Ino, Shikamaru and Choji stood before Tsunade and Shizune in the Hokage office.
"We've received intel that Deidara is in the same area as Team Kakashi," Tsunade explained. "We cannot risk them crossing paths - Deidara may use the opportunity to try and take Naruto. He's done so in the past. That's why I'll be sending you to intercept Deidara. Your goal is to keep him busy while Captain Yamato leads Naruto, Sakura and Sai back to the village. Usually I would send you with Asuma, however he is also on a mission. So I'll be assigning someone else."
"Deidara," Shikamaru thoughtfully said. "An earth style user who favours long range explosive attacks. We'll need someone jonin level to substitute for Asuma-sensei. A heavy hitter who can handle going up against the Akatsuki. Ideally a long range fighter with some lighting style jutsu in their arsenal. Is Kakashi available?"
"No, or I would have assigned him to this squad," Tsunade said. "I don't normally do this, but considering the risk. I'm pulling one of my best ANBU captains to assign to this mission."
"Great," Shikamaru said, blinking in surprise. He had a tendency to negotiate high for skilled shinobi on his team before settling for whoever was given. It wasn't often that Tsunade conceded. "I'll need a list of his skill set so I can work out a plan."
Kotori decided now would be a good time to release her camouflage jutsu and reveal where she was sitting cross legged on the windowsill.
"I'm sure Captain Kotori would fill you in on her skill set," Tsunade said. "Although I believe you are already acquainted."
"What a drag," Shikamaru sighed. But Kotori could already see the wheels turning as Shikamaru formulated a plan with what he must have already known or suspected about her skills.
"Time is of the essence, so all of you will need to leave within the hour," Tsunade informed them.
Kotori was already prepared to leave - she had switched from her ANBU uniform to the jonin fatigues when Tsunade had sent for Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. Forty minutes later, the four of them left the village and were heading north for the Land of Hot Water.
"You have a ninja hawk," Shikamaru said.
"He's only big enough to fit three."
"Troublesome. Squads are usually made up of four."
"Trust me, I'm aware." Kotori leapt from tree to tree. She wasn't willing to split the group this early. Perhaps if they were in a pinch she could take Raiden and fly ahead while the other three came as backup. For now, her birds had located Yamato and delivered the message for him to be on guard. He had been leading Team Kakashi on a B Rank to keep Naruto away as Itachi and Kisame had been spotted in the Land of Fire. That was why most of the jonin and chunin were also assigned to missions - Tsunade had sent a dozen platoons out scouting for the pair. The village had a quota of jonin levelled shinobi it should keep in the village to defend itself. It was why Tsunade could only spare one jonin for this mission. Konoha was still in a precarious situation.
"Even if you're in plainclothes, I suspect Tsunade-sama deliberately assigned you to this mission and you have your own orders."
Kotori didn't respond, knowing her silence more or less confirmed what Shikamaru had already figured out. There were heavier combat specialists in ANBU that Tsunade could have asked for this mission. Kotori's ninja hawk tipped the scales in her favour. If worse came to worse, she or Yamato could take Naruto away from the fighting - and quickly.
"Are you able to scout ahead?" Shikamaru asked.
She nodded, landing to an abrupt stop on the ground. She closed her eyes and held her jutsu as she tried to search for Deidara. Fortunately, he hadn't located all of her birds yet. One of them was able to see him from a distance and flew closer. She quickly sketched a rough map of the area she had seen Deidara in. Shikamaru studied the map carefully.
"Naruto is about five kilometres southwest of Deidara," Kotori said, adding an x to her map. "Yamato has them taking a trail due southeast back to Konoha. If we can keep Deidara busy, neither will know the other was in the area."
Because they all knew that Naruto would go after a member of the Akatsuki if he learned one was close by.
"I'm familiar with this valley," Shikamaru said. He slipped into his thinking position. Five minutes later, he nodded. "Okay, here's what we're going to do."
As soon as they were close enough, Kotori would take Shikamaru on Raiden while Ino and Choji left to set a trap for Deidara.
"Signal us once you're clear," Kotori told them. She created a chakra bird to follow both Ino and Choji. "You'll be able to communicate directly with me through these birds. If you hear it make a cry that sounds like chickadee dee dee, danger is coming."
