Even as the sun was setting, two dark clad forms jumped quickly across tree branches. Their movements halted abruptly as a billow of smoke rose above the forest's canopy. One was a blonde female with a headband of the sand village hanging around her neck, on her back was a large folded fan. The other dark hair man, the headband of the Leaf village strapped around his left upper arm. The woman pointed silently towards the smoke and looked at her partner, who simply nodded. The two sped off towards the source of the smoke.

Man with the leaf headband: "This is going to be troublesome. I just know it"

As they stopped at the edge of a small clearing with a road cutting through, the scene below was already played out. Bloody and several bodies everywhere, though many appeared to be simple refugees. A large number of the bodies wore the headbands of the mist and sound villages. In the center of the clearing, the only apparent survivors stood unarmed and back to back with little more than a foot between them. A man and woman covered in blood, with kunai and shirukens sticking out of various body parts. They did however appear to be alive, breathing heavily but still standing. It was only when the crying began that the baby was noticeable wrapped in a blanket on the ground between the two.

The two newcomers jumped down into the clearing at the edge, showing themselves to be not hostile by holding out their hands to the side before walking forward. The couple in the center immediately turned towards them with their hands out in a fighting stance. The held their stance for a moment dropping into a more at eased one when the headbands came noticeable. It was the woman survivor who spoke up first.

Female Survivor: "You, you're from Konoha?"

Man with the leaf headband: "Yes. We don't mean any harm to you. Tells us what happened and we might be able to help."

Male Survivor: "The child Ryu is our last. Please, we leave him to Konoha."

Chakra strong enough to be visible erupted from the survivors. Red chakra from the man, and blue chakra from the woman. The chakra jumped from the survivor's bodies to the child between them, disappearing. Even as it left them, the two survivors collapsed. The two ninja jumped forwards each checking the survivor closest, but their bodies had no pulse and were already going cold as if they had been dead for a while. The woman then moved to the child who'd stopped crying when the odd chakra had moved to him. After finding him without a scratch and looking up at her, she looked up at her partner.

Woman with the Sand Headband: "Shikamaru, what are we going to do?"

Shikamaru: "What else Temari? Take the baby with us and report to the Sixth. Though he's likely to loose his head again, better make sure Sakura is there too. I knew this was going to be troublesome."

Temari: "Heh, to you everything is troublesome."

Shikamaru simply shrugged in response as he stood up. Temari doing the same as she picked up the baby, cradling it in her arms. The pair disappeared in a blur of movement as the set off again. The child seemed completely at ease with the speed they were going, reaching up and tugging on Temari's hair a little. She winced a bit trying to give it some attention though it slowed them down. The sun was setting as they stopped looking down over the city of Konoha.

They quickly started off again, jumping down from the trees and heading for the hospital. It didn't take them long, short cutting over rooftops, to reach the hospital. Upon entering the nurses looked up as if expecting an emergency for a moment. When Shikamaru and Temari slowed their pace, though they calmed down a bit. Shikamaru walked up to the front desk, Temari staying just a bit behind him. The nurse behind the desk seemed somewhat nervous.

Shikamaru: "We need to meet with Haruno Sempai. Is she busy?"

Nurse: "N-no. It's been oddly quiet around here lately, so she should be in her office."

Shikamaru: "Thanks."

He turned back to Temari and tilted his head down the hall before walking down it. Temari in the meantime followed as she played with the baby some. The baby through most the trip had been quiet as if use to moving around so much. They went up a few flights of stairs and down another hall before they stopped at the door. Sikamaru knocked on the door.

Female Voice: "It's open."

Shikamaru let out a slight sigh before he pushed open the door. He halfway waved at the woman behind the desk. The woman had paperwork over most of her desk, even though there hadn't been much in the way of combat the past few days. She still had her pen in her hand as she watched the pair enter the office with a smile on her face. The woman's hair was long and pink with a conditioned look, a leaf headband tied far back on her head. A small black diamond stood out on the woman's broad forehead. She appeared to be fairly young for her surroundings. Temari fully waved to the woman with a smile on her face as well. She pushed ahead of Shikamaru, leaving him to close the door. His eyes rolled as he closed it, not thinking it should be left open for the moment just incase.

Shikamaru: "Hey Sakura, got a minute?"

