Disclaimer: I own two new OC's and all the aforementioned one. None of the Naruto characters are my OC's.

.four.

Haruka climbed up the stairs to the upper part of the Temple of Jashin, in fact a revived temple from Jashin's original religion. The entire temple was very what we would call Greek. Obviously, they wouldn't know what that is, but it looked very Greek.

In the seventy or so years we left Haruka to her business, she assented to the highest position of her religion, a saint. A peculiar name, yes, but she couldn't exactly become a saint in our sense of the word. The position directly below her was of a high priest or priestess. It was gender dependant, you see.

Today, Haruka had a long overdue appointment with her two hand-raised high priestesses. She trained the two women herself just to open another one of Pandora's boxes. You see, Jashinists didn't become one without a bit of chaos being released.

Or blood for that matter.

Haruka approached her two subordinates. The two looked nearly identical with their pale blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and somewhat anemic complexion. However similar they looked, though, their apparent personality was oh so very different.

The much more peppy of the two, Akira she was called, had passion apparent in her big, almost electric blue eyes. It was obvious she adored her work, her life. As well, she held herself nicely but casually in a confident, self-assured way. Her confidence glimmered in her eyes, as well, but deep down under the swirls of blue, you could make out a broken, pleading determination. Hidden under her bright smile she was just another lost bird, abandoned by the flock.

Akira wore her bright robes, generally crafted from bright, saturated colors, with her rosary proudly displayed on her conservatively covered chest. Her more golden blonde hair was usually pulled back into a short, choppy pony-tail, tied up with a ribbon, but some escaped it, framing the delicate features of her face.

The taller, more placid of the two, Noa, was a regal one. She had a swan-like grace to her long-limbed form. Her eyes were pulled up, angular, a muted icy blue. Though she was younger than Akira, Noa held a quiet wisdom in her eyes' pale depths. They had a holier-than-thou (no pun intended) gleam in them. However, a bird was also snared in the cold depths. Hers was a broken little bird, and she wasn't afraid to show it off. Well, she showed it about as much as the rest of her feelings, so not all that much. Noa held herself with strict posture, making her seem uncomfortable in herself.

Noa wore her muted, neutral robes so they could easily be picked up by the wind or a gesture, giving her a nearly spectral look to go along with her paper pale skin and fluid motions. Noa was like most of the younger of her faith, comfortable with exposing her body. She showed a somewhat liberal amount of chest, six, perhaps seven fingers from her collar bone. Other than that, though, she was relatively modest in her dress. Her skirt usually brushed the floor, barley exposing her petite feet. If Akira had short, golden, choppy hair, then Noa had practically the opposite. Noa's hair was blonde, too, but it was a long cascade of silver that winded down to the middle of her back.

All in all, the two were practically opposites. Akira was a bright songbird, a canary would fit, while Noa was a mysterious, lonely bird of prey, a snowy owl perhaps. Haruka could tell by a long, hard look into either's eyes that they had been hurt in their past but that they were the small minority of people who had gotten over themselves. Mostly. There was still resentment in them, -they wouldn't be Jashinists otherwise- so they simply followed they golden rule and hit their bullies right back. However, those who take an eye for an eye are framed for making the whole world blind. All three had to learn this the hard way, even the quite emotionally tuned Haruka.

Both of Haruka's students were sprawled over their own couch, Noa in a more organized fashion, Akira simply sprawled. Both had some blood smeared on their semi-formal robes. There had been a large ritual today led by the two women.

Noa cracked an eye instantly upon Haruka's approach within ten or so yards and gave her superior a genuine smile that probably hadn't graced her lips for a "good" reason for a good while.

"Ahoy, Mother Yuuben!" Akira sat up instantly on the arrival of her superior.

"Hello, ladies," Haruka eyed her girls with a critical grey eye, so much like Father had with her. Give her a break, the three hadn't all been together in over a year. It seemed like the high priestesses were babies just last month, -Haruka actually knew them then- and now Akira was twenty-five with her birthday in a month and Noa was already nineteen.

Oh, Jashin-sama, where did the time go?

Noa and Akira stood to embrace Haruka with a gesture similar to la bise.

"Ne, Mum, did you bring any wine? It's been about a year, no?" Akira shook an empty cup around that seemed to have had tea of some sort in it.

"Have we got a alcoholic?" Haruka teased. "Well, I haven't. Noa might be of age in the Earth Country, but it isn't quite legal in this country."

"Hn." Noa shifted back into her seat.

Akira mused aloud taking back her seat, "You know, I don't think the law has ever quite stopped us before."

