D3ath: Okay, I know, this is terrible, but I really couldn't help it! The plunny just kept gnawing at my brain until I started writing it down! I just had to write a new story! But I hope you guys enjoy! I don't really like Naruto's plot, but I love the characters, so I'll be tweaking things along the way.

Disclaimer: NO.

Guard Duty for a Ghost

By D3athrav3n92

Chapter 1

It was rather startling to see him standing at the memorial stone with such an expression on his face. It was somber, solemn, and for once, he wasn't even crying like he usually did. He was dressed in black slacks, shoes, and the traditional black, long-sleeved shirt that most shinobi wore, instead of his usual blue outfit, and his goggles were nowhere in sight.

He looked up, frowning at the sky. "It's one of the saddest days of my life, and it has to be sunny?" he murmured, glaring in the general direction of the sun. Slowly, he brought his gaze back down, and mismatched eyes stared at a name on the memorial stone, one of them a gray-filled black and watering slightly, the other pitch black. The young teen reached up, and rubbed at the gray one carefully, not wanting to irritate it further. He winced slightly, and brought his hand back down, his eyes never moving from one name:

Hatake Kakashi.

It made him angry. Kakashi wasn't supposed to die, he was a Jounin! He was the best out of them, and if anyone were to die, it'd be him, Obito! The "Failure of the Elite Uchiha Clan" as the silver-haired bastard had once put it.

Uchiha Obito ground his teeth in frustration. Dammit, it was all his fault that Kakashi had died. If he hadn't pushed Obito out of the way of that large boulder, he would be still alive. It would have been Obito that had died, not Kakashi. Obito was scowling tremendously as he thought of this. He owed his life to the bastard, with absolutely no way to pay him back.

"Obito-kun?" Obito blinked and looked to his right, all angry thoughts dispersing. Rin stood beside him, a sad expression on her face. She wore a slim, black dress that fit her very well, but Obito didn't pay attention; he was more focused on the small, weak smile that she presented him. Even if it looked more like a grimace, it still made Obito smile slightly in return before he turned his gaze back onto the memorial stone.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly, her voice wobbling slightly.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"And how's your eye? Is it okay?" Ah, the inner medic in Rin was coming out. He knew better than to say it wasn't bothering him. Medic nins didn't take to lying very well, especially if the liar was their patient.

"It still stings a little," he admitted, reaching up again and rubbing at it. He didn't mind having Kakashi's half-blind eye. It was better than having both of his eyes intact and Kakashi not being able to see in his last, final moments. And, ironically, the eye, after it had recovered from the cut, wasn't totally blind like everyone thought it would be. The eye wasn't as good as his normal one (if he closed his right eye, everything was hazy and dark), but he didn't care. He still gave Kakashi a gift, and that's what mattered.

Rin fell silent, staring at Kakashi's name on the memorial stone. "What do you think Kakashi-kun's doing now?" she inquired softly, her sad brown eyes never leaving the small inscription on the stone.

"I bet he's yelling at us right now, telling us to go train." They turned to see Namikaze Minato standing behind them, a forced smile on his face. His blonde hair and blue eyes were a far contrast from the all the black he was wearing. "Or probably throwing kunai and jutsus at the angels."

Rin and Obito traded glances before bursting out into laughter.

"He-he p-probably attached e-exploding notes to a few," Rin gasped, laughing so hard that she had to double over, clutching at her stomach.

Obito was in hysterics.

However, after a few minutes of chuckling and giggling, Rin and Minato noticed something; Obito wasn't laughing anymore. Rather, he was now kneeling on the ground, tears streaming down his face. He hunched over, and pounded at the grass.

"It's my fault!! If it weren't for me, he'd still be alive!!" the raven-haired teen shouted, tears pouring from his eyes. "If he hadn't—!!"

"We'd have lost you, Obito-kun," Rin sniffed, tears now rolling down her painted cheeks. Obito fell silent, and Minato's forced smile disappeared, his bright blue eyes sad.

"You owe your life to Kakashi-kun," the blond Jounin said, crouching beside Obito and placing a large, calloused hand on the teen's black head. "The best way to pay them back is to fully live the life given to you. I don't think he'll be too happy if you rot away and visit him so soon after his death." At this, both teens gave their mentor a watery chuckle, and Minato gave them a real, genuine smile.

"Let's go get some ramen," Minato suggested kindly, helping Obito up and holding his other hand out to Rin. She nodded and grabbed the appendage, a small smile on her face. And, a few moments later, they disappeared in a flash of yellow, brown, and black.

