Sorry for taking so long. I've been on a roll with Plugged In. In two in a half months I've written 62k for that one. I finally figured out what to write for this one. Hopefully the next one won't take so long.

As of recently, I decided to publish Blood of the Immortal as my own work, changing all the Naruto references, and some of the characters to make it officially my own of course. I was wondering if you guys would actually buy it if I did do it. I also need a beta who has previous editing experience or English major for my own piece of mind that my self publish work is actually up to grammar and spelling standards. If anyone would like to apply, please PM me.

Also thank you to xRememberxMe for Betaing everything I throw at her even though I don't make the official changes as fast as she would like. You're awesome.

And to all the reviewers who read and review everything I write (including my Star Trek Stories), AiMila, xRememberxMe, keltieful, and others, thank you. You're reviews make me laugh and brighten my day.


It was strange to be leaving. For three and a half months, it had been nothing but sparring. Never mind eating or sleeping, if either him or Sasuke was breathing, they were sparring. Sasuke with Shisui, Naruto with Kakashi and later Kisame; though, Naruto definitely preferred Kakashi over Kisame for obvious reasons. Going back to civilization, going back to the real world, it seemed unreal now. Like attending school was another lifetime ago.

Still there was one thing on Naruto's mind he had not been able to shake since they had arrived here. It had been eating him up inside. He hadn't had the chance to speak to Sasuke about it. Between their two training schedule's they haven't had time. They were training almost twenty hours a day. By the time it was time to rest, they were too tired to say much to one another. They slipped in bed still in their bloodied clothes, and fell asleep instantly. There wasn't even time for a quick make out session.

But still it was in the back of his mind, plaguing his dreams. Would he have done it?

For the first time since his brutal schedule started, he had the night off. In two days, they were heading back to Konoha, so Naruto was taking time to take in the cool night air. The mountains were really beautiful. It was a shame they weren't here to enjoy it.

"Dobe, what are you doing out here? I know idiots can't catch colds, but it doesn't mean you should try." Naruto felt the weight of a heavy wool blanket drape around his shoulders and the presence of his mate behind him.

"Thanks," he said, giving him a small lopsided grin. He looked out into the mountainside again, becoming lost in his thoughts.

"No name calling and you're quiet. Now I know something's wrong with you." It was meant to be a joke, but Naruto didn't comment on it. Wrapping his arms around his waist, he whispered. "What's wrong?"

"You know, it's kind of weird for you to hold me like this. A part of me still wants to believe we're still at your mansion, dancing around each other, pretending to hate one another, and tolerating one another." He leaned back into his lover's arms.

"Does it make you uncomfortable?" Sasuke asked.

"Just . . . it all happened so fast you know? I knew you for two months before practically skipping the whole dating thing and getting hitched, and now we've already been married for almost four. Out of the two months dating, and we were apart for two weeks, and the four months married we've barely spent five days together total in that entire time."

Sasuke tensed behind him. "Are you regretting your decision?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. I wouldn't change anything. Just hard to adjust given everything that's happened. In my head, your more like my boyfriend than my . . . husband."

Sasuke was not okay with that. Boyfriend did not imply long term commitment, but he swallowed his feelings and said nothing. Naruto was younger than him. It was to be expected at his age. "Was that what you've been thinking about lately?"

"No," the fledging deflated. He was silent for a bit then spoke in a quiet voice. "Sasuke, I . . . When we were in the genjutsu . . . Sasuke, I tried to kill someone."

"Is there more to this, or do I have to guess the details?"

"You're such an asshole," Naruto muttered. Louder he said, "back in the genjutsu, there was a guy. He was stabbed through the heart, but he wasn't alive or dead. I don't know what he was." Naruto shook his head. "But I felt something coming from him and I wanted to make sure he was dead. I almost succeeded too. My blade was to his neck when Tobi stopped me. I don't know if I should be happy about that or upset. I swore to myself I wouldn't take another life. After what happened with your brother, I said I would never do it again. Two seconds later, and it's the only thing I could think of at that moment." He paused, afraid to say his next words. "Do you think I'm changing?"

Sasuke rested his chin on Naruto's shoulder. "Idiot"

"Hey!" Naruto shouted angrily, turning in his lover's arms only to find Sasuke's lips on his.

"You're still the same moron I fell in love with," he whispered softly. "You wouldn't be worrying so much if you weren't."

