Here's chapter #6!

Disclaimer; I do not own Naruto, but I do own Nariko

We… are going to skip a few years within the next few chapters since not much goes on until Sasuke and Naruto graduate… but the five-year skip will not happen all at once, don't worry about that.

Nariko's POV, year before Kyuubi attack

Flashback no jutsu, begin

"Hey, Kaachan, what's this seal going to be for?" I asked as I peered over her shoulder at the seal she was working on.

She didn't look away from her work as she answered, "Well, Nari-chan, this seal is a type of barrier seal, so far though it hasn't been doing what I want it to do…" She sighed as she looked over the renewed design. "I've been working on it for a while, but there's always something incomplete about the result…"

I looked over it with my young six-year-old eyes. "One day I'll be able to help you finish seals, won't I?"

She looked away from the design then to grab me from my vantage point. "Of course you will, my darling, maybe you'll be even better than your father and I!"

My blue-gray eyes brightened at her words, "You think so?" I asked innocently with a large smile. "I've gotta go practice then!" I heard her chuckle as I ran off back to the basic fuuinjutsu scrolls that I had been given for my birthday. Jiraiya-jiji had taught me all he could about calligraphy and when he told my parents they gave me the scrolls so that I could start learning how to be just like them.

But I wasn't allowed to start making actual ink yet since I was just supposed to practice the basic components and designs on my own. I needed to be supervised if I wanted to try anything real.

Flashback no jutsu, kai!

Nariko's POV, one year after last chapter

I pushed my chair away from the table as I held up my redesigned seal, looking it over with a proud smile. 'I finished it just for you, Kaachan,' I thought to myself as my eyes ran over the new barrier array that I had created. She had never managed to finish this seal, but… since I had inherited her scrolls on the Uzumaki techniques and what she had been working on, I had made it my goal to finish the design in her stead.

I felt a breath of air on the back of my neck and I turned to take in my brother who was looking over my shoulder at the design, "What's that one supposed to do?" He asked me curiously, sounding so much like my younger self that it hurt.

"Well, Naru-chan," I said through my mask, "This is a new barrier seal, want to test it out?"

He nodded; eyes interested and bright.

I grinned behind the anbu mask and practically dragged him outside behind me. "Now, don't you dare think that you can try this out on your own," I said firmly to him before I pulled out a sheet of paper and pricked a point on my finger, mixing my chakra with the blood that poured out as I redrew the seal's array with the special ink. Once I had finished I activated the barrier seal, quite pleased by how it appeared right in front of me, translucent turquoise in color.

Without turning to look at Naruto's expression I created a shadow clone which I then had try to go through the barrier, and found that she couldn't. Not only that, but electricity shot along the sides of the barrier and caused her to dissipate into a puff of smoke. I deactivated it, created another shadow clone, and stuck the activated seal to her back, jumping away as the barrier erupted around her, sealing her in.

When she attempted to touch the seal in order to remove it, the same electricity trick occurred.

I turned to Naruto and grinned, "No one can get in, and no one can get out!" I deactivated the barrier and grabbed my blonde brother, spinning him around in the air due to my joy.

"But, Kitsune-neechan, will another person be able to deactivate it as easily as you did if they have the same knowledge?" He asked confusedly.

I shook my head, "You see, Naru-chan, that's where this barrier is perfect. It has a 'key' component to it which means that unless someone the exact key to this array, they will not be able to do anything about it." I ruffled his hair as I set him down. "And I'm the only one with the key, and it isn't a simple key either, it had to be very complex otherwise another person could recreate it."

"So… if you're the only one with the key and something happens to you, does the barrier disappear?"

I shook my head again, "No, the seal itself works off of the amount of chakra that I put into it, just like all of my other barrier seals. To test it I only put enough chakra in for it to last a few minutes, but I could have given it enough chakra to last for a few hours just as easily."

"Only hours? Why not days?" The curiosity in his azure eyes pleaded with me to continue answering his questions.

"Well, let's say I ended up in the hospital and I had placed this barrier around the house, effectively sealing you in but sealing everyone else out. If the barrier lasted more than a few hours, you might run out of food or get too far behind in school, or even be late for a mission."

"Oh," He said with a satisfied look on his face. Then he smiled slightly, "Neechan? Do you think that one day I'll be just as good as you?"

