A/N: I think I mentioned this before, but although this story goes along with canon, I'm extending the time the events are covered in it. It's easy to imagine things taking longer for the Akatsuki to reach their goals, especially with the Yellow Flash being alive and well.

Plus, I was never very impressed with what Naruto accomplished in those years he was away with Jiraiya. Yes, I can imagine him having to be "retrained" in canon since some of his Academy senseis were so bad to him, but... It's easier to imagine, for me, that he might have been being trained to take over as Konoha's spymaster. That would be time-consuming, I would think.

At least that's the case in this story.
Now let's get to the good stuff!

Neji was surprised to find Mito-sensei watching him train. He knew that Hinata was on a mission and had assumed (or rather, hoped,) that her sensei was with her. "Mito-sensei?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, Neji-kun," Mito said sincerely. "Although your Lightning Release is coming along, isn't it?"

Neji still felt badly about not being able to complete the mission at sea. The fact that Hinata had also had so much trouble on the top-secret mission was curious to him. "I hope it is. Kakashi-sensei was able to give me some pointers with it and Earth Release. I plan to take the Jonin exam next month."

"Ah, so I heard," Mito smiled, something twinkling in her bluish-violet eyes.

Neji tilted his head, hoping she'd say more, but the Jonin only giggled darkly, quietly, to herself. So unnerving. He'd gotten closer to the woman while out at sea but the whole debacle had been so terribly embarrassing. "What can I do for you, sensei?"

Mito immediately became serious, frowning and looking determined. "Neji-kun, I understand that on the Kazekage Rescue mission Team Gai and Team Kakashi recently completed, you used your Byakugan to see what was in the cave; what was summoned away before Team Kakashi found… Gaara-sama," she said, hurting for Gaara. And for Shukaku. And for Kurama who won't admit out loud that it bothered him - but it clearly did! Neji nodded, looking a little pale. "I wonder if you could tell me about the structure that disappeared - or even draw what you saw? The statue Kakashi mentioned to me? …And Gai said you saw several people's 'outlines' seeming to disappear before your team left to dismantle the barrier?"

"I did see… that thing- and I can draw it, I believe," Neji confirmed, then patted his pockets. Mito, however, was ready, providing him with a large piece of paper and a pencil. Neji moved to a nearby table and began making a rough sketch of the strange, seemingly summoned statue. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Huh," Mito replied neutrally, even though Kurama's hair was standing on end as Neji drew the thing. The fox was right at the front of his transparent cage and in her mind, watching carefully through her eyes and it was hard to concentrate. Then Kurama began loudly cursing his head off and she squinted her eyes closed for a few seconds as she took the page from Neji. She pointed to the grotesque statue's "face" for lack of a better word. "These are… eyes?"

"When I first observed it, one of the eyes seemed to be closing. It was… startling, but truthfully, I was more concerned with Gaara-sama's condition - such as… such as it was at the time."

Mito nodded in understanding. The young Kazekage had died but Chiyo-sama brought him back. Amazing. Tsunade had told her a lot about Chiyo the Scorpion over the years. What she'd done was extraordinary.

She took the sketch and bobbed her head, barely hearing Neji over Kurama's insistence that the statue used to hold the tailed beasts was sealed and inaccessible.

"I seriously doubt Neji made this up, Kurama, and where else would Shukaku go?! Is… Do you think he's still in there? –Shukaku?" Kurama said nothing. "Kurama?! Is Shukaku still in that statue?! Or is it like you… Where you'd have to reform if you'd die?"

Kurama turned away but eventually began to pace.

"Is he not able to, then? …I thought they would've been transferring him to another person or something."

…

Mito sighed. Kurama was so damn testy and stingy with vital information! He STILL hadn't told her what the deal was with all of those negative, horrid, emotions her senses were bombarded with after Uzushio kind of blew up, either. And now this.

