Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"He's with me." Minato said politely, but with an undercurrent of steel. The good thing about being known as lighthearted and fun-loving was that when he did show his serious side, people tended to listen without asking questions. The two chunin at the gate blinked rapidly at the ANBU alongside the three battered children and Jounin sensei but let them in without protest.

"We'll be reporting to the Hokage first. Your mission is a turning point in the War." Inu said quietly. Minato could read the tension in his wiry frame but his voice remained carefree as ever. He wondered when Kakashi had become so adept at concealing his emotions, balking only slightly at the reason he might have had to learn to do so.

"I intended to do so, Inu kun." Minato replied.

"What about Inu's identity? He'll be in trouble if we spread the news." Obito said, making the ANBU wince at the volume. Thankfully there weren't any shinobi in the vicinity to overhear. Revealing an ANBU's identity was tantamount to treason and punishable by death.

"Obito's right, Minato sensei." Rin said, thankfully much more quietly. "If someone knew that time travel was possible, who knows what consequences will come off it?"

"Maa. We have no choice, Rin chan." Inu said. "Unlike Kiri, we have enough bloodlines that will be able to see through disguises. From the Byakugan to the Aburame's Kikaichu, my chakra would be recognised in a second. Even the Inuzuka would be able to smell the similarities and I would have no way of hiding the Sharingan either way. Considering that even I don't know how I travelled through time, we'll have to just take our chances with that." He shrugged. He was very pointedly looking away from his former teammates, keeping his eyes on the Hokage mountain that still held only three carved faces. It was the last bit of proof that he needed and he could feel his breath quickening.

The Hokage's office was unchanged from the one he remembered, aside from the portrait of Minato sensei he hadn't been able to look at. The Sandaime's reaction to his mask was exactly what he had expected. Blatant suspicion and an undercurrent of panic and confusion at his successor's nonchalance.

Without a word, Inu showed his empty hands, raising them well away from his body and apart from each other. "If I may be permitted to disarm, Hokage sama?"

A terse nod and Inu moved, slowly enough to telegraph every move to even a civilian, and stripped off his tanto, kunai, and senbon. A spool of ninja wire was extracted from the grey mass of hair and finally the bone white dog mask was peeled off and placed on the ground. He hesitated but at the last second, left his cloth mask in place. The old man sucked in a sharp breath. "Sakumo?"

Both Kakashi and Inu flinched violently.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi, Hokage sama." Inu began flatly. "Up until three days ago, I was living in a world that was four years ahead of this one."

"Minato?" The Hokage snapped sharply.

"It's all as true as I can confirm without a mind walk, Hokage sama. His chakra, scent and loyalty were all confirmed. He assisted in the last mission and it went successfully." He added.

"Is that so?" He said, something unreadable in his expression. "And how would it have gone without your assistance, Kakashi kun?"

"With a fatality, Hokage sama."

The Sandaime Hokage sat back, steepling his fingers as he gazed at the five shinobi. "And you are a member of the ANBU." He stated, an unreadable expression on his face. "Despite being just sixteen years of age."

"With all due respect, I joined at thirteen, Hokage sama, I'm not entirely inept." Inu said drily.

For a moment, naked shock shone in the man's eyes but it was covered by suspicion. "I would never authorise a thirteen year old to join ANBU."

Inu sighed heavily. "It was during Minato sensei's tenure as Hokage and I wasn't considered ANBU until fourteen because he sent me on tamer missions, though I didn't realise it at the time. It was Minato sensei's idea to... to keep me from the Red Corps." The last words were barely whispered but they seemed very loud in the small office.

There was complete and utter silence.

Obito had gone white as a sheet and Rin made a funny choking sound, turning to stare at the younger Kakashi with horrified eyes, who, to his credit, looked just as shocked. Minato sensei however looked broken. His eyes were shiny and his broad shoulders had slumped.

"The... suicide corps?" He repeated softly. "Did I really fail you that badly? That I would have to put you in the most deadly assassination squad to keep you on a... suicide watch?"

The way Inu avoided his gaze was answer enough.

"Be that as it may," Sarutobi said, in a softer tone, "You remained within ANBU for three years, did you not?"

"I spent six months in ROOT, Hokage sama." Inu replied, sounding almost unaffected by his audience's reactions. "Immediately after Min- your second tenure, I was drafted into ROOT."

"ROOT doesn't exist." The Sandaime snapped. "It was disbanded a little after the second Shinobi War."

"I was under Danzo's command, Hokage sama. It has just gone underground. If I ma-" He blurred into motion the next second, leaping for the window and tackling the dark blur that had appeared in his periphery. The Hokage had thrown his own weapons the moment he saw Kakashi move and true to his aptitude, struck the shinobi that had been spying on them with unerring precision.

The spy was wearing an ANBU mask without the signature animal features and when Minato removed the mask, they found that the prisoner was barely a teenager himself.

"Bear, Owl." The Hokage called and was instantly flanked by ANBU. They were too good to express surprise at the two unfamiliar people wearing their uniform but Kakashi caught the slight stiffening of their shoulders. "Take the spy to T&I and get Inoichi to perform a mind-"

"There's a seal, Hokage sama." Inu interrupted. "On ROOT soldiers' tongues. It keeps them from revealing any secrets and allowing them to be disposed off when they are captured."

Minato sensei looked incensed as he stepped forward. "If it's a seal, I may be able to help." He looked to the Hokage for permission and gently opened the unconscious boy's mouth. Sure enough, there was a small circular matrix inked onto the back of his mouth.

"Can you do anything, Minato?"

He nodded with a small sigh of relief. "It's a fairly simple seal to counter despite how disgusting it is. Inu kun was right, though." His lip curled in disgust. "It's just a step above a slavery brand."

The Hokage acquiesced wearily as Minato pulled out a Fuuinjutsu brush and kunai. Not for the first time, Hiruzen was forced to acknowledge his true age and the weight of his mistakes. He had long since recognised that he was by far the oldest to still hold the hat. How many years had it been since he had enjoyed the lightness of a lack of responsibility? Two wars, the second only just beginning to draw to a close and Hiruzen was so, so tired of the damned hat that only weighed him down.

He was quite certain, that for all their shortcomings, his predecessors had never had to deal with the issues that a time traveller could bring. Then again, they had not been given the opportunity to change the past either, much as they must have wished it.

As he watched the precise strokes the seal master drew along the ROOT agent's mouth, he reflected that perhaps Namikaze Minato was one of the few triumphs he could be genuinely proud of. Perhaps when he passed on the hat, he would finally be able to reap the fruits of his labour. Minato was kind, far more than any Hokage that lived through the Warring Clans Era, and as much as Danzo disagreed, Hiruzen could only think that a peacetime leader might finally be the one to usher in peace. His students too, while childishly crude and argumentative, were far from incompetent and an excellent legacy of Tobirama sensei's Team Seven.

Or so Hiruzen had always assumed.

In the face of Kakashi's return and the knowledge that either Rin or Obito would have perished in their last mission, he didn't really know what to think. He had taken Minato's success as a teacher as proof that he would be a better leader than himself, who had failed his own students so thoroughly.

One broken student, one dead in every way that matters and one all alone.

Kagami, Danzo and himself.

Tsunade, Orochimaru and Jiraiya.

Haruhi, Airi and Minato.

And now, Kakashi, Obito and Rin.

Truly, Team Seven was a cursed moniker.

He was jolted from his increasingly depressive thoughts by his successor-to-be and the flurry of motion as the ROOT agent was restrained thoroughly by Bear and Owl.

"Take him to T&I. Straight to Inoichi and don't let anyone else close to him. Tell Inoichi to report to me immediately after the mindwalk." His voice was steady and powerful, despite the turmoil in his mind.

"Why don't you have that seal?" He demanded from Inu.

"I reported to you, Hokage sama, despite my position in ROOT. It would have raised too many red flags if I couldn't speak about the missions."

Hiruzen looked contemplative. "It was disbanded then, when you left?"

"No Hokage sama. I left when I reported an odd mission to you. I don't know what happened but one of my teammates was definitely a part of ROOT for at least a year after that. He defected when he was ordered to steal my eye and kill me."

"Ordered what!" Minato exclaimed. "By Danzo?"

"Yes." Inu said timelessly. "Tenzo betrayed Danzo and helped me escape fast enough to report to Hokage sama."

