After the pain

by Legilmyth

Naruto finds Temari beaten and raped he saves her life and tries to help her get over the ordeal. But Naruto is hiding a pain of his own that could get in the way of him helping.

26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty Six

26 days since Naruto found Temari

18 days since They arrived in Konoha

10 days since Naruto left on his mission

26 26 26 26 26

*Shukufuku- God's Favor. *Junsui- Pure. *Someisa- Knowledge & Judgment.

26 26

Kakashi groaned as he lifted his bed frame, not bothering to remove the mattress first, and flipped the whole thing onto its side. The muscles in his left arm protested slightly, it seemed that they still were not back to a hundred percent after Naruto had crushed it.

The Copy-Nin ignored his bodies protest, after all, he was going to be dead soon. So why worry about a few tender muscles?

Once the bed was out of his way, he pulled a kunai out of his weapons pouch and knelt on the hardwood floor. Stabbing the sharp blade into a crack that was quite a bit wider then the rest of the floor, he began to pry one of the boards from its place.

He almost couldn't believe he had come to this. Digging up his family's secret stash of scrolls in hopes of finding some answers to his current situation. But he couldn't take the strain any longer.

There had been no more high outputs of White Chakra in the village since that first night after he and Iruka had returned from their weekend getaway.

But he could still feel its presence; every day as he walked the streets, joined Iruka and Temari for lunch. He could feel it close by, as if it was watching his every move. The malice in it was a tangible thing, whether it was coming from the power itself or from the wielder, he wasn't sure. But it wanted him erased.

Yet for some reason, no attack had come. He hadn't been confronted in any way, shape or form.

And Kakashi had to know why. All of his family had died because the use of White Chakra as a weapon of battle, instead of protection, had brought a curse down upon them.

Everyone of those that he remembered had died in disturbing ways. Or they had ended up committing sepuku, like his own father had. After his mission had gone horribly wrong, resulting in the pointless death of an entire squad.

Yes, the Hataki curse rubbed off on those associated with the clan as well. As Kakashi well knew, having he lost his own team as a teenager. And he had barely even touched the White Chakra that resided inside of his body.

But as the years passed, Kakashi had foolishly begun to believe that he had escaped the vengeance that had taken out the rest of his clan. Since he had passed the age of forty, he had started to let himself hope that he would be passed over.

After all, he was the first Hataki in three generations to live past the age of thirty-four.

Pausing in his efforts to pry up the board that was being a lot more stubborn then he had expected it would be. Kakashi quickly stripped off his Jonin vest, tossing it carelessly aside as he once again bent to his task.

As the piece of cedar slowly started to give, he couldn't help but feel a little bit angry over his situation. He had finally started to allow himself to form attachments. To let others into his life other then his students, who had always included him despite them having to drag him along.

Most of the time against his will.

Only a few of attachments mind you, Iruka namely. It still amazed him that he had become so close to the Chunnin. After years of them both being invited to every event the former team seven came up with, they had slowly started getting to know one another. And eventually they discovered that they had a great deal in common.

The board finally came loose with a protesting screech. Pushing it aside, Kakashi could already see the edge of a small sealed trunk sitting in the exact spot he had placed it, the day he had moved into the apartment.

However, it was too large to fit through the hole opened by a single board. So the Jonin shifted his position and started to work on the second plank.

As the wood slowly came loose, Kakashi couldn't help but wish that he had learned to live his life a little bit sooner. There were more then a few things he would be leaving undone when he died.

"Well Iruka," He muttered aloud as the second board gave way. "It looks like you'll win the bet after all."

The second board, along with the kunai were quickly dumped unceremoniously off to the side. Grabbing the one by two foot trunk by its end handles Kakashi quickly pulled the surprisingly heavy box from its hiding place.

Once it was up on the floor he had to take a moment to inspect the seals binding it. It had been so long since he had put it away, he didn't immediately recall which spells he had used to seal it.

However it only took a moment for his to remember the correct sequence of disengaging them. This would be the first time he had seen this trunk open since he had graduated from the academy as a child.

He hadn't bothered looking inside of it after he had inherited it. He wanted nothing to do with the power that had brought his family to ruin, he had made that mistake once as a child, and he never wanted to repeat it. But now it appeared that he had no choice.

It was either try to figure out why his executioner was toying with him, or go insane from the waiting. Of course that could be the whole reason for the waiting game.

He didn't remember a lot from the white chakra scrolls he had read as a seven year old. Mostly because at the time it had been beyond boring. There had been so many rituals to go through before he could use the power, that his attention span had been limited.

Then after the initiation ceremony, on the eve of his graduation from the academy. He had outright refused to have any part of learning or using the power he had been granted.

The last seal gave way as Kakashi wondered what it would be like to actually be traumatized by trauma. He was sure if he ever asked the question aloud, he would be sent to the psychiatric ward.

But he couldn't help but wonder, his whole life he had watched others around him be effected by negative events. While he, thanks to his awakened birthright, only had an hour or two before his memories of the event were basically wiped clean.

Eventually they did come back, the memories, but they were muted, all of the pain or other emotions were gone. It was like watching surveillance footage on a monitor. He could see every detail clearly in his mind, yet there was never any emotions to go with it.

To this day, he wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse.

Giving his head a shake Kakashi pushed his thoughts aside. Turning his attention back to the trunk in front of him, he had been spending way too much time dwelling on his past over the last couple days.

