Kotori and Sayuri sat on a log in the middle of training ground fourteen. Sayuri was panting from their morning spar, but Kotori found herself unaffected for once. It seemed that all of the intense ANBU training was starting to pay off. She had noticed that her stamina had increased along with her strength and speed. It only served to further annoy Sayuri, who was used to being stronger than her.

Their match had ended when Sayuri let out a growl of frustration and used her sharingan in an attempt to get an advantage. The familiar red eyes with the three tomoe had whirled into existence. Only, Sayuri was not as skilled as Itachi or Kakashi with it. Kotori had been able to use its predictive ability against it, feigning muscle movements as she often did against Kakashi. While he was prepared for that, Sayuri was not. She had fallen into her trap and Kotori had easily pinned her to the ground until she yielded.

Kotori wordlessly passed her water canteen over to her friend. It was good to be able to spend time together. Kotori had been on several missions over the last few months. It was a challenge finding time to squeeze in the occasional regular mission never mind finding time to train with Sayuri. These days it felt like she was rarely in the village. Her friend was equally busy with shifts at the police station and had made friends with more of the Uchiha in their generation. She saw Aimi often, if only because Aimi handled interrogating the prisoners they brought back to Konoha. She missed her friends.

"You've improved," Sayuri curiously said. "Who have you been training with?"

"Oh, um, some of the other jonin have been helping me. You know Genma?"

She couldn't outright admit who had been training her. It was one of the worst kept secrets that Kakashi was an ANBU. Genma was more of a common fixture around the village. He blended both lives seamlessly. They had even taken a few regular jonin missions together to add credibility to the fact that they knew each other.

Kotori watched with amusement as her friend took a mild painkiller.

"I always get a migraine when I train with you," Sayuri grouched. She tilted her head up as she took a drink from the water canteen.

"What do you mean?"

"The sharingan can see chakra, right?" Sayuri explained. "They're like these different coloured lights. The more concentrated, the brighter. Your chakra birds look like these tiny balls of condensed chakra all over the place and they're annoying. I can still kick your butt, but they're annoying."

The fact that Sayuri could no longer do that was best left unsaid.

"Tough talk for someone taking painkillers," Kotori reminded her. An idea occurred to her. "So if I used more chakra when making chakra birds what would happen?"

"Well, how much chakra are we talking?" Sayuri glanced at her. An eyebrow curiously lifted. "You'd probably end up with chakra exhaustion and I would have to stop using my sharingan. I might get temporary blindness if it was a quick flash and I wasn't expecting it - why, what are you planning?"

"I've gotta go," Kotori quickly said. She leapt up and started heading towards the pathway that would lead back to the village.

"Damnit, no wonder you've gotten so good. You've been training with another Uchiha, haven't you?!"

"No comment!"

"You can't use it against any of my clan!" Sayuri jumped up and yelled after her. "I'm going to get in trouble for giving out clan secrets again!"

"Don't worry, I promise I won't use it against an Uchiha!" Kotori yelled back.

"If you're doing that thing where you cross your fingers behind your back, it doesn't count!"

Kotori gave Sayuri her brightest smile and showed both of her hands, fingers uncrossed, before she ran off. She had no problem keeping that promise. Besides, there was a non-Uchiha with a sharingan who could use a migraine.

She raced through the ANBU training fields, checking for a distinctive head of silver hair. She was so busy scanning the fields with both her eyes and her birds, that she almost ran right into him. He caught her before they collided. His hands caught her by the shoulders and held her at arms length before letting her go. He had the ANBU mask clipped on his belt. He looked bored, but an eyebrow curiously lifted as he spoke.

"Where's the fire?"

"I - ah," she startled. "No fire. I was just excited about a new technique and wanted to try it out. I don't suppose you have time?"

"Not now, but maybe we can do that when I get back," Kakashi calmly said. He rubbed his chin. "I'm assembling a team for a rescue mission. I could use you."

Kakashi had been sending her with Genma on more frequent missions. She took it as a sign that she had improved to a level he found acceptable. "Sure thing, I'll get ready and meet you."

They met twenty minutes later in front of the ANBU locker rooms. Tenzo and Genma were also waiting for them. The four of them left immediately from the underground tunnel. It lead out of the ANBU Headquarters and into the forest outside of Konoha. A three person team from the regular forces had been captured and held prisoner by rogue shinobi. They had managed to get an emergency message to the Hokage who was dispatching Team Ro to extract them. It was a two day journey to the facility.

