Ari

So just to make things clear, from the time Auntie Tabi came to visit me, I had had just about the worst year of my life up to that point, and it was all finished off in a nice little disaster package when Sasuke abandoned the village.

I raced through the trees alongside Kakashi. Naruto and several of his friends were dispatched to retrieve Sasuke from the Sound Four who had convinced him to join Orochimaru, but we were getting reports back that the group had split up, and several of the boys had already been taken down. Choji and Neji were in the worst of conditions and had been left to medical teams to receive immediate treatment. Then those two were transported back to the Leaf and were only allowed in the hands for the fifth hokage, Tsunade and her assistant Shizune. Kiba, Lee, and Shikamaru were in stable condition when we arrived having received only mild to moderate injuries. The Sand Village's Gaara, Temari, and Konkuro all arrived in time to help. Without those three, I wasn't sure our boys would even be alive.

So that just left Naruto, and he was nowhere to be found. And it was raining. When Naruto's trail had all but vanished from the downpour, Kakashi summoned one of his dogs, Pakkun.

"It's faint, but his scent is this way," the little pug called out. Kakashi and I followed close behind, "he seems to be unconscious!"

My heart began to sink. I didn't know what kind of condition I was going to find him in. And Pakkun made no mention of Sasuke which could only mean…

As fate would have it, Naruto was standing just off the bank of the river that continued after the waterfall in the Valley of the End. He was lying flat on his back, covered in in a mix of his blood and Sasuke's. There was a hole in his chest that had already begun to heal and regenerate. I stared up at the monuments of Hashirama and Madara before I took a closer look at Naruto. If only those two hadn't…I was at a loss for words. Hadn't what? There was so much that had happened, but everything, and what seemed to be everyone's suffering, from the Bijuu to my family, to the Uchiha, and to pretty much all of the Leaf began with those two.

I shook the nostalgia off and knelt down beside Naruto, attempting to mend his wounds before we took him to the hospital. Thankfully, Naruto was an incredibly strong boy and a fast healer, so it didn't take much to stabilize him. I tried to ignore the extra Leaf headband lying on Naruto's chest, a diagonal scratch running through it.

"That headband…" Kakashi noted, "that's Sasuke's isn't it…"

I nodded, "as badly wounded Naruto is, I can't imagine Sasuke being much better. I'm sensing trace amounts of my father's aura. It's making my skin tingle. Which could only mean Naruto released a massive amount of chakra in this battle, no human can escape from attacks like that completely unscathed."

"So what do you think, Ari?" Kakashi asked, "how far do you think Sasuke's gotten?"

"Not far," I said, "you take Naruto back. I'll catch up with you later. I'm no sensory type, but Tailed Beasts and half-demons can feel when their kin are near. There is probably some left-over chakra hanging onto Sasuke and I can find him with that."

"Alright," Kakashi said. He got Naruto on his back and I took Sasuke's headband and gave it a quick sniff. Yep, there was a massive amount of Dad's chakra on it; I kept it with me for reference as I took off. It didn't take long for me to catch Sasuke's presence, but he was far away and moving fast and I couldn't quite place where he was. I wandered aimlessly for several hours, the rain continued to poor harder and harder where I was until I was practically wading in mud.

Then suddenly, I felt Sasuke vanish. What I hadn't realized at the time was that Sasuke had stepped into Orochimaru's lair, which was actually pretty close to where I was. However, it was underground and invisible to the naked eye. Not to mention, Orochimaru filled the entrance with special medicinal incense that blocked off any chakra signature, making the person disappear to any ninja hound or sensory ninja who was trailing them. But when Sasuke vanished on me, my limbs suddenly went numb and I quickened my pace.

"No…" I gasped. "Sasuke!" I called out. I ran around in circles, hopping up into trees trying to get a better view. "Sasuke! Where are you?"

I called his name out more, but there was no answer to be heard. The rain continued to pour harder and I knew I would have to turn back soon. I was quickly approaching the Village Hidden in the Rain. It was a small and near ruined village caught inbetween the Leaf and the Sand and fell victim to both sides' exploitation during the Third Great Ninja War. As a result, the government system was weak and a civil war had broken out. The country as a result banned outsiders and was impossible to pass the border. Outsiders were not tolerated and if I continued further, I would be captured. I grimaced, fighting whether to take that risk or not, but eventually I fell to my knees. Sasuke was lost to us. Orochimaru was probably in the process of taking Sasuke's body already…

"Dammit!" I screamed loudly, pounding my fist in the mud. I heard footsteps approaching me and I jumped. Two cloaked figures wearing the red-clouded Akatsuki robes came towards me. My eyes widened. Ita…? But then I saw the puff of orange hair and my heart sank. The freak was probably just out to kill me for being in his territory or something stupid.

"What's the matter?" the man asked, "Are you in pain?"

I chuckled almost sarcastically. Was he joking? "Sir, I've been in pain since the day I was born. I don't know if Itachi has told you anything about me, but I've had a pretty shitty life and I am in a really bad mood so unless you want your ass handed to you, I suggest you leave me alone."

The man knelt down in front of me and looked into my eyes. I was almost hypnotized by the purple ripple-pattern that came out from his pupils. The Rinnegan…that was a kekkai genkai very few people ver got to see. I looked back up at his partner, she was a blue-haired woman with a paper flower in her hair. She was really pretty.

"You know Itachi?" the woman asked. I eyed her skeptically and nodded my head.

"We were teammates…before he left the village," I said, "I had a run in with him and his Fishy friend a few weeks ago. Seems like they were after my little brother. Mind telling me about that?"

"My apologies, it was only a mission for our purposes, surely you understand," the man said, "But with our intelligence, all of that means you are Ariala Drake, am I correct?"

