Warnings! (I'll only do this once so please read it)

-There won't be any AN in the beginning or the middle of the chapters except for the disclaimer. I'll put clarifications and answer questions at the end so those of you who want to skip it, can.

-This is another of those time travel fics. Done a million times I know, but I believe this specific twist in this timeframe has not been done before.

-There is NO romance in this fic! I suck at writing it and I didn't want to ruin my story trying. There MIGHT be small hints of pairings but nothing more.

-This is not yaoi, as much as I love boyxboy this is not it. However, there is close FRIENDSHIP between male characters so feel free to interpret it as you want.

-English is not my first language, I think I'm quite good at it and I have proofread the chapters more than once. However, it is highly possible that there are small mistakes here and there. What's more, I usually write the chapters on paper first and then I copy them on my computer. I try to be careful, but I'm told that I missed a few words in the process. You can either ignore them or tell me so I can correct them for the readers after you.

-The disclaimers are kind of prologues to their particular chapters.

-This is my first fanfic ever so if you could be so kind as to review (good or bad) it will be greatly appreciated. (^_^)


Disclaimer

The morning light had barely begun to illuminate the village, that at Konoha's gates an ANBU squad was getting ready to leave for their mission. The captain just had to finish giving his last instructions and they would be on their way towards the Land of Lightning.

"… and that's our plan to complete this assignment. Any questions?" asked the silver haired captain of squad 3.

Seeing that none of his subordinates had any, he continued in a deadly serious tone,"Now I want all you to listen very carefully, this might be the most important thing."

Already standing at attention, his four teammates suddenly stood straighter. While being a laid back man in his life, once he donned his inu mask, their captain was always serious. But rarely THIS serious…

Once they were all ears, ANBU captain Inu said, again in greatly serious tone, "Aliendel doesn't own us, Konoha or any elements of the Naruto universe. This fanfic is purely for fun and all rights belong to their respective owners. Understood?"

Saying that his squad was stunned would be an understatement. Of all things they had expected their leader to say that was certainly not it. Only their ingrained habits thanks to many years of service in Konoha's shinobi corps allowed them to reply with the expected answer. "Yes sir!" They all chorused.

"Good, now the mission begins, depart!" and with these words the squad 3 captain was on his way to Kaminari no Kuni.

Following him, his subordinates looked at each other confused, had their commander finally lost it? A few seconds later, they all shrugged, forgetting the incident. Inu was already insane, a bit more or a bit less…


Konoha's Shadows

Everything was peaceful at the border between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Frost. The sky devoid of any cloud allowed the full moon to cast an eerie light on the otherwise dark forest. The silence of the night was broken by the noise of the nocturnal predators hunting their prey and the sound crickets. It was a perfect example of a summer night in that piece of land, nothing out of place.

Rare were the shinobi who had enough skills to spot the only oddity among that scenery: A five men ANBU squad heading silently towards the Land of Fire and Konoha…

Captain Inu was pleased, the mission had gone smoothly with no casualties and they were returning to Konoha ahead of schedule.

For an S rank, this mission had been rather easy to complete. Their target, the daimyo of the Land of Lightning had a fear of shinobi and thus disliked having any around him. This fact made his protection a lot weaker and squad 3 had no problem assassinating him and getting out as fast as they could. Their only miscalculation had been to underestimate the number of traps in the palace. Neko's limping leg from a volley of arrows and Tanuki's broken arm from a falling boulder were proof of that mistake. It was nothing major however, especially considering that they had just managed to kill the ultimate ruler of one of the five strongest countries in the Elemental Nations.

As he repeatedly scanned their surroundings for any signs of a pursuit party or a border patrol, Inu pondered if the high ranking was due to the utmost secrecy of this particular assignment. After all should Kumogakure had any suspicions that Konoha was involved in the death of their daimyo it could very well mean the start of the Fourth Shinobi War.

A cold shiver ran through Inu at that though. He had fought in the previous war and he really didn't want to live that hell again.

Repressing the start of a panic attack and calming his breathing –they would not be discovered because he could not keep his emotions under control- he quickly recalled the mission from the start to the present, looking for any moments they might have screwed up. The ANBU captain let out a silent breath of relief after failing to find anything wrong with his actions or those of his subordinates.

As if on cue, one of the members of his squad, Usagi, used the silent sign language to request permission to speak. Scanning their surroundings one last time, the captain used the same way to signal a stop.

Once the five men were standing under a particular large tree that made them almost undetectable, he motioned for the man wearing the rabbit mask to speak.

