Home, sweet home!

Mitsuko can honestly say she has never been so happy to be back in Konoha in her life. This may have been the first time she had actually been outside the village, but she has a whole new sense of appreciation for things she took for granted. Hot showers, freshly cooked meals, and most importantly, her brother.

They had barely made it to the gates when Mitsuko was able to pinpoint his location. His chakra was buzzing quite noisily, enough to be noticeable even on the other side of Konoha's walls. The returning team had to check in with the chunin gate guards before they were allowed back in, but the few minutes it took felt like forever to the young girl. Infiltration checks are important, but it's been over a month since Mitsuko has seen her brother. The moment they were given the go ahead, Mitsuko sprinted in the direction she could feel her brother sulking.

It wasn't uncommon for friends or family members to be waiting at the gate when loved ones were returning from long missions. Every shinobi when sent on mission is recorded with their purpose and their expected return date. If their mission runs late or ends too early, you are supposed to send a message back to Konoha with an update.

This way, there was a list of who was out of the village and who was expected back. It let Konoha know if anyone had run into trouble if they miss their return date without advanced notice. It also let them catch spies who tried to sneak in using a Konoha-nin's face.

It's surprisingly common for somebody to show up claiming to be returning from a mission, but were recorded never leaving in the first place. You think after it didn't work the first dozen times, other villages would pick up on it and find a different way. Nope. At least once a month they catch some poor bastard with this method.

Mitsuko and her team had sent word ahead after they had reached the capital, and had arrived back home on schedule. It made sense that Kakashi would be waiting for her, given that he was given advance notice and this had been her first 'big-girl mission'. She hadn't even gotten to talk to him before leaving, since he had been on a mission of his own.

When she was able to actually see him rather than just sense his chakra, her brother had been sitting on one of the many public benches littered near the entrance of the village. Even from a distance, the young girl could tell her brother hadn't been in the best of moods. Slouched slightly, closed off expression even with his mask, Kakashi practically radiated an aura of gloom that Kushina-sensei would call 'Teenage Angst'. Nevermind the fact he wouldn't be turning eleven for a few more weeks.

"Nii-chan! Nii-chan, I'm home!" Mitsuko happily called out when she had gotten closer. He had been reading something, and nearly dropped the book in surprise when she got his attention. His head snapped up, the tension that had been threading through him melting in relief.

He stood up from the bench just in time to catch his little sister as she barreled into him. Mitsuko was so happy to be home, and had launched herself at him in a hug the moment she was in range.

For once, his hug wasn't awkward or hesitant. He latched onto her just as tightly, arms wrapped around her careful but firm. Mitsuko basked in the comfort, before beginning to ramble about her mission. He didn't let go first for once, and she was okay with that.

It had been over a month since they had seen each other, and she loved hugs from him anyways. She had missed him quite a bit.

-vVv-

Kakashi held his sister tightly, feeling the fear and worry he had been holding for the past two weeks melt the longer he held on.

His team had been deployed to the front lines again, since Rin and Obito had made chunin last year they didn't need to be supervised as closely by their teacher. Minato-sensei was still hesitant to leave them to fend for themselves, but he didn't stay with them every moment of every mission any more.

The Third Shinobi World War was an awful thing to witness. A brutal, unforgiving, traumatizing hell. They weren't placed on the literal frontlines, but they had been at a border station that was attacked. Out of the hundred something ninja stationed there, a dozen had been brought home in body scrolls.

That was considered an acceptable outcome. That at least they were able to bring home the corpses for once rather than needing to destroy what was left of their comrades out in the field. After the horrifying experience of the border attack, all the boy wanted was to come home and relax. Kakashi had been expecting for his baby sister to be back home, safe behind the village walls. She wasn't at the gate, and during their debrief at the mission hall he found out why.

She had instead been sent out on her first out of village mission while he was away.

Kakashi wasn't happy.

Worried might be a better word, maybe even terrified. His baby sister had been sent out on a mission, her very first outside the village, and he hadn't been here. He had no clue who had been sent with her as her team, had no clue what she packed and took with her, hadn't even known more about the objective then the fact it was a body guarding mission.