Haruka shrugged. Noa gave a victorious smirk.

Haruka took her lavish seat on the ground. "Now, then, what was the urgent thing that I came here immediately for?"

Akira and Noa exchanged what Haruka would look back on as a nervous glance. Akira spoke, "Well, you see, Mum, we've been having a. . . uh, disagreement of sorts."

A pregnant pause pulled at the air. Haruka finally gave a slow, somewhat sarcastic nod. "Uh-huh."

Noa spoke up for the first time, "It's not as puerile as it seems, Mother. The conflict has interfered with our sacred duties an absurd amount of times."

"Ah," Haruka gained a bit more understanding of the conflict. "Now, may I ask what your disagreement is over exactly?"

Akira started, "Well, I'll tell you. First take a look at my lovely little lady, Noa, over there. You see, she is a model Jashinists like me or you, but she seems to have this misinterpretation of The Scripture's principles. She got this warped idea in her head that death is the square while destruction is the rectangle when it is obviously the other way around."

"Um," Noa began, irritation flickering in her eyes. "I believe that you, my dear, are the one with the warped idea trapped in your head."

Haruka closed her eyes, releasing an exasperated sigh.

"And by that you mean?" Akira let her eyes fall into slits.

"Clearly death is destruction of life itself."

"Blasphemy!" Akira cried, jumping up. "Destruction is just the death of inanimate objects!"

Noa slowly stood. "You know what, Akira. Get my idea through your thick skull, and your curious thought might not be so lonely."

"Damn it, girl!"

"Damn it yourself."

Akira huffed and returned to her seat while Noa sunk back into hers.

Haruka opened her eyes. "Well, there's your problem: you two are in quite a quarrel there, aren't you?"

Akira jaw dropped in amazement or something along those lines. Noa clutched the bridge of her nose. Akira squeaked in disbelief, "You!– I!–Jashin-sama! I said that from the start!"

"And I heard you. I was just being an active listener," said Haruka evenly.

Akira sat back down, leaving a pause in the conversation. Noa suddenly said, "Out of curiosity, whose interpretation would you more readily support?"

Haruka stroked her invisible beard in thought. "Hmm, I'd have to give my vote to you, Noa. Generally I support death over destruction, but your train of thought is more reasonable."

Akira growled, pouring herself some more bitter tea, "Always gotta play favorites, don't you, Mum?"

Noa began, "Mother, I must admit that we did not request your presence to simply prove that I had the more sensible prospective," Noa paused to send a triumphant smirk to Akira who returned it with a tongue. "but we summoned you to request your aid in our up-and-coming project. I believe you've heard tell of our most recent aspiration."

"Experimenting to unlock the key to immortality?" Haruka took a sip of the tea, cringing some at the bitterness. "Yes, the rumors of it have traveled. What is it you want me to do?"

Noa nodded to Akira, apparently tired of talking. The younger woman leaned back to sip the tea, smiling as she pulled away from the cup, relishing the vapors of the tea cradling her nose. Akira sighed, obviously irritated with constantly having to talk in place of her fellow Jashinist. "Pretty much there are some people we need. They're in jail, and you're kind of the queen of violent breakouts."

All three exchange a knowing smile, remembering how Haruka took them from the clutches of Orochimaru in an. . . interesting. . . fashion.

"Okay, give me the list and I'll be off." Haruka downed the rest of the tea in one gulp. She contorted her face, "Damn, we need to get some sugar. Add that to the list, child."

"Whatever you say, Mum."

.:.W.:.

"Just one more on the list. Well, besides sugar, of course," Haruka muttered, wrapping her robes around her. She had gone for a simple, thin, black frock, not expecting any rapid change in weather. Her navigational senses seemed to have deteriorated to an even sorrier state, and that was really saying something.

"Hot damn, it's cold outside! It's just around this turn, right?" Haruka glanced back to the girl, maybe sixteen, who was chained around her neck like a dog on a leash. The girl whimpered some and nodded.

Haruka hummed in content, letting her chakra give off a blue warmth in her palms. "Ah, who needs a map when you can just snag a villager?" A demonic grin grew over her face. "They aren't too hard to sell for pocket money, either."

The girl's eyes grew wide with fear. Haruka laughed heartily. "Oh, I'm just messing around! No, Jashin-sama needs more women like you in heaven."

The girl whimpered even more before Haruka yanked her along the path. According to the local, one of the maximum security prisons was right down this path. And according to the list, this is where the final man would be. No, Akira hadn't written down any women to track down. She says that they're smarter and less likely to end up in jail.

