Kotori marched right into the Hokage's office, without knocking, to find Tsunade-sama sitting behind her desk as usual and Shizune standing beside her, holding her pet pig.
"I heard you had a mission for me," Kotori stated bluntly. Tsunade-sama held her usual glare, but nodded. Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard and an ANBU member with a tiger-style mask on entered. Judging from the ANBU's body type, Kotori guessed he was male. Following after the ANBU member was none other than the Copy Ninja himself, Kakashi Hatake, and behind him was the medical kunoichi, Sakura Haruno.
"Yo, Kuro-chan," Kakashi uttered, sticking his index and middle finger up in the air, as a sign of greeting.
"Kakashi-sensei," Kotori smiled slightly, in acknowledgement.
"Konbanwa, Kuro-san," Sakura said politely, smiling kindly at her.
"Konbanwa, Sakura-san," Kotori replied, as emotionlessly as before, but not unkindly.
The ANBU member nodded in acknowledgement, her nodding back.
"I will give you your mission now," Tsunade-sama stated, "you will go to Ishigakure, located between the Wind Country and the Earth Country to gather information on recent disturbances there. The most recent one being a group of rouge shinobi attacking the village. Remember, this is an A-rank mission, so be careful. The rouge shinobi may still be there or plan on attacking again soon. You will leave in about five hours and it will take about three days to get there. You're all rank chuunin, or higher, so you can take care of yourselves; don't make any rash decisions and try to avoid confrontation, unless necessary. Kakashi, you will be in charge of this mission. Dismissed," Tsunade-sama spoke with authority, not pausing in her speech. Once she was done, all except Kotori bowed. Then, they all left the office, in reverse order they had come in.
"What a quick dismissal," Kotori murmured to herself.
"Well, it was just a briefing," Kakashi replied in his lazy yet friendly tone, without turning around.
"I guess," she said simply, while the group of four made their way down the stairs of the Hokage tower.
The sun shone brightly, like most days in Konohagakure, and a light breeze drifted through the air, making the heat of the sun bearable. The sound of children laughing and shouting could be heard throughout the village and the scent of freshly-made food wafted through the many streets of Konoha.
"So, Kuro-chan, I don't believe I know what rank you are," Kakashi said, out of the blue, slowing down to walk next to her. Sakura turned her head slightly, listening in on the conversation.
"Just a chuunin," Kotori replied, not meaning to be so curt.
"Only? I thought you'd be a jounin by now, Kuro-chaan," Kakashi said lazily.
"I could've been," she replied, abruptly stopping herself, before she said anymore.
-/-/-/-/-/-
Several hours later, the group of shinobi flitted from tree to tree, trying to get to their location as swiftly as possible. The ANBU member lead, followed by Kotori, then Sakura and Kakashi bringing the rear.
The sun peeped through the gaps in the leaves and the deep, musky scent of the forest surrounded them, making Kotori feel at ease. Birds chirped in the trees and insects of different colours and kinds scuttled on the ground and the trunks of trees. Underneath her black shinobi mask, that hid the bottom part of her face, she let herself smile widely.
-/-/-/-/-/-
"Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, you're dismissed," a council member stated.
The group of three left the Kazekage building to prepare for their mission to Ishigakure. They were not informed that there would be Konoha shinobi there as well.
-/-/-/-/-/-
"Kuro-san, why do you wear a mask like Kakashi-sensei on missions?" Sakura asked her curiously from behind her. Kotori turned her head slightly to look at her, her smile erased from her face, even though Sakura could not tell. Then, she turned back around.
"It's simple, really, I don't want the enemy to know my feelings in battle," she replied, not faltering in her leaps, "if they did, they have the advantage, because they can use it against me," she added.
Suddenly, the ANBU member stopped and stood on a large branch, almost making Kotori bump into him. At the last second, she managed to manoeuvre slightly to the right while in midair, allowing her to land next to the ANBU member. Sakura and Kakashi landed in front of the two a few seconds later.
"It'll be night soon," the ANBU member stated. Kotori realised it was the first time she had heard him speak. He had a fairly deep voice that was slightly harsh and scratchy, as if he wasn't used to speaking a lot. Kakashi nodded at his words.
"We'll set up camp for tonight, then continue in the morning. We'll also take shifts for watch, Kuro-chan, you can go first, followed by...ano...what's your name for this mission?" Kakashi asked the ANBU member, whilst scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
"Hiroshi," he replied.
"Right, Hiroshi will take the second watch, I'll take the third and Sakura-chan, you'll be taking the last. I was told how much you value sleep, Kuro-chan, as does Sakura-chan; I hope this suits everyone," Kakashi said with his eyes closed, indicating he was smiling, "yosh, let's find a place to set up camp."
"Hai," the other three said in unison.
The group of shinobi jumped down from the tree and, within an hour had found and set up camp for the night. As the two men and one woman set up their sleeping bags, Kotori watched the sun go down from high up in a tree. She could feel the warmth of it on her skin and clothes; since she was fully dressed in black, the heat was absorbed even more. As the sun set, the sky went from a yellowish-orange hue to a pinkish-orange one, until night fell and Kotori was surrounded by the dark blue night sky. She stared up at the twinkling stars and the waning moon, letting her mind wander. In the distance an owl hooted and many crickets chirped.
