Chapter Text
The day Naruto comes back is a beautiful one. Warm air and clear skies. Katsumi is busy working with Kakashi-Sensei on expanding her fire jutsu repertoire. Sensei has been pushing her hard since Sasuke’s disappearance. Wants her to be able to use fire jutsu with the same ease she does water jutsu. Wants to get her started on another chakra nature so she’ll be ready for the jounin exams in another year or so. Katsumi isn’t sure why Sensei is suddenly pushing to prepare her for those. She’ll only have three, maybe four, years experience as a Chuunin by then. She’s not sure that’s considered enough time.
He’s taught her all he knows of tracking. Taught her how to fight and lead and kill with an ease that Katsumi never thought possible. Even as Dog and Fox, he was teaching her. Teaching her how to keep going, how to keep from breaking, how to keep Fox and Katsumi separate. It’s hard for Katsumi to picture being his equal in only a year or two. Hard to imagine him just being Kakashi instead of Sensei. It doesn’t seem possible. Still seems like little more than a joke that she could ever be on his level.
Sensei doesn’t seem to think so. He pushes her until her limbs shake and he has to carry her on his back out of the training ground everyday. Pushes her to take missions as a squad leader every chance she gets. Pushes her to be better than she was the day before. Doesn’t accept a single excuse for not giving it everything she has and then some. Whenever she meets whatever bar he sets for her, he eye smiles cheerfully at her and tells her to do it again.
It’s at the end of one of those sessions, when Sensei is carrying her on his back to go get the dango he promised her if she managed to do three successful Phoenix flower jutsu in a row (Apparently Kakashi-Sensei copied it off Sasuke at some point, because no jutsu is sacred to him) that they hear Naruto is back. Sensei turns his head slightly to look back at where she’s resting her head against his shoulder, “Maa, hear that, Katsumi-chan? Our knucklehead is back. Dango or Naruto first?”
Katsumi yawns, as if that needs a real answer. Dango will still be there later. Anko is out on a mission right now, after all.
“Naruto, Kakashi-Sensei. Obviously.” Katsumi rolls her eyes despite knowing he can’t see it.
Kakashi-Sensei chuckles a little at her, and changes course. Katsumi’s not near energetic enough after the training session to even bother questioning how he knows where Naruto is. Just chalks it up to Sensei being Sensei.
Even Taishiro and Chinami hardly have the energy to talk after the training sessions. They’ve taken to escaping back to the summoning realm to recover from Sensei’s insanity. Katsumi would be jealous if she was left with the energy to be. Sensei is a slave driver once he decides on something. And getting her a jounin vest before she’s eighteen is apparently his new goal. She wonders if it’s another challenge with Gai.
She’s hardly paying attention as Sensei walks towards wherever the man thinks Naruto must be. Just watches with one half open eye as they walk through the streets, lazily tracking the movements of the civilians around them. Katsumi hears Naruto well before they reach him. Loud and boisterous, but his voice is deeper and marginally more restrained than she remembers.
Katsumi raises her head from Sensei’s back and starts straining to spot her boy. It takes her only a few seconds to zero in on bright blond hair. He’s talking loudly with Kiba and Akamaru, looks like their usual good natured posturing and arguing. He’s gotten taller. Looks older and more grown into himself. His hair is longer, not quite Yondaime long, but certainly approaching it. Katsumi is relieved to see he’s toned down the orange, though she thinks it’s only because of the Flak jacket he finally managed to get in the Kusa Chuunin exams.
She practically scrambles off of Kakashi-Sensei’s back in her excitement to see her friend. She’s missed his brightness, missed the ever present joy he exudes. Sensei laughs at her eagerness and calls out a lazy greeting to Naruto as he pulls his Icha Icha back out.
Naruto is immediately focusing on them. A bright wide smile explodes across his face. Katsumi grins back tiredly, even with her excitement she’s still exhausted from her training.
“Kakashi-Sensei! Katsumi-chan!” Before either of them can say anything he’s flinging himself at Sensei in a way that’s so reminiscent of how he used to hug Sensei that Katsumi feels an even larger burst of joy at seeing it. Before she has a chance to prepare, Naruto has released Sensei and is picking her up in a hug and spinning her around. He’s gotten a lot stronger, she can practically feel her ribs threatening to crack with the sheer force of the hug.
When she’s final set back down, she’s a bit dizzy from the wild spinning and crushing hug. Sensei steadies her with one hand on her shoulder as she regains her bearings.
“Maa, Naruto, lets not break Katsumi-chan, yes?” Sensei’s voice is lazy and amused as he speaks.
Naruto scratches the back of his head with one hand and smiles sheepishly, “Sorry, Katsumi-chan! How have you been? I saw you’re in the bingo book! That’s awesome, dattebayo!”
Katsumi blinks at the reminder that she’s worth quite a bit dead, “I’ve been good, Naruto. How was your trip?”
