NinjaGate

A little showing off

By: MikeJV37

x

===April 2, 6:13 PM, Earth SGC, Naruto's Room===

While not the foremost thought on his mind, the earlier discussion he, and Hinata, had with General Hammond about what they found in the Temple had been too much like being grilled by Tsunade for his liking. But Hinata had saved his ass by firmly stating that the items had been given solely to them, for their use only. That done, she politely asked Hammond that they be given a chance to activate them in private so they could get a handle on the basics; and, with that done, they could give him a better report on what the artifacts could do, rather than guessing, or putting someone else at risk and maybe getting hurt, or worse.

Naruto saw the familiar 'I don't like it' face on General Hammond, but like with Iruka, the old man and Tsunade... there was also the 'but I'll give you a chance' face afterwards. Besides, he was the only way General Hammond had to communicate with Baa-chan and Konoha, so he did have a little leverage to work with.

This also meant that tomorrow, after their demonstration, he'd be sending all this information to Tsunade. He could almost feel Tsunade's glare piercing him. He really did love her as a grandmother, mother and big sister all rolled into one, but she scared the hell out of him sometimes.

"And never call her old." Kyuubi added and smiled, unheard by Naruto. She knew that after everything they'd been through, even Naruto wouldn't cross that line with Tsunade... again. She also knew, from a recent look through his mind, that a small and well-buried part of him, namely the perverted part he constantly fought against, found her attractive, especially her huge breasts. The perverted aspect of Naruto wouldn't mind getting much closer, despite her age, but he'd never act on it. Kyuubi, on the other hand, would love a romp with Tsunade, or Hinata, or all 3 of them; that made her smile a moment.

Kyuubi shook those thoughts from her mind; many things had to happen before she could even think of suggesting that idea to her host... and the biggest obstacle, Hinata. She sighed sadly. "No, my needs are meaningless; I don't deserve any pleasure until Naruto forgives me for my sins." Kyuubi remarked to herself, then re-opened her side of the link.

"I can't put this off any more... she wasn't a ghost..." Naruto felt a cold chill of fear run through him, that was his only real fear. "She was friendly, not trying to eat my soul... she gave me the scroll to make me stronger." Naruto added, talking himself into opening the scroll... and that it wouldn't explode and kill him.

Naruto was standing between his bed and the front wall (with the entry door). On the back wall across from the bed by him, and the left wall, was a 42 inch plasma TV, which he LOVED, especially with the game system they'd hooked up to it, and his growing collection of games. The other personal touches in the room were some posters on the walls; the poster from Sam was a picture taken from the Moon, looking at Earth... he really liked that one. Jack's poster was a picture of a flying machine he called an... F-16. Jack promised him that he'd see a real one someday. Daniel's poster was a picture of a huge stone tomb called a pyramid. He didn't think it was all that interesting until Hinata had told him it was way older than the stuff they had read about in their Academy textbooks. Sometimes he'd look at it and wonder why there wasn't anything that old... or that big on his world.

On the right side was a dresser full of boring clothes, and underwear; he had to laugh at that thought, he actually wished Ino was here to... take him shopping. He could see all his friends laughing at him for wanting to go clothes shopping. But, he did have Hinata to help him, and was honestly looking forward to it, but it made him nervous at the same time.

He looked at the scroll laying on his bed, then for some reason turned and looked at his night table. Sitting on it was one of the few personal items he had sent to him, an old picture of Team 7. He sighed, steeled himself, and moved towards the scroll.

===Hinata's Room===

Hinata was sitting on the right side of her bed, her room arranged similarly to Naruto's. In her hands, cradled in her lap, was the gem. She smiled to herself; she'd peeked, and briefly watched Naruto as he paced around his room, just like she knew he'd be doing. Like Naruto she had a picture on her night table, but her's was a picture of her late mother, Hannah. Unlike Naruto, she had 4 full outfits sent from home hanging in her closet, plus the clothes she'd been wearing. In addition to that were the 3 back-up shinobi outfits she'd kept sealed in a extra storage scroll. It was a habit she'd started years ago after her chest had 'exploded'... for the first time.

She lifted the gem to chest level, let out a breath and started to slowly push her chakra into it. She smiled as it started to glow...

===Monitor Room, Security HQ===

The younger SP watched as Hinata lifted the huge jewel up... then her room monitor went out. He turned to the senior NCO. "Sarge, Hinata's room monitor went out..." He noticed the arched eyebrow on the older NCO's face. "Yeah, I know, log it and flag it... I'm writing." 'Junior' responded, sighed and picked up his pencil.

"You may see daylight yet." 'Senior' replied with a grin.

===Hinata's Room===

Hinata couldn't believe her eyes. She'd expected a voice, an illusion, anything... but never in her wildest dreams did she ever consider anything like this. "You're a... a..."

"A yosei."(1) Her tiny voice had a musical tone to it. Hinata's new guest was floating about 4 feet off the floor, her translucent butterfly-like wings beating rapidly. She had flowing dark-blue hair hanging to her waist; her slender, but very large breasted 4 inch high body almost sparkling; her pale blue, mid-thigh kimono-like dress shimmered faintly.

If she didn't know better, Hinata would have sworn the tiny flying... girl, looked just like her mother.

"You may call me Suimei-san, Hinata-sama. As the Guide of the Gem of Life, I am known in the old tongue as the 'Yosei no Seimei'(2), I'm sworn to serve you, as it's new wielder and guardian... Hinata no Seimei no Hoseki no Koken."(3)

Hinata sat still as a stone, her breath frozen in her throat. An inexplicable combination of joy, apprehension, and fear raged like a bonfire within her. The fairy gave her a deep, formal bow... while hovering about like a hummingbird, a couple of feet from her face. Suimei rose from her bow and continued.

"The Mistress of the Seimei no Jiin is the one who spoke to you and Naruto-san in her sanctuary, the Temple of Life. For now you may speak to me as needed, my Mistress will show herself to you when you are ready. This I promise, and you will know it when that moment comes to pass."

Hinata nodded faintly in acknowledgement, numbed by the significance of Suimei's declaration.

"For now, hold out your hand so I may stand upon it... I must attune myself to your life force." The fairy did a slow hover around the gem. "The woman named Janet will assist you in finding the abilities that have been unlocked within you, and how they intertwine with the Gem of Life. Do not force your connection with the gem to obtain those abilities... they will come to you with the flow of time, and as you further bond with the Gem of Life." Suimei explained, and moved closer to Hinata.

"Furthermore, the woman named Sam can help you in discovering other aspects of your intellect, and introduce you to sources of knowledge that were previously unknown, and unavailable to you."

"And, when the man named Daniel asks about the voice you heard, tell him her name is Akarumu, and her world is called Tougen." Suimei added in an almost musical voice.

A peaceful smile grew on Hinata's face as she nodded as she put her right hand below Suimei, and gently gripped the glowing gem held in her left.

===Naruto's Room===

He'd unrolled about 2 feet of the scroll and only found some simple instructions, at the beginning, on how to unseal what was within it. Carefully following the directions, two items appeared out the small puff of smoke; a brush 10" long, the handle made of a very smooth, highly polished, deep black stone he'd never seen before. It was unexpectedly light, but the handle felt harder than any stone he's ever touched. The engraved metal band holding the shiny black bristles in place looked like gold, but it seemed every bit as hard as the handle.

The other item was a rectangular stone tray, about 4" wide, 8" long, and over an inch thick; it was black like the brush's handle, but without the same high polish. He also noted that the lip of the tray was covered with tiny carvings, but the details were too fine for him to make out. Naruto puzzled over it's purpose; it was unevenly hollowed out, with half of it sloping upwards, away from the deeper end. He searched his memory but couldn't recall ever seeing anything like it before.

After he'd played with the brush for a minute or so, to get the feel of it, he looked back at the scroll and noticed that the initial instructions had been replaced by new, more extensive writings.

Setting the stone tray aside, he turned his attention back to the brush... that, he recognized. Naruto picked it up again and held it, just as he remembered Jiraiya doing as he wrote letters to Tsunade, and created seals.

Unrolling the scroll some more, he turned his attention to the new instructions. As he studied the scroll further, he realized that it was lessons on how to write characters in the style Jiraiya had used to make seals. Thrilled that it was going to teach him something that he'd seen his Sensei do with practiced ease, reality suddenly grabbed him by the neck. This was a skill he'd observed many times, but had never seriously attempted himself.

He pouted. "I have to practice writing that... cal, lig, riffy stuff..." Naruto muttered despondently, then suddenly perked up at a new thought. "This is just like that formal writing stuff Shizune said she does. I bet Hinata-chan is great at this stuff, she could help me!" Naruto exclaimed with a smile.

===April 2, 8:15 PM, outside Gen. Hammond's Office===

Major Von Krieger paused before the door, staring at the name plate; he silently considered his options. 'Okay Ric, this is it. You're either going to lie like a rug, or come clean. Either way, you're probably toast.' He mentally shrugged and audibly sighed. 'Who knows, maybe he's got a sense of humor like Tom.' Ric refocused on the name plate, and looked at the name again: Lt. General George S. Hammond, Commander, Stargate Command.

"Not a fucking chance." He muttered, and knocked. He heard the response, "enter", and stepped into the lion's den. The first thing he noticed was his new commander leaning back in his chair and holding a large coffee mug. The second thing he noticed upon entering was his friend Jack, sitting in a smaller chair, giving him a cheery wave. Both of them gave him a smile. He took that as a good sign; he just hoped they'd be wearing those same smiles when he left.

"Thank you for coming so promptly, Major." Hammond motioned to a second chair, next to Jack's. "Have a seat, please. Since it's after hours, so to speak, I'll keep the formalities to a minimum."

Ric gave his new boss a smile and a slight bow. "Thank you, sir. I suspect it's been a long day for all of us." He gave Jack a meaningful look. "Did you have fun today, Jack?"

O'Neill cocked his head and gave Ric his best innocent look. "Nope, just wrestling with paperwork."

