{{Do you remember the time
Our tears fell down from the sky
Although I've blocked all of my feelings
Even the ones caused by being kind
Every now and then I hear a voice
Inside me seem to cry

~Sign by Flow}}

A/N: What's up? Here's the next chapter. –ducks as objects fly- Gomen! My computer had to be sent in to tech support and has been gone for about two months. Not to mention that with classes starting I've literally had no free time. Forgive me….-chuckles- But yeah. Here's your next chapter.

More of Natsu's past for you, and a glimpse at what's going on back in Konoha with Naruto's teammates. Please read and review! *puppy dog eyes no jutsu*

Chapter 24: Mission Arc: Part 1

With a silent gasp of pain, Natsu bolted upright, sweat already cooling on his skin. After grabbing a kunai from under his pillow, he glanced around alertly. He relaxed when he saw Neji and Naruto sleeping peacefully. Just a dream…

Naruto. He abruptly remembered the deal he'd made the night before, with Kurama. A tail's worth of my chakra….I sincerely hope I can protect them all without it. Shifting his legs under him, Natsu knelt over Naruto and carefully placed his right hand over the blonde boy's forehead. Slowly he began to release the demonic chakra to the Kyuubi, in trace amounts so as not to wake or harm his younger counterpart.

Rising as silently as possible, Natsu stepped outside the tent and squinted at the sky. It was still dark outside, the sun just barely beginning to rise. They needed to be moving soon, but he began resealing things around their campsite instead of waking his squad mates. After making sure everything was how it had been when they arrived, he finally reentered the tent and shook Neji and Naruto awake.

They both were vigilant at once, something that gave Natsu a bit of inward pride. He spoke softly. "It is time to leave."

Neji gave him a curt nod and stepped outside the tent without a word. Naruto rolled his eyes and followed, muttering, "Prick."

Natsu felt a small smile curl his lips upwards. They could be so amusing. He followed them out and efficiently dismantled the tent, sealing it back into one of the scrolls he carried.

Turning, he caught an odd expression on Naruto's face. "Something wrong, otouto?" he questioned.

Naruto sighed and rubbed his temples. "I just realized I forgot to inform Jiraiya-sensei that I'd be…absent. Hopefully the Sandaime informed him that I was on a mission…I don't really want to return home to such an awkward situation."

Natsu chuckled quietly. "I'm sure the old geezer didn't overlook such a thing. He isn't the Hokage for nothing, Naruto. If you'd like you could send a summon, though."

Naruto smiled slightly. "Yeah, I guess."

They were both startled when Neji spoke, very belatedly. "You two are related?"

Dryly amused violet eyes met worried blue. Natsu answered for the both of them, turning to face Neji. "Not by blood, but we might as well be."

Neji frowned. "I do not understand."

Natsu's mouth twitched. Whether in amusement or annoyance Naruto could not tell. "Coming from a clan such as the Hyuuga, I am sure it is difficult to comprehend. Your concept of family is…different than most. Suffice to say our situations created a bond between the two of us comparable to brothers."

It was easy to tell the Hyuuga prodigy did still not fully understand, but he said nothing else. Natsu moved on. "Come. We should get moving; standing here chatting loses precious time."

Naruto and Neji both nodded and they began to travel, in the same formations as the previous day. Around mid-afternoon they stopped for a quick lunch break.

Several hours later, Natsu halted them both. "We're outside Nekkegi Village, the location of our mission. I have separate mission scrolls for both of you. I'm also going to give you comm links. These are to be kept hidden at all times, and are made to be undetectable. Please do not use them unless necessary. Every night at eleven we'll meet right where we are now to report our findings and progress. Please stay in henge at all times. Any questions?"

Naruto cocked his head. "Mission funds?"

"Included in your scrolls." Natsu clarified. "Neji?" He handed over mission scrolls to the two.

"You have covered everything." The stoic Hyuuga replied.