The ANBU straightened and whispered in a voice so low that only his teammates could hear, "Sir, permission to request a break. We've been on the run for six hours now and there have been no signs of pursuit. Moreover, while Neko and Tanuki injuries are minors, it would be best to tend to them quickly to prevent infection."

Seeing the tension in the shoulders of his captain and correctly interpreting it as disapproval thanks to his years of serving in the same squad, he quickly continued before his request could be denied.

"No arrogance intended taicho, but we're the best ANBU squad in Konoha and I highly doubt someone is could catch up or ambush us. I know you could continue non-stop for the 10 hours left until you reach the village, but we're not all as strong as you sir. We're beyond tired and Neko is on the verge of collapsing"

Said ANBU operative turned sharply to glare at his teammate but didn't comment.

Instead of refusing the request like he intended to do first, Inu took time to take a long look at his squad. Usagi was right to say that they were the team with the highest success rate and it was true that they had been on the run for a while now, not even counting the time it took to complete the mission. One glance at Neko had him admit that the motherhen of his squad was spot on: the kid really looked like he was going to collapse any minute now. That didn't stop his youngest subordinate to stand at attention like nothing was wrong, no words of complain escaping his lips. Hell, had Usagi not brought focus to his situation he probably would have gone on until he fell to the ground, becoming a burden for the others. Inu made a mental note to have a word or two with the kid later.

The commander sighed, his team truly deserved a break but they were still so close to the border…

Reaching a decision, the highest-ranking member of squad 3 turned toward the rookie and said in a concerned voice, or as concerned as that man could manage in mission mode, "Can you hold on for another hour and an half until we're in the Land of Hot Water?"

"Yes sir!" replied Neko, squaring his shoulder as he tried to sound more confident than he really was. Being placed on squad 3 under the famous captain Inu was an honor and he would be caught death before doing something unworthy of it. Something like slowing down his team because of his weakness.

Casting a last appraising look towards the feline mask bearer, the silver haired captain nodded and turned his sharp eye to the rest of his subordinates. "Camp 5 is in the middle of the Land of Hot Water, we continue at the same pace until we reach it and then we rest there for the remaining of the night." It was said in a commanding voice, so Usagi, Tanuki, Neko and Hakuchou knew better than to discuss the order. They simply nodded to prove they understood the instructions. Not a second later ANBU Squad 3 of Konoha had left and was on their way as fast and silent as shadows.

Hope from the Shadows - Konoha's Shadows

Camp 5 was a really small clearing barely able to contain nine or ten grown men. Trees of one of the largest and densest species found in the world hid it. That is to say, even an alert observer who knew what to search for would have a hard time finding it.

The resting spot owned its name simply to the fact that it was the fifth encampment that Squad 3 had found. Being often sent all across the Elemental Nations on missions, it became a necessity for Inu's team to have places they could rest without the fear of being ambushed. As such, while on their assignments the team always kept their eyes open for places like Camp 5. Once secured with traps and seals, these spots became safe havens that no one else knew of, not even the Hokage. These camps were where the ANBUs felt the most at ease while not inside their village's walls.

Considering these facts, it made sense that once they reached their destination and their captain had given the rest order, Squad 3 members took off their masks. By doing so they stopped being tools only capable of giving or executing orders like killing machines and reversed back to ordinary shinobi; jonins with crazy quirks and strange personalities like any respectable jonin had.

"Come here Kitten, I'll take care of your injured paw," said a somewhat handsome man holding a senbon in his mouth. As he said that, he placed his usagi mask in his pack and retrieved a first aid kit from it.

"There is no need Genma sempai, I'm fine," stoically replied a sixteen years old teen "You didn't have to single me out earlier, I could have continued until we reached Konoha." He added brusquely, still upset to have appeared weak in front of his captain.

"Give it up kiddo,*cough* we may not have a medic-nin in our squad but Genma *cough*has taken it upon himself to see to our health and he can be *cough* as stubborn as those damn doctors at the Konoha's hospital *cough* when they fuss over you." The dark haired man who just advised his younger teammate was in his 20s and had white skin with eternal dark bags under his eyes, signs of the sickness that had plagued him since birth. At his side was a beautiful katana that only a kenjutsu specialist like himself could wield properly.

As if to prove his comrade point, the pseudo medic was now forcing the young ANBU to sit down so he could treat his leg. It's with a mix of pride and humor that he added, "Hakuchou hime is right kitten; none of you idiots can take care of themselves. So I do it for you guys and I'll be damned if your complaints stop me from doing my job. Beside even taicho can't resist me when he's injured."

