Hello, all. What has it been, a year and a half now since my last upload? That's insane, honestly. A lot has happened since then - I made it through my senior year of college, graduated with a degree, got a job, and currently I'm looking for a new place.

I've had the majority of this chapter written for over a year, but for some reason I couldn't muster up the willpower to finish it. This weekend, I finally felt the urge to stick on the finishing touches and upload it. I hope whoever reads this enjoys it! It's a flashback chapter. I worked with several different perspectives in this one, so that was kinda fun.

Obviously, I can't make promises for the continuation of this story at the moment. When I started writing it over five years ago, I wasn't trying to write a great story or anything - I just wanted to play around in the Naruto world and indulge my little crush on Kakashi. I never imagined I'd make it as far as I did. Honestly, I didn't even have the slightest idea where I was going when I started. In some ways, this story feels nostalgia to me now, and I'm not sure how easy it will be to pick it up and go from this point. I've been dealing with a lot of confidence issues the last few years, and I've had a really rough start to 2020 thanks to sudden health issues and a death in my family. In short, I've been drained both physically and emotionally, and not to sound silly or cliche... but in a way, I don't feel like the same person I used to be. All part of growing up, I suppose.

Anyway, Kanata is pretty much forever a part of me, so I truly doubt it ends here. Right now my wheels are already turning on the next chapter, so who knows what will happen?

In any case, I appreciate all the support I've gotten for this story over the years! It has been a pleasure thus far. Hopefully it won't be too long until our next meeting!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

The Plan

"Look at you—out here fighting for someone else's right to choose. Someone you barely know. Why won't you fight for yours?" - Haruka

Over 10 Years Ago…

Kanata

I never took much time to stop and imagine the idea of sitting in a cell, held prisoner by the village I called home. Despite the warnings my grandmother had given me all my life, a part of me always believed that I was one of them—that they'd protect me as I had them. But suddenly the tables were turned, and it was just me here on the cold floor against the whole world, waiting to either be rescued or left here to burn.

Don't get me wrong; I could have tried to escape. I might have even succeeded with my kind of powers. But if I did, it would only further prove that I had something to hide, that I was guilty of hurting an innocent person. The only strategy here that made any sense was to wait it out and hope that the law would somehow be on my side, or that Kakashi would pull through and find my way out of this. I hated waiting—I was sick of feeling powerless, sick of always being in the middle but never being able to make a difference. What the hell was I a ninja for?

Since I didn't have much else to do, I allowed myself a few extra minutes of my day to wallow in my self pity, hugging my knees under the dim light of my cell. I tried not to listen to the silence surrounding me, instead focusing on counting the dots behind my eyes in hopes that I might fall asleep and forget the smell of dust and rusty metal for a while.

But then I heard the creak of a door opening. I lifted my head partially but didn't bother to stand—it was probably better to save my energy for when I truly needed it. Casting a glance down at my watch, I determined it definitely wasn't lunchtime yet, so unless they were coming to tell me I'd been found innocent, I couldn't imagine what they wanted.

Soft footsteps echoed through the room, until I saw a face pop up outside my cell. Well, I say "face," but it an Anbu mask, hiding the full view of my visitor from sight. All I could tell was that this wasn't a person I had seen before.

"Am I in trouble?" I asked, peering at the person through the narrow bars and trying to keep my tone light-hearted. "I think I've behaved myself pretty well so far."

The person, a young woman from the sound of her voice, crouched down facing the bars so she was on my level. With a firm but soft tone, she said, "Good behavior, I'm afraid, isn't going to get you very far today, Kanata."

After a cryptic message line like that, I wished I could see the woman's face so I could figure out what was on her mind. That was a great advantage for Anbu soldiers—aside from protecting their identities, the mask could also help to protect the intentions written on their faces. "Is that supposed to be a warning… or a threat?" I asked, not daring to move closer.

"I don't have a lot of time," she said, ignoring my question. "I'm not really supposed to be here, you see. But the two of us have a mutual acquaintance who's very concerned for your well-being."

I raised an eyebrow. Who did she mean? Kakashi? I'd never even met this person before. But, then again, with Kakashi being in Anbu, I knew that meant he had a whole other life I knew very little about. So I supposed it wasn't a completely unreasonable possibility.

"Which acquaintance?" I asked cautiously, not wanting to drop anyone's name without being certain.