"Good then. We'll be splitting up now." Natsu made hand seals and performed the henge technique. After the puff of smoke cleared, he looked the same except for his clothes, eye color, and hair color. He wore basic mercenary garb. His normally striking violet eyes had been turned into a muted hazel shade, and his hair was a nondescript brown.

Neji and Naruto both performed their henges as well. Naruto's henge had him in the guise of a young prospective ninja. His eyes were less startlingly blue and more gray colored, and his hair was black. Neji's cover was a missing nin from Kiri. His normally long hair was short and covered one eye. His eyes were an ordinary green shade instead of white.

Natsu looked over them and nodded with approval. "I'm sure this isn't necessary, but I want to cover all my bases. Neji, be sure that if you happen to use your Byakugan you also use a small Genjutsu to cover it up." Neji nodded curtly in reply.

"Dismissed; meet back here at eleven. Contact me if you run across any problems." Natsu waited for the other two to leave first. Neji went to the west gate of town with a nod at the other two. Natsu made the hand seals for a Shunshin and was about to leave when Naruto stopped him with a touch and a sigh. "Natsu, there's something we need to talk about. What happened between you and Sasuke?"

As soon as the sentence left his mouth, Natsu's iron control slipped. A chilling north wind rustled their clothes and matched the frigid expression on the redhead's face. "Is this really necessary at this moment, Naruto?" The younger blonde resisted the urge to drop it. "It's something I need to know. I know the basic events in your life but not the specifics. I have to be aware of what Sasuke could…become."

Naruto watched Natsu's expression closely. A myriad of complicated emotions passed across the Jounin's face, and he could only recognize one for sure: pain. A distant sort of blankness obscured his face after a moment as his control returned. Voice low and tight, Natsu finally complied with the request. "When I look at Sasuke, even if it isn't the Sasuke I knew, all I see is the hate of others towards me. I see the suffering I went through so that others could step above me in life, or gain just a little more power." His words were delivered in a monotone, but they had a bitter aftertaste. "In Sasuke, I see hate personified. At one point, Sasuke was my goal; the one I wanted to surpass. When we got on the same team, things changed. I thought we'd become friends." Violet eyes stared into sky blue, troubled and full of a deep, lingering pain. "I was wrong."

Mesmerized by the despair in his brother's words, Naruto listened with rapt attention as Natsu continued, "He never thought of me as anything other than a tool to gain more power. It was painful….we were so alike, and I didn't want anything other than acknowledgement. I wanted to know that there was someone else like me, someone who could understand the pain I felt. I thought that if anyone could understand me, it would be Sasuke. Sasuke knew firsthand the pain of being used by others. I'd always thought that because he experienced the same pain, he would never hurt me that way. But the night of the massacre, Sasuke's reason died as well. He didn't care who he had to step on to reach his goal, or who he wounded on the path to kill Itachi. It took me so much time to realize that."

Drawing in a shaky breath, Natsu turned his face away from Naruto. His body was shaking; he was unsure why. "You already know that I brought him back to Konoha when he tried to go to Orochimaru for power. I told you I was banished for that; while it's true in part, I didn't tell you the whole truth. I was in Konoha for longer before they decided to execute me. Not as a shinobi or a citizen, but as a prisoner. The year after I retrieved Sasuke, I lived in a cell. Danzou was named the next Hokage…Tsunade was deemed under 'demonic influence' and forcefully removed from office. Everyone I'd ever known turned their backs on me; Kakashi moved on with Sakura and Sasuke and continued to teach them, leaving me to die. Jiraiya and Tsunade were so upset at their powerlessness that they left the village once more. I never saw either of them again. The rest of the Rookie Nine….well, most just pretended they'd never met me. Chouji, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Shino were the exceptions. They protested, but there was really nothing they could do. They were just brats at the time, just like I was. The same was true with Neji and Lee. The rest…just didn't care, or didn't know me well enough to know better."