He knew the worst case scenario wasn't a very likely outcome, but he had spent the previous day helping Minato-sensei make and distribute body scrolls to carry his fallen comrades home. That had included sealing mangled corpses away into the scrolls.

His mind was full of fresh images of the various ways his fellow Konoha-nin had been killed. Stabbed and bled out, burned to an unrecognizable crisp by a fire-jutsu of somesort, their head crushed like a grape. He had seen plenty of dead people, far too many for an almost eleven year old. His worried and paranoid mind threw image after image of brutal deaths, each body replaced with the tiny form of his baby sister.

While logically he knew a c-rank for guarding a civilian merchant caravan was as low risk you could get in war time, he still was overcome with fear for a long moment. So many things could go wrong, what would happen if she had gotten separated from her team? What if she had gotten hurt?

What would he do if she died, left him alone like their father had?

Kakashi had been informed of his sister's whereabouts in the mission hall where team seven had been reporting back in. The hall was busy at the moment too, full of noise and movement. Plenty of people there to see his reaction if they cared to look hard enough. Rin and Obitio had side eyed him when he froze at the news, familiar enough with him to know that he wasn't as calm as he looked to the casual observer.

He doesn't remember much outside the overwhelming fear he had for those first few moments. Inside was a hurricane full of fear and worry, a swirling storm that left the boy drowning. But none of those emotions were shown on the outside, his poker face was too good for that. You had to know Kakashi well to see the full reaction the news brought. He had frozen in place, utterly still and barely breathing. It must have been less than a minute, but it had felt like an eternity to the panicking boy.

Minato had been the boy's teacher for over five years now, and noticed with ease. The blond dismissed his other students as soon as they left the debrief, and used Hirashin to get Kakashi somewhere more private. The two of them arrived back at Minato and Kushina's home, and the preteen had to force himself to try to breathe. Kakashi felt like he couldn't get enough air. Like he was drowning in his fear.

Minato-sensei laid a hand on his students shoulder, eyebrows furrowed and a worried frown. The jonin was well aware of the siblings family history, and was able to guess why Kakashi was panicking. Mitsuko had been given the safest available mission to start with. An easy c-rank with low chances of hostile contact. That didn't ease the fear the young boy had at the mere possibility of losing the one family member he had left.

"Kakashi, deep breaths now." Minato softly ordered. "If you hyperventilate, you're going to pass out. Mitsuko is okay, she will come home okay, everything is going to be okay."

Kakashi nodded, trying his best to calm himself. His heart felt it was going to beat out of his chest, and his hands were shaking. His mind was a swirling mass of thoughts and worries, overriding the remaining parts of him still able to focus and ruining any chance of calming down.

"Kashi-kun, I want you to listen to me carefully. I want you to look around slowly, and name five things you can see."

The boy took in a stained gasp, feeling like he was breathing through a straw. "Your porch. The trees. The welcome mat. The mailbox. Your front door." Kakashi said. He felt like he was watching himself from a distance. Some vague part of him noted how his fingers had gone numb and how there were small black spots in his vision.

"Name four things you can hear."

"Your voice. My breathing. Birds. In the trees, that way, and I can hear wind rustling leaves." It took far more effort than it should have to get the words out without stammering or halting.

"Slow down, take a few more deep breaths for me. Name three things you can feel."

"My hitai-ate on my forehead. I can feel the grass I'm standing on. I can feel your hand on my shoulder."

"Name two things you can smell."

Kakashi felt more like himself as he responded. "I can smell metal polish, and sweat." The world had mostly come back into focus, like a painting that had been hanging at an angle was nudged back into its proper position.

"Last one, name something you can taste."

"Blood. I think I bit my lip at some point…?" The boy looked up at his teacher, confusion easy to read on his face for once. What just happened? It was like Kakashi had lost any control he had over his body, like he had been watching himself from a ghosts point of view.

