NA: And now for a complimentary note from the author… EXPLOSION! That is all.

~oOo~

A video recording revealed a small room with gray walls and a single a metal chair in the center. A blonde young man with whisker marks on each cheek then entered the camera's view and sat on it. He looked impassive, his hands conjoined while looking away, as if he was ashamed. Then he adopted a much more serious face and looked at the camera.

"Valkyrie Personal Log, ID 009. Callsign: Ronin."

*sigh*

"I got my first kill today. I killed someone, some DES agent that tried causing trouble here somewhere in Citadel Council territory. I chased him for a few hours through the streets of Elysium, an Asari world. An assault rifle in hands, I returned fire whenever he tried to shoot me, but I at least avoided any civilian casualties. I chased him through the alleyways, climbing my way through buildings and stayed out of his sight so that he wouldn't have to fire off another round. I fired my rifle in semi-automatic intervals, trying to take him down in a single shot but he was a tricky one, so instead of using my rifle I resorted to using Muramasa, my katana. I chased him down a few more blocks before finally cornering him. I jumped down and dug my blade straight through his heart. As that man died, I felt… empowered. In my hands I had the power over life and death… and… it felt… great. I was powerless to stop my sister from disappearing, I was powerless to stop my father from dying right in front of me. On that day under a pile of rubble, I wondered… if I had enough power, maybe things would have been different. I screamed in anger, vowing to kill every last DES and DGTO member I see, I was so angry. It was right then and there that I finally felt the pain of loss. I finally realized what it was like to experience such agonizing pain. I didn't want anyone to experience that, so that is why in my mind, both the DGTO and DES need to be destroyed. I don't care how long it takes… I don't care if my body breaks down… I WILL DESTROY THEM."

*sigh*

"If I had that power earlier… my sister would still be here, and maybe… I wouldn't have become…"

Naruto raises his hands and looks at them.

"…this…"

He lets out a scoff and sneers at himself.

"But… the universe seems to enjoy fucking with me. In the end… I lost my sister… in the end… I have resorted to becoming someone who thrives in conflict. The cycle of hatred is never ending and is always in motion…"

He looks at the camera as his eyes were filled with sorrow.

"…and I am at its mercy."

The video stops and the members AKB0048 were left speechless, they knew that he was broken, but they had no idea it was this bad. Hikari was saddened when she heard his words filled with pain. Shiori looked at their blonde manager, "Tsubasa-san… is this the world we live in? An endless cycle of hatred?"

The blonde nodded grimly, "That is why it is our duty as AKB0048 to not only free the worlds and bring music… but to give them light in that darkness. We can't allow hate to rule the hearts of the people. Not only must we save Naruto from the path he is taking, but to those who are the same as him. Naruto is family, and we never abandon family."

The sound of a door opened and Zaeed Massani entered the premises, "You guys better come down to the hangar… we found something."

Valkyrie: Voice of the Stars

A Valkyrie and His Family

Hangar

"An anomaly?"

Naruto nodded and brought up the footage recorded by the probe, revealing some a phenomenon with thousands of Kirara gathering in the center. "A massive anomaly with thousands of Kirara gathering in that one spot. It's giving off readings similar to a Center Nova, minus the massive blinding light that occurs within a few seconds. If we can get close enough and study it, I can get some more answers… and I will be much closer in bringing he back."

Tsubasa contemplated all of this for a moment before nodding, "What do you need?"

"I think it's best that some of us come. Zaeed will remain here and continue on with training the nuggets while assisting in security. We have a ship coming in to help with rebuilding efforts, inside that ship is a detachment of Valkyries. We're looking to set up shop here. Hopefully that will get DES off your backs for the moment."

Tsubasa let out a sigh, "That is exactly what we need, Naruto, thank you."

Naruto smiles before turning to the rest, "My ship will be docked in yours for the moment. So I believe we should get going, this should be quite the experience of seeing so much Kirara in one place."

~oOo~

AKB0048 Concert Ship the Flying Get

Within the hangar that usually stores its mechs, Naruto and his Vanguard were in it. He sat by his starfighter with weapons at his side, making sure they were properly maintained so that he could be ready for anything. The Flying Get didn't have any real defensive weaponry, completely relying on the mechs inside it. In a sense the Flying Get was a carrier, albeit a small one with only a handful of space craft. After cleaning his assault rifle he set it aside on a weapon rack along with other weapons sitting idle, waiting for its owner to use them. He took his sword as well as more traditional cleaning tools used to maintain a katana. Holding the tsuka (handle) with his left hand, he unsheathed it and got out a wiping cloth, placing it at the habbaki (blade collar). He wiped it down all the way to the end in a single direction, repeating the process on the other side of the blade. After that he took out an uchiko ball, a puff ball filled with cleaning powder meant for katanas. He gently applied the powder on each side of the blade, and once again wiping it with a cloth in a single direction. Once that was done, he sheathed it back into its scabbard and placed it right back onto his left hip, attaching the scabbard onto a clip that locked it in place.