Calming himself, Natsu finally turned back to Naruto. "The reason I was kept alive for a year was for medical experiments. Before the Kyuubi was gone, they wanted to figure out ways to take his power. It would be a waste to lose such a gift, after all." Natsu's voice broke and he held back tears, pressing his lips tightly together. "Though there were legitimate experiments, many were agonizing. They also tortured me, just because they could. Looking back at the things they did, if it weren't for the Kyuubi, I would've died so many times. They didn't hold back, and weren't really concerned if they killed me, considering I was slated to die anyways. Danzou would be mad, sure, but it wasn't a huge deal."

The Jounin's jaw worked as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "Sasuke…he became like Danzou's assistant. He never tortured me physically…didn't want to get his hands dirty I guess. But he always drained my chakra whenever he saw me, left me weak and vulnerable. Their experimentation discovered that my own chakra was de-aging, soothing, and could heal wounds. The Uzari gift, I suppose. Even with that, each time Sasuke came he was happy to taunt me, to tell me how weak I was. The torture was painful, but his words hurt more than anything else anyone could've done. To hear the same things I'd heard all my life from someone I'd trusted was the true torture, and Danzou knew it. They both took satisfaction in how low I'd become, how far I'd fallen." He could no longer hold the tears in, and they coursed down his face.

The sight was heart wrenching yet strangely beautiful. Naruto still couldn't look away, could barely blink. The sharp pain in his chest as he listened to the man he'd come to view as a brother was astonishing. There was a long pause as the redhead tried to collect himself. Crouching down and staring at the ground, tears still falling, Natsu finally continued in a ragged voice: "I tried to kill myself twice. Both times, the Kyuubi's chakra alone kept me alive. After that I gave up. I was going to die eventually; I just had to wait until they killed me. I didn't care to live anymore, so the torture stopped. They couldn't do anything else to hurt me. They never did find a way to use the Kyuubi's chakra. It poisoned anyone other than Sasuke who tried to use it, and they died. Sasuke couldn't control the chakra very well himself. I suspect the only reason he could take it all was because of the cursed Uchiha blood. After all, bloodlines are formed when demons are close to dying and a human steals their power, or so the theory is. Whatever the reason was, Sasuke was the only one who could successfully possess the Kyuubi's chakra other than me."

"Sasuke wanted to keep me alive, but not for any sentimental reasons. He just wanted a chakra battery available whenever he felt like stealing some. Danzou disagreed, though, so my execution was to go on as planned. That's when Tsunade sent Asuma to sneak in to rescue me. I don't remember much of what happened after that: my mind was half gone in those days anyways. It took some time for me to find myself again. I lived on the run alone for about two years after that, recovering. Once again, I'd probably be dead several times over if it hadn't been for the Kyuubi. Sometimes, when I was at my weakest, he took control of my body and got me out of trouble. Eventually the Akatsuki approached me, and I went with them. I didn't have a reason to live, so I didn't mind them extracting Kurama from me." Finally Natsu's tears stopped and he met Naruto's gaze with bloodshot eyes.

"A problem arose, though. Because for a year my chakra had been stolen, my body's resistance to the poison decreased. It caused me extreme pain to touch the Kyuubi's chakra at all, let alone use a large amount. We assumed the experiments had somehow damaged my resistance to the Bijuu chakra. While this didn't bother any of the Akatsuki members, Itachi noticed something important. The Kyuubi's chakra was killing me. Probably only Tsunade herself could've saved my life at that point. If they had attempted to extract the Kyuubi's chakra, we would've both died instantly. In essence, the poisonous chakra was so intertwined with my body that ripping it free would've caused every organ and system to shut down instantaneously. Madara's plans were foiled and he disappeared into the shadows. Pain and Itachi searched frantically for a solution."