"We need to train," Kurama huffed in resignation after some time, disgusted. "I'm not being put in that fucking statue for some moronic flesh bag or anything else!"

"Fine with me. But what does that statue-thing do? It holds a tailed beast, yes? But for what purpose was it… How did it come to be? And how is it summoned?"

Stubbornly, Kurama said nothing.

Mito wound up growling at him internally - but only humming while Neji spoke of what he guessed were images or chakra imprints of other Akatsuki members standing on the statue's strange finger-like projections - and then accidentally cut Neji off. She apologized and thanked him for his time and the sketch, wishing him luck in the Jonin test if she didn't see him before then. "See ya there," she waved absently, walking away deep in thought.

Neji blanched. Team Gai had to spar with Mito-sensei (and her cats) before and if she was one of the Jonins he'd be put up against in the test… Ugh. He'd also seen her spar with Gai and Kakashi several times. Terrifying. Fortunately, he'd be paired with another Jonin candidate for the testing. Unfortunately, he wouldn't know who that was until the testing began.

He shivered and went back to training.

Meanwhile -

"What kind of training did you have in mind?" Mito asked her uh… roommate.

"One that's far away from humans and private! …But I need to think."

His giant clawed paw came down and squished her out of her mindscape. Mito sighed, feeling a headache coming on.

The next day -

"Whaa," Naruto groaned, shoving his face into the hospital pillow in the bed next to his older brother/sensei. Mito had asked him to guard Kakashi and not let him escape like he normally did (although the pervert could hardly move right now) so he came back repeatedly. She'd left Kakashi green for three days but finally took the prank seal off him this morning. "Ero-sennin and me need to go out again this afternoon to meet an informant so I can't do your super awesome training. -YET."

"Ero-sennin and I," Kakashi idly corrected, reading through Tactics again. He planned to ask Mito to act out a scene with him - it was her idea: hell yes - but which one first? "Maa, you should go on then."

"You're just being lazy and don't want to train me," Naruto whined under his breath before popping back up. "Or tell me what it is you have planned. Fortunately, Mito-ane's been trying to show me the Mystical Palm." UNfortunately, his big sister said his chakra control was still "nearly abysmal" and how disheartening was that?!

But that's where Kakashi planned to help him with his Super Awesome New Training Method. "Oi. Do you want to see the swords Mito gave me?" Kakashi glanced over at him and reluctantly shut his book, using a big pink feather he'd gotten from somewhere to mark his place - that pervert. Jiraiya had some of those big feathers: yuck! He pulled out a seal, and from it, the swords. Kakashi sucked in a breath, his gray eye opening wide.

Kakashi recognized them immediately. "Your mother's swords."

"Yeah," Naruto softly replied, tracing a blade in a way that made Kakashi want to leap over and take it away from him before he hurt himself. He'd really spent too much time babysitting the rascal years ago.

Some habits are hard to break.

"Ane felt bad for keeping them from me - but I don't know how to properly wield a sword. Or TWO of them. I guess she didn't either. Heh. I… Well, neither of us are swords-type of people, ya know?" It made him feel bad; these were his mother's. He'd have to learn.

Kakashi sighed, ready to get out of here. He could work on weapons more with the brat, though, LATER - although he'd figured that Jiraiya would've covered that in depth. Although Jiraiya-sama's never been one to use a sword, either. Kakashi knew that Jiraiya had used a tanto in his ANBU days but that was it. "I could show you. I know a thing or two about kenjutsu."

"Ane said Gai-oji would be better." Naruto then grinned, seeing how - as always - that irritated Kakashi so much. "Hey. You're not still perving on my sister, are you?"

Kakashi glared at him and decided not to lie, only reopening his book, "perving" on Mito in his thoughts. For now.

Naruto sighed. "Asshole."

"Maa, watch it, brat."

Naruto snickered but paused when his big sister entered the room, all dressed up and pretty. "You look nice! –Fancy!" Mito snorted and thanked him. Her violet furisode and braided hair and stuff were beautiful and her makeup was - well it was makeup and Mito tended not to wear much usually. "Where are you going?"