It was extremely quiet at Ichiraku's Ramen Stand, and it seemed like everyone, save for the ramen chef, didn't want to approach the mourners. In fact, as the three ate from their bowls, they received several pitying glances from the others.

Obito didn't care. He didn't even notice them. He was too focused on his thoughts right now to even say anything about it. Minato and Rin also seemed to be lost in their own thoughts as they quietly ate.

Obito set his chopsticks down, and stared at his empty bowl.

Minato and Rin paused, in the middle of eating, to look at the Uchiha in concern and confusion.

"What's wrong, Obito-kun?" Obito turned, and mismatched grey and black met worried brown. Rin blinked slightly, taken aback by the sheer amount of determination in his gaze. His fists clenched, and he nodded grimly.

"I'm going to become as good as Kakashi, you'll see," he declared, his expression hard. "Even better than the bastard."

Minato stared at him for a long moment before a smile broke out onto his face. "Excellent." He finished off his bowl as well, and stood up. "Hurry home and get changed. We'll start now." He glanced at Rin. "You can join too if you want, Rin-chan." Rin looked up, and a smile crossed the girl's painted face. She stood up too.

"Hai! For Kakashi-kun."

"James, I think you need to come look at this!"

"What is it, Lily?"

"Looks like a body of some sort…"

"Stand back, Lily, he's still alive."

His eyes snapped open, and he jumped to his feet, several kunai in hand as he stared at the two people standing before him. They both looked started at his sudden movement, and were pointing sticks at them. Instinctively, he checked the amount of chakra they had, and was surprised to find that it was all jumbled together and messy, like most civilians.

Hatake Kakashi relaxed a little. "Who are you? Where am I?" he demanded, studying them. Their images were imprinted into his brain for some reason, and he blinked slightly. "What happened?"

One of the people, a tall, black-haired man with glasses frowned. "Are you a Death Eater?" he demanded in return, gripping the stick in his hand a little tighter.

Kakashi put his weapons away, frowning. "I don't know what these eaters of death you're talking about. Never heard of them in Konohagakure."

The female, a pretty redhead with green eyes relaxed slightly, and had Kakashi thinking of Minato's fiancé, Uzumaki Kushina. Pretty, but extremely dangerous.

"Hold it, Lily, he might be lying," the black-haired man said, and Kakashi scowled.

"Well, can you at least tell me how I ended up..." the memory of a rock fall crossed his mind, and he paled as he recalled one falling on top of him, and Rin transplanting Obito's eye. "Where's a mirror?!" he asked harshly, his eyes fixed on them.

Lily pointed to the side shakily, and they watched as the silver-haired teen darted forward with unimaginable speed, stopping in front of the little mirror in Harry's room.

Kakashi gasped and stumbled back, severely shaken. His image in the mirror did the same thing, only that one of the eyes, his left eye, was red with the Sharingan.

He sat down, clutching at his head. "So it's true…" he said weakly, not even noticing the two civilians cautiously approach him. "I really did die…"

"So you're a ghost?" Lily asked, before turning to the man beside her, "James, I don't think he's a threat anymore."

James frowned, but lowered the stick in his hands.

Kakashi, feeling the strain of the Sharingan on his chakra, tried to turn it off like Obito could. He frowned slightly when the strain didn't disappear, and instead opted to close his left eye. Immediately, the strain disappeared. Slowly, he turned and rummaged about in his pack, and pulled out his Konoha headband, draping it across his left eye in order to keep it shut.

The redhead named Lily kneeled in front of him, frowning slightly. "How did you die?" she asked, and Kakashi swallowed.

"Was on a mission, pushed a friend out of the way—" Kakashi cut himself off, blinking slightly. Obito was a friend, wasn't he? A true friend, and he was glad that he had given up his life for the Uchiha, no matter how annoying he was. "—Got crushed by a falling boulder."

Lily gasped slightly and put a hand up to her mouth. "Are you okay?" she asked, and James beside her snorted.

"Well, he's dead, isn't he?" he joked weakly, and Lily swatted at his arm.

"Where am I?" Both adults looked at the silver-haired Jounin, slightly wary.

"You're in Godric's Hollow, Britain." Lily answered, ignoring the slight glare from James.

Kakashi stared. "I have no idea where that is," he said. "Do you know where Fire Country is?"

