"Very well," Hiruzen says brightly, looking at the ANBU who hasn't moved a single millimeter from when she'd entered. She stays at the back with her fists clenched tightly. He senses no anger from her, but he'd hoped his cheer would make her ease up. She only seems more unnerved by that. Hiruzen sighs, "Dismissed."

Hound disappears before Rin can turn around and invite her to lunch with the other Jounin in a blur of black. Hound pushes herself at top speed over the rooftops and nearly slams into several walls when she reenters the ANBU barracks. Her footsteps are silent, or Danzo would have her head, and she slips past several ANBU before practically throwing herself down on the cold metal floor in a kneeling position, "Forgive my lateness, Danzo-sama."

Danzo's grip on his cane tightens and he squares his jaw, "The recruits are waiting."

"Yes, sir," she says and flickers down a flight where Hawk is taking it easy, sitting with his arms smugly crossed and his right leg over his left leg in nonchalance, as if waiting for a show to start. She can hear the smirk in his voice, "Now, don't keep Monkey waiting."

"Please do not worry, Hawk," Hound says. Her hands are itching to sink into the warm flesh in his neck and watch him asphyxiate on his own blood. She restrains herself and looks at the recruits, who eye her with a mixture of caution and skepticism.

One girl, around twelve, looks at the taller silver-haired ANBU, "Hawk-senpai told us that having a conspicuous hair color is detrimental to mission success, for it is easier for the enemy to spot a hair color that is not brown or black."

Before a scream can exit the girl's throat, Hound sends her flying fifty feet in the air and materializes above her and brings a leg, full of chakra and power, down on her stomach and the metal floor dents where the girl hits the floor with more than double her body weight.

"Now," the ANBU lands perfectly, "Until someone tells me what happened here, you will not only not be allowed to leave the ANBU barracks for a month, but will also be forbidden to obtain food from the refectory."

"Then how are we going to get food? We'll starve, senpai!" a boy, around fourteen or fifteen, cries out, incredulous, "Hawk-senpai, do something! This ANBU is crazy!"

Hawk simply smiles behind his mask and ignores the boy.

Before the boy can repeat himself, Hound grabs his arm and swings a few times on a heel and lets go, letting the boy fly towards the wall faster than any normal Chuunin could move. Upon impact, all of the breath is knocked out of him and a look of pure shock ripples on his face before a look of pure pain turns into a horrifying scream. He slides down the wall, leaving a splatter of blood when he'd hit the wall and a line the width of his body down he wall until he stops, slumps, and is completely still.

"I expect an answer for that as well," the ANBU brushes off nonexistent dust from her uniform. "In the meantime, for you all to mull this over, please pick a number between zero and five."

"Zero."

The girl who utters this finds her neck underneath Hound's foot and can't breathe. Her eyes begin to turn red and she thrashes violently, "Wrong."

"Four!"

In a flash, Hound breaks his arms and pushes him to the ground with a single finger, secretly relishing in his howls.

"T-two…"

The six-year-old who looks as if he'd just woken up from a nap finds himself much too close to the ANBU. His mouth opens to yelp, especially when he hears a bone in his foot break, but no sound can come out. "That, little one, is incorrect."

Something sounds off like an alarm when the railing is dented. Twin brown orbs widen as the sound gets louder and louder and the darkness below, just over the railing, gets closer and closer. The ground slips out from under him and the sound raises a few pitches. The boy is falling after three of his ribs and the arch in his foot are broken. All he can feel is the loud sound bouncing off of the walls and into his ears.

"Please quiet down," the ANBU says calmly, holding a single finger as she squats on the railing. Her gloved hand holding his index finger is the only thing keeping him from breaking his fingers and arms and dislocating his arms from their sockets at the least or becoming a puddle of blood, bones, and flesh at the worst if he falls. "Or I will drop you."

The boy goes completely silent at that, staring at the darkness below him. The loud sound, the alarm, stops.

It had been him.