My mind flashed back to the day I had asked our mother that same question, and I smiled sadly, glad that my face was hidden. "Maa, Naru-chan, I believe you'll eventually be even better than me." I said as I ruffled his hair. "You'll have to be if you want to be Hokage!"

He grinned at me, "Believe it!" He yelled happily before he ran into the house, probably to hit my old basic component scrolls that I had given him after he had mastered the calligraphy exercises.

I shook my head, but I had a small grin on my face, he would eventually be greater than me, I was certain of that.

Later that night, well after the boys had gone to bed, Itachi returned home from his last mission, a few small scratches lining his well-trimmed arms. I sighed as I healed them easily with a light green glow illuminating my fingers as I did so.

After I was finished we did as we always had when he returned from a mission, we stayed up late and shared information about what had happened in his absence. I told him about how Naruto had progressed further in his fuuinjutsu training, and that Sasuke had mastered the katon jutsu he and Itachi had been working on before Itachi had left. I also told him about how both boys were getting better in taijutsu and genjutsu, and that they had caught me successfully in a genjutsu until Sasuke sneezed.

Itachi laughed at that, and made a point to chew me out about not realizing the genjutsu sooner and releasing it.

"Hey, I've been working on it, but you haven't been around to tell me what I'm missing," I growled as I turned away from him to pout.

I smiled as he pulled me close again and kissed me. "Well, I'm here now so you'd better start working harder."

My eyes narrowed in a mock glare, "I've been slaving around here taking care of two boys and you tell me to work harder, the nerve!" I huffed at him. He kissed me again. "But I suppose I can forgive that comment for now."

"Many thanks," He said with a mock bow, causing me to grin again.

We continued to talk for a few more minutes before we both eventually grew tired enough to go off to our own rooms and sleep.

I woke up the next day and smiled lightly as I remembered what had happened the day before. I turned on my side and reached out gently to touch the picture frame at my bedside. "I hope you both still watch over us," I spoke softly, my eyes flickering over the happy grins in the frame. I turned away after a few moments and got to my feet, it was time to get ready for a new day.

A few hours later saw a clone of me cooking breakfast while I left a note on the counter for the boys to find. I was going to run a few while Itachi was to be left alone to catch up on sleep; my clone was to take them to the academy.

I wasn't too sure as to what my plans were for the day, but… I soon found myself at the memorial stone with a picnic basket in my hands. A silver-haired masked jounin was standing in front of the stone already, and I cleared my throat to catch his attention, holding my basket up with a faint smile behind my mask.

He followed me to a secluded training area where I removed my mask and set up the picnic area, my companion assisting me after a while. "How have you been, Kashi-niisan?" I asked him after we both finished eating, my eyes turned away respectfully as he pulled down his mask to eat.

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders at me, "As well as I possibly could, Hokage-sama has been keeping me busy ever since I dropped out of anbu."

I nodded, "Well you can always drop by every now and then when you're back in town. The boys both attend the academy most days and I wouldn't mind having someone other than Itachi around to spar with or play a good game of shogi." I gave him a look, "Besides, you don't seem to enjoy anyone else's company at the moment…" My gray-blue eyes flickered over his disheveled appearance.

"Imouto, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself," He said, rolling his eye at my tone and look.

I scoffed, "Sure you can take care of yourself, but that doesn't mean that you need to isolate yourself. Stop by tomorrow while the boys are at school, and don't give me any crap about you having a mission because I know that you were forced to have a day off tomorrow." I grinned foxily at him, "Not that I had anything to do with that of course."

He glared at me with his one visible eye, before sighing. "Fine," He relented finally, "I'll stop by for a while tomorrow."

I smiled at him, "Good, I'll see you then niisan!" I packed up the basket and sealed it away before I replaced my mask and vanished in a breath of wind, leaves were overrated.

An hour later saw me sitting on top of the Yondaime's head overlooking the entirety of Konoha. I smiled sadly at the memory that both of my parents had given their lives to protect this very village and all of the people in it. My eyes caught a flicker of movement in the distance and I chuckled as I watched several anbu chase after my otouto with brightly colored hair.

