Chapter 20: Koga's Lost Days Pt3: Heading Home

…

The Day After The Sorting of The Trojans

…

Hiruzen's attention snapped to his trusty old file cabinet as the top drawer slid itself open. Then Koga's head popped up over the edge of its face, "Hey Lord Third?"

Hiruzen blinked in confusion and then decided not to ponder Koga's choice of appearance, "Yes Koga?"

"Can I bring a friend to visit the village?" Koga asked, "She's never met a shinobi before me and wants to see how we live."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, "Never met a shinobi?"

Koga nodded, "Mmhmm. She's from really far to the west, a land where they've never even heard of shinobi or chakra. A few hundred miles north of where my summon leopards live."

Hiruzen considered it for a moment, "Can she be trusted?"

Koga blinked, "I trust her, and its not like she has anything to gain from deceiving us. We're far beyond her sphere of influence. She won't even be here in person, she can't leave her homeland. She's sending a Shadow Clone."

Hiruzen frowned, "Can't leave her homeland?"

Koga nodded, "She's not human."

Hiruzen blinked in shock, "Come again?"

"She's a being formed entirely of senjutsu chakra," Koga explained, "She's tied to the land irreversibly. The further she goes from where she was born, the weaker she gets. Coming this far in person would kill her."

Hiruzen pondered that for a moment, "I've never heard of such a thing…"

Koga smiled, "Actually you have. You and I may be god like in power, but she actually is."

"You mean that she is as strong as you?" Hiruzen asked with a concerned frown, "And you wish to bring her, here?"

Koga laughed, "Oh no, no." Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief which was immediately reversed into a sharp worried intake of breath that had him nearly choking on his smoke as Koga declared with a smile, "She's way stronger than me. Think a very clever Bijuu in human form."

Hiruzen finally managed to quit coughing, "And you want to bring her here why?!"

"Because she's amazing and wonderful and I've met her family and she wants to meet mine?" Koga replied innocently, genuine confusion about Hiruzen's reluctance coloring his voice and expression.

Hiruzen blinked and then horror dawned on him, "You're in love again?!"

Koga pouted at him, "You say that like its some horrible omen. It led to very good things last time didn't it?" Hiruzen thought about it and Koga continued, "Besides, I'm not in love although I do love her. If that makes sense."

"Elaborate?" Hiruzen asked dryly.

Koga frowned flatly at him, "Are you seriously telling me that you've ever slept with a woman who didn't leave a mark on your heart?"

Hiruzen choked on his smoke again, "YOU SLEPT WITH HER?!"

Koga utterly glowed with pride as he grinned from ear to ear, "For a WEEK STRAIGHT! IT WAS AWESOME!"

Hiruzen promptly fainted.

Koga blinked at him, then he grinned, "He didn't say no!"

…

A Few Moments Later

…

Hiruzen came to and found an aged-up Koga sitting in the chair across from his desk with a beautiful young woman next to him. She looked to be in her late teens and had silvery-blue eyes with golden hair tied in two tufts on the back of her head that vaguely resembled wings while the rest cascaded down to her shoulders. She wore a simple knee length white kimono with silver embroidered flowers on the sleeves under a layer of what looked very much like the light armor favored by many kunoichi (a band of light metal around the torso with matching greaves and vambraces) and leather sandals. She had an intelligent and slightly mischievous look in her eyes, a calmly bold grin and she carried herself with the air of confidence that Hiruzen knew denoted someone who was almost foreign to the concept of not getting their way.

Koga smiled, "Lord Hokage, allow me to introduce Athena, known in the land of Greece and surrounding environs as the Goddess of Wisdom, Battle and Crafts along with a lot of other important stuff. If she were native to this land, I've no doubt that she would be regarded as the patron Goddess of Shinobi as well. 'Thena-chan, this is Lord Hiruzen Sarutobi, Third Hokage of Konoha and renowned across the continent as a god of shinobi. His authority in Konoha is as absolute as that of a king, and he is one of the few people in these lands with power comparable to mine. His skill, experience and wisdom wholly outclass me though, and I respect him very much."

The woman he called Athena nodded and inclined her head slightly and began to speak. It was a little disconcerting because Hiruzen could hear her speaking in a foreign language, it was faint but it was there, but overlaid onto her voice was, her exact same voice speaking normally. "It is an honor to meet you Lord Hiruzen. I'm sorry I cannot be here in person, but as Koga no doubt explained, I cannot travel this far from my home except as a clone. Thank you for opening your village to me so that I may learn of your people's ways. They are…thoroughly interesting," she smiled.

"She's immortal and a few hundred years old, that's about the highest compliment you can get from her," Koga informed him, "And yeah, I'm using my jutsu to translate for her."

Hiruzen took a moment to process all of that and then took it in stride and nodded graciously with a smile, "It is an honor to meet you as well Lady Athena. Welcome to Konohagakure. Is there anything you require for your visit?"

Athena shook her head with a smile, "No, though I thank you for your hospitality Lord Hokage. I will be highly content to drink in sights that I have never had the pleasure of seeing before and learn of a culture so different from what I am used to. Koga-kun tells me that he is quite literally everywhere here, so I trust you will have no issues with him acting as my tour guide?"

Hiruzen nodded after a moment, "Yes of course. Koga, you know the rules for foreign dignitaries. I trust you will abide by them."