"Out," Mito answered unhelpfully with a teasing smile. "Ero-ojii's coming for you." She walked over and grabbed Kakashi's covers and yanked them off, Naruto yelping but seeing that Kakashi had a kimono, getas, and hakama on, too. A blue and silver kimono he'd never him seen him wear before was paired with dark gray barely-striped pants. "Hey," he whined. "Seriously! Where are you guys…"

"Want me to carry you?" Mito asked, smiling at that pervert.

"Maa, sure." Kakashi batted his white eyelashes at her.

Naruto hollered his objections, "BE A MAN, NII-Ugh - SENSEI!" while Mito tried or pretended to pick the idiot up. Thankfully - for his sanity - Kakashi got out of bed under his own power. Then they both jumped out the window toward the roof although his big sister still seemed in medic mode, helping Kakashi stay upright.

Naruto pouted, glaring up at where they'd disappeared. "I'm definitely telling Tou-san."

"...It is my honor," Minato smiled through tears, "to pronounce you life partners, husband and wife." He wiped his teary eyes as Asuma got up, helping up his new wife, too. He kissed Kurenai, and then picked her up and carefully swung her around in a circle to much applause. He turned to his daughter, next to him, (she'd been avoiding him,) who was also crying and clapping with a giant smile on her face and looked so, so beautiful. "It's hard to believe that either of you is old enough to get married!"

Mito responded by laughing and jumping on Asuma and Hideki - and then wrapping Kurenai up in a four-way hug, before reaching out for Hideki's wife and Shizune. They were joined by so many of their generation and before long were all jumping up and down, singing, cheering, and bouncing around the happy couple in a large circle.

It wasn't the traditional way, but Asuma and Kurenai seemed like they were on Cloud 9 in the center of the (mostly) Jonins' antics, so it was worth it. Always. "Beautiful," Minato laughed, wiping away more tears with the sleeve of his formal robes. He loved weddings and officiating was such an honor. Shikaku eventually sidled over next to him, chuckling lightly. He was close to Asuma; far closer than Minato was these days, really.

"We're gettin' old, Minato." Shikaku jumped when music began to loudly play. Thank Kami someone turned it down a bit. "Why don't you go dance with my wife."

Minato perked up. "You wouldn't mind?"

Shikaku almost rolled his eyes. He Did. Not. Dance and Minato knew it. "Help a brother out; she's gonna hound me otherwise." Minato knew better than to wonder but still looked at him as if he was unsure. "Give me a break. Go on!"

Shikaku sighed when he did. Yoshino, of course, was thrilled - plus she was shooting him grateful smiles as she and Minato twirled around which meant good things for him later. Smiling, he nodded at her, knowing that she was going to be more determined than ever to find Minato some kind of girlfriend or partner.

Tsunade sauntered up, drink in hand, and looked him up and down. "Troublesome."

Why did it have to be her? Yoshino was going to make fun of him, knowing that he'd harbored a crush on the slug princess as a youth.

Tsunade gave him a drunken wink and grabbed his arm. "Let's dance, Hot Stuff."

"Help," he mouthed to his wife - who threw her head back and laughed at him.

Later -

"Maa, I thought it was going to be a private ceremony." Kami, Mito looked gorgeous and elegant all dolled up the way she was.

"It began that way," Mito grinned, snuggling up under his chin on her soft purple couch.

They'd left the combination wedding/reception (a good option, he thought) about two hours into it. Mito was worried about his health (silly) and he was an introvert. Kakashi wrapped his arm around her, each of them holding a glass: water for him (stingy physician) and wine for her in their other hands.