"I am," I said. Oh dear, this isn't good…

The man stood and extended his hand for me. Still suspicious, I clasped onto it and stood up. His hand was eyes cold and his skin felt like paper, almost like a corpse. The man introduced himself, "I am the Leader of Akatsuki. I am Pein. And I am God."

"Oh," I said a little surprised by his intro, "well, nice to meet you, God, sir…"

Thankfully, this freak show didn't catch my sarcasm and continued, "forgive me for asking, but why are you so close to the Rain Village's border? It's awfully dangerous for a kunoichi of the leaf like yourself to be wandering this close to the border."

"I was looking for someone. A close friend of mine who's run away. But he disappeared and we fear that Orochimaru has plans to kill this young boy for his own personal gain," I explained.

Pein in response grimaced and the woman rolled her eyes. The woman said, "I'm Konan by the way. And Orochimaru is a traitor at heart. He's broken some ties with the Akatsuki and we've been after him as well. It seems that we have a common enemy, if you want we can help you locate your friend."

"I appreciate that but…Konoha is pretty stingy with who we associate with and I'm on a short leash as it is," I explained, "so I don't think me accepting help from the organization Itachi now works for would go over too well."

"I understand," Konan smiled kindly. She was a lot like Saya, and I felt a small bond forming between the two of us, even if she was a criminal. "But if we take Orochimaru down first, we'll be sure to try to point your friend in the direction of home," she said.

Shocked, I bowed. "Thank you so much," I said, "but…why would you go to such great lengths to help me? Aren't I your enemy?"

Pein and Konan exchanged glances, then Pein turned and said, "Unlike our employees, Konan and I are not necessarily in the bingo books. We have no grudges against other villages, we only wish to achieve our goal. We are a lot like you in a way, Ariala Drake, or should I say, Uzumaki?"

My eyes widened and I drew in a sharp breath, "did Itachi tell you…?"

Pein shook his head, "your chakra feels very similar to the Kyuubi's, and I've heard the stories about you as the Demon of the Leaf. It's an easy assumption to make. Have no fear; Itachi has kept his mouth shut about your identity. He has protected you. And he has spoken very highly of you as well. However, he never said anything, but I also know about you two…your encounter in the Leaf I mean."

I held my breath, "what?"

Pein nodded, "It's interesting that even after abandoning the village you still consider him your lover. Why is that?"

I sighed in relief. Good, they didn't know that Ita was actually a spy… I explained, "well, I guess it's for the same reason you've offered to help me. I'm no criminal, but I don't have any particular qualms with other countries. I lived the first years of my life drifting from land to land, and though I reside in Konoha, I don't have ties to the village that are so deep I hold grudges towards people I've never met. I consider myself the world's kunoichi, because all I want is to see peace in this world."

Konan smiled at that and Pein nodded in approval. "Well, it seems we both share the same goal," he said, "I commend you. Well, we are going now, but do you mind giving us the name of your friend so we can help you if he turns up?"

I raised an eyebrow but nodded, "if I do, then you're going to have to pass on this message to Ita—I mean, Itachi."

"Very well," Pein said.

"Tell him," I took in a deep breath and said, "tell him that his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha has abandoned the village and gone to Orochimaru. It's all out of revenge, Sasuke's lost his senses and he needs to come home. And then tell Ita…that Ari is so sorry she couldn't protect Sasuke and keep him from leaving."

After that encounter, Naruto ended up in the hospital for three days. I gave Sasuke's headband back to him and Naruto spent several nights crying when no one was around. Well, he thought no one was around. I had walked in on him weeping silently after a conversation with Jiraiya one evening and I took a step back. I tried to comfort him but, embarrassed, he swiped me away. He later apologized and gave me a hug, but I know he didn't mean it. He was just like me. I hated when people saw me cry.

Sakura was even worse. Poor girl mourned for Sasuke just like I had mourned for Ita, except Sakura had me to comfort her when she broke down crying while I kept my tears to myself. I don't know who it was harder on because, unlike me, Sakura was still stuck in the insecurity of not knowing whether she had a chance with him or not. Knowing how hell-bent on revenge Sasuke was, I was betting on not. I somehow doubted that Sasuke had taken notice to any girl. He was kind of arrogant in that sense. But if Ita had never left then…I don't know…Sasuke and Sakura might've ended up together like Ita and I did.

Eventually, Naruto got out of the hospital and Jiraiya had agreed to take the blond-haired boy in as an apprentice. Naruto had dinner at my house the last night he was in the village. I helped pack his bags and made sure he had enough clothes and toiletries to get him through the trip. And then, the next morning, I took a picture of Naruto and Jiraiya standing at the gates of Konoha. Kakashi was with us and offered to take a photo with me in it and I had two more photos to put into my scrapbook. Suddenly, my little boy was gone and off to see the world without me to hold him on my lap or feed him a good dinner. He was off to grow up, and I didn't see him for another three years.

I was thankful for Sakura who came over that first night with Naruto gone. I was a bit of a wreck and had fixed dinner for about four people as if I were expecting guests. I sighed heavily as I sat down alone. So much for family dinner…

But then there was a knock on the door.

"Sakura?" I asked, surprised, "it's late, dear, what are you doing out?"

"Well," Sakura stepped inside, "I was wondering if I could ask you for some advice…"

"Do your parents know where you are?" I asked. She nodded.

I smiled and said, "then come on in, I've got dinner waiting for you."

Sakura sat down across from me and I plated her some food. We ate in silence for a while, and Sakura's face lit up when she took a bite, "Wow! You're a great cook, Ari! You should teach me some time!"

I laughed, "Sure! I work part-time at the hospital when I'm not on missions so I'm free on most Thursdays. Just come on over and I'll show you the ropes!"

