Chapter Ten – Home Again, Love Revealed?

Konoha Main Gates

It was a bone weary group who stood before Izumo and Kotetsu, the nicknamed "Eternal Chuunin." They had been held up for several minutes now, due to the fact that Haku wasn't a Konoha nin, but she obviously carried herself like a trained kunoichi. The two guards suspected she had some kind of hold over the group, probably through the younger children.

Ronnel's temper was stretching thin. He hadn't been home for several weeks and he wanted his dango, but these two were keeping him out! Naruto noted a dangerous glint in his older brother's eye and gulped. He motioned the rest of the group back. He may not like them, but he doesn't want them hurt because they got in the way.

There was a slight ring of metal on metal, and Kotetsu found that he was chewing on air. The tip of a massive sword, with small ringlike impressions on the metal, was resting under his throat. One thought crossed the senbon chewer's mind.

When did he draw that thing??? He gulped, the action forcing his Adam's Apple to press against the blade for a second. His eyes snapped up into Ronnel's as the newer Chuunin glared at him over the blade.

"Do you honestly think someone could hold, not only myself, but the legendary Sharingan no Kakashi, and force us to do what she wants? Stop thinking like morons, and use the brains that got you to Chuunin! I won't ask for the ones you got then." A slight grin crossed Ronnel's face, scaring the Chuunin who had his throat being intimidated by the sword.

Hastily, to avoid losing his partner and having to train a new one, Izumo cleared his throat and granted them access to the village, so long as they reported Haku to the Hokage immediately. Both Chuunin watched in shock as Ronnel's grin widened, soon matched by a grin on Naruto's face. The sword that was hovering near Kotetsu's throat slowly faded away, at the same time that the Chuunin gate guard found out that his senbon was still in his mouth. He reached up and felt it, pricking his finger with the deadly sharp tip to make sure it was still there. The guards looked at one another after the group had gone by, not noticing that Naruto had hung back.

"Was that…. Genjutsu?" Kotetsu asked, a trace of shock evident in his voice. At Izumo's slow nod, the man gulped. While they were Chuunin, that didn't mean they were slouchs either. Both of them had spent several hours training with Kurenai, working on genjutsu detection. That they had been held under a genjutsu, and one that apparently affected sight, sound, and touch, without their noticing worried them. They spun around when they heard a chuckle.

"That's aniki's punishment for keeping him away from dango, loss of security for a while. You two had better hope that Anko-neechan doesn't find out about it." Both Chuunin paled visibly at that. Their heads turned to each other, then back to Naruto as he spoke again. "By the way… this is for keeping me from ramen. Bakuhatsu." With a grin, the Genin exploded, throwing both the men who were standing by him against the gates. They stood up slowly, relieved that the blast hadn't been enough to knock them out. Then they looked down.

There were twin screams that could be heard throughout the village as the gate guards found out that they were covered in a rainbow of neon bright colors. "UZUMAKI-REI NARUTO!"

Base of the Hokage Tower

Kakashi, Ronnel, and Naruto paused, each one adopting differing expressions as they heard the duo at the gates scream Naruto's name. Kakashi looked slightly confused, Ronnel appeared curious, and Naruto had a mischievous grin on his face.

"One color? Two?" Naruto shook his head at his older brother's guesses.

"A rainbow of them." He cackled as he rubbed his hands together. He was back, now he could get caught up on all the pranking that he had missed while in Wave. He was stopped from his maniacal plotting when Ronnel and Kakashi placed an arm under each shoulder and hoisted him into the tower towards Sarutobi's office. A few minutes after they entered, a figure zipped in after them, hurrying up the stairs as well.

Office of the Sandaime Hokage

Ronnel was leaning against the wall as Naruto and Kakashi reported on the mission. He noted with some amusement that Sakura and Haku had similar expressions on their faces as they watched Naruto speak to Sarutobi.

Naruto had condensed his report to only a couple of minutes, but that was enough to have Sarutobi looking towards Sakura with a dark expression on his face. Before he could speak however, the door burst open, swinging into the shocked Ronnel. He pushed the door closed and rubbed his face, which now had a faint imprint of the door emblem that had been near his face on it. He looked towards the center of the room where Naruto was and grinned.

