Kakashi regained consciousness and found himself in a bed under an off-white ceiling. Due to the lack of anesthetic smell, Kakashi figured that he was found by a non-enemy that was nursing him back to health in a private room rather than the dreaded hospital.

Suddenly, his stomach flipped and Kakashi felt bile rise up his throat. He attempted to get to a bathroom before he deposited the contents of stomach on his savior's bed. He threw his legs to the side of the bed, however, his legs didn't reach the floor as quickly as he thought they would and he fell down. Now sprawled on the floor, Kakashi looked at himself, noticed that his legs were a few inches shorter than usual and promptly threw up.

"What's going on?"he asked himself in wonder ignoring the vomit now stinking up the air around him. Kakashi desperately wanted a mirror now, wondering why he was suddenly smaller. He reached the bathroom nearby and looked at the mirror to see his face as a child staring back at him.

Kakashi visited his last memories in order to try and understand how this had happened. The last thing he remembered was Madara telling them the truth about the Uchiha clan, did he do something? That seemed the most likely scenario.

Kakashi immediately put his hands into the known seals to dispel any genjutsu, however, his shout of kai did nothing and Kakashi's dread grew. All he knew that he was reverted back to a child, possibly by Madara, the why and how escaped him.

Another question flitted into Kakashi's mind, was his adult body turned to that of a child or was his soul sent back in time. The minute he thought of that possibility he dispelled it, there is no such thing as going back in time, the idea sounded ridiculous to Kakashi. Kakashi headed back to the room he was in hoping to find some sort of a clue, however this time, he did not see a stranger's room, rather his own apartment before the Kyuubi had attacked.

The bed was situated under the window adorned with a blue kunai patterned comforter. His desk was facing opposite the bed; there were scrolls and paper strewn all over the surface in a messy bundle. A bookcase was standing next to it filled with books on top of books, some he collected while on missions outside of Konoha while others he had inherited from his father. The only thing that wasn't a reading object were two frames, the first was on his fifth birthday, his last before his father's suicide. A young and maskless Kakashi was smiling widely while sitting under a lush green tree, a present between his legs and Jiraya smiling even more brightly as he ruffled his new and only student's hair. The other was a picture of his old team seven whole and happy.

Still not able to wrap his head around the fact that he had time travelled, Kakashi picked up the calendar hung on the wall and noted that the date was twenty years ago. Although he felt that there was no explanation other than time travel, he remained skeptical. He rushed towards his bedroom window and peered out to look at the Hokage Monument, although the mountain was a bit far and it was getting dark, it was easy to see that the face of his beloved sensei was not on the stone. Armed with all this evidence, Kakashi couldn't help but conclude that he had travelled back in time.

A range of emotions swam through him, first of shock, then panic settled in, and nervousness. Was he given a second chance? But before he could get carried away, he needed to analyze the situation more thoroughly.

First things first, he needed to get cleaned up. He trudged to the bathroom where he keeps his cleaning supplies for as long as he can remember; took the needed tools, went back to the room, dropped down on all fours and started to wipe the liquid clean of the floor. After removing every bit of vomit, Kakashi went to grab some clean clothes. He noted that most of his clothes were plain grey, navy blue or black. Having picked out the needed clothing articles Kakashi headed to the bathroom and took an invigorating shower.

With that sorted out, he sat on his bed and got into a meditative pose. Although he knew he should probably start strategizing on next step; he couldn't help but allow his thoughts to always wander back to how this was possible. Many shinobi have tried to find a way to go back to the past or alter it, but they never succeeded. Ignoring the fact that travelling through time would probably kill a person and tear him to pieces, where did a person get enough chakra to pull it off. The nine tailed beasts where thought to be the only way if it were ever possible. Madara had seven of the beasts so he had the chakra. But that was about the only thing that fit. If Kakashi was right and he really was in the past, how he was able to travel here without dying was beyond him.

What bothered Kakashi the most, however, was why? Why had Madara cast such a jutsu on him? What did he hope to gain? Kakashi was now a threat to his plans so it was probably a mistake that he was sent here in the first place. Maybe Madara was experimenting with the idea, go back to the past and defeat the First Hokage so he can take over the world at an earlier time.

