In the mountains, Tsukinoko was inspired by Uchitaoshi Kusari to develop a new technique, quickly tiring of her own.

  She signs the Tiger and concentrates on creating a lightning dragon similar to Haruo's mud technique.

  She spent whole days training to handle this dragon, which as yet had no defined form, trying to make it as fast and piercing as possible. The technique was combined with her aura, which enabled her to flush out enemies by sensing their presence through perception, and thus guide the dragon, even with her eyes closed.

  But the power of the Lightning was hard to contain, and Tsukinoko was hit several times. Despite setting up camp, she often fell asleep on the spot, exhausted, but carried on relentlessly, motivated to succeed.

  After two weeks, Kakashi had been sent by Haruo to check on him.

  From afar, he watched her train, even if he wasn't reassured to see her burn herself more than once. That evening, she ended up with her arms flailing, out of breath. Unable to move them any further, she collapsed from exhaustion.

  He comes out of hiding to check on her condition before laying her down in her sleeping bag. The same days repeat themselves, and Tsukinoko gobbles down a huge breakfast, only to resume immediately.

  That morning, as she launched her technique, she sensed Kakashi hiding behind a rock. She had guessed that Haruo must have sent it and ignored him. At the end of the day, she finally mastered her lightning dragon and decided to test it under real conditions. Without hesitation, she closes her eyes.

  The dragon charged at Kakashi, who was quietly reading behind his rock. The technique is so fast that he only feels it at the last moment and looks up. He loses his breath as the Lightning Dragon sizzles right in front of his nose.

  - Hey Kakashi!" she shouted in the distance. What do you think?!

  He comes to his senses and Tsukinoko dispels his technique. Talking at full speed, overexcited, he finally understands the principle of his technique and suggests she test it against the rocks to see how powerful it is. They finally stop in the middle of the night and she falls back on her buttocks, exhausted.

  - What did you call this technique?" he asks.

  - Watch out... Rairy?dan no Jutsu ! Another specialty of Hanamaru's famous Dragon! she proudly declares. Too good, eh? It's more an adaptation of Uchitaoshi Kusari, without my swords, I was inspired by Jījī too, as you advised!

  - Quite a successful adaptation.

  She leaps to her feet and packs up her things in a flash, then takes off running down the mountain plateau.

  - Let's go home! I have to show it to Jījī!" she rejoiced. He's got to... he's got to-

  She stumbles along the path, and Kakashi hurries to catch her in time as she passes out from exhaustion, and the back to Hanamaru. He drops her off at dawn, but she wakes up and forces him to take her to the patisserie next to the Residence, his favorite. She devours it just as the pastry chef has finished his first batch.

  - Come on Kakashi, let's wake up the old folks! she giggles. I felt Ren finally come back from the temple!

  - Say hello to him for me, I've been walking all night, I'm going to get some rest.

  - Ah yes, that's right... Thanks for your help!

  She tries to give him a hug as thanks, but hugs the empty space. She grimaces, vexed, but is glad he helped her finish her technique and enters the Residence to immediately warn Haruo.

  Running up to his apartments, he was already up and having his tea, still in his bathrobe with his newspaper. She stomped in to surprise him, but he chuckled as she stepped into the living room.

  - You're up early Tsukinoko," he laughs. Have you managed to perfect a new technique?

  She jumps onto the bench next to him and slumps onto her stomach, devouring her cakes, just like at home.

  - Yes! Rairy?dan no Jutsu! she said proudly, her mouth full.

  - That's good, you're gradually overtaking your predecessors," he smiles. This is the fourth technique you've perfected, isn't it?

  - Yeah!

  - You're a master of lightning.

  - Just that," she laughs.

  She blows out the smoke from her pipe, which irritates his eyes, then snatches a pastry, explaining the result before he goes to get ready.

  - Wait, I'll show you!" she says impatiently. Then I'll sleep for two days, I'm beat.

  - I've got work today, some other time.

  She starts to sulk, but he leaves to get dressed, while a maid brings Tsukinoko some tea. She sips it quietly, hoping he'll eventually agree to see her technique, but he greets her a few minutes later and leaves.

  Without making a sound, Tsukinoko slipped into Ren's room, where he was fast asleep. He had long hair and an unshaven, nonchalant beard. She leapt onto the bed, crushing him with all her weight.

  - Ouch!" he yells, struggling. Get out of the way, you idiot!

  She explodes with laughter as he tries to get out of the covers while she jumps upright on his bed like a trampoline, preventing him from regaining his balance.