Anko was standing there, holding Naruto up by his neck in a headlock as she rubbed his head vigorously with her knuckles. The blonde haired boy was squirming dreadfully, trying to escape from the "Knuckles of Noogie" , his legs kicking in the air as he dangled above the ground. It took the Hokage clearing his throat to get Anko to look up and realize what she had interrupted. She gulped and dropped Naruto, who growled at her as he fixed his hair. A stare from the Hokage had Anko scuttling out, though no one realized that there was another person missing from the room after she had left.

"Now then. Haruno Sakura." The pinkette squeaked in fear. "Do you understand the full implications of what you did? If it had been anyone else, or if Naruto himself had been carrying you and not a clone, then you would have killed a fellow Leaf ninja. Such an action is punishable by death." The pinkette was rapidly paling as Sarutobi spoke. She began trembling like a small leaf in a fierce wind.

"However." Her head snapped up. "Naruto has asked that I show you lenience, and not have you killed, nor are you going to be removed from the ranks of Konoha's ninja forces. Instead, you will be placed in the current class of graduates, in the hopes that you will learn what you missed the first time around. You will be doing two years of D-rank missions with no pay, starting next week. When those are finished with, you will be taking restricted pay on higher rank missions until such time as you are deemed fit. Dismissed Miss Haruno, classes start in two days." The pink haired girl bowed low then hurried out of the room, trying to hide her tears of relief.

"Now then…Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke. I am sorry to say that this was upgraded to an A-rank mission, and that your teamwork proved to be… lacking. As of now, Team Seven under Hatake Kakashi is no more. Uchiha Sasuke, you are to be placed under Hatake Kakashi as his apprentice." The avenger grinned, keeping his face low with a bowed head to hide it. "Take him and go Kakashi-kun." The silver haired Jounin nodded. The Hokage began speaking once the other two had left.

"And as for you Naruto.. I'm sorry, but your new Master isn't ready yet. You will have to wait for Ronnel to return home." The blonde Jinchuruuki looked up, confused.

"Eto, Jiji, he was right behind us…" Naruto turned around, to see that the room was empty except for Haku. He palmed his face and turned back around shaking his head. "I'll go find Aniki and tell him to report to you Jiji." The boy walked to the door and paused. He sent a wide smile over his shoulder at the Hokage, who sighed mentally in relief that Naruto was friendly towards him once more. He rubbed his temples as the door closed behind the girl who had bowed to Sarutobi as she left behind Naruto.

Great. Now I'll have to keep the Rei brothers from getting suicide missions from the council. He sat back and glared at the greatest foe any Kage will ever face. It'd almost be worth it to torch all of this…vile paperwork. Sighing out loud, the old man pulled a mission request form and began scanning over it.

Kanzaki's Dango

Anko was slumped at the bar, a half-eaten dango stick hanging from her mouth. She had rushed here after her impromptu barging in at the Hokage's office, and immediately began stuffing her face, trying to get past the shame that had come from that. How can I have paid so little attention to my surroundings that I interrupted the Hokage during a debriefing? I'm lucky he didn't reprimand me right there. She swallowed and pulled out her wallet to pay the stand owner.

She tilted her head in confusion when the man shook his head. "You've been paid for lass, twice as much as you've eaten actually. Fella in the corner did it." The Snake Mistress turned around angrily, ready to tear the man who had presumed to by her food. She froze in her tracks when she saw the face smirking at her from the corner booth.

Ronnel's smirk widened into a full blown grin as Anko stood there, her mouth hanging open in shock. He rose up from the seat and stepped toward her, one finger reaching out to click her mouth shut. He took in the shock on her face for a moment, still grinning.

"That surprised to see me Anko-chan?" He tilted his head, his eyes closing as his smile widened even further. His eyes closing had the effect of him missing it when Anko shook her shock off and tensed up. His eyes opened in time to see a blur of purple rushing at him before he was pinned onto the table by the Jounin who was hanging onto him for dear life. He looked down at her in confusion before a spot of pain registered on his lower back.