After Lady Tsunade stepped up to Hokage, the way missions were set up had changed a lot. It was mostly because of the rebuilding stages the village was in, but Tsunade used every shinobi she had, sending Chunin out on A- and S-ranked missions on occasion, where the Third Hokage often held shinobi to a certain class of missions based on their ranking. With that change, more and more shinobi were gaining battle experience and the ANBU were being utilized for different purposes, typically only the most difficult of S-ranked missions as well as scouting missions and espionage. I kind of liked the new set up, but with all of these changes, I no longer saw any need to stay in ANBU, and I felt my abilities were better fit in other areas, such as training young genin or accepting the less-tactical missions that required a strong leader and a wide range of fighting techniques, so I pulled out and my schedule suddenly freed up immensely, leaving me to work more at the hospital, go back to the gym and train (though I was a little too tall for a gymnast now, but I didn't care) and now, offer to teach Sakura how to cook.

Sakura pushed the food on her plate and she nervously asked, "what do you think about medical ninja?"

"Huh?" I responded, a little confused, "I think they are incredibly talented shinobi who are an important asset to this village. Without them, the Leaf would probably be about half the size it is now and I probably would have died long before I got into ANBU, much less gotten to this point. Of course I am a medical ninja part-time, so I am a little biased. Why?"

"Well…how hard is it? To become a medical ninja?" she asked.

"Well…if you have good chakra control, then it's not too bad, but you have to be at a certain level of control and efficiency with your chakra use and it does take years of training, as with everything else."

"Do you think I have what it takes for being a medical ninja?"

I stared at Sakura with wide eyes for a moment. She looked up at me, her green eyes sparkling with slight anxiety. I smiled and said, "Sakura, I think you'll make an excellent medical ninja. So tell me, who are you looking into as a teacher?"

"Well, I was thinking you…" Sakura said timidly, rocking back and forth in her chair.

"Well, I apologize, Sakura, but I'm probably not the best person to teach medical ninjutsu. Yes, I'm a good healer, but I'm a fighter by trade. I spend more time on the battlefield and my technique probably isn't the best as I deal with more first aid type of stuff. I can teach you the basics, but you're going to have to see a master if you want to utilize your full potential," I said.

"Is there anyone you could recommend me to?" she asked.

"There is one person who I think is fit to train you," I said, crossing my arms. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Sakura had the potential to become as well-known of a medical ninja as Ita and I were the Ultimate Tag Team. There was only one person in the world who could be acould teacher to her.

"Who's that?" Sakura sat up, her face lit up with excitement.

"Her name is Tsunade," I said.

"Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked in disbelief, "Ari…I don't know if I'm good enough for the Hokage to take me…"

"Of course you are!" I retorted, "Sakura, if there is one thing I have learned in my life, it's that a shinobi is only as good as his teacher. It doesn't matter how smart or strong you are or how much potential you have, if you have a mediocre teacher who is teaching in a field outside of their expertise, then you will get nowhere, and the greater the potential, the greater the master you study under must be. When I look at you, I can only see the Hokage as one fit to teach you. She will be strict, and she doesn't take in too many students, but she has to be the one to teach you."

"Okay," Sakura slunk in her chair, "so…how to I talk to her?"

"Well, just go into her office and be yourself," I explained, "she's really disorganized so you don't have to set up an appointment. Just walk in when it's convenient for you and tell her you want to study under her. But don't do it until after tomorrow."

"Why not tomorrow?"

"Because," I smiled, "Tomorrow, I'm putting in a recommendation for you."

After that, Tsunade took Sakura on as her student, and Team 7 was each paired up with their own Sannin as a mentor. As we all know, nothing really happened in the three years that Naruto was off training. The Akatsuki decided to hold off on their movements during those three years while they regrouped and came up with battle strategies. Intelligence gathered told us that Sasuke wasn't absorbed by Orochimaru right away. Naruto's fight with him managed to stall for enough time that Orochimaru ran out of, and he had to absorb another body before he ran out of chakra and died, so it would take another three years before he could go after Sasuke again.

But there was one mission that Naruto went on while he was off training. I got to reunite with him, and he and Jiraiya accompanied me on this mission per Tsunade's request. And per Danzo's instructions and a chance encounter, we ended up receiving help from two certain Akatsuki members.

And I still make fun of one of them for looking like a fish.

This story begins about a month after the attack on Konoha (remember how long I said it would take for me to see Ita again?) and just a couple weeks after Naruto had left. I was called into Tsunade's office with orders to leave for a mission immediately after my briefing.

As I stepped in, I was surprised to see Tsunade accompanied by the three elders, Homura, Koharu, and Danzo. In front of her desk knelt a Root member clad in an ANBU mask and a hooded robe, disguising him completely. Danzo and the Root member nodded to each other, and the Root member disappeared. Tsunade cringed angrily, shooting Danzo a glare before she turned her attention to me.

"You needed to see me, Milady?" I asked walking up to where the Root member once stood.

"We have received some disturbing reports," Tsunade began, "the Land of Ogres is a small country to the south of the Land of Fire. It's a beautiful coastal country that is a very popular tourist destination. The land makes most of its revenue from resorts and attractions. But it is also considered a holy land where many priests and monks have taken pilgrimages to, including our own Feudal Lord."

I nodded, "however, the Land of Ogres is also rumored to be the birth place of the nine Tailed Beasts along with several other mythical beings such as imps and ogres and other presumably dangerous creatures, like myself for example," I gave a sarcastic grin at that joke and Tsunade pushed in a laugh as the three elders glared at the two of us.

"Correct. And as you probably know, this is where your mission comes into play," Tsunade continued, "At the outskirts of the country, on the legendary Fuchsia Beach lies one of the most popular and expensive resorts, the Utsukuma Inn. The Inn was renovated from a holy temple that had been taken over by demons according to legend. Because of its daring history, the building sat vacant and real estate agents have been afraid of even constructing other hotels despite the high property values of building on the pink-sand beaches of the coast. That is, of course, until the owner Motokuma Hoshiyo bought the temple and turned it into a hotel. Typically only celebrities stay there, people of the high upper class. The owner's daughter, Kagami Hoshiyo is even a world-famous singer who is known for her eccentric performances. However, there has been an uproar recently. Two hundred young women have gone missing over the past three months in the Land of Ogres. There is only one thing that these women have in common, though."

