"So are you screwing your captain yet?"

"Sayuri-chan!" Aimi hissed.

"What? He's all she ever talks about. My captain this - my captain that - I don't even know the guy's name. You should have invited him to come. I'm dying to meet him."

The three girls were on their way to Ensui's house for dinner. It was one of the rare times that the four of them were in the village. Between Kotori and Ensui's missions, they kept missing each other. At least Aimi and Sayuri were usually in the village. The three girls made it a point to get together whenever Kotori was home for a few days. She couldn't help but feel like they were starting to drift apart. Sayuri especially. She seemed more and more preoccupied with her Uchiha friends. Aimi had made friends with a group of kunoichi around their age. Meanwhile Kotori was spending more time with Team Ro, even in her free time.

She was grateful that the three of them could just fall back into their friendship as if no time had passed. Even if that meant they were teaming up to tease her.

Kotori glared at them. "We're not doing anything! And it's not as easy to talk about everyone else. I do have other teammates you know. I can't just give away everyone's identities or codenames."

"You don't talk about Yugao or Genma nearly as much. Unless - " Aimi let out a giggle. "Don't tell me, is Genma your captain?"

"What!? No!" What a horrifying thought.

"You come in with him all the time to T and I, you seem pretty close."

"Yeah, because we keep getting partnered up."

Well, she kept getting partnered up with either Genma or Kakashi. She had been on three more undercover missions posing as Kakashi's girlfriend or wife since the first. Not that she would tell her friends partially because it was classified and partially because she would just be adding fuel to the bonfire. There was nothing going on between them.

Sorano Kotori was a professional kunoichi who did not develop crushes on her captain. It was a mantra she repeated over and over again. The mantra got louder whenever Kakashi took her hand or brushed a thumb over her cheek or pressed a kiss to her forehead. It was a mantra she repeated whenever she felt a blush creep across her face or her heart skip a beat.

So maybe she had the tiniest crush on Kakashi. So what? People had crushes on their captain all the time. She was never going to act on it. It would make for an amusing little story in the future, nothing more. He obviously had no interest in her. Their interactions hadn't changed outside the missions. He treated her the same as before. So she hadn't changed their interactions outside of missions either.

In fact, she was actively trying to move on from it. Her pent up frustration had led her to accepting dates from more of the shinobi in the village. Unfortunately, none of the men she went on dates with had any spark. The type that left her skin tingling with a single touch or short circuited her brain after a kiss. Well, at least she had never slept with Kakashi, she mused. That would probably ruin her expectations for life.

Her brain really needed to shut up.

"I'm trying to think of who else you've come in with," Aimi said, thoughtfully tapping a finger against her lips. Her eyes lit up in recognition. "Ohh, what about the one with the brown hair and stripy cat mask?"

"Yes, that's him," Kotor lied. Tenzo was safe. He was very nondescript now that he cut his hair short; he could have been anyone in the village. He might even play along if Aimi decided to question him next time.

"I can tell when you're lying," Aimi reminded her. "Don't worry, I'll figure it out."

The joys of having perceptive friends.

"Can't you just use your mind jutsu?" Sayuri asked.

"That's invasive and rude, but I'm totally not above it!"

Morally questionable friends at that. Kotori adored them. "Please, do I look like an amateur? You can interrogate me for days and I won't tell you a thing."

They were still bickering as they approached Ensui's house and knocked on the door. Ensui glanced between his three former students and promptly shut his mouth. There was one time he may have asked what, but years of experience taught him that he didn't want to know what.

"Tori-Yuri-Mi!" Ensui's daughter, Rika, happily shouted as she rushed up to them. Aimi grabbed the toddler and tossed her into the air. Rika's delighted shrieks filled the entranceway. Her feet barely touched the ground as each of her 'aunts' took their turns cooing over her.

Ensui's wife, Kosuke, greeted them along with their nephew, Shikamaru. It had been a while since she had last saw the boy. Kotori had lived with Ensui and Kosuke for a few years after the nine-tails attack. As a result, she had often been roped into babysitting Shikamaru. Not that the task was particularly difficult. He was an easy child, his own mother saying that he was too lazy to be fussy. Kotori had adored the way he would climb up on her lap for cuddles or a nap. Not that she could remember the last time he had done that. With a pang, she realized he was growing up too quickly. The same sentiments were vocalized by Aimi.