"It's a beautiful sword."

He looked up to see his friends in front of him, no doubt having watched him clean all his weapons. "I would think that you would be doing something else rather than watch some soldier clean his weapons."

"We were wondering what you were doing." Mimori confessed, "So we came down here."

"Ne, ne…" Sonata went up to his side and looked at his sword, "Can I hold it?'

"No."

"But…"

"Nope."

Sonata pouted, causing Naruto to smirk as he stood back up and placed the weapon rack back into the ship. It was then his red nine-tailed Kirara emerged from his body and made itself known. All the girls slightly tensed at the sight, this Kirara was unique. Hikari stepped forward and looked at it closer, "Naruto… this Kirara."

"I named him Kurama…" he told them, "Named after an ancient mythical nine-tailed fox. He is unique to other Kiraras as he was from my negative emotions… the darkness in my soul. I don't know why, but it has been with me ever since that fateful night… under that pile of rubble. Since then it has been a part of my soul, empowering me with abilities far more powerful than simple Alliance biotics. A Dark Kirara is what I call it…"

"A Dark Kirara…" Chieri muttered, "I never thought that something like that was possible."

Naruto scratched his Kirara's underbelly, making it purr in delight at the sign of affection. "It's like an Kirara in terms of how it acts. Just that its serves a different purpose for me, and for some reason he is more than happy to help me in my endeavors. Perhaps… it's a manifestation of my inner darkness."

Mimori looked concerned, she stepped forward and touched his arm, "Naruto…"

"I'll be fine… so long as I have you guys here to keep me in check."

As they all smiled, Tsubasa's voice was heard over the intercom. "Attention, we are now approaching the Kirara Anomaly."

"Alright." Naruto nodded, "Everyone get ready, I'll be heading out shortly to take a closer look, the rest of you should head up to the observation deck. Auntie, I'll heading out in a moment."

"Understood." Tsubasa replied through the intercom, "Good luck."

~oOo~

Inside his airtight combat suit, he floated through space with a tether attached to him. The thrusters attached to him slowly guided him towards the anomaly where thousands of Kirara now surrounded him, attracted by his radiance. "Flying Get, this is Ronin, I'm nearing the anomaly… my God look at this… beautiful… absolutely beautiful."

"Can you figure out how this is happening?"

"Inconclusive at the moment… but something is definitely making this possible. I'll be going further inside, I'll keep you posted."

"Understood, and be careful."

"Aren't I always?" He sarcastically replied as he moved closer. The closer her got, the more Kirara surrounded him, but they weren't hindering, no, they were actually helping him get closer. Past the flock of Kirara, he could see some sort of opening. "Flying Get, are you seeing this?"

"We do." Tsubasa replied, "What can you make of it?"

"Looks like some kind of opening, like a doorway… the Kirara are guiding me to go through it. I think I'm going to do just that."

"Naruto…"

"I'll be fine, the Kirara are telling me to go through it. If it's them then we all know that I'll be safe. I'll tell you what happened once I get back." He reached out his hand and before he knew it, he was blinded by a bright light, taking him to an unknown realm.

~oOo~

Naruto was now standing in a strange place, it was a realm like no other. He stood on a floating narrow rock that led him to only one path that he was forced to follow. The further down he walked, the more Kirara he saw guiding his way. He saw millions of Kirara, dancing in the air, it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. The trails of colorful lights illuminated his narrow path, further leading him down to a single spot of light was seen. He moved closer and saw a bonfire with a man of long black hair sitting by it. His eyes widened at the sight… he knew this man…

The man black haired man looked up and smiled at the blonde who now removed his helmet. "Welcome… my grandson."

"Madara Uchiha…"

~oOo~

Flying Get

"It's been hours!" Mimori exclaimed, "Are you sure you can't contact him?"

Tsubasa shook her head, "The moment he went inside, we lost all contact with him. I know you are all worried, I am too. But we have to trust the Kirara, they will take care of him."

Hikari placed a hand on Mimori's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile, "He'll be fine, Mimori. He always is."

~oOo~

"Where am I?"

"A realm between realms." Madara replied. "A crevice between space and time. It is where radiance resides, it is where the Kirara are manifested through the souls of individuals."

"How is this possible?"

"It has existed since time immemorial, even I do not know. But since you are here, I bet you have many questions."

Naruto nodded. "I never thought that you of all people would be my grandfather, that you would be my father's father."

"Minato was very young when your grandmother disappeared into the other world. He barely even knows her. I disappeared from his life when he was ten." He looks at the sword and recognized the hilt, "I am proud that you carry our family sword with you."