"Got it," Ino said. "Come on Choji."
Kotori summoned Raiden as the two groups parted ways. She and Shikamaru silently flew, hidden by the shadows cast by the cliff. Once they were in range of Deidara, Shikamaru took advantage of the natural extension of his shadows, lengthening strands that shot off the ground and wrapped themselves around Deidara and his clay owl.
"What the -! Oh, I see - " Deidara struggled against Shikamaru's shadows. However he remained calm, analyzing his opponent. While his blue eyes had a maniacal look to them, there was also a deep cunning. "So you would be one of those shadow bastards from Konoha, the Nara."
"Well spotted," Shikamaru snarked.
"Heh. I've heard of you. The downside to your art is that you can't work with no medium," Deidara said. "And what is an artist without their tools?"
There was an explosion, causing Shikamaru to lose connection with the shadows from the thick cloud of smoke. Raiden banked to the right, narrowly missing three of Deidara's creations as they came out of the smoke and exploded in rapid succession. It was generally a bad idea to fight an aerial battle against a Sorano. Kotori knew she would have the upper hand over Deidara. That clay owl might be able to fly, but it seemed stiff in its moments. The two birds circled each other as Kotori responded to Deidara's clay creations with her own lightning arrows.
"Kotori - !"
"I see it, I'll get us close enough."
Kotori flashed through her seals, pulling back her arm and releasing another trio of her lightning arrow, forcing Deidara to move out of the way. He laughed with delight as her arrows collided with three more of his creations, exploding in midair. "You must be Sorano Kotori. I have been wondering when they'd send you. I've prepared something special."
Deidara released hundreds of small clay birds - Kotori recognized them as swifts. They were fast, able to keep up with her as she darted through the air, trying to lose them.
"Damn it," she growled.
"How do they work," Shikamaru wondered. "Based on his file - each creation has some sort of gimmick. Go low!"
Kotori directed Raiden to dip down until they were close to the ground, his shadow enlarging underneath as they did so. Kotori realized what Shikamaru had planned the moment he used the larger shadow to elongate his own.
"Shadow Stitching jutsu!" Several strands of shadows shot upwards, setting off as many clay birds as possible. Kotori let loose a series of lighting arrows, quickly detonating dozens more. There was still too many of them and they were getting too close.
"Typhoon Wind!" She released her jutsu, knocking all of the clay birds off course and sending them hurdling through the air.
"No - "
She could hear the horror in Shikamaru's voice at the same time she realized - rather than exploding against each other as she anticipated, the swifts collided into each other and formed even bigger explosives. What had been swifts the size of her fist was now one large bird the size of Raiden.
"Isn't it truly something?" Deidara shouted. "Now, for my master piece - !"
He moved his fingers and Kotori knew he was about to detonate the giant bird. Based on its size... he would blow up this entire valley. Raiden immediately started flying in the opposite direction to put distance between them. She rapidly waived the pros and cons of using her remaining chakra to Raiden to help him fly faster, but even if she and Shikamaru could fly fast enough to escape it, Choji and Ino were still in the area.
She and Hinoki had been working on a new jutsu - it wasn't complete yet, but she had to try.
"Four Guardian Winds Barrier - " she could feel the shift as winds from the four cardinal directions started wrapping around the impending explosion. However before she could complete her jutsu, the world warped around the explosion and it vanished. She released the jutsu, the winds dying at once.
Deidara crossed his arms and huffed. "Kakashi, my man, it's been a while."
"You got your arm back, I see." Kakashi was standing on a branch down below. His headband was lifted and the Kotori could make out the pattern of the mangekyou sharingan.
If looks could kill - Deidara was trying his damn hardest.
Chika dee dee dee
She could see Ino in her mind's eye. "All clear!"
As Kakashi and Deidara exchanged pleasantries, Kotori took their momentary distraction to fly directly over Deidara and his owl.
"Shadow Possession complete."
"What - ?!" Deidara cried. He looked up where Raiden's shadow eclipsed his own. This time, Deidara couldn't move.
