a/n: In which nothing is a coincidence, but everyone already knew that. And by everyone, I mean, wow look at all those correct guesses in the reviews.

Like all people in the world, Namikaze Minato lives his life with a head-full of unforgettable moments, both good and bad – perhaps even more distinctly than most, because Minato has a remarkable memory.

He vividly remembers a time, so long ago, when his team of three were tiny children, sporting laughter on their lips and innocence in their eyes. It's nothing like the memory of their anguished forms only mere years later, when Obito and Kakashi respectively had been presumably ripped from their grasps.

Diving even further into his mind, Minato can also pull up memories from his teenage years under Jiraiya-sensei's tutelage. Minato recalls the times he would be pulled along with Jiraiya-sensei's whims to witness his best friend's infant's first moments, where diaper changes and spontaneous babysitting were spontaneously forced upon him because Jiraiya is the sort to volunteer out his student without a care in the world. Minato can remember the way tiny Kakashi would grin up at him, cheeks dimpling, canines protruding, while the small beauty mark at the corner of Kakashi's mouth contrasted prominently against his pale porcelain skin.

He'd known the boy before he started donning his iconic navy blue mask, to cover up those cheeks that made parent unable to pass without pinching and cooing. He'd known him before Kakashi managed to master the art of stealth-eating.

Minato had watched Kakashi grow up, so Kakashi's mysterious appearance beneath that self-imposed mask of his is no secret to Minato.

As such, it's no wonder that Minato spots the man right away.

His lunchtime stroll is cut short as Minato breathlessly hones onto the stranger who wears all of Kakashi's familiar features. He stops and swallows the lump in his throat, then definitely doesn't tail the man discreetly.

It just so happens they are walking the same direction, that's all.

Minato knows to expect nothing.

He's perfectly aware of the requirements for the Shiki Fūjin. It's price is the soul of it's summoner – nothing more, nothing less.

Kakashi may be a prodigy, but even he can't go against the conditions set by the God of Death. Minato knows it's an indisputable fact that Kakashi is long dead.

And that is not even taking into account the multiple inconsistences. For one, the man isn't dressed in shinobi attire, and becoming a shinobi had been Kakashi's pride and joy. Never mind the camera perched around the man's neck, a hobby Kakashi never showed interest in before. As well as the brown hair.

It's just the face. Really, that's it.

It's rather concerning how this small and partial thing can induce such curiosity and investment.

"That man in the green coat," he says to no one, eyebrows furrowed. "Watch him."

His Anbu guards nod unseen and slide further into the shadows.

When the man enters an eatery, Minato loiters about outside, hidden from sight. He ends up well over his scheduled lunch break, but he's the Hokage – who dares to reprimand him?

He watches and ponders in silence as the man finishes up his meal and heads back out under the open sky.

Let it be known that Minato never intentions to call out to him at first. Except then the man pauses so unguarded and lost before Minato's very eyes, that it seemed like fate herself is giving him an opportunity, and who is Minato not to take this well-timed chance?

It's an impulsive decision for sure, but despite that, harmless, and perhaps that's why Minato allows himself to go through with it in the end.

"Planning to promote the restaurant?" he asks, appearing casually behind the man, sounding purposefully nonchalant.

The man turns and it takes all of Minato's strength not react to that familiar stare or faltering smile, or to reach out and pull him tight. He can't, he shouldn't, because that is not Kakashi.

"Just preserving the memory," the man says, eyes flickering over Minato.

The man takes in his appearance with eager curiosity rather than recognition. There's no stammer of 'Minato-sensei' when he notes who'd spoken to him. Rather, there's reserved formality that's suitable for guests at the sight of the revered Hokage, and not the family Kakashi was always to him.

Of course.

"Oh! Hokage-sama! I wasn't aware- that is- ahaha- I apologise for my rudeness. It is a pleasure to meet you, Hokage-sama."

"Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage," he introduces himself. "I didn't mean to startle you…"

"Sukea. I'm a photojournalist," the man offers, when prompted.

The name and title sounds foreign and wrong. Minato never knew he was the sort to disdain a name until now. It's not that he expects the man to say "Hatake Kakashi, the shinobi, the Hokage's precious student," instead; except … maybe, hidden behind a shinobi's facade of stoicism and unflappability, and despite trying to delude himself otherwise, that absurd idea already had seized its chance to plant seeds in his heart without his consent.

That is a dangerous notion.

Minato knows full well that this wishful campaign is led by nothing more but instinct, 'gut feelings', and unreasonable desire. He knows equally well that impressions like these are baseless and irrational, especially made by shinobi of his position. In this treacherous world, it is more realistic to believe that such feelings are artificially provoked by Sukea, knowingly and purposefully, because enemies have no shame striking at any and all weaknesses that they can dredge up.

Minato tilts his head casually, to show he is still listening. His Anbu catch his silent signal to stay vigilant.

In front of him, Sukea carries on with no hints of Kakashi other than his facial appearance. His hair colour is wrong, his clothing is wrong, his speech pattern is wrong, his job is wrong, and his endless smiles are wrong. If this is purposeful deception, it's horribly done, because Sukea is quickly diverging more and more from a figure that Minato's guard will lower for.

On the other hand, it also has Minato wondering that amidst all this wrongness, is there a possiblility of any more right?

So instead of moving on, Minato maneuvers the conversation to his desired path, to fulfill a curiosity stemmed from disappointment. Perhaps it'll give him the closure he needs; a closure he didn't even know he needed, because he never thought that fifteen years was still not enough time for him to accept Kakashi's death.

It makes him sound a bit awkward, like unrestraint rambling, but he carries on regardless. "Touka is known for their traditional meals. What did you order? I should try it sometime. Your favourites?" he asks.

It's a ridiculous topic riding on the sole fact that he can smell miso in Sukea's breath. Even fifteen years later, he can still recite Kakashi's favourites without hesitation, and he knows eggplant miso is in there somewhere.

Sukea doesn't appear to suspect a thing. "Mmm, eggplant miso and broiled saury."

It's exactly as Minato remembers.

Except now that he hears it word-for-word, he doesn't know what to do. He doesn't expect the perfect match in the first place, only asking to find faults, so that he can finally accept Sukea as an unrelated individual and move along in his life.

Yet now…

"Sounds good," he says, hardly hearing himself speak. He doesn't sound daze – a Hokage doesn't have the luxury to show himself so plainly in front of an unknown – but those who know him best can spot his preoccupied mind. His personal guards notice, from the way their chakra flicker, and the half-step they take closer towards him, though still out of sight.

Minato's mouth moves on autopilot after that, chatting about things he honestly doesn't care about, all to let his mind recalibrate to the unexpected.

It's yet another coincidence, surely, because hasn't he already expounded the impossibility of Kakashi's continual existence because of the Shiki Fūjin?

But the littlest things nudge pleadingly harder and harder against Minato's tender heart, and it's a struggle not to acknowledge that smallest flame of hope building in his soul. He shouldn't, because all that will do is fool his painfully delicate heart with expectations that are nothing but lies.

Yet a trivial part of him is still rebelliously pondering the significance of Sukea choosing Konoha of all places as his vacation destination, or why Sukea, though wary, seems comfortable and eager talking to him despite his Hokage status.

If he lets himself believe, then Sukea's subconscious actions give so much credence to the possibility of lost memories.

