Rin came back three days later. Kazane felt her before she saw her, a familiar softness brushing the edges of the Namikaze residence like a warm breeze slipping through an open window. Approaching the way people who meant no harm always did. Quietly, at a respectful pace, chakra held gently to herself.
Kazane was seated on the floor when Rin arrived at the door, legs folded neatly in meditation. Letting her mind drift back to her latest spar with Itachi. She had lost despite it being a close match, and she was determined to win next time.
Kushina answered the door with a curious lift of her brow.
"Oh," she said, then smiled. "You again."
Rin bowed slightly. "I hope I'm not intruding. Minato-sensei said it would be all right if I checked in."
Kushina glanced back toward Kazane, who had already opened her eyes. "She sensed you," Kushina said, amusement softening her voice. "Come in."
Rin slipped off her sandals and stepped inside. The house hummed faintly, seals recognising her presence and adjusting without resistance. Kazane watched that closely.
She knelt a short distance away, not crowding, hands folded loosely in her lap. "Hello, Kazane."
Kazane looked at her for a long moment. Then, without standing, she pushed a nearby wooden block toward Rin, an offering. The blocks were toys her mother made for her. They had sealing symbols drawn on them, and she was supposed to place them in a certain order to make them glow.
Rin smiled and accepted the block as if it were something precious.
They did not talk much on that first visit. Rin sat on the floor, humming an old tune softly, while Kazane rearranged her blocks as Kushina moved about the kitchen.
Kazane's hands paused at first as she listened to the melody of Rin's humming. She found it soothing and simple enough to remember without trying.
When Rin left an hour later, Kazane tracked her chakra until it faded beyond the perimeter seals.
Then she asked, very quietly, "She'll come back?"
Kushina brushed her hair gently. "Yes."
Rin did come again and again, over the next few months. Sometimes she came alone. Sometimes Kakashi came with her and waited outside. Pretending very badly not to listen as Rin recounted stories of past missions her and her team had been assigned.
"Today," Rin said once, sitting beside Kazane in the courtyard, "we chased a cat for almost an hour."
Kazane looked up from the leaf she was sticking to her palm. "Did you catch it?"
Rin laughed softly. "No."
"But you're supposed to be shinobi," Kazane said seriously.
"It's a lot harder than it sounds," Rin replied. "And Obito tripped over a fence, and Kakashi fell into a bucket, so I think the cat won anyway."
Kazane blinked. Then, hesitantly, a small laugh escaped her, startled as if it surprised her. Rin's eyes softened, but she didn't comment. She never commented.
Another day, Rin sang. Not a performance, just a song her mother used to sing while sweeping the porch. Kazane sat with her back against Rin's knees, eyes half-lidded, feeling the vibration through the floor and into her bones.
Just a little, the hold she had over her chakra loosened- she froze in panic.
"It's all right," said Rin quietly as she stopped singing. "You're not breaking anything."
Kazane stared at her hands. "I might."
"You might," Rin agreed. "But you won't. You can control it now, right?"
"You don't mind?"
Rin shook her head. "No."
That mattered more than reassurance ever could.
Weeks passed. Seasons edged forward. Rin became part of the house's rhythm. The seals adjusted to her. Kazane's senses learned her shape. One afternoon, after Rin had told a long, rambling story about repainting a fence that immediately got muddy again, Kazane sat very still.
Rin noticed, "Kazane?" she asked gently.
The child did not look up. Her voice, when it came, was small. "Will you leave?"
Rin inhaled slowly. "Yes," she said honestly. "Sometimes."
Kazane's fingers curled into her skirt.
Rin continued, voice steady. "Missions happen. The village needs me to fulfil my duty, to go where I'm needed."
Kazane nodded; that part she understood.
"But," Rin added softly, "I'll come back."
Kazane looked up, searching her expression for any sign of deceit. "You promise?"
Rin met her gaze fully unflinching. "I promise to try," she said. "And if I can't… I'll always remember you."
That was not perfect, but it was real. Kazane considered it carefully, the way she considered all things that mattered. Then she leaned forward, pressing her forehead lightly against Rin's arm. Not a hug... close but not quite. Rin did not move.
From that day on, when Kazane thought of the world in quiet, careful layers, Rin occupied a new space. A safe place, close to her heart.
Rin wasn't the only new face in Kazane's life, though.
Obito showed up more and more as well. Kazane would sense him long before the gate ever opened. His chakra announced itself like a shout carried on the wind. Warm, uneven, constantly shifting direction.
She sighed, pencil pausing mid-stroke. Kazane sat at the low table in the sitting room, tongue caught faintly between her teeth as she carefully copied characters onto practice paper. The strokes had to be even. If one line leaned too far, she started over.
The door slid open. "Kazane!" Obito's voice echoed immediately, bouncing off walls and floors alike. "Come outside! It's a perfect day!"
Kazane winced. "Loud."
Obito froze mid-step. "...Sorry."
