Amaya (Ame)

They woke before sunrise and set out towards Land of Birds. They had to make their way through the Land of Rain and the Land of Stone.

Winter seemed to take a turn and true to the country, the rain fell on them relentlessly the entire day. Their cloaks were pulled over their heads and their masks in place. The skies seemed to open as they passed through, frigid water managed to soak through their water-resistant cloaks.

They were perched on a branch hidden by shadows watching merchants pass underneath them. As soon as they were out of sight Kakashi nodded over to her and they began leaping through the treetops.

The rain came down heavier by nightfall and their sight had been limited. They settled a few miles out from the border of Stone.

"I'll take first watch" she called out as they leapt down from the treetops. Kakashi stayed silent but nodded in her peripheral. They'd managed to find a shallow cave as the forest thinned out. The light was none existent now as they made their way towards the entrance. She placed her hand on her throat, infused it with chakra and whistled, sending high-pitched waves through the cave. It was a higher frequency than the copy nin would be able to hear. When the waves reverberated towards her she began making her way in.

"It's clear" she stated. He looked at her quizzically as he lifted his kitsune mask over his head. His cloak hood fell down and she could barely make out his face in what little moonlight penetrated the clouds. The rain drummed down and only when she crossed the threshold into the cave did she realise how loud it had been for her.

"Another byakugan secret?" he mused. "Don't even need to activate it now?" he mocked her. She ignored it as she pulled her cloak off and began digging through her small pack. He echoed her and routed through his own pack. Water had somehow got through her cloak and made it into her pack and she sighed pulling out the contents.

"I didn't use my byakugan. I need to rest my eyes" she explained. She is sure they'd be fine by now but she didn't want to strain them when she knew she'd need them for the mission ahead.

"Hn," Is all he responded. They sat in silence as they chewed their dried meat, seaweed and cold rice. They'd only have dried meat left after this evening and will need to make do with whatever is in the forests.

She summoned her bats and they disappeared into the cold night. They remained silent after clearing the area.

The temperature dropped rapidly and the rain turned to sleet. It was no use trying to start a fire as the wood would be too wet. They didn't discuss the possibility, Kakashi puffed up his pack resting his head on it, lying on his back. He pulled his cloak around him and closed his eyes.

She watched as she sat against the cold stone wall. She brought her knees up to her chest trying to conserve warmth for the night ahead.

Tiredness didn't set in for a few hours but now she was fighting her eyes. She monitored the area occasionally calling for updates to her summons. It wasn't until her shift was almost up that she picked up signals from her bats.

3 hostiles inbound, moving quickly and directly towards them.

She jerked and silently made her way to the copy nin. She leant above him quickly nudging him awake. His eye opened immediately as if he weren't even asleep. She brought her index finger to her mask warning him to stay silent. She held her middle three fingers up and pointed to the cave entrance.

The night was dark as they both exited and staked out the cave from above. Kakashi had made two shadow clones and henged them to their appearances. They lay faining sleep below. The 3 hostiles slowed down their pace and fanned out below them. They masked their chakra signature and stayed silent waiting to ambush the ambushers. She felt the adrenaline coarse through her veins and she removed her cloak. It was cold but the rate of her heart warmed her through.

The ninjas oncoming were near silent. They'd masked their chakra signatures but she willed her Byakugan to activate. There wasn't any soreness left and she could see almost 800m in front of her. She watched the three figures slow and close into the cave entrance. She watched them nod once to each other indicating to ready the attack.

The nin in the centre halted at the cave entrance and began forming seals. It wasn't until the ground beneath them started to shake did she realise he was creating a tomb in the cave. She glanced to Kakashi and watched his Sharingan swirl. He met her eyes and she gestured her hand signals, telling him she would take them out and he needed to back her up. He nodded and watched from above.

She knew he'd expect her to approach from behind but she didn't need to. She readied herself and sprinted the 3 strides before lunging from the small cliff face. She glided through the air in a slow flip. She willed chakra to the ends of her fingers as she spun perfectly upside down. Her body was vertical in the air and time seemed to slow as she released the needles. The three ninja below sensed her chakra and snapped their heads up to her but it was too late. Her silver chakra needles flew towards the two ninjas on the outside. Her aim was true and flew through their eye sockets and out the other side. She didn't watch them fall because she landed behind the ninja in the centre.

The nin had his entire face covered, but a Rain headband scored through perched on top of their head. Moonlight broke through the bank of clouds illuminating the scene for her.

It was her lucky day. She thought. She stood straight as soon as she landed already forming the seals for her jutsu. The ex-rain nin pulled out his kunai sending it flying towards her but it was just a decoy for his jutsu that he was forming the seals for but it was too late.

