Maiden of Chaos and Hope

by HALO-ODSTgirl104

The one where Wendy ends up reborn in the Elemental Nations after sacrificing herself for her brothers and becomes a shinobi out of necessity and joins Team 7. She will become one of the strongest that there has ever been, will be unlike anyone has ever seen. How will her presence change fate? OP!BAMF!Wendy Warning: Bashing

14. Chapter 14: Konoha, Back Again

CHAPTER 12: Konoha, Back Again

Warnings: Usual warnings apply.

SO then, everyone's back in Konoha and Kakashi has plans in store! I can't wait for the Chunin Exams, which is the next chapter! Like, damn, I can't believe I've gone this far with this story. Thankfully, inspiration keeps coming to me. Hopefully it'll stay that way.

ALSO, I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO MY LOYAL AND NEW FOLLOWERS! I appreciate the encouragement, input and reviews!

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Asuka glanced around her apartment with a shrewd eye. It was very clean considering that she had been gone for nearly a month and it occurred to her that maybe the wayward shinobi that drifted to her home must have kept it clean.

Asuka couldn't help but smile at the thought. "Aoba-san and the others are so considerate." She giggled to herself as she glanced to the shiny kitchen countertops.

With the amount of company that she usually had, Asuka found herself repeatedly entertaining the thought of moving somewhere bigger. The space that she had in her early days of leaving the orphanage was now gone and whatever space that had been open was now occupied by items belonging to either her or a wayward shinobi.

With just a single glance she could spot the throw blanket that Aoba favored, the mug that Genma frequently used, could see the corner where Hayate piled his books in his favored recliner, could see the pile of weapons that Masaru had yet to polish and sharpen in another corner and so on.

It only reinforced the thought of moving.

"A bigger place would be better…" Asuka murmured to herself contemplating but she sighed morosely a moment later. "But I don't know what Kakashi-sensei has planned yet... Maybe I should just make a plan of what I want for now but then again, it's been a few days since I've heard from sensei." She commented to herself aloud as she gathered a few pieces of paper and sat herself at the table as she immersed herself in her thoughts.

She wanted a house preferably and she knew that obtaining one wouldn't be an issue, especially now with the hefty sum of money that she acquisitioned atop of what she had saved and the pay that she received for the C-Rank turned A-Rank as well as her earnings from the many D-Rank missions that her team had completed.

For one, she knew that she needed a lot more room. It would probably be best to buy a house ─ there was no way that she was renting! ─ with at least three rooms; one for herself and two others for guests. Scratch that, at least four rooms if she took in consideration her team and the possibility that they might stay over one day.

She paused her writing at that, a smile tugging at her lips. Isn't that a thought?

It would also be better if her home was centered in a corner of her own land. It could almost be the same home as the one she and her brothers; big and sitting on a wide expanse of land for privacy and for possible additions to the house, and not to mention private training grounds as well as gardens. She wanted to have her own little garden of fauna, from herbs of the poisonous and medicinal kind to a beautiful display of color from flowers. Privacy could easily be achieved by being away from other homes as well as with the careful addition of seals, particularly barriers and silencing seals.

There would also be the matter of purchasing other home items, such as furniture and the like but it would be best to simply get the basics and worry about the other amenities later.

"There's also a few other things that I need to buy…" Asuka murmured to herself. "I need some new clothes. My old ones are getting aren't fitting me as well and it'd be nice to just have something new." She paused, tapping the pen on her lip pensively. "Maybe some other things too but for now I need to go find an─"

There was a rapid beat of knocks and Asuka blinked as her window was suddenly slammed open. A familiar scent drifted to her nose and Asuka felt a smile form on her lips and she made no motion to move as strong, familiar arms wrapped around her and a laugh escaped as she was twirled in the air.

"Asuka-chan!" Aoba cried, a large grin on his face. "You're finally back! I─ We missed you!" He said as he pulled her in for another hug.

There was a scoff and Asuka moved her face to the side, her arms wrapped around Aoba in a hug and a smile still wide on her face, and she was met by the sight if very familiar shinobi casually climbing into her home via window.

Genma gave her a small smile as he casually raised a hand in salute. "Hey Asuka-chan." Genma said. "We heard that you and your team was finally back from your mission to Nami."

Hayate and Raido followed close behind.

"Asuka-chan." Raido greeted with a grin. "I'm happy to finally see you back. Maybe now Aoba will stop moping around and Genma can stop being a hen."

"Watch it!" Genma snapped.

"I was not moping!" Aoba protested but nonetheless his hold around Asuka tightened because in actuality, he had missed Asuka. He couldn't help it. He'd rapidly gotten attached to the Genin and he knew that the others had to. They could pretend to be big bad shinobi all they liked but Aoba knew that they were softies on the inside.

Asuka giggled and she merely returned the hug with just as much force. "I missed you too Aoba-san!" She said genuinely. "I missed all of you!" She then admitted, which caused the others to grin in response.

"When did you come back?" Raido asked curiously as he sat down casually at Asuka's gesture. "You were gone for a while Asuka-chan."

Asuka's mind flashed back to her Team's C-Rank mission turned A-Rank and she giggled nervously as she sat next down between Aoba and Genma. "U-Um, well you see…" Asuka began, wondering where exactly to start. Their mission hadn't exactly gone to plan and she knew that it was possible that it would be a trend that Team Seven would be very familiar with.

"Did something happen?" Hayate asked with a raised eyebrow.

Asuka smiled sheepishly in response. "My team was given a C-Rank Mission, which was to escort a bridgebuilder to his home but things escalated fairly quickly."

Genma frowned. "Escalated… How?"

Asuka smiled. "Our C-Rank turned into an A-Rank─"

"A-Rank?!" Aoba gaped. Of course. Of course, that would happen. Team Seven had a history of having missions that went FUBAR fairly often and as he gazed at Asuka's calm face, he had a feeling that it'd be the same for Asuka-chan's own team, if not, worse.

Asuka nodded. "We encountered the Demon Brothers of Kiri, as well as the Demon Hidden in the Mist, Momochi Zabuza, and his ward. An ice user by the name of Haku."

Raido whistled lowly. "You encountered Momochi Zabuza and survived? He's an A-Rank missing-nin and with his skill with the Silent Killing Technique… Did the bridgebuilder survive?"

Asuka nodded once again. "Kakashi-sensei had to use his Sharingan against Zabuza and he managed to defeat him but a hunter-nin interfered…" Asuka proceeded to explain the events of her mission. From their first encounter with Zabuza and all the way to their farewell at the newly named bridge.

"All of that happened in a C-Rank?" Aoba said with raised eyebrows. "Wait, so you used your Kekkei Genkai? Did Hatake ask you about it? And what about your teammates, the Uzumaki and Uchiha brats?" He said seriously.

"They didn't ask much about my Kekkei Genkai." Asuka admitted. "We were more concerned about Haku-chan's survival than anything. Besides, Naruto and Sasuke already know about my Kekkei Genkai because I told them about it a long time ago. I was planning on telling Kakashi-sensei later since he's only one that doesn't really know about it."

Hayate frowned slightly. "We know a bit of your Kekkei Genkai but I'm guessing others outside us and your team don't. Does that mean you're planning on revealing it at some point to everyone?"

Asuka nodded as she leaned back on the couch. "I was. I was just… planning on a few things before that. I guess you can call them precautionary measures." Asuka said softly with a frown.

Genma's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Precautionary measures?"

Asuka tried to think of words to explain but it was a hard thing to do. "I know Konoha values its shinobi and Kekkei Genkai, but I guess you can say that I have a Kekkei Genkai that's the first of it's kind… and I am a girl… so…" Asuka trailed off, unsure of how to continue but she didn't need to as grim understanding dawned on the faces of the shinobi.

"Asuka-chan!" Aoba said as he sat up sharply. "You don't have to worry about that! We wouldn't let anything happen to you! And besides, they can't make you do anything that you don't want to and the Hokage wouldn't condone anyone forcing such actions on anyone, Kekkei Genkai or no!"

"Hatake wouldn't either." Genma added. "He doesn't care for much, but you are his student. He doesn't look it either but atop of being one of the strongest shinobi in Konoha, he carries big political weight. Anyone that wanted to deal with him would be in for a fierce battle."

The others nodded in agreement.

Asuka smiled. She knew that they wouldn't be able to do such things, but it was still comforting to hear. "I know but I also understand that there are others that are willing to go through extremes to gain power and obtaining Kekkei Genkai is one of the may ways to do so. I'm merely placing contingency plans in place in case someone obtains any of my organic material unwilfully."

"What do you mean?" Hayate asked curiously.

Asuka stood and turned her back to them as she raised the back of her shirt slightly, just enough to display the mural of ink and color on her back. She concentrated her chakra and there was a surge of warmth and she knew that seals bloomed into view that made an interesting site as they merged artfully with the Draconic mark of her kin.

"Woah." Aoba muttered in surprise as he stared at the seals.

Genma inched closer, eyes wide slightly in surprise. "Fuinjutsu?"

Asuka nodded. "The seals prevent any of my organic material from being viable." She explained as she pushed back her shirt in place "Say that someone forcibly takes a blood sample. The seal would prevent the other from obtaining anything useful form it, such as DNA, chakra, and especially my Kekkei Genkai."

"A seal like that would have to be very complex." Raido said with slight awe. "It'd have to be a matter of will and intent, wouldn't it?" Raido asked as he turned to Genma, whom nodded.

Genma himself knew more about Fuinjutsu than any of the other of his comrades in the room. Being close to the Yondaime Hokage and being a part of his Guard had made him pick up a lot on the art of sealing.

"I knew you were studying Fuinjutsu, Asuka-chan, but this seems is a whole different level." Genma said with praise as Asuka laughed sheepishly.

"It took me a while but I can assure you, it's nothing compared to what Naruto can do!"

"Don't put yourself down like that Asuka-chan." Aoba frowned. "You have a greater understanding of Fuinjutsu than the average shinobi and what you just did, is genius."

Asuka merely smiled.

"But enough about that!" Aoba cried. "What are you doing right now, Asuka-chan? We have to celebrate your return back!"

"That reminds me." The blue haired girl murmured as she stood and retrieved the list that she was working on earlier from the table. "I was actually thinking that I needed to move. My apartment doesn't have as much space as before."

The shinobi took a glance around the apartment and they swiftly realized that yes, there was hardly enough space as there had been before.

"Oops," Aoba muttered as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "We didn't mean to impose on you, Asuka-chan." He said as he gave her an apologetic frown.

