Maiden- This is the sequel to 'Fighting Dreamers'. If you haven't read that, then this might not make a lot of sense. Anyway, 'The Tale of A Gutsy Kuniochi' is centered around the kids of the Rookie Team; mostly Naruto and Hinata's daughter, Usagi. Also, as with the prequel, mine and (WingsxOfxCaos) Ocs will be featured; Luna Avalon, Melody Dujo, and Angel Maruko.

Couples- NaruHina

ShikaTema

NejiTen

SakuLee

ChoIno

ShinoAngel

KibaLuna

GaaraMelody

(Others coming in later chapters!)

Kids -

Usagi Uzumaki – Eight years old and the oldest of Naruto and Hinata's kids. Pale blonde hair styled in two pig tails, lavender eyes with the Byakugan, fair skin with Naruto's whisker marks.

Nariko Uzumaki – Four years old and the youngest child for Naruto and Hinata (until the birth of the twins in later chapters) Fair skin with whisker marks, ink blue hair styled much like Minato's. Cerulean eyes with the Byakugan.

Azurra Nara – Nine years old and the oldest child of ShikaTema. Light skin tone, inherited Temari's teal eyes and eye shape, slate gray hair styled in a side ponytail.

Selena Inuzuka- Six years old and the youngest of Kiba and Luna's kids. Medium skin tone, long and wild black hair, chocolate colored eyes, inherited her mother's Sharingan.

Syrus Inuzuka- Seven years old and the oldest of Kiba and Luna's kids. Medium skin tone, shaggy brown hair like Kiba, sapphire eyes, and inherited his mother's second dojutsu, the Byakugan.

Chapter 1 – Comatose

'One hundred, eighteen...again.' Usagi sighed as she finished counting the ceiling tiles of the hospital room she sat in. The small blonde was sure they would've awoken by now...but they hadn't. Pale lavender eyes studied the all-too-still bodies occupying the four beds in the room. Kiba and Luna were on one side of the room, and Gaara and Melody occupied the other. Usagi sat against the wall, directly between Luna and Melody. It had been a month since the Shirogane Clan had been defeated and the Master Puppet sealed away. And it had been a month since the four shinobi were first brought into the hospital. None of them had yet to regain consciousness. Usagi blamed herself for everything. If she had been just a little stronger, and a little less hotheaded, maybe her aunts and uncles would be okay. The fact that Melody was pregnant hurt Usagi the most. If the baby is born with a birth defect, or doesn't live, Usagi swears she would never forgive herself.

"I wish you would wake up..." Usagi whispered. "Everyone really misses you."

The small kit halfheartedly hoped she'd gauge some sort of reaction from the four comatose shinobi. But, like usual, she was answered only with the whirring of the machines that maintained the four's lives.

"Aunt Sakura and Tsunade-ba chan says even though you're in a coma, you can still hear me. And that it would be good to talk to you." she wiped a few tears away before speaking again, this time to Luna and Kiba. "Selena and Syrus joined the Ninja Academy last week. So far, Konohamaru-sensei says they're doing good. Aunt Ino is taking care of them until you guys wake up. She and Uncle Chouji recently got together, and they're talking about getting married."

"Uncle Gaara, Aunt Melody... you really need to wake up. You're gonna have a baby girl in just a few months. Nobody really likes to talk about it, cause we're not sure who should watch over her if you aren't awake when she's born. Hell, we don't even know what to name her! Uncle Kankuro is keeping watch over Suna until you can get back. He volunteered to be a temporary Kazekage when we found out Aunt Temari is pregnant again. She's not as far along as Oka-chan or you, Aunt Melody. Azuura isn't too thrilled about getting a little brother, though. She keeps saying what a 'drag' it will be. But I don't think so. I think she's just jealous that she won't be an only child anymore."