He doesn't know how deep it is or how many flights up he'd fall. All he knows, all he sees, is the dark, dark, darkness below that will swallow him up. She doesn't let go. Gratefulness bursts through him and his cringe barely keeps back the happy shudder when he realizes that she won't.

In a motion that nearly brings him to vomit, Hound hauls him up and throws him behind her, momentarily saving him from ripping out his arms and dying. She backflips off of the railing and sees him pitifully land on his broken foot. The boy can't scream. By the time the pain shoots up to his brain, an electrical impulse that she can practically see, he isn't even conscious. She tilts her head slightly. At least he didn't scream. He'd be dead if he did.

She turns to face the rest of the recruits, "What are your choices?"

By now, one girl, about ten, is shaking with fear. Her green eyes reflect horror, but she manages to respond in a surprisingly level voice, "Five."

Hound is disgusted. Her arm blurs and the girl lets out a gasp as a kunai punctures her side and exits to nail the first recruit's arm to the wall. The sound of bone shattering resounds.

"One!"

"Three!"

"Both of you," the ANBU states, "Please pick up the boy who responded with a 'two' and throw him over the railing."

"What!?" the girl who had said 'one' squawks. "No way!" Her round cheeks only make her expression of confusion more entertaining for Hound. Hound has her throat in her hand in the blink of an eye and the girl tries to feel the ground underneath her, only to see darkness beneath her out of the corner of her eye. "NO!" she screams and thrashes and struggles and shudders.

"I expect," Hound says slowly, "An answer for this as well."

Hound lets go.

The girl's shrieks continue for a few moments before they abruptly stop with a sickening squelch.

The boy with black hair and orange eyes who had said 'three' pales and his eyes go as wide as the sun that Hound had seen enough of, "I-I have an answer!"

Hound waits patiently while standing on the railing with perfect balance and chakra control. She laces her fingers behind her back and counts about ten remaining recruits she hadn't had the pleasure of meeting yet. The boy hesitates with pure fear chilling his bones and looks at the ANBU with repulsion.

"The reason that the girl who said something about hair color was disciplined was because she was trying to make fun of you," the boy says, trying to inject confidence in his shaking voice.

"That is," Hound flexes her fingers and feels her chakra reach to tips of her icy fingers, "Not an answer."

She waits until he comprehends her words. She jumps off and walks towards him. He doesn't take a step back. She studies him for a moment before crossing her arms and turning away from him and towards the other recruits, "Do any of you have any answers for what I requested?"

"Yes," a boy with spiky white hair and black eyes says, "You disciplined the first girl because she was trying to undermine your authority based on something as trivial and changeable as hair color. In fact, you could've dyed your hair this color on purpose. You disciplined the last girl because she questioned your authority and refused to carry out your orders, a trait that no useful ANBU can have."

"What about the others?" Hound quips.

The boy doesn't answer. Before the orange-eyed boy can feel his heartbeat pounding once more in his ears, the white-haired boy is sent to the floor where a shuriken was already embedded at some point and a hiss escapes him. Blood sprays onto Hound, who watches impassively as blood pools underneath him.

"What about the others?" Hound asks again, her foot planted firmly on him and presses the shuriken even more deeply into him. He shakes his head with a grimace and she kicks him, knocking him unconscious.

"S-senpai!" a girl about eight squeaks. "I have an answer."

Hound turns ever so slowly to look at her. The girl grips the hem of her shirt nervously; "The boy who complained about food and about you to Hawk-senpai was disciplined because he simply complained. He did not think around the problem. The solution to not having access is to find our own food, like rats that scurry around here or, if we're more desperate, sneaking into some of the ANBU quarters and stealing food. I-I don't have answers for the boy with the broken foot…"

"I do," a recruit says hastily before the girl can be made into a red puddle, "Well, an answer for all of the people who called out a number and were disciplined."

Hound feels a wave of relief when he says this. Here I thought I'd have to kill them all. I don't even like killing kids. It's the reason Hawk was chosen to train strong recruits and weed out weak recruits instead of me. He likes this kind of thing.