The plan was for Kotori and Genma to infiltrate the facility and rescue the team while Kakashi and Tenzo covered them. Kotori and Genma made quick work of sneaking through the facility. The place seemed surprisingly empty. Genma had been easily able to take out the lone pair of guards with his senbon. They came across a prison cell containing the three Konoha shinobi. She recognized Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu. They had been in the same class as her at the academy. The third shinobi grinned at them.

"Don't suppose I can ask for a smoke? We've been trapped in here for a week. The withdrawals are killing me."

"If that's your biggest issue, Asuma, then you need to sort out your priorities," Genma said.

"I wondered who was sent this time," Asuma chuckled. "I don't recognize your friend though."

"No way, that's Kotori!" Kotetsu said. He looked pleased at being able to guess her identity. There was little point denying it either. They would recognize her abilities."No wonder we never see you around anymore."

"Is there even a point to these masks?" Kotori rhetorically asked.

The cell had a standard seal over it that prevented the occupants from being able to use chakra. Genma started using a senbon to try and pick the lock. Kotori used a wind slicing jutsu that was sharp enough to cut through the metal bars. Genma gave a little shrug when Kotori removed the bars, as if indicating that that worked.

"Are any of you injured?" Kotori asked. The closest they had to a medic at the moment was Tenzo. Genma was their poison expert, which seemed irrelevant at the moment. She and Kakashi could only do basic first aid.

"Izumo's leg is injured. We fixed him as best we could, but he can't stand on it," Asuma told them. "Kotetsu and I are fine."

Asuma and Kotetsu helped Izumo while Kotori and Genma guarded from the front and back of the group. Once they reached the outside, Kotori summoned Raiden. He had gotten big enough that he was able to carry two on his back.

"Raiden will bring you both back to the village," Kotori said. It was decided that Kotetsu would take Izumo back to the village while the rest of them regrouped with Kakashi and Tenzo.

Everything felt too easy. There were barely any guards on the way in or out. Perhaps it was an abandoned facility, but she didn't think they would have been able to take Asuma and the others so easily. Even if Izumo was injured. Lord Third's youngest son was a formidable opponent. She held her hands in the bird seal to find Kakashi and Tenzo and give them the signal. Only to find that the pair of them were in the midst of a battle with over a dozen enemy ninja.

"They need our help," Kotori said, releasing the seal. "Are you in any shape to fight?" Genma asked Asuma.

Asuma had lit up a cigarette as soon as they got out. He let out a deep exhale, blowing smoke into the air. Kotori crinkled her nose.

"Yeah, I can fight. Let's go."

The three of them raced through the trees outside of the facility to where Tenzo and Kakashi were fighting. Tenzo was trying to fight six shinobi at once. They had him surrounded as he held them off with his tanto. Two of them rushed forward at once from different sides.

Kotori's hands flashed through the seals and then she pulled her right hand back in imitation of pulling an arrow. She released her chakra, shooting a lightning arrow through the heart of one of the shinobi. He fell to the ground before he reached Tenzo.

Tenzo's head tilted up and he must have noticed her in the trees because he gave a nod. She was already aiming a second lightning arrow at another enemy shinobi. He managed to dodge it, her arrow exploding as it hit the ground. Asuma let out a breath of hot ash, burning two of the shinobi while Genma rushed to provide Kakashi with backup. She could hear the clang of metal.

Kotori leapt out of the way as another shinobi tossed an exploding tag towards the tree she had been standing in. Her foot slipped on the branch of the tree she landed on and she fell, only for a branch to shoot out below her. She caught it with her hands and used her momentum to swing herself up onto the branch, landing in a crouch.

"Thanks!" She said, unsure if Tenzo could hear her.

One of her chakra birds fed her an image of a shinobi going in from behind Kakashi's back with a blade. Without hesitation, she threw herself between the shinobi and Kakashi, blocking the attack with her kunai. The shinobi overpowered her with his sword and her kunai dropped to the ground.

Her world slowed down as she felt the blade then slice across her stomach. Her hands uselessly pressing against the wound in shock as she fell to her knees. The edges of her vision started to go blurry. Above her head she could hear the chirping of a thousand birds as Kakashi used his chidori to kill the shinobi who had injured her.

It was strangely comforting for that to be the final sound she heard. It reminded her of home, when the Sorano compound was always buzzing with the sound of birds. She felt peaceful as she closed her eyes.

"What were you thinking?" Kakashi was yelling at her. It was odd. Kakashi didn't yell, he got quieter when he was angry.

"Move aside, Senpai." Tenzo this time. "Let me see."

The last thing she remembered before the darkness completely took her was Kakashi telling her to hold on.

"I won't lose you too."

When Kotori came to, she found herself in the hospital.