Neko stole a glance at their commander now sitting with its back against a tree before continuing to protest although less vehemently, "Genma sempai, Hayate sempai I assure you my leg is fine, I can-"

"Maa, maa Kitten, let Genma take care of you ok? While minor, we don't want your injury to infect and slow us down right?" said the playful and lazy voice of the ANBU captain. He had enjoyed the argument between his subordinates but the kid was too stubborn for his own good. Seeing as the teen was once again trying to protest, the 20 years old silver haired man added in a more serious tone, "Tenzô, ANBUs get assigned the most dangerous missions and injuries are a part of the job. Unless it's the result of doing something completely stupid or reckless there's no shame in being hurt."

Looking at his feet the ANBU named Tenzô stopped resisting Genma and mumbled a weak "Yes taicho". His captain had not given an order or even used a commanding tone but he was expecting him to obey. Since his entry in the squad a few months ago, the man had only used his name while being completely serious, otherwise mockingly referring to him as kitten like Genma sempai.

"And the same goes for Raidou right?" added the highest ranking shinobi turning his face, which was half covered by a black mask leaving only his mismatched eyes visible, to the remaining member of his squad. He gave said member one of his famous eye smile before adding, "You don't really think that by being silent we would forget about you right? Genma once you're done with the kitten please tend to Raidou."

"Of course taicho!" was the playful reply of the senbon user.

The holder of the tanuki mask groaned loudly and muttered a few curses but otherwise stoically resigned himself to his fate. He knew that him injured vs. Genma in his mother hen mode always resulted in him losing so he didn't even try to put on a fight.

Hayate -or Hakuchou hime as he was sometimes affectionately nicknamed by his teammates- who was uninjured laughed at the tortured expression of his two fellow ANBU members before it transformed into a painful cough. Well maybe he wasn't so healthy after all but there was really nothing Genma or any Konoha doctor could do about it.

From his sitting spot the silver haired captain looked with amusement at his subordinates before deciding to put a stop to their banter. As diverting as it was, they were still on an S-rank mission. "Ok guys time to get some sleep; we rest for six hours before heading straight for Konoha at a fast pace and without break. I want to report to the Hokage and get this mission done and over with as soon as possible." Stopping to verify he had all of his companions' attention he then continued with his instructions, "we'll do four watches of an hour and a half each. I'm first then Hayate followed by Genma and Raidou gets the last one."

"What about me taicho?" asked Tenzô worried to be excluded of the watch list.

His commander straightened himself from his sitting position before looking intensely at his youngest subordinate and saying in the most serious tone he could manage, "I have another job for you Tenzô if you accept it. It's a job that will keep all of your teammates safe and diminish the risk of yours and Raido injury infecting."

At once the teen snapped to attention and exclaimed "It would be my honor to do such job taicho! Name it and I'll do it!"

All his seriousness forgotten the leader stood and gave Tenzô one of his eye smile before saying with an amused voice, "Great Kitten, use your mokuton abilities to build a nice house for your sempais now will you."

The smile of his captain and the repressed chuckles of his teammates was all it took for the teen ANBU to realize that he had been manipulated once again. His shoulders slumping in defeat Neko once again mumbled a weak "Yes Kakashi taicho", before complying and making a few hand signs.

Mokuton jutaku kensetsu no jutsu!

A few seconds later a small house made of wood stood in the clearing, taking almost all of the available space.

*Whistle* "It never gets old no matter how many times I see this ability of yours! It's in moments like this one that I'm glad we're on the same squad kitten", exclaimed a happy Genma.

Raidou and Hayate simply gave him a small grateful nod before heading inside. His commander then patted him on the back and whispered a small praise before he went back to sit against his tree to take first watch.

Sighing, Tenzo took his pack and followed his sempais inside. He hadn't even though about protesting or complaining that he was manipulated. While the teen still had lessons to learn about how his squad functioned, such as never opposing Genma in mother hen mode, there was one he had learnt fast and the hard way: Kakashi taicho always got what he wanted one way or another. Sighing again the ANBU sagely decided that it was better to just forget about it and go to sleep instead of being depressed about how his awesome, famous, powerful and annoying captain treated him.

