Chapter 21 — Make a Long Story Lonely

When Kyoko made it home, it was long past sunset, and Kagami was waiting for her on the edge of the engawa. He smiled and set his book and tea aside. "Kyoko-chan," he murmured. "Long day?"

She wasn't sure that long was descriptive or accurate enough for how sore and exhausted she felt. So instead of answering, Kyoko trudged forward and fit herself between his knees, slumping so that her head rested against his shoulder. He drew an arm around her and cupped the back of her head with his other hand. "That bad, huh?" he asked softly.

"Not bad," she mumbled. "Just . . . tired."

"Okay." He leaned back so he could look at her. "Want to tell me about it?"

Kyoko glanced away. The door behind him was closed, and the compound around them was quiet. It was late, after all. Too late. She sighed and nodded, shuffling to the side and hopping up onto the engawa to sit beside him. "There's not much to say."

"That's okay. I want to hear about it anyway." He picked up the spare cup and the kettle, pouring out some tea. A small flare of chakra and a tap of his finger against the bottom of the cup warmed the drink back up. "Here."

"Thank you." She took the cup and used it as an excuse not to speak for a moment. When she did, she looked up at him. "Tsunade-shisho says soon I'll have D-ranks with her at the hospital."

"So soon?" he asked, frowning.

"It's been a week."

"Exactly. It's been a week."

She frowned, tightening her hold on the cup. "I'm good at it. And I've worked hard."

He closed his eyes, sighing. "I know." When he looked at her again, he smiled and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Did you have a mission today?"

"Yeah." She frowned down into her tea. "The aviary. I never want to see another bird in my life."

He chuckled. "I have bad news for you about the family summons, then, Kyoko-chan."

She huffed and shot him a smile. She could feel it fall flat, and the worry that snuck into his eyes told her that he could see just how tired she was. Kyoko refocused on her tea to avoid looking at him.

"Where did you go after your D-rank? It's late. I was expecting you back earlier."

"I was training."

"More training with your sensei? Maybe she needs to let you rest a little between sessions."

"No, I— Not with Shisho. I was doing some kata and kenjutsu practice."

"Alone?" Kagami straightened. "You shouldn't be trying to learn something like that on your own. If you do things wrong—"

"Not alone."

He paused. "Not alone," he echoed. "Who were you with?"

She shifted and set down her empty cup. She climbed to her feet. "I have to meet with Shisho early in the morning, so I need to take a shower and get some sleep."

"Hold on." He turned, putting out an arm to stop her. "Who were you training with?"

She flicked her gaze to him for a half-second before looking down, scuffing her foot against the floor. "Kakashi."

"Hatake? Why—" He shifted around so he was kneeling in front of her. Kagami tapped her chin so she would look at him. "Why wouldn't you want to tell me that?"

There were a lot of things she could say to that. Because Kakashi here didn't know her, but if no one else was around to point it out then maybe she could pretend he did. Because she was selfish, and that time with him was hers. Because she could already imagine what would be said if her brother—

"I don't want Obito to feel bad," she settled. "That I went to his teammate for training instead of him. But Niichan doesn't know kenjutsu."

"Right," Kagami said softly. "He doesn't. I'm sure he would understand." He smiled. "Don't worry; I won't tell." Still cupping her chin, he tilted her head down so he could kiss her forehead. "Go take that shower. I'll clean up out here." He turned away to gather the tea set.

Kyoko smiles and straightened. "Thanks, Tousan." She slipped into the house, careful to be quiet so she wouldn't wake her sleeping brothers. Once she'd gathered her things and locked herself in the bathroom, she turned to face the mirror. She was tired—so tired—but she was also so close to getting what she needed. She took a deep breath and activated her sharingan.

She had one tomoe in each eye.

"You're overestimating your reach."

Kyoko paused and glanced over her shoulder. She lowered her tanto and turned to face him. "What?"

Kakashi didn't look at her as he set down his bag and retrieved a kunai pouch. "You're practicing moves like your blade reaches farther than it does."

Kyoko glanced down at her tanto. It would make sense, after all. She was used to her katana. And being much taller with a large armspan. "Oh. Thank you."

He made a vague, noncommittal sound in response and moved to her right, facing one of the targets. As he started practicing his aim, Kyoko resumed her stances and let her mind wander to what she needed to pack that night.

"What's wrong with you?"

Kyoko froze. She cut her gaze to him. "What?"

Kakashi was staring at her. Most of his expression was hidden by his mask, but she had years of experience that told her he was gritting his teeth in frustration. "I fixed your stances yesterday. Why are you doing them the wrong way again?"

"I am?" She looked down at herself. The smaller stance he'd led her to use was gone, replaced once against by the broader one that was only effective with a larger and stronger body. "I'm distracted," she admitted, adjusting her feet. "I have my first C-rank in the morning."

He huffed, pointedly turning back to his target. "If you do your stances like I told you, you'll be fine. You can't be any worse than Obito."

Kyoko frowned, her immediate need to defend her brother fighting against her knowledge that any arguing would risk pushing him away. Before she could settle on one action or the other, they were interrupted by a cry.

"Kakashi!"

Gai threw himself into the training ground, sliding to a stop with one hand already on his hip and the other extended in a thumbs up. "My rival! Who is this?"

"Gai," Kakashi greeted flatly, moving to collect his thrown kunai.

When it was clear he wasn't planning on saying anything else, she sheathed her tanto and turned. "Uchiha Kyoko. You must be Gai."

"Ah!" He beamed. "Kakashi's mentioned me, then!"

"No," she said carefully. "Obito has. He's my niichan."

"She just uses this training ground too, Gai. What do you want?" Kunai returned to his pouch, Kakashi turned towards him with his arms crossed.

"Ah. I see. Well, I just got back from a mission, and Choza-sensei told us to rest, but I am full of energy still from our success! So I thought we could do a challenge. A race around the Village. And the loser—"

"No."

Kyoko winced. She watched as Gai's face fell for just a brief moment before he launched into a heartened attempt to convince him. She bit her lip. It was a blunt reminder that there, somehow, was a time when Kakashi and Gai weren't best friends. Though, it seemed, not a time when Gai didn't at least want it. Which was good, because she needed someone that could keep an eye on Kakashi once she was gone. And there was only ever one person who cared as much about Kakashi as she did.

"It's a good idea," she interrupted. When they both looked towards her, one more excited than the other, she squared her shoulders. "It's a workout. And competition can make you work harder than you might alone, right?"

"If it sounds so good," Kakashi muttered, "then you do it."

"I will if you do."

He squinted at her. Then he scoffed. "Fine. It's not like I can't run faster than you."

"Yes!" Gai bounced from one foot to the other, grinning. "The losers have to do five hundred push-ups."

"Absolutely not."

Kyoko shrugged. "If those are the rules."

"Great! Ready?" Gai hopped in place while he waited for them to turn to face same direction as him. "Set. Go!"

Gai took off at a speed that Kyoko knew her five-year-old body couldn't match. But her adult body had never been able to keep up with Gai either, so in a way, it was comforting to fall behind again.