Koga nodded, "Of course Lord Hokage. My clones will of course be here if you wish to discuss any further matters."

"Are you here in person now?" Hiruzen asked.

Koga shook his head as he rose, "I am still in the ruins of the great city known as Troy, we are currently preparing to set sail for a great hub of civilization in the west known as Atlantis. Should trade be possible, I will certainly strive to make it happen, although it would be a very long journey."

"A little over ten thousand miles if you fly," Athena added helpfully.

Koga blinked at her, "Wow. I didn't realize I was that far from home…Maybe I should look into making a stable space-time transport seal…That would speed things up…"

Before he could get lost in thought, Athena looped her arm through his and laid a hand on his shoulder, immediately earning his full attention, "How about you show me your home town before you start worrying about the logistics of international trade?"

Koga smiled fondly at her and cheerfully led her out.

As soon as he was sure they were out of earshot, Hiruzen asked the multiple invisible clones in the room, "You made love to that for a week straight?"

"Nine days to be precise, and I was as much her first as she was mine," Koga replied with a grin as another of his clones appeared in the chair he'd occupied a moment earlier.

The room was silent for a moment and then Hiruzen and the ANBU hidden throughout the room began clapping.

…

Meanwhile, The Trojan Coast

…

"Hey Arkantos," Ajax said cheerfully, "I know a port near here where you can get your ships fixed up before you head back to Atlantis."

Arkantos turned a rictus grin on him, "You don't think they can make it back to Atlantis?"

The keel of the ship behind him promptly snapped in half and as the hull all but shattered, the ship sank like a rock into the relatively shallow bay almost as if some god were mocking him. Arkantos tried very hard to conceal the embarrassed sweat as he heard the ship's keel snapping and his men howling and cursing in frustration.

Ajax tried, and failed, to hide his smile. He did (narrowly) manage not to laugh though as he replied, "Noooo…"

Arkantos hung his head with a grimace, "Alright, which way? SHADDUP AGAMEMNON!" he shouted at the Mycenaean king (and company) howling with laughter and pointing at him a few ships over. Agamemnon's response? Laughing harder and a bit of knee slapping.

Even Ajax couldn't hide his sniggers anymore. Koga just sighed in exasperation as he moved the supplies from the ship's hold to shore before they could get completely waterlogged and smiled wanly.

…

In Konoha

…

Athena's Shadow Clone strolled down the streets of Konoha, a bright and constant smile on her face as she drank in the sights and sounds. She couldn't understand the language itself very well yet, but with the ability she had to hear the intent of people's words and the centuries of experience she had playing with codes and puzzles to solve her boredom, she was quickly picking it up. Koga had disappeared to go check on his friends, but she could tell from the little sparks of his spirit that liberally littered the area that he was still very much present.

Then she paused and blinked in surprise as she noticed a little girl in orange and black with blonde hair who looked remarkably similar to Helen of Sparta with longer hair tied up in two pigtails walking down the street with her hands in her pockets and a scowl on her face as she glared at the ground. Most of the crowd were pointedly avoiding her, but no less than a dozen sparks of Koga's spirit were perched on her head. It looked almost like a crown of purple jewels nestled in the bushy golden hair even though Athena knew the mortals around her couldn't see it. She would even wager that the ones Koga had pointed out who could see spiritual energy were incapable of spotting the spirit sparks. He'd mentioned something about them being too small for the White-eyed clan to spot although Athena thought they must be blind to not notice such potent energy at any size. Of course, she realized, I am a lot more attuned to mental energy than basically anyone else…

Athena paused to examine the girl as she stalked by, completely oblivious to the world around her through the fog of frustration roiling off her, and Koga's reaction to seeing Queen Helen played over in her mind. "Is that…?"

"Yep," Koga's voice sounded directly in her ear, too quiet for anyone but her to hear, "She…didn't take our break up well. She's been trying everything she can to get my attention, that's why I've got so much extra protection around her."

"What's she been doing?" Athena asked.

"Eh…first she pulled pranks, when that didn't work, she started trying to act very badly…breaking every rule she could think of, offending every notion of dignity and rightness and generally just being a repulsive little bitch to everyone. I swear her sister's gotta be a saint to put up with her as well as she does. She tried flirting with other guys but that didn't work because everyone here is scared of what I'll do to them if they hurt her. She tried flirting with older guys and even grown men who weren't aware of the danger I pose, but they all laughed her off or "mysteriously dropped dead" with smoke roiling out their ears if they even tried reciprocating. Unfortunately, that put the idea into her head that I'd respond to her being in danger, so she's tried knives, poison, hanging, drowning, and jumping off the Hokage Monument."

Athena's eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock, "And you did…?"

"Absolutely nothing because I took the precaution of making her basically indestructible before all this started. All physical impacts bounce off her and any blades used against her are automatically blunted. She bounced for almost twenty minutes after she jumped off the monument. Any significant electrical charge is dissipated and dispersed if it gets within an inch of her, so lightning can't hurt her. Poison is automatically expelled from her body, water turns to air upon entering her windpipe, and flames and cold can't harm her. Thankfully she hasn't tried that yet. That would be really hard to watch without pulling out a stick and some marshmallows just to laugh at her expression," Koga replied.

"Stick and marshmallows?" Athena asked warily.