"They stayed at Utsukuma Inn," I guessed. Tsunade nodded.

"Naturally, we place Master Hoshiyo as a culprit in these disappearances, but he's the one who sent out the plea for our help in this case. The people of the Land of Ogres are superstitious and fear that this has been the work of vengeful demons who used to reside in the Inn. Hoshiyo fears that his daughter will be targeted next and has attempted to send her out of town on several occasions to keep that from happening, but because everyone is afraid of staying at the hotel now, he can't afford to send her on trips and could risk going bankrupt. He has asked us to dispel this issue before either of those become the case. You are to leave immediately," Tsunade explained.

I nodded and said, "Yes, ma'am! But…why are you sending just me on this mission? I get that I'm a half-demon and that's good reason for sending me out on this mission, but alone? If it is just a bunch of trouble-makers trying to get their temple back it could be a handful, even for me."

This time, Danzo spoke up, "I sent that ANBU before you out to scout out the situation and obtain some intelligence on the situation. He will meet up with you and aid you on this mission."

I nodded and narrowed my eyes at Danzo. "Okay…" I said.

Tsunade spoke up, "I also contacted Jiraiya the other day and he was that he and Naruto were actually on their way to train in the Land of Ogres. Chances are that you'll run into them, so feel free to ask them for help."

"Okay, I can do that," I said, catching Tsunade's hint. Really, she didn't trust Danzo and didn't like the thought of a Root Member tagging along with me to possibly try and sweep this mission under the rug. So in reality, Jiraiya probably knew to rendezvous with me and the three of us would accomplish this mission as a group.

I ran home to pack my bag and prepare my weapons pouch. I threw on a tank-top and a thin vest with the Uzumaki clan's crest on the back. I pulled my hair back in a tight ponytail and put on some leather, fingerless gloves on and strapped my twin swords onto my back. By chance I had forgotten to take my camera out of my backpack.

About a day and a half into my trip I ran into Naruto and Jiraiya as we approached the border. The two were sitting outside a shrine. Naruto was running around and Jiraiya was writing.

"Hey guys!" I said as I hopped down from the roof of the shrine, "Long time, no see!"

"Ari!" Naruto gasped, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm on a mission," I said, "on my way to the Land of Ogres."

Jiraiya stood up and put his book away, "Really? That's where we're heading. Anything we can help you with?"

"Actually, yeah," I said. I briefed them on my mission, explaining the situation, "now, my plan is to check into the hotel as guests and hang around for a while, just to see what this hotel is like and scout out any abnormalities. I don't know how long this will take and the hotel is really expensive, but the village has already booked a few reservations for me and is helping us pay for the expenses of staying."

"And how do you intend to go about the situation after that?" Jiraiya, "you aren't using yourself as bait are you?"

"Well, if I have to, I will," I explained, "I'm a young woman around the same age as the ones who have gone missing. And on top of that I'm…" I glanced over at Naruto and tried to be careful with how I phrased my words, "well, my dad's side of the family has some ties to the Land of Ogres…according to legend at least. And really, I can't come up with a plan until I get there and see what the situation is like."

"All RIGHT!" Naruto shot up to his feet, cheering, "I've been waiting for a mission like this! I'm ready to kick some demon butt!"

"Easy, Naruto," Jiraiya chided, "we have to approach a mission like this calm and collected if he hope to keep a low profile. When we get there, we're going to have to hide all traces of being shinobi. We'll need to invest in some tourist clothes."

"So shall we go?" I asked.

We traveled across the Land of Ogres and were half-way to our destination when I noticed something was off: we were being followed. I raised my hand for the two to stop.

"What's wrong Ari? Why'd you stop?" Naruto asked. I grimaced, I wasn't used to being on a mission with Naruto, and this wasn't like Itachi or another ANBU where I could simply twist my words and keep our pursuers from catching onto us.

"Uhh…nothing, just stay quiet," I whispered. Naruto shrugged and kept walking, despite my orders.

"Naruto!" I scolded.

"There's nothing out here! Geez, shit your pants, why don't you…"

"LANGUAGE!"

"Whaaaat?"

I ignored Naruto's retort and averted my attention to the bushes behind me. That's where they were. I spun around and released a chakra chain that turned into a light whip. I'll just smoke them out. I slashed the bushes and I heard someone yelp as two figures leapt out from hiding and stood before me. Naruto let out a scream and jumped back, I pulled out my twin swords, and Jiraiya readied himself to summon some help.

"You two!" Naruto growled.

"Naruto, it's good to see you," Ita said coolly.

I glared at him, "What are you two doing here, Weasel?"

Ita narrowed his eyes, "I think I like Ponytail a bit better…"

"Too bad, Weasel's funnier. Now just what are you guys up to?"

Kisame stepped forward and unsheathed his Samehada as he stated, "we're on our way to the Utsukuma Inn. We have some business to attend to…"

"I see," Jiraiya said, "so are you the ones responsible for the kidnappings there?"

"Kidnappings?" Ita raised an eyebrow, surprised. He and I exchanged glances before Ita turned back to Jiraiya and explained, "We haven't heard about any kidnappings lately, nor have we been involved in any. Someone stole an important scroll from the Akatsuki last week and we've been told that it may be hidden at the Utsukuma Inn. We are simply on our way there to investigate. And if it's there, retrieve the scroll."

I stood back up fully and sheathed my swords, "A scroll, huh?" This was certainly interesting, first the missing women and now the Akatsuki had something stolen from them too. "What was in that scroll."

"Nothing of your concern," Kisame retorted, "it had top secret information that we require to achieve a specific goal. Our Leader requires it to learn an important summoning jutsu and asked us to retrieve it and figure out why someone from that resort would steal it."