Hope from the Shadows - Konoha's Shadows

ANBU squad captain Inu also known as Hatake Kakashi awoke half an hour before the rising time he had set for his team with a deep feeling that something horrible was going to happen. The only times he had felt so bad were the days his dad, Obito, Minato sensei and Rin had died. He had come to realize that this sentiment meant that one of his precious people was in grave danger. However this realization had come too late. In the past, had he not attributed this presage of doom to a forgotten nightmare or a trick of his mind, maybe just maybe, he could have saved them. While this time he recognized the feeling and was willing to act on it he could not pinpointed its destination. All of those he cared about were dead, the closest he had to precious people were his squad and they were safe in the house with him right now. He hadn't let anyone close since team 7. Team 7…Minato sensei…no it couldn't be…

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

In less time necessary for a person to blink there were four alert shinobi kunai in hands looking for the enemy. The fifth member of the squad, its leader, was sitting after suddenly redressing himself from his previously laying position. He had a look of absolute horror in his eye and his breathing was erratic due to panic.

One second later the four armed ANBU had scanned their surroundings and realized that whatever had alerted their commander was not an immediate danger.

Two seconds later, said commander had collected his though and, in a state driving by an unknown urgency, he was up packing his things.

Four seconds later, Kakashi was wearing his mask, ready to leave.

Four and a half second later, the commander of Konoha ANBU squad 3 was barking orders to his team.

"All of you pack your things we're leaving right now. Neko I want you to destroy this house, make it seem like it never existed." Inu took the few seconds needed by his team to execute his orders to plan his next course of action. Once they were all standing at attention in front of him, masks in place and ready to leave he gave them their next commands, "we're heading straight for Konoha, don't bother about stealth, speed is the most important right now. Line formation with me in front followed by Tanuki, Usagi, Neko and Hakuchou." These orders were given in a calm and collected voice despite the panic its owner could sense building inside of him.

"Yes sir!" was the simultaneous reply given by all of his subordinates. The fear they could see in their commander eye along with the trust they had in him stopped them from asking any questions. If Inu taicho he thought something was wrong, then something was wrong.

The ANBU captain nodded once, made the signal to depart and an instant later squad 3 was on its way toward Konohagakure at blurring speed.

Hope from the Shadows - Konoha's Shadows

Inu was pushing himself to the limit, intending to get to Konoha as fast as he could. Behind him, his squad was hard pressed to follow, trying their best not to lose him. The silver haired ANBU glanced at his teammates making a sign to tell them to go faster. He knew he was asking the impossible but they HAD to get to the village. If his instinct was right, and it had never been wrong before, then sensei's son, Naruto was in danger.

At first it had only been duty toward his sensei legacy that had drawn the 20 years old ANBU to the little jinchuuriki. When his team was not away on a mission he always volunteered to be part of Naruto's guard. While he could not interact directly with the child as Kakashi –If the favored student of the Yondaime suddenly took an interest in a blue eyed and blond haired six years old, people would quickly make the connection between father and son- he contented himself with watching from the shadows. He had not planned to get so attached. While the ANBU could not really say that they were close –Hell the kid barely knew Inu existed- Naruto had grown on him. A day or two of guarding the little sunshine was all it took to relieve the stress of a difficult mission.

And now the child was in danger and not knowing what kind of menace he was facing was driving Kakashi crazy. Had Iwa found out he was Minato sensei son? Had the Kyuubi managed to get around the seal and was threatening to come out? Had the villagers finally decided that ANBU protection or not, law or not, it was time for the demon child to die? The only way to know and to save Naruto was to get to Konoha. Hence the inhuman speed he was imposing on himself and his squad.

They were still three hours away from the village when a huge explosion followed by sound of a battle a few miles to the east made the squad stopped abruptly. Panting heavily, Hakuchou, Usagi, Tanuki and Neko looked at their commander waiting for his instructions.

Said leader, was feeling conflicted. The battle was close enough to Konoha to be a threat and judging by the noises coming from its direction the ones fighting had to be high jonin or maybe even kage level in power. On the other side, he feared what would happen if he failed to get to the village soon.

The sound of a particularly huge explosion gave him no choice. He was an ANBU of Konohagakure and he had a duty to protect his home from any possible threats. Besides, what proof did he have that Naruto was in danger? A simple feeling? While for him it was enough, the same could not be said about the Hokage or the Council. He prayed to all the gods he knew for his decision not to be another failure on his part. That it did not lead to him losing an important person again. Taking a deep breath, he bit his thump and made a few hands seal.

Kuchiyose no jutsu!

A poof of smoke later, a small brown dog wearing a Konoha hitai-ite was standing in front of squad 3.