A dry cough interrupted Natsu's words before he continued, "Eventually, Itachi found something, a seal. The seal was a variant of de-aging, similar to Tsunade's. In principle it would've been used to soothe the aches and pains of old age. But Itachi was a genius, and he saw what it could become. Pain and Itachi modified the seal and used it to return my chakra system to the way it had been before I was imprisoned. It saved my life but caused many other problems. My two chakras were no longer merged correctly as the Yondaime's seal had allowed. I was in great pain still; my chakra was trying to destroy the Kyuubi's, and vice versa. We ended up putting another seal on top of the other two that merged my chakras again. This in turn caused another side effect: I completely merged with the Kyuubi. He is a being of pure chakra, after all. His memories hit met all at once and I fell into a coma for several months before Itachi used Tsukuyomi to rid me of the bulk of those memories. When I awoke, my appearance had changed to how it is now. It took me several months to adjust to the Kyuubi's power and strength. I broke many doorknobs and got headaches often because my vision had improved so dramatically. My body was still weaker than it had been before since I'd not trained in so long, but absorbing Kurama also gave me a lot of extra power to fall back on. Pain had Itachi train me. I may have ruined their plans, but I still had the chakra of the Ninetails plus my own, so I could be useful to them. It was awkward at first, but after Itachi told me the truth about the massacre we became something resembling friends. I would never call us friends, because we didn't trust each other with everything, but it was similar. We never talked about Sasuke…He loved Sasuke a lot and I didn't want to let him down, even if it wasn't my fault. I never told anyone until now." Natsu finally stood, seeming a little unsteady on his feet.

Naruto quickly rushed to his side and wrapped an arm around his shoulders to support and comfort him. He frowned when he realized Natsu's whole body was shaking. He didn't know enough about torture to know how someone would react, so he had no basis to tell if Natsu was reacting normally according to his abuse or not. What he did know is that when the redheaded Jounin pulled away, rigid control slipped back into place and all trace of stress except slightly red eyes gone, he was very worried. Just how strong was Natsu's mask?

"I only saw Sasuke once after that…when he came after Itachi." Natsu stared into the distance, memories flashing through his mind…

-FLASHBACK-

Natsu stared, eyes wide with surprise and a little fear. "Sa..suke.." He hated how his voice was shaky and uncertain. Itachi seemed surprised as well, not that anything registered on his poker face. But Natsu had been around him for years and he could tell. Then again, Itachi didn't know what had happened between Natsu and Sasuke; no one did. Because of that he had a right to be surprised at Natsu's sudden vulnerability, especially when he'd only seen the tough-as-nails exterior Natsu had put up.

Sasuke didn't seem all that surprised, and he smirked. "Natsu…I'd wondered for a while where you disappeared to. I was a pleased when you disappeared; I'd rather keep you alive than have you executed. And now that Danzou's stepped down, I can do just that."

Itachi cocked his head to the side robotically. "You are the Hachidaime Hokage, then?"

Sasuke turned to face his brother, eyes filled with cold fury. "That is right. I came to kill you, nii-san. And since Natsu is here, I may as well take him prisoner."

Natsu's face paled, and he froze in place. Memories of the torture and abuse he'd gone through in the prisons filled his mind, and he couldn't break away. He thought he'd suppressed this, overcome this, but the memories just kept coming….

Itachi watched Natsu, seemingly apathetic. Inwardly he was wondering what his foolish little brother had done to make the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki act this way. "I'm afraid I can't let you take Natsu-kun."

Sasuke's eyes flashed with something, and Itachi held back a fond smile when he realized it had been jealousy. Foolish, foolish little brother…

"Why are you protecting him?" Sasuke hissed, whirling around to look, really and truly look, at Natsu.

His eyes were a different color now. They were once a shining, brilliant blue, a blue that he'd never seen anywhere else but the sky. Now they were a turbulent, pearlescent violet. Eyes with a terrible depth; a hypnotic set of orbs that peered bleakly from across a gaping chasm of agony. Eyes with a broken faith in them, the eyes of someone whose innocent belief in the goodness of others is lost. There was pain, betrayal, fear, despair, and a void greater than death.