"And now you can't reach into your bag," Shikamaru gloated. "What was that you said earlier? What is an artist without their tools?"
Shikamaru urged Raiden forward and Deidara's owl was forced to follow along underneath them.
"Your pathetic art can't compare to mine!" Deidara shouted at them. "Yours is nothing but the work of children! A poor imitation of true genius - "
"Hang on," Kotori muttered as Raiden picked up speed. "Now!"
Shikamaru released his shadow the exact second he sent Deidara and his owl flying towards the cliff. The stiff bird didn't have the control to stop or swerve out of the way and collided, triggering the explosive tags that Ino and Choji had set along the face of the cliff. Kotori and Raiden pulled upwards in a steep incline to escape the blast down below, channelling as much chakra as she dared. She could feel Shikamaru grab the back of her flak jacket to stay on.
"I am never flying again," he muttered once he was on solid ground.
"I hear that a lot," Kotori cheerfully responded. "Thank you, Raiden."
Her faithful companion saluted her with his wing before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
There was a commotion up ahead and she found the source. Ino and Choji had ran into Naruto and the others from Team Kakashi.
"Hey, Captain Kotori!" Naruto cheerfully greeted her. "We sure are seeing you around a lot these days."
Kotori awkwardly scratched underneath her eye as she smiled back at him. "Yes. Funny coincidence, isn't it?"
"We came as soon as we saw the explosion!" Naruto continued.
She shared a look with Yamato. He was supposed to keep Naruto far away from Deidara. Yamato looked unimpressed as he used ANBU hand signals to wordlessly communicate with her.
So much for subtle.
Nothing subtle about Deidara. Tick. Tick. BOOM. She signed back. Considering Deidara's fighting style, he was always a ticking bomb about to go off. Fortunately, they had been able to set him off before Naruto could join in.
"Is everyone alright?" Sakura worried.
"Yes," Ino confirmed.
Kotori held her hands in the bird seal as she searched her chakra birds in her mind's eye until she saw Deidara looking a little worse for wear, but still alive. There was another member of the Akatsuki with him. Black hair, average height, average build - the only noticeable feature was an orange mask covering his face, leaving only his right eye uncovered. Kotori focused on him, memorizing his description to add it to their Bingo Book. So far, no one had encountered this Akatsuki member before.
"Oh look! A little birdie!" He said in a high pitched tone, pointing at her chakra bird. "Isn't there something special about those birds? I can't remember - "
"Shut up and kill it!" Deidara snapped.
Kotori blinked, returning to her body just before a shuriken dissolved her chakra bird. Kakashi was standing in front of her, his hands on her shoulders as he kept her steady.
"Deidara escaped," she said, "with the help of a new partner. He's wearing the Akatsuki robes and has an orange mask. I've never heard of him before."
Kakashi shook his head. "I haven't either."
"Damnit. That guy is like a cockroach," Naruto growled, punctuating his words by hitting his fist in the palm of his hand.
Now what? Kotori signed.
Return to Konoha. Too dangerous for Naruto. Yamato signed back.
Too obvious. Kakashi responded. Deidara will pursue to Konoha. Too many jonin searching for Itachi to defend.
Team exhausted. Long mission. Yamato argued. Kotori limited chakra reserves. Kakashi used sharingan. Sitting ducks.
Kotori understood Yamato's concern. She was exhausted after her battle with Deidara. Kakashi had activated the mangekyou sharigan and used kamui while Yamato's team were coming off a long mission. While Shikamaru was hiding it well, Kotori knew he had overexerted himself with his shadows. The only ones relatively fresh were Ino and Choji. They would be hard pressed if Deidara and his partner came back. But they couldn't lead them straight to Konoha either.
Shikamaru crossed his arms, trying to look unbothered that the adults could wordlessly communicate in code that he didn't know. She could see the others watching them curiously.
Lie low? Kotori signed. Raiden can fly Naruto and Yamato in emergency.
"Oh come on already, what are you guys talking about?!" Naruto exploded.
"They're deciding the best course of action," Sai explained. "Our team is quite exhausted from our missions."