"There was no correct answer," the boy says, "They just chose blindly. In a mission, that is more deadly than not doing anything at all."

"I'm done here," Hound states before walking away. "Hawk, the students still alive are yours to mold."

In a black blur, Hound ascends the floors and disappears to carry out Monkey's assassinations.

Rin pushes her food on her plate back and forth with a pout. Kurenai swipes a tender, juicy slice of pork from Anko's plate when she wasn't looking and leans her chin on her hand, "What's wrong?" Kurenai pushes the half-chewed pork slice to the side of her mouth to speak coherently.

"It's just…" Rin sighs.

"'Cause Kakashi-chan skipped out on you?" Anko blurts out, showing a mouthful of nauseating well-chewed grey and brown mush. Kurenai wrinkles her nose at her friend.

"No," Rin replies, "Over the latest mission with that ANBU, I learned a couple things about her. Seeing how us girls are kind of outnumbered two to one by guys for things like get-togethers, I thought I could invite her to lunch. Sure, I wanted Kakashi to come, but at the same time I didn't. Because with Kakashi around, the ANBU is much, much more quiet. I figured she'd open up with just us girls around in an enemy-free atmosphere or something. But…" Rin glances at the empty seat next to Kurenai at the table, "She left before I could even turn around in the Hokage's office and invite her. I can't help but think it's something I said or did…"

"What happened on the mission?" Kurenai asked.

"What's her name?" Anko demands after swallowing.

"Her name is Kosari. Hatake Kosari," Rin says.

"H-Hatake?" Anko pales. "Damn! That ANBU got Kakashi before I could make a move on him?! Where is she? I'll kill her!"

"Anko-chan, calm down. She's his sister," Rin says, placating. "On the mission, she opened up a little, telling us her name. The mission was a success, Konoha's stake won't be violated, but I wasn't able to get much information out of her besides what I've told you. We hardly talked. I'm just…extremely disappointed. I'd really hoped I could make another friend, especially after…"

Kurenai pats her shoulder across the table, "Don't worry. I'm sure she'll turn up in the village sooner or later."

As Jiraiya's grin widens when he can see the huge green gates, just mere specks of green, he slows his pace. He likes to savor these kinds of things. The excitement building up in his chest and the childish feeling of running nearly causing his chest to explode is nearly as satisfying as going to the hot springs and watching the women wash themselves and wade in the water.

Yet, for some reason, his grin fades. He stops and evaluates. What could possibly be ruining my return to my peaceful village? His blood chills when he smells blood, a lot of it. The scent begins to surround him and suffocate him and he grits his teeth. Orochimaru…how brazen of you to come waltzing up, especially right behind me. I'll teach you a lesson!

White senbon explode from his mane of white hair and go in all directions, at least a thousand in every direction. He sends a crushing doton technique into the ground to destroy anything living. He isn't taking any chances. He sends a wave of fire around and away from him and the trees begin to burn. It isn't long until the first line of trees turn an ugly black.

"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya bellows, "Come out!"

Wait…this could be a genjutsu…I'd never notice it because…Shisui!

He flushes chakra throughout his system violently, making sure to pay close attention to his brain and rid any trace of Shisui's chakra. There is no way he will lose to some crazy Uchiha brat. He closes his eyes shut and lets out a growl when he hears a hiss of fire losing a battle to water. Someone…Orochimaru or Shisui…had extinguished it. He bares his teeth, "Coward!"

A full hour passes and not a scratch is inflicted upon the Sannin. Jiraiya hesitantly peeks, and sees nothing but his own senbon, uneven earth, and blackened trees. "That's right, you better run! For the legendary Jiraiya-sama, the great Toad Sage, the SANNIN, is here!"

Jiraiya quickly runs to the Hokage's office, "Sarutobi-sensei, Orochimaru and Shisui are…they tried to kill me!"