"Campfire tradition in this part of the world for casual camping," Koga replied, "Marshmallows are soft white candies that you can put on a stick and toast over a fire. I've never been a fan of them, but most people are. If she set herself on fire it would be completely useless and she'd just be sitting there wondering why it wasn't even feeling hot, then she'd probably hear me sniggering at her because I would not be able to resist teasing her with the whole toasting marshmallows thing."

"And you're going to all this trouble to ignore her why?" Athena asked.

"If she doesn't think it's working then she'll stop and…I hope she'll stop trying to get my attention all together and just move on," Koga replied wearily, "She doesn't need a person like me in her life. As far as I can tell it's been nothing but bad for her. I can't keep spoiling her, but at the same time, if I had realized she would turn out like this, I never would've started. So now I'm trying to keep out of her affairs as much as I can without letting her endanger herself. She needs to learn to stand on her own feet instead of just piggybacking off me."

He sighed, "I'd fake my death if I could, but nobody here would believe for even a second that something had managed to kill me off, and she unfortunately knows that I have a way to circumvent my death even in the event that something does manage to kill me."

Athena raised an eyebrow, "I want to hear more about that later, but first, would you mind if I take a shot at talking to her? I have…not a small amount of experience dealing with hot-headed demigods who feel like their godly parents should be paying more attention to them."

"I'm not her…" Koga stopped short, "…point to you, but please stop bringing it up. It makes me feel like an old creep to think about how much of that role I was filling for her."

"Then I'll make you feel like a young stallion tonight," Athena replied calmly with a small wry smile, "Just don't interfere while I'm talking her around, and if you're having doubts, then let me remind you what I'm the Goddess of and show you how I got the title."

…

A Little While Later, A Secluded Park Bench

…

Naruko looked up as Athena sat down next to her. Two quick sniffs later and she scowled, "So I guess you're Koga's new girlfriend huh?" Athena blinked in surprise, of all the things she'd been expecting, that wasn't it. Naruko sighed and explained, "I can smell him all over you."

Athena resisted the urge to sniff herself, "We're not dating, but yes we are close."

"So you had a one night stand with him?" Naruko asked dryly, "Don't try to hide it, I can smell that too. Koga, I know you're listening: You're an asshole."

Koga didn't respond, but Athena raised an eyebrow as she observed calmly, "You seem quite upset with him."

"Upset? OF COURSE I'M UPSET!" Naruko snapped as she immediately turned beet red, "He pulled me out of the gutter, made me feel like a princess, let me fall in love with him and then he just suddenly starts hiding things from me and then dumps me like expired milk! Why the hell shouldn't I be upset?!"

"Probably because he's trying his level damnedest to protect you from himself," Athena replied calmly.

That caught Naruko off guard, "Huh?"

Athena smiled sadly, "Do you understand what he's done to himself?"

Naruko went stiff and Athena smiled gently, "Sweety, in throwing away your mortality you lose something very important. How old do you think I am?"

Naruko looked her over and then, "Physically, your late teens. Mentally, I'm going to guess a lot older judging by the fact that you're talking about immortality like you know something about it."

Athena smiled, "You're a sharp girl. Yes, I will actually be five hundred years old next summer. My people are incredibly long lived. So yes, I'm…rather familiar with the issue he's facing."

"And…what issue is that?" Naruko asked, now decidedly more nervous than she'd been a moment previously.

Athena smiled, "The fact that he has the mind of someone over, how old Koga?"

"Physically? I'm nine years old." Koga's disembodied voice replied before adding quietly, "Mentally? The number of years experienced by my aggregated consciousness is...incalculable. Even for me, and that's saying something. Every day is equal to a few million for me since I watch over every living person in the Land of Fire, and a significant portion of quite a few other countries besides with my acquisition rate growing by the minute."

He was quiet for a moment as that sank in. Even Athena looked a little stunned at the information. Then Koga continued quietly, "If I didn't have the House's archive directly linked to my mind to help me store and process the information, I would've completely drowned in data within the first week. My mind and soul would've been completely lost, a single drop of water lost within the interminable vastness of the ocean. It wouldn't have just killed me, it would've completely erased me, and it would've done it in a way that even I wouldn't be able to come back from."

"Chino wasn't wrong when she called me a hive mind," Koga continued quietly, "This, original persona, the Koga that I was before I unlocked this power, it's only a teeny tiny little facet of my overall existence now. My mind has become a massive bureaucracy of a sentience. I'm not sure I even count as human anymore…I honestly don't think I do." he whispered quietly.

He made a light chuffing sound, "I don't think like a human. I'm virtually indestructible on top of being able to heal at near instantaneous speeds with no drawbacks even in the event that I am injured, and even if this body is killed, if my Rebirth System works, then another will be formed as good as new while my seals power the continued presence of my awareness, and it will quickly be as though I was never killed at all. On top of that, my effective omnipresence allows me to execute attacks and jutsu comparable to what would take even masters a few hand signs at a caliber that they'd be lucky to achieve once, in an instant, and without any tells. I can launch them from anywhere, at any time, and thanks to my training and the seals you and Jiraiya-sensei helped me craft, if my power has an upper limit, I honestly do not know it."

Silence reigned for what seemed like a long time. After all, what possible comeback could there be to that?

Then Koga broke the silence, "One other thing 'Ruko-chan…" Naruko immediately felt as though her heart were clenched in ice. That was the first time he'd called her that since they'd broken up, and in this circumstance, she knew it could NOT be a good thing.