Hammond took in the synergy between the two men, it was curious, to say the least. He decided to step in. "I'm curious, Major. Why did you say that?"

Ric gave both of them an appraising look, then re-focused his attention on Jack; he casually pointed downward. "Paperwork doesn't normally leave green clay on your boots." Jack's eyes widened, and quickly looked downward; he could have sworn that he'd cleaned them completely. "And an unusual shade of green at that." Ric added with a thoughtful frown, leaning closer to examine Jack's boots.

Jack snorted and shook his head; he looked at Hammond. "I told you he was good."

Hammond nodded, and took a sip from his mug. "So it would seem." He motioned to the chair again, and this time Von Krieger sat down. "Now then, I believe you mentioned that you had some information for me."

"Quite so, sir. While I was stationed in Moscow, I gained some insights, and rumors, into the Russian's Stargate Program, specifically their..." Ric paused in thought. "...view towards it."

Hammond leaned forward with obvious curiosity. He had gotten summaries from the CIA, but he was always interested in secondary sources... and opinions. "Please go on, Major."

"To be blunt, they're scared spitless of it. They even have their own pet name for it... Chërt voróti', my best translation: 'The Gate of the Devil', or Devil's Gate, you decide which one fits the bill better."

Jack asked. "Don't you mean scared shitless, Ric?"

Ric frowned at his friend. "Come on, Jack... you know the Russians better than that. The Russians are many things, but they aren't cowards. You give them the right motivation, or reason, and they're insanely brave. It's not that you couldn't get them to move... that would be scared shitless. However, you could lead them, or get 'em drunk enough, or even shame them into going, but you could get them to go through."

Hammond's eyebrow twitched. 'That wasn't in the CIA report.' He spoke up. "How common is this viewpoint?"

Ric pursed his lips. "Amongst the average Ivan's, a lot. Amongst the leadership, not so much... but then again, they're not the ones going through the Stargate." Ric made a sour face.

Hammond leaned back in his chair. 'It figures, I get 'demands' from them, weekly.' "I see. Thank you for that bit of insight. So Major, how reliable is this source of yours?" He noticed a frown growing on Von Krieger's face, and the long silence that followed.

"Very reliable." Ric shifted in his chair and took a deep breath. "She begged me to refuse the order posting me here." He added to himself. 'There, I've done it.'

Jack chuckled. "You dog..." Then it hit him. "Whoa, Wait. A. Minute. Did you just say that she knew you were coming here?" Jack vigorously pointed at the floor.

General Hammond leaned closer. "Yes, Colonel O'Neill, I believe he did." He gave Von Krieger his best ominous stare... and watched it bounce off. He added an angry frown. "Who is she?" The tone in Hammond's voice was not something you wanted directed at you.

Ric replied. "Captain Irina Pyotrovna Lebed."

General Hammond frowned in concentration. That name, that family name... had a familiar ring to it... Then he remembered. "By any chance..." His question was cut off by a wave of Von Krieger's hand.

"Yes." Ric audibly sighed. "She is the grandniece of Lt. General Vasiliy Isayovich Lebed. He being the Director of Division 8, the Technology Branch of the FSB."

Jack's eyes widened in surprise; he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

Hammond, by pure reflex, shot out of his chair... dropping his half-full mug on the carpeted floor, his face a perfect model of disbelief. He placed his hands on the desk and leaned towards Von Krieger. He growled out, "Major, explain to me why you still have your security clearance... and, how you've escaped dismissal for your actions?" Hammond's voice rose in volume as he spoke.

'That went well.' As calm as a block of stone, Ric replied, "The simple answer: the CIA Station Chief, once he became aware of the matter... okayed the relationship."

General Hammond sank back into his chair with a muted thud. The shock on his face was mirrored in his voice. "He did?" Hammond shook his head to clear it. "Why?"

Ric ventured a minuscule smile; he began ticking off his fingers. "Firstly, he regarded me as a minimum risk... Tom and I go back a way's. He knows me, and I know him... I've trusted the man with my life, several times, and he's returned that level of trust. Secondly, because of my relationship with Irinya, Tom was able to finger nearly 3 dozen FSB operatives... all sent to watch us. Thirdly, Irina and I, very early on, agreed not to talk about certain details of our professional activities."

He paused and broadened his smile. "And, we found out that we had a few common interests, hobbies, and other such things." Ric tented his fingers together. "And, our agreement to not 'talk shop' aside, I've learned a number of interesting things by just simply paying attention to her." Ric's smile turned sly. "With the right circumstances, and the proper stimulation... she's remarkably..." he measurably paused, "...chatty."

Jack finally found his voice. "Is she..."

His question was cut short when Ric pulled a photo out of his breast pocket and held it front of his face... it was a picture of Irina in a white, blue and red Speedo one-piece racing suit, in a sexy pose, and wearing a coy smile. Jack's eyes widened. "Whoa..." Jack leaned forward for a closer look at the photograph. "She is smoking hot!" Jack snatched the photo from Ric's grasp.

General Hammond cleared his throat. "Colonel O'Neill..." Any further comment died as Jack rotated the photo towards him. 'Damn.' He gave silent thanks that his late wife wasn't present; he didn't think she would have appreciated the look on his face.

General Hammond took a deep breath; he had to put a sense of order, and perspective on all this. 'Might as well see what this man knows, and what he doesn't.' "Major Von Krieger, what do you know about this place?"

Ric snatched the photo from Jack's hands, much to his disappointment, and smoothly pocketed it. "Hmm... Well, you've gotten your hands on an alien gizmo; and, if the Russians are any indication, you've been using it, and sending people through it... but your folks have been coming back alive, unlike a bunch of the Russians doing likewise."

Both Hammond and O'Neill nodded at that comment. "And... if I had to guess, I'd say you've been... bringing stuff back." Ric spread his hands. "Because I sure as hell would." He looked up at the ceiling for a moment, then back at General Hammond. "And, if I know the Russians like I do, I'd say that they've been sniffling around your asses like hounds at a dog show." He crossed his arms across his chest. "So, did I miss much?"

Jack looked at his commander. "See what I mean."

Hammond leaned back in his chair and acknowledged Jack's comment. He openly stared at Von Krieger; he noted that the Major was returning the stare, politely, but his eyes didn't waver. 'Note to self: do not play poker with this man.' His anger over Von Krieger's past actions was slowly fading; and, he wasn't all that surprised that stories had gotten out, they always do... despite all the security.

No, the man before him was everything he had hoped for: intelligent, perceptive, bold, and obviously willing to take a risk, and... if that photo was any indication, unafraid to face an unknown and make it his own. 'He'll do.' Hammond nodded to himself. 'Now the next question: will he do it?' His eyes flicked to a locked drawer that held a mission proposal.

"You're more right than not, Major. However, you're lacking one key detail."

Ric nodded agreeably. "Given that I'm relying on second-hand information, at best..." He added a smile. "...that's understandable."

General Hammond returned the smile. "Indeed. Sadly, the Russians have every right to sniff around us." Hammond watched the Major's eyes narrow, but his expression remained unchanged. 'Yup. Definitely, no poker with him.'

"Do tell." Ric rested his chin on a fist and considered Hammond's statement. After a long moment of thought, he met his boss' eyes. "It's not our gizmo, is it?" He nodded to himself. "It's theirs."

"Yes Major, it's their's. And that, is turning into a problem." Hammond reached over to his inter-comm and flipped a certain switch, again. "Now, off the record, talk to me about this woman of yours. And after you're done with that, you tell me what you're going to do if she's sent against us, and what you're going to do about it."

===9:35 PM, SGC Personal Quarters Block===

They walked from General Hammond's office in silence. Jack glanced at his friend's face again; Ric's stern expression hadn't changed, not once. As they approached Hayes' door, he put his hand on Ric's shoulder. Von Krieger looked over at Jack, saw the look on Jack's face and smiled.

"I'm okay." He knocked on the door. "I can do it."

As The door swung open, Jeri motioned them in. "Good evening, gents. Welcome to the party." After they entered, Hayes shut the door and grinned. "Y'all came just in time." He waved about the room. "Grab a spot and set a spell." At that, he went off to the adjoining bathroom, grabbing something out of the sink and wrapped it in a hand towel.

Jack pointed at the towel, and what was inside it. "Is that the real deal?"

Putting the meeting with Hammond behind him, Ric chucked. "None other." He rubbed his hands together. "That is..."

Jeri took over, knowing the spiel by heart. "Sergeant Shine's Number One, top-shelf..."

"Grade A Water of Life." Ric finished the introduction.

Jeri walked over and handed Jack, freed from it's towel, an open, 1-quart Mason Jar, nearly full to the top with a warm, clear liquid. "Tain't as good as fresh from the still, but... bottoms up, Jack."

Jack took a generous sip... before he realized it, the liquid was sitting in his stomach and a warm glow was racing throughout his body. He took a second sip and passed the jar to Ric. He let out a loud exhale. "Oh lord, that... is some seriously good shit."

Ric took a swallow and pounded his knee with his fist. "Whoa. I'd forgotten how good this is." He took a second drink from the jar, letting out a slow breath through his nose. "Bless you, Jeri. This is precisely what I needed, especially after that visit to the Old Man's office."

Jeri shelved his smile and looked down at his friend sitting on his bed. "So, is he all square with y'all court'n and spark'n... her?" His was tone lighter than the look on his face.

"I suppose." Ric took another sip from the jar. "All I need now is a plan." He took a second, bigger sip. "A plan to steal her away from Mother Russia."

Jeri put the smile back on and laughed. "Comin' from the man who snuck off with a prototype tank of theirs..." He reached down, politely snatched the jar away, and took a swig. "You can do it. Especially if she wants to be made off with."

Jack saw the look on Ric's face and grinned. "Hey Jeri, did I ever tell you about the first time I laid eyes..." He hooked his thumb at Ric. "...on that rascal?"

Ric looked at the floor and groaned. "Dammit Jack, that wasn't my fault."