I got to my feet at that point, but I did not join in the chase since I would be talking to Naruto later on about whatever prank he had pulled. I only wished he had attempted to be a bit more discreet about it instead of getting caught in the act and then avoiding everyone…

That was when it finally hit me that I was fifteen, old enough to legally gain guardianship over my brother if I wished to turn in my resignation to anbu, but… my mind drifted to everything that had happened a year before and I doubted my original idea. I knew that I was being targeted by someone who had not shown his face in a full year, but if I dropped the mask and showed my face, would Naruto be targeted as well for being my brother?

I thought of how I looked at myself in the mirror and saw the resemblance between him and myself; would others see that resemblance as well?

I shook my head with a worried look hidden beneath my mask, no, I could not risk showing the world my face yet, I could not risk Naruto's safety. I would simply have to bear the mask for a while longer, at least until I was certain that Naruto would be able to get help if he needed it.

And to do that… I would need to figure out the Hiraishin. A grim look on my face, I flashed away from the Hokage monument, making my way to the Academy to pick up my brothers.

"Hey Kitsune-neechan, can I ask you a question?" Naruto asked immediately as I landed behind him, not even turning before beginning to speak.

I smiled at the fact that my otouto had finally figured out how to enhance his senses, and that he was swiftly figuring out how to interpret what his mind was giving him. "Sure, Naru-chan," I said as I looked over his friends. The Nara dipped his head at my sudden appearance, but his eyes never left my face, he was analyzing my every movement even while he covered his movements with his lazy appearance. The Inuzuka flashed me a small grin, his ninken barking a greeting to me happily. And the Akimichi was happily munching on his chips, giving me a brief nod before returning to focus on his food. "So what's the question?"

My hyperactive blonde-haired otouto turned to Sasuke and his friends before turning to me with a sheepish grin. "Would it be alright if these guys joined us for training every now and then?" He asked me curiously.

I narrowed my eyes behind my mask at the words, but kept my body loose. "I don't see why not," I responded after a moment, my eyes mostly aimed in Shikamaru's direction though my mask was pointed towards Naruto. I had a feeling the Nara had something behind the idea, despite his severe laziness, he was onto something…

My thoughts dissipated when Naruto latched onto my torso, his right arm banging roughly against my old scar, causing it to ache for a few moments before it gradually faded away. The pain would never completely fade away, but at least the wound had healed mostly due to the constant care my sensei had given it after the ambush.

I ruffled his hair for a few moments before I turned to Naruto and Sasuke's group of friends, "You all are welcome to come back to the house with us after school every now and then to train, provided you all ask your parents beforehand, I'd rather not get any of you in trouble."

Kiba high-fived Naruto and Sasuke shared a look with Shikamaru while Chouji just happily continued munching on his chips. I bit back a sigh and took a page out of the Nara handbook, 'This is going to be so troublesome…' I shook my head with a small laugh and that was when my eyes caught the eyes of a young girl, around the same age as Naruto. 'Interesting…' I thought to myself when she swiftly looked away from the group, fiddling with her fingers as she did so.

I bid farewell to Naruto and Sasuke's friends before I began to walk away, the boys slightly in front of me, talking to each other about what they wanted to work on for training. When I was certain I was out of sight of everyone I switched myself out with a shadow clone and transformed into a lean blonde fox, shooting back to the academy with no one being any the wiser.

I had some things I wanted to figure out, and my fox disguise was the perfect way to find the answers, although I had had to transform into a slightly smaller form than I was used to, since anything larger would have drawn too much attention to me. I arrived at the academy and stayed hidden near the edge of the tree line where the young Hyuuga was standing. Based on her smell and appearance I had gathered that she had to be a Hyuuga, but by the way she was standing so nervously gave me the idea that she was uncertain of herself, which made me curious.

Giving a light yip, I caught her attention quickly and was pleased when she came closer to the trees to find me. Her sharp eyes caught my shaggy blonde pelt easily, and she crooned at me, offering out her hand tentatively with a small smile, all signs of nervousness vanishing.

My blue-gray eyes intelligently caught upon this fact, and I wondered about it, but walked closer to her slowly, curious.

She gently ran her fingers through my soft fur, her eyes brightening when she realized that I was fine with the movement. "Where's your owner?" She asked me softly, "I'm sure whoever it is will be worried sick about you."