Kakashi did not even take the time to greet his main summon and friend before explaining the next course of actions to his team. "Tanuki and Hakuchou you're going back to Konoha as fast as you can. Report straight to the Hokage the success of the mission and tell him we heard evidence of a battle between powerful foes. It should take you 3 hours to reach the village. The rest of the squad and I are going to investigate the threat. Also ask the Hokage to send a backup team comprising of a medic-nin just in case something goes wrong."

He then turned to his summon and the ninken, having been with the silver haired shinobi since he was a puppy, could tell that his friend was far from being calmed and controlled like he appeared to be. "Pakkun please lead these two and make sure you don't encounter any enemy nin or even a Konoha patrol, nothing that can slow you guys down." Taking a deep breath, Inu fixed his ninken in the eyes and added" Tell Sandaime-sama that I think Sunshine is in danger. Request, bite, beg if you have to but make sure he protects the kid. "

"You have your orders now go, dismissed!" The silver haired ANBU had barely finished speaking that they were already not there, having left fast and silently like only elite shinobi could do.

Deming that they had already lost too much time, ANBU captain Inu began to run towards the sounds of battle and, not bothering to speak, gave his two remaining squad members a few hand signs commands. Follow. Upon arrival, do not engage, await orders.

Hope from the Shadows-Konoha's Shadows

The fight was over when they got there but the site of the battle was truly a sight to behold. Where there was once huge trees part of the Hi no Kuni forest there was now a vast barren piece of land. Post-apocalyptic was the first word that came to the mind of the three ANBUs upon their arrival.

The long gashes on the ground, the melt stones and the few gigantic size holes could only be the result of at least S ranked jutsus.

Forget high jonin, this was definitely a fight between kage level opponents!

Hatake Kakashi, son of Konoha White Fang, student of the Fourth Hokage, currently the best ANBU squad captain of his village, also known as Sharingan no Kakashi and ANBU Inu, was obviously not a coward. But even he couldn't repress a shudder of fear as he tried to reenact the battle in his head. He was really glad that none of the fighters seemed to be in the vicinity.

Stretching his sense as far as he could, Inu made sure there was no sign of living humans before signaling for his subordinates to drop on the ground of the newly formed clearing.

"Neko stay in the trees on the lookout, alert us immediately if you sense someone coming. Usagi, we're looking for corpses. I want to know what sides were fighting here."

After he got their nods, a relieved Neko went back up while a tensed Usagi remained on the ground and began searching for fallen shinobi with his commander.

After twenty minutes of vain search, the ANBU captain motioned for his subordinate to stop and come over. "Report" was all he said in a carefully low yet still authoritative tone.

"Sir. I saw no sign of something even vaguely looking like human remains. Either the fight entered a stalemate and each faction went their own way or one of the opponents managed to capture the other," reported a slightly disturbed Usagi. The damages caused by the battle were even more impressive up close and didn't let the ANBU member impassive.

His captain gave him a thoughtful nod, going through all the info they had gathered on the battle so far. It didn't amount to much really. Considering that they were more of an assassination and tracking squad than an investigation one and that there was only two of them inspecting the site, it was unsurprising. Now that the threat to Konoha seemed to be gone, it might be a better idea to go back, report to the Hokage and let the experts do their job.

Inu was about to signal the retreat and the order to go back to the village when his hyper developed sense of smell caught an all too familiar metallic scent. He knew it well, it had been a part of his life since he was six. Blood.

It was faint, really faint, so much that him, ANBU captain Inu, world renowned tracker had almost missed it. But it was definitely there and now that he had caught it, he wasn't about to lose the scent trail. It came from the forest and seemed to go deeper and deeper into it. Probably one of the fighters had been injured and had managed to escape.

That meant he might be able to get answers after all…

Motioning for Neko and Usagi to follow, the silver haired elite shinobi lead them into the forest about two hundreds meters away from the battle site, to the first drop of blood, the beginning of the trail.

They were under a large tree and on one of its leaf you could see two tiny red spots, blood. It was so little that in the shinobi world probably only Kakashi and his summon Pakkun would have been able to find it. Fortunately, one of them was there.

Said ANBU turned to his subordinates standing at attention to once again give them his instructions. "Neko you're with me, we are to follow the trail until we find the injured shinobi. If it's a corpse we'll bring back with us for the T & I department to examine, same if he's injured enough for us to apprehend. Usagi you stay two hundreds meters behind, you are not to join us unless I call for you." Inu then added in a grimmer tone, "If 30 minutes pass without news of either Neko or me then assume the worst and go report to the backup squad and put yourself under the orders of their captain. Understood?"