Kakashi was curled up in the plastic visitors chair. His arms were crossed and his head lulled forward into his chest as he slept. He was still wearing the ANBU uniform although his mask was off. Well, the hound one at any rate. There was still the ever present fabric one he wore. Kotori assumed he took her straight to the hospital and never left.

As if sensing she was awake, he stirred. A lone, droopy eye blinked at her. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

She smiled weakly at him. "Like I've been gutted."

He gave a soft snort. "Well, that's what happens when you throw yourself in front of a sword."

"Most people just say thank you."

He ignored her as he walked over, checking her bandages. "I don't want to see you ever put yourself in harm's way to save me again. I'm your captain, it's my responsibility to make sure you all get back safe."

"That's not how it works, we're a team."

She could hear him grinding his teeth behind the mask. "Don't endanger yourself to save me. That's an order."

"Fine," she stubbornly agreed as she crossed her fingers next to her side. Kakashi stared at her for a moment, as if not really believing she would back down so easily. There was really no point arguing this. Kakashi couldn't control where she ended up in the middle of a battle or how she would react. She was also exhausted. The fight died out of her easily as she slumped into the pillow.

Kakashi dropped it and his tone was much lighter when he spoke again. "The doctor is recommending you take three weeks for recovery. So I'll see you for training then."

Kotori couldn't help but smile a little. "Three weeks off? Whatever will I do with myself."

Kakashi's lone eye gave a mock glare at her, before crinkling into a smile. "I'm sure I can come up with something if you're bored."

The rest of the team trickled in and out of her room throughout the day. Kotori slept on and off as she received visitors. Genma had gleefully informed her that she was officially part of ANBU now. Apparently getting almost killed was a rite of passage. Satoshi fussed over her charts and bandages. Tenzo used his mokuton to create flowers. Izumo had tipped off Aimi and Sayuri that she was in the hospital. Aimi inspected the flowers Tenzo had brought. They were unlike anything Kotori had seen in Konoha and suspected that much like her birds, Tenzo's flowers were unique to him.

"You're not doing regular missions, are you?" Aimi quietly asked. She sat on the edge of Kotori's bed.

Kotori gave them a tight smile. "Is it that obvious?"

"Your sparring style has changed a lot," Sayuri explained. She crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall. "It reminds me of - "

She trailed off, pressing her lips together.

"We can never find you in the village," Aimi added. "You're too busy for someone who only takes a B rank every other month."

"And Izumo and Kotetsu may have said something," Sayuri said. There was an amused smirk. "They're not subtle."

A weight she hadn't realized she had been carrying lifted from her shoulders. She was glad that she didn't have to hide this from her friends anymore.

She was released from the hospital two days later. True to his word, Kakashi had found something else for her to do and had dropped off several scrolls containing reconnaissance tactics as well as one with notes on lightning style. That one looked like it had been written in his own hand. She had been reading it when she heard a knock on her door.

Kotori weakly stood up to answer it. Only to find one of the annoying paper pushers from the Hokage's administration office standing outside with Kakashi, who was dressed in full ANBU attire like he was about to set off for a mission. He was visibly agitated, his silver hair mused as if he had been running his hands through it. His stance was aggressive, as if he was about to light up a chidori right there in her hallway.

Kotori hoped that anger wasn't directed at her.

"You've ignored a direct summons to report for a mission," the paper pusher said in a nasally tone. "As an ANBU you are under contract to - "

That's when Kakashi exploded. He didn't raise his voice, but the chilling tone sent goosebumps down her arms. "She's injured. She has serve chakra exhaustion and the only thing keeping her intestines from spilling out right now are chakra infused stitches. Her file clearly indicates that she needs at least three weeks, preferably six, to fully recover."

She blinked. She had seen the bird, but had assumed it was a mistake. She could barely move from her bed to the bathroom. No one could seriously expect her to run a mission like this. The thought of going to the Hokage's tower was a stretch. At least Kakashi had her back. She was grateful to let him argue on her behalf, not having the energy or words at the moment. If there was one thing she was starting to realize about her captain; nothing infuriated him more than putting his team at risk.

The paper pusher looked Kotori up and down. He mumbled, "I suppose we can delay the mission. Would you be ready to leave tomorrow?"

Sometimes she wondered if the administration in the Hokage's office saw them as anything more than numbers. We need x number of shinobi on x amount of missions at any given time to bring in x amount of ryo. They seemed to have no regard for human life. "Ah, probably not?"

The paper pusher sighed. "We're short on sensory types for track and capture missions and have received an influx of them this week. Team Ro has already been split into four teams. I need a second person to accompany Hound."

