With her arms full, Tsukinoko stumbled out of the grocery store with an extra bag at her feet after buying some supplies. She crouches down to put the bags down, then stays like this to find a solution for getting everything home, alone.

  Shadows dart across the rooftops, and she recognizes the squad. Without hesitation, she calls for them to come and help her, hoping they'll have time, but they nod without stopping.

  - Hey, wait! Great... she moans.

  She then wedges a bag under each arm and grabs the third with her teeth to pull it towards her, before wedging it between the other two.

  Just as she was about to stand up, in her wobbly maneuver, someone approaches. Kakashi. She ignored him, but he stood there and she waited for him to leave before getting up.

  - Do you need help?" he asks, pulling up his mask.

  - No thanks," she said curtly.

  No sooner does Tsukinoko stand up with the bag held between her teeth than the paper cracks, and Kakashi catches the package in time. She hesitates for a second, but drops her arms and blows the piece of paper stuck in her mouth, looking at him sideways, then hands him another bag.

  Chin in the air with a cheeky look, she sets off without looking at him, still vexed. He sighs behind her before setting off too, then comes to walk beside her after a while.

  When they arrived downstairs, Tsukinoko thought about the guide she'd leafed through and wondered if he was really going to work things out. But were they really friends, or just colleagues? She glanced at him sideways, but he remained silent.

  - Are you going to steal my groceries or drop them off?

  He climbs up to the terrace instead of answering, and just as he's about to go in and put the shopping bags down, she jostles him to get them. He finally speaks, bags in his arms.

  - I understand that you're angry about being blamed, but you've only got yourself to blame," he says seriously with a weary air.

  - All right, I disobeyed you and I know very well I did wrong," she said, referring to Kabi's assault with Subaku's army. I'm not oblivious, I was going to discuss it with you later. But don't think I'm just some idiot who's going to do as she pleases. You're the boss, not me, and I'm not questioning your authority.

  - That's good. That's one thing said.

  - What? We're even, Boss? she exaggerates.

  - That's not what I was blaming you for.

  - Then why did you turn me in like that?! You could have taken care of the scouting party while I took care of the others! Hanamaru wasn't ready for the assault, every second was precious!

  - Nobody asked you to sacrifice yourself, Tsukinoko," he said curtly. You had one go, then the aim wasn't to annihilate them but to try and gain time.

  - Rule n°9: A ninja must not kill, injure or attack another person unless ordered to do so by OR to defend his life or the life of another, she recites. Your lives were at stake, the lives of the whole village.

  - It doesn't mean acting without thinking. It's honorable that you're willing to put your life on the line for Hanamaru, but that doesn't mean you have to throw yourself at the enemy without a second thought," he retorted in a half-worried tone.

  Tsukinoko is astonished by his distance and feels increasingly unhappy about the situation, when all she wanted to do was protect them.

  - Tsukinoko," he said authoritatively, "no matter what happens, you can't let your emotions get the better of you. I'd already prevented you from using Shinigami no Hikari without being possessed, and then you went ahead anyway-

  - I know what the hell I was doing! I saw an opportunity and I went for it! I just...

  She drops her arms and takes a deep breath, still feeling the frustration rising. She goes outside to collect the remaining bags, but he takes a step backwards, looking at her with furrowed brows. She doesn't take kindly to his attitude and abruptly exclaims.

  - Y?ji has already had to sacrifice himself, I couldn't bear to see you disappear too! It may be the Colony, but I can't let my team die! I would have fought them off so that you could go to Hanamaru in safety! I didn't go to the Academy like everyone else! she continues. I'm just discovering what it's like to progress with your team, like you did!

  She suddenly falls silent, afraid she's gone too far. He holds his ground, and she continues trying not to lose her temper, avoiding his gaze.

  - You'd finally managed to get along with your team, but they... they... I don't want that to happen to me too! she cries out. I don't want to have to dispose of your bodies myself.

  A few seconds passed and she dreaded having said too much, for the principles of the Colony did not sanction this. Kakashi was staring at the ground, but he pulled himself together and answered at last.

