AN:It's been a while since I re-watched the episodes where Ensui and Kakashi work together against the seven swordsmen. It's kinda funny now that I've given them such history. I forgot Ensui had the dark under eyeliner - so creative liberties, those are dark circles. He's just permanently tired.
Anyway time for fun and games. Thank you everyone for your support!
Kotori starred at the blank piece of paper in front of her. She was sitting cross legged on the top bunk of her room, hunched over a notepad. Kakashi had been gone by morning and she was left with the horrible realization of what she had done. She must have tried over a dozen times to write a letter for her chakra birds to deliver to him.
Kakashi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it.
She wanted to take everything back. But would he even want to hear it? Or would he want to be rid of her for good? He had proposed to her and she had practically thrown the ring back in his face. She was such an idiot! The night before they went to war, when they would be separated for gods knew how long. This wasn't the time for them to be arguing. This wasn't the time for them to be distracted by personal issues. If something happened to him before they could fix things, Kotori would never forgive herself.
"He'll forgive you," Aimi said, laying on the bunk beneath her. She had been there when Kotori came back to their shared room, tears in her eyes.
"I don't think he will."
What she had done was unforgivable. She had hurt Kakashi when all he had ever done was try to love her. He would have done anything for her and in return she had broken his heart.
"You forgave him," Aimi gently pointed out. "After what he did to you. He'd be a hypocrite not to offer you the same understanding. Everyone's been under a lot of stress lately, Genma and I argue all the time over stupid shit. And maybe it's good that it's out there. Now he knows. You shouldn't have to hide parts of yourself to make a relationship work."
Kotori was silent for a long time.
There was a knock on their bedroom door before it cracked open. Mabui, the beautiful assistant to the Raikage, was standing on the other side of it. "Sorry to interrupt, but are you two ready?"
"Yes."
Mabui lead them both to the command room where there was a flurry of activity. While Konoha boasted the best medical facilities among the five hidden villages, Kumo was home to the top technological research centre. They courted some of the best and brightest minds in the world and gave them state-of-the-art equipment. As a result, their technology far outpaced any of the other villages. Kumo had been preparing for months, working around the clock to have it ready for this moment. They hadn't even been able to fully test it out until these last few days, making last minute changes.
Cooperation between the villages was difficult. Kumo was secretive over their technology just as shinobi - especially from opposing villages - were secretive over their techniques.
Kotori was stunned as she walked into the large dome-shaped room that Kumo had finished setting up. There was a raised platform forming a semi circle along the north wall where the remaining kage and some of their advisors sat. In a sunken semi circle along the south wall was Ao and the sensory division. In the centre of the roomm was a command console wrapped around a tall pillar that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. That would be the hub of the communications division. Inoichi and three other Yamanaka were seated around the pillar. Helmets were placed over their heads, hiding their eyes from view.
Dozens of technicians from Kumo's research centre were around, checking on equipment and helping the various shinobi set up. There were also many members of the Yamanaka clan and sensory division standing idle, waiting for instruction. With the five main divisions on their way to the battlefield, it left them with the morning for last minute preparations.
It was the lone helmet off to the side of the command console that caught her attention. It had hundreds of tiny cables that went up to the ceiling and then ran to hundreds of television screens mounted to the walls surrounding the room. Like someone had taken a EEG machine from the hospital and modified it for this purpose.
Quite frankly, Kotori would rather be out on the frontlines fighting the enemy than hooked up to wires and machines. There was something about the entire setup that unnerved her, it looked like something out of a science fiction novel... or Root's labs. Kotori resisted the urge to shiver at the memory. However everyone had their role to play in this war and this was hers. Kotori had never shied from her duty before. She forced herself to walk towards it and pick up the helmet, inspecting it. Not that she was in any position to comment on the technology behind it. She had been told that it would read the chakra from her brain and be able to transmit the images to the screens.
"Do you think it'll work?" Aimi whispered.
"Hope so, or they'll use the opportunity to fry my brains," Kotori muttered.
Mabui smiled at her clipboard. "We still need your brains in working order for this war, Captain. Perhaps another time."