"It's all I have left of dad after he died." Naruto informed him as he placed the sword in front of him. "For the last three years I followed the path of the sword."

"How did your father die?"

"The DES attacked one of our guerilla concerts. He held them off as long as he could and I tried getting him out of there, but an explosions erupted and a piece of shrapnel went through his heart. I on the other hand survived, half of my body stuck under a pile of rubble. It was then that the Valkyries got me out of there, but I flew into a fit of rage, vowing to destroy the DGTO and DES. Despair took over me."

"I see…"

Another voice was heard and saw a beautiful blonde woman behind his grandfather, she had long blonde hair with a diamond shape lining on her hair and blue eyes. That signified that she was an AKB0048 graduate. He knew that face, he had seen it before.

"Atsuko Maeda the 10th." Naruto muttered.

"My real name is Yumi Namikaze." The woman replied with a sad smile. "I am your grandmother."

Naruto slumped down and exhaled loudly, the new revelation was just so overwhelming for him. Yumi went to his side and rubbed his back.

"Easy there, Naruto-chan."

"I'm… I'm the grandson of… holy fuck!"

Yumi frowned and slapped the backside of her grandson's head. "Language, Naruto-chan! No grandson of mine will have such a foul mouth!"

"S-Sorry…"

The blonde woman shook her head before smiling. "How did you get here?"

"We spotted the Kirara anomaly and decided to investigate it. The Kirara led me through the doorway to this place. We were hoping to study it in order to find a way to bring my sister back."

"Sister?"

"Adoptive sister, but sister nonetheless. Atsuko Katagiri, formerly known as Atsuko Maeda the 13th before being succeeded. The day she went Center Nova was the day a part of me died, I mean she practically raised me since dad was far too depressed. You see, my mom died giving birth to me."

"Oh no." Yumi then hugged her grandson. "Oh Minato…"

"Since the news of my friend Hikari – another AKB0048 member – was able to come back from the other world. I became obsessed with finding a way to bring her back, and that obsession led me here, to you. So I ask of you, please help me bring my sister back!"

The sight of their grandson pleading before him with his head on the ground broke their hearts. They could feel the broken and damaged soul within him. They had left a broken legacy in their family, despair had taken over it. The cycle of hatred has affected their family, and if he is not mended soon.

"Please." He begged with tears in his eyes. "I can't go on like this!"

"You've been fighting all this time, haven't you?" Madara asked him. "Breaking your body, hoping to die."

"I have been fighting tooth and nail." The blonde young man said. "I have been slaughtering every DES that I see, making them pay for the pain that I have been enduring to this day! I hate every single one of them!"

Yumi closed her eyes and let a single tear drop, it pained her to see the son of her only child like this.

"Naruto." Madara spoke once more, "Is bringing your sister back from the Other World what you truly wish for?"

"More than anything, and I will not rest until I have achieved it. I don't care how long it takes, I don't care if I die… I WILL SUCCEED. If shattering every bone in my body is the payment then so be it!"

"Naruto…" Yumi was shocked at his conviction. She could tell that he is a passionate young man. She looked at his side and saw the red Kirara that was with him all this time, she could feel the dark energy radiating from it. It was a Kirara like no other, one born of fury and despair. "I do not want you going further down this path, Naruto-chan. It will only lead you to ruin."

"Then help me bring my sister back!" Naruto pleaded. "All I want is for my family to be whole again… I've come this far, I am not giving up so easily!"

Yumi turned to her husband, "He can't conquer this darkness alone, Madara. He will need all the help he can get."

"I know…" Madara closed his eyes. "If he is to conquer the darkness within him then he will need the people closest to him, and Atsuko was the one who kept that darkness in check."

Naruto raised his head and looked at his grandparents, "Then…"

"You will get your sister back."

"T-Thank you!" he ducked his head once more and cried out. "Thank you so much!"

Madara stepped forward and raised his grandson's head, he placed a single finger on his forehead. It was there Naruto gasped at the slight pain as his eyes turned red, but a different kind. It was there each eye was red but with three black tomoes. Once Madara released his hold on him, Naruto plopped back down, sweat pouring down his face. He grabbed a mirror from his pocket and saw his eyes were different. "This is…"

"The Sharingan." Madara informed him, "An ancient power passed down through our family for thousands of years. Though unfortunately the Uchiha clan is very few in numbers these days. Many of them having not even awakened the bloodline due to the knowledge being lost. I merely jumpstarted yours, the rest is up to you. Now go… bring glory to our clan."

Naruto now had a new fire in his eyes, one filled with hope. He stood up and bowed to each of them. "Hai! I will not fail you, grandmother, grandfather."

Yumi stood up and gave him one last hug. "I am proud of you, Naruto-chan. Never forget that." She then produced a photo and gave it to him. "Here, something to remember us by."

"Thank you, obaa-sama."

