It's half past three in the morning. Kakashi and Michiko were dismissed five hours ago, and in the haziness of feverish sleep, Michiko half-wakes to the sound of someone persistently calling her name, very loudly, right into her ear. Groaning, she rolls over, away from the sound, to fall back asleep. Somewhere between waking and falling asleep, she realises that someone is inside her bedroom, in her tiny apartment five blocks from Hokage-Rock.
An intruder.
Rolling stealthily from her bed, she drops to the floor on the opposite side from the voice. Now armed with her wakizashi that is always beneath her bed, she angles it so the light is shining straight onto a dog mask. In the dark, her eyes adjust and can quickly discern the familiar red marks on the mask and the white-grey of Kakashi's hair.
"Kakashi!" She hisses in surprise, whisper-yelling as she stands. "What the hell are you doing inside my room?"
Kakashi scratches the back of his head. 'What's the point of these damn masks?' He pushes his mask up, peering curiously at her with Obito's sharingan. Michiko is startled to see it, as she always is.
"Your window was wide open, and I needed to wake you up." He scrutinizes her and she fidgets under the intensity of his different eyes, "Why can't I sense your chakra?"
Michiko hesitates. Her arms are covered in bandages up till her shoulders, and subconsciously she hugs herself. "It's a long story taichou."
Kakashi notes the tired voice, regretfully informing her that she has to return to work right now.
'I'll ask her again later.' He makes note, moving to vanish from her room as she hurries around her room to get dressed.
Uncovering Kiri's presence within Konohagukare has put the Anbu on alert: Level 4.
What hell is level 4? Michiko thinks, as she sits on the bench in the locker room. She is supposed to have read the manual, but as Kakashi gives them their briefing, she feels lost.
Surprisingly, all of team Ro is not present; only Kakashi, Tenzo and Itachi have been called to duty besides her.
"Since we are on level 4, we've been split into pairs to make our job easier. Tenzo and Itachi, you two are together. Michiko, you're with me."
Aw hell no. Michiko thinks.
"Hokage-sama's orders." Kakashi finishes, ignoring Michiko's slightly crest-fallen expression.
She probably wanted to be paired with Itachi, he muses. Rationally, Shisui's best friend would be her preferred option. An odd feeling falls over Kakashi as he thinks this- a petty kind of triumph over her dissatisfaction.
"Let me remind you: Level 4 Alerts mean external border vigilance and being on call 24/7. Other squads also have members engaged in this."
Nodding, Michiko recalls having discussed the level 4 alert in one the HR sessions at the Anbu.
"Because of the level, we are to remain extremely discreet and are permitted to use force at any point where we see it fit. People can enter through village gates, but nobody is permitted to leave unless they have a merchant's license. This does not apply to merchants or travelers from Kirigakure."
'That doesn't sound good.' Nervous, she scratches the wood of the bench absentmindedly with her index finger. 'I wonder how many times Konoha has used level 4 to oppress rebellions internally…'
"Michiko, I'll brief you on our task on the way. Tenzo, you're in charge, you can brief Itachi on the way out."
'Of course he's already briefed Tenzo.' Michiko pulls open her locker door a little harder than usual, to get her mask and dark grey flak jacket. She pulls it on, aware that Itachi is eyeing the bandages on her arm. She is grateful for the black polo neck she is wearing that conceals the rest of the bandaged mess that her body has become over the past week.
With her katana strapped across her back and her wakizashi on her hip, Michiko is all set to leave.
"I'm ready when you are, taichou." She calls over her shoulder as she shuts her locker. Only when she locks it does she realise Kakashi isn't in the room. Itachi fills the silence that follows her observation, "He's outside, said he had to do something."
'Always disappearing. How annoying.' She blames her irritated mood on her lack of sleep. She makes to leave and then pauses to smile at her teammates, "Good luck guys."
With a joke-salute, she pulls her monkey-mask over her face and slips out of the room.
Sensing Kakashi's chakra already moving away from her at a rapid pace, Michiko sprints to the nearest window and sticks her head out to scout the horizon. With pinprick precision, she locates him and leaps from the window. With one hand still gripping the window sill and her feet against the wall, she hangs momentarily. Being a Sarutobi, she doesn't need to exert too much chakra to climb up or down things.
Hidden in the night, she lets go of the window-sill and launches herself across onto a tree, and then proceeds to climb and jump until she is nearly at Kakashi's heels.
Huffing, she slows down a little. Her arms are sore, but she writes off the feeling. 'I needed a warm-up.'
Unbeknownst to her, Kakashi has slowed down too so he can fall into step with her. Initially, he is alarmed when her chakra pings into his sensory-vision almost right behind him. Then he recalls that she doesn't need to exert chakra to jump around, which has its merits, but also its own drawbacks- such as the now slowed-down pace.
"Hey." He greets, lazily eyeing her as she nods and raises a hand to greet him. He can hear her panting behind the mask.
"Maybe use your chakra a little more now?" He suggests, mildly amused by her heaving shoulders. His mind wanders to the bandages- Kakashi is more curious than concerned. He focuses on the sound of their sandals on the roof tops.