Hiruzen laces his fingers together calmly, looking at his hyperventilating student carefully, "Are you sure? None of my Border Division ANBU reported anything, but a sudden fire, which was put out a suiton jutsu."

"That was them! The suiton jutsu!" Jiraiya cries.

Hiruzen sighs, "That was not Orochimaru or Shisui. For one thing, they would not put out your flames. And another thing, it was one of my own ANBU who put out those flames and reported your return."

Jiraiya scowls deeply, "Summon that ANBU. I'd like to have a word with him."

Hiruzen turns to the other person in the room, and places a hand on the stack of neatly stapled packets, "So these are all of the fifty reports?" Hiruzen looks at the grey and black-clad shinobi with a porcelain mask on and smiles a little.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," a female voice intones.

Jiraiya looks at the woman and glares when he smells blood, the same stench from earlier. "You…you smell like blood."

"I serve the Assassination Division of ANBU, Jiraiya-sama," she says. "Would you like to 'have a word with him' here, or someplace else?"

"You know who it was?" Jiraiya exclaims, "Tell him to meet me outside the hot springs."

"Yes, Jiraiya-sama," she says and disappears. Jiraiya storms out and within a minute of stomping and sprinting and growling, reaches the hot springs. He sees an ANBU already sitting on a bench and he towers over the shorter shinobi.

"Do you have any idea why I've summoned you?" Jiraiya hisses.

The porcelain mask shakes in dissent.

"Well, I'll tell you," Jiraiya scowls, "Because you impersonated two S-Rank rogue shinobi just to make fun of me! Do you ANBU think it's funny to goat a Sannin like me? I'll get you kicked out of ANBU for this!"

"Jiraiya-sama," the ANBU says, "I did no such thing. Orochimaru and Uchiha Shisui did not approach the village. Please do not accuse me of such a heinous crime."

"Accuse? Don't play the innoc—"

"Do you have proof?" the ANBU asks.

Jiraiya glares, "I don't need any."

"Without proof, your argument is invalid. Excuse me, but I have much more work to do," the ANBU stands to leave.

"Like hell you're leaving!" Jiraiya lunges for the ANBU, but catches nothing but thin air. He growls but quickly forgets about the ANBU when he spies on several twenty-something ladies entering the water. A grin and blush spread on his face and he giggles about research.

"Graduation is in a week," Hiruzen says. He holds a steaming cup of tea in his hands, warming his fingers without chakra. The ANBU beside him nods slightly, agreeing with the fact. She senses hesitation and frustration, perhaps with himself, in his tone so she replies, "Have you decided on the arrangements?"

"Yeah," Hiruzen says.

"I take it you're not satisfied? If you would like, I could take a look at student files and Jounin files and create balanced teams," she says softly against the cold air. She feels her fingertips beginning to freeze in the kind of weather that was cold enough to freeze water but wouldn't bring snow. She was grateful no snow would fall.

"No," Hiruzen says sharply. Then he quickly adds, "As ANBU Black Ops leader, you'll be informed tomorrow anyway. I don't think certain Jounin will be particularly happy with this arrangement, but it will be for the best. In the long run."

"Yes," she agrees passively. It wasn't like she'd applied for this kind of long-winded, stressful and, Kami, yearlong occupation. It wasn't like she had anyone to give the extra pay to; no friends, no boyfriends, no husbands, no children, and certainly no parents. Kakashi was already going to be one of those Jounin sensei anyway and wouldn't need the money. Training kids who had a shred of potential was irritating enough. Training potential into kids? Now, that was impossible. Besides, she didn't even like kids.

Hiruzen sighs.

"Is something else troubling you?" she asks, "I don't think you summoned me to just talk out a concern in the middle of the night and drink tea."

Hiruzen opens his mouth but then closes it. He doesn't look at her, "No. It was just this. I hope you have a good night's sleep in the ANBU barracks."