"Oh, look at you!" She squealed as she squished him into a hug."You've grown so much!"

Ensui crossed his arms. "Don't coddle the boy. He's an academy student now."

It started an argument between Ensui and Aimi on the line between child and shinobi. Starting at the academy was meant to prepare children for the reality of their profession. Parents were asked to support this by encouraging their children to be more independent at home. During times of peace, children were able to complete the entire program and graduate at the age of twelve. During times of war, children were rushed through the program and graduated as soon as possible. She was glad that Shikamaru's generation wouldn't be rushed through the program like hers had been. The older she got, the harder it was to battle actual children from other villages. They seemed smaller every year with their forehead protectors and kunai.

"Some villages are still sending shinobi as young as Shikamaru on missions. Do not underestimate a child in our world."

"Yes, but have you ever seen inside their minds?"

Kotori followed behind them, Rika still snug in her arms. She planted a kiss on the girl's temple. Well, at least she could still cuddle Rika for a few more years.

"What do you think?" She asked Shikamaru. The kid tilted his head up at her while he regarded her. There was a keen intelligence in those dark eyes. Kotori got the impression that he understood more than the innocent face would have you believe.

"I don't mind if she wants to hug me, but I don't like being talked down to like a baby."

"Hm, sounds reasonable to me," Kotori said. She took the opportunity to ruffle the boy's hair instead. Shikamaru gave an annoyed sigh, but didn't move away. Years around Ensui and the rest of the Nara clan had taught her to ignore their sighing and proclamations of things being annoying, troublesome or a drag. If they really didn't like something, they would tell her. "How's school?"

"It's such a drag," Shikamaru announced. "But my parents expect me to go. I sleep through most of it."

Kotori and Shikamaru joined the others in the dining room and Kotori handed Rika over to Ensui. Dinner was a relaxing affair as they caught up with the Nara family. Ensui and Kosuke talked about Rika's antics while Shikamaru grudgingly answered questions about school. Apparently Shikamaru's father was off on a mission and his mother was helping one of the women in the clan deliver a baby. The expectant mother was a medical kunoichi who had been just a year older than them.

"It makes you feel old knowing that people we went to the academy with are getting married and having children," Kotori said. "I still feel so young."

"You are still young." Kosuke smiled as she collected the plates. "Ensui and I were married at your age. The clan elders suggested it. There was some concern about the Nara dying out in the last war."

"People make rash decisions during war times," Ensui said.

Kosuke lightly smacked him in the back of the head. "Rash decisions?"

"I didn't mean it that way." He sounded sheepish.

Perhaps it had taken the Nara clan elders to suggest Ensui get married, but Kotori knew he wouldn't have done it if he hadn't been completely smitten by Kosuke.

"It all worked out for us," he said.

Kosuke's eyes were fond as she smiled at him. "That's almost affectionate coming from you."

"I wonder which of us will be the first to get married and have children," Aimi dreamily said. "Ohh, wedding planning will be so much fun!"

Sayuri avoided eye contact as she twirled one of her chopsticks in hand. Her smile was a little forced when she added, "I don't know, Kotori-chan seems to have the most promising love life at the moment."

Kotori rolled her eyes, annoyed that they were back to this. "What about you? I noticed you've been hanging around Shisui a lot."

Sayuri's expression darkened. There was an almost threatening undercurrent to her tone. "You shouldn't spy on me."

"I don't." Kotori narrowed her eyes, wondering what had gotten into her best friend.

"I'm serious, if Fugaku-sama found out you'd be reprimanded by the Hokage."

"They're not in the Uchiha district," Kotori eventually said. She forced her tone to be a bit warmer when she added, "If you don't want people to know who you're hanging out with, then stopping going to teahouses together. That looks very much like a date to me."