Kakashi followed him in, expression already tired. "I told you not to shout."
"You always tell me not to shout," Obito protested. "How else am I supposed to talk?"
Rin slipped in behind them, offering Kazane a small smile. "Hello."
Kazane nodded back politely, then returned to her paper. "I'm busy."
Obito leaned over her shoulder. "Doing what?"
"Practising," she replied without looking up.
"That's boring." He squinted at the paper. "Is that writing?"
"Yes."
"…Why?"
Kazane stopped writing and looked at him slowly. "Because I don't want my handwriting to look like your chakra."
Obito blinked. "You're, like, six."
"I'm 3," she corrected him.
Kakashi snorted softly.
"All the more reason to come outside and play a little," said Obito, crossing his arms. "You should race me."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Busy."
"So?"
"Practising."
"So??"
"Mother will be upset."
Obito stared at her as she'd just explained a foreign language. "No, she won't."
Kazane returned to her paper.
Obito hovered for a full minute, rocking on his heels. Then he grinned. "I bet I could outrun you anyway."
Her pencil paused. "I don't race," she said carefully.
"Because you're slow?"
She looked up at him. Slowly. Deliberately. "…I am not slow."
"Prove it."
"I don't need to."
Obito leaned closer, stage-whispering. "Scared?"
That did it. Kazane set her pencil down with care. Stood. Smoothed her skirt. Looked at him with an intensity that made Rin inhale sharply.
"One lap," Kazane said. "Around the courtyard."
Obito pumped a fist. "Yes!"
They took positions near the stone path. Obito crouched dramatically. Kazane stood, feet spread slightly.
Kakashi watched with narrowed eyes. "This is a bad idea."
Rin smiled faintly. "Maybe. Or maybe it's a good one."
"Go!" Obito shouted.
Obito bolted immediately, laughing, cutting corners, skidding around the pond. Kazane followed with controlled strides, breath even. Obito stayed ahead easily, using his longer legs and experience to outrun her.
"Too slow!" he called over his shoulder.
Kazane narrowed her eyes, and her chakra began to flow outward. Spreading thin and even across her feet and legs. Her pace increased, not explosively, but steadily as she gained on him more and more.
Obito glanced back. He laughed louder and swerved. "You're cheating!"
"No I'm not."
He darted past the training post, knocked lightly against a pillar, nearly tripped and laughed harder.
"Missed me!"
Her posture shifted, focus sharpening as more chakra flowed to her legs. No longer pacing herself.
Obito's laughter turned startled. "Whoa...Hey, wait!" He yelped, realising she wasn't trying to get past him anymore. Instead, she was aiming straight for him. He veered sharply, sprinting for the gate. "You're scary when you do that!"
"Stop running," Kazane snapped.
"No!"
She nearly caught him near the north courtyard wall. Fingers brushing fabric before he slipped and tumbled into the grass with a dramatic yelp.
Kazane skidded to a stop just short of him, chest rising, chakra humming but contained. They stared at each other.
Then Obito burst out laughing. "That was awesome!"
Kazane frowned, then, after a heartbeat, sat down hard in the grass, exhausted. "…It was pointless," she muttered.
Rin laughed openly. Kakashi covered his mouth with his hand, his shoulders shaking. From the doorway, Kushina watched with a hand over her lips, smiling despite herself.
After that, Obito came often. He brought chaos, noise, scraped knees, bad ideas and warm laughter.
He argued with Kazane. Teased her. Made her laugh when she didn't mean to. Made her angry when she didn't want to be. Made the house feel more alive, like children should.
Then, one evening, Minato came home smiling in that quiet, contained way that meant something big had happened.
"Kakashi," he said, resting a hand on the boy's shoulder, "has been promoted."
Kakashi stiffened. Obito stared. Rin gasped.
"You're serious?!" Obito shouted.
Rin smiled so brightly it hurt to look at her "Kakashi… that's amazing."
Kazane looked up at him, eyes wide.
"You're a Jōnin now?" she asks.
Kakashi met her gaze. Something unreadable passed through his eyes, "…Yes."
Kushina clapped her hands. "Well then! This calls for celebration."
Minutes later, they were out together at a BBQ restaurant despite Kushina shouting nonstop about how ramen was the only food worthy of such a celebration.
Shop lights glowed warm against the evening air. Obito talked nonstop, Rin laughed, Minato listened and smiled, and Kakashi pretended not to enjoy the attention. Kazane sat between Kushina and Rin, legs swinging, chunks of meat nearly as big as her head lay on the grill before her.
She watched them all quietly, and for the first time in a long while, she wished everything could stay just like this.
---Author Note---
I'm trying to speed this up ever so slightly, as I feel the story is dragging a bit with Kazane still being only 3, nearly 4 years old after 20 chapters. Hopefully, I manage to pick the pace up a bit without destroying the story, but these childhood years, I feel, are important for her character, so bear with me, please.
If you know the timeline, then you know what happens after Kakashi becomes a Jonin... I'll say no more.