Rating: M-ish overall

Warnings: Angst, feels, massive amounts of confusion, vague fluff, Kakashi attempting to cope, etc.

Word Count: ~3000

Notes: Minato's house is only shown briefly in the anime, and I'm not sure it ever appears in the manga, but the design is so neat I had to include it. No idea if it survived the Kyuubi attack, but… *handwaves* We'll say it did.

Home is behind

Chapter 6: Primary Konoha

Barely five yards through this strange Konoha's main gates, Team 7 clustered around him and Gai bounding ahead, and Kakashi realizes just what's different about their universes.

There's a man in the shadows, old and slightly stooped, with bandages around one side of his face and a cane in his hand. He's watching the new arrivals carefully, gaze as cold and calculating as anything Kakashi has ever felt before, and in a rush it brings the hackles up on the back of Kakashi's neck. A growl rumbles in his chest, slides up his throat, and it's only sheer willpower that keeps it from leaving his mouth in a snarl.

So many differences.

Just one cause.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asks, and at least his voice is a little quieter than normal, if not quite managing to be subtle. "Is something wrong?"

Kakashi drops his gaze to the three kids, all looking at him with varying degrees of concern, and ignores the thoughtful gazes of the two tokujo lingering on his back. "I'm fine," he says easily, and is grateful that the mask makes it easy to fake a convincing smile. "I just figured out one of the reasons our worlds are so different, that's all."

Sakura looks curious and opens her mouth to ask, but before she can Kakashi looks away, at the streets around them, and asks Genma, "I assume my house is in the same place?"

Genma's eyes are cautious, even though his smile is lazy. "Well, it might be, but you don't live there. You've got a tiny little rat-trap apartment a few blocks over. I can show you, if you want."

It takes him a moment to comprehend. A moment to understand the words, recognize the implications as framed by what he's already learned.

My father?

Suicide. You found the body.

In their house, because there's nowhere else it could have been. In their home, where Kakashi and Obito live together, where his father and Orochimaru share a life and a relationship that's the closest thing to true love Kakashi has ever witnessed. The house he was born in, grew up in, and—

Gone, now. The relic of an unforgotten tragedy, a loss that was the first stone in an avalanche. Kakashi swallows, steels himself, and—understands.

He doesn't want to go home to that, either.

There's a hand on his sleeve, tugging carefully, and he looks down to see Naruto staring up at him, face set in determined, stubborn lines. "You can stay at my place, Kakashi-sensei!" he offers, and the title is one they've switched to using, but which Kakashi can't quite bring himself to make them drop. He…likes it. Had never expected to, had never had even the slightest interest in a genin team, but—

Well. They're pretty amazing, for just being twelve.

"Thank you," he says honestly, and scuffs a hand through spiky blond hair so similar to Minato's. "Your parents' house is nice, isn't it? I always loved the library."

Naruto freezes, eyes going wide. "My parents had a house?" he asks, and his voice wobbles.

With a quiet sound of sympathy, Sakura touches his arm, then looks up at Kakashi as well. "Naruto doesn't live there," she offers, when the boy doesn't say anything else. "He has an apartment, too."

The only thing that could top this off is…well. Now there's a bad thought. Kakashi swallows, looks around to find the third member of the team, and tries to make his voice light as he says, "Let me guess. You still live in the Uchiha district?"

"Compound," Sasuke corrects quietly, but doesn't disagree. "The Uchiha were moved to a compound near the wall after the Kyuubi attacked."

This place is—terrible. So terrible. Like the worst kind of hell, all dressed up in familiar wrappings to make it that much more horrible.

"No," Kakashi says flatly. "I—no. Just no." He turns to Genma and Aoba, both watching with a mix of interest and amusement and concern, and orders, "Show us where the Namikaze house is."

The tokujo trade glances. Aoba shrugs, hooks a thumb over his shoulder, and raises a brow in silent question. Genma hums thoughtfully, then nods, tips his head in the other direction, and waves a goodbye to the older man.

Gods. No wonder Aoba is trying to get into Genma's pants. They're already married, just without the benefits of sex and a joint bank account.

"This way," Genma says, tucking his hands into his pockets. His eyes linger on Naruto for a moment, then slide away, and he says, "House has been closed up for years. You might have to do some spring cleaning."

"I can clean," Naruto says, and that stubbornness is leeching back into his voice, even though he hasn't let go of Kakashi's sleeve. "I'm really good at it! I clean my own place all the time."

Naruto has never had a parent. Never had anyone in any way that counts, and it makes Kakashi angry. His double was still Minato's student in this universe, was even closer to him than Kakashi is to his Minato according to what Aoba said. So why the hell did Naruto grow up alone? What has the other Kakashi been doing all these years?

"We can help you," Sakura volunteers, trying for a smile at him. "I help with the chores all the time."

"Hn," is Sasuke's contribution, but he doesn't turn towards another street. He follows, his own hands in his pockets and his eyes fixed ahead, support silent but hardly unnoticed.

