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Thank you for reading and please enjoy

From the Other Side

-Chapter 12-

-Last Time-

"The cake is a lie." He muttered dazedly, a glazed look in his eyes as he absentmindedly brushed past the girl and headed for his room, not noticing as the contact caused something to fall out of his hair and clatter against the ground.

Ino did however and was quick to bend over and grab the item. "What the hell?" She asked herself as she held up a familiar, teacup sized crown for the others to see. "Isn't this the princess's? What's it doing in… Naruto's… hair…" The ponytailed girl's eyes widened as her gossip wired brain finally put the pieces together. "Oh my..." *Thump*

"I was wondering how long it would take her to figure it out." Asuma said with an amused chuckle, one that grew into the laughter he'd been restraining when Choji continued to look at him with confusion.

-And Now-

It was lovely summer day, with warm sunlight shining down from an almost cloudless sky and through the forest canopy. A gentle breeze flowing past carrying the sweet scents of the plant-life in bloom. All around, a plethora of various chirps, squeaks, and other such noises sounded out, creating a somewhat chaotic yet soothing atmosphere.

"Come on Naruto, you gotta tell me what happened." And one Naruto Uzumaki couldn't enjoy it one bit as he, his team, and Team nine walked through the forested terrain of Hi no Kuni, thanks to the unending badgering of his fellow blonde.

It had been four days since his 'lunch' with Princess Momo, and Ino had been absolutely relentless on trying to get all the 'juicy details' out of the whiskered boy. Well, that and how he'd been able to fully recover from twenty deep lacerations, eleven broken bones, and almost a fourth of his body getting burnt to a crisp in only a few days.

Looking over Naruto as he walked, it was practically impossible to tell that he had actually been injured in the first place. He didn't have any scars, scratches, or even a bruise left over, and he was back in his usual attire thanks to the princess having it repaired for him.

The only real differences were Teisho, who was sitting on Naruto's left shoulder quietly humming as she looked around curiously, with the princess's crown atop her head oddly enough… and empty space on his right where his bow would be slung.

-Four Days Ago, Outskirts of Omocha-

Momo and Naruto stood before each-other with somber expressions that were contradicted by the heavy blushes on their cheeks. A thick tension filled the air between them, with the only one not affected being Teisho, who was curled up in Naruto's hair teething on a piece of jerky.

"Well, I guess this is farewell for now," The princess said with a sad smile, her eyes glancing towards where the rest of team 9 and team 10 were standing not far away.

"Yeah…" Naruto said while rubbing the back of his head, unsure of what else to say.

"Then I wish you luck on your travels and pray that we will cross paths again soon… my prince." Momo said, whispering the last part in Naruto's ear, causing him to sputter slightly as his already red cheeks practically started glowing.

"Eh-hem, same here," The whiskered boy muttered quietly as his fellow blonde giggled softly at his embarrassment. However, her humor was cut short as Naruto suddenly started digging around in his pockets before pulling out his gear scroll.

Unrolling it partially to reveal a basic storage seal, he channeled some chakra into it and his bow puffed into the air with a small cloud of smoke. Catching it by the grip with practiced ease, Naruto looked over the now useless weapon with a torn expression before holding it out towards Momo, his arm shaking lightly.

Realizing what he was doing, the princess's eyes widened slightly as she tentatively reached out with both hands and grasped the bow on either side of the boy's own. "You would truly give this away? Even though it clearly means so much to you?" She asked, her voice filled with surprise.

"I thought about your request hard, and as much as I don't like it, this can do more good here with you than with me." Naruto said, his voice cracking ever so slightly as he pushed the bow further into her arms. "Just promise me that you'll take good care of… Daiippo (First-Step) for me." He asked, finally giving his weapon the name it deserved as he reluctantly let it go.

Smiling softly, Momo hugged Daiippo to her chest and gave a low bow. "You have my word."

Nodding in acceptance, Naruto smiled back while pocketing his scroll, before flinching as his fingers nudged into something sharp. His brows furrowing in confusion, the whiskered blonde grabbed onto the perpetrator and pulled it out to reveal the princess's miniature crown.

"The hell? How'd that get in there?" He wondered aloud, neither him or Momo noticing as Ino smirked at them in the background.

"Oh my, I was wondering where that went," Momo said in a pleasantly surprised tone. "It must've gotten misplaced during our… lunch together."

*Cough* "Yeah, that um, most likely." Naruto stuttered, his face reddening again, though not as bad as earlier. "Here." Quickly changing the subject, he tried to hand the tiny crown back to its rightful owner, only to blink in surprise when the princess shook her head and stepped back.

"You've given me something of great value to yourself on my behest," She said, adjusting her grip on Daiippo. "Thus, it is only fair that I give something up in return. Besides, that crown was always a bit too small for me, and I think you have someone that it would be just the right size for."