"That's reassuring, I guess."
Kotori sat crosslegged on a cushion, allowing one of the technicians to adjust the helmet over her head, connecting wires to her temples and other major tenketsu points. She was grateful they hadn't needed to shave her bald, as was originally suggested.
Mabui nodded once they were complete. "Now, try using your jutsu."
Kotori was wary of using her jutsu while wearing a device from another village. She wouldn't put it past Kumo to use the opportunity to somehow steal it.
It's safe. I've already swept their minds and had our Research and Dev unit analysis it. Inoichi's voice sounded in her mind. He must have noticed her discomfort; he probably had had similar reservations before agreeing to members of his clan using Kumo's machines too.
Kotori's fingers formed the bird seal. Hundreds of screens lit up around them with images across the battlefields.
"And we are live!" Mabui announced to the room around them as they applauded. There was a delighted smile on her face.
"This is incredible," Aimi said, looking around. "All of this lives in your head? I never knew."
Kotori spent a great amount of time organizing her chakra birds. Someone had used metal bars to divide the screens into eight sections and had labelled them along the top. First Division. Second Division. Third Division. Fourth Division. Fifth Division. Logistics and Medical Division. Infiltration and Reconnaissance. Headquarters.
Shikaku knelt behind her, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "Get one of your birds on Kouta."
She switched between the birds until she was able to find Kouta amongst the second division. They had spread the Yamanaka equally among all of the divisions for this purpose. She found him, his face appearing on one of the screens as she focused her jutsu. Aimi sat cross legged in front of her, the palms of her hands hovering over Kotori's forehead in a triangular shape.
Kouta, come in, this is Kotori from HQ.
It was odd having Aimi transmit her thoughts to someone on the battlefield. It was even odder when he responded. Kouta's voice sounded within her mind.
Hey Sensei! I don't see - oh there you are! He waved at one of her chakra birds.
"Good," Shikaku said. He had her find and locate several more members of the Yamanaka clan, requesting that she keep a visual on them for quick access. There were other key targets he wanted eyes on - including the leaders of each unit.
She had two chakra birds showing Kakashi from different angles. Her heart ached as she watched him direct his division to split from the fourth division, leading them towards the Land of Hot Water.
"Alright, it will take time for the divisions to reach their destination," Shikaku announced to the room. "Rest while you can."
Kotori walked out onto the balcony to stretch her legs. Headquarters was located in a facility carved into one of the mountains. There was so much cloud coverage she could barely see the ground from here. Just this morning there had been eighty thousand shinobi and samurai in this valley as Gaara rallied them with his speech. The bulk of them had come from the five great hidden villages, but smaller hidden villages had also sent what aid they could afford. There were a few thousand shinobi scattered amongst their forces from the dozen or so minor hidden villages. Places like Kusa, Taki and Hana who had long allied with the great nations. Even Ame, still recovering from the loss of their leaders, had sent a few hundred shinobi.
She had only been able to catch a glimpse of Kakashi with the other commanders before she had been pulled away to meet with the other captains in the Intelligence Division.
It had gone against every one of Kotori's instincts to smile and introduce herself to peers from the other hidden villages. To let the Intelligence teams from Kumo and Kiri and Iwa finally put a face to her name. To let on that she was perhaps more than just another kunoichi as she liked to let others believe. Even harder to work alongside them. As if the last two decades of wars and conflict had never happened.
Mabui joined her on the balcony. She had been one of the few who hadn't seemed surprised by Kotori's identity, knowing exactly who and what she was. That had unnerved Kotori even more than introductions.
Kotori ignored her, glancing out at the tree line where one of her chickadees was acting as sentry. Her brow furrowed. No - that wasn't one of hers. She would know hers anywhere as they felt like a natural extension of herself. This one… this one was real. She mimicked its call, encouraging it to come see her.
"Black capped chickadees," Mabui said. "They're indigenous to the Land of Lightning."
"I know - I know everything about them. I've just never seen a real one before." She held out her hand, waiting, until the chickadee landed on her finger. She smiled as she stroked her feathers. "Oh, you're gorgeous, aren't you? Yes you are."