Jeri took another swig. "Nope, can't say that ya did." He noticed Jack eyeing the jar and handed it to him.

Jack took a big, noisy sip. "It was the spring of '89, the place was northern Iraq, and it involved four Kurdish hotties..."

Ric grumbled, "It was two..."

Jack snapped his fingers and took another sip. "Oh yeah, that's right, two Kurdish hotties, going toe-to-toe over him." Jack wagged his finger at Ric. "That man there was a very naughty Butter Bar."(4)

Ric groaned again. "It wasn't my fault."

Jeri laughed. "Do tell." Jeri sat on the floor next to Jack. "I wanna hear all about this..."

===April 3, 7:00 AM, Earth SGC, Gymnasium No. 1===

As soon as their SP escort had departed and the doors shut behind him, Naruto turned to Hinata with a smile that was, in part, due to the fact that he was wearing his trade-mark orange jumpsuit again. "So what should we do?"

Hinata looked about, this was the biggest room she'd seen since they had arrived at SGC; it was 60' wide, by 90' long. The shining wooden floor, as Jack had explained earlier, was marked with various white lines and circles, for a game called basketball.(5) Standing at the center of the room, they noted the various details. Scattered at irregular intervals were large blue-colored plastic lidded bins, and 3 wire baskets filled with assorted balls... Hinata smiled as she noted the several small baskets filled with bright blue racquet balls.

Naruto ran over to a nearby large basket and grabbed one the of large, black-striped, orange-colored balls and examined it. He looked it over with a grin and then experimentally dropped it. It bounced with a particular 'pinging' sound... Hinata smiled, then sighed as he began avidly bouncing the ball, grinning wildly. She also noted, with a frown, that the sounds Naruto was making, playing with the orange ball, echoed loudly throughout the room. While problematic, the acoustics of the room didn't make stealth impossible... as long as they focused on their movements.

Letting Naruto burn off some excess energy with his new-found toy, Hinata continued her scan of the room's details and stopped facing the long wall opposite the doors they entered through. She recognized the doorways to locker rooms at the long back wall... women near the left end, men the right. At the right end, all lined up, were the 6 round archery targets on stands she'd requested. And just to her right were 2 card tables she had asked for, one for her and Naruto to display their various shinobi tools and weapons, once they got down to business.

She looked up at the ceiling, it was 40 feet high, with a network of steel girders about 6 feet from the rocky ceiling, more than enough room for either of them to move about, or stand on, and the regularly-spaced powerful lights... Hinata smiled to herself as she noted the shadows they produced, especially the short hallways that lead to the exits; they were perfect for what she had planned.

With her inspection of the room done, she turned her attention back to Naruto... attempting to toss the basketball into the nearby hooped net suspended above the floor. She watched as his fifth try dropped through the hoop, and smiled as he did a small victory dance. Hinata clapped her hands together. "Okay Naruto, I think I know how to use this room for our demonstration, do you have any ideas?"

Naruto paused and bounced the ball with one hand; he slowly turned in a circle looking about, high and low. "Yeah." He pointed up. "Those beams will be perfect for one of the things I want to do." He grabbed the ball he was bouncing and started walking towards her. "What about you?"

Hinata smiled and glanced about the room. "I have some ideas. Do you know how to water walk?"

"Sure do, Jiraiya taught me when he was training me for the finals." Naruto replied proudly, ignoring the where and how he'd learned. As he reached her location, he tossed the ball at the basket he'd taken it from and grinned as it bounced once and landed in it. As he looked about the room a second time, he got a thoughtful look on his face. "Hinata... that first night in the valley, did you see anyone?"

"No... Why?" Hinata replied, curious.

"About midnight I had to get up... I heard something, so I followed the sound to this waterfall and..." Naruto said.

Hinata listened... the instant he mentioned the waterfall, it took every ounce of self-control she had to hold off a raging blush, and desire to faint. It only got worse as he described seeing a girl dancing atop the water, apparently naked, with drops and streams of water circling and dancing all about her. As he talked about the girl, and what she was doing... and it being the most beautiful thing he'd EVER seen in his whole life... she nearly lost it. After he stopped his detailed monologue, she used every ounce of will-power she possessed to push her emotions down. "Did... you see her face?" Hinata asked carefully.

Naruto sighed sadly. "No, because of the full moon and everything, all I saw was her shape, and she was inside a big shadow. I only saw her for maybe a minute, then I accidentally stepped on a twig and broke it. I looked down for a moment, and when I looked back she was gone. Do you remember who was on guard duty?"

Hinata thought a moment, her mind racing. "I was, but I never saw anyone near the campsite. I remember you leaving and coming back, but I knew it was you by your chakra signature, since everyone's is unique."

Naruto sighed sadly. "Oh well, thanks anyway... um, don't tell anyone about that, okay? If anyone found out I saw some moonlight dancer that got away from me so easy... they'd think I was crazy." He frowned and looked at the floor.

Hinata nodded and shoved the memory of that night into the back of her head. "I promise. For now, let's focus on the demonstration... I normally wouldn't ask, but... what jutsu's do you know?"

===April 3, 7:10 AM, Shinobi Residential District, Konoha===

As she shuffled to the door, Shiho heard a second set of knocks. She muttered in response, "I'm coming... please don't knock my door down." The cup of breakfast tea in her hand sloshed, making her wince, as she opened the door... revealing an ANBU wearing a owl mask.

The ANBU gave her the slightest of bows. "Genin Shiho Hisajima?" The mask barely concealed the feminine pitch to her voice.

Shiho nodded numbly and took a sip of her tea. "Hai."

* Flashback *

She had barely gotten home from an all-nighter; a new code from Kumo had come in late in the day, and had been shoved to the top of the priority list. As usual, the department head, Jukodo-san, had stared at the new code for all of 30 seconds, scratched his head, tossed it at her... and promised her comp-time if she could crack it by midnight... then promptly headed out the door, wishing her luck.

Grumbling under her breath (he was a Jonin after all...), she went back to the cramped office she shared with her friend and co-worker, Yurika Ryusaki, and set to work. Midnight came and went, and a few hours away from dawn, she cracked the code. After securing her efforts in the department's vault, Shiho headed home... stopping at the one place open at that hour, Matsumachi's Bakery. The products of his shop very much in demand, and proper baking meant rising early... and working very hard. Her favorite fruit buns in hand, she finally made her way home... and peace, or so she thought.

* End Flashback *

Owl reached under her armored chest, produced a note and put it in Shiho's non-outstretched hand. "The Hokage requires your presence at 10:00 AM, her office... sharp." Owl's tone implied the request was not optional.

Shiho whimpered. "I wanna go to sleep."

Owl shook her head... "You can sleep when you're dead." ... and sprang away to the rooftops.

Shiho shut her door and slowly headed for the kitchen. She muttered to herself, "I wonder if soldier pills and fruit buns mix?"

===April 3, 7:15 AM, Earth SGC, Main Mess Hall===

Sam glanced at her watch. "Where is he? Dammit, he called me at 4 in the morning." She picked up her toast and tore off a large bite.

Daniel added. "He called me at 5, and he sounded... more cheerful than usual." He stared at his tray and pushed his scrambled eggs around.

Sam snorted. "He sounded drunk." She picked up a strip of bacon and brandished it like an angry nun waving a ruler.

"Perhaps you are mistaken Major Carter, I recall alcohol being forbidden inside SGC." Teal'c added. "Besides, he called me at 6." He spooned some sugar onto his oatmeal.

All three heads turned at the sound of Jack's distinctive laugh. They watched as he walked into the Mess Hall with two strangers. Sam's eyes narrowed as she recalled some of the chatter of the women hanging around the common area in the women's section of the personal quarters block. They'd been carrying on like school girls, commenting on the 'fresh meat' that had been seen in the Admin offices, apparently processing in.

She immediately noted that both the men with Jack had Green Berets stuck into their shoulder loops, and that they were talking to Jack with obvious familiarity. She also noted various heads, most of them female, tracking the trio as they headed to the end of the waiting line for breakfast. She snorted at the behavior of her peers, took another angry bite of her toast and ordered her 'inner' Sam to shut up... and glanced at the newcomers again.

Teal'c spoke up first. "It would appear that Colonel O'Neill has encountered some past acquaintances of his." After giving them a long, appraising look, he turned his attention back to his oatmeal.

Daniel assessed the trio, concentrating on the strangers. "Hmm... perhaps this is the end result of Jack's private meetings with Hammond. They're not wearing SGC uniforms... in fact, I don't think I've ever seen a uniform quite like that before." He put a sausage link in the corner of his mouth and chewed on it thoughtfully.

Sam gave the strangers a long glance. "It's very old school. I remember seeing some old photos of my Dad wearing something like that... he was in Thailand at the time, back during the Vietnam War." She noted the multiple embroidered award and skill badges crowding the spaces over both their pockets. She noted, 'Damn, they've been busy little beavers.'

Her eyebrows went up as she noted that both of them wore CAB's(6) and CIB's(7)... the younger man, a Major, with 2 added stars on his CIB, a 75th Ranger ribbon on his right arm, and a Special Forces patch on left arm. The older man, a Master Sergeant, had 3 stars on his CIB, an 82nd Airborne division patch on his right arm, and a SF patch on his left. Sam chewed on a piece of bacon. 'What the hell are they doing here?' She wondered where Jack first met them.

Teal'c looked up from his food again, and examined the pair chatting with Jack. "Both of them are obviously warriors, the older is the subordinate, the younger is... different." He went back to finishing his oatmeal. He added, not looking up from his tray. "Colonel O'Neill will bring them here, and then we will learn more about them."

Teal'c's typical statement of fact shut down any further comment. Sam returned to quietly tracking Jack and his new-found friends movement. After they got their trays, Jack headed straight for their table, the two strangers in tow. At that point, Sam focused on her nearly empty tray and waited...

"Morning everybody!" Jack cheerfully called out. "Hey, guess what happened."

Sam answered first. "You discovered the benefits of soap?" Daniel 'snorked' into his coffee cup. The two men standing next to Jack snickered.