Again, Usagi was met with silence when she stopped talking. It made her heart clench to know her two aunts and two uncles may never speak to her again. With a kiss to each of their foreheads, the blonde made her way out of the hospital. She knew if she wasn't back at the Academy by time her mother came to pick her up, her parents would figure out she'd been skipping school for weeks to come sit at the hospital. But school was the last thing Usagi wanted to worry about. Hell, she didn't even want to be a ninja anymore. She made a solid decision when she found out she was host to Kurama's Yin chakra. As long as she didn't fight, she couldn't hurt anyone again.

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Usagi made it back to the academy just before classes ended. She didn't bother going inside the classroom, preferring not to hear another one of Konohamaru's lectures about truancy. Instead, she leaned against the wall beside the door and waited for her 'cousins'. After a sea of stir crazy kids exploded from the room, Selena, Syrus, and Azuura came into sight.

"Hey guys." Usagi called.

"You know I'm getting really sick of covering for you." Azuura yawned. She'd spent most of class asleep, and was a bit cranky after being woken up.

"Sorry." Usagi laughed nervously. "I'll be in class tomorrow."

"You say that every day." Selena deadpanned with a roll of her chocolate hued eyes. "At this rate, you'll never become genin."

"I don't want to." Usagi replied, keeping her stare on the floor.

"But why?" Syrus asked, flabbergasted. "Being a ninja is so cool! And if we all got assigned to the same team, think of how much fun it would be!"

"There can only be three genin to a team, dumbass." Azuura pointed out. "And there's four of us. Besides, you and Selena are two years behind me and Usagi. So you wouldn't be teamed up with us anyway."

"A guy can dream, right?" Syrus laughed, showing his fangs.

"We should get to the hospital before visiting hours are over." Selena told her brother, tugging on his brown jacket. The two Inuzukas sprinted towards the exit, leaving Azuura and Usagi alone.

"Any improvement?" the Nara heir asked, gauging a shake of the head from Usagi.

"They're breathing without machines now." Usagi spoke in a small voice. "But brain function remains minimal."

"Such a drag." Azuura sighed. "I would've thought for sure, Lady Tsunade could help them."

"It's not that she hasn't tried. She's pretty much ran herself ragged trying. The only thing she's found so far is that there bodies are fine. Most of their injuries have healed already and chakra levels are normal."
"So it's mental?"

"Possibly. The EEG machines barely show readings."

"I really hate to say it, Usagi, but I don't think they're gonna wake up."

"I hope you wake up before we become genin." Selena spoke softly to her parents. The raven haired six year old held her father's hand. It was very battle worn and his claws were in need of a good sharpening.

"Yea, you could teach us how to be bad ass ninja!" Syrus grinned, gripping tightly to Luna's softer hand. "I promise, Selena and I will make you proud! She's already learned your Siren Song, mom."

"I didn't actually 'learn' it." Selena giggled. "It happened when we were being chased by those puppet walkers. I screamed, but it wasn't exactly a scream. I mean it was for like two seconds, then out of nowhere, I started to sing this really pretty melody. At first I didn't think it came from me."

"Yeah, you weren't too bad." Syrus nudged his younger sister.

"And Syrus perfected the fire ball jutsu." Selena told her comatose parents with a toothy smile. "We were held captive in Rain Country, and it was really cold. Syrus made a fire before we all froze to death. Then, he managed to help us break out."

"It was nothing." Syrus grinned sheepishly. He could almost hear his father's bark-like laugh and see his mother's Mona Lisa smile. He then noticed the EEG machines beside him. Both screens showed a very slight increase of brain activity. "Selena?" he called, alerting his sister. "How about you sing for them? Show mom and dad what you've got."

Selena looked at her elder brother in bewilderment. Never had he asked to hear her sing; something she loved to do. Syrus always preferred Luna's voice. Her singing would always comfort and soothe the boy. Although Selena had a nice sound, she couldn't hold a candle to her mother. Not yet, anyway. Syrus always made jokes about his sister's singing, saying she sounded like a whale or a tone deaf dolphin. How the latter made sense, Selena didn't know. But the almost pleading look Syrus gave her, made Selena decide to honor his request.