And once again he got the expected answer from both ANBU: "Yes sir!" But as he was about to turn to execute his own orders the captain noticed the tension in his youngest subordinate shoulders and the slight trembling of his hands. So, knowing that having an unfocused shinobi in this situation could be really dangerous, he asked the feline mask bearer what was wrong.

"I…I'm fine sir." The rookie tried to say but a stern look from his commander had him telling the truth. "I…I've only been an ANBU operative for a few months sir. Having seen the battlefield I don't think I'm strong enough to fight against such opponents even if they are near dead. I…I'm too weak and inexperienced to assist you taicho. As much as… as I hate to disappoint you sir I believe Usagi would be a better choice to bring with you," confessed Neko, shoulders dropping and head bowing in shame.

"Tenzo," began the silver haired "It is true that Genma and I have survived the Third Shinobi War. Besides we have a connection to the Fourth Hokage, me as his student and Genma as his personal guard, so we definitely have more experience and it's not the first time we face kage level nins." Seeing his subordinate head dropping lower and lower with each of his words he quickly added, "However, don't sell yourself short. You managed to pass the ANBU exam as well as the one to be part of MY squad and all of that at sixteen. Few shinobi in Konoha can claim such accomplishments. I personally believe you will be able to assist me should the need arise. Besides, with his uninjured leg Genma can get to the backup squad faster than you and that could very well save our lives."

The teen was still looking at the ground so Kakashi used a sharper and slightly angry voice to command him. "Neko look at me! Now I want you to bring your acts together, we already lost enough time. You come with me, that is final and IF there is a fight you WILL assist me with confidence in your skills. Do I make myself clear soldier?"

Trembling a little at the harsh tone and the reprimand the young ANBU snapped to attention. "Perfectly clear sir!"

"Good, you two know what to do, now depart!" ordered Inu.

Hope from the Shadows - Konoha's Shadows

Following the blood trail lead them to a cavern under a pit of rock that probably used to be a really small mountain long ago before time eroded it. The strong smell of blood coming from within it confirmed that the injured or dead shinobi was there.

Next to him Neko suddenly came to a stop and Inu, trusting his subordinate who was a better sensor than him, halted his steps too. The teen picking up the chakra signature of their target meant it was still alive after all.

Report signaled Inu, opting for the silent sign language in their need to be discreet.

Neko answered the same way. One target, chakra flickering, meaning its owner was near dead, abnormal. That had Inu raise an eyebrow in question behind his mask. Abnormal could mean a lot of things; one of the downside of sign language was its limited vocabulary.

Too much chakra answered the young ANBU to the unspoken question, but before he could explain further, something had him tensed in alarm and he spoke trying to warn his captain. "There's a second target, its chakra signature was hidden by the huge one of his companion! He's coming towards us, I think he sensed us sir!"

He had barely finished speaking when two things happened at once; Inu sensed the target entering the edge of his sensing zone and said target, an unknown masked nin, suddenly appeared in a blue light swinging a katana at Neko's head.

Time seemed to freeze for the ANBU captain, his activated sharingan allowing him to see a few seconds ahead. The sword would sever his comrade neck, there was no way for the teen to dodge in time and too little for him to try to help. Even knowing it was in vain, Inu couldn't stop his voice from shouting "Neko duck!"

As illogical as it was, his words seemed to have an effect on the stranger. He froze for a instant –not long enough to allow the two ANBUs to exploit his hesitation- and instead of killing the feline mask bearer he simply pressed his katana to Neko's neck before securing his arms with ninja wire.

All these before the last echoes of the ANBU captain shout had finished fading.

Sensing that the comrade of his prisoner was about to try something, the masked shinobi spoke "Don't move and nobody gets hurt. State your village and reason for chasing my teammate and me." Each word was said in an emotionless tone but the killing intent emitted gave no doubt that it was a threat.

"Maa, maa let's calm down shall we," replied Squad 3's leader, all tension leaving his body. His hands dropped to his sides in a non-threatening manner and his guard seemed to be down but those close enough to him knew he was at his most dangerous in this sate. "My friend and I simply walked on an interesting battle site and were wondering who were behind it." No lies but not the complete truth either. That was the best way to go during interrogation.