"As you can imagine, it's been difficult for us to distinguish between them and yours," Mabui said. "You have caused quite a few headaches up here."
Kotori gave her a sharp smile as she continued stroking the bird. She wished she could keep it as a pet. But it wouldn't be fair to the bird - this was her home. She likely had friends and family here. Maybe even a nest.
"I did enjoy watching Osoi realize he's been driven crazy by a woman half his size all these years."
Kotori wasn't surprised. There were those in Kumo who valued brute physical strength. "That explains the scowling."
"Shikaku has called for a meeting with all the sectional leaders in thirty minutes," Mabui said. "See you then."
With that, she left. Most likely to track down everyone else for this meeting.
Kotori held the bird seal, tunneling through her chakra bird network until she found the one person she wished she could talk to more than anything.
The third division had come to a rest before they made the rest of their push into the Land of Hot Water where they would be stationed for the war. She could spy Kakashi standing with Guy, Lee and Sakura. She didn't want to distract him, but he seemed to notice her presence regardless. His eye scanned the tree line and landed on her bird. She could feel her heart pounding in her body back at HQ, the echoes of it reverberating in the chakra bird. She thought the poor thing might burst.
His expression was unreadable. Almost harsh. His body deceptively relaxed, but she knew him well enough to know that he was coiled tight, ready for an attack. This was Kakashi, she realized, the Commander of the Third Division. Not the man she knew and loved, but the shinobi who was legendary across the nations. She shouldn't be here, shouldn't be causing any more distraction. She had done enough harm.
She left before she could see his eye soften and his hand wave in greeting.
xXx
Once the war officially started, there was little time to think of anything else. Kotori felt all-consumed by using her jutsu to monitor the forces. She was kept busy as she directed and redirected her chakra birds. Each division had multiple strategists assigned to monitor the situation in real time, bringing critical information to Shikaku and the three Kage's attention so that they could adapt their plans. Ao's sensory unit was able to determine the strength and scope of enemies that Kotori's chakra birds weren't able to see. Meanwhile Inoichi and the other Yamanaka relayed instructions to their clansmen within the divisions, working seamlessly together.
Chika dee dee dee
"Shikaku, there's something you need to see," Kotori called out. Coffins had emerged from the earth in front of Kankuro's retcon team.
"That's impossible!" A strategist from Suna said, looking at the screen. "That's Chiyo-sama!"
Another strategists from Iwa paled. "It can't be - the reincarnation jutsu."
Kotori could feel a chill go down her spine. Recalling the dead to force them to fight against the living; many of them their loved ones and former comrades. It was beyond unforgivable.
Shikaku was grim as he stared at the fight on the screens. "So that is how it's going to be. Mabui, get me all scrolls available on the reincarnation jutsu!"
"Yes, sir!"
"There's another one!" A strategist monitoring the third division shouted.
"No way, that's Zabuza!"
Suddenly, the screens that displayed the third division went all grey. As the quality of the screens was mediocre at best, she held the bird jutsu and tunnelled through her chakra bird network to get a closer look. What she found was a thick mist covering the battlefield.
"Third division has gone dark," Shikaku's voice boomed, bringing her back to HQ. He was still standing on the platform overlooking the command room, his hands on the railing. "Kotori, move your birds in closer and get a bird's eye view of the battlefield. I want to know the extent of this mist."
Santa, this is HQ. Report. Inoichi immediately asked.
This is Santa. The mist is so thick we're unable to see each other.
Santa was then able to broadcast Ensui's thoughts to them. Kotori, are your birds able to see through the mist?
Negative. I can barely see past their beaks.
Fuck. Santa quickly cut off Ensui's internal cursing.
We're working on a plan. Will report if further assistance is needed. Santa said.
"I need more eyes on Gaara's fourth division," Shikaku then demanded. "And on Darui's first division."