"Well, how about we work out a deal?" I offered, placing my hands on my hips. Everyone except Ita jumped and looked at me confused, "If you help us find these missing women and stop the kidnapper, we'll help you get your scroll back."

"You can't be serious," Kisame muttered, "is this some kind of trick?"

"Ari! We can't work with them! Itachi's the reason Sasuke went to Orochimaru!" Naruto shouted.

I glared back at both of them, "Look, Utsukuma Inn was once a cursed temple where dangerous monsters lived. And I know from experience that the Land of Ogres doesn't have a history full of daisies and rainbows. Both missions are incredibly dangerous for a team under three people, assuming demons are involved in either one. We could use each other's help. So how about we set aside some momentary truce, and help each other out. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"

Itachi and Kisame looked at each other and Naruto stared at me like I was an idiot. I looked over at Jiraiya who nodded in approval.

"I think I can set aside any grudges for the day, don't you, Itachi? Kisame?" Jiraiya said.

Ita nodded, "It doesn't look like there is much choice."

Kisame and Naruto were outraged as they both shrieked, "WHAT?"

"Itachi, you've got to be kidding me. That's the Nine-Tailed brat over there, and there is no way in hell that I am working with her!"

"What did I ever do to you, Fish-Sticks?" I spat back.

Kisame let out a frustrated squawk and pointed at me saying, "See?"

The grudges were temporarily set aside when we heard movement in the bushes. Everyone froze as a horrible stench and a terrifying aura passed through the area.

"Did you feel that?" I asked, in disbelief.

"Ari," Ita stated urgently. I looked back at him, his sharingan was activated as he looked around, a frantic expression in his eyes. "Speed," he ordered, "ten!"

I nodded and counted down from ten as I quickly got close to Naruto and Jiraiya as Itachi stepped next to Kisame. "Get ready to run…" I said, "…NOW!"

A massive form came crashing down from the trees as all five of us leapt in opposite directions. I looked back to see a huge monster with a spider's body and what seemed to be a woman's torso with really long arms, stringy black hair, and a faceless head with only a scare-crows mouth. That thing let out a horrifying cackle as it reached down and scooped up Naruto.

"AAAH!" he screamed.

"Naruto!" I cried out. The spider turned its attention towards me and began to chase after me. Man it was fast, and that was saying something because I leapt through the trees as fast as I possibly could!

"Ari! Run faster!" Naruto pleaded as the monster gained on me.

"I'm TRYING!" I yelled back.

From above, I heard Itachi call out, "Firestyle: Fireball Jutsu!" as he breathed out a massive fireball, scorching the spider's face. The monster screeched in pain and dropped Naruto. Itachi and I dropped back to the ground, following Naruto, Ita scooped the boy up in his arms and we made a mad dash for the nearest hiding place.

We slid under a small tunnel made from tree roots that were covered heavily in moss. We had no idea where Jiraiya and Kisame were, but we knew they were safe because the spider had its sights set on us three. It stomped around on its eight legs, scanning the forest.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are, Magots!" the monster hissed with the voice of an old witch. The three of us laid on our stomachs and watched as the spider passed, searching for us. She could smell us, she just didn't know where exactly we were. My arm was already around Naruto, so I held out my hand and Ita took it in his. I then sent out a pulse and masked all three of our chakras.

"What?" the spider grew confused, "Where did they go?" It then turned to scan another part of the forest. I let out a sigh of relief, but found Naruto staring at me with the most panicked expression.

"What?" I whispered.

"Don't hold hands with him!" Naruto screeched. In the distance we heard the stomping stop as the spider turned towards the sound of our voices.

"Don't talk, it can hear us," I whispered urgently. Naruto covered his mouth but still glared at Ita.

*Okay…so, any ideas?* I asked Ita.

*Well, she doesn't seem to like fire that much…*

*No one does, Ita…got anything else?*

*She's also very sensitive to sound. She has to be at least ten kilometers away and she still heard you and Naruto whispering. Imagine what she'd hear to something loud like…you know those two elder frogs that Jiraiya summons when he goes into sage mode?*

*Yeah.*

*Well, do you remember that one mission you, Shisui, and I went on with Master Jiraiya and we fought against that one blind ninja who could maneuver through echolocation so he was immune to my genjutsu? Jiraiya summoned Ma and Pa to use that frog song of there so pull him into a drunken stupor…if that spider is as sensitive to sound as she is, imagine what that frog song will do to her.*

*But we need Jiraiya for that. Where is he?*

Ita pointed up at the trees, *He and Kisame are both hiding at the top of that tree in front of us. If we can get up there…*

*If being the key word, sweetheart.*

Ita gave me an annoyed look, and thought back sarcastically, *I know, darling. Just trust me on this. If we act fast we'll be fine. She's far enough away right now.*

I sighed heavily and nodded. I tugged on Naruto's shirt, trying to get him to follow us. Confused, Naruto obeyed and we quietly slid out of our hiding place. In the distance, the spider's stomping stopped again, listening for any disturbances in the forest. I looked at Naruto and placed my finger in front of my lips to tell him to be quiet, then pointed up at the trees. Naruto nodded in understanding and the three of us tiptoed up the tree and carefully weaved our way through branches. We made it to where Jiraiya and Kisame stood and I motioned for them to be quiet.

Unfortunately, Naruto leapt with joy and shouted as loud as he could, "PERVY-SAGE! You will not believe what I just saw!"

"FOUND YOU!" I heard the spider-witch hiss loudly as the earth began to shake.

"Naruto!" I shouted back at him angrily, "I told you to be quiet!"

Naruto threw his hands up innocently in a panic, "Sorry!"

"Master Jiraiya," Ita said urgently, ignoring mine and Naruto's spat, "we need you to summon Ma and Pa. We know how to beat this spider, but you have to be quick."