I licked her hand softly, pleased when she smiled wider at me. That was when I cocked an ear, hearing someone calling out a name. "Hinata!" I narrowed my eyes very slightly at the call, recognizing the voice instantly as Hyuuga Hiashi's, the head of the Hyuuga clan.

"Sorry, I need to go, but I hope you find your way home alright!" She said gently to me, placing a small treat in front of me before she raced away to her father, her face dropping its smile as it did so.

I waited a few moments before I licked up the treat, staring after the young girl and her father with an interested look. She was definitely a Hyuuga as I recognized the man picking her up to be Hyuuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuuga clan. I caught him looking over at where I was hiding and I turned and trotted away, no need for him to figure out all of my secrets this early on.

I followed the two back to the Hyuuga compound and easily infiltrated it by leaping over the walls, no one the wiser since my chakra did not show up in my fox form. That was one of the perks and weaknesses of my transformation jutsu. Not only did it allow me to take on a fox's shape, but it also further enhanced all of my senses and effectively made me as a normal fox since it sealed away my chakra as well. The only thing I was able to do within fox shape was to release the jutsu, although that wasn't exactly the easiest thing to accomplish either.

It was a very useful skill for spying or infiltration though, which were the majority of the missions that I had been sent on as an anbu.

I crouched down underneath a large bush and twitched my ears, picking up every sound that I could around the compound. I had to be even more careful with this 'mission' though since foxes weren't exactly normally residents in the Hyuuga compound, if I was found and caught, I would lose my chance.

Seeing an opening in the inner perimeter I took a run for where the girl's scent flooded the area. In order to get the information I needed, I would need to be where the information was.

Jumping through the open window made things severely easy, but made me very suspicious as well, this was almost too easy, not that I was exactly complaining or anything. The girl I had been following was not to be found within her room, but that was fine, I was capable of waiting.

The young Hyuuga girl entered her room after around ten minutes and saw nothing out of the ordinary as she set her stuff down on the bed. That was around the time that I decided to hop back up onto the window sill, having jumped back out when I heard her footsteps. A soft yip brought her attention to me with a slight jump.

"How did you get here?" She asked me smoothly, confusion written all over her face, "I'm pretty sure that none of my clan members owns a fox, so how did you get in?"

I shook my pelt out before I leapt into the room, trotting over lightly to the girl and twining around her legs with another light yip.

She smiled and twined her fingers through my shaggy blonde fur. She was happy as she did so, but eventually her smile turned nervous. "You really shouldn't be here, I could get into trouble if anyone finds you in my room, my father would not approve."

My ear twitched at that little snippet of information. So her father didn't approve of much, did he? I trotted away from her and sniffed at her bed before jumping on it lightly, making sure that I didn't shed any fur as I did so. I would rather not get her into trouble with her father, especially if he already was set against her.

"Come on, please leave?" She almost begged of me.

I turned towards her and nodded with a foxy grin on my face, causing her to start.

"You can understand what I say?" She asked, shocked.

I nodded again and then seemed to ponder something before I shook my head and gave a little huff, "I can do more than just understand you…" I said in a lilting voice as I paced around the bed, laying down after a few moments.

She stared at me with an open mouth before she finally got a hold on herself. "Who, or what, are you?" I narrowed my eyes faintly when I noticed that she still didn't stutter, interesting.

"I'm not actually a fox, if that's what you would like to know," I told her in a quiet, rumbling tone. "But I am no threat to you, only… interested, if you would."

Her pale eyes narrowed at me, interesting me once more, she had seemed so shy at school. "What do you want from me?" I flickered my eyes to her hand as she slowly began to inch her fingers towards the kunai on her desk. She froze at my movement.

"I don't want anything from you, but I would like to talk, if you are not opposed?" I responded calmly, noting faintly that I had her interest caught. "Good, now what is your name?"

She looked at me in confusion, but responded anyways, "Hyuuga Hinata." She offered me nothing other than her name, causing me to smile slightly inwardly. Good, a ninja should never give out too much information, although I could tell that she was interested in why I was there, otherwise she would have already called for assistance.

"Well, Hinata-chan," I caught her slight twitch at the name, "It is a pleasure to meet you finally." I paused for a moment as I decided upon how I wished to proceed, "You might have seen me around before in my human form, I'm Naruto's guardian, alias Kitsune, if you will."