The smallest Inuzuka inhaled and began her melody. Her inexperienced voice wasn't like Luna's almost mystical tone. But it was beautiful, nonetheless. Syrus watched the EEG machines' readings steadily increase. Blue eyes glanced over to Gaara and Melody and saw their machines were much the same way. Syrus' heart jumped into his throat and urged his sister to continue. After another few seconds, Selena stopped, gasping for breath. She wasn't used to singing more than a few chords, so she'd used up quite a bit of chakra. Syrus noticed the brain activity for all four adults dropped back down to minimal almost instantly.

"I think we might've stumbled upon something!" Syrus howled with delight. Before his sister could say a word, the elder Inuzuka heir took off racing down the hall to find Tsunade. If anyone could confirm his suspicions, it would be the legendary Sannin herself.

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"Now tell me again what happened, but much slower this time." Tsunade could feel her head pounding from the loud and abrasive voice of Syrus Inuzuka. Perhaps it wasn't just Syrus that contributed to her headache, but also the lack of sleep and excessive amounts of sake. The blonde woman having poured every ounce of her energy and focus into the four comatose shinobi down the hall.

"Selena and I went to visit our parents." Syrus started out, making sure not to rush his words so the older woman could understand him clearly. "While we were talking to them, I noticed the brain wave machine started to speed up. So I asked Selena to sing. Mom told me that the Siren Wail messes with brain activity or something, so I thought why not? Well, Selena started to sing and the machines kept going faster and faster. Before the brain waves got back to normal, Selena ran out of chakra and had to stop. The second she stopped, though, the brain waves dropped back down."

"How did I not think of this before!?" Tsunade all but slapped herself. The blonde woman grabbed Syrus by his shirt and dragged him back to the four shinobi's room. Selena still sat beside her father's bed.

"Selena. I'd like for you to sing that melody again." Tsunade asked.

"But I don't have enough chakra." the girl spoke sheepishly.

"That's okay, I can feed some of my chakra into you." to prove her words, Tsunade gently placed her hand on Selena's shoulder, feeding the blue energy into the young child. Selena could feel her chakra reserves replenishing. With a deep breath, she began to sing.

Tsunade marveled at the sound coming from such a young girl. She may only be six years old but she inherited every bit her mother's jutsu. Luna's voice was hauntingly beautiful when she used her Siren Wail. Never before had a jutsu been discovered that affected brain activity through sound waves. To prove Syrus correct, Selena's voice seemed to gauge a response from the EEG monitors. Tsunade watched in amazement as the levels went from minimal to almost normal. After a few minutes, Tsunade figured out that it would take more than just Selena's voice to awaken the four. But this was one hell of a good start to figuring out what would.

Naruto's eyes fluttered open to a bedroom filled with sunlight. He outwardly groaned and pulled the covers over his head. Not wanting to get up quite yet. Since being inaugurated as the Seventh Hokage, Naruto's sleep schedule had all but diminished. So he savored every moment he got to spend in bed. His bandaged arm went in search of his wife, wanting to take it's usual place around her. But he found the bed was empty on her side. The blonde sat up and saw his wife wasn't in the bedroom at all. Panicking slightly, he sprang from the bed and rushed into the living room, seeing Hinata in the kitchen cooking.

"Hina-hime, please sit down and rest!" Naruto all but shouted, awakening both his sleeping children.

"Anata, I'm pregnant. Not injured." Hinata giggled, stirring pancake batter.

"Yes, but you're carrying twins! You've only handled one at a time before, so you need to take it easy!"

"Please go make sure Usagi is awake." Hinata asked of her husband, choosing to ignore his ramblings. "So she's not late for school."

Naruto (reluctantly) did what his wife asked. After much bantering on his part about her 'overworking' herself, Naruto accepted defeat and went to check on his daughter. Usagi had her head buried underneath two pillows.

"Up and at 'em, kitsune!" Naruto plucked the pillows from Usagi's grasp, earning him a glare that even the mighty Kurama shuttered at.