The Chuunin struggled onto his feet, swaying as Anko hung off of him, for once noting the height difference between his size and hers. He wrapped one arm around her to help hold her up while his other reached around and rubbed the spot where the soy bottle had been digging into his back. Huh. Guess she did miss me.

This was the scene Naruto came in on, Ronnel rubbing his back while holding Anko against him as the Jounin nuzzled against his chest. He thought about leaving it alone, but then shrugged.
"NOW are you going to tell him nee-chan?" The blonde boy's voice woke Anko from the daze she was in, only now realizing just what she was doing. She pushed away from Ronnel, dropping to the ground with a large blush on her face. The boy felt a death-glare coming at him and sent a cheeky grin to his adoptive brother.

"Aniki, Ojiji wants to see you in his office about your mission and uhm… I'll let him tell you." Ronnel sighed and nodded and began walking towards the office. Naruto squeaked when Anko picked him up by the hood of his cloak. He spun slowly in place as the purple haired Jounin turned him around, lifting him up so they were face to face. He trembled slightly at the maniacal grin the woman had on her face.

"You. Just. Took. My. Snuggle." Anko shook him with each word, emphasizing each one with a greater shake. In her mind and heart, she had finally accepted what she felt about Ronnel, but now, before she could tell him, Naruto had to go and tell him that the Hokage needed to talk to him.

"Anko-nee-chan! Air!" Naruto was turning blue as the hem of his cloak dug into his throat, cutting off his air supply. The woman waited until he was gasping, then lowered him down to his feet. Before he could get away, she grabbed the front of his coat. "Nee-chan! If you go to the office you can hear what happened on his mission!" Anko's eyes widened for a brief second before she dropped Naruto and shunshin'd to the office.

The boy shook his head and grumbled under his breath as he stood up again and brushed off his shirt. Then he blinked in shock as he realized something.

"Where's Haku?" His eyes wide in dread, the boy took off in search of his newest roommate.

Office of the Sandaime Hokage

Ronnel had just finished his speech when there was a swirl of wind behind him. He reacted on instinct, spinning around and leaping at the person who had just shunshin'd in to the Kage's office. Before the person could react, he had her pinned against a wall, a kunai in his hand pressing against her throat.

"Ronnel-kun, please step back and calm down. And Anko-chan, does this show you why it isn't wise to just barge in here whenever you want?" His tone, though calm, had definite tones of reprimand when he spoke to Anko. The woman blushed heavily and bowed her head in apology. Ronnel clapped her shoulder to cheer her up, his attention returning to Sarutobi. He missed seeing Anko lean into his touch for a moment before stepping back and leaning against the wall to watch him and the Hokage speak.

"So, Hokage-sama, what's the verdict on Naruto's team?" Ronnel asked finally, deciding that he was done waiting around for Sarutobi to say something. The Hokage picked up his pipe and tapped out the old soot, before refilling it from his tobacco pouch 's eye began twitching as the older man lit his pipe with a small breath of flame and began puffing on it.

"Well…. Since I can't have a Chuunin Apprentice Master, I had to wait for someone to complete their mission…" The Hokage spoke slowly, puffing on his tobacco pipe every few words, pausing to blow out a ring of smoke that washed over Ronnel's face. The Chuunin coughed as he inhaled a bit of smoke, before growling and channeling wind to push the smoke away.

"But now, that Chuunin has returned and reported that while his mission was unsuccessful, he was able to eliminate two major threats to the security of Konoha. So then, Ronnel-kun." Anko's eyes shot wide as she realized where this was leading. She rubbed her hands together greedily, thinking about what was about to happen. Ronnel turned one eye back to her, curious as to why she was giggling like a mad-woman. His attention snapped back to Sarutobi when the older shinobi pulled out a large vest, one that was much more intricate than the current Chuunin vest Ronnel was wearing.