"The purpose of this jutsu is to neutralize all threats," Koga said quietly, "Once I have prepared ways to neutralize any and all threats to my home and those I care about? I'm entrusting my arsenal to someone else and shutting myself down. Once I finish, I will die. The Rebirth System has not been tested, and even if it works, I don't know that the Reset Protocol, which is the only way I'll be able to come back without the same problems, will work even if the Rebirth System does. There is a very real chance that in a few months, which is my estimated completion time…you're going to lose me one way or another. That's why I'm so desperate for you to stop depending on me and learn to stand on your own, because soon, you won't have a choice. I can't go on like this, sooner or later I'll go completely and utterly mad, and even if the entire world united to confront me..." he was quiet for a moment, "There is nobody I've found yet who would actually be able to stop me."

He sighed, "Ideally, I'll finish, shut down, and then the Rebirth System and Reset Protocol will restore me to the day before I deployed Plague Sentience with the knowledge of what it'll do to me. When that happens, I hope we can start trying to patch things up. Until then? Brace yourself, because we may not get that chance."

Silence reigned again.

This time it was Naruko who broke the silence with a whisper that was on the verge of horrified tears, "That's why you broke up with me?"

"No," Koga replied flatly, "I broke up with you because you were acting like a stuck up, short tempered, spoiled ass little bitch." Naruko flinched like he had slapped her and he continued quietly, "I…wanted to keep you by my side right up until the end…but…that was selfish of me. Now that I've, got a little distance, I can see things a little more clearly. It's gonna hurt you when I go, I don't think I'm overestimating the connection we made when I say that, but if you wanted to hate me when I went, it might've softened the blow."

"Actually, the regret of not having patched things up when she could have would've salted the wound and dragged her even further into despair. Now you two can start mending your relationship and if things go badly then she'll have been properly warned," Athena corrected him calmly before smiling, "Aren't you glad I got you two to talk about this?"

Naruko and Koga both stared at her for a moment and then…

"Son of a bitch," Koga swore, "So that's what it's like to be on the receiving end of that…"

…

Ten Minutes Later

…

Chino bounced out of the bushes and actually stopped to pant. This immediately drew the attention of Tsubaki, Tenten, Neji and Leelee. Shinobi did not get short on breath unless they were pushing themselves to their absolute limits, something which anyone who trained with Might Guy was completely used to, or they were suffering emotional distress strong enough to throw their breathing off rhythm.

The four immediately moved to check on Chino only for Chino to raise a finger. They paused and gave her the requested minute. Chino got her breathing back under control and straightened up, settling her breathing that last little bit with a sigh before she declared, "Okay, three, no…four things."

She raised a finger, "Number one, I think Koga's back from his vacation, at least a little bit. He's here enough to be talking to people."

She forestalled the flood of questions by raising a second finger, "Number two, there's someone new in the village. Koga brought her and she's smart enough to outsmart him." Any questions they might've had about the exciting first were cut stunned short by the impossible second.

The third finger, "Number three, I think he's actually patching up his relationship with Naruko and she seems to have finally understood how awful she was being as well as how not to be." Tsubaki spat a curse, Tenten breathed a sigh of relief, and Neji handed Leelee twenty ryo.

Chino took a breath, steeled herself, "And number four…Koga's dying."

Stunned silence reigned for three full minutes.

Then the unified shout shook the trees nearby, "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"

Chino nodded, "You know how he uses his clones to amplify the amount of information he can gather to insane amounts? Apparently we vastly underestimated how many he's got. If what he said is true, then it's not just a few dozen…it's several thousand if not more. He said he's got one following every person in the Land of Fire as well as significant portions of several other countries, and there's no telling how many he's got processing all that. If I understood him right, he's expecting to have a full catalogue of the abilities of every shinobi and samurai, everyone who he thinks could constitute a threat in the Elemental Nations, as well as how to beat them, within a few months."

The protests and questions died in their throats at the sheer enormity of that as Chino continued quietly, "He said the sheer overload nearly obliterated his mind, and he's afraid it'll drive him crazy if he lets it keep piling up. So he's…he's planning to reset his mind to the day before he started using his clones like that. He thinks the only way he can do that is to die and resurrect himself, and since genjutsu don't work on him...he's probably right."

She was quiet for a second, "He says he has a way to pull it off, but he hasn't tested it yet, so he doesn't know if it'll work. He says if the second part of whatever he's planning to do doesn't work, then it'll be just as bad as if he hadn't done it at all, or worse. The thing is though?" She gulped slightly, "I don't think he cares. He…he sounds ready to die."

"What?!" Tsubaki almost shrieked indignantly, "He can't be ready to die! He's just a kid like us! He's got way too much life to live! He can't die!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Chino snapped, "It's insane!"

"Not as crazy as you might think," declared the withered old man who had been sitting on the park bench nearby the whole time. He was wearing a dark fedora and coat over beaten up shinobi clothes. He had gloves on as well as a white scarf wrapped around the lower half of his face while dark glasses obscured his eyes. A mess of wispy white hair, thick even in old age, peeked from beneath the brim of the hat.

Tsubaki and Chino both immediately rounded on him with matching death glares. "Care to repeat that?" Tsubaki snarled.

The old man lifted his hat from his head and then reached up to tug down the scarf that had obscured his face. He pulled off the dark glasses and the last puzzle piece slid into place. "Physically nine," Koga declared, "But mentally, this is only a fraction of the age I feel."