  - I reported your actions to make you realize that you were putting yourself in danger. I wasn't going to let them die either, nor was I going to let you sacrifice yourself for us.

  - Then review the definition of the word "sacrifice". That's not for you to decide," she said curtly. "If I choose to give everything, it's my-

  - It's up to me to look after you, I'm in charge and nobody else. Tsukinoko, this isn't a game! You don't know what it really means to give your life for someone!

  - What?" she exclaims.

  - You spend your time putting yourself in danger without thinking, and it's up to me to get you out of it every time!

  She's out of her depth and can't stand his accusations, his assumptions, his reproaches, when she's suffered so much.

  - Stop it then! Leave me the fuck alone! You think you know everything but you don't know anything about me! You say you look after your comrades but you don't know what it's really like, how do you look after someone! she shouts without noticing his reaction. Your comrades sacrificed themselves for you, I'm sorry they didn't survive! I'd have preferred to be dead too, and for my parents to be alive instead of me, sorry I survived!

  He widens his eyes when he hears her.

  - Your parents... were they killed? he hesitates.

  Dejected, she shoved him roughly, continuing to cry out in sadness in her melancholy anger.

  - I'm so sorry! To be alive instead of your friends! Instead of my parents! Instead of everyone else! I'm sorry I jumped on G?me thinking I was going to stop him," she shouts, "as if I could hold him back so they'd get away!

  The shopping bag slipped out of his hand, but he remained stunned and didn't dare say anything more. Kakashi thought he'd understood how his parents had died. Tsukinoko became more agitated, throwing her bag to the ground and slamming it against the glass door, one arm pressing against her throat.

  - Do you expect someone else to take the blame for you? That taking it out on me will make up for past sins? I'm sorry I'm alive and they're not! That's what you wanted to hear, isn't it? Isn't that what you tell yourself every day? Because I do! You think this makes me laugh? That this is a game to me?! That I enjoyed throwing myself at that monster to save them?! But I'm the one who woke up, alone, and they were gone?! To have to accept that I had failed?! she screams, her voice broken. Gone, just like that!

  Kakashi was speechless and distraught, but his silence brought Tsukinoko to her feet. By the skin of his teeth, he parries her fist to push her away. He doesn't take his eyes off her, but tears form in Tsukinoko's eyes, before streaming down her face in fury.

  Deep in her eyes, Kakashi could only see sadness and dismay. He had judged her too quickly in his reasoning. A memory filled his mind. After visiting Tsukinoko in hospital, on their return from Somitto, Nezumi made a strange face and explained.

  "People cry, but it's not because they're weak. It's because they've had to hold their heads up high for too long."

  - You're crying," he said softly.

  - I'm not crying!" she snaps.

  - You don't even realize it," he says.

  She straightens up and touches her cheeks, then takes a step back to wipe her face and pull herself together, dead ashamed.

  - I've realized that behind all this anger you're carrying, there's a lot of sadness. A lot of it, that you're repressing," he continues in a calm voice. You don't realize you're crying because the tears aren't coming from your eyes, but from your overflowing heart. You've been repressing all your unhappiness for so long, holding your head high, talking loudly to stifle the cries for help inside you. But you know, the eyes never lie. You can smile, say what you want, curse me, but your eyes don't lie. At least, they don't lie to me.

  All his anger becomes sadness again.

  - The... Weakness is disgusting," she whispers. I'm not a whiner, I'm not weak! I'm...

  - You've got the right to cry, Tsukinoko, you've got the right to be sad," he bellows, eyebrows arched.

  Tsukinoko slowly unclenches her shoulders, without taking her eyes off him, her face scrunches up, and the pain in her chest is such that she holds her throat in suffocation, believing she can hear her mother through her friend's words.

  - No matter how high you hold your head, how strong you are. You can't carry all of Hanamaru on your shoulders, not if you lie to yourself.

  - I promised to look after Hanamaru," she sobbed.

