Shape Shifter

I don't own Naruto, Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi and is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.


New Friends


I didn't know what to feel as Shio lead me towards the Yamanaka household, meeting Ino was completely out of left field , not something I had planned on or even wanted to happen for several year to come.

I felt like I was stepping around glass every minute I was interacting with the toddler Ino, yes she seemed a bit ahead of the mental curb than most children for whatever reason, but it still felt like almost everything I said or did went over the little girl's head.

Shio graciously allowed me to stay indoors most of the following day as I was messing around with the new lesser transformation that she taught me. It was difficult to say the least, I still had the mental block that I was trying to overcome, over twenty years of being told the world worked one way and then suddenly being put in a world that contradicts nearly everything you understood about the universe, yeah it's going to take a while to let go of old habits and ways of thinking.

But despite that excuse I still felt my progress was abysmally slow, cosmetic shifts should be easy according to Shio, especially the nails, and it even made since. Your nails naturally grew over time and you used your hands as a somatic component to cast spells, thus being easy filters to channel inner arcane energy. But it was much easier said than done, I needed to imagine my nails growing while also willing my chakra into the right shape and grow them, all the while being mindful to not overload my fingers least they explode and leave me crippled for life. Or maybe I'm over thinking again and should trust my chakra more, or was it less? The trance like state I allowed myself to get into during the leaf exercise the other day was unnerving, not because I let myself trust in my chakra but the feeling that it was so natural to lose yourself was what really got to me.

I was jarred out of my thoughts by the sound of Shio knocking on a red colored door, we were standing in front of a two story house that had about a half-acre of cut grass surrounding it. The garden out front was beautifully well kept, I wasn't a florist so the only flowers that I could recognize on sight were the rose bushes that acted as a sort of organic fence for a eastern section of the garden.

A moment later and the door opened to reveal Noriko Yamanaka, this time in a light blue dress under a beige colored apron that had some sort of powder on her chest, I could also tell that apparently some small child had also gotten into the same powder if the little hand prints near the bottom of the apron were anything to go by.

"Shio-san welcome, the girls and I are so excited to begin!" Noriko greeted excitedly.

Shio herself had opted for a red skirt and long sleeved black shirt, a possible statement that her shop could have a varied clientele that didn't only cater to those wanting to dress up but also have functionality. Smart considering that we're more than likely about to be surrounded by ninja for the majority of the day, I could also see Shio's leather satchel that she was carrying around her left arm, didn't know what was in it though, too busy with my transmutation.

"I brought a few sketch books and some measuring tape with me, so I'm all prepared with whatever you girls throw at me," Shio announced as we walked through the doorway.

The inside was pretty cozy, the Yamanaka apparently didn't keep too much in the way of tradition when it comes to their architecture, the wooden floors where a given in most of the village but that L shaped couch that lined the back wall of the living room and the large dining table to my left was defiantly not from the Sengoku period like half of the village was.

"Chiharu-chan, Yoshino-chan, Shio-san is here!" Noriko called.

I could hear bare footsteps come walking closer from the kitchen area, and from around a corner appeared a heavy set woman with short, black hair and eyes which were accentuated by orange markings at each corner. She also wore a light shade of lipstick, a pair of red, stud earrings along with a high-collared purple blouse which had gold trimmings, and she wore black shorts that fell just below her knees.

Behind the first woman was someone that I vaguely recognized as Yoshino, she had long, dark brown hair that was kept in a low ponytail with three strands framing her face, fair skin and dark eyes. She was wearing a purple blouse and black colored skirt along with an apron over it. She also wore a pair of simple hoop earrings, each woman looked around the same age as Noriko, so in their mid to upper twenties I would say.

"It is very good to meet you Shio-san," Chiharu greeted with a bow.

"I am so excited to have some girl time again, welcome Shio-san," Yoshino copied Chiharu's respectful bow.

Shio bowed back to the women, "thank you for allowing me and my son to spend the day with you," she replied.

The Nara and Akimichi woman seemed to finally take notice of me and sent me two warm smiles my way, I bowed politely to the women, finding it easier to bow in respect to normal people than it was bowing in submission to the Daimyo and his Samurai but still feeling very awkward in this semi-formal environment. "Hello, I'm Isamu, thank you for inviting me," if my voice was any more subdued then I would run the risk of impersonating Hinata.

"So well mannered," Yoshino commented friendly.

"So cute," said Chiharu in a restrained girly squeal.

Noriko stepped forward, "my husband is in the back with the rest of the kids, come you should meet him," the Yamanaka woman lead Shio and I forward into a short hallway until we came upon some sort of sitting room with a door that no doubt lead to the back yard.

"Inoichi-kun my guest Shio is here with her son," Noriko announced as she opened the back door and lead Shio and I out.

In the back was a small koi pond with, surprise, surprise, an even larger garden of flowers, trees, and other plants surrounding the pond. Actually the garden took up most of the space in the back yard with only a few patch stone walk ways that twisted around the garden to ease navigation in this vast garden.

Inoichi was sitting on a wooden bench that was in the shade against the side of the house, the man looked nearly identical to how he was in the manga and anime, only a decade younger and was taller, or not, I am quite short being only three years old.

The man stood up and bowed in greeting to Shio, "a pleasure to finally meet you, Noriko-chan has barely shut her mouth about finally getting her own fashion designer," the man joked with a chuckle.

