"Sorano Kotori," Tsunade greeted her without looking up from her paperwork. It was Kotori's first time meeting the new Hokage since she had taken office. Tsunade was working her way through meeting all of the ANBU and regular forces. "Codename Hawk. Current Acting Head of Internal Affairs."
"I wouldn't say - " Kotori wasn't Head of anything and certainly not acting as one. She had only offered to help with paperwork.
Tsunade stopped her paperwork, glancing up at her for the first time. Her calculating brown eyes assessed Kotori. "Well, Hinoki says so and I trust she knows who's been handling her duties. Fortunately, Masato is on the mend and will be resuming his regular duties. Which means you're in need of a reassignment."
The ANBU Commander had been among those that Lady Tsunade had been able to heal on her return. Something that had given the exhausted ANBU forces a much needed confidence boost.
"I've reviewed your file. You're an interesting contradiction, aren't you? The reviews from your captains and your mission reports don't line up. Nara, Hatake, Tachibana - they've all treated you like some fragile little songbird who needs to be protected. Not suited for ANBU, not suited for combat - what an absolute load of mission record clearly shows otherwise. Hinoki saw something in you. Out of everyone who could step in while her husband was in the hospital, she chose you. Do you know what I see?"
Kotori did not like where this was going. She thought her return to ANBU was only temporary and once things smoothed over she could petition to leave it altogether. Her plan was to ask to take on another genin team.
"I see a bird of prey." She flung a scroll at Kotori. "There's your new team, Captain Hawk."
xXx
In a weird way, it felt good to be taking missions again. Kotori thrived on being active and surrounded by people. Not tucked away in a back office doing paperwork. She breathed in deeply as she leapt tree branch to tree branch, enjoying the fresh pine scent and the wind in her hair. After her first successful mission as an ANBU captain she felt calm.
"Where's your new cloak anyway?" Genma teased her, referring to the white ANBU captain cloak.
Kotori smiled despite herself. "I had to get it hemmed. Apparently I'm shorter than the usual captain."
She didn't think she would wear it on missions anyway. Few of the captains did unless necessary to distinguish themselves in a crowd. Otherwise it put an unnecessary target on their back.
Her ANBU team - the newly formed Team Ke - consisted of Satoshi, Genma and Raidou for the meantime. She would be reassigned two junior ANBU once Genma and Raidou joined Tsunade's guard platoon permanently, but for now all experienced ANBU were needed on missions. Kotori felt like an imposter leading them. The first time Satoshi had called her 'captain' had her looking for Kakashi or Tenzo before realizing he meant her. The others were all much older than her and had been in ANBU longer far longer. Kotori was used to being their peer on missions. Fortunately it was easy to fall into a pattern with them. They had all worked together for so long that it was second nature.
Chika dee dee dee
All four of them paused at the warning cry of her chakra birds.
"I'm beginning to hate that sound," Raidou groused. "It never means anything good."
"There's four shinobi from Oto," Kotori said, holding her bird seal to get a look at them. "Carrying some sort of barrel. Headed north, away from Konoha."
"Stole something then," Genma muttered. "Question is, what?"
Using her chakra birds to locate someone was an imperfect art, especially when the forest all looked the same. Kotori released her jutsu, frustrated that she couldn't find a landmark that easily identified their location. It didn't help that the Oto shinobi recognized there was something off about her birds and kept killing them.
"Spread out, we'll find them."
She and Satoshi went one direction while Raidou and Genma went in another. They circled around the forest, but between Kotori's chakra birds and Satoshi's sensory abilities, found nothing.
"It's quiet," Satoshi suspiciously muttered.
There wasn't the usual chirping of songbirds in the area and all around them the forest felt eerily still. Kotori and Satoshi shared a worried glance before an explosion rocked the earth. They took off at once, heading back in the direction that Genma and Raidou had went in.
Only to find both knocked unconscious and severely wounded.