Hopefully he would find something inside one of the old scrolls that would tell him what to expect next, or at least tell him how long he was going to have to wait before he was attacked.

Grimly he lifted the old wooden lid, the hinges squeaking from lack of use. Inside was filled with neatly organized scrolls. Each clearly labeled as to what ability it contained and what the skill level required to use it was.

His gloved hand hovered over the box for a few moments before he forced himself to remove one of the scrolls.

After reading the label he carefully set it aside and reached for another, he knew that the old paper was protected by a spell to keep it from being damaged. But he figured that anything to do with the use of White Chakra needed to be handled with the utmost care.

The white power had a mind of it's own, so he wasn't going to take any chances at losing some vital information. He only wished he had been smart enough to listen to his mother when she had tried to talk him out of having the power unleashed inside of him.

She had warned him of the curse.

But he hadn't listened, he had been to impressed with his Fathers abilities, and as a young boy had wanted to do everything his sire could, and more. Just look where that had gotten him.

It was at least two o'clock in the morning, and he was ripping apart his bedroom floor in order to go through a pile of dusty old scrolls. Because for the first time in his life, he was hunted and there was nothing he could do to defend against it.

Or maybe there was, there was the faintest chance that the scrolls now sitting in front of him might have some information that could give him some slim hope of reversing his fate. That hope quickly started dwindling however, as each scroll he removed claimed to be yet another attack.

Talk about a family obsession.

Just when he uncovered the last row and was about ready to give up. He spotted a cloth bundle sitting in snuggly with the last few scrolls. Hoping against hope that he was finally going to catch a break, he quickly pulled out the small square.

The brittle fabric started to crumble almost as soon as he touched it, and Kakashi felt his expectation drop along with the falling pieces. Did it not have a protection spell on it?

Unwrapping what was left of the decrepit cloth, he was surprised to find a leather bound book. Partly because it was obviously older then any of the scrolls, which made it an oddity. But also that it did in fact have several preservation spells on it.

Thumbing open the cover, he had to blink several times before he was convinced that he was reading the title correctly.

~ 'The Training and Secrets of a White Miko'

No wonder it was at the bottom of the box, if he remembered correctly, Miko was another term used for a priestess a hundred or so years ago. And he was pretty sure that his more recent ancestors had no intention of devoting any time to such things when the White Chakra could be wielded as a weapon.

A quick glance at the four remaining scrolls told him that they were yet more training manuscripts. The book he held in his hands was the only thing in the chest that might be of some use to him.

Setting the book up on his bedside table, he quickly put the scrolls back into their place and closed the trunk. After a moment's thought, he set the box back in its hiding place, set the boards back over the hole and moved his bed into its proper upright position.

The last thing he needed was for someone to show up, namely Iruka. And demand to know what he was doing. The Teacher did have a habit of showing up unannounced at the oddest times.

Once everything was back in place, Kakashi clicked on his bedside lamp and moved his pillows against the headboard before grabbing the book and settling down on the mattress to start going through the manuscript.

The second page declared that it was nearly two hundred years old. And written by a woman Named Junsui Hitomi, according to the dates it had taken her five years.

Kakashi paused, the name seemed familiar, but then Hitmoni was a fairly popular name, so maybe not. Turning to the next page he began to read.

~ My name is Junsui Hitomi, as far as I am aware I am the first White Priestess to put the secrets of my inheritance down on paper.

My family has always passed our knowledge down through the generations verbally. I do not know what other families have done, for I have never met another with the same powers as I.

And I now have a daughter, it is for her that I am writing down my knowledge. She was born only yesterday, but I am not sure if I will be alive long enough to train her in the use if the power that will no doubt manifest inside of her someday.

I am simply grateful that I survived the birthing process, without Shukufuku's father alive to assist me, I'm afraid I am very weak. It is only the ability to heal quickly that saved us both.

Without my lifemate, I am missing a piece of my soul. Our broken bond has been the most painful experience of my life. If I had not been carrying our child at the time of his death, I know that I would have quickly followed him to the other side.

To have the very essence of my power battling itself inside of me has been draining. For part of it wishes to follow my beloved Someisa into death, while the other has to protect our child at any cost.

I know that it was Shukufuku's power that in the end brought me back from deaths arms. Already it has awoken within her, making her a Miko before she was even born.

But I digress, I must start at the beginning, just as I was taught, and will hopefully be able to teach my only daughter.

Kakashi paused, it felt like he was reading someone's private journal. And it made him feel like a sneak. It took several minutes of contemplation before it dawned on him that the book he held was most likely written by one of his ancestors.

That realization made it a lot easier to turn his attention back to the carefully written words before him

~ A very long time ago, the gods took pity on the human race, for we were few, and had no natural weapons to defend ourselves.

So a select few were granted a holy power, and the knowledge to wield it. So these men and women became Priests and Priestess', who traveled the lands healing and teaching the people.

But the power had a flaw, it could heal, yet it could also kill if not wielded properly. Because of the dangers the priests and priestess' faced during their travels, they were quite often forced to use their gifts to defend themselves against humans of an unsavory nature.

Because there were now many who wielded this power, the gods feared that it would become tainted if continually used to end lives. And thereby threatening the very lives of the beings it was created to protect.

And so the deities gifted each wielder of white power with a familiar, a great spirit beast that when needed could take solid form and wield the elements.

Each time a child with the power was born, a companion would immediately appear. These familiars could take many forms and sizes, although they most often appeared to be an ordinary animal.