As his mouth was doing small talk, his eyes, both eyes, were taking in his opponent's appearance. The enemy nin was in bad shape; his clothes were torn and burnt, blood was oozing from many of his injuries, some of them quite serious, and his mask, an ANBU mask in the form of a bird with abstract black lines seemingly depicting wings on each sides, had a hole in it leaving his mouth and part of his nose exposed. If those signs weren't enough, than his really low chakra level and his broken arm –he hid that one injury well but it was not good enough to escape Inu sharp observations- were proof that he had been in a serious fight not too long ago.

All in all, had he not taken them by surprise, his teammates and he would have had no problem overcoming him.

Even knowing these facts, Inu never let his guard drop, the enemy –he decided to call him Crow- was strong enough to have survived a kage level battle while sustaining no fatal injury meaning he was a kage level shinobi. His body language also spoke of experience in desperate situations; this was a war veteran who had seen more than his share of battles standing before him.

That's when it hit him, Crow was desperate! He had sensed them coming by their chakra signature so he knew that Inu and Neko were presently stronger than him. But instead of trying to flee, and with his speed he was certainly able to do so, he had come to meet his pursuers successfully distracting them from the other target. Target who, if Neko was right, was near dead. Moreover, Crow had said that the other was his teammate so Inu was probably right to assume the enemy nin was trying to protect his friend and would not abandon him. Hmm he could use that. Now how to get him to release his young subordinate…

Tactics and possible plans passing in his head with a speed befitting of a Nara, Inu went over all of them before choosing one. Keep the conversation going but try to get control of the situation. But before he could execute it, Crow spoke again.

"I don't see what the battlefield you witnessed has to do with me." It was once again said in an emotionless tone, giving nothing away.

"Hum…maybe the blood trail that your teammate currently in the cavern left from the site to here?"

At the mention of said teammate Crow posture became slightly defensive and the sword pressed harder on Neko's neck creating a thin red line of blood. But the emotion left an instant later and he relaxed, saying with a touch of amusement in his voice "I though I had completely erased it, impressive."

That disturbed Inu, the way the enemy nin had said that seemed to imply something else, almost like he had said "As expected of you" instead.

Pushing the feeling to the back of his mind for now, the ANBU captain went on with his plan. "Now that you know that my teammate and I were just curious why don't you release him so we can talk like civilized people?"

"We're shinobi, not civilized people. Besides you still haven't giving me your village and codename."

"Maa, don't you know it's impolite to ask someone's name before offering yours?" Ok, not really subtle but Inu had a feeling the other would not appreciate useless talk.

"You don't seem to understand the situation here," replied Crow, once again drawing his hostage blood. He then added with the amusement back in his voice, "But I suppose I could oblige you."

Slightly inclining his head he presented himself, "ANBU captain Karasu, from Konoha."

At these words, Neko who had been tensed and quiet during the exchange saw red. "Don't try to impersonate a Konoha nin, the karasu mask is not even currently in service, you're lying!"

"Neko quiet!" Inu tried to stop his teammate but he was too late.

"You just gave information to a possible enemy," smirked Crow, no… Karasu, "But I already knew that you two and your friend about two hundred meters to the north were Konoha nins. That's the only reason you're still alive rookie."

He then released his prisoner, threw his katana to the ground and raised his hands in surrender. "I understand if you can't trust me, my existence and the one of my superior are highly classified, I doubt even the famed ANBU captain Inu knows anything about us. Had my leader not been severely wounded, we wouldn't have made contact, even with allies."

Contrarily to his subordinate who was trembling with anger, The ANBU captain seemed completely undisturbed by Karasu's revelation. Still keeping his casual tone, the silver haired shinobi said, "This is very confusing, you seem to know me well enough to recognize the sound of my voice but I haven't have the slightest clue as to who you are." Finally dropping the friendly attitude, Inu suddenly disappeared only to reappear half a second later behind the other nin, a kunai at his throat.

"You better be able to present proof of your claims or else…" gone was the non-threatening ANBU, the last sentence was said in a voice that still haunted his enemies' nightmares.

To his credit, Karasu didn't even flinch, even with Inu a short breath away at ending his life. He simply answered the question, more like an order really, with his emotionless voice back. "I haven't been in Konoha for the last three years so I don't know the actual secret codes of the black ops. However, I can prove that at least I was born in Konoha." And with these enigmatic words, he slowly reached for his mask with his broken arm, removing it and showing his full face to the two members of squad 3.

Four eyes were immediately drawn to Karasu's. His irises were a bright red with three black tomoes quickly spinning inside. They were proof of a bloodline limit that no one in the shinobi world could mistake, a bloodline limit only found in Konohagakure; the Sharingan.