Ronnel caught the vest, his eyes wide, noting small details like a reinforcing seal etched into the neck of the vest, and several storage seals on the pockets on the vest. Then his eyes shot up to Hiruzen when the older man began speaking again.

"Rei-Uzumaki Ronnel, Chuunin of Konohagakure. For successfully eliminating an S-rank threat and a B-rank threat, in addition to a year of exemplary Chuunin service, I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage and Acting Hokage, hereby promote you to Jounin. Serve your village well sir, and may you wear your vest in good health. Your first assignment is to become the Jounin Apprentice Master of one Genin of Konohagakure, Uzumaki-Rei Naruto. Your assignment begins tomorrow, do try to have the boy trained up for the Chuunin Exams in one month's time." Ronnel blinked in shock at the formal mode of speaking that Sarutobi had taken, then bowed low.

"I will not fail you Lord Hokage." He slipped the Chuunin vest off and pulled the Jounin vest on, transferring the contents of the older vest to the newer one. He looked over at Anko, who was staring at him with an odd glint in her eyes. The newly appointed Jounin gulped and made a mad dash for the door, only to have Anko latch onto his back. Sarutobi just chuckled as he watched the duo exit.

Konoha Ninja Hospital

"Look, all I'm saying is don't go disappearing on me like that Haku-chan!" Naruto had finally found the Hyoton girl, who had somehow made her way to the ninja hospital. Haku had managed to insinuate herself into one of the medical teams, her healing skills allowing her easy access to helping people. In response to Naruto's frantic ranting, she simply smiled at him and set to work on the next patient.

That smile had stunned the blonde boy for a moment, but he eventually shook it off and followed after her as she moved on. "Come on Haku-chan! I wanna show you where you're going to be living now!" That, unlike the rest of Naruto's attempts, got Haku to stop what she was doing. She turned around in place to look at Naruto with wide eyes. Did she forget that she was living with us?

Naruto's thought was apparently correct, as Haku began chasing him, causing the Jinchuruuki to take off like he was Jiraiya with a horde of angry women on his tail. Everyone in the hospital turned as two blurs shot past them, one with blonde hair, the other with brown.

Apartment Complex

Anko screamed giddily as Ronnel slid to a halt in front of the Apartments. As soon as they had exited the Hokage's Tower, the new Jounin had activated his Shunpo move, taking off down the streets.

"Now I know why the Gaki is always demanding you do that while he rides your shoulders!" She clapped her hands as she began spinning in place, unused to the speed technique. She blinked in surprise as she toppled over, only to be caught by Ronnel. She looked up into his brown eyes as he shook his head amusedly.

"Yeah, Naruto fell the first few times himself when I did that. The Shunpo throws off your balance like none other." He grinned at her. Both their heads whipped around when there was a crash from the side of the building. The two Jounin looked at each other worriedly as they straightened up and moved around, Anko pulling out several kunai and Ronnel drawing the longsword from his hip.

Ronnel relaxed when he saw that it was just Haku and Naruto wrestling back and forth. Well rather, Haku was sitting on Naruto's back and pulling senbon out of Naruto's back. Anko however, threw the kunai in her hand when she saw an unknown person holding sharp senbon right above Naruto's neck.

Anko's eyes widened in shock when Ronnel shot forward, blocking the kunai with his sword. "Relax Anko-chan. She's a friend of ours, came back with us." The purple haired Jounin blinked then walked over, listening to the argument between Haku and Naruto as she did so.

"You started running! I just wanted to know where I'm living!" Haku tugged a senbon viciously from Naruto's back.

"Of course I started running! Aniki's drilled it into my head that whenever a woman charges at you, you head for the hills!" Anko looked over at Ronnel speculatively. The dual-sword wielding Jounin gulped nervously, then moved over and hoisted Haku up off of Naruto, and pulled the blonde Genin to his feet.