Since only one parent needed to be able to wield the power in order for a child to inherit the same gift. It did not take very many generations before there was a large population of wielders and familiars.

I do not know for sure what it was that created the rift between the humans and their familiars. Although there is one tale that claims that a priestess left her familiar to die when it appeared to be bested in battle.

The creature survived, but became angry and resentful of his mistress because she had abandoned him. It is said that he took the form of a great dragon, and once his strength had returned, he found the priestess and killed her.

Others of the holy order then hunted the dragon, human and familiar alike. Seeking to punish him for his crime.

With each attack it is said that the dragon fell further into darkness. Until finally he vowed to wage war on any human with a familiar by their side. And he killed many of both, each time becoming more powerful as his hate and the darkness within his soul grew.

There were so many losses that a meeting was finally called, and it was decided that man and beast should part ways.

Most of the familiars decided to choose permanent forms, then formed clans with those that chose the same animal to mimic. To protect the humans they loved so dearly, the clans went into hiding. Eventually establishing their own cultures. They learned to reproduce as others did, as well as train, developing their powers to higher levels.

For several human generations there were no sightings of the dark dragon. Until the day that a familiar of the cat tribe befriended a human child, although the child had no holy powers, somehow the dragon learned of their relationship.

He attacked the child's village, killing all who resided there. The cat and her clan fought back, trying to defend the innocent. But they were no match for the dragon, who now sported two heads and two tails.

He took the cat responsible for befriending a human prisoner, torturing her for many years before she managed to escape. But not before she discovered that he had gained his extra appendages to house his growing power.

Wishing to atone for her mistake, the cat passed on her knowledge to others of her kind. Then it is said that she made a pact with the God of Death so that she could once again be with her human friend.

The cat clan passed on her knowledge, as they and other clans resolved that they must destroy the dragon before he caused more suffering.

Again, the dragon somehow learned of their plan, and he began capturing as many as he could. Although unlike his first captive, he did not harm them. Instead he poisoned their minds and hearts with his own evil, convincing them that they were far superior to humans. That they were more on par with the gods.

It did not take long for this mentality to spread. Those that had fallen started calling themselves Youkai, and they had no regard for life, human of otherwise. Creating devastation in their wake with their elemental powers where ever they went, humans created their own name for them.

~ Demons.

Kakashi sat stunned, staring at the last word. Which was followed by a smudge of ink, as if the brush had been dropped and the ink wiped away before it soaked through the parchment. One third of the page was left blank, and the space seemed to glare back at him, as if daring him to disbelieve the truth of the words he had just read.

It was mind boggling to consider that where as he had started reading in hopes of learning about the power he had inherited, and here he had a manuscript claiming to know the origin of demons.

He sat staring blankly into space as he tried to fully process the information he held in his hands. Then after a moment's thought, he decided that the disregard for life that had just been described, certainly matched that of the Kyuubi when it had attacked Konoha more then twenty years ago.

As well as the attitude Gaara exhibited when he first came to the chunin exams, since Shukaku had been a major influence on the boy his whole life.

Kakashi himself had seen a marked difference in the red haired Kazekage since his demon had been removed as a teenager. He still wasn't the friendliest person to be around, but he certainly took good care of his village.

Itachi and Kisame were two other prime examples of how demon possession turned their hosts into blood thirsty killers.

Frowning, the Scarecrow flipped back to the page to reread the part about the first familiars as a thought struck him.

Naruto had complete control over his demon tenant. Being able to use a large amount of the Kitsune's power, and seemingly with ease once he had practiced enough.

Kakashi had always assumed that Naruto was able to succeed where others had failed because the Kyuubi had been sealed differently then the other demons had been. That it was the Yondaime's seal that made the bonding of human and demon chakra possible without the creature influencing its host too much.

Although it had not always been that way, the Copy-nin clearly remembered the first time he had seen Naruto use the red chakra, after Gaara's death. It had been frightening, even for one as battle wise as himself.

The out of the blue, only a few years later, when the Sound had once again attacked Konoha, Naruto had released all nine tales of power to defeat Kabuto and his army nearly single handedly.

Could it be possible that the Kyuubi was voluntarily helping its host? An hour ago Kakashi would have laughed at the very idea. But after what he had just read, he had to admit that the idea wasn't all that farfetched. If what the book in his hands said was true, then perhaps the Kyuubi had had a change of heart after being sealed away.

After all, Naruto seemed to change the mindset of almost every opponent he faced, perhaps the Kyuubi no Yoko was no different.

He wondered if he would have time to talk to Naruto about this discovery, if he would still be alive by the time the blond returned to the village. That small reminder of his current predicament had the Copy-nin flipping back to where he had finished reading, then turn the next page.

The writing seemed to be a little messier then it had previously.

~ It has been three days since I've had the strength to write. I fear that it might soon be gone altogether. But I refuse to give up yet, I must get Shukufuku to safety before my soul departs this world. I believe I know somewhere that she will be safe, with good people to raise her.

This place has been an acceptable dwelling to hide from the demon that wishes for my death, but there are no other people living close by. However I am consoled by the fact that I can still sense the battle between Hachibi and Kyuubi raging on, as it has for the last six months.

The very essence of the earth trembles with each blow that those two titan's trade. But I know that the battle cannot last forever. And when if ends, he will come after me again.