The woman shook her head lightly. "That's not important."

Apparently, she has the same idea.

I leaned forward, lowering my legs and folding them together under me. "Okay, then what are you here for?"

"I need something you always keep on your person. Something unique to you."

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm going to become you," she said. Then, with a tilt of her head, "Well, in a manner of speaking."

When I didn't respond, she added, "I can tell you don't trust me. And that's good. You should never trust blindly. But you should also know that it's better not to be too choosy when you have very few options. If you give me something of yours I can use, with any luck, you'll be walking free this time tomorrow."

I refused to budge that easily. "I want to know why. What do you need it for?"

The young woman rested her elbows on her knees and let out a shallow sigh. "I'm planning on getting you out of here, but I need a transformation jutsu to do it. Let's just say I don't have much experience with transformations, and a friend of mine taught me you can increase the effectiveness of a transformation if you have something the individual carries on their person. I'm trying to make this as idiot proof as possible, yeah?"

"Are you—talking about using the residual energy of a person's possession to—"

"To create a more believable copy, yeah. If you tell anyone about it, I might have to kill you."

I couldn't quite tell if she was being serious, making a joke, or a little bit of both. This method of performing a transformation jutsu was news to me—it wasn't something they ever taught us in the academy, or that Minato-sensei even ever mentioned to my team. In theory, it seemed like something that made sense and might work to an extent, especially for someone who struggled with transformations—but it also didn't sound very practical in regular use.

But if this woman was trying to help me, I felt it would have been foolish to refuse. I patted my chest and stomach absently, thinking of a personal item (but not too personal) that I might give her. "I don't have a lot on me… unless you want my watch, I guess."

I didn't like the thought of her taking my only method of telling the time of day in this place, but I supposed I didn't have much choice. The Anbu took pretty much everything else away from me when they arrested me.

The woman nodded. "That'll do." But as I tore off the accessory and held it out to her through the bars, she grabbed my hand in her larger, gloved fingers. My knee-jerk reaction was to pull away, but she held fast and I could feel her eyes staring at me through her mask. "Before I do this—I need you to make me a promise. Promise me that after all this is over, you'll accept what happens and move on without looking into this any further."

"Why should I have to promise that?" I asked.

"Because my friend and I are going through a lot of trouble to fix this for you, and I'd hate to see you repay us by screwing yourself over even further."

I hesitated before finally exerting enough force to pull my hand from her grip. "Fine. I still don't quite understand why you're doing this, but… I hope it works."

The young woman took my watch, pocketed it, and then pushed herself to her feet. "So do I. For your sake and mine." And I watched her leave as silently as she came.

A Few Hours Later…

Kakashi

This was probably about to be the most idiotic thing I would ever do.

My attempt to outwit the Hokage last month in pursuit of information had been a complete failure, so why in the hell did I think that infiltrating Root would yield better results?

In short, I wasn't fooling myself in the slightest, and I knew getting caught by Danzo or one of his followers would likely have far more dire consequences than getting caught by Lord Third. But if Kana's current state wasn't a result of some outside force, I knew there could be only one other alternative. Danzo was the only higher-up with the gall to pull something like this without the Hokage's knowledge. But I couldn't approach the Hokage without some kind of definitive evidence. If an attempt to murder him hadn't been enough to provoke an action, my word alone about Kana certainly wouldn't be enough.

This isn't me, I thought to myself helplessly as I slipped on my gloves and moved silently into the dark chamber from above. This isn't something I would do.

But it was something Kana would do for me in a heartbeat if our situations were swapped. And she'd take down everyone in her path until she got what she came for. It was the kind of reckless shit I'd usually yell at her for, and she'd either just roll her eyes or turn away in defiance, resolute in her ideals.

And that's why I had to do this. Because just once in my life, I wanted to try and be the guy she deserved.

I stopped cursing my own stupidity internally to focus on the issue at hand—which was the danger of super elite Root members around every corner. I'd spent enough time around Danzo that I knew his habits fairly well. And while I knew he wouldn't be here this time of day, there was never a time when there weren't at least a few members around to protect the base from people like me. I was confident that I was more than a match for several of these boys, but blowing my cover to them would be blowing my cover to Danzo, regardless. The objective was getting in and getting out without being seen.