“It was awesome, dattebayo! I learned fuinjutsu and worked with summoning the toads while we travelled! And we went everywhere, there was so much to do! Pervy sage spent a lot of time perving on girls, but it’s fine, I still learned a lot, Dattebayo!”
Katsumi smiles at his enthusiasm. She’d missed this. Missed his sunshine personality. “That’s wonderful, Naruto, you’ll have to show me some of the fuinjutsu. You know I’m hopeless at seals.”
If anything, Naruto looks even more excited at the prospect of showing off what he’s learned, “Of course! Team Seven is definitely the most badass team ever now, Dattebayo!”
Katsumi’s smile dims a bit at that. Does Naruto know Sasuke is gone? Did Jiraiya tell him? A glance at Kakashi-sensei tells her he’s wondering the same thing. When did she get so good at reading the man?
“Maa, Naruto, you should go let Lady Hokage know you’re back. Meet us tomorrow at training ground three, I have a test for the two of you.”
“Oh, yeah! I need to go see Baa-Chan! I’ll be there! Believe it!” Naruto practically disappears in his haste to go see the hokage. Katsumi doesn’t understand how he can be so close to the bad tempered woman.
Sensei lets her climb back onto his back to go get dango. He promised after all. He’s never broken a promise to her that she’s aware of.
“Sensei? Does Naruto know about Sasuke? Or the fact we’re getting a new teammate?” Katsumi doesn’t think it’s going to go over well if he doesn’t.
“I’m sure Lady Hokage will tell him, Katsumi-chan. Let’s worry about getting you your dango right now, ne?” Kakashi-Sensei’s voice is the same light cheerfulness it is whenever he’s trying to change the subject nicely. Katsumi allows it. She’s planning to ask him about the ANBU mission she was sent on and wants him in a talkative mood. She knows she’s not supposed to discuss the ANBU missions with anyone, and really doesn’t want to either. But something has been bothering her about the entire thing, aside from just the general awfulness of that mission. She figures if anyone will be able to help her figure it out, it’ll be Sensei who practically lived in ANBU for over a decade.
“Kakashi-Sensei? Can we talk somewhere private after we get dango? I need to tell you about something.” She shifts a hand to subtly tap on the shoulder that carries his ANBU tattoo.
She feels his body tense minutely before he relaxes, “Maa, Katsumi-chan, of course. We can talk at my apartment. It’s private enough.”
Katsumi doesn’t know how this is going to go, but she knows he’s not going to be happy. Sensei gets weird about things sometimes. She’ll have to find away to explain without telling him about her actual assignments in ANBU. she still hasn’t gotten permission to tell him about Uchiha Obito. Hopefully he’ll understand. Sensei’s been somewhat more distant since Sasuke disappeared. She can’t let him know about Obito yet. Even if it’s eating at her.
When she has her box of dango, Sensei Shushins with her on his back to his apartment. It’s a nice apartment near the heart of the shinobi district. She knows from past experience it’s undecorated and filled with dog bowls and toys for his huge pack.
He sets her down by the couch and pushes her down lightly before going to lock his door. When he comes back, he’s utterly serious, and she thinks he might be more Dog than Sensei right now, despite the lack of painted mask.
“Well, Katsumi-chan? What is it?”
She shifts on the old couch for a moment and fiddles with the box of dango. Slowly starts, “I had a mission. A really fucked one. And the more I think about it, the less it makes sense.”
Kakashi-Sensei listens silently as she explains the whole thing, explains the strange ANBU she was partnered with and the ANBU Head that took her mission report that she didn’t recognize, and the fact that she’s only supposed to take specific ANBU missions right now and that wasn’t one of them.
When she finishes, he doesn’t say a word for a long time. She can see his jaw working under the fabric of his mask though and feel the killing intent seeping into the air. Katsumi doesn’t flinch from it though. It’s been a long time since killing intent has felt truly threatening to her safety. Especially Sensei’s.
“I’ll deal with it. From now on, go to Lady Hokage and verify every mission Fox is sent on. It’s one of the few allowances ANBU have in regards to challenging orders. We are permitted to confirm mission perimeters with Lady Hokage if we don’t understand them. Do that next time. Alright?”
Katsumi nods quietly. She’s only been on two ANBU missions, and isn’t considered a member of an official division or squad yet. No one told her that.
“Good, you’re not at fault, Katsumi-chan. You were following orders. You should never have been on that mission in the first place. You are not to blame.” Sensei doesn’t eye smile at her, or pat her head. Just looks her in the eyes and speaks as seriously as she’s ever heard him. Speaks in a firm, unyielding tone as he tells her it’s not her fault.
But that means someone is. Someone is the reason she was sent on a mission she shouldn’t have been on in the first place. Katsumi is deeply unnerved by that thought. Thinks of the final thing on her list that hasn’t been investigated and thinks she knows whose to blame.