Quick word of note - I have been getting a few 'OMG, having Naruto in ANBU is so illogical and stupid' reviews, and since a bunch of them are guest reviews I want to address them in the A/N at the bottom of the chapter. I apologize for the paragraph that most of you don't want to read or don't care to read, I get a bit...ahem, energetic when my stories and ideas are scrutinized. Sorry all of you for putting a large chunk of bolded words that don't really involve the plot.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled content. Hope you all enjoy.

Naruto breathed in and out, counting his heartbeat. His mind, for once, was clear.

The exercise was a comforting one, a routine that reminded him of home. Pervy-Sage had taught him the meditative pose when he learned just how bad his chakra control was - that is to say, complete shit - and forced him to practice it every night before he went to bed and every morning when he woke up, as well as when he was keeping watch. He continued the habit, up to this very day many years later.

His mouth curled at the mention of said sage. Despite their...ahem, lively banter, Naruto thought of the man as a father - that, or the extremely eccentric and perverted uncle who was super powerful and badass but also the kind of person you denied being related to in public. He hoped Jiraiya was doing well, back at home.

Speaking of home, Naruto hated to admit it but he was starting to long for the comfort of Konoha already. The task in front of them was a daunting one - an entire year of nonstop protection and vinegar - no, not that - vigil? Vigor? Vigilance, that was it. Even Naruto didn't know whether or not he had the stamina or energy to complete it.

Konoha was safety, it was home, and it was the only place on the planet Naruto felt like he belonged.

What was that old saying? Home is where the heart is? Well, his heart was inside each and every one of the villagers, inside Old Man Teuchi and Ayami and Tsunade-baa. Inside Jiraiya and Kaka-sensei and Kurenai and Asuma. All of his classmates in the Rookie Nine. Even in eccentric Gai-sensei, and creepy Anko, and Miroku, his mean and hardened ANBU tutor. Jeez, that guy had been a bastard, but Naruto probably would have kicked the bucket in the first five minutes of his first ANBU mission without his training, so there was that.

It wasn't the village he was loyal to, not really, because it was nothing but a collection of walls a buildings. He was loyal to the Will of Fire and his Hokage and his people.

So yeah. Little pieces of his heart were scattered around the village.

But, he was free to admit, a larger-than-average piece of his heart was inside Sakura and Sasuke, his teammates and his family and best friends and worst enemies all rolled into one colorful, dysfunctional package.

He could already imagine them making some snarky comment about his usage of 'dysfunctional', as if he hadn't known it before. Pssh.

Okay, he looked it up in a dictionary. Sue him.

Naruto spread out his chakra, and could faintly feel Sakura's signature in their room behind him, calm and steady. It was something he always did when he was on watch, as soon as he had the proper control to do so - it was actually really easy, and didn't require the precision of a jutsu, but a useful skill nonetheless. It was comforting, to both him and Sakura, to know they were both there. Her signature glowed slightly, latching on to his and hugging his chakra. He smiled. So she was awake.

He did the same to Sasuke and noticed the same reaction, well, almost - Sasuke's signature flared sharply in annoyance, and Naruto could practically imagine him hissing, 'Knock it off, dobe, I'm trying to sleep'. His grin grew wider.

Naruto readjusted his ANBU mask for the umpteenth time, because yes, they were made of porcelain and yes, it was as uncomfortable as it sounded. It was basically the equivalent of having a dinner plate stuck to your head. And not one of the cool swirly ones, but the ugly, yellow-and purple faded flower ones old ladies were obsessed with.

Yeah, not comfortable. Whatsoever.

Naruto had to wonder who the heck came up with the idea - preferably so he could slap them in the face. Hard. With a Rasengan. - because while the porcelain did look the best with the colored designs, surely there were other materials just as nice looking, without being ten pounds of glass?

Wood would work. It was light enough that it wouldn't be a hassle and painted wood looked good a- oh. Katon jutsu. Never mind.

Plastic? Metal? No, they would melt under intense heat. Plus, metal was heavy.

Rock? Um, hell no.

Fabric? That sounded stupid even in his head.