Naruto opened his mouth to retort, but was kissed once again. The kiss drained whatever argument the blond had out of him, sighing in content instead. When they parted, he rested his forehead against Sasuke's. "I hate when you do that."

"Only way to shut you up," Sasuke smiled. "As for your concerns, I do not believe you give yourself enough credit. Perhaps you were about to give in. If anyone knows anything about giving up everything for revenge, it's me. Trust me when I say, if you were truly obsessed with killing that guy the moment you saw him, you would not have stopped. Tobi or no Tobi. You would have finished the job then, but you didn't. You made the mistake once, now you can avoid doing it again in the future."

"You're right," Naruto mumbled, capturing his lips one more time before pulling away. "How was training?"

Sasuke's smile turned into a scowl. "My brother wishes to spar against me again."

Naruto winced. "Didn't he knock you out in less than a minute last time?"

Sasuke glared at him. "I thought we agreed we were to never speak of that again."

"Sorry, but . . . I mean it wasn't even a battle, and he's supposed to be weak! You said a shell of what he really is. If you got beaten so easily and Itachi lost to Tobi . . . how are we to win?"

"It's been three weeks since that fight; I've improved much since then." Sasuke's good mood seemed to have officially ended.

Naruto still had doubts but didn't push. Itachi was something else. Sasuke was smart, but Itachi even more so. Naruto knew exactly how weak Itachi was now after getting some lessons from Kakashi. The shinobi had told Naruto to imagine being on the brink of starvation, just on your last leg before you close your eyes and kill over. And that was after only going a month without blood. Itachi had gone much longer, and the blood given to him to heal was barely enough to do just that. He refused to take more. Meaning, Sasuke was much stronger than his brother, yet Itachi was the one who was victorious by an overwhelming margin.

And while Naruto was beginning to trust Itachi, especially after hearing about some of Itachi's reasons, he wasn't so sure about Kisame. Itachi had eased off the intimidation techniques and spoke with a bit more warmth whenever he addressed him or Sasuke, but Itachi was just as closed off when it came to talking to his partner, leading the teen to believe that not even Itachi trusted him.

"Sure you have. I could probably kick your ass now," Naruto smirked.

"Oh really?" Sasuke seemed unimpressed, crossing his arms across his chest.

"I may not have mastered the sage arts, but my taijutsu's better than ever. How about another wrestling match?"

"You keep moving your lips, Dobe, but nothing is coming out. Besides, I can't waste time pinning you down to a mattress when I have to face my brother tomorrow."

Naruto flushed. "I never said anything about a mattress."

"You know how it is, Dobe." Sasuke backed him into a wall; arm either side of the blond's head. "We fight. I pin you, you try to fight it," Sasuke breathed against his ear. "And it all ends with me inside you, claiming you right there."

A soft moan escaped Naruto before he could think better of it. It had been so long since he had Sasuke to himself. Before he knew it, Sasuke was pulling away from him again. "You're a tease," he panted.

Sasuke eyes flitted to the right. "It's not nice to eaves drop, Aniki."

Itachi came around the corner frowning. "I did not wish to interrupt you and was considering leaving you two; though, I must admit, I miss you calling me nii-san."

Sasuke's eyes were still cold towards Itachi. "I think you lost the right to have me be so respectful to you, and I am no longer a child. Aniki will suit you just fine."

Itachi's eyes seemed to darken for a moment before hidden behind his Uchiha mask. "Of course, Sasuke." Itachi dropped the "otouto" he was so fond of using. It was more modern for the older to refer to the younger by name, but it didn't have the warmth the elder Uchiha had when using the title. "I came to say that our match will be postponed. I will be heading to the city with Kisame first to see if it is safe for everyone else. "

"I don't need you to tell me where you'll be. You hadn't bothered the past 100 years. Don't start now."

Itachi bowed his head. "As you wish." He left without another word.

"Don't you think that was a bit harsh?" Naruto received a glare for his question. He glared back.

"Let's just go to bed," Sasuke said, his irritation deflating to a lesser degree.

Naruto walked passed him, punching his shoulder hard. "Don't think you're getting any after pulling that stunt just now."

"What? You rather me continue and put on a show for my brother?" Sasuke followed a step behind.

"If we haven't done anything for four months, then yes. I'm not going celibate after getting hitched dammit."

The vampire chuckled. "I'm glad you have your priorities in order, baka."

