| [Oct. 19th, 2015|12:07 am] |
After food and conversation with her boys, some undefinable tension Katsuko hadn’t realized she’d been carrying had dissipated. Ryouma was happy and safe beside her, and Kakashi trusted them enough (or was tired enough) to let them keep watch while he rested his head in his arms. She leaned back against her seat and said, “I’m starting officer prep courses.”
Ryouma’s head turned sharply and he gave her a searching look. Then he smiled, slow and proud. “Good for you, senpai. Remember me when you need a lieutenant.”
She grinned back. “I’m just auditing it to start out, see if I like it. But if I do decide to stick with it, you’ll be my first choice for lieutenant-medic.”
He did a triumphant little fist-pump. “Kakashi can come with us, as lieutenant’s official scribe.”
“Only if you want your reports to be illegible,” Kakashi muttered.
She peered down at his shock of grey hair and exchanged a glance with Ryouma. “We never asked about how your review went, did we?” She shifted and reached her good hand across the table to give the top of his grumpy spikes a comforting flick. “What did the lieutenant have to say?”
He sighed and dragged his head up enough to prop his chin on his crossed arms. With the air of someone who’d run the words over repeatedly in his mind, he quoted, “‘No further professional development plans are indicated at the moment.” Bitterness crept into his voice. “I’m supposed to work on mastering ANBU fundamentals, and integrating with the team.”
There was a considering silence on both sides of the table. Finally, Ryouma reached over and placed an enoki maki squarely in the middle of Kakashi’s plate. “You’re not integrating too badly.”
It had to be difficult for a prodigy used to ambitious leaps in rank and skill to be given an assessment suited more for the average ANBU rookie. Katsuko’s own first month evaluation had been more blistering, with Raidou and Captain Ozawa confronting her on the disparity between her professionalism on the field and her irreverence off of it. The phrases “dangerously close to insubordination” and “immaturity” had featured prominently. She recalled the burn of shame at the disappointment on their faces with vivid detail.
“Then it’s up to you to show them what you can do, isn’t it?” she said, calmly. “This is a test, same as the Trials. They’re tripping you up because they know you’ve been walking when you’re capable of running.” |
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