I'd like to just take a moment9 to thank all of my reviewers.

Ryu, GrizzlyTeddyBear, the ninja no one sees, (I saw you.) KilrathSluzath, marise_chan, HumanInfiltrator, set, and eva24.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"TenTen, I think we need to talk..."

"I agree." she nodded, wiping her eyes.

"Do you want to take a walk?" he asked, suddenly ten kinds of nervous as to how to approach the conversation. She nodded.

"I'd like that."

"How about the roof? the stars should still be out." he suggested.

"Okay." she agreed. The walk to the roof was quiet, and only after they had reached their destination and sat down did Drake break the silence.

"What I wanted to tell you was..." he paused, "You see..." he paused again. "Gah! I'm no good at this kind of talk..."

"Just talk," she said quietly. "I'm not going to judge you."

"I've been alone for as long as I remember. I've never had friends, or a family. I've just wandered around." he paused. "...and I've always hated it." The wind picked up and she shivered a little, without even thinking his arm wrapped around her shoulder and brought her closer to keep her warm. He made sure she was comfortable before continuing. "I'd come into a town, and see couples walking down the street, or friends playing, and I'd be so jealous. I'd find myself hating them for it." he continued. "It was a horrible feeling."

"Was?" she questioned, resting her head on his chest. "How'd you get past it?"

"I..." he hesitated. "I met you. Since I've known you the feeling has completely vanished. When I see a couple holding hands or friends laughing, I don't think about how lucky they are anymore. I just think of you."

"It's the same with me." she said simply, listening to his heartbeat. "My team was broken up a few months ago. I'd been with them almost every day since we were twelve years old. I even had a crush on one of them for a while. They were like my family, and suddenly they're gone and I barely ever see them. I tried to just immerse myself in my missions, and my training." she sighed. "I was so lonely."

"You still see them sometimes right?" Drake asked quietly. "Like when you asked Lee to go easy on me?"

"How did you know about that?" she asked.

"I didn't." he smiled. "I do now."

"Meanie." she said, hitting him softly. Drake felt her previous mood return and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "But I know that feeling, when you see someone who is happy and you hate them for it. It was how I felt when Naruto and Sakura announced their engagement. You think they don't deserve to be that happy. It felt so awful when I caught myself starting to wish bad things on good people."

Drake nodded. "Worst feeling in the world."

"And then you saved me." she stated, snuggling a little closer. "and like you said, when I met you, the feeling vanished. I don't get jealous of other people anymore, I just come see you."

"You saved me too." he told her.

"How on earth did I save you?" she asked, looking up to check if he was joking.

"Twice." he amended. "The first was when I was carrying you home." he stated. "If you hadn't been relying on me I'd have died. I'm nowhere near as strong or brave when nobody needs me." he paused. "Without you needing me to get you home I probably would have laid down somewhere and not woken up. Your presence gave me the resolve to keep going."

"And the second?" she asked, laying her head down to listen to his heartbeat again.

"You saved me from that feeling. When I'm around you I don't care who is happier or has more friends than I do. It's enough that I'm just with you."

She wrapped her arms around his abdomen and snuggled closer to him. "I agree."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." he began. "If I hadn't met you, I would still be wandering aimlessly, not knowing what I want, feeling jealous of everyone. You saved me from that. You brought me back here. You gave me a reason to stay."

"Technically you brought me back here." she said mischievously.

"Shush." he said with a smile. "What I wanted to tell you is that you are the reason."

"The reason?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

"The reason I want to stay." he said awkwardly, turning his head away so she couldn't see the blush on his cheeks. "The reason I'm going to go stare down the council later today. I want to stay here with you."

"I want you to stay here with me..." she stated sleepily. *He's so warm, and so comfy, and makes me feel so safe.*

"TenTen?" Drake whispered.