  A lament escapes his trembling lips, so heartbreaking that Kakashi closes his eyes for a second, as if not to flinch.

  Folding her in half, he wraps his arms around her until she's on her knees, like a shield around her. He immobilizes her as she struggles, her face buried in his breastplate.

  - I'm not leaving anybody behind! I-I... she's suffocating, no matter what you say. I don't... I won't... ever again. Let me go," she sobs, her voice broken.

  He says nothing and continues to hold her against him.

  - You're not the only one who tells yourself that every day," he replies softly, "that's what I tell myself too. I don't know how to look after my friends, or just be a good friend, and that cost me dearly. But today, I'm doing everything I can to prevent it from happening again. And to prevent more people from suffering, like you. I'm sorry about your parents.

  She is astonished and looks up at him, but sees so much pain in his eyes. She bursts into tears again, as if his pain is rubbing off on her, each drowning in the other's courage and absolute sorrow.

  Reassured in his arms, as if it were his turn to absorb her pain and protect her from it like a shield, despite having provoked it. Anger had given way to compassion.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  - I'm sorry I shouted... she murmurs shamefully.

  - Don't apologize, Tsukinoko," he said calmly. Forgive me, I shouldn't have said that. You're right, I don't know you, I don't know what you've been through. I promise I won't let what happened to me happen to you. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. And I don't want to go through it again either. So stop rushing in without thinking. Then we can both get along.

  She nods slowly, and tries to pull away, but he tightens his arms around her to hold her even tighter, as if he hadn't hugged anyone in years. She feels as if she's crumbling under all the love in the world in his arms and can't help but start crying silently again, finally releasing all the pressure.

  After all these years of loneliness, she felt a real comfort, even closer than that of Haruo or his friends, as if she belonged there in his arms. She hugged him with all her strength, praying that he would stay with her, for he was now part of her life, part of her family, even if she had never told him so, and she had no wish for them to lose sight of each other.

  It was more than just a working relationship for her, an extraordinary friendship. A mutual, reciprocal compassion. Tsukinoko had noticed a lot of darkness in Kakashi, but realized it was masked sadness and guilt.

  No one was meant to be like that, to feel like that, as she wanted to protect them all. Her efforts and clumsiness had gotten the better of her.

  - Boss... I'm sorry... she sighs. I didn't mean to-

  - Stop calling me that, I already told you. And, for once, you're right. Those who break the rules are less than nothing, but those who abandon their comrades are worse.

  She fell silent and he gently released her. She wiped her tears into her sleeves, crouched down to gather her things, went back to the kitchen to put her bag down, and just as she was about to turn back to get the others, she saw Kakashi unpacking the groceries, checking that nothing was broken after their argument.

  The pitiful feeling of having lost her temper disappears as she flinches.

  - Make yourself at home.

  He sits up abruptly, embarrassed, but she giggles at his face and goes to put away another bag with his help. He sees that nothing is damaged, then realizes that this is the first time he's really been home.

  - Hey, I was just about to go training, do you want to come along? We'll have to work on a technique sometime, Boss," she smiles.

  - A technique? he wonders.

  - Yeah! We're almost the same," she chuckles.

  - That's right.

  - Hide your joy," she grimaces. Don't you think it would be useful on a mission?

  - Probably," he shrugs.

  - Decidedly... she sulks. You're too soft.

  - Mou? he wonders.

  - Yeah, it's a statement of fact," she says confidently. Do you want it or not? You give orders on a mission but the rest of the time you're as soft as a mocchi! Move it!" she orders.

  He remains sheepish, at once annoyed, surprised and outraged, and stares at her wide-eyed, searching for a repartee. She holds his gaze with a frown, annoyed at his indolence, and he cringes at her persistence.

  She bursts out laughing.

  - Well, it's not easy!

  She leaves him standing there and goes off to her room. A few minutes later, she returns, dressed in a training outfit and putting on her mittens.

  He hadn't moved an inch, and she grabbed her sabers before crying out from the French window, pointing at him with them.