She furrows her brows behind her mask He's never wished me anything as odd as that before… but simply nods, "Thank you, Hokage-sama," and she vanishes. Hiruzen strokes his chin as he walks back into the Hokage tower. Good night's sleep, huh?

Once more, the Jounin gather on the rooftop of the Hokage tower and even more so than before, Hound gets a terrible, terrible feeling. Her blood had been frozen the moment she had woken up and Danzo was nowhere to be found in the ANBU barracks. She kneels, in stark contrast to the nonchalant poses the other Jounin around don, and awaits orders. Beside her, Kakashi isn't reading his book.

Terror isn't the right word, but she goes along with it, too 'terrified' to think of a more fitting word.

"…for Umino Iruka's class, a class with a startling amount of clan children, I had to think carefully. The only time we had seen this amount of clan children in one graduating class was before the war. As a result of this precious gift of the future, I spent many sleepless nights deciding which Genin would be placed with which Jounin," Hiruzen brings out a paper from his pocket with a flourish, "Here are the results."

"Team 6…"

Is terror the right word? Or is it…

"Team 8: Yūhi Kurenai leads Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino."

"Team 10: Sarutobi Asuma leads Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji."

"Hokage-sama, you skipped my name," Kakashi said.

Bitter hindsight?

"Team 7: Hatake Kosari—"

"What?" Kakashi nearly faints. "What? Hokage-sama…"

Then anger erupts beside her.

"She didn't even apply! She doesn't have the credentials! She isn't fit to lead children! What makes you think you can just…you can just take ANBU away from her?! What makes you think that you can just take away the only chance I had at repentance?! I worked harder than anyone to qualify and I wasn't late to a single meeting for Jounin sensei and I observed all of them and submitted more thorough reports than any of the other Jounin sensei! What possessed you to make you such a sadist?!" Kakashi explodes. Anger and hurt and disappointment and dismay and confusion and horror and bitterness flash in his eyes. Kosari stares up at her brother in shock.

My name…my name isn't Kosari. Hokage-sama isn't referring to me. I'm an ANBU. I'm the top agent for ANBU Black Ops. He isn't referring to me.

"Kakashi…" a collective murmur ripples through the other Jounin.

Kakashi is still bristling and shaking with white hot anger, "So, Hokage-sama? What do you possibly expect me to do in the time of a whole year? Oversee her damn team? Ridiculous. They'll be killed by her before a month is up."

Kosari pushes herself to her feet and looks at the village's leaders. She looks at the man she officially serves under and at the man she trusts with her life, "Danzo-sama…what are your orders?"

Hiruzen is stunned. She values his word over mine?

"The same," Danzo says, "You are to lead Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Hyūga Hinata to the rank of Chuunin and protect them from enemy harm in the meantime."

"May I ask why?" her voice is calm but dangerously edged.

"Because Hatake Kakashi is unspeakably unqualified," Danzo says, "You have no emotional or past ties to any of these children. Kakashi was led by Naruto's father, his KIA teammate is from the same clan as Sasuke, and Hyūga Ko, Hinata's trainer, personally taught Kakashi how to create the perfect trap and rudimentary medical procedure."

"These dangerous emotional attachments will endanger the team's success and ability to reach Chuunin. With the outside dangers I had spoken of the last time we gathered here, I do not wish to risk their lives any more than I have to," Hiruzen says, "Kakashi may even have a bias due to his past with Naruto's father and the Uchiha clan and train only one or two of them, leaving the other without proper training and a higher chance of death in the Chuunin Exams."

"May I point something out, Danzo-sama?" Hound asks.

"You may," Danzo says, trying not to grin so much and rub it in Hiruzen's shocked face.

"Do you not think that these 'emotional attachments' will benefit Hatake Kakashi's instruction? He will be obligated to teach them with a higher level of quality and better prepare them for not only the Chuunin Exams, but for even the darkest part of shinobi life," Hound asks.

