The wind whipped through her hair as Raiden rushed through the forest. Kotori had never flown so fast in her life. She felt reckless, the trees blurring past them. Her heart pounded in her chest, adrenalin pumping through her veins. Yugao and Satoshi hung on for dear life behind her. She could feel Yugao's arms squeezing painfully around her middle. Raiden was barely big enough for the three of them. Her summoning contact allowed her to share her chakra and it was the only reason he was able to fly so fast carrying their combined weight. Her hands remained steady on his back as she let her chakra flow from her body into his.
Lord Third had authorized the mission and they had immediately set off. Genma, Ayumu and Haruki were coming as backup, but they were travelling on foot and would be at least a day behind.
From the quick debriefing Lord Third had given them, it seemed a group had deflected from Iwa. The rogue shinobi had created their own mercenary group on the outskirts of the Land of Fire. They were contributing to unrest along the borders that the Land of Fire shared with the Land of Fields, the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers. They were also stealing business from Konoha and Kusa, something that could cause rife between the two allied villages. Kakashi and Tenzo were sent to gather information. Although it seemed they had been discovered.
Kotori hoped they weren't too late. The thought of anything happening to Kakashi - She pushed more chakra into Raiden, urging him faster.
"Status update?" Satoshi shouted over the wind.
She didn't want to deplete her chakra too much, certain it would be a strenuous battle and she would need to conserve her smaller reserves for it. She checked in periodically to make sure they were still on the right course and to gather what intel she could about the enemy. Kakashi and Tenzo had managed to escape, however they were weakened and the enemy was in hot pursuit. Kakashi was carrying an unconscious Tenzo on his back.
It was clear Kakashi was pushing through injuries and chakra exhaustion himself as his movements were slower and more laboured than usual. Fortunately he was travelling back through the Land of Fire so it meant they should cross paths on their current course. There were no nearby allies so they were on their own.
"They're close," Kotori confirmed, returning to her own body. "Maybe about an hour or so by foot."
"We'll set up here then," Satoshi advised.
She dropped Yugao and Satoshi off. Both wobbled a little once back on the ground. Satoshi breathed a sigh of relief as he leaned against a tree.
Yugao took off her mask, then bent her knees until she was nearly squatting on the ground. "If I never fly with you again, it'll be too soon."
Kotori gave them a small smile behind her mask. "Sorry guys."
The intention was for them to set up a trap and for Kotori to lead the enemy shinobi straight into it. Both Satoshi and Yugao seemed to be regaining their balance so she and Raiden took to the sky once more. This time they flew above the tree line, hidden by the thick canopy below them. Kotori hoped to pick off a few enemy with her jutsu before she was noticed. She wished Genma could have fit on Raiden's back too. His senbon were silent and could be aimed with deadly precision.
She breathed in and out, matching her breath with the steady beat of Raiden's wings. It helped calm her so she could focus on the task ahead. She would be of no help to anyone if she acted on emotion rather than logic.
She scanned the trees, locating all eight shinobi she knew to be there. Kakashi and Tenzo had managed to kill off several others during their fight. They seemed to use a mixture of ninjutsu and kenjutsu. Most of the attacks were earth based, which she could easily evade in the air. She would have to be careful of their fire and lightning style attacks.
"Kotori," Raiden gently interrupted, his voice bringing her back to her body. She could see them up ahead with her own eyes.
Kakashi was racing through the trees. A shinobi pulled up alongside him, moving his hands through horse, serpent, ram -
She rushed through her seals, gathering chakra to form her lightning arrow. Her right arm pulled back in imitation of notching an imaginary bow. She could feel the crackle in the air as she released it. The lightning arrow shot through the back of the shinobi, causing him to crumble and fall to the ground.
Kakashi's head shot up. While the hound mask hid his reaction, she could feel his eyes on her. She covered him from above, giving a little wave. Kakashi nodded as he continued forward.
Kotori formed the seals to release another lighting arrow. Unfortunately, the enemy were expecting it and dodged it. A kunoichi sent her own lighting style jutsu back in retaliation. Raiden did a barrel roll to pull out of the way. They circled around; this time she changed tactics and released a typhoon wind that slammed into two shinobi who were gaining on Kakashi. The pair of enemy shinobi landed with a heavy thunk against the trunk of a tree. She had hoped to break their necks, but they seemed to be stirring on the ground.