"Moving right along..." He spoke quickly, forestalling the two younger teenagers from yelling at each other. "Haku, this is Mitarashi Anko, Special Jounin and our other roommate. Anko-chan, this is Momochi Haku, adopted daughter to Momochi Zabuza and our newest roommate." The loyal Snake Summoner walked forward, examining Haku, who shifted nervously under the scrutiny. Anko whipped out a kunai and sent it hurtling towards Haku's cheek, only to see the younger girl shift out of the way, just enough to avoid being grazed.

"Adopted daughter and apprentice I should have said." Anko turned to look at the man she had fallen for, nodding slowly in response to his words. "Well then, shall we go inside and get you situated?" At Haku's nod, Naruto immediately dragged the girl inside, giving his older brother a look. The young man grinned at his adopted little brother, but nodded slightly. He held Anko's arm for a few minutes, then nodded to her and walked in. The Tokubetsu Jounin shrugged and followed after him, watching as he slid the blade back into the sheathe on his hip.

Inside, Naruto had dragged Haku upstairs and was showing her the rooms on the single unclaimed floor. When she had shaken her head at all of these, he frowned then shrugged and took her up one floor, showing her the empty rooms on his floor. The ice wielding girl picked a room on the other end of the hall from Naruto and began unpacking the sealing scrolls holding her furniture and such.

"Haku-chan, I'm going to go downstairs and see if Aniki is making dinner yet ok?" The girl nodded and waved a hand absently in his direction. Naruto grinned and shook his head, wondering once again how clothes could distract a kunoichi so well. As he trudged downstairs, the young teenager pondered that to himself, comparing examples of his past, from Anko who could get giddy over a gift of a new type of mesh, to Haku who apparently made googly-eyes at formal kimonos.

On the bottom floor, Naruto paused as a scent hit his nostrils. His mouth watered slightly at the aroma of ground beef, tomato paste, and biscuits. He grinned widely, realizing that Ronnel was indeed cooking, and from the smell of it, he was almost done. The blonde container stepped into the kitchen quietly, and was treated to the sight of Anko leaning against Ronnel's side, speaking softly about something. Konoha's Jinchuruuki hung back, not wanting to interrupt what was apparently a very personal conversation between his two older housemates.

Whatever was said had Anko flinging her arms around Ronnel's neck, causing the young man to stagger and let out a yelp when his hand touched the hot frying pan on the stove. He began waving it frantically as Anko uttered an apology before rushing into the nearest bathroom, coming back with a small tube of gel and a roll of bandages. Naruto watched with a tinge of awe as the purple haired woman tenderly ministered to the burnt hand, wrapping it up after smearing burn ointment on. When she placed a kiss on the bandages after finishing, Naruto stepped back against the wall and blushed.

Nee-chan has admitted it to him! Finally finally finally! He peeked around the corner, watching the two interact as Ronnel shifted to his other hand, holding the spatula more awkwardly in his off hand. I want…someone like that for me… The young boy thought morosely as he decided to make his entrance. He took in a deep breath then stepped into the room, shouting a greeting to the duo.

"Ossu! How soon until dinner is ready aniki?" Anko meeped and blushed, but was unable to escape from Ronnel's side when the newly appointed Jounin wrapped the bandaged hand around her waist and grinned at his adopted brother. For appearances, so they wouldn't know that he had been watching them, Naruto dropped his mouth open in 'shock', and began pointing back and forth between the two, stuttering something.

"Y-y-y-y-yyou t-t-two are-" Ronnel grinned at his little brother's antics, enjoying the look of amazement on his face.

"Yeah, Anko finally told me the reason that she kept jumping away every time we touched and well, it was similar to why I kept freezing up so, we're finally together. Looks like you were right otouto. And as for dinner, well it'll be ready in about fifteen minutes, the biscuits are all we're waiting on now." Beside him, the counter on the stove ticked onto fourteen and a half minutes remaining. Anko finally pulled free and glared at Naruto.

"Gaki, this does not mean that you are always right. You were right about one thing, and I swear, if you let this go to your head…" The Tokubetsu Jounin pulled out a kunai and trailed her tongue along it menacingly. Naruto gulped while Ronnel got a strange expression on her face. Naruto shuddered when he saw that, and ran out of the room up the stairs, saying that he was going to go tell Haku that dinner was almost ready.