"What was the odd mission you reported to me." Hiruzen asked, voice taking on a defeated quality that Inu winced at.

"Assassination of the Sandaime Hokage on grounds of mismanagement of resources post the Third Shinobi War." Inu took a breath. "Danzo was pardoned even after I reported that."

"Sandaime sama?" Minato said incredulously. "You cannot think that a reasonable recourse?"

"I don't." The Hokage said, face paling by several degrees at the news. "I had several theories but I didn't expect him to be so bold." He schooled his features into something resembling competence and eyed the time traveller. "Anything regarding ROOT is now an S-Class secret." He turned to every one of the young shinobi, impressing the seriousness of the situation before returning to the ANBU. "Inu kun, you will undergo a mindwalk and a trial in front of the clans. We are still at war and I will not risk my village. You will be under unofficial guard by Team Seven. You will submit a written report of everything that you recall from your time in ROOT as well as every main event in your timeline by today."

There were no interruptions and Hiruzen was glad that they seemed to understand the necessity of going through official channels to legitimise the time travelling Kakashi's presence. "I require the mission reports, including Inu's assistance to be submitted by today as well, directly to me. Dismissed."

In a flurry of bows and a muttered Hokage sama, the five left his office and Hiruzen was left alone. A wave of exhaustion swept over the old man, but he couldn't afford to collapse just yet. Danzo... had always been a difficult topic for him. He might regret his normal inaction but the only way to fix it was to act. He had been a shinobi for close to fifty years, he knew how to lock down his emotions and carry out missions.

"We should probably think of a better name for you." Obito said as they walked towards Minato's house. "We can't keep calling you Inu and Bakashi gets first choice on his name because he's the original."

"I could argue that I'm the original." Inu said drily. "Being older and all that." He shrugged. "I don't really care, call me what you want."

"Hikaru." Rin suggested. "With the kanji for brightness."

Kakashi choked. "Why‽"

Rin blushed and mumbled something about caves and darkness. Obito felt a sudden surge of envy and an inexplicable anger. "Chohei." He blurted out. "With the Kanji for 'good' and 'soldier'. You know, cause he fights well."

"I think the Akimichi have the monopoly on names beginning with 'Cho'." Minato suggested, the slight bemusement in his tone betraying the humour he found in the discussion.

"Kama." Kakashi said decisively and Inu twitched slightly. "Meaning scythe."

"That's so boring." Obito complained. "If he gets to choose his name, it should be something cool."

"It's Hatake tradition." Inu said casually instead of arguing. There wasn't the slightest hint of discomfort in his voice and his well practiced shrug was nonchalant enough to fool his audience. "And there's no way I can hide my hair so might as well have a traditional name."

"Hatake Kama it is then!" Rin said just as Minato knocked sharply on the door. A distant "coming" was heard and the next minute, the door was thrown open to reveal a red haired kunoichi.

"Minato!" She squealed. "You're early, mission went well? The kids are all okay? I just got back but I swear Mikoto acted like it's been months instead of just a week. Honestly now that Itachi is going on missions as well, she's going crazy all alone but that bastard Fugaku refuses to let her go back to work. He's such a peacock." Barely pausing for a breath, she dragged him in, paying no attention to the masked ANBU beside her husband's team. The good thing about the mask meant that most people knew better than to pay attention to the actions of the shadow forces even if it was happening under their noses.

"Kushina." Minato said in slight amusement. "There's a bit of a situation."

The Uzumaki straightened, and a calculating glint appeared in her eyes. Unbidden, her hand twitched towards her sleeve. "Hm?"

"Well..." Minato scratched the back of his neck. "I think it's better if we discuss this inside." He ushered in his four companions and Kushina's focus was immediately on the ANBU.

"Did something happen on the mission?"

"You could say that." Minato demurred but Kama just took off his mask.

"I'm an alternate version of Hatake Kakashi. An unknown jutsu transported me to this world which appears to be about four years before mine."

Kushina blinked.

"What."

"It's true." Minato said helplessly. "I confirmed it as much as I could without a mindwalk and even the Hokage seems to believe it. He'll be staying with us until a trial with the clan heads."

"You know, when normal missions have unexpected happenings, it's usually inaccurate intelligence or rogue nins, not time travelling versions of themselves." She said weakly.

She took a deep breath as she tried to wrap her head around the curious scenario. The time traveller was clearly uncomfortable and he had flinched obviously at her gaze. "So how weird is it to see your tiny self?" She offered cheekily, trying to lighten the mood but it didn't seem to help.

Kama just shrugged lightly, not even deigning to attempt a verbal reply, knowing that he would probably weep the moment he opened his mouth. What little of his face that was visible was bone white and his hands were faintly trembling. Minato remembered abruptly that in the hellish future he came from, Kushina had died as well and facing her with no warning was probably not the best scenario.

"Do you want to clean up a bit, Kama? We'll have lunch in a while, but you must be pretty tired."

He saw how his shoulders relaxed infinitesimally at that and was offered a tiny nod. He cursed himself for putting the boy on the spot like that. Kushina seemed to pick up on his discomfort as well, and didn't protest Minato leading him to the guest room.

"I don't usually eat after missions." Kama said softly and Minato winced. He was familiar with the nausea that came from the worst of his missions and knew that ANBU was even worse. Combined with his unexpected temporal displacement, it was no wonder that Kama had no appetite. Still, he couldn't help but think that the boy was far too thin to skip any more meals.

"If you can, try and sip some broth. It shouldn't be too heavy."

Kama didn't try to argue, simply nodding silently and disappearing behind the sliding door.

Minato sighed heavily as he returned back to the others. He trusted Kama enough to leave him unguarded as he bathed but he couldn't help but feel protective of the child, after all the trauma he had gone through. Knowing that he had been actively suicidal at one point of time and was still unconcerned about his own life only made Minato even more uneasy to leave him alone.

"Minato?" Kushina said gently.

"Shina." He whispered as he allowed her to hold him tightly. "Where are the kids?"

"I sent them to begin cutting the vegetables. What happened?"

"The mission went so wrong." Minato said into her hair. He felt the beginning of tears pricking at his eyes and swallowed them back down. "Obito would have di...died if Kama hadn't come back. The future is so horrible, Kushina, you can't imagine it. All my worst case scenarios and then even worse. Obito, Rin, even yo...you." He shuddered and didn't fight when she all but carried him to the sofa and set him down lightly.

"We can change it." She soothed him. "Whatever happens, we can fix it, alright. Obito is fine, Kakashi is fine, so is Rin and so am I." She let him rest his head on her chest, the sound of her heartbeat grounding him. "I'm here and I'll be with you when we fix everything."

It took a while for him to relax enough that he wasn't trembling anymore but thankfully they weren't disturbed. He sat up more comfortably, his gratitude unspoken but heard all the same. "Better?" She asked lightly. "Do you want to talk now or later."

"Later." Minato grimaced. "The last thing I want is Kama walking in on that discussion."

"Is that what he's going by? Hatake Kama?"

"Yes. Kakashi gave him the name."

"How's he dealing with it?" Kushina asked. "Kakashi kun, I mean. It can't be easy seeing your older self in such a condition."

Minato shook his head helplessly. "I don't think any of them have had the chance to accept what happened. Both Rin and Obito found out about their impending deaths, Kakashi was struck by the consequences of his attitude and don't even get me started on Kama. He's got so much trauma and aside from the mandatory psyche evals I don't think he's ever spoken to a Yamanaka about it." He sighed. "I just don't know how to help him and until he finishes whatever trial Hokage sama plans to conduct, none of them can speak to any professionals. It's all a mess."

"I can imagine." Kushina said grimly. "Did Hokage sama say when the trial would be held?"

"There's a lot going on with the war and I doubt the clan heads are going to be free anytime soon." He didn't mention ROOT but he knew that it would also be prioritised over a non-threat like Kama's convenience.

"The war ends unofficially in three days time." Kama's voice came from behind them and Minato tensed at the silent entry. Even Kakashi, his best student at stealth, had never quite managed to sneak up on him, chakra entirely muted and steps silent, but he supposed that ANBU required more skills.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Suna has no interest in fighting, they've lost too much and are unlikely to gain anything further. Kiri is on the brink of a civil war against the kekkai genkai users and Kannabj Bridge was Iwa's primary trading post. With its destruction, they have little to continue the war for. Kumo is the only one who tries to fight, but between Kiri and Iwa, they are bullied into signing a peace treaty. Officially, the war ends is less than a month but there is no more frontline warfare after the three days."