Asuka shook her head. "None of you are imposing on me! I like that you all visit me." She said genuinely. "But it's partly because of all of you that I want to get a bigger home so that we could all be more comfortable. Not to mention, I've always dreamed of having a big house of my own one day and besides, I can afford it now! Tazuna-san gave us… a large amount of money as a token of appreciation for what we did for Nami no Kuni."

A big home, huh? Genma leaned forward on the couch, his arms resting lightly on his knees. "Do you want help with that? There are some realtors that are exclusive for shinobi and know how to find just what we need." He suggested helpfully but that didn't stop some worries from coming to mind, and from the looks on the faces of his fellow shinobi, they had the same worries.

"Really?!" Asuka said happily. Maybe I can find a home quicker than I thought and with the use of Shadow Clones, it'll be much quicker! "That'd be great but all of you need to come with me. I need your suggestions too!"

"But this it's going to be your home Asuka-chan." Raido gently reminded.

The Dragon Slayer frowned. "I know it's my home but it's also going to be yours too." Asuka said adamantly. "Your all family, my nakama. Just because I'm moving doesn't mean that any of you have to leave."

Well that… that wasn't something that they were expecting at all.

"Asuka-chan!" Aoba cried as he smothered her with another hug.

God, is Aoba turning into Gai now or what? Hayate thought with a faint shudder but even that didn't stifle the fondness he had for the Genin. It seemed that she had managed to worm her way into the heart of many deadly shinobi but by the looks of it none of them minded one bit.

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In the end, after a long day, they finally found a good home that they all agreed to with the help of a strict, retired shinobi who took to the job quite seriously. The house was big and at first glance reminded them more of a clan compound.

It was a blend of modern and traditional with two stories and it sprawled across the land that only added to the idea of luxury. It was also surrounded by quite a few acres of land that doubled for privacy and even training areas. The house was settled in the corner of Konoha where a majority of the shinobi clans settled.

The house cost a lot of money of course but it wasn't something that a high ranking shinobi couldn't pay with a few A and S-Rank missions. Asuka payed for the house in full, something which made many of them stare in shock as she happily signed a check and handed it to the realtor, who looked smug and happy beyond belief. Why wouldn't he? He did just receive a sizable commission after all.

The house itself had many a large kitchen, a dining room, three large bathrooms, and ten rooms. Truly, it seemed more fitting for a clan than for Asuka and the occasional wayward shinobi that drifted through but the house was exactly what she had been looking for. All of the other houses that they had went through all had a problem or didn't suit their needs. Either there wasn't enough space, didn't have enough rooms, didn't afford much privacy, was in unfitting location and so on. It took a long time but she had found it and she knew in her heart that it was the right one so Asuka didn't feel at all bothered when she signed the sizable check.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Asuka-chan." The realtor, one Osamu-san, smiled. He was a middle aged man in his mid-thirties and he had a faint scar running down the side of his throat. He had a dark head of hair and sharp grey eyes.

"Thank you so much for your help Osamu-san!" Asuka said with a respectful bow.

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Sasuke stared pensively at the scroll that he'd unraveled. He had returned home after a brief dinner with his teammates at Ichiraku's to celebrate their return to Konoha. After putting away his belongings and taking a much deserved shower, the Uchiha had headed to the Clan training grounds to mark off one of the many tasks he had set for himself, that being, signing his recently acquired contract and successfully meeting said summons.

The Sabretooth Summoning Contract was an impressive display of Fuinjutsu but what was even more interesting was the fact that the contract has never before been signed. It would mean that should Sasuke actually sign the contract, he'd be the first summoner of the Sabretooth Summoning Contract. There was no way that he wasn't signing and just the Uchiha was determined and eager to prove his worth as a summoner.

With a look of determination, Sasuke briskly bit at his thumb, bringing blood to the surface and then he neatly wrote his name before running his hands through the hand seals, channeling his chakra carefully before he slammed them to the ground with a cry of "Kuchinoyose no Jutsu!" [Summoning Jutsu]

Black, winding lines spread beneath his fingers, melding together to form an impressive sealing array before there was a loud puff of smoke and Sasuke carefully kept his guard up, knowing that there was a large chance of meeting a volatile summons.

The smoke cleared up and Sasuke stood from where he had been crouched and his eyes widened slightly as he stared at the summons. It appeared that he had made better results than he had expected, especially on his first try.

What stood before him in the disappearing smoke, stood what seemed to be one of the higher teared summons of the Sabretooth Summoning Contract. The summons was big, easily towering over Sasuke. He ─ Sasuke assumed it was a he ─ had pure white fur decorated with sleek black lines. Sharp tusks gleamed dangerously in the sunlight. He was sleek and lined with pure muscle, enough to easily hunt down a person, shinobi or no. Predatorial blue eyes bore intensely at Sasuke, gleaming with unknown power and there was a sharp scent in the air.

"It has been a long time since one of the Sabretooth Clan has been summoned." A deep voice growled out.

Sasuke blinked out of his reverie and despite his instinct, he bowed respectively towards the giant tiger. He hadn't seen the tiger's lips move at all. Maybe it was a sort of mind jutsu? "My name is Uchiha Sasuke," he introduced himself, "May I have your name?" The Uchiha asked.

"Ah," The Sabre said, his voice unmistakably male, "how peculiar. A human with manners?" He mused aloud as he took a step forward, his steps utterly silent despite his large form. "Well I suppose it isn't unusual, considering that those unworthy would never have been able to open our contract, much less summon me."

Sasuke frowned at the words, biting back the questions he wanted to ask as he knew that he couldn't afford to screw up this chance to earn a summons. So few shinobi did after all.

"You may call me Byakko." The tiger said with a deep growl that almost seemed to reverberate throughout the Uchiha Clan grounds. "I am the Boss Summons of the Sabretooth Contract." The summons bared his sharp teeth in what seemed like a smile at the Uchiha's shock."My form is much larger than this but I am able to shift my form to how I see fit and I change accordingly to necessity. Now youngling, will you prove yourself worthy of mine?"

Sasuke blinked for a moment, his mind racing before he regained his composure before he gave the summons a sharp nod. "I will do what I must, Byakko-sama." He said seriously, determination burning bright in his eyes.

-XxX-xXx-XxX-

Meditation came easy to him after a few minutes of clearing his mind and slipping into his mindscape seemed second nature to him now. All it really took was a figurative 'step back' into his mind and then he was in his mindscape. Naruto was long familiar with his mindscape, which was thankfully no longer a sewer.

The sewer had been replaced by what could be said was an enchanting meadow. It was an explosion of color with wildflowers and the 'sky' was stuck in perpetual twilight. In the middle of the meadow stood a giant tree whose branches spread a comfortable shade. Naruto knew by now that he'd find the fox curled contentedly under the tree, savoring the feel of the grass under his feet and the cool breeze that swept through his fur.

Sure enough, that was exactly where he found the fox. Naruto couldn't help but smile at the sight of his friend. He looked better, happier.

The fox's fur looked soft and sleek, seeming to shine a brilliant red under the sun. His eyes were the same shade of crimson but they glowed inwardly, no doubt from the fox's own power. His tails, as always, were flowing gracefully through the air behind him as he lazed under the shade of the tree.

As Naruto neared however, Kurama opened his eyes.

"Hey Kurama." Naruto greeted with a smile as he neared the other.

Kurama rose from where he lay and he peered down at the one that was his host. "Naruto." Kurama greeted with an incline of his head. "What brings you here?"

Naruto shrugged. "What? I can't visit?"

Kurama very near rolled his eyes. "Brat."

Naruto merely grinned again. "Remember that Summoning Scroll that we got in Nami?" Naruto said as he provided a mental image and as the fox nodded as recognition and understanding flashed in his eyes.

"Ah." Kurama murmured. "You want to try to sign the contract now?"

Naruto nodded. "Now is a good time as any and besides, I'm sure Teme would have signed his now too." Naruto explained. "Would you be able to help me, Kurama? I've been able to figure out part of it but…" Naruto trailed off with a shrug.

Kurama huffed. "I said that I would, didn't I?" Kurama retorted. "Step out of your mind and I'll guide you from there. It won't take long to unseal the scroll."

Naruto beamed at the other. "Thanks Kurama!" Naruto said as he ducked under the swipe that Kurama gave and 'stepped back' out of his mind. Naruto blinked for a moment as he readjusted himself to his surroundings. He placed the scroll on his lap as he idly scanned the woods around him for danger. One couldn't let their guard down in the Forest of Death after all.

'Now then,' Kurama's deep voice sounded out in Naruto's mind. 'You'll need to channel some of by chakra and swipe a bit of your blood along the seal. My chakra will allow for the seal to be disengaged.'

Naruto nodded along Kurama's words as he felt the fox's chakra rise and he had to bite back a frown. Getting used to the Biju's chakra was hard but they were trying to change that by exposing and assimilating a bit of the other's chakra into his own steadily. It was a lot better than it was before though.

'Why was it sealed away in the first place?' Naruto asked curiously as he bit at his thumb to bring blood to the surface. He didn't say anything as the fox remained silent. Instead, he watched as the seal glowed a brilliant red as he swiped the blood across its surface and after a moment, the seal glowed yet again but this time with a sense of finality before it rolled open.

'It was a protective measure, I guess you should say…' Kurama began and Naruto got the sense that the fox was shifting uneasily. It brought his mind back to the time where the fox was caged behind bars. 'The fox or kitsune, could always reject a summoner but the seal prevented from having have to in the first place.'

Naruto paused. "Why was it sealed away? I mean, I get the sense that the, ah, Kitsune didn't want any summoners." Naruto said aloud as he stared off into the dark woods.

'Originally… our creator wanted us to grow and be alongside humans, so we could help and protect them. But then, he died and as the years passed by, the humans forgot our purpose. As time passed by and the shinobi came to be, they grew greedy for our power and feared it all the same. I suppose you can say that the Kitsune did not find humans worthy in the face of such actions.'

Naruto's face grew grim. "Kurama… you know that I will keep my promise, right?" He didn't say anything else. He knew that such things would be a sore subject for the fox and the last thing he wanted to do was bring old hurts to the forward, no matter how much the fox denied them.

'If I didn't believe that I would hardly be helping you now, now would I?' Kurama said after a moment.

Naruto didn't say anything as he merely smiled widely to himself as he unrolled the scroll. A large array revealed itself and Naruto grinned as he saw that the Contract was completely bare of any names, meaning that he would be the first summoner ever for the Fox ─ or Kitsune, as Kurama referred to them as ─ Summoning Contract.