Huh. Maybe porcelain was the only option.

But porcelain wasn't as good as it could be. What if someone engineered something, maybe a combination of wood and plastic to make it lighter but fireproof and then-

Whoa. He blinked. Stay focused.

Ugh, ANBU was so freaking annoying at times.

ANBU was not fun. It was not cool. And it certainly wasn't easy. The hardest part so far was the responsibility, the seriousness, and the constant vigilance.

Which, he would easily admit, were not things he was normally associated with. Ever.

Yeah, when he had first told Tsunade-baa he wanted to join ANBU, she had laughed her ass off. When he told her he was serious in a completely no-nonsense tone, she sobered and looked at him strangely.

"I don't think you want to do that, Naruto." Her eyes pierced his.

Naruto shuffled uncomfortably. "Um, yes I do. I wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"Naruto, listen to me. ANBU isn't all fun and games. The kind of missions operatives get sent on... those things can break people, ruin their psyche permanently. It can literally drive you insane."

"You think I don't know that?" He narrowed his eyes.

She rose from her seat in anger, moving in front of her desk. "Yes! I think you just view ANBU as another stepping stone, just a way to get to Hokage sooner. But let me tell you this - if you let ANBU destroy you, you are going to lose your chance at Hokage."

"Baa-chan, I know the risks. But I want to do this."

"No you don't! Naruto, you will have to kill people in cold blood. You will kill potential innocents to keep covers. You will have to lie and cheat and steal and do unspeakable things to people. You will have to fight tooth and nail to make it back to the village after every mission, and one day it won't work, and you'll come home in a body bag or not at all."

"Tsunade-sama!", he yelled, and Tsunade looked startled at the lack of affectionate homophix. "I know. Kami, I know. But I need to. I want to help."

"Dammit, boy!" Tsunade's cry was sudden and fierce. "Do you know how ANBU destroyed ME? How it forced me to extreme methods to cope? How it ruined Jiraiya's true goofiness and laughter, how it helped drive Orochimaru crazy?" She was yelling now. "Every year, there are ANBU who drop out of the program, never to be the same again! We have put down operatives that are driven insane for the safety of the village!" Naruto did not know that. It chilled him to the core.

She was suddenly silent. Her arms reached out and grasped Naruto. Before he knew it, he was pulled into a hug. The blonde, shocked, stared at her.

"Dammit, boy." She whispered into his shoulder. "I can't lose you to that madness. You know I can't lose you too."

Naruto bit his lip from the memory. Tsunade was one of the strongest people he knew, and seeing her looking so...so downhearted, desperate, broken; it killed him inside.

That day, he made three resolutions. Number one was the most obvious, a promise to his Hokage. He would still join ANBU - after all, he was Naruto freaking Uzumaki, and from the words of Sakura-chan, "not even the will of Kami-sama himself could stop him from achieving his dream". He needed the opportunity, especially after-

After...

It.

Naruto clenched his fist. He forcefully rerouted his train of thought.

His second promise was to Tsunade. Not Hokage-sama, not the Slug Princess, not the Sanin, but to the woman behind each and every one of those titles.

"Tsunade-baa..." Naruto said softly.

She was grieving silently, tears dripping down her face and onto his hair. Her head bowed and her eyes flowing with tears, but still her will was resolute - she would not whimper, or cry, or utter a sound.

"I've thought about this for a while. Yes, I can think. This isn't the kind of decision I can just leap into, y'know? I talked about it a lot with my team, even Kakashi - man, was he surprised - but eventually they all agreed. This...we need to do this.

"And I know the risks, which is why I'll tell you something. I promise you. I won't let ANBU destroy me. And you know how I always keep my promises - it's my ninja way." He chuckled.

"Besides, I can't really be lost if I'm not alone. Well, I can, but I'll have people to fight with. I'm going with Sakura and Sasuke, see? They're the best, wanted to protect me and stay by my side." He was rambling absently, talking to her in a soothing voice. "Unreal, right? Before, I didn't have anybody's loyalty. No one trusted me, and yet those two...they're willing to follow me to the pits of Hell."