  He finally pulls her up by the ankles and she crashes down beside him before getting her head crushed by a cushion. She struggles, suffocating, but he chuckles back, happy to see her again, before wincing.

  - Where did you come from?! You smell like dirt and burns, go take a shower instead of jumping on me!

  - I was away training, I created a new technique, she said proudly, I wanted to show it to Jījī then I sensed you were here so I wanted to come and surprise you, it's been a long time, how was the temple then? Ah Kakashi says hello! And Jījī said you had trouble with the other ninjas who rebelled, is that true? How-

  - Tsuki.

  - Yeah?

  - You're breaking my ears," he bellows, rolling under the sheets. Go take a shower and let me finish my night.

  - Tell me about it later?

  Ren's essence was full of turmoil. Something serious must have happened at the temple. Tsukinoko sat down wisely, then mumbled at last.

  - Have you been to the bakery downstairs?

  - Yes. I got you the ones you like.

  He points to his closet, and she scurries off to grab some clean clothes for a shower. Wearing far too big a pair of jogging pants and a T-shirt with holes in it, she slips into bed beside him and falls asleep, exhausted. In the early afternoon, Ren gently wakes her up with a pillow on the back of her head.

  They settled on the balcony, Tsukinoko wrapped in a blanket with tea and Ren with his cigarettes and pastries. He then explained the rebellion of half the group, which had led to the death of most of the members, and that only he, the temple dean, and a friend who had instigated the rebellion had survived.

  She comforted him as best she could, then they told each other about their lives over the years, and spent the day hanging out and playing shogi. They went to dinner with Hina on evening, and Tsukinoko was called back the very next day to take up her post as guard to the Chief.

  A few weeks later, Tsukinoko was changing after her day in the Colony's changing rooms. She was wearing black high-waisted pants with a white T-shirt and her blue haori, and her hair was loose. After a minute's wait in the street, she realized she'd forgotten her purse in her locker and dashed off to retrieve it.

  Arriving in the changing rooms, she came across Kakashi, who had gone to train with members of the squad. Shirtless and from behind, wiping his face, Tsukinoko widened her eyes before blushing slightly. Her back and shoulders were full of scars of all kinds. She let out a frightened gasp behind him and he half-turned, nonchalant.

  - What do you want?" he asks, slipping on his top.

  - It's horrible... she saddens herself. You have so many scars!

  - It's nothing, it's part of the job.

  - All the same!

  She approaches to fiddle with the scars on his back but he avoids her and finishes dressing in his corner.

  - You should be more careful, or take better care of yourself! I often get hurt, but I don't have any scars. Take a look!

  She half removes her haori and shows him her arm, pointing to the places where she had injured herself after the prison mutiny a few years ago.

  - Yes, I remember. But it's a waste of time to pay more attention than necessary. When the wound is healed, the body takes over to finish the healing, even if it's not perfect.

  - Yeah... she sulks. In fact, it doesn't matter if the scar is still visible or not, the most important thing is to heal inside," she smiles, pointing to her heart.

  - What do you mean?

  - If you're healed inside, in your mind, your heart, then those scars on your body become a lesson, a motivating memory, and no longer a burden.

  He looked at her for a second, then closed his locker, but she felt embarrassed in front of him. Kakashi had changed a lot since their first meeting.

  Bigger, more imposing. Tsukinoko would be hard pressed to stand up to him now, smaller than before. She looked curiously at the long scar over his eye, the one that had possessed the Negin, then reached out and grazed his cheekbone with her fingertips.

  - Is that the one that still hurts?

  She suddenly feels very sad, even though he still says nothing. He heads for the exit and she follows.

  - You finished your day a while ago, why are you still here?" he asks.

  - I'm waiting for Hina, we were supposed to go to the restaurant, but I forgot my wallet so I came back down. Would you like to go together? Too bad for her!" she laughs.

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  - No, thanks.

  - Come on... she insists. Please, Boss! Kakashi!

  He sighed and left, but she managed to corner him as far as the barbecue. Mai was there waiting for the girls, and he rejoiced when he saw Kakashi and settled him inside, willingly or unwillingly. They dined together, then Hina joined them in the evening, detained to chat with Haruo.

  As twenty-three o'clock approached, Tsukinoko began to scream and they rushed off, taking the lost Kakashi with them. They arrive at Tsukinoko's camphor tree and climb the branches to the top, before Kakashi finally asks what they're doing there. Hina explains that they had promised Tsukinoko to come and admire the lunar eclipse with her this evening.

  - Ahoy!" shouts someone downstairs.