The demon king does not forget a grievance. But even if he comes, I need not fear for my dear Shuku, the great Kyuubi would never harm a child, it is beneath his honor.

Kakashi blinked at the page before him, the scourge of Konoha had honor? But what really caught his attention was that Hitomi wrote of the Kitsune like she knew him personally.

The Copy-nin had the urge to pinch himself to see if he was actually awake, and not having some bazaar dream. If he tried to tell anyone about what he had just read, they would lock him in a paddled cell.

Shaking his head at the thought, then deciding that he had to know what else this mysterious Hitomi had to say, he turned his attention back to the book.

~ Because my time may be short, I have decided to leave the rest of the history lesson for a later time.

I must focus now on explaining what the power, know called 'White Chakra' is, what it does and can do, as well as how it is awakened in a person.

While in the beginning a child was said to be able to use this gift almost immediately. It is no longer that easy. Not the white power lays dormant within, and can only be released for use after the person it resides in had been through severe mental, emotional and physical trauma. Or had a near death experience.

Kakashi grimaced at the reminder of what it took to be able to use white chakra, he now clearly remembered his own initiation.

~ Although it takes such extremes to release the power, once it has been done, and the white chakra has fully been accepted by the body. All memories of the experience and events linked to it will be erased.

These memories will occasionally resurface at a later date, but by the blessing of the white gift, these memories will hold no pain.

The Copy-nin found himself shaking his head, it was true, he did remember the initiation as clearly as the day it happened. And yet he felt so detached when he replayed it in his mind.

And people wondered how he had risen through the Konoha ranks so quickly as a child. There had been nothing holding him back, nothing emotional anyway.

Determined not to dwell on his childhood anymore, he turned back to reading.

~ In the same token, any physical injuries will be healed, the entire system purged of any taint. White Chakra is in essence a living entity, it will not tolerate any kind of unwanted, or foreign matter in the body.

For instance, poisons are virtually useless against one with an awakened gift. White Chakra is also very protective of its wielder, and any close relations. In times of danger, it can even lash out on its own against any assailant with evil intentions.

This means both human and demon alike. Although it should be noted that humans can be harder to read without training, a human with ill intent could begin their assault before the power will react.

While demons wear their intent in their very aura's, meaning that they will not get the chance to launch a physical attack before they themselves are injured or purified completely.

Perhaps it is because of the awakening process that the power is now mostly brought out in females, and not their male relatives. Women tend to be more sensitive, and therefore more susceptible to emotional and mental trauma.

The loss of a child or loved one is the most common occurrence that brings out the power, sometimes even without any physical injury being needed. Hence the reason males are more usually awoken after a near death experience. Perhaps this is due to the different roles in daily life between the two sexes, but that is only my own personal theory.

It should also be noted that no mere injury will unleash white chakra, the damage must be life threatening before it will react. I believe that this happens because the power reacts more readily to emotion then it does to physical pain.

For instance when wielding this power, emotions are the key to controlling or unleashing it.

But yet again I digress, I must write my thoughts out in order. As I noted before, the awakening endows its wielder with several attributes. The ability to self heal quickly, and with training, heal others as well. Being the most prominent of these gifts.

White Chakra also acts as personal protection, even without training, it will lash out and attack any threat. These two abilities are guaranteed in anyone with the gift. However, there are occasionally individuals that develop additional abilities.

I myself can occasionally see through the veil between the living and the dead, and speak to the spirits of those that have passed from this life.

Kakashi once again found himself rereading the last paragraph. See spirits of the dead?

The book in his hands was either the holder of some of the greatest secrets in history, or the Hitomi who wrote it had one of the most overly active imaginations of all time.

Snapping the book closed, he dropped it on the mattress beside him and simply stared at the leather binding. It was crazy he decided.

The origin of demons, a power that gave the ability to speak to the dead. The very idea was insane.

Feeling frustrated that his find had turned out to be a bunch of nonsense, the Copy-nin growled several choice words as he swung his feet off the bed and stood. After several moments of agitated pacing, he glance at the small clock sitting on his night stand.

The tiny hands indicated that it was 3:15 AM. Pulling down his mask he scrubbed his hands over his face, knowing that he should try to get some sleep. However, the prospect of closing his eyes was not a pleasant one.

Stripping off his Hatie-ate, which was followed closely by his mask, he dumped both articles on his night stand before making a sharp turn on his heel and heading in the direction of his small kitchen.

"Stupid waste of time." He grumbled as he flipped on the kitchen light.

Opening his fridge he didn't see anything he wanted to eat, not that there was much to choose from. He hadn't been bothered to buy many groceries over the last week, why bother when he could be dead at any time.

Making a face he realized how morbid his thoughts had gotten over the last few days. Not that he had ever been the most optimistic person in the world to begin with. But still, the whole situation he was in had him feeling a lot less positive about anything.

After rummaging through his cupboard and not finding anything that he was interested in eating, he contented himself with a glass of water before heading back to his room. He knew that he should at least try to sleep, even if he was fairly certain that he would be plagued by nightmares.

Once back in his room, he found his gaze drawn to the small brown manuscript resting on top of his rumpled blankets. The disappointment he felt was almost tangible as he pulled his long sleeved shirt over his head. Balling up the navy colored fabric before he tossed it in the direction of his overflowing laundry hamper.

As he continued to undress, he found his gaze constantly being drawn back to the old book. As if it was some kind of magnet for his eyes.