Sakura: "Of course. Though I thought you two were still out on a mission. And how is young Shikaro today?"

Temari: "Oh he's fine. Ino's still keeping him. He came here as soon as we got back."

Sakura tilted her head a bit with a confused look on her face. He long pink hair swayed over her shoulders in the motion. After a moment she stood and walked over to the baby. Looking between it and Temari and Shikamaru several time as she looked it over. Eventually a sigh escaped her lips and she leaned back sitting on her desk.

Sakura: "Okay then, who's this child?"

Shikamaru: "We aren't sure. Apparently it's a child of some refugees that were on their way here. On the way back from our mission we came across the place where the refugees had been ambushed by sound and mist ninjas. Though oddly the child's parents appeared to have been fighting and killing the ninjas even after their bodies were dead. The collapsed after asking us to take him and appeared to have been long cold. They said his name was Ryu. Some odd sort of chakra shifted from the bodies to the child. We were hoping you could find out what you can about him. Also be there when we report to the Sixth, since the news of another attack during peace negotiations with the Hidden mist village would set him off."

Temari: "I swear you're getting more and more long winded the more you're leading the Anbu."

Shikamaru made a face at her, but simply shrugged other wise. Sakura in the mean time gently took the baby from Temari's arm. She unwrapped it partially from it's blanket it taking a closer look at it. Over the child's right chest sat an odd birthmark that was deep enough in color to be a tattoo. It was in the shape of a dragon circling a ying-yang symbol as if in preparation to either devour or defend it. Sakura's free hand began to glow faintly in chakra as she ran it above the child.

Sakura: "This is very odd and disturbing… The child can't be more than a year old, but some of the cells appear to be ancient….most though seem to be maybe eight months. I'll have to run some deeper scans to truly find out anything, though physically he is extremely healthy even for a eight month old. I suppose I'll have the orphanage prepare a crib for it."

Temari: "Hmmm eight months… Sakura before you do that. I'd like to talk with my husband a moment."

Shikamaru: "Wha?"

Sakura: "Heh heh. Of course Temari. I'll see if I can have someone find mine so that we don't have to search the entire village for him. Be back in just a moment. Shikamaru feel free to sit down if you wish."

Sakura gently rewrapped the child in it's blankets and returned it to Temari's arms. She patted Shikamaru on the shoulder with a smile as she walked by. Leaving the two alone for a few minutes, she walked down to the desk and sent someone to bring the sixth Hokage. Temari meanwhile leaned back against the desk cradling the child, as Shikamaru crossed his arms behind his head.

Shikamaru: "This is going to be troublesome isn't it?"

Temari: "Why don't we look after the baby? Shikaro is only eight months old too and having a sibling can be nice at times. This was the last mission before I started staying home with him anyway. So it wouldn't be anymore of a difficulty for one more."

Shikamaru: "This sounds a lot like the discussions mom had with dad. He never even had a chance of winning. I don't either do I?"

Temari shook her head with a smirk on her face as Shikamaru began to consider it a moment. He let out a heavy sigh as he nodded his consent. Temari's smirk grew into a grin as she passed over to him and gave him a kiss. It was in as opportune a moment as that which the door opened. Two men with leaf headbands on stood in the doorway. One wearing black and orange, with blonde unkempt hair hanging just past his shoulder. The other dressed in black and blue, with well mantained black hair hanging near his shoulders. Both of them raised an eyebrow at the scene before them.

Man in orange: "Ahem, we could leave and give you a few more minutes."

Temari smirked straightening up adjusting the child in her arms. Shikamaru's eyes rolled so far back they were nearly looking inside his head. The man in black and blue tilted his head to the side a bit letting out a snort. He walked into the room a bit before leaning against a bookcase that he seemed well accustomed to. Temari walked over and gave the man in orange a slight kiss on the cheek.

Temari: "Gaara sends his best wishes Naruto and hopes that the two of you will be able to meet more freely again when this conflict is over. And Kankuro has sent intelligence reports for you to review aswell. But where is Sakura? I'd thought she'd come back with you."

Naruto: "Thank you, I feel the same way. As for Sakura, she's with Anko, who went into labor a short while ago. It seems the constant battles are sporting almost more births than deaths these days."