He laughed. "Maybe ANBU is the personification of Hell. I don't know. But I need this, Tsunade-baa. I need people to trust me, to reach out to me, I need people to not judge me by my face. I want to be the protector, the shield of Konoha. I need this. And Sasuke needs this, not for others but himself. He doesn't trust himself, not after everything that happened. We've forgiven him, but Sasuke hasn't forgiven himself yet and that's a bad situation to be in. He wants to prove it to himself that he can do selfless good.

"And Sakura...well, she doesn't need this at all. She's strong, and reliable, and everyone loves her. She's always been the... normal one. I'd be happier if she stayed home safe, she might be too, but it's Sakura-chan here. You know her as well as I do; that she'd follow us wherever, and there's nothing we could do to stop her. I don't think she needs this; I think she needs us, and that's such a nice feeling, y'know? I feel bad, 'course I do, dragging her down to this, but a part of me is happy 'cause my team will be there with me, like always.

"I gave them both a choice, I actually told them not to come. And you know what they said? They told me that like it or not, I'm stuck with them. Sasuke actually told me to shut the fuck up, because I was being ridiculous saying they weren't coming." He grinned at her, a grin full of immeasurable happiness. "They have no idea how happy that made me. Maybe I'm selfish. But aren't I the luckiest person ever?"

Tsunade was listening; the tears were gone.

"We're going in as a team, and we're gonna quit ANBU as a team. No team casualties, 'cause we're too awesome to die. We'll be the greatest ANBU team for a while, but I don't plan on staying too long. Neither does Sakura. Sasuke, he might stay, but I doubt it. He's happy with us, and everyone knows it but he won't admit it. The bastard," Naruto said fondly.

"We'll make it out alive." The single phrase made Tsunade clutch him just a little tighter.

"Besides, how am I gonna steal your hat if I'm insane or lying six feet under? Have some more faith, baa-chan."

First there was nothing. Nothing but silence, and Naruto wondered if he had screwed up, if his talk-no-jutsu had finally failed him.

Then, a laugh.

No, not a laugh. An airy chuckle, an expressive one. One full of wry agreement and happiness and relief and love.

Tsunade released Naruto from her death hug, facing him and cupping a cheek with her hand. "Hmph. If you want to even get close to those ANBU forms, boy, you'll need to bring me AT LEAST a hundred liters of sake." she said seriously. Her eyes, though, were mirthful.

Naruto promised her to not die, to not be broken beyond repair. And he meant every word he said - he was NOT breaking that promise, or any of his promises for that matter.

His third promise was to himself, and himself only.

He swore that he would protect his loved ones. More so than ever.

Because he realized how terrified Tsunade was of losing him. He realized how hurt she would be if he was damaged, scarred, or Kami forbid dead. He realized that if he played martyr too much, if he was up on the front lines losing limbs or blood, others were going to suffer too.

He knew it theoretically before. But seeing it, feeling it, that was something totally different.

He imagined Sakura, or Sasuke, or Kakashi, or Tsunade being hurt. He imaged the unthinkable agony, the guilt, the horror. Naruto couldn't do that to everyone. To any of them. So he promised himself to take care of them, but take care of himself too, because that was indirectly helping them as well.

Letting out a calming breath, Naruto felt a determined grin take over his face.

He was on watch now, and stupid wizard world or not, as long as he was standing his teammates would not be hurt. By anyone, or anything - including himself.

Sasuke liked sleep.

Now, some might argue that Sasuke never really 'liked' much of anything, but it was true. He liked sleep. Anyone who claimed he was incapable of even remotely enjoying anything ever was just being annoying. And stupid.

Sheesh. He wasn't a robot. He still had normal bodily functions thank-you-very-much.

So when he was pulled from the niceness of sleep by that idiot's annoying cheerful chakra, he couldn't help but lash out. Maybe it was a bit mean, but Sasuke had long since not cared about being 'nice'.

That idiot was totally asking for it.

He figuratively pushed Naruto's - bright, warm, cheery - annoying chakra away from his body. Ugh. Can't he just let a man sleep?