Stepping into a pair of pajama pants he found himself wondering what else Hitomi had written in that ancient book. Yes, he was pretty certain that everything written in it was a bunch of bullshit. Well not everything, she was accurate on a number of things.

Yet despite his doubts to its validity, he still felt like reading more. Crawling into bed, he stared at the little book for a few indecisive moments before picking it up and finding the page he had been on.

What could it hurt to read more? Maybe if he was really lucky it would bore him to sleep.

~ I myself can occasionally see through the veil between the living and the dead, and speak to the spirits of those that have passed from this life.

My mother told me of several other attributes that occasionally arise. They are, Telepathy, the ability to communicate without spoken words with others. This is the most common extra ability, many wielders have it to some extent, although most are limited to communicating with only their soulmate.

It takes great strength to contact others, as there is no spiritual link like with that of a life mate.

The gift of the Seer; the ability to catch glimpses of the future, but more often the past. This ability can be used to ascertain the truth in a dispute, as a trained Seer can look into a person and see that individuals past deeds.

It is also said that some individuals gain the ability to channel the white chakra to form weapons. My whole life I was warned not to develop such an ability, as it seems to change the wielder a little each time it is used to shed blood.

My Mother witnessed such a happening, and told how over time, the white power became tainted with death. And as such, should its wielder come into contact with a wielder of pure power. The pure chakra will lash out and purify the darkness from the other.

This purification almost always results in the death of the person housing the tainted power, as the body is too reliant on the white chakra to live without it. ~

Kakashi shook his head, there it was in black and white. The tainted would be purified, and even though he had only used white chakra in a few desperate instances, he had used it to kill. And considering how much the rest of his family had used it as a weapon, it was no wonder that they had brought a curse down upon the clan.

He found it rather interesting that after he had decided that he was reading a work of fiction, he had found exactly what he had been looking for.

So maybe he had jumped to conclusions, although there was so far no mention of a pure source having the urge to track down the tainted one just to eliminate it. So maybe, just maybe if he could avoid getting close to whomever it was that carried the white chakra, and therefore avoid getting himself killed.

It wasn't much, there were a lot of complications to that theory. Especially since he had no idea who the other wielder was, but at least it was more then he had had before finding the book. Knowing that it wouldn't be that simple of a task. He decided to worry about it in the morning, and turned his attention back to the book in his hands.

The place where he had left off ended with a partly blank page. Carefully turning to next piece of delicate parchment his eyebrows went up as he read the first line.

~ Be forewarned, one who houses the white power has little choice in who their lifemate will be. Although those who's power has not been awakened can choose to ignore the choice, the awakened cannot.

A soulmate can be found in the most unlikely of places, at the oddest of times. Sometimes it may be someone the wielder is already acquainted with. Usually that scenario happens in the case of people who have grown up knowing each other.

While the more powerful wielders will know from a young age, the majority do not sense it until they reach adulthood. The first indication can be anything from a strong pull or almost instant attraction that is impossible to resist. To a vision, even for those who are not Seer's

It should be noted that a wielder of white chakra is most often connected to another wielder. Or another being of great power. It is not uncommon for a wielder to be attracted to a demon, as the two powers used to work in harmony with each other and thus are quite compatible. As long as the demon has not turned to the darkness, if this is the case, the two will destroy each other, for darkness and light cannot blend harmoniously.

Once a lifemate is found. The awakened wielders chakra will from a bond at the first touch, transferring the attraction to its chosen partner. This bond can keep them connected over very long distances, and it is not uncommon for lifemates to be able to communicate over great distances as well.

The bond will be solidified completely the first time the couple has intimate relations. Once this has been done, only death can break it. Although quite often if the lifemate that perishes first is not the wielder, the wielder will die as well.

There are some cases where the wielder will survive, usually because there are children in need of care. But it takes a strong determination to resist the pull of death, for the soul is permanently broken once the life bond is severed.

Kakashi couldn't help but grimace at the bleak picture painted by the delicate handwriting before him. He shifted uncomfortably as he realized that he wasn't sure if he had come in contact with his intended or not.

He had been sexually attracted to various people over the years, well sort of, enough to engage in the occasional fling. But none of those encounters could be classed in the 'irresistible' category. In fact most he couldn't even remember the name of his partner. He had never felt the urge for more then one night stands, never once going back for seconds.

So if this writing was accurate, did it mean that he had yet to meet his soulmate? Not that he was entirely sure if he believed in the concept. But the idea did have merit, he was the first person to admit that he had trust issues.

Of course he had always downplayed it because he never intended to get seriously involved with someone. Not wanting to risk passing his curse on to anyone else. And that had been one of the reasons he had always restricted himself to one night stands. At least that's what he had always told himself. But suddenly he realized that the truth was he had never been interested enough to go back.

Odd that he hadn't realized that before.

Stifling a yawn he decided to add the topic to his 'think about later' list and continue reading.

~ A note of warning, those who carry the power within them are extremely fertile. To my knowledge there are no know contraceptives that work on those of us with the gift.

Kakashi felt a chill run through his soul as his eyes widened. He had to remind himself that this book had been written nearly two hundred years ago in order to keep himself from panicking. Seeing as he had been far from celibate throughout his life, but surely by now a contraceptive had been created that would work. If not, he could be in very big trouble.

Thankfully a glance at the next sentence calmed him before he got too worked up over this latest information.

~ However, this is only true for those whose power has not been awakened. A wielder can only conceive with their lifemate.

