A week had passed since Shisui first found Mina at the bar. Every day since, he was there, walking her back and forth from the clinic. He denied it of course, but his scent was everywhere. She started to wonder if he wasn't a rogue-nin himself, because he certainly wasn't working. The guard rotations at the palace left something to be desired in her professional opinion. She tried to picture anyone trying to guard the daimyo of the Land of Lightning so lackadaisically but couldn't even begin to imagine it. No one had bothered to notice that a foreigner was living in the city and steadily communicating with a foreign country. For all they knew, she could be there to assassinate their daimyo. Luckily for them, she was just gathering intelligence.

Sharp cologne and spearmint emanated from a side alley, muddied by the light snowfall. Mina growled, balling her fists as she stalked down the narrow passage. Mud squished against the sides of her work shoes, and she growled again when it seeped into her socks.

"I know you're here!"

The genjutsu melted away, and Shisui held up his hands in surrender.

"Just wanted to make sure you made it home okay."

Blowing out a calming breath, Mina clasped her hands in front of her face. "I am a competent jounin kunoichi out of Kumogakure. I certainly don't need assistance walking through a civilian city."

"Tell you what." Shisui fell in behind her as she loped out of the alley, far too fast to be polite. "Let me take you somewhere fun tonight. Just reassure me that you're okay, and I'll leave you alone after that."

Mina cocked her head to the side. "Promise?"

He held out his pinky finger and nodded. "Promise."

After locking her pinky with his, Mina hid her amused grin when they broke apart again. The last time she had made someone a pinky promise was when she was eight.

'I promise this mission is going to be great, just you and me. Deliver the scroll, and get out. Easy peasy,' the little girl's voice called out in her mind. Her small gloved hand superimposed itself on top of the present.

She bit the inside of her cheek, grounding her back into reality.

"Great, I'll pick you up at six. Wear sparring gear."

She shook her head as she watched him bound away on the rooftops overhead.

A couple of hours passed in the small hostel room. Mina smoothed out the bandages securing her kunai pouch to her leg. Leaning over the small mirror, she applied a light coat of red lipstick. If he thought this was a date, he would be in for a rude surprise if he tried to kiss her.

Blowfish venom was awfully poisonous, unless, of course, you had spent years building up an immunity to it. S had always played around with poison immunity. It had been something of a hobby for him for years. As a result, Mina, Darui, C, and many other Kumo shinobi were immune from common poisons. She doubted that was the case for Shisui.

Shifting his feet from side to side, Shisui stared up at the old boarding house. Sickly green paint peeled from the sides of rotted wood. Shingles were missing in spots, covered by a black tarp. The soft wood gave way in spots on the porch, allowing for the sunlight to break through gaping holes. A large rat scuttered away from the rotting building, seeking refuge in a cleaner establishment, no doubt.

Neither of them had grown up well-off, but this was like her living standards had fallen off a cliff. He slowly breathed out, stressing to himself there was nothing he could do about her living situation. She was far too proud to accept his helping hand. Although, it was a wonder Kakashi hadn't swooped in and dragged her back to Konoha in the first place. If he had a sister, he couldn't imagine allowing her to live in a place like this.

A man loudly emptied his bladder in the alleyway.

'Charming,' Shisui thought.

Another rat scampered from the cellar of the boarding house out into the streets.

'What the hell are you doing here, Mina?' he thought for the fifth time in as many minutes, running his hand through his short curls. The question had yet to truly be answered to his satisfaction in the last week, other than a curt response that she was a nuke-nin and to mind his 'own damn business.' Not that she actually spoke to him anymore. Since she left his apartment, he could count on both hands the number of words she'd said to him. He wondered what had changed this evening to make her speak to him in the first place.

Silent footsteps pressed into the soft stairs, each foot soundless against the mildew-covered steps.

"Ready?" Mina asked, shoving her hands in her pockets.

