Welcome back to Naruto: The Sibling Stars! Chapter 3 covers the return to Konoha as well as introducing Hinata to the story. I really can't tell if my story is any good or not though people… I need some feedback here otherwise I can't fix stuff…

I'd like to thank Dragon Man 180 and vampireknight364 for their reviews! If it wasn't for your reviews I probably would have given up on this story already! I hope that this next chapter matches up to your expectations! Thanks guys and here's Sibling Stars Chapter 3!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or .hack//G.U. if I did I'd use the money I made to build a mmorpg for one if not both of these series!

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Demon or Inner-self Speech"

'Demon or Inner-self Thoughts'

Jutsu

(Jutsu Translation)

//Scene Change or POV change//

//Flashback start or end//

The Sibling Stars

Chapter 3

"So let me make sure I understand this…" the Hokage said heavily as Team 7, the mist nins, and Zeranion siblings were gathered in his office. "You're client lied to you telling you the mission was a C-rank mission when it was really an A-rank. You then proceeded to fight the Demon Brothers, Mamochi Zabuza, and his apprentice on three separate occasions. On the last confrontation you were stopped from killing Mamochi-san by Shadow and it was revealed to you that both he and his sister possess the Sharingan… After this happened Shadow killed Gato using a sealess Raiton jutsu and Sakashi wiped out 20 mercenaries with a high powered Katon technique. You then offered positions to the them and the former mist nins here in Konoha…" he continued in a tone of slight disbelief.

"That is correct Hokage-sama." Kakashi confirmed. Shadow looked slightly amused at the old man's expression as he rubbed his temples, but kept a hand on Sakashi's shoulder to keep her from taking out her camera to photograph the moment. After all, it was forbidden to photograph anything within the Hokage's office unless permission was given by the Hokage themselves.

Sarutobi sighed at the confirmation. "I see…" He then turned to the genin. "Team 7 you are dismissed. Kakashi, I need you to stay behind to help sort this all out."

Sasuke just nodded and left while Sakura followed him like a lost puppy. Naruto however, didn't move from his position, and said to the Hokage, "Neh Ojiisan… Can't I stay? Haku-chan, Shadow, and Sakashi-chan are all my friends!"

For his part, Sarutobi looked surprised by this statement, but then replied. "I'm sorry Naruto, but I have to talk to Shadow and Sakashi about some things that are a bit sensitive so I'll have to ask you to wait outside."

Naruto looked downcast, but his mood quickly flipped when he heard Sakashi say, "Hokage-sama, it's alright if he stays. We've already told Naruto-kun a lot about us!"

Shadow nodded before continuing, "We trust him to be able to keep a secret. Besides we've already told him all about our parents. He can stay so long as he doesn't interrupt too much."

The blonde jinchuuriki smiled and said, "See ojiisan! They trust me!"

Sarutobi for his part smiled. He was happy that Naruto had been able to make some friends and he turned to the group of assorted nins before continuing. "You do realize the council is going to be in chaos at the appearance of two new Sharingan users don't you Kakashi? They'll also be eager about Haku's Hyoton Kekei Genkai..."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head nervously and said, "Yeah, but I did make a promise to their father to take them in if I ever met them." He looked at the Hokage a little more seriously. "As for the council… Haku's already been adopted by Zabuza and therefore part of the Mamochi clan. They can't do anything too her without going through the current clan head, Zabuza. And can't you just tell them that Shadow and Sakashi are orphans and that they didn't want to talk about their parents?"

Sarutobi sighed and continued, "I wish it were that simple… The real problem of the matter is Sakashi…" He turned to the 11-year old who looked puzzled. "When they hear that she possesses the Sharingan they will undoubtedly suggest to Sasuke to use his status as clan head to make an arranged marriage between himself and Sakashi to ensure the continuation of the bloodline…"

When he heard this, Shadow immediately felt his anger flare as his companions quickly moved away from him, "LIKE HELL I'LL LET THAT HAPPEN!" he roared at a volume that made even Sakura's banshee like shrieking seem like a polite whisper, and startling most of the shinobi stationed around the tower. "I swore an oath to myself that I'd protect Sakashi no matter what! There's no way I'm going to allow an arranged marriage! Let alone to that emo brat SASUKE!"

The Hokage sighed and responded, "The problem lies in the fact that since you're father was an Uchiha. Therefore you are technically a part of Sasuke's clan. As a result, Sasuke will be allowed to set up any marriages he chooses regarding his clan members upon becoming clan head at the age of 16 or reaching the rank of Jonin…"

Surprisingly to the Hokage, Shadow just gave a malicious grin and replied, "Long before that Sakashi and I will probably have to reveal our full heritage. I'll admit that we have the Sharingan, but we aren't part of any of Konoha's clans thanks to both our parents' clans disowning them upon their defection! As a result they took on a new family name meaning we're a completely new clan!" As he said this, his grin got even nastier. "Therefore, I am technically clan heir and future head of the Zeranion clan, and can dictate whether or not Sakashi be put into an arranged marriage when I reach the age of 16 a year before Sasuke or reach Jonin which I can probably accomplish faster than our dear cousin."

To say Sarutobi was surprised by the boy's plan would be an understatement. It exploited a loophole in politics that he was sure the village less teen should have no prior knowledge of and left the council with little power over them in the end and even made them a part of it! Once the council was informed of the two's induction as Konoha Shinobi (which the council would hastily approve of due to their greed on obtaining two new Sharingan users) the council wouldn't be able to change their minds without banishing them. This wouldn't happen due to the council's fear of letting the Sharingan fall into enemy hands. Then, even if they were thought Uchiha for a while, Sasuke wouldn't be clan head for a quite some time and as a result could not order them to do anything even if he was clan heir. Then, even when Sasuke did become clan head, all Shadow and Sakashi had to do was reveal their heritage and submit some blood samples so that they could be tested for their claim's authenticity. By this loophole, Shadow and Sakashi would really be part of a new clan with a new name and not be under any obligation to Sasuke. In fact, due to their having the Sharingan the Zeranions might be able to fight on an equal political ground with the Uchiha and perhaps have even more influence if they proved to be superior shinobi in the long run.