In the end, Minato gets Sukea to go with him to meet Obito and Rin, not that he tells the man beforehand.

Eyes fixed on Sukea, he sees the exact moment the man freezes up at the sight of the two. Something murky swims in the man's eyes as his posture unconsciously tenses. Sukea captures Obito in his gaze, then Rin, then back on the Uchiha once more.

Minato recalls how Kakashi hadn't lived long enough to witness Obito's return back to them, only seconds after he gave up his life for Rin. It's another tally to the list of growing coincidences that only play for Kakashi's favour.

He finds himself silently urging Sukea to stare at them, waiting for realisation to strike, for something in Sukea's mind to crack open and spill out concealed visions that will have him gasping for breath with their names fondly on his lips. But when Sukea exhales, it's a breath that carries away with it all of Sukea's stiffness, and leaves him the charming, indifferent stranger Sukea is to them.

Minato's disappointment is barely hidden away.

He leaves Sukea with the two after that, shuffling away in honest bemusement. He trusts Obito and Rin to hold up their guards around an unknown, should Sukea truly be a threat.

Out of their sights, his Anbu's presences waver more prominently in his senses.

"Well?" Minato says out loud, despite having probed the man himself. Though he trusts his own abilities, he also cannot dismiss the chance that Sukea's similarity to Kakashi has involuntarily influenced his judgment.

Psychological warfare is a treacherous thing.

"He isn't wearing a henge," his first guard says, appearing beside him with a silent step.

"His stance is balanced and trained," continues the second. Like a shinobi, he doesn't add, because like a dancer or martial artist is also possible, and he can't presume.

Minato shouldn't presume either, that was the point of all these subtle tests, but deep in his mind where no one is privy to, he knows he is already leaning to one particular opinion.

The blond nods to the Anbu, letting them fall back into the comforts of the shadows, and then continues his trek to the Hokage Tower. When he sits behind his office desk once more, there is finally a solid plan in mind. It's nothing as flimsy as theses previous probes, and Minato almost wants to forget it just in case it does prove him wrong.

"Call Inuzuka Tsume," he orders decisively before he can convince himself otherwise, and then sends a clone to collect the necessary item as he waits for her arrival.

Deep in the back of his closet are several boxes full of possessions sealed tight, forbidden to be disturbed by anyone in his household. The alternative had been to burn it all in hopes the possessions followed Kakashi up to the afterlife. But Minato can't bear to lose everything of his student, and stubbornly clings onto all that he can.

Sometimes, in fits of melancholy, Minato sits by the foot of his bed, closet wide open, and just stares at the boxes and remember the good ol' days when Team Minato was still a team of three stubborn children. Kushina joins him occasionally, an arm curled around his waist, full of understanding, and her warmth a stark contrast to the icy squeeze of his chest that constantly reminds him how horribly he'd failed his precious children when it counted. (Maybe that's why Naruto claims he is overprotective, because he learned from his failures and tries to raise his son doing everything he couldn't for his students).

It doesn't take long for his clone to find and deposit the box on his office desk, before puffing out of existence.

Minato sinks heavily into his chair and stares, fingers trailing across the cardboard container.

He takes a deep breath, then swallows his doubts.

When Minato rips back the packing tape, it's like truly opening his heart to believe. It's such a stronger impression than mere hope that Minato hand shakes at the thought of the repercussions if he ends up being incorrect; he's not prepared to lose Kakashi a second time.

.

Minato awaits Inuzuka Tsume's arrival in complete silence, fingers fidgeting in his clasped hands. The presence of an Inuzuka is essential to this plan of his. Their clan's nose is rivaled by none other, after all, and if anyone can place Sukea's unique bodily scent to Kakashi, it is this woman.

When the woman is finally escorted into the office, her gaze immediately drops onto the box on his desk. She doesn't make mention of the box's pristine condition despite the yellowing tape. Nor how Minato appears to be curled around it like it's a delicate treasure.

Instead, her eyes linger on the navy blue mask Minato passes over to her. It doesn't take a lot of thought to realise who it'd belonged to once-upon-a-time, especially not by the precious way Minato handles the musky piece of clothing.

"Tsume-san, I require your assistance to assess the identity of a recent arrival," Minato says without any preamble. "There is a traveller-"

Her fingers clench around the mask, sharp nails digging into the fabric.

"Don't," Tsume cuts him off.

Minato stops. He closes his eyes, and when they open again, there is no emotion to pick up on. "Don't what?" Minato asks guilessly, but he knows what she means, and it's already too late.

She makes a sound of frustration and empathy. She looks so gentle it stings.

"Hokage-sama– Minato," she says, nothing wild and fierce like the woman she is notorious for being. Her fingers curl around the navy mask and she stares pitifully into it. "You've lost Kakashi. I understand-"

Minato's smile stretches a bit more plastic.

"You're right, I don't understand," Tsume corrects promptly, noticing the change, "but I can imagine. I know Kakashi was yours, as much as my children are mine, and I can imagine what it's like to lose them too soon." She pauses, and then carries on softly, "And I know the feeling will be much worse than that." She swallows. "But you know what happened to Kakashi better than anyone else. I can guess what you're suggesting. It can't be true. You can't let yourself fall into delusions because it will only hurt you when it proves to be nothing more than false hope."

She cares about him, Minato knows. His Anbu likely share her sentiments, judging by the way their chakra have been pulsing to his latest actions. Minato is almost relieved that Kushina hasn't heard about this yet, because Kushina is brash and blunt – and Minato can't be certain if she'll critique him just as harshly or join in on the hunt. Either way, Minato doesn't want her involved because if his enterprise is proven false, there will be nothing but despair in the end for everyone involved.

Minato smiles gently at Tsume. "Please?" he only says, and lowers his gaze onto Kakashi's abused mask.

She takes a deep breath, but finally bows. "I understand, Hokage-sama. I'll do it." It's only when she crosses the threshold of his office door that she looks back to him and continues, "but don't get your hopes up."

Minato knows better than to respond honestly to that.

Later that day, Tsume returns to his office, Kuromaru by her heel. She's moving slowly, her brows uncharacteristically furrowed. Minato watches her carefully, but the woman only drops a formal bow and then says a single word.

"Yes."

His heart stops.

It's short and pithy but the word means everything to Minato.

Tsume ruins the moment before the blond can even wrangle his feelings of shock to the warming ball of relief. "Minato, I'm saying this for your own good. Even if he is Kakashi, he might not be the one you know. He's been gone for fifteen years." She fires off a rapid series of question, not letting let Minato answer a single one because she knows it doesn't matter what he says in the end when it will be all speculation on his part. "You have to ask yourself why he isn't going by Kakashi."

Because there might be an issue with his memory, and Kakashi doesn't know better.

"He didn't recognise me, and he certainly didn't recognise Obito and Rin he was with."

But there had been something, at the sight of Obito and Rin, Minato is certain. Nothing profound, or worthy of scrutiny, but a pause, a stutter of breath, is something at least.

"Why is he back now; what's his purpose?"

Because Sukea was busy with work, and he's only here now because he's on vacation at last. And is it not already significant that Sukea chose Konoha of all places to visit, even when he isn't consciously aware of the bonds he has within the village?

"How certain are you he hasn't been reconditioned by enemies from the fifteen years he was missing, and his reappearance doesn't spells anything but trouble for Konoha?"

