What you might like to know going in:

1. This is essentially canon but Tsume kept a better tab on her bestie (Minato)'s surviving student.

2. The story is from Kiba's pov. So this fic is about him too. Honestly, probably more than it is Kakashi.

3. Updates are gonna be sporadic. I'm working hard to wrap up Heirloom first. I just couldn't wait to post :P

Kiba remembered being four. It was kind of an awkward period. Dad had just left for good. Kiba didn't really know why he did but thought it was probably because of Mom. She could be really scary when she screamed. Mom had done a lot of that the night Dad took off.

From what he can recall, the night Dad left had been a relatively typical one. Kiba had awoken maybe an hour or two after his bedtime to Mom yelling at Dad. Kiba had gotten out of his bed and wandered across his and his sister's bedroom to Hana's bed and crawled under the covers. His sister always cried when they argued at night.

He recalled wishing his sister would turn over as the shouting reached a previously unknown pitch. Recently, her chest had started to grow soft mounds like Mom's and he'd wanted to hide in them the way he hid in Mom's when he had to get shots at the hospital. Hana hadn't, though. Instead, she quaked and Kiba had to make do with fisting his hands in her tank top and pressing his own tear-streaked face against the knobs of her spine.

At some point, the yelling stopped and Kiba heard what sounded like one of the doors slamming shut. A while after that, Hana stopped shaking. Kiba then fell back asleep. When he woke up next, Hana wasn't in her bed and Mom was pulling the covers off him telling him to get up.

The first couple of days after Dad ran away were uncomfortable. Mom wouldn't say anything when he or Hana asked where he'd gone. Then she started cleaning the whole apartment, top to bottom, swearing and grumbling as she did. Kiba remembered him, Kuromaru, and Hana giving her a wide berth and spending a lot of time at a couple of nearby playgrounds.

When Mom stopped cleaning, she sat him and his sister down at the kitchen table and said with a stern face, "We're moving in with Nan."

Kiba remembered frowning at the news. He liked his Great-Nan well enough. She was a cool old lady who let him play with (blunted) shuriken and kunai knives in her yard. Kiba liked his and Hana's bedroom though and the thought of never getting to sleep in it again made him unhappy.

Hana hadn't seemed concerned about never seeing their room again. Instead, she asked about Dad. Kiba had wrinkled his nose; he didn't understand why his sister was bothering to ask. Mom hadn't answered any of their questions about Dad before. Why would she now?

Immediately, "Just us or is Dad…?"

"Just us," answered Mom in a tone that made it clear she would take no more questions on the matter. Then she surprised Kiba by smiling. "I bumped into Kakashi while getting boxes and tape, by the way. He said he'd come around to help us move everything."

Hana gave a gasp of excitement. "Really?" she cried. "We haven't seen him in ages."

Mom rubbed her nose. "Yeah," she agreed. "Maybe I'll be able to twist his arm into coming by for some dinner or something once we're settled at Nan's."

"Please Mom?" Hana begged as Kiba kept looking between his sister and mom in confusion.

Who the heck was Kakashi?

Later, as had been habitual for Kiba at four, when he thought Hana knew almost everything, he asked her who Kakashi was. Hana had laughed at his question. "C'mon, Kiba!" she'd jibed. "He's skinny? Wears a mask? Has fluffy grey hair?"

At his blank, bordering on resentful stare, Hana's mirth faded. "You don't…?" she began only to trail off and go to their little joint bookcase beside Hana's desk on her side of the room. Getting to her knees, she ripped out a blue and purple photo album from the bottom shelf and began to flip through it. "Huh," she said after a while. "I didn't think it had been that long since we last Kakashi."

Kiba huffed and went to sit crisscross beside his sister. "So I have met him?" he asked.

"Yeah," replied Hana. She turned back a few pages into the album. She pointed at a small picture of him as a little baby and her as a four-year-old with a guy in a mask—

"That's Kakashi?" he asked.

Hana nodded. "Yup." she kept one thumb on the page and turned forward a few pages in the book, frowning. "I swear we saw him more recently than this," she told Kiba. "But maybe it was just me around the village or something."

"Oh," murmured Kiba. He gave a little tug on the album and Hana let him have it. Turning back to the page, Kiba stared at the picture of him, his sister, and this mysterious Kakashi. Squinting at the picture, Kiba began to wonder how old he was. It was a little hard to tell between the mask and grey hair but Kiba didn't think he looked all that old in the photo.

"So who is he?" Kiba asked again.

Hana hummed. "It's sort of complicated," she started. "Before the attack on the village, he was the student of one of mom's friends. I kinda remember her friend. Friends can be family. I called Mom's friend Uncle. So I think that means he was our family. Kakashi was definitely like a son to Uncle. That means Kakashi is kinda our cousin!"

Kiba absorbed this. "Is he nice?"

"I think so," answered Hana. "He hung out with me when I was little like you. Even when I wanted to play husband and wife." She laughed. "He was really good at making pretend dinner!"

Kiba scrunched his face. "Why was he making dinner? Dad never made us dinner."