  - I'm going to train at pitch 8, so if you're determined, I'll meet you there," she said determinedly. And... thank you," she smiles fondly.

  He watched her leave, her silhouette pacing the rooftops of Hanamaru, before realizing that he was alone in her home. He hurries out in his turn, stealing an apple as he goes, his self-esteem stung.

  Tsukinoko arrives at the training ground and warms up by throwing shurikens and kunais. She returns to find the weapons planted in the targets, but suddenly thinks back to her enhanced perception in the Keeper's possession, and decides to try to improve herself while in a normal state.

  Alone, she makes a clone and sends it into hiding to attack him from behind, to improve her reflexes. Sabers in hand, she spots the weapons coming at her from the corner of her eye. She pushes them all away, except for one she hadn't managed to spot in time, and leaps to the side.

  On the targets, the weapons were more or less centered, with a few off to one side. She grumbled in her beard, dissatisfied. As she picked them up to start again, she sensed something coming at full speed behind her back and threw three shurikens in time to deflect the daggers thrown straight at her.

  Her aura emanates to flush out the malefactor, presumably hiding in a tree. In a flash, she appears behind him in a cloud of steam. Without breaking her concentration, she unleashes her saber, but the intruder evaporates in turn.

  She senses his aura above her and slices the branch he's standing on in half, seemingly out of nowhere. He fell before her, caught unawares, and she delivered a powerful kick. The unfortunate man was none other than Kakashi.

  Despite parrying his blow, he was thrown to the ground under its force. Tsukinoko wasn't holding back this time. She decided to keep going until she had him, amused, and he had barely time to leap back to avoid another kick.

  They stare each other down, waiting for the other to launch the assault, and a dazzling clash of martial arts and weapons ensues, with Tsukinoko's fearsome agility using her grounded sword as a pivot to throw Kakashi off balance with an acrobatic movement.

  He barely has time to catch his breath before he feels something cold and sharp against his throat. He immediately freezes and hears a chuckle behind him, then feels the blades on his side slide against his throat and sees their tips cross under his chin.

  - I thought we had other things to do, Boss? she scoffs.

  She quickly puts her sabers away, laughing proudly, then drops to her buttocks in front of him with a Machiavellian smile.

  - So, what are we going to do, my little mocchi?

  - For a start, don't call me that," he says scornfully.

  - Pfft," she rants, rising to her feet.

  - What did you want me to help you with?" he asks.

  - No way! We should work out a routine, or even a technique, between the two of us!

  He massages his chin, thinking, and she sits on the grass, waiting for him to come up with an idea.

  - We'll just have to find something that hits twice as many targets," she mumbles after a while, lying back. Two people, one technique, so half the effort for each and twice the number of targets hit than if you or I launched an attack alone. Does that sound better to you? It's the principle...

  - Either. We should combine our most chakra-consuming techniques then, to halve the amount used.

  - Shinigami no Hikari?" she asks, sitting up abruptly.

  - No," he says scornfully. How many times do I have to tell you that-

  - Yes, yes," she murmured. Uchitaoshi Kusari?

  - Here we are.

  - Well... And what do we do with it? Our techniques are all the same," she grimaces, "except for the range.

  - In fact, by putting them together, we should be able to strike a balance.

  - How?

  He shrugs and she lies back on the grass, sighing. He stands with his hands in his pockets, thinking, while she starts to sniffle.

  She lost herself in thought until drops of water fell on her face. She woke up slowly, not knowing how long she'd been dozing, and looked around for Kakashi as a downpour broke out. The field was deserted and she realized that he had left her in the lurch instead of finding a solution. She shouted his name, furious, but the echo of the empty surroundings came back to her.

  A few days later, Tsukinoko was bored and tired of training alone. Kakashi was no help either, as she hadn't seen him since last time. She slipped on a pair of shorts, knee-high socks and a tank top under a huge sweater, mitts on her hands and set off for the Academy with her sabers slung around her waist to disturb her master with impunity.

  The queue in front of the hall was long, and she passed the teams waiting their turn without embarrassment. The soldier in front of the door organizing the comings and goings blocked her path as she arrived.

