Summary: After waking up in a different world and realizing he's gone rogue with Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake just kind of rolls with it. Missing-nin Kakashi AU.

I. These Trials make Us who We Are

Land of Fire

Kakashi blinked, drowsy, as the morning light hit his eyes. He groaned and rolled over. From a young age, he always got up at the crack of dawn, unless he was out cold due to chakra exhaustion.

He had been drinking like an alcoholic the night before. Why didn't he have a hangover?

The thought struck through the early morning haze of his mind.

He wasn't tied up. He was sleeping in the same position as before. His left eye hurt, sore and numb as if overused.

He reached out blindly, his fingers hitting a sword. He ran his finger down the scabbard. It wasn't ornately made; but simple and practical as any shinobi's weapon should be. Kakashi knew this weapon better than any other. It was his birthright: the Hatake Clan's White Chakra Blade.

It had broken during. . . that mission.

This had to be an illusion. Obito's Sharingan was the best bet at dispelling it.

He opened his eyes and poured chakra into the Sharingan. Strangely, his left eye was not covered.

Images of Obito's death, both times, flashed into his mind. It burned; his left eye burned. It was the same feeling of when he had unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan after Rin's death.

He still held the scabbard of the White Chakra Blade in his hand.

Nothing around him seemed to change.

He pulled himself toward the pond of water nearby and peered into it.

Kakashi hissed in relief as the pain subsided.

Blood ran down from his half-closed left eye; its Mangekyou Sharingan pattern was different. Kakashi's feet were covered in red, as if he had been wading through a stream of blood. His hair was long and shaggy. The biggest difference though was that the hitai-ate over his forehead had a slash through the stylized leaf, Konoha's symbol.

He put down the White Chakra Blade.

This had to be an illusion, so he tried other methods.

He cast Kai. He pulled out his weapons pouch—all of the contents were different than he remembered—and nicked his side with a kunai to be sure. The blood and pain were a sure sign that this wasn't an illusion. So what was going on? He was a missing nin? He'd just gotten his Mangekyou Sharingan and it was different?

He stopped putting chakra towards the Sharingan and it deactivated. Which made no sense, as he wasn't an Uchiha. With the Sharingan deactivated, it just looked like he had two, perfectly normal black eyes. He couldn't even feel it draining his chakra like his eye, Obito's eye, did.

Kakashi slid his tongue along the roof of his mouth. There was something on the back part of it, a seal. He lowered the face-mask, opened his mouth, and tilted his head, trying to get a good look at the seal on his tongue.

It was the ROOT Seal.

Well. F*ck. Of course it was.

He had probably left Konoha only a little while ago if he was still alive. Otherwise, Danzou would have killed him already. He needed to make a counter-seal. He needed to make a counter-seal now. Figuring out what was going on was only possible if he survived today.

Kakashi wiped away the blood dripping down his cheek. He rummaged around his weapon's pouch and his clothing. He found lots of hidden weapons, but the most important were diagrams of various seals. One of the seals was the ROOT seal and the rest were seals containing various elements and ideas of what he needed to counter different parts of the ROOT Seal.

He went to work on making his own seal based off. . . this world's version of him's ideas? It was a bit odd how quickly he was adapting to this idea, but he had no other explanations.

Kakashi scattered some traps around the area before continuing to work.

"How is the seal coming along, Kakashi-senpai? Is his eye fine?" The voice was higher than Kakashi last heard it, but still all too recognizable. The teenager had black hair and black eyes, and wore a grey cloak. His face was unmistakable, despite not being an adult.

"Itachi-kun," Kakashi muttered. He couldn't help the quick look towards the sky, reminded by the appearance of his former ANBU teammate. "It's going well," he said casually.

Alternate world, or Tsukuyomi. Those were his two options. There was no red moon or red sky. Alternate world it was.

"How are things going on your end?" Kakashi asked. He still was avoiding looking directly at Itachi, now keeping his eyes on the papers in his hands.

"I redirected our teammates again. I also got some food." Itachi tossed a sealing scroll to Kakashi. "Judging from the response, we have an hour and fifty minutes before ROOT tracks us down or thirty seven minutes until Danzou kills us."

