Karin was exhausted. She unlocked the door to her home - her joints aching from all the running around she did in the hospital.

"Tadaima"

"Okaeri!"

Karin jumped a little, startled by his voice. She sees Naruto in his orange shirt and black joggers descending the stairs.

"You look tired, Karin-chan."

She nodded. She did not realise how exhausting it was for the hospital staff to treat ninjas. Hell, she could not even imagine the mayhem the Emergency Department (ED) was in after the supposed Sasuke Retrieval Mission.

"You want me to run you a bath?"

Karin smiles. Naruto was sweet when it came to her.

"Yes, please", she answers before kissing his cheek, making her cousin blush.

Sasuke and Kakashi were walking toward the Hyuuga compound together. Sasuke suddenly felt that he wanted to see Hinata, but of course, it irritated him that he couldn't be alone with her properly because Kakashi had to follow him around, but it was not like he had a choice.

"You know Sasuke; you turn adorable around Hinata-hime."

The said genin turned to shoot him a glare, but Kakashi was unperturbed.

"Your kissing skills suck, by the way."

Sasuke's face flushes, "Did you seriously have to watch that?"

"I have to keep an eye on you, kid and as Tsunade-sama says, if you're a good boy in a year, I can recommend removing the seal on your ankle."

Sasuke sighed heavily, thinking about the dark green seal around his left foot. It did not look menacing, but he would never forget the smug expression on the Hokage's face when she told him that it would kill him if he dared leave Konoha.

He was sure the blonde leader was not joking.

Suddenly, he remembers what he wanted to ask Kakashi. He lifts his head, meeting his gaze. "Do you know the Kohana?"

The older man raises his eyebrow at the question, "What brought this on?"

"She's the ANBU who brought me in, right? When I described her mask to Sakura, she said it should have been her."

If Kakashi was surprised that Sakura knew who the ANBU operative was by the mask, he did not show it. Frankly, it was ANBU with distinct fighting styles like hers and his own that made being a silent operative hard because of how easily they were recognised hence why the Kohana became an ANBU General and why he, himself, changed his mask style every so often so he wouldn't be so easily distinguished.

"Kakashi?"

The jounin looks down and ruffles the kid's hair, "Don't tell me you have a little crush on the ANBU who beat you down? I didn't know you were a masochist, Sasuke."

The Uchiha's face reddened, and his mouth opened agape. Kakashi tried not to laugh at the comical sight.

"It's not like that!"

"Sure, sure."

"It's not!"

"You are growing, boy Sasuke. I would be unsurprised if you did have a crush on her. The Kohana is a real siren underneath all that body mesh she wears."

Sasuke blinked, the term siren jogging his memory.

FLASHBACK

"Owie"

A much younger Sasuke sulked over the scrape on his knee. Suddenly he was lifted from the ground, the scent of vanilla and wisteria rising to his nose as an older nin lifted him to sit onto something soft. Sasuke lifted his head and grinned as he recognised her.

"Rima-nee!"

Itachi chuckles, reaching out a hand to ruffle his brother's hair as he sits in the girl's lap, "It's Rina, Sasuke. You're still mispronouncing it."

"Rima is a prettier name! Fits better!"

Mashiro Rina laughed good-naturedly, healing Sasuke's bruise with ease before kissing his cheek, "You are adorable, Sasuke."

Sasuke grins and lifts his head to see his brother kiss Rina on her cheek, "It has to be a crime for you to be this gorgeous and be this loving towards children."

Rina blushes and stick her tongue out at him, "You're teasing me."

Itachi smirks before leaning in and giving her a small kiss on the neck, "My siren flower, how tempting you are."

Rina rolled her eyes, but Sasuke could see that her smile lit up her entire face.

He was glad this pretty big sister was Itachi's friend.

END OF FLASHBACK

Kakashi waited patiently until Sasuke finally turned to him, a conviction in his voice, "Rina is the Kohana, isn't she?"

"I can't deny or confirm that", answers Kakashi nonchalantly.

Sasuke didn't argue; asking for confirmation of an ANBU identity was frowned upon anyway.

"How close exactly was she with my brother?"

Now, this startled Kakashi, "You remember her now?"

"A little," he confesses. "I remember when I was smaller, I could never say the name right, so the name Rima-nee stuck with me. I didn't see much of her as we got older anymore."

"Yes, well, Rina is three years older than Itachi. They first met at her chunin exam. Itachi and his team deployed to stop a rogue psychotic nin from killing everyone, and Rina encountered that, too, so she helped incapacitate the enemy. Afterwards, she healed Itachi's team and helped him to the tower with her teammates."

Sasuke's expression was thoughtful as he listened closely. "Did my brother and her date?"

Kakashi tilted his head, wondering how Sasuke would react when he told him that Itachi and Rina were engaged once. Sasuke, however, kept talking.