Kotori nodded, smiling innocently. "Exactly. There's an onsen in the area, a little out of the way. We can rest there and regain our strength there before heading back. I was trying to talk Kakashi and Yamato into going."
Immediately, Ino and Sakura perked up.
"We could use the rest," Sakura said.
Kakashi's eye crinkled in an amused eye-smile. "I'm not the one who needs to be convinced."
Yamato crossed his arms and glared at Kakashi and Kotori. "Fine. I can see when I've been outnumbered."
With that, the group set out for the nearby onsen. It had been years since she, Kakashi and Yamato had worked together on a mission. However they quickly fell in step. Kakashi took the lead, scouting ahead. Yamato brought up the rear, keeping an eye and ear out for the Akatsuki. Meanwhile Kotori set the pace, keeping to the middle of the group. Her chakra birds scanning the area. Naruto, Shikamaru and Choji went ahead of her while Sai, Ino and Sakura were behind.
Kotori slowed down at the exact same moment as Yamato. The forest was a little too familiar, as was the sign for the onsen.
"Isn't this-?" She asked.
Kakashi's loan eye closed into crescent as he looked over his shoulder. "Familiar?"
Yamato groaned. "I had to redo their entire dock."
Kotori shook her head. "I'm pretty sure they have my picture on the wall of banned clientele."
Her eyes scanned the walking trials where Kakashi had first held her hand and kissed her. Had it really been a decade? They had all been so young back then! Barely older than the teens now with them. Fortunately, the onsen had long since removed Kotori's photo from their list of banned clients. Sukea's photo had been removed too.
The group were able to reserve three rooms. Kotori was staying with Sakura and Ino, while Kakashi was staying with Shikamaru and Choji and Yamato was staying with Naruto and Sai. Despite Yamato and Kakashi's good natured bickering over who was getting stuck with Team Kakashi, the decision to have Yamato keep an eye on Naruto had long since been agreed between them.
Kotori was sitting cross legged on her futon, discreetly creating more chakra birds to form a ring around the onsen. She had them hid in burrows and nests. If the Akatsuki got within a kilometre of this place, she would be notified.
There was a knock at her door. Kotori opened her eyes, releasing her jutsu.
"Come in!"
Kakashi slid the door open. He was dressed in a simple grey yukata provided by the onsen. "I was hoping to speak with you, alone for a minute, if possible."
He glanced around her room, as if Sakura or Ino would suddenly appear.
"They're in the hot springs," she confirmed, gesturing for him to come in.
Kakashi nodded, sliding the door shut behind him before placing a privacy seal on the wall.
"If the Akatsuki come tomorrow, Yamato and I agree that you and he will take Naruto on Raiden."
"Really." Her voice was flat. Of course the two of them would leave her out of the discussion. Kotori suddenly felt another sense of deja vu to their ANBU days, however this one was far less charitable. "You didn't think to include me in that discussion? Tsunade-sama left me in charge of Shikamaru, Ino and Choji for this mission and our instructions were clear."
"That was before I intercepted the mission," Kakashi said. "I will be taking the lead and overseeing the chunin. It makes more sense to have two jonin with Naruto."
"Yamato is perfectly capable of flying without me. It makes more sense to have two jonin with long range jutsu teaming up against Deidara and that other Akatsuki member." She was right and she knew he hated that she was right. If she really wanted to drive the message home, ANBU captains outranked jonin on missions. However she didn't want to get into a pissing match and pull rank. Besides, she respected Kakashi and Yamato. Even if she was currently furious at the both of them.
Kakashi crossed his arms, his jaw tense. "You would be fighting at a disadvantage. And worse, you would only be a distraction."
Her eyebrows lifted into her hairline. "Seriously? You want to go there?"
Kakashi's protective streak had yet to fully emerge since they started dating again. Perhaps because he had been on best behaviour, terrified of losing her for good. Or perhaps because her missions were classified, but she had mostly been kept close to home. It was easier for him to ignore the increasing danger or pretend she was doing routine security work. But today he had finally been confronted with reality.
"Every mission we've ever been on together lately, you've nearly been killed," Kakashi snapped. "Deidara, the Land of Snow, Gyoku -"
She was on her feet in an instance. Blood rushing to her face as he used all of her worst moments against her.