The tricky thing about navigating this place undetected was the lack of effective hiding spots. However, there were vents that ran all the way through these headquarters, meaning there were multiple openings throughout these corridors that could be quite helpful if used well.

I found myself within earshot of one of them the second my feet reached the floor. My heart pounded in my chest as I peered at him from behind one of the pipes that extended down from the ceiling. I'd concealed my presence well enough that he didn't notice me while he paced back and forth, waiting for danger like a good soldier.

Slowing my breathing until it was completely silent, I lowered myself to the ground and counted the number of steps he took in each direction to gauge the amount of time I had. Once I was confident that I could make it, I started inching my way past him while his back was turned, toward the corridor that would eventually lead me to Danzo's personal quarters. Luckily, I'd elected to leave my shoes behind at home, so my feet didn't make a sound on the solid floor.

Even once I was across the passage, I didn't dare let out an audible breath. Ninja were trained to hear the tiniest breath, often to even sense chakra. So if I happened to run into someone particularly in tune to other people's chakra, I didn't stand a chance. Luckily, down the hall a little way, I came across one of the vents I'd hoped I would find, large enough to fit a decent sized person and easy enough to open with a small screw driver.

I did my best to hold on to my composure as I worked to open up the vent, but in truth, I was terrified, and the longer I spent here, the more tense I became. All I could do was keep my brain focused on the main goal and get this over with as fast as possible.

Once inside the vent, I had another problem to face; I had no idea which direction would take me to the correct area. And if I ended up following the wrong passage, I could wind up getting myself killed.

So I summoned a friend.

Pakkun's face drooped the second he appeared. "Oh, no. What have we got into this time?"

"How about we keep it on a need-to-know basis?" I whispered, prompting him to keep his voice down. The last thing I needed was for someone to hear us through the vents.

"Whatever you say, boss. What do you need?"

"I want you to get me through these vents… as close to Danzo's office as you can. You know his scent, right?"

Pakkun didn't look pleased. "You're snooping around in that guy's headquarters? What's going on here? This isn't like you."

I sighed softly. "I thought we just agreed…"

"Yeah, well, I thought maybe you were doing something stupid, but I didn't know it'd be that stupid. You need to talk about your path of self-destruction, bud?"

"What I need is for you to get me to Danzo's office before he gets back here. Now I assume the right direction is where his scent is the strongest, since he spends the most time there, so… are you going to help me, or not?" Yeah, Pakkun meant well, but he was as bad as all my other friends. They all wanted me to talk about my problems. As if that was somehow going to fix everything. Why the hell did people keep using the word "self-destruction" when talking to me? Just last week it was Kurenai. Now it was the freaking dog.

Pakkun turned around and sniffed the air cautiously. "I'm pretty much obligated to help you, I guess, even if I think you're being stupid."

I grumbled in annoyance. "I'm not doing this for kicks, you know. I'm trying to help Kanata. She's in trouble for a crime she didn't commit, and I think Danzo is behind it. So please, just do it for her if it makes you feel better."

He looked back at me with lazy eyes. "You should have started with that. This is still stupid, but at least now I know there's a good reason behind it. Let's go save your girlfriend."

I lowered my gaze to the smooth metal under my hands and feet, electing not to answer. She's not my girlfriend.

I'm not sure that's what she ever was.

Nevertheless, I followed Pakkun silently down the metal chamber for some time, trusting his judgment to turn me the right direction. After a while, my arms and legs started getting a little sore from crawling on the hard surface, but I put that into the back of my mind. It was a small inconvenience, all things considered. I was too busy thinking about Danzo, and how much of a shot I had at killing the bastard.

Obviously none, but it was an enjoyable fantasy. Having interacted with Danzo enough by now, I knew one thing for certain—he had no issue betraying the people who didn't fit into his own agenda. I was still disgusted with myself for nearly letting him manipulate me. The Third Hokage was the only force in power that protected Kana from her past, and if I had let Danzo kill him, her life as she knew it in the Leaf Village would have been completely uprooted. And it would have been my fault.

Pakkun suddenly stopped in front of a vent directly below us. We peered down through the slits in the vent, but all I could see was darkness. "I think this is it," Pakkun whispered, putting his nose to the metal.

"You think?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm not a cat, Kakashi. I can't actually tell what's down there. But I don't smell any humans. Just paper, dust, and—that man's fingerprints. So I'm pretty sure."

