Undone

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Everything belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Keep the past, for all intents and purposes, where it is.

So this is what it feels like to die. It's surprisingly painless.

He was in an endless dark void. It was like everything around him had been reverted into nothingness after that last Kamui he used to stop the Asura Path from killing the Akimichi boy. Well, not nothingness per se. It was like the entire place was made out of different rectangular blocks. Despite all their different sizes, the blocks fit together well and made a solid ground for him to stand on.

"Quite boring here, isn't it?" came a sudden voice from beside him, sounding very familiar and quite disappointed. "You're not going to sulk forever, right?"

"Rin."

"Obito would be so angry at you if he found out that the eye he gave you ended up killing you," the girl breathed, rolling her eyes. "And you just had to use up all your chakra in the end. How many times have I told you to take it easy and wait before rushing into battle and exerting all your chakra? I always thought you hated the hospital. Why would you do something so stupid like that and land yourself in there for weeks?"

"Er..."

That was Nohara Rin for you. 50% medic. 50% caring. 100% Mom-like. She always managed to leave him wordless.

"And Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee too. They always scolded you for using flashy techniques that contributed to all that dizziness and faint-headedness you suffered from after missions. I can't believe that this is the reason you died even after everything we told you about!"

She finished her lecture with a jab at his chest, the frown on her face causing the purple marks on her cheeks to shift.

It wasn't until then that Kakashi realized he was much shorter. If he were at his full adult height, Rin would only have been able to reach his stomach at best.

"Well, um, I'm- uh, sorry," he managed to get out, trying his darn best to not look in her direction. It was a habit developed after years of doing missions with her. Rin was scary when she was angry.

"But I'm just glad that I get to see you after waiting for so many years!" she cried out happily, throwing both of her arms around him and hugging him.

Kakashi didn't know what to say at this point. He could easily tell her to get off and stop smothering him, but that was quite rude considering the current situation. Especially after he had been the one to end her life in the first place. He wanted to say, "Me too," but every time that thought came into mind he felt a lump form in his throat.

He never quite got over his teammates' deaths. But he had finally started to sleep peacefully after receiving Team 7 as the genin team he had to mentor. Saying "Me too" meant admitting to himself that he had cried himself to sleep every night for years after the traumatic experience of Rin's death.

"Oh, stop pulling that long face, Kakashi!" she said, finally letting go of him and stepping back, still grinning from ear to ear. "It wasn't your fault. I was the one who leapt onto your attack. If you keep on sulking over that, none of us will be happy."

"By us do you mean Obito and the others?"

"Of course I do! But stubborn Obito's never showed up ever since I got here. It's like he doesn't want to appear until you're here too."

"So I'm dead?"

It was a pretty obvious question. Why else would he be seeing somebody that had passed away nearly two decades ago?

"You definitely act like you are, but that doesn't mean you are."

"What?"

Rin seemed to sober at this, the smile on her face vanishing as she glanced down at the ground.

"The eye. The Sharingan that Obito gave you. You developed it into a Mangekyō, right?"

"Right. But what does that have to do with-"

"It lets you warp time, right?"

"I know it warps space, but I'm not sure about time," he replied, puzzled.

"Well, it does let you warp time. Let that sink in for a while."

At first, Kakashi had no idea what she was talking about.

Then it hit him.

"You mean I traveled back through time?"

"Only if you want to. The fact that you're in here means that you haven't decided on a destination yet. It's like your brain only wanted you to be out of danger but didn't make a decision on where you want to go."

"So you're telling me that I can go back to any time I choose now?"

"Yes."

Kakashi blinked. "How do you know so much?"

For a brief moment, Rin's face darkened. Then just as quick as it had happened, the look disappeared.

"I have my ways," she replied hastily, suddenly turning around to look at one of the oddly-shaped prisms a few feet away from them.

"But can I just die and go with you?"

The question came out so fast that even Kakashi himself was surprised. Now that he blurted that out, he realized that this really was something he wanted.

He had spent nearly three decades serving his village; lived through one major war. A career of nearly twenty-seven years, to be exact. One year in the Academy. One year as a genin. Six years as a chūnin. Two years of being a jōnin. More than ten years in Anbu. And after getting assigned as Team 7's jōnin-sensei, six more years as a jōnin.