  Takeshi, Mikio and Ren join them and start chatting, but Tsukinoko immediately shushes them as the show gets underway.

  The sky darkened and they all marveled, then a thought crossed Kakashi's mind. He thinks back to Tsukinoko and her first name, when she had told him about her origins, and his eyes turn to her.

  This name literally meant Moon Child.

  His father had chosen him, he said, inspired by the beauty and hypnotic virtues of the star, and the wisdom it symbolized, predicting great abilities and plans for his only child. The dim light of the masked moon illuminated Tsukinoko's face, with her loose hair swaying in the wind.

  She feels his gaze after a few seconds and laughs softly, grabbing his chin to guide him towards the show. But he can't help but return to her again, before suddenly being seized by a high fever, which subsides after a few minutes.

  When the eclipse is over, the gang resume their discussions and decide to go to the dance bar, but Kakashi declines the invitation. Tsukinoko feels sad to leave him alone and tries to leave him sitting on the branch.

  - Hey Boss, are you sure you're not coming? You're not going to stay on your own again, are you?

  - I'm going home.

  Takeshi calls her away and she disappears. When they reached the bar, she couldn't find her wallet and Mikio pointed out that she must have forgotten it on the tree. She hurried back to the bar while they were settling in, but when she arrived she saw Kakashi still there, his book in his hand but looking lost in thought. She then reproaches him with a vexed look for not having come and stayed here, because in any case he hadn't returned. She starts looking for her purse, dropping it again and again from her holey pocket, until he announces.

  - There's a lot of garbage here, but I didn't find it when I cleaned the tree.

  - Waste?" she asks.

  She noticed crumpled papers, the shattered Daruma and her mother's torn embroidery beside him and rushed over, furious. She picks up her things and puts them back in the tree, and he watches her, lost.

  - It's not garbage!" she shouts. Imbecile... It's mine!" she snaps. And get out of here, this is my tree! If you're going to stay and throw away my stuff, you've no business being here!

  - Your business? Sorry, I didn't know," he says embarrassed.

  - It's my mother's embroidery and a portrait of my f- Mind your own business! she panics.

  With tears in her eyes at the thought that her cherished belongings could have disappeared forever, Tsukinoko hides them as much as she can in the tree.

  - Did these belong to your parents?" he asks at last.

  - Yes," she said softly, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. When I first came to Hanamaru, this is where I spent months alone, and I decided to make it my own place. My escape, my secret garden. So, Boss, don't touch anything. I only let my friends come," she smiles.

  - I'll be off then. Sorry, I didn't mean any disrespect.

  He gets up and prepares to go downstairs, but she's surprised he's leaving now, before realizing the quid pro quo, given his answer.

  She complains even more because her purse is nowhere to be found, before leaving, claiming alone that she'll be getting free drinks thanks to the men at the bar, presumably under her spell according to Hina. Kakashi grimaces, before leaving in his turn.

  Back with her friends, the gang enjoy themselves, dancing and chatting, before Tsukinoko goes off to dance with Mikio and Ma?, away from the crowd between the bar and their friends. As she begins to dance again, she feels someone grab her hand and spin her around. She says nothing, thinking it's Mikio, and twirls into his arms.

  She comes face to face with a stranger who looks at her dubiously, raising his eyebrows. She grimaces and pulls away from his arms, but he stays by her side and she ignores him. Mikio and Ma? eventually return to the table, calling to her, and as she follows they grab her by the arm again and she finds herself pressed up against the man, who begins a waltz with her. She pushes him away, looking for Hina to call for help, but sees her talking to Ren with a silly look on her face.

  She fled as the man was about to greet her, so as not to make a scene that would spoil the evening, again. The numerous attempts of her suitors ended in failure, earning them insults and bruises when they insisted too much, courtesy of Tsukinoko. She orders a cocktail, but a voice exclaims right next to her.

  - Let me give it to you.

  She turned and grimaced, it was none other than the sticky, obscene man.

  - My girlfriend already paid for it," she replies haughtily.

  He laughed nervously and scratched his head, looking for another approach, vexed and awkward.

  - I'm sorry, you're so beautiful I'm at a loss for words," he exclaims with a smirk.

  - Ah? Thank you," she replies indifferently. But no thanks, I'm here with my friends tonight, have a good evening.

  Tsukinoko picks up her glass and turns to leave, but he holds her back by blocking her path with his hand.

  - Wait, what's your hurry? Let's get to know each other.

  - My friends are waiting for me," she says, pointing to their table.

  - They can wait a little longer," he smiles. Would you care to join me in a toast?