"Can't you go one day without screaming first thing in the morning!?" the blonde girl growled, throwing her alarm clock at her father.

"I'm just looking out for your mom!" Naruto cried in defense.

"Of course." Usagi deadpanned. "Because it's not like she's a strong kunoichi and a war veteran or anything."

"She's carrying two babies, though!" the blonde Hokage comically screamed. Earning himself another glare from his daughter.

"Twins run in her family, baka!" Usagi thundered, having had enough of her father's unreasonable yelling. "Now get the hell outta my room!"

Naruto promptly did as he was told after dodging a pillow and several stuffed animals.

"Lady Tsunade, how about you take a break?" Shizune offered, seeing the dark circles under the Sannin's hazel eyes. Tsunade sat in a sea of medical texts, eyes darting over every word.

"I can't. I feel I'm close to a breakthrough."

"I know you want to help them, milady. But you can't do that if you run yourself in the ground like this."

"There will be time for rest later, Shizune."

The two's conversation was cut short due to a curt knock. Shizune opened the door to Tsunade's office revealing Neji Hyuga and Ino Yamanaka.

"You summoned us?" Neji asked.

"Yes." Tsunade replied, snapping the book in her hands shut and standing from her book covered desk. "I need you two for an examination."

The Hyuga and Yamanaka looked at each other in confusion.

"Follow me."

Tsunade walked the two down the hall and into the hospital room that housed Luna, Kiba, Gaara and Melody.

"I need the two of you to combine your jutsu and tell me what's going on inside of them. Ino will use her Mind Swap technique to look through Neji's Byakugan."

The two nodded and proceeded to do as they were asked. Ino stood behind Neji and placed her hands on his shoulders. She let her mind slowly move from her body and slip into Neji's. Before he was overshadowed, Neji activated his dojutsu. Ino could literally see everything around her. Including inside the bodies of her four friends.

"Wow. So this is what it's like to have near infinite vision." Ino mused. "Damn, I could have dirt on everyone in Konoha with this!"

"Focus Ino!" Tsunade snapped.

Ino nodded and peered first at Melody.

"Everything seems to be normal." the blonde informed. "Chakra networks are normal, all injuries are either healed or almost healed, the baby is growing just fine and there are no obvious deformities...but, there isn't any chakra going to Melody's brain."

"Can you see why?"

"It's kinda fuzzy but I think I see a seal just behind the eyes. I'm not too familiar with seals, but I can tell you that it's similar to the seals the Shirogane used on their puppets. It's blocking all the chakra to and from the brain."

The corners of Neji's eyes began to bleed, meaning he was at his limit. It didn't surprise anyone because he had never used his Byakugan's microscopic viewing this hard or this long.

"You can release the jutsu, Ino." Tsunade placed a hand to Neji's forehead to heal the broken blood vessels around his eyes. Ino let go of his mind and regained composure of her own body.

"What do we do now?" Neji asked, rubbing his tired eyes. "Now that we know why they're comatose?"

"All we can do now is look for a way to undo the seal." Tsunade sighed. "Unfortunately there aren't many seal masters left in the ninja world. Most of them from the Uzumaki clan. However, the Uzumaki have spread all over the world after the destruction of Uzu."

"Are there any chances we could find one?" Ino asked.

"I don't really know. Even if we do locate an Uzumaki there is no guarantee that they'll even know anything about seals. Or even know of such complex seals as this one."

"So you're saying it's gonna be trial and error?" Neji chidded.

"Somewhat." Tsunade sighed. "I have several medical texts left to me by my grandmother Mito, who happened to be an Uzumaki. Maybe there's something in there I can work with."

"Could Naruto help, perchance?"

"I'll definitely ask him, but I don't think so. I know he managed to seal Kaguya all those years ago, but that was with the help of Sasuke and Sakura. And seeing how the former is still a rouge and missing nin, I doubt Naruto holds any serious sealing abilities on his own."

Maiden- Thank you for reading! And please, if you have any ideas for potential extra storylines, please review! I'd love some feedback too!