If Promises Could Be Kept

One

"The end of THE END is the best place to begin THE END, because if you read THE END from the beginning of the beginning of THE END to the end of the end of THE END, you will arrive at the end." --Lemony Snicket

It had never been a habit of Kakashi's to fret over his students. In fact, as soon as he'd first met the brats, he'd decided to only train them loosely-if that term even covered how poor a job he'd done in preparing them for ninja life. As they say, though, hindsight is twenty-twenty, and Kakashi would be the first to agree to that. Looking back, if he'd been a responsible teacher then his Number One Hyperactive Unpredictable Knuckleheaded Ninja wouldn't be lying in a pool of his own blood in the center of a battlefield that had already seen too much death.

Maybe that was unfair. Maybe Kakashi's teachings wouldn't have changed a thing, but who was he to say? If he turned his attention to the other rookie teams, almost all of them had lived to the bitter end-where they still inevitably died. That was the resounding problem: after everything that had just happened, after the violence and blood and death, after the anguished wails of the mortally injured, after the ruthless slaughter of an entire Hidden Village, all of it had been in vain. His last shreds of happiness were gone, blown away like a leaf in the wind that his old home had been so known for.

As Kakashi Hatake watched his comrades die around him, he allowed himself a rare moment of self-pity that, if you'd known him even casually, you'd have known was a foreign emotion on the man. For all his mistakes he'd always blamed himself and berated his own skills. After Obito "died" he visited the memorial stone as often as possible, believing the incident to be his own fault, which to this day he still accepted as truth. After he killed Rin with his own hands the self-hate had only intensified, and even worse after his sensei's death and the subsequent alienation of the blonde man's child.

He knew who he was. He was Kakashi Hatake: shitty teammate, stuck up prick, asshole, cold-blooded killer, and failure.

In this rare instance of self-pity he drew into himself. The fight was over, Naruto was dying, and he'd failed again to fulfill his sensei's wishes. The boy had killed Sasuke out of necessity or else Sakura would have been murdered, but afterward the light had left the blonde's eyes and Kakashi could do nothing to stop it. He knew all too well what that was like-what it was like to lose your innocence. His had been lost much earlier than Naruto's.

"Kakashi-sensei." Naruto's voice suddenly broke through the deafening silence of the dead, evaporating Kakashi's self-pity in an instant. It was weak and slightly raspy, but all the same carried plenty far enough for him to hear.

"Yes, Naruto?" Kakashi said jokingly. He used the same tone of voice he'd used back in Naruto's genin days when he was fed up with the hyperactive boy's loud boasts about his dreams to become Hokage. He knew that Naruto would recognize it for what is was and hoped that he'd at least crack a smile.

"If you could do it all again, would you?"

Of all the things Kakashi expected out of his student, that wasn't it. Then again, what did he expect from Konoha's most unpredictable ninja? All the same, the question gave him pause. Would he risk the fate of the world on the chance he could go back and fix things? Did he really believe himself able to play God? To manipulate people? Prevent people from dying? Obito, Rin, Minato-sensei, Kushina, Hiruzen, Guy, Sasuke, Sakura, the Rookie Nine, the Hyuugas, his father, the list went on and on of all the people he'd lost. He could end up ruining the future even more, though. And yet... there isn't really even a choice, is there? I couldn't live with myself if I knew I could save them.

"Yeah, I would Naruto," Kakashi finally replied, glancing at Naruto. Blood and dirt streaked through his blonde hair, which had grown out over the past year, and covered his face like a blanket of filth and bodily fluids that gave off the most horrendous smell. Not that anyone noticed it anymore. The smell of decaying bodies tended to cover up the otherwise overwhelmingly high concentration of iron permeating through the air, soaking clothing, dripping down a wayward soldier's face as his comrade cried over him. Death wasn't just sad, it was disgusting.

Leftover fires raged around them as if symbolizing the little life both of them had left. As if the flickering flames were as ready to go out as he was about to take his last breath. The truth was, though, that Kakashi wasn't all that concerned with dying anymore. His entire life had been a struggle to stay afloat, a struggle just to get up in the morning and not end it all right then and there. He honestly didn't know how many times he'd considered just killing himself-it seemed to be a regular occurrence-but every time he reminded himself that if he did nothing else with his sad excuse for a life, he'd be there for Minato-sensei's son. Unfortunately, look where that had gotten the boy.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said again, interrupted by a fit of coughing. "Kurama has a way for you to go back."

That threw him for a loop. Time travel? That wasn't possible, and yet... "How?" Is it too much to hope that I could change everything?

Obviously struggling, Naruto tried to sit up, coughing and hacking the whole way, until his arms gave out beneath him. The blood covering his entire person was coming from a mortal wound across his abdomen that was gushing blood at an alarming rate. "There's a seal... my right pocket... use Kamui... activate the seal... use most of your chakra." Every phrase was punctuated with coughing.

Kakashi got the idea. Carefully, so as not to jar Naruto and cause any more pain, he went through his student's right hip pouch until he came upon a newly drawn seal that meant absolutely nothing to him. But Naruto nodded and managed to get out a few words. "Promise me, Kakashi, that this future won't happen. No matter what has to change, promise me this won't be anyone's future."

"I promise. Do you have any idea how far back I'll go? Will I just be wandering through time or something?"

Naruto's small shake of his head seemed to be the equivalent of moving a mountain for all the strength he had left, and Kakashi felt himself tear up. The jonin hadn't cried since Rin's death, but he didn't even attempt to hold them back this time. He wasn't going to pretend he wouldn't miss Naruto, with his infectious smile, loud and boisterous personality, and hot-headed temper that you didn't want to be on the receiving end of. Naruto reminded him so much of Kushina that sometimes it hurt and he looked so much like the Fourth that part of the reason he never approached the boy was that he was afraid he'd break down at his teacher's Mini Me.

"Hopefully you'll end up in your childhood, but I don't-" Naruto was cut off by a fit of hacking that shook his shoulders and caused precious blood to bubble out of his wound. "Use the seal. Change the future. But I swear to God Kakashi, if you don't live your life I'll come back from the dead and travel in time just to beat your ass, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now suck yourself into Kamui and activate the seal at the same time. I'll use the last of my chakra to give you the extra boost."

Kakashi did as he was told and helped Naruto into a sitting position so that he could pour the last of his chakra into this final deed. It saddened Kakashi that his student's entire life had been one big sacrifice. From the moment of his birth, Naruto had to sacrifice everything-his family, his friends, his childhood, and now his life. It wasn't fair, and if Kakashi had anything to say about it he'd make sure this kid got the life he deserved. If that was the only thing he could change, he'd give Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze the life he'd always wanted-the life he'd always deserved.

Thinking he was supposed to suck him and Naruto into Kamui, Kakashi activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and sucked them both into the alternate dimension as each poured chakra into the seal. Light swirled around them in a cacophony of colors and shades, battering them with sensory overload. As Kakashi was about to black out, he heard Naruto's dying words.

"I'll see you again Kakashi, and you better not give me a reason to beat the shit out of you."