There was a delicate balance between having her birds all over Konoha and not upsetting the major clans. The Uchiha and Hyuga clans were notorious for wanting their privacy. Any chakra bird that wandered close to their district were immediately killed. The rest of the clans accepted the birds in common areas and Kotori made sure to give their homes and training areas privacy. Ensui once told her that if she ever tried to steal their clan secrets, then Shikaku would have to marry her to one of their cousins to keep it a clan secret. She didn't want to test if he was joking or not. Shikaku could be intimidating at times. The academy, Hokage Tower, training grounds and other public places were fair game.

Sayuri crossed her arms and gave what could only be accurately described as a pout.

"What's this?" Ensui asked. His shoulders sagged and he looked resigned to getting involved.

"Kotori-chan has a crush on her team captain," Sayuri smugly said. "She's just deflecting attention."

"I do not!"

"This sounds troublesome," Shikamaru dryly informed his uncle.

"This is going to be very troublesome," Ensui agreed. "Shikamaru, stay away from women."

"You're not very good at following your own advice," Shikamaru pointed out. Indeed, between his students, his wife and his daughter, Ensui was hopelessly outnumbered.

Ensui and Kosuke held a silent conversation over Shikamaru's head before Kosuke brightly asked him and Rika to come help her tidy up in the kitchen.

"I never thought I'd have to have this conversation," Ensui grumbled. "I had hoped the academy or your parents would have."

"Well, I don't exactly have parents anymore so I guess that was your job," Kotori needled him.

He rolled his eyes. "How do I say this?"

Ensui drummed his fingers on the table. He looked down with a frown. The three girls glanced at each other with a slow sense of horror. Sayuri crinkled her nose in disgust. Aimi had a strained expression. Kotori hide her face in the palm of her hand. Dread crept in that this might be another one of Ensui's sex talks. He had covered everything over the years from menstruation to birth control to seducing and killing a man in the same blunt tone. It was always uncomfortable.

He started ticking off points on his fingers. "It is inappropriate to have a relationship with someone directly above you and highly discouraged. Your captain would technically be the one in trouble as they're held to a higher standard. It's generally regarded as an abuse of power. However it does not help your reputation. I don't have to explain that kunoichi get the raw end of the deal there. You don't want anyone accusing you of sleeping your way to better missions."

Kotori peaked between her fingers. Ensui continued on completely unfazed by their reactions.

"Relationships on the same team are a bad idea. They interfere with group dynamics and cause drama. Most of the time you will get reassigned to a different team. If you like your team, you'll keep it strictly professional."

He ticked off another point.

"And finally, I know your captain. Don't date someone thinking you can fix them."

"I am not - " she protested.

"I know you, you're kind. You think you know your captain, but you don't. He's saved your ass in a few missions, so what? That's his job."

Kotori bit her tongue, resisting the urge to argue. She wasn't trying to fix him. She knew there was no fixing that kind of sorrow. It was something that you lived with and learned to cope. Her friends had done so much for her in the years since her family's death. Aimi, Sayuri, the Naras - they had all helped her keep her head above water when she felt like she was drowning. Then slowly she found how to tread water until she could make it back to shore. Kakashi looked like he was drowning. If she could offer a life preserver, then she was going to offer one damnit.

"So that's one troublesome kunoichi down," Ensui said. He seemed to mistake her silence for acceptance. "Sayuri, I think you and I should go for a walk."

Sayuri glowered at their sensei, but followed him out all the same. It wasn't the first time he pulled one of them aside for a one on one chat.

"He picked up on that," Kotori said. "I shouldn't be surprised."

Aimi nodded. "Sayuri-chan's been tense lately. I've tried talking to her, but she just clams up. I mean, you know what the Uchiha are like; there's always been a lot of pressure on her. I hope Sensei can get through to her."

Sayuri was sitting alone on the edge of the veranda overlooking the garden when they found her. Kotori and Aimi had helped Kosuke clean up when Ensui had returned on his own. He had given them a brief nod, signalling it was okay to find her. It seemed that whatever Ensui and Sayuri had talked about had left her in a melancholy mood.

"I'm sorry," Sayuri said when they sat on either side of her. "I haven't been myself lately. You're my best friends, you know that right?"

"Of course we are," Kotori promised.

"Team Ensui for life," Aimi agreed. Her tone was softer when she added, "Is everything alright?"