Kakashi caught the scroll and put it in the ground for later. Also ignored and put elsewhere was everything else. "That last part is delightful," he sarcastically replied.

He needed to prioritize. Seal crisis first, then figure out why Itachi is with him, then just what was going on with him being a missing-nin, then scream into the forest about this bullsh*it situation.

Kakashi caught a glimpse of Itachi's back as the teenager slid down a tree and started setting a wire trap to add to the defenses around their temporary camp.

The ANBU must be closer than Itachi wished despite rerouting them.

"Actually." Kakashi paused and then decided to throw caution to the wind. "I am curious. How can I deactivate the Sharingan?"

"You're not Uchiha. But we have a method for transplanting that a few of our clan know." Itachi's expression flickered; like the gentle surface of a pond being disturbed by a stone. "Or, knew," he quietly murmured.

Kakashi continued to work as he digested the information; it must already be after the Uchiha Massacre then. Pretty soon after, considering Itachi's visible grief. "My apologies for bringing it up." His eye was a new thing, or Itachi would have been surprised at the question.

"It's. . . fine."

Itachi set the new trap and then came to join Kakashi by the water. The two quickly poured over things together and came up with a counterseal they both had some confidence in. As Itachi only had basic sealing knowledge, Kakashi was the one deciding on the finer points of the seal.

"Captain, I should be-"

Kakashi cut Itachi off. His eyes narrowed and his ANBU Captain voice came out. "I'll try it," he insisted. "If there's not a problem, then I'll go ahead and put it on yours."

Itachi sighed. He knew there was no arguing with Kakashi when the man got like this. He turned his back to give Kakashi privacy; he didn't know why the man kept his face covered and it was none of his business.

In case he accidentally blew up—as oftentimes was the case with experimental sealing jutsu coming into contact with other seals—Kakashi moved to the other end of the clearing and painted it on himself. He had found chakra activated ink in his weapons pouch so this world's Kakashi had definitely prepared to attempt nullifying the seal.

Kakashi hated this. Not because he was in a situation he didn't know anything about, but because it was really hard to paint a seal on your own tongue.

Kakashi put down the brush. It was a good sign that he hadn't died while drawing it and now came the big test. He channeled a little bit of chakra into seals and. . .nothing happened. He couldn't help the smirk that came across his face. "Done, and with six minutes to spare," Kakashi announced.

Itachi's eyes still seemed hollow, but he looked a bit better after receiving the news.

Kakashi drew the seal on Itachi's tongue and that was a lot quicker than his attempt, as he could actually see what he was doing. He avoided looking at the rest of Itachi, just focusing on drawing the seal. "Test it."

Itachi nodded. A small smile edged its way onto his solemn face.

The counter-seal they had made worked.

Kakashi took a moment to mourn his inability to retire. He had been so close; Naruto would have taken over as Hokage tomorrow. Now he had somehow drawn Danzou's attention, had gone on the run with Itachi, and had recently acquired a Sharingan. He sighed and quickly packed everything into storage seals. "Let's get moving." He almost put the White Chakra Blade away, then hesitated and strapped it to his back. "You're the one with an eye on things, so which way, Itachi-kun?"

XXX

With their abilities, familiarity with ANBU tactics, and Itachi's crows, it wasn't that hard for them to escape.

They camped in a tree. The thing was absurdly wide, as all the old trees in Konoha's untouched massive forest were.

Kakashi went over his supplies, aware that Itachi was watching him. He flipped through the Konoha bingo books he found. From the information he found, he definitively placed the time as the Sandaime's second reign. Based on Itachi's slip up earlier and their newly minted missing nin status, he had been too late to stop the Uchiha Massacre from happening. Somehow, he had also gotten involved in whatever happened with Itachi.

He still had a lot of things he could change however.

The Akatsuki was still out there. Orochimaru was still out there. Danzou was still back in Konoha. His teammates, both the genin and ANBU members, were back in Konoha too.

