When Kakashi opened his eyes, there was sunlight. It felt like a dream, the battlefield. He could still smell the acrid, stale smell of death and ashes. He could still feel the grime and dirt clinging to his skin, to his hair. Looking down, he realized there was no blood on his clothes, no gashes on his chest. There were no tears and rips to his uniform, no singe marks decorating his hair. He was healthy and whole. The world was back to normal. The kids he'd come to care for, come to love, were gone.

Birds chirping outside his window reminded Kakashi of his current predicament. There were no birds on the battlefield, barely anything

living

remained there. But here, in the past, everything is still alive. All his comrades, all the kids, everyone is still

here

.

Kakashi sat up, eyeing the calendar above his dresser. They said they were aiming for the chuunin exams. A bright red circle around the current date proved they overshot by a few months. Today was the day Kakashi met his new genin and found three new people to die protecting.

This time he wouldn't mess it up. He wouldn't let their sacrifice be in vain.

He got out of bed and took a shower. There was no blood, no marks, to signify he was in a war, but Kakashi still scrubbed his skin raw trying to rid himself of them. The shower spray washed over him; the water so hot it was turning his skin red. He tilted his head back, letting the burning water hit his face. The memories wouldn't burn away, the visions of his comrades dying, of his one-time best friend being who brought this all on wouldn't leave him.

Obito.

Could he save him this time? Could he reach him in time?

He kept that thought in his head as he stepped out of the shower and continued to get ready for the day. He had a lot of thinking to do, a lot of planning to do. But, he needed to get to the academy to 'meet' his students for right now. This time around he wouldn't stop at the memorial and talk to a ghost that wasn't there. He wouldn't lament his woes to a man who still existed.

The world moved around him in slow motion. People going about their lives as if the world wouldn't end in a few years. He shook the thoughts away and continued walking, not stopping until he was at the academy doors. Umino Iruka met him outside, a smile on his face.

'Your three are waiting for you in the classroom. You're not as late as I thought you'd be. '

Kakashi had to laugh. Iruka always had a way with those of a higher rank than himself. Just because he never became more than a chuunin didn't mean he was weak. He had something a lot of other people didn't. He had a

presence.

Iruka demanded respect from jounin the way he demanded it around his students. And, for the most part, he got it. He'd earned it.

Hell, none of them had signed up to teach classrooms full of children with dangerous ninja tools. They'd never handled them before but they had the bravado of someone who did. The number of scars the chuunin had from some academy students who missed their targets was numerous.

If there was one thing Kakashi could do,

had

to do, was keep up appearances. 'What am I in for? ' He did, after all, have to pretend he'd never met these kids before.

Iruka looked him over for a moment as if assessing how much to tell him. 'Well, you already know you have Uchiha Sasuke. He doesn't talk much but is always listening, taking everything in. Hasn't awakened the Sharingan yet. He's a quick learner, definitely a prodigy. Haruno Sakura is second. She's book smart. Her physical grades weren't the best, but her mental rivaled Sasuke. She's a pre-teen girl, though. Boys are all that's on her mind. ' Here he paused, choosing his next words carefully. Of all his kids, Naruto was the most important to Iruka. 'The last one you have is Uzumaki Naruto. I...I know you have... a history with - but don't hold that against him. He's had it rough his whole life. '

'Iruka. ' Kakashi had to stop him. He had to keep Iruka from thinking he would do anything less than take care of the boy. 'I don't hold what happened against him. He was an infant. Naruto didn't do anything wrong. '

Seemingly calmed down, Iruka nodded. 'He competes with Sasuke. They're rivals. When you're teaching him something, he learns better by doing than by reading it or being lectured. As a matter of fact, don't lecture him. He will tune you out. ' With a glance back in the building, Iruka sighed. 'I guess this is where I hand them off to you. '

Kakashi nodded, scratching the back of his head. If he'd gotten to the academy earlier last time, thought to ask about his kids then, would that have changed anything? As it was, he needed to mentally prepare himself to walk into that classroom. 'I'll take over from here. You'll still know what's going on when you go on ramen dates with Naruto. '

Iruka laughed. 'True. ' He moved out of the way, letting Kakashi inside. 'They're just kids, Kakashi. Remember that. '

Oh, how he remembered that.

Kakashi walked slowly down the corridor, his feet feeling like lead and his head full of memories. It looked the same as it did back then. The same paint peeling on the walls, pictures from the smaller kids decorating the hallways. Same nameplates above the door, same teachers in the same rooms. Taking a deep breath, Kakashi let his senses flare out. Three small chakra presences stood out in front of him. Three young kids who were only a small piece of what they could be. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.

Naruto didn't have the time to set up the chalk eraser trap. They hadn't waited nearly as long in that lonely room as they had last time. Instead, they were all waiting in separate areas. Naruto was writing something rude on the chalkboard. Sasuke sat with his hands steepled in front of his chin. Sakura stood somewhere in between them, not sure what to do with herself.