The old Hokage smiled as the thoughts ran through his head and said to Shadow, "You are indeed correct… However, I still would like to know who you're parents were. After all the family name of Zeranion doesn't help me much in discerning who you're parents are, and there are many missing nin from Konoha who were disowned, and there were many more missing nin Uchiha than I would care to admit even if they were all eventually found and killed. I don't have any intention of informing the council of your parentage though, so don't worry about them finding out."

Shadow grinned at the Hokage's response before letting his face take on a more somber mood as the mood turned a bit sour. He quickly shook off the feeling before responding to the Hokage. "Well I'm glad that you don't recognize the name Zeranion. That means it's unlikely for anyone else to recognize it either. As for our parents… They are the former "Rekka no Konoha (Raging fire of Konoha)" and "Aranami no Konoha (Raging Wave of Konoha)."

Sarutobi's eyebrows shot up in recognition at the two nicknames. After all those two were fairly infamous A-rank missing nin in the eyes of Konoha. Their defection from Konoha was overshadowed by only a handful of others, including Orochimaru and Itachi's own defections. "So you are Takaito and Hinamori's children eh?" he chuckled. "I'm glad that they bore no ill will towards Konoha as a whole. They were great people." He turned to Sakashi who just closed her eyes and showed a soft smile. When he saw this he smiled and said, "You look exactly like your mother did when she was your age when you smile like that. In fact, I'd say you're almost a mirror image of her."

Sakashi just let her smile grow a bit cheeky before responding, "Yeah, nii-chan's told me." She liked the old man. He had a kind of grandfatherly aura that just mad you want to trust him.

The old man just gave another grandfatherly smile before returning to the topic at hand. "I am curious though as to how you met Zabuza's group and what happened to your parents."

Shadow looked a bit troubled before responding, "I'll let Kakashi tell you what happened to our parents later… I really don't want to have to tell it again… As for how we met up with Zabuza-san's group..." He looked sheepishly at the former mist nins who were smiling at the memory while looking at Haku who was blushing horribly.

Sakashi was smiling the widest. She quickly pulled a picture from seemingly nowhere before loudly saying, "What's the matter Shadow? Are you embarrassed about how we met them?" She then showed a picture of Haku in her hunter nin outfit without the mask and Shadow. In this picture Haku was pinned to the ground by Shadow's body with her eyes wide and a red blush. Shadow looked like he was lying on her in the picture as he also wore an expression of complete shock while blushing a bit pink.

When they saw the picture all of the nins except for the two who were in the photo were laughing. Naruto was especially loud and asked her, "C-can you give me a copy of that!?"

Haku reached for senbon while Shadow got ready to lunge, but both suddenly stopped and paled when Sakashi brought out a black book. They weren't the only ones as Naruto, Zabuza, Gouzu, and Meizu all paled as well upon the sight of the black book the 11-year old now held. She then took on a mischievous smile and said, "Would you prefer me to show everyone the other picture I took that day Shadow-nii? Haku-nee? After all Shadow, you said yourself that Haku-nee is like a sister to you. You wouldn't want people to find "proof" you were doing anything… Inappropriate with you own sister right?"

Both shinobi instantly backed off. Sakashi's blackmail album held way too many embarrassing situations captured on film for them to try anything... The worst part was that she seemed to have created multiple copies of it because the one time they were able to get it from her and burn it she brought out another and revealed copies of all her blackmail photos. Naruto however, had a mischievous glint in his eye and asked excitedly, "What happened! Tell us!"

Sakashi grinned and began telling the story of their first meeting with the mist-nins.

//Flashback: 1-year ago//

Shadow and Sakashi were walking through a small town on the border of Wave and Fire Country. They'd been traveling for several weeks, and were both looking forward to a few nights indoors. "Nii-chan…" Sakashi spoke up as they were walking along the street. "Could we go to the bathhouse first? It's been a long time since we've been able to relax!"

The 13-year old boy thought things over a bit before smiling and nodding. "Yeah. I guess we could go to the bathhouse. We've been on the road for a while and we could both use a bath." He had no idea how big an impact this decision would have on his and his sister's lives…

//With the Mist team//

On the other side of town, Zabuza, Gouzu, Meizu, and Haku had just arrived in town as well, having traveled for several weeks themselves. They stood just outside the village and were listening to Zabuza give some last minute instructions. "Okay…" the Demon of the Mist said to his three loyal followers. "We've haven't been in a town for a while so let me remind you about the rules. Gouzu, Meizu, keep your henges up and don't start any fights." The two brothers nodded reluctantly, and quickly hid themselves behind an illusion. He turned to the young teen and said to her, "Haku, we can only take one rabbit with us on the road for Kawarimi so only get ONE this time." Haku blushed and looked sheepishly back. The last time she had gotten 30 rabbits for them to take with them on the road since the owner of the pet shop had left on a trip and forgotten to separate the male and female rabbits for the duration of the trip, only to return and find that they had multiplied exponentially in his absence. "We'll go to the bathhouse first and after that split up to find a room as well as get supplies." The three nin nodded and followed their leader towards the bathhouse.

//Bathhouse Lobby//

"That felt good." Sakashi said to no one as she walked out of the baths dressed in a robe. She took a seat in the lobby and sat there drying her hair when she noticed the mist nins walk in under henges. She frowned as she noticed that the three males were using a henge to change their appearances and that all four nins were armed, but didn't comment. It would be better to remain unnoticed.

She casually continued drying her hair as she heard Zabuza say to them, "I'll go last and wait in the lobby until you three are done." The three just nodded, the brothers went to the left side where the males all bathed and Haku went down the right side to the girl's baths. Zabuza then took a seat in another seat in the lobby and waited patiently for the three to finish, noting Sakashi's presence and suppressed chakra signature.