Haruka couldn't help but chuckle at the statement. Akira had quite a bit of pride for her gender.

Several dull minutes of walking later, Haruka stumbled upon the jail. Almost instantaneously, two guards were on top of her. Good thing she got rid of that girl. . .

"What is your business here?" the first guard said.

Haruka lazily looked over. "I've come to retrieve someone."

The second guard eyes widened in surprise. "Ma'am, this is a maximum security prison."

"You probably shouldn't be flaunting that fact off. It's just a suggestion, but really now." Haruka's stomach prickled with anticipation, ready for the outburst to come next.

The first guard gave her an incredulous look. "With the utmost respect, I am going to have to ask you to leave."

"And if I refuse the request?"

Both guards' hands instantly felt for kunai. However, Haruka reached them first. With wind to nearly double her already quick actions, the woman caught the guards' wrists. The second guard yelped, "What?"

The first hissed as Haruka maneuvered the two onto the ground, "Thi-this is dishonorable! Why don't you grow a pair and fight me like a real shinobi."

Haruka ground the pair into the ground then said with the blandest voice, "Well, there are two problems with that. The first and most obvious is that I'm a lady, and I intend to stay that way. The more prominent problem –for you at least- is that I don't give a flying piece of monkey shit about 'honor' or being a 'real' shinobi. I've probably been one since before your daddy was born. Well, I shouldn't waste my breath on a tirade, but I think talks help with soothing nerves."

The guards squirmed some in frantic confusion as Haruka's palms glowed. Swiftly, she summoned a wind to turn the two into four.

Haruka stood over the dismembered men, admiring her work before the real work began. She sent her gaze over to the thick jail wall. That place over there seems enough in disrepair, she thought.

With target locked, Haruka started on a swift string of seals. Only the more tangible weapons was her aim lacking with. Wind was on an entirely different level of accuracy. It was big. The target was set. Nothing could escape it.

Her palms began to glow with chakra. In an instant, wind poured from her, ready to devastate the jail wall. It hovered next to the wall in a perfect sphere, playing with the strewn leaves, ready to destroy with Haruka's permission.

The woman closed her eyes, conjuring her creation in her mind's eye. A dragon will do, Haruka decided. I can't quite control lightning with the wind, so I believe fire should suffice, though it will take more chakra.

Haruka shot her grey eyes open, and within the same instant, a dragon stood in place of the sphere. The technique is complicated to explain. Anyone with the wind affinity and quite precise chakra control could perform it, but it was a secret technique. Basically, wind was maneuvered just so to create an image in the wind simply for show, really. The attacks were devastating, but it had drawbacks. First of all, it would reduce anything in its radius to ruble, so there was little control over that. More importantly, though, it took an elephant-load of chakra to perform.

Well, it was a good jutsu except for those two relatively important drawbacks and that it took eons to master.

Enough rambling.

Haruka made the dragon twitch to life, made it dance just for fun. It would all be over in a second.

And it was.

The wall was gone before you could say "let's blow this popsicle stand." In its place was a bunch of baffled guards and inmates. Half of them were smart enough to look away. Haruka wasn't in a mood to play with her food per say. The dragon twitched again, seeming to examine the people before it, before a plume of fire burst out of its mouth, rendering the frozen people before it burnt to ashes.

Haruka instantly released her reign on the dragon. It sizzled away to cloak the world in dark again.

She clutched at her rosary, walking into the remains. Apparently this man was in the basement.

Another dull walk later, Haruka found herself in front of the single cell in the basement.

She brought a thumb to her lip, ready to blow down the door. A sneering voice stopped her first. "Eh, I wouldn't open that up if I was you."

"Oh?" Haruka turned to regard the man behind her that gave off the vibe of a wife-beater. "And why would that be?"

"Kid's nothing but trouble. He a real freak, even for a serial killer."

"Uh-huh."

"Don't believe me, do ya?"

Haruka turned her hollow gaze back to the cell. "I doubt he could quite compare to some I've met."

"I doubt that. He got this weird religion. He kill a whole mess of inmates here for his god er somethin'. He put in solitary confinement 'cause of it."

Haruka sniffed. "He sounds like the one I'm looking for."

The man gave her an odd look. "Why d'ladies go looking for them sort of folk."

Haruka growled, again bringing her thumb to her lip. "Look, if you're going to pester me, at least conjugate your verbs correctly."

"Conju?- Verbs?" The man scratched his head.

Haruka rolled her eyes and let her wind do the dirty work. The dumb man and the damn door was down before her temper got too out of hand.