"Captain-" Itachi stopped as Kakashi looked over.

Kakashi let out a small chuckle. "I'm not exactly your captain anymore, Itachi-kun."

"Kakashi-senpai, are you okay?"

Kakashi calmly responded, with a composure he wasn't feeling in the slightest, "Are you okay?"

"No."

Kakashi nodded. "That's normal. Especially with stuff like this." He let the silence stretch out as he counted his kunai and noted any issues with their condition. He knew what Itachi had done, despite not being there. He felt the raw and irritated skin around his eye, not from overuse but from an eye-transplant. "Forgive me if I'm feeling a bit forgetful, but whose eye was I given?"

"Shisui. My cousin," Itachi said, clipped and pained.

From how Itachi responded, it wasn't something he had told this world's Kakashi. "Where is his other eye?" Kakashi almost bashed his head against the ground at the question. Sometimes he cursed his inane curiosity.

"Danzou," came the hiss.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. So that's where Shisui's other eye ended up? That'd be a challenge later down the road if not properly handled. "I'm sorry for your loss. I know you were close."

Itachi was not curled into a ball, but he gave off the same aura. He was stiff and his chakra, muted though it was, dipped even lower.

Kakashi sealed his stuff away and jumped into the other branch. If Itachi didn't want to talk about his emotional issues—something both Uchiha brothers have in common—Kakashi could still provide some silent company. He slung an arm around Itachi's shoulders and stayed there.

The two of them were sweaty and dusty and tired from running all day. They were close to leaving the Land of Fire.

"Where are you going to go after this?"

Kakashi would have missed Itachi's whispered question if he wasn't straining his ears for the sound of anyone moving around them. "Hmm. I don't know." He really couldn't help the vagueness, not just because he enjoyed being cryptic. It was that he literally had no solid game plan. "Why?"

There was a long silence from Itachi.

"Do you want to come with me?" Kakashi refused to break the awkward silence. He didn't look at Itachi either, just keeping his gaze towards the sunset. He didn't want to pressure the teenager.

"If you want me, at least for a bit."

"I'd be happy to have you stick around, Itachi-kun." Kakashi eye-smiled.

XXX

Land of Rivers

Living up to its name, they ran into about five rivers in an hour. The frequency was to the point that it was somewhat ridiculous. Fortunately, they were easily jumped with the help of the pine trees everywhere.

They slowed their pace once they were safely out of the Land of Fire. It gave them some time to breathe, and talk.

Itachi managed to stay beside Kakashi, despite being shorter. "Kakashi-senpai, you've been a lot less. . ."

"Less what?"

". . .reserved," Itachi put it delicately.

Kakashi snorted softly. "So are you," he pointed out calmly. He walked on while Itachi floundered behind him for a few moments. This Itachi was far less unguarded and thick skinned than he would grow up to be; teasing him was quite fun.

XXX

Once they got closer to a town, they changed into a clean set of clothes. They didn't bother with a cover story or false identification, as this town was too small to care much about those wandering through.

Kakashi snuck out at night. He wanted a drink. The local bar was also a perfect place to pick up information.

He wasn't ready for the gossip however. Why? Because the Uchiha massacre was two days ago.

What the h*ll.

The Uchiha Massacre wasn't just recent. . .Itachi had just done it two days ago.

His fingers turned numb as he pressed his fingertips against the cold glass.

They had just done it. . . hadn't they?

Kakashi sipped at the rest of the drink, resisting the urge to just down the thing and leave. He finished his drink, paid, and went back to the inn.

XXX

They traveled north-west into the Land of Rivers. Kakashi and Itachi laid false trails to further confuse anyone following them.

They set up camp and traps in the wilderness before they began to train. Training was part of a ninja's daily life; it kept them fit and sharp.

It took a long time for Itachi to succumb to his curiosity. "Where are we heading?"

"West into the Land of Wind, and maybe later to the Land of Stone." Kakashi shrugged.

"Why?"

"Draw a map."

Itachi did as requested. He handed the stick he had used to draw the dirt map to Kakashi.