  - Please enter your serial number and team number.

  - I don't have a team," she says.

  The whole line looked at her sideways, and he raised an eyebrow. He checks his list, then finally answers.

  - The Chef is expecting only teams of young recruits this afternoon.

  - Yes, yes, whatever," she murmurs, trying to get through.

  - You can return at the end of the day.

  - Huh? I'll be quick," she smiled exaggeratedly.

  - The Chief is busy, he insists, there are the-

  - Tires me ... she mumbles.

  She crossed her arms and stood there, waiting for him to let her pass. In the hall, Haruo had finished with a team accompanied by their teacher. They left and Tsukinoko stepped forward, but the soldier blocked her path and closed the door behind them.

  - Get in line," he said curtly.

  - Oh dear... Let me fucking pass," she snaps.

  - You're disrupting Master Sato's appointments," he snaps.

  - You mean my master?" she arrogantly asks.

  He squints, looking her up and down, then exclaims confidently.

  - I don't know who you claim to be, but the members of the legendary trio and Tsukinoko Sato are the Chief's only disciples. You don't have an armband, so I take it you're not a soldier. This part of the Academy is not open to civilians, so please circulate, Mademoiselle.

  He nods to two colleagues further back who arrive to escort him out. In half a second, Tsukinoko ejects the three of them with her aura and grabs one of her swords. They barely have time to blink before they find themselves feet over their heads, slumped against the opposite wall. In front of the visibly shocked Commanders and their students in the corridor, Tsukinoko puts her saber away before quietly entering, not forgetting to close the door behind her.

  - Yo Jījī," she smiled happily.

  - You... what have you done to the secretary guarding the door?

  - But nothing," she giggles, "he'll remember me now! Say, when did you finish? I need you to train me!

  - I have to receive all the new teams and give them their first assignments.

  - Lame... she grumbles. This is going to take hours! I need your help, I'm bored all alone! she shouts, throwing her arms up in the air.

  - Tsukinoko," he sighs. You must assume-

  - Yeah, yeah, I have to accept the consequences of my actions, blah blah blah," she grimaces, rolling her eyes. I'm allowed to train with my master, right?!

  - Yes, but I'm busy.

  She starts sulking, crossing her arms in front of him. He thinks about how to keep her occupied. With a wave of his hand, he calls an agent who appears between them, one knee on the ground. The agent retrieves the note Haruo entrusts to him before disappearing again.

  - Go and wait at the main entrance, someone will come to supervise your training for the next few days.

  - But...

  - I've got work to do, come on!

  - All right, all right. Thank you, Jījī," she said with a honeyed air, tossing him a kiss in the air.

  On the other side, the three soldiers were complaining behind the door, and they startled when they saw her coming out. They hesitate to make a remark, but she immediately exclaims.

  - Now that you've remembered my head, remember my name! And learn to obey your superiors," she sticks out her tongue.

  - You-you haven't told us your name," mumbles the secretary, trying to remain dignified.

  - It says it right there," she smiles, flicking his chest.

  As she leaves, they realize that she had engraved his name on each of their jackets by cutting the fabric with her saber. Haruo sighs in annoyance from his desk at the sight of his disciple's handiwork.

  - Send in the next team and get changed!" he shouted angrily when they didn't react.

  Tsukinoko hurried to the village entrance, only to find Mikio alone at the guardhouse. They greeted each other, and she was surprised to see him without his partner.

  - Takeshi has gone to get some documents from the Academy," he explains.

  - How long has it been?" she squints, puzzled.

  He looks at his watch, then widens his eyes. He starts fidgeting on his own, vociferating his annoyance.

  - The bastard! He's been gone an hour!

  - I've just come from the Academy and I haven't met him. He's skipping work again," she laughs.

  - Takeshi!" he shouts.

  - Eh... He'll be back one day, don't worry," she chuckles.

  - Don't you want to go and get it?" he begs dejectedly.

  She sits on the edge of the stand and watches her surroundings in case her impatient trainer arrives.

