AN This is a bit of a shorter chapter as I was struggling with writer's block. I wanted a break from heavy topics so have some fluff as Kotori and Kakashi interact and troll the kids. XD

It started innocent enough.

Kotori's morning routine usually included a trip to Senju Park to practice her katas or to go jogging in the trails behind it. She had started noticing Kakashi around more and more often. It wasn't obvious at first. Sometimes it was weeks before she saw him again. But eventually she caved when she noticed he and the entire pack trailing her one morning. It must have taken considerably effort to go at her pace because Kakashi and his ninken were much faster than her by foot. Shiba had been particularly smug when she slowed down and asked if they wanted to join her.

After that, Kakashi started joining Kotori for morning workouts whenever they were both in the village. Whether it was silently joining her for katas or jogging with her on the trails. Some days they sparred together. She knew he was getting close to her in the only way he knew how. And... it was working. They had something to talk about that wasn't the past and it gave them something to do together. It was all too easy to fall back into old habits and familiar banter. Kotori found herself looking forward to these sessions. It was difficult between their schedules, but they managed to meet a few times a month. It felt good to train with someone at a higher level than herself. Kotori realized that she hadn't been properly challenged since she had left Team Ro.

It was certainly humbling to find herself pushed up against a tree, a kunai casually held against her throat. She made a frustrated growl in the back of her throat.

"Do you yield?" He asked. His lone grey eye pining her in place more than any blade.

She could feel her heart hammering, blood pumping through her veins and adrenaline coursing through her. She wasn't quite finished yet. With a burst of chakra, she attempted to overpower him and push him off of her. Her leg twisted around his, pulling them both onto the ground as she struggled to get free and create space between them. However Kakashi knew her weaknesses just as well as she knew his. He was bigger and physically stronger than her. In hand-to-hand combat, he always came out on top. The two of them wrestled on the ground for the kunai that had been dropped in the fray. Kotori grabbed it first, straddling his chest - only for him to regain control, flipping them over so that she was on her back.

And then he was on top of her, using his right arm to pin her left arm over her head while her fist held the kunai in a death grip, struggling to get free once again. Both of their chests were heaving as they stared at each other. Hot and sweaty, limbs tangled together and suddenly her blood was pumping for an entirely different reason. Kotori stubbornly pushed the intrusive thoughts away, but damn it was hard. She hadn't been with anyone since she ended things with Aoba. While she was technically single, it felt wrong to do anything with someone else while she and Kakashi did whatever it was they were doing.

"I- uh, yield," she said, nervously licking her lips.

He let her go. Faster than her mind could process, he was standing over her and offering a hand to pull her up.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Kakashi asked.

Kotori paused, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Tomorrow was her free day and she wasn't planning on training. "Sure. Same place?"

Kakashi's only response was a delighted eye smile before he waved and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

For once, Kotori was happy that showers in the ANBU locker room were freezing cold because she could certainly use one before meeting her team. She let the water run over her head, closing her eyes as she focused on breathing, trying to stay in longer than she had the last time. Ever since the incident, she preferred bathing to showers. Or when she was forced to be practical, she took them as quickly as possible. She couldn't stand the familiar ringing in her ears or the way her pulse speed up.

Not again, she let out a gasp as she fumbled with the taps. She grabbed her towel off the hook, patting herself dry with it.

"Are you trying to drown yourself?" Yugao called out. "Satoshi sent me to get you. You're channelling a little too much Kakashi with the lateness."

Yugao had none of her usual spark as she leaned against one of the lockers. There were dark bags under her eyes as if she hadn't been sleeping properly. Between losing Hayate and burying herself in missions, it wasn't a surprise. Yugao had been throwing herself into back to back missions with such a ferocity that Kotori wondered if she had a death wish. Tenzo had forced her to stay in the village and take some time, putting Yugao on ANBU patrols. He was worried about her. They all were. However Kotori knew that Yugao hated being treated with kid gloves, as if she might fall apart any second. It was part of the reason she was avoiding some of the others. Aimi, in particular, liked to talk about feelings. Kotori tried to give Yugao some normalcy, as Yugao had done for her all those years ago.