Minato sighed in relief at the news. "That's good to know. I think all of us are tired of fighting."

"Thank Kami." Kushina said, collapsing on the sofa, a wide grin on her face. "Ne, Kama kun!" Kushina said, grinning at him cheekily. "Your stealth has gotten better!"

Something tightened in Kama's good eye before it smoothed out and the offering curved eye smile was so entirely fake that Minato winced. "Maa Kushina san, I like to think that Bear san wasn't entirely useless in his training."

"Oh really? Better than Mina kun also?"

"Of course not. Kushina san how could you make me choose? My loyalty as a student is being called to question here!" Kama replied, over exaggerated pout visible even through his grey mask. The bantering seemed to relax him though, and the fake enthusiasm seemed to melt into something more genuine.

"Bah, Kushina san this and Kushina san that. How many times do I have to tell you to call me nee san, brat." Kushina shook her fists as him in mock anger.

"Maa maa, Kushina nee san, I get so forgetful in my old age, you know." Kama offered another eye smile and Kushina's expression softened. She ruffled his unruly spikes fondly, ignoring his slight flinch at the contact. "Mina kun said you'll have broth, right? Come on. I left the kiddies alone in there, who knows what poison they've created."

Minato followed them, chuckling to himself at their antics. The teasing was more reminiscent of someone like Shiranui Genma but he could see that Kama was only using it as yet another mask. He wondered how much of his new temperament was genuinely Kama and how much was a shield to hide behind. He wasn't blind, he knew that Kakashi hid his childishness behind his stoic attitude to avoid the comparisons to his father but he wondered how much of that childishness was left behind after the tragedies the boy had endured.

He hadn't been able to visit the Memorial stone that day, Kama realised as he lay on the futon, beside his past self.

He couldn't remember the last time he had been in the village and not spent an inordinate amount of time kneeling in penance before the stone and the break from routine rankled him.

Kama knew that his increasingly self-destructive behaviour was unhealthy and more importantly, likely to be caught by the psyche evaluations but as long as he could smile and joke with the past versions of his team, he reckoned that he couldn't be too mentally damaged.

He could hardly believe the world he had been dropped into, the painfully familiar faces carving deeper holes into his ragged heart. They seemed so real, and perhaps they were, but knowing his luck, even if this world was real, Kama would find himself returned to his original hellscape of a life as soon as he let his guard down. Or worse, his blood chilled at the thought, this was a punishment in which he would never be able to save them and would be forced to watch them die all over again, knowing it was his fault.

He was fairly certain that such a thing would shatter him.

How much can a heart break before it becomes unusable? Was it too much to hope that the shattered shards turn to stone so that he would finally be spared the aching grief that tore him up from the inside? Did he even deserve to numb himself to the pain of their loss? When he knew the pain Obito went through, crushed beneath several tons of rock, or how Rin suffered with the weight of his fist crushing her ribs, or even Minato sensei and Kushina nee san's gory ends at the hands of a divine beast.

He didn't know whether to feed the guilty grief inside his head or the pitiful part that begged for reprieve. One bred the other and he was stuck in a vicious cycle of endless hurt. Obito's kindly words had seemed like an absolution of his guilt but now, alone and stuck with only the voice in his head, he could recognise the lie he hadn't noticed. If an apology could only be made by the guilty then how could one be accepted by anyone but the wronged?

The Obito of this world could offer pretty platitudes till the end of time but until he was the one who suffered, they would just be empty words. Kama remembered the boy spitting vitriol at him over every imagined slight and recoiled at the ugly memory. Truly, there was no way that boy could ever give him forgiveness, not that he would ever deserve it.

He stared placidly at the plain ceiling of Minato sensei's house, recalling the many nights he had spent there before his spectacular fall out and subsequent move out over some paltry issue. He could hardly remember why he had left, and the idea that his pride had isolated yet another father figure left his blood running cold.

Was he to be doomed to be surrounded by eternally giving people who always took their own life in the end? From his father committing sepukku to protect the honour of his clan, Obito throwing himself at the rockfall to save his teammate, Rin throwing herself on his chidori to save Konoha and Minato and Kushina sacrificing themselves to save their child, Kama couldn't help but realise that none of them would ever choose to stay for him. And why would they? What was there to stay for? A broken child soldier with eyes older than most veterans? A prolific killer with more kills under his belt than friends? A comrade killer, a murderer, a son of a traitor and after ROOT, as good as a traitor himself?

"Pathetic." Kama whispered out loud, lips forming the oft repeated rebuke with more ease than expected. "Useless, worthless trash. Murderer." Every word drew a new tear from his eye but they felt cathartic, sinking into his skin like a brand until he couldn't escape them. "Comrade-killer. What are you going to do now that your victims are alive?"

What was he going to do indeed, he wondered. He had prevented Obito's death already, and hopefully Rin's would be as simple as avoiding the fatal mission. Minato and Kushina were far more difficult. For all his improvement, he still wouldn't hold a candle to a thousand year old Bijuu and no matter his genius, he couldn't master enough Fuuinjutsu to take Minato sensei's place as the sacrifice to complete the seal. His only hope lay in the Sharingan, another stolen gift that weighed on his conscience. After the attack, there had been enough buzz about the Uchiha's possible involvement for the boy to relise that there had to be something behind the accusations.

While it was unlikely that the Uchiha would make a play for the village so blatantly, Uchiha Madara's control over the Bijuu was legendary. If there was truth to that legend, perhaps there was a chance for Kama to use Obito's Sharingan to take control instead.

It would probably kill him, Kama realised pleasantly. If he managed to hold out to the end, he could both chain the Bijuu and ensure that he was the one to die for once instead of standing at yet another funeral and staring at yet another carved name. Oddly enough, the thought of death brought neither worry nor relief, just the pleasant idea of finally resting after walking for years without break. Peaceful, he supposed.

It would be nice, he decided, as he stared at the ceiling, still wide awake amidst the gentle sounds of his team sleeping, to rest again.

Chapter Text

"Have you heard?" A grating voice rose above the ordinary bustle of the marketplace. "Elder Shimura has been detained for treason!" Gasps accompanied the outlandish statement and the voluptuous speaker nodded sagely. "I always knew he was a cruel man. What a shame on Tobirama sama's legacy. There are rumours that he was behind Hatake Sakumo's failed mission." More gasps and several nods followed.

"He was amassing an army under the Hokage's nose! And he was forcing civilian children into it and brainwashing them to be loyal. How despicable!" The speaker was a dark haired woman, arms filled with fresh produce that she seemed to have no issues with discarding in favour of the gossip.

Beside her, an older woman, slight grey visible in her temples spoke with a nasally taint. "I can't imagine how heartless a man would have to be to force children to do his bidding. Why I shiver to think that my Kaito could have been one of his victims!"

"Indeed, indeed, truly horrible. His trial is happening right now isn't it?" The vendor turned to the distant Hokage's tower. "I can only hope they find him guilty and execute him for his crimes."

Unnoticed, a small dark haired figure slipped out of the throng of excited civilians, a sly smirk visible on his face. The Henge wasn't too hard as long as no one looked carefully at his appearance. Still the risk was worth it. Even if that slimy snake managed to convince the council of his innocence, with the civilians in uproar, they would be forced to convict him. Reputations were powerful in a village where information was so controlled. It had been what killed Hatake Sakumo in the end and it was only fitting to use that traitors own methods against him.

With a whisper of chakra, Uchiha Obito disappeared in a swirl of leaves, appearing again in front of Minato sensei's house. His cheerful, "I'm home" was answered by Kushina and he felt a thrill at the words he had longed to be able to say for so long. It had been Kama who had grabbed him by the arm just as he was leaving and dragged him to Minato sensei to reveal his lack of appropriate housing. It was only because of the time traveller that Minato, shocked at the information, immediately declared that Obito would be staying with them until further arrangements were made.

It was times like this that sent Obito's mind down the guilty path of comparing Kakashi and Kama. The latter, having been forced to live through what his attitude would do, had discarded it entirely. He was utterly shameless in the way he refused to trust his teammates on matters of their own safety. Then again, Obito thought it a reasonable precaution after the events of his timeline.