Okay, so maybe he wasn't a man - yet - and sure, he was due for watch soon. But he wanted sleep, goddammit.

He drifted off again into glorious darkness; Sasuke didn't know how long it was for but it seemed like only seconds until Naruto's chakra was suddenly latching onto him again and it was stronger this time. Sasuke had to hand it to him, Naruto was nothing if not persistent. And annoying, but that was kind of an established fact and Sasuke tried to not make a habit of pointing out the obvious. That was more his idiot teammates' jobs.

Sasuke tried to ignore the chakra but it kept getting brighter. He grunted in annoyance.

All of a sudden, the hairs on his arms raised because a presence was next to his bed what the hell.

Kunai raised, he lurched out of bed and almost tackled an apologetic and slightly terrified blonde. "Um...it's your turn for watch?" Naruto offered sheepishly. His mask was on.

Sasuke released his almost choke hold on the blonde and hissed, "Okay, idiot." He shuffled out of bed as Naruto settled down gratefully. Sasuke slipped his kunai into his pouch as he began putting his chestplate on.

Meanwhile, Naruto had stripped off his armor and weapons - save a few emergency kunai under his pillow - in record time, and was slumped on his bed. "Sasuke, 'm tired." He groaned quietly.

"Then sleep."

"Can't till you're officially on guard."

"That's nice."

"Get y'r ass out there for patrol and watch. I wanna sleep."

"Fine."

"Fasterrr."

"I get it."

"H'rry up. You're still next to y'r bed."

"I'm getting ready, idiot. Stop bugging me."

"'m not." He yawned.

"Yes you are."

"Please, Sasu, my voice is freaking magical. 'Course y'wanna hear it."

"No I do not you idiot. Now seriously-"

"Both of you shut up." An irritated female voice entered the conversation. Sasuke quickly put on the rest of his armor and headed out, because even he didn't want to deal with a sleep deprived Sakura.

Ugh. Annoying.

Yeah, Sasuke officially hated Europe.

Sakura was tired.

Honestly, it wasn't even the fact that they had been sucked into a demonic whirlpool or spent way too long examining random houses before finally stumbling into a foreign hideout with everyone there speaking gibberish.

Sakura was absolutely certain that it was all. Her. Teammates'. Fault.

Always.

They were exhausting. Seriously, why did SHE have to be the even-tempered one! She had a bitc- fiery personality by nature, she didn't want to play peacemaker for a bunch of egotistical, testosterone-infused morons!

Ugh.

So when she had blinked her bleary eyes, hearing voices, yes, she was angry. Hell, she could've murdered someone on the spot. Luckily they hushed up and she drifted back into peacefulness almost immediately afterwards.

Later, when Sakura was shaken awake by her dark haired teammate, she immediately realized she slept like a rock, because on any other day she would've been up the second Sasuke's presence entered the room. Man. She must've been tireder than she thought.

She sent her teammate a grateful look, one he nodded in return to, and pulled herself out of her bed. She slipped the senbon clenched in her hand back into her pouch. She didn't remember grabbing them after patrol, so she must've done that unconsciously too. Her hair was in her face and her clothes were slightly rumpled - AND she had fallen asleep with her armor. Sheesh, she was a mess.

Sakura stretched twice, arching her back with satisfying cracks. "What time is it?" She called.

"Not sure," Naruto responded, already up and about. He was taking his duffle and plopping it over his shoulder. "I have a civilian watch, but it's not synched with the timezone here."

"Great." Sakura groaned. "We'll need to ask someone about that."

Sasuke grunted in agreement, he too hauling his bag up to his chest.

Sakura quickly followed to do the same, realizing she was behind. Haphazardly, she stuffed the toiletries she got from the little gift basket into her duffle. She was still kind of pissed that Naruto ate her cookies - he would owe her for that later.

She zipped her bag up and was finished in record time. "Well, let's join the party," she muttered. "And hope they have something for breakfast."

"Yup," Naruto murmured in reply. "I'll go first."

She nodded, and Naruto lead the way, reaching up to pull his porcelain mask onto his face from its position on top of his head. Sakura followed suit; Sasuke was behind her, but she assumed he did the same.