"I…I did no such thing!" Noriko stammered with a slight blush.

Shio held her hand up trying to cover her giggle, "I wouldn't go that far Noriko-san, I'm just a humble seamstress," the Kaizen woman teased.

Noriko huffed in indignation, "Inoichi-kun take care of Isamu will you, Shio-san and I have things to discuss," The Yamanaka woman turned on her heel and walked back into the house.

Shio turned towards me with a smile, "be good for Inoichi-san please, I'll be just inside if you need me okay."

I nodded at her, "I'll be good," I assured.

Shio kneeled down a bit to kiss my forehead before heading back inside the house.

It was now me seemingly alone with Inoichi, the man had sat back down on his bench, "So I heard you met my daughter Ino-chan the other day," he stated.

I nodded my head, "yes sir, she was real nice and we played flowers together," I knew I had to keep a level of childishness about me but I also knew if I tried to play it too thick in front of one of the lead interrogators in the village than he would see right through it.

Inoichi hummed, "that's nice, my wife told me you're from out of the village." It was a statement but I knew it was a roundabout way of asking me where I'm from, a kid wouldn't have picked up on it.

"Yep, we walked behind Daimyo-sama to get here, the Samurai were so cool with their big horses and the ninja were like, whoosh, and were running all in the trees outside the gates!" I drew upon my original excitement at seeing super soldiers for the first time, using wide hand gestures and sound effects with my mouth to accent the dramatic bits of my story.

Inoichi chuckled lightly at my descriptions, "would you like to meet some new friends, Chiharu-san and Yoshino-san brought their boys over to play with Ino-chan."

I nodded my head, although I knew I wouldn't be meeting the Shikamaru and the Choji that I was familiar with, them being only a few years old at this point, I could still feel some excitement at meeting them.

Inoichi stood up and walked forward deeper into the garden, I couldn't see over the tall flowers and bushes so the whole area might as well have been a maze for me, but Inoichi was taller than me so the clan leader easily navigated the miniature jungle he called a backyard. I followed Inoichi as he turned a corner along the stone pathway to find Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru playing around with a bunch of smooth stone perfect for skipping on the surface of a lake.

Ino was trying her leveled best to create some sort of tower with the stones while Choji was fascinated by the sound two stone made when rubbing them together and Shikamaru was actually making some sort of house with his stones.

"Ino-chan, Isamu is here," Inoichi announced.

Ino looked up from her rendition of the leaning tower of Pisa with wide, exited eyes, "Isa-kun!" Ino shouted loudly and before I knew it I was promptly glomped by a little ball of yellow. "Isa-kun play rocks with us Isa-kun!"

I didn't have a choice in the matter, I was dragged away from Inoichi's side in seconds, I didn't struggle anymore though, Ino was too stubborn and too cute to deny, she reminded me of a Chihuahua very cute but also very loud.

"Shika, Cho this is Isa-kun, our new friend!" Ino announced.

Looks like they don't get a say in the matter either, at least she's using her take charge personality for making new friends rather than being a spoilt brat, although I suspect that Inoichi or Noriko will have to put their foot down more than once in the coming years when she eventually steps out of line.

Choji is the first to acknowledge me, the plump boy waddles over a few feet closer to me and smiles while banging his rocks together, the sound promptly grabs his attention and just like that I'm all but forgotten about in the boys mind.

Shikamaru turns his head up from his house building and waves towards me but gets back to his own devices, he's actually being very attentive and is doing his best to keep the rock house symmetrical enough to be stable. Who knew that chibi Shikamaru was more proactive than older Shikamaru, "It's probably because he's more exposed to Yoshino at this age than he is with his father," I reason.

Ino sits me down next to her, and shoves a handful of rocks into my lap, "Isa-kun play rocks!" the Chihuahua insists with a big smile.

I didn't really know what 'play rocks' meant, but a quick glance over at the tower and Shikamaru's Flintstones style house gave me enough context clues to know what I need to do, "So proto Legos then I guess, the type that my grandpa would say he played with after walking up hill in the snow for two days." I surmised.

I 'played rocks' with Ino and by play I mean Ino told me where to put the rocks and I listened, little bossy chibi but the big smile she had on her face would have probably melted even Madara's heart.

"Look, look Papa, me and Isa-kun made home!" Ino shouted.

All I really did was put the stones in a circle around her tower and set other stones in a teepee shape to act as the 'houses.'

Inoichi came forward and knelt down in front of Ino, "my that's so wonderful Ino-chan, it looks really pretty," the father said with a beaming smile.

Ino looked like she was vibrating with happiness before she launched herself at her father and wrapped her little arms around his neck.

Inoichi acted like he was taken off guard and fell on his back, "oof you got me!" he cried.

Ino cackled as she began jumping on her father's chest, "Jump on Papa jump on Papa!" Ino yelled.

Shikamaru and Choji ran excitedly over and jumped onto the dog pile, the sound of laughing children and the deep chuckle of Inoichi resonated in the garden.

I smiled at the sight seeing the children roll around and jump atop Inoichi, it made the whole garden seem all the more brighter.

I suddenly felt a small hand pull on the collar of my shirt and begin to drag me, "Isa-kun come on before he escapes!" Ino shouted.

I was shoved onto the stomach of Inoichi, the memories being forced down like usual as I felt myself being dragged up by my hands. Ino's beaming smile melted away the gloom in my mind, I allowed myself, at least for a few hours, to forget about John and for now, just be Isamu.