Her own shadow morphed into a cloaked being, stretching out towards him in the fashion it always did. It descended above him and the nins head tilted, frozen as he watched it wrap around him. The nin began to fight against the shadow paralysis but to no avail. It wrapped tighter and tighter as it pulled him into the ground slowly. The sounds of his submerged limbs crushing beneath the Earth were drowned in the muffled screams of the nin as they echoed throughout the dark forest. She released the pressure avoiding the nins vital organs but rendering him unable to escape. His legs and arms would be crushed, there was no way he would be able to wriggle out of this. She loosened her grip on the shadow as she approached the half-buried nin.

"You've been following us." It wasn't a question. The nins head swayed as he began to lose consciousness. He continued to grunt weakly from the pain. She relieved the pressure on his body a little coaxing him to answer. Kakashi leapt down from the ridge and landed beside her. He crouched and his Sharingan swirled through the eye hole. His onyx eye closed and she took that as her queue. She ripped the headdress from the ex-rain nin. He was pale and wore machinery over his mouth. He had yellow eyes and brown hair. His eyes widened as Kakashi forced eye contact.

It was only mere seconds for her but she could tell the copy nin had trapped him in genjutsu. She didn't bother to tell him that her eyes could figure out what she wanted to know. No one knew that secret except for her old team. She didn't trust him.

Before the seconds were up the nin's head dropped as he fell unconscious. Kakashi stood and straightened. He didn't look at her as he turned his back to them both.

"He was hired to take us out, he was tipped off that we were in their borders along with the other two mercenary nins." The moonlight faded and the skies darkened once again. "He doesn't know who paid them to take us out but they paid heavily and upfront. That's all the information." He was distant and pulled the hood of his cloak back up. She looked down at the unconscious nin and completed her jutsu pulling him into the ground. His bones cracked under the force and soon he was completely submerged leaving no sign he was ever there.

She began to walk over to the other nin to bury them but the copy nin began to speak.

"Our location may be compromised we should move out. You can rest later in the day." Is all he said before he began through the canopy of the darkened forest.

She tidied up, submerging the bodies in the ground and followed after Hatake.

Kakashi set a breakneck pace leaping from tree to tree. He always managed to stay a far distance ahead of her and as the sun began to rise she was feeling the lack of sleep. Her body felt heavier but she pushed herself to maintain the speed.

The rain had softened but not stopped as they crossed the border into Stone. The forests began to thin out as the day went on. Kakashi showed no sign of letting up as they ran across the barren flatlands ahead of them. The grey skies above them still hung heavily but the rain had stopped by the time they'd reached a river. She couldn't go much further without rest and she began to slow over the last couple of hours.

"Ya-" she called out through panting. He didn't stop as he began to approach the river. "Stop" she breathed. She was thankful to see him slow into a walk and then halted on the bank of the river. She slowed and stopped next to him.

The palms of her hands fell to her knees as she leant over. Her breathing was deep and erratic as she tried to settle. He didn't speak he just watched the area around them. Grass grew near the banks, forcing their way through the hard stone. She plopped herself down and the wet greenery greeted her bandaged hands. It was sheltered from the oncoming wind somewhat by large boulders and she found herself leaning against one. She lay back and watched the skies. Her breathing became more controlled.

"I think I need to rest" she spoke quietly. He nodded as he crouched down watching the contents of the river wash past. "I wonder why they are meeting in Bird and not in Stone or Rain." She thought aloud.

"Bird is impoverished and don't have the resources to monitor their borders as well as Stone and Rain. Probably to keep secrecy." He answered matter of factually. She felt stupid for voicing the question and hummed. "You should get some rest. I'll wake you in an hour or two." He promised.

She didn't know what happened next but she awoke to the feeling of rain dropping on her mask. She jerked and sat upright, leaning away from the boulder she was on.

A small fire crackled as sticks of fish jammed into crevasse's in the rock, cooking away. The aroma swirled around her and she felt her stomach rumble in satisfaction.

She looked up the river to her left and couldn't spot him. Her eyes slid to the right and found him half-submerged in the river about 100m away. She quickly looked away as it dawned on her that he was bathing. She'd woken up early from the patter of rain on her mask. She felt worse than when she went to sleep but she didn't have any more time to waste. She felt nauseous from lack of nutrients and lack of sleep but she mentally prepared herself for the oncoming leg of their journey. The warmth of the fire just about reached her and fended off some of the chills.

The skies had lightened despite the light rain falling on them. The fire wained as it danced in the weather. She rose to her feet and placed herself nearer the fire. A larger boulder was now blocking the view of the bathing nin and she reached for a stick of cooked fish.

"Have as many as you need" the approaching copy nin's voice almost made her flinch and she suddenly felt more awake temporarily.