"Those two? But it takes me quite a while to prepare for that type of summoning," Jiraiya eyed skeptically, "I don't think we have time."

"We don't need you to go into sage mode," I explained, "we just need those two. That spider is hyper-sensitive to sound!"

"Oh! I see!" Jiraiya grinned as he bit his finger, weaving hand signs for the summoning, "The Ultimate Tag Team is at it again with their genius plans!"

"That was all him," I blushed.

Naruto glared at me, "NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR FLATTERY!"

"Oh my god, Naruto! Shut your pie hole for a minute, okay?" I ordered. Naruto crossed his arms and started pouting. I rolled my eyes and face-palmed.

"Summoning Jutsu!" Jiraiya called out as he slammed his palm to the tree branch underneath him. In the puff of smoke, two smaller, elderly toads appeared.

"Jiraiya-boy, what did you summon us for? And where is your sage mode?" Pa asked as he looked around. He then looked up and saw the company with Jiraiya. Pa jumped, "Itachi Uchiha? What are you doing here? I thought you left the village!"

Jiraiya explained, "both of our teams have been sent on fairly similar missions. And right now we're all in a bit of a bind, and we could use your help. Itachi and Ari have both come up with a plan."

Itachi knelt down before Ma and Pa and bowed his head respectfully, "My elders, forgive me for the inconvenience but we are being trailed and attacked by a large demon spider who is hypersensitive to sound. We think that your toad song will be able to stop her."

"Oh, that dreary old thing?" Ma cringed, "I'm sorry, Itachi, but my vocal chords have been going in recent years! I'm not the singer I was."

"Oh, nonsense, Ma! You sing fine! It's a demon we're dealing with, it won't take much for our harmonizing to get her under a genjutsu!" Pa scolded, he then turned back to Itachi and nodded, "Sure thing, just let us know when."

At that moment, the spider leapt out of the trees and hissed, planning to attack us, "Die!"

Ma and Pa hopped up onto Jiraiya's shoulders and the five of us made a run for it, hopping underneath the tree cover.

"I'd say now would be a good time to whip up that song!" I said. The two toads made hands signs and lifted their heads, building up chakra in their throats as the skin folds puffed out. Above us, we heard the spider get stuck coming down from the trees. "Everyone back up and get behind Jiraiya," I ordered, "It'll take some time for the song to take affect so we want enough distance so that we can hold our position if she charges for us."

"We're ready, just say when," Ma choked out, holding in her croaks.

"Ari?" Ita asked. I held my hand up.

"Wait for her to fall to the ground," I ordered, "Everyone get behind me and Jiraiya."

The spider came crashing to the ground before she rolled back on to her eight feet. She let out an angry hiss, her scare-crow fixated into a hideous frown.

"Now!" I ordered. Ma and Pa began croaking, releasing their genjutsu song. The spider began to charge at us but hissed again as the soundwaves reached her. She covered where her ears should've been and hunkered down for a moment, before she continued charging at us, but the more the song played, the more it bothered the spide.

"No! Stop! No more!" she cried out, staggering backwards, "Please!" Eventually she crashed into some trees, unable to move in a straight line.

"Ita, try some firestyl jutsu again," I said, "see what happens."

"Alright," Ita said. He ran forward and did another fireball jutsu, burning the spider's face and torso.

"Aaah! My beautyyyyy! My face! My body! I'm ruined!" the spider screeched and ran away, still on fire. We heard loud crashing sounds in the distance before complete silence. We figured that that was the end of the spider demon.

Ma and Pa said their goodbyes and returned home. I looked back at Kisame and said, "you still want to play hostile with me?"

"No, no!" Kisame laughed nervously, "I never said anything like that! We're on the same team now, aren't we?"

I rolled my eyes, "whatever you say, Fish-Sticks."

Kisame frowned, "But you know what, could you not call me Fish-Sticks? At least while we're working together?"

I sighed heavily, "Alright, alright. How does Sharkfin sound?"

Kisame's face contorted funny, "How does Kisame sound?"

I shook my head, "Sorry. That's too boring. So Sharkfin then?"

"No."

I pressed a finger to my chin and thought, "Aquaman."

"That's worse."

"Blue Boy?"

"No!"

"Okay, okay, I've got it, Baaaby Shark Doo-do-do-do-dodo!"

"Absolutely not! Itachi!"

"What?" Ita asked, "you can't stop her. She has nicknames for everyone."

Kisame groaned.

"Okay, this is my last and final offer," I said, "if you don't like it, I'm sticking to Fish-Sticks, you ready?"

Kisame cringed, "What is it…?"

"Jaws?"

Kisame was silent for a long time, glaring at me. He didn't like it but finally he gave up, "Okay, fine. It's better than nothing."

"Alright!" I cheered, patting Jaws on the back, "Welcome to the team, buddy!"

Kisame gave me a weird look, "so…what other nicknames do you have…?"

I pointed at Naruto, who stood closest to me, "well, for this little guy I have Blondie, Narutard, and Foxy-Boxes. Jiraiya is Ribbit and Toad-man…though I have to say, I'm really liking Pervy-Sage right now!"

"And for Itachi…?"

"You don't want to know," Itachi grimaced, hunkering down.

I smiled, tormenting him anyway, as I threw my arms around him, "well for Tall, Dark-haired, and Handsome her, we've got Ita, Ponytail, Weasel (that's a new one), and my personal favorite, Princess Itachiah!"

At that, the other three broke out into fits of laughter. Naruto was practically rolling on the floor. Ita shot me a pitiful glare.

*And why, exactly, did you tell them that one?* he asked annoyed.

*Because I love you,* I said.

Itachi sighed as he said, "It took me a year to get her to stop calling me that last one…"

Kisame was roaring as he managed to ask through his laughter, "And where…exactly…did you get that moniker?"

"We were four!" Ita protested.