Lunch was soon upon us and all four of us kids were sat down on large cushioned pillows around the coffee table in the living room, we had cut up vegetables and rice in our bowls, the adults sat only a few meters from us in the dining room at the large wooden table.

Ino kept looking at her mother, mimicking her refined way of eating as best she could, Shikamaru sometimes put his elbows on the table but as soon as he realized he did so, retracted them quickly while nervously watching Yoshino. Choji and I on the other hand just shoveled the food into our mouths, using the chop sticks more as a way to keep the food from flowing out of the bowl rather than as proper eating utensils. But who could blame us, it was hot, and we played around in the back yard for hours, that's a lot of exercise for growing boys like us.

A few minutes of eating and Choji and I sat our bowls down at the same time, "could we have some more please?" I asked from my seat, Choji nodded his head rapidly in agreement.

Chiharu giggled, "of course you can, growing boys need all the food they can get!" She exclaimed before walking back into the kitchen.

"It's not every day you see an Akimichi being kept pace with a non-clan born," Yoshino observed idly.

Shio smiled good naturedly, "gets it from his father I suppose," Shio suggested.

Inoichi hums at that, "you said your husband works as a black smith right?" He asked.

Shio nods, "that he does Inoichi-san."

The clan head nodded, "Is he experienced in working with armor and chakra metal?"

Shio put a hand on her chin in thought, "I'm not entirely certain with chakra metal, it's very rare from what I understand but he could have run into it during the war, you'll have to ask him. But armor on the other hand he is very experienced in, Ietaka-kun is the most skilled black smith between Konoha and the capitol so he sees a lot of business from Samurai when they pass though the village." She informed.

Chiharu appeared before me with two large bowls in her hands, this time more meat was mixed into the vegetables and rice, from the smell I could tell it was a mix of pork and chicken, "eat up boys," the Akimichi woman smiled, and just like that I was already face deep into another bowl.

A minute later I came out of my bowl to pace myself, last thing I want is to lose my lunch because I ate too fast.

"Developed chakra coils?" I heard the ending to Inoichi's question.

I looked over to see Shio had dropped her chopsticks into her own bowl, a look of surprise on her face, "you're a sensor?" She asked.

All the other mothers had sat up in their chairs, looking between Shio and I.

Inoichi gave nothing away, "possibly," he responded.

Shio looked at me and gave me a reassuring smile, "it's okay," I told myself, "we got our cover story, same old bullshit you gave Anko, Asuma, and Kurenai, we'll be totally fine."

"I was trained how to defend myself yes, I was young during the second war and my father who taught me all I knew fell along with the rest of my village that lay near the border with Grass. My skills allowed me to keep alive during the third war when I was running messages for different nobles and companies, I've taught what little I know to my husband and Isamu-chan," Shio answered.

Inoichi hummed, looking intensely at Shio's face, "yes that would explain why you two both have advanced coils for civilians, which nobles and companies did you run for?" He asked.

Shio looked up In thought, "I ran a few for the Daimyo's cousin, you know the one with the club foot?" She asked.

Inoichi and Yoshino nodded, "I've met him once on a mission," Yoshino affirmed.

"A few for the Gato corporation, a courter in the Daimyo's court from the Land of Hot Water, a few for Konoha as well when Kiri got involved in the Third War and your Genin runners were spread too thin." Shio answered.

Chiharu's face lit up in recognition at that last bit of information, "o so you worked for the Humming Birds?" She asked.

Yoshino and Noriko looked at Chiharu in confusion, "the Humming Birds?" Noriko asked.

Shio answered for the Akimichi woman, "the Humming Birds was a messenger company that was funded by the Fire Daimyo's aunt during the Third War. She hired young people fast on their feet, preferably those who knew how to use chakra, I don't know the politics behind it but from what I understand it was her way to help the war effort. Unfortunately Lady Otomi passed away a few years after the war and with her death the money for the company dried up and it was disbanded."

Inoichi nodded, "yes that is right, not very many people know about that little obscure fact, I am sorry Shio-san if I sounded like I was interrogating you, Ninja paranoia and all," the clan head apologized sheepishly.

Shio gave him a friendly smile, "o I understand entirely, if I got mad at everyone who thought I was a spy then I would have never survived the war," she said with a giggle.

The tension around the room lifted with Shio's giggle, the adults going back to their meals for a time before conversation was struck once again.

"So Noriko-chan, Mokushi-san won the Chunin exams, how exiting!" Yoshino exclaimed.

I felt relief when I heard the subject change, that was twice now that Shio had to pull out her cover story and we haven't been here for a full month, hopefully now that a high ranking official has already written us off as a non-factor we won't be bothered again.


The weeks went by quickly after visiting Ino's house, I still worked on my lesser transformation and Shio would often drag me to one of the many parks around Konoha to tell as many people that she could about their lord and savior Niwano Nishi's tailoring.

Soon I found the first month had ended and July had come into full swing, apparently word has begun to spread more and more. The word of mouth cannot be underestimated, something that I have learned with my time in Konoha, this fact was evidenced when a sudden green blur descended from the roof tops with a great shout. A dust cloud was kicked up upon the blur landing atop the dirt covered roads of Konoha, I felt Shio tense and a loud boisterous voice boomed, the force of said voice was enough to clear the cloud away and reveal one of the strongest Shinobi in Konoha history.