Also, there was the story of Itachi. Was what Madara said true? He remembered how shocked he was when the news that Itachi murdered his entire clan besides Sasuke spread. Kakashi and Itachi didn't have the deepest of bonds, but he was his junior when he first joined ANBU and they had worked together a couple of times after. Kakashi had trusted the young genius completely and could tell that Itachi was motivated by the Will of Fire. He was also one of the few Uchiha that believed him when he said that he didn't murder Obito for his eyes. That was why when Madara told the story; Kakashi could easily see the possibility of it being the truth. In all retrospect, it made more sense than the well-known version of the events. He needed to keep an eye on Itachi and the Uchiha Clan in order to make a viable assumption and protect Konoha.

Before Kakashi could continue down that train of thought, he felt a presence near him and snapped his eyes open to find himself face to face with his not-dead sensei. Kakashi was overcome with emotion. He wanted to cry, to hug the man, to shout at him for using a sealing jutsu that took his life, but knew he had to resist. Minato was looking at his student with worry etched all over his face. The last time Kakashi saw his sensei alive was when he was told that they were naming their son Naruto. Kakashi had given his sensei a skeptical look at the name but his sensei was adamant. Minato proceeded to tell him that his name wasn't any better and Kakashi told him that it wasn't his fault his parents named him 'Kakashi'. He mock begged his sensei to save the child from bearing such a name and saving him from the future insults that were sure to come, making his sensei laugh out loud. That laugh was Kakashi's favorite memory of the man he looked up to more than anyone else. He vowed to make sure that this time around, Minato would be able to watch his son grow and that Naruto would have a family.

The thought of Naruto sent a pang through his heart. His students weren't born yet, and any changes he made on the timeline would impact them in ways he couldn't even fathom. Would they still be the same children he had come to love and adore. Before he could spiral into despair at the thought, Minato's voice cut through the wave of emotions.

"Kakashi, are you alright?" Minato questioned his student, his concern growing at the sight of his students' eyes swimming with too many emotions with a glance.

"I'm fine" Kakashi nodded masking his emotions."What are you doing here, Minato sensei?"

"You didn't show up for training today," Minato reminded him worry increasing as he recognized Kakashi's gaze close up at the question "That's not like you."

"I'm just a little tired today," Kakashi replied glad that there wasn't' another Kakashi wandering around; something he never even considered.

"Are you sure you aren't sick or anything," Minato inspected Kakashi carefully. His replies were so calm, did he imagine the range of emotions? Maybe Kakashi was just tired and surprised by his presence? "because when you're sick or injured I have to drag you off to rest."

"I know when I can't train," Kakashi replied in monotone "a ninja must learn how to take care of their bodies. Those others time you were worried over nothing"

"So that time you had a broken wrist you thought you were fit for training?" Minato asked in amusement as he made his way towards the desk chair, flipped it around and sat down in front of the bed.

"I was running," Kakashi complained remembering that incident all too well and he still thought he was right after all the years that had passed, "What do my legs have to do with my wrist?"

Minato rolled his eyes not wanting to get into this debate with his student once more. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Slightly," Kakashi nodded. He didn't want to worry his sensei, but he needed some time to sort through his thoughts before he was forced to interact with his dead teammates once more. Yet I can tell it's not anything serious so don't worry. I'll be fit for training and missions as soon as possible."

Just sitting here, talking to Minato casually was proving to be difficult. Moreover, he felt the least amount of guilt when it came to his sensei's death. Obito and Rin? The guilt may be too much for him to hide away without processing this turn of events properly.

"When you say that I worry even more" Minato commented offhandedly.

"Well, you shouldn't" Kakashi replied resolutely "I can take care of myself just fine."

"Sure you can," Minato answered in order to amuse him, yet Kakashi knew that Minato sensei didn't believe that for a second. Not that he can blame him since he knew that he was terrible at managing his health. Sure he ate his greens, in fact he was a great cook, but when it came to sleep, taking it easy after injuries and not pushing oneself, Kakashi was and still is hopeless. Shizune complained about it all the time.

"What did I miss?" Kakashi asked curiously, wondering at which level his teammates and himself were at in this point of time.

"Since you weren't there we worked on Obito and Rin's sneaking abilities. Yours are already advanced so you didn't miss anything," Minato informed him.

"Thanks," Kakashi nodded grateful that Minato didn't let him lose out on any training.

"You're welcome," Minato nodded surprised a bit by the show of gratitude and Kakashi reprimanded himself silently, he needed to keep up appearances and stick to his younger self's personality before slowly changing to his current one "Are you sure you are ok, maybe it's best if you get checked out at the hospital?"