Hana shook her head at him. "Kiba, he played the wife."

He blinked at his sister. "Guys can be wives?"

"I thought so!" answered Hana with a shrug. "But I was little then." Hana took the album from him. "Anyway, we might as well start packing this and the rest of our books," she told him. "Mom will be less grouchy on moving day if most of our stuff is ready to go to Nan's already."

Kiba let out a wordless whine but got up to help his sister. She was right. And just maybe, if there was less work to do on moving day, Kakashi would play with him like he used to play with Hana.

"—So much, Kakashi," Kiba heard his mom say as he rounded the corner into the front room of his family's apartment.

An unfamiliar man's voice replied, "Mah, don't mention it."

Walking up to his mom, he grabbed a handful of her pants and stared up at the young man standing in the open doorway. The guy stared back with one eye. "How'd you lose your eye?" he blurted out.

"Kiba!" hissed Mom, fingers reaching for his ear.

He yelped as her fingers twisted it. Wrenching away from her, he scowled. "What?" he cried.

Mom pulled her lips back into a snarl. Kiba braced himself, knowing from that expression a scolding was coming his way. However, before Mom could start in on him, Kakashi chuckled.

Both he and Mom looked at the guy. "He's just like you, isn't he, Tsume?"

Kiba gaped when Mom immediately turned bashful. "Oh stop," she huffed. "I know what you're doing."

Kakashi cocked his brow. "What?" he questioned with fake confusion.

Mom snorted and gave him a small shove. "Have it your way, kiddo," she said. Turning she waved for him to follow. "Me and my hellspawn can handle most of the stuff but there's a couple pieces of furniture I'd like your help moving."

"Sure, just show me," agreed Kakashi. Stuffing his hands into his pockets he started to trail after Mom. As he passed Kiba, he winked at him. Kiba grinned back. He thought he was going to like Kakashi.

The rest of the morning passed quickly. With Kakashi's help, they had all their things at Nan's in time for lunch. Unfortunately, during the move, Kiba had little time to get to know his sort of cousin. Mom and he had been preoccupied with moving furniture and other large things. It had been his and Hana's job to carry the small stuff to Nan's and his sister had been a slave driver when it came to staying on task. By the time they had everything placed in his, Hana, and Mom's new rooms Kiba actually wanted to take a nap.

Nan had not been a fan of that idea. "You can't grow without fuel!" she chided as she lightly slapped his cheeks after lifting his head from the dining table. "Eat and then you may have a rest."

Kiba pushed away her knobbily fingers and complained, "I'm not hungry!"

The old woman tsked. "Not hungry?" she exclaimed. "Not hungry!"

"What's all the yelling about?" Mom asked as she came into the room. She'd stripped down to just her tank and her brow was beaded with sweat. On her heels trailed a pink-cheeked Hana. She looked ready for an afternoon doze too. Kiba bet Nan would have a fit if she also refused to eat first.

"Your son says he isn't hungry!" Nan proclaimed.

Mom looked at him. "Maybe after a nap—"

"Food first! Then he can sleep," cut in Nan with a glare.

Eyes widening in exasperation, Mom threw up her hands. "Fine!" she agreed. She glanced at Kiba and then at Hana. "You'll probably sleep better on full stomachs anyway," she told them. She reached back and pulled Hana forward. Guiding her to the table, she told Kiba's sister, "You're allowed to pinch your brother if he starts to fall asleep. I'm gonna help your Nan fix something quick for you guys."

"Mooom," Kiba moaned as he let his head thunk on the table again.

She shook her head at him. "Just do this, Kiba," she grumbled. Mom then spun around and shouted, "Kakashi! Come hang with the kids for a minute!"

The man appeared almost instantaneously. Kiba rubbed his eyes. Was he really that quick? He looked less calm than he had at the start of the morning. "I'm not sure—"

"Ten minutes, tops," Mom insisted. "Please," she tacked on.

Kakashi sighed and sat down. Kiba, in response, lifted his head. He barely saw Mom and Nan leave the room as his gaze had fixed on the man across the table. Kakashi seemed agitated by being Kiba's sole focus. Brow pulling into a furrow, he told Kiba, "I am not prey."

Hana giggled as Kiba puckered his lips with bafflement. "Who said you were?" he asked. "How come you don't visit a lot?" he questions almost immediately after. "Hana says you're kinda like a cousin."

"Is that so?" he murmured, looking over at Hana who was a bright pink and refusing to look at him. The man then shrugged. "Just been busy, I guess," he replied. "I'm a fairly high-skilled Jōnin. My talents are in high demand."

Kiba stared. His mom was a Jōnin too. He never went more than a couple of weeks without seeing her. He tilted his head and squinted at Kakashi. "Uh-huh," he replied suspiciously.

Kakashi glanced at Hana, clearly seeking help. His sister sighed and gave him an unfair pinch. "Hey!" he yipped.

"No sleeping!" Nan hollered from the kitchen.