*She fell asleep.* he thought, laughing on the inside. Drake adjusted his coat to cover her sleeping form and looked up at the stars, feeling at peace for the first time in a long while.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

They walked slowly down the streets of Konoha, slowly making their way to the Council's chambers. At some point during the walk, her hand had found it's way into his, and neither of them really felt like letting go. They just walked slowly, enjoying the silence of each other's company. After about twenty minutes they arrived at the council building.

"Here we are." he stated unneccessarily, breaking the silence at last.

"Yeah." she agreed as they walked in and sat in the waiting area. After about half an hour of complete silence a voice shook Drake from his thoughts.

"Drake-san, the Council are ready for you." said the attendant. He took a deep breath, and removed his bandana, showing the seal on his headband proudly. He handed her his bandana.

"Wish me luck." he said softly.

"Good luck." she whispered.

Drake walked into the chamber of the Council and bowed, his forehead throbbing behind the seal. As he rose from his bow he took in his surroundings. The room was circular, the council themselves sat at a long curved table that ran about three quarters of the way around the open central area, with the gap in the direction of the door. He immediately noticed Tsunade in the most ornate chair, directly in front of him. Seated directly to her right and left were three elderly men and one woman. *Village elders...* deduced Drake. Seated further out from the Hokage were the leaders of the individual clans. Finally, at the farthest edge of the circle were the highest ranking ninja whom didn't already fit in one of the other categories. He saw Naruto, a surprisingly serious look on his face, sitting in the seat nearest the door.

*The Hokage's successor and he has the lowest seat in the council? That doesn't seem right. I'll have to ask him about it if I get the chance.* He was broken from his thoughts by a stern voice.

"Drake-san, I am Hiashi Hyuga, the voice of the council in today's proceedings." The speaker was an older man, he looked to be about fifty, with dark hair, and odd white pupil-less eyes.

"Hyuga-sama." Drake bowed again.

"Would you please repeat your request to the council before we begin the hearing?" Hiashi asked, his face stoic and indifferent.

"I request that I be allowed to become a citizen of Konoha." he paused. "If so, I would readily lend my powers to the service and defense of the village in whatever capacity the Hokage and the council see fit."

"You are aware that your unique abilities are somewhat antagonistic to the style of Konoha's current military system?" Hiashi asked. Drake winced mentally, but kept his face calm.

*Didn't expect that low a blow this early in the meeting.* he thought. "I am."

"Then are you ready to face the fate the council has decided for you?" the Hyuga clan leader asked. He steeled himself for what was about to happen.

"I am."

Twenty minutes later, TenTen heard the doors of the council chamber open and looked up. The council members had begun slowly filing out of the chamber. Apparently the meeting was over. TenTen waited patiently and watched for Drake to exit. She noticed the head of each of the clans, the village elders, Naruto, and a few of Konoha's best Jounin exit the room and then move to exit the building. Finally, she saw the Hokage walk out of the room..

Five minutes later, there was still no sign of him. She stood and walked slowly to the doors. She took a deep breath and pushed them open. He was standing alone in the center of the chamber. His back was to her, his head was down. She noticed his headband was in his hand.

"Drake?" she asked, trying to mask the worry in her voice.

His head lifted, and he turned slowly. She saw his face come into view. He was smiling. Only then did her eyes move slowly upwards to take in a very familiar shape. The shape of a Konoha forehead protector. The look of pure joy that lit TenTen's face she saw his new accessory made his heart soar and put butterflies in his stomach all at the same time. He noticed she was wearing his bandana. He let his smile broaden before he spoke.

"I get to stay."

She rushed to him as she had the night before. This time there were tears of happiness in her eyes. Instead of letting her bury her face in his shirt he picked her up and spun her around in a big hug. What she did next surprised him. Instead of returning the hug as he'd expected, her arms wrapped around his neck and she brought her lips to his.

The kiss was light, but somehow powerful at the same time. Drake felt a spark pass between them and he froze in his tracks, his eyes wide. He regained his composure and tilted his head, returning the kiss. It felt sublime. They remained together until the need for air forced them to part.