"Yosh, you must be the apprentice to the eternally youthful Niwano-san, the one who created the most youthful clothing in all the world!" Maito Gai shouted exuberantly.

Shio was taken aback by the sheer energy from the green beast before her, instinctively putting herself between me and the shouting man.

"Uhh…I am…mister?" Shio asked unsurely.

Gai extended his arm out and gave a thumbs up to her while winking, his large grin accentuated the man's obvious love for dental hygiene if the sun reflecting off the man's t teeth was anything to go by. "My apologies, my name is Gai the beautiful green beast of Konoha, and I have come to you with a proposition to buy the most youthful clothes money can offer!"

Shio relaxed slightly and nodded her head, "umm, okay, what do you have in mind?" She asked.

"My beautiful lady I do ask you that you create for me, the most gorgeous and fabulous cloths in the world, the most sophisticated and eye catching yet stealthy attire man has ever known, the most hip and youthful fabrics ever put upon a human body! I ask for more green jumpsuits so that even as my body grows into more youthful and vibrant form, I will always have more in sizes great and even some in smaller sizes if one who seeks the path of youth under my wing ever appears to me! " Gai shouted passionately.

Shio deadpanned at Gai as he had struck a heroic pose during his speech, hands on his hips, left foot standing atop a nearby barrel, eyes gazing towards the horizon, it would all look very heroic if we weren't in the middle of a busy street. "So…you just want…more of what you're already wearing then, that's doable I guess."

Unlike Shio I had been looking up at the man in awe, the physical embodiment of martial arts in front of me, the only man who could have gone toe to toe with Madara mother fucking Uchiha in his badass god mode form. He might be younger now, bout eighteen or so, but just knowing what this man would be capable of, I so want him to be my sensei or even just a life coach to teach my lazy ass some self-discipline.

"Yosh, thank you my most beautiful lady, where about may I pick up my order?" The green beast asked.

"Tanpo village Gai-san, I assume you know the way?" Shio informed.

Gai began to stretch his legs before getting into a runners ready stance, "of course Tanpo village, the most youthful village not named Konoha, I shall run their now, and if I do not return by dinner I shall run their and back on one foot!" He shouted before he blasted off in a burst of speed sending dust up from the road blinding my vision for a brief moment.

"Uhh…what just happened?" I asked Shio.

Shio looked unblinking at small crater in the road left by Gai, "I, I don't know, but Kami help Niwano."

"He…he didn't ask your name did he?" I asked rhetorically.

Shio nodded, still dazed from getting the full blast of youthful fire for the first time, "I don't think I even want Niwano-san to know I sent him."

"I understand" I said as I squeezed Shio's hand a bit to reassure her.

Shio blinked a few times before shaking her head, "in all my years," I heard her mumble.

A voice interrupted Shio's interceptive thought, "o I know that look, come here Shio-san let me get you and Chipmunk here some lunch." Anko said as she approached us, hands in the pockets of her new beige trench coat.

Shio collected herself as Anko approached, "Anko-san how are you?" She asked.

Anko gave a little smirk, "been good, been good, I wanted to thank you for this trench coat, it saved my ass on my last mission," Anko explained.

Shio smiled, "o well that's good to hear, but there really is no need to thank me, it's my job to make sure our customers live long enough to buy more clothes." Shio said humbly.

Anko wasn't perturbed however, "ah yeah, yeah, I'm in a being nice kinda mood so you two are gonna have lunch with me alright."

Shio looked down towards me, "do you want to have lunch with Anko-san Isamu-chan?" Shio asked.

"How is that even a question?" I asked myself, "Sure," I said, playing it cool.

Anko's smirk widened, "alright I'll lead the way, have you ever had dango chipmunk?"


It took us a few minutes to find the place Anko was leading us to, we soon came upon a green painted building, its doors wide open and I could see dozens of patrons sitting in booths and around tables from the large open windows.

Anko lead us inside, she pointed her thumb over her shoulder at Shio and I as she passed the hostess by the front, "these two are with me, usual table," Anko said casually. The hostess merely nodded at Anko and gave Shio and I a welcoming smile before her attention was occupied by a couple entering behind us.

We weaved through tables, waiters, and passing patrons until we came upon a booth, two other people where already sitting there, Kurenai and another person that made me take a small intake of breath. "What the hell am I going to meet the whole damn supporting cast by the time I head back to Tanpo?" I asked myself.

Anko waved to her sitting comrades, "hey guys look I found a chipmunk outside!" Anko greeted with a laugh.

Kurenai smiled at Shio and I, "Shio-san, Isamu-san it's good to see you, Konoha is still treating you well I hope?" Kurenai greeted formally.

Shio returned the smile with a small bow, "Kurenai-san, it's good to see you as well, Konoha has been lovely so far."

"Yeah, yeah hello, whatever, it's time to teach the chipmunk about dango!" Anko interrupted as she quickly sat down and pushed the second person sitting in the booth aside with her hip.

Kurenai politely scooted closer to the wall on her own, the booth wasn't wide enough to allow me to sit on my own and it was also too tall for me to sit normally even if it was so once again I was relegated to sitting in Shio's lap.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Kurenai asked the person in front of me in an annoyed tone.

The person sighed before nodding towards us, "Kakashi Hatake," the teenager greeted, looking like he would rather be anywhere but here.