Because this is Kakashi. Kakashi has a heart full of holes, held together by sheer will. It's horrible that he had to suffer so much in the short childhood he lived, but it is also because of that that Kakashi mentality is strengthened to steel, and he will never succumb to brainwashing if it harms the people he cares about; he tried to never let down Obito's nindo since the day the Uchiha left those final words to him.

"I looked through his camera, there are no photos prior to those he took in Konoha. It could be just a prop."

There is every chance Sukea is using a new roll of film dedicated to be filled with sights of Konoha, because he expects to make every picture count. Or perhaps the camera he uses on vacation might even be different from the one he uses for work.

Minato is mentally throwing out justifications as though he believes them all himself, but the truth of the matter is that he knows she's completely correct. Minato hasn't gotten this far in his shinobi career by being selectively ignorant, rebuking clues that he doesn't want to agree with. These questions are everything Minato has already asked himself long before he'd requested Tsume's assistance on the task.

She hasn't even hit the most crucial point: How is Kakashi back.

"I appreciate your concern," Minato says, interrupting her rant short. Tsume has the wariness of an attentive mother. It's grateful because Minato knows if she's willing to lecture the Hokage, then she is willing to do so much more to protect the citizens of Konoha from harm. But Minato doesn't need to hear truths he is already well aware of. "Thank you for your report."

Tsume knows an informal dismissal when she hears one, and makes to leave the office. She pauses briefly. Then in a weighty tone she reminds him, "Konoha needs you," before she's finally gone.

Her remark is as heavy as it is true.

Minato is the Hokage. He pledged he would carry on the Will of Fire for the whole of Konoha when he received the Hat. He can't let anything shatter such a hefty vow, and he knows perfectly well Kakashi is one of his weaknesses.

Minato takes a breath as his determination momentarily wavers. He wonders if he should call off the oncoming meeting with his two faithful students.

He'd given them a quick gesture, when he deposited Sukea to their care, to report to his office at the end of the day.

It had been an impromptu idea to have the two assess the state of mind of this man known as Sukea. Other than Minato, these two are the closest anyone can claim to be Kakashi's friends. Tsume was responsible for Sukea's physical assessment, where as Obito and Rin were in charge of his mental assessment – not that he'd told them explicitly of that task. But if Kakashi is truly beneath that Sukea front, these two will catch it without prompt, Minato knows.

It would be so easy to turn the two away, and forgo the report. Ignorance is bliss, as they say; what he doesn't know – all these pressing questions which may truly not have the soothing answers he's eager for – can't destroy the gentle memory of Kakashi he's dedicated to the corner of his heart.

Except, just as quickly as the thought comes, it is dismissed.

Minato is not one to let a mystery linger unresolved. Not the least because it will haunt his every waking hour. Rather, there have already been too many losses and too much regret in his long shinobi career, and it is undesirable to add another tally to that list.

So he holds himself tall and proud, sitting patiently behind his desk. Obito and Rin make their way to his office an hour before he readies to head home.

"Minato-sensei. You wanted to see us?"

"Obito, Rin." He calms his nerves with mindless pleasantries, then, "I was wondering how your day with Sukea went?" he asks mildly, the unrelenting pressure in his chest sealed away where it won't affect his judgement. He's the perfect example of a professional shinobi.

"He took a lot of pictures of flowers and trees," Obito says without a thought, then snickers to himself. "And then he was mistaken for a pervert by Tsume-san right before we left. It was the highlight of the day."

"Oh?" Minato acknowledges. His lip twitches slightly, more for a rare, long forgotten memory of Kakashi indignantly sulking, rather than the present situation. He imagines the expression on Sukea's countenance, and it fits so naturally. His throat clogs. "Anything else happened?" he pushes onwards.

Obito frowns, "What do you mean?"

Rin looks at him; stares a little too long to not suspect something of his question. Minato is willing to bet she was suspicious the moment he dropped the man off with the two of them, since escorting is well below the usual caliber of their missions, and Minato won't ask that of them for any old traveller.

There's actually a startling lack of confusion in Rin's eyes, like she knows something, she saw something, to make her understand the depth of Minato's decision. She has always been the perspicacious sort.

"He's- The way he moved-" Rin begins, hesitant. Minato tips his head for her to continue, but she only stops prematurely. Her mouth snaps shut and her gaze drops down to the ground. When she starts again, it's nothing hopeful. "I don't know what you're talking about," Rin insists instead, defiantly.

It's less of a lie and more an act of self-preservation, Minato knows. She can't allow herself to indulge in these fantasies, because if all these clues turn out to be false positives, something deep in her soul that she'd been holding up with sheer will, will shatter into jagged, cutting shards. And that can't happen, because she still needs to stay strong for her team, to protect them from the same exact reasons.

It's not fair on her, Minato knows, because she should be permitted to feel as freely as them, because Kakashi was her teammate too, and she'd once loved him with all her heart. Except she also sees that the bond between her boys is nothing less to scoff at, and she always knew Minato considers Kakashi the son he never had.

Minato once told her that she is the glue that holds Team Minato together, and it seems she has no plans to relinquish that role. (And in the corner of her mind, Minato also suspects that Rin won't allow herself the luxury of optimism because she deems it her punishment for failing her boys; twice she'd been kidnapped, and twice this had led to the demise of a teammate. They all cope in their own ways, and Minato is just glad her heart isn't completely sealed away.)

Beside Rin, Obito furrows his brows at her answer. He turns to Minato and shrugs. "He was a pretty cool guy." It doesn't seem Sukea's presence rang any bells for him, but that's only to be expected because Rin had spent so much more time with Kakashi when Obito had been presumed dead.

Minato gives a meaningless hum.

Obito cocks his head, and then returns his gaze back to Rin. "What were you saying about the way he moved?" he asks curiously.

Rin sputters.

Rin is trying hard not to acknowledge the possibility, let alone speak it out loud, where her thoughts will solidify into heavy, physical sentences. However, denying Obito leads to nothing because he will only continually push, through whining and sulking and hurt puppy-dog faces.

"His stance?" she says mostly vague. "For a second, when he turned towards me in the forest, it was almost like-"

"Like…?"

"–like something I recognised," she finishes weakly.

Minato's fingers curl in his lap, and his heart thumps knowingly in his heart.

Obito rubs a hand across his chin. "Eh," he mutters, face scrunching to think back on the man they'd spent the day with, "Recognised? I guess maybe there was something about his face."

"Other than the fact that it was pretty?"

Minato is sure there's an inside joke somewhere, when Obito gives her a flat stare. Then Obito continues a second later, and his tone is serious this time. "No, I think it might have been his eyes."

Rin swallows.

It is surprising that it takes this long for Rin to finally ask the main question; Minato had been prepared since the start of the meeting. She turns unflinchingly towards him, and the words roll out of her mouth slow and steady, like everything about it is carefully controlled. "Minato-sensei, why did you ask us to escort Sukea-san?"

The truth of the matter is that Minato didn't want to lose sight of the man in case he disappeared entirely, as if he'd been nothing more than a passing ghost.

"I needed to know."

"And?" Rin urges, though Obito looks lost and clueless in the background.