The house was just as creepy during the day as it was during the night, she noticed. That was a novel feat; not to mention the fact that Sakura was not an easily scared person by nature. She came across the hallway she had set up her chakra netting in, and decided to examine the paintings in broader daylight.

Sure enough, there was a painting of an old man who was looking at her funny. "N'ver seena mask like that one before."

Naruto and Sasuke both jumped, weapons flashing. Sakura herself was a bit taken aback. So it was the paintings.

She disliked this wacky place already.

"Um, hello." Sakura said a tad nervously.

The old man moved his head - moved! MOVED! - to sport a crooked grin. "Why hello there darlin'."

"I'd stay away from old Callister," another voice cut in. "He's crazy."

Sakura turned to a second painting, this time with a young boy with sandy hair and an impish smile. "Hi Miss! What's your name? Where are ya from? Why are you wearing a mask, ooh, is that a sword? Can I see? Please? Please? I promise I'll be careful! Ooh! And how about your friends? Are they nice? They look real scary, Miss." The boy said all this in one breath and Sakura couldn't help but gape.

He tilted his head at her silence. "What's the matter, miss? You look like you've seen a ghost or something! Don't worry about that though, miss, there aren't any mean ones around here, just Jack, and he's super friendly and adorable! He's a puppy, miss. Do you like puppies? I do too! They're my favorite animal, well, besides dragons. I mean, I think puppies awesome, but dragons are just sooooo much cooler, miss! They breathe fire and can swoop in and out of the sky! Walter says that he's seen a giant green one, but that's just gibberish! Aren't all dragons red? It would be so cool to see a bright blue one, though! Dragons are just so bloody awesome, miss!"

"Arnie! Watch your tongue!" A motherly looking woman on a painting next to the boy's snapped. "You are in the presence of a lady, act like it! My goodness," she sighed.

"Yes, Mrs. Patty," the boy mumbled.

"Now, apologize." The woman ordered.

"Sorry, miss."

"Good boy." Mrs. Patty humphed. "Now, how about we let our esteemed guests introduce themselves?"

"Oh yeah!" Suddenly, the boy was entirely perky again. "What's your name, Miss? Where are you from? I mean, your voice sounds a little different from mine so you might not be from here but that's totally okay! Oh! Are you a samurai? I hearda bunch of stories from James, miss, he says that the Black family has a bunch of samurai protectors now, and they're ten feet tall with a buncha awesome weapons! That's so cool! But you don't really look like a samurai, miss! Do you know who the samurai are so I can meet them? I'd really appreciate it, Miss! Oh! And you need to meet Mr. Robinson, he's over two halls down, he's brilliant!"

Sakura, while this entire exchange was going on, was utterly silent. She suddenly snapped out of her stunned trance and exclaimed in a rush, "I apologize but I think I have to go on an urgent errand that absolutely cannot be delayed bye," and with that, Sakura was racing away from the creepy paintings, her boys right behind her.

Her cheeks burned in shame as she came to a stop around the corner. She, a kunoichi of Konohagakure, running in fear from talking paintings? It was absurd, it was disgraceful, it was so unlike her...but it was terrifying so screw it, she had no regrets.

"What...the fuck was that?" Sasuke breathed from next to her.

"The reason why I almost shit my pants last night," Sakura replied nervously.

Naruto seemed contemplative. "Yeah, if I saw those guys in the dark I'd probably shit myself too."

"I'm glad you approve," Sakura said dryly.

"You should be, since I'm the captain." Naruto retorted.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really!"

"Well then, Captain-sama, who made Jounin first?"

"Jounin doesn't matter, because I made ANBU first!"

Sasuke cut in. "Are we seriously arguing about rank here? Because, as much as I hate to admit it, Naruto outranks us both Sakura."

"Yeah, so? I can still order him around because I'm stronger." Sakura intoned haughtily.

"Oh, you're stronger, eh? That's a laugh, Sakura-chan." Naruto was in her face now.

"I can knock your blonde ass on the floor in two seconds flat and you know it."

"And I can Rasengan you into oblivion in one."