  - Nope. Beat it, I gotta go.

  - I'm only bothering you for a drink," he insists with a flirtatious air.

  - Nah, you've been bugging me ever since," she says.

  - You're very shameless to refuse a man's advances like that," he continues.

  - What?! And you're sucking the air out of me! she shouts.

  She bites her lips, trying not to get angry as the man insists, but he stops as someone had joined them.

  Kakashi, his armband on his arm and dressed as a soldier, looks at him for a moment before turning to Tsukinoko, relieved to see him despite the earlier misunderstanding.

  - Is everything all right?

  - No, he-

  - Yes, cut the man off, thank you. We're just chatting amongst friends.

  Tsukinoko grimaced but the man, thinking Kakashi was just a stranger out to steal his conquest, stepped forward to grab Tsukinoko by the waist to mark his territory. But no sooner does he hold out his arm than Kakashi twists the fingers of one hand and casually throws.

  - You can't seduce a woman by harassing her. She's already refused several times.

  - Ouch!" he snaps. I'm not stalking her, am I, Miss?

  - Ugh," she grimaces.

  - Why don't you leave her alone?" he insists, without letting go.

  The man tries to stand his ground, but finally buckles under the pressure and writhes in pain, his fingers crushed. He finally lets go and the man rants into his beard, fleeing their gaze, before turning on his heels.

  Tsukinoko smiles, as if invincible with her knight in shining armor. She looks back at Kakashi with stars in her eyes, before remembering the misunderstanding and reassuring him, but he denies it with an embarrassed look, only doing his duty.

  After two days without rest following a mission, Tsukinoko returns to the Academy with K? and Kakashi to hand in their report. As they leave, she walks up to Haruo and flashes her biggest smile.

  - Jījī! I've perfected my technique, you must come and see it and validate it!

  - I'm busy Tsukinoko, can I ask Shikaru to-

  - Again?! It'll only take five fucking minutes! she snaps.

  - Some other time. Or else Kakashi can see your progress too," he said, pointing to him standing in the doorway.

  - Damn it... Forget it!" she shouts as she disappears.

  Annoyed, she goes home to change, then goes to the training ground to resume her efforts. At the end of the day, Shikaru and Kakashi come to see her on Haruo's orders, but she sends them packing.

  Shikaru wasted no time in leaving to face her wrath, while Kakashi remained unmoved as she ordered him to leave.

  - Suit yourself. You should understand that the Chief is busy, he can't-

  - I know! I'm his student, remember! He's not the problem. Besides, why do you always accept, I thought you had better things to do than hang out with me, didn't you?

  - That's my job.

  She becomes even more vexed and picks up her things to leave. He raises an eyebrow at her sudden movements, sheepish.

  - And as your boss, it's also my duty to help you.

  - Fuck, "your duty, your work", that's all you know how to do! If you can't stand being with me for more than five minutes, just decline your missions, you'll be doing everyone a favor!

  - What? Last year you were begging me to come with you to practice, and now you're-

  - Yeah, because I've realized that you don't give a shit! I was asking you as a friend, as a favor, to spend time together, but with you it's always "a mission", she mimes insolently.

  - I'm your boss, and you're my subordinate, I don't understand why-

  - Don't bother, Boss," she says, turning her back on him. I'm just trying to be nice, because you're always lonely and depressed, but I'm not the right person to help you.

  He watches her go for a second, then casts behind her.

  - I didn't mean to upset you, but in case you misunderstood, I didn't ask you anything.

  Not knowing at the time whether she was hurt or out of her depth, she clenched her fists to calm herself, furious. Was he so naive, was he doing it on purpose, why was he so distant?

  - I understand. I was just hoping to help, that's all," she said calmly.

  - You don't have to want to save every person you meet, Tsukinoko," he said, crossing his arms. You're wasting your time more than anything else, and most can't be saved. I concentrate on doing my job as a Soldier, and that's all. You should do the same instead of taking the job so much to heart, you risk-

  She had abruptly emanated her aura to feel his emotions, flabbergasted by his words. She sensed no malice or arrogance, yet he was serene and meant every word he said. She decided to try one last time, saddened.

  - I used to be like you, you know. I just wanted you to be able to find your balance too, to stop brooding all the time. Nobody deserves that," she sighs. Why do you reject your friends? Can't you see how hard we work for you? Just because they're gone doesn't mean you have to be alone. I doubt they'd be happy if you just hung around.

  He felt bad but tried to justify himself as she held his gaze, having calmed his aura.