I giggled, "his cousin Saya and I were best friends. She had princess dresses in her basement that we'd use to play dress up and one time Ita came over to play with Saya's older brother, but the two fell asleep watching a movie…so…being the brats that we were, Saya and I put them in two of her dresses, got a tiara on their heads and smeared makeup all over 'em."

"It was awful…" Itachi groaned.

"It was hilarious!" I protested, I then looked back at him and asked, "Say, why don't I call you that anymore, Princess?"

"Because it's a ridiculous name! That's why!"

"Ugh, you're no fun…" I whined.

After that, we all made our way to the resort without too much trouble. We stopped in a town and traded out our dirty ninja uniforms for more touristy-looking clothes and bought a few extra accessories like swim suits and sandals and the likes. We were at a beach, and this mission would probably take a while, and not to mention we were all trying to blend in so why not make a vacation out of it?

It was sunny out and I put some sunglasses on as I wore a loose white tank-top that was a little low cut which was tucked into some jean shorts complete with a very colorful belt. We walked through the town searching for the resort. I glanced over at Ita who walked next to me, he was looking pretty handsome in his gray button-down shirt and khaki shorts. He had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbow and wore a skin-tight black tank undershirt. His necklace sparkled in the sun. I looked down at mine and smiled lightly.

"You're looking pretty sharp there, Ita," I said.

"Oh, so I'm not Princess anymore?" Ita responded, still annoyed. I frowned. Geez, someone had been working for the criminal underworld for a little too long.

"Oh, you still aren't mad about that, are you?" I grinned, elbowing him lightly.

Ita pouted and glared at me and spoke quietly, "Ari, it's one thing when we're in the village, but I have a reputation to keep if I want to keep people from catching on to me…and you're being a little too friendly in front of everyone."

I glared at him, "Itachi Uchiha, you of all people should know that I'm not one to stick to village ties and stereotypes. I'm a half-demon for crying out loud. I've been just as friendly with Kisame as I have been to you. Everyone here knows that we have a history together, so for god's sake loosen up! You've been hiding in a cave for far too long!"

Itachi sighed and said, "Alright, alright fine. Just…try not to embarrass me too much, okay?"

I grinned, "I make no promises, Love."

At that, Itachi flashed me a playful smile. We continued walking in front of the other three. Slowly, our hands clasped around each other.

"Ahem!" Naruto coughed behind me. Ita and I stopped, we turned to look at him.

"Can I help you?" I asked. Naruto narrowed his eyes at me.

"Can I have a word with you?" Naruto asked, then shot Ita a nasty glare, "alooone?"

I rolled my eyes as he grasped onto my hand and pulled me to the side. Ita, Jaws, and Jiraiya all stopped and looked at us as Naruto dragged me over.

"What are they doing?" Jiraiya asked.

Kisame chuckled, "I don't think that little boy approves of you as his sister's boyfriend, Itachi…"

"Shut up, Jaws."

"Like you can talk, Princess!"

Ita let out a groan.

I looked back at Naruto and pulled my hand away from him. I placed my hands on my hips and asked, "Naruto, what is your problem? You've been in a bad mood ever since we got here!"

"What's my problem? What's your problem?" Naruto yelled, pointing his finger in my face. I pushed his hand away.

"Now what on earth do you mean by that?" I asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Naruto shrieked quietly. He then lowered his voice and glared at Itachi before he said, "you held his hand. Twice!"

I looked back over at Ita and then back at Naruto. A small smile crept onto my face as I realized what he was talking about. I let out a laugh.

"This is nothing to laugh about, Ari!" Naruto scolded, "he is an S-ranked criminal! He killed Sasuke's family and is the reason Sasuke went with Orochimaru! He can't be trusted! I don't care if you two had a thing before or not, he's going to try to take advantage of you, Ari! And I will not let you get trampled over by that creep!"

I continued to laugh and pulled Naruto in a bear hug, spinning him around. "Naruto, you are adorable!" I squealed, "but seriously, you don't need to worry about me and Ita. We're just old teammates is all, just like you and Sasuke. But I promise that there is nothing going on between us."

Okay, that was a dirty lie, but Naruto was completely misinterpreting the situation anyway.

"Nothing going on?" Naruto screeched, "Ari, you were holding hands!"

"Idiot!" I scolded, smacking my fist to the top of Naruto's head, "you see two people holding hands and automatically think they have a thing?"

"Well, yeah! That's what couples do!" Naruto shouted back. At this point the other three walked over to us, wanting to see what was going on. Naruto pointed at Itachi, "you guys were being romantic in the forest when that spider lady was coming after us! I saw! You were holding hands!"

I groaned and grasped hold of Naruto's hand.

*That wasn't being romantic, Narutard. That was coming up with a strategy* I thought to him. At that, Naruto shrieked and let go of my hand.

"Your mouth didn't even move!" Naruto screeched.

"Of course it didn't," I explained, "I'm a psychic. When I touch someone, I can mask my chakra signature and there's, and when I hold their hand, I can open a channel between our minds. That's how Ita and I communicated to come up with that plan against the spider-demon."

Naruto's jaw dropped as he said, "Ohhh…hey, you should teach me how to do that!"

I sighed, "sorry, Naruto, I'm the only one with this kind of ability. I got it from my mother."

Naruto bounced up and down, "but if you and I did that we could—"

"Sorry again," I said, "it takes years of training to master the art of sharing your thoughts with someone. There are millions thought-processes that can run through the human mind at once, it can be difficult for the reader to decipher what you're trying to communicate. There are very few people that I use this ability with."

At that Naruto began pouting and we continued forward. Ita and I walked hand in hand, saying nothing.

*So…just how many people do you do this trick with?* Ita asked me curiously.