"Well, I can break your body composition down on an atomic level with a wave of my hand."

"I'm going to pretend I know what that means. Anyways, I can shred your entire body with Rasenshuriken easy-peasy!"

"Oh yeah, because a swirling disk of blue energy - that's louder than a freaking Chidori - is sooo subtle and undodgable. I had Tsunade chuck rocks at me for training, if you think I'll let that stupid Frisbee hit me you've got another thing comi-"

"As macho as this is," Sasuke interrupted dryly, "Seriously, we need to move."

Sakura huffed in exasperation before turning away. "Lead the way, Captain."

Dumbly-door was waiting for them downstairs, his spectacles twinkling like strobe lights. Honestly, Naruto was confused as to why, exactly, that was. The torches weren't exactly all that bright.

"Ah, ninjas. Good morning. Shall I get you some breakfast?"

Naruto nodded curtly, clearing his throat. "That would be appreciated, thank you."

"Of course," he said kindly, and pulled a long wooden stick out of his pocket. Giving the stick a couple of waves, he pointed to a room they had yet to be in - out from the room came flying silver dishes, done in a Western style of...skulls and black roses?

The blonde ANBU captain groaned silently. It couldn't just be flying dishes. No no no. It had to be flying DEATH dishes. Oh, kill him now.

Dumbly-door waved a free hand towards him as he turned into a different room, and the three ninja traded shocked glances of 'yeah, we're dreaming' and 'please, can we go home?' before following.

They arrived in what seemed like a dining hall, with high chairs and tables and a dark, gothic setting. The table was mostly empty, save for a single person sitting at the very end. His figure was almost completely hidden in shadow, but Naruto could see that it was one of the people from yesterday's crowd.

Dumbly called out something in English, and the man turned to the group. His eyes widened a little, before he spoke.

Sakura fidgeted uncomfortably, obviously disliking how people were talking about them without her knowledge. Naruto could sympathize.

Sasuke glanced at them both, reading their body language. Obviously, he was a bit concerned as well.

Naruto: Better get on with those dictionaries soon.

Sakura: I know, but why me?

Naruto: Because you're smarter than me and Sasuke combined.

Sasuke interjected with a well placed elbow jab.

Sakura: Knock it off, Sasuke. She looked to Naruto. Fine.

He nodded slightly to her in response, and noticed Dumbledore responding in the foreign tongue once more, before turing to the trio. "This is Black Sirius-san, the owner of this house and our gracious host. He says welcome."

The three ninja bowed in response. While the home was certainly...not to their tastes, they had to appreciate the hospitality, of course.

There were platters upon platters of strange meats that they had never seen, buns in all shapes and sizes, what seemed like eggs except prepared in a strange manner, and pots of colored gelatin and tiny tins of off-white mush.

It was weird.

But, Team Seven was nothing if not professional and polite on a job - in public - so they sat down to eat.

Until, of course, they realized that oh, they couldn't eat without taking their masks off. Luckily, Sasuke, one step ahead as always, cast a genjutsu to make it look like they were eating Kakashi-style - intaking food fast enough to not catch a glimpse of their faces.

The ninja actually weren't sure whether or not a genjutsu would work, considering the similarities observed so far between this place's illusion magic and genjutsu, but it would be a good test.

They sat down, said a quick prayer to Kami, (Sirius-san was very un-subtle when he stared at them oddly), and began.

Sakura found a strange liking to the colored gelatin-like substances - Dumbly-door called them 'jams' - and would spread them onto the many bread products with a little too much gusto. ("Neko-san," the headmaster said, eyes twinkling, "don't you want a little biscuit with that strawberry jam?")

Naruto himself tried a little bit of everything, but especially liked the long strips of salty meat that the foreigners referred to as 'bacon'. ("This," Naruto murmured to Sakura so Dumbledore wouldn't overhear, "is literally the greatest thing ever. One day I will eat this with ramen, and it will be glorious.")

Sasuke, though he loved the tomatoes - surprise, surprise - he absolutely detested the bacon. ("You...have no soul..." Naruto whispered sadly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. "If I wanted to die from extreme salt intake, I'd have some umeboshi.)