It was then that Sasuke understood the true Natsu. The genuine Natsu felt as if he'd deserved everything that happened to him. Sasuke finally understood that nobody hated Natsu as much as he hated himself. Though Sasuke had considered himself an Avenger all these years and built up his hatred, he would now admit that his hatred paled in comparison to Natsu's. He, at last, comprehended how deeply his pitiful hatred had wounded someone who had been nothing but hurt their entire life.

In essence, Sasuke's hatred and driven the nail into Natsu's coffin.

The realization took his breath away. He was about to say something, to ask if it was really true, but he was pulled out of the sudden epiphany by Itachi's voice. "Naruto-kun is my student."

All the sudden guilt and emotion he'd felt at once disappeared, and hatred filled his entire soul once more as he zeroed in on his traitorous older brother, forgetting his momentary regret. "Uchiha Itachi….I will kill you!"

-END FLASHBACK-

Shaking his head to clear it, Natsu continued, "It didn't end well. He fought Itachi, and they both came close to death. In the end I knocked Sasuke out and saved Itachi. I…I wish I knew what was happening to the Itachi from my world now. But…I'll just have to move on."

Naruto frowned. "I am sorry for what you have suffered. I'm sorry I took you from your friends and everything that mattered to you. But Natsu, you have to know…nothing that happened was your fault! In no way were you responsible for Sasuke and Danzou's actions!"

Natsu only smiled at him in a wearily indulgent way, like a jaded adult would to a child who is too young to understand, and said nothing. "We've talked about this long enough; we have a mission to perform. Please don't bring this up again, Naruto. I don't know if I can bear to talk about it again." Naruto tried to memorize his surrogate brother's facial expression; it was the saddest thing he'd ever seen. The echo of pain that was there was the pain of an entire planet. The pain called out, screamed for help, but Natsu said nothing, asked for nothing. He had resigned himself to the excruciating pain. Looking into those pools of troubled violet, Naruto understood that Natsu was broken in a way that couldn't be repaired with all the effort in the world. "I am sorry." Natsu spoke with a painful smile, disappearing in a Shunshin before Naruto could protest.

Naruto let loose a long, shaky breath. Running his hands through his hair, he croaked to the silent trees, "I had no idea." Looking to the sky he sighed deeply, from the pit of his soul. "No idea what he went through. And…he still hasn't told me everything. That was only a few years of his life." Pacing around in a circle, he began to talk to himself, trying to sort out his racing thoughts. "I can't believe Sasuke would do that…how could he do that to his own teammate?" He stopped pacing abruptly as a frightening thought occurred to him. Sasuke and Natsu's Sasuke are the same person…would the Sasuke I know do that to me? He hoped not. But what scared him was he could not say with one hundred percent certainty that Sasuke would never hurt him in that way. He wasn't sure.

The mission. Focus on the mission. Shutting down his chilling thoughts, Naruto removed his mission scroll and scanned it. Walking joltingly, Naruto entered the city. It wasn't a ninja village so there was no security at the gates. Sighing inwardly he patted the mission scroll absently as he thought of what he was to do. He'd never really been alone in a foreign place before, and even though he'd been alone practically his whole life, he was at a loss as to what he should be doing right now. Tugging at his clothing with a frown, he adjusted the unfamiliar garment. It was uncomfortably loose and caused too much sound when he moved for his tastes, but he supposed there was nothing to be done about it this time.

Natsu would be taking care of most of the real work. He and Neji were there to gather information and as backup, and not much else. Ending his fidgeting, he began to mingle in with the crowds in the streets. He'd never really done a mission like this, but he supposed the best way to go about it would be to play to his own strengths. Keeping that in mind, he began to look for someone close to his age to speak to, or even someone in need of a helping hand. When you helped someone out, they were always more willing to spill information.

He walked a long time before he found someone that fit the profile. It was a girl that appeared around his age. She was struggling to carry several bags of books. Swooping in and taking his chance, Naruto lifted several of the bags from her grasp. "Need some help?" he asked smoothly.

