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Chapter Four

She had known all along. Kakashi wasn't a fool. Even though he had done everything correctly and would have been nearly untraceable to other shinobi, this little girl had been able to spot him the moment he had began to tail her.

Four days had passed since Kakashi had began his mission, and if it had been anyone else that had asked him to do such a frivolous job, he would have denied it on the spot. But since it had been Minato-sensei, he had swallowed what was left of his pride and did as told. He had read through the file the Fourth had given him, and he had come to realize that it was nearly useless. The only information that had been somewhat relevant was her age; she was now eight.

Sighing, Kakashi watched from a distance with his black mask covering most of his face as it always did as the young girl walked with a tiny jug of milk in her hand. He rolled his eye before he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, following after her.

As ridiculous as the job was for Kakashi, the boy hadn't realized that Minato's plan had worked. He hadn't once thought about his shortcomings nor did he have nightmares for the past three nights. Instead, he spent his days trailing the rather silent but energetic girl and his nights were spent resting; he had early mornings and late evenings, so falling asleep and staying asleep weren't an issue.

Kakashi stopped as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, leaning over the edge of the roof and watching as the young girl knelt down beside a wounded kitten, pouring a bit of milk into a small bowl she had acquired from Kushina's kitchen. He watched with a nearly-amused gleam in his visible eye as he scoffed, the girl smiling down at the cat before glancing up at him. He stiffened but then relaxed as the girl smiled at him; he shouldn't act so surprised anymore.

"Oi! Look at her!" The little girl winced as she felt an empty can hit the back of her head. She rubbed her head in pain as she quickly looked over her shoulder, three boys about two years older than her walking down the alleyway with smirks on their lips. "Hey! Look! She's got our cat!" They must have been the reason why the kitten was so bruised up.

Glaring at the three, the Uzumaki scooped the cat up into her arms as she stood up, the boys laughing at her. She flinched when a pebble was thrown at her face, hitting her in the cheek. Still, she said nothing as she merely glared, the boys blinking before they began to laugh.

"How old are you? And you don't even know how to talk!" They continued to laugh as the young girl merely took a step back, holding the white cat close to her chest. Showing no fear, the young girl went to push past them, but she flinched when one of the boys pushed her to the ground. A surprised yelp escaped her lips as the bullies snickered.

"Look at that! She does make sounds!"

"Lets see what else she does!" Raising a fist into the air, the redhead merely glared defiantly at the three, unafraid of the young boy's attack. She waited, fully ready to accept the blow, but her eyes widened when a sudden shadow appeared before her. She blinked as her jaw fall agape, the three boys crying out in fear.

"Wh—Who are you!" one of the boys stuttered, a masked kid grabbing his friend's wrist with ease and holding it completely still. Though he was only a bit taller than them, the boys knew that they were outmatched—even if it was three to one; his forehead protector said it all.

"Toru, lets get out of here!" Yanking his arm away, the three boys ran around the corner and disappeared, leaving the jonin and the young girl to themselves.

Meow. And the kitten.

Slowly, the 12 year old turned and met the younger girl's gaze. He said nothing to her as he merely stared. Just by the way her bottom lip twitched and the muscles of her jaw clenched, Kakashi could tell that she wanted to say something; and yet, nothing came out. The two stared at each other for a few moments longer, the cat-lover blinking innocently before she stood to her feet. She used one hand to wipe her knees as she held gently to the kitten that had nearly fallen asleep in her other arm. She continued to stare, though she couldn't seem to see much past the mask.

"…If you don't speak up, then no one will ever know what you want." The 8 year old blinked as the cloaked boy turned his back to her.

Whatever the village or anyone else may say, I think you're a great jonin. That's how I really feel.

Kakashi, you need to know my feelings for you too!

Kakashi felt his chest clench as he stared out at the street. His hand balled up into a fist from underneath his cloak as he closed his eyes. "It's important to say the things you want to say before it's too late. Bottling it up inside...it only hurts you."

K—Kakashi…

Leaping into the air, the masked ninja disappeared, leaving the red head alone with her cat. She stared after him for a moment before she squeezed to the kitten, trembling as she closed her eyes.