'Sign your name at the bottom, brat.' Kurama instructed.

Naruto did so carefully with bloodied fingers until name Uzumaki Naruto lay boldly on the bright background.

'You know what to do from here on, correct?'

Naruto nodded absently as he raised his hands and swiftly formed the seals necessary before slamming a bloody hand to the ground with a small cry of "Kuchinoyose no Jutsu!" [Summoning Jutsu]

There was an explosion of smoke and Naruto blinked as the it quickly dissipated and was met by the sight of one of the most majestic beings he's ever seen, aside from Kurama of course.

It was a kitsune and it towered over Naruto by quite a few feet. It's brilliant white coat shone in the darkness of the Forest of Death and numerous tails flowed serenely behind it. Blue Flames flickered around his feet like a cloud and it didn't seem to bother the fox at all even when the grass burned swiftly beneath giant, sharply clawed feet. It's big golden eyes, however, peered curiously at Naruto.

Naruto was awestruck by the image that the beast made and the sheer power that he could feel rolling off the other but he was pulled from his reverie by the deep, rumble of laughter in the back of his mind.

'Of course you would call forth the Boss Summons on your first try!'

Naruto blinked and he hastened to stand and bow respectfully towards the beast.

"Now this is unusual…" The fox said, his voice melodic and undoubtedly male. "Either you managed to unravel the seal," the beast began as it stood from where it stood to come close to Naruto, taking in a undertone of his scent that smelled very familiar, "or you managed by different means. Tell me human, what is your name?" The fox asked regally.

Naruto straightened as he smiled at the other, not at all daunted and determined to gain allegiance from the fox and more importantly, it's trust. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto answered coolly with a firm nod. "May I have your name?" Naruto asked politely, hoping that he didn't overstep his bounds.

Meanwhile, inside Naruto's mind, Kurama stifled his chakra as much as he could, effectively hiding his presence. He wanted to see how things played out first.

The fox regarded him brightly glowing eyes that would have made any lesser being squirm in anxiety. They were a deep gold but they were also slitted, almost like that of a cat's. After a moment, the fox gave a slight nod.

"I am known as Shuryo, Boss Summons of the Fox Clan." Shuryo introduced himself as he sat on his hindlegs and Naruto could easily see and hear the pride the fox had when he mentioned his kin. "Now tell me, how did you manage to summon me, youngling?"

Naruto resisted to scowl at the word but from what he understood and inferred from Kurama's words, kitsune could live for a long time, so the other calling him youngling was appropriate because compared to them, he was young.

"I can do anything with enough determination, you know." Naruto said as he crossed his arms. "But as for having summoned you… well, I have Kurama to thank for that!" Naruto smirked at the other. "I'm the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi!" The shinobi proudly proclaimed as Kurama then let his chakra surge forward, much to the surprise of Shuryo.

"Kurama-sama?!" The fox said with shock as he realized that yes, the blond before him indeed was vessel for the most powerful Biju and veritable god of his clan. 'Is that really you, Kurama-sama?'Shuryo asked and Naruto merely blinked as the other's voice sounded in his mind.

Kurama laughed lowly as he answered, "It is I, Shuryo."

Shuryo could hardly believe what he was hearing but it was hard to dispute the truth in front of him when he could clearly sense the chakra of the Biju, so sharp and familiar. Shuryo broke the mental link for a moment to regard Naruto with seriously.

"May I have access to your mind, Uzumaki-sama?" Shuryo asked. There was no question that he was going to take Naruto on as a summoner. He knew that Kurama-sama would have never allowed for the human to access the Fox Summoning Contract if they weren't worthy of it and to even gain such worth, the human would have to be very special indeed. The anger that the Biju held towards humans was notorious after all, with due reason.

Naruto blinked at the honorifics before he scowled. "Call me Naruto." Naruto insisted, "And yeah, you totally can!"

Shuryo gave what could be called an impression of a faint smile before Naruto suddenly found himself in his mindscape. The Uzumaki immedietly noticed the additional presence in his mind.

Another thing that Naruto noticed, was that Shuryo was different. He wasn't the same size as he was before. He was bigger and could have easily towered over the trees of Konoha but he was still a bit small compared to Kurama. There was also a sort of aura that he exuded that was a lot more noticeable than before. But what struck him the most was the sheer respect had as he gazed at Kurama.

"Kurama-sama!" Shuryo said as he bowed towards the other.

"Ah," Kurama murmured, "so you are the one who guides the Fox Summons? It has, indeed, been a long time since I have seen, much less heard of your kind." Kurama said as he regarded the other. Shuryo was powerful. That much was obvious by the tails that he wielded ─ though their power was different. They weren't Biju ─ but he was much younger than Kurama himself.

Shuryo stood after a moment, his composure a bit shaken in the presence of the great fox. "The same could be said of you, Kurama-sama. We heard of your captivity but…"

Kurama shook his head. "There's no need to explain." Kurama said as he watched Naruto walk towards them. "As much as I hate to admit it, my containment would have been inevitable. Their seals are powerful," Kurama said grudgingly, huffing softly as he felt Naruto cord a hand through his fur in comfort. "It was preferable that our kin stay away. Seeing you would have only brought misunderstanding and discrimination. They would have associated you with me and no doubt try to seal you away themselves as well."

"Kurama-sama…" Shuryo muttered, unease welling in him at the thought because he knew that it was true. Kurama had wrought destruction but what humans forgot was that he brought his wrath upon the most twisted and vile villages that were hardly worth redemption. They twisted his deeds and they grew to hate and revile him because they forgot his purpose and the true wishes of the fabled Rikudo Sennin, the one that had bestowed upon them a great gift only for them to abuse that power to satisfy their greed and thirst for power.

Shuryo remained silent and he gathered his courage because he knew that compared to the great being before him, his power was nothing, and he was taking a gamble but he was prepared to take it because he could feel the undercurrent of pain in the other that he tried so hard to hide.

With cautious footsteps, Shuryo approached the other and disregarded the guarded look that the Biju gave him and the sheer curiosity and anticipation that he felt from the tiny human. He continued and didn't stop until he carefully nuzzled the elder fox, who was rigid beneath his touch ─ so long has he been alone, shrouded by darkness and a deep cold that forever followed him, oh, how he missed even the slightest sensation of the warmth and light the sun gave ─ and Shuryo purred comfortingly, until slowly but surely Kurama reciprocated until they were curled around each other, providing much needed comfort to the Nine Tailed Beast.

'I will not fail you, Kurama-sama.' Shuryo thought as he felt Kurama burrow deeper in his fur. 'Naruto-sama has more than earned our allegiance. He will remind this world the power of our kind and together, we'll free you from your cage.'

Meanwhile, Naruto thought that the future was looking much brighter already.

-xXx-XxX-xXx-

Kakashi wandered the streets of Konoha expertly, all while never once looking up from his book. He had already read this particular book of the Icha Icha series but his mind was far from the words before him. Instead he was more focused on the upcoming exams. They were right around the corner and it would be Konoha's turn to host them.

His students have barely been Genin for a few months but he already knew that he was going to nominate them. There was no way that he wasn't going to. They've already completed well over their required quota of D-Rank missions and they had a C-Rank turned A-Rank, one that they successfully completed in an unprecedented manner that no other Genin team could have easily managed.

"Ah, my Hip and Eternal Rival!" A loud, boisterous voice called out.

Kakashi resisted to sigh and he turned to see his friend Gai, who was heading to him with a large, beaming smile on his face. "Yo." Kakashi greeted lazily with a salute.

Gai grinned. "My rival, it is pleasing to see you back in the village!" Gai said exuberantly. "Asuma and the others were planning to meet at the Roaring Fire! You should come along Kakashi!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. The Roaring Fire was one of the few places that shinobi could go and relax in and not have to worry about the less than hardy state of civilians. It was a shinobi bar that civilians avoided like the plague and it was run by a retired Jounin who everyone knew not to mess with. It was also a bar that Kakashi and the others frequently visited.

They're more than prepared. Kakashi mused. Not registering them in the Chunin Exams would have been a mistake. The Jounin shook the thought away as he contemplated over Gai's offer. Might as well go see the others. Maa… It's not like I have much to do right now.

"I suppose." Kakashi drawled to which Gai grinned widely to, complete with a blinding sparkle and 'ping' that caused many around them to look away from the sheer brilliance. Kakashi, long used to Gai's antics, merely turned and walked away towards their destination.

The Roaring Fire was filled with shinobi and as Kakashi walked in with Gai by his side, he could immedietly spot his comrades all seated around a large table. It seemed like the majority of the shinobi that Kakashi knew was in attendance.

Kurenai was seated next to Asuma, whom she was talking to amiably. Genma was seated across from them and Raido sat next to them. Hayate took him bit by surprise. The Kenjutsu user usually didn't attend to their get togethers because of the way sake affected him aversely but Hayate looked in better health than Kakashi has seen in a long time. Aoba was seated at one end of the table, an amused smirk on his face as he listened to Anko, which by the sadistic grin on her face could be nothing good. Last but not least, Ibiki sat on the other side of Aoba, calmly nursing a cup of sake.

There was a wide empty area around them as other shinobi kept them at arm's length, no doubt because together they made a gathering of some of the most notorious and powerful shinobi that Konoha had to offer.

"My Friends!" Gai greeted. "I invited my Cool and Hip Eternal Rival to invigorate our Spirits!" The capital in his words could practically be visualized by the way that he said them.

The others looked up to greet them.

"Welcome back Kakashi." Kurenai said with a smile.

"Hatake! I see your back from that mission with your brats, huh?" Anko said with a smirk.

Kakashi smiled under his mask as he and Gai took a set and he nodded at Asuma in thanks as the other offered him a cup of sake. "It went as well as expected." He said as he took a sip of his sake and he inwardly smiled as no one batted an eye at the action or asked how he drank through his mask. There was no use when he had long mastered the art and his comrades respected his privacy.

Genma snorted at his words. "You mean C-Ranks turning into A-Ranks is normal for you, Hatake?"

This garnered a few raised eyebrows.

"What?" Kurenai frowned as she mulled over Genma's words in her mind. "Did your Genin run into trouble Kakashi?" She asked concernedly as her mind flashed back to her own Genin team. She'd hate for her own students to run into trouble like that but it happened, sadly much often than she'd like.

"Ma," Kakashi shrugged a shoulder. "We ran into some trouble but my team handled it." Kakashi turned his gaze to the Tokubetsu Jounin. "I take it one of my students told you?" Which one? He wondered. I didn't know any of them had met Genma.