Anko chuckled as she jabbed the white haired Jounin in the ribs with her elbow, "ah don't mind him chipmunk he's just a workaholic, so much that the Hokage ordered him a day off, so Kurenai and I are making sure he actually gets out for once."

Shio bowed her head slightly at Kakashi in greeting, "hello Kakashi-san, I'm Shio and this is my son Isamu," she introduced.

I looked up at Shio with light annoyance, "hey I can introduce myself ya know," It really was one of my pet peeves when people said things for me, or put words in my mouth that I didn't say.

Shio rolled her eyes playfully, my attempted at asserting myself going up in flames as my baby voice delegitimized anything I had to say. "Fine then Isamu-chan, introduce yourself like a big boy."

I ignored the sarcasm and stood up on Shio's lap and place my hands on the table, leaning over I said, "hey I'm chipmunk, where did you get that cool mask?" Yeah that was all I got, can't really grab him and say everything bad that happened wasn't his fault and tell him that Obito was still out their ethnically cleansing The Land of Water like a Turk in Armenia now can I?

Kakashi blinked several times at my encroachment on his personal bubble, "Isamu-chan manners!" Shio scolded before pulling me back into her lap.

"I'm so sorry Kakashi-san, he's never this rude, honestly Isamu-chan why can't you be this open and lively with kids your age," Shio complained.

Meanwhile Anko was chuckling herself mad, "he…he's like the kid I'll never have!" Anko guffawed.

My deed was done, I got Anko nearly rolling on the floor laughing and I made the Kakashi Hatake visibly uncomfortable, Kaguya take my chakra cause I can now die a happy man. I looked up at Shio's exacerbated face without regret or shame.

Anko rubbed the tear from her eye as she got control of herself, "k…keep him Shio, that's a good kid right there," Anko said between chuckles.

Shio sighed as she ran her hand though my hair, "I don't know Anko-san, maybe you would like to keep him for a while," Shio suggested.

Anko regained herself for a moment as she put her elbow on the table and put her head in her palm, "hmm now that's a fun idea," Anko smirked jokingly.

A polite cough caught our attention, a waitress was standing near our table waiting for use to notice her. "Uhh, hello would you like to order?" She asked meekly.

We ordered our food, and by we I mean just Shio and Kakashi, apparently Kurenai and Anko come here often enough to not need to order and Anko insisted that I have some dango with her so she practically ordered for me.

In the interim of getting our food Kurenai decided to continue conversation, "so Shio-san I hear that your work in Konoha Is bearing fruit, I've heard a few woman talk about Niwano-san and her business in Tanpo almost every day now."

Shio nodded, "yes I've been working hard to spread the word, and it's a lot easier than I first imagined, apparently Niwano-san already had a fairly well known presence before the attack."

"O so that's what Gai had been raving about when I saw him run off, yeah they met Gai today by the way, one of the reasons why I asked them to come have lunch with us," Anko explained.

Kurenai giggled lightly, "yes I understand, Gai could be a bit…much," Kurenai said diplomatically.

Kakashi gave a slight snort at that.

I sat up when I realized something, "hey you didn't answer my question earlier," I spoke up to Kakashi.

Kakashi gave a lazy look towards me, "I suppose I didn't," he said with a shrug before looking out the window.

I dead panned at the non-answer.

"Wow very good with kids Kakashi," Kurenai said in sarcasm dripping with every word.

Kakashi shrugged again.

I frowned at Kakashi, I knew that body language, and I knew those eyes. He didn't want to be here, he'd rather be home suffering in silence, stuck in his own head, no I wouldn't let him be like that, it was his day off after all.

"Hey do you got dogs Kakashi, cause you smell like dogs?" I asked, best way to get an introvert to talk is to ask about their pets, works with me every time.

Kakashi eyed me curiously, his body language still guarded but his eyes were more open. "You must have a good nose on you if you can smell a Ninja kid," he remarked.

I shrugged, "ah didn't really smell ya just wanted to see if I was right in guessing that you're a dog person." Truthfully I couldn't smell the guy even from this distance, but I also knew I needed a cover for knowing he had dogs. Better let them think I'm some sort of prodigy manipulator rather than thinking I'm some sort of spy.

"You walked right into that one scarecrow," Anko remarked.

A light of some sort of emotion seemed to gleam in Kakashi's eye, "yeah I guess you could say I have dogs," he divulged.

I smiled at that, "progress," I thought with glee.

"Isamu-san what's your favorite type of dog?" Kurenai asked.

I paused, I honestly didn't know the breeds of dogs exist in this world, Victorian England didn't exist so many of the breeds I know wouldn't be around, but truth be told Isamu hasn't seen that many dogs in his life. There aren't really any in Tanpo to my knowledge, speaking of Tanpo why does it actually exist, it's not near any major river so it's not like we're important to the trade routes, I don't really think we grow anything either, hmm questions for later.

"He does this sometimes," I come back to reality at the sound of Shio's voice.

"Wha- o sorry Kurenai-san," I said a bit embarrassed at letting my mind wander about like that.

Kurenai had a patience smile on her face, "that's okay Isamu-san, I asked what your favorite type of dog was," damn Kurenai was born to be a teacher, I know some adults that would have gotten pissed off and smacked a kid for making them repeat themselves.

"O well, I like all dogs really, but I guess my favorite would be like real big dogs, so I can ride it like a horse!" I say with an innocent smile, it's probably best that I don't know the breeds of dogs, a three year old wouldn't know after all.