The younger of the two, with short silver hair, smoky gray eyes, and the tallest of the group (but not by much), lightly punched Jack in the arm. "I told you it was a bad idea." He opined.

"Ha ha. Very funny, Sam. " Jack pointed at the two strangers. "Say hello to your new teammates." He happily announced out of the blue.

Daniel spit a mouthful of coffee across the table and started coughing. Teal'c simply nodded and stared at the newcomers. Sam went wide-eyed and dropped her fork, it clattered loudly in her tray.

Jack continued his introduction. "This gentleman here..." He pointed to younger man. "Is Major Richard Von Krieger, formerly of the 1st Special Forces Group..." Jack affected a low and sinister voice. "And other dark, unknown, and classified places."

Ric smiled disarmingly and gave the group a slight bow. "Good morning everyone, pleased to meet you all." He leaned over and gave Daniel a single, firm slap on the back that halted his coughing fit. Daniel nodded in thanks and wiped his mouth with a couple of napkins.

Jack then pointed to the oldest of the pair. "And this worthy gentleman is Master Sergeant Jeremiah Hayes, also from the 1st, the Major's former Senior Team NCO, and a master of all things that go bang and kaboom."

Jeri gave everyone a good ol' boy grin and a nod. "Morning y'all."

After a round of replies, Ric, Jeri, and Jack sat down.

Sam went first, again. "Well, well... this is quite a surprise." Her smile did not reach her eyes. She added with a growl, "For all of us." The carefully neutral look she saw on Jack's face set off alarm bells. 'Hinata and Naruto don't know... Dammit Jack, what the hell are you thinking.'

Jeri leaned towards Jack. "Been nice knowing you sir." Jack shrugged in response. Jeri gave Sam his best smile. "Y'all shouldn't be so hard on him, ma'am. It was a surprise for us too."

Daniel spoke up, his throat finally clear. "How so, Sergeant?" Jeri flicked a glance to Ric, who took up the reins.

Ric answered in Jeri's stead. "Our original orders had posted us here as instructors, Dr Jackson. But... somewhere along our merry way to Stargate Command, those orders were changed. I discovered the modification while doing the paperwork dance over at admin; we've been given permanent party status... without volunteering, or prior notification."

Daniel raised an eyebrow and looked at Sam. "Is that normal?"

Sam shook her head slowly. "No, never." She wondered, 'Who the hell did they piss off?'

Teal'c broke his silence. "Perhaps someone thought highly of our two new members."

The derisive laughter that followed his comment confused him... greatly.

Ric and Jeri turned to the large, dark skinned man, both did a subtle double take at the tray on front of him. In the front center, was the remains of a quart bowl of oatmeal, to the left of it was a plate with a dozen sausage links, then moving around the bowl clockwise was a plate with what looked like almost a pound of bacon, then a small plate with an 8-slice, tower of buttered toast, 7 bananas and 3 apples. Standing on the table next to the tray from him was a large glass of orange juice.

Both men thought. 'DAMN!'

===April 3, 7:30 AM, Nara Clan Main House, Konoha===

Yoshino smiled as she recognized the ANBU that landed by the kitchen window. "Ohayou, Owl... what brings you here so early?"

"Ohayou, Yoshino-dono. I don't suppose I'd be expecting too much if Shikaku-dono was close at hand?" Owl replied with a bow.

Yoshino answered with a laugh. "At this hour? Expecting the Daimyo's headdress on a golden dish might be easier." She wiped her hands on her apron and leaned out the window. "So what's the crisis this morning?"

Owl chuckled under her mask. "No, nothing like that... in fact, it's been rather quiet so far." Owl reached out and tapped the windowsill to forestall any ill-luck. "Nope, today it's messenger duty..." She presented a note to the Nara Clan matron. "...just one more delivery and I get to go back to patrolling again." Owl pointed at the paper in Yoshino's hand. "Hokage's office, both Shikaku and Shikamaru, 10:00 AM sharp. Even though she's in an unusually good mood, Tsunade-sama was pretty firm on that point. I figured you'd want an early heads-up... all things considered."

Yoshino nodded and smiled. "I appreciate that." She eyed the note thoughtfully. 'Hmm... I wonder why she wants both of them present?' "Don't worry; I'll make sure that they get there in time." She looked upward and grinned. "It'll do them good to get kicked out of bed earlier than usual; besides, it'll give me more time to get things done around here without them being under foot."

Yoshino leaned closer and dropped her voice. "So then... who's the last stop?"

Owl glanced about and matched her lean. She whispered. "Sakura Haruno-san."

Yoshino's eyebrow went up. "Really?" Her face became thoughtful. "Has she gotten any better? The last time I saw her, she looked like she was going to throw herself off the Hokage Monument." Yoshino shook her head. "Even if I don't care much for her mother, it was still painful to watch Sakura-san wandering about like that... ever since he disappeared."

Owl nodded in reply and thanked Kami that she was wearing a mask. "You have no idea. But yes, something happened yesterday... she's completely changed. I saw her dragging around Inoichi's daughter... and using her for a pack horse. I think she spent enough to keep Tsunade-sama in sake for 3 moons."

Yoshino laughed in a tone few thought her capable of... merry and light. "Would that I could spend that much money in one go." She shook her head in disbelief. "That must have been quite a sight to see. Usually it's the other way around."

"Oh it was." Owl straightened up and took a step back. "Anyway... enough girl-talk for the moment, I gotta go." Owl stopped in mid-turn. "Are you coming for the usual get-together, tomorrow?"

"I wouldn't miss it. Hot Springs, 7:00 PM... And lots of girl talk."

Owl nodded, and leapt away... bounding through the trees.

Upstairs... laying by an open bedroom window, and basking in the morning sunlight, Shikaku smiled. 'Troublesome women... but an interesting bit of news.' He glanced over at the clock and grinned. 'I wonder if I should give Yoshino a hard time, or... give her a hard time?' He looked down at his morning wood and smiled. 'Hmm... I know how much it annoys Shikamaru when I give her a proper lay.'

Shikaku closed his eyes and grinned. 'Perhaps it's time for the successor to the Nara Clan to show proper interest in women... Yo-chan's bitchiness aside.' He prepared a special jutsu he had created as he heard his wife's feet in the hallway, getting closer. 'Time for a little pay-back for that endless rant I had to put up with last night.' He heard the door open. 'This should fun... even if it'll be troublesome for me later.'

===7:58 AM, Gymnasium No. 1===

Naruto looked over the set-up again, and smiled. His excitement at the opportunity to finally give his friends in SG1 a full-bore display of the shinobi skills he and Hinata were capable of had him literarily bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Hinata giggled at his eagerness and checked the spot amongst the girders that Naruto had selected for his display of skill. Part of her was a bit nervous because she hadn't fully informed Sam of what they had in mind. Yes, Sam had said 'surprise us', but even so...

She fingered the smoke bomb, checking it for any flaws... they were known to explode from time to time. Satisfied that it was in good condition, she put it back in her equipment pouch. She looked back at Naruto. "Are you ready?" His grin was all the reply she needed.

Naruto cocked his head towards the gym's far entry doors... his sensitive ears picked up the sound of Jack's voice. 'He sounds really happy.' He liked Jack, and was looking forward to the surprise on his face when he unleashed a Rasengan on the 8 foot-high log that General Hammond had brought in, just for this day. It wasn't as big as the trees surrounding Konoha, but it would do. Then he heard the 'click-clack' of the door opening.

===8:00 AM, Gym No. 1===

SG1 entered the gym with Gen Hammond, Dr Fraiser, and their 2 new members, Jack still wearing the same cheesy grin since breakfast... much to Sam's annoyance.

When they were all inside, Ric (and Jeri) nearly froze in shock at the sight of... two kids? Ric turned his attention to his old friend... something was up, there had to be a good reason for the presence of 2 civilians. His instincts shouted that they were the reason he... and Jeri had been brought here.

His eyes rapidly took in the room's details: the boy and the girl, the 6... archery targets, and the 2 card tables with something on them. Ric flicked a glance at Jeri; he seemed to be focusing in on the same details. To make things worse, he was starting to get an almost pulsating ache in his gut... and it wasn't improving his mood... at all. Ric's fingers began to twitch as his eyes locked on the boy in orange. He took a deep breath and focused until all those sensations subsided.

Ric whispered calmly, but coolly. "Jack, I've gotten over being hijacked to serve in a top secret project, but this is entirely different matter." He noted Jeri's concurring nod. "I trust we're here for more than just giggles, babysitting them..." Ric nodded in the direction Naruto and Hinata. "...and turning our settled and formerly happy lives upside down."

"Would I do that to you?" Jack replied, then saw the look in her friend's eyes and sighed softly. "Forget I said that. Trust me."

"I do trust you... the Tiger's Moon Hotel notwithstanding." Ric replied quietly with a subtle frown. Jack's eyebrows went up and he grimaced slightly.

Jack coughed and stepped away from the group. "I think we should get the introductions over with and get on to the demonstrations." Jack announced, then turned and headed for Naruto, not surprised he was back in orange, and Hinata who was currently wearing her new sunglasses and camo pants, but otherwise was back in her old ninja sandals and oversized beige coat with the Hyuuga Clan symbols.

===8:00 AM, Gym No. 1, Naruto's POV===

His grin grew as he watched General Hammond, Dr Fraiser, Jack and the rest of SG1 filed in; his smile froze as he saw 2 more people come in, strangers he had never... then he remembered.

They were the pair of newcomers one of his clone scouts spotted the other day. They were the Shadow Clones that he had ordered to wander around SGC as a test of his ninja skills, and to keep himself sharp. He truly didn't mean any harm to his new home, but he figured knowing as much as possible about SGC would come in handy if something bad ever happened. Some of what he had found seemed suspicious... at least from Naruto's point of view; he'd have to talk to Jack privately about it later.