"Asuka-chan told us!" Aoba answered to the surprise of others as Raido and Genma nodded.

Kakashi raised a silver eyebrow. "You've met her?"

Aoba grinned. "We've known her since she was a kid!" He said proudly. "I met her when she was around five and I've known her since then!"

"Asuka-chan…" Kurenai murmured and a faded memory of a tiny, blue haired girl came to mind. "Ah!" She snapped her fingers as she turned to Aoba. "She's that girl that asked for a meeting with the Hokage, right?"

Aoba nodded but his grin had faded slightly, something which the others silently noticed.

Genma smiled faintly. "Hayate, Raido and I met her when she was around ten." He nodded his head towards Hayate. "Aoba told us about her."

Hayate gave everyone a rueful smile. "I had one of my episodes that day, except that time seemed…" Hayate frowned as did the Aoba, Genma and Raido. "It was one of my worst episodes to date but I was being kind of stubborn that time and I didn't want to go see a medic."

"Hayate!" Kurenai said reproachingly but not unkindly. She was concerned and so were the others.

Hayate gave an apologetic smile. "I know, I should have gone to the hospital but honestly, I just didn't want to hear the same words I always got."

That was something they all knew. Their fellow swordsman always received the same empty words and recommendations. 'Take it easy', 'do light training', 'I'm sorry we can't do more, Hayate-san' and so on. It was tiring and coupled with the pitying and rude stares that he received from various civilians, guests and doctors alike, it turned the ordeal into something more exhausting and Hayate left more worn and tired than he went in.

It was a common experience for various shinobi although many shinobi had their own reasons for not visiting the hospital. Sometimes it was a matter of pride, sometimes it was because their mental state wouldn't allow for it, sometimes they came home high string from particularly messy missions and they didn't want to deal with the probing questions from medics… The reasons varied.

"I knew that Hayate didn't want to go to the hospital so I took him to Asuka-chan instead." Aoba informed and his grin turned into a fond smile.

"Why would you take Hayate to a kid?" Asuma asked with a furrowed eyebrow but Kakashi straightened, as the pieces slowly fell to place in his mind.

"She knew medical ninjutsu at that age?" Kakashi asked as he remembered the way Asuka had healed Haku from a life-threatening injury. The chance of surviving a Chidori attack was very small. The fact that Haku was still breathing in the end was a miracle and the way Asuka had healed him was even more so.

Her Kekkei Genkai… The capabilities that it wields is astounding. I've never seen anything like it. Kakashi thought. It has amazing destructive strength and the healing techniques that she used… I wonder what else it can do?

"Wait," Kurenai interjected, "are you saying your kid knows medical ninjutsu right now, Hatake?"

Kakashi turned to her and gave her a look of lazy detachment. "Well, I guess you can say that but I really can't say much right now Kurenai. The Chunin Exams are right around the corner after all." He drawled as he casted a long look at the four shinobi that knew of his student.

His comment garnered the immediate attention of his comrades, most of which gave him varying looks of shock.

"That's right." Ibiki said as he remembered the meeting that the Hokage had called. "All three of you nominated your Genin and they're all Rookies too."

"My Cool and Hip Rival!" Gai suddenly added exuberantly. "Your Youthful students shall be testing their Might in the Exams against others, including my own!"

"You nominated your team, right Gai? It makes sense since they didn't take part in the last exams…" Raido said as he refilled his cup of sake. "They wanted to gain more experience, right?"

Gai beamed. "Indeed!"

"The Chunin Exams." Asuma groaned despairingly as he ran a frustrated hand down his face before taking a large gulp of his sake. "I don't even want to think about that! My team is a disaster right now. Can you believe that Shikamaru and Chouji don't give me as much as a hard time as Ino does?! All she ever thinks or talks about is the Uchiha!" He flung back his saucer of sake. "Maybe I shouldn't have nominated them for the exams…"

"Wait, the Nara?" Anko snorted with amusement.

Asuma nodded as the others looked at him with pity and amusement. "I've tried to bring Ino out of her fangirl tendencies but it seems like it's a lost cause! Even Inoichi has tried to make her see sense. The only thing that has her going right now are Inoichi's threats of punishment." Asuma raised turned then and he gave Kakashi a dark glare. "You and Kurenai are lucky that you don't have fangirls."

Aoba snickered as he saw Kakashi shrug. "Yeah well, look at that poor bastard over there." Aoba said as he pointed to the corner of a bar where another shinobi was surrounded by bottles of sake and looking very much determined to get as drunk as possible. He looked the very definition of miserable and it seemed that even his friends couldn't get him to cheer up.

"Who's that?" Kurenai asked curiously as they all spied on the shinobi.

"That's the Jounin Sensei of Team Fifteen, Akio-sensei. It's made entirely of Genin from civilian backgrounds." Genma explained as he idly chewed on a senbon and casted the shinobi a sympathetic look. "Not that they're bad or anything but he had to fail his Genin team because of how horrendous they were with each other."

"Details man." Anko demanded as the others leaned in curiously.

"They couldn't get along, at all but apparently the thing that made him crack was the kunoichi, Haruno Sakura." Genma glanced at Asuma. "Apparently she's as much as a diehard fan of the Uchiha as the Yamanaka, if not worse."

Asuma frowned as he lit a cigarette, only to put it out a second later at Kurenai's furious glare. "I don't think that's possible." Assuma said bluntly.

Genma chuckled but he shook his head. "It's true. Two of them are back in Genin rotation I think but the Haruno is in the Medical Program because she has great chakra control or something." Genma paused. "I think she's training to become a medic but it was a near thing though. Her reserves are very small and her attitude isn't really popular but the medics are trying to change that. It's a work in progress, I think."

Kakashi could only take a drink of his sake and be damn grateful that he didn't get a fangirl. He knew the horrors that fangirls wrought after all and the bad reputation that they gave to kunoichi everywhere.

"Poor bastard." Anko sighed before a slow smirk curled her lips and she leaned towards Asuma, who eyed her wearily. "You want me to talk to your brat, Asuma? I bet I could set her straight!" She laughed darkly, earning wary looks from other patrons of the bar.

Asuma was about to reject her offer but then he paused as he remembered the way Ino had been mooning over the Uchiha, how she had complained that training would change her figure and the she wouldn't be 'feminine' enough for Sasuke, how she was going to become the Uchiha Clan matriarch and so on…

"Really?" Asuma replied hopefully and his answer took the others by surprise.

"You'd really sic Anko on your student, Asuma?" Aoba whistled lowly. "That's kind of…"

"Sadistic?" Genma offered drily.

"Cruel?" Kurenai added with a raised eyebrow.

"Effective." Kakashi said with an approving nod. In his opinion, they needed to know that such behavior wouldn't be condoned, especially because their actions also reflected on their families and on Konoha.

"If that doesn't work then perhaps my Tenten shall invigorate her Spirit!" Gai suggested. "Tenten is a very capable kunoichi and she has much Youth!"

Asuma gave the green clad Jounin a smile. "Thanks for the suggestion Gai." He said, faintly exasperated. "But enough about that. Didn't we come here to relax?"

At that, the others cheered.

-xXx-xXx-XxX-

Team Seven was called to gather at a small, red bridge. A bridge that Team Seven often passed on the way to their usual training grounds.

Asuka was the last to arrive and she was humming under her breath as she wondered why Kakashi-sensei had called for a meeting. It had been a few days since their return from the Nami no Kuni and still then, it felt sort of surreal to once again be back in her home village.

She waved her greetings as she spotted her teammates, both who were casually leaning against the bridge railings and were standing in a comforting silence. They noticed her and they gave their own greetings.

"Asuka-chan!" Naruto said with a small grin.

"Asuka." Sasuke greeted with a nod.

"It's been a while since we've seen Kakashi-sensei." Asuka commented as she hopped up and sat on the railing, idly swinging her legs back and forth. "I wonder what's been keeping him."

"He's probably been busy writing mission reports." Sasuke mused as he watched the clouds slowly drift through the sky. "That, or he's probably dealing with something else…"

Naruto merely hummed in agreement. His mind was more stuck on the fact that he had successfully gained a new summoning contract, as well as the few details that had been shared by the Biju. It only made him more determined to reach his goal.

"You're quiet today, Naruto-kun." Asuka noted curiously as she peered at the other with gold eyes. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

Naruto blinked before he rubbed at the back of his head. "Ah," he murmured, "no. I just have much on my mind right now."

Asuka could see that it was more than that, as could Sasuke, but she merely nodded at his response. Both she and Sasuke understood that Naruto would come to them at his own time if he needed to. They all stayed in silence before a thought popped into Asuka's mind.

"Have you three been training?" Asuka asked although she already knew the answer and it was confirmed a moment later as both Naruto and Sasuke nodded. "Did you guys want to do some training together later on… for you know, that technique?"

"The one that needs all three of us?" Naruto tried to affirm as excitement built in his chest in remembrance of their experimental collaboration jutsu.

It was an idea that had originally came from Asuka, although it was a concept that had already been used and introduced by other shinobi before although the way that they were putting it into practice was a bit… different. For one, it would require quite a few complicated concepts that they weren't sure if other shinobi have tried. For all they knew, they would be the first and regardless, they were willing to try despite the potential risks.

What Asuka had proposed came from the idea of Earthland's Unison Raid. Mages were able to synergize their magic with others to perform techniques unlike anything seen before and had a great potential power. Asuka wanted to apply the concept to chakra, although she knew that compared to mages, it would be much harder but if Team Seven succeeded, they may be the first to team to have a technique of such caliber and of its kind. Asuka was faintly sure that the concept would be puzzling for a few, mainly because it would get confused with the idea of using jutsu in collaboration of another but what they were trying to do was a sort of melding.

With their affinities, they could really create something amazing.

Sasuke glanced towards them pensively as he remembered the intensive training that they all put forth, individually and as a team. Each of them had to do master an individual technique that would later be incorporated together with the other two to form something unique.

Asuka was in charge of the Water Release aspect, Naruto, Wind Release and Sasuke would be in charge of the Lightning Release. Once finished, it would definitely bring a new meaning to the word storm.

So far, they've had been doing great progress but it would still take some work to make the jutsu as seamless as possible.