I then looked up at Shio, my question already being known by that look in her eyes, "we'll have to ask," Shio told me. I didn't know if that was ask Ietaka if we can get a dog or ask a dog itself if they want to live with us.

I turned my attention back to Kakashi, "so what dogs do you got, big fluffy dogs, little one that bite ya, I bet you have a little one, do ya, do ya?" At this point my feet where once again on Shio's lap and my hands where on the table leaning into Kakashi's space. I probably should pull it back with my kid acting, don't want to bring up people's expectations and make them think I'm some sort of extrovert, I was just having a good day today and I might still be high off of the youthful rays that Gai exposed me to.

Kakashi however was a tougher nut to crack then I suspected, he didn't shy away from a kid being in his bubble this time nor did he even look vaguely uncomfortable. Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, "I have all types but they don't live with me, they sort of pop in every now and again."

Anko spit out her water and started laughing while slapping her knee, "ha, ha, ha di…did you just make a joke!?" Anko asked between gasps.

Kakashi looked confused at Anko, not knowing that he just made one of the best dad jokes I've heard in a while.

Meanwhile Kurenai was giggling to the side while Shio just looked confused, I on the other hand was too distracted with wiping my face with one of the napkins provided for our table.

"O sorry bout that chipmunk," Anko said sheepishly.

Our food came as I finished wiping myself dry with Shio's help, Anko practically shoved a stick of dango in my face with a gleam in her eye.

I took the sweet kebab out of the snake woman's hands and slid one of the dumplings into my mouth with a bite. It was good, damn this was better than ramen, hell this was better than a lot of stuff I've eaten. Now it's nowhere near bacon territory but its defiantly up there on my favorite sweets list.

Anko had smug smile on her face, "see told ya it was the best," she said triumphantly before taking another bite of her dango.

Shio sighed behind me, "thank you for the meal Anko-san but now it might be impossible to get him to take his nap today."

Anko looked a bit guilty at that, "o sorry forgot that kids still need naps at this age."

Conversation kept on lightly throughout the meal, I ate the entire skewer of dango and Shio had finished her meal a few minutes before me. I didn't know if I would ever be able to have another conversation with these people ever again so I decided to just soak up the time here.

"Eh Kakashi, you go on any cool ninja missions?" I ask with big puppy dog eyes and all to hopefully gain a reaction out of the teen.

Kakashi had his head in his hands, his meal had been long gone and I didn't even see the guy move. The scarecrow shrugged, "sometimes, just follow orders mostly," was his vague response.

Anko made a light snort, "if you want to hear about cool missions kid then look no further than me, the best Kunoichi in Konoha!" She boasted, pointing her thumb to herself and puffing her chest out.

I tilted my head to the side in curiosity, "what cool missions do you go on Anko?" I asked.

Anko smirked, "glad you asked chipmunk, it was a day just like today, I was up north near the Firipusu Tabaco plantation. I the illustrious Anko Mitarashi was tasked with a job only I could do, the Hokage himself tasked me with this, saying I was the best of the best, a shoe in for Jounin, I was told that some dick he-"

Shio and Kurenai simultaneously cleared their throats loudly, getting Anko's attention.

"What?" Anko asked annoyed.

Shio and Kurenai indicated their heads towards me, Anko looked sheepish and rubbed the back of her head, "o right," she remembered with a chuckle.

"Anyway, some bad guy was being…uhh mean I guess is a good word for it," Anko took a swig of her glass of water before continuing. "Don't really remember his name, just that he was real lanky kinda guy, was almost as slippery as me, liked to use poisons like that Yamanaka girl did in the exams, you remember that right?" Anko asked me.

I nodded my head.

Anko continued seeing that she still had my full attention, "well this guy was doing something he wasn't supposed to do, was using his poisons on a well in a village, making people real sick."

Anko paused for a second in her story, allowing me to ask my question, "why'd he do that?" I asked.

Anko shrugged, "some people are just bad people I guess, I don't ask the bad guys why they do stuff I just stop em. Anyway I found the bad guy and fought him, he was real good with chains, I spit a fire ball at him the size of a horse, made him runaway for a bit, he jumps back in and blind sides me with another one of his chains. I thought they were just normal chains but nope they were made of chakra metal, he had me pinned against a tree, he was bout to stab me but then I remembered that your Kaasan put storage seals in my sleeves, just in time I pulled a sealed kunai out of my sleeve and cut his hand clean off!" Anko cackled at that, I jumped in surprise as a second later a kunai appeared from her hands and she stabbed the last remaining of her dango with it.

"So," Anko began again waving her stabbed dango around, "the guy tries to run again but I'm even more slippery than him, I get myself out of the chains when he's distracted and the great and glorious Anko Mitarashi saves the day after I beat him from there to Snow Country." Anko had put the handle of the kunai she had skewering her last dango in her mouth and her hands on her hips with her back strait, a light breeze picked up enough for her ponytail to wave in the wind.

"Are you really using chakra for one of your stupid poses again?" Kakashi asked in exasperation.

Anko glared at Kakashi and a second later she moved her head down at Kakashi and stabbed him with her kunai still in her mouth, but her dango was still at the tip so the most it did was make his shoulder sticky.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed ever so slightly but didn't make to retaliate.

Anko feeling vindicated looked at my reaction to her tale, It was obviously highly edited any classified stuff was either not mentioned or filtered. But Anko saving herself was a feat, "you didn't have help?" I asked, from what I know of Konoha she should have had at least three other people with her.

