A huge thank to Sukki18 as always, and GrimmMoon for their lovely review. I don't think Damaru is gonna kill Itachi but she will certainly take it badly.
Warning!: There is another slight lime scene. Nothing too major or anything, but I'm still putting the warning just in case.
Another warning!: Next week I will be gone, so I will only post the next chapter Friday 25th.
Anyway, please enjoy this fourteenth chapter and don't hesitate to review!
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Chapter fourteen
A good and a bad decision
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Damaru felt arms surround her frame and smiled before leaning back into Itachi's chest.
The young man surrounded them with his cloak, keeping them warm as they looked up at the star filled sky.
"You seem hesitant about Zabuza." Itachi said softly after a while.
Damaru sighed, nuzzling her cheek in the crook of his neck.
"He is…strong, that's for sure, and has a certain sense of rightness, but…."
"You question his motivations."
The white haired girl offered a playful smirk "Since when did you become so insightful?"
Itachi smirked back "Since I am the father of eight little monsters."
Damaru chuckled before sobering.
"He thinks people are tools. This isn't what our group is standing for. If Zabuza can't adapt to that…"
"I know. But perhaps we can give him a chance?"
"Usually I'm the one trying to convince you." Damaru noted, looking up to Itachi with an ironic smile.
"Changing roles from time to time never killed anyone." Itachi smirked.
They both chuckled before looking back up at the sky.
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"Zabuza-san." Damaru said seriously.
The man straightened ever so slightly, turning to her.
"We've come to a decision concerning your demand." The girl said, the black haired boy sitting next to her "But before that, I need you to understand something."
She pinned him down with her golden green eyes and at that moment Zabuza could perfectly understand why she was the leader with Itachi.
"Our group was created first to protect." She explained gravely "We have children that are growing up and will need support and protection until they are strong and mature enough. Our primary concern is their security, and following this concern we don't search fights with others, preferring to stay as discreet as possible."
"If you aren't feeling ready for that type of living, you can go now." Itachi added, his gaze making Zabuza feel like he was a prey, something he hadn't felt since he was four or five "But if you still want to join us, you have to take this seriously."
They waited silently for the man's answer.
Zabuza for a moment observed the two. They were barely entering adulthood, and yet they seemed so old already.
Kisame told him how they protected their family, including the children and the others, sacrificing their childhood. They had dedicated their time to make sure that their family was safe and sound, blood relation or not.
That dedication, more than anything else, moved him.
"I understand your concerns." He said "And I still want to join if you permit me to."
The two young adults looked at each other and nodded before returning to him.
"You will have a probation time." Damaru explained "You will be supervised by Kisame. We already talked to him about that and he accepts."
"During that time you will stay in the base." Itachi said "Until we trust you enough to allow you to leave on patrols. You will also have your share of chores to do like anyone else and if you want to teach one of the children something, you'll have to ask us first."
"The group reunites once a month to talk about eventual problems." Damaru added "Unless there is something urgent. You can address your problems there. And, please, for the children, try to set a good example."
Zabuza nodded, and for the first time since they met, Damaru offered him a smile.
"Then welcome into the family Zabuza-san."
And for the first time Zabuza felt warmth unfurling in his chest.
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"Sorry I'm late." Haku apologised, entering the room and closing the door behind him.
"What took you so long?" Shin asked, looking up from his book.
"One of the tarps covering the crops went off." The fifteen years old boy explained, sitting near Kimimaro "It took some time to put it back with the wind outside.
"Okay." Naruto said, cutting any other comment "We need to begin this meeting before the adults realise we aren't in bed. I'm surprised Okaa-chan hasn't already barged in. Her mother instincts are crazy."
"Agreed." Gaara nodded before asked "So, what did you want to tell us?"
"It was when Sasuke and Kimimaro went with Guren-nee to the nearest town." Naruto began before letting the two boys talk.
"While we were shopping we crossed path with two ninjas." Kimimaro explained "And we heard them talking about an important event."
"The chuunin exams." Sasuke finished "I talked about it with Naruto who insisted we do this meeting."
He frowned at his blond brother who poked his tongue out childishly before addressing everyone.
"It might seem a bit crazy, but what if we participate?"
"It's indeed crazy." Sai frowned "Impossible even."
"And why should we participate?" Amaru added "We risk being discovered and ruin everything our family worked for."
"If we're careful we won't be caught." Naruto retorted "And don't you want to see how Konoha is now? I know I want to see the Hokage again."
"I remember him." Shin nodded "He was very kind to us, though he wasn't often there."
"And we're always scooped up inside. We almost never go outside! I want to see the world, even if it's a little bit."
"If we're 'scooped up inside' like you say." Gaara retorted "It's perhaps because there are people looking for half of the adults here."
"But they aren't looking for us." Naruto countered "Come on guys. We could test how strong we are and it's just for maximum two months."
The others looked suspiciously at him, not really convinced.
But Naruto had this gift to 'contaminate' (Sasuke's words) everyone to see his way, even if his idea was bad or crazy.
"People are after our family." He said seriously now "Everything the adults are doing now is mostly for us. They want us to grow up peacefully and have a good childhood. But let's face it, sooner or later someone will find us, and we can't be sure it will be a friend instead of a foe. Don't you want to protect your family? To be able to fight if a threat arise? I do. And during this chuunin exam we can test our strength without anyone recognising us. So? What do you say?"
Silence stretched until Sasuke sighed, refraining a smile.
"How you can do speeches like that and still pronounce 'chakra' incorrectly evade me."
He reflexively dodged a cushion thrown by his brother, a smirk stretching his lips.
"This is crazy." Amaru sighed "But I'm in."
"It's going to be hard." Haku warned "We'll have to prepare this carefully."