"How many times do I have to say it sensei," Kakashi sighed in fake annoyance "I'm fine, never better, healthy as ever, need I go on?"

"Did you eat well?" Minato asked a smile itched on his face at Kakashi's reply. Kakashi hesitated to reply to the question, but if he wanted to get out of training tomorrow he needed to set the right tone on his current wellbeing, "Considering I vomited in the morning, no I did not."

Minato narrowed his eyes before getting out of the chair, grabbing Kakashi's hand and marching him towards the kitchen. Kakashi just smiled behind his making, seeing his doting sensei once more was starting to prove too much for him to mask.

"Sit down and I'll make you some chicken soup" Minato ordered once he entered the kitchen. He ran around the kitchen gathering the needed appliances and ingredients and began to cook.

"I thought you didn't know how to cook," Kakashi pointed out remembering Kushina being furious at him once for almost burning down the kitchen. Kakashi was an excellent cook, but he rarely shared that skill. Obito and Rin knew due to that one time they stalked him when he was fishing but he had never shared a cooked meal with them afterwards. He also never cooked during missions, so he knew that his sensei wasn't aware of that particular talent.

"I can cook simple food," Minato told him "Pasta, soup, eggs, rice… that sort of thing."

"Are you sure because I don't want to get food poisoning, sensei" Kakashi replied cheekily "My stomach is already upset"

Minato startled at the joke as it wasn't typical of Kakashi. That said, he wasn't surprised that Kakashi's brand of humor was slightly scathing. However, Minato simply smiled reassuringly as he stirred the pot's contents. After five minutes, Kakashi decided it was better to be safe than sorry so he walked towards his sensei and peered into the pot to make sure it really was acceptable to eat. "Looks good, I guess I'll trust you then."

"I'm honored" Minato deadpanned, "Go grab a bowl."

Kakashi started to make his way towards the cupboard but forgot where he put the bowls. He got it on the second try so Minato didn't think much of it much to Kakashi's relief. He made a grab towards a bowl but stopped, "Do you want to eat too, sensei?"

Minato stopped in surprise for a second not having thought about whether he had wanted some before nodding his head. Kakashi grabbed two bowls and two spoons and set them on the table.

Minato turned off the stove, set the pot on the table, grabbed the bowls and served hot soup to the both of them. Kakashi took of his mask and began drinking the soup almost immediately.

Minato chuckled as he had some himself "Not hungry, huh?"

"I never said I wasn't hungry," Kakashi noted after swallowing "I just didn'twant to upset my stomach further."

"Eat up well then" Minato smiled as he reached out to ruffle his hair before he took another mouthful of soup. Kakashi missed the gesture so didn't bother moving out of the way but did mention his 'annoyance' like he knew he would've done.

"So the only reason you didn't come to practice was because you threw up?" Minato asked skeptically.

"No, it was because I was nauseous to the point of vomiting," Kakashi replied honestly.

"Maybe you should go to the hospital if you were so nauseous that it made you put off practice for a day," Minato suggested clearly still worried.

Kakashi grimaced visibly at the mention of the hospital, "No way, as long as I'm not dying I'm not stepping foot in that place. They'll keep me there for a week if they could. With just one more day of rest I'll be fine."

"Right, I forgot about your fear of hospitals," Minato hummed.

"I'm not afraid, I just don't like hospitals they're too clean," Kakashi muttered.

"Nope, not afraid at hospital at all," Minato chirped cheerfully as he helped Kakashi clean up. Kakashi just rolled his eyes but didn't bother to reply once more. "I'll be going now, make sure you let your body rest tomorrow and if you still aren't feeling well by the day after, let me know."

"So you can send me to the hospital," Kakashi completed the unspoken words for his sensei and gave him a knowing look, but before his sensei could reply he continued "I'll be fine regardless so it doesn't matter."

"Alright, I'll see you in two days for training," Minato nodded "Rest up well."

"Will do, good night sensei," Kakashi bid his sensei farewell. Once the door closed Kakashi sagged on the floor in relief. It was too difficult to keep his emotions in check.

Despite only waking up recently, he already felt drained, but luckily it was already the evening. Chalking up to time travel effects, Kakashi climbed up on his bed and lay down, his head swimming with thoughts, his heart aching terribly. He wondered whether he would wake up tomorrow and that this would all just be a dream. As he closed his eyes, he sincerely hoped it was. He wanted to go back to his old life. It was selfish, but he now had his students, his new life. He didn't want to start over.

