[59] Promotion

Kagami walks herself to the Hokage's office. She isn't that excited anymore to hear the verdict of her ranking. Every time Tsunade has tried to tell her where she's going to end up they have been interrupted and she has a feeling it may be planned. If it's not, she is just extremely unlucky and should probably go get her soul cleansed with some sage and herbs.

She walks up the stairs and towards the office for the third time that week, becoming expectingly more bored of doing the same trip back and forth over and over again. Similar to how she is sick of having to stop Naruto and Sasuke from fighting, but she doesn't think that will be happening again anytime soon.

She knocks lightly on the door and waits for a reply this time, not wanting to have a repeat of when she ended up gate-crashing a jonin meeting. Tsunade's voice calls through the door and Kagami shuffles in, hoping to get this over and done with before something else horrendous happens. Tsunade nods in greeting, Kagami giving one in return.

"Let's get right down to business shall we," Tsunade slaps a file down on her desk. "Before we can be interrupted this time. Kagami Hatake, you are being promoted to Jonin."

Kagami's eyes go wide and her eyebrows raise slowly up her forehead. She looks down at the paperwork in front of her, she scans over it quickly to make sure it isn't a joke. She smiles lightly.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

The woman slimes lightly at the girl before suddenly standing up and smacking her desk with both hands, causing Kagami to flinch a little.

"Now that you are a Jonin, you have responsibilities." Tsunade narrows her eyes at the girl.

"Like a Genin team?" Kagami asks emotionlessly.

"No! First and foremost, Kagami you can not run away from the hospital."

The girl sweat-drops and rubs the back of her head sheepishly, a habit she has picked up from Shikamaru. The girl has been worried about the boy, he hasn't visited her since her 'death' and it's raising alarms for her. So right after this, she is going to visit him and his parents.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." The girl nods, bring her hands to rest behind her back.

"Next, you won't be expected to take care of a genin team until you are eighteen, otherwise there might be problems with respect." Tsunade sits back down.

She pulls out a new Ninja Identification card for Kagami, her new rank proudly printed onto it. Tsunade gives her an expectant look, telling Kagami what she expects. Kagami reaches into her ninja pouch and pulls out her old NI card and places it on the table next to hers. Instead of destroying it like what is supposed to happen, Tsunade drops it into one of her desk draws.

"I'll keep it, just in case." She gives Kagami a wink before going back to her professional palette. "You are free to go."

"Thank you once again, Tsunade-sama." Kagami leaves the office, this time happier than when she entered.

She looks down at the card in her hands and smiles slightly, running her fingers over the new print. She had the same card for so long that some of the letters were scratched off and you could barely recognise her from the photo. From the looks of it, the photo is her starring confused at the camera when Yoshino pulled out the camera after dinner.

'Ah, so either Kakashi knew of this, or Shikaku did.' She heads towards the former's house first, 'Or both. I may as well tell Kakashi of the news on the way over, that way I don't need to check in later.'

She skips up the pavement to her front door and pushes open their door, not bothering to take her shoes off. She walks straight in, looking for her brother. The said man is walking around looking for his shirt. Usually, Kagami throws his clothes at him in the morning so they can leave but today she left without his and he is a little out of his element. He walks into the lounge room, scratching his head and looking around.

He glances up to see Kagami staring at him, an unimpressed look gracing her features. He smiles forcibly before trying to turn around and walk back to his room, hoping he remembers not to walk around the house shirtless next time, because Kagami just pops up randomly.

'That girl is silent.'

Kagami sighs and grabs his shirt from the couch and throws it at his back, shaking her head and turning around so he can put it on.

"Thanks," he mumbles, still waking up. He spent the night finishing the most recent Icha-Icha Paradise book Kagami had gotten for him.

He pulls his shirt over his head and grabs his mask from the table, pulling that on too. He walks over to Kagami and wraps his arms around her shoulders, tapping her cheeks lightly as she refuses to look at him.

"Where did you go?" He asks quietly and pushes her headband down so it falls over her eyes.

He steps back from her and smirks as she struggles with it. She pulls it off her eyes and glares over her shoulder at her brother, eyes fiery.

"I went to the Hokage office, remember she asked to see me?" She huffs and unties the entire headband, having to redo the whole thing.

Kakashi nods, still watching her in amusement, "What'd she say?"

Kagami stops for a second and pulls out her new card, chucking it at her brother before continuing to re-tie her headband. She watches as he catches it and flips it over, looking at the card. He chuckles lightly at the photo.

'So it was him,' she narrows her eyes, tightening the material around her skull.

"Ah! Jonin, a little behind me though." The man pats her head lightly, smiling at her condescending while handing back the card.

Kagami chuckles sarcastically back at him, "Remind me, what age did you make it into Anbu again?"

Kakashi's smile drops and he flicks the girl on the forehead before collapsing gracefully onto the couch.