James started and stared. "No way! You're from there? That continent has been blocked off for the last five-hundred years! It's called the Hidden Continent for a reason, you know."

"So…where is that in relevance to here?" Kakashi demanded, slightly worried now.

James waved a hand, all thoughts of death eaters gone. "Half-way across the world."

Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Great, just great," he muttered.

"I know it's a bit of a shock, but…" Lily hesitated. "Are you okay? Do you want some food or something?"

"Lily, he's dead, he doesn't need any food," James said, grinning now that the teen wasn't a threat to them. Or so he thought. "Do you want to come downstairs? You're welcome to stay here as long as you want."

"Thanks," Kakashi replied curtly, his mind whirling. Was he sent here for a reason?

The crying of a baby suddenly rang out in the room, and Kakashi jumped, drawing his kunai again.

Lily made an exasperated sound, a smile on her face. "Oh, a lovely time for you to wake up," she said, crossing the room and approaching a crib. She reached in, and picked up a baby with bright green eyes and messy, jet-black hair. "Look, Harry, we have a guest," she cooed, walking back to Kakashi.

Kakashi shifted nervously. "Is he your son?"

"Of course!" James swelled in pride. "Best boy in the country!"

"I see." It was obvious that James was proud of the baby, and distantly, he wondered if this was how his father had acted when he was young, before that disastrous mission.

"We didn't introduce ourselves, did we?" Lily glanced at her husband, and he nodded. She smiled and held out a hand. "I'm Lily Potter, nice to meet you."

"Hatake Kakashi." Without thinking, Kakashi reached out to shake her hand, and they both jumped as their hands touched.

"Wait, I thought you were dead!" James exclaimed, surprised. Kakashi stared at his own hands, confused.

"Well, let's stop talking about this dying business," Lily said briskly, her frown on her pretty face. "James, introduce yourself."

"Ah, right." James held out his hand, shaking the "ghost's" hand. "James Potter, and this is our son Harry James Potter."

"Let's go downstairs, shall we?" Lily asked, holding her year-old baby against her shoulder.

Both males nodded, and they followed her out of the room, down to the kitchen. Kakashi cast a single eye on the house as they walked down the stairs. It was neat and orderly, with several moving pictures on the walls (much to Kakashi's surprise--he almost stabbed one with a Kunai when it called out to him). He even happened to spot an owl sitting on a perch in the small glipse he was given of the family room before they stepped into the kitchen. The kitchen, like the rest of the house, was very tidy, with sparkling counters and several pots and pans laid out to dry.

"So," James said when he sat down at the kitchen table, a large, solid oak thing with carvings running up and down its legs. "What is the hidden country like?" Kakashi could see a hungry gleam of curiosity in the man's hazel eyes, and decided to play it safe.

"They're dangerous," he said simply, ignoring the small flash of disappointment on James's face.

"How so?"

"We're at war with another country right now," Kakashi said, scowling slightly at the thought of Iwa nin invading Konoha.

James's face darkened, as did Lily's. "We're at war, too," he said quietly, "against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

"Who's Lord Voldemort?" Kakashi asked, propping his elbows onto the table while Lily bustled around the kitchen, her movements tense as she made tea.

"He's a dark wizard that's trying to take over Britain," James said, leaning back into his chair and pushing his glasses up, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "Right old pain in the arse, he is."

"Wizard? They aren't real," Kakashi frowned.

James grinned at him. "Neither are ninja," he pointed out. Lily smacked the back of his head.

"They're in the movies all the time, James, and they existed in Japan several hundred years ago," she said curtly, placing a cup of tea in front of them both. "Here you go."

James raised an eyebrow, and settled back to watch Kakashi drink, to see what would happen.

'He's a lot like that crybaby failure,' Kakashi thought irately as he picked up the cup. 'Just a little more mature.' And, not wanting to disrupt the traditions of Hatake men, he quickly pointed. "Look, a Death Eater!"

Both James and Lily spun about, their sticks in their hands, and when they saw nothing, they turned back to Kakashi to see his mask firmly in place and the cup empty. He bowed slightly. "Thank you for the tea."

James stared, before bursting out into laughter. "So it really does work, Lils! He can drink tea!"

Lily was smiling also, and she took the empty cup from the silver-haired teen. "Do you want some food?" she asked, setting the cup into the sink and pulling out her stick. "I can make you some right now."

"It's okay, I'm not hungry," Kakashi said firmly, frowning slightly. It was odd. When he drank the tea, he only tasted it, but never felt it settle in his stomach like it usually did. It just felt like it…disappeared. It probably would have been the same for food.