Her outfit was a total contrast to her living arrangements. Thick black shinobi silk pants and a medium wool knit sweater. Strands of ninja wire interlaced into the knit pattern and glinted every so often beneath the dim street lamps. In the Land of Fire, such a thing would cost a pretty penny, though it was more likely she got it in the Land of Lightning, where wool was cheap.

"Would you stop staring at me?"

He shook his head quickly, resolutely staring ahead. "Sorry. That sweater looks nice on you."

"Thanks, a friend made it."

He looked over again with a raised brow. "Knit?"

She giggled at that, deep and throaty. The giggle crescendoed into an outright laugh; she stopped, throwing her hands on her knees as it became completely unrestrained in its melody. "We're really going to do this? Okay. Yeah, she knits, but this is crochet. It's an older technique from the Land of Lightning."

For lack of anything better to do, he nodded again. "I see. So, I thought we might go out for some teriyaki. Then go to the training grounds on the outskirts of the capital. No one goes there anymore; it's a private clan facility almost everyone's forgotten about."

Mina gave him a crooked smile. He wished he could do something to soothe her nerves. Until she trusted him again, they would stay here in this awkward limbo, waiting for redemption. Though gods knew he felt he didn't deserve it. He could practically feel her waiting on him to arrest her and throw her into Ibiki's hands again. She couldn't know that he wanted to kill the man alongside Kakashi. Hell, if Kakashi hadn't shown more restraint than he had, Shisui probably would've gone for it.

Ibiki's torture method for Kumo-nin wasn't unheard of. The smell was certainly the most memorable for him, though he couldn't possibly imagine how much worse it must've been for Kakashi and Mina. The acrid smell of burning plastic on human flesh against the sharp antiseptic wash the TI department used was something he would never forget.

"Shisui?" Mina asked quietly.

He hadn't realized he had come to a complete stop in the middle of the street. Shaking himself, he continued walking, holding his arm out to the teriyaki restaurant when they arrived. They attempted several times to hold a conversation, but every attempt turned awkward and stilted before falling into silence altogether. His gut burned when Mina snatched the bill before he could reach for it.

Mina could feel Shisui bristle next to her. She did her best to hide the smirk that kept wanting to make an appearance on her face. Feeling slightly emasculated, was he? Good. Darui would have never let that happen. He always made an excuse to get up near the end of dinner and take care of the bill quietly.

She exhaled, trying to push the bitterness away. None of this was truly Shisui's fault. The homesickness certainly wasn't. Neither was Ibiki, truly. Shisui was only following the law. She had no right to be as mean to him as she currently was.

"We're here," he said quietly.

It was a small training ground on the outskirts of the city. A short wooden fence surrounded the field already covered in a light layer of untouched snow. Bare trees clinging to winter's frost dotted the perimeter. There was a well-maintained shed in the corner, and a few targets were already set up in the center of the field.

"It's nice," Mina commented. "Been a while since I've trained, I'm afraid I might be rusty."

He raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You don't seriously expect me to believe that, do you?"

She shrugged, turning her back to the target. A challenging smirk crossed her face as she landed the bullseye without looking.

"Just a tad rusty," she teased.

"Oh, she's got jokes now." A small smile twitched at the corner of his mouth, a shadow of the past, as three kunai landed around hers.

She rolled her eyes at his attempt to show her up. "Did you want to spar, or throw kunai?"

He gave her a scrutinizing gaze, taking a moment to consider. "Do you want to spar?" he finally asked. "I would understand if you don't. I brought you here for target practice."

She answered by jumping back to the end of the field. "Scared, Uchiha?"

He shook his head, fully unbuckling his kunai pouch. "Of you? Never. Of big brother Hatake? Maybe a little," he taunted. "Rules?"

"No sharingan or genjutsu at all. Standard: no injuries I can't heal afterward."

He rolled his eyes in response, he didn't need his eyes to win a spar against a medic. "Sounds fair."

"Ready?" Mina loosened the top of her kunai pouch, ready to pounce.

"Steady."

She threw a white handkerchief in the air, they watched as it fell to the ground.

