Diclaimer: I do not own Naruto, no matter how much I wish it.


A spaceship was barely flying into Blue Fire Space Station. A figure watched the barely flyable, practically falling apart, ship, land with disgust, 'If you can't take of your ship, you shouldn't get a new one! Particularly MINE!'. Even in the shadows of the landing dock, the figure's disgust and barely controlled contempt could be seen as the pale green ship landed next to the docked silver one.

The silver ship was an older model, ten years old, with black gloss covering every inch from nose to tail. It looked completely ordinary, nothing out of place for a regular privately owned spaceship. That was until you got a look inside. The ship was barely legal, if it wasn't partially owned by Konoha Federation, it, and its S-level tech would have dissected and its owner arrested. Everything was outfitted with the latest, some of it not even know about since the owner had a hand with tech. The carpeting was neon orange with crimson walls and abyss black ceiling, every room a different color depending on its purpose. The ship could hold six comfortably, though only one lived in it currently, but that was going to change.

Looking a little green, three people stepped out of the other ship. While the pink haired female leaned weakly against the ship, the figure stepped out of the shadows, gaining the oldest, a silver haired, masked male's, attention.

The figure had spiked crimson hair with black tips in a low ponytail, two bangs framing a slightly masculine face. A band was around her forehead, bearing the mark of the Konoha Federation, a leaf, in pale green. Neon orange rimmed black goggles rested just above her forehead as she chewed on a senbon. She had a high rounded forehead, high thin winged dark scarlet eyebrows, black ringed cat eyes with jade pupils, high cheekbones, a once broken aristocratic nose, pale rosy slightly plumb lips, and a stubborn jaw. A closer look at her eyes revealed guarded jade ringed by black emerald with specs of gold and amber. A pale scar crossed from eyebrow to cheekbone over her left eye with three black tattoos, looking like whiskers, on either cheek. Two crimson, black tipped, fox ears twitched occasionally, with the right pierced with a silver ring that had an azure sapphire on it. A fang with a black feather attached to it dangled from her left earlobe with two rings hanging from her upper ear. A tight black sleeveless V-cut T-shirt was above smoke gray cargo pants tucked into black combat boots. A crimson tail with a white end dipped in black flicked back and forth before she spoke in a low velvet voice, with a sharp edge, "I see that you've finally arrived Captain Hatake. And alive. I was hoping you wouldn't make it, so I wouldn't have to share MY ship. You've also brought your genin I see, it looks like I'm going to have to reeducate their flying skills, since my baby isn't like anything they would have, and will ever, fly. And you won't step one foot in it yet until my little brother - sorry, MECHANIC - gets here. He's the only other person who could even get more than five feet in my ship before the alarm, combined with my traps go off in it.".

By the way the younger male's eyes were narrowed, it wasn't hard to see that he didn't like this new addition. When all three stood near each other in front of the woman, they could see she was easily six foot, able to look their captain in the eye as she bluntly looked all three over as they, less obviously, did the same. They saw an exotic male bijuu, and she saw Unit Seven. The pink haired female had pale emerald eyes with pale skin, an little too big forehead, and a petite frame dressed in the standard black genin uniform with a female medic's skirt around her waist with a red square above her heart with a white circle sewn in; the Haruno clan's symbol. The younger male had onyx black eyes with spiky blue-black hair that looked like a chicken's ass, that was almost a head taller than the Haruno dressed like her without the skirt with a dark blue square with a red and white fan sewn in; the Uchiha clan's symbol. Captain Hatake had a dark blue, almost black eye visible, with the other one hidden behind an eye patch with Konoha's leaf symbol, silver gravity-defying hair, and pale skin dressed in the standard black jounin uniform with a green vest, a silver wolf sown on. She was about to say something when a young male bijuu came in.