Kakashi sagged with relief, her was safe. Providing of course that Hitomi hadn't gotten it backwards. Although it stood to reason she was right, since he had never been informed of any little Hatakies running around.

It then dawned on the jonin then that he seemed to be jumping back and forth between believing what he was reading, and thinking that it was all a well made up story. And he was relieved that no one would ever know of this incident but him.

He found that he was now leaning quite strongly back in the direction of believing what he was reading.

~ Because of this phenomenon, those who have not yet awakened should be careful to choose the lifemate they are linked too. For in the event that their powers are awakened after the union, conception of children will not be possible if the partner was not the true intended.

Again the writing ended midway down the page. Unable to stifle another yawn, Kakashi glanced at his clock. And was startled to find that it was nearly four in the morning.

Even if he was off duty, he knew that he would not have the luxury of sleeping in for long. If he didn't meet Iruka and Temari for lunch, the chunnin might start to suspect that something was wrong.

And the last thing Kakashi needed was the nosey teacher dogging his every step. There was still someone out there who could kill him with a touch, whether or not they were actually in Konoha hunting him was now another question entirely. But until he knew the answer, he knew he had to keep Iruka happy.

Closing the book, he rewrapped it in it's cloth and reached down to shove it as far under his bed as he could. He didn't feel the need to hide it any better, since he planned on reading the rest of it as soon as possible.

Satisfied that it at least wouldn't be seen by a certain scar faced man, who was incapable of minding his own business. Kakashi got up to turn off the light.

What he had already read gave him a lot to think about, and it was difficult to say if he would get any sleep. But he could try.

---

Tsunade double checked to be sure that she had the right scrolls before handing the three rolled parchments to the white eyed jonin standing on the other side of her desk.

It was first thing in the morning, so it never hurt to be careful. The last thing she needed was to send a scroll to the wrong place. With all the craziness going on with the Genin/Chunnin disaster, she wasn't getting much sleep.

"All three of these scrolls go straight to either Gaara, or Kankuro, if the Kazekage has not been located yet." The Godaime instructed Neji as the young man placed the scrolls inside his vest.

He nodded silently in response.

Leaning back so that she could see the five ninja standing behind him, she spoke to them as a group. "Keep a sharp eye out for anything suspicious, and if by some chance you encounter the Kazekage on the way. Inform him that his sister is safe in Konoha and is being well cared for."

The mixture of jonin and chunin nodded their understanding.

Turning back to Neji, Tsunade added. "Let Sunagakure know that we will send more help as soon as we get the incident here figured out."

All six ninja bowed and headed for the door. However, after a couple steps the Hyuuga stopped and turned back. Tsunade raised a questioning brow at him.

"Has there been any word Hokage-Sama?" His voice was quiet, emotionless. But his rather vague question told the Godaime just what he was referring too.

"I'm sorry Neji, there hasn't been any new reports." The mission he was asking about was top secret. The only reason he knew anything about it was because his wife was leading the team.

Tsunade could tell by the slight frown that appeared on his face that he was worried. And it was so seldom that the ostracized Hyuga showed any emotion in her presence, other then anger, she felt compelled to try to ease his fears.

"I'm sure she's fine Neji, it's a good team."

He only nodded curtly and disappeared out the door after his team. The barrier closed with a quiet click, making the blond Hokage sigh.

Sometimes she really hated her job. Too often loved ones were lost with no explanation, sometimes due to mission secrecy, but also from lack of information, when an entire team was wiped out.

Shaking off her funk, Tsunade turned her attention to the roster spread out in front of her. She had to be careful not to spread her resources too thinly. Especially since Naruto wasn't present to take up the slack should anything happen.

Although it was starting to look like the incident at the training grounds might in fact have been a fight between her own people. There was still the possibility that outside forces were involved.

Especially after what had happened to Temari, the Hokage wasn't taking any chances. Hence the reason Uchiha Sasuke had not been sent to Suna. With Naruto out of town, the Sharingan user was the next best shinobi she had for handling a large number of opponents.

Sighing again as she scanned the list a second time.

Hinata had two teams of medic's trying to contain an epidemic in another village. Neji had just taken another two teams of ninja with him to aid their allies in Suna.

Ten Ten had a twelve man squad undercover, including Choji, Genma and Anko. And a number of their best elites where out scouring the country side looking for any sign of the group that had attacked Temari.

All in all, her active duty roster was starting to look a little on the thin side. Which meant that she might be forced to recall the few that were on leave. With the exception of course of the few kunoichi that were off on maternity leave.

Tsunade couldn't help but wish that Uchiha Uta wasn't seven months along. The light bender had excellent defensive capabilities.

Scrubbing her hands down her face, she tried not to give into frustration. Nothing overly big, other then the training grounds incident had happened thus far. But the Hokage had the distinct feeling that she was sitting on an explosive tag that was ready to blow at any moment.

And she didn't like it, hopefully Naruto would be back soon. Despite his rather sporadic behavior of late, the boy's mere presence seemed to inspire confidence, no matter the situation.

Glancing down the list of her off duty personal, she found her eyes lingering on the last name on it. Hatake Kakashi.

She was taken by surprise when her stomach erupted into butterflies at just the thought of the silver haired jonin. Groaning she leaned forward to thunk her forehead on the desk top. Why oh why, after all these years was she suddenly attracted to the man?

It wasn't like they spent any more time together then she did with any other shinobi. So why the sudden fascination? It couldn't be because of the day she had healed him, could it?