The student and his teacher were standing on the porch of Minato and Kushina's home. The sun had just begun going down, casting an orange glow over everything. The blond must have brought him here to give him some privacy, knowing how much the boy hated being watched on a good day. Much less whatever had just happened.

Minato gave a sad smile, answering the question Kakashi didn't voice. "What you had just now is called a panic attack. Most shinobi will have at least one at some point in their career. They happen as a response to extreme stress or a traumatic situation." His teacher spoke softly, worry heard clear in his voice. "I've had a few myself before, and I know Kushina struggled with them often after she got news of Uzu, back when she first moved to Konoha."

The blond gently guided his student inside by the shoulders, sitting him down at the kitchen table. Kakashi felt drained, unreasonably so. He hadn't felt nearly this tired back in the mission hall. The boy stared down at the table while his mind blankly pondered on what the hell just happened. He hadn't noticed Minato leaving the room, or him coming back. He only looked up when his teacher set a steaming cup of tea down in front of him, sitting down on the opposite side of the table.

Minato took a small sip and then set his cup down. "Kakashi, when was the last time you had a psych-examination?"

Kakashi blinked. He's not sure he's ever had one done, has he? Konoha-nin only have mandatory examinations after extremely traumatic missions or injuries. Normally when one unexpectedly loses a teammate or has a career ending injury. Outside of that, only those who wanted a psych-exam got them.

There was a bit of a stigma around mental health in the shinobi forces. Some of the older generations claimed it was 'kids getting too soft', while others said it was a sign of weakness to require outside intervention. Kakashi had fallen in that trap too, feeling a flicker of shame curl in his chest at the implication that he needed psychiatric help.

"I haven't had one before."

Minato looked up sharply, a concerned frown on his face. "Never? Not even after your father…?"

Kakashi winced. He didn't enjoy thinking about that awful day. The opposite to be honest, he still regularly had nightmares of that day. "We didn't get much help from anyone, after Tou-san died. Not even help cleaning the mess left behind." He remembers numbly scrubbing the blood stains out of the floor, spending hours trying to get rid of every last trace of red. He didn't want Mitsuko to see it again, having watched the incident rather than stumbling upon the aftermath like he did.

He would do anything for her. Even if it meant on too stressful nights that he could still taste blood on the back of his throat or how he never felt completely clean, like his fathers blood from years ago never washed off all the way. He sometimes still felt the blood under his fingernails on bad days even if it had been so long ago since he had to clean up the mess left behind. He was the older brother, and chose to deal with it so his baby sister wouldn't have to.

When he looked up again, Minato-sensei was glaring at nothing in particular, arms crossed and in a frosty tone of voice asked,. "You were how old, six? And nobody had thought to check on you two? Hadn't even tried to make sure you were okay?" Minato was fuming at this point. "Kakashi, your fathers death is considered a traumatic event, and both you and your sister should have gotten psychiatric help. I am furious nobody has even brought this up to you. Including me."

Minato looked Kakashi in the eye, "Kakashi, I think you need to see someone. It should have been offered long before this, but will you please see either someone in Psych or a Yamanaka?" His icy blue gaze pierced him, and his tone of voice was dead serious. The boy knew there wasn't a way to avoid the blond's request.

There was the Psychiatric care offered to all Konoha-nin at the public hospital, staffed by people trained and specialized in mental health. That was also where Konoha's only inpatient ward is located. But there was also the Yamanaka, who used family techniques and centuries of research to help patients. They also had a better track record at keeping secrets. He wasn't too keen on more gossip fuel if he could help it.

Kakashi wished he didn't have to see either. It felt like admitting he was weak, that he wasn't capable enough to handle this on his own. He knew if Mitsu was here though, she would be giving him a disappointed pout if he even tried to deny help. She wouldn't let him live it down if he said no. He let out a sigh, feeling unreasonably tired.

"Fine. If you say I need to, I'm willing to visit a Yamanaka."

-vVv-

While Kakashi wasn't happy with it, he knew his teacher was right.