As the two sat there silently observing each other a worker came into the lobby with a toolbox. The two shinobi sat silently as he removed the two signs that identified which sides the two baths were for. He then looked inside his toolbox and swore, "Kuso! I left the new plates back in the maintenance closet!" He picked up the toolbox and walked off back the way he came, forgetting that he had removed the old signs already.

A few seconds later Shadow walked into the lobby and saw his sister relaxing. He noted Zabuza's presence, but decided it would be best not to act in haste. Instead he asked his sister in as casual voice he could, "Hey Sakashi, you done?" When she nodded in confirmation he grinned and continued, "That's good. I'm gonna go and take a bath now." He turned towards the baths and realized that there were no signs. Not wanting to take the wrong path he looked back and asked his sister, "Hey imouto, which side is for guys?"

Sakashi looked up at her brother and opened her mouth to respond when an idea popped into her head. "My left is always right." She replied a little quietly.

Her brother only heard "Right" and nodded saying, "Thanks sis. So the right side…" he said quietly going through the doorway on the right.

As Zabuza watched this he was at first shocked, but then let his face show a wicked grin as he realized what had just happened. Sakashi herself had a wicked smile of her own and quietly counted down. "3… 2… 1…" Right on cue the relative quiet of the bathhouse was suddenly cut off as a scream of "HENTAI!!!" pierced through the air.

//With Shadow//

"Thanks sis. So the right side…" Shadow said quietly to himself as he walked though the doorway on the right down the hallway. As he walked his thoughts went back to the nin wearing a henge sitting in the lobby with Sakashi. 'Hmm… I don't think he's after us… Mist nins hate bloodlines so even if he heard about us there's no way he'd seek us out. My guess is this is just a coincidence.' He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when he stepped into the changing room and saw Haku freeze in the middle of changing. Her kimono top was currently on the bench next to her and she had her pants pulled off revealing to him her well-shaped body clad only in a set of light blue bra and panties.

For a moment, he said nothing just trying to get his brain to function after unintentionally walking in on the shapely beauty as he felt his face begin burning bright red. He began to stammer out an apology, but didn't have time to do so as Haku screamed, "HENTAI!!!"

In less than 10 seconds after she screamed, Gouzu and Meizu jumped over the wall, their henges disabled and fully prepared for battle and saw what they assumed to be a pervert peeking on their little sister. "WE'RE GONNA KICK YOUR ASS! NO ONE PEEKS ON OUR SISTER!!!" they yelled in unison. Shadow, finally coming fully back to his senses and realizing his danger, jumped over the wall and ran into the forests surrounding the village hoping to escape the wrath of the demon brothers and angry Kunoichi.

//With Gouzu and Meizu//

The two brothers watched as the young boy jumped over the wall and began running away from them, hoping to escape. They then turned to Haku who was blushing a scarlet all over her body that put Hinata to shame, doing the best to preserve her modesty. They quickly averted their eyes and Gouzu said, "We'll catch him. Just get dressed and meet up with us so you can get your chance to beat the shit out of him."

"No one peeks on our sister and gets away with it!" Meizu added in, and with that the two demon brothers jumped over the wall after their prey.

//With Shadow//

"CRAP!!!" Shadow yelled out as he ducked underneath the spiked metal chain that connected the two brothers as he attempted to escape them.

"You've got a lot of guts to peep on our little sister." Gouzu said menacingly from the tree branch in front of Shadow.

"But now you're gonna have to pay the price!" Meizu said from another branch. Meizu suddenly spun his gauntlet and unhooked the chain and charged towards Shadow at shocking speeds.

Shadow quickly flashed through a few handseals and turned into a log as Meizu slammed his clawed fist where his stomach had been moments before. He didn't have time to rest however, as suddenly Gouzu swung the newly freed chain towards Shadow like a serrated whip. The young boy jumped over the whip and watched it imbed itself deeply into the tree next to him.

As he recovered from nearly being decapitated by the chain, Meizu came up behind him intent on impaling him with his clawed gauntlet. Shadow noticed this and pointed two fingers towards where younger brother was about to jump and yelled out, "Raiton: Dangan no Ikazuchi! (Lightning Style: Thunder Shot)" and fired a bolt of lightning. Meizu saw this and slammed his gauntlet into the tree branch he was about to jump off of to stop himself a few inches from where the lightning would have blasted him in the stomach.

Shadow didn't have time to be disappointed by this development as he was hit with a fist from behind much sooner than he'd expected. As he was knocked away he looked back and saw that Gouzu had used the stuck chain as a grapple and swung himself over to Shadow's position and allowing him to punch him with his free hand.

'These guys are good…' Shadow thought as he attempted to gain his bearings. As he did this, Gouzu and Meizu had regrouped and once again linked their chain between them, prepared to launch another assault at the one-eyed boy. "I'm still rough with it but I've got no choice…" he said aloud to the puzzlement of Gouzu and Meizu. He flashed through two hand seals shouting, "Raiton: Seiteki no Ryou (Lightning Style: Static Charge)!" and charging himself with electricity.

//Intermission//

"Wait a second!" Naruto suddenly yelled interrupting the flashback. "If they're that smart and they can do all those cool moves how the hell did they get stopped by Sasuke so easily!?"

Shadow looks at Naruto, a bit peeved that he had interrupted but replied, "They weren't taking you guys seriously. The fact they used that retarded puddle trick is proof."

Gouzu and Meizu were suddenly seen with a dreary background facing the wall with their eyes downcast. "We just wanted to try it out…" Meizu said pitifully.

Everyone else sweatdropped before Sakashi continued. "There's also the fact that older brothers tend to go insane when defending their little sisters. Onii-chan does it all the time!" The sweatdrops grew in size at this statement.