Minato glances off to the corner of the table where a nondescript cardboard box sits, tape scrunched in the corner where blunt nails had scratched away until it was properly detached. "I still don't know," he admits

He is astutely aware of the conditions for the Shiki Fūjin. It had been his research, his notes, his speculations that Kakashi had read over to learn of the sealing technique. The summoner's life is exchanged in order to summon the Shinigami, and there is no way around that fact – Minato tried looking. After Kakashi's actions, Kushina tore through her clan scrolls in a desperate attempt as well, to no avail.

The Shinigami is not something mere mortals can escape from.

Of course, there are whispers of forbidden jutsu to tear a taken soul back from the Shinigami's belly, but Minato is well aware the reincarnated will be nothing more than obedient puppet in a sacrificial vessel. Kakashi will never be truly revived in such a way. Nor will Minato subject his precious student to the horrors of becoming a marionette with his freedom held in his summoner's hands.

Sukea is alive, however; of that much Minato is certain. This fact sharply contradicts all the data he's gathered so far.

Minato thinks of the Three-tails, held in Hidden Mist's possession once more instead of the Shinigami's hold. Is Kakashi an exception because the task the teen commanded the Shinigami to fulfill had been unsuccessful? Is the loss of memories the price for his release back into their mortal realm?

There is too much ambiguity and not enough solid facts.

"I'm not even certain what to do when I do know," he confides in his two students at last.

Obito turns to him. Never has Minato admired the Uchiha's unwavering personality more than this moment. "I don't see what the problem is. If it's not something annoying like politics, then just do what you want to do," Obito says, so simple and frank, it's like a sturdy stone to anchor Minato's fluctuating resolution.

"Right?" Minato chuckles humourlessly.

What he honestly wants to do is to fold Kakashi into his arms and apologise for all the ways he'd failed that child when it truly counted. Never mind the hows or why, but just appreciate the fact that Kakashi is back, and never let him go again.

The sun is setting in the background, and the Hokage Mountain is shrouded with a veil of orange. The shade reminds Minato of the goggles Obito once wore, when all his kids were still young and accounted for, and when the idea of being torn apart was nothing more than a nightmare. How dearly he wishes for those days-gone-by.

"Should– should we show Sukea-san around tomorrow as well?" Rin asks hesitantly when Minato only stares silently out the window. She looks warring between wanting to let the mystery go or take a leap of faith and follow Obito's unwitting advice.

"Do you want to?" Minato counters, because he knows she wants him to make the hard choice for her, but that is just not something he can do. "It's your decision."

Truthfully, he already knows what she will pick. Team Minato never leaves a comrade behind if they can help it.

.

When Minato arrives home, the first thing he does is bury his head into his wife's shoulders, arms wrapped around her delicate figure. He hears his teenage son making disgusted noises from somewhere in the living room, and almost wants to tease him by purposely pulling Kushina in for a kiss as well.

But then Kushina shifts in his hold until she can see him head-on and her gaze turns worried. "What's wrong, Minato?" she asks, intuitively gentle.

There's the creak of the couch and then Naruto is in the kitchen as well, having heard his mother's question. "Huh. Mom's right, you look kinda off. You feeling alright, Dad?"

Minato responds by snagging Naruto in his embrace. The teen shrieks and whines as any teenager would, but Minato can't let him go – he's suddenly bombarded with the nightmare of his first broken family, and filled with regret of how he should've held Kakashi close when he'd had the chance.

"It's alright," Kushina soothes, though still ignorant of his problem, but that's what Minato loves about her; she is such a tender, sweet-souled woman who knows exactly what he needs. "We're safe. Konoha is safe."

"Yeah, what Mom said. So stop overreacting," Naruto contributes, still shoving futilely against him to break free. But there's a softness in his son's actions that speaks of falsehood – if Naruto honestly wants to pull away, he's strong enough to do so. Heck, he's succeeded plenty of times when they embrace him in public in front of his friends.

At last, Minato lets them go, taking a step back so he can gaze fully upon both members of his family.

"Did something happen at the office?" Kushina asks, curious.

Naruto shuffles away for something to lean against and to act as though he's uninterested in the conversation, even though his ears are visibly pricked. Minato's lip quirks at the sight.

He pulls out a chair and sits heavily onto it. He feels stiff and tired to the bone from this mentally eventful day. Kushina plops down beside him, hand on his shoulder.

He sighs. "My thoughts have been all over the place… but I think I'll let myself believe," he says at last. It's a bit out-of-the-blue and his wife frowns in confusion.

"What?"

He shakes his head. "I'll explain when I find out the truth from him," he promises her, because he isn't the only one who lost a child when Kakashi died too young for his age; Kushina loves the Hatake just as much as he does. Kakashi had been a withdrawn orphan, hiding behind cold and callous words, but both Minato and Kushina saw the broken mess Sakumo's suicide had left him and strove to fill the hole by becoming his unwanted guardians.

He glances off to the side where Naruto is sitting. Perhaps, if everything goes well, they can finally introduce their son to his Kakashi-nii, like they'd so desperately wanted to fifteen years ago.

The morning after Minato's insanity-driven quest for the truth, Minato resigns himself a day of tedious work, filing through the documents he'd neglected the day prior.

The work becomes routine after a short while, but regardless, he appreciates the lull. While Minato is signing form after form, the back of his mind is considering and discarding a list of possible plans; in particular, how to confront Sukea.

Demanding point-blank is a reckless idea. Minato still is convinced Sukea is a man rebuilt at fourteen, with none of Kakashi's memories. Because while Kakashi had acted cold and distant, he held his family and friends tight ever since Obito's assumed death; the man would never voluntarily spend fifteen years away from them.

The morning passes by quickly, and lunch is almost upon him before he knows it.

Just when Minato contemplates heading off for a small break (perhaps Sukea is gracing Touka with his presence once more?), Obito slams through his office door with a sudden intensity that has his Anbu's chakra spiking in attention to detect for possible threats.

Minato waves them off without a word, focusing in on his student.

Rin trails closely behind the Uchiha, reticent. Usually she's quite helpful in calming Obito, or helping Minato understand whatever flurry overtaking their teammate. But today, she's unexpectedly sombre and unreadable as well.

"What happened?" Minato questions, pushing up from his desk.

He takes two large strides closer to the two, until he's able to stand a comforting distance between them.

Obito's lips are curled into something like a frown, and Minato can't tell if that's anger or anguish in his eye. Rin's expression is distant, and maybe even flustered. At this distance, Minato can clearly see the signs of a scuffle on them – the cuts and scratches and muddy clothes.

"What happened?" he commands this time, and the worry in his voice is thick enough to wrap them up tightly.

Rin bites her lips and glances over at Obito. The Uchiha refuses to acknowledge the attention, eye focused unwaveringly in front of him. Rin and Obito's bond is unbreakable and it's unprecedented for Obito to not dote on her and fret over any small injuries she may or may not have sustained.

Rin opens her mouth to speak, but only moves it silently for a few minutes as if uncertain where to begin. Finally, "There were intruders," she says.

Minato startles into attention. His Anbu note his unspoken orders to ready to blanket the village.

"Report," he orders, slipping into his Hokage tone. Rin seems to respond better under this authority, and rattles off her testimony in crisp professionalism.