Kakashi, on the other hand was still bitterly clinging to the wisps of his pride. While he wasn't ao blatantly argumentative, he was still colder and far more likely to berate Obito instead of accepting blame.

Honestly, Obito thought with an annoyed shake of his head, the two were nearly opposite and at the absolute ends of every scale. One was ego-centric, the other self-deprecating to a fault, one treated them like trash and the other like precious glass. Both their attitudes were worrisome in their own ways.

"Has any news come?" He asked the jounin as he sat at the table.

"Kama's trial date was set for tomorrow. Hokage sama seems confident that Danzo will be found guilty so he can afford to reveal his information." Minato said with a grim smile.

Obito mirrored the expression. "And Kama's friend?"

"We couldn't find any shinobi named Tenzo amongst the ROOT agents captured but Kama said that he had previously been called Kinoe so maybe that will help us better." Minato said. Obito couldn't deny that he was eager to meet the boy. The original Kakashi did not seem to have any friends and he was curious about the one he specifically sought out.

"I don't know exactly when Tenzo joined ROOT." Kama's low voice interrupted. "It would have to be after Orochimaru left the village and before the... Kyuubi attack."

"Hokage sama said that he would question Danzo to about him as well, you don't have to worry." Minato said soothingly and Kama flinched slightly. Obito had noticed this as well. Everytime any of them showed the slightest bit of consideration, Kama acted like it burned.

He barely spoke as well, preferring the quiet or perhaps not preferring but certainly seeming more used to the silence. Obito hated the thought that perhaps he had gotten so comfortable to solitude and silence only because there was no one left to break it. He couldn't imagine living like that, behind a mask, all alone and he hated that the other boy had done it.

"Who will be witnessing Kama's trial?" Obito asked instead of dwelling on his thoughts.

"I will be there of course." Minato sensei said. "The clan heads, maybe Jiraiya sensei. If there are any Elders left after Danzo, then they should be there as well."

"Not the civilian council?" Kama asked softly and Minato winced.

"Hokage sama believes, and I agree, that they might be biased against you...er... because of your father. We will inform them of it, but only after the trial and they can't sway the results."

Obito frowned, he had faith his misinformation campaign would work but it was unlikely that any changes would happen in time for the trial and he scowled at the way Kama's single eye darkened in understanding.

"Don't worry Kama chan." Kushina said placing her hands on the masked boy's shoulders. "The trial is just a formality. There won't be any surprises and it's unlikely that they will not accept you into the village. I had the same trial when I came from Uzushio after the destruction."

Kama eye smiled. "Thank you Kushina nee san but I don't think you came into the village with a possibly stolen Sharingan and a story as unbelievable as mine. The Uchiha clan was bad enough in my own time, and that was with Rin witnessing and performing the surgery."

"Inoichi will be able to confirm the truth Kama kun." Minato said kindly. "You don't need to worry about that. Besides after the Sharingan they found on Danzo..." He trailed off and Obito shivered.

That had been horrifying. Fugaku sama had been one wrong move away from displacing the entire Uchiha clan after finding Uchiha Kagami's Sharingan in Danzo's eye and an entire arm of blinking orbs besides. If nothing else, the Uchiha clan's continued support was reason enough for Danzo's execution.

"They're grateful to you for revealing it." Obito finished. "They'll be more lenient even with the eye. Besides I can always tell them that I was planning to give it to you if I died anyway. They can't hate me more than they already do."

"DON'T!" Kama said furiously rounding on him. "Don't you dare put yourself on line for me! Not again! Not... ever again. I'd rather have them carve out my eye and burn it than that."

"Yeah? Well, I'd rather you were safe in the village with both your eyes, idiot!" Obito countered ignoring Minato's pained expression.

"No one is sacrificing anything for anyone." The blonde jounin interrupted sharply. "Obito, Kama's eye will not be a problem with Inoichi's technique and Kama," his voice softened, "you have to understand, even if you are from a different time, you are still our teammate and we will have your back."

Something shuttered in the single dark eye, a hurt too deep to reach before Kama blinked and it was gone in that stupid fake eye smile. "Of course, Minato sensei."

Obito worried.

By the time, Kama's trial was to be held, the news of Danzo's fate had already trickled down to the civilians. His execution, while held privately was the hottest gossip topic and wild speculations of his crimes were already spreading like wildfire. The subsequent resignation and banishment of the two remaining Elders only added to the intrigue.

It made sense then, that a minor trial of a prospective shinobi flew under the radar of the civilian population though the same could not be said of the shinobi. In addition to the clan heads, several clans sent additional witnesses to ascertain the truth of the matter and the trial room was well on its way to full capacity.

"Silence."

The Hokage's order was met with an instant hush. "Bring Hatake Kama in." He asked Minato who stepped out with a bow. "You may ask your questions, but I will not allow anything inappropriate. Inoichi will verify the truth."

"Hatake Kama?" Inuzuka Tsume asked curiously.

"That's the name he has chosen for himself and our Kakashi kun, as the head of the clan, allowed it."

"So he doesn't intend to return to his timeline?" Hyuuga Hiashi asked.

"Given that he doesn't know how he got here in the first place and inadvertently changed the timeline by his actions, we don't have any other options." Minato said entering just in time to hear the Hyuuga clan head's query.

Behind him, head bowed to avoid meeting any unfriendly gaze, stood the time traveller. His mask was dark blue, covering all but his eyes, one of which was also covered by the slant of his hitai- ate. He was painfully thin, malnutrition, more than one shinobi recognised, the loose clothes barely hanging off his bony shoulders and despite his faux relaxed position, all the gathered shinobi could see the discomfort in his stance.

"I understand that Inoichi has already performed a mindwalk?" Akimichi Chouza asked politely. "What were the results."

"His story was true." The Yamanaka clan head replied immediately. "All that he told Minato san was as it had occurred albeit in more detail. It was his testimony that assisted in Danzo's trial and execution."

There was a smattering of whispers and the Uchiha clan especially looked approving.

"Could that be summarised now?" Nara Shikaku requested. He wasn't the only one who had opened their mouths to ask the same thing but he was the only one to catch the barely perceptible flinch from Hatake Kama. He wondered at the action, studying the boy. For all his supposed trustworthiness, he certainly acted guilty.

"Go ahead, Inoichi." The Hokage allowed when Inoichi looked at him for permission.

The interrogator sent a brief apologetic glance towards Kama but he did not raise his gaze. "Born Hatake Kakashi to Hatake Sakumo and Inuzuka Haruhi. The timeline follows our world until 2nd October, 61 years after Konoha. There was a mission assigned to Team Seven under Kakashi's leadership to destroy the Kannabi Bridge. Chunnin medic Nohara was captured and her teammates chose to save her before completing the mission. During the course of the rescue, Chunnin Uchiha Obito was incapacitated under falling rock and the medic recognised his injuries to be fatal.

"Instead of burning out the Sharingan that had been newly awakened, Chunnin Uchiha asked for one of his eyes to be given to Kama. As it was given freely and without any hope of Uchiha's survival, Nohara agreed. The mission was classed as a success with one fatality with Namikaze's assistance.

"The first mission beyond B- rank Kama was assigned after recovering from the transplant was as backup to rescue Chunnin Nohara and Jounin Mitsuhiko Satoshi on 2nd July, 62 years after Konoha. The latter was already dead by the time Kama's team caught up to them and Chunnin Nohara had been turned into the jinchuuriki of the Sanbi by her captors, Kiri rebels, with an unstable seal set to collapse within Konoha borders. This fact was unknown to the rescuing team."

Minato looked particularly furious at that part. The gathered audience seemed uneasy as well. The Bijuu were always more myth than reality to the average shinobi and even though they knew that there was a jinchuuriki in the village, it was very much an out of sight, out of mind situation. Hearing that a civilian medic had been captured and turned into a vessel for a Bijuu was horrifying. By all accounts, Nohara Rin was no one special. That she was targeted left them much more aware of their own helplessness.

Raising his voice over the whispers, Inoichi continued. "During the battle against the Kiri shinobi, Nohara, having realised the nature of her seal, threw herself onto Kama's attack to kill herself and succeeded. The mission was declared a failure with three fatalities.