"I think he was flirting with her. He used to tell her how beautiful she was and how sweet and nice she played with me when she came to visit."

Sasuke's voice was soft, his expression gentle, as if he had recollected his memories. Slowly he remembered Rina coming to his home to play with him or to eat with his family. Sometimes, she even helped him with his academy homework. He had tried to ask her to help with his ninja training, but she always insisted that there was more to life than being a ninja, which meant having fun.

Unbeknownst to Sasuke, Kakashi was getting jealous in his reminiscence. He remembered that Itachi was 10 when he first met Rina; for some reason, she always brought out his human side. Usually, he was stoic with everyone, but with Rina, he would smile, glare, smirk and chuckle. Three years later, he heard rumours that Rina and Itachi got closer after their engagement and as closer meaning, he heard they kissed passionately in every dark corner of the ANBU barracks.

"I'm guessing that's a yes."

"What?" Kakashi snaps.

"They dated, right?"

Kakashi closed his eyes, hoping to conceal the irritation im his voice, "Not exactly. I think Itachi was infatuated with Rina because she wasn't an average kunoichi and wasn't put off by his demeanour. However, if you're asking if Rina had feelings for Itachi? That I don't know."

Nor do I want to know.

Sasuke squinted his eyes at Kakashi. He could tell the jounin was keeping something from him.

Okuda Miri-sensei raised her head, wondering who could be knocking on her door. She turned to her two patients for permission. Their sensei rolled her eyes at the politeness, but Okuda waited for the patients to voice the okay before asking the person to come in.

The wooden door opens to see her longtime friend there, smiling gently.

"Hi, I just wanted to pop by and say hi to Ino and Anko."

Anko grinned and waved her hand vigorously at Rina, "Yo, Siren!"

The former honeypot mistress smirked before coming over to give her friend a one-armed hug, "Told you not to call me that in front of kids."

"They're ninjas, not kids."

Rina shrugs before turning to hug Ino too. Tenten opted instead to smile shyly and say hello.

"I wonder if you two could match up to Mashiro Rina here and me."

Rina rolls her eyes at Anko's words, "Don't pressure them. You haven't even trained them yet. It's just physicals Okuda-sensei is starting with."

Okuda nods, passing the reminder letters to both genin. "These are the schedules for your upcoming blood tests and vaccinations. Physicals seem normal, so I doubt there would be any issues."

Both girls pocketed the paper carefully and thanked the doctor. Okuda smiled before lifting her head to speak with Rina directly.

"You up for lunch today?"

"Can't. I have a shortage of nurses, so I'm also doing the grunt work. It's my 15-minute break right now."

Okuda frowns, "Come on, you need to eat too."

"Right, but the next doctor to take over the ED isn't due for another hour, so I need to get all the charts and patient files in order first."

Anko groans, "Doctor work sounds tough. You should have stuck being a ninja."

Rina grins, "I've always been a healer at heart. Plus, I need the money because I'm not doing any solo missions, and since I'm working only part-time at TI and Team 7 is stuck on D ranks for another month and a half - I need the cash flow to meet my expenditure needs."

Tenten listened quietly, thinking Rina must have an expensive taste from her observations.

At present, the tall woman wore a lavender dress with a high collar and wide neckline under her white doctor's coat. On her left wrist, she wore a gold bracelet; on her other hand, a gemstone ring and on her feet, white cross-laced heels.

"Okay, ladies, I'll head out first."

Ino smiles as Rina kisses the top of her head affectionately before hugging both Okuda-sensei and Anko. Tenten waves goodbye back as Rina leaves swiftly.

Rina, without a doubt in her mind, was likeable, kind and affectionate.

The Uzumaki cousins were lucky.

Kakashi walked behind Sasuke and Hinata, keeping far enough distance to let them think they could talk in private.

Meanwhile, he left his mind to wonder about his feelings for Rina and Itachi. They had somewhat of a fling back then, Irina had told him personally, but she explained that it was more that she felt lonely, and Itachi was already in love with her then. Irina categorised her moments with Itachi as them just taking comfort in each other and making sense of the engagement.

Kakashi bit his cheek, trying to fight his bubbling jealousy. He must remember that Irina gave herself to him when she turned 18. He was her first. Now, Irina Mashiro is his present girlfriend. She was his. Itachi was her past. Hopefully, she will stay with him forever.

Wait, what?

Hinata turned to sneak a glance at Kakashi. He seemed lost in his thoughts. She wondered what he was thinking.

She turns after feeling a peck on her cheek. Hinata couldn't help but smile at the awkward expression on Sasuke's face.

"When you're with me, I don't want you looking at anybody else."

Hinata smiles brightly, unable to help herself. The day she had at the ED was gruelling, but Sasuke made everything better here. She didn't feel tired anymore, just happy.

"Thank you."

Sasuke frowned, "For what?"

"For loving me."

Sasuke blushes at her forwardness, causing her to giggle.

He was too cute with her.