Shadow on the other hand looked at Sakashi a bit offended before responding. "What are you talking about Sakashi? I've never done anything that bad…"

Sakashi looks annoyed and retorts, "You usually threaten to kill anyone who shows an interest in me nii-chan…"

"I just threaten them… It's not like I've ever acted on my threats!" he replied to his little sister.

The young girl looked at him incredulously before replying, "When Naruto-kun told me I was cute you stole Zabuza-ottoji's sword and started trying to cut him in half!"

"I didn't actually cut him in half…" he said looking offended.

"Only because he replaced himself with the Kage Bunshin half way through!" she shouted. A loud thump accompanied the statement as most of the room face-vaulted at the knowledge.

The group shakily got back on their feet as Shadow just pretended not to care as he retorted, "It would have only severed his spine…"

Those who had gotten back on their feet promptly were on the ground again. Naruto then replied shakily as he got up… "At least it did something useful… I found out that I learn whatever my clones learn since the terror from Shadow chasing my clone around the forest came back to me when it was killed." He continued shivering at the memory.

Sakashi just shook her head as she continued the story.

//Intermission KAI//

Sakashi smiled contently as she heard Haku's shriek and the yells of the demon brothers. She just giggled, happy with her prank, but stopped when she heard Zabuza begin to laugh as well.

"He he he." The Demon of the Mist chuckled as he heard the yells of the Demon Brothers. "I pity your brother little girl. Gouzu and Meizu are relentless when it comes to defending Haku." He said to the young girl. "Wasn't that a bit mean?" he teased her.

The youngest Zeranion just sank back into her chair looking guilty and replied in a quiet voice, "I guess it might have been…"

Zabuza sweatdropped at her meakness. 'Is she bipolar?' he wondered to himself. Then aloud he said, "Well I suppose we should catch up with them. I'd hate for your brother to be killed over a prank."

Sakashi just nodded meekly and went back to the changing room. She changed quickly and followed Zabuza in pursuit of her brother and the three other nins…

//At the battle//

The Demon Brothers stood there puzzled. 'Nothing changed did it?' they thought to themselves as there were no visible changes. They didn't have time to dwell as Shadow began his counter attack, and threw a barrage of shurinken at them. The two brothers dodged the projectiles well enough, but Shadow's plan had worked fine as several of them pinned the brothers' chain to the nearby tree and they were forced to abandon it. He then used chakra to boost his speed and caught the brothers unaware as he slammed his fist into Gouzu's stomach.

"AAAUGH!" the older brother yelled in pain as electricity coursed through his body. He was then blasted away by the electrical discharge and slammed into a tree where he slumped onto the ground unconscious.

"Nii-san!" Meizu yelled as he saw his brother taken out by what seemed like a simple punch. "You'll pay for that!" he yelled as he charged the young boy.

Seeing him charge, Shadow quickly put his hand into another seal and yelled, "Raiton: Seiteki no Kaihou! (Lightning Style: Static Release)" However, he had yet to perfect the jutsu and instead of an orb of spread out electricity, it shout out in about 6 uncontrollable bolts. By sheer luck one happened to hit Meizu in the shoulder and blasted the younger brother into a tree where he joined his brother in unconciousness on the ground, landing near a small pond.

Shadow let out a sigh of relief as he jumped onto the ground, walking over to them to make sure they were okay when he was stopped by a barrage of senbon needles. "You're pretty good if you beat Gouzu and Meizu, but I'm afraid that simple tricks like those won't work on me." Haku said from her position next to a tree dressed in her full hunter nin garb. She then began emitting killing intent of riteous womanly fury and glared at the now shaking boy. "I'm going to make you scream for peeping on me." she said in a quiet but intense voice.

The older Zeranion just gulped as he used Chakra to boost his movements and avoid a vicious kick that was aimed for his head. To his surprise however, Haku kept up with him and punched him in the stomach knocking the wind out of his lungs. He didn't have time to even really register this however when the ice mistress followed up her attack with a vicious kick to the chest and he was knocked back. As he struggled to get up he muttered, "I don't suppose a 'sorry' would get you to stop would it?"

Haku just glared again with slightly renewed killing intent and replied, "No, it won't." She then began going through hand seals and said to the injured boy, " I won't let you escape… I enjoy torturing perverts like you…HiJutu: Makyou HyouShou! (Secret Technique: Demonic Ice Mirrors)" With that Ice Mirrors formed from the pond water all around Shadow who looked at them worriedly. His worry increased tenfold when Haku stepped into a mirror and said to him, "You won't be able to catch me, so I'm going to use you to practice my knowledge of the human body. If I happen to mess up…"

Shadow was shaking in uninhibited terror by now. 'Note to self if you survive this. An angry woman is by far the scariest thing in the world!' he thought to himself as he prayed for his survival. He didn't have time to think more as Haku began leaping from mirror to mirror, stabbing him with senbon left and right. When Haku paused Shadow's mind began racing. 'Kuso! This is serious, I think she's really trying to kill me!' he thought as he noticed that several senbon were mere centimeters from crippling and vital points.'Gotta pull out all the stops!' he thought as he closed his eye.

The young Ice Mistress looked puzzled by the young boys action. "If you think you can find me by sound you're sorely mistaken." she said. She then pulled out several more senbon and prepared to charge again.

As she left the mirror however, she saw his eyes open wide as he shouted, "Sharingan!" With that cry he easily saw her movement and trajectory and threw a punch at her hoping to knock her out.

Seeing him suddenly keep up with her, Haku panicked a bit and threw her senbon earl towards Shadow who shifted his movement to avoid them. This was not without consequences however, as his punch missed Haku, but his momentum continued moving forward. This caused him to slam his torso into Haku and both teens found themselves falling to the ground, Haku's mask knocked away.

When they landed, Shadow had Haku pinned under his body and Haku was looking at him blushing, Shadow lightly blushing himself. For a moment they both froze in this position when they suddenly were snapped out of their thoughts when they heard a "CLICK."