Temari turned a smug smirk to the man in blue now, even as Shikamaru was giving him a sympathetic look. The man closed his eyes and shrugged as he crossed his arms. Naruto gave him a perturbed look, but otherwise left him be. Suddenly the child in her arms started crying. Temari tried calming it, and the pair received stares from the two newcomers.

Shikamaru: "Take him home and feed him. Shikaro probably too. I can handle the report."

Temari: "Guess we don't have much choice do we Ryu?"

Temari nodded to Naruto as she passed by walking out of the room. She ran her finger along the baby's lips to confirm it was hungry. Sure enough it tried sucking on the tip of her finger. Within no time at all of the tip of her finger passing the baby's lips, did she reflexively jerk it back. A sharp pain as if a bite had caused her muscles to react in such a way, but there were no marks on her finger. She pulled the child's mouth open just a bit more to see, but there were no teeth in it as she'd expected. However the child's crying had subsided for the moment to her curiosity.

Naruto's voice from inside the room: "That was cold Sasuke, you could at least be somewhat pleased about becoming a father or concerned for your wife. She isn't the youngest despite her looks."

Temari did no wait around long enough to hear any rebuttal as she walked down to the desk making an appointment to meet with Sakura again the next day. She let out a soft sigh afterwards while walking out the door. The darkness of night spreading long shadows outside the hospital. She no longer needed to think about what direction she needed to take to get anywhere, and so simply began a slow walk down the street. It wasn't really far to get anywhere in the village if you knew where you were going. Therein it was not long before she stopped just outside a closed flower shop, knocking on its wooden door frame. A woman's voice called down from above and inside the store, though it was yet not close enough for Temari to understand so she simply waited. After a few moments a blonde woman opened the door, poking her head out from behind it while yawning. When her eyes opened from the yawn, she smiled opening the door the rest of the way.

Blonde woman: "Hey Temari, here for Shikaro? Where's Shikamaru?"

Temari: "He's still reporting to the sixth. And yes, is he asleep though? I wouldn't mind sitting for a moment, if that's okay with you Ino."

Ino simply smiled knowingly as she stepped back to let Temari into the building. The front room filled with flowers of various types and colors, as Temari walked into the building. Ino closed the door before leading them up the stair to the apartments above shop. Ino motioned to living room, before passing through to the kitchen to pour some of the tea she had been making into cups. Temari walked over to the doorway into the children's room, smiling softly as she watches her child sleep beside Ino's baby. After a few moments Ino came into the room speaking softly as she noticed Temari. She walked over holding out one of the cups of tea in her hand towards Temari.

Ino: "He always amazes me since he sleeps through anything, even Chouranii's hunger cries. Those to are both so like their fathers it scary at times. Tea?"

Temari: "Thanks and I know. Until he's hungry it seems he's content to simply be there. This one seems the same."

Ino: "I was wondering when you'd mention something about it. In truth I'm dying to know what's up."

Temari: "We found him on our way back from our mission. A group of refugees attack by Sound and Mist ninja, with the only survivor being this baby. Sakura said he's only eight months, so I thought we may as well take him in. It spares there being yet another war orphan without parents. Besides I'd like Shikaro knowing the feeling of having a sibling."

Ino: "I see. Well I'm not sure about siblings, but I still hope our children can grow up knowing the friendships we felt. It seems like an eternity since the four of us all got together. With Choji always either on missions or dealing with being head of the Akimichi Clan, and Shikamaru having missions, Anbu duties, and the clan to lead it's almost no wonder. However I still wish we could find the time to just sit and be us."

Temari sighed, but smiled with empathy. She moved and sat on the couch, adjusting the child so she could sip the tea comfortably. Ino sat down across from her, holding her cup in her lap, nestled in her folded fingers. Both of them looking towards the children's room for a moment. Temari sipped some more tea before laying the child in her lap. The child itself seemed to care very little about the matters the two women around it discussed.

Temari: "As of tonight, I'm off of the mission list unless an emergency comes up, same as you. So if nothing else I can stop by more often. Heh, though how bout in a month or so when neither is on an actual mission, we grab our husbands by the hair and drag them to a lunch?"

Ino: "Aha ha, sure, but I'll need some help. Choji isn't so easy to physically move as Shikamaru."

Temari: "Hmmm, wonder if we could enlist Sakura's help?"