Danzo feels an odd sense of pride. "That is uncertain. I don't want to take any risks, especially when it comes to this team with the jinchuuriki, last Uchiha, and Hyuuga heiress. We don't want another kidnapping episode for any of these children, especially the Hyuuga. War would most certainly break out. Without any emotional ties to compromise their safety and instruction, you are most suited."

Hound looks at the Hokage monument for a moment before asking one more question, "May I ask one more question?"

"Yes," Danzo almost purrs, so so very smug.

"My being a Jounin sensei for these three Genin does not compromise my place in ANBU, correct? For example, after a mission with the Genin, I am able to return to the ANBU barracks and carry out my duties, correct?" Hound asks.

Danzo's smug look melts away and Hound freezes. Her obsidian eyes go wide, "Danzo-sama…"

Hiruzen holds up a burning piece of paper. At the top is written: 'ANBU Contract: Agent Hound'. His face is expressionless, "I'm sorry, Hound."

"No!" Hound screams and lunges at her Kage. Lightning surrounds her and hate and murder and shock and hurt and bitterness flash in her eyes, "I won't let you take this away from me!"

Hiruzen dodges her and winces as lightning destroys a large part of the roof. The string on the back of her head that holds her mask on her face comes undone and her mask falls. It shatters into too many pieces and her seething face, her angry, boiling black eyes with unshed tears is all too clear to him. He shakes her head at her, "Truly, I am sorry."

"Damn you!" Kosari screams, "Is my life some kind of toy to you?! I don't live to be used and abused! I live to be an ANBU, to be an assassin in the shadows, where no one else can die! My mother and siblings did not die for this!" Kosari's hands crackle with lightning, "I did not fight your war and kill thousands of innocent people and give up any happy life I could've had and for you to just take away everything I cherished!" tears freely run down her face, "I…I had people I needed to be there for. But, for the village, for my orders, for you, I swallowed my tears and swallowed my grief and my sadness and pushed away any worry I had for them, any worry about if they were sick or were sad or were hungry or in pain, and carried out every single order, every assassination, and every S-Rank mission you asked without question because I thought you'd protect them while I was gone."

Kakashi is still and watches his sister break.

Kosari clenches her fists and hangs her head and bitter tears fall through eyes shut tight, "And they're dead now! You didn't protect them! You let them die! I joined ANBU because it was the only place that truly kept to their word. Rules and regulations were absolute and Kakashi isn't dead right now because I joined ANBU," a bitter laugh escapes her, "Are you happy now, Hokage-sama? You're well on your way to creating the perfect pair of shinobi. You want me to train them? Please do not worry, for I will train them," there is a glint in her eye that Hiruzen doesn't like. He purses his lips, "Kosari, I'm sorry. But this had to be done."

"For them, right? For the village, right?" Kosari asks, suddenly calm.

"I—"

"Right," Kosari answers her own question, "The answer is 'yes'. It is for the village," Kosari says and turns to look at Kakashi, "Do you hear that Kakashi? We must swallow our anger, our disappointment, and our crushed dreams, once again and become Hiruzen's puppets," she grins, "Very well! Your last loyal Hatake are at your disposal," Kosari spreads out her arms as if to illustrate something grand, "Good luck," and she disappears.

Kakashi curses, not caring if everyone heard, "Good luck, Hokage-sama," he says in monotone and disappears in a swirl of leaves.

"Hey."

The cloth is a dirty color, a deep brown, nearly black from all the grime. Once more, it is dunked into a bucket and she moves onto another grave. She is careful to clean the corners and the crevices where dirt and moss had built up in the engravings of name after name. Her ears do not hear the 'hey' and she does not look up when he calls her name. She keeps her head down.

It is what she must do.

"Leave me alone," she finally says, "You have a pastime already. I am busy with mine. Go away."

Kakashi sighs and pulls a hand out of his pocket and places it on her shoulder and his warmer and more viscous chakra warms her icy shoulder, "Come on, you can do this later. Let's get dinner. I'll pay."