They turned to see Sakashi with her instant camera and proudly displaying the photo. Zabuza was standing next to her, looking pretty amused himself at their predicament, although he was pondering how in gods name the boy had managed to catch Haku in that technique.

Suddenly realizing their compromising position the two teen scrambled away from each other, Haku now red with both anger and embarrassment. "You pervert!!!" she yelled at him. Suddenly an idea came to her and she grinned maliciously at her target who in turn shivered. "Since you were able to dodge my technique I think I'll just have to change it a bit. After all you can't dodge in mid-air!"

At this comment Shadow looked even more worried. Zabuza himself looked surprised by this declaration but opted to watch quietly Haku's new technique. 'Hmm… It seems that Haku will actually get much stronger from this little prank…'

Haku once again flashed through a series of handseals and said in a quiet but deadly voice the name of her new technique. "HiJutsu: Kibaku Makyou HyouShou! (Secret Technique: Exploding Demonic Ice Mirrors)"

Shadow stood there stunned as the ice mirrors re-organized themselves in a new pattern. The new formation had 2 ice mirrors on both the top and bottom of the new ice orb. 8 mirrors surrounded the 2 bottom mirrors and were slanted upwards while 8 more surrounded the top 2 mirrors and were slanted down. Haku then stepped into an ice mirror, and instantly began her assault, attacking him from underneath, above, left, right, front, backwards, and any angle in-between the entire time keeping him airborne and unable to dodge despite easily seeing her movements.'What an amazing technique…' Shadow thought to himself as he slipped out of conciousness, covered in an enormous number of senbon.

Seeing her target fall unconscious, Haku stopped her attack and let him fall to the ground. She smiled in satisfaction of her new creation, when she suddenly fell onto her knees. 'Chakra exhaustion…' she thought to herself as her world began going black. 'It looks like my new technique uses at least three times as much Chakra as the original since I have to work against gravity whenever I attack from the below and have to move so rapidly…' And with that she fell asleep, exhausted by her efforts.

//Town Hospital//

"Ugh…" Shadow groaned as he sat up in his hospital bed. "I'm so going to get Sakashi for this later…" he muttered as he recalled being made into a human pincushion.

His thoughts were interrupted however when a voice came from his right saying, "I believe I owe you an apology." The young man turned and yelled out in fright when he saw Haku sitting on a chair next to his bed, Sakashi sitting in a chair next to her. The other teen looked guiltily at him before continuing, "I'm sorry about attacking you… I had no idea that your sister had tricked you into walking in on me…"

"Yeah I guess it is my fault." Sakashi said without a hint of guilt present.

The Demon Brothers just growled from their seats by the wall. They were a bit angry that they'd been beaten by experimental jutsus and that Shadow hadn't needed his bloodline to beat them. Though in hindsight he probably should have seeing how their weapons were coated in poison. Zabuza on the other hand just laughed, "Your sister's really something kid. Once she got over being shy around me she had to have become one of the biggest firecrackers I've ever met! I haven't laughed this much in years!"

Shadow wasn't as amused, "I can't believe you lied to me like that Sakashi! You told me that the men's baths were on the right!"

His sister for her part just grinned back and replied to him, "No… I said, "My left is always right!" You just misheard me and only hear right."

The older Zeranion just glared and retorted, "Don't give me that! This has got to be the 4th time you've pulled something like that!"

The Mist group just sweatdropped at this statement. 'FOURTH time?' they collectively thought.

Sakashi however just shrugged it off and responded, "It's not my fault that you don't listen closely."

"I don't listen!?" he said incredulously. "You just keep saying the 'My left is always' part really softly so I can't hear you and then you say loudly 'right!'"

The youngest Zeranion just smiled and said, "It's training! This is a great way for you to keep a keen and clean ear!"

Shadow just shook his head before glaring at her and saying, "That's it! From now on you're banned from saying, "My left is always right!""

Sakashi looked horrified by this statement. It was one of her favorite things to say! She quickly reverted to using Papigan no Jutsu (Puppy Eyes Technique), and said to her brother with wide sorrowful eyes, "Please Shadow... Please let me say it!"

Having experienced this before, Shadow quickly looked away and bluntly stated, "No."

"Yes!" Sakashi replied like the child she was.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"NO Sakashi! And that's final!" Shadow finally finished, cutting her off.

Sakashi just sat there pouting, which Shadow pointedly avoided looking at. Zabuza was smiling at the performance and said to the injured boy, "Hey kid… You and your sister are doing pretty good on your own, but what do you say you join up with us for a bit?"

Shadow looked up, surprised by this proposition and replied, "Why would you want us to come with you?"

Zabuza chuckled and replied, "A bit of fresh air. Right now we're working as mercenaries just saving up money form job to job. We take money and missions from whoever can pay us what we want." His mood turned a little more serious and he continued, "That and I see you've got a lot of potential in you since you were the first one to beat Haku's technique even if you did need a bloodline. I can teach you all sorts of water techniques that you can use to supplement your lightning techniques. That and I can also help you condition your body and maybe how to use a weapon."

Looking into his eyes, Shadow found no sign of malice or deception, so after thinking it over for a bit he replied, "That sounds good, but I have a condition."

"And that is?" Zabuza asked the young man.

The older of the Zeranion siblings looked Zabuza dead in the eye and said, "You said that you take jobs from ANYONE who is willing to pay you. What I want is that Sakashi and I aren't forced to help you on any of your jobs that compromise our morals."

Zabuza looked thoughtful for a minute before he replied, "That's fine, but you have to agree to observe us and pull us out if something goes wrong."

Shadow smirked and said, "We'd have done that anyways. You've got yourself a deal…"

"Mamochi Zabuza" the Ex-Kiri nin replied. He then gestured to his subordinates, "And these are, Gouzu, Meizu, and Haku." Pointing to each one in turn.

The young man smiled and replied, "Zeranion Shadow and Zeranion Sakashi." After he said this however, his stomach growled and he looked at them sheepishly, and reached for the tray of food on the table next to him.

