"Hoshi, get up."

He groaned and rolled over.

"Hoshi!"

"I don't wannaaaaa…"

I rolled my eyes, "I swear, you're worse than Kakashi sometimes. Come on," I pulled the sheets off him, "the sooner we collect the information the sooner we get home."

"Fine, I'm up."

"Good," I walked over to the small table and sat down, unrolling the map. "I've made tea. Once you're dressed, sit down and we'll go over the plan." I grabbed a pen from my bag, "Hoshi?" I asked, not getting a response. I turned to see him tugging his shirt on and somehow getting lost in it. I laughed.

"I'm uh…. I'm stuck…"

I rolled my eyes, "Punk." I stood and walked over to him, removing the shirt from him and turning it right side out before handing it to him.

He laughed nervously, "Thanks."

"Come on, Hoshi." I sat down at the table and he sat across from me and started sipping his tea. "So, this is a simple recon mission. Find the info, go home. We're here," I said, circling the small hotel on the map. The bandits have been seen here, here, and here," I said, putting X's in the three locations. "Judging from their roots, I would say their base is around here," I made a large circle in the middle of the forest. I glanced at Hoshi. "Why do you think that's my guess?"

"What?"

"What reasons do I have to believe that's where their base is?"

"Uhm, there's a lot of trees…."

"Right, and?"

"So they'd be hidden?"

"Okay…? Well then why didn't I say just anywhere in the forest?"

"Uhm because… uhm… I don't know…"

I shook my head at him, "These three spottings. Form a triangle, right?" He nodded. "There's also been attack on these roads," I pointed them out to him. "This location would be equidistant from the three sitings-"

"And they're close by the roads so they could return to base to get healed fast and they wouldn't waste energy traveling far."

I smiled, "Right."

"So are we going to go check it out?"

I nodded. "Finish your tea first, then I want you to eat some food."

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Yes. I ate while you were still sleeping."

He frowned.

I stood and ruffled his hair, "Maybe one day you'll see under this mask."

"Why do you even wear it?"

"Isn't that the question."

I put a plate of eggs in front of him with some toast. "Eat."

"Uhm… did you make this?"

I smacked the back of his head. "Eat."

My eyes flickered to the side at the rustling. Hoshi was readjusting his position again. We'd been crouched in a tree for the past 3 or 4 hours watching over the bandits. There were 12 in total, most B rank, two A rank. "Want to practice your genjutsu?" I whispered.

His eyes widened and lit up as he nodded.

I smiled. "The new one we've been working on. I want you to try casting it on only one man."

"Which?"

I glanced down. There were several men sitting around a table, another man alone out by the tree line. I nodded my head towards him, "Start with him."

He nodded, "Kibarashi." He made a single handsign.

I watched the man look up from the ground and look into the trees. I saw him look around before walking into the trees. I smiled, "See how long you can keep it up. If you get too tired you need to stop. I'm going to go head down that way, see if I can get into that tent. You remember the sign."

"I… yeah," he glanced away from the direction the man went for a moment, "What are you going to-"

I jumped down from the branch. I grabbed a cloak from my bag and pulled it on. I pulled my mask down, performing a transformation jutsu solely on my face. I wandered towards the camp. The three men at the table looked up and nudged each other.

The biggest one stood. "Can we help you, miss?"

"I… I believe I am lost. I was on a road and I left to find some herbs. I could not find my way back."

"Well I'm sure we can help you. Why don't you come with me? We'll go talk to my friend and he will help you get back."

"That would be very kind of you, Sir."

He placed a hand on my lower back and led me into one of the tents.

There was a desk and behind that a chest filled with weapons. There was a man sitting at the desk who looked up as we entered. "Who's this?"

"She's lost. Needs help finding her way home."

He looked towards me, "Where's your family? Why aren't you with them?"

"I don't have any family, Sir."

"Oh, well I'm sure we can help you. You live in town nearby?"

I nodded.

"A few of my men are going to buy some supplies there later. Why don't you join them? They'll lead you home safely."

"Thank you, that's very kind of you."

"Why don't you take her to a free tent and we'll get her when the boys run to town?"

"Hai, Sir, come on," the man who had spotted me said. "What's your name?"

"Ai."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Ai. I'm Shin."

"It's nice to meet you too."

I stepped into the tent the man gestured for. "Just hang out here, I'll go get some men to escort you back to town."

"Thank you," I bowed lightly, "I appreciate the help."

"Of course." He ran his hand down my arm lightly before leaving the tent.

I rolled my eyes, waiting a few seconds before ducking out the back of the tent. It was clear what they actually had in mind for me and I wasn't looking for a fight. I walked up into one of the trees and jumped around the clearing until I reached Hoshi. "How's the genjutsu going?"

He jumped.

"Apparently we'll need to work on your sensing."

"I was concentrating."

"You should be able to concentrate and sense what's around you. Otherwise you'll get yourself killed."

"How far away has he wandered?"

"Can't you tell?"

"To be able to work this genjutsu to its full extent, you need to be able to locate the person at all times."

"30 meters east."

"Good. Release the genjutsu."

He did so, with a sigh, leaning back against the trunk of the tree.

I smiled, "Don't rest now." I focused in on the man, "Can you sense him?"

"Uhm… kinda… no… not really."

"Good. I want you to recast the genjutsu on him."

"What?" He gave me a blank stare. "How can I put this genjutsu on someone I can't see… or sense…"

I smiled, "That is our lesson of the day. It's a reason our clans work well together. My clan can sense the chakra of someone from a much farther range than most. Using that info we can determine the distance, position and movement. Your clan has the ability to place a genjutsu on someone not from seeing them with your eyes but with your mind."

"So I have to see him."