'Yo. ' Kakashi got their attention. 'I'm Hatake Kakashi, your jounin sensei for Team 7. '

Three sets of eyes were on him in an instant, all sizing him up and trying to figure him out. He allowed it for a moment before turning and walking away, waiting to hear them follow. Follow they did, after a beat. Their footsteps fell in line behind him, Naruto chattering to Sakura, who kept shushing him. Sasuke, as usual, said nothing.

A small garden on the roof of a neighboring building is where Kakashi had taken them last time. No one else came there at this time of day when the sun was highest in the sky. He took a seat on the banister, motioning for the three kids to take a seat. As before, Sasuke sat in the middle of the three, looking as disinterested as a twelve-year-old can. Naruto fidgeted to his left, constantly adjusting his headband and wiggling in place. Then there was Sakura, on Sasuke's right, cheeks red as she took in her crush. It was so nostalgic, Kakashi had to take a moment to just breathe.

'Say, Kakashi-sensei, what are we doing now? ' Naruto broke through his thoughts with his loud, boisterous voice.

He'd almost forgotten how attention-starved the boy was. The Naruto he'd left behind wasn't nearly as starved for attention, especially since the fight with Pein had people begging to be around him. But this young boy was starved of common human contact, and, that, he could change right now.

'We are going to introduce ourselves. ' He spread out his arms. 'I, for example, am Hatake Kakashi. I'm a jounin who used to be in the Anbu. My hobbies are reading and learning new jutsu. My dislikes are people who don't care for their comrades. My goal is to train you kids into powerful shinobi. ' He pointed at Naruto. 'Your turn, blondie. '

'I'm Uzumaki Naruto! ' He graced them with a beaming smile. 'My hobbies are eating ramen and playing pranks. My dislikes are the three minutes it takes for ramen to cook and people who are mean to other people. My goal is to become Hokage! '

The jounin kept his composure enough to point at Sakura. He wasn't ready for Sasuke, yet.

She fisted her hands in her skirt. 'Haruno Sakura. My hobbies are...my goals are... '

Kakashi interrupted her before she started squealing. 'Iruka-sensei told me you had the highest grade of all the kunoichi in your class. He also said you have amazing chakra control. '

Sakura blushed. 'Um, yeah. I guess. '

'As part of your training with me, I'm going to push you to use your strengths. Have you thought about becoming a medic? ' She tilted her head in thought. 'Think about it, Sakura. '

She nodded and Kakashi pointed at Sasuke.

'Uchiha Sasuke. I don't have any hobbies. I don't really like or dislike anything. My goal...or ambition, I guess, is to kill a certain man. ' He never moved other than his mouth as he talked. The other two just stared at him.

Kakashi, however, had time to learn how to handle a brooding Sasuke. If he hadn't been so caught up in his grief the first time around, he would have seen this for what it was. A cry for help.

Pushing himself off the railing, Kakashi walked over to Sasuke. He placed a hand on the young boy's head, ruffling the hair, much to Sasuke's disdain. 'When you're ready, we need to talk about that man. ' Sasuke's whole body shifted to look at Kakashi's face. 'I think there are some things you should know. ' As much as Kakashi didn't want to have this conversation, as much as he knew it would hurt the boy, he knew it had to be done. Sasuke deserved to know the truth as much as Naruto deserved to know the truth about his past.

'What do you know? '

Kakashi nodded. 'In time, Sasuke, I will tell you. For now, we need to make sure you pass my exam tomorrow morning. '

Before Sasuke could say anything else, Naruto was up off the step and in front of Kakashi.

'Hey, hey! Sensei! What do you mean by a test tomorrow? We already passed our genin test! ' Again, the glaring fact that Naruto was ignored his entire life practically slapped the jounin in the face. The kid put himself in front of people, being loud and in their faces to keep their attention. It made something cold settle in Kakashi's chest. A glimpse of the Naruto he'd left behind appeared before him. It solidified his promise to change the way this timeline panned out.

With his hands on Naruto's shoulders, Kakashi leaned down to show the kid he had his full attention. Immediately, Naruto settled down, melting into the friendly contact. 'You may have passed Iruka's test, but as your jounin sensei, I'm giving you another one. '

'But, why, sensei? ' Sakura had scooted herself over closer to Sasuke, who had turned his body toward Kakashi.

'So I know what your strengths and weaknesses are. ' The three kids exchanged glances. 'Go home and prepare. I'll see you at five tomorrow. Don't eat breakfast, you'll just throw it up. '

He flickered away, just far enough to be out of sight but close enough to still hear them talk. The last time he'd gone off to Obito's grave, telling him about the kids. This time he wanted to know what they did. Immediately, Naruto asked Sakura to go for ramen with him. She turned him down rather harshly before practically pasting herself to Sasuke's side, begging for him to do something with her. Sasuke ignored her completely and just walked away, hands in his pockets and head down.

The three departed. Sasuke likely heading toward his apartment. A crestfallen Sakura pushed past Naruto and stomped off toward her house. Naruto stayed behind a while, his head down and hands fisted at his sides. Then, after a moment, picked his head back up, shook himself off, and began walking toward Ichiraku.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head as he watched his kids go separate ways. 'One more day of being alone, kids. We will be a family tomorrow. '