"Around oh-eight-hundred this morning, Obito and I arrived to escort Sukea-san around the village again. We showed him around the western district, and then Sukea-san displayed interest in taking pictures of the Hokage Mountain. We headed the long way up, along the hike of the forest." She pauses to swallow, and Minato turns towards the office's grand windows to stare out the distance to the distinctive heads that line along the mountain. "Mid-way through, we encountered hostiles. It was the … Zetsu, I believe we were calling them."

"The artificial humans that grew on Madara's statue," Obito contributes lowly.

Minato flicks a finger discreetly, and an Anbu heads out to collect a team to comb over the battle site. He then nods to Rin to allow her to continue, and tries not to dwell on their last disastrous encounter with these white beings composed of Senju Hashirama's DNA.

"They're after Obito again," Rin says.

Obito's tale of his miraculous survival had revealed the name of an Uchiha thought long dead, written in history as the co-founder of their beautiful Konohagakure – Uchiha Madara. There'd been something unsettling hearing about his longevity in solitude, and the plan this relic of a man had shared with Obito.

So Minato had dispatched men to the dwelling known as the Mountains' Graveyard, where Obito had spent the better portion of a year in. But all they found was a bare statue and an empty throne. There was no Madara, or artificial beings hanging from the statue, as depicted from Obito's account.

In the end Minato had ordered for the place to be sealed up, and sentries posted nearby to ensure no one entered or left without their knowledge.

It isn't that Minato doesn't believe the truthfulness of his student's report, because Obito may boast or exaggerate but he never straight-out lies; rather there is nothing that can be done if there are no trails to follow.

Amidst the later months coming in terms with Kakashi's death, and the entire teams' personal remorse for failing him, they came to Obito.

It'd been a black and white being that rose from the training ground where Obito was practicing. It was amiable at first, but when Obito refused to return and carry out the mission Madara had preached to him about, it turned more into abduction than mere words of persuasion.

Minato and Rin had arrived to the scene of Obito fighting the being off, as more sprouted from the ground. There was something about Obito that had Madara certain he would be the one to carry out his will, and Zetsu, as Obito called him, seemed to believe completely in Madara's words and dreams of an utopia in this violent shinobi world, willing to assist whatever necessary.

His darker half had gleamed ominously at them.

In the end, it'd left with foreboding words that had Minato ordering his researching team to gather all information and research on Senju Hashirama, in order to properly fight against these Zetsu beings.

They'd been back several times with varying numbers – even caught silently observing the Uchiha Clan once. Despite those ventures, they still never turn their attention away from Obito, though, and Minato has a sore suspicion it is because of Obito's Mangekyou. The Mangenkyou is a rarity even amongst the whole of the Uchiha Clan, considering not many pass the three tomoe stage.

Minato darkens as he recalls his speculations, while urging Rin to carry on with her report.

She complies, explaining how they appeared, their numbers, and the oddity that was a completely white Zetsu without his darker half. Then, "Cutting through the clones wasn't too difficult, but there were a lot of them, and Su-Sukea almost got caught." She stutters to swallow. "But then he fought back."

Then Rin pauses. It's unnaturally long that Minato swivels his gaze intently on her.

Meanwhile her brown eyes seek out Minato's and hold them in place. When her lips move next, it's slow and straight to the point. "He used the chidori to save Obito," she says, and the implication of her sentence is so weighty that it leaves Minato breathless in place. "And then he ran away from us."

The silence between them is deafening.

Suddenly, Obito is spurred back into action, no longer frozen and dazed. He rounds up on Minato, fury in his eyes. "You knew," Obito says coolly, like rumbling thunder. The cryptic conversation between Minato and Rin from the previous night finally clicks into place.

His head snaps towards the woman, and it's less of rage and more of distraught this time, "You knew," he says towards her as well. His breath hitches and his fingers grapple at his pant legs, trying to find traction to scrunch into his shaking palms. "You both knew he was…"

The words don't finish, and Minato knows why. He'd been dealing with this problem of disbelief himself until recently.

Minato takes a step closer. "We weren't certain," he explains.

Obito gives a hysterical bark of laughter. "'Weren't certain'?" he echoes. "I know you, sensei, you don't give up at uncertainty. What did you find out? What else do you know that you haven't told us?"

The accusation is sharp and painful, because he hadn't kept them in the dark out of malicious intentions. If Obito takes a second to think about it, he'll realise right away. Except Obito is so shaken that his mind can't think any further than the possibility that his teammate, his brother, is alive and well, and that he hadn't failed Kakashi in such an unbearably permanent way.

Minato can't blame him.

He doesn't play ignorant because he owes them that much. "I enlisted the help of Inuzuka Tsume."

There's a sharp intake of breath from Rin. She's an intelligent woman and likely discerned his strategy already.

Minato continues with an entirely false sense of calm. "Both Tsume and Kuromaru confirmed Sukea's scent as Kakashi's."

He is correct to have held onto his belief, but now knowing how he'd saved Obito changes things. Minato can't help but think it's too much of a coincidence for the same person to unknowingly reinvent the same jutsu twice within his lifetime. So doesn't this also mean that Sukea – no, Kakashi – hasn't lost his memories and recognises them this whole time?

"How is that not certain?" Obito asks, sharp.

Minato holds the man in his gaze until Obito finally drops his head. Then he answers at last, "There were other possibilities I had to take into account–"

"It's Kakashi!" Obito insists fervently. "I know it," he swears, and it's less of sureness and more of need and visceral desire, because it's his only light of hope and if he lets it go, Kakashi will be forever gone from his life once more like these long remorseful years. His fists clench and shake in a need for motion, and he's on the balls of his feet, so ready to rush off in search of his runaway teammate.

It pains Minato to deny him this indulgence. Minato has his duty to the village first and foremost.

"Obito," he says, before turning to his other student, "Rin, I need the two of you to aid in securing the village."

Obito looks shattered at his command. "But-" he tries.

"There is a threat in our village. I cannot let it go unchecked, especially if it is the Zetsu, and I trust the two of you," Minato interrupts regretfully. "I have my Anbu watching over the village perimeters, and several Jounin have been informed to report to the both of you to scour through the village for any lingering signs of the Zetsu."

"We are most knowledgeable about them," Rin acknowledges, but her voice is no less spiteful.

Minato focuses his gaze on Obito.

"After," he promises, "After the village is secured, you can do as you please." And god knows that racing to Sukea – Kakashi – is the first thing Minato himself wants to do as well. Obito doesn't seem to realise Minato wants just as strongly as he does to drop all thoughts of procedure and safety, and to reach out and hold their lost teammate who has been gone for far too long in their lives.

With a wordless bow, the two heed his orders.

"I'm sorry," Minato says to their leaving backs, but he already knows it does nothing to soothe the brittle sting of his crucial command.

Obito hunches his shoulders but doesn't speak.

.

Minato does his own part at the site of the scuffle. His Anbu are already there, and have already done a thorough sweep of the eerily quiet forest, before allowing their Hokage on site. Minato listens to the Anbu's report, his own eyes flickering from point to point to confirm their conclusions.

The grass is charred, tree trunks splintered, and there are definite sights of slashed gouges left behind from Obito's and Rin's respective weapons.

Most notably, there is still the taste of lightening lingering in the air, an integral part of chakra moulded by one known as Kakashi – specifically chakra moulded to form his self-invented jutsu known as the chidori.