Kiba scowled at his sister and then at Kakashi. Neither looked all that apologetic. Rubbing at his smarting arm, he inquired, "Are you gonna be here after our nap? I wanna play with you."

Kakashi gave an impression of being miffed at his words. "You do?" he said. "We have barely exchanged twenty words."

"Duh," returned Kiba. "Hana got to play with you when she was my age. It's only fair if you play with me too."

This made the man laugh. Leaning forward, he placed an elbow on the table and his chin in his hand. "Is that so?" he teased.

Displeased by how unseriously Kakashi was treating him, Kiba crossed his arms. "Yeah!" he argued.

Kakashi curved his lone eye. "Well," he said. "If you're sure. What would we play?"

Kiba froze. He had not thought that far ahead. "Um," he mumbled.

Both Hana and Kakashi snickered.

Face growing hot embarrassment, Kiba snapped, "Don't laugh!" The pair giggled harder. "Stooop!" wailed Kiba.

"What in the world is going on in here?" Mom demanded as she came into the room with three plates of food juggled between her hands.

Hana, between hiccups, said, "Kiba is just being silly, Mom."

She narrowed her eyes. It was easy to see she was not impressed. "Don't pick on him when's tired," she ordered. "I don't want to deal with a tantrum." Stalking over, she plonked a plate of soba salad in front of each of them. "Eat up," she told them. "Then go to bed. Your Nan has gone to lay a futon out for you in Hana's new room."

"Yes, Mom," Hana agreed with a bit of a pout. Quickly, she lost it when their Mom cocked a hip and showed the barest amount of teeth. Feeling a little better with her on his side, Kiba began to eat. As he did, he couldn't help but notice Kakashi was staring at his plate.

"Are you gonna eat?" Kiba questioned.

Mom answered for Kakashi. "Yes, now eyes on your own plate. I don't wanna clean up a mess," she commanded.

Kiba thought about making a fuss but opted not to when Mom started to growl in her throat. Dropping his gaze, he picked up his chopsticks and started eating his soba at a speedier pace than before. When he was done, Kiba glanced up and was surprised to see that Kakashi's plate was empty too. "Wow, you eat fast!" he praised.

Mom cracked a smile at that as Kakashi looked away and scratched the top of his head. "Guess so," he muttered.

He yawned. Hana grabbed his hand. "Come on," she said. "I'm finished too. Let's go lay down."

Feeling even sleepier than before, Kiba let himself be tugged along. Before they left the room, he waved over at Kakashi. "See ya, 'Kashi."

For a split-second, Kiba swore he saw pain flash across Kakashi's lone eye. However, before he could confirm it, the emotion was gone and the man was waving back at him. "Have a nice nap you two," he said.

Kiba grinned at him as his sister pulled him from the room. Soon, he and Hana were settled side by side on the futon Nan had laid out for them. As he buried his nose beneath the covers, he sighed happily when he picked up the scent of her favorite tobacco rather than the old smell of a closet. She must have brought it out before today. This was another one of the reasons he loved his Great-Nan so much. She always thought of little stuff like this that mattered to Kiba. Blinking slowly, his sister's box-cluttered room blurred, dimmed, and then turned to black as he dropped off into dreamless sleep.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Mom said as Kiba padded into the living room where she and Nan were discussing where to put a ficus plant from their old apartment.

He yawned into his hand. When he finished, he looked around. "Where's Kakashi?" he asked with a small frown.

Nan looked at Mom and Mom grimaced. Putting down her ficus plant on the room's coffee table, she walked over to him. Crouching down, she put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, baby," she started and Kiba's stomach sunk. "He had to go."

"What? Why?" demanded Kiba. "I told him I wanted to play!"

Mom sighed. "He wanted to play too," she soothed. "Work stuff just came up."

Kiba puffed out his cheeks. "When will he be back?" he asked. "You said you were gonna invite him for dinner soon."

His mom looked back at Nan who raised her brows. Mom shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know yet."

He slouched forward. "Did he not like me?" questioned Kiba. "I stared at him a long time and he got mad."

"No, Kiba," Mom reassured him. "Kakashi liked you just fine. No, more than fine! He thought you were cu— cool." Pulling him toward her, Mom tucked Kiba's face against her throat and swayed with him a little. "Did Kakashi tell you he's like one of the best shinobi in Konoha? 'Cause he is. He'd have stayed if he could. He'd also have told me we could do dinner or lunch or whatever next week if he knew he could make that kinda promise."

Kiba still didn't know if he fully believed his mom but Kakashi had told him he was an important ninja to Konoha. So maybe he had wanted to play with Kiba. Maybe he would still have lunch or dinner or something with them sometime soon. He squinted up at Mom's chin. "Will he say hi to me if I see him at the park or somethin'?"

She laughed. "I'm sure he will," answered Mom. She poked him in the nose. "When he does, don't ask rude questions though, got it?"

He scowled and rubbed his nose. "I wasn't trying to be rude."

Mom rolled her eyes. "Sure, kid."

"I wasn't!"

Thanks so much for reading and please let me know what you think!