Naruto remembered the two men now... they were some of the few people his clones had encountered that had sensed they were being watched. He shuddered as he recalled the clone's memory of being doused with that full cup of warm, smelly stuff called coffee that nearly everyone drank in SG1.

Naruto watched as his friends and the new people gathered together. He noted with interest that Jack talked to the 2 men the same way he would have if they had been Kiba or Shino. Jack turned away from the group, and walked toward him wearing a bigger than usual smile. Halfway to him and Hinata, Jack waved for them to come forward. As they moved towards Jack, Hinata discretely made the hand-sign for strangers?; Naruto signed in response, Jack, friends?, no worry.

Jack grinned. "Morning. Are you ready?" He watched both of them smile and nod. "Good. Everybody's looking forward to it."

Hinata leaned to look past Jack, glancing at the strangers. "Um... Jack?"

Jack waved his hand. "No need to worry, I have a surprise for you." He turned around and motioned to the 2 men; they separated from the group and stared walking towards them.

Naruto took a side-step to the left of Jack to watch them approach; he watched with obvious curiosity, noting that after a couple of steps, the pair was walking not quite shoulder to shoulder... but close to it. They also matched each other's step and stride without looking at each other's feet, their arms swinging in time; it was sorta like watching the SP's walk... but not quite the same. 'Wow, that's different.' Smiling in spite of the nervous flutter in his stomach.

Hinata was likewise watching the 2 men approach, both wearing the same outfits, and green-colored berets (Sam had taught her the word), but she was noting other things. She sensed no hostility, or nervousness in either of them. The younger man was eyeing her and Naruto with open curiosity; the older man's gaze felt more like Kurenai-sensei's stare when she was watching her and her team mates spar, or executing team drills. When they got within a few feet of Jack, they came to a dead stop at the same time, their eyes still firmly fixed on her and Naruto.

Jack clapped his hands together and rubbed them, he looked at Naruto and Hinata. "Okay guys, say hello to the newest members of SG1. Naruto, Hinata, this is Ric and Jeri." He pointed to each one. "Ric, Jeri, this is Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga." Jack pointed again.

Hinata smothered a giggle as the man named Ric gave Jack a look that reminded her of Naruto when he was in the mood for a prank; he looked back at them and smiled. She let out a breath as she saw true warmth in his eyes.

"Good morning, I'm Major Richard Von Krieger. I'm honored to make your acquaintance." He paused to give their hitai-ite's... and the clan mon(8) on her jacket a long look, and bowed (to Hinata's surprise) precisely, and far less deeply as Daniel had the first time they had met. Naruto and Hinata returned the bow. On a hunch, Ric switched languages. "I trust we'll be able to get along, Naruto-san, Hinata-san?"

Naruto blinked and turned to Hinata. "He talks that fancy talk, just like you, Hinata..." He glanced back at the other group. "... and Daniel."

Hinata sighed. "It's the old language, Naruto... the tongue of the Ancient Ones." She looked at Ric. "And you speak it quite well, Ric-san. Did you learn it in a school... like Daniel-san?"

Ric switched back to Japanese. "No, not quite. It is the language of my father, although I did take some classes to re-sharpen my skill with it. I used to speak quite well, when I was younger." A frown flashed over Ric's face. "There was a time though, when I preferred not to use it."

Daniel had his head turned, to listen better. "Wow, he speaks Japanese quite well. Better than me, in fact."

Sam shrugged. "Well, he is special forces... if I had to guess, he probably speaks a couple of other languages as well. They all take advanced language training." Sam listened for a moment. "I've been to Japan a couple of times... as far as I can tell, he speaks it like a native."

Teal'c nodded. "That is good, perhaps he will be able to help Naruto and Hinata feel more at home here."

Noting the semi-bored look on Naruto's face, Ric switched back to English. "Forgive my lack of manners. I really shouldn't speak in a tongue that isn't understood by everyone present." He bowed again, and looked at his companion and smiled. "Your turn, Jeri."

Ric managed, barely, to keep a straight face when the girl made her comment about the Japanese language. 'Something is not adding up here... she understands Japanese, but the boy doesn't? And what's up with those odd scars on the boy's face?' Ric let out a quiet sigh. 'And why do I think Jack is sand-bagging my ass, again...'

The older man smiled back and nodded. "Morning y'all, I'm Master Sergeant Jeremiah Hayes. Pleased to meet 'ya." Naruto and Hinata couldn't help but return the smile he gave them, to Hinata, it reminded her of a summer morning. Unlike Von Krieger, he held out his hand. Both of them recognized the gesture and shook hands with him. To Naruto, his hand reminded him of Lee's Sensei, Guy... without the crushing grip. For Hinata, it felt firm, and warm.

Naruto spoke up first. "So what do you guys do?" Hinata winced at Naruto's directness, and lapse in manners. Both men chuckled at Naruto's question.

Ric gave Naruto a smile very much like Iruka-sensei did... just before he gave one of his dreaded pop quizzes. That particular memory bubbling up sent a small shiver up his spine. "We're the people that get sent out when bad people need to disappear, or to make bad things go boom." The edge in his voice wasn't quite like Jack's when he was in his joker-mode. Both of them had an entirely different feel compared to his SG1 friends...

Jack quickly spoke up. "Alright, we can get to know each other better over lunch. Let's get things started." He motioned to everyone to follow him; Jack glanced at the card tables, and then looked at Naruto and Hinata. "Is all your stuff set up?" Naruto grinned and nodded in reply.

They walked over to the card tables where Naruto and Hinata's weapons, and gear lay; as they got closer the contents of the tables became obvious. They also joined the other guests who were looking at the various items neatly arranged in rows. Jack went to Naruto's table and turned to Ric and Jeri.

"So, what do you think?" His grin went from ear to ear.

Naruto and Hinata watched as they came closer, both of them saw the look on Ric's face, it was one of... recognition. They also noticed that the older man, Jeri, was dividing his attention between the table, the man named Ric, and them.

Ric looked over the array of weapons, some of them he recognized, and others looked only vaguely familiar, except for a few of the non-lethal objects. As he looked at the line of kunai's, and glanced at the shuriken, he recalled his regular visits to Obasama in Japan. The ones on the table looked the same... but different at the same time. He looked up at Naruto and pointed at a kunai. "May I?" Naruto nodded with a sly smile.

Naruto and most everybody else watched as Jack's friend Ric picked up the kunai. His amusement at a non-ninja playing with shinobi weapons began to fade as he watched Ric rest it in the palm of his hand, and rolled it back and forth... just like Tenten would. Then he watched as Jack's friend rested it on his index finger and tested its balance... just like he had been taught by Iruka-sensei. His interest in Jack's friend began to grow, rapidly.

Ric turned away from the table and faced the targets. Unbidden, a memory of his childhood came rushing back. He was standing in a large open space behind a great, rambling, and ancient house. He recalled his grandmother looming over him, staring down at him with stern eyes... then he heard the command echo in his head: 'Saidosuro, hajime.'

Taking a breath and letting it out half-way, he executed a side-arm throw and launched the dagger at the left of center target. It flew across the gym and hit the target, the kunai sunk to the handle in the outer red ring at the 6 o'clock spot, barely missing the gold center. Ric turned back to Naruto talking to himself in a soft voice, "The weight's... different." He looked at Naruto and flashed him a smile. "Thank you, that was interesting."

Naruto and Hinata exchanged looks. Of all the things they'd seen, this was the first occasion that reminded them more of Konoha, rather than their new home. Jack's friend had used a throwing style that they had read about in their Academy textbooks, but never taught... at least not to Genin.

Hinata knew why the throw was off; Naruto's kunai's were from that common weapons shop, not from Tenten's family store, like hers. Tenten would have had a fit if you even hinted that the weapons they sold were off balance, not razor sharp or less than top quality. Hinata took a half-step towards Naruto and Ric. "Ano... Ric-san, who taught you to throw like that?"

He gave her a sour look. "My Obasama, otherwise known as the Onibaba."

Hinata opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by Naruto's choked laugh; his hands shot up to cover his mouth when he saw the look Hinata gave him. While she loved him with all her heart, he was badly in need of some civilizing.

She had discovered, rather quickly, that a frown from her could halt Naruto in his tracks... and that she rather enjoyed her new-found power to instill manners in him.

She turned her shaded eyes back to Ric. She replied in the Ancient Tongue. "Your honored grandmother is a good teacher."

Ric bowed and gracefully took her rebuke with a smile. "That she is. I'll give her that much."

Jack watched the word-play with interest. 'Damn, Hinata just smacked down Naruto and Ric. This is going to be a fun day.' He smiled and added aloud. "Okay guys, on with the show." He politely grabbed Ric and Jeri's shoulders and steered them back to the main group. After they rejoined Hammond and the rest, the real show began.

"I'm first." Naruto announced, grabbing 6 of his kunais off the table, 3 in each hand, and stepped up to the line. "Would one of you help me with this?" Naruto said and looked at the 2 new guys.

"I'd be happy to give ya a hand." Jeri replied, moving away from the small group and stepped up to Naruto's left side.

Naruto turned to him, hands out. "Hold 4 of these, handles up... but not too tight, I don't want you to get cut."

Jeri grinned. "Don't worry 'bout me, you won't hurt these hands." He said, taking 4 of the kunais, placing them between his fingers, 2 in each hand.

"Everyone watching...?" Naruto asked, and everyone nodded, most of them smiling. "I've only been practicing this about half an hour, and throwing weapons really isn't my style... Tenten is a lot better at this, throwing weapons is her specialty. She can throw all 6 at the same time and they'd all be a bulls eye... she never misses."

Jeri and Ric glanced at each other, both made a mental note of her name.

"Naruto." Hinata said politely, a small smile on her face.

"Oh, sorry. Here we go." Naruto said, then focused as he adjusted his grip on the kunai handle in each hand. He raised his arms and threw one at each outside target, quickly grabbed the next pair and threw those at the inner set of targets. Then did the same for the last 2 kunai at the center targets; he looked and smiled. All 6 were 'in the red'. Even thought they weren't centered, it was good enough for him. "Pretty good, huh?" Naruto asked with a big smile.