After a few hours doing a couple tests and quite a bit of talking, the boy was informed that he had some long lasting scars left from his father. A mix of abandonment issues and trauma induced anxiety that was obvious when you knew what signs to look for, or once pointed out.

Kakashi was always hyper-aware of what was going on around him, always tense and waiting for danger just around the corner. He had taken ninja paranoia to a whole new level. The boy had issues displaying his emotions openly or even at all some days.. He had quite a few unhealthy coping techniques, not to mention the fact he refused to show his face to anyone. He even wore the mask at home when it was just him and Mitsuko.

He had a panic attack at the news his sister had been assigned to a c-rank mission when he had been on B-ranks younger than she was now.

None of these were healthy or ok, and the boy had been informed that he would be seeing a therapist at least once a week for the next few months. Kakashi wasn't happy about it, but he agreed to it regardless. He knew when Mitsuko heard about this, she would get upset if he wasn't attending the therapy sessions. His little sister worried so much when it came to someone's health. He wasn't going to enjoy it, but at least Mitsuko wouldn't be upset with him.

If Mitsu-chan didn't force him to take care of himself, Kakashi would probably be way worse off. Thinking back on the packed lunches she makes him, or the first aid kit she keeps stocked for him to take whenever he gets a mission. His sister would even drag him to bed and force him to sleep if he stayed up too late at night. It was like she had a sixth sense to when her brother was doing something stupid.

Kakashi refuses to think about what it would be like without Mitsuko in his life. She would be home sometime today or tomorrow. Everything will be okay.

Minato had let the boy know that her mission had gone over schedule, but was expected back sometime soon. The blond had been keeping a closer eye on his youngest student, refusing to let Kakashi deal with his issues alone now that he was aware of them. Minato probably still felt guilty about not getting Kakashi help sooner. If it made his teacher feel better, then the boy would let him fuss over him, for now.

Kakashi was currently sitting on one of the many benches along the entrance to the village. It was common enough to have people waiting at the gates for various reasons, so the village had placed quite a few seating options so people would stop standing around and clogging the flow of traffic.

He had been trying to focus on reading some generic romance novel. Kakashi had gotten a few new books, after having been told by his therapist to pick a hobby other than training. Something about having healthy outlets. The boy wasn't exactly a social creature, so he chose a hobby that was as far from needing other people as possible. It was nice, sitting down somewhere quiet with a good story to distract him. It was hard to find good stories though, his current choice mediocre at best.

Kakashi struggled to focus on the story though. He wasn't able to keep his attention on his book for more than a few seconds at a time, too anxious waiting for Mitsuko. He knew she was ok, that she had only minor injuries at most. His baby sister would be home soon, and everything would be okay.

That didn't stop Kakashi's thoughts from going wild, whirling around all the horrible possibilities around like a storm in his head. No matter how he tried, he couldn't stop the faint feeling of fear of what could have happened. His new Yamanaka had told him that was something that would go away with time and effort. Kakashi hopes he's right. For now, the boy spent his days off sitting at the village gates, so he would know the moment Mitsuko was home.

So he sat impatiently, somehow slouched and wire-taut at the same time. His foot tapped irritably as he tried to keep his focus on the story. His mind wandered every other sentence, too focused thing when his sister would finally get home.

"Nii-chan!" Kakashi's head snapped up. "Nii-chan, I'm home!"

Mitsuko was sprinting in his direction, a wide grin on her face and pep in her step. He could feel himself melting in relief at the sight. Her hair was down in twin braids again, out of the ponytail she wore in an effort to look older. He noticed the red ribbons tying them, those were definitely new.

Kakashi stood up quickly, just in time as Mitsuko crashed into him, nearly knocking him over. Her arms wrapped around him, and for once he didn't hesitate. He hugged her back just as tightly. His worry and fear drained out of him the longer he held his sister. He felt his eyes burn the slightest bit from the sheer relief that washed over him.

His mind focused back on the present as Mitsuko started babbling excitedly about her mission. "..And our client was this rude guy, and his son was my age. When we left the capital, he had given me some fancy ribbons as 'A thank you gift' that he claimed his father had forced him to give to me. He didn't really like me, I think. He said something like that at least."