And just like that, she pivoted to the next battle and the next and the next. Her attention split between the hundreds of thousands of chakra birds connected to her, even if only a hundred or so were visible on the screens at a time. She could barely keep up with the strain of managing the network, responding to the strategist's requests and using what little time she could to warn platoons of incoming danger. The entire time feeling the constant strain of using so much of her chakra. The fatigue an ache that settled over her limbs. She was given solider pills to keep up with the demand and even the medics looked the other way when she consumed more than she should.
Before long, it was a full out slaughter between the two armies. As more and more of the reincarnated shinobi were sent into battle and 100,000 Zetsu clones were unleashed. Aimi continued to connect her telepathically to others throughout the force.
Nanami, this is Captain Kotori from HQ. Please divert your platoon twenty degrees due west. There's a cluster of one hundred Zetsu clones making a break for the second division.
Ryoku, watch out behind you, there's five zetsu.
Hayai, this is Captain Kotori from HQ. Hold your position.
"Where is Chitose's platoon?" Kotori asked, her eyes flickering from screen to screen. She couldn't find them anywhere. She immediately started redirecting her chakra birds - there was always the possibility that the Zetsu clones had started killing them to decrease her coverage.
Chitose, this is Inoichi, come in. What's your position? Inoichi asked.
She finally found the missing platoon from the fifth division. They were fighting with their backs against another Allied Force platoon, the Zetsu clones surrounding them from both sides. A third platoon was also approaching from the southwest. And another from the east.
"They're corralling them into that valley," Kotori realized.
"I'm getting an abnormal high chakra reading," one of the sensors shouted.
It's a trap! Get everyone out! Kotori warned whoever Aimi could reach.
But it was too late. The room watched in horrified silence as four platoons were killed in a massive explosion from underneath.
"Oh gods," Aimi whimpered, her pale blue eyes widened with shock.
Kotori covered her eyes. But she could still see them in her mind's eye. Over four hundred lives gone in an instant. The terrified expressions as they realized what was about to happen. Some of them were shinobi she knew - some of them were ANBU she had trained. And there was nothing any of them could do to stop it.
The worst of it was that there was no time to even grieve them. Mere minutes later she had to force herself to regain her composure as she moved on to the next battle.
Osoi, backup is coming. They are five minutes out. Hold the line!
And the next.
SATORU BEHIND YOU!
And the next.
Yukari, this is Kotori. Retreat - the valley is lined with explosive tags. I repeat, the valley is lined with -
As night crept in, Kotori's chakra birds were able to show less and less on the screens. They didn't exactly come with night vision. However the fighting had died down and commanders were already making plans to set up camp and rotate the night watch. There was a heavy air of defeat at in the command room. They had been completely unaware of their enemy's plans and had played right into it. Ending with Tobi escaping with that monster and having obtained the Benihisago and Kohaku no Jōhei containing some of the nine tail's chakra for his plans.
With Aimi's help, Kotori removed all of the cables from her head. She slumped in her spot, her body so drained that she didn't think she could move. All of her limbs felt like lead. She told herself that the exhaustion was nothing compared to what her comrades were surely facing on the frontlines.
Inoichi removed his helmet, looking equally warn out as he switched off with one of his clansmen for the night shift. There were enough Yamanaka to rotate, as with the sensory division. Ao released his hold on the sensing barrier to someone else from Kiri. Only Kotori was truly alone in her task.
"40,000 out of 80,000. Those were our losses, the number of causalities we suffered," Inoichi gravely announced. He must have received the total counts from the five commanders.
Kotori bowed her head, visions of the 40,000 fallen burned before her eyes. She tiredly rubbed at them. How many she had seen? How many could she have prevented if only she had noticed sooner? Today had been an endless nightmare. It was warfare the likes of which none of them have ever seen before. Those who had lived through the third war - it had been mostly guerilla warfare with small skirmishes between platoons. There had been a number of larger fights - but those were in the hundreds. Not tens of thousands.
"50,000 out of 100,000. That's how many Akatsuki fell today," Ao said.
"Each side lost nearly half their force," Shikaku mused.
"Yes, but our side is made up of living flesh, meanwhile the enemy is…" Inoichi's words hung heavy in the air.