The girl jumped in surprise and released her hold. "Um, yes, thanks for your help. That's very kind of you."

Naruto just smiled in response. "Why are you carrying all these books around with you, anyways? It seems like a pretty heavy load. Oh, I almost forgot. My name is Yuurei! It's good to meet you."

The girl blinked in surprise. "I'm delivering these to my professor. I work part-time for him. Nice to meet you, I'm Suzume. I haven't seen you around, are you new to town?"

"That's right, I just arrived. I'm looking for work, but I doubt I'll find it here. So in the meantime, I'm just treating myself to a vacation." He chuckled. "What's been going on lately in this town? Anything you could tell me would be great. I might just decide to move on to the next town if things aren't so good here."

The girl sighed. "There's actually been a lot of trouble recently. I wouldn't suggest trying to find work here if you don't want to be pulled into something…unsavory."

Naruto hid a smile at that. "What kind of trouble, if you don't mind me asking?"

Suzume looked around nervously before answering, "There's a gang of ninja; they act like bandits. They've been terrorizing the town and doing practically whatever you want. So if you're a ninja I'd suggest you leave now. We don't need any more of you running around causing problems."

Naruto held up his hands in protest. "Hey, come on now! We're not all like that. I'm not here to cause trouble for anyone…unless they're doing something wrong."

Suzume stopped walking. "We're here. You can hand me back my stuff now."

Sighing, Naruto shook his head. "I'll deliver it to your professor. I already came this far, might as well finish the job."

Suzume sighed. "All right, then. It's just through this door and up two floors." She seemed reluctant to speak with him any longer, so he quickly delivered the books and left. Strike one.

There has to be something else going on if she's scared to say something…a few barely trained ninja shouldn't be able to cause city-wide fear. Naruto's mind raced with possibilities and he turned started to turn his attention inwards before he remembered that Kurou…no, the Kyuubi, was no longer someone he could trust. The unexpected jolt of pain he felt at that thought startled him, and then he felt foolish. It was his fault for trusting a centuries-old bloodthirsty demon in the first place. And his pain…his pain was nothing compared to what Natsu had been through.

The comm in his ear suddenly crackled to life. It was Neji. "I've found something. I think it would be best for us to meet early."

Natsu's voice spoke up before Naruto could. "I was about to suggest the same thing. I've found something quite interesting as well. Let me scout around for a place to meet. Naruto, stay where you are for now. You're somewhat close to where I am. Neji, head southwest a little." They both did as commanded. About ten minutes later, the Jounin commanded, "Meet me at Genji's Lounge. It's a pub close to me, and fairly visible from the main street."

Naruto had walked past it previously. "Understood." Neji also gave his agreement. They were both there within five minutes. Naruto was the last and he joined Natsu and Neji at an isolated table.

Natsu wasn't avoiding his gaze, but the Jounin's face was studiously blank. Neji, unaware of the tension, spoke up first. "These are no mere ninja. There are several missing nin among them. There is one called Kenji Roka. He is an A-rank missing nin from Kusagakure. In addition to him, there are three other B-rank missing nin: two from Iwa, and one from Kumo."

Natsu bit back a curse. "Wonderful. Looks like we'll be requesting backup. I could take Kenji, but I wouldn't leave two Genin to fight three Jounin, even if you two are exceptional. I found out about their motives rather than their members. They've been intercepting the supply trains headed to Tea Country. They're trying to build up supplies and money; my guess is they're planning an attack. On who…well, that's the million dollar question."

"So is our next course of action?" Naruto questioned.

Natsu smiled. "It was really just a scouting mission anyways. We just hold down the fort until reinforcements arrive, then take them down. Missing nin within Fire Country borders must be dealt with, even if they aren't our own. Especially so close to Konoha; they could attack us at any time quite easily. Not that it would make sense, but it is still a security risk we have to take care of." Pausing, he glanced at Neji for a moment before continuing, "It would be best for you two to work as a team in the fight, preferably with one of the reinforcements. I don't know Neji's level for sure, but I don't think you are ready to fight a B-rank missing nin, Naruto."