"Oh that's right, you were fourteen, a little behind me though." She pats his head from over the back of the couch, his hair flattening under her hand and then bouncing straight back up.

She glares at it and brings both hands forward, covering his head and holding all his hair down. Her brother glances up at her, wondering what she is doing to his head. He smiles lightly as he watches her eyebrows furrow when she lifts her hands and his hair follows without a fault.

"Your hair would probably do the same if you cut it short." He mumbles, looking away from her again.

Kagami distinctively grabs into her endless amounts of hair and holds it. It's always tied up and out of the way so she easily forgets that it's actually longer than mosts. She snaps a glare at her brother.

"You are not touching my hair." She mumbles, clutching it tightly to her front.

"I didn't say I was going to."

"You were insinuating it."

"No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you were."

"I was not."

"You were too."

"I never said I was going to cut it, nor that you had to."

"But you thought it."

"Of course I thought it, we were speaking about it."

"We weren't speaking about it, you were planning it."

Kakashi sighs and just reaches over his head and grabs Kagami's arm, pulling her over the back of the couch and onto it, her landing just next to him, squishing between his body and the couch. She lets out a grunt of surprise but doesn't try to move. Kakashi silently wraps his arms around her and pulls her to his chest, hugging her tightly.

"Kashi-nii?" Kagami whispers to the man as he buries his masked face into her shoulder, tightening his hold on her.

"You worry me, Kagami." He whispers to her, not wanting to let go of her, "You came into my life so quickly and I'm scared you are going to leave it too quickly."

Kagami just drops her head onto his shoulder, letting him hold her.

"I don't want to leave, but I'm scared that they might take me away." She whispers to him, finally letting her true feeling out.

She had spent all this time telling them that she might be transferred or moved away, but she never got the chance to tell them how scared she actually is of it happening. She raises her hand up and grabs his, squeezing it lightly.

"I won't let them take you," he takes a deep breath, "As long as you promise me you won't do that again."

She nods lightly, knowing exactly what he is talking about. She had been told by Tsunade that during the moments that they thought they had lost her that her brother almost lost it. She chose to not ask him any questions and just tried to move on.

"I promise," she mumbles to him, silently deciding to visit Shikamaru later in the day.

s.h.o.u.t.

Kagami watches the scenery pass her by quietly as she makes her way towards the Nara estate. She fell asleep on the couch with her brother and woke up when Naruto came knocking their door down asking Kakashi to train him before he leaves with Jiraiya because he doesn't know when he is coming back. He begged Kagami to train with him as well but she just shook her head and told him she has somewhere she needs to be.

It isn't a lie, she just doesn't really need to be there, she just wants to be there. She is a little nervous, to be honest. She hasn't spoken to Shikamaru since the time in the forest and hasn't had any contact with him. At first, she was sure he was in some sort of trouble, but then she reasoned with herself and come down to the conclusion that he blamed himself.

Not on Nara, not today.

She walks quietly up their front steps and knocks on the door steadily. She waits for the tell-tale signs. Shuffling towards the door or Yoshino yelling. But silence ensues. She frowns lightly and goes to knock on the door again, but it tilts open instead. Her eyes go wide as she quickly pushes the door open, worry flashing through her gut. Maybe she was right and they are in some sort of trouble

"Yoshino-san? Shikaku-" Kagami freezes at the scene in front of her.

Yoshino is being held to the side, an Anbu holding her hands behind her back. Shikaku has a kunai pointed at an Anbu who is doing the same back. Shikamaru is seated at the table, his eyes wide and starring down. Shikaku looks over to the girl.

"Kagami, leave." He says, glaring at the Anbu in front of him.

"Ah, ah," a voice comes in from the lounge room, "You are exactly who we were looking for."

Kagami stands stock-still as Danzo walks into the room, hands behind his back.

"Kagami Hatake you are under arrest for treason against Konohagakure, I suggest you be compliant."

She glances around the room, weighing up her chances. She curses internally before dropping her NI card and slowly lifting her hands from her sides and out and away from her body. She knows how this goes, she's done it a thousand times, just usually she isn't the one being arrested.

Danzo smirks at her before nodding to one of the Anbu, telling it to restrain the girl. She shoved forward roughly, her hips slamming into the table, her face close behind. She grunts as the Anbu pushes her face into the wood. Yoshino lets out a gasp of shock as she watches, her hands rising to her mouth.

"Do you have any concealed weapons on you?" The Anbu asks, pulling her hands behind her back and cuffing them together with chakra suppressants.

"No," Kagami mumbles, avoiding all eye contact with people as he pulls off her katana and ninja pouch, handing them to Danzo.

"Hatake,"

She grunts in response to her name, glaring at Danzo with enough hatred it could kill him.

He holds up her NI, "Congratulations on the promotion."

s.h.o.u.t.

the end is coming!

question of the chapter:

who is/was your favourite anbu?

~shadow