My whole body jerked involuntarily when a short clanking sound reverberated throughout the chamber. I shot a glance behind me and didn't see anyone, so I swiftly pulled out my screwdriver. "I guess I'm about to find out one way or another," I whispered, eager to escape. "Thanks, Pakkun."

"Holler if you need me again," he murmured, then vanished into thin air.

I didn't hear any more noises coming in my direction, but out of precaution I wasted no time undoing the screws in the vent opening. Lowering my head into the space, I couldn't see or sense anything, so I lifted my head up, cast one last glance behind me, and dropped down into the dark room. Figuring that if anyone was inside, it was far too late to conceal my presence, I pulled out a small flashlight and scanned the corners of the room. And Lo and behold, not only was the place empty, it was also the exact place I was looking for.

"Excellent work, Pakkun," I whispered, closing the gap between myself and Danzo's desk, where he kept all his necessary files. Fortunately for me, although he was in the habit of locking his door up tightly to protect against intruders, he didn't have a lock on his filing cabinet. The room was sealed—there were no windows and the door was solid, so I had no concerns about anyone seeing me inside.

Crouching down behind Danzo's desk, I gingerly opened his filing cabinet to reveal a number of alphabetical files under the label, "Persons of Interest." The files contained the names of some people I'd heard of, and some people I had not. But I was only interested in one. And I fingered through each file until I found Kana's name—under "F" for "Fujibayashi."

Pulling my mask down past my chin, I stuck the flashlight in my mouth so I could use both hands to look through her file. The first thing I noticed was that he had records and pictures of her from infancy until the present day. He had a copy of her surname change certificate, of all her medical records and mission assignments, and a detailed report of all her skills written up from observation. Just the fact that he kept such detailed tabs on her was concerning, but it wasn't exactly the incriminating evidence I was looking for.

The most recent document, however, and to my surprise, was stuffed in the bottom of the file. It was a profile on Kana dated fewer than six months ago on the top of the page, starting with her name and birth date.

Name: Kanata Fujibayashi

Date of Birth: December 16

Origin: The Village Hidden in the Mist

Mother: Unknown

Father: Unknown

Status: Alive

Affinity: Water

Special Skills: Possesses powerful Kekkai Genkai, known by subject as "Subzero." Origin unknown. Impacts subject's body temperature, appears to require close range contact for effective use on opponents.

Skill Level: Jounin *Note—skills increased far faster than expected. Still may not have reached full potential.

Threat: HIGH *Note—Counteractive measures soon to be in motion

That was it. I took the flashlight out of my mouth and held it close to the line marking Kana as a threat. This document was back in the middle of summer, meaning Danzo was planning "counteractive measures" for her months ago. He must have seen how strong her powers had become and didn't want those foreign abilities compromising the safety and integrity of this village. He knew if the leaders in the Mist Village found her…

I clutched the piece of paper in my hand. This might be enough to convince the Hokage if I also made my argument about the victim's wounds not being consistent with Kana's abilities. Of course, even I knew that it wasn't convincing the Hokage that would be the hard part. It would be him convincing the rest of the Elder Council. And who knew what kind of trouble I might get into for breaking into my superior's study?

Still, it was my only shot. I told Kana I would find a way to fix this. And I refused to break a promise to her again.

I flipped through the file one more time to make sure there was nothing I missed. Then, satisfied, I put everything back together and slid the file inside the cabinet. But I'd been so engrossed in the new information that I failed to notice the dark silhouette at the other end of the room until I emerged from behind the desk.

"Well, well," a low voice said dryly. "I gotta say, I'm surprised." My heart nearly stopped as I shined my flashlight toward the voice, only to see a tall, familiar physique in front of me. "Not surprised you made it in here," he continued, hardly above a whisper. "I'm surprised you attempted this at all. I sure didn't factor it into the plan."

Ryuuya.

"The plan?" I asked, lowering the light to my side. Even if I managed to make it out of here with the document now, there was no way Danzo wouldn't be made aware that I snuck in here. And even if he couldn't kill me, he'd find some other way to make my life miserable. In short, I was royally screwed.

Electing to ignore my question, Ryuuya stepped closer, held out a gloved hand, and said, "How about you hand that piece of paper to me and make your way back out of here through those pipes? No one else has to know. I'll let you go without a fight. What do you say?"