He smiled at them as warmly as he could and it was awful how his whole face seemed to be one giant wrinkle, "A single day for me is over a thousand years' worth of memories, and I've been living like this for over five months." He slumped on the bench, "I feel so old… I can't even tell how many years' worth of life I've taken in. It's well over a hundred million. So yes," he declared as his gaze rose to meet theirs, "I feel quite ready for this existence of mine to end, one way or another. I never truly sleep anymore you know, my jutsu keeps racing new information through my mind to be processed at absolutely all hours. It's amazing that I haven't lost my mind yet."

He raised a hand to look at it, "I feel like my body should've withered away to dust so very long ago…if I didn't need to finish, I would've slammed the reset button ages ago and the consequences be damned. You can't fathom this kind of weariness until you've experienced it. I want so, so badly to just be able to rest…just fall asleep and never wake back up." He swallowed weakly, "The only way I can get my rest is to reset my mind and erase this weariness. It's doable, and my odds of success are actually very good. I've never tested the system on a human, but all the lab rats I've tried it with were alright. If I succeed," he said quietly, "This'll be the biggest medical advancement in history. Thank you Tsubaki."

Tsubaki blinked in surprise and then it hit her like a freight train what he was planning to do, "WAIT! YOU'RE PLANNING ON USING THAT?! ARE YOU INSANE?!"

"Jury's still out on that one," Koga replied, "Like I said, plenty of tests on animals, just none on humans. Now that I think about it though…" His eyes flashed purple as he glanced away, "You're quite right Tsubaki-chan." He grinned, "I don't have to wait. The test begins now."

"For the record," he continued, "I fully expect this to work. However, I must thank you again Tsubaki-chan, I never would've thought about it with all the mental overload if you hadn't brought it up. So thank you," he repeated with a smile, "This shouldn't take long."

Tsubaki stared at him for a second and then, "You're producing the clone without waiting to die first…"

Koga nodded, "That's right."

Chino, Leelee and Neji looked at Tsubaki and Tenten who had a look of rapidly dawning comprehension on her face. "Clone?" Neji asked.

"A living clone technique he inherited not long before you all met me," Tsubaki explained, "It takes time to grow the body, but once it's complete, the body can survive on its own as a fully independent living person. I'm guessing you've found a way to accelerate the growth process?"

Koga nodded, "The body can be grown to any set point prior to its…activation. The only requirement is enough chakra to fuel the growth, but you know as well as anyone that that's no problem for me. You're catching onto all this remarkably quickly, would you like to be my lab assistant? Or, partner in research I suppose would be a more fitting term…" he mused.

Tsubaki stared at him for a moment and then, "On three conditions."

Koga sat forward smiling, "I'm listening."

Tsubaki walked over to him, "Before I tell you, change back to your physical form. Even if this is how you feel, you won't for much longer, so change back." Koga did and Tsubaki grinned, "Condition the first, I get to be your new girlfriend, and I want just as much priority as Naruko."

Koga nodded, "Done. I'm not getting back together with Naruko yet anyway. She still needs to learn how to stand on her own two feet rather than riding on my back. That hasn't changed, so you actually get more priority than her now. At least until she gets her act together, you won't have to worry about it."

Tsubaki grinned from ear to ear and leaned in to whisper the next condition in his ear. Koga blushed crimson and agreed as Tsubaki straightened back up. "And last and most importantly, condition number three…" she declared before clasping his face in her hands and looking him straight in the eye, "SURVIVE."

Koga smiled, "I think I can do that."

Chino sighed at the scene and looked at Tenten, "I really wish I could protest and grab him myself, but I can't deny for an instant that she deserves him more after talking him around like that."

Tenten bit her lip, "Mmhmm…" then she sighed, "Hey Koga, even if you're not getting back together with her, will you at least stop giving Naruko the cold shoulder? She's been a real handful lately and I'd really appreciate it if you could do something to get her to quit pulling insane stunts to get your attention. I'm way too young to be getting this damn many gray hairs."

"Already been tackled," Koga replied with a weary smile, "I think she's over it, but I'm not sure how she's going to take…" A mildly ear-rending shriek ripped through the park, "…yeah that. It is a really good thing I reinforced the shit out of that seal." He was quiet for a second, "Wow, she's…actually got a handle on it. I think that may be the angriest I've ever seen her, but she's actually not getting violent about it…Oh no, no, wait…I take it back. She's headed this way."

Everyone blinked and then Tsubaki smirked, "Tenten, do you mind if I whoop your little sisters' ass?"

Tenten thought about it for a minute then sighed, "I should really be saying I do, but honestly I think she needs to learn how to deal with the consequences of her actions. Just don't go too overboard pounding her. I've been on the receiving end of your hits before, and I know what they feel like. Sheee…"

"Has no idea what she's in for?" Tsubaki finished with a smirk.

"Yeah that," Tenten sighed.

"Should I mention that she's impervious to blunt force trauma?" Koga asked.

Everyone looked at him, "What?"

"Along with knives, fire, water, cold, poison, lightning…eh, pretty much everything I could think of," Koga admitted, "I couldn't risk her doing something stupid and damaging her seal, so I made sure there was nothing in the world she could do that would actually be stupid enough to damage it. I recommend Wood Release Silent Binding as restraining her is about all you'll be able to do to her. I could modify the seal, but I can't do it in the next sixty seconds."