Mito put her arm around his waist. "I wanted to be the Best Wo-Man like a Boss but had forgotten about Hideki needing that spot, so Kurenai made me the Maid of Honor as her new sister, which I just…" She got teary-eyed again just thinking of it and carefully dabbed her fingers underneath her eyes again. "Mmm! Then of course, there were 'Plus Ones' and Hideki's family, and our weird-little at-one-time makeshift family needed to be there, so… Things got a little out of control. Asuma and Kurenai were going to invite their old teammates and teams, too, but their former Genins were out on missions and Asuma didn't want to wait. I didn't expect Naruto to be here again." Mito hoped he wouldn't be upset since Konohamaru had gone to the wedding; he was obviously family, too, but Jiraiya was supposed to have picked him up earlier in the day. They saw Jiraiya on their way out. "But it was fun, ne?!"

"Well, I'm glad to have been invited."

Mito smiled at him, charmed. Of course, Kakashi would be invited. Asuma was very fond of him. They had gotten quite close, as far as she could tell. "You were the first person Asuma told about the baby, you know."

Kakashi blinked down at her, very touched if that was true. "You knew."

"Because I examined her. I was the one to tell her at the hot springs that she was pregnant."

Looking back on it, Kakashi had guessed that - but was very surprised that Asuma had gone to him first. That was nice, wasn't it? "That's…" Damn. He didn't have words. A little flustered, he wound up kissing Mito instead. Over and over again, stilling himself and attempting to cool his blood when he started getting more riled up. "I would've danced with you."

"Would you have?" Mito quietly asked, surprised. She pressed kisses to his jaw, slowly working her way to his ear.

"Hime-sama had a pretty full dance card." Mito softly laughed but then she leaned forward looking at him with wide, dark blue eyes, a pretty smile on her face although her red eyebrows were furrowed.

"Did you want to dance, Kakashi? –But you just got out of the hospital!" Mito was fairly sure that Gai had gotten Kakashi dressed for the event. His chakra levels were still too low. She was sure he was still in significant pain, even with the pain relievers he was on.

"I'm not an invalid," Kakashi reminded her.

Mito hummed and felt bad about it. "Had you asked me, I would've dumped any of my dance partners for you."

"Hmmm. Is that right?" Mito nodded and he smirked at her. She was looking him up and down.

"Wanna go back?" Kakashi shook his head. He was happiest here. "Want me to remind you of what you get when you're not an invalid?"

Kakashi chuckled. Yes, he did. "What do you have in mind?"

Mito licked at and bit her lips, knowing what she wanted but something else had popped into her mind. "You know. If we'd danced, people might assume we're together." It's not like she'd ever heard of Kakashi being one to dance unless on a mission or wasted - and then he only kind of stood there and sort of tapped his foot.

Kakashi looked at her seriously and shook his head. "I don't give a rat's ass what people think. Or maybe I want people to assume we're together." He shrugged slightly but didn't look away from her. "Maybe I'm tired of hiding it and think it was naive to fully consider..." He stopped himself, unwilling to bring up Obito now. "It's up to you, and I'm not one for a lot of PDA but maybe that's why I walked you home." It hadn't been the first time he'd received envious, jealous looks from other Leaf citizens because of the woman next to him and it damn sure wouldn't be the last, as far as he was concerned.

Mito blushed. "But people could've thought that I'm just helping you walk after your stint in the hospital." She kinda was!

Kakashi gave her a look of disbelief. "In formal wear. With my arm around you and holding your other hand."

Mito hummed, feeling pretty okay about this change, oddly enough. It had been nice to have him wrapped around her as they walked; made her feel extra safe and wanted, even in Kakashi's weakened state. Plus, she and Kakashi were (normally) strong. They could handle almost anything. "I liked it," she finally admitted shyly, pushing a curled tendril of hair back that had come out of her elaborate updo while she'd been dancing. She cocked her head at him, slowly looking him up and down again. The man was a feast and saying such sweet things. "You look hot. Very, very handsome. That blue and silver suits you, ya know."