He studied the small family before him. James was reclining back into his chair, an easy grin on his face, and Lily was watching him fondly, one hand stroking little Harry's tuft of hair. It was obvious that they loved each other, even during this war.

There was a small crack outside, and suddenly, the mood changed.

Kakashi tensed as he felt a wave of malicious chakra overwhelm him. James sat bolt upright in his chair, that strange little stick out in his and as he stared at the door, tense and waiting. Lily pulled Harry closer to her chest, almost protectively, and she too grabbed her stick from the counter. Cautiously, James stood, and made his way over to the window to peer out. As soon as he did, Kakashi knew something was wrong. The man had paled, and frantically, he began waving his stick at the door. "Lily, it's him! Take Harry and run! I'll hold him off!"

Lily paled immensely, and her breath hitched in her throat, but she nodded, sprinting towards the stairs.

"What's going on?" Kakashi pulled out his kunai, not liking what was going on.

"It's Lord Voldemort himself," James said, gritting his teeth as he threw several beams of light at the door.

'Kami, there really are such things as wizards,' Kakashi thought, slightly dazed. He nodded, and prepared himself. He watched as the door started expanding, and he suddenly knew what was going to happen.

"Move!" He tackled James just as the door exploded, rattling the whole house and covering them in dust and debris. James scrambled upright, and faced the black-cloaked figure in the doorway.

The newcomer was menacing, and put Kakashi on guard. He didn't like this fellow; something was wrong with him.

"Ah, Potter…how good to see you again," the man hissed, before shooting a red beam of light at the black-haired man.

"Kakashi, go after Lily and Harry, and take care of them," James grunted, dodging out of the way and throwing a jet of yellow light back. "Go!"

"Talking to yourself, are we, Potter?" Lord Voldemort asked, throwing a green spell at the black-haired man.

"Kakashi, go!" James gritted out, and suddenly sent out a volley of different colored spells. Kakashi nodded, and sprinted up the stairs, all the while thinking about this new development.

'Why couldn't this Voldemort guy see me? James and Lily could, but how come he didn't—' He found Lily in Harry's room, searching for a way out. "What are you doing?" he shouted, knowing that the redhead was in a precarious situation. "You're supposed to be gone now!"

"I don't know!" she cried, frantic. "I tried to apparate out, but there are wards up!"

There was a thud downstairs, and Kakashi realized that James had died.

'Maybe…only those able to see me are near death…' he thought suddenly, and he stared at Lily, knowing what was going to happen.

She was going to die.

Lily gasped at then noise, and quickly bit her thumb, drawing a strange, jagged symbol on Harry's forehead with her blood, murmuring all the while. The symbol flashed, and sank into Harry's skin, nothing on the baby's forehead showing what had just happened.

"Kakashi, take care of Harry for us, please!" the woman begged, watching as the doorknob glowed green. "Protect him when I'm gone!" She set Harry in the crib, ignoring the small whimper the boy gave.

The door opened, just as Kakashi opened his mouth. "I will," he said quietly. Lily nodded, crying, as she faced Voldemort.

"Please, not Harry! Anything but him!"

"Stand aside, foolish woman!" Voldemort snarled. "Avada Kedavra." A glowing green light shot out of his wand, and slammed against her chest. She was lifted up into the air for a single moment, glowing, before she sank into the ground. With a start, Kakashi realized that she was dead.

'The ultimate killing Jutsu,' he thought, and pushed up his hitae-ite to reveal the Sharingan. He drew his kunai, and threw them at Voldemort as the man approach the baby.

Voldemort screamed as knives became embedded in his skin, and he turned and shot another Avada Kedavra in Kakashi's direction. The Sharingan copied the spell perfectly, but Kakashi had no time to move away.

The spell passed right through him.

"Huh, that's interesting," Kakashi muttered, throwing some shuriken at the Dark Lord.

This time, however, Voldemort was ready, and he put up a shield around him and Harry (Kakashi snarled when his shuriken bounced off), approaching the baby with unholy glee in his eyes. "Shit."

"Avada Kedavra," Voldemort whispered, pointing at the baby's forehead.

The green light shot out, and connected.

Both Voldemort and the baby screamed, the invisible symbol that Lily had drawn with her blood appearing on Harry's forehead. The green spell remained there for a second more, carving a jagged lightning bolt into Harry's forehead, before rebounding and slamming into Voldemort. And, much like Lily, he was lifted up, glowing before he slumped to the ground, his shield disappearing.