For Naruto's part, he was in charge of causing nearly gale force winds and trying to shape that wind into something that he could control and manipulate. The shape that he had been going for was basically a tornado. So far, he's been able to create three large cyclones of wind but the bigger that he tried to make them, the harder it was to control. Add to the fact that sometimes he couldn't control the speed and at times, it hardly had the strength it desired. Considering that they've been working on it since they graduated, however, Naruto had advanced further and he could now make three very large cyclones. Practicing had been hard though, especially because there was always a risk of being found out and even in the Forest of Death it was a gamble.

Sasuke was supposed to create lightning. He had the perfect amount of control to effectively create a large amount of lightning that would be devastating to their opponents, especially to those that were caught in the center. Controlling lightning was a tricky task because there was always a threat of burning oneself with it if they lost that control but it very well came second nature to him.

Asuka was in charge of bringing torrential rain. She was more attuned to wind because of her magic but her chakra affinity was water and lightning. She was at the point now that she could conjure up water from thin air, which to anyone else would have taken a drastic toll of chakra. Thanks to her immense stores of chakra, however, she hardly felt the effect. What they were planning to do with her part, was infuse the rain with Naruto's wind and the lightning would be conducted with the summoned water.

Together they would try to command a sort of unity through the three attacks with their chakra but there would also be a very large amount of chakra in the air. It was very possible that with the sheer amount of it, the very whether itself could be influenced by it. It was why it was a technique that they promised they wouldn't use unless in dire situations.

Still, they wouldn't be able to use it for some time yet, anyway.

"I'm afraid that you'll all have to put that aside for now." Kakashi's familiar voice drawled as they all turned to see their sensei appear before them. He wasn't alone, however.

Behind him was Hayate's familiar form, along with one that Asuka didn't recognize. The other shinobi was a man that looked around Hayate's age with brown hair and equally dark eyes and he donned a happuri that donned the village's emblem.

"Hey," Naruto blinked at the swordsman, "Hayate-san!" He waved to the other with a smile. "We haven't seen you in forever!"

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the other. "We haven't seen you since our last year of the Academy."

Hayate gave a small smile as he spotted their bladed weapons strapped to their backs. "I see you've all made great progress since then and moved on from the bokken, hm?"

Asuka nodded, "We have! But, why are you here Hayate-san? And who's he?" The kunoichi motioned to the other shinobi that had accompanied them.

"This is Yamato." Kakashi introduced with an eye-smile, "he's my kohai."

Yamato, as he was called, looked embarrassed by the introduction. He stepped forward with a sigh. "My name is Yamato. It's nice to finally meet Kakashi-senpai's team and I'm here on his request."

Kakashi stepped forward then with papers in hand and he had a stern look in his gaze that caused the three Genin to pay closer attention. To the side, both Hayate and Yamato watched intently.

"I've called you here for a reason." Kakashi began, "In just a few short days from now, the Chunin Exams are going to begin and this year, they'll be held in Konoha."

"The Chunin Exams?" Naruto murmured before his eyes lit up with hidden excitement. "Did you nominate us, Kakashi-sensei?"

Both Asuka and Sasuke stared at their sensei with wide eyes.

Kakashi nodded in affirmation. "I know it's a bit sudden," Kakashi acknowledged, "but it's all voluntary. If you don't feel ready, then you can wait until the next exams roll around. Whoever wants to join the exams, just sign the forms and go to Room 301 at the Academy at 3 pm, five days from now."

Asuka stared at the forms that their sensei offered and after a brief shared glance with her teammates, they all very near lunged towards the application.

"We won't let you down, Kakashi-sensei!" Asuka promised as she shared a high five with her teammates— determination burning in their eyes.

Kakashi smiled but he didn't say anything in the matter. He nodded his head towards Yamato to step forward. "In the meantime, we'll resume training for now. I invited Yamato over to help me run drills with you lot." Kakashi answered, "I believe that Hayate wanted to talk to you though, Asuka-chan."

Asuka blinked before she stared at the other for a moment. "I forgot!" She gasped as she bowed in apology towards the swordsman. "I'm sorry Hayate-san! I was so busy I forgot about your final treatment! I can do that right now with a clone!" She said as said clone popped into existence and immedietly set out with glowing hands to the other.

Hayate shook his head. "I don't mind at all, Asuka-chan. I knew that you'd be busy." Hayate reassured, "Besides, I feel better already than I have for a long time. I just came by to check on you and make sure that you were okay."

Yamato and Kakashi both stared with intrigued eyes, Yamato more obvious than the latter.

"Wait, she's the reason you're better?" Yamato said with disbelief as she stared at the young kunoichi. "And what did you mean by final treatment?" Well, the answer was obvious, but it was kind of hard to believe, especially considering that they've always seen and associated the swordsman with the disease. He's had it for years and for years he's had no results from treatments and numerous doctors had been unable to help him.

Except recently that is.

Hayate sat atop the rails, sighing at the familiar feel of Asuka's soothing chakra. "Asuka-chan's the one that's been treating me for all this time. I think she started around her third year in the Academy." Hayate glanced at the blue haired girl and smiled when she nodded in confirmation. "She's actually managed to help cure me."

Kakashi stepped forward with furrowed eyebrows as he stared at the glowing hands of his student as beside in, Yamato gaped with disbelief.

"It's your Kekkei Genkai, right?" Kakashi asked, "Hayate's seen medics for years and they haven't managed to do anything in all that time. I can only assume that that's the difference. Your medical techniques are totally different from theirs but I think it all comes down to your chakra, doesn't it?" Kakashi concluded.

Asuka stared at her sensei somewhat nervously but she nodded anyway. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you earlier Kakashi-sensei but I never really found the right moment to tell you…" Asuka murmured as she gazed apologetically towards the other.

Kakashi could feel the glares of more than one on his back ─ it was cute to see that his Genin cared but he no doubt that Asuka-chan had many wound around her pinky alone ─ and he softened the tiniest bit and ruffled her blue hair in reassurance.

"Maa," Kakashi drawled, "don't worry about it Asuka-chan. Just make sure to tell the Hokage soon, alright? The sooner the better."

Asuka nodded, a large smile on her face.

"Now, lets get to training. The exams might just be a few days away but that doesn't mean we can slack off." Kakashi said.

-xXx-XxX-xXx-

It was hard to decide if she was being foolhardy by doing what she was doing. Asuka understood perfectly well that there were dangers to attempting a Reverse Summoning without a contract. Any person who tried to be reversed summoned without a contract, ran a risk of being sent to dangerous, unknown dimensions. There was a high chance of being sent to a hostile environment and an even higher probability of meeting displeased summons, of which could result anything.

Still, Asuka was determined to obtain a summons and she had a feeling that it was necessary for her to obtain one. None of the contracts that Team Seven had obtained called to her. In fact, they had all felt wrong to her and even then, she didn't regret rejecting Sasuke's and Naruto's offer to sign their own obtained contracts. No. Asuka knew that the contracts that they had obtained were fit for them and she wasn't angry that they had managed to obtain one so easily. She was genuinely happy for them.

Running through the hand seals was easy. She had long remembered the sequence through an easy bout of practice.

What was surprising however, was the feeling of being reversed summoned. It reminded her of teleportation and for a brief moment, she had to stay utterly still before she cleared away the feeling of faint nausea with a pulse of chakra.

She stood slowly, just noticing then that she had landed on her knees and hands. She brushed away the dirt from her skin idly before she scanned her new surroundings with sharp eyes.

"This is…" Asuka murmured with awe as she turned slowly, shivering slightly from the sharp bite of wind. "Is this Edolas?!" She said incredulously as she cautiously turned, her heart pumping in her chest with anticipation and slight caution.

As she turned her gaze, she knew after a second glance that she was not in Edolas though it was shockingly similar. The world around her was apparently made up of a series of floating islands ─ mountains, more like ─ that were unlike anything she's seen. They were big enough to house what looked like giant caves. They were high in the clouds, high and close enough to almost touch them in fact.

She was on guard, despite the unearthly beauty around her. She was in what seemed like a different realm after all with unknown entities. What exactly they were, Asuka wasn't sure. The floating islands seemed almost abandoned.

"I know that I'm in a summons dimension." Asuka commented quietly to herself as she gazed around. "I can feel the chakra in the air…" And that she did. It was heavier in the air than back in her own realm. It felt denser, heavier. It reminded her of the air that had been practically saturated in Ethernano around the FACE Statues except in this dimension, the feeling was widespread.

There was a ripple of movement and Asuka tensed as she whirled around. At first, she spied nothing but then the wind blew her way and there was a sharp and heavy scent in the air, something that she wouldn't associate with humans at all. It smelled more… earthly, if anything.

"What is this?" She murmured aloud as she slid into a battle stance as a few seconds later there was an explosion of movement and sound. She frowned as she shielded her eyes with an arm as the winds grew fierce and then her eyes widened as there was the sound of a ferocious roar, loud and intimidating and immedietly bringing the image of familiar mighty beasts that she knew quite well.

That can't be! Are they really─ Asuka's mind raced as the ground beneath her feet trembled ominously. Disbelief and shock coursed through her as she stared with wide eyes at the beast that landed in front of her.

It towered above her, easily making her feel like an ant before it's gaze, which would have had a lesser being trembling and immobile from sheer fear. It was tall enough to dwarf the Hokage Tower by a large margin and it was covered in magnificent scales that gleamed a like pearls. It had a crest on it's forehead that was colored a brilliant red, almost like a jewel that rested on it's figurative brow. Giant wings made from a mesh of scales and brightly colored feathers laid proudly upon its back.

She knew what she was staring at and her mind flashed to her parent figure, Grandine. They were the same, she realized, but at the same time they were nothing alike.

"D-Dragon." Asuka breathed out as she gathered her composure and stood straighter.

"Never has a human entered this realm." A deep voice echoed out as inhuman violet, slitted eyes stared at Asuka's tiny form. "How did you get here, human?"

"Ryuu-sama!" Asuka bowed with respect towards the other, not at all wanting to offend. "I am sorry to have intruded upon your realm. I never meant any harm. I was trying to obtain a summons," She explained, her form still bowed in respect, "but no contract that I came across felt right so I reversed summoned myself in the hopes of obtaining one."

The giant beast said nothing for a moment. "Stand."

Asuka did so, staring straight at the other with no fear in her eyes or heart. The being before her was divine but Asuka had also met beings that had the power to destroy the world, who weren't even stopped by the laws of time and space itself.

The being could easily spy this, could see the look of confidence that could easily be mistaken by arrogance but he had lived for hundreds of years, had seen the lands come to fruition and more. He could see that what it really was, could see the years in her eyes and the pure heart that she held, something which was really rare in his experience.