"Even years later, he's a terrible influence," Kotori quipped. She quickly got dressed in her uniform as Yugao waited. After a final glance at herself in the small magnetic mirror, Kotori closed the locker.

"For what it's worth, I'm glad you're giving him another chance," Yugao stopped her before she could leave. "Both of you deserve that."

xXx

"You're doing it wrong, Forehead!"

"Shut up, Ino-Pig!"

Kotori paused as she entered her favourite training ground, surprised by the shrill shrieking of the two teenaged girls. To be fair, both girls seemed just as surprised to see her. Sakura and Ino both went quiet. Sakura's cheeks were still flushed with anger and Ino was still scowling. Choji was glancing between them, causally munching on chips as if he was watching a spectator's sport. Naturally, Kakashi was missing.

She couldn't help but feel tricked. The next chunin exam was rapidly approaching and Kakashi had made comments about her helping his team prepare. Kotori had always demurred that she was too busy. Which was true, her new position as ANBU captain kept her busy even as the village started to go back to normal. Hinoki had also taken a liking to Kotori and had dozens of internal projects for her on top of the usual ANBU missions and team training. Kotori didn't have a whole lot of time to devote to Kakashi's team and besides, they already had Asuma and Kakashi. They didn't need her.

Well, since she was here she might as well have a little fun.

"Hey, are you guys Kakashi's team by any chance?" She improvised. "I'm supposed to give you a message. He said he's running just a tiny bit late."

Sakura's eye twitched while Ino's face reddened in anger. Kotori tried not to giggle. It was half past seven on a Saturday morning and she would hazard a guess that the kids had been here for a while. Kotori was an early bird and even she didn't bother to get her team to meet much before eight. Teenagers were such miserable creatures in the mornings. In fact... Kotori looked around before finding the sleeping teen under the tree. He had used the shade to make himself less noticeable.

"Shikamaru, wake up!" She sing-songed.

"It's so early," he grumbled, squinting up at her. "Asuma-sensei never makes us get up this early for training. What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Yeah, well, Asuma isn't here. You can't nap under the tree all day. Let's go!" Kotori said in a cheery voice that was sure to get on his nerves. She missed the fun parts of being a jonin sensei. Like convincing her students to do all sorts of mock missions that were really just excuses to pester her fellow jonin. "Kakashi set up something for you guys. It's a mock infiltration mission. You're supposed to break into his apartment and fetch something. He said you'll know when you see it?"

Sakura looked thoughtful, resting her chin against her finger. "I don't even know where he lives."

"Guess that's part of the mission," Kotori hinted.

"We can just break into the records room. His personnel file should have that." Ino flipped her ponytail over her shoulder, confident with her plan.

Sakura's face lit up with glee. "Do you think there's a picture without his mask?"

"Probably," Kotori egged them on. "Administration is pretty strict about those things."

Shikamaru let out a sigh. "What a drag. Someone like Kakashi would be at least A Rank. That's going to be in the most secure room."

"Hm, more like S Rank," Kotori brightly said, waving them off. "Well, good luck!

Kotori was lounging under the tree when Kakashi finally showed up... a full fifty-five minutes later.

"What have you done with my cute little students?"

Kotori gave him her brightest smile. "I gave them a mock mission to break into your apartment and retrieve something. I thought you wanted me to train them, and since that's my speciality - "

Kakashi started laughing, bent over at the waist in more mirth than she had ever seen him before. Eventually he straightened up. "You sent Ino and Sakura to snoop through my stuff?"

"Yeah -?" Kotori was starting to wonder if this was a bad idea. Who knew what they'd find in Kakashi's apartment. She hadn't set them up to be emotionally scared for life, had she?

"They're going to look at my personnel files that still have you listed as my girlfriend and next of kin?"

"You didn't update that?!"