"GO!" They both shouted, leaping into the air.

Mina ripped three kunai out of her pack, throwing them toward Shisui. He easily twisted out of the way, countering one with his own. A shuriken flew past her face, the exploding tag dangling off it. She slid against the ground, erecting a mud wall before it could explode. Heat brushed against her face as a small fireball blew against it.

Choking on the smoke, she jumped from behind the wall, striking back with a stream of lightning.

"Shit!" Shisui exclaimed from across the field.

"Stop fucking around!" Mina yelled.

He shook his head. "Fine!"

Kunai after kunai headed her way. She countered a few, rolling on the ground out of the way of his barrage. Crying out as one sliced across her upper arm, she yanked a kunai from her bag. In a running leap, she feinted with the kunai in her hand, throwing another from its shadow attached to ninja wire.

Metal scraped against metal as they relearned each other's dance. He was as graceful as she remembered him. It felt like he was everywhere at once. The jutsu he had developed as a child had since been perfected. She could see that now. She wasn't even sure which version of him was the real one until after she threw a kunai. They were both practically tripping over them now, the field was completely littered.

His scent trailed behind an afterimage, betraying the real version. Her hands moved through signs without thinking, and lightning sprung from her fingertips. The blue streaked across the dark night, reaching out to the sparse snowflakes in the air. A cage of electricity surrounded him, yet all too soon, it scattered into the ether. Gusts of wind blew past her face, the cold air stinging her eyes with his signless wind jutsu.

Cedar smoke drifted along its cool breeze behind her. She ducked, extending her leg back and kicking. Twisting around, she kicked up with the opposite leg, aiming at his shoulder. He was too fast, dodging with incredible speed. She could barely keep up with his movements. She was starting to wonder if even Darui would be able to.

The trap was almost completely set, though. She dodged another round of kunai. Each breath was hard won as she pushed her body to the limit. Another line of ninja wire went out, intersecting with the first. She stood in the middle, waiting for him to pounce. As soon as he did, with a prematurely victorious gleam in his eyes, she ducked out of the way, snatching the wires and lifting them into the air, surrounding him as she pushed the current through.

In that split instant, when she thought she had bested him as she had so many times in their youth, she felt the cool edge of a kunai press against her throat. She lifted her hands up, dropping the wire to the ground.

"I yield," she whispered, holding onto his wrist.

He released her, holding her steady until she found her balance. The top of his shoulder was torn from a kunai. An electrical burn ran the length of his hand. She knew from experience would probably run beneath his arm brace as well.

"Alright, come here, let's see it," she ordered, holding up her hands.

"I'm fine," he insisted, removing the brace from his arm and shaking out his hand.

"Just hand me your arm."

"I'm fine," he said, jumping back when she held her hands out.

"Oh my gods, you are worse than a dog at the vet right now. What are you so afraid of? I'm a great medic."

"Heal yourself first."

She sighed, running her hand along her shoulder with a light dusting of chakra, pulling the skin back together. She rotated her shoulder carefully, moving the muscle.

With a raised eyebrow, she lifted her hands pointedly, waiting for Shisui to walk back. "Ready?"

He nodded with a sigh. The tightness in his face vanished as she healed the electrical burn on his arm. He let out a sigh of relief as his own kunai cuts were healed.

"I don't usually like seeing medics," he mumbled, looking toward the ground.

"Why's that?" she asked, pushing another burst of chakra into his cut.

"Reminds me of that day." He turned fully toward her. "Mina, I'm sorry."

Placing his hands gently on her shoulders, he met her eyes. The deep brown of his irises had the smallest specks of dark gold, reminding her of glowing embers. "I truly am sorry. For everything. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but if you could find it in your heart to forgive me…even if it takes the next fifty years, I'll wait for it."

"Shisui. We barely know each other anymore. How about this—" Mina turned around with her back toward him. Then turning around, held out her hand. He took it in his own with an arched eyebrow. "Kaminari Hatake of Kumogakure no Sato, pleased to meet you."