"You think so?" he asked her again, closing his eyes and leaning fully against her comfy couch. He opened an eye and wondered what she was thinking; of what exactly she wanted to do. He was already getting hard again just imagining what it might be. He moved his hand down her arm as she moved forward, feeling along her waist and hip. Soft as they were in the obi and crap, the layers were simply too bulky and restricting. He made a clone, knowing she usually did so to get the elaborate things off. She scolded him for using his very limited chakra but Kakashi wanted to strip off her clothes like the beautiful present she was. "You were the most gorgeous woman there."

Mito's blush darkened, not buying that for a second. "I think that honor was fittingly reserved for Kurenai."

"Oh?" Kakashi smiled. "Was Kurenai there?"

Mito softly laughed and wiggled down to the floor, moving between his knees. His clone finished the job and her furisode fell open. "Kakashi," she half-heartedly scolded. He was staring at her heatedly.

Kurenai was an insanely beautiful bride. Gods, she'd looked AMAZING! Mito could only wish to be half as beautiful and radiant as Kurenai was. Still, it was nice of Kakashi to say… "May I?"

Kakashi's breathing had already changed. "Anything you want, baby. I've missed you."

Mito's smirk turned into a grin as she opened his coat cord. She bit her lip as she tried to decide what to do next, rubbing her hands up his muscular thighs. Her lover was wearing one of those tight blue undershirt/mask combo things he almost always wore, although he'd pulled his mask down and kissed her as soon as they were inside. She pouted. "I wish you didn't have that shirt on." Kakashi's smirk only got worse.

"Looked better than being exposed - with the mask and all."

"Exposed," Mito snarked under her breath. In private - or from what she heard, in the ANBU locker rooms - Kakashi was fine parading around naked as the day he was born but out in public the man was more covered up than nearly anyone on the planet, outside of researchers in Antarctica, maybe. "We can get our kimonos cleaned, right?" She wanted his to stay on him, at least a little.

"Gods, yes," Kakashi groaned, giving up the game. He wanted her in that pretty thing. His clone took off her furisode so that he could remove her hadajuban. He raised his hips so Mito could pull his pants down, freeing his hard cock. He watched her and repeatedly hissed, shivering when she blew on it, stroking her fingertips along the various veins bulging out and beginning to massage his balls.

"So pretty." Kakashi softly snorted and stroked her face. She played with him, giving him little kisses and kitten licks, inhaling his clean musky scent as he began taking down her hair. She smiled as his clone encouraged her to pull her furisode back on over her shoulders. It whispered quiet encouragements and praises behind her, running his calloused hands up her legs, to her waist, and then to her breasts.

"Beautiful for me," the clone whispered from behind her as Mito moved so that his original could get the pins out of her hair, worshipping his cock "Don't tell him, but I'm going to fuck you from behind while you suck him off." Mito shivered.

"Kay."

"No, you're not. …Watch yourself," Kakashi growled at his nervy clone. The clone only shrugged and smirked at him when Mito whined as he plucked at her pretty nipples. He moved one hand down to her ass, his large hand spread across her chest to work both nipples at the same time.

"Good girl." He and his original both deeply breathed in through their noses, nearly high off Mito's sweet, spicy arousal as she began sucking him off - lucky bastard - his original looking like he wasn't going to last long. "You're fucking whipped."

"Shut your mouth or you go," Kakashi darkly warned, jolting when the back of Mito's teeth hit the tip of his cock a little hard when she laughed. "I'm so sorry," she promised, looking up at him with those big, now-violet eyes, fluttering her long eyelashes as she kissed him to make it better.

Kakashi felt dazed as he watched his girl swirling her tongue around his tip. Mito took him deeper again, suckling on him, and then did this thing with her tongue, flickering it over his slit that had him shuddering in his seat. Big, teary, loving eyes on him, and with her tongue flattened, she moved further down and wound up sucking in her cheeks. "Kami… Such a good girl."