She had given him the form and everything! Kotori didn't know what was worse. Sending the kids to break into Iruka's apartment or accidentally setting Sakura and Ino loose on their dating history. If there was one thing Kotori knew, it was that genin were relentless when they thought their sensei was dating someone. The amount of times her own kids tried to spy on her and a guy… or would nudge each other and snicker... or all but throw her at some guy they thought she should date...

"Heh," she grinned. "It's okay because there's a phase two to this training. A pair of rogue jonin trying to sabotage them."

Which was how Kotori found herself breaking into the records room with Kakashi ahead of the kids. They replaced the contents of his personnel folder with a post-it note, a henohenomoheji on it. Just in the nick of time as the door to the records room opened and they could hear the not-so-subtle whispering of the kids. It was impressive that they had gotten here so quickly, Kotori had thought it would take them the better part of the day to slip past the ANBU guards.

She pulled Kakashi behind a set of filing cabinets, the two of them pressed up together between the wall and the cabinets as they listened to his students.

"The moment of truth!" Ino said. "I think he has a clef lip."

"I think he has fish lips," Sakura said.

The two girls stared at their male companions until Choji awkwardly sputtered, "Uh, maybe he's got a mole?"

"There's nothing wrong with him, he just likes taking the piss out of everyone," Shikamaru muttered. "What?"

Ino must have elbowed him really hard because he was rubbing his upper arm and giving her a dirty look.

"Has anyone ever told you you're no fun?" Ino scolded him.

Kotori and Kakashi eagerly waited in silence as the kids opened the folder. They were met with the beautiful chorus of annoyed groans.

"Are you kidding me?" Sakura's eyebrow twitched.

"There's got to be another way," Ino grumbled. "Does he have any friends we can ask? Or a girlfriend? We could check her file, they might live together."

"Not really. I don't think Kakashi-sensei has a girlfriend," Sakura said. "Who would date him? He's kind of weird."

Kotori leaned forward, burying her face into Kakashi's shoulder as she tried to keep herself from snickering.

Kakashi hung his head and muttered close to her ear. "Such abuse."

Shikamaru made an amused noise from where he was thumbing through the other S Ranked files and Kotori almost thought he would give them away.

"Oh, what about that kunoichi?" Sakura tapped her chin if she was trying to remember Kotori's name. "I know I've seen her before. I think they're friends."

"Her name is Kotori and she's obviously in on it," Shikamaru quickly dismissed. "She'll send us in circles. We could ask Kurenai-sensei. Or maybe Gai-sensei. One of them should know."

"Come on then!" Ino urged them.

Without the kids around, Kotori became painfully aware of how she was pressed up against Kakashi. How his hips pinned hers into the filing cabinet. How his hand rested against her side. How she could smell the earthy tones of sandalwood. She stopped herself from inhaling deeply, the tempting smell triggering memories of better times.

"We should, ah, probably continue to make sure your kids don't get into trouble," Kotori said, becoming aware of how he was looking at her.

"Right."

Kakashi moved as if he wanted to scratch the back of his head, but there wasn't enough room. The two of them stumbled out from behind the cabinet, Kakashi holding her hand as she found her balance.

"I have to ask - " Kakashi's eye curved into a happy crescent. "You're not going to tell them what's under the mask?"

"And ruin your fun?" Kotori pretended to think about it. "Never. Your secret is safe with me."

Kakashi and Kotori spent the rest of the morning following his team, impersonating various shinobi in their village and sending the kids on a wild goose hunt. Kakashi impersonated Gai, who sent them to Iruka's apartment. Kotori impersonated Kurenai, who sent them to Genma's apartment. Aimi answered the door and decided to play along, sending the kids to Izumo's apartment. It was well past noon when the four teenagers came back to the training field, tired, grumpy and defeated.

Kakashi took his book out, walking up to them at a leisurely pace. "Yo! Sorry I'm late, moving to my new place took longer than I thought."

Kotori's chickadee happily warbled in the tree above them as the kids berated him. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye before he closed it in a pleased smile.