As she spoke, her eyes drift upwards, getting Naruto to realize who she was talking about. Raising his free hand to the top of his head, the whiskered blonde gently nudged Teisho, causing her to hum in response and slither onto his palm and curling her tail around his forearm.

Bringing her down in front of him, the little lamia looked at him curiously while continuing to gnaw on her jerky. Petting her gently, Naruto couldn't help but smile as Teisho hummed in delight and even briefly let go of the dried meat held in her mouth in favor of hugging his fingers, before he set the crown atop her head.

"What do ya know, it's a perfect fit." Naruto said, chuckling as Teisho patted the side of the crown with one hand, then wiggled her head around a bit like she was trying to through it off. After a minute or so though, she apparently decided that she either liked or didn't care about the new addition as she stopped and went back to her jerky. "Thank you Momo-chan, I'll do my best to take care of it as well."

"I'm sure you will," Momo said with a soft giggle, before frowning slightly as she glanced at the other ninja once again. "You should get going now, I do believe we've made your friends wait on us long enough."

Turning to look at his team and Gai's team as well, Naruto saw what she meant as he could see the impatient looks starting to form on most of their faces. "Yeah, you're right," Setting Teisho back where she was and turning his head to face Momo with a sad smile.

"Goodbye Momo-chan. I'll see you again, I promise." He said before turning back and regrouping with the others. Momo watched as he talked with his sensei briefly, then almost immediately getting badgered by his female teammate as all eight of them hopped into the forest canopy and begin tree hopping away.

As she watched him leave, she raised a hand to her neck and pulled out a sun pendant that had been obscured by her dress. "Goodbye Naruto-kun, may Amaterasu's blessings protect you on your journey and hasten our reunion." She murmured while rubbing her thumb over the front of the pendant, which had the worn-down image of a bird.

-Back to Present-

"Just tell her already, her incessant begging is really starting to really get on my nerves." Artemis said with a twitching brow.

'…'

"Are you really still giving me the silent treatment?"

'…I'm sorry, but the number you are trying to reach has either been disconnected or doesn't-'

"Alright, I get it. You're still mad me."

'Of course I'm still mad! I needed your help and you ditched me!'

"And I said I was sorry Naruto, but I couldn't risk the possibility of indirectly breaking my vow of chastity."

'You could have warned me before it was too late.'

"I panicked alright, besides we both know that you enjoyed yourself."

'That's not the point and you know it!'

"Pleeeeeease Naruto? Throw me a bone here," Naruto snapped out of his mental argument as Ino got in front of him and held her hands out pleadingly.

"Ugh, I told you I don't want to talk about it Ino, just drop it already." He said exasperatedly, tired of his teammate's constant pestering. She just wouldn't give up no matter how many times he turned her down, trying everything from begging to coercion to even outright attempts of bribery.

"And lose the chance to find out how you managed to hook up with a freaking princess? Hell no! This is best gossip I've ever had the chance at hearing, even better than when I found out that you and Hinata were going on a date." Ino stated adamantly, and rather loudly as the rest of the group suddenly turned towards the arguing pair curiously and suspicion for one stoic Hyuga.

Groaning in irritation, Naruto massaged his forehead as he felt a headache start to form. "Oh for the love of Kami, for the last time Ino, Hinata-chan and I didn't go on a date."

"Really? So, you didn't go to the movies with her alone?" Ino asked, her voice shifting to a suggestive tone at the end.

"Well yeah, but that was just to celebrate graduating from the academy." Naruto said, his brow arcing when Ino moved to his side with a sigh… and gave him a comforting hug?

"Oh, you poor naive thing, there there, don't worry, your good friend Ino will fix you. Just tell me what I want to know fir-Whoa!" Ino started to whisper in Naruto's ear, only to yell out in surprise when he shoved her away. Catching herself after a few feet, the ponytailed blonde huffed indignantly and shot the whiskered boy a dirty look. "I will get what I want Naruto, it's only a matter of time."

"The only way that's going to happen is if you found a way to read my mind." Naruto said, missing the look of sudden realization that popped up on Ino's face.

"…Naruto, her clan can actually read minds, remember?" Artemis stated dully, causing Naruto to freeze. Slowly turning around, his face paled dramatically as he saw Ino holding her hands out in a familiar box shape with a victorious, and ever-so-slightly crazed, grin.

"Shinte-*Smack* OW!" Thankfully, before the girl could finish the technique, Asuma decided to intervene and smacked the clan heiress across the back of the head. "What the heck sensei?!"

"Ino, unless you want to explain to your parents why you've been court-martialed, I highly advise you not to try that stunt again." The normally relaxed man said sternly, causing Ino to gap at him in shock.