"Do not surrender to that darkness, Naruto-chan, conquer it."

The blonde young man nodded once more, "I will, thank you."

"And remember…" Madara added, "You are a Valkyrie…"

"I will fight for what I believe in, and will always fly true. I guess, this is goodbye."

"For now." Yumi said, "We will meet again."

Once again, Naruto was engulfed in a bright light. And in that moment he was gone from this realm. Yumi looked at her husband and rested her head on his shoulder. "Will he be alright?"

"He is our grandson, our legacy… he always will be."

~oOo~

Flying Get

"Atsuko!"

"Naruto!"

The sight of these two appearing when a bright light engulfed the hangar was a shock to all of them. Naruto held his unconscious older sister close to him as a medical team rushed to help them.

"I'm alright!" Naruto said despite the sweat on his face, "Just make sure she's fine."

Mimori went to her friend's side and helped him up while the medical team placed Atsuko on a stretcher and took her to the infirmary. "Naruto…"

"I'm just tired… travelling between different plains of existence does that." He turned to his aunt and smiled, "You wouldn't believe what I saw, or where I've been." He slumped down onto the floor and smiled, tears welling in his eyes. He let a laugh, "I can't believe it."

"Naruto?"

"I got her back… and all it took was a trip to the anomaly." He slumped down and lay on the floor. "I feel like a massive weight was lifted off my shoulders."

"I don't think the floor is the best place to sleep on."

"I feel like I can sleep anywhere."

Mimori smiled and helped him up, "Still… better sleep on something soft, like a bed."

"I got a bed on my ship, I can sleep there."

Mimori then turned to her friends, "I'll catch up with you later."

Hikari grinned, earning a glare from the pinkette before turning around and leaving.

Mimori followed Naruto inside the ship where she was welcomed with a room that served as both an armory and living quarters. She saw a weapon rack to the front and bunk beds right beside it. Naruto lay on the bottom one while she simply sat on a retractable chair. "This is nice."

"I've slept here on many occasions, especially on long missions." He pointed his finger up and showed her a hatch. "That's the turret, but it's an automated one as opposed to having someone man it. To be honest I like sleeping here, it's not that bad."

She saw the look in his eyes and smiled. "Are you going to be okay?"

He smiled at her and nodded, getting up from his bed and sitting down on the floor. "Yeah… for once in a very long time I can honestly say I will be. Like I have nothing to really worry about… I got my sister back."

Mimori sat down beside him and wrapped her arms around him, letting him cry on her shoulder. "There, there… everything is going to be okay now."

Before long, things had quieted down. She tried to move but felt his hair up against her neck, tickling her a bit.

"Naruto?" She looked to see that he had actually fallen asleep. She smiled and leaned her head onto his, closing her eyes, today had been quite exhausting for her as well with her worrying over him. In a few seconds she too had fallen asleep.

~oOo~

Akibastar

A woman that looked to be in her early twenties opened her eyes to the feeling of a light breeze touching her face. She had short purple hair that fades to purplish-magenta and reddish brown eyes, she slowly sat up to see she was still wearing her AKB0048 uniform, but something was different, she was no longer in the Other World, she was sent back.

"You're awake!"

She turned to see a woman with glasses and short with blonde hair. "Tsubasa?"

The blonde immediately hugged her, "I missed you, Atsuko!"

"I'm… home?" Her face was still filled with disbelief, the last she could remember was singing with her fellow successors in the Other World.

The blonde wiped her tears and nodded, "You are… you're back."

"How?"

The blonde laughed, "A certain idiot was responsible."

~oOo~

Down in a bar somewhere in the city, Naruto, Zaeed, and the nuggets were enjoying a drink together.

"Well congratulations is in order, kiddo."

"This is probably the best day ever."

The mercenaries made a toast and drank their bottles until there was no more. They let out a sigh and grinned before laughing, and of course they ordered some more. Zaeed stood up and announced to the entire bar, "This calls for a celebration, I'm sure you all know what happened today!"

The entire bar erupted in cheers and lifted their drinks.

"Bartender, these people are thirsty! This round's on me!"

"YEAAAAAAAAH!" The entire bar once again erupted with cheers as the waiters and waitresses delivered extra drinks to everyone present. Laughter, chatter, and singing had begun as the everyone celebrated the return of someone who was dear to many people, but most of all she was dear to Naruto, her baby brother.

Zaeed had never seen him smile like this but it was a good change. Aside from the mercenaries, the entire bar was filled with ship captains or crewmen on break, some of them were WOTA members who had warmed up to the Valkyries, some of them fascinated that Atsuko Maeda the 13th raised Naruto.

"She actually raised you, huh?"

"Yep." Naruto nodded, "Raised me for about… 11 years now."

"What was it like… growing up with AKB0048?"