"No," she says, "I want to do this. I want to stay here," she turns to look at him and her eyes pierce his heart, "Can't I do one thing of my own volition?"

"Fine, a compromise," Kakashi says, "Leave a clone here to clean. Come on," Kakashi scratches his face, "Please."

She stops scrubbing the grave for a moment, "Fine," she acquiesces and her fingers form a seal and a clone continues her work. She stands and follows him wordlessly to wherever he was willing to pay. Her expectations are quite low; Kakashi had always been stingy and would probably bring her to an informal restaurant with cheap, greasy food and low prices.

She looks up and sees a somewhat fancy restaurant with a smiling hostess outside holding menus, "Welcome! How many in your party?" Kosari narrows her eyes at Kakashi, suspicious.

"Two," Kakashi says.

"Well then, if you'd just follow me," the hostess leads them to a low table with soft cushions to sit on. "Here are your menus. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask your server. She will be right with you in a few minutes," and she walks back to the front.

Kosari feels the cushion with two fingers, studying the fabric, "What gives? You were always so frugal. It's not your birthday, is it?"

"No," Kakashi says, "It's a celebration."

"Of?" Kosari glances up at him with suspicion.

"Good evening, my name is Yuka, and I will be your server. Would you like to start with drinks?" the server suddenly appears.

"I'll have sake," Kakashi says. "And so will she."

"No, I—"

"I'll give you a few minutes to decide on what to eat. By the way, today's special is the braised sea bream with a savory and spicy sauce with a side of blanched vegetables," the server says and walks away.

"I don't like drinking," Kosari says, "I wanted water."

"I'll ask for a round of water when she comes back," Kakashi shrugs.

"Why are we here?" Kosari asks bluntly. She doesn't bother to read the menu. Kakashi leans his chin on his hand and looks at his sister for a moment with battle-hardened obsidian eyes, "We could both use a little luxury. Don't you think?"

Kosari rolls her eyes, "Sure."

"But," she chews the inside of her cheek, "What will you do in the meantime? You're not training Team 7, after all."

"I don't know," Kakashi lays on his side with an elbow propping up his head and one leg bent.

She wrinkles her nose in disgust, "Only models strike that pose. It's gross seeing you, a grown man, doing that."

"Oh?" Kakashi purrs, "Are you sure? I thought ladies liked this kind of reversal of roles thing."

"No," Kosari shudders, "Only a select few would, and I certainly don't. If I were your girlfriend, I'd dump you the moment you did this. You don't have a girlfriend, do you?" she arches a brow with a small smirk. And those books of yours would scare any girl away.

"No," Kakashi admits, "All of the nice girls are dead."

Kosari shrugs, "Because the nice girls are weak. You know, the ones who fawned over you in the Academy. Well, Nohara-san is the exception, but she's just lucky."

"You're nice," Kakashi says sarcastically.

"Thanks," Kosari crosses her arms with a mock glare, "That's why I'm single."

Kakashi stifles a laugh, "Look at us, Kosari. We've lost our family, our friends, and our only wishes as shinobi of Konoha. We're just putty in Hokage-sama's hands. But," he sighs, "At least you're still alive."

"At least you're still alive," Kosari agrees, "If I lost you…" she shakes her head, "Suicide would be the last thing for Hiruzen to worry about."

"Thanks," Kakashi says, amused, but there is no hint of mock in his voice.

"Do you need more time to decide?" the server asks, suddenly popping up again.

"No, I'll just have the special," Kosari says as the woman places the drinks on the table, "And he'll have the same. Could we also have a round of water?"

"Coming right up," the woman smiles politely and walks briskly away.

"Hey," Kakashi growls, "I wanted something else," he whines, mocking her.

"Oh?" Kosari asks innocently, "I'll ask for 'something else' when she comes back, ne?" she tilts her head a little.

Kakashi lets his scowl go and the two let out a small laugh.

It's good to see you again, Kakashi.

Just…don't die. I'd destroy anyone who'd hurt even a hair on you, Kosari.