Haku just smiled and said, "Here, let me help."

She stood up and began walking to the tray, however she still had not yet fully recovered from her Chakra exhaustion. As a result she felt her leg's buckle and she fell… Right on top of Shadow who was still dressed in only his hospital gown. However what was most memorable about this moment was that when she fell onto the bed, her lips fell right on top of Shadow's. For the third time since they'd met the two were frozen in shock. However they were filled with dread when they heard a familiar telltale, "CLICK"

Haku scrambled off her new comrade blushing crimson again while Shadow was doing the same. Sakashi just took the new photo and asked sweetly, "So Shadow-nii? Can I keep on saying it or should I show this picture to everyone we meet?"

The two teenagers of the new group just looked at each other. They knew this picture would haunt them for years to come…

//Flashback KAI//

At the end of the story majority of the shinobi were laughing again except for Haku and Shadow who were just glad that Sakashi didn't actually SHOW them the picture.

"A-are y-you serious!" Naruto wheezed through his laughter. "Oh man, please do something to make her angry! I really want to see that picture!"

Haku just continued to blush scarlet while Shadow was thinking about ways to find and destroy all copies of Sakashi's blackmail album. When Sandaime finished chuckling at the expense of the two teens he said to the group, "Well, I think that everything is in order. I will let you all into the ranks of Konoha shinobi with a 3-month probationary period. Your rank will correspond to your former ones in Mist." He then took out 6 leaf headbands and placed them on his desk. The 6 of them picked up their headbands, but Haku, Shadow, and Sakashi looked a bit uneasy.

The Hokage looked puzzled by this, but Shadow explained, "Umm… Hokage-sama… Haku, Sakashi, and I were never officially part of any shinobi village… Therefore none of us have any rank."

When he heard this, Sarutobi gave Haku a questioning glance before continuing, "What about Haku? She has a mist headband and hunter-nin mask."

Haku gave a sheepish smile before responding, "They were both stolen… Zabuza-sama didn't formally induct me into the shinobi ranks because it would be easier for others to find out about my bloodline if I became a formal shinobi. He also didn't want anyone to know about all my abilities before the attempted coup so he took me on missions saying I was still being taught the basics and wasn't yet ready to become a Genin…"

The old man nodded in understanding and sat in thought for a few minutes. When he spoke up again he told them, "Seeing as you have no "official" experience as shinobi, I'm afraid I'm forced to assign you three the rank of Genin despite your difference in strength from most of our Genin. However, I'll put you three together to form Team 11, and the Chunin exams will be held in roughly 5 months from now so you shouldn't have to worry too much."

The three looked at each other before nodding in approval. "It can't be helped." Shadow said to the Hokage. "None of us are in the bingo book either so you can't even use that to rank us. We'll just have to stay Genin for a bit."

Sakashi however, had something else on her mind and asked, "Who will be our Jonin sensei?"

For a while, Sarutobi thought about the matter before replying, "As much as I would like to, the council would never allow me to have Zabuza as you're sensei. They would claim it's too dangerous having the former "Demon of the Mist" a sensei to three newly instated foreign nin, especially when they are valuable bloodline carriers. I'll have to discuss this matter with them this afternoon at the scheduled meeting. Hopefully, I'll be able to convince them to let Zabuza continue you're instruction. For now you three will become Team 11."

The group of new Genin nodded in understanding. Naruto then spoke up again and asked, "So where are they going to stay? They can't just sleep outside…"

Sarutobi smiled and replied, "I think it would be a good idea to put them into some of the vacant rooms in your apartment building. If I recall there are several of them, and it would put them close to someone they're familiar with."

Looked stunned for a few seconds, before a huge grin adorned his face a moment later. "YATTA!" Naruto shouted as he jumped into the air, ecstatic that he now had some neighbors and friends.

The assembled nin just smiled at his antics. The Hokage then spoke up again. "That will be all for now. Zabuza and Kakashi I'd like for you two to stay behind to discuss some more of the details. Team 11 will meet here tomorrow at 7:00a.m. so that I can give you your Jonin sensei. Until then dismissed."

The group of new leaf nin nodded and left the office. Once they were outside of the tower, Gouzu said to Haku, "We're gonna wait here for Zabuza-sama. Go ahead with Naruto and take a look around the village."

Haku nodded and smiled at her adoptive older brothers. "Okay, we'll meet you at Naruto's apartment building later then."

With that, Team 11 left as Naruto began taking them all over their new home. As they were walking down the streets, the three newly instated leaf-nin couldn't help but notice the weak killer intent and looks of contempt shown by a good majority of the populace. Haku was confused as to the reason that Naruto was viewed with such hatred. He seemed like a nice enough boy, what was it about him that made people dislike him so?

Sakashi on the other hand, had a slightly sad and disappointed expression on her face. Her new home didn't seem like such a great place right now. Shadow on the other hand was clenching his fist, making sure not to let anyone know that he was angry about their treatment of the Jinchuuriki since Naruto seemed to just shrug it off. 'I'll talk to him about this later…' he thought to himself in order to keep his calm façade. It was then that he noticed a presence following their group, years of caution and almost paranoia had honed his detection abilities. 'That's weird… Someone's following us, but I don't feel any killing intent…' he frowned but didn't say anything, looking over at his sister who just gave him a barely perceptible nod.

//2 hours later//

After being shown around the village for a few hours, Naruto's stomach suddenly gave a large growl. "He he…" he laughed a bit embarrassed. "I guess I'm a bit hungry. Come on! I'll show you to my favorite restaurant!"

Haku and Sakashi smiled and nodded in response, but Shadow replied, "I've got to use the restroom. I'll be back in a bit."

Naruto nodded in understanding and said, "We'll wait right here. Don't take too long okay?"

Shadow just nodded before walking off. Peeking around the corner of a nearby wall, Hyuuga Hinata was currently observing the object of her affection talk animatedly with Haku and Sakashi. She had only meant to observe Naruto for a little while since he'd just gotten back from his mission, but when she saw him giving three unfamiliar shinobi around Konoha she decided to watch for longer and watch their reactions to him.