"It can be a bit overwhelming since I'm the only guy in the house. But big sis made sure I was comfortable. The tough parts was school, a lot of the guys hated me."

One of the WOTA officers laughed, "I can imagine!"

"But hey… I turned out alright, yeah?"

"YEAH!"

There was singing everywhere, clapping and dancing as everyone drank. Naruto of course had a high alcohol tolerance, nobody knew but it would take more than a dozen bottles before he evens stars feeling the sensation. Tonight he won't drink that much, but he would celebrate. As the laughter got louder, they all got a rude interruption, one by a certain gang of college aged young men led by a young man with spiky brown hair.

"You got a lot of nerve showing your face here, Naruto!"

"Ryuto." The blonde greeted, "Fancy meeting you here, why don't you join in on the festivities? I'll buy you and your friends your first drink."

"I ain't getting any shit from you!" Ryuto said as he pushed the blonde away, causing the other Valkyries to stand up.

Naruto raised his arm and used it to tell the guys to stand down. "I'm not here to fight man. I'm here to celebrate, I just got my sister back. We should all celebrate!"

"I don't care if it's even your birthday." Ryuto roared, "What the hell makes you think you can waltz into my city?"

"Your city?"

That got laughs from the other guys.

"Who the fuck made you mayor, kid?" Zaeed retorted.

"He wasn't talking to you, you old fart!" One of Ryuto's lackeys said.

"And what gives you the right to simply live with AKB0048?" Ryuto accused.

Naruto's face darkened, "Last I remember, I was raised by one of them… so you better watch your tongue… civilian."

Ryuto growled and raised his first to attempt to try and punch him. But to his shock Naruto caught it easily.

The blonde turned to the rest of the people and asked, "This marks as attempted assault right?"

"Yeah!"

"So that means what I'm about to do is self-defence, right?"

"YEAH!"

Naruto grinned madly at the feral looking frat bot, "Let's party boys!" and with those words a bar fight ensued with the blonde Valkryie throwing a devastating punch to Ryuto followed up with another swing towards the lackey behind him.

Zaeed laughed and immediately went for the guy that called him an 'old fart' while the three Valkyrie nuggets went for the others. To no one's surprise the rest of the patrons cheered for the Valkyries to win, many of them placing bets on how long the fight was going to last. Everyone knew that you shouldn't pick a fight with a Valkyrie.

Ryuto didn't even get the chance to recover as he was immediately hit with a knee to the gut. He was just an arrogant college frat boy. The fight didn't even last two minutes and to many of the patron's dissapointments, Ryuto went down last.

The Valkyries have an old tradition whenever they get into a barfight, the loser gets to pay for everyone's next round of drinks. And so they sank their hands deep into the pockets of the idiotic college frat boys and took their credit chips out.

Naruto grinned at the amount of money they had and turned to the patrons, "Hey everyone, these losers are paying for our next round of drinks!"

Needless to say, tonight was a good night.

~oOo~

The Valkyries laughed as they walked through the par that led to an intersection. Zaeed ruffled the blonde's hair. "Good you see you smiling like this, kiddo."

"Good to be smiling, Zaeed. I feel so much better, and that fight was disappointing, then again we were dealing with college frat boys."

One of the nuggets, Beeno grinned at the credit chip. "I didn't think that kid would be loaded."

"Enjoy while it lasts Beeno!" Naruto waved at them as he turned towards the path that led up to the AKB0048 house. Once there he opened the door and saw the girls surrounding his now awoken older sister. His body went numb at the sight of a face he hadn't seen in three years, he couldn't even find it in himself to even speak.

Atsuko turned her head and smiled bright at him, a smile he had been dying to see for so long. It was then he fell on his knees at the sound of her voice. "Hello, Naru-chan."

With his eyes wide and body trembling, she slowly approached him and knelt down. His voice became erratic, his moaned and groaned, trying to find a way to at least speak to her but he just couldn't. The amount of pent up emotions that were finally surfacing, was just too much for him.

Tears welled up in her eyes at the sight of her trembling baby brother. She lifted her arms and cupped his cheeks, "I'm sorry I left you all alone."

That done it.

He flung himself over to her and gave her one big bear hug, his head on her shoulder and finally let it ALL out.

Atsuko wrapped her arms around him and rubbed is back. "You were always such a crier."

"Nee-chan…"

"I'm here, Naru-chan, I'm here."

By this time everyone started to cry at the tender reunion. Akira started using the person next to her as a tissue to wipe her tears and well… nose stuff away.

"Ah!" Shiori gasped before glaring at her fellow successor, "SAYAKA!"

That immediately went from crying to laughter with Atsuko laughing the hardest before planting a kiss on her younger brother's forehead. "I'm not going anywhere this time."

"You better not." Naruto muttered before pulling her into another hug.