Chika dee dee dee
Her chakra bird flew around Kakashi's head to capture his attention. It would lead him back to Yugao and Satoshi. He gave a sideways glance up at her.
"Follow it! I'll hold them off!"
"Hawk - " He was shaking his head.
"I've got this," she stressed. Raiden beat his wings, sending a gust of wind that once again sent the enemy hurdling back. She made the ANBU hand signs for 'Cat', 'Bear', 'One Hour' and 'Southeast'.
She could see the way he hesitated, not wanting to abandon her to take on seven shinobi alone. But they both knew Tenzo was in no condition to fight. She gently nudged him forward with one of their wind jutsu.
"Go."
She channelled as much chakra as she dared into releasing another typhoon wind. This time the enemy clung to trees, using their own chakra to avoid getting tossed around. A few smaller trees ripped out from the ground. Kotori quickly followed it up with a second typhoon wind. Not anticipating another so soon, the second one knocked a few of the enemy from their positions, throwing them several metres away.
Kotori ignored the way her vision blurred for a second or the lightheaded feeling from using too many chakra intensive jutsu. Her chakra reserves were smaller than the average jonin. She could not afford to be so wasteful with her attacks. However, she was able to reabsorb the chakra from nearby chakra birds. The result was similar to drinking coffee when needing a night's sleep. It would give her a boost for now, but she would crash afterwards.
From the corner of her eye, she watched as Kakashi disappeared through the forest. She would stall them as long as she could. Kotori knew she couldn't win, but she could wear them down. It would hopefully give Kakashi and Yugao the edge they needed.
"You're not going to be able to use that again," Raiden warned her.
"I know."
She rapidly formed the seals for her lightning arrow, this time releasing one after another. The enemy were able to scatter and her arrows exploded upon impact with the ground.
The kunoichi gathered chakra in her fist. Kotori and Raiden braced, ready to pull out of the way of an attack. However they were not prepared for the one that followed. She punched the ground beneath her. The ground rumbled, a splitting open in a large fault line that was heading straight for Kakashi. The ground exploded upwards in bursts of molten rock and gases.
Explosion release.
It had been years since Kotori had last seen its destructive power. It was a bloodline for one of the larger clans in Iwa. It didn't help that with their explosive power came explosive tempers. Many deflected and became rogue over the years.
Raiden took a sharp turn to the left, flying almost perpendicular to the ground as he tried to get out of the way of the blast. They raced towards Kakashi, pulling up alongside him and levelling out so he could jump on. He quickly swung Tenzo off of his back and onto Raiden's before leaping on behind him.
Despite the masks and the wind she could still hear Kakashi. "You shouldn't have come."
"What? And miss out on this?" She airily asked as she leaned to the right to avoid a lightning bolt that had been aimed for their backs.
"There's two with explosion release," Kakashi warned her. "They work together. The woman punches the ground and distracts you. Then the man creates a second explosion as you're avoiding the first."
Sure enough, the man had run up parallel to them. His fist connected with the ground, sending another explosion towards them.
"Hold on!" Raiden spiralled upwards in a steep climb, narrowly avoiding the debris.
"Well, two can play at that game," Kotori growled. She aimed another lightning arrow at one of their enemies. He jumped out of the way, only for Kakashi's shuriken to slice open his neck.
Two down. Six more to go. Kakashi quickly filled her in on the observations he had made from the remaining shinobi.
"They're running out of chakra," Kakashi added. "Their explosions were bigger when we ran into them. They also take longer to recover each time."
The only problem was that they were running out of chakra as well. Raiden was slowing with the combined weight on his back. Kakashi's breathing was heavier than usual. Kotori once again pushed past the signs of chakra exhaustion, absorbing more of her birds. Soon there would be none left in the surrounding area.
Raiden zigzagged through the trees, making it harder for enemy shinobi to throw projectiles at them. She could feel Kakashi following her lead as she maneuvered, her body twisting and turning in time with Raiden. Occasionally, Kakashi would throw his own kunai or shuriken, knocking a projectile away from them or forcing an enemy to leap out of the way.
It took twenty minutes before the kunoichi seemed to have recharged enough to try another explosion release. Her fist connected with the ground, sending a fault line at them once more. This time, they couldn't pull away in time. Debris hit Raiden off course, sending all of them to the ground. Kotori rolled through the dirt, feeling the rug burns from where she had landed on her side. One of the other shinobi came rushing forward, throwing a kunai towards Raiden.