"Thanks" she offered and began eating. Her mouth salivated as she devoured the fish in record timing. It was perfectly cooked by the fire. The skin was crispy and the flesh was incredibly fresh. She found herself reaching for another before Hatake came back fully clothes and perched by the fire again. He held his gloved hands out towards it, warming himself.

She finished three fish before she stood up and turned away. She began fiddling with her pack removing wet items and placing them near the fire. She heard Kakashi retrieving his own cooked fish and kept her back towards him as she dispersed her wet gear.

"We are about half a day away from the location," he announced suddenly breaking the silence. "We will be there by nightfall." He offered the information she knew already.

"We shouldn't camp near the meeting location" she offered information she knew he would also know but it was worth confirming between them.

"Hn," he replied. "We should get there before nightfall and examine the surroundings."

"Sure," she turned as she heard him stomp out the fire and discard the chard sticks into the river, covering their tracks a little. He was watching her as she glanced up to see him standing over her. She looked away and packed her things, relieved that they were drier than before.

They began running again, soon reaching a stone forest. It was hard and slowed them down but they'd made it to the border of Bird with daylight to spare. She was grateful to see the forests again and the clouds had dispersed somewhat.

"We are close" he offered. She remained silent as they ran to the forest line.

"Have you been here before?" she asked and he nodded to her. "To the meeting location?" she asked prising for more information.

"Yeah, I've been to the village before." He clarified. She felt curious but didn't say anything further.

They ran through the trees for another half an hour whilst her mind wandered.

The forests felt familiar to her. She'd spent most of her youth in The Land of Birds and it felt odd to be back. She had been lucky in her career that she hadn't seen Bird since she left. She tried to ignore the memories it was bringing back and she focused herself on each footfall onto each branch.

"We're here." He announced as he slowed. A dirt road became clearer through the trees and they slowed to a stop. They both observed up and down the road, waiting for anything to approach. He nodded to her and they slipped down. "It's best if we don't approach the village, even henged." She nodded as they stuck to the tree line, avoiding the road.

"We can observe it from afar with my byakugan"

"Good. Let's go." They broke out into a slow run heading for the village. They were extra sensitive to their surrounding as they neared. The sun was setting and the orange hue littered the landscape. The small civilian village was fairly quiet, with a few stalls selling food and goods dotted around the centre. It was built poorly and was obviously impoverished. A group of children in rags ran around the centre playing a game and laughing loudly.

Hatake and Ame stood in a tree away from the village as she watched through her Byakugan. The copy nin wouldn't be able to see clearly from here and she could feel his eyes on her.

"Nothing seems unusual so far" she gave. "The village is obviously impoverished, a few food stands and goods. Nothing out of the ordinary. The population looks all civilian."

"There should be a tea shop. Do you see it?" she squinted harder scanning all the small buildings.

"I see it." She answered.

"It's a guess but I think that is where they might meet if they enter the village."

"How very civilized" she quipped dryly.

"Watch the shop." He commanded. She hummed a response and they watched the comings and goings of the village until night had fallen fully. Kakashi at some point turn his back to her and scoured the forest around them.

Her eyes grew heavy and her byakugan felt strained. She released it and closed them for a moment. She felt weak and breathed deeply a couple of times. The cold forest air filled her lungs.

She felt Kakashi land next to her noiselessly and crouched beside her.

"Come, we should rest" he began slowly making his way through the canopy away from the village. She followed numbly as the cold had settled in her limbs. Her joints creaked as she leapt from branch to branch after the copy nin.

They came to a small clearing and they leapt down. A singed circle in the centre indicated it was often used by people coming and going.

"I'll take first watch."

"Music to my ears." She mumbled as she set herself against a tree. She couldn't believe it when she heard him huff a laugh. "What?"

"You seem to have a retort for everything" he offered as he made a small pile of firewood by them. She felt her brows pull down behind her mask.

"Guess that's part of my charm" she replied flatly. Tiredness pulled at her eyes and her brain was turning to mush. Her limbs ached and she'd strained her eyes. She began rubbing them under her mask and a long yawn escaped her.

"You say charm," he spoke as he lit the fire, "but I hear annoying." She stopped rubbing her eyes and peeked through her mask at him. The new fire danced on his fox mask and through his grey hair, painting it a different colour.

"Since we are discussing what we hear," His head lifted to her, "all I hear is a ninja who walks around with a stick up is arse." He didn't move from his crouch above the fire. His mask stared at her.

"Are you finished?" the tiredness seeping into her body was fended off by the bitterness brewing. "Look we are both tired. I'll wake you when it's your shift."