The ninja finished long before the Headmaster had, and they stood up before bowing. "Thank you for the meal," they murmured as one.

The Headmaster replied with, "You are very welcome. Now, I'm sure you'd like to hear about the schedule for today." They nodded. "Sit, please, no need to stand. You will be Apparating to a small village just outside of Hogwarts, due to magical wards that prevent teleportation directly on the school grounds. Our Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration professor, Minerva McGonagall, will be waiting for you at the entrance of the school to admit you inside.

"Once there, you will have two weeks to set up security measures and familiarize yourselves with the grounds. Professor McGonagall will also show you where you will be staying, as well as where to get meals. We will also provide you each with an emergency portkey, to instantly teleport to a safe room should trouble arise and you must get Harry to safety, although I'm sure your own teleportation techniques will work as well."

Naruto intoned, "Where will the portkey to the school be located?"

"It is in the entrance hall."

"Very well, we shall prepare and make our final defenses here." Naruto paused. "Might I ask why we are not staying here with our charge?"

Dumbledore's spectacles twinkled. "My friends, if the enemy can find Harry here, the battle is already lost. Even should they find Harry, I still have a duty to the rest of my students as Headmaster. When Harry is leaving for the school year, we will send a message and you may accompany him from here to Hogwarts. Does that seem acceptable?"

"Yes," Sakura spoke for the three of them. "Also, may we have those dictionaries?"

"Ah, yes." Dumbly took out a - stick? - wand from his robes and waved it once, muttering something illegible. In a swirl of foreign power, a stack of books appeared on the dining table. Sakura took out a scroll, bit her thumb, and swiped it across the scroll. All the books were sucked into the storage scroll and she signed, 'Mission accomplished. Let's finish some perimeter stuff now'.

"Thank you." said Naruto. "May we be excused? We have much to do."

Dumbly-door nodded, and the three ninja nodded before weaving hand signs.

Suddenly, there was a jolt in Naruto's navel as his chakra suddenly flared to life. Naruto felt the green leaves swirl around him and suddenly they were back in their room.

"Why'd we Shushin here?" Sakura questioned. "We have our bags and everything."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I don't know. I was aiming for the outside for some final perimeter traps - Kurama redirected me."

Sakura and Sasuke tensed.

"'Mioneeeee, why are we up so early? You're not going to find them!"

"Ron, we've discussed this. All I want to do is say good morning to the guards face-to-face, nothing more! And if we don't end up finding them, it's alright too!"

"'Mione, slow down! Apparently they're leaving today to go set up defenses at the school, or that's what George told me at least. I think they should stay far away from me, because they're bloody creepy!"

"Ron..."

"Oh come on! You know it's true!"

"Of course it is! That's why I'm going to introduce myself! Who knows? Maybe they want a friend!"

"'Mione, that's just stupid!"

"That is not stupid! It's the right thing to do!"

"Not if you're going to get yourself killed trying to be friends with bloody psychopaths!"

"And that's just my point! We don't know that they're psychopaths, we don't know anything about them! And we never will if we don't give them a chance!"

"...ngh...Hermione? ..R..Ron? What are you...?"

"Oh, sorry Harry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"Ngh, it's alright...why are you up at five thirty in the morning exactly?"

"Harry, tell Hermione that visiting the bloody guards before they go to Hogwarts is a STUPID IDEA!"

"...'Mione...that's not a great idea."

"Dammit Harry!"

"See? SEE? Even Harry thinks it's a terrible idea, and he's the king of running off into danger!"

"Hey!"

"Hey!"

"OW! What was that for?"

"THAT was for insulting me."

"Same here."

"Hmph!"

The mischievous trio began climbing up the stairs, not really paying attention to where they were going.

"Well, why do you think it's such a bad idea, Harry?"

"I dunno, 'Mione, it just seems like they don't want to be bothered. They're getting so much attention here that I doubt they'll want more."

"I suppose...but what if they're in danger, Harry? What if...if they're being forced here or, or...or being controlled! Didn't you see how weirdly Dumbledore was talking about them? There's definitely stuff we don't know about going on here, and I don't want them to be hurt!"

