-Chapter 4-

Lunch was great. Amazing. Even though my head still hurts, the food made everything better. It was the first food that actually tastes good that I've had in this life. We got Akimichi barbecue. It was heaven. Dad and Kakashi kept laughing at my reactions. I didn't even care. All the food at the orphanage was utilitarian, meant to be cheap and keep us going. This? With this food, you could taste the love in it.

We'd just left the restaurant and were headed in a direction that I didn't think we would go to. I had no clue how to get to the house we'd been in earlier, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't in a civilian district. Especially the district with the orphanage in it. The closer and closer we got, the harder it was to not say anything. My headache had finally lessened, the mask helping quite a bit. That, and being away from all the smells of the hospital. When Sakumo had said we were going home, I thought that meant I was going home with him and Kakashi. But as we walk up the steps of the orphanage, I know now that's not the case.

As soon as the door opens the caretaker grabs me and pulls me inside, immediately apologizing to Sakumo. I keep my head down, trying to stop the tears as I move to go back to my room, but a pair of arms stops me.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sakumo asks, his voice harder than I'd ever heard it. I have to fight the urge to flinch away at the noise. I feel his grip lessen a little, but it was firm enough to make sure that I'm not walking away.

"I was going back to my room."

"Ah, I should have known you would want to grab a few things." He says, pulling away a little. "Kakashi, can you take your sister to grab her things?"

"Hai tou-san." Kakashi picks me up into his arms and starts to carry me up the steps.

"What did he mean?" I ask, my head buried in Kakashi's neck.

"What do you mean, imouto?"

"Why would I need to grab my things if you're leaving me here?" Kakashi immediately freezes, stopping mid-step.

"We're not leaving you here, Kojika."

"But he said that we were going home next and then we came here." The tears finally start to make their way down my cheeks as Kakashi pulls me closer to his chest.

"Maa, we have to let the orphanage know where you're going, or else they'd think you've been kidnapped, ne?"

"Gonna stay with you?"

"Of course you are, imouto." He says, starting to walk again. Soon we're walking into my room. I pull my head up to look at him.

"How'd you know this is my room?"

"Your scent, Jika-chan."

"Eh?!" I yell. "Are you saying I stink?" He starts laughing at me, tears almost spilling from his visible eye.

"No, Jika." He says after a moment. "You know how you could smell a lot more at the hospital?"

"Yeah."

"It's a Hatake trait. Just like the Uchiha have the Sharingan and the Hyuga have the Byakugan. We have stronger senses, specifically our hearing and our scenting. We can always find our pack by their scent."

"Is that how you knew I was your sister?" He gives an eye smile as he nods.

"It was, now grab your things." He puts me down on the floor. I'm extremely glad I have the mask on, or else he'd see the blush I know is bright across my cheeks. I only had a couple of these baggy clothes. I'd already returned the scrolls from the library before signing up for the academy. I'm able to hold the clothes in my arms when I turn back around to leave. I hear a low growl in Kakashi's throat causing me to immediately look down at the floor, tears pooling in my eyes once again.

"I'm not mad at you, imouto." He says after taking a steadying breath. I still don't look up at him. I can feel his anger in the room. Was he really that mad this was all I had? I'd managed to stow away some extra clothes before I'd told the caretakers that I was joining the academy, just in case.

"I'm okay, nii-san." My voice sounds weak even to my own ears. Kakashi sighs again before I'm suddenly curled against his chest again. He's taken my clothes, holding them in one arm while he tucks me against his chest with his other. He carries me back down to the entryway of the orphanage, just stopping to pick up my shoes before he leaves through the front door, ignoring the caretaker talking to dad. He walks over to a quiet side of the street, shaded by one of the few trees in this part of the civilian district.

"You're never going back there again." He whispers into my hair before nuzzling his nose against the top of my head. I'm instantly comforted by the action, I wrap my arms up around his neck, burying my head in it like I had with dad earlier in the day. I take in deep breaths to try to calm myself, the scent of dogs and grass filling my senses finally does the trick. Pack. Safe.

"Kakashi-" Dad says as he turns the corner.

"This is all she has." I feel Kakashi shift, most likely showing the meager clothes I had. I can't believe I thought Kakashi's growl was scary. In comparison to dad's he just sounded like a playful puppy. And that was saying something. I feel complete fear and dread wash over me, a whimper making its way out of my mouth before I even notice it. Soon I feel arms wrap around me and Kakashi, the fear and dread dissipates as dad pulls us both to him.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, Jika-chan." He says lowly. "Just the thought of that place- never going to touch you again- going to rip into the next council-" He's talking more to himself than to me, but I feel my shoulders drop as I close my eyes. He wasn't mad at me. He wasn't going to make me go back to that place.

"Can we go home?" I finally manage to whisper, it stops dad's long rant as he slowly pulls away from us.

"Yeah, let's go home, pups." He says after a moment. His voice sounds different. What had happened? I try to move my head but Kakashi's hand stops me.

"Not right now, imouto."

"But-"

"Shh, we'll explain everything later about pack and our instincts. Okay imouto?"

"Is that why tou-san-"

"Yes, now shh." He shushes me, keeping my head firmly in his neck. I do as he says, relaxing against him and closing my eyes. It would be okay. Everything would be okay now that I had my pack.