Ino: "Sakura?? She could drag the hokage Mountain faces to the dinner."

Temari: "Well I had been thinking something a bit less harmful. Like making it a mission request, I heard a rumor once that she actually did that once to Naruto."

Ino: "No, it isn't a rumor. She did it and made him treat her to a full night on the town to boot. She had such a smug look about her the following day, that I bugged her until she told me what had happened. As it turns out, the twins were born nine months to the day afterwards."

The two of them laughed about things the discussed sipping tea for a while longer. The child in Temari's lap fell asleep rather easy amongst the talking. It was a while later when a knock came from the door downstairs. Ino went downstairs to answer it, returning with Shikamaru behind her. He looked tired with one arm behind his head, an eyebrow raised as he looked around the room and at Temari. Even past the exhausted expression that he finally allowed onto his face, he was calculating the situation and everything that had probably happened since she'd left his side. This causing Ino and Temari to exchange a knowing smirk to each other over.

Shikamaru: "He said it was fine to keep him and agreed it was probably better than the orphanage. Though he did ask to keep them updated on the child as he grows up. Sakura said to move the meeting up to ten or so in the morning, because she'd like to meet with you for lunch afterward. Also that was a better time for Hinata to come and assist. And before you ask, Anko delivered a healthy young boy half an hour ago. Can I go home and pass out now? Just talking with Naruto can still give me headaches."

Ino: "Wait, Anko started labor today? You didn't mention that."

Temari: "Oh, sorry I guess it slipped my mind. I'll stop by tomorrow and fill you in, k?"

Ino sighed and nodded as she went into the children's room. She gingerly picked up Shikaro and brought him out to Shikamaru. Temari set the tea cup down on a coaster, before standing with the new child in her arms. She still had trouble thinking of it by name. She walked over to Shikamaru sliding a free arm around his hip, holding him close. They made their way rather quietly down the stairs and out the door. Temari looked back over Shikamaru's shoulder giving her a slight nod of thanks. After Ino closed the door, as the two slowly walked down the streets back to their home. The couple laid the babies in the small crib letting them sleep. Afterwards withdrawing to their own bed, taking little time to fall asleep with their arms around each other.

The morning came, with sunlight filtering through the windows and babies cries through the doorway. Temari got up first, grudgingly, as she was the one that had to feed the babies. Shikamaru didn't stay in bed long though after she was up. He went to make coffee, smiling weakly at her as he passed by the room, noting a baby's head held to either breast. After a while he wandered into the room, her breasts still exposed though the children both simply lay in her arms. He leaned on the door frame as she looked down at them with a parental glow that he had come to adore. He had finally seen to the full extent what his father had tried to express to him several times as a child.

Temari: "Things were some what run together last night. Shikaro, this is Ryu your new brother. Ryu this will be your family now."

The children of course did not answer her, but that didn't seem to matter. Shikamaru walked over and kissed her lightly, before standing beside her looking down at them as well. He reached a hand to each of them, with both children trying to take hold of a finger. As he looked towards Shikaro, Ryu wrapped his lips around the tip of his finger. Within the same moment Shikamaru yelped from a stinging sensation pulling his finger back from the child. Though the stinging didn't bother him quite so much as the movement he thought he saw. After the stinging, the shadow of the baby, that showed just above Temari's shadow, wavered shifting sizes and shapes for no more than a second before it went back to normal. Shikamaru stood looking over Temari's shoulder down at the child.

Temari: "It felt like he bit you didn't it? I noticed the same thing last night, but it doesn't happen more than once."

Shikamaru: "That doesn't trouble me as much as the fact that if I didn't know better, I'd say he just tried using Kagemane no Jutsu of some sort. Take him to Sakura as early as possible and see what she thinks about it okay?"

Temari nodded, her brows furrowed as she looked down at the child in her arms. Several moments later Shikamaru's hand on her shoulder her broke her concentration. She looked up to his smirk of a smile and nodded. For the moment neither had to say anything to know what the other thought. Temari laid the children back into the crib and went to get dressed. She pulled out a red outfit, with black shorts and mesh stockings. She would have preferred sticking with black, but Shikamaru had asked her to add more color to her wardrobe so she did when not on mission.