"I'm not saying that's a bad thing, 'Mione, but honestly, if they end up attacking you, do you think you could protect yourself? They're NINJA, Hermione!"

"Well, I need to try! Bystanders will solve none of the world's problems!"

"You are way too determined about this..."

Naruto readied kunai as footsteps drew closer. He clenched his teeth together.

"Triangle position. We're going Chikyuu no Monshou," he hissed. His teammates nodded, all seriousness. Sakura's chakra flared as her three Byakugou seals glowed an eerie purple, while Sasuke's eyes began to spin with the power of the Mangekyou as he drew his sword. Naruto himself took out two of his specialty Fuuton knives, preparing for battle.

They stood in a triangle, Naruto and Sasuke up front and Sakura behind them. Sasuke and Naruto would engage the enemy with taijutsu and kenjutsu combination while Sakura would gather chakra for her finishing move - Megami no Jishin. Then, the two would step back and Sakura would pound them into the ground.

The door opened, and in walked three teenagers totally immersed in a conversation. One had curly brown hair, another ginger, and yet another had spiky black.

The two groups locked eyes with one another.

That cliffhanger though. Kinda.

A few things of note -

Umeboshi is Japanese salted plums. I'm gonna pretend Sasuke likes them. As for said Uchiha hating bacon (*gasp*)...that may or may not be a running joke for the rest of the story.

Yes, Sakura has three byakugou seals. Yes, this is intentional. YES, I WILL EXPLAIN LATER. Okay? Okay.

Hermione is trying to reach out to them because it's part of her nature. Remember SPEW? I feel like she'd try and do something similar with the poor, abused ninja.

Naruto, Jiraiya and Tsunade have the best mother-father-son relationship, and I'll fight anyone who disagrees.

Chikyuu no Monshou is 'Heralds of the Earth', while Sakura's move is 'Goddess' Earthquake'. Fitting? Maybe? (Also, Sakura's move does have to do with her multiple byakugou seals. I WILL EXPLAIN LATER.)

Okay. Now that I'm through with the actual content: I got some guest reviews and a couple of normal ones asking about Naruto being in ANBU and how it makes him seem OOC. I do want to address this as it is an important point. If you don't care, skip to the review section (because I want reviews, dammit. It's not that much to ask). If not, read on.

Firstly, and most importantly, THIS IS AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. Yeah. Uh-huh. I know it doesn't seem like it, at all, whatsoever, but it is. There will be major plot revelations soon that will show just how different this story is.

Secondly, Naruto is in ANBU for a multitude of reasons, besides plot. ANBU is a place for Naruto to learn maturity, leadership, decision making, and sacrifice. Things he needs to learn if he's ever going to be a good Hokage. And no, I'm not saying he'd be a sucky leader right now. Well, I am kinda, but not in the way you think.

Naruto is an awesome person, and super fun and exciting and charismatic, but let's face it. He lives in a world of war and bloodshed. And while I will never tarnish his goal for peace and friendship between everyone, he needs to understand everyone in order to befriend everyone. It's all about balance - to truly understand good, you must understand evil. To understand life, you must understand death. One is meaningless without the other, and Naruto seeing the world through only the 'good' side is, while sweet, extremely naive, and just an incomplete picture of the world. He may have experience with cruelty and suffering, sure, but not with the true horrors of the ninja life. Making tough calls. Understanding what loyalty to a village means. Torture, innocent blood, collateral damage. These are all things vital for him to understand, in order to combat them in the future. In order to fight these horrors, he needs to understand them, see exactly why they are such terrible things, and gain the resolve to never let something like this happen.

Naruto is strong. I believe that ANBU is a necessary step, and it won't destroy him like it does others. It will mature him.

Make sense? Okay. Rant over. (I am SO going to get flamed for this. Oh well.)

I'm thrilled that people are enjoying this little project so far. I've been working out a plot line - as you can see - and there will be lots of character development, badassery, and of course pranks and fooling around 'cause why not.

Thanks again, readers.

R&R!

Love,

ShiningSunsets