"W-w-wha…"

"Article 45 of Konoha's Shinobi Code of Conduct: Any use of a jutsu on a fellow shinobi outside of an agreed upon spar or without warranted cause is considered an act of treason and is punishable by demotion, forced retirement, imprisonment, or death depending on the severity of the crime." Neji stated matter-of-factly, not even blinking as he kept his eyes on Naruto.

"And let's not forget Naruto's already existing… mental issues. I don't think I have to describe the possible complications that could arise from having an inexperienced mind walker such as yourself routing around inside his head." Asuma said, feeling bad internally as he saw his student lose almost all the color in her face but knowing it was for her own good.

It was certainly better than her possibly running into the Kyuubi's cage by accident and then having to explain to the head of the Yamanaka Clan why his daughter was brain-dead or irreversibly mentally damaged/traumatized.

"G-got it sensei, it w-won't happen again," Ino said with a slight stutter, her hands instinctively raising up in a placating manner as she stepped back from Naruto.

"Good," Asuma said with nod, giving the girl a comforting pat on the shoulder before looking ahead where the front gates of Konoha were just starting to come into view. "Now come on, I'm sure you must be looking forwards to telling your friends and family about how our mission went."

While it was an obvious attempt at changing the subject, it was one the girl gladly took as she grinned weakly and started walking again. "Yeah, I can't wait to rub it in Forehead's face that I helped save an entire country." As she spoke, Ino quickly started to perk up. "Heck, I bet it'll even impress Sasuke-kun enough that he'll finally agree to go out on date with me. Then he'll see how great I am and want to go out on more dates, getting closer and closer…"

"I'm beginning to think that girl's bipolar."Artemis muttered with a raised brow as she watched through Naruto as Ino's mood quickly improved and she began to walk faster.

'I don't even know what that means, but I'm pretty sure I agree.' Naruto thought in agreement, briefly forgetting his irritation towards the moon goddess as he and the rest of the ninja got moving again.

"Don't get too excited just yet, we still have to report to the Hokage first." Tenten said as they arrived and their senseis checked in with the eternal gate guards Izumo and Kotetsu.

"Aw man, I forgot about that." Ino groaned with a pout, hunching forward a bit and dropping her shoulders like the mere thought of their soon-to-be debriefing was tiring her out. "That's gonna take forever."

"Sorry Ino, but that's just how it is." Asuma said after he and Gai finished talking with the guards and the gate opened up, chuckling loudly as his student simple grumbled in response.

Nothing else was said as they entered Konoha and headed towards the Hokage Tower to officially end their mission. Naturally though, their group ended up getting quite a large amount of attention drawn to them as they went by thanks to Naruto's passenger. Several ninja and civilians alike halted in the street in order to stare at Teisho, some being of shock, others of curiosity.

More than a few eyed her with suspicion and disgust muttering harsh insults under their breath, though just as many people (mostly girls and young women) would get one look at her and start ranting about how 'Kawaii' and 'Moe' she was. After a little while though, Teisho started to get bothered by all the attention and she slithered into Naruto's puffy collar until everything except her eyes and crown were out of sight, the latter of which Naruto took off and put into his pocket since it kept poking his neck and chin.

Not long after that, they arrived at the Hokage Tower, went inside. up a few flights of stairs, past the secretary, and finally arrived at the door to the Hokage's office. And just like he always did, Naruto burst right through said door with a big grin on his lips and a yell of, "Hey Jiji, did you miss me?" as soon as he saw Hiruzen at his desk.

However, his good mood swiftly puttered out when the elderly leader didn't smile back, opting to instead give the whiskered blonde a resigned look of tiredness and sadness. "Hello Naruto-kun, I'm glad to see you're alright."

"What's up Jiji? I thought that you'd be excited to see me." Naruto said, his head tilting to the side in confusion. However, before Hiruzen could respond the rest of the group filed into the office and stood before the man.

"Teams 9 and 10 reporting for mission debriefing… sir?" Asuma had started to say in a stiff tone, only to pause at the end with a raised brow when he also noticed the old man's attitude.

"Hello Asuma-san, I'm sure there is a lot you have to tell me if your messages have been as accurate as they appeared to be." Hiruzen's gaze flickered towards the small amber eyes peeking out at him from Naruto's collar. "But sadly, there is a more pressing matter that must be discussed first. Gai-san, could you and your team please step outside for a moment."

"Jiji? What's going on?" Naruto said/asked worriedly as Gai gave a QUIET salute and led Tenten, Neji, and Lee out of the office.

Waiting until Team 9 was completely out of the office, Hiruzen sighed heavily before intertwining his fingers and resting his chin on them. "I'm sorry to have to tell you all this but given your closeness to them, I figured it be best to inform you right away."

"Inform us of what? Closeness to who?" Ino asked worriedly, her inner gossip radar screaming at her that something bad had happened.

"There was an incident with Team 7." It was right.

-End Chapter-

AN: Thank you for reading and please review.