At the blonde's frown, Natsu quickly added, "I know you're stronger than what everyone else thinks, but I know you better than most. And when I say you're not ready, I mean it. I don't want you to get hurt, otouto."

Neji watched the two with mild interest before speaking. "So we wait? How long do you think the reinforcements will take?"

Natsu made a few quick calculations, cocking his head. "They should be here late tomorrow, if the old man sends ANBU. Jounin, perhaps two days." Gesturing for Neji and Naruto to move closer together, he whispered, "Cover me while I send the message." Obediently, the two scooted shoulder to shoulder to obscure Natsu from sight. Natsu summoned a small orange toad. The toad frowned at him. "Who are you?"

Natsu frowned for a moment before realizing this was Gamakichi. Gamakichi, who'd grown nearly as tall as his father in Natsu's world. Quickly pushing the momentary burst of sorrow aside, he murmured, "I'm a new summoner. Natsu Uzari. Jiraiya let me sign the scroll. We can talk about this later; I need a message delivered to Konoha as soon as possible. Can you get it there by tonight?"

Gamakichi considered this. "Do you have any snacks?"

Natsu stifled a snort before unsealing a few things from a scroll; Pocky and a few other small candies. "Will this do?"

Gamakichi brightened considerably. "Yeah, thanks man! I'll get right to work on that. My name is Gamakichi, by the way. The message?"

Natsu scribbled a quick but detailed note to the Hokage and placed it on the table. "Here."

The orange toad scooped up the message scroll and the candy. "Thanks. I'll be going, then." Gamakichi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto's eyes held a slight interest. He knew of summoning, of course, but he'd not expected Natsu to have the toad summoning contact when he himself held the fox contract. It was unexpected.

Neji scooted back around the table, reclaiming his personal space. "What shall we do in the meantime?"

Natsu smirked. "Go back outside the village and train. The rest of today and tomorrow, we'll train. After that we'll rest up and get our chakra back. I suspect the Hokage will send two or three Jounin…ANBU are a little overkill." With that he gave an inward sigh. He wished the old man would hurry up and place him in ANBU…he'd been kicked out of Konoha before he reached that level before, and he was eager to give it a try. After all, he'd already overcome the things most rookie ANBU struggled with. He would fit in there, with the people as screwed up and emotionally unbalanced as he was. Clearing his throat he shook himself free for the lingering thoughts. "You guys go ahead and return to where we camped last night. I'll pick up some food." Natsu reached into his weapons pouch and handing Naruto the scroll the camp equipment was sealed in.

The blonde took the scroll. "Stay safe, nii-san."

Natsu smiled at him, and though it contained real happiness there was the ever-present sorrow in his eyes. "Thanks." The two groups split and went about their duties.

Naruto and Neji began to set up camp in silence, both unsure what to say. They were simply comrades and knew next to nothing of the other.

As it would be, Naruto broke the silence. "You…are in the Hyuuga branch family, right?" he almost smacked himself as soon as the words left his mouth. Naruko and Natsu had warned him that the subject was touchy, and he blurted it out first thing. Great going, moron. He berated himself mentally.

Neji stiffened immediately. "That is correct." He said tersely. His eyes narrowed as he watched Naruto. "Why do you ask such a question?"

"I know a lot about seals." Naruto answered, semi-vaguely.

But Neji wasn't called a genius for nothing. He immediately faced Naruto, eyes sparking with something unreadable. "Is that so." He moved slowly towards the blonde, but there was a fairly threatening air around him. "Well perhaps you should keep your knowledge to yourself, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto simply shrugged, feeling a little helpless. He'd only been trying to make conversation. "As you wish. It is not something I would speak about with anyone other than yourself, anyways."