Walking up the next day, the first feeling that washed over him was trepidation.

"I dreamt I was in the past," Kakashi muttered to himself, "I dreamt that I was in the past…". But alas, before he opened his eyes, he knew that he was still short based on where his feet felt the blanket, thus still a child.

The feeling of losing his students was stronger today. Naruto and Sakura were his family, but if he were truly in the past, those bonds will never be forged the same way, his students will not be the same.

He wanted to stay in bed, wanted to ignore that he was in the past. But Kakashi knew that it was futile, if he were truly in the past then he had a responsibility to build a better Konoha for everyone he loved. Minato, Kushina, Obito, Rin… he couldn't let their fate end the same way.

His thoughts then trailed to his father, whom he would not be able to save. Suddenly he recalled that his father was waiting, waiting to apologize before being able to move on to the afterlife. Kakashi needed to tell him he was forgiven. He didn't know if his dad's soul still moved on regardless of timeline, but after talking to him when Pain killed him, he knew he could not leave it to chance.

With that task motivating him, he quickly got dressed, and realized how clumsy walking felt. He won't go banging into anything, but he needed to adjust his thinking to his new height. His chakra also felt peculiar, he naturally had more control over his lower chakra levels, but his physical energy had reverted to a child, causing an imbalance.

Kakashi tagged it as something to work on after visiting his father and left his house. The streets were relatively empty at these early hours. The streets were familiar, although some of the shops had changed over the years, one of which was a modest flower shop on the way to the cemetery. He passed by the shop and purchased some lilies to place at his father's grave; it didn't feel right going empty handed.

As he entered the cemetery and made his way to his father's resting place, he could sense Tsunade's chakra signature in the direction of the Sarutobi clan's section. It was second nature for him by now to lightly scan for chakra signatures around him constantly.

Casting a glance at the direction, he could see her sitting on the ground, head bowed in despair. It was a sight he was also used to as he had often found her in the cemetery when he came to visit his dad in the past as well.

Focusing on his quest to give his father peace, he continued to his grave "Hello father," Kakashi greeted as he placed the lilies in the small potholders on each side of the tombstone.

"I'm not sure if you're still tethered to this world, or if you remember saying our final farewell back when I died," he spoke lightly "but I wanted you to know that I forgive you, just in case. When you committed suicide it hurt me deeply, but I understand why you did it dad. Friends are precious," he smiled softly

"I found great friends too. Do you remember Gai from the academy, the one who failed but trained hard? Well, he kept challenging and we ended up becoming friends. He was the lone constant in all of what I faced in life. I owe him a great deal. I have my students too. It'll be hard to reforge those friendships and bonds now that I somehow wound up in the past, they may never be the same, but I'll learn how to deal with that. That's one thing I'm good at," Kakashi scoffed "dealing with all the hardship that's been thrown my way over the years."

"Anyway, I will protect them this time, no matter what the rules say," Kakashi promised "I will protect them, like you did. I'm proud of you father… proud to call myself your son. I hope you can move on because I'll be more than fine." Kakashi moved to brush the top of the tombstone gently.

After pausing for a few seconds, Kakashi took a deep breath, lifted his head up to the sky as the first rays of the morning shined down upon him and he smiled brightly, "you can go now dad, you can go be at peace."

He had nothing more to say after that but stood there in silent prayer. Peace… yes he was at peace as well. At least when it came to his father, he still had no idea how he was going to approach time traveling of all things. Fate loved to mess with him.

After around half an hour, he decided to do some light training to get used to his new body a little. As he moved away from his father's tombstone, he could still sense Tsunade's chakra and his legs froze.

In the three years that Tsunade was Hokage, she and Kakashi had developed a bond. He was never clear on what type of bond they shared, a mix of respect, friendship, mentorship and trust. Seeing her right now and knowing the depression that clings to her, he couldn't just walk away and do nothing.

It took her years, until she met Naruto, to finally cast the sadness shackling her spirit away. He would now let her wallow in this misery for all these years, not this time. Resolved, he picked up the flowers he got for his dad, split them into two batches, took one with him and walked towards her.