Anko shook her head, "nope, just me, took out an enemy nin solo by myself, all in a day's work really." She smirked her smug smile at me.

"That's so cool, where you scared at all?" I asked.

Anko waved her arm dismissively, "pssh, I'm never scared of anything, besides Shio was looking out for me, even if she didn't know it." Anko pulled at her trench coat and gave a grateful smile to Shio.

Shio smile in return. "I'm glad my work saved your life Anko-san, that's why I do what I do."

Kurenai lifted her glass of water, "well then to Shio-san's skills then."

Kakashi lifted his glass without a word.

"To Kaasan," my tiny voice spoke up, lifting my glass with both of my chubby three year old hands.

"To badass trench coats!" Anko yelled.

"Language!" Shio and Kurenai admonished in unison.

The sound of Anko's laughter filled our entire side of the restaurant.


July had come and gone before I knew it, August was upon us now and I was once again at another park. This time however a conspiracy was obviously afoot as the same day Yoshino, Chiharu and Noriko all just happened to show up with their own kids.

The backs of what would become the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio were to me playing in a sandpit, Shio was already in conversation with her fellow mothers. I took a few steps closer, the second I did Ino had stood up and walked around the sandpit to inspect her work, she looked up from her work for a brief second.

Teal blue met my chocolate brown, a second passed, "Isa-kun!" Ino shouted.

I made the mistake of blinking because in that brief moment I allowed myself to be blindsided by a clingy Chihuahua, Ino's glomp had enough force to send me to the ground. "Isa-kun, Isa-kun play sand with us Isa-kun!" Ino shouted excitedly.

I looked down to see Ino's chin resting on my chest, her big eyes pleaded with me to play with her, "damnit, that isn't playing fair at all," I lamented.

"Okay then Ino-chan," I said with a sigh.

"Yay!" She exclaimed before pulling me up and dragging me to the sandpit.

I was unceremoniously pushed into the pit before Ino shoved a little plastic shovel into my hands, "Isa-kun help dig!"

I sighed again, resigning myself to dig into the sand with the rest of these kids, I hated sand in all honestly, its course, rough, and it gets everywhere. "Why are we digging?" I asked.

"Cause treasure," Choji explained as if it was obvious.

I nodded, made total since if you were a kid, hell I did it too when I was their age. I wonder if they're parents were like mine, hiding small toys deep in the sand, It was pretty smart, helped show kids the value of hard work at a young age. I looked over to my left to see Ino wasn't helping with the hole but actually making some sort of hill with the sand that was already dug up, "what are you doing Ino-chan?" I asked.

Ino patted the sand hill around while looking up at me, "make'n sand cattle!" she exclaimed happily.

"I think you mean sand castle Ino-chan," I corrected.

Ino nodded, "yeah that, how you so smart Isa-kun?" She asked.

I shrugged "I read a lot," I admitted as I pulled a big scoop of sand out of the growing hole and placed it atop Ino's sand hill, burying her tiny hands with the new sand.

"Ah my hands gone!" Ino yelled.

Shikamaru looked up from digging the hole, his eyes bugged out when he saw Ino's hands apparently gone from this world. "Ino's hands gone!" Shikamaru exclaimed in shock.

Choji gasped in horror, "bring her hands back Isa!" Choji demanded.

I raised my hands in a placating gesture, "hey, hey her hands aren't gone calm down," I tried to say calmly.

"Well why can't I see them?" Choji asked with a poke to my chest, his baby faced glare doing nothing to intimidate me.

"Yeah bring Ino's hand back!" Shikamaru threatened with his little red plastic shovel.

"I didn't do anything alright, Ino-chan move your hands," I instructed.

Ino shook her head, "I can't," her eyes were beginning to water and she started to sniffle.

I sighed, "good God are all kids so melodramatic?" I ask myself.

The situation was about to get way out of hand, both Choji and Shikamaru looked so angry they were about to cry and Ino looked on the verge of panicking. "Fine, " I say with a roll of my eyes before plunging my hands into the sand hill to find Ino's hands.

All three of the kids gasped at what I did, "he made his hands gone too," Choji whispered.

Shikamaru was stunned into silence.

Ino looked up at me with her watery eyes, "why'd you make your hands gone too?" She asked.

I bit back my natural reaction of sarcasm, "I got you okay," I say to her, trying to keep the little girl calm before she makes the whole damn park think I cut her hands off.

I pushed through the sand but it was a bit tougher than expected with how densely packed it was, maybe she really couldn't move her hands around, she is only like two or three years old after all.

I found Ino's small hands in the middle of the hill and grasped them, Ino gasped in surprise, "I can feel something!" Ino shouted.

Choji and Shikamaru scrambled to my side and looked over the small mound. "Do you think he can do it?" Choji asked Shikamaru.

Shikamaru just kept watching silently.

I pulled up with Ino's hands in mine and the sand crumbled away as I forced our hands up, Ino looked at me in awe at seeing her hands free, "you saved me Isa-kun!" Ino shouted.

"He did it!" Choji exclaimed.

"I don't believe it," Shikamaru whispered.

I chuckled, "kids are so easy to impress," I muse.

"Children its lunch time, how about we go get something to eat?" Chiharu shouted her suggestion from across the park.