Blue eyes glanced at him. "I'll reconsider if you let me top."

"Hn, not if your life depended on it."

"Controlling bastard."


Itachi stumbled into the hospital, cursing under his breath. He had underestimated his enemy, something he did not tend to do. To be so much stronger than he had predicted . . .

Glancing at his bleeding side, he gauged how slowly it was healing. At the rate it was going, he might as well have been human. He needed to stop the blood flow. He couldn't waste what little blood he had, and he was leaving a trail.

It was a weeknight, and it was relatively quiet in the country hospital. With the newer and bigger hospital in Konoha, this hospital was in its last days before closing down for good. It was good news for him though. It was easy to maneuver past the doctors and few patients wondering around.

He ignored the pain, his hand slick with warm blood. He turned the corner as another nurse approached. He just needed to get a doctor alone.

"Sir, can I help you?"

Itachi gave no sign of his surprise. He did not even sense him. Slowly, he turned around, his face carefully blank.

The man looked at him with concern. The man was of medium build and height, and his hair was gray and flying in all directions as if the man never considered combing his hair before, but it was the white coat that drew Itachi's interest. "My god! You're bleeding!"

"If you wouldn't mind doctor, I could use some stitches."

"Of course, of course, right this way." The man put his arm around the slightly taller one. "Lean on me until we get you to a wheel chair."

"I can walk. The wheelchair is not necessary."

"Well luckily for you, we don't need to get you a pair of wheels to drive you to the examination room," he laughed obnoxiously. "Get it? Because you don't need a wheel chair to make you or "drive" you to go to the examination room?"

"I got it . . . unfortunately," the elder Uchiha muttered. "Are you certain you're a doctor?"

"Don't worry lad, I'll get you fixed up as good as new as long as you get some bed rest." The man was practically beaming.

Itachi closed his eyes, trying hard not to say anything. This man was odd to say the least, and he seemed to like to hear himself talk. It was a relief in itself just to get to the room. He discarded his blood soaked, black dress shirt and activated his sharingan.

The man was startled at first until his features eased into a stoic expression, unable to look away.

"Fix this," he grunted, lying down on the table.

The doctor moved without another word, putting on his latex gloves he grabbed his supplies: peroxide, needle, thread, gauze, and medical tape.

The Uchiha glanced at the wound. It was a pretty big gash in his side, just under the rib and fairly deep. He barely felt the needle prick his skin as the doctor began his work. The human had swift steady hands and was skilled with the needle. He made the stitches neat and evenly spaced. The whole process barely took five minutes.

The human had just finished taping the gauze over the stitching when the vampire felt the subtle power of another being. He sat up with such speed; it pulled the skin just stitched back up. More carefully, he left the room. The signature he had felt disappeared as quickly as it had come. Someone was here; the question was, if it was a coincidence or if they were looking for him. Either way, he did not have time or energy to deal with them. He intended to leave quietly and rethink his plan to confront Obito.

He headed towards the back of the hospital, planning to leave the way he came. There was a door slightly ajar that had been previously locked. It wasn't his place to meddle, he should just continue on. Just as he passed the door, he heard a stifled scream. Damn. This was not his day.

Changing direction, he pushed the door open and slipped inside. The sight he was greeted with was a familiar one. A tall man stood in the middle of the dark room, a woman dangling lifelessly in his arms as his shark like teeth tore into her neck, ripping out a large chunk. There were two other people dead at his feet, one nurse, the other a doctor. Each body with the same parts missing: the neck, the breast, and parts of the thighs. There was only one human still alive, huddled in a corner too afraid to move, shivering. There was a strong scent of urine mixed in with the blood.

"That is a waste of food. One human should have been enough don't you think?"

The man looked at the intruder with distain. His beady eyes focused on him. "What is an immortal like you doing here?"

"Is there really a need to kill four humans? You draw unnecessary attention this way." Itachi stepped over the bodies without looking at them, keeping his eyes on the creature in front of him. "I have never seen one of you before. Characteristics of a demon and a ghoul."

The man chuckled. "I don't know what the hell I am. All I do know is that you're interrupting my lunch."

"And your reason for four of them?"

The man shrugged. "I like certain parts. I eat what I want."

"Then perhaps you should be less picky about what you eat and let the last one go," Itachi said in a cold voice, his eyes bleeding red.