"Impressive." Teal'c said.

"I'll say." Daniel commented, more than a little surprised. Even after everything he'd seen in his time with SG1, that was impressive.

'For his age, that's a very high level of skill. I wonder when he started training?' Jeri eyed the targets. "Well done, son." He gave Naruto a gentle pat on his shoulder. Naruto smiled in response to the praise.

"Cool." Jack added, smiling bigger than he had been all morning.

Ric looked at the targets and nodded appreciatively. "Smartly done, Naruto." He mentally added, 'He attacked the flank targets first, then worked his way inward. Hmm... His sensei focused on fighting in the real world.'

Sam just nodded, wide-eyed with amazement. "They never taught us that at the Air Force Academy." Sam quietly noted to herself aloud.

Naruto heard Sam's comment... his smile got slightly bigger. "Your turn Hinata."

"Thank you Naruto." Hinata replied with a smile and moved to join Naruto and her newest team mate. "Please return to the others for my demonstration." Hinata asked with a small bow. Jeri nodded with a smile and rejoined Jack and Ric standing nearby.

"What are you going to show us Hinata?" Sam asked, growing excited at the prospect of Hinata's display of ninja trade craft.

"I think my best skills should be saved for the very end, but I would like to join Naruto in a demonstration of stealth." Hinata replied, and looked at Naruto.

Naruto cocked his head in curiosity. "Are you sure you want to do that now Hinata?" She reaffirmed her choice with a nod; Naruto gave her a foxy smile. "Okay, I'm ready when you are." He replied, and patted his right pants pocket. Naruto added to himself, 'I don't have notes for Jack's friends. Oh well, I guess placing one will have to do'.

Hinata suppressed a giggle. "Would everyone move closer please..." Hinata asked. She watched as everyone drew closer, some shrugging, some exchanging glances, but all moving as requested until they formed a loose group, now only 5 feet from her and Naruto.

Hinata moved to center herself before the group. "I know all of you aren't soldiers (a concept she was still puzzling over), but I'd like everyone to be... on alert. No matter what happens, please remember that this is only a demonstration, and you won't be harmed in any way." Hinata explained with a reassuring smile, then quickly glanced at Naruto and nodded.

At that, she pulled the smoke bomb from her belt pouch and threw it at Jack's feet. It exploded into a large cloud of smoke, easily filling an area 40 feet across, totally obscuring everyone's vision for about 12 seconds.

Even before the moment the grayish cloud enveloped him, Naruto thought, 'I can do this. I outran every ANBU in Konoha after I painted the Hokage Monument, and fooled them too.' He focused tightly and pushed more chakra into his legs... he felt them begin to tingle. Then he closed his eyes and concentrated of his other senses... his hearing, touch, and sense of smell. Naruto bit his lip to maintain his focus as the scents of everyone close at hand, especially Hinata battered him. Naruto sensed the movement of Hinata's hand as it moved towards her utility pouch, and the smoke bomb. He gripped the pad of post-it notes in his pocket, and smiled in anticipation.

Then he heard the 'pop' of the smoke bomb, the acrid smoke tickled his sensitized nose. Using the memory of where everybody had been standing, Naruto pulled out the pad and sprang into action... everything went smoothly as he weaved amongst the members of SG1 and the others, until he got close to Ric and Jeri. He placed the notes well enough but he felt the air move over his head... he suspected that one of them, or both, had lashed out as he rushed around them. With that part done, he had one last thing to do... he just hoped the smoke would last just a little bit longer...

As Naruto came to a halt near his starting point, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief; no one... well, nearly no one had sensed his prank. As the smoke dispersed enough, he eye-smiled as he saw Hinata gone, apparently unnoticed. His excitement grew as he watched everyone's actions through the thinning smoke.

Waving his hands in front of his face, Jack cleared away the smoke and coughed lightly. "Well... it's better than tear gas." He declared with a smile.

"Much." Ric nodded in agreement, watching the smoke being drawn upwards to the gym's vents... he wondered if it would trigger off the sensors in the base's HVAC system. Ric recalled his first experience with CS and grimaced... unpleasant would have been the kindest description.

"Sorry about that, but warning you wouldn't of helped any. It'll be gone soon." Naruto explained, standing almost in the same spot before the smoke bomb went off, minus Hinata.

"Where's Hinata?" Sam asked, once the smoke had dispelled enough to see the entire gym.

"She's standing nearby... I guess you'll have to find her. Oh yeah... she said to tell you she's nearby, and not behind anything. Stand where you are now and look for her; you have 2 minutes to find her before she shows herself." Naruto announced with a grin.

In a quiet voice Ric spoke to Jeri. "You go high and clock-wise, I'll look level and counter clock-wise. Ignore what Naruto said, eye everything in sight, and omit nothing."

With his senses still heightened, Naruto heard Ric's instructions and kept a straight face. 'It's a good thing I told them they couldn't move... Jack's friends are way different than a lot of the people in SGC.'

With a practiced eye, Jeri's eyes scanned the ceiling girders and the shadowy corners not covered by the gym's lighting. He passed over the rest of the upper half, except for various pro team banners and other things hanging from the walls, there was no spot for a human to fully conceal themselves. He checked the ceiling area a second time before he stopped... and began scanning the bottom half of the gym on his own initiative.

Ric slowly examined the lower half of the gym, examining the shadows cast by the various bins, tall wire baskets, and the lockers along the walls. Nothing... every shadow and outline was as it should be. He eyed the short hallway at the far end and squatted on the balls of his feet; he recalled Naruto's instructions and smiled to himself. He focused on the shadowy hallway. 'Hmm... if she's there, she's very well hidden. Though not quite as well as...' He frowned, a particular memory of Obasama popped up; his frown deepened as other moments joined that memory. He gave his face a light double slap with both hands to clear his head. "Hey Jeri."

"Yes sir?" he responded, his eyes still scanning the gym.

"You wouldn't happen to have an M84 on you, would ya?"

Still scanning about, he patted his pockets for show. "Nope, fresh out."

"Pity." Ric stood up and turned away from the hallway. "Oh well, we'll just have to acquire what we need, as we can."

Jeri detected the implied order in Ric's casual statement. "Can do Major." Jeri ceased scanning the gym and looked over at his boss; he saw what was on Ric's back and smiled. 'Well, well...'

Daniel was looking about when he stopped, holding in his laughter and nudged Sam, standing to his right. When she looked at him, he pointed in front of him with a poke of his index finger in Dr Fraiser's direction. His curiosity roused, he abandoned the hunt for Hinata and started looking about at the people around him.

Sam clenched her jaw to smother her laugh, then went back to looking for Hinata.

Teal'c briefly cracked a small smile when he looked where Daniel had pointed.

Dr Fraiser heard a noise, a strangled snicker, and looked behind her. She saw Sam, Daniel and Teal'c quickly turn away and glance around the gym.

===Almost 2 minutes later===

Hinata counted down the final 30 seconds in her head. She had her back pressed against a wall, near the far end of the gym, between the door to the hallway and the interior wall. Her breathing was soft and shallow, her chakra suppressed below civilian level; she knew even Naruto couldn't detect her in her current mode.

Hinata resisted her urge to smile as she looked at them, her left cheek pressed against the cool cement wall, they'd looked right at her several times and she knew from their eyes they'd missed her. The single exception was Jack's friend and even he, after a long look in her direction, turned away after slapping himself in the face... a gesture that had almost caused her to laugh. Only another Hyuuga, a few of the Elite Jonin and Tsunade-sama could find her, let alone see her outright.

Hinata thought, 'Time's almost up.'

Daniel was facing in the right direction when Hinata stepped out of the shadows and into the gym. "Whoa." His comment caused the others to turn as well.

Jeri leaned closer to his commander. "She's good. I looked at that hallway twice and saw nuthin."

Ric nodded. "Nope, I didn't see her either."

Jeri nodded at his implied comment... it was her good fortune that neither of them were carrying their usual toys with them. Either he, or the Major could have thrown a flash-bang far enough to reach that hallway. That being said, it was an impressive display of skill, especially for someone so young. He added silently, 'These kids are full of tricks. I wonder where Jack rustled them up from?'

Sam gave Hinata a few soft claps. "That was great. How did you do that?"

Hinata smiled and thought back on the long years she had watched Naruto quietly from afar, ever hoping for the day she could openly walk by his side. "Practice. Years and years of practice." She replied with a tiny smile. As she walked towards them, they moved to close the distance... and that's when it all started.

Dr Fraiser coughed. "General Hammond, there seems to be something on your back." She reached out and plucked a blue post-it note off his jacket and handed it to him.

He twitched a smile as he noted the single word written on it, 'Dismissed'.

Daniel spoke next. "Hey Jack, here's yours."

Jack laughed as he read the note Daniel handed him. "Talk to the butt. The head is leaving." He looked upwards. "I wonder who could have done this?"

Teal'c handed Sam her note. She smiled as she read it. "Back off man, I'm a scientist." She laughed and returned the favor.

Teal'c flashed a brief smile. "Indeed." He pocketed the post-it note with the same word written on it.

Jack grinned as he handed Daniel his. "This looks like good advice Daniel."

Daniel snickered. "Read me." Sam giggled and poked him in the ribs.

Ric leaned back and pulled the note off Jeri's back... it was blank. Ric smiled to himself. 'Apparently Naruto didn't want us to feel left out.' He considered what was written on the other notes and wondered what would have been written on his, and Jeri's.

He watched Naruto out of the corner of his eye. 'So it wasn't my imagination... I knew there was a reason why I had the urge to throw that punch behind me... among other things. He still managed to move through that smoke, get behind Jeri and I, and tag us. Interesting... this bears further investigation.'

Ric flicked the post-it with his fingers. "May as well get mine too, Jeri."

Jeri nodded, looked at Ric's back and pulled off the blank post-it note. He chuckled. "I guess we're not worth commenting about." He added silently. 'I wonder how much I missed hitting him by... it's a good thing Sensei isn't here, I'd probably be doing push-ups right now, and he'd be laughing the whole time.'