The enemy's side would only grow as more of their shinobi died if they were able to reanimate their corpses. Not to mention the possibility that someone out there had the ability to make more of those Zetsu clones.
"You don't think they'll reanimate the fallen?" Kotori asked.
"We should prepare for it," Shikaku said. "Send word to Shizune. All of the fallen are to be cremated over night."
Kotori knew that was a difficult decision for him to make and one he wouldn't have done if the situation wasn't so dire. In Konoha alone there were different customs and beliefs on what to do with their fallen. Some cremated them while others buried them.
Kotori was grateful that her clan had been cremated. As well as Sayuri and the rest of the Uchiha. None of them could be used against them on the battlefield. Kotori wasn't sure how she would react to seeing someone she loved forced to fight against their will. She hoped Sakumo and Rin had been cremated too, not wanting either of them used against Kakashi. She didn't think Obito's body had been brought back to Konoha. The thought sickened her that the enemy might use him that way. It was clear that they had chosen targets who weren't just strong, but meant to unnerve the leaders. Already they had seen Tsunade's late fiancé, Dan, and Asuma reincarnated.
Shikaku looked from Inoichi to Ao to Kotori and then to the rest of their teams. His gaze was sympathetic.
"I know it's not easy to watch as our comrades are out there fighting. But your assistance here is invaluable and you have saved lives today. I've asked a lot from you, everyone is exhausted. And I'll have to ask the same of you and then some again tomorrow. So rest. I'll see you at dawn."
Only rest didn't come easy. Kotori couldn't fall asleep despite her exhaustion. Her mind kept replaying the events of today over and over.
So she found herself in the archives located in the basement below HQ. Here there were secret tunnels that lead underground to evacuation routes in case of an attack. A trap door opened to a bomb shelter beneath their feet. But it was the giant archive full of intel on shinobi from across the land that had her interest.
If Kotori had more time, she might have snooped into what intel Kumo had collected on Konoha shinobi over the years. Instead, she found herself looking through old files on the Seven Demon Swordsmen of the Mist. She spread it out over one of the long tables, identifying which members still remained.
"You should be in bed," Aimi scolded her.
"While we've gotten a moment to rest, we should gather as much intel as we can about our enemies," Kotori said, before catching Aimi's eye. "Besides, I couldn't sleep."
"Me either." Aimi wrapped her arms around herself, as if trying to disappear. "Here, I'll help."
The candles burned low as Kotori and Aimi worked long into the night. Aimi made them both a cup of Kosuke's chakra restorative tea. It helped ease some of the ache in Kotori's limbs. At some point, Shiori joined them, looking equally dead on her feet. There was a horrible vacant look in her eye as she shook her head, not wanting to talk about it. She had been in surgery all day, working on those who had been brought back to HQ for more intensive care.
When at last, Aimi kept rubbing her eyes and Shiori's head drooped onto the table, Kotori rolled up the scrolls. "I'll take these to Mabui. You two should head to bed, I'll be there in a few minutes."
She found Mabui helping Shikaku do research back in the command room. Apparently no one was able to sleep much.
"Any chance you can send these to the commander of the third division?" Kotori asked. She had heard of Mabui's technique. "They're scrolls on the seven swordsmen. For tomorrow."
"Of course," Mabui said. She guided Kotori to a room that housed the platform for her Heavenly Transfer Technique, her chatter filling the empty corridors along with the click clack of her heels.
"I keep thinking how we have most of the leadership from the five great hidden villages, a collection of the most brilliant minds here working together- " Mabui sighed. "It's incredible. Truly. The likes of which has never been seen before. The things we've been able to accomplish in such a short time. If I were the enemy I would obliterate us from the face of the earth."
Kotori was quiet. She had suspected they would be a prime target in the war. It was a classic wartime maneuver to destroy an enemy's intelligence and leave the rest leaderless and demoralized.
Mabui laughed. "Of course, we have preventative measures in place."
"Masato and the Black Ops," Kotori quietly said. The ANBU from the five hidden villages made up the home security team. Their shinobi were positioned in the hidden villages and other key locations as defence should the Akatsuki attack.