~oOo~

While Atsuko was happy that she was reunited with her brother, no one could say she was exactly happy with his choice of profession. While proud that he had been fighting DES, the life of a Valkyrie was one filled with dangers, something that she was not used to as she was used to protecting him from danger. It broke her heart when they told her of the day Minato died and when Naruto flew into a fit of rage. She didn't know that it would affect him that much. Then there was the matter of the Dark Kirara alongside him, it was just something that was supposed to be impossible. Kirara were supposed to be the manifestations of one's radiance… not darkness.

"After they stabilized me and got me calmed down with all the injections and medications. I went straight to Zaeed, looked him in the eye and asked: 'Teach me how to kill.'"

Atsuko bit her lip and let a few tears fall down her face. "I'm so sorry…"

"You have nothing to be sorry for… you had no idea going Center Nova would transport you to a different plain of existence."

"I wanted to go back… believe me I did."

"I know…" he looked around the dining room and saw that everyone had already gone to bed, leaving the Katagiri siblings alone to catch up.

"So you became a Valkyrie."

"Like my dad and grandfather, both of them were Valkyries."

"I still can't believe that your grandmother is Atsuko Maeda the 10th."

Naruto laughed and took a sip of his milk. "Yeah that was a bit of a shocker for me to. I mean my grandfather was Madara Uchiha, one of the founding members of the Valkyries and an infamous soldier in the Skyllian Blitz. He himself singlehandedly took on a battalion of Turians."

Atsuko bit her lip, "Now we are at the aliens."

Naruto huffed and leaned "How in the world does this sector not know about the alien life? I mean it's common knowledge everywhere. Ah well…"

She looked at him with concern, "You really like being a soldier, don't you?"

"There's no other job I'd rather have." He said with a warm smile. "I know this isn't exactly what you wanted for me, but we can't have everything we want. Losing you and dad forced me to finally grow up and become the man I am today."

She smiled sadly at him. "At least you matured…"

"The Law of the Jungle… I took it to heart, and understood what it meant. In a sense that is how the galaxy works." He looked at her with pain in his eyes, "You have no idea how painful it was to lose you that day."

Atsuko moved to his side and wrapped an arm around him, placing his head on his shoulder. "I can imagine though… but what I can't imagine is losing you, that's why I'm scared that you've become a soldier."

"I knew what I was facing the moment I signed up." He said after they momentarily hugged. "Besides, at least here the only time we have major conflicts against DES is when we do a guerilla concert or meeting the fans in an autograph session. Right now me and the guys under contract to aid the girls whenever they go on concerts or other events. What about you, what are you going to do?"

"Help your aunt with managing the group." She replied, "She needs it, especially with how many we have right now. And remind me to thank your friend Zaeed for looking after you."

The blonde smiled as his hands circled around his cup of milk, "Yeah he's a great guy. Taught me everything I now know."

"And what about your swordsmanship?"

"Earth…"

Her eyebrows rose at the word. "You… you went to Earth? Does this mean you…"

"Went to Japan?" he grinned, making her pout, "Oh yeah… even went to Akihabara… the birthplace of AKB48."

"Lucky…"

"You have no idea how amazing the place is." He said with a distant voice, "I mean… the place is bustling with activity. Heck it's the place where I got into rock music."

"Rock?"

"It's music different to the ones you and the girls sang… it's bit more heavy on the sound and much more fast-paced. It's heavy on the instruments as well… heck I learned how to play guitar there. I can't wait to take you guys there. As for sword training, I actually went to Brazil for that, I went to a Brazilian Kenjutsu Dojo and learned the Uradachi technique, better known as Satsujin-ken."

"Murdering sword…" Atsuko widened her eyes, that only meant that the end goal of the technique was violence. To think her own little brother would learn such an aggressive style of swordsmanship. She didn't want her brother going into a battle, she was overprotective like that but she didn't care, all she cared about was his wellbeing.

He looked at her and smiled, "While the name of the technique isn't exactly reassuring… it's the style of swordsmanship that fits me best. I'm an aggressive fighter."

"And what about your arm?"

Naruto sighed, "So they told you about that too, huh?"

"You nearly died there…"

"But I didn't…" he said with a straight look, "…and I got a better arm, looks like the old one, I can feel and touch with it. Not everything goes according to plan and that thresher maw just happened to be there. Yes I was lucky to have come out of that alive, and I learned from it."

She bit her lip and looked down, "At least promise me you'll stay safe."

"I can't promise that, you know that."

"I don't want to lose you." She said with tears in her eyes.

"You won't… and THAT I can promise." He said in declaration, "I will always come back alive."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Once more, they wrapped their arms around each other in a warm embrace.

"I love you, baby brother."

"I love you too, big sister… although technically I'm taller than you."

That earned him a slap on the head.

"Point taken, big sister, point taken."