Then Naruko walked out of the trees, her hands raised peacefully, "I'm not here to fight Tsubaki, I just want to talk."

Tsubaki nodded, still tense and ready to fight at the drop of a hat, "I'm listening."

Naruko glanced around at the others, "Can…we go somewhere a little more private? This…I don't feel comfortable saying it in front of everyone. This…this is just between me and you."

Tsubaki eyed her warily and then her posture relaxed slightly, "That's fine. Koga-kun? Give us some space."

Koga nodded, "I'll watch but I won't listen, and I'll make sure you're not disturbed." He tilted his head, "The dock over that way is nice and quiet right now."

Tsubaki raised an eyebrow, "There's a dock over there?"

Koga nodded, "It was one of the Second Hokage's favorite places to hide. Nobody can find it without the right seal to drop the Veil around it."

…

A Few Minutes Later

…

Naruko sat down on the edge of the dock, dangling her feet over the edge as she gazed out at the still little pond. Tsubaki leaned against the post behind her.

"You know," Naruko said quietly, "If I had to choose anyone to take my place, I honestly would've picked you. I know you're sincere."

Tsubaki almost fell off the dock in surprise. Naruko didn't notice though and plowed on, "It's actually kind of funny you know? I always knew from the first time I saw him and your dad fussing over you, if I ever gave you an inch…you'd take the whole thing and I'd never get him back." She sat forward and looked her reflection in the eye, "He told me one time that he thought other girls would be jealous of me. He thought I was smart and sweet and beautiful and talented, so he thought everyone would hate me because I'd be a constant reminder of everything they were never going to be."

She couldn't meet her own gaze anymore and looked up at the opposite shore, "He told me to not even bother worrying about the people who would be jealous of me for that. He said that they were nothing but ugly little cockroaches at heart who weren't even worth knowing." She sighed through her nose, "So, I guess I'm an ugly little cockroach."

She shot a dull glare over her shoulder at Tsubaki, "Make no mistake Tsubaki, I hate you. You're everything I should have been, everything he wants and everything I wish I was. I know I haven't got any right to hate you for being the better person," she added as she looked away again, "But hate doesn't need a reason, and as much jealousy and hate as I have for you…" She paused for a second, "I hate myself a lot more for letting this happen."

She put her face in her hands, "I had him! He was MINE! Nobody else's and I…I all but threw him away!" She wrapped her arms around her knees as she pulled them up, "I…he thought I was smart, why was I such an idiot?! I…I let him down, I let Tenten-nee down, I let Izumi-neechan and Iruka-sensei and your parents and everyone I've ever cared about down and I'm just…"

"It used to be that everyone hated me because of the fox," she declared quietly after a minute, "Koga helped me not care and even found people who wouldn't hate me. Now? I'd take all that hatred from them back again over this hatred I'm feeling for myself, for who I've let myself become. Did…did Tenten tell you what I've been doing for the last few weeks?"

"Aside from giving her gray hairs no," Tsubaki replied, already dreading where this was going.

"I couldn't stand it," Naruko admitted, "I couldn't stand him ignoring me, so I…I did a lot of bad things. I acted as horribly as I could, hoping he would scold me. I tried flirting with other boys to make him jealous, but his reputation did all the work and he didn't have to intervene. Then I tried flirting with older boys who didn't know him or know about him, and they all just laughed at me, so I kept working my way up until I found this…just…dirty, repulsive old man and he actually seemed interested and the instant he went to touch me…" she snapped her fingers, "…Boom. Koga blew his head off for it without a second thought."

She was oblivious to the absolutely horrified gaze Tsubaki had pinned on her as she rambled on, "I thought I had figured it out. I realized that he'd intervene if I was actually in any danger, and I thought that maybe then I could get him to worry about me and that would be my foothold in the door to get back to being with him. I couldn't go find another dirty old man, that wasn't fun and it took forever and I still feel kind of…soiled after that, but there's a million ways to be in danger you know."

Tsubaki could've sworn she saw Naruko start to grin with something unhinged in her eyes, "That's when I found out. Koga didn't just reinforce my seal, he completely modified it. Now as far as I can tell, I'm indestructible. I jumped off the fucking monument and instead of going splat or him appearing out of nowhere to save me, I bounced. I bounced for twenty. Fucking. MINUTES!" she ranted, "Knives? They just ping off me like I'm made of steel now! Hanging myself? ZILCH! It's like my neck's made of iron! Poison gas? Nothing! Drowning? I can breathe underwater like a fish! Electricity? Tickles!"

All Tsubaki could do was stare in horror. Naruko took a deep breath and let it out, "He promised me, while he was in the hospital. He promised he'd never die and he'd never let me die. I…I guess I didn't expect him to make that good on it that quickly. I should have, he's always been good about keeping his promises no matter how impossible they seem."

She sighed as she pulled her knees back up to her chin, "I did all that, and now I realize that every bit of it was just driving him further away because he was worried about me and hoping that if I stopped caring about him, I'd be alright." She smiled, "He's kind of weird like that you know? Always trying to do what's best for the people he cares about. I'd call him perfect, but there's one thing I found that he's never shied away from admitting, although, for me that was just kind of a bonus."

"And what would that be?" Tsubaki asked warily.