  - I've made mistakes in my life that I'll never forget," he replies. They were my friends and I let them down because of my behavior. I can't just draw a line under it because others want me to - it's not that simple.

  - No one's asking you to draw a line under it," she snaps. I'm just... I'm not asking you, Boss. I hide my sadness with anger, but I've managed to contain my guilt so that it doesn't lose me, and you've been letting it guide you for years.

  - Your guilt isn't the guilt that caused their deaths," he said, frowning. You have no idea-

  - You don't know anything about my guilt, so don't," she replies dryly. You're so pretentious, you think you know everything. You can tell Haruo to call me when he has time to see my technique. I'm taking the day off tomorrow," she imposes.

  She disappeared before losing her temper. Kakashi's words echoed in her head, as if her own sentence were invalid.

  At the Hanamaru Memorial, in front of the memorial stone, Tsukinoko knelt down for a few minutes to meditate on Kakashi and his parents. She didn't know why she was being so stubborn with him, even though she knew he was down in the dumps, lost.

  Helping him was the reason that came to mind, convincing herself that it was just that. She leaned back on the Memorial and rested her head on her crossed arms, but eventually fell asleep late into the night.

  At dawn the next day, Kakashi had come to collect himself as usual, but he came across Tsukinoko, asleep on the stone. He didn't dare wake her up and cogitated in his corner, but noticed after a while that she was crying in her sleep.

  Their heated discussion the day before came back to his mind, and he wondered. He'd been blunt about getting her to abandon her ideas and not attach herself to him, but he'd only succeeded in hurting her, not knowing how to go about it.

  A bird lands next to Tsukinoko's head to celebrate daybreak, and she wakes up gently, only to realize with dismay that she'd been sleeping outside. She stretches in her corner, then sees Kakashi out of the corner of her eye and is startled.

  - You shouldn't sleep outside at this time of year, you might get sick," he said softly. Or you should have lit a fire and-

  - What do you want at the end of the day?" she snaps, rising to her feet.

  - I'm... I'm sorry about yesterday," he said, avoiding her gaze. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that, you seemed upset.

  - You didn't mean to be mean, but you meant what you said. There's no point in lying. I may be childish, irresponsible, but I'm not stupid.

  He remains sheepish and doesn't know what to say, but pulls himself together to sort things out.

  - You know, it won't do you any good to be stubborn. You have to understand that. We're here to work and that's that.

  - And for you to understand that the same mistakes can't be made over and over again. Stop being afraid and believing that you'll never be good enough again, for anyone.

  He looks surprised and stares at her for a long time, but she plants herself right in front of him, arms crossed, and stands her ground, despite the fact that she doesn't reach his eyes.

  - You can hide behind your mask and your armband, behind your scarecrow hair, but I know what you're feeling, deep down.

  - How?" he exclaims, raising his eyebrows.

  - It's what I do," she says dryly. I know how you feel, mainly because I feel the same unpleasant feelings as you every day," she says softly, calming down. You're the only one putting up barriers today, believing that any outcome is fatal. We've all made mistakes, yet we're all still standing. I'm not saying you have to do the same, or that you can do the same, but you just have to accept the truth.

  - The truth?

  - I just wanted to be a friend to you, but I feel like I'm asking too much.

  She walks away, leaving him speechless. He just stares at the ground, confused.

  Just as Tsukinoko was finishing her meal in the quiet of her home, someone knocked on the French window. She was met by little Midareta with his big, mischievous smile.

  - Big sister! I've been looking for you all morning and then I asked the old Chief when I saw him at the Academy and he told me you weren't working today so I went looking for you I went to your tree and I saw someone in the branches I thought it was fucking you! So I climbed up the tree, I made it! But in fact it was a gentleman with gray hair, he's weird he has a mask over his mouth I asked him why he had a mask he asked me why I was there, so I said it was your fucking tree, I said why is he there then! But he asked me again why I was there, and I said I was looking for you, so he told me where you lived. Are we going to train today? he shouts with his wooden shurikens.

  She absorbed everything he'd just said in a matter of seconds. He slowly lowered his arms, his smile gradually fading as she went back inside. She finally emerges, two saddlebags on her hips, dressed in black shorts, a pale blue long-sleeved top and her soldier's jacket over them, her black socks pulled down to her thighs and her hair tied up. She slips on her mittens but Midareta jumps at her neck, laughing, delighted, and she slides him onto her back before being smothered by his embrace. They both head off into the woods to train, Tsukinoko having guessed that Kakashi had finally decided to open a door for her by squatting in her refuge.

  The Lightning Dragon technique