There wasn’t any code. A glance with the Sharingan showed no unusual chakra.

Kakashi folded the letter carefully and touched it to his nose. It smelled like Katsuko, overlaid by Genma and Raidou. No one else.

Two days ago, she’d told them her father never came to Konoha unless he could help it; that he’d been gone more than two years and she prefered it that way. Now the man had called and she’d packed up her whole life to answer.

Five days ago, she’d told Kakashi she was thinking about taking command track. She’d bought him swords, vouched for Raidou, they’d talked about trust. She’d said, You’re one of mine. My team. She’d meant it.

Nothing was permanent, especially in ANBU, but they were in pieces and she’d left.

Like a good soldier, under orders. Exactly like he would have.

And this was exactly why he hadn’t wanted to read the damn letter. He didn’t want to understand.

Paper crunched. He opened his fist, but only to set the spark. The letter burned away in seconds, with a flame too small to set off the hospital’s fire-warning seals. He shook the ash off his palm and turned back to the remainder of Team Six.

“She says she’s sorry,” he said. “Are we getting a new teammate, or is it just us from now on?”

Raidou’s face darkened. “What?”

In Kakashi’s peripheral vision, Ryouma’s knuckles whitened. Genma leaned forward on his chair, angling his shoulder just in front of Raidou. A subtle but precisely placed barrier.

“ANBU teams change to suit the needs of the missions the village is taking — this is no different.” Genma’s voice was as calm as the slow currents of Konoha’s river. “Until we hear otherwise, we’ll be a team of four, with three on medical leave, and one on training leave for the next two weeks. We could be assigned a new member after that, or we could be given missions as we are.” He settled back in his chair, relaxed. “This isn’t a punishment for Team Six, no matter how it feels. This is a promotion for Ueno. Taichou and I are proud of her. She’s earned it.”

A tight muscle flickered in Raidou’s jaw, but he settled back.

I thought she’d earned command track. The words were there, right behind Kakashi’s teeth. He swallowed them. Genma could have his spin. Maybe he was proud. Maybe it was a step up for Katsuko, instead of a sidestep into the heartland of Konoha’s enemy. Maybe Raidou didn’t look like he wanted to bust heads together.

Kakashi glanced sideways. Ryouma still had Katsuko’s drawing spread over his thighs, the one wordless goodbye everyone had gotten to see. After Raidou, Ryouma had bonded with Katsuko the fastest. They’d nearly had their own language, half of it devoted to goading Kakashi.

The hell sort of goodbye is this?

Ryouma didn’t understand, either. He just looked gutted.

Kakashi sighed, suddenly tired of this day and everything in it. “I knew we should have taken that hit out on her dad.”