"Raidou! Genma!" Kotori shouted as she rushed over towards them. She knelt next to Genma, checking his vitals. He was still breathing... although it was laboured.
"I can't believe these two could have been taken down...!" Satoshi said as he began treating Raidou's wounds.
She felt useless as she moved Genma into a more comfortable position and began administering the basic field aid that she knew. The most she could do was stand guard as Satoshi attended to both of them. Her chakra birds forming a perimeter around them, scanning for activity.
"The best I can do right now is a stop-gap treatment," he finally said, sitting back on his heels. "We need to get them back to Konoha for surgery."
"I'm going to hunt those guys down." Kotori balled her fists, furious at what had happened to her friends. "Raiden will take you back."
"No!"
"Wait, Kotori," Genma coughed. "The jutsu that those guys have is not one of ordinary shinobi. If you go after them alone, you'll only die."
She closed her eyes, drawing a deep breath... He was right. Damn him for being right. Kotori knew her own strength and if Genma and Raidou combined couldn't do it, what good was she on her own against four of Orochimaru's shinobi? Kotori would round up a team of heavy hitters to go after them. Hopefully Tenzo and Yugao were in the village, but there were other jonin she could count on. Asuma, Gai... even Kakashi... For now, they had two injured comrades they needed to get back to Konoha.
Their entrance to the emergency room was greeted by a shriek from Shiori as she rushed over to her husband's side. Her white doctors robes billowed behind her. Satoshi placed Raidou on a gurney while a team rushed over to attend. Kotori was supporting Genma, her arm wrapped around him as most of his body weight leaned into her. She signalled for two of the nurses to help place him onto a second gurney.
"You can't operate on family," one of the doctors told Shiori, pushing her aside.
"Like hell I can't!" Shiori fired back.
"Ah, come on Shiori, he'll be fine," Genma weakly tried to distract her. "Why don't you scold me as you patch me up? That always makes you feel better."
Kotori half listened as Satoshi filled in Lady Tsunade on their injuries. Both he and Kotori briskly followed her as she barked out orders and prepped for surgery. Kotori was waiting for her chance to request a team to go after the Oto shinobi when she noticed one of her birds landed on the tree outside the hospital window.
Chika dee dee dee
Dread curled in the pit of her stomach as she held her fingers in the bird seal. Her mind tunnelled through her chakra bird network, each sight causing her more and more worry. Akimichi Choji was slumped next to a tree. Meanwhile Hyuga Neji had collapsed on the forest floor. She urged her chakra birds closer. Both boys were breathing, but severely injured. She continued scanning the forest, looking for any others. She found Kiba, who was still conscious and attending to Akamaru's wounds while Naruto was facing another Oto shinobi on his own. Finally she shifted to the last member of their group. Shikamaru was crouched somewhere in the bushes, his hands together in a downward circle as if he was thinking. He glanced at her chakra bird from the corner of his eye.
"Oh, it's you."
Her chakra bird puffed up its chest while warbling at him. She hadn't realized Shikamaru knew her secret technique, but supposed it made sense he had figured it out over the years.
"Yeah, I know. It's not looking good. If you could extract the others... I'll figure it out. I think Choji took the red pill and he wouldn't have done that unless he had no other choice - "
Shikamaru's expression wavered, no longer looking confident. Her bird warbled, trying to reassure him she would find his friends. She head-butted his knee before releasing her jutsu.
Lady Tsunade looked expectantly at her. "Well?"
"Choji-kun and Neji-kun have been gravely injured, but were able to defeat two of the Oto shinobi. Shikamaru-kun, Kiba-kun and Naruto-kun are facing the remaining three shinobi, including two of the four who took down Genma and Raidou."
Lady Tsunade's gaze softened, worry lines in her brow. "You're in charge. Take Satoshi-san and Shizune with you. I've requested backup, but if you get there first provide whatever assistance you can. Their original mission objective was to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke, however yours will be to provide medical aid to Shikamaru's team and return those who have been injured to Konoha. I'll dispatch the second medical corps after you."