A ghost of a smile passed his lips. "Shisui Uchiha of Konohagakure no Sato. The pleasure's all mine."

Kakashi glanced around the sparse boarding room. It was clean, at least, if not messy. The blankets on the bed had been carelessly thrown to the side, shoes were haphazardly stored on a shoe rack. Cosmetics were strewn about a small nightstand. Food was carefully sealed in an air-tight container in the corner of the room, a holdover from their youth when it had been all too scarce during the third war. He still did the same thing.

Sakumo had given every penny he had ever saved to the village after his failure of a mission, hoping to restore the lost family honor. The rest of the Hatake estate was tied up in various assets, the largest of which was the former farmland Konoha resided on. In the pursuit of redemption, Sakumo had signed a contract eliminating Konoha's rent obligations to the Hatake clan for fifteen years. Only when it became apparent there wasn't another remedy to restore their family's honor did Sakumo take his life. He left behind eight-year-old Kakashi to care for his three-year-old sister with the remnants of the clan's diminished estate.

When Minato found Kakashi fishing every Saturday, he started to ask questions. Two years after their father's death, the village finally approved the paperwork for their orphans' stipend. By that time, strict rationing was in place, and anything other than rice and trout was difficult to come by. He wasn't sure how much of it Mina consciously remembered, though, it was evident her subconscious did.

Hunger always left a scar on the mind. No matter how long ago it happened.

Continuing his perusal of Mina's space, he snorted at the matching dog bowls tucked neatly against the wall. Gaudy ceramic things painted lavender with glitter on the bottom edges of the bowls. Bisuke and Uhei's names were scrawled on the edge in loping kanji. He looked around for the dog bed, rolling his eyes when he noticed all of the dog fur on top of the comforter. Of course she wouldn't use a dog bed. She hadn't when she was younger, either.

A holey blanket was wrapped in the middle of the comforter, threadbare with time. He wondered who gave it to her for it to hold so much sentimental value. She'd had a comfort blanket when she was a little girl, too. It had been lavender, made of soft cotton yarn that their mother had knit. Cables interlaced the top of its surface. Mina used to run her fingers along each channel before falling asleep at night until the fabric gave out. He hated that blanket. Even still, after Shisui came to his door to report Mina's death, he had kept it until the day of the Kyuubi attack when their apartment was destroyed.

Unbidden, the memory of their trip to civil affairs for the first time came flooding back. Three days had passed since Sakumo's funeral. Kakashi's hand enclosed the three-year-old's as they walked to the civil affairs office at the bottom of Hokage Tower. The lavender blanket dragged behind her, held in the crook of her arm as she sucked her thumb. He had done his best to get the blood out of it, ultimately giving up and asking his sensei for help.

"Nii-san," she pleaded, removing her thumb with a soft pop. "You're going too fast."

He nodded, coming to a stop and stooping down. She climbed on his back, throwing her small arms around his neck. The blanket was soft against his face, yet harbored one of his worst memories. His sister had sat next to their father, for hours, maybe, the lavender blanket beside her soaking in his blood. He could only assume their father thought she would still be asleep by the time his body was found. Unfortunately, she woke up at six a.m., wanting to chirp with the birds on that spring morning.

If the man had paid any attention to his two children in his final days, he would have known that. Kakashi knew that. She had been doing it for two weeks, chirping with the swallows by the time he returned home from morning training. He felt so angry at their father, then. Now. Still, he was angrier for Mina's sake than his own.

As they stood outside the cold office, neatly labeled Civil Affairs, anxiety overshadowed all other emotions. He wasn't sure how a genin's mission pay would be enough to support both himself and his baby sister. Mina's arms were around his waist, that stupid blanket rubbing against his hand. Her frizzy unkempt curls tickled his inner forearm. The woman at the desk wrinkled her nose when she looked over at Mina. Mismatched shorts and a t-shirt that was too small, hair escaping a rubber-banded ponytail in knots. He'd tried. At least she was clean.