"It looks good on you." she said, resting her forehead against his while she caught her breath.

"Likewise." he said, eying his bandana, equally out of breath. "If it has this effect on you I may never take the damn thing off."

She laughed happily and hugged him tighter. After a while she loosened her grip on him and looked once more at his new headband. "They made you a Ninja?" she asked in disbelief. "That's..."

"I know!" he stated with a smile. "Technically I'm just a Genin, but it's still more than I'd hoped for."

"I want details." she stated sternly.

"I'll tell you about it over dinner. My treat." he said as he lowered her down gently.

After they'd made their way to the nearest restaurant and placed their orders he dove into his story.

**FLASHBACK**

"You will be allowed to stay in Konoha." the pale-eyed spokesman stated calmly.

Drake let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"However, there are to be several conditions to your residence here." he continued. "If you disobey them, you will be banished."

Drake nodded. "Alright."

"The first condition," Hiashi began, "You are to produce copies of that seal," he pointed to the headband around Drake's head. "To be distributed amongst the village and it's ANBU operatives should you defy the council. Do you accept this condition?"

*Saw that coming a mile away.* thought Drake. "I accept the condition."

"The second condition, You will be inducted into the Konoha military that we may put your unique gifts to use in our future military endeavors. Do you accept this condition?"

*That one too.* he thought calmly. "I accept this condition."

"The third condition, based on your performance in the fight..." Drake caught a few scowls from assorted faces around the room when Hiashi spoke. "You are to immediately receive the rank of Genin and begin formal training to increase your speed to bring you up to par with your peers, should you fail in this training, you will be required to leave. Should you pass, your rank will increase to that of Special Jounin. Do you accept this condition?"

*No... fucking... way...* Drake thought in disbelief. "Special Jounin?" he asked slowly.

"The rank given to those who have skill of Jounin level or higher in one area, but not all areas. In your case, chakra suppression." Hiashi stated, his face betraying no emotions whatsoever.

Drake regained a bit of his composure. "I accept this condition."

"The fourth condition." Hiashi began, "Should you pass your training, you will be required to spar with Konoha shinobi on a regular basis to improve their taijutsu skills, as well as your own, to reduce their dependence on chakra, and to find who is most effective with you in a team situation."

*So until I find a team... I get to be the Konoha punching bag... great...* "I accept this condition."

"Then on behalf of the council, welcome to Konoha. Your training begins tomorrow." Hiashi gave him a shallow bow, more a nod than anything. "Do you have any questions?"

Drake was suspicious one thing. "When did the council reach it's decision?"

Hiashi paused. "Why do you ask?"

"I would like to know if my recovery delayed the hearing at all." he answered half-honestly.

"The decision was reached the day after your fight with Rock Lee."

"Then I apologize for the delay." Drake stated, bowing to the council again. *Wait... two days ago?* He turned to face Tsunade and narrowed his eyes. Tsunade grinned from ear to ear and waved to him innocently.

"Anything further?" Hiashi asked Drake.

"Nothing, Hiashi-sama." Drake replied.

"Then this session of the council of Konoha is hereby concluded." Tsunade's voice echoed across the chamber. The council members stood and began to file out the door slowly. Drake stayed where he was. He noticed Tsunade approach him.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

"I need a couple minutes to let this all sink in." he stated. "'Tomorrow you may have to leave the village.' huh?"

"It got you two talking didn't it?" she supplied.

"Touché." conceded Drake.

"Welcome to the village." she said with a smile. "This is yours now."

Tsunade tossed him something. He caught the object and got a good look at it, and the leaf symbol etched onto it. He smiled as he took off his headband and put his new one on.

*END FLASHBACK*

"So you start training tomorrow?" TenTen asked as their food arrived.

"Yep." he agreed, breaking apart his chopsticks. "Training to increase my speed with some guy named Kakashi."

----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------