"Namikaze san succeeded Sandaime sama becoming the Yondaime Hokage on 2nd December, 62 years after Konoha. Three months after that, Kama's request to join the Red Corps was denied and he was assigned to ANBU squad 4."

This time the gasps were very much audible but the mood of the audience had changed. Instead of glaring at Kama with suspicion, there was a collective note of sympathy. The boy in question however, refused to look up from where he was focused on his sandals. His posture had tightened though, and Inoichi had seen the way his knuckles whiten with every death discussed so callously.

There was a reason Inoichi had chosen to tell Kama's story the way he did. If he was a crueller man, he could choose to paint Kama as the villain, painted in the blood of his family. It was certainly how Kama saw himself. But, despite his profession, Inoichi knew the importance of compassion and if there was one thing he recognized in Kama, it was that. If the boy was in fact a traitor, he would give up his position in the village. Even his nindo, the words of his deceased teammate, spoke only of his loyalty to his comrades and his record in protecting his teammates was unparalleled. "The details of his ANBU missions were submitted to the ANBU general early this morning." He continued, as he nodded to the masked man beside the Hokage.

"On 9th October, 63 years after Konoha, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki went into labour and Kama was assigned as one of the guards as she delivered her child. That night, the seal weakened and the Kyuubi escaped and rampaged through the village. Namikaze chose to seal the Kyuubi into the newborn, sacrificing himself to do so.

Kama gave a sort of choked sound of grief as he spoke but the audience for once was silent. The boy was trembling, ever so slightly and when Minato went to put his hand on his shoulder, Kama flinched away.

"There was an estimated fatality count of nine hundred civilians and four hundred shinobi, including all but three of the Hokage's guard." Inoichi said, hating himself for ignoring the time traveller even though he knew that drawing attention was the last thing Kama would have wanted. There was a deathly silence as the gathered shinobi digested the fact that many of them would not be surviving beyond the next few years. It was a stark reminder of their own mortality. "Sandaime sama retook the Hokage's hat two days after the tragedy.

"Kama was assigned to the ROOT division of ANBU, the mission details of which have been submitted as evidence for Danzo's trial. In addition to multiple attempts to steal Uchiha Obito's eye, Danzo attempted to recreate the Hatake white chakra with Orochimaru's help. Among the missions was one to assassinate the Sandaime Hokage that Kama reported immediately.

"He was then reassigned to ANBU team 4 where he specialised in assassination and extraction. On 4th March, 65 years after Konoha he attempted to escape from an ambush and was hit by an unknown jutsu that transported him to the Kannabi Bridge where he saved the Uchiha Obito of our timeline before he could be crushed under the rock."

There was a long silence while the listeners digested the entire sordid story.

"Why do you say that the change was accidental?" Hyuuga Hiashi asked, his voice surprisingly gentle. "Surely saving someone believed to be dead would be deliberate."

"Hyuuga-" Minato opened his mouth to say but was interrupted by Kama's reply.

"I thought it was a dream." He said lightly. "I've dreamt of the Kannabi Bridge enough times that I just assumed that this was the same. I didn't expect Obito to actually be saved." He shrugged but to the experienced eyes watching, his facade was more than obvious.

"Your Sharingan." Uchiha Fugaku said with no small amount of anger. "How was it allowed in your timeline? I cannot see our clan allowing such an insult no matter the circumstances."

"Mind walk." Kama said shortly. "It was proved beyond a doubt that the transplant was consensual. And the Uchiha's... treatment of Obito meant that they forfeited all rights to his belongings after he died."

Fugaku was obviously fuming but he held his tongue. It was strange but when one considered the help Kama had given them in light of Danzo's betrayal, perhaps it could be excused. The Uchiha members who had accompanied their clan head looked at the boy with suspicion but not open hostility, something his teacher noted with relief.

"You mentioned reporting ROOT to the Hokage once before." Shikaku said. "What was the outcome?"

"I wouldn't know." Kama said with a faint expression of indignant annoyance. "I was barred from the investigation. Until I... transported, there had been no change."

"Barred?" Inuzuka Tsume asked furiously. "What about as a witness? An undercover investigation. Protection?"

Kama just shrugged. "Tenzo shifted into the same building as me when he left ROOT. I always assumed we were keeping an eye out for each other."

"Tenzo is the mokuton user, is he not?" Aburame Shibi said placidly though his kikaichu buzzing furiously belayed his emotions. "The one you asked to be found amongst the ROOT agents."

"Yes." Kama said, lowering his gaze again. "He is loyal to Konoha, if you explain it to him. Danzo's training had just... confused him."

"He is not a Senju?" Uchiha Fugaku asked.

"He could be." Kama said honestly. "He was an orphan and the only one to survive Orochimaru's experiments. There had to be something different about him so he could have been a Senju bastard for all we know."

"Tsunade will have to be informed." Akimichi Chouza said heavily and there were several nods of agreement.

"We are getting ahead of ourselves." Inoichi chided. "We are here to discuss Kama kun's citizenship and nothing beyond that."

"What is your opinion, Inoichi?" The Hokage asked solemnly. "What do you think?"

The Yamanaka head shifted in position. "Hatake Kakashi is already considered one of the strongest young shinobi in the village. Kama kun is even more stronger, with an array of abilities that is honestly unbelievable to see in men twice his age. Strength aside, I think that given the chance, Hatake Kama will be one of the best and most loyal shinobi Konoha can ever have."

Kama's gaze shot up and the frank disbelief in his eye sent a shooting pain through Inoichi's chest. He really truly hoped that the boy managed to heal somewhat amongst his family despite the weight of guilt that he refused to abandon. Mental health had never been an important part of the shinobi life though the Yamanaka had been doing their best for years now. If there was ever a shinobi more in need of psychiatric help, Inoichi prayed he would never have to see them. He didn't think his own mind would be able to take it.

"That's quite a glowing review." Shikaku said slyly.

"Its entirely deserved." Inoichi replied honestly.

"I see."

At a sign from the Hokage, the ANBU agents suddenly disappeared in a flurry of action. All the other shinobi, besides the clan heads also stood up to leave. There were plenty on whispers and more than a few approving and sympathetic glances pointed Kama's way and Inoichi hoped that the gossip would be kinder to the young Hatake than it had been to his father.

Minato whispered something in his student's ear and with a careful squeeze of his shoulder, followed the shinobi out. Until he ascended to the position of Hokage, he was still only a civilian born jounin and could not vote.

When the hall cleared, it left only the eight clan heads, the Hokage and the time traveler. What little was visible of his face was completely blank and his posture was back to that faux relaxed pose. Inoichi wondered how long he spent outside his mask with the way he automatically defaulted to it.

"All those in favor of granting Hatake Kama, formerly know as Hatake Kakashi, citizenship and a position among the shinobi corps?"

"Aye." The low rumble sounded but there was no reaction from Kama.

"Any dissenters?"

The silence lasted for a long minute before the Hokage stepped forward. "Normally I would give you a hitai-ate but I think that is not necessary."

"Ah, no thank you Hokage sama." Kama said. He let his neck fall forward in a shallow mimicry of a bow and his eye curved up into a crescent. "Thank you but I'll stay with this one." He pointed at the hitai-ate that covered his Sharingan with a wry quirk below his mask that might have been a smile.

"Then this council is dismissed." The Hokage said. "Kama kun, report to the jounin commander within three days. Dismissed."

At the last word, Inoichi surged forward to catch the boy but with a sloppy salute, Kama shunshinned away.

"Damnit!" He cursed and Shikaku gave him a narrow eyed stare.

"What did you want with him?" Fugaku asked suspiciously. "You said he was trustworthy."

"He is." Inoichi returned tiredly, rubbing a hand across his brow. "I wanted to tell him that he was welcome for a psychiatric consultation whenever he was comfortable. I saw no indication of anything of that sort in his world."

"Does he need to be watched?" Tsume asked. "Is he safe on the field?"

"For his comrades, absolutely. He has got the best record I have ever seen. Even in ANBU, his missions were without fatality. But he will sooner jump onto an ambush than allow anyone else to take a risk. It wasn't too dangerous in the alternate timeline because he did not truly know his team but here, with Minato and his genin team alive?" Inoichi shrugged. "Well, there's a reason he volunteered for the Red Corps."