She didn't acknowledge his presence until he was nearly standing next to her. She lifted her head to look at him, her face washed with grief but also annoyance at being disturbed. Kakashi did not answer her silent question of why he was there, simply placing the lilies into the flowerpots next to Nawaki's grave, which were previously empty.

He brought his hands together and prayed for the young boy's spirit before turning to face Tsunade.

"Are you trying to get me to perform a medical procedure or something," she snarled.

"No," Kakashi shook his head "I see you here all the time, always alone, and always giving out an aura of immense grief. I… I just wanted to… I'm sorry for your loss." Clearly, he didn't have Naruto's social skills, that sounded pathetic even to his own ears. He was struggling to think of what to say next, but Tsunade beat him to it.

"You're Sakumo's kid?" she asked curiously, her anger disappearing.

"Yes, Kakashi," he nodded.

"How old are you?" she asked.

"Eleven," he replied but mentally corrected himself to thirty which felt incredibly weird.

"Nawaki was twelve," she spoke almost to herself "too young. You're also too young, to be on the battlefield."

"I was six years old when I first killed someone," the words just came out and he almost regretted them instantly. Tsunade seemed to want to comment but Kakashi continued before she could, "Since then I've killed hundreds. I used to keep count, but after a while it made no sense to. They would just haunt me, and ninjas are supposed to be unfeeling tools. But…. I've killed children too, some my age, some older, some younger… so many children have lost their lives on all sides of the war," the words were now coming to him naturally, and he knew what Tsuande needed to hear. "My father's suicide still haunted me then too, and I was angry. Angry at Iwa, angry at Konoha, and I felt very tired."

"For a while I didn't even know why I was fighting," Kakashi then turned to look at Tsunade eye to eye "it took me a while but I found what keeps me going. The first Hokage, he made Konoha to protect children. But a few generations down and look at where we're at. Children still fighting, dying, mourning. We're very far from the Konoha he imagined," Tsunade looking down at him with understanding as he continued.

Kakashi's eye then shifted to determination, "I want to change that, I want to protect the future children of Konoha. So that future children don't have to be thrown in a war, used as tools. Don't have to fight, to kill, to die, to mourn, to lose their innocence. They can just be children, something I never had the chance to really be, and not just in Konoha but all villages. So that there won't be more sacrifices like Nawaki kun. I don't know how to do it, but I'll have to be strong, strong enough to get everyone to listen," he ended his speech, his ears slightly red from embarrassment. He wasn't used to giving speeches like that.

However, his words truly came from the heart and weren't spontaneous, it was this drive that kept him going after Minato had died. His sensei wanted to create a brighter future after losing Obtio and Rin, and Kakashi fought for the same cause. He didn't want to see sacrifices like Obito and Rin either. When he introduced himself to Team 7, he never wanted to share his dream. But seeing them bickering and introducing themselves in a childish manner made him feel that the world was one step closer. He was the defender from the shadows, so that the future children could be the light.

Tsunade was clearly moved by his words, "Are you aiming to be Hokage?"

"Mah, no not really," Kakashi looked uncomfortable and scratched the back of his hand nervously, "Hokages need to be the guiding light… the sun so to speak, I fit better in the shadows. I'll play my part."

Tsuande let out a small murmur of a laugh before tousling his hair, "Your spirit is strong, Kakashi. For the future children, yes…. that sounds right," she smiled sadly and caressed Nawaki's name lightly.

"To think, a child of your age saying these words, we have failed your generation," she sighed and fidgeted with her necklace, "Konoha has failed so many children, I'm sorry."

"Everyone is doing their best, each hidden village is fighting for those they love," Kakashi shook his head in disagreement, "it's this system that's failed. The system needs changing. There's nothing that can be done about the past, so we just have to keep moving forward."

"Moving forward isn't always easy," she replied.

"No it isn't," Kakashi agreed.

Silence ascended upon them, and they could hear the light sounds of other people visiting their family. There were birds singing to one another and a light rustle in the wind was making the leaves dance. It really was a peaceful morning.

"You should get out of here, this isn't where you should be spending all your morning," Tsunade spoke up again after a few minutes have passed with Kakashi standing in vigil next to her.

"I'm fine here," Kakashi reassured.

"I'm serious brat, go, I'm fine. I just want to spend a few minutes alone, to think on things," Tsunade insisted. Kakashi shifted from one foot to the other not wanting to leave but not wanting to argue.