~oOo~

2 Months Later

Things were better now that Atsuko was back, though she no longer performs as she had become a co-manager alongside Tsubasa, her return had no doubt brought a new hope among the people. She of course got along with Nagisa, the current Acchan. She found it amusing how much she was idolized by the 13 year old girl and was happy to know that she now carries on the legacy of Atsuko Maeda. Nagisa is still a little shy but confident at the same time, and in a short time they became good friends alongside the rest of the 77th generation. Atsuko was also quick to notice the looks that Naruto and Mimori shared, and quickly found out that they like each other in that way. While a part of her was overprotective, another part was happy, but at the same time was worried. Everyone knew of the no romance rule for idols until they graduate from the group. If a romance does happen breaking them up would not do, in fact it would be damaging. At the same time Naruto would be a target of the most devoted of fans, but she was confident enough to know that he can handle himself. The main problem is Mimori, who is a successor, she is Mariko Shinoda the 8th, and out of all of Mariko Shinoda's successors she is in the most popular one because of her upbeat and forward personality. She even personally replies to her fans by writing them.

But there is also in fact the biggest problem, Naruto's untamed rage whenever he is in combat. To be honest that scared her, but Atsuko was assured that since she is back that rage will be kept in check. But there will be times where he will go into those fits of rage. And the reports she read were disturbing, he was merciless, and gave no quarter while expecting none in return. He was a berserker in the battlefield and instilled fear unto his enemies. There were cases where DES soldiers had called him a monster, there were numerous occasions where they would beg for mercy, but unfortunately the answer they got were beheadings with his blood red sword. Hopefully that kind of behaviour will die down with her around. She had become his leash.

At least they can enjoy being a family once more, something he had sorely missed.

It was morning and she arrive at the dining room to see her younger brother sitting in a corner with a mug of hot chocolate and a datapad. He really had nothing to do during the past two months aside from a few convoy escorts to Alliance space. Much to her joy he didn't see any combat. In her mind she thought he would make a great courier, but she knew that would never happen. She saw the look in his eyes, he was disappointed, she knew he would thrive in combat.

There was an old saying she learned from Zaeed, that a mercenary's biggest payoff is war.

"Morning Naru-chan."

Naruto averted his eyes and lifted his head to look at her with a bright smile. Even with the earbuds in his year he could still hear her. "Morning."

Looking at his earbuds, she sat down beside him. "What are you listening to?"

"Linkin Par." He replied, "Old rock band from the 1990s all the way to the early 2000s, they are really good band. Shame they're alive anymore." He took the earbud from his left ear and handed it to her. "Wanna hear?"

"Sure." She gladly took the earbud and placed it in her ear. What she heard was not what she expected, it was very heavy on instrumental and she swore she heard the singer scream, and other times the singer would rhyme his words. This went on for a couple of songs until she gave it back. "That was… wow…"

"Different, huh."

"It is." She nodded. "You were right, the music is a bit heavy with some songs."

"300 years after they retired, they're still good, and still popular within the Alliance."

"How many albums?"

He cupped his chin, "Can't remember… they had quite a lot. Their early ones and late ones were the best though, that's for sure." He looked down at the datapad and frowned, "No interesting jobs… again… at least give me some action!"

Atsuko smiled nervously at his disappointment, while she did want him to be happy, she just can't imagine him doing something dangerous. His tree climbing habits when he was much younger already gave her heart attacks, the thought of bullets coming after him would be too much for her. Deciding to change the subject, she spoke to him about the one thing that would cause concern. "Uh… Naru-chan… there is something I've been wanting to speak to you about."

He set aside the datapad and faced her, "What about?"

"About you and… Mimori."

He stopped for a second and looked away, "You noticed?"

"You two are close, best friends… but there are times you two are very close. I know you deserve a chance at happiness but you know what could happen if this relationship blooms. I am speaking to you about this now because we both know what would happen if Tsubasa is the one to speak to you. And we all know how temperamental you can be. I am not saying that you shouldn't pursue this, but instead I am telling you to be careful."

"Believe me sis, I am being careful." He replied huskily, "But there are times that I just… aside from you because you are my sister and the others who I practically grew up with I have never been this close to anyone before. The way she talks to me makes me feel all queasy inside. She makes feel warm. She's the kindest person I have ever met, she's not afraid to tell what she thinks, she's not afraid of me. Despite my past record as one of the merciless and relentless soldiers out there, she's NOT afraid. She is the only one who is willing to approach me without even a second thought. Against my better judgement, I WANT to pursue this."

Atsuko looks at her brother and smiles. She grabs his hand and squeezes it, "Then I'll support you the best way I can."

"W-What?"

"I'm your older sister, Naruto, but more importantly I raised you. And I taught you to always fight for what you believe in. I would be a horrible sister if I told you to not pursue this relationship. Your happiness ALWAYS comes first. When the time comes I will help you, and I will handle Tsubasa, I promise you."

