'll do until they arrive here to continue whining.

Orochimaru's voice echoed in his mind. Dogs can't do deception.

People in Konoha had forgotten that the Hatake were originally wolves. Wolves hide their true presence. He is the sensei of the trickster fox for a reason.

He internally growled. He'll prove that snake that fact and surprise the deer.

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"So, you're saying... you're hiding from Gai?", Obito laughed in disbelief. "I mean… I can understand… but is it that overwhelming for you to skip team training?"

"I didn't expect you to be this stupid, Obito.", Kakashi scoffed and acting angry to sell his identity. "What I said was I'm not feeling well. I'm worried Gai will appear at my door to drag me in his foolish challenges while I'm recuperating."

His teammate ignored his insult to make a point. "But you said you're sick! Gai is not that inconsiderate to challenge a poor sick shinobi!"

"You don't know Gai as much as I do.", he insisted.

Minato sighed with exasperation.

"What made you ill? I gave you all three days off after the last mission."

Kakashi internally smiled at the opening. He can bullshit himself from this.

"I was training with chakra manipulation using water. I thought it would be more powerful when I combine it with my lightning release."

"You fell in the lake, aren't you?", Obito mocks him. Kakashi glared.

"I'm not you. I know how to swim."

Rin looks at him with a clinical eye and hints of disapproval.

"You could've burn yourself with that combination."

"But I didn't not! So, leave me alone!"

Kakashi internally winced when Rin stepped back away from him when he yelled.

Is he that awful?

Ka-ka-shi...The Rin in his past muttered in his mind, spewing blood. Her chest bleeding from the lightning in his hand.

I have no more heart for you to destroy. The image of Rin turned to Obito, his hand passed through an empty chest.

He grips his heart as it pounds wildly. His chest constricts with pain. He closed his eyes to restrain himself from screaming and panicking.

A hand held his back and shoulder. When he opened his eyes a bit, three sets of eyes looked at him worriedly. He must have swayed and appeared pale.

"Let's get you to the hospital."

And everything went black.

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"I told you, I just overdid it. You should've let me rest at home.", he whined while they finally exited the hospital. The doctors just noted chakra exhaustion and didn't find anything else wrong with him. He was forced to stay there for five days. Too much time wasted when he could've slept it off at home and readied himself from the plans they formed. "I'm more comfortable at home. This place is so stressful."

Minato's eye slightly twitched. He could've laughed at it if he's not sticking to play his role.

"You're more stressful than the hospital. You didn't see yourself when you fell unconscious. And you stayed asleep for three days, so excuse me to restrict you for being stubborn!", his sensei reprimands him. "You scared us to death! You could've died from chakra exhaustion!"

As if I could die from this. And I'm the only one left alive in the end.

The world won't let me die in peace.

"Sensei.", Rin intervened before he could retort. "Are we doing missions today?"

Minato shook his head. "No. We will just take it easy today. I feel Obito is also not fit to do missions and training today." Their sensei turned at their teammate. "Should we go back inside the hospital, Obito?"

"No need, Minato-sensei.", his teammate quietly refused. "It's fine. My eyes are just acting up for days."

Kakashi frowned. He's feeling a bit nervous.

The Sharingan?

No way!

Kakashi and Minato held their silence and speculated things with their own minds. However, Rin is their field medic. She didn't let Obito evade their concerns. "What happened to your eye?"

"I think it bled, Rin? It happened the other day. I thought I was going to be blind but now I can see again. Though, just a little bit blurred."

"Did you awaken your Sharingan?", Minato voiced out their conclusions.

"Me? The Sharingan? No way!", Obito denied incredulously. "The clan already told me that my blood is too diluted for me to awaken it. Maybe I poked it when I was asleep."

"Let your clan head decide if you have it or not. It's not a bad thing to check, after all. It could boost your arsenal."

Obito just shrugged and continued walking. He left them musing at their own thoughts.

"Let's eat!", their sensei announced after some minutes of contemplation. "Tomorrow, we'll go back to training while we wait for missions."

"Please not Ichiraku's", Kakashi muttered. He had eaten enough ramen for years. His sensei laughed at him.

"Don't let Kushina hear you, but let's have Yakiniku for a change."

Everyone smiled and cheerfully walks towards the path of grilled beef. His stomach growled.

But of course, the world will not give him what he wants easily. They heard a commotion in the gates when they passed by.

A long-haired slender man was carrying an unconscious blonde-haired child while forcefully dragging a furious black-haired one as they entered the village.

Oh!

They've arrived!

The Snake Sannin bared his fangs to smile at their direction despite the child cruelty he's presenting. Kakashi knows that predatory smile is for him.

"Oh, glad to see you Namikaze.", the snake sannin greeted. "Care to help me drag this child to the Hokage?"

He and his teammates just stared.

"DON'T YOU DARE!", the black-haired child loudly hissed. The black-haired child was tied with snakes from chest to foot. He glared at them heatedly, putting all the hate and childishness he could muster. Obito tried to hide behind their sensei while looking at them warily. Kakashi bit his tongue to stop himself from laughing.

"LET ME GO, YOU CREEPY SLITHERING OLD MAN! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!"

The Nara is good. He could have clapped with that performance. Kakashi feels he should match up the fierce energy.

The Snake Sannin's smile went crazier. Minato stepped back and protectively extended his arms to cover the three of them.

This is the motivation he needs.

Well, then.

Let the play begin!

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Notes:

The actors are here!

It's a well-known fact that Kakashi has PTSD. Be patient with him.