She quickly dismissed her ninja hawk, sending him back to Mount Takagake. The kunai that had been aimed for her faithful partner embedded itself into the tree. She let out a sigh of relief. Raiden would be fine. She looked around and saw Kakashi moving to protect Tenzo's limp form. Kotori used her last chakra bird to locate the second shinobi with explosion release. She aimed a lightning arrow straight at his fist where he was gathering chakra for his explosion. It caused an implosion as her lightning arrow connected.
The kunoichi let out an agonized scream at the loss of her partner. The piercing sound felt like an arrow straight to the heart.
Two of the shinobi rushed towards Kotori to avenge their fallen comrade. She stood to her feet ready to defend herself. Kakashi split into a clone to come to her defence.
However there was no need. A particularly violent fireball came hurdling through the forest, burning the two shinobi to ash. Satoshi dropped out of the tree in a defensive position between them and the enemy. A flash of purple came from the opposite direction, darting forward to engage one of the remaining shinobi in a sword fight.
"What kind of hornet's nest did you boys step in this time?" Yugao shouted over the fray.
"Murder hornets," Kakashi deadpanned.
Satoshi slammed his fist into the ground and the seal light up underneath him and radiated out. Light shimmered over top of them as his barrier seal formed. Yugao was still on the outside, the clang of metal rang out as she danced in and out of battle.
"The barrier won't hold for long if they attack it," Satoshi advised them.
She knew it was a temporary measure for them to regroup. Tenzo's injuries still needed to be addressed as well.
Kakashi and Kotori looked at each other. She gave a little shrug. She was fine to continue. Kotori was not about to hide from a fight and she knew Kakashi would never sit it out. Both stepped outside the barrier to engage the remaining shinobi. It was three on three. The odds were somewhat even. Besides, Yugao was still fresh and Satoshi would be able to jump in if needed.
The kunoichi with explosion release charged after her while the third member of the party engaged Kakashi. Nearby she could hear Yugao taunting the swordsmen.
"Why do men always think the bigger the better? Hey, over here! You missed! Is that all you've got? I've had tougher fights with my brother and he's ten!"
Kotori was caught up in a whirlwind of her own hand to hand combat, blocking and parring with her kunai. She spun around, using her momentum to land a kick in the other woman's chest. The woman landed and punched the ground, sending up a smaller explosion of rock and debris. Kotori was forced to backflip out of the way.
While Kotori had succeeded in weakening the enemy, it had come at the cost of her own chakra. Her movements were also slowing. She aimed a trio of shuriken, but they hit a rock when the woman used a substitution jutsu. In turn, the woman threw a kunai with an explosive tag on it. Kotori body flickered out of the way, reappearing behind the kunoichi and grabbing her in a chokehold.
The kunoichi was much stronger and easily tossed Kotori off of her. She controlled the fall, rolling into a somersault. Kotori grabbed her kunai from her belt as she leapt up to her feet to face the woman. Both were circling each other. Kotori twirled the kunai in her hand as she looked for an opening.
"You killed him, you bitch!" The woman shrieked at her. "I'm going to destroy you."
Kotori was close enough to see the angry tears and the rage and grief on her face. The other kunoichi couldn't have been much older than Kotori. Whoever Kotori had killed - lover, friend, father, brother - had meant something to her.
She knew she wasn't supposed to humanize the enemy. In the shinobi world it was kill or be killed. Still it was hard not to empathize with the outpouring of grief. It could have been Kakashi. The very thought of it, if she had been too late, if the enemy had been a little stronger or a little faster -
Kotori faltered.
It was enough for the woman to send her flying into a tree with a roundhouse kick.
It knocked the wind out of her. Kotori tried to push herself up off the ground, her arms shaking from the effort. The edges of her vision swarm. Now was not the time to give into chakra exhaustion. She forced herself to stand up. Her legs wobbled beneath her and her head spun from the sudden movement. Kotori collapsed first on one knee and then once again to all fours. Her hands fisted the grass and dirt.
Get up, her mind screamed at her. Her body wanted nothing more than to give up.
The woman was rapidly approaching her, her fist glowing as she channelled chakra for her explosion release. Kotori tried to body flicker away however found she couldn't do it. In that moment she knew; she was going to die.