As soon as the door fell on the floor, a pale man burst from the cell, nearly tackling Haruka. However, he was quite slow, and all Haruka had to do was catch him in mid-bound.

The man struggled, sending them both flying across the basement with his rather impressive strength. He spat, "What the fuck, bitch? I was trying to sleep!"

She sighed. "You Hidan?"

"Don't ignore me! Do you want to die?" The man clenched his fists, magenta eyes gleaming in anger.

"Trust me," Haruka gave a bitter grin. "I would if I could. But, really. Are. You. Hidan?"

"If I'm not?" he growled.

Haruka brought a finger across her throat.

"You know what. Prepare to face the wrath of Jashin-sama!"

"Fine, then, let's fight this out." She rolled her eyes. Either this man was dumb or blind because Haruka was sure she had her rosary on.

The man, more than likely Hidan, lunged at her. Haruka only had to sidestep him to make him miss, but Hidan was more agile than he appeared. He turned on his heel and lunged again at Haruka.

"Tenacious little bugger, aren't you?" Haruka just about had it for today. The cold and the wife-beater had been enough. And on top of it, this Hidan fellow was dimmer or less faithful than the rest she had retrieved. The rest went with her as soon as they saw the rosary. Haruka didn't have much chakra left after she conjured the dragon, either.

She snapped, never one for patience. Perhaps a good first impression would have helped her in the long run, but she had Hidan pinned down before he could blink.

She hissed, "Move an inch and you'll lose a limb. My wind's got you down."

Hidan struggled nonetheless. Something to the extent of paper cuts formed along his arms due to the case of wind around him. He hissed in pain.

"Boy, do you truly love Jashin-sama?"

Hidan looked at her, taken aback. "What sort of question is that? You're fucking kidding, right? I mean, of course I do!"

"Then get your ass up and follow me." Haruka felt the cold of the rosary against her skin. Oh, it was just in my shirt.

She pulled it out to show it off.

"Wha?- Bitch, why the hell would you attack me if you knew I was a Jashinist, too?"

"Well, you actually attacked me, so. . ."

Hidan glared, and Haruka let him get up.

.:.W.:.

Noa examined the drugged test subjects with an approving eye. She lifted Hidan's chin with a smirk. "Well, Jashin-sama knows how to choose his followers."

"In some cases, yes." Akira entered with an assortment of medical supplies.

Noa glared.

Haruka raised an eyebrow, always entertained by their interactions. Akira smiled. "'Kay, Mum, you might want to go. I can't have too much chakra messing with the process."

"Alright. Well, I'll be off, then." Haruka stood up. "Send for me when you've finished."

Akira said, "Leaving so soon?"

"I'm afraid so. I've heard that the Kyuubi kid has become a genin. I'd like to check out how he came along."

Noa nodded he goodbye. Akira sighed. "You have too many hobbies, Mum."

Haruka smirked. "You'll learn when you're older."

.:.W.:.

A/N: Well, I don't quite know what I think about the ending, but I revised it many times, and it just didn't go too smoothly. Um, 'sides for that, I have several things I'd like to ramble about, so hold on.

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the tardy update. It wasn't too long, I know, but it still bothers me. You can blame the last two sections and my tiny, light handwriting. I had the first half or so written down, and it took forever to copy. So sorry. I'll do my best to update again this weekend.

Next, I want to make a couple of notes on Noa and Akira. I tried to make them like the sort of fire and ice or in and yang twins you see relatively often I tried to make them have a sisterly sort of relationship. I personally have no siblings, so if you can give me any pointers on that it would be much appreciated.

Also, I'd like to say some stuff about Haruka's powers. I'm doing my best to be like "She's old and stuff so she can have the most fantabulous abilities in the world," and give her godly abilities, but she's still about one hundred if my calculations are correct, so she has a lot of fighting experience, thus will be a quite formidable kunoichi. I'm trying to find that happy median of rather powerful but not overpowered. I gave her attacks drawbacks to try to make them 3D. I hope I'm doing okay with this.

Finally, I want to know whether you want to read about Haruka spying on Naruto or if you'd rather her to go ahead and interact with the Akatsuki, get back with Madara, and begin Hidan's romance. Either one is good with me. Her spying would probably only take one chapter or maybe half a chapter.

Okay, enough with the ridiculously long A/N. Thank you Dust Bunnies Anonymous and Blossoming-Lotus-Flower soooooooo much for reviewing and a big thanks to anyone who fav'd or put his story on alert! I love y'all!

Please review, and I'll keep my dogs from licking you to death.

-Uncle W.Z