"Uchiha…" whispered a dumbstruck Neko.

Seeing as even the sight of his eyes couldn't lower the suspicious of the man aiming a kunai at his throat, Karasu sighed exasperated. –He knew Kakashi didn't trust easily but he really hoped this time could be an exception- Still trying to appear as defenseless as possible; he tried to reason with the man. " Look, in my shape right now, I would probably lose a fight against a chuunin so there's really not much I can do facing two –or three, if you recall your comrade- ANBU operatives." Karasu seemed to resent these facts for they were said in a bitter tone. "My leader is in even worst state, that idiot is on the verge of death! Bring him to Konoha's hospital and report to your Hokage that Kitsune is back in is lair. He'll understand and tell you we're not enemies." He didn't say the word please but it still hung in the air.

That's probably what convinced Inu to act. Karasu was desperate enough to beg and Uchihas didn't beg, even to save their life. His teammate must be really important to him if he was willing to go that far. Knocking Karasu unconscious, he told Neko to bind him with his wood jutsu and guard the Uchiha while he went to retrieve his leader.

Hope from the Shadows - Konoha's Shadows

The injured shinobi was leaning against the cavern wall, a pool of blood under him. Like his comrade, his ANBU clothes were torn and burnt and he had too many bleeding injuries to count. His mask however, was still complete and firmly in place.

It was a Kitsune mask with red circles around the eyes, which probably meant the cryptic message that Karasu left him was about this shinobi.

Now that he was so close to the other nin, Inu could really understand why Neko had said that this one chakra was abnormal. There was no doubt the man was near death, his chakra was flickering on and off like a light bulb on the verge of breaking. What was not normal was the amount of chakra he had left. The nin was dying, had been in a kage level fight not too long ago and he currently had around as much chakra as the silver haired shinobi! His spiritual energy level when he was in top fighting shape had to be insane.

Recovering from his shock and pushing the matter of Kitsune's chakra reserve aside for later questioning, Inu reached for the unconscious man, intending to bring him back with him to the village. That's when he realized what color his hair was. It was almost all hidden by blood and mud so he had not registered it sooner but now that he saw it, the ANBU captain couldn't repress a shudder. He only knew two other people with that hair color, one was his dead sensei and the other was a six years old jinchuuriki.

His hand was now trembling, and instead of picking the man up, Inu slowly removed his mask…

When Kitsune's face was uncovered, Kakashi silently release the breath he didn't realize he was holding. His hand was not the only part of him trembling now. His whole body shook with shock. In front of him was laying Minato sensei clone.

A dying Minato sensei clone…

That's when his brain shut down, his instincts taking over.

If questioned later, ANBU captain Inu also known as Hatake Kakashi wouldn't have been able to tell how much time he stood motionless in front of the man. Or how he managed to carry him outside, meeting Neko, Usagi, along with Tanuki and Hakuchou who had come back with the team sent by Sandaime-sama. He wouldn't be able to recall the way to the village, his report to the Hokage or making sure that Naruto was all right. Even his memories of himself returning to his apartment and dropping asleep on his bed his clothes still on, were nothing but a blur in Kakashi's head.

Hope from the Shadows – Konoha's Shadows

Author's notes

And the first chapter is done! Hope you like it, please review. Criticisms welcome ^_^

I'd like to take the space to recommend these stories. (Most of you probably know them already but for those who don't, GO READ THEM!) They are my main source of inspiration, if it wasn't for these fics, I would never have written mine.

Chance for a Prophecy by Dorcyy You can't stop the flow of time. It's wheel only whirls in one direction. It is impossible for a mere human to change that path. But sometimes the impossible must be done… Naruto time travel fanfiction.

That's the story that got me into time travel fics. Probably the best of the 'Naruto goes back to the Fourth Hokage's time genre

The Lives Worth Saving by cywsaphyre Naruto, at 26, has lived through 10 years of war. At the end, with nothing left to call home, he sends himself back to the beginning, to the day of his younger self's graduation, in an attempt to change it all. Time travel AU.

My all time favorite, I lost count of how many times I read it. Too bad the author isn't updating… T_T

Blind Stars of Fortune by 100demons Thirty year old Kakashi was supposed to have been killed by Pein during the Invasion. Instead, he wakes up in the body of his twenty year old self. (It gets a lot more complicated.) Time travel.

Totally awesome I want more like this one.

Until next time ^_^