"Okay so we're doing this." Kotori released a breath, trying to regain some control over her anger. "You're the one who landed in the hospital both times you went up against the Akatsuki. I've lost track of the number of times you nearly died of chakra exhaustion so don't you dare -"
"Exactly, I can't protect you this time! I have to think about the rest of the team."
"I never asked you to protect me. You're acting like I'm still some damsel you need to rescue. I don't know what I have to do to convince you otherwise."
"If I hadn't shown up today, you and Shikamaru would have been killed!"
"And I appreciate the save," Kotori sincerely said, "But I don't see you lecturing Shikamaru on needing to take less dangerous missions. You have more faith in those kids than me."
"Tori-chan - "
"Do not Tori-chan me," Kotori snapped. "I am your partner. Not your student. Not your kid. Not even your subordinate."
She slid the door open, signalling the conversation was over. She needed to walk away now before one or both of them said something they'd regret.
"Kotori -"
She wordlessly indicated the boys' rooms across the hall. Now that she had opened the door and broke the privacy seal, they would be able to hear everything.
With that, she turned on her heel and kept walking towards the women's side of the hot springs to get away from him. She spent a long time alone in the change rooms, staring at the showers. Her arms wrapped around her legs as she hugged them to her chest.
Of all times for her old trauma to resurface.
Her mind dragging up the torture she had endured at the hands of Gyoku. Her breathing was shallow as she remember how he had held her under water until her lungs burned and she couldn't breathe.
Some bitter part of her thought that perhaps Kakashi was right. No matter how much she improved, no matter her rank -
It was never enough. She was still weak.
She was still that same little girl who had been powerless to do anything as her family was killed, as she watched Sayuri die, as Gyoku threw her into a shower stall just like this one and soaked her before - before electrocuting her.
She squeezed her eyes shut as her breathing grew more and more shallow.
No.
She couldn't afford to spiral into those thoughts on a mission. She didn't have time to break down now. She was Captain Hawk. So many people depended on her to be a calm source of strength and leadership. She tried to draw strength from that, to become the idealized version of herself that so many others thought her to be. Kotori moved at inhuman speeds as she rinsed off in the shower.
Wrapping the towel around herself, she joined Ino and Sakura outside. She didn't mind bathes - found it relaxing even - so long as she didn't submerge her face underneath.
Kotori could hear the raised voices from the men's side. Mostly Naruto's. The others were softer, no doubt taunting him into this reaction.
"Not my circus, not my monkeys," she muttered, slipping into the hot water. She was glad to let Kakashi be the ringleader for that particular circus if he wanted to handle the chunin so damn badly.
Sakura's eye was twitching, clearly unable to relax. "No, but those are my monkeys."
Kotori and Ino stared at each other wide eyed as Sakura wrapped her towel around herself and walked up to the fence. Her fist pulled back and for one alarming second, Kotori thought she would break the fence and march right over.
"Hey! Keep it down over there!" Sakura shouted. "Or I'll give you something to shout about!"
"Hehe - sorry Sakura-chan!" Naruto replied.
There was a splash followed by "Naruto if you spy on the girls' side the Akatsuki will be the least of your problems" from an annoyed Kakashi.
"What was that?" An enraged Sakura asked.
"Ah, nothing!" Naruto shouted back.
"Thought so."
"Naruto is such a perv - " Ino complained, her face red. "I don't know how you can deal with him. I would kill Choji and Shikamaru if they ever tried that."
Based on Sakura's still furious expression, Kotori was quite certain she would actually kill Naruto one of these days.
"Captain, did your teammates ever pull shit like that?" Sakura asked.
"Well, my genin teammates were kunoichi too," she mused. "There were these two guys on another team - but we set them straight."
Izumo and Kotetsu had tried... and lived to regret their actions. Then once she made it to ANBU - well, they had all worked together long enough to see each other in various states of undress. Not that she would be sharing that with the girls, Kotori knew it would only lead to them giggling and asking the inevitable.
"Oh, but I thought - " Sakura seemed uncertain. "You and Captain Yamato seem to know Kakashi-sensei very well. You weren't his genin team then?"