Anko glared after him for a while then turned back to Ronnel. She tugged on her lip staring at him nervously. "Ron-kun... I need to tell you something…" Ronnel turned around, staring at her curiously, tossing a glance at the oven to make sure the biscuits were cooking.

"What's up Ko-chan?" He leaned back against the oven door, looking at her steadily.

"The reason I have never dated is… Orichimaru kills anyone who tries. I don't know how he knows, but the few times in the past that I tried getting close to anyone but Kurenai, Roachy-teme would show up and kill them within a few days." Ronnel blinked and leaned back, tapping his chin in thought.

"Well then –" those words made Anko's heart freeze in her chest. No no no no no! He's going to leave - " – I'll just have to be ready to deal with the Snake Sannin then won't I? He's only an S-rank, can't be that much stronger than me." The new Jounin stepped forward and pulled her into a tight hug, whispering his next words into her hair.

"Do you really think the thought that some homopedophile wants me dead is going to keep me from you Anko-hime? I've had S-ranks who want my head before, Orichimaru won't be the last. I'm like Naru-kun, I piss the wrong people off." He pulled her back a bit, so she could see his face. "Honestly though, jokes aside; I am not going to leave the girl who has been in my thoughts since I left Konoha just because she has a vindictive asshole watching to keep her from happiness." Anko nearly burst into tears as she flung herself into his chest, her body shaking. When Naruto and Haku came down and asked what was wrong, the floodgates burst and the purple haired woman began shuddering as she cried onto Ronnel's shirt.

"Just a personal thing Naruto. Why don't you get the biscuits out and begin filling them? You know how to do that well enough." The boy nodded slowly, skirting around the crying Anko as he moved to do as Ronnel had asked. Haku meanwhile stared at them curiously, unused to human interaction like this. She sat down at the table and cast surreptitious glances over at them, aching for someone to hold her like Ronnel was holding Anko. Her thoughts then mirrored Naruto's earlier as she turned back to look at the blonde Jinchuruuki who was scooping ground meat in tomato sauce into divots made in the biscuits.

I want someone like that for me… I wonder what Naruto thinks about me? She turned her head down to hide her blush as Naruto laid the meat filled biscuits on the table on a platter. Ronnel guided Anko to one chair, rubbing her back soothingly as she got her breathe back under control. As she took two of the biscuits, he stepped out from behind her and sank down onto the seat beside her. Seeing that everyone had their food, he smiled slightly.

"Well then, our first meal with our whole family together, welcome to the madhouse Haku-chan. Alright everyone –" Ronnel began, with the group joining in for the next word.

"Itadakimasu!" For a while, there was silence as everyone began eating, happily stuffing themselves with the food that Ronnel had cooked, Anko obviously treasuring the food. This is the first meal I'm eating with Ron-kun as my boyfriend… She bit into one of the biscuits savagely, hiding her blush as they ate.

Afterwards, when Naruto's clones had finished washing the dishes, the group was sitting down in the main room to read from scrolls. Haku had somehow found a book on medical theory, and was brushing up on her textual informarion; Naruto had retrieved a scroll on combat styles and was trying to decide on a specific style to use for his taijutsu. The new couple had matching scrolls, Ronnel studying a scroll on his second element to see if he could learn any new tricks while Anko pored through a scroll on her element, cackling madly at some of the new things she was learning as she snuggled into Ronnel's side.

Everyone's head shot up when there was a knock on the door. The girls immediately disavowed opening the door, leaving Naruto and Ronnel. The two shinobi stared at each other then decided to settle it with a quick contest.

"Jan-ken-pon!" The kunoichi slapped their palms to their faces at the antics of the two guys. Anko found out the results when her cushion levered her up and stalked towards the door, grumbling under his breathe about short blonde bastards who got too damn lucky. He laid his hand on the door, sending another glare back at Naruto as he twisted the nob open.

