Katsuko gave him a slow, assessing look, then flashed a quick smile. “You’ve earned the first ten moves. Stand up.”

Kakashi shoved back up to his feet, eager.

She made a clone that possessed two fully functional arms and gestured him to stand beside it. The clone moved at half-speed, leading him through the sequence. Kakashi followed, holding onto everything he’d learned. Straight back leg, front knee properly balanced over ankle, wrists at this angle, shoulders canted that way, and hands always, always moving…

His stance was close, but Katsuko still corrected a few small details. His timing was better.

The second run was at full speed. There were less corrections.

The third time, Katsuko stood back and watched in silence, eyes narrowed. It was only ten movements, but Kakashi devoted the same total immersion to them that he gave every other aspect of his training, aware that the single drop of sweat you didn’t sacrifice could be the one that got you killed.

When stillness returned, his muscles burned, blood thundered in his ears, and satisfaction curled around his ribs. He looked at Katsuko.

She was silent for a long moment, then she tipped her head and he saw her green eyes were sparking with pride.

“Almost perfect,” she said. “Our next lesson, I want you to be able to do those moves in your sleep.”

Kakashi twitched. “Almost?”

“Technically perfect,” she said. “If you practice until they look natural, like a dance, then you’ll have it.”

Since another attempt today would kill him, he had to concede a less-than-perfect success, but technically perfect was something. He sheathed his swords, set them carefully down, bowed to Katsuko, and collapsed flat on his back. The night’s first stars twinkled overhead.

“How many kata are there?” he asked.

“Ten,” she said. “At least, ten required to reach master’s rank. After the master’s rank, you get to learn the advanced versions of all the kata.”

Kakashi grinned, breath rasping between his teeth. “How long did it take you?”

“Fifteen years, give or take,” she said. She banished her clone and moved over to stand above him, good hand propped on a cocked hip. “I had to adapt Hyoho Niten from a samurai’s style to a shinobi’s. A samurai’s chakra pathways are very different from ours. And there was a break in my training that took time to recover from.”

He flicked a glance at her stomach, where scars lurked behind her shirt. She caught the look and smiled, cat-like.

“I think you can reach master’s level in five,” she said.

He’d made it from academy student to jounin in eight, jounin to ANBU in five.

“I’ll do it in three,” he said.

She threw her head back, standing long and lean in the moonlight, and laughed in delight. “I’ll hold you to that,” she said, and grinned down at him. “But first, work on fixing your tendency to fall over. Baby steps.”

Kakashi folded an arm down over his eyes. “Tomorrow.”

Still laughing softly, she crossed her legs and sat down next to him, watching the sky fill with distant lights, until Kakashi allowed her to haul him up and help him stagger back home.