She regretted that she had such little time with Kakashi. Regretted that he would be present to once again witness another loved one's death. Regretted that Ensui and Aimi would have to suffer her loss so soon after Sayuri's.
I'm so sorry.
It never happened.
Kakashi appeared between her and the other woman. He immediately slammed both hands on the ground, his mud wall rising in place.
"No - !" Kotori screamed. She found the will to force herself off the ground to try and get to him. She covered her face with her arm as the explosion collided with the mud wall. Earth shattered and sprayed everywhere. Kakashi had disappeared somewhere in the explosion. Kotori's heart hammered in her chest when the smoke cleared.
He couldn't be -
A rage unlike any she had ever felt coursed through her veins. She was going to take this bitch out if it was the last thing she did.
The kunoichi gave a bitter smile as their eyes locked. "Now you know the pain."
As if Kotori wasn't familiar with pain. As if she hadn't lost family and friends and comrades over the years.
Suddenly, the earth opened next to the woman. Kakashi leapt out from the ground, chidori crackling in hand. He plunged it straight through the woman's chest, killing her instantly.
Kotori rushed forward, catching Kakashi as he collapsed to the ground. She laid him in a resting position, cursing herself for never bothering to learn more than basic field aid. He was still breathing and his pulse was strong. Chakra exhaustion was the likely culprit.
He was alive. Oh gods, he was alive. Kakashi blinked open his eye, looking a little dazed.
"You idiot!" She cried. She didn't know if she was worried, angry or relieved in that moment. A flood of emotions coursed through her chest. "You absolute fucking idiot. What the hell were you thinking?"
His eye closed into a happy little crescent. "You're alive."
"I'm - " she let out a strangled sob. She could feel hot tears running down her face. "Yes, I'm alive. But you could have been killed."
Kakashi had no response to that. He simply squeezed her hand.
"Okay, let me take a look." Satoshi was kneeling down next to them. His hands glowed with the eerie green light of medical ninjutsu.
If it weren't for the situation, Kotori might have laughed. Satoshi had no problem stripping Kakashi from the uniform right down to his boxers, but apparently removing the mask was too much.
"Broken ribs, some internal bleeding, chakra exhaustion," Satoshi started listing off. He gave a gruff sigh of relief. "You'll live to torment us another day."
"Tenzo?" Kakashi weakly asked.
"He's awake, just resting for now."
"Yugao?"
"She's sealing the bodies as we speak."
With the confirmation that his team was safe, Kakashi relaxed. Kotori rested Kakashi's head in her lap as Satoshi began healing the worst of his injuries. She combed through the silver locks. They were matted and dirty from soot and debris. His right eye cracked open to look at her.
"You know, if my medics were as pretty as you, I might have stayed in the hospital more."
Satoshi let out a chuckle. "Thanks Captain, didn't know you felt that way about me."
"Ahh, Satoshi. You're pretty too."
The adrenaline left her system and Kotori finally allowed herself to finally succumb to her chakra exhaustion. She slumped next to Kakashi, her hand still intertwined with his.
When Kotori woke up, her groggy mind registered that she was not on the cold, hard ground anymore. But rather in a bed surrounded by soft pillows. And someone was playing with her hair?
She cracked open an eye.
They were in her bedroom, back in Konoha. Sunlight was streaming in from her window. Kakashi was sitting up in her bed, his back resting against the headboard. He was idly reading a book with one hand while the other played with her hair. They were safe. They were home. That was all that mattered. Her brain was still too exhausted to properly function, so she drifted back to sleep.
She woke up again, still feeling exhausted. This time the sun had changed positions and was no longer shining directly into the room. She must have been asleep for hours. She realized someone must have washed her and dressed her. She was not in the ANBU uniform, but one of her sleeping shirts and a pair of shorts.
Kotori could still feel the bone aching utter exhaustion that came from using too much chakra. All of her limbs felt heavy. Her muscles ached. Her skin felt as if it was stretched too tight over her body. She rolled into Kakashi and buried her face into his side.
"My beloved thinks she can pretend to be comatose." He was entirely too cheerful for someone who should also be suffering chakra exhaustion.
"How long was I out?" She groaned.
"Four days, most of it was spent travelling back to Konoha. We've been back for about a day and a half. You gave Satoshi quite the scare," Kakashi told her. "So now we're both on bedrest."
"Shouldn't you be in the hospital?"