She stared at me for a moment, "I can understand the alias…" She responded dryly, causing me to growl-laugh.

"Ah you don't know the half of it," I stated once I had recovered myself, "but as for why I am here, I simply wished to learn more about the Hyuuga who gazes at my charge."

The pale-eyed girl blushed at my words and I stored the information away for later use.

"So I followed this Hyuuga back to her house only to find that apparently her father does not approve of her very much and that she is alone most of the time, and seemingly shy due to a stutter when spoken to around the academy."

She did not respond immediately, but simply stared at me. "I-I… I'm weak…" She finally managed to stutter out, "I am a failure as a Hyuuga…"

I got to my paws at those words and gave a low growl, forcing her attention back on me. "You are only as weak as you let yourself be," I told her in a very low voice, "If you allow people to talk down to you and if you allow yourself to believe them, then you are making yourself weak." I stared her down, and was pleased when she did not look away. "Now, you have peaked my interest in you and I would like to help you prove everyone wrong by becoming your personal tutor, will you accept?"

She stared at me as if I had grown a second head, "But… why?"

I grinned foxily, "Because I can, that's why!" I told her simply, "I would like to help you because I detest others who do not allow another to show her true colors, and because I can tell that you are more than they believe you to be. Simply from the way that you have spoken to me without fear in your gaze I can tell that you are stronger than you make yourself out to be. That's why."

My words brought a faint smile to her face, brightening it up slightly. It vanished swiftly though, causing confusion on my part. "But… what about my father? He would never agree to this."

I hooked her eyes with mine, "Leave your father to me, I'll see you tomorrow after the academy gets out." I saw her nod faintly before I leapt out of her window and continued to jump over the walls of the compound.

I released my jutsu as soon as I was out of the compound and began to walk towards the entrance, requesting respectfully to speak with Hyuuga Hiashi.

The two sentries sent me haughty looks before one of them went off to find the man I was asking for. The other sentry then proceeded to ignore me which I found quite amusing.

The sentry who had left returned with a different Hyuuga who led me through the compound to where I would meet with Hiashi. I was surprised at the fact that Hiashi had not refused to speak with me, but thankful as well, it made things easier for me significantly.

I was shown into a room where the Hyuuga head was waiting for me, an expressionless mask over his face. "Please sit, Kitsune-san," He asked me politely as he waved away his guards, something that caused me to raise an eyebrow behind my mask. Either he was showing that he trusted me or he was confident that if I attacked him he would be the champion.

"Yes, Hiashi-sama," I responded to him with a short bow before I did as he had requested. He sat down a short ways away from me.

"What did you wish to speak about, Kitsune-san?" He asked politely as he poured a glass of tea, having looked at me and acknowledged that I would not remove my mask.

I pondered my words for a few moments before I spoke up, "I would like to speak about your daughter, Hinata." I caught him tense slightly at my words, but there were no changes to his emotionless mask.

"What about my daughter?" He trained his eyes on me, watching my every movement.

"With your agreement I would like to train her a few days a week when the academy gets out in the afternoon." I said bluntly, carefully watching his movements.

"And what makes you believe that I would agree to this arrangement?" He asked me just as emotionlessly as before, although I knew that I had caught a faint flutter of hope in his eyes.

Going off of my hunch I continued, "I believe that you will agree because you love your daughter, and because you know, just as well as I do, that she has a great deal of potential locked within her." I narrowed my eyes behind my mask, "I also will keep her training a secret so that you do not have to worry about your other daughter." My eyes flickered away from the picture hidden in the corner of the room.

He stared at me for a few moments before he set down his tea and ran a hand over his suddenly tired-looking eyes. "So you have seen past my dilemma," He said quietly, shocking me. I had simply been going off of a hunch; I wasn't exactly expecting the response he was giving me! "I love both of my daughters, but I do not wish either of them to receive the seal of a branch member. Due to Hinata's apparent weakness I was able to keep Hanabi from receiving the seal, but this is not a permanent solution…" He looked back at me, pain in his eyes.

I simply stared back at him, shocked at how much he was giving away. "And my offer of training Hinata in secret would keep the elders of your clan from noticing her strength which would keep Hanabi safe as well…" I said, mostly to myself, but Hiashi nodded at me all the same.