Minato remembers its initial exhibition fifteen years ago, tearing through Iwa-nin in Kusa. He remembers the sharp condensed ball of pure energy, and birdsong in the air, as young Jounin Kakashi rushed out recklessly to down the hidden enemy. The memory is carved into Minato's mind because he'd had to swiftly analyse all he could in that short minute to ensure Kakashi wouldn't suffer from unnoticed flaws. After, with Obito's donated eye, Kakashi perfected his jutsu as Minato supervised discreetly in the shadows.

It's been too long since he's felt this tingling sting of residual electricity.

"Lord Fourth," an Anbu calls out.

Minato shakes himself free from the grasp of unrelenting memories. Thoughts of Kakashi seem to find him in every mundane sight he encounters lately. He's unearthed enough once-thought-forgotten memories in these last few days, enough to fill a novel and cause him to slip into endless melancholy.

"Carry on," he says, pulling himself back together, wondering if Obito and Rin are dealing better.

The ceramic mask of the Anbu dips as he nods, and he continues his report. "Similar to previous encounters, our sensors are unable to detect its chakra outside of this area. Its ability to merge into its surroundings successfully conceals its presence."

"I see," Minato says, though he expects as much.

The blond glances at the forest floor, tore up but littered with small sprouts, looking too much like haphazard attempts to reforest the abused battleground. "The research team found nothing more of significance regarding these spring of sprouts that form after each battle?"

"No sir. Though these artificial beings have been crafted with Hashirama-sama's cells, their capability to utilize the First Hokage's Mokuton pale in comparison to Hashirama-sama. The research team is still working under the assumption that with their deaths, the Zetsu lose further control of those powers, resulting in becoming overwhelmed by Hashirama-sama's cells, turning them into plants. Such phenomena have been seen from those who have unsuccessfully tried to obtain the Mokuton through cell infusion."

Minato nods in acceptance. "Very good," he says, before glancing up at the sky.

He's waiting.

There was another order he'd given before he left for this location. His finger taps a patient rhythm against his thighs. It takes a few more minutes, until a messenger bird descends towards him with a note tied to its leg. Minato removes it, uncurling the paper, humming thoughtfully at its contents.

Brief and cryptic symbols relay a negative response.

It's a note from the team of Anbu sat at the Observation Tower surveying the Uchiha district for any signs of the white beings. They'd engaged contact with the Uchiha clan once before, and who is to say this particular scuffle with his students had not been mere distraction from the actual plot?

He would've prefer to personally ask the Uchiha Military Police Force whether or not they spotted these Zetsu around their district, but Minato knows the Uchiha elders don't like him much as it is, claiming he'd corrupted Obito and the younger Uchiha generations. He doesn't need the Uchiha's relationship with Konoha to worsen should they decide he appears suspicious or accusing of them. Knowing the old lot, they'll want to try and press the issue.

Minato sighs and the note burns to ash in his hands. Turning, he gestures for the Anbu to check up on his students as he makes his way to the next location.

"Sir," the Anbu salutes in acknowledgment and disappears into a swirl of leaves.

This is Minato's Konoha – to ensure he doesn't overlook anything glaring clues, he personally makes a thorough inspection across the whole of the village. It's futile though, because nothing is amiss. Every hint of the Zetsu's presence seem like nothing more than a dream on his students' part.

It's hours later when he finally signals for his Anbu to cease the search. One detaches from the shadows without prompt to relay the message to the Jounin assigned to the mission.

Minato gives him a nod in thanks.

Then, he gives the village a final once-over, flashing through seals placed strategically around his beloved village, before the final tag takes him directly to Sukea's hotel. He'd tagged the entrance when he passed by earlier on, because Obito is not the only one who's impatient to confront Sukea.

He knows his personal Anbu guards will be scrambling to keep up, uncertain where his Hiraishin took him. But they'll find him eventually, with disappointed gazes, frustrated bearings, and unspoken words of complaint. Minato should feel sheepish, but truthfully the buzz through his veins is more of anxiety than guilt. He just can't bear to waste any more time.

The receptionist rises when he strolls through the front doors, white cloak billowing behind him. She bows and utters a long string of formal words in greeting. It's professional and pleasant, but all Minato wants to do is talk over her because her spiel is the last thing he cares about.

"I apologise for dropping in unannounced," he says when he's finally given a chance, "but I have business with one of your guests. A man by the name of Sukea?" His words are calm and slow, nothing like the mess that is his beating heart and squirming gut.

Her response hollows out a gaping hole. "Yes sir. However I am afraid I am unable to help. Sukea-sama checked out a few hours ago."

"Ah," Minato murmurs, because a few hours ago would be right when Obito and Rin stormed into his office, revelation fresh on their mind. Kakashi had fled, hadn't he, the moment his identity had been unwittingly exposed. "Thank you," he says distantly, numb as he retreats out the hotel.

He doesn't stay. He doesn't wait for his two students when they will undoubtedly come to enquire the same from the receptionist and receive identical results. He doesn't wait to hear the response, the implication of Kakashi's swift retreat, twice.

His steps are slow, as he tips his head back to gaze upon the sky and wonders why it's painted so clear, blue, and bright on such a gloomy day.

He wanders to the park and slumps into a wooden bench. It's stiff and cold and uncomfortable to sit on but it never registers, as he curls forward to hold his head in his hands. It is easier to swallow when Minato is able to delude himself that Kakashi never contacted them because he doesn't know better.

Except recent events reveal that he does (or might have, at least).

It seems Kakashi is only playing at ignorance – but why, and what for? No matter how long it takes him to return to them, no matter how broken or jaded he's become without the loving, healing presence of his friends, Minato and Obito and Rin will always welcome him back with open arms.

Minato remembers the child Kakashi had been, too mature for his age. He'd been forced to grown up too quickly after the loss of his father. He'd seen the death as an act of betrayal, and lost faith in the bond called family and in his ability to trust, but Minato had thought Obito had managed to teach Kakashi otherwise in the end.

But perhaps Minato had been wrong.

Maybe Kakashi is still that child who doesn't know how to depend on others, and doesn't know that the strong and unyielding ties of Team Minato will persevere through all circumstances and will never erode from time.

Minato lets out a long breath and presses his back against the wooden backrest of the bench.

A stray mutt wanders over to him, abandoned, exactly like how Minato currently feels. It snuffles, scenting him curiously, nose nudging his limbs in search of food.

There's a small biscuit in his pocket, emergency ration, if you will, when he gets too buried in work and forgets to head out for lunch. Kushina has the habit of slipping small snacks in so that he always has something on hand. It's endearing to know he's loved that much (and she would've done that for Kakashi as well – already does for Obito and Rin whenever they visit).

The mutt gobbles up the treat the moment it's out of its package, then whines pitifully at him for more.

Minato shows him his empty palms ruefully. He cautiously scratches the mutt behind the ears. "Sorry," he tells it. "I don't have any more, but maybe we can commiserate together."

Misery loves company, as the saying goes. Minato gives a distant chuckle.

The mutt cocks its head at him before hopping onto the bench. It's a medium-sized thing with light, golden-brown fur and a strip of white that extends to its muzzle. It has squinty eyes and an itchy paw that keeps swiping at his neck like it realises it's without a collar.

Under Minato's watchful eye, it shifts around on the vacant side of the bench like it owns the place, bumping and prodding into his side until it finds a comfortable spot. Then it lowers its head onto Minato's lap, woeful eyes staring up at him. Minato has a feeling it can sense his radiating dejection – he's being pitied by a dog now.

