Tsume woke up the next morning when something tickled her nose. When she opened her eyes to see what it was, she let out a blood-curdling scream.

She cowered against the wall, one hand clamped over her mouth and nose, until Kakashi burst into the room, a kunai in his hand.

"What's wrong?" he asked, searching the room for an intruder. When he found none, he sighed in relief, turning to the Inuzuka.

The older kunoichi whimpered, using her free hand to point at the animal on her bed. The black kitten cocked her head to the side, lashing her tail behind her.

Kakashi crouched next to Tsume."It's just a little kitten. What harm could it do?"

The brunette gestured frantically for him to get the cat out her room. It was clear she wasn't going to move until the cat was gone.

Kakashi sighed and stood up, picking up the cat. He walked down the stairs, setting her down and nudging her forward in the direction of town. Someone would find her and take her in.

The silver-haired ninja went back inside and to the nursery, checking that the kids were still asleep before going back to Tsume.

She was still sitting on the floor, but the lower half of her face was uncovered. Kakashi plopped down next to her.

"Hey," he said gently. "Are you okay?"

Tsume nodded shakily. "Yeah. It's just…I have this fear of cats."

Kakashi wanted to say something sarcastic, but decided not to. Instead, he asked, "Why?"

She took in a shuddering breath, tense muscles finally relaxing. "Well, for starters, I'm an Inuzuka. We naturally hate them. But when I was younger my cousin would randomly scare me with cats, and now I'm just scared of them."

Kakashi chuckled. "You know, I used to be afraid of dogs," he admitted. "I was kind of small when I was younger, and they always intimidated me. Then my dad finally realized and helped me out."

Tsume sighed. "My cousin just made it worse. Every year he got more daring with his pranks, until it finally got so bad that if I so much as see a cat I run in the other direction."

Kakashi frowned, staring out the window across the room. "Maybe all you need is someone to help you out, like my dad did for me."

"Good luck trying to find someone to help me." Tsume snorted.

Kakashi smiled suddenly. "I can help you!"

The Inuzuka stared at him. "Excuse me?"

"I can help you overcome your fear of cats." Kakashi repeated. "That way you don't need to worry about your feat getting out, and it's free!"

Tsume thought about it for a minute. "Sure," she finally said. "Why not?"

/\/\

Hana sat in Itachi's room with a scowl on her face.

"Come on, Itachi!" she called. The Uchiha appeared from inside his closet, an eyebrow raised.

"What is so important?" he wondered.

Hana snorted. "I'm not going to answer that because I know you know what is so important."

Itachi rolled his eyes, slipping on his shirt. "Fine," he said. "Let's go."

He followed her out of the room, allowing a small smile to grace his face. He honestly never thought that he would be standing here a couple months ago.

Somewhere in the house a baby cried, and Hana grinned at the familiarity of it. Everything was back to normal.

Hana picked up the little kitten still standing outside, her small body shaking. She wrapped the cat in her jacket, ensuring that she would be warm.

"Come on. We have to return Onyx to the Yamanka's before they start wondering where we are."
The Inuzuka said, grabbing her friend's wrist and dragging him behind her.

Inoichi thanked them for bringing Onyx, and Hana saw little Ino playing with some paper flowers on the floor. She smiled and told the blonde that she was glad they had been able to use her, then they left to start the next part of the plan.

/\/\

Tsume sighed as Kiba reached out for Kuromaru, small hands clenching and unclenching in the air. For some reason her son felt the need to touch her dog.

Kakashi was sitting on the floor, cradling an unusually quiet Naruto while Sasuke and Sakura played next to him. The younger ninja was blinking fast, struggling not to fall asleep. He had gotten so little sleep lately…

Sure, he was used to working on little periods of rest. But not continuously like this, where he only got a couple hours here and there.

Tsume wasn't doing much better. She had some preparation because of Hana, and if it was only Kiba she would be fine. But it wasn't just Kiba. She had Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura also, which made it that much harder.

She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. Although, with Hana gone with Itachi that was two kids less to worry about. As long as she was with Itachi she would be safe.

Besides, she had more pressing matters to deal with.

She set Kiba down next to Sasuke and walked into the kitchen.

It was time to master the art of cooking.

/\/\

Hana whined as Itachi stopped to ask yet another person for the time. Why he was doing this, she would never know. He had asked barely five minutes ago!

"Itachi," she pleaded. "Can we finish the plan sometime this year? I have things I want to do."

Itachi turned to her. "Do you want to get Kakashi and your mother together?"

"Yes." Hana pouted.

"Good." Itachi turned back to the store they were in front of. "Because it's time for the next part of the plan."

/\/\

Tsume growled as she burned yet another pot of noodles. How hard could this possibly be? It was noodles, for God's sake!

She was a kunoichi! This should be a piece of cake for her!

The Inuzuka threw the burnt noodles, refilling the pot with water and setting it back on the stove. She readjusted the temperature leaning her hip against the counter and staring down at the water.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi exclaimed, reaching past her to lower the temperature. "Even my father knew that you weren't supposed to have it this high!"

Tsume flushed when she realized that the stove had been set on high. "Oops," she murmured.

Kakashi sighed, shaking his head. "There was a reason that my father was famous for eating out. He couldn't cook."

"So what?" Tsume countered. "I doubt you could do better."

Kakashi smirked under his mask. "I know a few things. Move. I'll get dinner. You watch the kids."

Tsume growled as Kakashi gently pushed her to the side.

"No."

Kakashi blinked. "Excuse me?"

"No. I want to learn." Tsume said.

"Okay." Kakashi agreed. It was Tsume's turn to blink. Huh. That had actually worked.

Kakashi proceeded to show her how to boil the water and heat the noodles. He chopped up the vegetables they needed while Tsume watched the noodles.

When Kakashi was done, he slid behind Tsume and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned back into him, eyes never leaving the noodles.

"You're doing great." Kakashi whispered. Tsume tilted her head back, smiling a little. Her fangs flashed in the sunlight, reminding him of how unique this woman was. At times she could be caring—at others, you had best run for your life.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

They stared at each other for a moment, then Tsume turned and brought her arms around his neck. She pulled his mask down, caressing his face with her hand. Lightly, she pressed her lips to his, and they both sighed when she pulled back.

"I love you." Kakashi said, dazed. Tsume laughed quietly.

"I love you too."

A/N: Okay, so I apologize for the crappy chapter. I just did not know how to go on with this story. BUT! The next chapter the kids will be a little older, and Tsume and Kakashi will officially be dating. At least, I think that's my plan. I have to think about it a little.