§

There was a strange air around her when she had returned home. Kushina and Minato had been unsure of what was wrong, but there was a heaviness that lingered over the young girl as she walked into their apartment and set a white kitten with a patch of gray fur on the floor. The older Uzumaki grinned as she quickly approached the little girl, kneeling down beside the cat to pet its ear.

"How adorable!"

"Where did you find him, Neko-chan?" Minato inquired curiously as he approached his wife's side, leaning down and placing his hands on his hips. The girl said nothing as she merely stared at the cat with a deep grimace on her lips. Kushina glanced at her husband as the man tried to conceal his frown.

"Have you named him yet?" Kushina asked, the man beside her blinking.

"You're not thinking of keeping him, are you?"

"Well, why not? He's just a kitten, after all."

"I'm not sure if that's the best idea, Kushina." Minato had always been a rather meticulous type of person. His wife rolled her eyes as she gave her husband an irritated stare.

"What would it hurt? I think he'd be a nice addition to this place!"

"But—"

"Umm…" Kushina and Minato froze at the sound of a soft and shaky voice. They slowly looked to the young girl as she trembled but stared up at them with a firm gaze. "I—If it's alright with you…I…" Taking a deep breath, the young girl continued with a new found sense of confidence.

"I would like to keep him!" Minato stared with wide eyes as Kushina blushed before a wide smile crept across her lips. She laughed happily as she wrapped her arms around the 8 year old, swinging her about as the kitten merely watched with fascination; humans were truly interesting creatures.

"Yes! Yes! We can keep him! If that's what you want, then we can keep him!" Kushina cheered as she carefully set the girl on her feet before looking at Minato, who laughed and knelt down on one knee. He placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder as she looked at him hesitantly.

"If that's what you want, then there's no problem." The little girl watched as Minato and Kushina walked back into the kitchen, Kushina holding the kitten in her arms.

"So then, what should we name him?" the woman asked curiously as Minato thought.

"Hmm…is naming a cat similar to naming a child?"

"I'm not sure if that's quite the same."

"Umm…one more thing!" The two adults blinked as they looked back at the young girl before she looked up at them through her tears. Their smiles disappeared as they watched the little child cry as she tried to smile. "My name is Karibi Uzumaki, and I wanted to say…I wanted to say…" she choked on a sob as she wiped her waterfall of tears with the back of her hand.

"I wanted to say thank you for everything you've done for me!"

Kushina blinked as she stared down at this child—at Karibi—and she gave the girl a tearful smile as she gently set the kitten on the floor, wrapping her arms warmly around her figure. "There's no need to thank us, Karibi." The girl sobbed as she hugged Kushina tightly, Minato watching with a fond sort of smile. He relaxed as he approached the pair before placing his hand on top of Karibi's head with the same warm smile he had given the day he had first met her.

Karibi grinned through her tears as she relaxed in Kushina's arm. She glanced down at her new cat as she looked up at Minato.

"Lets name our new cat Kushito!" That had caught both of their attention. "It's Kushina and Minato put together!" The pair of adults blinked before they began to laugh, the wife of the Hokage standing to her feet before she sighed and nodded.

"Kushito it is!"

Finally, her name is revealed! More about Karibi will be revealed when the right occasion arises. And there was also more Kakashi in this chapter as well, which is always a great thing ;) Things will gradually begin to pick up from this point on! So hopefully for those who want to know more, you can bear with this story!

Thanks to everyone who has been giving this story a chance! I've truly put a lot of effort into this and I hope it shows in the writing and such. I will do my best to update frequently. I can't say for sure when the next update will be, but I predict that it will (hopefully) be in the next few days. My schedule has somehow gotten rather busy suddenly, so I'm trying to manage everything I have to do with writing as well, and another story that I am working on currently too. But like I said, the next update will be soon, and I will work hard for whoever is reading this! Thank you for reading, thank you for following and favoriting, and I hope whoever is reading this enjoys what I post and future posts to come!

Thanks again!