"Yes Tsunade-sama. Satoshi, I'll meet you and Shizune-san at the gates in twenty."
Kotori used the time to make a few stops to restock her ninja tools, change into her standard issued flak jacket and pick up a few items for the mission. She found Satoshi and Shizune waiting for her at the gate.
Shizune clung nervously behind her, unused to the breakneck speeds that Kotori flew whenever she had a rescue mission. Satoshi was also quiet, although from experience Kotori knew he was trying not to be ill.
Kotori was completely at ease, allowing Raiden to take the lead while she used her chakra birds to examine the various fights between the remaining Oto shinobi. She prioritized rescuing Choji and Neji first while she would go on to help the others. First, she dropped Satoshi off to attend to Choji and Shizune to attend to Neji. She would send Raiden off to pick up Kiba and Akamaru to regroup. Satoshi's barrier jutsu should be enough to protect the group while he and Shizune worked on stabilizing the boys. Meanwhile Kotori would help Shikamaru take care of Tayuya and the two of them could regroup with Naruto and Lee to help them take down Kimimaru. Kotori was counting on Tayuya being an easy victory. Her wind style attacks should be able to block Tayuya's sound waves. That would give Shikamaru the opening he needed to finish her off.
"What the - " The forest surrounding Shikamaru and Tayuya's battle had been completely destroyed about halfway up. Kotori didn't think Shikamaru could cause that level of destruction on his own... He would see it as a waste of energy. Moves like that were incredibly chakra intensive after all.
Fear for the boy filled her as she urged Raiden forward, giving more chakra to increase his speed. She circled around, finding Shikamaru standing with... Temari of all people. The younger wind user seemed smug and Kotori immediately understood what had caused the destruction. The trees were all clean cut, sliced from a wind jutsu.
"Need a lift?" Kotori asked the pair of them as Raiden pulled alongside the tree.
She made two more trips, tracking down Kiba and Kankuro and then Lee and Gaara. Thankfully the rest of the genin had made it out of their fights as the victor... if only due to the backup from Suna. Naruto had continued in pursuit of Sasuke, and Kotori's birds had caught up to Kakashi who was in pursuit of his two students. Kotori released her jutsu, trusting that Kakashi would sort them out.
While Satoshi and Shizune continued to attend to Choji and Neji's more serious injuries, Kotori checked in with the other members of the group.
"And then Gaara showed up - " Lee cheerfully regaled her with his and Gaara's fight. He did a couple of swipes before sidestepping and stumbling into an unimpressed looking Kankuro.
"Hey! Watch it!"
"Why don't you, ah, drink some water and walk that off?" Kotori awkwardly told an intoxicated Lee. "But don't wander too far!"
"I'll keep an eye on him," Gaara solemnly responded behind her.
Kotori had to fight the chill that went down her spine at his voice. Supposedly Gaara had a change of heart after the invasion, but Kotori was still wary of him and his siblings. Gaara had been a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at a moment's notice. Temari and Kankuro had been active in planning the invasion and aiming Gaara where he needed to be.
It was hard to forgive what Suna had done to them when faced with the reality of it every day. But yet...
Kotori watched Gaara awkwardly try and herd Lee to the group while Kiba threw a medic kit that hit the back of Kankuro's head. Tsunade had requested them and Suna had responded, saving Kiba, Lee and Shikamaru in the process. Suna who was no doubt struggling with heavy losses themselves.
Against her better judgement, Kotori extended an offer to the Sand Siblings. "Konoha isn't far from here and your team could use the rest. You should spend the night and then head out fresh."
Temari seemed surprised at the invitation. "Are you sure? We've enough supplies to get back to Suna from here."
She wasn't sure. However Konoha and Suna needed to start healing the wound eventually.
"Boy genius hasn't said a word," Temari snarked. "Must be feeling pretty emasculated after I saved his ungrateful ass."