While observing them, she was surprised by their reactions to the villager's killing intent. As far as she knew, no one in their age group except herself ever noticed the anger that the village seemed to show Naruto at all times, let alone seem saddened or angered by it. She watched them as they continued walking with him throughout the tour. The new arrivals showed Naruto a degree of respect she hadn't seen anyone show him in the past, listening to him talk and even asking him questions when they had them, and even engaged him in just idle chat, something that she didn't think anyone had ever really done before. It was then she noticed the most amazing thing about the entire tour… Naruto was smiling… Not the masked smile that he put up so that people wouldn't notice, not the impish grin that he did whenever he made a prank, but a genuine smile of happiness and contentment. Another thing that she had yet to see before today and made her smile.

As she watched Haku and Sakashi laugh as he told them about how he had painted the Hokage monument in broad daylight, her smile dropped and turned into a look of restrained worry. 'Naruto-kun has found people who like and accept him…' she thought to herself from her hiding place. Her gaze shifted to Haku and the younger girl 'I'm happy for him… But now I don't stand a chance of getting him to notice me… Both those girls are so pretty and confident, plus they can make him really smile… He'd never want someone as weak as me…'

The Hyuuga heiress was broken out of these thoughts when from behind her she heard a voice say, "You know, it's not polite to follow people like this."

Hinata jumped with a start and spun around. Behind her, Shadow stood looking at her. A look of mild amusement on his face due to her reaction. The shy girl just began playing with her index fingers before stuttering out, "G-g-gomenosai..."

Seeing her reaction, Shadow just put on a reassuring smile and replied, "Don't worry about it. At least you aren't leaking killing intent like most of the villagers here." His face changing to a frown at the last statement. Then putting on a smile again he continued, "So why were you following us?"

"Ano… I s-saw N-Naruto-kun with y-you and I w-was curious as to w-why he seemed s-so h-happy." She stammered blushing a bit at being caught.

Shadow just let his smile grow a little more at this statement and replied, "I guess I can understand that." Hinata looked back at him surprised at the easy acceptance of her answer. Seeing her expression, Shadow continued, "When we first met him he was always wearing that fake smile of his as a mask. I'm guessing that's the only kind of smile you've seen him make in all the time you've been watching him in the past, so a real smile would most likely make you curious." Hinata looked embarrassed that she had been seen through so easily and just kept twiddling her fingers.

'She's cute when she does that…' Shadow thought to himself as Hinata continued playing with her fingers, 'But she really needs some self-confidence.' Then aloud to her he said, "Why don't you join us for lunch? I'm sure he'd enjoy the company."

Hinata looked startled for a moment before stammering out, "Ano… w-what a-about…" she glanced towards Haku and Sakashi who were currently laughing as Naruto was bragging about how he 'defeated' the Hokage with his patented Sexy no Jutsu (Sexy Technique).

Seeing where her gaze fell, Shadow came to an understanding and said in response, "You won't be bothering them. Haku-chan and Sakashi see Naruto as more a brother than anything."

The young Hyuuga looked surprised by this before a look of relief came over her face. 'They think of him like a sister. I might still have a chance!' she thought happily.

Shadow smiled when he saw the shift in her features. "So it's decided then. I'm happy to meet you…" he paused when he realized they didn't know each other's names yet.

Noticing his pause, the heiress stuttered, "H-hyuuga H-hinata…" with a small smile on her face.

The older boy smiled and replied, "Zeranion Shadow. Come on, I'll introduce you to Naruto." He then grabbed her hand before she could protest, and dragged her out to meet her crush making the young girl blush lightly at having a boy grab her by the hand.

Naruto turned and saw Shadow coming and yelled out, "Hey! Shadow you done!? Let's go to Ichiraku now!" The loud blonde then noticed the shy Hyuuga that he had pulled with him and asked, "Eh? Hinata? What are you doing here?"

Hinata just blushed when Naruto noticed her thinking, 'He remembered my name! I thought for sure he would have forgotten me already.'

Shadow just smiled at her reaction as he released her hand and said to Naruto, "I met her on the way back and talked to her for a bit. Would it be okay to bring her with us for lunch?"

The blonde haired boy just gave a big smile and replied, "Sure! I don't see a problem." Turning to the other two girls he then asked, "What about you two?"

Haku smiled an replied, "That's fine with me. It will be great to make more friends." Sakashi however, reverted back to her shy state at the presence of the new friend, and meekly nodded.

Shadow sweatdropped when he saw Sakashi's meek response. 'I'll never understand how she can be so mischievous and outgoing around us, but be so shy around new people…' Then turning to Naruto he said, "Since there are no objections why don't you lead the way."

"Hai!" Naruto responded happily. "Come on guys, let's go to Ichiraku!" The blonde then lead the way towards the stall, the rest followed, Haku with an amused expression at seeing Sakashi's shy side again, Sakashi looking at Hinata with a shy glance, Hinata with a small smile at getting a chance to eat lunch with Naruto, and Shadow making sure Hinata didn't try to run away.

//At Ichiraku's//

"Hey! Ojii-san I'm back!" Naruto called out as they arrived at the ramen stand.

Teuchi turned around and replied, "Naruto! It's good to see you. And who are they?" The last part indicating towards the other 4 Genin.

Naruto just replied, "Oh! These are my friends Haku-chan, Shadow, Sakashi-chan, and Hinata." Gesturing to each one in turn.

"It's nice to meet you." Haku replied politely.

Shadow smiled and said, "Naruto's been dying to take us here."

Sakashi just meekly hid behind her brother and peeked around him, unsure of how to talk to this new person. While Hinata smiled nervously and bowed

Teuchi for his part was happy that Naruto had made some friends. "Friends eh? In that case this one's on the house."