I squeezed the document between my fingers, never taking my eyes off him. That was not the response I expected. What did he think he was playing at? "And why would you let me do that?" I inquired softly. "You caught me. What's stopping you from alerting your boss?"

Ryuuya pulled his mask away from his face, although it didn't help me make out his expression in the dark. "The truth is that I owe a debt."

When he didn't elaborate, I asked, "Since when do you owe me anything?"

"Not you," he said in a clipped tone. "Her."

My eyes widened. Kana?

"Which means…" Ryuuya continued, "I'd rather not have to hurt you. But for obvious reasons, I can't let you act against Lord Danzo like this. So please, just hand me the document, Mr. Kakashi."

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen," I said, slipping the paper into the thin sack I was carrying on my shoulders. "If you understand the situation Kanata is currently in, then you understand why I need this, and why there's no way in hell I'm leaving without it."

I heard a small, humorless chuckle escape his lips. "Honestly, I didn't peg you as the stubborn type." Then, faster than I had time to react, Ryuuya darted forward and barreled into me, pushing me into the wall with one arm pressing against my throat and his other hand entrapping mine with an iron grip. Because we were almost the same height, his dark, expressionless eyes aligned with mine, and I clenched my teeth at his forceful grasp. "Reckless decisions don't suit you. Maybe you should think this over more carefully."

"Oh, believe me," I rasped as the pressure on my windpipe increased. "I've thought it over plenty." Then, I thrust my leg upward and sent a sharp kick into his abdomen, sending him flying back onto the floor. It took a couple of seconds for him to rise, wincing and gasping from the blow.

"Better be quiet," he hissed, turning to face me again. "Wouldn't want anyone else to come running, would we?"

"How about you tell me what Danzo has planned for Kana?" I asked as I pushed myself off the wall and positioned myself in a defense stance.

"Oh, I think you and I both know I can't do that." He threw a punch, but I caught his fist and thrust it aside. I tried nailing him in the gut where I'd kicked him a moment ago, but he dodged it to the left. "Of course," he said, "You have no reason to trust me. But I have a plan—a plan to save her. But I need you out of the way to make it work."

"Really?" I said, hardly convinced. "And what plan might that be?"

"Can't tell."

Disgusted, I swept my legs under his and knocked him off his feet. He let out a hard grunt as he hit the floor, and I knelt down and pinned him to the solid surface. He let out another low sound of pain as I twisted his arm behind his back. "Then why should I believe anything you tell me?" I whispered.

"Because…" He snarled, his voice muffled since half his face was pressed against the floor. "If I wanted to, I could have ratted you out to everyone here already."

The truth in his words was enough to make me loosen my grip, and while I was temporarily distracted, he pushed me off. Barely back on my feet, I let out a gasp as I felt something sharp pinch my leg. I glanced downward and saw that Ryuuya had just jammed a syringe into my thigh. Almost immediately, my vision blurred. I swayed and collapsed on my knees, frantic to pull out the syringe. "What the hell did you do?" I asked, my words slurring as I tried to form syllables.

"I don't have time to try to convince you, Kakashi," Ryuuya said, his voice already sounding floaty and far away. "It's better this way. But for the record," he added, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I'm not a very sentimental guy, but I see why you care about her. This village needs more people like Kanata. That's why I'm doing this. And that's why I'm letting you live."

Ryuuya gave me a cold smile before my vision went dark, and I fell unconscious long before my head hit the floor.

A While Later…

Ryuuya dropped noiselessly to the forest floor, where he found his grumpy accomplice waiting for him. Beside her, unconscious and restrained to a tree, was just the man they needed.

"Haruka," Ryuuya greeted in a hushed tone.

"You're a bit late," she clipped. "You sure you weren't followed?"

"I wasn't followed," he said, following her lead and kneeling down to conceal himself. "Kakashi Hatake's out of the way, so we should be good to go." There was still a chance they could be discovered if they didn't stay sharp and keep their heads down. Exposure was not a risk he or Haruka were willing to take.

Haruka crossed her arms in disapproval. "I'm still not sure why you weren't willing to involve Hatake in the plan. He's highly skilled, and he's clearly motivated to protect Kanata."