His baby sister giggled as she thought back on her mission, before doing an impression of a snotty boy around her age, "It's not like I like you or anything!" Something about that phrase doesn't seem right, where have I heard that before? "I tried to ask Genma-san what he meant by that, but all he would say was 'Pigtail pulling.' What does that even mean?"

The air suddenly went dark as Kakashi realized. He had seen that cliche line a few times in the trashy romance novel he had been reading. That little shit had a crush on Mitsu-chan! Mitsuko had gained her first fanboy.

Kakashi has been dealing with fangirls since he had been in the academy, mostly civilian born kunoichi. Though, quite a few civilians have recently started looking at him like he was a meal ticket or a prize to be won. Sometimes by women up to a decade and a half older than him. He wasn't even eleven yet!

But now Mitsuko is getting fanboys too? She's only eight, it's too soon!

"Imouto, you aren't allowed to date until you're thirty. I refuse." Kakashi insisted in an almost begging tone of voice.

Mitsuko pulled back from the hug to look at him oddly. "Nii-chan, where did that come from?" She tilted her head slightly, like his summons did when confused. They even had the same wide-eyed look of confused curiosity.

That's when he noticed the new scar Mitsu had earned on her mission. It was a thin white line that trailed from under her left eye down her cheek. It wasn't extremely noticeable, but the fact remained that his sweet baby sister came home from her first mission with a scar on her face.

"Mitsu-chan, who was your team's captain on this mission? I just want to talk." The air around them was heavy with his chakra, sparking in his anger. Kakashi knew he was leaking a fair amount of Killing Intent, but couldn't find it in himself to bother reeling it in. His KI never affects his sister, their chakra natures to similar for her to feel the implied threat others did when it just flowed harmlessly over her. It felt like family to her. He didn't mean anything by it anyways. He just wants to talk, promise.

The young girl shook her head rapidly. "I know what that means! It's okay, nii-chan. This wasn't his fault. Our client had lied about the men after him and the amount of danger he was in. Please don't maim him, this wasn't Genma-sans fault at all!" The pout she gave with that statement was just too cute. She had taken his earlier advice apparently, her lip wobbling while her big blue eyes watered slightly. Damn, he thought he was immune to her puppy face!

Kakashi took a deep breath to calm himself. He knew that their fellow Konoha-nin had been watching the two closely this entire time, and there was already enough gossip fuel for now. It felt at times like the siblings were a soap opera to their fellow Konoha citizens, only there for amusement with no respect to privacy. No use in adding more fuel to the fire. He wanted to hear the full story, and knew that it wasn't something to talk about in public while being watched. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck prickling at the piercing stares directed at the siblings.

"Come on Imouto, let's go home." Kakashi didn't give his sister any warning before picking her up and slinging her onto his back. Mitsuko was still on the smaller side for her age, able to pass as a couple years younger if she wanted. Being so small and light, he could carry her for hours before feeling any strain. He knew how much she enjoyed piggyback rides, and he also wanted the reassurance of keeping her close. For now, at least.

Mitsuko let out a burst of delighted giggles. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, smiling and continuing to talk about things she saw or people she talked to on her mission. They had a long walk to get back to the Hatake clan compound, so there was plenty of time for her to ramble to her heart's content.

He couldn't help but look back for just for a moment at her excited expression, his baby sister on his back, home and safe, happiness shining in her eyes.

For just a moment, he actually believed himself for once as he thought to himself,

Everything is okay.

AN: So I haven't actually done any author notes before, since this is my first and only fanfiction. But, I commissioned art of the siblings for the cover. The last scene in this chapter is actually what the drawing is of. It was done by SortrosPhoresia on twitter, I would recommend the, 10/10 experience. They were a dream to work with! Updates will probably be sporadic by the way, my college finals are this week and next week, so I will have less energy to focus on this story. Leave a review or send me a PM if yall have any questions or thoughts. Have a good day my dudes.