"And what will you do if I don't cooperate, little vampire?" The man grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. "You're looking a little pale there."

"I can be very persuasive," his sharingan activated, the commas spinning.

The man grabbed a large sword resting against the wall. "We'll see about that."

Itachi sidestepped, in time to see the sword swing down from above to his left. He wasn't in any condition to fight. He knew that. A sigh escaped him as he had to back hand spring out of the way for the next attack, opening his stitches. This was annoying, and he didn't have time for this. He ducked as the sword went over his head, and pushed forward knocking the man off balance and causing him to fall into the shelving.

He must have lost more blood than he thought. He didn't notice the water from the leaking faucet form a thin rope that tied around his ankle. It was no trouble to break the rope made out of water with a little chakra focused into his leg, but it distracted him long enough for the man to throw his sword at him. Itachi moved just enough to dodge, conserving his energy; however, the sword seemed to come to life at the last minute, changing its direction just enough that anyone without Itachi's eyes would not have seen it. He lacked the strength to dodge so quickly and the sword added another deep wound to his good side.

The demon's laugh echoed in the room. "You're very weak. Weaker than I thought. You should have been able to dodge that, and I can tell you're bleeding from an old wound. When was the last time you ate?"

The vampire's eyes narrowed. "You chose a very bad place to pick a fight with me."

"Really?" The man looked unconvinced. He stood up, sword somehow in hand. He moved with inhuman speed. Itachi brought his arm up to block the strike; the force of the blow sending him threw the wall into the next room.

The man followed after the raven, stepping through the rubble laughing. "How exactly is this a bad idea?"

Itachi looked up, a bag of blood in his mouth. He had grabbed it just after he was hit. He bit down hard, bursting the bag open and spilling most of the contents on his front, staining his clothes and lips with red.

"You think one bag of blood will help you? It's not even fresh. You're better off drinking water."

"The thing about starving yourself is that even something as innutritious as old blood can make a huge difference." He rose, power emanating off of him in steady waves.

The sudden power caused the demon to pause. "Nice trick, but it's a bluff. I bet that little display took everything you have."

"Is that so?" Itachi almost sounded amused. "Are you sure?" he said meeting his gaze.

The human who was meant to be the fourth victim ventured to look through the hole in the wall. It had take her a moment to collect herself, but not too long. Perhaps a minute or so. All she could see was the man who had threatened her on his knees, clutching his head muttering to himself, shaking as badly as she had been, and the man who came to save her standing before him.

"You have a choice," the raven said in cold even tones. "You can come with me and work for me or," Itachi moved his hand, and the assailant flinched harshly at the small unthreatening movement, "you can stay here for the rest of your life reliving through that nightmare."

"I'll come with you, just don't," the man's voice shook with fear.

"What is your name?"

"Kisame," the demon didn't even look up.

"Alright Kisame, take the bodies and find me a car."

Kisame was on his feet in a moment, hurrying towards the door. "And Kisame," the demon paused. "Don't try to escape. I'll find you." The blue-gray man nodded frantically and was out the door.

Itachi sagged to the floor. The Mangekyo used more power than he hoped and now he was craving blood after tasting it for the first time in 22 years. He hardly noticed the human who was buried underneath the rubble. The doctor who had helped him was barely breathing. He would die, and it would have been his fault because he had decided to get involved instead of leaving. "You're going to die," he stated bluntly.

The doctor looked up, smiling a bit. "My wife said coming back to work today was a bad idea. Said I'd get crushed by the work load if I didn't take it easy. Should have," he coughed weakly. "Stayed with the wife. Just had a . . . a baby girl."

Itachi glanced at the human woman who stared at him and quickly wiped her memory and put her to sleep with a genjutsu. "I never did get your name doctor."

"Haruno. Haruno, Kizashi." The man's voice was getting weak. He didn't have long.

"I can save you, but you won't be human anymore," Itachi pulled out a cigarette, trying to find a lighter in his torn pants.

"Wh-what will I b-be?"

"A ghoul. I would have turned you into a vampire, but you won't survive long enough for the change." He was successful in finding his lighter and lit up. It wasn't his pipe, but it will do.

"You know, sm-sm-smoking can k-k-kill you."

Itachi lifted an eyebrow and took an especially long drag just to prove how much he cared about the statement.