Minato's house is, at least, exactly as Kakashi knows it—up a flight of stone stairs from the street, with the house itself built atop a tall, circular wooden base that Kakashi knows holds Minato and Kushina's personal training room. There's another flight of steps up to the main portion of the house, a large square building with a red roof, the second level a half-cylinder perched on top with a balcony looking out over the streets. A wide, squat tower rises from the trees beneath the building, attached to the back of the house and housing Kushina and Minato's library.

The last time Kakashi was here was just two days ago, dropping by with Obito to give Kushina a set of scrolls from Uzushio that they'd come across on a mission. The lights had glowed brightly from the windows, and the smell of her homemade ramen had hit them right in their empty stomachs the moment she opened the door. She'd laughed at them, invited them in and fed them as she poured over the scrolls, and then seen them off with kisses on the cheek and a cheerful wave.

Now the entire house is dark, and there's a barrier of half-rotted wood propped midway up the stairs to keep people out. The steps themselves have a thick layer of dirt on them, streaky from where it's rained but otherwise undisturbed, and Kakashi feels his skin crawl a little at the eerie feeling of false familiarity.

"This place?" Naruto asks with undisguised interest, and when Kakashi glances down his eyes are wide with wondering enthusiasm. "It's so cool! This is my house, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yeah." It's Genma, surprisingly, who answers. His gaze lingers on the darkened windows, too, and there's something sad and lonely in his eyes. Kakashi thinks of his position as Minato's guard, practically every day spent in close quarters with the man, and then losing Minato to a creature like the Kyuubi, which no normal tokujo would ever have been able to stop. That must have hurt him, too. "Pretty neat, huh? No one's touched it, so everything should still be set up inside. I'll leave you to it." He gives the four of them a lazy wave, then steps back.

"You aren't going to come in?" Naruto asks, but there's something like recognition on his face, understanding, and sadness in his eyes. "You—you've been here before, haven't you?"

Genma pauses, still turned away, and sighs. "Yeah," he says again, wry. "Namikaze Minato was a great man. I've got some good memories here."

He doesn't say, I don't want to lose them, and if I look at it now, I might. But Kakashi can hear it, feel it hovering unspoken. Thinks of a quiet, Like I said, it's been hard, and—

Damn it, but he hates this place. Hates whatever twist of events let Danzō live but killed his father, drove Orochimaru out of the village and let Kushina and Minato both die, destroyed Obito and Rin both. How can so much darkness even exist in one universe? With everything that's gone wrong, what's managed to go right?

"Later," he says mildly, and pretends not to see the relief that makes Genma's shoulders slump a little. He turns away from the tokujo's wave as the man heads down the street, and instead focuses on the house that by all rights belongs to Naruto. "Come on," he urges. "We've got twelve years of dirt to scrub off."

"My favorite," Sasuke mutters, but he's the first to head up the stairs, vaulting over the wooden boards that cross the steps.

"Wait up, teme!" Naruto shouts, racing after him. "It's my house!"

Sakura sighs, pools chakra under her feet, and jumps to the top of the stone wall the stairs are built into, handily beating both boys to the top. Logic, Kakashi guesses with some amusement, is always going to be her greatest weapon against the two of them. "Don't be so slow," she scolds, though Kakashi can hear the hint of a tease in her tone. "It will be dark soon!"

Sasuke harrumphs, crossing his arms over his chest as he slows to a walk, and Naruto runs into him bodily, bounces off, and only just manages not to tumble backwards down the steps.

"Hey!" he protests, then is instantly distracted. "Hey, there's a garden over here!"

"You mother's," Kakashi says, following at a more reasonable pace. He smiles at the awe on Naruto's face as he stares at the small patch of cleared ground, still divided into neat beds. There are weeds choking it, almost enough to obscure the whole thing, but the shape of it is still clear, and it probably won't take too much work to bring it back to some semblance of order. "Why don't you go try the door, Naruto? It should open for you."

If it doesn't, Kakashi himself should still be able to bypass the protective seals on the place, but he's different enough from the other Kakashi that he doesn't want to be the first to test it. Kushina is creative about guarding what's hers.

"Yeah!" All but vibrating with enthusiasm, Naruto bolts for the second set of steps, taking them three at a time in quick jumps. The front door immediately opens under his push, and he disappears inside. Sakura follows quickly, clearly curious, and Sasuke trails after her, trying not to look too interested. Kakashi brings up the rear, wistfully amused by all three of them.

When he steps inside, Naruto is just standing in the middle of the kitchen, staring around. There are still dishes in the drain board, food in the cupboards. A dust-coated glass sits beside the sink, long since abandoned, and a familiar white haori edged with flames lies across the back of one of the kitchen chairs. The table is clear except for a scroll, halfway unrolled, with familiar markings on it. A twelve-point seal, strong enough to trap a bijuu, drawn out in Minato's familiar hand.