Kotori gave her a reproachful glare, protective of the boy she had known since he was only a few weeks old. However Temari's quick worried glance towards Shikamaru was not as sharp as her words.
Kotori examined him from the corner of her eye. He was sitting on the ground, staring at Choji with a lost expression on his face. He had managed to hold it together until confronted with the reality that his best friend was severely injured. As Shikamaru was the least injured, the focus was on the others who required more immediate care. He was holding an empty container that had three compartments in it. Kotori knew enough about the Akimichi to know they weren't supposed to take all three pills.
Kotori sat down crossed legged next to him. "I got your message. Kosuke gave me some medicine that she thought would slow down the effects of the red pill. Once Satoshi gives me the okay, I'll go on ahead and bring him back to Konoha."
Shikamaru numbly nodded. Kotori fought down the urge to give empty reassurances, knowing Shikamaru was smart enough to see past them.
"You're not injured, are you?"
"It's nothing - just a broken finger."
Kotori held out her hand expectantly. While she couldn't do much for the others, she could heal a broken finger.
"Ow! I thought women were supposed to be gentle." His voice had no real bite to it as he pulled his hand back.
"If you prefer, I can ask Temari-san to split it. She seems the soft and gentle type."
He didn't bother responding to her obvious bait, instead allowing her to finish splinting it. Ninjutsu users needed use of their fingers and he wouldn't risk it healing badly.
"Captain," Satoshi acknowledged her. His eyes flickered to Shikamaru as if hesitant to continue. "I've managed to stabilize Choji-kun, enough to transport him back to Konoha."
Kotori nodded, before calling out to Shizune. "How is Neji-kun doing?"
"This is beyond anything we can do for him in the field," Shizune admitted. "The seal I put on his wound won't hold for long. The sooner we get him back, the better his chances."
She stood up and stretched. "Well, leave that to me."
While she would have preferred to send the two injured boys back with Shizune or Satoshi, the truth was neither was as comfortable nor skilled at flying as her. Even Kotori had never attempted to fly two unconscious people at once before. Usually she flew while she had another person holding the unconscious party. Kotori climbed on top of Raiden, getting in place so that Satoshi could pass her the two boys. She wrapped one arm around Choji, who Satoshi had placed in front of her, while reaching behind herself to use chakra to secure Neji. She channeled chakra to her thighs and calves to keep herself seated on Raiden's back.
"Be careful," Satoshi told her. His voice barely a whisper. "I didn't want to upset Shikamaru-kun, but Choji-kun's vitals aren't good. The Akimichi store chakra in body fat and he's lost so much weight - I did what I could."
She looked down at the boy. He was too thin... even for a regular shinobi. "I've never lost someone on a rescue mission and I'm not about to start now."
Raiden took to the air at a fast, but steady, pace. Keeping three people in place while flying at ridiculously fast speeds took an intensive amount of chakra control that tested even Kotori's ability. Finally they arrived in village, Kotori signalling to Izumo and Kotetsu down below at the gate. They were met on the hospital rooftop by a team of medics who quickly took Choji and Neji away.
Kotori lingered around the hospital, waiting to hear news. She tossed herself onto an empty bed in Genma and Raidou's hospital room, fatigue finally setting in from doing back to back missions. By the time she woke up, everyone was out of surgery and expected to make full recoveries. She stretched as she walked along the hospital ward. She should really get home before Tsunade remembered she existed and sent her off on another mission.
Kotori caught a flash of silver in her peripheral vision. Kakashi was sitting alone in waiting room seven with his head bowed. His hair was damp from rain and hung lower than usual.
"Naruto-kun - ?" She asked as she approached him.
Kakashi looked up, a defeated expression in his lone eye.
"He's in surgery now. Sasuke - " Kakashi shook his head. "Sasuke tried to kill him."