Minato hopes Kakashi knows what he's reduced him to (and maybe then he'll take responsibility for it by finally coming back).

Obito is not happy with him.

It's his second meeting with his student after realising Sukea disappeared on them, and Obito has still yet to give Minato anything but terse, short answers whenever he's spoken to. Apologies are not enough, because he would have had a chance to catch Kakashi, if only Minato had not asked of him and Rin to inspect the village, but he took that away from them.

Yet, Minato cannot find himself regretting his decision (truthfully, maybe just a little), because the entirety of Konoha is his responsibility as well.

So the awkwardness between them lingers, stifling and unmovable.

Minato is trying his best to reconcile with Obito, though, don't get him wrong. That is why the two of them are currently wandering down the village street together, looking for a place to eat. Obito is visibly unwilling, the way he keeps his head turned to the side, gazing upon everything from street signs to the gravel beneath his feet – on everything except his sensei.

Minato keeps his smile from waning, and refuses to entertain the bitter taunt in the back of his mind that goads his inability to cherish any of his students. Kakashi is gone, and Obito is drifting away. Who is to say Rin isn't next?

"Where do you want to eat, Obito?" Minato asks.

Obito grunts wordlessly in response.

The frown Minato holds back from his face strains between the shoulder blades like an icy clamp, sore and tight, even though he tries his hardest to ignore it. "Are you sure you want me to choose? I'm sure you're sick of Ichiraku," he laughs lightly, but it sounds hollow, even to his own ears.

There's no answer, no met gaze. The tension between them keep passersby at a distance. An elderly grandmother looks over and shakes her head pitifully, and Minato wonders what it sight it must be to see the Hokage and his student in such disharmony in the middle of the road.

Minato lets out a huff of breath that accompanies three silent steps, before he turns resolutely towards his student. "Obito," he says, the last of his forced humour dissipating into nothing. "Talk to me," he implores. "Yell at me if you must, but don't keep this locked inside. Why are you angry?"

"Like you don't know why," Obito mutters darkly into his chest.

There's comforting words at the tip of his tongue, and rational in another breath. He settles for both. "I'm sorry. I admit I didn't think he would disappear on us, but at the time the village was in danger. It was one or the other, and don't tell me you wouldn't have regretted it if the Zetsu hadn't left and were attacking the village."

Obito cringes.

Minato continues, "Perhaps he'll be back. If he is Kakashi, he will be back, because no matter what, Konoha is his home and he will always be welcomed here."

There's a long, heavy silence before Obito breaks it.

"I know," Obito snaps at last. "I know it's wrong to pick Kakashi over Konoha, but–" His voice stutters and breaks off. The anger seemed like an illusion when he tries to speak up again, because his voice is so broken and small. "I just– I miss him." Obito's head hangs. "It's my fault he's dead. I was too slow. I was right there," he says, heavy with guilt.

It's unreasonable to blame this all on himself. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known," Minato soothes.

"I told him to take care of Rin. He gave his life for her, because I made him promise!"

"Are you suggesting Kakashi wouldn't have helped Rin otherwise?"

"No!" Obito cries, sounding appalled.

Minato understands this need for self-blame. It's a method of coping, unhealthy though it may be. Obito's guilt has been smoldering in the back of his mind over the years, faint enough for most to think there's nothing more left of it, but that is far from the truth. A nudge and a whisper is all that is needed for it to burst back into the forefront of his mind, and drag him into the endless depression that had once taken ahold of him years ago.

A warm hand curls around Obito's shoulder. "If it's your fault for being too slow, it's equally mine for not watching over those two. You might as well blame Rin for being captured as well."

Obito growls, deep in the back of his throat, so guttural and savage. "But it's not!" he persuades desperately. "You had your own mission to take care of, how would you have known? Rin was a victim, she was already distraught as it was."

"And you already rushed across the country to help them even though your body was still weak from recovering. How is that any less of a reason?" Minato shoots back. He still recalls the frail body that had emerged from the suit Guru guru's artificial body had doubled as – back when that white being was still on friendly terms with Obito – and the way he had stumbled so bonelessly into his arms.

Obito stutters, "Because– because…"

Because nothing except a young man's belief of invincibility. It's an egotistical notion of how the world revolves around him and that he can make a difference in this unfair world that always takes people by surprise. It's an attempt to take control of the uncontrollable.

Which is an admirable endeavour, except failure is guarantee and it only stings so much harder when nothing goes according to plan.

"There was nothing any of us could've done. It was Kakashi's decision to give his life for Rin." Minato takes a deep breath. "And it is Kakashi's decision to hide from us. We–" His voice softened unwittingly, "we have to respect that," he says, and mentions nothing about respecting Kakashi's self-exile only after ensuring the choice is made entirely from Kakashi's own free will.

Nor does he mention the constant checks he's been making around the village every subsequent day, just on the off chance Sukea turns up once more. It's becoming routine, and the small part of Minato that still worries Sukea's a threat, fears a little that he's playing into his hands by being so predictable.

Obito swallows his woes.

"I wanted to tell him thank you, at least," the Uchiha whispers into the wind. For saving Rin, for keeping his promise, for being alive (is he alive?).

Minato's grip tightens, but any words of agreement or comfort is drowned out by the hasty appearance of an Anbu who gives no pause after his greeting, scrambling to relay the problem. Minato's heart thuds to building adrenaline.

The Zetsu are back.

"So soon?" Obito interjects, because it's unprecedented behaviour.

"Unpredictability keeps us on our toes," Minato replies absentmindedly, trying to locate his nearest tag seal.

Obito grabs his arm. "I'm coming with you."

"Hold tight," the blond only says, no mood to argue.

He knows Obito can hold his own. Readjusting his chakra to accommodate the transport of two men instead of one, they quickly disappear in a flash of yellow.

When they arrive at the edge of the village, it takes them little time to sense the fluctuating chakra not far away. They race to the scene with chakra enhanced jumps that swirl dirt in their wake.

They immediately spot the army of white Zetsu clones invading the edge of their village.

Minato can't see their motive here. They're causing havoc, instilling fear, but there's nothing productive other than catching attention of Konoha's shinobi – which they shouldn't want in the first place considering their constant antagonistic clashes.

Minato surveys the scene and sees Obito frowning beside him. The dark side of the Zetsu is back. It's a half split of black and white once more, no longer the entirely white being that Obito and Rin had encountered previously.

"Where did you go?" Obito demands, because only he would entertain the idea that the enemy would expose his plan if asked directly.

Minato directs orders to his men as Obito keeps it distracted.

There's a curl of its lips as it turns towards the Uchiha. Its white side shows more emotion, considering its wider, toothier grin. "Don't think you leaving hindered Madara's plans," the white side replies laughing, answering nothing. "You'll be back, one way or another."

"Shut up about his stupid plans," Obito growls, aggravated, tired of their continual insistence. They reference it so often, like a taunt or ominous foreshadowing.

"You're just as stubborn as his reincarnate," the black side chuckles.

Obito narrows his eye. "Who's? Madara's?"

"I wonder."

Then abruptly, there's a surge of chakra that turns the ground unstable. The Zetsu clones stumble in place, making easy pickings for Minato's men who have long prepared for the localised earthquake. However, the main Zetsu is unperturbed; his feet sink a few inches into the tree branch he is standing on, locked in place.