Kakashi pointed to the large country west of the Land of Fire and drew a line between the two. "Konoha has a peace treaty with Suna. They will be watching for us. Because they are watching for us and Konoha knows I know that, they didn't think we would head to the Land of Rivers or the Land of Wind." Kakashi drew x's over three smaller countries between Konoha and the big country to the north, "They will be waiting for us in Takigakure, Amegakure, and Kusugakure to stop us from getting into the Land of Earth. So we won't go there, yet at least." He meaningfully tapped a small country between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, the Land of Stone. "Make sense?"

Itachi nodded carefully, eyes glued to the map as he figured out the game Kakashi and those in charge back in Konoha were playing. "Thank you for the explanation, Kakashi-senpai."

XXX

By the next time Konoha updated their bingo book, the search for them had started to die down. Now, the search for them by bounty hunters and their own bounty hunting had just begun.

With other ninja trying to get the drop on them, they needed to be cautious, but it was a perfect opportunity to go hunting for those other ninja.

Red pants, no shirt, grey hair, and a scythe with three red blades.

Kakashi was not looking forward to this fight. He signaled Itachi with hand signs to distract and start casting illusions.

Hidan was attacked with a hail of kunai. He sprang back, into a wire trap that he quickly cut before it became a problem. Because of the attack, he didn't notice the illusion that was slowly being layered around him. He lashed out with his weapon and Itachi dodged. The sharp blades dug into the soft pinewood.

With his enemy's weapon extended and unaware of the danger behind, Kakashi sprung forward. Shiden crackled to life in his hand and sprung out in controlled spikes.

The purple lightning was unrelenting as it cut Hidan up. He had just enough time to curse vehemently at Kakashi before he lost the ability to speak. Hidan was in pieces: two arms, two legs, the chest, and the head, neatly divided from each other.

Kakashi merely grinned underneath his mask. He already had the chest sealed after cutting it into half. He started on the legs.

Itachi used Shunshin and quickly came over to seal the arms.

Unfortunately, the ones they were using were the body scrolls for the bounties they were trying to collect, so Kakashi would need to make some new ones.

"Different scrolls for the arms," Kakashi advised. He diced the head into tenths. It paid to be overly cautious and the head was the most dangerous section. Each part was still full of chakra and the wounds cauterized from the lightning; as they were still alive, even now, he could not seal them into body scrolls.

Kakashi spread the pieces out and used Trapping Skill. Deep, thin holes formed under each piece and were then covered up. He shook a handful of pine needles over each hole and patted it down to give a natural appearance.

Hidan would eventually die, sooner or later.

Kakashi pulled a book out of the seal on the inside of his weapons pouch. He flipped a page or two over and scratched a line through the list of names.

XXX

A Few Months Later

Itachi breached the idea of leaving one lazy spring sunset. "I need to check something out." His tone implied alone, despite the help Kakashi could be. The invitation was for one, and one only.

"Red clouds in a black sky?" Kakashi said, as if asking about unusual weather patterns.

"Yes."

"Be careful." Kakashi patted Itachi's head.

"I will, Kakashi-senpai. Take care of yourself."

A/N

Jutsu:

* Trapping Skill/Torappingu no Jutsu-this jutsu creates a hole in the ground and then covers the hole with dirt.

A Kakashi timetravel fix has been a plot bunny of mine for a long time.

Kakashi's Sharingan can be deactivated and look like a normal black eye, because Itachi was the Uchiha heir and knew about the secret clan method for transplanting Sharingan. That is to say, it doesn't take Uchiha blood to have full control, just there's a method of doing it that no one else eg. Rin, Orochimaru, Danzou knew about.

Itachi, Kakashi, and Hidan are all about S-Class and not Kage level. This is several years before Naruto even becomes a genin. And the point of this fight isn't to show off a future villain or any of Hidan's capabilities. None of the Akatsuki have plot armor and Kakashi is not going to let any of them live if he can help it.

Supposedly, the only thing that Hidan is supposed to die from is lack of nutrition according to the wiki.

My thanks to auroracode and an_actual_ocean for all of their help with this story.

-Silver