Words failed her in that moment. She couldn't imagine the devastation she would feel if two of her students went after each other with the intent to kill. Kotori had seen Naruto and Sasuke go at each other once before on the hospital rooftop. She had dispatched a team of ANBU to intercept when her birds started chirping, but fortunately Kakashi had been able to get there before them. But not this time.
"Where is he now?"
Kakashi's shoulders slumped. "He went with Orochimaru. I failed him. I should have done more. "
"The village failed Sasuke. You've only had him for seven months, but his clan was killed six years ago. That's a long time to let a wound fester." She bridged the gap between them, taking his hand and squeezing it. "It's not your fault. They gave you a team with more issues than anyone could be expected to handle. And then they didn't give you the time you needed. The odds were stacked against you from the start."
Kakashi looked like he was hanging on to her words like a drowning man clung to a raft. His hand closed around hers in a loose hold. Kotori knew if she pulled her hand away he wouldn't fight it.
"Please wait with me. I - I'm tired of being alone."
She was surprised at his request, but nodded anyway. She sat on the bench across from him, the pair waiting in silence until Tsunade came out.
"He's awake if you would like to see him."
Kotori smiled encouragingly while Kakashi followed Tsunade into the hospital room. Once the door swung shut, she stood up to leave. She found Aoba leaning against the other side of the wall, his arms crossed and a frown on his face.
"I didn't say anything when he was in the hospital. I guess I didn't want to believe it." While she could hear the anger in his voice, Aoba sounded mostly resigned.
"He needed a friend. I couldn't just leave him."
"Well, he certainly had no problem leaving you when you were at your lowest."
"His student just ran off to join Orochimaru, give him a fucking break," Kotori snapped. "His student who - I might add - was fine until someone went shooting his mouth off that Itachi was back."
"You're still holding that over my head? It was a mistake and you know what, I'm not apologizing again for it. I'm done. I watched you hurt over him for years and the moment he speaks to you, you'll forgive him? Just like that? Are you really that pathetic?"
Something about being called pathetic really pissed her off. Not after everything she had survived. Aoba did not get to judge her for wanting to turn the page and be at peace with that chapter of her life.
"How dare you - !" She seethed. "You weren't the injured party, you don't get to decide whether I should forgive him or not. I'm tired of being hurt and angry, I thought you wanted me to make peace with my past and move on."
"Yeah, with me! I wanted you to make peace and move on with me, but you couldn't do that. You keep me at arm's length, you've had one foot out the door the entire time. But the moment he needs you, you're there." Aoba all but shouted at her. "You know what, when he's done using you for emotional support, I won't be waiting."
"Is everything okay?"
Kotori stiffened at Kakashi's voice, wondering how much he had overheard. Knowing her luck... probably the entire thing. Aoba wasn't exactly quiet and Kakashi had good hearing.
Aoba's jaw clenched as he stared back at Kakashi. His own voice just as quiet, just as deadly. "You couldn't let her move on, could you? You just had to keep appearing and jerking her around. Whatever. I hope one day she wakes up and realizes you're not worth it."
Kotori crossed her arms, watching Aoba storm off from the corner of her eye. She should probably chase after him. But she was too angry. Most of it at him because she had given him her terms and wanted to take things slow, but he kept pushing her boundaries time and time again. He had been the one to go house hunting while she was still figuring it out. And then he went and blew up in a jealous fit and called her pathetic.
The word was still ringing in her ear.
She was angry at herself too. Angry for not being able to give Aoba what he wanted. Angry at not being successful at keeping Kakashi away.
"Aoba's an arrogant bastard and he's wrong... about a lot of things. You deserve better."
"So did he." She should have ended things long ago. Was she that pathetic and afraid to be alone?
Kakashi looked like he wanted to say more. So Kotori quickly cut him off. "I should probably go - it's been a long day."
"Yeah, I'm supposed to be on a mission," Kakashi groaned. He pulled out a crumpled S-Rank from his pocket before giving her a jaunty wave and disappearing in a cloud of smoke.