Choji's attention was immediately drawn away, "yay lunch!" He shouted as he scrambled out of the sand pit and rushing over to his mother.

Shikamaru followed more slowly but still exited at the prospect of food.

I stood up and made to walk away but Ino still had my hands, "Ino-chan I need my hands to eat," I told her.

Ino nodded with a small smile and stood up still gripping my hands, "come on Isa-kun lets go eat," Ino urged, unclasping one of her hands and pulling me with the other.

I sighed allowing myself to be pulled away, I looked back at the sand mound that caused so much trouble, "wait a second," I thought. I narrowed my eyes, in the middle of the sand mound were two tiny hand prints that looked to have burrowed further into the sand hill, "her hands weren't stuck at all."

I looked back to see Ino looking forward with a little smirk on her face.


I found myself back at the Yamanaka household,. Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino all looked tired, the three of them swayed in their cushioned pillow seats ever so slightly.

"Let's lay you down for a little nap," Noriko said has she picked up Ino and Choji.

I felt myself be picked up too by Shio and Shikamaru was given the same treatment by Yoshino, I was placed on the long couch in the living room, Noriko placed Choji on my right and Ino on my left while Yoshino put Shikamaru next to Choji. A large blanket was placed on top of us and a long body pillow was placed under out heads.

Noriko brushed Ino's hair, "do you want Kaasan to read to you before your nap?" she asked.

Ino looked up at me, "Isa-kun should read," she said.

Noriko raised an amused eyebrow, "O, how do you know if Isa-kun can read?" she asked her daughter.

Ino snuggled into the blankets, "cause he said."

Noriko smiled and looked at me, "I can read Noriko-san," I offered, not like I had a choice, my bleeding heat wouldn't let me deny baby Ino.

Noriko nodded and pulled a small yellow book from a nearby bookstand, she gave me the book and I opened it.

The book had big bold printed words and pictures, "okay, uhh, the littlest seedling by Masashi Senju," I started.

Ino snuggled up next to me her head resting on my left shoulder, Choji on my right was laid back sucking on his thumb while Shikamaru was out like a light snoring and all.

I read on the very basic children's book about a sentient seedling wanting to find its new home and with the power of friendship would be able to grow its roots big and strong to become a great tree. I was near half way through the book at the part where the seedling was asking a bird to be its friend when I saw a flash and heard a mechanical click, I looked up to see Inoichi chuckling to himself as he shook a polaroid in his hand, "O don't mind me, keep reading," Inoichi said with a nostalgic smile.

A few minutes passed and I was finally done with the book, I closed it gently and looked down at Ino sleeping soundly on my shoulder. Choji and Shikamaru had moved in their sleep and now Shikamaru was using Choji's portly belly as a pillow while Choji was drooling on the far end of large pillow.

I sighed, feeling my own toddler body demanding a nap, I laid back on the large couch and into the fluffy pillow. Ino sighed contently into my shoulder, her chubby little hand gripping my shirt, I couldn't help but feel a pang in my heart as I looked down at the little head of blond hair. "Could have been a father," a voice whispered in the back of my mind, I bit my cheek and swallowed a lump in my throat. The void in my heart seemed all the more heavy at this moment, I saw a flash of red hair, green eyes, and the sound of a guitar played in my mind's eye. "She isn't ours Amber but it feels like she could've had things been different," I mused.


Today was the day, Shio and I were finally going back home, I met a lot of interesting people here, I arrived a contented man willing to just let the course of history take its place, I left confused, angry, but cautiously hopeful for the future.

I was looking out from the widow of my temporary room, allowing myself to soak up the view of Konoha at this elevated height, I could see hundreds of people milling about and the occasional back blur of a Ninja running across the rooftops. It was partly cloudy in the sky now, birds that sounded like singing to others, but to my ears, were arguing over who gets to eat the last bit of bread left over by one of the villagers.

"Okay everything's packed now sweetie are you ready?" Shio asked from the doorway.

"Yes Kaasan" I began before I looked down at my hands and watched as my finger nails grew to nearly an inch in length before I pushed my chakra back down and imagined them become smaller, a few seconds of concentration later and I saw them retract to their normal length, "I'm ready."


So it's bye, bye to Konoha for a while or maybe forever who knows. I don't really know why the theme of this chapter really became meeting new people and afternoon lunches but it kinda just happened.

There will be a small time skip next chapter because I want to start getting the ball rolling, the introduction arc of this story is going to most likely be the longest. I don't plan for the introduction to end anytime soon, maybe another eight chapters or so but who knows, hell I don't really know what the hell I'm about to write half the time until my fingers start to move.

I would like to reiterate that this isn't an action pact adventure with power ups, this is a character story that involves people and their relationships with each other, action is just a device used to up the drama factor rather than be the main medium of storytelling, at least for this story.

I very much enjoyed writing for Ino, I think some of the best child writing can be found in the show Rugrats and I tried to channel a bit of that in Ino, hopefully she didn't come across as grating or overly annoying but still keep to her child nature. Despite that I still find it difficult to write children if you haven't interacted with one for an extended period of time in many years, it's easy to accidently make them sound smarter than they really are by giving them big words to use or making them react to situations like a normal human being would. But you just need to realize that children are whiney, loud, overly dramatic poop monsters and you need to kinda ask yourself what the very first basic reaction you would have to a situation and just go from there.

I hope this chapter finds you all well and thank you to all of the reviews favorites and follows.