"W-will I s-see my d-daughter again? "

"Yeah, but you will never age, the only way to die is from beheading you, and you must eat human flesh to survive. Obtaining flesh shouldn't be too hard for a doctor. After all, there is ample amounts of dead bodies to feed from."

The man was quiet. That was a first. His brown eyes stared at the ceiling. "What's the catch?"

"You would work for me as I would be the one to sire you. You would pay money to me once a year. Not much. Two percent of your entire profits for the year. I won't ask for your help often, just to stitch me back up once in a while. You can continue your life as you have been doing."

"And my wife?"

"If you wish to tell her the truth you can. If she ever becomes ill, dies unexpectedly, or just wishes to join you, it is possible to change her as well, and I will do it for you. Otherwise, you must keep what you are a secret from the world, and you must never betray me. Those are the conditions."

The man was quiet a little longer. "I want to see them."

Leaving the cigarette hanging from his lips, he knelt beside the dying man and sliced his hand open with a broken piece of wall. He held the wound over the dying man's lips. The blood dripped into his mouth. The man swallowed once before he took his last breath.

Itachi took another drag from his cigarette. He exhaled slowly staring at the corpse. Well, he swallowed before he died. He had all the time in the world to turn him now. He'd have Kisame come and pick up the body with the others.

Getting up, he put out the cigarette. He might have gotten away with smoking in the hospital in the 60s, but not now. He cleaned his face and put on the doctor's coat, fixed his hair, and left just as others arrived on the scene. It was time to get out of here. "Excuse me! Doctor! Doctor!"

Itachi was approached by a tall bright blond man, with bright blue eyes. Itachi was a bit surprised to see a foreigner in Konoha.

"I apologize. I know you must be busy, but my wife thinks the baby is ready to come. The nurse left to go get the doctor some time ago, and she hasn't been back."

"Do you know how much she was dilated the last time she was checked?" this was turning out to be a long night indeed.

"I think it was 6 centimeters," the young man was flustered, showing obvious signs of being a first time father. "Sorry, just a bit nervous."

"Let me lead you to someone who can help you, there is a reception desk that can─"

"Can you take a look at her?"

"I am not a maternity doctor. I don't know how much help I can be." It's true that he knew how to deliver a baby. He worked with the midwives before, much to their displeasure, but his father had once wanted him to become a doctor and midwives had a higher success rate when delivering children. Now he knew why of course. The midwives had washed their hands. Something so simple made such a huge difference. At the time however, he felt it was more of a woman thing. That opinion still hadn't quite left him.

"Please, I've been searching for ten minutes, and you're the first I doctor I've run into."

He was too nice. "What's the room number?"

The dead doctor and nurse must have been the maternity doctor because no one came the entire time he delivered the baby. It only took fifteen minutes. The baby really had been coming when he entered. He was worried the umbilical cord was going to wrap around the child's neck, a complication he would not know how to fix, but they were lucky.

Wiping the child off with a clean towel, he bundled the baby up in a blanket, handing it to the mother. She had bright red hair, and had quite a foul mouth as she cursed both him and her husband out while she had been in labor. As she held her child, a beautiful smile graced her lips as she cried. "Hey there troublemaker," she whispered, taking the child's small hand between hers. "So you're the one constantly kicking me."

Her husband stood beside her, smiling down at their newborn child.

Itachi slipped out of the room, pulling out another cigarette. Proprieties be damned. He needed a smoke. He also really needed to get out of here. Too much blood and illness in the air was too tempting now that he had tasted human blood after so long. It never got easier. "Thank you." It was the husband.

"It's nothing. It's my job." Itachi replied easily.

The blond human snatched the cigarette from his lips, causing the raven to glare. "You're a vampire aren't you?"

Itachi stiffened. "How long have you known?"

"About 10 seconds after I met you. At first I thought you really were a doctor even though I knew what you were. You managed to deliver my son safely, so I wasn't wrong, but since your white jacket is staining red, I'm thinking your not a doctor at this hospital."

Itachi glanced down to see it was true. "Why did you allow me to do so if you knew?"

"What? A vampire can't be a doctor? It'd be hard, but it wouldn't impossible," the human's smile was easy going and confident.

"You are right. Given that you know I'm assuming you're a hunter. Shinobi? Templar? Area 51?"

The man laughed nervously. "Would you believe that I'm the Yondaime?"

Just his luck, he just delivered the Yondaime's son. Itachi pulled out another cigarette, staying out of reach of the Yondaime this time. "Will you warn your comrades about me?"