"What is your name, little girl?" He asked.

The Sky Dragon Slayer smiled. "My name is Asuka, Ryuu-sama. May I have the honor of knowing yours?" She asked politely, excitement and anticipation building in her chest.

The dragon stayed silent for a moment. "I am known as Kinryu, leader of my kin." The dragon said proudly and he reared back, breathing in deeply and Asuka knew very well what came next. He gave a resounding roar and breathing out a billow of pure white flames.

Asuka stared with amazement at the spiraling roars and she gasped as there were echoing roars. There was suddenly other forms in the air, each different from the other but no less divine. They were of different sizes, forms and colors and they all exuded a powerful aura and with just a glance Asuka knew that they were very powerful.

The sat themselves next to their leader, each of their gazes boring into Asuka with great intensity. She gathered her determination and resolve and she straightened, gathering her own power to the surface in a shroud of energy around her.

"My name is Asuka, shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato!" She said fiercely.

-xXx-XxX-xXx-

"So did you guys sign your Summoning Contract?" Naruto asked curiously as he glanced at his comrades that were walking by his side, his hands linked behind his head.

Sasuke blinked at the question before nodding, a small smile curling his lips. "Meeting the Sabretooth Tigers… was interesting, to say the least. The Sabretooth Summons all have an affinity for Lightning and they can be very… ruthless when they want to but they're also really prideful."

"Really?" Asuka asked curiously. "Did you meet the Boss Summons as well?"

Naruto glanced at the Uchiha, whom he noted looked oddly content. Must be because of the contract. Foxes are still better though.

Sasuke nodded. "Byakko-sama, the Sabretooth Boss Summons. He's… very big." Sasuke began as his mind flashed back to when he had met the intimidating summons. "But not as much as he could be. Apparently, he manipulated his size to be smaller than he really is. If he'd shown his true form, I think that there might have been a commotion and a few problems."

Naruto nodded understandingly. "I get you. Shuryo-sama is the same!" He replied with a grin. "The Foxes all have an affinity for fire and they're really fun to be around!" He paused for a moment, remembering the great wisdom and power that they had exuded like an aura. "But they're really old and powerful. They're not someone that you really want to go against in battle."

"I hope I can meet them!" Asuka commented as she listened to their words intently. "I'd want them to meet my summons too!"

Both Sasuke and Naruto looked at her with surprise and slight anticipation.

"You Reversed Summoned?" Sasuke asked curiously. "How was it?"

"What summons did you get Asuka-chan?" Naruto asked eagerly.

Asuka grinned widely. "I managed to Reverse Summon myself into their realm! It was nothing like I've ever seen before! There were giant islands floating in the sky and the sky was beautiful. It was almost like looking into an eternal sunset! I was almost worried since the place had almost seemed like it didn't have anything at all… but then they showed up and it was amazing." She described as Naruto and Sasuke listened intently. "I couldn't have asked for a better summons!"

"Which one did you get?" Naruto asked again, impatience getting the better of him.

"The Dragon Summons of course!" Asuka answered with a laugh as both of her teammates gaped at her in surprise.

"Dragons?!" Sasuke said incredulously. A part of him wanted to discard the idea because the notion of actual dragons seemed like a fantasy but Asuka wasn't one to lie to them. That and it was Asuka.

Naruto made a sound of disbelief but in his mind, he heard Kurama's rumbling resounding laugh.

'The Dragon kind have not been seen on these lands for hundreds, if not thousands of years. They left this realm long ago, seeking to be away from mankind.'Kurama informed. 'But I can readily say that Dragons are very, very real. For your blueberry friend to have successfully contracted with them is very much worthy of praise.' At that, Naruto's eyes widened yet again, this time at Kurama's words. The fox wasn't usually one for praise, especially for other humans other than Naruto himself.

"Congratulations Asuka-chan. Kurama said that Dragons haven't been seen for a long time and that for you to have contracted with them is a big deal." Naruto said genuinely.

Asuka blinked at the other before smiling. "They're really solitary but most of all, they're really majestic." Asuka said dreamily as she stared at the sky and remembered the sheer radiance of the dragons. "I'll introduce you guys to my summons soon. It'll have to wait for now though. Summoning them here takes a lot of chakra!"

That was an understatement. The amount of chakra that they needed was very pricey. One really needed to be sire on the decision of summoning and make careful note of the amount of chakra they have and the amount demanded by them.

Asuka was sure that she wouldn't have a problem with that, however. She'd still have to be careful in summoning them though. It wouldn't do to summon them for every battle. It would be rude to ask a dragon to take care of bandits when Asuka herself could easily do so.

Naruto frowned. "Dragons are cool and all Asuka-chan but foxes are a lot better!" Naruto insisted loyally before turning to stare at Sasuke with a shrewd look. "Better than cats anyway," Naruto teased good naturedly.

Sasuke scoffed. "That's what you think, idiot."

"You have cats for summons, bastard!" Naruto retorted.

Asuka grinned as she watched them from the corner of her eye, very much used and fond of their antics.

They continued to bicker back and forth and they walked around Konoha without a destination in mind. It was a day of semi-relaxation. They hadn't had the chance to see one another in a while, so busy were they with personal affairs and training but they tried to make time by scheduling spars and days out.

After a while, they decided that a stop for food was in order. It was a nice day after all and a little food would only add on to it.

As they stopped by a food stand, they were surprised to see Team Ten there as well.

It seemed that the other Genin had just finished training, judging by their tired countenance and the messy state of their clothes. Chouji was steadily eating away at a bag of chips, no doubt trying to regain the energy that he lost. Shikamaru was nursing a cup a tea beside him. Ino was also enjoying a cup of tea but there was a subtle look of annoyance to her face but that might have been due to the presence of one Haruno Sakura.

There was also a man that they didn't recognize but they quickly realized was none other than Team Ten's sensei, Sarutobi Asuma.

As they approached, they could already hear the sharp bickering between the two girls about the thing that they 'cared' about the most.

Uchiha Sasuke.

"─ I'm telling you billboard brow, there's no way that Sasuke-kun would like you over me! He's not going to be able to see past your wide forehead!" Ino growled as she waved a clenched fist towards the other.

Sakura's temper ignited as it always did; quickly and explosively. "As if he'd even want you, Ino-pig!" Sakura retorted. "What would he want with you? At least I can keep up with him!"

As if I'd want anything to do with any of you, Sasuke thought scathingly as he watched the pitiful exchange between the two kunoichi. They could both become decent shinobi but they're so self-absorbed to see that I could give less than a damn about them.

Ino snorted as she flipped her long blond hair back, disregarding the exasperated sigh that her sensei gave and the eye roll that she gained from Shikamaru. "Keep up with him? In case you don't remember forehead, your team failed."

Sakura's face flushed with anger as she gave a growl more befitting a dog. "I'll have you know that I'm training to be a medic." Sakura huffed as she crossed her across her chest. "Medics are very important, I'll have you know. One of the greatest kunoichi of all time was a medic!" Sakura reminded as she glared at the blond whom returned it with equal measure.

Asuma had noticed them immedietly and he gave them a subtle nod in greeting, which they returned. Shikamaru and Chouji noticed them then and they also gave their own subtle greetings, as they didn't want to alert the other two of Team Seven's presence.

The males, Asuka noted, seemed to be wearing a look of long suffering and from the corner of her eye, she could spy Sasuke's look of barely hidden regret.

Unfortunately, a clerk brought the attention of the females as he asked what Team Seven would like to order.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino cried.

"Oh, you're really here Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said adoring with stars in her eyes as she gazed at the Uchiha. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

Naruto wrinkled his nose as he idly wondered what the hell he was thinking when he was younger to like someone like Sakura. It's like they can't see how uncomfortable they make the bastard… Naruto thought as he glanced towards the Uchiha. Or maybe they completely ignore it altogether?

Both Ino and Sakura beamed and not wasting any time, lunged towards the Uchiha, both having every intention of latching to him and catching his attention.

"Ino don't─" Shikamaru warned with a hand outstretched but his teammate disregarded his call.

Naruto and Asuka stood to the side, knowing that Sasuke could handle himself. Naruto didn't hesitate to turn away and order their food, already knowing what they would want. Meanwhile Asuka drifted to Shikamaru's and Chouji's side.

"Hey Asuka-chan." Chouji said as he paused in his eating to and tilted his bag of chips to her in offer. "Chip?"

From the side, Asuma raised an eyebrow as he watched the Genin with an interested gaze. He could hear the Uchiha's harsh rejection, not at moved by the dismayed faces of the blond and the pink haired kunoichi. What he was more surprised about however, was the fact that the young Akimichi actually offered his food. That wasn't something that the Akimichi did for just anyone.

Sasuke had swiftly rejected the two sad excuses for kunoichi but unfortunately, even that wasn't enough to dissuade them as they repeatedly asked him to reconsider.

"Please Sasuke-kun!" Ino pleaded, batting her eyes in what she assumed was a cute manner. "We can go out to eat together or maybe take a stroll in the park!"

Sakura growled at her as she butted her to the side. "Don't listen to her Sasuke-kun!" She said as she clasped her hands behind her back and leaned towards the Uchiha. "What you should really do is go out with me Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke's patience was running very, very thin but fortunately, they were interrupted by the arrival of Team Eight.

"Hey!" One enthusiastic Inuzuka Kiba greeted with a wave as he ambled towards them. "Fancy seeing you lot here!" Akamaru, who was resting atop Kiba's head, barked his own greeting as well.

Walking along his side were his teammates.

Aburame Shino looked the same as ever. "Hello." He offered quietly.

Hyuuga Hinata still looked shy as she shyly met everyone's gaze, flushing when her eyes met Naruto's. "H-Hello!" She greeted.

Their sensei, Yuhi Kurenai, smiled towards Team Seven and Asuka realized, very quickly, that she could have easily passed for an Uchiha with her striking red eyes and black hair but they lacked the markings of the Sharingan.

"Asuma." Kurenai greeted with a nod before she glanced at the ensembled Genin, specifically, Team Seven. So that's them, huh? She thought idly, focusing on the young kunoichi. She certainly seems a lot calmer than the Yamanaka and the other girl… but I'm assuming she's that Haruno girl that Aoba and Genma mentioned.

Just like he had said, they were diehard fangirls.

Kurenai frowned as she made her way towards them. "Girls, calm down." She ordered, her frown deepening as she noticed that they were still sending each other harsh glares and while periodically sending the Uchiha love struck eyes. "Are you, or are you not shinobi of Konoha?" She said coolly as she stared down at them with a reprimanding gaze.