Kotori's heart hurt. Sakura had no idea what had happened to Kakashi's genin team. She was surprised Shizune or Tsunade had never said anything, but she supposed it was none of their place.
"We worked together for many years," Kotori agreed. "But not as genin. Kakashi is my senior by a few years."
Kotori remained quiet as Sakura and Ino whispered back and forth, gossiping about various shinobi their age or in the medical corps. Kotori occasionally added her own knowledge - who was dating, who was engaged and who was expecting. She confirmed that Namiashi Shiori was pregnant again and that Aimi was not engaged. Something that disappointed Ino as she had wanted to go to a wedding.
"I don't know, I think Kakashi-sensei and Shizune would be very cute together. Both work so hard and never take time for themselves," Sakura told Ino. "I wish there was a way to just force them on a date, you know?"
Kotori was going to have to warn Kakashi to watch out for Sakura's matchmaking. With her own love life on an indefinite hold, she seemed keen to meddle in others.
"What do you think, Captain Kotori?" Sakura asked. "What kind of girl do you think Kakashi-sensei would like?"
"I - ah - " Kotori stammered. She had never been so lost for words in her life. Kakashi's students were going to be the death of her. "I wouldn't know where to begin."
Ino had a calculating look in her eye that reminded Kotori a little too much of Aimi. Forget Team Kakashi, Team Asuma was just as bad. Kotori had no idea how those two men had coped with their students.
"Never mind Kakashi-sensei, if you're playing matchmaker with your team you need to set me up with Sai!" Ino interrupted.
And just like that, the conversation was navigated back to safer waters.
"Oh, that's a really pretty necklace," Sakura said.
Kotori's hand went to the gardenia necklace Kakashi had gifted her for her twentieth birthday. She had gotten a seal written on it to strengthen it and rarely took it off these days.
"It's a gardenia isn't it?" Ino asked.
"Good eye."
Ino winked at her. "I thought so. Okay, we'll see you inside, Captain!"
Kotori stayed behind after the two girls left, enjoying the rare peace and silence. The hot springs near Konoha were always crowded. She was feeling much calmer and more willing to hear Kakashi out by the time she got out. With dinner long over and everyone had retired to their rooms for the night, Kotori stayed up in the common room. Her hands wrapped around a cup of herbal tea as she starred out the window in thought.
"Mind if I join you?" Kakashi asked. He had Icha Icha in hand.
"Go for it."
The two of them sat in silent companionship as Kakashi pretended to read and Kotori did sudoku puzzles from an old book.
After several minutes without flipping a page, he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to undermine you earlier."
"But you did."
"I know." Kakashi lowered the book, all pretence of reading it abandoned. "I know, rationally, that you are among the best shinobi in our village. But seeing you in danger - it's not an excuse, but I stop making rational decisions. You and I could never get this right, even before."
"One of these days we'll get it right." She gave him a tiny smile. She had already chosen to forgive him. Kakashi always had this effect on her. Even when she was annoyed with him or angry, it didn't take much for her to forgive him. "Just, don't cut me out again. You don't get to decide how to protect me. That was the deal."
His eye softened in response. "I'll try."
It wasn't a promise. Kotori supposed it would have to be good enough.
Kakashi leaned across the table, his head low as he playfully asked. "Is this the part where we kiss and make up?"
"You wish." Her foot playfully nudged his under the table.
His voice was hardly a whisper against her ear. "We could sneak off, there was a nice tree that I could - "
Someone cleared their voice from the other side of the room. Kotori froze. Oh, she hoped none of his kids heard her. Then again, Kakashi had been reading erotica in front of them since they were twelve. Kotori figured they were used to being mortified by him. This would just be a fun new development.
"I hope I'm not interrupting something." Sai hesitantly stood in the doorway. He had his art supplies in hand. His dark, fathomless eyes gave no indication either way.
"Nothing to interrupt," Kakashi warmly greeted the teen.
Sai seemed to be consulting his books more the next day with a very confused look on his face.
AN Poor Sai is just confused. "What did I walk in on?"
Thank you everyone for your support/reviews/bookmarks/hanging in with me this long!