"That one belongs in foster care," the woman sneered. "But I can't see anyone taking in the great traitor's child."

Kakashi shook his head. "I'll take care of her. We just need our stipend approved, please."

The clerk rolled her eyes. "Your family's assets are too great for me to approve an orphan stipend for both of you."

"Just her, then," he tried to argue. Small hands clutched against his shirt, her face shyly buried against his hip.

"No. Denied." When the clerk stamped 'Denied' on their stipend request in red ink, he almost cried. "Next!"

The paperwork crinkled in his hand, as he reached down and scooped Mina back onto his back. His chest felt too tight. Tears were hot in his eyes as he walked out of the building into the warm spring morning. They were penniless, left to rely on what meager earnings he could bring in with C and D-rank missions. Owning the very land Konoha sat upon meant nothing when it came time to pay the grocer.

The blanket fluttered in the wind. Mina held it aloft, letting it catch the breeze. It landed on his head, the static clinging to his hair. Rage filled him. He wanted to snatch it from her carefree hands and shove it into the park trash cans. The first tear fell down his cheek, hot and angry, soaking into his mask. He shoved his free hand into his pocket, tightening his grip on Mina's thigh. Five coins jangled against each other. Her small chin rested on his shoulder, and she blew hot air past his ear, giggling each time it wiggled.

An ice-pop vendor was parked alongside the park's playground. One coin for one popsicle; probably the cheapest thing he could buy.

"Can we get one, please?" Mina asked, nuzzling her face against the crook of his neck.

He ran a rough hand across the bridge of his nose, clearing the tears from his eyes, and nodded. Stooping down, he set her on the ground, watching as she ran up to the vendor.

"What flavor would you like, little miss?" the vendor asked kindly.

"Mm, what flavor do you like, nii-san?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes and swallowed down his remaining tears. Her favorite was grape. He always pretended it was his too, though he preferred cherry.

"One grape, please," Kakashi said, pulling a coin from his pocket and passing it to the vendor.

He held up the grape popsicle, splitting it neatly into two pieces, passing her the larger share. As she slurped and licked until it was all gone, leaving small puddles on the sidewalk, she smiled up at him.

Her cubby hand patted his masked cheek. "It's going to be okay. We gotted popsicles."

He huffed then, looking toward the academy she would be starting far too early, and nodded. Childcare was too expensive. Despite their father's reservations, she would be better off starting the academy when she turned four.

Twilight had fallen on the rickety boarding house, the stars peeking out from behind the curtains. The door to the boarding room opened with a slight squeak, making Kakashi's ears twitch.

"Nii-san?" Mina greeted tiredly, closing it softly behind her.

He got up from the edge of the bed and trapped her in a hug. Holding her out from his arms, he took careful stock, checking for any sign of visible injury.

"I'm fine, I promise."

Wrapping her up in his arms, he whispered, "When I smelled your blood all over the edge of that bridge…"

"I'm fine."

She stroked his upper back as though he were a small child in need of soothing and not a grown man who had to stoop down to rest his chin on the top of her head.

"I'm fine," she repeated, hugging him tighter.

He pulled down his mask, fully taking in her scent and reveling in the sound of her heartbeat. When they finally pulled apart, he held her shoulders, looking her over one more time. Dark circles smudged under her eyes. Her cheeks were paler than they had been four weeks ago.

"Are you?" he asked.

She shrugged, dropping her bag on a shelf and kicking her shoes off. "Nothing sleep won't cure. Did you book a hotel, or are you staying with Shisui?"

"Not yet."

"You're welcome to stay here, but I'm afraid I just have one bed."

Kakashi shrugged. "That's fine. We can put a blanket in the middle like we did when we were kids."

She laughed lightly while moving the covers around the bed. "Like that will stop you; you were always such a bed hog."

AN: Thank you for reading! What'd you guys think of Konoha's bureaucracy? If you have time, please leave a comment. I love hearing what you guys think.

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Beta'ed by Cherryberry12