"At only fourteen years." The Hokage said softly and there were several pained sighs.

"He has lost a lot." Fugaku said gruffly.

"I don't think he can survive losing any more." Inoichi said, pained. "I only hope he doesn't have to."

Kama didn't know where he was running off to but he knew that he couldn't stay there anymore. His hands were trembling and he knew that he was on the verge of a panic attack. His muscles protested the sudden movement after so long stationary but he ignored it. His head throbbed, his lungs burned and as he ran, he dug his nails into his wrist, letting the pain ground him.

It hurt so, so badly to have to look at the faces of the people he knew had died, to hear the stories recited nonchalantly for a spectacle. He had been ready to throw up from the moment Inoichi began speaking but it wasn't until he heard about Rin's death (hermurderhermurder), that he genuinely feared that his mask was going to crack.

He had wrestled his emotions into place, biting his tongue so hard that the taste of iron filled his mouth. He barely remembered the questions he was asked, his mouth moving mechanically to answer and his casual mannerisms appearing only through muscle memory. His thoughts were staticky and disjointed and when he heard the blessed word, 'dismissed', he shushinned away as fast as he could.

His breaths were too fast, he recognised distantly, even for the speed he was running at. His body felt too cold and he couldn't quite recognise where he was. His feet seemed to know where to go, however. Like clockwork, his legs stopped at a familiar spot, depositing him... somewhere and he felt them give way, sending him crashing to his knees.

There was more blood, he thought faintly, his sensitive nose was picking out on the irony tang of a fresh wound. He didn't know where he was injured, but that wasn't anything new, his hands were always blood stained and it made sense that he could smell it. His hands still trembled but that didn't matter. They didn't need ANBU Inu at the moment. For the moment, he could be the broken mess of a man that he was.

His breaths hadn't slowed either. Lightheaded from the lack of oxygen, his head lolled forward and he felt cool metal striking his forehead.

The Memorial Stone.

Makes sense, his sluggish mind decided. Where else could he have gone? Obito was at the Memorial Stone and so was Minato san and Rin and Kushina nee san. They were waiting there because there was nowhere else they could go. Because they were dead. Weren't they? He remembered killing them. But... he also remembered Obito saying that he wouldn't blame him. He remembered Kushina nee san teasing him, calling him Kama chan. Were they dead? He didn't know how long he sat in front of the memorial stone, trying to make sense of the contrasting thoughts in his head. It felt simultaneously like minutes and at the same time days. The chill leached out from the cool stone into his body causing him to shiver violently but he couldn't bring himself to move from where he was slumped over the black marble.

Finally, he raised a finger to trace over where Obito's name would have been. Where he remembered it being.

It was smooth, unmarked.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he dragged his eyes up to where his finger smoothed over the marble. He didn't need to doubt; he knew the Memorial Stone better than his own body but he had to see.

Nothing.

No neatly carved 'Uchiha Obito'.

Oh...

So maybe he hadn't hallucinated it all.

He didn't realise that the sun had set as he traced the blank spot over and over again with a feverish wonder, much the same way he had traced the name only a few days previously. Even as the dusk faded into darkness, into midnight and then well past, he only sat there gazing at the obelisk in reverence.

Time passed around him, immaterial in the face of his wonder. It wasn't the first time, he had lost track of time in front of the Memorial Stone and he knew, truthfully, that it wouldn't be the last but for once it wasn't the bone deep exhaustion or the mindless dissociation that held him there.

They were still alive.

And it would stay that way.

He swore it.

Chapter Text

"Kama never came back." Obito said hesitantly.

Kushina whirled around. "At all? It's been a day since the interrogation!"

"He wasn't there last night." Obito confessed. "From the way Minato sensei was acting, I don't think the interrogation went very well so I assumed that Kama needed some time alone. I thought he might come back later but it's been more than a day."

Kushina sighed. "From what Minato told me, the meeting went alright. Or well, at least as well as it could go. No one objected and Kama has no restrictions."

"But..." Obito frowned. "Minato sensei was very upset when he came back. And no one who attended in the Uchiha compound is happy either."

"They read out part of his classified mind walk." Kushina said seriously. "I can't imagine people were happy with that breach of privacy but Minato and I agree that there wasn't much of a choice. Kama was aware of that and he had agreed."

Obito's expression twisted as he scowled but he didn't debate that. Kama's story was odd enough that trying to prove it without a mind walk would have been near impossible.

"He didn't really have a choice though." Rin voiced. "It might have been necessary but that doesn't mean he had to agree with it or want it."

"Yeah." Obito said looking down. "I would hate for my thoughts to be told to everyone."

"He's a shinobi." Kakashi snapped. "He needs to get over it. A shinobi is built for the village. His comfort is the last priority. Kama lived through the war and any subsequent attacks which means that it gives us valuable information. He should be ready to surrender all that information."

His Uchiha teammate opened his mouth to express his displeasure at Kakashi's lack of empathy but Kushina beat him to it. "We're not debating the necessity of it, Kashi kun. But you are still allowed to be upset about-"

"He's not me!" Kakashi interrupted. "He's a weird fake that is trying to stir up your sympathy! I would never act so... so weak!"

"How dare you!" Obito yelled angrily even as Kushina hissed sharply. "He saved mine and Rin's life, you bastard, which is more than I can say about you!"

"He's the one who put it in danger in the first place!"

"No! That was you!" Obito paled immediately, hands rushing to his mouth but the damage was done. Kakashi looked like he had been slapped, something broken in his remaining eye.

"Kash-" Kakashi didn't wait for Kushina to finish her sentence. He pushed past her outstretched hand and Rin's reaching one, refusing to look any of them in the eye as he fled out the door.

There was a long silence left behind him.

"I didn't mean that..." Obito said softly. There were tears beginning to gather in his eyes but he resolutely blinked them away. "I didn't mean to say that, Kushina nee, it just slipped out!"

"I know, Obito." Rin said putting her hand on his shoulder. "I know that but did you see the look in his eye? He was waiting for you to say that." Her voice dipped lower, taking on a more desperate edge. "He probably expected us to say that. He's been on edge for the last few days, and for him, the shoe finally dropped."

"But I didn't mean it!"

"We'll discuss that later, Obi." Kushina said hoarsely. She had seen what Rin meant. The agonized acceptance when he finally got Obito to crack. "I've got to send a message to Minato. The two of you head out, and look for Kama kun. I'll see if I can find Kakashi."

Kama didn’t remember falling asleep.

He didn’t remember much of anything really. The rush of air as he presumably shunshinned to wherever he was and the iron tang of blood in his mouth, in his nose, on his hand.

He was often bloodstained these days so that was nothing new. The steel grey memorial stone loomed over him, cold and unforgiving but it was familiar enough that he didn’t feel anything more than the icy chill that was a permanent settler in his bones.

Obito’s name was not on the stone, nor was Rin, nor was Minato sensei, or Kushina nee san.

The only name that might have been on the stone in this unfamiliar time would have been his father and he knew better than most what happened to traitors that started Great Wars among nations.

You wanted to be different than him? He saved his teamates, you killed them.

He remembered telling his younger self that, choosing his words so that they would hit the particularly soft, vulnerable parts of him. Its funny how even when Obito rose to his defence, he didn’t realise that he might have not been aiming them at the younger Kakashi in the first place. Who better to know your weaknesses than your own self?

Instincts told him to tense as his chakra sense picked up on another shinobi coming towards his refuge but he didn’t move, couldn’t bring his body to defend itself. It might have been an enemy but he didn’t particularly want to raise arms. What would he even do? Bleed out at Obito’s feet and hope that his death would bring salvation? Or worse, kill the other in front of his beloved sensei who had always seen the best in the village and its people. Maybe he’d leave the enemy bleeding out in front of Rin, the medic she could never become weeping at the failure of her beloved nindo.

He didn’t tense.

The figure came closer and stood behind him, in perfect position to gut the silver haired shinobi if he so desired and still Kama didn’t tense. A slight twitch and a kunai between the 4th and 5th ribs would skewer the heart, along the flanks would rupture the spleen or kidneys, anywhere along the spinal cord would paralyze, pushed upwards into his neck would hit the medulla oblongata and stop his respiration instantly. Still Kama didn’t tense.