Throughout these years, he had grown from a child to a man. He had cried plenty of tears, seen countless numbers of comrades die, and suffered so many injuries, both major and minor, that he had lost count a long time ago.

And he had thought, "Enough," just as many times.

There was actually a time he had been on the verge of signing away at the Shinobi Retirement Form that the Hokage had given to him.

Maybe death really was a better choice?

And Konoha was already doomed with Pein's attack if Naruto didn't arrive. His two options were to either return to a village that had already been brought to ruins or go down in history as one of the numerous names etched onto the Memorial Stone.

Smack!

A slap to the cheek.

Rin was shaking her head at him, her hand still raised after coming into contact with his cheek. Hard.

"That is the stupidest question I've ever heard you ask. And that's saying a lot, considering how big of an idiot you can be at times."

He mumbled a, "Sorry," under his breath as she continued.

"You still have a chance, Kakashi," she began, her voice eerie quiet. "The rest of us, we're all dead. Plain dead. No more chances. The only thing we can do now is wait for the day we get reborn and finally get a taste of fresh air once again. But you," she jabbed a finger at him, "you still have a chance. Aren't there things you still care about? Friends? Comrades? Students? Have you ever thought about going back through time and changing things?"

"You're telling me to go back through time and save my students?" he asked again, feeling something warm blossom somewhere in his chest.

"Yes. That's exactly what I meant."

"But couldn't I-"

"No. I don't want to be saved," Rin said quite frankly, clasping her hands together behind her back as she spoke. "I was never cut out to be a kunoichi in the first place. I should've just married a good man and lived the rest of my life as a civilian just like my parents planned."

"But you are a good kunoichi. A comrade that saved the rest of your team plenty of times. And you healed so many people. They all showed up at your-"

Kakashi clapped a hand over his mouth. Exactly how stupid was he, mentioning her funeral at a time like this?

Rin shook her head. "Either way, my time is over. But you still have time."

And all of a sudden, the world was spinning around him, warping around just like all the objects he had caused to disappear with Kamui.

"Don't mess this up, Kakashi," were the last words he heard before drifting into unconsciousness.

Kakashi woke with the sharp odor of disinfectant in the air, his Sharingan eye feeling like a drill in his skull, and the general feeling of having just been punched by an Akimichi.

"-just chakra exhaustion. Other than that, he's perfectly fine."

He tilted his head to the side. What he saw didn't surprise him.

It was a medic and the familiar figure of the Hokage, wearing the formal red and white haori as he nodded at the female nurse.

She bowed slightly before backing out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

"So you're awake."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied quietly, struggling to sit up.

His limbs wouldn't respond. It was like that leap from the separate dimension had taken away all of his energy. Judging by the drill-like feeling in his eye socket and what he had heard earlier, it probably had.

Sarutobi held out a hand to stop him and he quickly relaxed, leaning against the pillow.

"I take that you know what I am about to tell you?"

"You're not happy that I knocked myself out via chakra exhaustion again, Sir."

Sarutobi chuckled, pulling over a chair and sitting down after hearing Kakashi's reply.

"Yes, Kakashi. A perfect summarization of what I was about to say."

"But you have another reason to be here today," Kakashi added, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Yes. You should be aware that another class of genin graduated this year."

"You want me to take on a genin team." It wasn't a question.

"You're being quite direct today, but yes. I think the one that will attract the most attention from you is Uzumaki Naruto, the current jinchūriki of the Kyūbi and your teacher's-"

"I'll do it," Kakashi immediately blurting out, not even thinking about the consequences.

"You'll do it?" Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, looking at him like he had grown another head.

"Well, I do owe Minato-sensei a lot, so..."

"I understand," Sarutobi nodded, getting up and pushing the seat back against the wall. "I see. But it's nice to let you know anyways. The second one is the last Uchiha, Uchiha Sasuke. The sole female member is Haruno Sakura, the daughter of Haruno Akio."

Kakashi nodded, clutching the bed sheets tightly as the Hokage turned to leave.

"And Kakashi?"

"Yes, Sandaime-sama?"

"Don't be too late for the meeting, okay?"