She shook her head, she was a medic for crying out loud, working on half naked or even fully naked good looking Shinobi came with the territory. She had been doing for years, hell she had even healed him one other time. When she had first returned to take to position of Hokage, of course then there had not been the slightest bit of bare skin involved.

So why now? What was so significant about that particular man?

To be sure he had an amazing body, most Shinobi did, they were all well honed weapons, ready to use their strength and skill at any moment. And she was quite sure that somewhere in her travels she had met a man more handsome then Kakashi. It was just the fact that his face was always hidden that made it a novelty to see.

A small voice in the back of her head called her a liar, and Tsunade did her best to squash it before it became too loud. Her sudden attraction to the man made absolutely no sense to her what so ever. After thinking about it a bit more, she finally concluded that the whole thing was nothing more then a crush that her lonely side had subconsciously developed because he was one of the few men that she knew without a doubt was out of her reach.

That made him safe, even if his flirting had driven her beyond distraction. He was far too young for her.

Happy with her reasoning. Tsunade was fairly certain that during the next meeting with the
Copy-nin she would be able to remain her usual calm, professional self.

The voice in the back of her head shouted its disagreement and she grimly pounced on it and locked it away.

Professional and detached, she could do that.

---

While getting dressed to go out for lunch, Temari thought back to the conversation she had had with Naruto during the night. Although it had been a dream, well a mixture of a dream and memories anyway. She had been wondering if her subconscious mind was trying to tell her something. Other then she was starting to get too attached to her savior.

In the middle of strapping her new weapons pouch to her left thigh, the Suna kunoichi had an epiphany.

Naruto was lonely.

Sure he had admitted it during one conversation, but the true meaning of his words hadn't really registered until now. She wasn't sure why it suddenly jumped out at her now, but it did.

Perhaps it was the image she held of their late night conversation when he had revealed that he was not in fact the father of her child. The emotions on his face told her that he was more then just a little lonely like he had previously mentioned.

He was drowning in isolation. The brief glimpse of longing in his eyes that she had seen had said it all, it had nothing to do with her or the child she carried, despite what a small voice inside of her wanted her to believe.

How could it? She was a mess, even though she still couldn't remember the particulars of her capture, or even what her captors had looked like. But she knew basically what had happened to her. And it was obvious that she would never know the identity of the man who had sired her child.

Naruto had made it quite clear that he planned on tracking down the bastards and kill them, and she wasn't about to ask him to take a DNA sample while he was at it. She was quite happy with the way things were now.

The way she chose to look at it was that the lose of her memories only made it easier to love the child that she carried inside of her. It was hers and only hers.

Although she would have been a lot happier if it had in fact turned out to be Naruto's. Even if the thought of what that would entail made her blush terribly every time she thought of it. And she was thankful that she was alone with just her thoughts.

Taking a deep breath she refocused her mind on the matter at hand. Through all of this inner reflection and analysis she had somehow come to the conclusion that Naruto needed someone in his life. His own family, just like Uchiha Uta had mentioned during their visit.

Satisfied that her weapons pouch would stay firmly in place, Temari reached for the sling for her new fan and slipped it over her head.

She knew that Naruto was still mourning the loss of his son. But surely if he could find a woman who truly loved him, he would be better able to heal and move on. With a resigned sigh that it couldn't be her, she put the finishing touches on the harness crossing her body.

Despite some of the comments the big blond had made during her stay. She was fairly sure that he was not as ill liked as he seemed to think. So she didn't think that it was such an impossibility that he could find someone to be with.

Ready to go, Temari grabbed her fan and swung it effortlessly into its sheath. Despite the fact that she was still using the crutches due to her injured leg, she was not leaving her new weapon behind. As she reached for her walking aids, she tried to figure out how exactly she was going to find a match for Naruto.

Match making was not something that she had ever indulged in before. And she had a feeling that Naruto would be more of a problem in the whole endeavor then any woman was going to be, he struck her as the type to be very stubborn.

The kunoichi tried not to sigh as she headed out the apartment door. If only she was spending all this time with the Konoha shinobi for other reasons. He was someone that she knew she could develop feelings for if she wasn't in her current situation.

His words from the night before echoed in her mind ~ 'I was thinking that it's too bad that we didn't get a chance to get to know each other like this when we were younger and unattached. I think that back before all the shit that happened in my life to mess it up more then it was when I was a kid, we might have become more then friends.' ~

Temari did sigh then, she just couldn't help it, in her heart she echoed those sentiments exactly. But Naruto didn't deserve a woman with as much baggage as she now had. He needed someone who could make him laugh, and could show him that he was worth the effort a serious relationship took.

A smile curved Temari's lips as she navigated the first flight of stairs. There was no doubt in her mind that Naruto would make an exceptional husband and father. Surely there was someone in Konoha who was interested in a life with him.

Deciding that the idea had merit, the Suna-nin began formulating a plan. First to subtly ascertain from others around her if they knew of a woman who might have her eye on the sunny blond. Other then a member of the Kyuubi fan club of course.

The second order of business would be to then check the woman out herself, before asking for aid from Uta, and maybe even Hinata.

Temari had to stifle a slightly evil chuckle as she finally gained the street and headed for the café where she was meeting Iruka for lunch. Yes, she would thoroughly investigate any female who had potential before trying to set them up with Naruto. He meant too much to her to allow him to be hurt again.