"Are you sure about that? We have money…" Shadow offered when Teuchi made his declaration.

The old man just waved his hand and replied, "Don't worry about it! Naruto eats here all the time but this is the first time he's ever brought friends."

Shadow was about to protest before Haku intervened and said, "We appreciate it."

Teuchi nodded and asked the gathered Genin, "So what will it be?"

"I'll have a shrimp ramen." Shadow said after giving into the ramen makers offer.

"Chicken please." Haku replied.

"Ano… A m-miso ramen please…" Hinata almost whispered.

Sakashi looked up shyly and said, "Shrimp ramen please." From her position at the end of the stand next to her brother.

Naruto said, "I'll start with Beef ramen today old man!"

Teuchi nodded and got to work on their orders. Once they received their orders the group of assembled genin made various small talk, mostly about where Team 11 came from since Hinata had never seen them in the village before. About an hour later, all but Sakashi had finished their meals except for Sakashi who was always a slow eater.

"That hit the spot!" Naruto said happily as he finished off his last bowl.

Shadow smiled and said, "I know what you mean." He then frowned and continued, "But I can't believe you were able to eat 15 bowls!"

Haku and Hinata were surprised as well having only been able to eat one each. Naruto however replied, "I can't help it! Ramen is AWESOME! Besides you ate 5 bowls yourself!"

Shadow just scratched his chin a bit embarrassed and retorted, "I was hungry!"

Haku just shook her head and replied, "I really don't understand how you can eat so much and stay so thin…"

The one-eyed Genin just scratched his chin again and decided to change the subject. "So Hinata…" he said to the shy girl who looked up at the mention of her name. "We've told you a lot about us, but we haven't really heard anything about you." He said glancing at Naruto real quick to make sure he was paying attention.

Hinata looked a bit startled at the change in topic and replied, "Ano… I-I'm n-not that i-interesting…" she said lamely, trying to avoid the topic.

Seeing her try to worm her way out, Shadow cut off her escape route when he said, "Neither are we in the grand scheme of things. Just because your past doesn't involve the murder of your parents and living without support from the age of 8, it doesn't mean that you're boring."

The young Hyuuga, seeing her escape route cut off tried to calm herself and continued, "W-well, I was p-put on Team 8 with I-Inuzaku Kiba a-and Aburame Sh-Shino. M-my sensei i-is Y-yuhei Kurenai, a g-genjutsu specialist. W-we were m-made t-to be a t-tracking and r-recon t-team since K-Kiba-kun has e-enhanced senses, Sh-Shino-kun can use i-insects t-to g-gather information, a-and I h-have the B-Byakugan."

Naruto looked confused and replied, "Bi-yuk-uu-jam? What's that?"

Being somewhat used to his ignorance by now, Shadow just sighed and said to him, "TheByakugan Naruto is the Kekei Genkai for the Hyuuga clan. It allows the users to see almost 360 degrees around them, as well as through objects. It can also let them see their opponent's Chakra network and Tenketsu Points, and allow them to seal off their opponent's Chakra or attack internal organs with Chakra."

Hinata looked surprised by Shadow's knowledge and asked, "H-how do y-you know s-so m-much about t-the Byakugan?"

"My parents told me all about Konoha's clans when they were alive." The young man replied. "After all, they knew that we were still wanted by them, and knowing what the clans could do would help us if we ever had to fight hunter-nin." Their conversation suddenly stopped however when Sakashi spoke up.

"I'm done." She said pushing her bowl away.

"Finally!" Naruto said looking at the 11-year old. "You took so long!"

Sakashi looked embarrassed and replied, "I'm a slow eater Naruto-nii."

Shadow just sighed and instead turned to Teuchi and asked him, "Are you sure you don't want us to pay… Sakashi ate quite a bit…"

The old ramen maker shook his head and said, "No, I told you I'd treat you and so I will… But I don't think that I'll do it again any time soon… I had no idea your sister could eat as much ramen as Naruto!"

With that statement, Haku, Hinata, and Naruto's eyes all snapped to the pile of ramen bowls next to Sakashi and sure enough there were 15 bowls stacked there, stunned by the appetite of the young girl.

Sakashi just blushed and replied, "I have a healthy appetite."

This statement was met with silence. Eventually the silence was broken Shadow just shook his head and said, "Well we should be going now." He got up to leave but then remembered Hinata. Turning to the Hyuuga heiress he asked her, "Hey Hinata. Would you like to train with us tomorrow? We're going to be helping Naruto work on his Chakra control, and your Byakugan would be able to help us tell him what he's doing wrong."

Hinata looked startled by the invitation before replying, "H-hai…" 'I get to train with Naruto-kun!'

Naruto just smiled and said, "Thanks a lot Hinata! My Chakra control is horrible so I can use all the help I can get!"

The young heiress looked startled, but managed a slow nod. 'Naruto-kun is thanking me! Maybe I still have a chance! I don't know how much I can help being so weak, but maybe I can help him just a little!'

Seeing her beginning to go into her own world, Shadow said to the loudmouth, "We better go to your apartment Naruto. Lead the way."

Oblivious that he was purposefully being distracted, Naruto just smiled and replied, "OK! Follow me! Later Hinata-chan!" He then bounded off followed by the new Team 11.

Hinata sat frozen in her seat for a few seconds before she whispered, "He called me Hinata-chan…" then promptly fainted.

Teuchi saw this and just shook his head with a small smile and saying, "Young love…"

AN// That's it for Chapter 3! This time I decided to put in the story about how Shadow and Sakashi met the mist nins, as well as revealing the technique used to defeat the Sharingan user that Zabuza and Haku alluded to during their fights with Team 7. I also introduced Hinata into the story, and I guarantee that she gets some confidence later. Keep in mind there are 5 months before the Chunin Exams in my story.

Thanks for taking the time to read Chapter 3 of Sibling Stars!

PLEASE REVIEW! I just want to improve my writing so tell me what I'm doing right or wrong!