He was falling- falling through space.

It started in ruins. Literally. It had been a mission; go check out this one place and look for anything valuable or dangerous or some shit. It's Tsunade, what did you expect?

So he went. And he looked. And he found. And dammit he knew he shouldn't have touched that damn seal.

But he did touch the seal- pulled out the whole damn kunai. So now he was falling through space. It was a strange feeling. Or maybe that was just the feeling of his body shrinking, he noted absently. Maybe he was in shock. But that was stupid, ninjas didn't go into shock.

His body was reverting. He wasn't just shrinking, he was actually de-aging. He could tell by the way his chakra mass grew smaller. Also by the way his /whole damned fucking eye fell out of its socket!/ Panicking, Kakashi desperately reached out, trying to grasp onto Obito's last gift. His fist closed around it- and it crumbled to ashes. Shock and pain shot through him as the grey haired boy stared at his empty hand.

He was abruptly shoved from his distress over losing the Sharingan as he slammed into the ground. Hard.

Laying on the ground, spread eagle and aching, Kakashi slowly brought a hand to his left eye. No scar. Staring into space, his chest clenched. No chakra drain. Obito. He was- he was now and truly /gone/. He laid there for a while more. He didn't now how long, probably a few hours seeing how the sun gradually moved in the sky but eventually someone disturbed his peace.

"If I cannot do five hundred push-ups on my pinkies then I shall run five hundred laps aroun- Oh! Gai-sensi! It seems someone else is already training here!" The sound of eager footsteps grew closer. Kakashi continued to lay there. A bowl cut and fuzzy eyebrows leaned over him. "Hello? Are you alright?"

Kakashi gave no response, choosing instead to stare as he snapped out of his reverie. Who- Gai's student? But he looked a lot younger than the last time he'd seen him...

The bowl cut gasped. "Gai-Sensei! I think something is wrong! He has unyouthfully not responded!" Kakashi blinked, but still didn't speak.

A deeper voice shouted back, and was also coming over by the sound of it. "Maybe they are exhausted from their youthful training Lee!" Ah, Lee, that was his name.

The familiar but-still-somehow-younger face of Gai leaned over to look at him, eyes widening as they did so. "... Kakashi?" He still didn't say anything, taking the situation into stock.

Gai shook his head there was no way this boy was his eternal rival. But maybe it was his child or somethi- ... Gasping, Gai reared back. "My eternal rival has a son?! How was it that I could not have known?!" Eyes sparkling and tears streaming from his eyes, the spandex man looked back at the kid on the ground. "How youthful!"

Finally Kakashi reacted. "... Excuse me?" What the HELL was he talking about? He didn't actually think that- that Kakashi just slept around or something right? ... Well, okay, there was that one time in his teens... But really! A shout brought him back to reality.

"Quickly! We must bring him back to my eternal rival! It looks as if he is too tired to get up!" Eyes growing large, Kakashi tried to protest, but was too late as Gai picked him up and dashed off bridal style. Sighing, the mini-Kashi's shoulders slumped, knowing there was no escape now.

How the hell was he going to explain this?

Eventual time travel where Kakashi would pose as his own son. Totally ripped off of a fic I'd read before but can't remember the name of. So, idea not mine I , and a little reference to the Lost Tower here in the beginning.