Naruko snorted with laughter, "He wants a harem. His list was me, you, and Tenten for definite inclusions, with Hinata, Sakura and Ino for possible. It's probably expanded a lot since then, I'd about bet money that Chino's on the list. For all that he's the world's biggest perv though…" she looked up at the sky and a small fond smile crossed her face, "he'd have never even looked at another girl if I hadn't been okay with it."

"I guess what I'm trying to say is don't make the mistakes I did," she declared after a moment, "He deserves better than how I treated him."

"Tell me something I don't know," Tsubaki snorted before she could catch herself.

Naruko glanced a glare at her before turning away again, "I really wish I could agree with you less about that."

After a moment of silence Naruko spoke again, "I'm going to try to become someone he can love again. If you're…ever interested and I'm ever good enough, I'd still run back to him in a heartbeat…but I admit I need some time away from him to get my head back on straight." She got to her feet and turned to walk away before stopping just at the foot of the pier to declare over her shoulder, "Just know that once I'm…back to being me again? I will get him back. Someway, somehow. I still don't mind sharing, but…one day, I will get him back."

Tsubaki opened her mouth to say something and Naruko cut her off, "Oh and Tsubaki? Thanks for listening. I, really needed to get all that off my chest."

Then she was gone.

Tsubaki stared at the space where she had been for a moment and then, "Wow that girl is messed up…"

…

A Few Hours Later, Not Far Off The Coast of Troy

…

Shizune hovered very protectively around Helen as the Spartan Queen stepped out onto the deck. Helen smiled, "Lady Shizune, really, I'm fine."

"You nearly fell three times on your way to the stairs," Shizune declared flatly, "Even with my healing, you're still nowhere near fully recovered."

Helen smiled, "I don't think you or Lord Koga would allow me to fall. You're too kind. Even if you did…" Menelaus seemed to Body Flicker over to her to wrap an arm around her and ask if she needed anything. She smiled and leaned into him, "I've got my big snuggle-bear here!"

Shizune smiled, At least she does seem to be genuinely happy with him.

Then a bird flapped down and turned into Koga, "Well Your Highness, I hate to cut your fresh air time short, but you and King Snuggle-bear might want to get your cuddly royal keesters back below deck. You too Big Sis, there's a storm coming that looks like something I'd do. I'm gonna be hard pressed to keep it from sinking the whole fleet."

All three stared at him for a moment and then Menelaus shouted, "FURL THE SAILS! PULL IN THE OARS! BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES, MAKE READY AND FIND OUT WHO PISSED OFF LORD POSEIDEN THIS TIME SO WE CAN BEAT HIM FOR IT!" All across the fleet similar shouts were ringing out as Koga's clones relayed the warning.

…

An Hour Later

…

A plume of water rose from the sea and Koga was met with the sight of a bearded fellow holding a trident sitting on top of it like a throne. The storm raged all around them but was completely unable to penetrate Koga's Senjutsu Four Crimson Rays. It couldn't keep the rain out, but the winds and waves washed against it harmlessly.

"Can I help you?" Koga called from his meditative position on the deck.

"That depends," the bearded man replied, "Are you going to drop your shield and let me sink this fleet?"

"Not a chance," Koga replied flatly, "My sister is aboard this ship and besides these are my friends' ships. I will not allow them to be sunk."

The bearded man frowned and his trident started to glow with what Koga recognized as senjutsu chakra, "So you would actively defy me?"

"Are you Poseidon?" Koga asked calmly, "You know I was a little bummed out that you didn't drop by while I was meeting everybody at Troy. Even Hades showed up, and I had really been looking forward to getting to say that I got to meet the Big Three."

Poseidon stiffened, "I was…busy."

Koga nodded, "Understandable. Since we haven't met, allow me to introduce myself. I am Koga Kurohyou, now acknowledged as God of Destruction and Restoration on Olympus. May I ask what your beef with my friends' fleet is?"

"Well their army committed many acts of sacrilege while in the lands of Troy," Poseidon replied, "Temples desecrated, proper rites not enacted, more than a few murders, rapes and assorted other crimes. The general consensus was that it would be simplest to just send a storm to smash the fleet to splinters and let Hades and his panel of judges take care of it since they're the most practiced at it."

Koga nodded, "I see. Are there any particular offenders of note who you just really really want to see torn to shreds?"

Poseidon thought for a moment, "Ajax. Not the big guy, he's pretty cool, the scrawny little cretin with the mean face. He raped a woman in Athena's temple and I was going to make extra sure to kill him as a way to maybe make her a little bit less angry with me for a bit."

Koga closed his eyes and a moment later the mean faced scrawny cretin in question was on the deck looking very surprised.

He looked around and Koga drawled, "Ajax the scrawny, you have been accused by Poseidon of raping a woman in the temple of Athena. How do you plead?"

Ajax the scrawny shrank in on himself as he realized who he was standing in front of, "Um, not guilty?"

Koga locked eyes with him, his Sharingan flared and Ajax the scrawny flinched just before Koga declared, "Liar. He's all yours Poseidon."

Poseidon snapped his fingers and a burst of light later, Ajax was covered in tiny wounds. Poseidon raised a hand with fingers poised to flick, "Goodbye, chum." Then he flicked his fingers and Ajax the scrawny went flying overboard. He smacked into the glowing crimson wall, stuck there for a moment and then fell down into the waters below. Within minutes the water around where he had fallen was boiling with the activity of the sharks that had converged upon him.

Poseidon nodded, "That's him out of the way. Now as for the others, will you be content to let me scatter their fleet?"