"But not visually. My clan's job, when we sense someone nearby, is to relay to you the exact position and location of the enemy. Your clan takes that information and forms an image in your mind. You use that to cast the genjutsu. So. He's about 30 meters away still, not moving and in a crouched position."

He closed his eyes, making the handsign again.

I leaned back, watching his concentration. A single bead of sweat slid down the side of his face. "I-I got him!"

"Quiet, punk," I hissed.

He smiled nervously, "Heh, sorry, sensei."

"But, good job. I'm proud of you." I stood, "Let's go, Hoshi. I got the information we needed about the identity of the leader and location of the camp. We'll stay the night at the inn and head back home in the morning."

"That's all we had to do?"

I yawned, "I told you it was an easy mission. Come on, let's get going."

I coughed into my shoulder as I carefully wrote up the mission report.

"You're not getting sick, are you? I don't want your germs."

I glanced up at Kakashi. "Don't be a jerk. I'm fine. It's just a cold."

He kissed the side of my head as he walked by me to start a pot of tea. "This is what you get for running through the rain for a whole day."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, yeah."

"Where's Hoshi?"

I shrugged, returning to my mission report. It was quiet other than the rain that was still hitting the windowpane. I coughed again and Kakashi put a cup of tea in front of me.

"Drink, it'll make you feel better."

I frowned, but sipped at it anyway, "I feel fine."

Kakashi rested his hand on my forehead, "You have a fever, come on. Your mission report can wait. Let's get you into bed."

"Kakashi, I told you I'm okay."

"Then just do this for me. I'll feel better if you get some sleep."

"Fine." I slowly stood and Kakashi grabbed my tea, walking up stairs to our room with me.

I crawled under the covers and Kakashi crawled in with me, wrapping his arm around my waist.
"Kakashi," I said, hearing him quietly humming a lullaby.

"Hm?"

"I'm going to punch you if you don't stop humming."

He laughed lightly, kissing the back of my neck and pulling my body closer. "You're no fun."

I rolled over and Kakashi was gone. I felt worse than I had before. I could feel a layer of sweat forming on my body from the fever but couldn't stop shivering. My throat burned and I felt nauseous. I groaned, sitting up slowly. A wave of nausea hit me and I ran into the bathroom to get sick. I felt my hair pulled back away from my face and Kakashi's hand on my back.

"I thought you weren't sick?" Kakashi said. I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Don't be a jerk," I said, getting sick again.

"You're burning up, Ami…"

"Yeah, I noticed, thanks."

Kakashi sighed, "You don't usually get sick like this."

"I never get sick like this." I coughed, squeezing my eyes shut as it caused my head and throat to hurt more.

"We should get you into bed…"

I nodded and felt him slide his arm around my waist and help drag me up. I carefully stood with him and let him guide me to the bed. I waved him away when we got close enough.

"I'm going to go get some water and tea for you. You need to stay hydrated."

I nodded and he left. I slowly walked to the edge of the bed. Shivers were taking over my body and black dots were starting to cloud my vision. "…kashi… Ka…" The black dots took over and the room spun. I stumbled forward, losing track of balance. Up felt down, the floor felt tilted like I was on the top of a pyramid. My mind blanked and I felt my knees give out.

~=~
Thud. "Ami?!" I dropped the glass of water in the sink, running up the stairs and into the bedroom. Sorami was laying on the floor unconscious. I rolled her onto her back. "Ami, Ami, hey, wake up. Come on." My heart started to race. It's just a cold, I told myself, she's probably just weak from not eating enough. "Sorami, come on. Wake up. Don't do this." She still didn't respond. I felt for a pulse and could feel it faintly but it was weak and seemed to be getting weaker. I picked her up and ran to the hospital. I didn't have a choice. Sorami didn't just get sick like this. Something was wrong. I ran into the doors of the hospital and saw Sorami's old student Keikanoo at the desk looking bored. "Keikanoo!"

"Kakashi-sensei, what's wrong?" He stood. "Is that sensei? What's happened?"

"She collapsed. She won't wake up." I stared down at her in my arms, she was pale and her skin was clammy, her hair damp with sweat from the fever.

Keikanoo turned to another nurse, ordering her to get a bed and get Sorami taken into a room. The nurse hurriedly jumped up running to do so. When she came back, I gently laid Sorami down on it. I smoothed out her hair, holding her hand.

"We need to take her back, Hatake-san."

I nodded, frowning. I placed a soft kiss on her forehead before the nurse wheeled her away, forcing me to release her hand.

"What happened to her?" Keikanoo asked. "What are her symptoms? What has she done lately? Has she been around anyone sick?"

"I… I don't know. She came back from her mission a few days ago and was complaining about a headache. Then that formed into a cough and sore throat and then she started throwing up and became feverish…"

"Did anything happen on the mission? Was she wounded in anyway?"

I shook my head, staring down the hall she had vanished down. "I don't know."

"Was Hoshi with her?"

I nodded, "He doesn't have any of these signs though…"

He scribbled something down on a piece of paper, handing it to a nurse. "I'm calling for a blood sample to be taken and analyzed for any abnormalities. I need to find Hoshi."

"Keikanoo, can I…"

"You can go back to her, Kakashi-sensei. Probably couldn't stop you anyway."

I nodded my thanks and took off down the hall. I walked into the room with her name written on the chart outside. She had already been hooked up to several machines and there was a slow beeping of her heart monitor. Even without extensive medical knowledge, I knew it was far slower than it should be.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

I turned my head to see Sakura walking in. I gave her a closed eye smile, not showing my worry. "Hello, Sakura."

She held up the needle in her hand, "I need to take a blood sample. It'll just take a minute. If there's anything wrong we should know soon."

I nodded, focusing on the needle entering Sorami's arm and the blood slowly moving up the syringe.

She removed the needle and I blinked looking back up as she walked out of the room with the sample.