"I can operate solo."

"You're not a sensory type," the paper pusher said.

"Neither is she," Kakashi argued. "She moulds her chakra into birds and uses them to gather information. I can do that."

His hands flashed through a familiar set of hand seals with ease and his chakra was moulded into a beautiful grey bird in the palm of his hand. The bird had a crest of feathers on its head that reminded her of Kakashi's hair. It tweeted at her.

Kotori felt the indignation. He had stolen her jutsu! That was a secret clan technique and he had no business copying it.

"You can't do that!"

"I believe I just did," he replied. He gave her a sharp look. "Now isn't the time."

She bit back a reply, crossing her arms as Kakashi and the paper pusher argued back and forth about the requirements for this mission. Kotori was beginning to feel resigned. She could probably replenish her chakra. Dispelling a bunch of her chakra birds would do in a pinch as she reabsorbed their chakra, although naturally replenishing it was always better. If Satoshi was still in the village he could check her wounds and make sure the stitching would hold. She couldn't believe she was even entertaining this idea. Her hand lightly grazed her stomach. She would be nothing but a liability. Unable to defend herself and worse, jeopardizing Kakashi if he had to protect her.

"Sending her out in the field would be a death sentence," Kakashi growled. "Do we have so many shinobi we can afford to send an ANBU out on a suicide mission over what? A B-rank spy selling secrets?"

"She knew what she signed up for," the paper pushed replied. "Her life is for Konoha. Shinobi die in the name of duty all the time."

Kakashi looked at the ceiling like he was finding the restraint not to go rogue. He lifted his forehead protector so that he was now staring at the paper pusher with both eyes. Outside of a sparring match or mission, he seemed to use it as a form of intimidation. There were few who could look at the sharingan and not flinch. Especially when he was that pissed off.

"Team Ro will not be accepting the mission unless we have a replacement or I have permission to operate solo. As a member of the Aburame clan, don't you have something with insects? Those work just as well as birds."

"My leg was injured during the war, I'm unsuitable for missions."

"Walk it off," Kakashi snarled. "Or find a replacement. You can tell the Hokage we're not leaving. I don't answer to you, I answer directly to Lord Third or the ANBU Commander."

The paper pusher left in a huff, shouting at them that the ANBU Commander will be hearing about their disobedience. Kakashi folded his arms and looked unimpressed as the man walked off.

"It's - "

"It's not fine," Kakashi insisted. His eyes were as hard as steel and the outline of his jaw looked like it was clenched. "To carelessly throw your life away. If we're short on shinobi then they need to reprioritize what missions they're sending us on and keep enough on reserve for emergencies."

"Well, thank you."

He looked at her, the tension seeming to ease. "No need. It's my fault you're injured anyway."

Kakashi bit his thumb and summoned one of his ninja hounds. A grey dog appeared wearing the blue vest and forehead protector that all of Kakashi's dogs wore. "Shiba, this is Hawk. She's injured and needs to stay behind. You're to stay with her and make sure the higher ups don't give her any trouble. Come get me immediately if they do."

Shiba sat still at attention as he received his instructions. "Yes sir."

"You don't have to - "

"Stay home and rest," Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder. He looked at her with those mismatched eyes and she closed her mouth. Her heart leapt into her throat and she suddenly found that she couldn't speak. "That's an order. I expect you to make a full recovery."

She glanced down at the dog once Kakashi had left. She had only really cared for ninja hawks in her life and they were self sufficient. Even the alley cats she used to feed could fend for themselves if needed.

"So, um, what do you like to eat?"
Shiba wagged his tail as he followed her.

"I'll eat anything you eat."

"Do you?" She skeptically asked. Perhaps smaller portions then. Shiba couldn't be more than ten kilograms. She didn't want to explain to Kakashi why one of his dogs grew fat and lazy while under her care.

Shiba snuggled into her side as she laid back down after lunch. He crossed his front legs and rested his head on top of them. Kotori found her hand absentmindedly scratching his head as she read.

Shiba let out a happy sigh. "Best. Mission. Ever."

"Is that so?" Kotori asked. She supposed getting to hang around and just be a dog was a good assignment. It was why she tried to summon Raiden outside of missions as much as possible. Even though she knew he had his own home with the rest of the ninja hawks at Mount Takagake. Team bonding was an essential part of training. It was what Hayato had always said.

"I can see why the Boss likes you, you're really nice."

"Why, did he say something?"

"He didn't have to," Shiba said. "He left me to watch over you, didn't he?"

Kotori awkwardly scratched behind Shiba's ears in response.