-/-/-/-/-/-
"Kuro-san, it's time to go," Sakura spoke quietly, shaking her shoulder gently. Kotori rolled onto her back, realising she had slept on her arm too long, but nodded and got out of her sleeping bag.
"Ohaiyo, Kuro-chan!" Kakashi called from a small distance away.
"Ohaiyo, Kakashi-sensei," Kotori said groggily.
As she got up, her arm started throbbing, so Kotori stood beside her sleeping bag, awkwardly rubbing it.
"Kuro-chan, what are you doing?" Kakashi asked, staring curiously at her.
"My arm is numb," she replied simply.
-/-/-/-/-/-
Once they were settled for the night again, several hours away from their destination, Kakashi stood before the three.
"I want you all to remember that from tomorrow, things will get difficult. If these rogue shinobi were able to wipe out a whole village, it's safe to assume they're strong, so don't underestimate them and make sure you remember the most important principle: teamwork. Yosh, oyasumi, mina," Kakashi said, wishing them good night in a carefree tone.
After everyone said good night to each other, Kotori went and sat in a tree close to the campsite and took first watch again, the moon already high in the sky.
A few hours into the night, with only the owls, crickets and the moon for company, Kotori heard a scuffling of feet. No matter how hushed the sound was, she knew she heard it. She silently got out of the tree, lurking in the shadows and tried to pinpoint where the sound had come from.
She watched as a small sliver of sand started surrounding the sleeping Hiroshi. Her eyes widened when she saw it starting to form a sort-of cocoon around him.
"Kuso," she cursed, immediately forming water element hand seals, "Suiton: Taihōdan!"
Immediately, a large jet stream of water came out of her mouth, headed straight for the sand, engulfing it and making it heavier and heavier, causing the sand to fall on top of and around Hiroshi. By that time, he, as well as the other two had been disturbed enough to awaken. Most of the large mass of water dissolved into the sand and ground, while the excess formed fairly large puddles near and around the standing shinobi, Sakura unintentionally standing in one.
Kotori waited in the darkness, to see what the other side would do, her body tense, waiting for the enemy to make their move.
"That was quite impressive," she heard a female voice from behind. Out of instinct, she ducked and then jumped to the left, seeing an immensely large fireball skim past her head, singeing her hair as it passed. It now headed in the direction of her team mates. Since they were focusing on the enemy in front of them, they didn't see it coming.
"Fuck," Kotori cursed again, forming earth hand seals, "Doton: Otoshibuta!"
A large lid with a boar design on the top of it formed in the air. Within an instant, it came hurtling down to land in front of her team, trapping the large fireball inside it.
Before Kotori could sigh in relief, she sensed a force coming towards her head. Without turning around, Kotori grabbed the woman's leg and swung her around, making her land sprawling in front of her. She wore a plain black cloak with the hood up, hiding her face and her clothes underneath it.
"Oh, it seems you're quite strong," the woman chuckled.
"Go to hell," Kotori said monotonously, forming water hand seals, "Sensatsu Suishō!"
The moisture around them started forming many small, sharp needles made out of water. They surrounded the woman and flew towards her. The woman smirked and jumped into the air, the needles failing to hit her. As she descended down, she formed fire hand seals.
"Katon: Hibashiri!" She shouted, a stream of fire escaped her mouth, encircling Kotori.
Kotori's eyes narrowed at the woman, as she landed. She felt the heat prick her skin and knew she had to think of a way out soon. She bit her lip, her eyebrows furrowed in thought, then smirked, forming water hand seals again.
"Suiton: Taihōdan!"
A jet stream of water escaped from her mouth. She turned 360 degrees, putting the fire out with her water jutsu. Instead of stopping the jutsu, she aimed at the woman. Surprised, the woman did not have time to manoeuvre, so got hit by the jutsu, making her fall down, choking on water. Kotori walked towards her, until she stood in front of her, the woman, having already pulled her hood up so her identity remained a secret.
"I suppose you want to know who I am?" The woman spoke, smirking.
"Nope," Kotori replied, hitting the ground with her fist. A large pit in the earth was formed, the woman in it. Kotori walked towards the edge of the pit, staring down at the woman in it, "you will die now. Do you have any requests, aside from sparing your life?" She asked monotonously.
The woman stared up at Kotori, her eyes wide in fear, but Kotori could not see this, since the woman's hood still covered most of her face.
"W-wait," the woman spluttered, "do you really want to kill your own mother?" She asked slyly, her smirk back.
"My mother is dead," Kotori replied without hesitation, "she died in front of my eyes. Your time is up. Now you die," she said, Kotori tilted her head upwards to face the sky, whilst forming fire hand seals, " Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
A large fireball escaped her lips, sent upwards into the clouds. Kotori watched it disappear, then continued staring upwards into the sky.