The intruder moved and sat. He was still behind the Hatake but diagonally enough that if he tilted his head he might have been able to make out his features. It might have been a relief, a way to soothe the still paranoid instincts of a war veteran that almost every shinobi could claim to be.

Kama didn’t look. He had seen enough ghosts.

They sat there, together yet not, both of their eyes fixed on the marble, reading and re reading names that were once living, breathing men and women. Kama had never gone beyond the 4 names of his own dead but in the absence of familiar kanji, he found his eye wandering above. There were plenty of familiar clan names but none he recognised, his former peers’ parents were probably still alive; he vaguely recalled hearing about Might Duy rescuing Gai and his team sometime after the end of the War. Asuma and Kurenai had parents in administrative positions who perished in the Kyuubi attack and he didn’t know any other jounin well enough to save their dead.

“You are the time traveller.” Ah, it seemed like his stalker had run out of patience.

“Hn.” He gave his best Uchiha grunt.

“That’s not an answer.”

“That wasn’t a question.” He returned. He still didn’t know who the shinobi was but there was no way he hadn’t met them at some point in the future. There were very few shinobi he hadn’t worked with, and he had too good of a memory to forget any of them, even if they hadn’t survived.

Especially if they hadn’t survived.

He tilted his head enough, ignoring the horrific numbness of his kneeling legs. “Why do you want to know?” The boy had brown hair, shaggily cut and a small scar on his cheek. With a forgettable face and an unremarkable presence, Kama had no doubt that he would excel as ANBU in the shadows. “…Genma.”

Genma’s mouth fell open. “You know me.”

“You were my senpai in the academy.”

“For like a week. And then you graduated long before I did.”

“Ah.”

“What are you doing here?” Genma asked, fiddling with the bandanna around his neck. In the future, he’d end up tying it around his head and clicking a senbon between his teeth would become his way to fidget. “I mean… not that you can’t! I just meant like… you just came here, so who…not like that, but…”

“Their names aren’t here anymore.” Kama cut in, having mercy on the boy. He doesn’t know why he added but, “But when they were there, I spent most of my time here.” He unconsciously traced the empty spaces again.

“That sounds unhealthy.” Genma said bluntly and Kama barked a hoarse laugh.

“You have no idea, kid.”

“Chouza sensei says that it’s bad to live in the past, because if we are always looking behind, we’ll forget to look forward. And then Gai said that we’d end up tripping on a rock and breaking our nose but I don’t think that was the point of the story.”

“I didn’t particularly want to look ahead.” Kama said dryly. He didn’t remember Genma being this much of babbler. “There wasn’t much to see.”

He could have sugarcoated it a bit but Genma was a shinobi in the middle of a war who was visiting the Memorial Stone. He could take it. Sure enough, while it definitely brought the mood down, Genma just looked sad.

“My mom, I came here to tell her about our next mission.” He moved slowly enough but Kama still flinched when he pointed out her name. “Takayasu Airi. She died on a mission last summer.”

“Ah.” Kama didn’t say ‘I’m sorry’. Not that there had been anyone close enough to say that to him, but he couldn’t think of anything more ineffectual to say and he didn’t know the Genma of his time well enough, let alone this younger one. And unlike him, the younger shinobi seemed far more put together.

Thankfully, Genma just nodded and sat beside him. “Hi, Ma! Sorry I haven’t been here in a while but we were sent on back-to-back mission after the exams. Speaking of which! I’m a chunnin now! The whole team got promoted which doesn’t always happen, so we’re still staying together for a little while longer. Chouza sensei was sent back to the frontlines without us though, which sucks, but he’s back now and he’s strong enough to take care of himself. Especially with Inoichi san and Shikaku san with him.”

He barely took a breath, shooting Kama a look. “Also! There’s a time traveller in Konoha now. It sounds like magic but its true. You remember Kakashi kun, the kid who graduated really fast? Well, he managed to time travel back from the future and he’s an ANBU and really strong.”

“You don’t even know that, kid.” Kama interrupted.

“I’m not a kid. I’m like a year younger than you, if that.” Genma said brightly. “And of course, you’re strong. You are an ANBU and you got a Sharingan which is the ultimate clan cheat code. And I might have not heard the full story but rumours say that you were even guarding the Hokage!”

Surprisingly the words don’t hurt. Maybe it was the excited childish babble from someone he had only known as a grown man or the implication of success instead of the monumental failure he had been, but Kama found himself quirking a half smile.

“Wanna hear something cool about the future?” He said slyly. “I wasn’t the only one who guarded the Hokage.”

It took Genma a moment to understand and his face burst into a disbelieving grin. “No way! I was in the Hokage’s Platoon? But I’m just a chunnin.”

Kama quirked an eyebrow. “You have couple of years to get a promotion.”

“Wow.” He breathed in awe. “Did you hear that, Ma? I’m gonna train really hard and become one of the strongest in the village and I’m gonna become a part of the Hokage’s guard. Wait,” he turned back to Kama, “does that mean I become… ANBU?”

Kama just shrugged.

“Wicked!” He jumped up, then paused and spoke softer, almost shy, “Thanks. And. You don’t have to be here you know? You said their names aren’t there anymore, you should be with them, if you can.”

“I didn’t exactly plan to come here.”

Genma nodded. “I get that. Sometimes I just end up walking and I reach here or to ma’s grave. But even though I love updating her, she wouldn’t want me to stay with her only, especially now that she’s gone. And Ebisu; he’s my teammate and a bit of a bore but he’s really smart; he says that as long as we recognise something as a problem, we can start fixing it even if it’s hard. So I usually go to my team or Chouza sensei if I come here when I don’t plan to.” He trails off, as if embarrassed to have said so much. “So maybe, you could also go to your team? Or Namikaze san.” Something in Kama’s gaze must have given away his panic because he immediately backtracks. “Or you could come with me? I’m going to see Gai. And you guys were always really weird but he says he’s your rival, so maybe…”

Kama shifts fluidly to his feet, following the last suggestion without a word, though he wasn’t sure what he would have said even if he could. ‘Thank you’ seemed appropriate but also excessive but then again, he had been excessively nice to the Hatake reject and if he remembered correctly, at this point in time people were still angry enough at his father to take it out on him.

Genma led him to Training Ground Fourteen, a fairly isolated ground with enough senbon pricked dummies to confirm that Genma shared his future self’s aptitude. Gai and Ebisu, a bespectacled lanky boy, were already there but Akimichi Chouza, their jounin instructor was nowhere to be seen.

“We haven’t met sensei since the chunnin exams but he’s back in the village now and told us to meet him in between our missions or Gai would cry.” Genma said conspiratorially. “But between you and me, the biggest crybaby on this team is sensei himself.”

“RIVAL!!” Gai’s joyful shout spared Kama from having to imagine the giant Akimichi crying at his students. “You have returned to us from a world of Strife and Agony to Heal and Recover!”

Ebisu and Genma facepalmed simultaneously as Gai landed before them in a cloud of dust and opened his arms to embrace Kama who flinched back so violently, he nearly unbalanced.

“Ah, I apologise, rival. My father has often told me that while my Exuberance is a credit to my Youth, it may be off-putting to others.”

“Kakashi is your rival.” Kama muttered uncomfortably.

Gai looked entirely unfazed, though he had thoughtfully maintained his distance and controlled his flailing. Kama often forgot that despite how eccentric he seemed, there was a reason why Gai was one of the first of their generation to be promoted to jounin. “But I am indeed fortunate to be able to have two splendid rivals to compare myself too. Truly, I shall progress in Leaps and Bounds if I emulate your work ethic, Rival!”

“Wanna spar, Kak- are you going by the same name?” Genma interjected casually.

“Ah, no. I am Hatake Kama now.” He sketched a slightly showy bow.

“Kama then. Wanna spar? Three of us against you.”

Ebisu gave an annoyed scoff, “That is in no way fair.”

“Why not? Kakashi is already stronger than all of us, there’s no way he hasn’t become better in the future.” Genma shrugged, nonchalantly, already beginning to tie his bandanna around his hair, the way Kama remembered his future self.

“Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu only. I’m not using Ob- the Sharingan.”

“Deal. Come on, Ebi, aren’t you curious?” Genma wheedled.

“Indeed. It will be Enlightening to learn as we Battle against a stronger Foe.”