The man looked legitimately surprised he would suggest such a thing. "Why? You're just living your life. You haven't done anything wrong. In fact, besides the ghoul running around the hospital killing the staff, I don't see a problem."

So that's why the human didn't bother looking for anyone else. He knew the staff was too preoccupied with the crime scene, and also probably why the shinobi gambled with him hoping he was a real doctor.

Itachi looked ahead and tensed.

"Tobi, hurry up!" snapped a young man who looked to be in his late teens, searching the lobby. He had yet to look down the corridor.

"Of course, Sasuke-sama," Tobi bowed, fumbling with a planner in his hands. Itachi cursed inwardly. That bastard was sneaky to play dirty like that.

"I know you're new, but if you keep fumbling around like an idiot, I'll have you replaced."

"Of course, Sasuke-sama." The man pulled out a large bulky cellphone. "The intel said he was here. I'm sure he is."

"I have to go," Itachi murmured to the human, walking quickly in the opposite direction of his brother.

"We named him Naruto," the Yondaime, said just loud enough for Itachi to hear, apparently the human was smart enough to realize what was going on. "So you know whose birthday it is today."

Itachi smiled a bit as he retreated. The child's mother must have named him that. The father seemed too sensible to name his child fishcake. He took another route to the back of the hospital, where Kisame was waiting for him with the car. It seemed he had recovered somewhat from his Mangekyo. He was impressive to have done so. There was still a fear hidden in the depths of his eyes when he looked at the Uchiha, but did much better at hiding it.

"Did you get all the bodies?"

"Of course I did," Kisame said in a haughty tone. He looked away when Itachi raised an eyebrow in question.

"Then let's get out of here. I know a place."

"What? Am I your servant now, 'cause I rather you killed me."

"Not my servant . . . more like a partner." Itachi got into the passenger seat, not waiting for Kisame to sort out whether he should make a run for it or not.

After a few seconds, the hybrid ghoul got in. "Where to?"

Meanwhile Sasuke was scowling. It appeared that he had just missed his brother judging by how old the blood in hallway was. After searching all night, there were no clues. Not even the cameras picked up anything. Always missing by just a hair.

The only encouragement was that this was the closest he had ever come to finding Itachi, and it was thanks to his new assistant.

Sasuke looked at the hole in the wall one last time before calling it quits. As he walked out, he sidestepped out of the nurse's way who was pushing the crib of a newborn past him. The baby was small, pink and had so little hair, it looked bald even with the small tuft of bright blond strands. It whimpered, getting ready to cry. The young Uchiha did not do children. Scowling at the child, he high-tailed it out of there before any wail could ruin his precious hearing.


Itachi awoke to the passing scenery of the familiar buildings of Konoha. The sun was shining, and the city itself was being rebuilt; however, there was a dark cloud hanging over the city. The tension was thick, a scent of fear hovering in the air. There were checkpoints throughout the city, stopping cars and checking the insides.

The humans did not know what they were looking for. Unless they were shinobi, they most likely wouldn't recognize a vampire or ghoul if they saw one. And even if they did, they would most likely be put under a genjutsu. Still, humans tended to act irrationally when frightened, and right now, the entire city was on edge.

"Where to?" Kisame asked, making a left onto the main road that ran through town.

"Just drive around for now," he ordered.

The hybrid grunted in confirmation. It was amazing how far this relationship had come since that night 17 years ago. He trusted Kisame enough to actually sleep in his presence. He couldn't remember another person he had ever done that with. They might even have a . . . friendship of sorts. Kisame of course would never admit such a thing aloud, but there was definitely respect and no longer just fear. It didn't mean Itachi would trust him with his entire plan or let him into his thoughts, but to have reached this extent was a nice change of pace.

His thoughts drifted to Sasuke and his new brother-in-law. Such a small world. The Yondaime's son and his precious little brother. He allowed a small smile. No, Naruto didn't need to know he helped bring him into the world. Even if he hadn't been there that night, he was sure Kushina would have been able to do it on her own. Even now he could hear the woman's loud and colorful words. She would have been fine.

Putting the memory aside, he picked up his cell phone and dialed, waiting patiently for the person on the other side to pick up. "Haruno-san . . . It is a pleasure to hear from you as well . . .Yes, I need a favor."


Please review. I tend to become inspired and update faster that way.