He had sunshine golden yellow hair in gravity-defying spikes with azure blue eyes, sun-kissed skin, and crimson red ears and tails tipped in black, dressed in a neon orange shirt with the Uzumaki spiral, and black cargo pants. When he spotted the woman, he happily yelled, "Aniki!". Then he spotted the rest of them and his ears flattened aggressively, "What are they doing here! Even you said that you didn't want to share our ship! That we only had to allow Unit Seven or the Konoha Federation would repossess our ship! So who are they?". At his statement, Hatake winced, he should have realized why the man was being so antagonizing about his ship. He stepped forward, making the two bijuu look at him, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm Captain Hatake of Unit Seven, and I apologize for the intrusion of your ship, but we were to be assigned to the 'Kyuubi' by order of Lady Tsunade, Godaime Hokage." and the woman could hear the unspoken, 'And we have no choice, but to obey'.

The woman twitched and growled out, "I know that . . . I'm the owner of Kyuubi, Arashi Kitsune. Follow me!" before stalking towards the silver ship with the blonde following closely on her heels. Unit Seven shared a look before quickly following, all five stopping at the entrance while Arashi put her hand on palm pad, "I want each of you to place your hand on the pad for a minimum of a minute while clearly saying, your full name, gender, age, race, homeworld, height, weight, alliance to, and favorite color. Then pick a keyword that is to be your safety in case anything happens and I and/or Naruto are out. I made the computer with Artificial Intelligence, so it'll learn and adapt. Once you pick a room, Kyuubi will change it to fit your preference and other things. There was a reason why I got pissed about people being allowed on my ship for longer than two weeks.". When the door slid up, Arashi called out, "Kyuubi! Wake up! The crew just got three more additions, don't you dare zap them. Make sure all traps are disabled for the time being.". Naruto quickly put his palm on the pad before coming in with a smile, "I'm back Kyuubi!".

The Haruno was the first one to put her hand on the pad, "Sakura Haruno, female, fourteen, humanoid, Hana, five foot four inches, one hundred ten pounds, Konoha Federation, red. Forehead Girl.". Then the Uchiha, "Sasuke Uchiha, male, fourteen, humanoid, Konoha, five foot eight inches, one hundred twenty pounds, Konoha Federation, dark blue. Fan-girl.". Hatake was last, "Kakashi Hatake, male, twenty-seven, humanoid, Inu, five foot eleven, one hundred thirty, Konoha Federation, chocolate brown with a touch of honey. Hound.".

The three stepped into Kyuubi to hear a dark chuckle, "So you three are part of my new crew, good luck to you! By the way, Arashi is a-" when they heard a screech, "Shut UP KYUUBI! Don't make disable your speech! And you know I will! You remember all the times I have just as well as me! Now shine some light on your hard-drive, I've been meaning to update some components.". The three saw Arashi shake a wench at a computer up front before turning to face them, "The reason why I got pissed is because if someone spends more than two weeks on Kyuubi, most go insane, and if they don't they become an honorary crew member. That's how Naruto became a crew member, even though he tried to disable Kyuubi on the sixth day. Right otouto?" and they saw the boy poke his head out from underneath a counter, "Yeah aniki! And I'll still do it too Kyuubi!".

Arashi wiped her hands on a rag before leading them towards the four open rooms. The first was a cherry red with a good sized bed and closet with cherry wood floors and a scarlet Persian rug. Arashi rose her eyebrow at the room, she remembered the room being a scarlet, but she shrugged mentally before she saw Sakura's eye go big and look at her, "Is that one . . . " and she smirked, "Looks like it.". Sakura went to explore her room while the other three continued on. The next was a dark sapphire with a good sized bed and polished redwood with a painting of a red fox on the wall. Arashi sweat-dropped, "How did that get there . . . ? I remember that being in the hall outside of Naruto's room . . . " before she shrugged when Sasuke smirked, going into the room. Arashi and Kakashi continued to the next room. It was larger than the last two with warm chocolate brown walls and honey polished oak floors with a good sized bed and a book shelf. Kakashi gave a U-smile, "Looks like mine." before going in and leaving Arashi alone.

She shrugged, going back to where she had been working on Kyuubi, yawning a little before trying to update the weapons systems and navigation. Halfway through, she kept yawning, a product of very little sleep even for her, for the last week, since finding out that the crew would expand. Deciding to rest her head on the counter, the tools falling from her bloodless fingers as she slept.