"I agree to your offer, please, keep my daughter safe." His eyes pleaded with me in a very un-Hyuuga like way.

I got to my feet and bowed deeply, "I will do everything in my power," I told him with true respect in my voice. He had definitely earned it from me today, although I had no idea as to how I would wrap my head around everything later.

He saw me out to the edge of the compound himself, thanking me for my time before I left back towards my real home.

It wasn't everyday that someone pretty much told you all of their clans' problems, and I honestly wasn't sure about how I should react to the information I now held. One, Hinata had a crush on my otouto; two, she was extremely shy and constantly told that she is weak; three, Hiashi was now on my good-side, and I knew a bit more than I honestly had ever cared to want to find out. But above it all I was now Hinata's new secret tutor, and I was entrusted with protecting and training her.

Not only that… but I also now had to deal with the fact that Hinata was not my only student since I had Naruto and Sasuke, along with their three friends, to train every now and then as well. I sighed to myself as I walked slowly back to the Namikaze estate, I had no idea why I got myself involved in so many things, especially when most of them could bite me in the ass when I wasn't looking…

I smiled faintly, but at least I was able to help in more than one way around the village that my father had died for. I turned to look at the Hokage monument, my father's likeness the one that caught my eyes the most. I would do my best to help the new generation succeed, just as he had attempted before his untimely death.

The soft tapping of someone running lightly caused me to lose focus on my thoughts and swiftly draw a kunai, my other hand at my side ready to gather chakra if needed. I spun around and sliced with my kunai, recognition barely flitting across my face before I leapt backwards, swiftly distancing myself away from the other person before my kunai could follow through with the motion.

"I apologize, Cat-san," I said with a slight bow as I put away my kunai, my body relaxing slightly at the sight of the anbu, "Is there something I might assist you with?" I faintly hoped that it wasn't me that the female anbu had been looking for, but from the way she had been running towards me I figured that there wasn't a chance for that…

She seemed to be panting lightly, "Kitsune-san, there seems to be a problem around the west side of Konoha, I was supposed to notify every anbu and jounin I saw to head there immediately and to expect a battle."

I bit back a groan and nodded instead, "I will head there now, thank you for your notice." She leapt away, leaving me to start running swiftly towards the west wall of Konoha. As I ran, I summoned a shadow clone and sent her with a message to Itachi, along with the instructions to up the chakra in the seals around the house. She wouldn't set up the barrier, not if Itachi were still in the house.

I also flashed through summoning signs and bit my thumb before I halted to slam my hand into the ground, pleased when Kyemi showed up at my side. We both continued swiftly while I filled her in on what I knew, which wasn't very much. Before we arrived, I also dropped my gravity seals, knowing that I would need my full speed to be the most effective.

We arrived at the west wall to hear metal clashing against metal, not a very pleasant sign. Without another word, Kyemi and I leapt into the forest and entered the fray that surrounded us. I could see no hitai-ate on the foreheads of the enemy nin and I saw Kyemi flinch as she sniffed the air, telling me everything without saying anything. I growled and raised my voice, "Beware their blades, they're poisoned!" I hollered as I leapt in front of a comrade who had been pushed to the ground.

I countered the man's poisoned blade with one of my swiftly unsealed twin swords, stabbing him critically with the other. I did not hear my comrade's thanks, but in the heart of a battle, one didn't truly expect to. I fought like that for a while, making sure that all the other Leaf nin who entered the fight knew about the poisoned blades and took precautions to avoid them.

A growl from Kyemi had my hitting the ground as a cloud of fire flew over my head only to be disintegrated by my companion's wind techniques. When the fire disappeared I leapt to my feet and ran at the origin of the flames, sealing one of my swords away as I grabbed a poison seal with my now empty hand.

Dodging another stream of fire I finally drew in close enough to strike out with my sword, catching him on the arm while I swung my body around to place the seal on his body, activating it in the same motion before jumping away quickly and leaving the seal to do its fast-acting job.

I flashed away from the dying enemy to appear at the side of a struggling comrade and reroute the enemy's blade, allowing Rabbit to finish the enemy off with her attack.

The battle continued like that for a while until suddenly the clearing was quiet, at least until I heard Kyemi call me over.