"I'm fine, nothing a few days of rest won't fix. I've been through this enough times. How are you feeling?"
"Like - " like death warmed over. However it seemed wrong to joke about such things when she had come so close to dying. Chakra exhaustion was also nothing to laugh about. It was the body's way of shutting down before dying. Pushing past all the warning signs could be fatal. "Like I could sleep for a week."
"That could be accommodated," he said. He closed his book and reached over to put it on the nightstand next to her. Then he settled back in, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her head into his chest. She couldn't fall back asleep, even as tired as she felt. Her mind was wide awake and thinking too much. However she felt content listening the steady beat of his heart, the rise and fall of his chest. She had done it. She had brought him back.
He held her in his arms for a very long time. He had a surprisingly firm grip for someone who had collapsed from chakra exhaustion four days ago. Kotori couldn't have moved even if she felt like it. A lazy week at home recuperating with her boyfriend was exactly what the doctor ordered.
Kakashi rested his chin on top of her head. His voice was so quiet she almost didn't hear him. She could feel the movement of his jaw and knew for a fact it wasn't a figment of her imagination.
"I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you."
She pulled back to look at him. His sharingan was covered by a cloth wrapped around his head, but his visible grey eye looked suspiciously red. "Kakashi - ?"
He tugged the mask down, meeting her lips in a gentle kiss. His forehead pressed against hers when they broke apart.
"When I saw you weren't getting up, I thought I was going to lose you. That you saved me at the expense of your own life. Don't ever do that, I'm not worth it."
"Of course you're worth it, Kakashi, I - "
He cut her off, shaking his head. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful you came. I'm grateful I get to live to see you again. But you shouldn't have been there. That mission was too dangerous for you."
"I think I proved otherwise," she waspishly replied. "I know you've been holding me back. An infiltration mission? I should have been involved from the start and you know it."
"No."
"Excuse me?" She managed to free herself from his grip. She didn't want to be cuddling for this conversation. She sat up, turning to face him. The blanket fell to her waist.
Kakashi sighed as he sat up too. He fiddled with the cloth that covered his sharingan.
"Don't overestimate your ability. That will get you killed. You were lucky on this one." His tone was cool now. This was not her boyfriend speaking, but the seasoned ANBU captain. "That was an S-Rank mission, I would have never involved you in it. You're rated B-Rank for a reason."
"And who decides that?"
"Mostly me," Kakashi admitted. His eyes averted and he was looking at his lap. "But nothing is stopping you from asking for a second opinion."
"Would it matter?" She challenged. What good was a rating or rank when Kakashi was still the one deciding what missions to send her on?
"It would mean the Hokage or Commander could put you on more dangerous missions. It wouldn't change how I felt. So long as you're on my team, I'll assign you missions I know you'll come back from or I'll be there by your side."
"I'm not some helpless little girl who needs your protection."
"I don't think that." He seemed confused, his eyebrows furrowed together.
Perhaps it was because she was female. Or perhaps it was because she was young or soft spoken or small. Or maybe it was a combination of all these reasons, but Kotori found she was often not taken seriously as a kunoichi. People underestimated her. Which was fatal if you were a foe, but frustrating when it was her own comrades. It was a sore spot, one that Kakashi unknowingly poked with his constant need to protect her. She had hoped her own boyfriend, who knew her abilities, would be able to respect her. Instead, he was the worst offender.
"Well, you act like it and it's insulting."
"I'm sorry. It's not that I think that way. You're not just my girlfriend - I'm responsible for your life. Every time I send any of you out - you, Genma, Yugao, Tenzo - I need to make sure you'll be coming back. If I overestimate your abilities, or underestimate the enemy, if I fail - " he trailed off, shaking his head. "I'm a failure. I couldn't protect the people I care about, not when it mattered. Obito, Rin, Sensei, I can't - I won't - fail this time."
"Kakashi - " there was so much wrong. The simple way he declared himself a failure. The stress that he carried on his shoulders. The absolute broken tone in his voice. "You're not a failure. I'm sorry, I didn't know how much stress this caused you."
She felt useless as she pulled him into her, holding him wasn't a solution. There were no words that would ease the weight of responsibilities or sooth his past failures.
"Would it be easier if I wasn't on your team?" She eventually asked.
He simply shook his head. "I'd rather know where you are and that I can be there for you."
"Fine, but you should know that I'll always be there for you too."