Akari wandered around town until she found Naruto heading towards the training fields and smiled, "Naruto!" The blonde turned around and gave a small disapproving look as she held up her flute, "I'm not training baka. But I figured you might. Can I come along?"

He grinned and nodded, "Yeah, we have a lot to catch up on."

She nodded and huffed, "You have no idea. After we left Tsunade yesterday, we ran into one of your friends. Kiba, I think he said his name was. Actually, it was his dog that ran into me, and decided I made a comfortable bed and tackled me to the ground on my broken ribs."

"Ouch," he checked her over as she grinned, "Are you feeling any better Akari?" They were almost inside the training grounds as he walked further ahead. He almost missed what she whispered but froze completely and took in her broken appearance, "What did you say?"

She gripped her wood flute tightly and looked up with solemn eyes, "He asked why I smelt like a wolf. I told them that I ran into a pack of them on the way here but I know that neither he and his dog, nor Kakashi bought it."

The blonde walked up and placed his hand on her shoulder gently, "Have they said anything else?"

She shook her head, "No, but I have a feeling that at least one of them is going to be following me around for a while." She locked eyes with him and smiled softly, "Tama missed you. She missed Tsunade too for some odd reason."

He grinned as one of her eyes shifted to an ice blue, "Hey Tama."

The woman smiled, "Hello Kit. Has that fox been staying in line and playing nice?"

Naruto snickered, "Yeah, we finally came to an agreement a while back."

She nodded, "Good. Since Akari's going to be staying here for the rest of her life, we will have many times to catch up." He grinned happily up at her then stared as her blue eye flared brightly then dimmed back to its natural colour. She quickly brought him into a gentle hug and whispered, "Someone's in the trees just out of my sensory range. Can you tell if they're friend or not?"

He stiffened slightly then relaxed as he tried to figure out who it could be then sighed and laid his head on her shoulder and groaned, "It's everyone. Guess Kiba couldn't keep his mouth shut." He felt her stiffen and hugged her a little tighter, "Just stay calm. Hey Akari?"

She let the hug go and looked down into his sky blue eyes, "Yeah?"

He turned away from the group and whispered, "How come Tama hasn't healed your ribs?"

She laughed softly, "She believes that it's my life and that whatever happens was meant to and wants me to be able to handle anything that may naturally come." She paused as her eyebrows drew together, "But me breaking my ribs isn't normal Tama." Naruto quickly pulled her into another hug so she could mumble into his shoulder without anyone being able to read her lips, "Please Tama. Heal me Okaa-san." Naruto smiled as he felt Akari twitch slightly. Kyuubi seemed to purr happily from his cage, glad to have someone around again with a level head and even though he wouldn't admit it, the time Naruto had spent training with Akari had them both attached to the girl along with her counterpart.

After a minute, the blonde let go and smiled as the girl poked her ribs just lightly and grinned at him, then sighed when she heard someone snap a twig further away. Naruto could sometimes hear Tama if they were close enough and if Kyuubi was being nice enough to transmit any message. A howl resounded around them and shook the two slightly. Naruto looked over and noticed Akari's sunset eyes glaring at the tree line, watching for any movement. He sighed, if they kept treating her like this then she was never going to trust anyone other than him and Tsunade. "Come out and down here you guys! Your hiding sucks!"

Suddenly, three groups of three along with Sasuke and Sakura jumped out and stood near them. Akari stiffened slightly, taking in everyone and mentally strategizing with Tama. Kyuubi warned Naruto and let him hear their thoughts, planning to take the strongest first and making a break for it. "What are you guys doing anyways?"

"Kiba told us that she might have a demon in her," Ino said as she studied the woman beside Naruto quietly.

Naruto shot Kiba a glance as Akari glared hard at said boy and his dog, who whined and shrunk back behind his master. "Akari," the blonde mumbled under his breath, "calm down."

She sighed and tried but couldn't relax, "I can't. There's too many of them and Tama doesn't trust them. She smells their anxiety and fear." Naruto looked down with sad eyes. It was almost like how Gaara was with his village before he became Kazekage. "Naruto," she mumbled, "if more than three of them get within ten feet, I won't be able to control myself."

He nodded and looked back at everyone, "So what if she has a demon in her? I do."

Some looked down ashamed while Neji took a step closer, "You can control him now. She needs to be brought to Tsunade-sama so she can be dealt with Naruto."

Akari let a small growl slip past her lips as the others watched her muscles twitch. "Obaa-chan knows already. She's known Akari since she was little! Quit treating her like the enemy already. You're acting just like Suna did with Gaara!"

That seemed to snap most of them out of their thoughts and look down ashamed. Akari sighed some, only to stiffen as Neji, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Lee, and Kiba walked closer. "Sorry Naruto, but we still need to take her to Hokage-sama to make sure," Shikamaru said as they walked closer.

Akamaru whined loudly and Kiba stopped dead in his tracks and paled, "STOP!" The rest stopped just outside of the ten-foot mark, making Naruto and Akari sigh. Kyuubi was mentally talking to Tama to reason with her but she was only thinking about the well being of Akari, and doing whatever it took to keep her safe. "Akamaru, what do you mean we have to stay here?" Kiba asked as the white dog sat infront of them and blocked their path. "We have to take her to Tsunade-sama."