Two medical nin with green-glowing hands crouched over a jounin that I did not recognize, but I was able to recognize the severity of the wound they were trying to heal. It was dealt from a poisoned blade, and the two anbu were not going to be able to save him in time, I could tell that much just by looking at their progress.

I don't remember grabbing the healing seal out of my pouch or when I 'gently' shoved the two med nin out of the way, but I definitely remember sticking the seal on the man's wound and activating it with a decent amount of my chakra. I remember watching the fast-acting healing seal doing its job swiftly before I placed a long term healing seal over the wound as well, activating it and watching the array sink into his skin over the same spot. The wound bubbled slightly as the fast-acting seal pushed the poison out of his system before closing up the wound roughly, fading away before the long term healing seal took over and slowly began to delicately fix the aftermath of the wound.

I stepped away after a while, gingerly wiping the blood on my hands off on the grass around me, sighing in relief at the knowledge that the jounin in front of me would survive.

Two other jounin picked him up with a small glance my way before the ran back towards the wall while the rest of us capable of standing walked through the aftermath of the battle, picking up our dead comrades while destroying the bodies of the enemy. I remember briefly seeing Kakashi, and I know that he saw me, but I didn't go over to him, rather intent on busying myself with searching for any possible survivors and healing the ones that I could.

"Thank you," I heard someone say as I walked through the halls of the hospital, having done a mandatory check-in after the short battle. I turned in surprise to see the man I had saved earlier standing painfully with bandages swathing his stomach.

I dipped my head to him with a relieved smile at seeing him alive, "I am just glad that you are able to heal," I told him truthfully, "but how did you know it was me who'd healed you?"

He smiled faintly at me, "The jounin that brought me in told me that you had."

I nodded, "Well, I'm glad that you're mostly alright." I paused for a few moments, "Your scar will feel like burning fire for a few days, but eventually it will just fade into a dull ache as the slow acting healing seal I put on you continues to work on the more delicate healing." I subconsciously ran my hand over the spot on my side where the scar still remained. "Also I would take it easy for about a month while you let your body continue to heal; it isn't an easy poison to get rid of."

The jounin gave me a weird look, "You sound like you've been through it yourself…" He said, his voice fading off.

I lifted the hem of my shirt up slightly to show him the long scar across the left side of my torso, "I have," I said, my voice faint, "I hope you heal fast." I shunshined away softly, not wanting to see the sympathy in his gaze.

Needless to say, I arrived home a little late that night, looking slightly like the living dead as I crossed the threshold of the estate. My clone instantly dispelled herself, leaving me to deal with Naruto, Sasuke, and Itachi on my own. Kyemi had released herself hours ago.

I gave all of them a faint briefing on what had happened and saw the worry lacing Itachi's eyes as he looked at me. The boys ended up asking more questions but a growl from me had them scurrying to their beds dejectedly.

When the boys were gone I removed my mask and turned, only to find Itachi there grabbing me and pulling me against his chest tightly. I smiled faintly, glad that he had been worried about me. "Are you alright?" He asked me softly after a few moments, his grip on me eventually relaxing.

I nodded into his shoulder with a yawn, I was utterly spent. "I'm fine, Kakashi's fine, most of the other Konoha nin involved are fine, we only lost one person today and that was before my warning came about the poisoned blades."

He tensed up again, "The same people from before?"

I shook my head, "The people from before are dead, but a different group of people from the same whole? Yeah, I think they were. They all had poisoned blades of some sort, but they weren't focusing only on one person this time, nor did many of them go after me specifically."

"And you weren't hurt at all?" His voice was laced with worry which made me smile again.

"I've got a few bruises from the enemies that decided to use taijutsu, but other than that and a bit of chakra exhaustion, I'm fine."

"Chakra exhaustion? I thought you were only using your blades?"

I bit back a yawn, "I had already run through most of my chakra earlier on in the day, one powerful transformation, a few shadow clones, summoning Kyemi, and then two healing seals on a dying jounin before assisting with recovery and helping to heal some of the minor wounds in the hospital before coming back here? Yeah, I only used my blades…" I closed my eyes as he held me, allowing myself to listen to his heartbeat.

Itachi sighed at me, "Well I'm glad you're safe," He told me, and I nodded faintly into his shoulder.

Itachi's POV, continuation of scene

She was safe, my Nariko was safe. I sighed and told her so as she relaxed even further in my arms. "I love you," I whispered into her hair, even though I already knew she was asleep.