The woman laughed loudly.
"And how do you intend on killing me with that?" She asked, chuckling.
Kotori continued watching the clouds, ignoring the woman. Suddenly, the sound of thunder could be heard. Kotori smirked.
"I would normally form this out of my own chakra, but I really don't like you," she said, while she formed lightning hand seals, the woman's eyes widened, realising what was happening. Kotori lifted her hand in the air, thunder rumbling the skies. Lightning flashed onto her hand, her directing it towards the woman. She didn't have the time to scream, as the natural lightning obliterated her body, only leaving behind the ashes, "raikiri," Kotori murmured.
As soon as the jutsu had been executed, the thunderclouds immediately cleared, allowing Kotori to see the moon gleaming and the stars twinkling high above her head. It was only then, that the stench of the ashes reached Kotori's nostrils, causing her to scrunch her nose up. She walked towards her team, but stopped when she saw Sakura and Kakashi staring wide-eyed at her. Kakashi relaxed after a few seconds and walked towards her, Sakura still in shock from what she had seen.
"So, this is the famed power I've heard much about," Kakashi uttered, his Sharingan eye closed, "I have to say, I'm pretty jealous," he said lazily, "to be able to use all five...?"
Kotori nodded.
"All five of the elements and a chakra limit that's so large, it's almost nonexistent, well..." He trailed off.
"It's not mine," she muttered darkly, "it wasn't supposed to be. I just got it by coincidence."
Kakashi observed her carefully, then closed his eyes, indicating he was smiling. He ruffled her hair, causing her to give him a look that told him she was unamused, to which he laughed and continued ruffling her hair. Suddenly, he stopped and looked her dead in the eye.
"It doesn't matter if it's not yours, or if it was just a coincidence, remember that it's what you do with it that's important. You might have gotten it through testing and torture, but you have it and many shinobi would want to have what you do; be grateful for what you have, even though the means of getting it were wrong," Kakashi uttered seriously.
Kotori stared at the floor, but nodded.
"I understand," she murmured.
"You know," Kakashi uttered, causing her to stare at him, "with your silver hair, anyone would think we're related," he mused, not looking at her, but up at the dark clouds.
"I guess," she said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. Kakashi turned his head to stare at her, closing his eyes, portraying he was smiling.
"Where's Hiroshi?" Kotori asked, looking around for him. At the mention of the ANBU member, Kakashi's smile dropped, him shaking his head, "I see," she murmured.
"He was killed by an earth jutsu, Sakura did what she could, but..." He trailed off. Kotori nodded, "there were three people that attacked us, aside from the one you killed, once they saw your lightning jutsu, they ran away."
Kotori nodded again.
"You two should head back to Konoha, I'll catch up with you guys," she said.
"What will you do?" Sakura asked, walking up to them.
"Well, Ishigakure isn't that far away from here; I can make it by morning, I'm just going to check exactly how much damage the village took and if there are more shinobi that are going to attack. I won't engage in battle if there are, unless I have to. So, Captain Kakashi, is that okay?"
"I should go, the two of you should head back to Konoha," he replied immediately. Kotori shook her head.
"Not possible, neither Sakura or I can carry Hiroshi. Plus, Sakura's a medical nin, so, no offence, but she wouldn't have as much combat experience as me, if the need for it comes up," she said.
Kakashi stayed silent for a while, contemplating and debating all the worst case scenarios.
"I can take care of myself, Kakashi-sensei, as you witnessed, plus, our mission was to go to Ishigakure," Kotori muttered.
He looked at her and closed his eyes, indicating he was smiling.
"If you get hurt, remember Sunagakure is near to Ishigakure. They're Konoha's allies, so stay there for a while, if it does happen,"
"I'm untouchable," Kotori smirked, "yosh, I'll be going now, see you guys in Konoha!"
"Ja ne!" Sakura shouted, as Kotori started running already. Kotori waved a hand in the air without turning around in acknowledgement.
"Ki o tsukete!" Kakashi shouted, but Kotori was already out of ears' reach.
-/-/-/-/-/-
The sun creeped up the sky, slowly lighting the burnt down houses in Ishigakure. Kotori stood in a tree, analysing the layout as well as the destruction that had taken place. She jumped down from a tree and walked into the village, looking for any survivors.
All the buildings were either run down or completely destroyed and the stench of death hung in the air, making it seem the village had faced a large-scale war.
"Kuso," Kotori murmured. Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw people dressed in dirty rags hiding behind the run-down buildings and peeping out of the broken windows to see who the stranger was. Suddenly, she felt the presence of a person behind her, so she turned around.
A boy, no older than herself, stood before her. His arms were crossed and he carried a large gourd on his back. She wasn't sure whether his icy turquoise blue eyes were surrounded with eyeliner or dark circles due to lack of sleep, and his lips didn't frown or smile. Like her own, Kotori noted. What she was drawn to, however, was the character on the left side of his forehead reading love, which made Kotori roll her eyes. Another one of those fools who've fallen into the illusion, she thought.
"Who are you?" He asked monotonously.