"The fewer people who know about this, the better. And he's too close to this—you know that. He's the first person who would become a suspect if something went wrong. That's why it's best for him to stay as far away as possible.

"I still say this is complete madness," Haruka said. "I sure hope you know what you're risking. If your sister finds out I'm helping you do this—"

"Stop. Stop. Stop, Haruka." Ryuuya glared at her. Of course he knew what he was risking. The last thing he wanted to do was dwell on it. "I'm not forcing you to do this. You can walk away right now and I'll just find another way to do this on my own. This is the right thing to do, and I asked you to help me because…" He paused, then sighed. "Because you're good at making good choices. Because you have the skills that are going to make this work."

Haruka smiled icily. "Have you considered that Kanata Fujibayashi wouldn't be in this situation in the first place if it weren't for you getting involved?"

"He only trusts people based on the example they set," Ryuuya said. "What was I supposed to do? Refuse to masquerade as the boy at the memorial stone? I didn't have a choice."

She shook her head, averting her eyes. "You always say that. And look at you—out here fighting for someone else's right to choose. Someone you barely know. Why won't you fight for yours?"

Ryuuya allowed their conversation to fall to silence for a moment. What were they doing, arguing at a time like this? Their hostage would probably be awake any time now from the medical sedative he gave him; they should have been using this time to talk over their strategy. He looked into Haruka's mask that hid her blazing blue eyes, wondering what she was thinking. Should he have felt guilty for letting her get involved in his mess? She was probably the closest thing he had to a friend, since membership in Root didn't leave much room for real relationships. And now he was risking her safety and his, all for Kanata Fujibayashi.

What the hell was wrong with him? Hadn't he been taught better?

Instead of voicing his pesky feelings, however, Ryuuya cleared his throat, adjusted his own mask, and said, "Let's just go over the plan. As soon as this low-life wakes up, you're going to do a mind transfer jutsu. I'll have to tie you up beforehand so he can't get away once he's in your body, but I'll wait to restrain your hands as long as possible to make sure you can complete the jutsu. Then, using his body, you'll transform yourself into a lookalike of Kanata. Are you sure you're comfortable using transformation?"

Ryuuya could practically feel her rolling her eyes through the mask. "Yes, yes, for the last time, I remember the signs you taught me. His body is accustomed to transformation, so it'll be fine."

"Okay," he said slowly. "I don't think I have to remind you what could happen if we don't pull this off properly."

"No, you really don't," she replied flatly.

"Right. So the idea is to get yourself on Anbu's radar. If they see you looking like someone they know is meant to be in Anbu custody, they'll act immediately. You don't want to be too obvious, though. They're smart and will see through the deception if you make it too easy for them."

"Right."

"So you'll be taken into custody once they realize the real Kanata is still in jail. It'll be my job to keep your body close enough to you that when the transfer wears off, you can make the switch back without any trouble. Meaning I won't be far away at any given point."

"I'd say you have about 150 meters of leeway," Haruka said.

"Sounds perfect. Next thing; it's very important that you have these files in that bag when you get caught." Ryuuya pulled out a thin folder and gestured to the small bag on the unconscious ninja's hip. "This is important intelligence which would have allowed him to gain access to knowledge about Kanata's abilities, as well as several other ninja in the village. If he has these files with him when he's apprehended, no one will have a hard time believing he's trying to gather information illegally for another group."

"Hm…" Haruka tilted her head. "But how can you be sure this man will do what you expect? He could come out with the truth about Danzo, who paid him to make all this happen in the first place."

Ryuuya shook his head. "I'd bet my life against it. He would rather face anything the Elder Council and the Hokage had in store for him than answer to the consequences of betraying Lord Danzo's confidence. Believe me, I know."

Haruka began pulling the gloves away from her fingers. "There's a lot of variables in this plan, Ryuuya."

"I realize that," he said. "But listen—this guy has no idea who we are. Even if he does talk, there's no way he'll have any indication that we were a part of it. The main goal here is to provide sufficient evidence that Kanata Fujibayashi had nothing to do with the recent attack. I know this can work. So will you trust me?"

"I accept the risks and trust myself not to screw up my part of the plan. Is that enough for you?"

With a sigh, Ryuuya said, "Yes. Whatever works for you. Ready?"

Haruka glanced over at their hostage, who was now beginning to stir, and nodded. "Yeah, let's get this over with."