The first thing Kakashi did after he was discharged was to rush to the Memorial Stone.

Placing a hand on the name engraved on the stone, he sighed.

"So I died and met Rin. She told me to redo everything, and here I am now. And now I'm going to relive the past three and a half years of my life once again. You must be laughing your ass off right now, Obito," he murmured quietly.

Standing right there, Kakashi made the decision that this time, Team 7 wasn't going to fall apart. He would strengthen Team 7's bonds, prevent Sasuke from leaving Konoha at all costs, and shape them into the strongest team that Konoha had ever produced.

Still, that was a lot to do. There were so many enemies along the line. Orochimaru, Danzō, the Akatsuki, not to mention the other shinobi villages.

And making major changes to the timeline was definitely going to be a bad idea.

Kakashi sighed again, taking his hand off the cool stone and turning around. Well, killing Orochimaru right now wasn't possible anyways...

"Tenzō, you might as well come out of hiding. Your stealth skills are getting rusty," Kakashi chided without even turning around in the direction the man was hiding.

He heard a rustle of leaves, followed by an exasperated sigh.

"It seems that nothing escapes your detection, taichou," he muttered as he walked out, brushing leaves off his Anbu uniform.

"Stop calling me that. I'm not in Anbu anymore," Kakashi replied as he turned around to face the younger man.

"Once an Anbu, always an Anbu. Not to mention that it just slipped out after you criticized my abilities," Tenzō answered, shrugging as he took off his Anbu mask.

"Mmm," Kakashi said absentmindedly as he turned to look in the direction of the Hokage building.

A brief moment of silence followed, with both men not having anything to say.

"How late am I?" Kakashi asked as he caught sight of the Academy building.

"Almost two hours," Tenzō replied with a smile. "I heard some frustrated yelling when I passed by the Academy earlier."

Kakashi remembered the Sandaime's words. "Guess I shouldn't be too late," he muttered to himself as he shushined away, leaving behind a slightly startled Tenzō staring at the leaves dancing in the place Kakashi was mere seconds ago.

Kakashi stood quietly outside the door to the classroom, feeling slightly apprehensive.

He was aware that on the other side, there was a blackboard eraser waiting for him.

He was also aware of what would happen to Team 7. Sasuke would defect from the village, leaving behind a heartbroken Naruto and Sakura. Ultimately, all three would hone their skills under the Legendary Sannin and become powerful shinobi in their own right. Yet Team 7 would never remain the same anymore.

Clenching his hand tightly into a fist, Kakashi silently vowed to prevent the team from falling apart.

He would do anything, anything, to prevent his second team from collapsing. Especially after what had happened with Obito...

On the other side of the door, Kakashi heard bickering. Naruto and Sakura were arguing, with Sasuke occasionally offering a snappy response to Naruto's challenges.

He actually missed this, even though it gave him a headache...

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi opened the door.

Trust me, Rin. I swear that I will do this right.

Author's Notes

Time-travel. Something that is desired by many but completely defies the way of the universe.

I myself do not believe in time-travel in real life, though I do find it amusing to toss my favorite characters back through time in their own little fictional universe.

Anybody care to take a guess at who said the quote at the top? If you get it right I'll give you a cookie.

A virtual cookie, that is.

P.S.

This is the second time the chapter has been rewritten. I did this because my friend commented that the first chapter was really boring and made her not want to continue. After a lot of nagging, I finally decided to do it over again. Now both of us are satisfied.

And I watched the Boruto: Naruto the Movie yesterday. To be honest, I was sorely disappointed. Naruto wasn't Naruto. He spent his childhood calling the Sandaime "Grandpa" and the Godaime "Grandma". They let him get away with it. Yet he insists on his son calling him "Seventh-sama" when he is related to Boruto. What have they done with Naruto?

And I am so furious that the Kote was even invented. What's the point of calling yourself a shinobi if you're just firing attacks that you haven't even taken the time to learn? It's like putting dirt on all of the previous generations that earned their power through sweat, blood, and hard work. Starting from Konohamaru's generation, I'll bet that people would begin to reply on the Kote more and more to the point where the process of learning ninjutsu dies off. Which will basically ruin the entire series.