It wasn't until she started yawning that Kyoko realized it was almost midnight. She jolted to her feet, Pakkun trapped against her chest to keep him from falling. Kakashi looked up from where he was sharpening his tanto and squinted at her. "What?"

"It's, uh." She stooped to put Pakkun down and then picked up her own tanto and her bag. "It's late. I should really be getting home."

He glanced at the clock. "Right. Thanks for talking theory with me."

She beamed. "Of course," she said, securing her tanto harness and then slinging her bag over her shoulder. "And it really would be best if someone is with you when you're practicing. I won't tell anyone."

He nodded. "Right."

She scratched Pakkun behind the ears one more time, gave Kakashi an anxious wave, and stepped out of the house. She heard him lock the door behind her. Her steps were light the entire way home. At least they were right up to the moment when she spotted the house and realized her father was waiting. Her heart did an odd thing where it jumped in relief that he was home and then dragged down with guilt. Knowing him, he'd been waiting and worrying for hours. She activated a shunshin and landed in front of him.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't realize you were waiting for me."

Kagami lifted his head, looking more tired than she'd seem in a long time. If ever. He blinked, and it seemed to take him a moment to focus. When he did, he smiled and extended a hand to her. "Kyo-chan. I missed you."

She slid her hand into his and stepped into his space, resting her head on his shoulder. "Missed you too," she murmured. "I'm glad you're home."

He hummed in response, holding her hand tight. "Where were you so late?" he asked softly. "I was starting to think something had happened."

"Sorry. Kakashi and I were talking after training."

"Oh?" He leaned back and patted the spot next to him. "What about?"

She hopped up onto the engawa. She set her bag down and undid her tanto harness. As she started removing her shoes, she said, "Genjutsu theory, mostly. Turns out he hasn't done a lot of genjutsu work beyond knowing how to get out of them."

"Ah. Are you going to help him with that, then?"

She shrugged and tucked her hands under her thighs, kicking her feet. "Maybe. He seemed interested."

"Well, I know how interested you are in genjutsu." He dropped his hand to her head and smoothed her hair down. Then he went about undoing her braid. "It's good that you have someone to talk about it with. Was that all you talked about?"

She hummed and tilted her head to the side. "I met his ninken. Pakkun."

"Oh." He carded his fingers through her hair, and she shifted to lean her head against his shoulder. "Did you talk to him about your mission?"

Kyoko swallowed and did her best not to move. "A little," she admitted. "He did ask."

"And if I ask, will you tell me about it?"

She sighed and pushed herself off of him. She turned and sat lotus so she could look at him. "I got my sharingan, but I'm guessing Obasan already told you that."

"She did," he murmured, bringing his hand up to cup her chin. His own sharingan were active. "Can I see them?"

One tomoe. She needed just one tomoe. The world sharpened, and anxiety thrummed in her veins as she met his gaze. His expression softened, and he moved his hand to brush a thumb under one of her eyes. "I heard you got them keeping a teammate safe," he said softly. "I'm proud of you."

"Th—" The word got choked up, and she caught her breath at the amount of emotion those four words opened up in her. "Thank you," she managed, voice shaking a bit as she deactivated her sharingan. She ducked her head and rubbed at her stinging eyes. That did nothing to stop the tears.

"Kyo-chan, sweetheart, you know I'm always proud of you, right?"

"I know," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes harsher this time in hopes that would stop her crying. "You tell me that all the time, so of course I know."

"Okay. Good. That's good. Can you tell me why you're crying, then? Is it because . . . ." He swallowed loudly. "I heard what you had to do to keep your teammate safe. Is it because of that?"

She looked up, frowning and wiping her eyes one last time. "What?"

"It's alright if it is. Good, even. It's good for you to feel something about it."

She did her best to smother a wince, vaguely remembering the very first time he'd had this conversation with her. In her mind, it was . . . over a decade ago. "Maybe it is." She rubbed her arms. "But . . . Raidou's alive, and that's what really matters, right?"

Kagami didn't say anything for a moment, staring at her. And then he gave a tired smile. "Yes, I suppose. I'm just sorry your first C-rank was so . . . wild." His smile softened. "A bit like your mother's first C-rank. It wasn't quite like yours, but it was certainly unexpected." He dropped his hand to the top of her head again, rubbing his thumb against her scalp. "Do you want to hear about it?"

Hear about Akiko's first C-rank? She'd already heard about it. Not here, of course. not now. But that didn't change the fact that she had. And . . . she didn't really need it. She smiled. "No, that's okay. Thank you. I think I should go get some sleep. I really didn't mean to stay out so late."

After all, she'd already loved and lost a mother, and her name had been Uzumaki Kushina, not Uchiha Akiko.