Ric looked at Hammond and waved his blank note. "You know sir, since I first arrived here; I've heard numerous rumors concerning wholesale mischief and all manner of deviltry here at SGC."

General Hammond quickly grasped Von Krieger's line of approach; he reached over and pulled the post-it note off Dr Fraiser's back and handed it to her. He shifted his gaze to Ric. "You're quite right, Major. Things have been a bit disorderly here as of late."

Janet read her note. She enjoyed a good joke as much as anyone in SG1, but being called 'Dr Needles' deserved retribution in her book. Knowing how fast Naruto healed, his next few examinations would be full of accidental misses when she took a blood sample, among other unpleasant tests she could give him. She could bend her ethics a little, as she'd ONLY do this to Naruto because he'd heal almost instantly... and understand why she did it.

Naruto glanced from Hammond to Dr Fraiser-sensei, who was wearing a smile that looked uncomfortably like Baa-chan's... and not in a good way as she crumpled the note in her hand. Naruto audibly gulped as he glanced over at Jack's friends. Ric had his note stuck to a finger and was wagging it back and forth like a flag. Jeri was staring at him with a smile worthy of an Inuzuka... and a hungry one at that.

His eyes sought out Hinata... and found her doing a face palm and head-shake combo. He briefly considered doing a 'make Shadow Clones and flee' maneuver, then he heard Ric speaking with an odd accent.

"I say Ollie, I think we've found the rascal out." Ric nodded towards Naruto.

"I do believe you're right, Stan." Jeri had his arms crossed over his chest.

Jack bit on a finger to keep from laughing his ass off; he had seen this routine before... it never ended well for the focus of his friends' attention. He decided to save Naruto, for the moment.

"That was great, Naruto." Jack clapped his hands together. "You're going to have to do that again at the New Year's Eve party." His effort to inject a bit of humor was rewarded with a round of chuckles.

Daniel spoke up. "By the way Naruto, how did you and Hinata decide who was going to do what, and when?" He too had seen the look in the Major's eyes and hoped to redirect things back to the matter at hand... besides; he wanted to see what else Naruto and Hinata could do.

"We flipped a coin, and Hinata is doing her demonstration last... but I think what Hinata is going to do is way cooler anyway, but she insisted on a coin flip to be fair." Naruto explained and smiled, glancing at Hinata, who blushed lightly. Naruto started glancing around like he was looking for something. "Hinata, have you seen my sunglasses?"

Hinata giggled, also pleased that Naruto's prank hadn't totally blown up in his face. "Hai." She replied, and pointed upwards. Everyone's eyes followed her finger and saw a pair of black-framed Fox Outdoor Tactical Sunglasses looped over a support cable.

Naruto looked up and sighed loudly. "Oh great." Naruto commented, he hoped they bought his act.

"Wait one... how did your shades get up there?" Jack asked, the cable in question was at least 10 feet away from the nearest structural girder.

Sam and Daniel nodded in agreement, almost in unison.

"I was up there earlier... I like high places, it helps me think. No problem, I'll be right back." Naruto explained, and smiled at Hinata with a wink.

Nearly everyone's eyes bugged out and jaws dropped as Naruto casually jogged to the nearest wall... and without breaking stride, jogged UP the wall, and then onto the rocky ceiling in total defiance of gravity. Everyone watched in silence as Naruto, upside down, picked his way across the rocky ceiling, moving to the cable in question, and reached down to recover his sunglasses.

That done, they watched in amazement as Naruto eyed the nearest girder, bent his knees and launched towards it, flipping in mid-air, and landed squarely on the steel beam... finally standing upright.

With that done, he looked at the gym floor, slipped on his shades, then hopped off the girder. Dropping to the floor, he landed gracefully and dropped into a squat with barely a sound, his right hand touching the floor to steady himself.

Hinata grinned in amusement, slightly shaking her head at his playful demonstration.

Naruto stood up and jogged back towards them, a conspicuous foxy grin on his face. "Did we forget to mention that we can walk on the walls, ceilings, and water using our chakra?" Many in the small crowd shook their heads 'no' in response. "Oops." Naruto added, a playful tone in his voice; his comment broke the silence in the gym.

Jack yelled out, "I have GOT to learn how to do THAT!" His exclamation triggered off a flurry of nods in agreement, and chuckles.

Daniel pulled off his glasses and stared at them, then put them back on, shaking his head. "It's just like all the ninja legends I've ever read." Little did he realize Ric was thinking the exact same thing... only he had heard such stories at his Obasama's knee.

Teal'c said nothing, but the look on his face, obviously impressed, said much more than he typically spoke aloud.

Sam, for once, just only managed to say, "Wow." If science was the Goddess she worshipped, Naruto had just taken her Goddess, spanked her ass, and shoved her in a wall locker. Then, for good measure, slapped Sam's ass, and gave her a suggestive wink. In the space of less than 30 seconds he'd totally taken Sam's view of reality, and turned it upside down. Nothing she'd encountered was even close to this... Naruto had shut down her brain.

Jeri shook his head in complete disbelief. "Well I'll be dipped in shit." He glanced over at Ric who was standing there silently with his eyes shut. He lightly elbowed his boss. "Did ya miss the show?"

Von Krieger slowly opened his eyes and gave Jeri a tiny frown. "Oh no, I didn't miss a thing." He replied in a low voice and added silently. 'It's a shame I can't apologize to Baa-chan, if I told her about 'this', I seriously doubt that all of SGC's security force could keep her out.'

The shock, and surprise of Naruto's display of ability fading, Jeri frowned and shook his head. "Ya know boss, he's even more remarkable if you think about it."

Ric glanced at Jeri with a raised eyebrow. "Oh really? How so?" Ric noted the look on Jeri's face and looked back at Naruto. After a few seconds of observation, Ric nodded. "I see your point." He chuckled darkly. "Yeah, any ninja who thinks wearing orange is a good idea, and isn't taking a dirt nap... has to be good." Ric snorted. "Or lucky."

Jeri nodded in agreement. "Yup, probably... or maybe both." Jeri frowned again. "That being said... he ain't wearing that on any op I'm in on."

Ric nodded. "I concur. That..." Ric nodded at Naruto. "...is a walking aim-point." Ric narrowed his eyes. "Sergeant Hayes, get a sense of their level of field and trade-craft, and address any issues. I'll have a chat with Jack, and if necessary, our new boss. I've got a bunch of questions that require answers."

Jeri smiled. "Yes sir. I'll see to it."

General Hammond stood motionless and silent, but his mind was racing a mile a minute.

Dr Fraiser was equally silent, but inside, she was jumping up and down like a sugared-up tween... and imagining meeting, and comparing notes with 'medical' ninjas. Naruto, to his good fortune, had managed to dispel the divine wrath she was planning on visiting him with.

===April 3, 10:00 AM, Hokage's Office, Konoha===

Tsunade glanced at the clock on the wall... for the second time in less than a week, Kakashi had shown up not only on time, but early... to everyone's amazement. 'Perhaps he really has changed.' She resisted the urge to check for a Genjutsu, and accepted the possibility that even Hell could freeze over.

She swept the room with her eyes and nodded approvingly. Everyone she needed was here... she resisted the urge to grin as she noted Kurenai and Kakashi standing very close to each other... almost touching, in fact. 'So... the gossip is true.' Tsunade played with the few remaining papers on her desk... a very welcome change, as an excuse to order her thoughts, and mask her excitement. This was going to be her first visit to the Stargate's new home, too. She had taken Neko's advice and restrained herself... she wanted very badly to look again at the object that had turned her, and Konoha's existence on its ear... and it's new resting place.

"First off, I want to thank everyone for arriving so promptly, especially you Shiho-san. I've been made aware of your diligence, and your excellent work at crypto. Well done." Tsunade gave her a nod of thanks; Shiho responded with a shy smile, a cute blush of embarrassment and an awkward bow.

She turned her attention to the pair of Nara's in the room... she puzzled over the sleepy smirk on Shikaku's face, and the annoyed look on Shikamaru's face. "Have you briefed your son on the conditions of being at this meeting?"

Shikaku's smirk faded and was replaced by a normal smile. "Hai, Hokage-sama. He was particularly attentive this morning." That smirk returned as he glanced at his son. "It was rather remarkable, given that he rose earlier than usual this morning."

Tsunade noted Shikamaru's frown turning to a sourer flavor. "Really? This is a day for first's then."

Shikamaru gave his father a dark look. 'As if anyone could sleep with mom howling like an Inuzuka in heat... first I wake up to that, then I get my free day yanked out from under me... this is all very troublesome.' Shikamaru grumbled, "You have no idea, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade hid her grin behind her clasped hands. She thought about what he was going to be looking at shortly. 'No... you don't.' "Perhaps not, but we'll see about that, won't we? At any rate, that saves me a bit of time; I don't feel like growling and uttering dire warnings this morning... it's too nice a day for that." She turned her attention back to Shiho. "By the way, Shiho-san, you're out of uniform."

Shiho stiffened, and blinked in surprise, not that anyone could tell with the glasses she wore. She bowed deeply and stammered out an apology. "I'm so sorry Hokage-sama..."

The dam finally burst and Tsunade began laughing, and gently (for her) slapping her desk. "No, no... Shiho-kun, I'm sorry... I couldn't help myself." She wiped the tears from her eyes, opened a lower desk drawer... and pulled out a vest. "Congratulations, Chuunin Hisajima. Consider this a long-overdue recognition of your tireless and excellent work on behalf of Konoha."

Shiho looked up from her deep bow and sank to her knees in shock. She squeaked out the word, "Chuunin...?" Everyone smiled and voiced their congratulations.

Kurenai moved to her side and helped her to her feet; Sakura went to the desk, picked up the vest and presented it to Shiho. Kurenai helped a stunned Shiho take off her lab coat and don the vest. She leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "You'll need more suitable clothes now. Go to the Iron Kimono and tell the owner I sent you... she'll take care of all your needs." Kurenai leaned back and adjusted the vest. "It looks good on you." Then she frowned and added in a playful tone, "That dress has to go, though."

