Time Travel for Dummies

Part 2

"Maa...meet me on the roof, I guess," he shrugged. That's what he'd said last time, right? Sage, that was so long ago...

---

When Kakashi first woke up, he'd found himself collapsed over the Memorial Stone, and for a few seconds he was sure he was dead—again.

The last thing he remembered was the enemy attempting to activate a—seal? jutsu?—something that was meant to "destroy their past selves," thereby preventing Team 7 from ever confronting them and trying to stop them in the first place.

It was a last ditch effort, an action taken in desperation and panic when they realized that they were going to lose.

And Team 7 couldn't let it happen.

They all jumped at the same time, and...

That's the last thing he remembers.

Whatever their enemy's jutsu was really supposed to do, it must have malfunctioned when Team 7 interrupted it.

Kakashi can't think of any other reason why a technique that was supposed to destroy their past selves would instead result in him seemingly being sent back in time to a point when the Memorial Stone still stood.

Nope, can't think of anything...

---

When the brats finally showed up Kakashi was disappointed to note that they were still being weird.

All three of them looked really stressed out for some reason. Naruto was hunched in on himself with his arms wrapped around his torso, but he didn't look scared. More...creeped out. Sakura and Sasuke both were staring intently at Naruto out of the corners of their eyes. They seemed...oddly panicked.

He...didn't want to know. But, he's almost certain that things weren't like this last time—Naruto was stupidly proud, Sakura was fawning over Sasuke, and Sasuke was sulking whilst trying his best to ignore everyone around him.

This...was not that. Hm.

"Alright," Kakashi started, desperately trying to remember his lines. Should he keep it the same? Could he even keep it the same? He could barely even remember what happened last time, much less match it perfectly. Maybe...should he try to be more open this time? Bond more with the kids? Maybe then, this time Sasuke won't...

"Yosh," he started again, "Why don't we get to know each other, ne? I'll start: My name is Hatake Kakashi, and I like, hm...I like eggplant and dislike anything fried or sweet. My hobby is reading. My dreams for the future, hm...for my loved ones to have long, happy lives."

Kakashi smiled. "Alright, now you guys."

. . .

Silence.

Kakashi opened his lone eye. The brats were...staring at him in horror. Hm. That's...an extreme reaction. He didn't think he'd said anything strange? Did they not like eggplant or something? Ah, that's right—don't most kids love fried and sweet foods? That must be it.

Can't think of any other reason, nope—

"Well?" Kakashi prompted.

The three genin shared a look of fear, and then seemed briefly confused that they'd all done so.

Kakashi coughed, "Maa...how about we start with you, Sakura?"

"Eh—? You know my name?!"

Ah, fuck—

"Of course. You think they wouldn't tell me that much when they assigned this team to me?"

Nice save.

"O-oh...alright, then...My name is Haruno Sakura. I...I like anko dumplings, and I dislike spicy food. My hobbies...I like memorizing information, everything from trivia to schoolwork. My dream...hm." Sakura thought for a second. "...world peace."

Kakashi blinked. That...was a noble goal. A very big one, too. Also, definitely not what she had said last time. He's not quite sure what she did say, but he's almost certain it involved Sasuke in some way. Hm...

"That's a good goal to have, Sakura. And you, Naruto?"

Naruto reluctantly unfolded himself. "I, uh...My name is Uzumaki Naruto, but you all know that already...I like ramen and I dislike uncooked vegetables...I like pulling pranks and watering my plants. Uh...my dreams...hm." Naruto frowned for a moment, then said slowly—in a far more serious manner than Kakashi would have expected—"My dream is to become Hokage, and to change Konoha for the better."

That...was also a nice goal, though he's not sure Naruto phrased it quite that way last time. Naruto was more...knuckleheaded as a kid. Less serious. Odd...

"Another admirable dream," Kakashi smiled, "and you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke stared. "Uchiha Sasuke. I like tomatoes; I don't like sweet things. My hobbies are training and taking walks. I don't have a dream...what I have is an ambition, because I will make it a reality—I will get justice for my clan, and no one will ever have to go through what I did—not ever again."

That's...hm. Not much different, although there was a peculiar lack of murder threats...odd.

"All great goals! And now that we've got that out of the way—meet me tomorrow morning at the third training ground. Don't eat, or you'll be sick. There we'll test if you're really ready to be genin—and if you fail, you go back to the Academy and you get to try again next year. Good luck!"

Poof.

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"Oi," said Naruto. "Did he...say when we were supposed to meet?"

"No."

"Hm. Ok."