Wordlessly, Michiko has agreed with him.
"Sarutobi, what happened to your arms?"
She's still panting when she replies, albeit more gently, "I overworked my arms and they felt sore. My aunt gave me this balm and its smelly so I wrapped it. Didn't want to unwrap it in the locker room, it would take too long."
Kakashi knows that this is a lie, because before waking Michiko up, he has seen the discarded pile of torn up clothes lying on the floor beneath the open window.
'Maybe Shisui and her are into some freaky, kinky stuff.' His cheeks flush at the thought, his mind facilitating the thought with imaginary evidence- scenes that Kakashi would rather not visualize. He loudly clears his throat. Michiko gives him the side-eye behind her mask, wondering if he's bought her story.
Thankfully, he doesn't bring it up again and Michiko waits patiently for him to brief her, eyeing his silent form every so often.
"Eh…taichou, you didn't brief me." She reminds him, in a matter-of-fact kind of voice.
'Sassy.' Kakashi thinks. He knows he hasn't briefed her yet, but not without reason. Feeling passive himself, he remains silent, acting as if he hasn't heard her at all.
Did he not hear me? Michiko chooses to follow his direction, feeling confused and slightly frustrated. She has no idea what their destination is, and only knows that they are currently headed south west.
Soon, the border of the village comes into view. Kakashi picks up his pace and vanishes over the wall, onto the other side. Alarmed, Michiko follows.
That's when she realizes he is tailing something, so quick on his heels, she catches up.
"Taichou!" She whisper-yells, having lost sight of him momentarily and hearing a soft 'oof' as someone lands a punch on him. Dropping from her place in the trees, she lands on the shoulders of a large man. Squeezing her thighs around his neck, she violently smashes her fists onto his skull until he is disoriented. She leaps off his shoulders just in time as Kakashi knocks him out vis a vis a punch to his face.
"How barbaric." Kakashi comments, looking down at the mess of blood on the man's scalp, just above his forehead, where Michiko has nearly bashed his head in.
"It's a common thief." He continues, securing two chakra-suppressing handcuffs on his wrists. "Let's seal him."
Following orders, Michiko pulls out a body-scroll and seals the unconscious man into it.
"4'o clock."
Michiko pockets the scroll, ignoring the man's goods lying in a sack not too far from where they've knocked him out. Recognizing the chakra, Michiko informs her captain, "It's Shisui and a few other Uchiha, judging by the chakra."
Kakashi nods imperceptibly, "Give them the scroll and let them handle this nut. We will move on."
Shisui appears only moments after, peering curiously at the pair. He recognizes them, especially Michiko, but remains silent in respect of anonymity. He is alarmed to see the bandages on her arms.
'She was fine when I left her after dinner…' Frowning he greets the two with as much detachment as he can muster.
"Sorry to interrupt your work." His red eyes travel from Michiko to Kakashi, when the Hatake speaks, addressing his teammate.
"Monkey, hand the scroll over to Uchiha-san." Michiko obeys, her finger-tips brushing against Shisui's palm as she drops the scroll into his hand.
Stepping back a few steps, she nods once at the Police patrol and vanishes with a sharp gust of wind. Kakashi follows suite.
Shisui stares at the space where they have been, pockets the scroll and gestures the others to follow as they head back to the village in a strange kind of silence.
'I didn't know he was on patrol tonight.' Michiko is as alarmed to see him as he has been to see her, 'Maybe they're on level 4 too.'
Almost as if he heard her thoughts, Kakashi interrupts, "Police don't have level 4s."
He sounds more like he is thinking out loud than talking to her, so Michiko chooses not to respond. Some moments pass, and she begins to feel uncomfortable.
"Where are we going taichou?" She presses again, trying to keep the irritation from her voice.
"The Fire Temple." He replies after another minute of silence, "The monks may have intell on who has been visiting Konoha."
Finding out that they are traveling all the way to talk to a bunch of monks that would mostly likely have some insignificant information, makes Michiko deflate.
"That's why you weren't telling me huh?" She grumbles, frustrated with their predicament.
"Why do you think that?" He sounds bored, and Michiko feels more annoyed.
"We got the boring task."
"Not exactly." Kakashi is keeping information and savoring the irritation he entices from her.
"Taichou, why won't you tell me everything I need to know?"
"Now, why would I be that easy?" He responds quickly, his tone still the deep drawl of an uninterested individual.
That's when it dawns on Michiko that he is trying to get on her nerves.
'What an asshole.'
She would much rather be in bed, in her cosy flat, or returning home with Shisui so she could join him in his cosy room. Her mind wanders to her previous moments alone with him, warmth pooling in her belly. This is quickly followed by a sudden bitterness from having stayed away from him for some time in the recent past.
Reiterating these very thoughts, Shisui's mind has cascaded distractedly away from thoughts of his clan. 'Maybe…she wants to break up with me.' He thinks sadly. Exhaling loudly, he kicks off his sandals as he enters his sleeping home. His siblings are in bed, his grandmother snoring away loudly in her own bedroom.
The sun is just about to begin climbing up the horizon, and the Fire Temple glimmers in the fading dark just before dawn.