  - Come on Tsukinoko... I can't leave the station unattended!

  - No, I'm not allowed to work," she laughs. And I'm waiting for someone.

  - Really? Who did?

  - I don't know, actually... she realizes. Someone who has to take care of my training," she shrugs.

  They continued chatting to kill time, but time went on and on, and she wondered if Haruo had really found someone. She waits again, then someone approaches and Mikio stands up abruptly.

  - Takeshi!" he shouts angrily.

  - What?" he wonders casually, hot chocolate in hand. The Academy's packed today," he sighs.

  - Take me for an idiot! Where are the documents then?

  Just as they start arguing in front of Tsukinoko, who doesn't miss a beat, someone else appears next to her, startling her.

  - Ah! Nezumi?" she wonders.

  He was dressed casually, with just his combat saddlebags around his waist, and she was still surprised to find Sunifa on his shoulder.

  - What's the matter? I haven't gone back to work yet," she bellows.

  - That's right," exclaims Sunifa. You have to help Nezumi with her training until then.

  - What's up? I can't, I'm already waiting for someone to take care of mine!

  - Sunifa was astonished. But Kakashi said you had to do it.

  - Kakashi... ? He's got a nerve!" she snapped.

  - He gave me this for you in case you need any further clarification.

  A message, from Haruo, then from Kakashi below:

  "Kakashi will be in charge of Tsukinoko's training.

  Haruo Sato

  ↓

  Your exercise: train with Nezumi until you take over. OBEY.

  Kakashi Shiroi, and your CHIEF."

  - But... she takes offense. Who does he think he is?

  - Your boss, it seems... exclaims Takeshi ironically, reading over his shoulder.

  - Get lost, you idiot!

  She turns angrily to Nezumi and Sunifa.

  - You!" she exclaims, pointing at Nezumi. Can't you see he just wants to get rid of us? Where is he?" she asks Sunifa.

  - Busy.

  - Where?

  - He's sick, Tsuki," he sighs. Come, I'll accompany you to the field.

  - Sick? Another excuse!" she shouts angrily.

  - Commander Tsukinoko, if you wish to do anything else I can-

  - Nah nah nah, he's the problem!" she shouts, cutting Nezumi off.

  She abruptly grabs Sunifa in her arms and pins him down, rubbing his head vigorously with the tip of her thumb to get him to talk. He gesticulates to get loose while Nezumi doesn't know what to do, a little disappointed without letting on.

  - He's home!" cracks Sunifa.

  - Doesn't he have a mission? He's always lecturing me when he's disobeying himself? she takes offense.

  - He didn't disobey, he gave you an exercise, and he-

  - Hurry up or I'll give you a bath," she orders curtly.

  Sunifa shivers from head to toe but doesn't move. She then licks her little finger before bringing it dangerously close to his ear. He tries not to panic but finally breaks down. He sighs loudly as he jumps to the ground, then runs to his master.

  Nezumi hesitates to follow her, but she calls out to him before leaving.

  - I'll sort him out and then we'll go training with him!

  The three of them watch her go, and Takeshi, his feet on the stand and balancing on his chair, exclaims nonchalantly as he sways.

  - I wonder which of the two is going to get yelled at by the other....

  - If you keep putting your feet up on the table! grumbles Mikio.

  The latter sweeps the legs of his chair and Takeshi sprawls on the floor. Mikio resumes his work, but notices Nezumi standing there, then Takeshi stands up, not very proud, and calls him over to change the subject, dusting off his clothes.

  - Hey, you're on his team, aren't you?

  - How do you know?" exclaims Nezumi.

  - Well, she seemed to be saying that Kakashi is avoiding you, and since he's her boss... Then it must be yours too?

  - Yes," he hesitates.

  - So... Did she really wipe out Subaku's army on her own?" he suddenly exclaims.

  - Yes.

  - Huge! This big tuna finally serves a purpose.

  Takeshi was about to continue, but looked up from his chair to see that Nezumi had disappeared.