Mutely, Kakashi collected all of his thrown weapons, before making his way over to Harry. The baby was bawling, his forehead bleeding where the lightning bolt was. Kakashi lifted Harry up, and began backing away from Voldemort's body. His gut instinct was telling him that something was not right, and he watched Voldemort's body carefully.

All of a sudden, Voldemort's body exploded outward, causing the whole side of the house to collapse. As Kakashi shielded Harry from the falling rubble, he thought he heard the sound of a person screaming in frustration before the part of the roof above them collapsed. He shouted in alarm and placed Harry underneath him, grunting as the roof landed on his back. He pushed over the roof with a hiss of pain; Some of the roof had splintered and gotten into his shirt, thus getting into his skin. Focusing on his chakra, he expelled it outwards, eliminating all splinters with a small sigh of relief.

He looked down at Harry, who stared back at him with calm green eyes, his forehead still bleeding. He whimpered slightly, and Kakashi groaned, using the little bit of medical jutsu he knew to clean up the wound as best as he could.

There was another crack out on the front lawn, and Kakashi whirled around, pulling out several kunai...only to come face to face with a man that was far older than anyone he had ever met. The newcomer was tall, with the longest, whitest beard he had ever seen. Half-moon glasses rested on his slightly crooked nose, and bright blue eyes that reminded him of his sensei peered through him and down at the little black-haired boy admist all the rubble. Kakashi studied his chakra, relaxing when he came in contact with a man that was very trustworthy and honorable.

"Good lord," the man whispered, and Kakashi stiffened slightly as he felt the man pass through him to scoop the baby up. "Lily?! James?!" Recieving no call, he pulled out his wand, muttering under his breath and waving it. Portions of the walls and roofs lifted, and the man gasped when he uncovered the bodies of Harry's parents.

He bowed his head, mourning, before conjuring up a silvery, mist-like bird and saying, "Hagrid, fetch several Order members, and bring them to Godric's Hollow. The Potters are dead." The bird bobbed its plumed head before disappearing into the night, leaving the old man standing there with Harry clutched in his arms.

Several moments later, a few men and women appeared, a few of them crying out at the sight of the bodies and the house. The old man (Kakashi discovered that his name was Dumbledore) gave out several orders, his words clear, sharp, and precise. The others nodded, and Dumbledore handed Harry off to one member, instructing him to wait until Hagrid arrived. He twisted on the spot, and to Kakashi's amazement, vanished with another crack.

A loud roaring filled the sky, and Kakashi watched in fascination as some sort of large two-wheeled vehicle flew down, landing on the ground with a thump. A man jumped off, and marched over the stunned man holding Harry. His face was ruggedly handsome, with long, scraggly hair pulled back, and his expression was murderous.

"WHERE IS HE?!!" he practically frothed, and Kakashi frowned. The man was showing no ill-intent towards them, but just ot make sure...His hand sidled down to the kunai pouch on his leg.

"W-who?" the man stammered, obviously frightened.

"THE LITTLE RAT!! That traitor!!" the man snarled, and he grabbed his wand. "Anyone's welcome to use it." His thumb jerked toward the motorcycle in mechanical motions. To Kakashi's amazement, the man had an astonishingly well-developed killer intent. "I gotta get me some rat." He turned on the spot and disappeared, ignoring protests of "Mr. Black!!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. That was certainly strange.

"Ah, Hagrid! Dumbledore wants you to take James's son to his Aunt's house on Private Drive," the man holding Harry said, interrupting Kakashi's thought. The silver-haired Jounin turned to see the largest man he had ever witnessed in ihs entire life take little Harry into his arms.

"Poor little tyke," the big man sniffed, tearing up. He spotted the motorcycle sitting off to the side. "What's Black's bike doin' here?"

The man shrugged. "I dunno. He said anyone's welcome to use it." Hagrid nodded, and strolled up to it, cradling little Harry in his large arm as he swung himself up.

'Uh oh,' Kakashi thought dimly as the motorcycle turned on and began to rise into the air. 'Hope it doesn't go too fast...'

And so, Kakashi found himself following the motorcycle across the rooftops, thinking, 'This is going to be the worst bodyguard assignment ever.'

D3ath: Well, hoped you liked it. :D Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to all! And thanks, Songbird of the End, for beta-ing (even if you didn't mean to) XD

12/25/09, 6:13