There is Time

Kakashi feels as though he has been thrown through a maelstrom, both physically and mentally. He struggles to reach a calm amidst the storm of his roiling emotions and he tightens his grip on Obito even as Rin’s hand is running tentatively through Obito’s hair.

Conceptually, he acknowledges that Rin’s decision was appropriate given the circumstances, but his heart aches at the thought of losing another precious person that way. He locks the thought away. Buries it. Though he expects it will become a vivid feature in his nightmares.

If not for Obito’s miraculous return, he would wonder if he was cursed.

Rin pauses with every tremulous stroke of her hand, afraid even to touch Obito. Her distress over her failed attempt at healing is palpable.

Alive. Not Dead.

He is never going to make a comment about Obito being late again. Not when he has been right on time, when it truly matters.

Kakashi is exhausted beyond anything he has ever felt before. Frankly, he is surprised he is still conscious.

His chakra, small as it is, feels like it is burning underneath his flesh, and he is inclined to believe that his all too meager reserves must be due to the Sanbi. Despite the entire situation around the Sanbi being sealed in Rin, he cannot help but feel a twinge of gratitude towards the demon right this moment.

In the pale light of the moon, Kakashi see that the three of them are sitting in the middle of a circle, five feet in diameter, and there is lightning scarred into the ground, twisted with a strange spiral.

It reminds Kakashi of the nautilus shell his father had shown him long ago when he was a child, and the world did not seemed an endless dull grey. The shell and the story his father told him to lull him to sleep at night, of the many travels of the nomadic Hatake clan when they were many and not just two.

Of course his father used the shell and its special properties to teach him his numbers too. But other Konoha children were learning less complicated lessons counting tree branches instead.

Why?

Why now?

Why is he…? Oh.

He feels it then. He wonders how he missed it until now. But there are the barest traces of the Hatake white chakra running through both his teammates. Not enough to use, but any Hatake could feel the touch of their own clan chakra.

It was the old way, to adopt new members into the clan.

He hadn’t felt the Hatake clan’s chakra inside another, since his father’s teammates died. And even then he avoided them wherever possible after his father’s disgrace. After they scorned the treasured gift that his father had offered. After they…

No. Not now.

Not the time for this.

Not safe.

“Rin, take him for a minute.”

Rin’s heartsick gaze darts up to his and she opens her mouth.

“I’ve got to scout the perimeter.”

She closes her mouth, takes a deep breath, and nods. Rin winds her arms around Obito, mindful of any potential hurt even touching him might cause. Obito makes no sound in protest at the transfer even though his shaking has yet to cease and Kakashi can see Rin’s curl her arms around him in relief.

Good.

Satisfied that the two of them are as well as they can be given the circumstances, Kakashi takes a gentle, silent leap towards the tree tops. He had covered Obito’s gift upon their unorthodox landing, after an initial scan that turned up no threats in the immediate vicinity, to prevent any further chakra drain.

That doesn’t mean that there will not be threats coming.

The moon bathes the world in a cast of silver-grey shadows and a glance around from his new vantage point has his brain stuttering in disbelief.

What.

A slight flair of his chakra to dispel any genjutsu and the scenery stays the same.

Impossible.

His mind strains in the grasp of such an incomprehensible conundrum.

But all of his not inconsiderable senses agree. This is indeed Konoha. Right in the middle of their teams training ground unless he is mistaken. And yet…

There is no Konoha.

Nothing.

Oh there are a plethora of trees and such, just…

No people. No buildings. No faces carved in the mountain.

No sign that Konoha has ever existed at all.

But above all no guarantee of safety for his team.

No safety.

His awareness strays to the traces of white chakra he feels in his teammates and he takes note of Rin making another attempt her jutsu.

Well.

Perhaps there is some safety to be found. But…

No.

No. Obito and Rin aren’t like his father’s teammates. They are true packmates. True members of his clan now. He can trust them.

It won’t be like before.

But a part of him trembles. Wavers in the face of a wound so deeply etched into his heart.

A drop of rain interrupts his internal deliberation.

A glance to the sky reveals a gathering of storm clouds moving to obscure the moonlight and more raindrops follow. A storm. Usually he relishes them. The sound of the rain and the dance of lightning, his affinity, his element.

But right now…

Kakashi hops down from the top of the tree after one last scan of the surroundings to be sure of his orientation and moves back to his teammates.

Rin’s voice is so soft as to be almost unintelligible over the light pattering of rain.

“Are we safe? I need to try to stabilize Obito’s chakra coils.”

Kakashi tilts his head to the side.

“Aside from whatever has been done to him, the Sanbi’s chakra is causing Obito’s entire chakra system to break down. I have some time, but if I don’t stabilize it soon he won’t make it back to Konoha.”

Unacceptable.

No.

Not after we just got him back.

He ignores the comment about Konoha for the moment. He makes his decision in the wake of new knowledge, and Kakashi motions for Rin to follow. She inclines her head, gathers up Obito in a secure hold, and rises to her feet.

Kakashi sets his speed as swift as possible in order for Rin to move in tandem even as he remains on guard for any surprises.

Every step brings them closer to one of the many Hatake clan dens residing all over the elemental nations. In the future, the clan compound was built near the den itself. Hopefully, they have not been thrown too far into the past and the den exists.

A few more yards.

There.

The minute traces that mark the entrance. The ones that only allow those that bear the white chakra to enter.

He steels his heart against old grief as they draw near.

Kakashi feels the weight of Rin’s scrutiny on his back as he disables the seals that will allow entry into the den. She gives a light gasp as the seals flare white and the entrance materializes.

They slip inside and Kakashi lights one of the andon lanterns stored there. The seals reactivate, hiding the entrance once more. Farther inside they move, guided by Kakashi’s unerring footsteps and the lantern he held aloft.

The Hatake clan symbol is emblazed on the back of the main room, a diamond made up of nine interlocking diamonds. He doubts that Rin even recognizes the symbol. He’s never worn it around his team. Indeed, the symbol has been used only in clan dwellings for some time now. Not in his memory has the symbol been worn as it used to be.

He feels his movements turning sluggish as he heads towards the room with healing supplies. The knowledge of a safe location causing adrenaline to fade. The lantern wobbles in his hand when they enter and he sets it down where it can cast enough light in the room. After a glance at the surrounding supplies, Rin takes the initiative, she lays Obito down on the makeshift bed, and starts to cover him with furs.

Kakashi feels like his going to collapse at any moment as he stumbles over to them and drops unceremoniously to the floor beside Obito. He grapples with the feeling of cotton in his brain in order to convey the situation to Rin. But words and their meaning keep slipping away from him like raindrops on leaves. He barely manages anything coherent.

“Konoha.”

“Warring states.”

Rin blinks as she digests those statements and her eyes go wide.

Her hands tremble for a moment.

“We’re in the past?”

He nods, wishing with all his heart that he had better news. There will be no more help for them in the immediate future. Later, perhaps, they could get in contact with his clan. But that will give them no help now.

Kakashi watches Rin take a deep breath and let it settle, before she turns her full concentration to Obito. He can’t help but marvel at her renewed determination in the face of events. He wasted so much time dismissing both of his teammates.

But maybe, just maybe, he’ll get another chance to change that.

Rin is Obito’s only hope now.

Hope. He hardly dares.

But…

Hope springs eternal.