"Fine." She breathed. She hoisted herself up from the tree trunk and lay down by the fire. She placed her pack under her head and wrapped herself in her cloak. She faced the fire without removing her mask. She pulled the cloak hood over her head to trap the warmth inside and brought her hands to her chest. Kakashi sat near her with his knees raised, resting his elbows on either one.

"What happened on your last mission?" the question fell out of her mouth before she could think about it. She silently cursed her groggy mind for asking. He tensed momentarily and relaxed. He didn't look her way but she could tell he was on edge.

"I'll make a deal," he began, "if you are able to go the next two days without making unnecessary remarks I'll tell you." She tutted loudly. "What about you, why don't you team up?" she watched his onyx eye connect with hers through their masks. She was about to make a remark but snapped her mouth shut. He huffed a single laugh as if he knew she was fighting it.

"Why do you want to know?" she surprised them both with her sincerity. He looked towards the fire breaking their eye contact.

"Does there have to be a reason?" she narrowed her eyes at him as he spoke. "Let's start with something simple." He offered. His head tilted to the partially covered stars above him. "How old are you?"

"21, why, how old are you?"

"23."

"How long have you been in Anbu?" she asked.

"You haven't heard?"

"Should I have?" Her words hung in the air.

"It's been a while" he sighed.

"How long is a while?" she was fighting the heaviness in her eyes. The warmth of the fire seeped through her clothing and she welcomed it wholly. It was the warmest she'd felt in the past few days.

"10 years" he hesitated after a moment.

"That is a while" she confirmed quietly.

"What about you, when did you join?" she felt herself gulp and close her eyes, looking away from her partner.

"A shorter while." Is all she could say out loud.

"How short is a shorter while?" he echoed her question and she felt the corner of her lips twitch up for a second.

"Minuscule compared to you old man."

"Our agreement lasted all of 5 minutes, you do realise?" she silently cursed at herself.

"That, dear friend, was in jest. Not a retort. I give you my word." She added a theatric tone.

"I didn't know we were friends." He answered and her blood ran colder as she regretted her words.

"We aren't" the air shifted between them and she turned to lay on her back. She watched the clouds sail across the stars.

"Good, it would've been awkward to tell you how annoying you are, as a friend." His joke surprised her and a blush crept on her face.

"Not the best first impression" she agreed.

"My first impression? I hated you."

"Past tense?" she was curious.

"In progress." He answered after silence passed between them. She laughed singularly and closed her eyes.

"What's your code name?" she asked.

"Wolf" he points to his mask.

"Why are you pointing to your fox mask"

"It's a wolf," he said matter of factually. She bit her tongue suppressing the urge to make a retort at the mask that was most definitely a fox. She dropped it and moved on.

"That's not very fitting for you."

"What about you?"

"Amaya" she answered. He hummed.

"Sounds like a real name," he asked curiously.

"Ame my old teammates called me." A comfortable silence settled as she thought. "Hatake Kakashi is your real name right?"

"So you've heard of me" his arrogance made her lips twitch.

"Kakashi means scarecrow right?" She hummed rhetorically. "That is more fitting, I think I'll call you Crow."

"You can't just change my code name"

"Why not?" silence rang through the air. She propped herself on her elbows looking at him looking at her. He shook his head and stared at the fire.

"Guess on the mission it's all the same."

"Exactly" she breathed in satisfaction at her victory. She lay back down and enjoyed the warmth of the fire. She didn't know she could be so grateful for the lack of rain. She wriggled comfortably as sleep began to settle in.

"You're The Shinigami (The Grim Reaper) of Anbu aren't you?" his question came out of the blue, his tone sounded disappointed. Something cold ignited within her. She hated the nickname that had surfaced in the Anbu for her. It was horrible and added to the guilt that all Shinobi hoard.

"And you're Friend-Killer Kakashi, what of it?" she watched him flinch.

"I've heard of you" he spoke flatly adding to the storm inside of her.

"And I of you" she hissed. "Do you live up to your names? You have many. Friend-killer Kakashi, Cold-blooded Kakashi, Kakashi of the Sharingan, Copy Ninja Kakashi." He was silent. "It's a lot to live up to by the sounds of things."

She didn't know why she was so mad but she was livid. She found she was sitting up and her voice had grown louder. He turned his head up to the stars and she breathed deeply as regret set in. She looked down to her lap. She was about to apologise when he broke the silence. She turned her head towards him, his mask was resting on top of his head. He gave her his classic eye crease smile as he spoke.

"I have made many mistakes" is all he offered her. A coldness sent a chill over her skin. He slid his mask back down. "I'll wake you up when it's your shift."

With that their conversation was over. She felt uncomfortable as she lay there and guilt settled in her bones. Tiredness crept back upon her as she lay with her back towards the fire and the annoying nin.