In the face of his teammates, Ebisu wilted with bad grace, before signing something to his team and disappearing in a neat shunshin. Genma also swapped with a log leaving only Gai facing Kama, who had yet to fall into a stance.

Gai shot out with a powerful punch that Kama neatly sidestepped, letting his momentum dissipate before re-engaging. They exchanged blows, slower than Kama was used to but well above newly-minted chunnin level. Gai was a taijutsu specialist and it was evident in every powerful punch and kick that left stinging redness as Kama deflected them. He kept himself on the defensive, senses alert for the other two shinobi, and was vindicated when his next evasion sent him into the path of an entire brace of senbon.

“Suiton.” He called, four quick hand signs enough to divert the needles away from him.

Gai was herding him now, towards the forests bordering the training ground where Ebisu had no doubt prepared some elaborate trap. He didn’t know anything about the last chunnin and wasn’t sure of his specialisation but he was used to planning on the fly.

Deciding to draw Ebisu out, Kama threw Gai over his shoulder when he leaped at him. As he expected, Ebisu sprung from the bushes, grabbing Gai and disappearing again before he could spring the trap.

“Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!” This was one of Kama’s favored techniques and one he used far too often in ANBU. He hid underground for the briefest moment before he caught up to Genma and dragged him below leaving only his head above ground. The yelp of surprise was gratifying but the moment gave Ebisu and Gai time enough to disappear again.

“Oy, guys! Help!” Genma struggled fruitlessly and when Kama crouched beside his head, he had to dodge three senbons that the chunnin spat at him. The herbal scent gave them away as poisoned, though it didn’t seem to be anything worse than a paralytic.

The lack of wind was Kama’s only warning of the genjutsu but he didn’t dispel it immediately. So far, Ebisu seemed to be a support fighter. He would probably never be good enough as a hard-hitter but with good chakra control and a strategic mind, he would probably work well in a team. Chouza san had trained them well to cover for each other’s deficiencies and he knew that if the two had thought Genma wouldn’t be able to protect himself, they wouldn’t have left him behind.

Sure enough, the genjutsu was only skewing his perception slightly, distracting him from any moves Genma might be making to escape or attack. Kama let it be, he didn’t mind facing them together and no doubt, now that they had tested him, they would attempt to finish the fight.

Instincts screaming, Kama ducked to the left as kunai, senbon, and a stream of earth projectiles headed for him. He let his own lightning release destroy the earth technique. Given that he had only shown earth and wind, it wasn’t a stretch to assume that one of those was his affinity but unfortunately for them, earth was weakest to lightning.

“Kai”, that was enough time for them to set up whatever they needed. Genma leaped for him, free from his earth prison, while Gai came at him from the other side.

Ebisu wasn’t visible but the genjutsu that immediately affected his balance was proof of his presence.

Unfortunately for them, Kama was ready too. The shadow clone that had kept itself hidden engaged Genma while the original turned the genjutsu on Ebisu, dialing it up until the boy dropped from a tree throwing up violently as he was hit by the vertigo. Kama then moved ever so faster, moving on the offensive as he thoroughly outclassed Gai’s taijutsu and ended the fight with a kunai to the throat just as the shadow clone left Genma on the ground, his own senbon pointed at his kidneys.

“Oh well done, indeed!” The rotund man who strode into the training ground gave them a round of applause, a jovial grin stretched across his face and clan markings.

“All of you! Kama kun, that was very neatly done and boys, your plan was sound and very well executed.”

“Chouza sensei!”

Kama let Genma and Gai off the ground as they ran to greet their teacher. Ebisu had managed to break the genjutsu but he still looked a bit green and was giving Kama a dirty look. He didn’t doubt that whatever bad impression he had of him was only compounded after the spar.

Gai bounced up to him, somehow not looking the slightest bit disgruntled at the loss. “That was an Incredible battle, Rival!”

“Did you really use three nature transformations?” Genma demanded incredulously. “Which even is your primary?”

“Lightning,” Kama confessed. “But I’m a ninjutsu specialist so I needed to learn the others as well.”

“Others?” Chouza questioned. “Do you mean to say you can use all five elements?”

“I’m weakest at fuuton and I only know a few C Rank suiton jutsu but that was what I was aiming for.”

“Why ninjutsu, I would have thought genjutsu specialist with the Sharingan.” Ebisu demanded and Kama had to bite his tongue to swallow his immediate answer.

“It’s too chakra draining.”

Chouza shook his head in admiration. “Either way, it was very well thought out. Your strength is definitely your instincts, I’d wager you were aware under the genjutsu Ebi kun used as well, weren’t you?”

The three chunnin looked at him in surprise as he just shrugged.

“How?”

“It’s an advanced technique,” the Akimichi said, dropping into lecture mode. “It requires you to surrender your senses because they are being misled and allows you to keep aware without breaking the genjutsu and revealing yourself to the enemy. It’s more difficult because very few people can completely ignore the fake scenario that the genjutsu user is putting them under.”

“How did you learn that?” Ebisu demanded and Kama shook his head awkwardly. It wasn’t hard, to be honest. Most of his time in ANBU felt like he was under a genjutsu, roaming the halls and joining missions numbly as a wraith. He knew he had avoided death only because of his near-feral instincts and just assumed that even death had abandoned him. He hadn’t known there was even such a technique and it was more a matter of self-preservation than purpose.

“Just picked it up here and there.” He said casually, ignoring the considering look that Chouza shot at him.

He took the hint anyway, changing the subject. “Anyway, I wanted to treat you boys to yakiniku, catch up on your recent missions. Kama would you like to join us?”

“Ah no.” The Hatake demurred politely. “I think I should go back. Minato sensei must be worried.”

There was a bit of grumbling, from Gai especially who seemed distraught at being separated from his new rival, but no one questioned the reasonable excuse, much to Kama’s relief. He had no intention of heading back to that house of ghosts and as they left him behind, he untensed ever so slightly.

First he had to confront a particular shadow that he had sensed.

“Come on out, Kakashi.”

“Tch.” His younger self ducked out from a tree, genjutsu breaking as he revealed himself. “How long did you know I was there?”

He arched his brow. “Since the Memorial Stone. I know we have a poor impression of ourself but I was a skilled ninja even if I was a shit human.”

Kakashi’s pudgy face twisted into an ugly scowl. “Stop saying that.”

“What? That we were skilled? Or that we were a terrible person?”

“Stop saying ‘we’ like we’re the same person.” Kakashi spat. “I would never become you, no matter what happened.”

Kama shrugged. He didn't have the patience to argue with himself, especially when he remembered just how stubborn he was. Instead he lay back down in the shade of the tree, obviously turning his back to the young shinobi. It was a gesture of trust as much as it was an insult to his skill and Kama knew exactly which Kakashi would assume it was.

"You defeated Gai- no, you destroyed their team." Kakashi said finally, pudgy face twisted in annoyance. "You were only playing with them and you knew exactly what they were up to."

Kama didn't respond.

"And the technique that Chouza san mentioned, is that something you learned in ANBU?"

Kama hummed nonchalantly as Kakashi's expression darkened further.

"Answer me!" He demanded.

"You still haven't asked me the question you want to ask. I doubt you're interested in the nuances of my training schedule."

"I would never become this... this irritating." Kakashi splattered.

"And yet, here I am. Go on, ask."

"Why were you at the Memorial stone?"

Kama made another dismissive noise. "That's not it. You're smart enough to know who's names I was looking for."

"Obito."

Kama gave a bitter grin but didn't reply.

"What happened at the meeting with Hokage?"

"Nope."

Kakashi growled audibly in frustration. "I don't know what you want! I hate you so much, you're everything I DON'T want to become!"

"Ah but chibi Kashi," He ignored the feral noise coming from his younger self at the nickname. "Isn't that what regret is? Hating the person you've become."

Kakashi didn't say anything for a long time, maybe ruminating over the words, maybe he'd fallen asleep, Kama didn't have the highest hopes for himself.

"Is that how it is for you?" Kakashi said softly. "Do you hate who you've become?"

"Chibi Kashi, you know that answer better than I do."

"You hate me too. Who you were."

"I do."

"So what does that mean."

"It means, Kakashi," he pushed himself to his feet, "that until you find out what you want to ask me, I will stick to my previous judgement." He turned to give the boy a dark look. "We are terrible people and I am obligated to protect my team from people that will get them killed."