"W-Well, Billboard-Brow failed!" Ino said as she flicked her hair back as Sakura gasped, outraged.

"Shut up Ino-Pig!" She yelled, a flush rising to her face.

From the side, the other Genin exchanged glanced. That was the first time they heard of such a thing but at the same time the news didn't surprise them.

"You should both be ashamed of yourselves." Kurenai said with absolutely no mercy. "Your actions reflect on all of Konoha as well as Kunoichi and right now, both of you bring nothing but embarrassment to the title. If this is the way that you conduct yourselves, then you should both just quit now." Kurenai said before dismissing them as she returned to Asuma's side, whom gave her a thankful look.

Ino and Sakura gaped at her before noticing the stares of the other Genin.

"W-What are you looking at?!" Ino yelled.

Team Seven exchanged glances before collectively shaking their heads.

"We'll be going now." Naruto drawled as he lazily waved to the others.

"Where are you going?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"We were just taking a break for training." Sasuke answered as he raised an eyebrow towards his teammates in question. "You can come with us if you want. We were just wandering around Konoha for now."

"Yeah." Naruto said as he grinned towards Team Eight. "You guys should come too. We can catch up or something." He turned to the two sensei's then. "Is that alright Kurenai-sensei? Asuma-sensei?"

Kurenai gave a small smile as she nodded. "I don't see why not. We just finished our own training."

Asuma nodded quickly, spying the opportunity to spend time with Kurenai and completely disregarded the knowing look that Shikamaru gave him. "Yeah. Go on." He drawled as casually as he could but it was debunked by the slight flush on his cheeks to which Kurenai had to smile on again.

Asuka surged forward and took Hinata's hand as she tugged her forward, intent on making Hinata relax. "It's nice to see you again, Hinata-chan!" She said with a smile.

"A-Ano, you too!" Hinata replied quickly as she willed down her flush, well aware of Naruto's presence. "H-How have you been?"

The other Genin followed at a sedate pace and Ino and Sakura didn't even notice that they were alone now until there was a sudden silence. The Genin were long gone and Kurenai and Asuma had headed for a more shinobi oriented place and for some privacy.

"Hey!" Ino glanced back and forth, trying to spy for any signs of her precious Uchiha despite the pangs that she felt in her heart. "Where'd they go?"

Sakura frowned as she too noticed their absence. "This is all your fault Ino-Pig!" Sakura accused, despite the voice in her head telling her that she had part to play as well. "You scared off Sasuke-kun!"

"Me?" Ino gasped, angry. "It's all your fault!"

And so they continued back and forth with Kurenai's words in the back of their minds.

Meanwhile, the Genin continued to walk amiably as they caught up with each other.

"So you guys went to Wave?" Kiba asked curiously as he munched on a spring rolled that was offered to him by Asuka. "How did that go? We didn't get a C-Rank until a few days ago! And it was boring courier mission." Kiba whined.

"It was what Kurenai-sensei thought we could handle." Shino said, his deep voice startling a few. "We should be grateful she even allowed us on any."

"Yeah, I know." Kiba grumbled before he glanced at the members of Team Seven expectantly.

"Our C-Rank was…" Naruto rubbed at the back of head as his mind flashed through the events of their mission to Nami before he glanced at his teammates for help.

Sasuke merely shrugged.

Asuka smiled somewhat sheepishly. "Um, it went as well as expected I guess?" Asuka answered. "It was nice meeting new people and going out of the village. Tazuna-san's family was very interesting and accommodating!"

"What I want to know," Shikamaru drawled as the other glanced at him, "is why a square rock is following us?"

Asuka and the others looked behind them and sure enough, there was a very obvious and very square rock following them, edging closer and closer.

Naruto twitched before he sighed, "Konohamaru, rocks aren't square." He said patiently and then there was an explosion of smoke before it went away, revealing three young children.

"Ah!" A brown haired boy with a blue, trailing scarf gasped. "You saw right through my disguise, Boss! Just what I'd expect from my rival!"

A girl stepped up next to him, doing a sort of dance and then a weird pose with a grin on her face. "I'm Moegi, the sassiest Kunoichi in preschool, check me out!"

Another boy, this one with glasses and brown hair, did his own pose with a bit less enthusiasm. "I love algebra, call me Udon!"

Then, Konohamaru stepped up with a grin to do his own epic introduction. "I'm the number one shinobi in the village, Konohamaru!"

And together they chanted, "And when we're together, we're the Konohamaru Ninja Squad!"

There was a moment of silence.

Sasuke rounded on his teammate with a deadpan expression. "Seriously?"

Naruto merely slapped a hand to his face and groaned.

The others looked at the blond incredulously and with varying looks of amusement.

"Wow," Kiba said, "Just wow."

"You guys," Naruto grumbled.

"I didn't know you had fans, Naruto." Chouji grinned as he teased the other.

Asuka giggled. "That was kind of cute," Asuka commented as her blond teammate groaned in despair yet again. "Where'd you meet them Naruto-kun?"

Naruto waved a flippant hand. "I met Konohamaru at the Hokage Tower a while ago when I was talking to the old man. I'll tell you about it later."

"Hey!" Konohamaru said indignantly. "Don't take us lightly!"

"Konohamaru, did you want something?" Naruto asked.

"You know what we want!" Moegi scowled at the other with rising anger. "Are you busy now?"

Naruto frowned before glancing at his fellow Genin. "Sort of?"

"What?!" Konohamaru gasped, "But you promised that you'd play ninja with us today!"

Asuka smiled at the request before placing a reassuring hand on Naruto's shoulder as she saw the conflict on his face. "I could play with you if you want!" Asuka offered, "I think it'd be a good way to gain experience and knowledge."

Naruto grinned at his teammate.

"A shinobi playing shinobi…" Sasuke grumbled but he could already see that his teammates were already set on their decision. "Make it shinobi tag instead. That'd be better."

An extreme and shinobi version of the civilian game of tag where one utilized their skills in tracking and hiding along with their physical aspects of speed. In their game however, they were supposed to hide as well and get to home base as soon as possible.

"I want in!" Kiba said, seeing an opportunity for fun. "You too Hinata! Shino!" He said with a persuasive grin.

Shino nodded somewhat reluctantly.

Hinata looked a bit startled but she nodded nonetheless, "Uh, r-right!"

Shikamaru groaned. "Damn it, that means we have to join too Choji."

The Akimichi, however, merely grinned.

The Konohamary Squad grinned, ecstatic.

"Really?!" Konohamaru said excitedly.

"This is going to be great!" Moegi squealed. "But whose it!"

"I am!" Konohamaru said as he rushed ahead everyone else, disregarding the calls for him to come back.

The others followed behind and watched as Konohamaru ran into someone.

Konohamaru had kept on running and unfortunately, he hadn't watching where he was going so he was surprised when he bumped into something and was sent flying back. He made a sound of surprise as he was sent sprawling to the ground and he stared up at the figure, a male, apologetically.

It was clear that the other was a shinobi but what the first thing that Konohamaru took note of was the foreign way he was dressed but most of all, the headband that bore the hourglass figure of Sunagakure.

"Watch where you're going punk." The other sneered with a paint coated face. He made for an intimidating figure to Konohamaru which was only compounded by how older he was and the way he was donned all in black.

Before he knew it, Konohamaru was being pulled by his shirt and scarf, and dangling from the others hold. Konohamaru kicked his legs but it hardly did anything.

"Konohamaru!" Naruto yelled, glaring at the unknown person.

The other Genin stood a bit away, each of them tense.

"Put him down!" Kiba demanded and growling when the other disregarded him.

"So does this hurt punk?" He sneered.

A blond girl beside him rolled her eyes. "Put him down Kankuro or you know you'll pay for it later." She warned.

"It was an accident and he's just a kid!" Naruto snapped, "Put him down!"

Moegi clutched at Chouji's pants, trying to hide behind the Akimichi's bulk and beside her, Udon did the same.

So these are Konoha's Genin, huh? Kankuro thought. "We got a few minutes before he gets here. Let's mess with these punks, huh?"

Konohamaru kicked his legs again, trying futile get out of the other's grip. "Let go of me you jerk!" He cried.

"You're feisty." Kankuro grinned. "But not for long."

Shikamaru stepped forward, a scowl on his face and his sharp eyes trained on the other. "I can see that your foreigners. Shinobi from Sunagakure in Kaze no Kuni." He began, catching the attention of the two. "And we might be able to excuse your behavior since you didn't know."

The two Suna shinobi glanced at each other.

"Know what?" Kankuro asked curiously.

Before Shikamaru answered however, they were interrupted by a deep voice that had the two Suna Shinobi paling drastically.

"Kankuro, that's enough."

"G-Gaara!" Kankuro stuttered.

Everyone turned their gaze to a tree where they spied a redhaired Suna shinobi hanging upside down and his arms were crossed across his chest. His cold green eyes were trained on Kankuro.

"You're an embarrassment to this village."

"H-He didn't make a sound!" Hinata said softly as Akamaru growled lowly in his throat.

"Have you forgotten why we've come here?" Gaara said softly and it shouldn't have been intimidating but it was as it easily cowed Kankuro and the blond kunoichi, Temari.

"I-I know. I mean─ T-They challenged us! They started the whole thing really!" Kankuro tried to explain and in his fear, he put down Konohamaru, who quickly made his way to the safety of the other Genin and hid behind them. "Here's what happened─"

"Shut up." Gaara hissed, his eyes narrowing. "Or I'll kill you."

Hinata and Kiba looked in shock at the red haired shinobi. Shino's kikaichu were humming with agitation, easily sensing the tension in the air.

Chouji stood by Shikamaru's side. "He means it." Chouji noted as Shikamaru nodded somberly.

"I'm sorry for any trouble he caused." Gaara said before he disappeared in a whirl of sand, only to reappear a second later beside Kankuro. "Let's go."

"I-I ─ Right, Gaara." Kankuro nodded as they made to leave.

The Konoha Genin stared at them as they left.

"Are we just going to let them go?" Kiba growled.

Shikamaru nodded and his unusual demeanor had others abiding. "It's best to let them go. No doubt they're here for the Chunin Exams and if we challenge them outside of it, we might have an international incident on our hands." Shikamaru explained, "It's not worth it and besides, they wouldn't be here if they didn't have permission to be here."

"The Chunin Exams…" Sasuke murmured.