*Just one,* I answered, *Like I said, very few people.*

At that, Ita frowned, *Really? No one else? Not even with me gone?*

*Yep. You're the only one I will ever use this with.*

*But why just me?*

*Because you're the only one who I can trust my mind with.*

Ita shrugged and hid his smile and a blush. As we drew near to the resort, we stopped to gather our plan together.

"Okay, here's how we're going to go about this," I explained, "this mission entails a bit of espionage if we're going to get close. I'll check us in under the credit card that the village gave me for this mission and it'll be under my name. The owner's daughter is living here currently and likes getting to know the guests. She's about my age so I'm going to try to get to know her, become friends with her. We're checking in as a family. Ita, you're my boyfriend. You're traveling with us on vacation. That shouldn't be too hard to fake. Naruto, you're my little brother, again, not too hard to fake. Jiraiya, you are mine and Naruto's grandfather. We live with you and you wanted to take the whole family on this vacation. Kisame, you're our uncle…adopted. You actually do kind of remind me of one of my uncles, so that relationship is believable enough."

"Oh great," Kisame groaned sarcastically, he knew that wasn't exactly a complement, "which Bijuu am I? The drunken raccoon?"

"Actually, the hairy monkey with a bad attitude," I explained.

"Delightful…"

We walked into the lobby and were greeted by a jolly, short man with a furry gray mustache and a white bowl cut. "Welcome, welcome, to the Utsukuma Inn! The finest hotel in the Land of Ogres! I am the owner, Motokuma Hoshiyo! Do you have reservations?"

I set my bags down and pulled out my wallet, "hello, Master Hoshiyo, my name is Ariala Drake. This is my brother Naruto, my grandfather Jumba, my uncle Son Gokuu, and my fiancé…um…"

"Shisui," Ita said quickly, extending his hand. He shook it with Master Hoshiyo and said, "and yes, we do have reservations."

Master Hiyoshi let out a hearty laugh and said, "A beautiful family! Well then, let's get you checked in then!"

We followed the short man up to the front desk as he typed on the computer. I handed him my credit card and said, "the reservations are under my name."

"Ah yes, here we are! You have the delux package, very nice. You are free to stay for as long as you like, we have a spa in the adjacent building, free of charge, and breakfast is served every morning from 6 to 10. We also have private spot for guests along the beach and boat tours if you are interested. Here are your room keys. Enjoy your stay!"

He handed me three room keys and we took the elevator up to the fourth floor. I gave one room key to Jiraiya and Naruto, another to Kisame and Itachi, and took the third one for myself. The rooms were all right next to each other. I opened the door to my room and set my bags down before I plopped on the bed, leaving my door open.

Across the hall, Naruto let out a scream.

"WHAT IS THIS?"

I leapt off the bed and bolted to Naruto's room. Kisame and Itachi soon followed and we all stared in the froo froo heart-shaped bed in the middle of the cupid wallpaper and the saxophone playing on a CD player in the background.

"I think that was meant for you two…" Jiraiya eyed me and Ita.

"Oh yes, I forgot to tell you," Master Hiyoshi appeared magically from behind. We all jumped, we hadn't heard him approach, "I thought the happy couple would enjoy our beautiful honeymoon suite!"

At that, Naruto spat out a laugh and pointed at the two of us. Ita and I exchanged nervous glances, our faces turning as red as the bedsheets.

"Oh, no, we couldn't possibly take this room!" I said, "please, sir, I can't imagine how expensive—"

"Nonsense!" Master Hiyoshi, "I am never one to down-size on love! This room is free of charge! Don't worry about it! Just don't tell the other guests that."

"Th-Thank…you…?" I said as Master Hiyoshi skipped down the hall.

"Oh boy…" Ita sighed heavily.

Kisame started laughing as he patted our backs, "well, you two love-birds have fun!"

"Jaws…we don't need to do this…" I groaned.

Jiraiya chimed in, "Nonsense, Ari, it's as you said! We have to keep this act up if we want to get close, don't we? Just don't have too much fun in there."

Ita and I groaned heavily. Part of me, however, was kind of excited to stay in a room with Ita. At least we could have privacy to be ourselves now, if only at night.

"Hm? Have you all just checked in?" a young woman's voice asked from behind. We turned back around to see a tall dark-haired woman in a slinky purple dress and high-heeled sandals. Our jaws all dropped in shock and I just about had a heart attack out of fear that our cover was about to be blown. This woman had been sitting unconscious on the floor of the hotel where Ita had used the Mongekyo on Sasuke. Apparently she had been used as bate to separate Jiraiya from Naruto.

"Uh…yeah! We're new here!" I said nervously, "I'm Ari and this is my brother Naruto, my grandfather Jumba, my Uncle Son Gokuu, and my fiancé Shisui!"

The woman narrowed her eyes and walked up to Itachi, "Say…you look familiar…" she got really close to Ita who gritted his teeth as he leaned away from her nervously. Oh man…here we go…we're done… "…you're a hunk!"

….

Oh great, another Izayoi.

The woman batted her eyelashes and looped her arm around Ita's, "say, you want to catch some dinner tonight? Just you and me?"

"Uhh…" Ita laughed nervously, trying to peg this woman.

"Sure! My boyfriend would love for you to join us. All of us. Tonight at dinner," I said through gritted teeth.

The woman pouted and said, "oh poo, all the good ones are taken. Well, Ari, you certainly have some eye candy on you. Well, how about we all go down to Rich and Charlie's tonight for dinner. My treat!"

"Sure," I said, smiling, "But…isn't that kind of expensive…?"

"Well, I get in for free, so it'll be of no cost to you," she said kindly. We all stared at her confused. The ditz then jumped and said, "oh! How rude of me! I haven't even introduced myself! My name is Kagami Hiyoshi. I'm sure you've heard of me."

At that, we all shot Itachi, who twiddled his fingers and avoided any eye contact, a nasty glare.

He had hypnotized one of the world's most famous superstar to get her to go on a date with the old hermit.