Neji turned away without another word and didn't even so much as look at Naruto before Natsu returned. Bearing delicious-smelling food, the redhead instantly noticed something amiss. *Naruto?* he questioned directly through the seal, excluding Neji from the conversation.

*I put my foot in my mouth. Brought up the caged bird seal. Can you remove those, by the way?* Naruto responded.

Natsu considered this. *I'll do some research. I haven't done it before, but I should be able to grasp the mechanics of it all. We'll see. In the meantime, we need to discuss the details of me giving you my chakra…..*

Sasuke paused in his knocking on Naruto's front door when a blonde head poked out next door. Naruko gave him a cheeky grin. "Uchiha Sasuke. I assume you're looking for Naruto?"

Mutely, the raven nodded. Naruko shrugged at his lack of spoken response. "Well, he's off on a mission; left yesterday afternoon. Anything I could help you with?"

Sasuke paused to consider it. "Just….pass along a message. When he returns, I'd like to speak to him."

"Will do. Better get to training, Uchiha-san. I'm sure Naruto isn't slacking in his training, even if he's on a mission." Naruko grinned cheekily before shutting the door.

Sasuke grunted in annoyance before turning to leave. So the dobe was off on a mission, hn? He wasn't disappointed. He wasn't. Despite Naruko's teasing, he'd already been training since early this morning. It wasn't quite lunch time and he found himself at a loss as to what he should be doing.

Though it was a little embarrassing to admit, Naruto was really the only person he would consider himself to be friendly with. Without him there, Konoha suddenly seemed so boring….

Ino put her hands on her knees, attempting to catch her breath as sweat dripped down her cheeks. Sadistic…Tou-san...she cursed her father inwardly in between breaths. Yes, Yamanaka Ino the most girly kunoichi was training to exhaustion with her family's jutsu. Her hair looked horrible; her clothes were dirty (even torn in places) and kami she reeked of the outdoors and sweat.

Had the world come to an end? Luckily, that was not the case. By now we all know that Naruto can change anyone's worldview. Yamanaka Ino was just one of the many Naruto's influence had touched. His inspiration had clearly affected her greatly; though she was not buff, the baby fat from Ino's face was gone. Her arms had a wiry strength and her body, though beautiful, was that of a professional kunoichi.

Despite all these changes, she was still one of the more attractive young kunoichi, something that she still took great pride in. Perhaps it was vanity, but Ino didn't mind. She enjoyed looking nice. And although she'd learned her lesson in taking that too far, she still liked being pretty.

She now knew that strength was more important than beauty in the field she chose. However, for a kunoichi, beauty was still important. Men would always underestimate a kunoichi; their guard would be lowered even more if she was beautiful. Sexist? Maybe. True? Definitely. It was something that frustrated Ino, but it also made her job easier so it was something she would never complain about.

She still had hope that someone she considered attractive would fall in love with her. Though she'd given up on her teammate Uchiha Sasuke, she hadn't given up on finding her soul mate. She wasn't actively seeking out love, preferring to focus on her profession for the time being, but it was still a future goal of hers.

Right now, she was completely focused on the Chuunin Exams. Her opponent was as of yet still undecided, which made it difficult to prepare. It made sense to her, she wasn't denying that. On missions, you never know who you're going to face. It had practical application, yeah.

That didn't make it any less annoying.

Done with her breather, Ino brushed dirt from her pants and began to work again. Concentrating, she focused her chakra. "Shinten Bunshin no Jutsu (Mind Clone Switch)!"

-TIMESKIP-

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, scanning the message from Natsu. Things always complicate themselves, don't they…he mused inwardly. "Bear." He said shortly. The ANBU instantly showed themselves. "Hokage-sama?" Sarutobi pursed his lips. "I need you to summon Genma, Raidou, and Hayate. I have a mission for them…"

A/N: Shorter chapter, I know. But it's a good stopping point. Anything you'd like to see soon? I'm having trouble keeping up the length while staying with my timeline. Any small things you want or suggestions of scenes you'd like to see would be helpful.