"Well that's something to look forward to." Naruto said with a shrug but in the back of his mind, Kurama stirred uneasily.

'Kurama?' Naruto thought.

'Later.' The fox promised.

"Just forget it." Shikamaru sighed irritatingly. "Let's just go continue."

-xXx-XxX-xXx-

Dear Team Seven,

I am happy to hear that you are all doing well. There are rumors and stories circulating already throughout the Elemental Countries, some which I must say, are decidedly… farfetched but amusing to hear. Apparently, the villagers that you saved were eager to tell the tale of their saviors and I suppose some of the details became a bit distorted.

There was one instance that was particularly amusing, if I do say so myself. There was a fisher that was there that day in the bridge and he, along with a majority of the villagers, happened to see just a few instances of Team Seven's fight against me and Zabuza-sama. Inari-san also happened to share some words that Team Seven imparted to him with great fervor. He's built quite a hero-worship for you, Asuka-chan, Sasuke-kun, and Naruto-kun. With all of that, somehow the fisher told a tale of surprising detail and just as much worship as Inari-san, which I suppose isn't so surprising considering the gravity of your actions. A single Genin team from Konoha single handedly managed to free an entire country, small though it is, from the tyranny of a business tycoon.

They even have names for all of Team Seven, although their mostly known in Nami alone. They seem to change by the day! It's always interesting to hear what else they'll come up with but I have to say, some of them are very imaginative and oddly fitting. For example, just the day past they called Asuka-chan as the 'Heavenly Empress'! Just a day ago it was different!

I also wanted to take the chance to reassure you, my friends… There's no need for you to worry. Zabuza-sama and I have been wandering the Elemental Countries as we always have, but this time it was with drastically lesser degree of weary. The royalties that we acquired from Gato's hideout has been more than enough for us to be without worries, though that doesn't mean that we've left our guard down. But that was in the past… I must tell you, we were approached by an old friend of Zabuza-sama's. She wanted our aid in a task of great importance…

Don't worry yourselves. We are doing quite well. I have a feeling that we'll be seeing each other soon… until, then, keep breaking your limitations.

Sincerely,

Haku

-xXx-XxX-xXx-

Asuka was fairly sure that her paranoia was getting the better of her but something told her that it was more than that. Asuka was very familiar with Konoha as well as its shinobi and that included ANBU. There were times where she would escape out into the night to head out to the training grounds to train under the cover of darkness and to generally take in the peacefulness that it afforded but it had been eerily disturbed during the past few days that she's returned to Konoha.

She was familiar with ANBU but there were always a select few that left her uneased. There were times where she'd spy out of the corner of her eye a slip of shadow and familiar armor but when she'd turn, nothing would be there. There wasn't even a trace of a scent but Asuka was sure that there were a few ANBU members that were spying on her, following her. It made her instinct rear up, which puzzled her as she never got that sense from the majority of the ANBU she's seen so far, which was quite a few considering her nightly escapades. They were always brief, minute encounters however but they were more than enough for her to familiarize with the feeling of their chakra, even as tightly coiled and controlled as they were.

Why they were following her and spying on her, she wasn't sure. All she was sure of was that there was more to the situation than it let on and she was positive that Hiruzen-ojii-sama wouldn't set ANBU on her for no reason and there wasn't much that she's done so far to deserve as such, unless the recent mission to Nami made way for such things but she was sure that if the Hokage had been displeased, he would have made it known to them in some manner. Which left to reason that there was someone else in question.

She wasn't sure what was happening yet but Asuka would be sure to keep an eye out for the peculiar masked figures. They looked like ANBU but Asuka wasn't so sure. It was better to be prepared than sorry.

In the meantime, for now, Asuka was going to drastically increase security in her home.

I'm going to need to add new seals to the house and around the perimeter. Asuka thought determinedly, as she made her way home. It felt like a gaze was boring into her back home and though she knew that she wouldn't see anyone, she knew better than believe that she was really alone. A few barrier seals, silencing seals, privacy seals─ The whole works! Not to mention, I'll need to let the others know. If this is happening to me, then there's a possibility that it's happening to them too! But at least I told Kakashi-sensei… Maybe he can do something about it!

-xXx-XxX-xXx-

"It was really nice of you to invite us over Asuka-chan!" Naruto said as he openly admired Asuka's home. Sasuke did the same, except he was subtler. "I can't believe that you moved here! I mean, this is amazing!"

"This is almost as big as a clan main house." Sasuke observed and he made a few mental notes of the familiarities of Asuka's house to his own.

"This had to have cost you a lot of money, Asuka." Kakashi added. "This couldn't have come cheap." Kakashi said as he leant back casually on the sofa.

"It was a very a worthwhile investment, Kakashi-sensei." Asuka insisted. "It did cost a lot of money but I have a lot to spare… but that doesn't mean that I'm going to be suddenly wasting it all over the place of course!"

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask. "I know that. You're not the type to make impulsive decisions."

No... That's more like Natsu-nii, Asuka thought a tad sadly.

"I'm glad that you all decided to reconvene before the exams. Most Genin would have tried to get in some last minute training." Kakashi commented as his eyes roved over his team.

Naruto frowned. "That's stupid." He said. "That'd just make us tired before the exams, sensei."

Kakashi nodded, giving his signature eye-smile. "That's why I said 'most Genin'." Kakashi tilted his head to the side. "But what I want to know is whose idea was it to have a, ah, sleepover?"

At that Asuka grinned to her sensei before nodding towards her blond teammate whom looked incredibly satisfied at the moment. "It was Naruto-kun's idea!" Asuka answered. "We all wanted to plan for whatever may come up in the Exams since we don't know what they'll be, but Naruto suggested that we stay at one place to do it and stay there so we could get ready and head out together." Asuka explained with a firm nod.

"Yeah." Naruto said as he placed down his cup of tea. "It wasn't hard to decide to stay at Asuka-chan's place either. We couldn't do my apartment because it was too small and Sasuke's…" He trailed off as he looked towards his teammate whom shrugged.

It didn't feel right going to and staying at the Uchiha Clan Compound right now. Not yet.

"Well… that answers that." Kakashi murmured to himself before idly rubbing at the back of his head. "But why invite me over?" He asked curiously. They didn't have to have him over and it's not like he could have helped them plan either. That'd be against the rules.

"Because you're our sensei." Sasuke answered with a raised eyebrow, the 'duh' in his voice evident. "Why wouldn't we invite you?"

They grow up so fast, Kakashi mused as he smiled and patted the heads of his Genin much like he would his pack. "Maa… Well my cute Genin, we may as well start and get ready for tomorrow. I can't help you much but there's a few things that I can do."

And so they began.

Since Team Seven was a firm believer in being overprepared than underprepared, they each had what paranoid shinobi called a healthy arsenal.

Asuka had her main weapon, her tanto had been switched for a katana. Her bisento had been put away for now, at least until she received a bit more training beyond what she remembered from Erza's own fights. Her holsters were filled with kunai, shuriken and senbon. Naruto had artfully drawn storage seals onto both his teammates. He had placed them on Asuka's shoulder on the one that bore her guildmark and it had only served to accent it in a surprising manner and he'd drawn Sasuke's on his shoulder as well. In them, Asuka had stored away an extra medical pack as well as a supply of food.

She was glad that Naruto managed to create such amazing seals, though she was sure that he had by now created at least four different types of seals.

Sasuke had packed away his own sword and he had a large supply of kunai and shuriken. In his seals, he'd packed three large spools of sharp wire, four Fuuma Shuriken, and a pack of Explosive Tags. Like the two of his teammates, he had placed aside his recently acquired weapon until he received proper training or at least found books on the weapon. For now, it was better to stick to what he did know and could do well.

Naruto had taken a few inkwells as well as scrolls and sealing paper for his Fuinjutsu. He had his standard kunai and shuriken set and his own sword. His newest additions however, were packs of seals that he himself had created. It didn't take long to make them with the use of his clones. They were something that he couldn't wait to use, after all, he's advanced well beyond what he had been in the Academy.

"Here." Naruto called out as he threw two packages to his teammates, which they caught with puzzled frowns.

"What's this?" Sasuke asked as he leafed through the bundle of what at first glance appeared to be exploding tags.

Naruto grinned. "Those are seals." Naruto took Sasuke's pack and took out a few seals, all different from one another. He pointed to one as Asuka and Sasuke leaned in for a closer look. "These are modified Exploding Tags." Naruto informed, "They explode, obviously, but I made them, ah, more precise, I guess you can say." Naruto frowned as he tried to explain in better terms.

"You mean more concentrated?" Asuka suggested.

"Yeah sort of like that." Naruto snapped his fingers as he glanced to his teammate gratefully before pointing to another seal. "This one is Flash Bang, it blinds your opponent. Be careful using it though. It's pretty intense." Naruto said seriously with a slight wince. "I remember not closing my eyes fast enough once. I couldn't stop seeing spots in my vision for days."

Sasuke eyed it thoughtfully. "Hn… It'd be useful against the Hyuga." Sasuke noted.

Asuka giggled. "Clan Rivalry?" Asuka teased to which Naruto smirked and Sasuke scowled.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow from where he watched his Genin, whom to any other, would have seemed they would be going to war or at least a dangerous mission. There were weapons scattered all around them, from kunai to shuriken to senbon, it was there. Bandages, salves, ink, scrolls and paper was among them to.

Kakashi had to wonder if they knew what the exams held but he knew that they didn't. His Genin were just the type to prepare for the unexpected.

"I think we have everything we might need, in case something goes wrong." Sasuke said as his eyes looked over their supply. "We're as prepared as we can be without knowing what the exams entail."

Both Naruto and Asuka nodded.

Naruto crossed his arms as he stared pensively towards the others. "The only thing we can do now is wait for tomorrow but I'm sure we'll be able to surmount the tasks ahead of us."

Sasuke blinked before a smirk curled his lips. "Was there any doubt?"

Asuka smiled as she gazed at her teammates and marveling how they've changed compared to their time in the Academy. "The Chunin Exams is our opportunity, you two. Let's not waste it!" She said determinedly as both Sasuke and Naruto nodded with the same fiery determination in their eyes.

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END NOTES

FORGET THAT YOU SAW MY FOOTNOTES! IT WAS A MISTAKE ON MY PART! EXCUSE MY STUPIDITY PLEASE!

This was really an IFFY chapter but I'll edit later if I really don't like it.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to PM me or leave your concerns in a review! The CHUNIN EXAMS ARE FINALLY HERE, NEXT TIME ON Maiden of Chaos and Hope!

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