"Sorry if I'm coming over late, but I need to talk to you four about the Chuunin Exams." Sarutobi smiled at the group from the doorway. Ronnel sighed and led the man in, showing him to one of the overstuffed chairs as Ronnel himself sank back down behind Anko, who quickly resumed leaning against him.

"Do I have your attention?" The old man tilted his head, noting that four pairs of eyes were staring at him. "I'll take your silence as a yes. Well, about the Exams then. We are hosting them here in Konoha this time around, and while we have room enough for most of them, there is one team that is a problem. The Suna team apparently has quite a reputation amongst the other villages attending, and the other leaders refuse to send their teams if there is any chance of them being roomed near the Sand team." Ronnel rubbed his eyes wearily, seeing where this was going.

"Alright, alright, we'll let them stay here." Anko blinked up at him, a small blush on her face. She whispered something into his ear, and grinned when he nodded. She curled against him as Naruto and Haku looked at the Hokage for his reply.

"Excellent! I'll let the delegates know that the Sunagakure team will be quartered separately from theirs. Thank you, and good night." The Hokage bowed out gracefully. The Apartment dwellers looked at the time and blinked.

"Wow, it is late after all. Well, Naruto, get to bed quickly, I'll begin your training tomorrow. Haku-chan, your shift at the hospital apparently starts at eleven, so you have a bit of free time tomorrow morning. Anko-chan… I have no idea what time you have to get up, but Naruto and I will begin training at around seven. If you want to join us, by all means feel free. For now though, let's all get to bed." The other ninja nodded and began making their way upstairs, Ronnel held Anko's arm for a moment. "Ko-hime, you sure you want to move in to the room across from mine?" The purple haired Jounin smiled at him gently before nodding and heading upstairs to move her stuff to her new room. Looking after her, the Rei-Uzumaki smiled and shook his head.

How did I get this lucky? He shrugged and trudged up the stairs, wondering what the next month before the Exams would bring.

And End Chapter.

AN:

Well here's the next chapter, after a slight mix-up involving sending my beta only a fifth of the chapter…

Apparently a bit heavy on the fluff, but then, just wait until Temari is around. Poll about the status of the harems is going to close at midnight central USA time in two days, so if you haven't voted, you'd better hurry!

Review Responses:

Nayami-chan:

I'm glad you liked the last chapter, hope this one is as good as you expected. Hmm. I'm probably going to have Tsunade heal him, but later, after another event I'm planning occurs. Ahh Sakura, Sakura. She's going to become a bit role for now, and will be until after the time skip. Sasuke is indeed the one who grabbed the scythe too.

Wyrtha:

The other half of the top posting duo! Hehe, thanks. And before you start worrying about Sasuke and Jashinism, remember just who it is that Ronnel hunts down when he wants a challenge. He might not take Sasuke down himself, but come on! There's no way he would neglect training Sasuke in fighting them right? And even if he had(He hasn't) he did tell everyone of the active shinobi just how to defeat a Jashinist. So even if Naruto doesn't(…no comment) take down Sasuke, Haku and Kakashi both know as well, and so does Zabuza if it comes to that lol. Wow, long response for a short review, hope it clarified things mate!

I Love Shy Girls:

-bows- Thank you. Ronnel does have backstory with the Jashinists, true. And it all stems from his story with HIdan. Just wait until they meet, which is going to be after the Time Skip. Then you'll get backstory ehehehehe.

o.o

Ah, the first flamer. Tell me, if you hate the story so much, if you refuse to believe the truth, then why are you still reading this? No one is forcing you to read my story, and I'm that you could find one without an ACC if it irritates you that much, so honestly, why do you apparently torture yourself with my story? Is it mental self-flagellation? Are you masochistic, is that it? Jokes aside. If you don't like one of the integral parts of my story, for Kami's sake, DON'T READ IT! Simple as that. Thank you and good night.

Amras Black Fox and geetac:

Glad you two like the story, hope this chapter is as enjoyable.

Schnookums:

Any chance you could link me to the story? And I'm glad you like mine!

Hope Breaker:

I feel bad for asking… but what does dic mean? Is it some acronym, or abbreviation?