I picked her up bridal style and carried her to her room, setting her down gently on the bed before attempting to let her go. Of course, I eventually gave up since she refused to let go of me, even going so far as to sleepily growl at me when I attempted to unlatch her arms.

I sighed, damn stubborn woman.

Nariko's POV, next day

I woke up early the next morning wondering what I had done to my pillow; it was just so… comfortable. Of course, that idea changed when I realized my pillow had a heartbeat. My eyes widened in shock and I slowly pushed myself upwards to find myself staring into Itachi's amused gaze.

"Good morning," He told me as he finally managed to untangle himself from my arms. "You fell asleep on me and then proceeded to not let me go, fearing for my safety, I relented."

I smiled sheepishly, knowing full well the kinds of things that could happen if I was disturbed while sleeping. "Sorry?"

He 'hned' at me with a faint smile on his face as he got out of the bed before his eyes briefly took in the room, including my picture frame on the bedside table. He said nothing though, so I happily didn't bring up the subject as I focused solely on getting ready for the new day.

"How're you feeling?" He asked me after I had put on my fox mask.

I shrugged my shoulders, "A little tired, but other than that I'm fine. I'll just have to go easy on the chakra today, no big deal."

He nodded at me before he casually exited the room, making me glad that no one else in our house woke up so early in the morning. I did not want to explain to anyone why Itachi was walking out of my room, even if we hadn't actually done anything during the night.

Instead of working with chakra in the morning, I focused on stretching and strength. I sighed as I had trouble getting through even the most 'simple' exercises without panting at the end. I gave a small growl, before I gave up and decided to simply meditate and extend my senses, senses that still had not worn back down from the enhancements of yesterday's transformation.

That was another perk of my transformation jutsu, the sensory enhancements didn't wear off immediately after changing back, and, if I wasn't lazy, I could maintain them to a certain standard. They would wear down eventually, but I still would have better senses than before my transformation.

The one large weakness of the jutsu though, was the large amount of chakra that it took to maintain it. At most I would be able to maintain it for a few hours, if I wanted to end up with no chakra left over at the end of it all. I was attempting to find a different way for the jutsu to work that wasn't so taxing, but so far it wasn't working the way I wanted it to…

After about an hour of meditating I went in to find Itachi cooking breakfast, the boys' alarm clocks going off in the background. "Well isn't this a surprise?" I said as I watched him whip up a very appetizing looking meal.

He flashed a small grin at me before he dished me up a plate, before sending me outside to eat. Man he could be just as stubborn as me sometimes. I finished my breakfast in record time, and it was good, I only wished I had known Itachi could cook earlier on. By the time I walked back into the estate, the boys were already finished with their meals and were preparing to head out the door.

"So, Kitsune-neechan? Can our friends come over after school today if their parents say yes?" Naruto asked me as he gathered his gear together.

I froze, having completely forgotten about that little bit of information. "We'll see, Naru-chan," I told him as I ruffled his hair.

He nodded at me as he grabbed the rest of his stuff and trotted to the front door, waiting impatiently for Sasuke, Itachi, and I to join him.

"Do you have your gravity seals activated?" I asked him as we walked out the door, smiling when he groaned at me. "Hey, you were the one who wanted them in the first place, now you'd better use them." I had taught him how to make the seals himself a while back which would allow him to activate or deactivate them if needed.

If I had made the seals and put them on him he would not have been able to deactivate them which would have been a liability if he got into a sticky situation and was not able to get away.

He activated his seals with a sigh, barely grimacing as the weight set in on his body. I nodded, pleased and he walked out the door, shortly joined by Itachi and Sasuke, leaving me to close the door. I didn't bother locking the door since the seal traps that I had surrounding the property would work so much better than a lock. Besides, most people knew to stay away from the estate; a few civilians had tried getting passed the doors one year and were lucky I had been home to heal them when they got themselves electrocuted by my seals…

A few blocks later I moved up to Itachi, "I'll see you later, alright?" I told him softly, waiting for his nod.

He gave me a look before nodding at me with a faint sigh, not that I heard the sigh because at that point I was already gone.

That's all for this chapter, I hope it was alright for you, I ended up writing it five or six times before I was alright with the content, ^^;