Koga shook his head, "They are tired and weary from war. They need to return home. If they are scattered then how much more chaos and wickedness will be spread in their frustration at not being able to do so? Let them sail home and put their blades to rest. As you said, Hades and his judges will sort them soon enough. They may scatter and have adventures on their own, but I think that those who are deserving of misfortune will find it aplenty waiting for them in Erebus. Besides, if we cut their lives short here, then they'll have no chance to redeem themselves later on will they? Is it not right to at least offer someone a chance to make right what they've done wrong?"

Poseidon considered that for a moment and then nodded, "Very well, you make a good point. I will let their previous offenses rest until such time as Hades and his judges deal with it. Well, I'll be on my way now. What did you say your name was again?"

"Koga Kurohyou, God of Destruction and Restoration," Koga replied with a smile and a wave, "It's been an honor to make your acquaintance Lord Poseidon! Happy trails to ya!"

…

The Next Day, Elsewhere

…

The massive armored figure loomed over the great quarry being dug at his feet. The immense pit had been in excavation for many months, no small number of slaves from near and far had been worked to death beneath the unnatural, rancid clouds that obscured their suffering from the sight of the sun and moon. The slaves had been gathered quietly, their abductions appearing no more than scattered raids by random pirates. In truth, nearly every pirate band within two months' sail had recently been brought under the command of the mastermind who had engineered the pit where the slaves still labored. Any who opposed him were crushed by his followers, few who were not stationed at the pit had ever had the misfortune to see him. Those who had were marked by swift, gruesome and untimely demises.

The massive figure raised his hands to the heavens and gesticulated wildly as he rambled in prose…

"And he strides among the tree tops, and is taller than the trees,

And all throughout the garden his voice is thunder sent to bring…"

He paused in his prose as hurried footsteps approached behind him, labored and nervous nasal breathing mixing with the rustle of light fabric. "What is it Kemsyt?"

His second in command snorted, his sinuses still unused to the pollen no matter how much time he spent away from his desert home, "Kamos has returned sir. He lost the trident."

Kemsyt was a far cry and study in opposites to his master. One was immense, taller than any normal man, clad only in battle armor with immense muscles mighty enough to tear trees up by their roots on full display. The other was small, wiry and mostly obscured by the heavy clothes he wore to keep the sun's rays at bay. Also notable were the differences in how they carried themselves. While the master strode and spoke with the unwavering confidence of a zealot, the servant cringed, cowered and scuttled.

"He says the Atlantean was headed for Troy," Kemsyt continued, his nerves quickening his speech as the larger of the two rolled his shoulders as if in preparation for battle, "The battle there will not last much longer once he joins the Achaeans."

"The siege at Troy is already over."

The smoothly rumbled reply made Kemsyt's heart skip in terror at having possibly brought outdated news. He gulped, in for one coin, in for the whole purse.

"Zeus could still interfere," he pointed out in worry. There was a frightened question in his statement. The possibility of reprisal from the Olympian gods had been weighing on his mind the entire time he'd been in this foreign land.

The reason for his fear was made obvious and clear as his superior whirled on him, his terrible visage glowering in a towering rage, the immense trident in his hand suddenly hovering with prongs at Kemsyt's throat. The massive fangs were bared in a fearsome scowl, the nostrils of the squashed nose were flared and between it and the horn jutting from his forehead, the cyclops's single red eye glowed with rage as he demanded, "DO YOU QUESTION ME KEMSYT?!"

Kemsyt held absolutely still after his initial step and lean back. It left him in the awkward position of being leaned back almost forty-five degrees and teetering on the verge of falling on his ass, but he was all too aware that any sudden movements were liable to send the trident ripping through his throat. He held no illusions about being impossible or even all that difficult to replace. "N-no, no! Everything is exactly as you said it would be! The fortress, the tunnel, Troy…"

The massive trident retracted as the cyclops felt his pride appeased. He turned back to the pit below and continued his prose…

"Giant and the genie… multiplex of wing and eye…

Whose strong obedience… broke the sky…"

He paused as a shadow flitted across his face. "Send Kamos," he growled, "I want to speak with him."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Kemsyt turned and fled as quick as his feet could carry him with a hasty yelp of, "Yes General!"

…

End Chapter

…

AN: Okay! That's a wrap for the aftermath of the Trojan War, next time we get to see the start of what's going to be the major ongoing conflict of the next 8 or so arcs.

Sorry if this chapter was a little shorter than the last two, but the things I was thinking about stuffing into the end here were just proving far too cumbersome and difficult to write, and in my experience, that's a pretty good sign that they're just not needed. They may pop up periodically across the course of the next few arcs, but they won't be getting a concentrated clump of story dedicated to them like I had originally planned.

We currently have two favorites in the poll for who Koga should bring in for the upcoming arcs, so Jiraiya and Anko are quite likely to be joining the team for the upcoming quest. Yay!

One other note is that we may get to see some more of where all Koga's been prior to bumping into Arkantos and heading for Troy, as he'll probably show Athena all the places he's been and introduce her to the friends he's made. New people to meet and places to see are an Olympian God's favorite things, and Athena is one of Koga's favorite things, so as with any other girl he takes a liking to, he'll go out of his way to make sure she's happy.

…

NEXT TIME!

…

A city in ruins and centaurs in chains! A bandit army blocks the way home!