"I know we can do it." Naruto smiled confidently.
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"Something's happening." Damaru suddenly said, sitting up "My mother's senses are tingling."
Itachi groaned and caught her in his arms before bringing back down.
"They're probably up to no good." He said in a low voice "You'll scold them tomorrow morning."
"But…" Damaru protested, fighting back a moan when her boyfriend began to attack her neck.
She tried again, only for Itachi's hands to find their way into her shirt.
This time she moaned out loud, all other thoughts flying away.
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A man was briskly walking down a wooden corridor, a pile of books and scrolls higher than himself in his arms.
Deftly, he opened a door to his right hand and went to put the papers on a table before bowing.
"Hokage-sama." He said respectfully "As you ordered, I did researches."
"What did you find?" Hiruzen asked.
"Sir, this village is either really recent or doesn't exist."
The old man puffed out smoke and glanced back at the symbol printed on the paper, at the end of the formal letter.
"What are you going to do?" The archiver asked.
"Well." The hokage mused out loud "They seem to be in order. And the chuunin exam is open to every village."
He looked down at the full circle printed on the paper.
Call it ninja instinct if you will, but he was quite eager to see what those guenins of the hidden moon village were capable of.
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"Alright." Naruto opened "The main matter of this meeting is to form the teams. Shin-kun, how are the headbands coming along?"
"It's a bit hard to do it behind the adults' back but they're almost finished."
"Good. Sai, the charts."
The boy nodded before fishing out several papers.
"Shin and I registered everyone's strengths and weaknesses. As we decided during the last meeting, a medic will be present in each team. The only problem is that one team will be short a member, probably a medic since we only have two."
"I'll just make a clone." Naruto decided "And have him abandon as soon as possible."
Sai nodded before looking back down his papers.
"We decided to put Sasuke, Naruto and Haku together. Naruto and Sasuke have the best teamwork out of all of us and Haku-kun is our best medic. He'll be needed since Naruto and Sasuke tend to attract problems."
"Hey!" Naruto protested while Sasuke scowled at Sai.
Said boy smiled innocently before continuing.
"Amaru, Gaara and Kimimaro will form the second team. Kimimaro and Gaara complete each other well and they are less prompt to injure themselves. Shin and I will make the third team with Naruto's clone. Our teamwork is on par with Naruto and Sasuke's and we are the most likely to remain unscathed."
"Thank you Sai." Naruto glared at his brother but nodded "Amaru-chan, Haku-kun, next topic."
"Some of us will be too recognisable." Haku began.
"So we thought of disguises easy enough to not appear suspicious." Amaru continued, also pulling out a sheet of paper "Naruto, you'll need to die your hair, and perhaps use contact lenses."
"Sasuke we advise you to die your hair too." Haku added "Amaru will do the same and I'll…disguise as a girl."
Amaru giggled and Haku scowled. Even if it was the most effective way to not be recognised, it was infuriating. Damn his sister's luck at the coin toss.
Even if his hair was only down to his chin, letting them down gave him a distinct feminine look.
"The last thing is for Shin." Amaru finished, seeing her brother wasn't apt to continue "You'll need to die your hair too. Oh, and Naruto, your clone should henges as a girl. We still haven't found anything for Inazuma and Taiyo, but it might be best if we left them here. They're way too recognisable."
Naruto nodded "We'll return to this topic later. Okay, now that's out of the way, we have one month before departing. We need to focus on teamwork mainly. Shin-kun, are you ready for the next phase of our plan?"
The grey haired teen sighed "As ready as I can be."
"Good luck with that." Kimimaro said sympathetically.
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Damaru blinked before exchanging a glance with Itachi who was sitting beside her.
"Run that by us again?" She said.
"We want to go on a little trip." Shin explained "We're always cooped up inside. We just want to travel a bit. We promise to be careful. We aren't missing nins and nobody is actively searching for us or will recognise us."
"It would have been okay if it was just you two and Sai." Itachi sighed "With Kimimaro perhaps. But Naruto and Sasuke tend to attract problems."
"And Gaara and Amaru just passed the test." Tazuki frowned "I think they're too young."
"But we are here." Haku countered "Well make sure that Naruto and Sasuke stay out of trouble. And even if Amaru-chan and Gaara-kun are young, they are well behaved and quite mature."
"That is a valid argument." Guren sighed "But three months, isn't it a bit too much?"
"We'll report each week." Shin promised.
Silence settled before Damaru sighed.
"I understand your need." She said, smiling sadly "You didn't have the best childhood."
"Don't say that okaa-san!" Haku protested "We had a perfectly happy childhood and we were together."
But the white haired young woman waved her hand, still smiling.
"I give my agreement, on the condition of a weekly report and I want to train you a bit on team manoeuvres."
She turned to Itachi who sighed before nodding.
"I accept on the condition that you won't go to certain areas."
The two teens nodded.
"Any objections?" Damaru asked the others.
"I'll help you with the training." Kakashi said.
"I think I'll steal Shin-kun, Kimimaro-kun and Sai-kun a bit." Kisame smirked "If the kids are gonna go into the world, might as well give them a few tips with their swordsmanship, just in case."
"I think I'll help you." Zabuza added "I keep hearing of Shin's ability. I want to test it."
"With restraint." Damaru warned "Shin is just sixteen. I don't want you going overboard like you do when you spar."
The two men only grinned innocently (and somewhat creepily since innocent didn't become them).
Damaru sent them a light scowl before Itachi put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll oversee Shin and the boys' sword training too." He promised.
The girl relaxed and gave him a smile before returning to Haku and Shin.
"You have our approval." She smiled "Just be careful and look after the younger ones okay?"
"Promise okaa-san."