Kakashi picks it up and rerolls it without looking too closely, trying not to consider the fact that he's holding the murder weapon that killed his sensei.

With trembling fingers and wide eyes, Naruto gently pulls the haori off the back of the chair, running a hand along the writing on the back. "He…my dad really was the Yondaime," he whispers. "He was the Hokage. He was my hero."

Sakura's eyes are sympathetic, the stitches on her wound throwing strange shadows across her face in the light spilling through the open door. "I never noticed before," she says, "but…you look a lot like him. Like the picture in the Hokage's office, and in the Academy. Doesn't he, Sasuke?"

Naruto blinks, startled, and turns to look at the Uchiha. Sasuke studies him for a moment, then nods. "You do," he agrees, and casts his gaze around the room. After another moment, he points at the doorway leading into the darkened living room. "My—" He stops, breathes through what could be fury or grief or a mix of both, and finishes more quietly, "My family kept photos in the main room."

Still clinging to the haori, Naruto heads that way, steps hesitant. Sasuke swallows, tucks his hands into his pockets, and follows, shoulders half-hunched. Sakura watches them, biting her lip, and then takes a breath.

"There should be a light switch somewhere," she volunteers, edging cautiously around the doorframe with one hand on the wall. "I think it might—there."

It's dim, dusty—clearly the fixture hasn't been cleaned in a very long time—but it's light, and it's enough to illuminate the overstuffed couch, the comfortable chairs, the bookshelves with their carefully placed photos. Naruto doesn't try to touch them, just stops and stares from a few paces back, eyes taking in the image of his mother and father laughing together.

"I've never seen my mom before," he says, expression torn between wondering and very, very sad. "She's so beautiful."

Lingering by one of the windows, Sasuke shuts his eyes, leaning back against the wall. "I guess," he says carefully, not quite reluctant and nowhere near happy, "that we're…similar." He opens his eyes, and when he sees Naruto watching him with some surprise, he adds, "I don't remember how my mom looked when she smiled. Just how she looked…after."

After she died. After she was murdered, and Kakashi wonders how he's ever supposed to look at his version of Itachi again without imagining him slaughtering his entire clan, cutting down his parents without care. Did becoming a shinobi really break him so badly?

Naruto's expression shifts to determined, and then determinedly cheerful, with a little bit of self-consciousness hidden underneath. "Sakura-chan, teme, you should both stay, like Kakashi-sensei is going to! We can have a sleepover! I've never had one before!"

There's a tense pause. Sasuke stiffens, and Sakura bites her lip. She glances from Naruto to Sasuke to Kakashi, and then says with equal determination, "That's a good idea, Naruto. It might be late before we're done cleaning." A quick check of the sun, and she offers, "I'll go tell my parents, and…pick up ramen on my way back?"

"Yeah!" Naruto agrees enthusiastically, then digs for his wallet. "I think…I should have enough…um, maybe?"

Usually, Kakashi has to be pried away from his money, or tricked out of it. But…just this once he thinks it will be all right to break that habit. He's not living alone on a newly graduated genin's budget, at the very least.

"Here," he says, and tosses Sakura his wallet. Well, technically his double's wallet, since they exchanged clothes as well as universes. And with that in mind… "It's my treat. Go crazy. Buy whatever you want, and as much as you can carry."

This Kakashi is a jounin just like he is, and apparently pays rent for a tiny apartment. There's no way he can't afford it, so Kakashi feels absolutely no guilt in the decision.

Sakura, apparently realizing what he's doing, gives him an exasperated look, but—clearly acquainted with her Kakashi's tightfistedness—she doesn't protest. "I'll be back soon," she promises, tucking the wallet away and heading for the door.

There's a moment of silence in her wake. Naruto's eyes have drifted back to the picture of his laughing parents, and Sasuke's eyes are on Naruto. Then the Uchiha shakes himself a little, pushes away from the wall, and says, "Dobe, get us buckets and soap. I'll find rags. I don't want to spend all day cleaning because you were moping."

"Teme!" Naruto snaps, spinning, but instead of grief his eyes are snapping with what is undoubtedly Kushina's temper. "I bet I get done before you do!"

"Hn." Sasuke turns away, but Kakashi can recognize an Uchiha's satisfaction very easily. Obito usually looks like that when he's goaded Kakashi out of a funk after a bad mission.

And, well, isn't that an interesting thought?

Kakashi snickers to himself a little as the boys argue their way out of the room, and sets to opening every window he can find to let in some light and fresh air. Other Kakashi is definitely going to have an interesting time when puberty hits fully.

(Danzō, he thinks, and feels a shiver down his spine. Can't forget.

He thinks of his father dead, that man the cause with the whispers and accusations he started, and.

You succeeded here. You killed my father, twisted Oro into something he shouldn't be. I'm going to kill you for that.

Maybe once he was just Sakumo's son, but Kakashi can't even remember that far back. He's a snake as much as he is a wolf, and this world is going to have to learn that the hard way.)