He was speechless for a few seconds before he gave her a smile that she returned. "Thank you, nee-chan…"

~oOo~

Tsubasa looked at everyone present while Atsuko stood beside her, "Alright, I know we are technically still on break but we have been requested to go to visit Tundrastar to boost the peoples' morale. As per agreement to the contract, Naruto over here will be with us to escort us alongside the other Valkyries stationed here."

"Odds are I will have a lot of haters." Naruto told them, "Just I have fans who want to be all 'ninja' like me, I will have A LOT of haters."

"That doesn't bother you?' Orina asked.

"Why would it? I mean most of the haters I encountered were those trying to kill me… and look how they turned out."

Zaeed, who was in the room, stifled a chuckle when he saw Atsuko give her brother a deadpanned look.

"I am just being honest here, sis. Haters will hate… no matter what. I'm just going to be straight with them. If they want to mess with me, they are welcome to try."

Atsuko sighed as she knew that will be the best she will get out of him. "Just… go easy on them, please. The last thing we want is overzealous fans going home in body bags."

"You got it."

"Then again most of Tundrastar loves him." Mimori informed the purplette, "He even gave them a performance two months ago during his first mission there."

"That I did." Naruto admitted, "Just felt like pulling out my guitar and singing to the kids… next thing you know it turned into a small concert."

That made Atsuko smile proudly at her brother, it seems there is a chance of a musical career for him.

Tsubasa clapped her hands, "Alright, everyone pack your things! We're going on a trip."

"You think they got a ski-resort?" Zaeed whispered to his protégé.

"Probably not." Naruto replied, "But we can make something out of it, it's a bloody ice world after all. Just be sure to tell the guys to grab the snowboarding gear, we could be there for a while."

~oOo~

Tundrastar

The sight of Naruto back in the ice world of Tundrastar brought hope to the people. They all knew of what he did with his musical performance from two months ago, and the news of him defeating dozens of DES soldiers inspired many of the soldiers there. The children were especially happy he was back. Naruto laughed and picked up a little girl and let her sit on his shoulder.

"He's really good with kids." Mimori commented.

"Oh yeah." Zaeed nodded, "Kiddo loves kids. I mean with how good he is with them, I'm surprised he hasn't settled down with a girl and had a family. Everytime I ask him, he'll just say that there's no way someone would go for a 'monster' like him."

Mimori inwardly disagreed, she would go for him. They had gotten closer, even becoming best friends. Over the course of these two months they spent a lot of time together, simply going out to places and eating out, and even going to movies, much like what couples would normally do. But instead of a couple, they were simply best friends.

They wall watched Naruto kneel down and personally hand out some chocolate to the children with a bright smile. "Alright, alright, one at a time!"

"What-"

"He's speaking in Tundrastar's native language." Tsubasa said with surprise, "I just didn't think he is able to speak it."

"He took language courses during his training." Zaeed informed them, "And he aced them all, he's able to speak five other languages."

Once the children dispersed and returned to their parents, Naruto walked back to them with a satisfied smile. "Conditions here have improved, that's good at least." He looked at his sister who was simply smiling at him, "What?"

"You're good with kids."

"Well you did raise me right?"

Atsuko chuckled and stood by him while the others began interacting with the populace. "You'd make a good father."

Naruto shrugged, "I get that a lot."

Moments passed with the idols and the mercenaries helping out with relief efforts. They didn't even need to sing as their presence was enough to boost morale. Everyone had helped out with handing out food to the civilians who lost their homes. Things were calm and the children had once again gathered around Naruto, many of them asking him to sing for them. When he was about to, an explosion rang in the distance.

"Zaeed!"

"DES mech strike force slip past the defences!" Zaeed said as the soldiers stationed in the area readied their weapons. "They're headed straight for us!"

Naruto frowned as he turned to his sister and the girls, "Get the children to safety!"

"What about you?" Atsuko asked in worry as this will be the first time she will see him in combat, and even now she is still unsure.

"Just go!"

A few seconds later anti-air fire had engulfed the sky, many of them trying in vain to shoot down the high speed mechs that were coming their way. One of them had flew past them and landed right near where Atsuko was.

"ATSUKO!" Tsubasa screamed as the mech pointed its arm-mounted weapon at the purple haired woman.

"I'm scared!" the little girl being held by Atsuko said as the latter held her micsaber and pointed it at the machine. Before the mech could even fire a shot, it was immediately sliced in half by none other than Naruto himself. Once the bisected machine fell, he landed right in front of his sister.

"Naruto…" she breathed with her eyes wide that he was capable of such feat.

"Atsuko-nee… it's my turn to protect you."

NA: Yeah I know… he pulled a Raiden at the last line… because he's cool like that! Wooh, eight thousand words! But that was fun… hehehehe! Cya!