He couldn't tell at this angle but his clone must've reached down inside of her because her eyes rolled back and he closed his own as she went down on him again. Her mouth and throat were so hot and perfect. "Fuck, baby. …Eyes back on me." The only thing better and hotter than her mouth was her cunt. "You're getting so fucking good at this."

Unable to take it much longer, he hooked his index fingers into her mouth, between her molars, and then lifted Mito away from his cock. She gasped as he leaned forward, smashing his lips into hers, sealing them together, and pulling her as close as he could get her. "Need to be inside of you." Mito was already working to lower herself down on him and he dismissed the clone, shivering and losing control of his chakra as he got his memories, his hands moving to her ass.

Fuck. That clone had been real pervert. His thoughts had been… a LOT. Something was wrong with that jutsu but he didn't think of it anymore; his girl beginning to ride his cock so well, he swelled with love and pride. "Love you, Mi."

"Ah— ahhh!" Mito keened and curled her toes. Kakashi's girth was… massive, but she was so turned on that her walls parted almost easily for it. The enormous stretch was so good that it made her eyes roll back in her head. She gritted her teeth.

The look on her face, still covered with tears and drool from giving him head was almost euphoric if not for the strong undercurrent of love that took him by surprise when their eyes met, grabbing him by the balls and throat more than he'd anticipated as she pulled away a bit, hanging on to his shoulders, her forehead then pressing against his.

"You're back. — And you're okay. …Y-you're really back."

"Oh, baby." He pulled his hips back as much as he was able to before thrusting them forward again, needing more, as Mito moved down his shaft. She'd been legitimately worried about him, huh?

He hadn't properly considered that before.

Kakashi let her get into a rhythm as she worked her way down, feeling his gums itch as he fought back his instincts to put her down, hard, biting into her neck and… "Fuck." His hand glued itself to one of her tits, making her moans hitch into blissful whines. He craned forward to bring one of her pretty, pebbled nipples into his mouth, pressing his face forward and moaning happily in the feeling her soft flesh against his face. Mito made a choked noise and wrapped her arm around his head, smothering him as she arched back, but breathing was unimportant. She pulled his hair as she pressed him against her hard but he didn't care. He fucking loved it.

He fucking loved her.

Unable to stand it anymore, no matter how beautifully she was riding him - no matter how much she was soaking him, his kimono beneath him, and probably her couch as her hot cunt squeezed around him, drawing him in, Kakashi tipped her to the side and pulled a knee up over his shoulder, grunting and growling at the new position. He pushed a foot into the end of her couch to give him more leverage.

"Don't stop. Oh, God, please. Don't ever stop."

"Never," he swore - meaning that more than just this time. "Gonna put my colors on you; gonna… Fuck. I love you, Mi."

"Love you, too; so much. –So… big," Mito suddenly mewled, throwing her head back into the air next to the couch. Kakashi was in the perfect spot, his pubic bone right against her clit and…

Kakashi grabbed her, licking, kissing, and biting every inch of beautiful, creamy skin he could.

"Oh GOD! ~Ah! Oh God Kashi… I… Love when your chakra does that thing!"

Kakashi full-out giggled into her skin and grabbed her ass, thrusting up into her hard, frantically, over and over again and enjoying how her tits bounced against his chest; how her juicy ass rippled in his hand. And she liked being electrocuted; how great was that? He let his chakra go, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he came. He concentrated as much of his chakra as he could toward his cock and Mito wailed, coming all over him. He managed exactly two more thrusts, still coming as hard as he ever had - and everything started going oddly black.

Didn't matter. He snuggled into the warm void, moaning as his woman milked his soul and seed out, enjoying his death far more than he thought he would.

"Fuck, Kash," Mito panted, shuddering all over even minutes later. Moaning, she kissed him slowly and languidly, licking his lips and teeth and brushing her fingertips gingerly through the silver hair she'd been pulling so harshly but Kakashi was goofy-looking and… only semi-responsive?! "Kakashi?!"