Dad was still in a weird mood when we got home. We've been sitting in the tatami room for the past hour in relative silence, the only sounds were some of the snores coming from both Kakashi's and dad's ninken. I'm tucked into dad's chest, Kakashi close to his side so I feel his arm shift each time he turns a page in his book which is surprisingly not Icha Icha this time. Pakkun has made himself at home in my lap, comforting me much like he had the night before. The rest of the ninken surround us, we're essentially in a puppy pile. I've finally managed to take off the mask, being surrounded by different scents, but all of them culminate into one thing: pack.

For the most part, I feel comforted. I have my dad, my brother, and their ninken. But I also feel uneasy. Dad's bursting with barely contained energy as he continues to try to calm himself down. I feel my headache trying to come back and nuzzle closer to his chest for comfort. The last day had been a whirlwind of emotions. And trying to understand all of this clan stuff was rough, too. Dad's voice had completely changed in just a matter of minutes. It turned deeper, more rough. Commanding. Kakashi said they'd explain later, but how much later? Just thinking of all the possibilities is making me go crazy.

A knock on the front door stops my theorizing. I feel Kakashi shift next to us and I pull my head up to look at him. He's looking at dad, but not in the eyes. He keeps his visible eye lowered, what was up with that? The ninken still lay down around us, but it's easy to see their muscles are now more tense than before, they're ready to attack at any moment.

"Go." Dad says, his voice still the deep tone from the last time he spoke. Kakashi slowly gets up, Bull following him out of the room. Dad pulls my head back into his chest, cradling the back of it while he rests his chin on top of it. I want to be able to look around, but I just know that is the last thing he wants me to do. His body has tensed back up, one of his hands has moved from holding me to sit on the floor next to the weapons pouch attached to his leg. I close my eyes and try to control my breathing, hoping that if I'm calm it might calm him down too.

I hear two sets of footsteps walk down the hall, a murmuring of voices but nothing I can discern. And soon I hear a low growl begin to form in dad's chest.

"I'm not here to harm your pack, Sakumo." A voice says as I hear the rustling of clothes. "Tsunade asked me to see if I can get rid of the seal on your pup." I feel Kakashi sit back down beside us and try to tilt my head to look at him, but dad stops me with a warning growl. I immediately freeze and move back to where I was before as he lifts his head from mine. I hear him take a couple of deep breaths before he relaxes slightly.

"Sorry, Jiraiya." He says after a moment, his voice back to its normal tone. I feel myself relax as Kakashi starts to rub my back. "After seeing how they treated her at the hospital, seeing the seal I just-" dad doesn't even finish his sentence.

"I understand." Jiraiya says, his voice not the grave tone it was when he first came into the room. "Is it okay for me to come closer to look at the seal?"

"Yes," dad says, rubbing the back of my head softly. I don't even try to move it to look at Jiraiya. The soothing motion makes it hard for me to not fall asleep. "You're going to need to turn your head for Jiraiya to look at your seal, Jika-chan." I can't stop myself from pouting up at him. He gives me an encouraging smile before guiding my head to turn and look at Jiraiya. He looked like he had the last time I saw him, but this time he had a shocked look on his face.

"It's you!" He says, pointing at me. I burst into a fit of child-like giggles. It's the most I've laughed in this new life. The look on his face is priceless. I fall back into dad's chest, clutching my stomach as Jiraiya looks at me incredulously.

"Do I even want to know?" Dad asks, his amusement clear in his voice.

"He-he," I can't even form a sentence while trying to breathe between my laughs.

"Breathe, Jika-chan," Dad teases. I take a few deep breaths, purposefully not looking at Jiraiya to avoid another round of laughter.

"He was looking in the women's bathhouse-"

"Jiraiya." Dad sighs, looking at the man in question.

"And this guy asked him to sign the orange book Kaka-niisan reads-"

"Kakashi-" Dad starts, but I cut him off trying to save Kakashi.

"And then I went and asked the lady at the bathhouse who he was-"

"And then I was banned from the bathhouse for an entire month." Jiraiya grumbles, sending me back into another fit of laughter. "Ha-ha, keep laughing, gaki." He mutters under his breath as he pulls out a scroll, some ink, and a pen from his bag. I feel myself tense up immediately at the sight of it.

"It's okay, imouto." Kakashi says, placing more pressure on my back.

"I'm going to get rid of this nasty seal for you, gaki. That's all." Jiraiya says, his voice soft despite calling me a brat. I stick my tongue out at him at first before lifting it so he can see the seal. He rolls his eyes at my action before moving closer to look at it.

"Damn," he mutters. I close my mouth and watch as he grabs his pen and ink.

"What do you mean, Jiraiya?" Dad says, tense again.

"Damn, this looks like a nasty seal I've seen before."

"Can you fix it?"

"Of course," he grins at me, bringing the pen closer to me. I open my mouth, bracing myself for the bad taste. I'd accidentally gotten ink in my mouth at the civilian school once, it was horrible. The pen tickles as it moves against my tongue, and I struggle not to move my tongue. It feels like forever before he's done. But when he finally pulls the brush away, I regret wanting it to end. My ears pop, my headache returns full force, and all the smells and sounds around me feel like they're suffocating me. I barely hear dad and Kakashi trying to talk to me, briefly registering the concerned look on Jiraiya's face, but no matter how hard I try to stay awake, black spots overtake my vision.

Why couldn't I have just been a background character in the original Naruto world? That would be a lot easier than this.