"J-just family stuff, I'm hoping it'll blow over soon," Sayuri weakly responded. She drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Kotori and Aimi shared a worried look over top of their friend's head.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Aimi asked.

A moment of silence stretched before them as if Sayuri was wrestling with what to say. Kotori almost assumed she wouldn't want to talk, before Sayuri said, "I'm just worrying for the future. It's nothing. My parents are on my back about marrying and leaving the Konoha Police."

"So soon?" Kotori asked.

Sayuri's laugh was bitter, her voice then dropped in pitch, mimicking her father's. "You're nineteen now, you're a grown woman. It's time you start thinking about doing your duty."

"That's - " Aimi didn't bother to hide the contempt in her voice. "You're not a womb for the Uchiha clan. They can't force you."

"No, they can't," Sayuri agreed. "Sensei said as much too. He offered to talk to my parents with me. It's stupid, I shouldn't need him fighting my battles any more."

Ensui had often acted as a mediator between Sayuri and her father when they were young. His reasoning at the time was that if something from their personal life was affecting their work, then he was getting involved. Kotori doubted that was his only reasoning. He intervened in their personal lives as he saw fit, even when they were no longer on his team.

"Thanks," Sayuri quietly said. Her face was a little red. "I'd, um, rather not talk about this anymore."

"Of course," Kotori agreed. "Just as long as you know we're always here if you want to talk about it."

Sayuri leaned her head against Kotori's shoulder and Aimi wrapped her arm around Sayuri. The three of them sat in silence as the sun started disappearing behind the tree line. It gave the sky a reddish glow.

"So," Sayuri paused, a sly smile creeping over her face as she lifted her head. "Were you ever going to tell us about these undercover missions you and Hatake keep taking together?"

"Not this again - " Kotori cut herself off. "Wait a minute. No! How - ?!"

She was drowned out by Aimi's joyous shriek of "What?!" that actually managed to scare off a flock of birds from the trees.

Sayuri cackled at the chaos her words had caused. "Oh, well you see, your first mistake was acknowledging Genma as your teammate. Your second mistake was acknowledging that you were working with someone with a Sharingan. I was able to put two and two together and Genma was more than happy to double check my math."

"The identifies of my teammates are classified." Kotori crossed her arms and tilted her head up. Seriously?! She was going to kill him. They were ANBU. How could he not know how keep his mouth shut? "As are the details of my missions."

"No," Sayuri smugly said. "They're really not. Genma is the worst gossip. Don't worry, I don't actually know the details. I'm not sure how much details I want to know."

"I want details!" Aimi butted in. Her pale blue eyes were wide as she peered at them. "I want the dirt, now please!"

"Sometimes," Kotori said in a snarky tone, "Due to the nature of my work I go undercover and sometimes my partner will pose as a boyfriend or husband. Genma is a moron."

"Just be careful," Sayuri said. "Sensei's right, you're too kind. Hatake's a stone cold bastard and I don't want to see you getting hurt. I'll go after him myself if something happens to you."

Kotori sighed. "Just to clear the air, we're not actually dating. It was just an undercover mission. It's all an act, we're both aware of that."

"Can you say that three times with a straight face?" Aimi challenged.

She rolled her eyes skyward as she repeated 'it's just a mission' three times to prove her point. "Should I recite it backwards next?"

"Hn," Sayuri managed to make that noise sound haughty. "I'm serious. Hell hath no fury like an Uchiha."

The door slide open and Ensui's voice followed. "Do I want to know?"

"You know, for someone who claims he doesn't want to be involved, you sure hang around a lot," Kotori accused Ensui.

Ensui shrugged as he began setting up the shoji board on the veranda. "I've been kicked out by my wife. She thinks I need to spend more time with you three."

"Aw, you do miss us!" Aimi joyfully said.

"Troublesome brats," Ensui said in an exasperated tone. His scratched the bridge of his nose as he finished setting up the board. "No, I don't miss you. My life has been quiet since I set you three loose on the world. Anyone for a game?"

The three girls crowded around as Aimi accepted the challenge. "Ready to get your ass handed to you, Sensei?"

"Every sensei wants to see their students surpass them, Aimi," Ensui said as he made his opening move. "But that will not be tonight."