"Go," Tsunade repeated resolutely so Kakashi felt it was time leave. He started walking away and after a few feet she spoke again, "become the sun, Kakashi."

Kakashi's eyes widened not expecting Tsunade to say something like that, she was younger and different than her old self despite looking the same so it was easy to feel like he was talking to his Tsunade.

"So should you," Kakashi replied and started walking away before she could interject. He heard her scoff but had nothing more to add. He had laid the foundation for Tsunade to break free of her despair. She had always said that Naruto gave her the inspiration to protect Konoha again, seeing the determination and his will of fire moved her. He knew he couldn't move people to change their whole world view and outlook on life quickly as Naruto did, but he planted the seeds.

"Become the sun," he thought to himself, "that sounds right. But I apologize from now Tsunade sama, I won't be the sun. Minato sensei, Obito… they can inspire and bring hope. I will continue working in the shadow to help them shine brightly this time," Kakashi's resolve was engraved in his heart.

After that, he grabbed some lunch for later and spent the rest of the day doing katas in an old training ground that nobody really used, slowly getting used to this new body. It was awkward at first but by the end of the day it started feeling more natural. But getting involved in an actual fight would be difficult. He wished he could spar with a shadow clone, but his chakra levels were lower as a child, and he did not want to risk chakra exhaustion with the current imbalance either.

Staring up at the sky and watching the sun start to set, he knew he had one more task for today, and he wasn't looking forward to it all. Knowing that it was unwise to put it off, he made his way through the roofs of Konoha, watching as some store owners started shutting down for the day. Eventually, he stopped at a roof that allowed him to hide himself from view but still have eyes on a familiar path from his childhood and waited.

The more the minutes passed, the more Kakashi felt like bolting. He could feel his heart pounding, taking deep breaths to calm down, only for the pounding to resume after a while. He closed his eyes on concentrated in his breathing, deep breath… one, two, three… exhale. One, two, three, four, five… exhale.

"I was awesome today!" a voice cut through his meditation and Kakashi reluctantly opened his eyes, "Minato sensei kept finding me, but my time was getting so much better! I'm going to become a sneaking master at this rate."

Obito. Young and smiling widely. Not a care in the world. Kakashi's breath hitched once more, before coming in short gasps as an immense wave of guilt washed over him.

"I thought you wanted to stand out," Rin laughed, and Kakashi didn't even know how it was possible, but seeing Rin was worse… much worse. He staggered back, moving away from the ledge so he didn't have to see them as he heard their conversation below.

As Kakashi tried to calm down, their voices started to sound farther and farther away, not because they were moving faster away, but because images filled his head.

His hand stabbing Rin through the heart…. her blood flowing freely, the smell of burnt skin as his Chidori burnt her body. Rin, calling out his name, louder and louder, angrier and angrier… It was a recurring nightmare, but now it assaulted his reality. Obito accusing Kakashi of failing to protect Rin. It was too much.

Their voice eventually faded away completely as Obtio and Rin turned a corner and got lost in the bustle of Konoha's active evening streets.

At that moment, Kakashi allowed himself to rest his back on a small wall which housed the roof's door, spreading one leg wide and placing his hand over his face as he tried to control himself. It was much harder than expected, to see them. He focused on his breathing once more, slowly settling down as the light dusk breeze danced across his face.

"How can I face them tomorrow?" Kakashi thought anxiously. Part of him wanted to run to away, but he immediately buried those feelings. Resolutely, he pulled himself back up and jumped through the roofs once more. His panic attack was around five minutes, based on their pace he could easily catch up with them again. He had to do this. "If I come to the training grounds tomorrow and panic like I did now, they'll probably think I'm mad."

He managed to find them again, and he was grateful that this time he didn't feel like the whole world was crashing all around him. His chest felt heavy, his breathing constricted, but he was in control this time. He kept following them discretely and listening to their inane chatter. Around the corner, up the hill, across from the fruit stands.

Every time he felt it became too much, he would stop briefly, close his eyes, collect himself, and follow again. By the time Rin and Obito wished one another a good evening and went their separate ways, Kakashi was able to watch them without panicking and falling into despair. While by no means had he gotten over the guilt and immense sadness, he was certain he would be able to mask his emotions tomorrow without giving anything away.

Mentally and emotionally exhausted, Kakashi made his way back to his apartment for some rest. It took him a while before he could finally sleep, his thoughts keeping him up through most of the night.