Later -

"This guy," Mito sighed, using her blood and ink to paint sealing "scribbles," as everyone called them, to move all over her patient's chest. Snug and in her bed, Kakashi looked out of it but a little apologetic but he should've known better than to purposely use his Sharingan - or any more chakra! Especially like THAT. He'd barely recovered - at all - from CE.

She'd cleaned both of them up, softly scolding him for overdoing it before tentatively climbing in beside him. She'd given him pain medicine and made sure he'd begun to rehydrate himself. She'd given him a long and very deep chakra infusion to the point that she was tired. "Does it hurt: me being here jostling you or the bed?"

"No," he whispered, slinging his arm out - which did hurt, but only a little. "'Cept my pride. Just tired."

"Oh, Kakashi," Mito sighed, drawing her hand through her long hair. "I may not have known better when we first got together, but it's not like sex should be an Olympic sport or something!"

Kakashi frowned, not following her logic at all. "Eh?"

"I'm just saying that you're suffering from CE and you…" Mito rolled her eyes but blushed, hard. "You pushed chakra to your um, groin, right?"

Kakashi snickered. Mito's face was so red. "Seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I had a goddess to worship and get off, after all."

Mito laughed and then sighed in exasperation, trying not to grin like a lovesick schoolgirl, and snuggled closer to him again. "I'll take you back to the hospital in the morning."

"No way," Kakashi softly insisted, pulling her into his chest, which also hurt. "We stay here."

"I have to work. I have patients to see in the morning! Well at 1100, anyway." Although Tsunade had been getting rip-roaring drunk at the reception, which meant that she might be called in early.

"Maa, I'm your patient."

"Yeah, no kidding!"

"Hn. ...You mad?"

"No," Mito softly assured him, kissing along his jaw and cheek. She moved up to kiss his beauty mark and then both of his closed eyelids as he grinned slightly. She then kissed his forehead and along his scar. "Just worried about you. And I feel bad for letting you out of the hospital before you were anywhere near ready; way before you were ready and then… using you or whatever on top of it."

Kakashi internally grinned, his eyes closed. He was glad she wasn't angry. "I'll do my best to be good from now on. For a little bit." Mito chuckled but he could feel that she was worried. "I can go home…"

"I want you to stay. Especially if you're refusing the hospital." She'd get Gai to come over and help him while she worked for the next few days. Him or Asuma. "You'll stay right here! …If you want to, I mean."

Kakashi was too tired to tell her how much that meant to him. "Please."

"I love you, Kakashi," was almost the last thing he heard before the darkness took him. "'Goddess.' –Ha. What a smooth talker you are, my god of lightning."

"...Even if you were just normal, I'd probably be crazy about you, anyway." Mito wrapped her chains around him and began feeding him her chakra as rapidly as was safe. "You stupid man."

…

Falling asleep with a smile on her face, Mito minutely tensed at seeing the creepy, black cat clock in her mother's old kitchen.

Maybe I'll see Kaa-chan again.

…

Mito normally didn't remember her dreams, but she knew that just before she woke back up she was watching that clock again, as its luminescent eyes and tails twitched back and forth in opposite directions with every second that passed. That damn clock.

Are you trying to tell me something, Mom? In her dream, she'd heard her mother humming but that's about all she recalled.

Kakashi's sleepy, throaty baritone made her open her eyes. "What d'you do?"

"Hm?"

"Chains?" he asked blearily. Compared to earlier, he was feeling way too fit and could feel Mito's healing chakra swirling around him - as well as dancing on his chest.

"Just rest. They're only giving you chakra."

"Mito," he whined, "don't do anything to hurt yourself!"

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Trust me." He fell asleep again and soon, so did she.

Once again, she was watching that damn clock's tail move back and forth!

Why do I feel like time is running out?

As if summoned in her dream through smoke, Asuma appeared at a table in front of her, winking and smoking a cigarette.