Shikamaru came into the room a moment, pulling her close from behind her and kissing her neck. One of his hands caressing gently a breast that he was sure could use some slight relief after the babies had been fed. His arms slid back from her after a moment, and Temari turned giving him a kiss. They both smirked at each other a moment before she gave him a rough push towards the door. She knew he had places to be and that he was probably running late as it was. He nodded looking in on the babies before leaving for an Anbu meeting. She watched him leave from the window knowing that it was the direction of the graveyard rather than the meeting location.

Temari turning from the window and finished getting dressed. She put her hair up, still not bothering with accessorizing that most around seemed to. Her head guard was tied around her forehead, it's symbol that of the sand. Despite moving to Konoha and marrying, she kept the mark of her birth village. Finally finishing for what was likely a long day, she somewhat dressed the children. She slung on a carrier that she had been given by her brothers, who did not think she would take well to carrying the child everywhere. Shikaro was picked up first and placed gently into the carrier, his hands tugged some on her clothes. She picked Ryu up holding him in her arms as she exited the house and began walking towards the hospital.

A short while later she entered a medical room of the hospital. Sakura and a black hair woman with a pale complection, having already been in the room, came over to greet her. Sakura waved as the other woman bowed. Sakura wore a somewhat less than modest out fit, with a loose top that left her midsection and cleavage in view, and skirt fully split up the side with mesh shorts underneath. Her outfit was obviously more about comfort than anything and resembled something from her teacher's wardrobe than one from her youth. The black haired woman wore a very loose, yet still modest kimono that seemed more to hide her form than anything. The most notable feature of this woman though, was the face that her eyes appeared to have no pupils.

Temari: "Good morning Sakura, Hinata. Out of curiosity who is babysitting the Sixth if you're both here?"

Hinata: "Hokage-sama is meeting with the Anbu and then he's suppose to have lunch with Negi, Shikamaru, and Sasuke. So he should be well occupied until after noon. And any messengers know where to find me in the mean time."

Temari: "Hah ha. Hinata you still need to loosen up some. I was simply joking. You've always been extremely dedicated to being the Hokage's aide. Even though I still have trouble seeing how you manage it all. No one doubts your ability to persuade that man, almost as easily as Sakura can."

Hinata: "It's really no trouble."

Sakura: "Well we may as well begin hadn't we? We can catch up over lunch. And the child is still a curiosity to me."

Temari: "Oh yes. There was something else about him that we noticed. Shikamaru and I have both thought we felt the child bite us, though he doesn't have teeth. I've checked for teeth both times. Last night he was crying for food as I left the hospital, but after I felt the sting, while my finger was in his mouth, he didn't seem hungry anymore. And this morning when Shikamaru felt the same sting, he thought he saw the child's shadow move as if Kagemane no jutsu."

Sakura: "Impossible.. Kagemane no jutsu is only known to the Nara family. Even at that, for a baby to use it would be impossible. A body that young can't build enough chakra."

Sakura's brows furrowed as she gently lifted the Ryu from Temari's arms. She took a moment to smile and acknowledge Shikaro by holding his hand a moment. Sakura slowly walked over to the medical bed that had been placed in the middle of the room. Unwrapping the blankets, Sakura set Ryu down in the middle of the medical bed. Hinata moved opposite her, even as Temari moved to the foot of the bed. Temari pulled Shikaro over her shoulder and out of the carrier, holding him in her arms. Veins bulged around Hinata's pupil-less eyes as she looked down on the child.

Hinata: "Even for eight months, the flow of chakra through his body is very developed. It's probable that if it were a simpler base jutsu, he could have actually performed it. Though just barely. Most notable thing I can see, is around his mouth. Along his upper jaw, there are chakra pathways that flow straight from his center, that shouldn't be there. The tenketsu for those paths are between the points where his teeth will come in, for all appearances right behind the canines."

Sakura: "That's very odd. Is there anything particularly different about the chakra itself? His cells I found to be peculiar last evening, and I'm wondering if that has something to do with it."

Hinata: "Now that you mention it, his chakra doesn't seem to be particularly in the pathways like normal. More like the chakra is following near the paths, as guidelines."

Sakura: "Hmm, keep watching. I'm going to open his mouth and examine the area you were talking about."