Unit Seven walked back to where they had first seen Arashi in the ship, only to find her asleep, and drooling slightly. Kakashi picked her up, and carried her to one of the occupied rooms, the crimson red one. He laid her down on the bed, watching her curl up in her sleep and automatically trying to grab his warmth. He couldn't help, but notice how . . . young and defenseless she looked.

Walking back to the rest of his unit, Kyuubi spoke up, "Kind bastard isn't he? Hopes you won't come, yet spends all week getting less sleep than he normal does to make sure that I was compatible with other humanoid lifeforms. No one would ever believe he's just fifteen with his attitude, looks, and demeanor. While he's out of it, I would go find some miso ramen for the two of them, its the easiest way to endear yourself to them.". Kakashi nodded before going to speak to Sakura, "Is there any medical supplies you still need?" and she nodded, "We always need more, what with the way the two of you get hurt every few missions.". He gave her a U-smile before continuing, "Go ahead and get a few basics, but look for anything you can find on bijuu and get a couple miso ramen for our ship owner and mechanic.". She nodded and left.

While Sakura was walking towards the market, Sasuke found Naruto asleep in the hallway, working on the ventilation. Kakashi started a search on the Konoha Database on 'Arashi Kitsune' and 'Naruto Uzumaki' before leaning back in his chair and reading his favorite Icha Icha.

Sakura arrived at the market, to see it bustling with activity. As par habit, she looked at the wanted signs first. Blushing, she pulled down a badly down photo of Tsunade, and herself before she noticed a picture that looked a lot like a glaring Arashi, but without the fox ears. The sign read, 'Wanted: Aka-Tsuki Kaito, Dead or Alive, 2 million'. She grabbed the poster and stuffed it in her front pocket before continuing on to a herb sealer.

After finishing business with the kindly old man, she moved onto vaccines, compounds, and the everyday medic kit. Then she went on, startled when she saw a tiny bookstore at the back of an alley, away from all the hustle and bustle.

A little apprehensive, Sakura walked down the alley and opened the bookstore door, hearing the twinkle of a bell in the sudden quiet. She looked back to hear the dim of the hustle and bustle before going in. The walls were filled to the ceiling with books, odd little trinkets in the middle of the store: a stone dragon, an old map, and a tiny cherry tree alongside some funny colored potions. She started to browse, finding some odd titles before noticing a large book with a picture of several bijuu on the cover.

An old man, seemingly as old as time, seemed to step out of the woodwork to appear next to her, "I see you found what you were looking for, the book with be fifteen dollars.". She jumped, "Where did you come from?" before looking the man in the eye when he looked into her eyes, "I was here the entire time, do you want the book, maybe the cherry tree as a gift.". She made a face, "I only have ten left on me . . . " and he shook his head knowingly, "I understand, one day you'll pay me the rest, but for now take it. You'll be need of it soon.". Sakura was confused, but handed him the money before hefting the giant book into her arms and placing the tree on top.

After she left, the old man watched her walk down the alley, "If only she knew why she'll need that book . . . I wish you the best of luck Sakura Haruno.".

The last stop she made before she left the market was at an Ichiraku's, "Five miso ramen please." and she heard the older man call out, "Are these for Arashi and Naruto, pretty lady?". She nodded before she realized he couldn't see her, "Yes, the five of us are leaving for Konoha today and I was told to go get some miso ramen before we left.". The man turned around with seven things of ramen, "Two of these are on the house for my best customers. I'll miss them we they leave, they've kept me in business for three years on their own, coming in every day for three things of ramen. Tell them that their old man while be waiting for them, and that my brother in Konoha will be expecting their business.". Precariously balancing them on the book, Sakura left for Kyuubi.

Kakashi had just got a hit when Sakura returned, barely keeping everything balanced as she came through the door, "A little help here Kakashi, can you take a couple of the ramen bowls off first.". He hurried over, and took off three of the ramen to place them on a counter, away from the controls, before Sakura carefully placed the book and its contents on the counter, "The man at the Ichiraku gave me two on the house since it seems Arashi and Naruto are his best customers. The book and the tree are from a bookstore-" when Arashi came, drawn by the smell of ramen, quickly followed by Naruto. Sasuke calmly walked in next and the five settled down to eat.