It appears as though that will hinder him from dodging. Alas, that is not so in the least.

When two Anbu rush forward on both sides of him to trap him in place, tanto unsheathed, Zetsu only gives a low chuckle and slips easily through whole of the branch itself. He lands on the ground without a sound.

Considering Konoha's lush landscape, the way the Zetsu is able to traverse through nature with such ease is vexing to defend against.

Minato darts over.

Unfortunately, his charge is cut short. Multiple large roots emerge from the ground, like thick, deadly sharp tentacles. The moments are sync and instantaneous. Minato flips himself mid-air and slices with his kunai, but the moment the log falls free from obstructing his view, another is already taking its place to stab towards him.

Dodging is difficult, the way the roots curls around their limbs like vicious snakes coiling around its prey.

The only one who isn't continually evading these perilous roots is Obito with his spinning Mangekyou. Every attack slips through his intangible form, while he takes calms steps forward towards the enemy. Zetsu notices him, of course, but can't do anything but try to retreat further away, never letting his attack fade. Because the moment there's a pause, it's not just Obito who will be on him, but Minato and the rest of his men.

In his head, Minato counts the passing minutes. One… three… five— Minato flings out a kunai with an explosive note tied to its end. The clearing from the blast gives Obito time to readjust to his sudden lack of intangibility, and the smoke acts as cover for the Uchiha to fling his kusarigama at Zetsu.

The chains coil on mark and Obito tugs hard to keep him in place. He tries for a quick katon, but though the main-Zetsu body is restrained, the towering roots are left unhindered, thrashing around him.

"Obito, above!" Minato warns.

Death descends on Obito.

Obito immediately drops his half formed justu in favour of escaping. However, his attempt is thwarted when Zetsu unexpectedly jerks in his restraints, yanking Obito unsteadily forwards. Obito curses and hastily lets go of the kusarigama, but it's already too late to regain balance in time.

A hit scraps Minato painfully across the shoulder, but he pays it no heed, silently urging his swiftly thrown kunai to reach on time.

Dust kicks up and prickles his eyes.

The kunai finally makes contact.

"Obito!" Minato cries, already teleporting to spot. He squints through the haze and at first his heart drops to see nothing, but then there's movement in the corner of his vision, and there Obito is, safely in the hands of the last person he expects.

A long tan scarf flutters in the wind. Sukea smiles at Minato, shifting Obito until he's securely behind him.

The gaze Obito subjects the other man to is too large and disbelieving.

"You– you're here. You didn't–" the Uchiha stutters.

"Obito, focus," Minato warns, just as much for himself as it is for his student, because the enemy is still present and the battlefield is no place for wandering minds.

"Should I help?" Sukea offers. His fingers go through the sequences of a simple katon. The building chakra draws Minato's attention, jolting familiar tingles across the hairs of his skin.

It's the feel of Kakashi. Minato will never mistaken that.

He subjects Sukea to a fleeting glance.

Zetsu's attack suddenly pulls back.

"Mmm, that was close," Zetsu murmurs. "I'll play with you next time." Then there's an ominously deep chuckle as Zetsu slips back into the ground.

Sukea's chakra disperses into nothing, his target no longer present.

But Minato is not as merciful, driving a rasengan into the mossy ground in pursuit. Soil and grass kick up from the ground and tornado around them. A hint of white catches his eyes and an Anbu leaps into the fray to seize him.

A burst of a rapidly expanding tree shoots from the ground and barrels into the Anbu's stomach. The Anbu chokes from depleted breath while Zetsu slips past him. But Minato is not there for mere decoration. There's already a three-pronged kunai protruding from the ground beside the black and white being.

Minato twists his chakra, quickly reappearing before it. His hand darts out, hiraishin seal ready to tag–

"Get back!" Sukea shouts, and Minato reacts instinctively, trusting Kakashi's word.

He doesn't quite see what Zetsu had prepared to do, and it's already gone the second he turns back onto it. Minato curses silently to himself. He waves a hand and from the corner of his eyes, his Anbu only shake their head in response.

Zetsu is lucky this time.

With another gesture, Minato's Anbu spread out around them. The only three who remain are Obito, Sukea, and himself.

Obito hesitates, swallowing one breath after another. All care for the world is forgotten in favour of this brown-haired man. The Uchiha plants himself before the man and stares intently, as though trying to mentally substitute his hair colour for the correct shade of silver and to imagine a mask upon his open face.

Minato holds himself from crowding along with Obito, because who knows if that will cause Sukea to flee once more?

Sukea holds himself cautiously, light on his feet, eyeing them both.

"Why– why did you run away? Why are you back? Why did you wait so long before coming home?" Obito demands in a rush of words that jumble onto each other.

There's a noncommittal shrug as Sukea blinks wordlessly at him. Then, "I'm back now," he says, sounding too much like a question.

"Of course you are! I'll track you down across the country if I have to. You stupid jerk. I can't believe you tried to run." He chokes from the lack of air, because he's forgotten to breathe. "Kakashi. Kakashi, you idiot. Don't leave us again, please," Obito says, like those long, long months after Kakashi's sacrifice when Obito drifted aimlessly during the days, and screamed himself raw during the nights, with an arm reached out, hand grasping at nothing because Kakashi had long slipped through his feeble fingers. "It is Kakashi, right?" he murmurs because he is still so utterly quiet, and it's nothing like their teenage years fill of endless bickering.

But there really isn't a need to ask and nothing to confirm, because like Minato, Obito felt the familiar pull of Kakashi's chakra as Sukea had form his katon. They'd spent enough years together as teammates for Obito to be able to recognise Kakashi's chakra without a doubt.

Sukea exhales, posture dropping with it. But his eyes stays fixed to Obito's face while Obito stares back.

Lips pull up, and Sukea suddenly smiles, if a smile is like a grimace full of hesitance and uncertainty and unspoken confirmation. There's an aborted movement; a half step forward, a raised hand that extends out but still too far to reach.

Obito completes the motion for him, closing in.

"Kakashi," Obito breathes, thick. "You're alive." His arm stretches forward in the beginnings of an embrace, the tips of his fingers brushing against the solid form of his best friend.

Kakashi mirrors the motion, right hand extended—

—and then the whole world falls apart.

Minato sees the moment it changes; the moment Kakashi's muddled expression sharpens into something icy and jagged. The razor edges of his lips pull into a cruel smirk that sets his stomach curling. But by then it's too late, and Kakashi's approaching hand tenses and jabs forward, chakra flowing an afterimage in its speed.

The fingers rip through sinew and muscle and pale skin, as blood oozes down his arm, staining the green coat a muddy crimson colour. And while Obito is held tight by that skewered blow, stilled motionless in shock, Kakashi's left hand is already plunging unforgivingly towards Obito's single right eye, fingers curled ready to pluck out his prize.

In the far distance, a dog barks, and that's all Minato can hear.

a/n: Oh wow wow wow, the reviews and love for chapter one; I think that's the best response I've gotten for a fic, yet. You have no idea how much that means to me~ That's what makes writing and posting worthwhile!

(Also, anyone confused about the ending and can't wait for a proper explanation, re: that scene in canon involving Sakura and 'Neji' talking about Tonton.)