"Get some rest, Captain. Tomorrow's going to be another long day."
xXx
They were back at it before daybreak. Kotori had been urgently roused from her sleep by one of the assistants as there had been movement within all the divisions. She had gotten there in time to see Ensui, Sai and Lee seal one of the swordsmen within a scroll. She was scanning for any signs of Kakashi through the mist when she saw - no.
There was a giant ninja hawk approaching on the horizon.
"That's not possible," Kotori whispered in horror. "All of the Sorano were cremated after the attack."
She looked to Shikaku for confirmation. In those days after the nine tails attack, she had been in no condition to make any decisions. Shikaku and Ensui had taken over, helping her make arrangements for her clan. But she was pretty sure she had asked for them to be cremated as was their clan's tradition.
"They were - but not all shinobi made it home over the years for a proper burial."
As the giant ninja hawk's wings beat against the air, coming closer and closer to the third division, the shinobi riding on top came into view. Kotori understood Shikaku's meaning. He had perished on a mission when she was only three. She hadn't realized that his name on the Sorano family gravestone was just a marker. That his body had never been recovered… until now.
She felt sick. She couldn't just sit here and watch. Kotori started ripping off cables from her helmet. Several screens went fuzzy as one of the technicians from Kumo ran over to stop her.
"Kotori, don't." Inoichi stressed. "The enemy knows who you are and what you are capable of. They want you distracted, they want you to run out there."
"Can we get a platoon on Hayabusa," Shikaku said to Inoichi.
Santa, we need a platoon on the ninja hawk and its partner. This is one of ours. Sorano Hayabusa. Known wind and fire user. Just as lethal on the ground as in the air.
"I can stop him," Kotori insisted. Her brain felt like it had stopped working as she watched her father rain fire down on the Allied shinobi. "I just need to talk to him. He wouldn't want this."
Everything she had grown up hearing about her father - the brief interaction she had had with him - she knew he wouldn't want to be hurting Konoha shinobi. She could - she could stop him, somehow.
"Kotori, honey, no," Aimi said. "You know he's not in control."
Tell Kotori, don't worry. I will handle it. Ensui responded via Inoichi.
Her father stuck to the skies, flying so high above them that his shadow wasn't even a speck on the ground for Ensui to grab. A tactic that Kotori had used all too often in training. Ensui had his platoon spread out, trying to bring him down. And that's when Hayabusa disappeared into the mist left behind by the remaining swordsmen.
Do you have eyes on Hayabusa? Santa asked.
Kotori frantically scanned all of her chakra birds to see where he had went before noticing a flash of silver. "Look out!"
But it was too late.
Her father's spear had pierced through Ensui's shoulder from behind. Kotori waited for the shadow clone to dissolve as it had done a hundred times before. Only for Ensui to fall forward, blood dripping from the wound.
No.
Kotori yanked off the helmet, ripping out the rest of the wires. That was it. She wasn't going to sit there and watch through her chakra birds as someone else she loved was killed. She had seen Sayuri killed by Itachi's hand. She had seen Kakashi die during the Pein Invasion. She wasn't going to - not again - she was going after them and putting an end to this. One of Kumo's technicians tried to stop her.
"For fuck's sakes, just let her remove them," Shikaku snapped. "She doesn't need to see this."
Kotori wasn't fully thinking as she left the room. She was wearing the standard issue Konoha uniform. She had weapons on her, she always has weapons on her. And she had herself. That should be enough.
"Kotori, wait."
Shikaku had followed her out.
"Just try and stop me," she growled.
"You're the only one who's not able to switch off. So take a break. Go for a walk, get some fresh air, whatever you need to do," Shikaku said, his voice deep with meaning. "I think an hour should be enough time. We can handle things for that long."
She understood what he intended for her to do. It would only take ten, maybe fifteen, minutes for Raiden to fly to the battlefield. "Thank you."
He nodded.
Chika Dee Dee Dee
Her chakra birds called out in warning as the barrier surrounding HQ shattered. Then the front door to HQ was blasted off its hinges as Hinoki walked in.