Naruto and Arashi finished first, seeming to practically inhale their food. Sakura handed them their second bowl, and they ate at a slower rate when Arashi asked, "Was the bookstore called, 'The Answers to Life's Questions'? With an ancient old man who seemed to come out of the woodwork?" and she nodded, "His store is aptly named, because he probably does have a book on everything. You come there, looking for something specific or not, and chances are that you'll find it. That and no one actually knows how old he is, there's a rumor going on that he was old when the colony was founded some seventy years ago. That he could be older than Konoha. I've never asked because, partially, I don't want to know. If he gave you one of his trinkets, he likes you. I've found that every trinket of his has some special property, the katana I found there are excellent conductors of four of the five main elements, able to slice through anything. Who knows what property that cherry tree has?". Then Arashi looked at the book, "So what did you go there to find? And what did you find?".

Sakura answered after a quick look at Kakashi, "Everything to know about bijuu by Kuromaru Shiro" and Arashi gave a blank face, "The old man wrote the book. Kuromaru Shiro is the old man. I'm surprised that he let you leave with one of his own books. I assume that you got it because of Naruto and I.". Sakura nodded, and Arashi pushed her empty ramen bowl away, "Then I really should give some information or you'll be completely confused.".

She stood up, "I've never read the book, heard of it, but never read it. And not everything in that book could apply to me, I wasn't born a bijuu. How I became one is a secret, one I'll tell in time, but for now, just leave it alone. Like why Kyuubi is AI, why Naruto was on my ship, lots of questions, but you'll receive few answers until you've been here longer and I trust you. I'll accept you for now, but just remember, this is my ship, I fixed him up, I bought him, and the only reason why I have to share is because they know that I'm one of the best mechanics in the Federation, and that I would have S-level tech. To keep my tech, I have to share. This ship's wanted by some nasty people because of the tech on it, but they'll never get it while I'm alive. And Konoha knows it, so we have an alliance of sorts. You try to hijack my ship, I have every right to strand you in space. Hatake will lead you, but you listen to my orders if they contradict. Kyuubi is unique, and he can survive a lot more than even Konoha thinks." before tapping the computer screen at the front of the ship, "Kyuubi, you might as well reveal yourself.".

On the screen appeared a sun-kissed man dressed in crimson, his hair a wild mess that matched his clothes, his scarlet eyes malicious, "I am Kyuubi Kitsune, the AI of this ship, and the most advanced you'll ever find. I have complete control of this ship, and have long ago recognized Arashi as captain, you follow HIS orders. Not your captain. I'm a fighting ship, and those on me can fight like no other. We're unorthodox, we follow no set code other than our own, and its our way or the highway. This is my only warning on Arashi. I've heard of Kakashi Hatake, Copycat ninja, but have you heard of the Nine tailed fox? Bringer of death? Crimson devil? Arashi is he, and is the best. Thus why Konoha made a deal with HIM, not the other way around. We are only bound by honor, but we can and will leave the Federation if it the best for our own safety.". He turned around and walked off that screen, following a series of screens until he went into Arashi's, her following after. Naruto turned cold eyes on them, nodding in agreement before going off to his own room, but Sasuke stopped him, "Why is your brother like that?".

Naruto's eyes softened, and almost inaudibly he said, "He has had a tough life. I do not know the whole of it, but he's fought for anything he's truly wanted, and we were forced into a tough spot where we could fight our way out alive. He fought it, but it was either accept it or Kyuubi would be repossessed. He knew that they would dissect Kyuubi if they could, so he followed through on it. For Kyuubi and Arashi have been together for years, and they share many secrets. He would never allow Kyuubi's secrets to be aired as long as he lived. As would Kyuubi.". Kakashi also heard what was said, Sasuke nodding, and Naruto left.

Once the original members of the crew had left, leaving only Unit Seven, Kakashi accessed the results of his search.