Hiya! New chapter! :) This is the first update I've posted since changing my pen name. (starting a new fic doesn't count)

So anyway, I've changed my mind on something. Kakashi isn't 23-24. Instead he's 19. I did this because I decided to make it pre-massacre instead. :)

In any case, disclaimer and enjoy, folks!

Chapter Two

This is not where they were before.

Team Minato had been sent out on a scouting mission close to the border of Kusa, where the geography mostly consisted of sparse woods and knee- high grass. Now, they were in the midst of a full on forest, where the grass barely inched over their sandals, and the light level had fallen due to the canopy above. The scene in front of them had changed to become a blood splattered clearing, filled with the acrid scent of chakra based smoke and the metallic tang of blood.

Before them stood a shinobi in Konoha ANBU gear, kunai in hand and on guard. Though the kunai was lowered, Minato remained on guard as well.

"What is going on?" he repeated the question he'd asked when they'd first ended up here.

"State your names, rank, and registration numbers," the ANBU said in an authoritative tone.

"Er, Namikaze Minato, jounin, 006510," Minato said, then gave his team a 'look', and they also complied.

"Are you going to answer sensei's question now, ANBU-san?" Rin asked. "Do you know what's going on?"

The ANBU simply stared at her a moment, then shifted his gaze and spoke directly to Minato. "The answers are in the scroll at your feet, Namikaze-san," he said. "Don't worry, it's inert now, so it should be safe to handle."

Should be? Minato glanced down at his feet and saw that there was indeed a scroll there. Carefully, he picked it up, scanning the contents of the scroll, eyes going wide as he read. Something like this… Surely it wasn't…?

"This is… how is this possible?" he asked, mostly to himself, not focusing much on the ANBU before him as his mind swirled chaotically with the possibilities.

What he held in his hands was a time travel scroll! His eyes tore over the kanji, his mind whirling as he processed it. According to this, he and his team had travelled through time! But were they in the past, or future? Nothing he read was concrete in indicating either way, though it hinted this was the future. Couldn't be certain, because of how abstract it was. But then he spotted the portion that mentioned 'sacrifice', connecting it with all the blood around, and he swallowed a little unease.

"How was this activated?" he demanded, rolling the scroll back up and looking dead at where he guessed the ANBU's eyes were behind that mask of his.

"The scroll was in the possession of an enemy nin," the ANBU said. "He likely activated it before we started fighting, and as he and his comrades fell, the scroll sucked up their chakra. After that, I attempted to see if I could seal it into a storage scroll, as per regulations, only for the scroll to completely activate, bringing the four of you here."

Minato regarded the ANBU thoughtfully. "The scroll mentioned that it would bring someone close to the person who activates it," he said, remembering that bit. "At least one of us knows you, correct?"

The ANBU gave a short nod.

"What is going on?" Obito suddenly asked. "Sensei, what's in that scroll? How come we're not near Kusa anymore? Who is this guy? Why are we just standing around?"

Kakashi whacked Obito hard over the head, ignoring the boy's yelp of pain and subsequent glare aimed at him. "Moron," he said. "He's ANBU, can't you tell?"

"Stop it, both of you," Minato ordered before the two of them could get into one of their little spats, and he sighed. "It seems the four of us have travelled in time. Forward or backwards?"

That last bit he directed to the ANBU, who answered the way Minato suspected he would, "Forwards. About nine or ten years, I'd guess. Probably seven, by the looks of you."

"You'd guess?" Obito asked. "How come you don't know?"

The ANBU regarded him calmly. "Well, how old are you all then?" he asked. "Eleven? Ten? Going by that presumption, if you three are ten or eleven, then it's been eight years minimum, and a decade or so at the maximum."

"Time travel isn't possible," Kakashi spoke up. "It isn't. So what's really going on?"

"Kakashi!" Minato chastised.

"It's fine," the ANBU said. "He's only chuunin, after all. You don't get briefed on this kind of thing unless you're ANBU or the Hokage."

Kakashi looked chagrined at being called only a chuunin. "The scent of the blood is at least an hour old," he said. "You waited before activating the jutsu."

"…I gave enough time for my summon to reach Konoha, in case hostiles came through, and for reinforcements to be sent out," the ANBU said, looking Kakashi dead on.

The boy scoffed at the insinuation, but didn't respond. Minato turned back to the ANBU.

"How long will your backup be, then?" he asked.

"A little under an hour," the ANBU spoke. "Depending on who they send, and how fast they travel."

"You were so sure you'd be able to handle whoever came through?" Obito asked, a little disbelief in his voice. "Since you'd have to wait an hour. What if they'd really been enemies, and there'd been a ton?"

Minato had a feeling that their ANBU friend still would have been able to handle it, but he looked towards him, curious as to what he would say.

"If I couldn't handle it, I'd follow protocol and retreat until the backup did arrive. Besides, I do also have access to some extra backup that wouldn't take as long."

"More summons?" Minato guessed, and the ANBU nodded.

Suddenly Kakashi stiffened, and after a moment, the ANBU looked on guard as well. Rin and Obito looked confused, and Minato was as well, but after a moment, he realised. Someone was coming. But that someone wasn't human, he could tell. So, was this the ANBU's summons, headed back? They were close, close enough that Kakashi had likely caught a whiff of their scent, and that was why he'd stiffened. Or so Minato thought…

"Who are you?" Kakashi demanded of the ANBU. "Why do I smell Pakkun coming?"

"Pakkun?" Rin spoke. "Your summon? Why would he…?"

And it seemed to dawn on all of them right then, just who it was in front of them. Rin looked a bit terrified, likely for Kakashi, and everything that thought entailed. Obito looked like he was torn between chagrin and reluctant respect for his team mate. Kakashi himself looked like he was also torn, between pride and just a hint of worry. Minato himself was filled with concern as well.

Right then, Kakashi's summon Pakkun leapt into the clearing, landing at the ANBU's feet. "So this is who the scroll brought," he said in that ever gruff voice of his. "You doing okay, Boss?"

Minato looked over to the ANBU and asked, "Kakashi? Is that really you?"

The ANBU let out a sigh, pushing up his porcelain mask to the side and top of his head. "Yes, sensei," he said. "It's me."

So what did you think? Review please! :)