Tsunade cleared her throat. "By the way Sakura-kun, just so you know, you'll be working alongside Chuunin Hisajima."

Shiho brightened. "Oh... that's good. We could use more..."

Tsunade cut her off with a wave of her hand. "You misunderstand, Shiho-kun. You're not going back to the Crypto Unit." Tsunade then looked at Shikamaru. "Nor for the moment, will you, Shikamaru-kun, be going back to your team."

Shikamaru nodded. "That much is obvious, Hokage-sama." He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "The presence of Kurenai-san, obviously in a better mood than a few days ago, and Sakura here..." He briefly opened his eyes and nodded in her direction. "...who was single-handedly spreading gloom over most of Konoha until yesterday, now in an equally good mood, tells me everything I need to know."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "The only logical conclusion is that some formerly missing shinobi... are not quite as dead as once thought." Shikamaru let out a deep breath. "Hopefully, the spies in Konoha, from every other Hidden Village, aren't paying attention to all this." Shikamaru gave them a wry smile. "Or, hopefully chalk it up to the fickleness of troublesome women."

Tsunade shook her head in disbelief, and chuckled. "Shikaku, good luck on getting your son married off... in spite of his brilliance."

Shikaku snorted, "I think that's what he's hoping for." He noted the multiple cold stares from the women in the room. "Even so, he is right. Due caution is in order; things are already out of the ordinary here in Konoha. No sense in adding to that."

Tsunade saw his point, more tactfully made than his son had. "True, and so noted." She stood up. "Well, I think it's time that we take the next step forward." Tsunade turned her attention to Shiho. "Shiho-kun, given your previous assignment, I think I can dispense with the 'you talk, you die' speech. Your new assignment is vastly more important than the previous one, if that's possible."

Shiho, slightly confused by the turn of events, but emboldened by her new-found rank, and Tsunade's open praise of her work, bowed deeply. "I'm honored by your trust, and faith in me, Hokage-sama. I promise that I will do the best I can, whatever that task may be."

Tsunade smiled. 'That's what I'm hoping for.' "Then it's settled." Her smile widened as she glanced at Kakashi, Kurenai, and Shikaku. "Stand by." She moved to Shiho's side and gently grabbed her arm; Kakashi did like-wise with Sakura and Shikaku with his son. "You all know the next stop, and how to get there. So..." She looked at her Jonin. "...let's go."

===April 3, 10:30 AM, Konoha Stargate Complex, Stargate Chamber===

Three shunshin (for misdirection), and a walk down a long tunnel later...

They all stood stock-still after entering the main chamber, taking in the details. Even Shikamaru, who normally projected an air of lassitude towards nearly everything, was wide-eyed at the scene before him. He turned his gaze towards the Stargate and took in its details; for the first time in his life, the undercurrent of boredom that perpetually gripped him was gone. Before him was a mysterious puzzle that his formidable intellect grabbed at... and came up empty-handed.

Shikamaru glanced at his father, standing next to him, and could tell he was fairing no better at grappling with the object before them. Shikamaru quietly remarked, "This is beyond troublesome..." And added silently. 'And I love it.'

Initially motionless like the rest of the group, Sakura's feet, seemingly of their own accord began to move. To the casual observer, her movement looked to be directionless... nothing could be further from the truth. Fueled by her remarkable intelligence, working in tandem with her intuition... her eyes took in every detail of the huge chamber. She especially noted a table near the center with an organized pile of 10 scrolls, and one of the newest computers (a rare item) available... under the watchful eye of an ANBU. Sakura's excitement grew as she looked at the scrolls... she could barely wait to see what was written within them.

Her eyes shifted to the upright, gray metal ring... and a squat metallic object nearby that looked like a lop-sided mushroom. The other detail that immediately caught her eye was a large yellow rectangle painted on the roughened stone floor, bordering the ring, which was set in a smooth stone base, and the long ramp connected to it.

Taking it all in, she vowed that the next time she saw Naruto, he'd see that the Sakura he knew was gone... and that a better one, far more worthy of his friendship and trust, had taken her place.

The huge metal ring, marked at regular intervals with unrecognizable symbols, drew Shiho in. Given her work with codes, the sight of mysterious symbols didn't faze her in the least. The whole... alien feel to it did creep her out a little, but she figured that feeling would diminish in time. Shiho couldn't help but wonder who had made it, and why. As she slowly moved towards the ring to get a better look at it, Shiho noticed that Tsunade had joined her... she looked at Tsunade. "What is its purpose?"

Tsunade stared at it for a long moment before replying. "To put it simply, it's a doorway... a gate to other worlds, many of which are not unlike our own." All heads turned at that statement of fact. "I've been told it's referred to as a Stargate."

Shiho took a few steps towards the Stargate. She asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "Will we be able to go through it? To see these other... worlds?"

Tsunade sighed. "In theory, yes. However, General Hammond, the commander of the place where Naruto and Hinata are, has warned me that considerable caution is in order. Not every destination that gate can take you to is safe, or friendly." She moved closer to the Stargate, with Shiho following. "And, there are enemies lurking beyond that Stargate."

Both Nara's, who had quietly joined them, chuckled at that. Shikaku spoke up, "There are always enemies... shadows and light go hand in hand."

Sakura tore her eyes away from the Stargate and walked towards Tsunade. "Is Naruto... and Hinata safe where they are? What kind of people are they with?"

Tsunade shrugged. "As safe as one could expect... I suppose." She glanced at the ring and certain parts of Naruto's private file came to mind. "No, I take that back. I'd say safer." She reached into a pocket in her robe and handed Sakura a photograph... everyone gathered around her. Tsunade smiled. "That's a picture of the team that Naruto and Hinata are a part of." Then thought. 'Don't you dare die on me... Naruto-kun.'

"They look just like us." Shiho remarked, as she took in the details; then she focused on one particular face.

Shikamaru chuckled. "In more ways than one, the man behind Naruto has the same kind of smile as him." Kakashi nodded in agreement; Kurenai peeked around him, pressing against him at the same time.

"Who's the woman next to Hinata?" Kurenai asked... and added silently. 'And with her arm around Hinata-chan.'

Tsunade detected the tone in Kurenai's voice and refrained from smiling. "She's an officer in their military, and a scholar... they're called 'scientists' on their world. Apparently she's been studying..." She pointed at the Stargate. "...that thing, and is considered one of the leading experts on it."

Sakura asked. "Are any of the scrolls over there written by her?" Sakura pointed at the table she had noted earlier.

Tsunade glanced at the table in question. "I believe so. I haven't had time to read them all; just the ones from the Shogun."

Kakashi perked up. "Ah yes, the code name for Hammond."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. And that's the only name he'll be known by." She looked at Shiho, Sakura, and Shikamaru meaningfully; they all nodded in acknowledgement. "Well then, we'll talk more about this later." Tsunade tapped the photo. "Go ahead and keep that... but leave it here, I've got my own copy."

She stood and squared her shoulders. "Kurenai, your task will be to teach these 3..." She pointed at Shiho, Shikamaru, and Sakura. "...how to get past the Genjutsu Seals guarding the entrance to here. Kakashi, you'll bring Sakura from now on, until you succeed in teaching her the shunshin; Shikaku, you'll do likewise with your son."

Tsunade paused for a moment. "Shiho, you'll be getting a special cover story via an ANBU delivery tonight; memorize it, then destroy it, completely." She looked at Kurenai. "For tomorrow, and as needed, you'll shunshin Shiho here. After bringing her here, you'll carry on with your normal Jonin duties."

Kurenai nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade looked at Shiho again. "Your instructions on how to access this place will be given by the ANBU who came to you today... you'll meet her at the Hot Springs tomorrow at 7:00 PM, she'll ID herself by pinching you on your left cheek." Shiho reached up and touched her face. Tsunade shook her head and patted herself on the butt. "No, the other cheek."

Shiho blushed. "Oh my." A round of chuckles only deepened the blush.

Tsunade took a step backward. "Okay, here's the drill. Shiho and Sakura, go through all the scrolls, study them and transfer everything noteworthy into the computer. Shikamaru, read through the scrolls as well, and make sure that you share any and all insights with your co-workers. In addition, I'll be making all the scrolls I've gotten from the Shogun available to all of you as well... study them closely. I'll be wanting your insights on Shogun, his advice, and anything else you pick up on."

Shiho raised her hand. "If I may suggest it, could we write and send questions to the Shogun, and any of the others working under him, if we need further details concerning the Stargate, and other matters?"

Tsunade thought about it for a few moments, then nodded. "That's an excellent idea, Shiho-kun. Yes, by all means, do so."

Both Shiho, and Sakura silently yelled, 'YES!'

Tsunade grinned. "Okay... is everyone ready to get started?"

Everyone replied in unison. "Hai, Hokage-sama." Their reply echoed around the chamber.

"Excellent." Tsunade smiled. "Have fun, kids."

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End Chapter 7

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Editor's Notes:

[1] Yosei = fairy

[2] 'Fairy of Life' [Suimei's full (and true) title is 'Seimei no Hoseki no Yosei': Fairy of the Gem of Life.]

[3] Hinata, the Guardian of the Gem of Life.

[4] Army slang for a Second Lieutenant.

[5] SGC's court is JHS-sized: 74' x 42'.

[6] CAB - Combat Action Badge

[7] CIB - Combat Infantry Badge [Ric - 3 awards; Jeri - 4 awards]

[8] mon = (family/clan) crest

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Author's Note: There's a poll in my profile about this fic, I just want to know your preference, if any, for which show the fic favors, or if both deserve equal time. No PM's, just vote in the poll please. Thank you.

Also, due to real life demands, the posting schedule for this fic will be every 2-3 weeks instead of every 2. My other fics will be updated as I finish new chapters, which should be soon as several are almost ready. Please R&R.