Hinata nodded a bit as she focused her sight towards the child's head. Sakura carefully pushed and pulled on the child's jaws to open the mouth. The child oddly enough didn't resist or squirm in the slightest. It was an unnatural occurrence that all there recognized and would remark on later. Sakura moved her fingers inside the child's mouth, keeping them at the base of the jaw and away from the point where the chakra point were suppose to be. Hinata flinched and began to open her mouth, though it was too late already. Sakura flinched and pulled her hand back away from the child. Sakura shot a curious glance at Hinata, while Temari simply shrugged with a smug 'told you so' smirk on her face, though that is how she normally looked.

Hinata: "Apparently, he doesn't need direct contact at the tenketsu points for the exchange. Almost as soon as your fingers entered his mouth, a small portion of your chakra seemed pulled from your fingers and into his chakra pathways. Also when the exchange happened, I noticed more clearly something else interesting. Nearby the child's shoulders are two chakra formations, outside his body. They flashed brighter during the exchange…. They seem to resemble small birds comprised entirely of non bound chakra."

Sakura: "But, that isn't possible either. Chakra can not exist if not bound and controlled by a shinobi."

Temari: "Evidently Sakura, almost everything about this child is Impossible. There's also something you weren't paying attention to. When you flinched back, the birthmark on his chest actually expanded."

Sakura: "Huh?"

Everyone's eyes moved, focusing on the odd dragon mark on the child's chest. The ying-yang was the same as the last time they had looked. However the dragon circling the ancient symbol for balance had grown. The dragon had slightly more detail as well, though that was barely noticeable. The three women standing around him, just looked down at the child. Temari had the smug look of a proud mother, though she purposefully changed expressions when she realized it. She looked down at Shikaro in her arms, with a thoughtful look wondering if motherhood had changed her somewhat. She was soon broken from her thoughts by Sakura's voice though.

Sakura: "Temari? Send a message to Kankuro and see if he can find any records in the wind Country about ninjas with a prominent tattoo like the child's if you would?"

Temari: "The child has a name Sakura. Ryu remember?"

Sakura: "Of course, I apologize. For a moment, I'd forgotten this was also your son now. I'll begin to research through our records. Normally this type of oddity would require Anbu to constantly observe the child. However considering you and Shikamaru will be raising him, I will have it left in your care. Just remember Temari, we cannot afford another Kabuto. If he begins to act out against the village in anyway, I will have Anbu detain him."

Temari: "I'll do my best to make sure that isn't necessary Sakura. I'm the one that chose to take him in. It will be my responsibility should he need to be detained or handled."

Temari's voice had an icy chill to it, her eyes focused on Sakura's. Sakura looked passively back at her, though Hinata seemed troubled. They simply stood there a few moments before Sakura let out a sigh nodding to Temari. Sakura wrapped Ryu back in his blanket, holding him in her arm's for the time being. She looked down at him for a moment.

Sakura: "I'm sorry to have let it sound the way it did Temari, but we are still at war. Naruto wouldn't have said anything, but you needed to realize that. As his wife, it's also my duty to guard the safety of the village."

Temari: "I'm the brother to a Kage, and the husband to the leader of the Anbu. I'm well aware of duty, theirs, yours, and mine. If we're finished here, it would be nice to get something to eat. I haven't had anything to eat honestly since yesterday afternoon."

Hinata: "It is getting near noon. I'll have to go back soon."

Sakura: "I'm sorry. You're right, let's go get something to eat before we have to all get back to our duties. The 'boys' are bound to be at the noodle shop, since it was Naruto's pick. So how bout we keep the 'girl;s only' lunch at the barbeque then?"

Hinata: "Sounds good to me."

Temari: "Same. Anything other than Shikamaru's travel rations if you can call them that. I swear next time I have to go on a mission with him, I'm having Choji prepare the traveling rations. There's a man that can cook his way to any woman's heart."

They laughed as they walked out the door. Sakura held Ryu for the trip. The three of them talked and laughed throughout the luncheon. The two children being held and pampered. Hinata seemed to try to touch something near the child's head many times, though evidently made no progress. Ryu stayed quiet during all of it. Perhaps simply to let those people around him enjoy the peace and quiet of those days. It was going to be different with such an odd child growing up with Konoha's newest generation, but then the previous generation was quite different from any before as well. The next few decades of life in Konoha promised to be just as, or even more so, interesting as the past few.