So any female that looked promising was going to have no secrets from the Suna kunoichi by the time she was introduced to Naruto.

"You look extremely cheerful today." Temari was brought out her thoughts by Ino's voice.

"You're back quickly.' She returned. Eyeing the other blond who was once again in her black ANBU outfit, with her twin swords strapped to her back.

Ino took the comment in stride as she fell into step with Temari's stilted gate. "I'm a lot faster then I used to be." She confided, "Besides, I'm assigned a little closer to home right now."

Temari nodded her understanding as she concentrated on keeping up a smooth rhythm with her crutches. The incident at the training grounds had been the main topic of conversation since she herself had left the hospital.

"So where are you headed?" Ino inquired.

"I'm having lunch with Umino Iruka, would you like to join us?" Temari very much hoped that the other kunoichi accepted. There was little doubt that Kakashi would show up again to join her and the teacher. And if Temari had someone to put between herself and the silver haired jonin, then maybe she would have less of an urge to kill him.

Ino shrugged. "Sure why not, I should probably grab a bite myself."

They walked in silence for a bit, until Ino turned to Regard closely. "I've been meaning to ask you when you started using a color jutsu on your eyes."

Temari shot her companion a funny look. "I don't' use anything like that." She informed Ino, even as she wondered where that weird question had come from.

Ino in turn looked surprised. "Oh, I was sure that your eyes were green."

Temari started to wonder if her friend was going color blind. "My eyes are green."

Ino suddenly moved to stand in Temari's path, forcing the Sand-nin to halt. The black clad blond was frowning as she peered closely at Temari's face.

"No they're not, there a silver-grey color."She announced after a moment.

It was the fan user's turn to frown then. Not that her eye color was something she checked on a regular basis, in fact she rarely used a mirror. "They are?"

Ino nodded.

Unsure what to think about this development. Temari decided to brush it off for the time being. "That's strange, I didn't know that eyes could change color like that." She was still not going to rule out the possibility that Ino was color blind until she went home and checked her eye color herself.

"I didn't think that they did either." Ino replied as she moved back to her previous place on Temari's right.

Both women once again fell silent as they resumed walking, each entertaining their own thoughts.

As it turned out, both Iruka and Kakashi were already at the café. Temari suppressed a scowl as the urge to maim the silver haired man surged forward inside of her. Resolutely she shoved the urge down as they drew closer.

She was thankful that he was sitting to Iruka's right, which gave her a little breathing room as she immediately claimed the stool on the teachers left. The table the two men had chosen was one of the larger ones available, another plus as greetings were exchanged while Temari and Ino seated themselves.

The sand kunoichi was very careful to tuck her feet under her seat, she didn't want to chance any accidental contact with the man across from her. There were a few comments on the cloudy weather while all four of them scanned the menu's.

While Temari waited for her companions to decide on what they wanted to eat. She tried to decide why it was that she always has such a strong reaction to Kakashi. After her discussion with Naruto and being reminded of what had happened to her during her capture. And even though she still didn't remember the details of that time. She now understood why she wouldn't be comfortable around men in general.

But that didn't explain why she was perfectly comfortable around Iruka and Master Buki, who always hugged her when she went to visit. And yet the slightest glance from the Copy-nin made her feel very……. She wasn't sure if defensive was the right term or not. But it definitely made her feel ill at ease in his presence.

If she didn't know him and his reputation better, she would have suspected that perhaps he was one of the men who had taken her captive. But she knew that was ridiculous and didn't give that scenario a second thought.

The waitress arrived, interrupting Temari's thoughts as everyone gave their orders she redirected her thoughts to her plan for Naruto. She knew that she was probably sitting with some of the best people to tell her of any possible candidates that would fit her criteria.

As they were once again left alone, she tried to come up with a subtle way to broach the subject. Which she was having a little trouble doing, Temari had just never been a very subtle person.

When Iruka questioned if she thought that she was going to be healed enough to start training again soon, the kunoichi found her opening. After explaining what happened to Ino, and assuring everyone that she was fine. Temari turned her attention to the man on her right.

"Iruka, can I ask you something about the day that you were sparing with Naruto?"

"Sure, what did you want to know?" The teacher gave her a small smile, and she was once again reminded of how much he resembled the focus of her conversation.

"Well Naruto has alluded to the fact that he still has a lot of enemies in Konoha, or at least that he is not very well liked." She paused when she saw the puzzled look on both Iruka and Ino's faces, while Kakashi just nodded his head in agreement.

'What a strange mixture of reactions.' She mused to herself before continuing with the point of her question.

"Yet when you and Naruto were sparing, it seemed to draw a very large crowd. And from the conversations I heard. He is very highly thought of. So my question is, just how many people in Konoha don't like Naruto?"

'Okay, so that was still a little blunt.' She mentally chastened herself.

"Not many." "A lot." Iruka and Kakashi answered at the same time. Which caused Ino to chuckle, and Temari to look puzzled as the two men exchanged glares.

"He is very well liked, there are very few who hold onto the old hatred for the Kyuubi." Iruka stated.

"Quite burying your head in the sand." Kakashi snapped as the teachers comment seemed to be more pointed at him then at Temari. "You only see what you want to see. The general populace hasn't changed their minds about him, they are only quieter in voicing their opinion."

Temari immediately realized that she had hit on a sore subject with the two men. But she still wanted to know the answer to her question, but she wasn't sure what to say next.

Iruka snorted. "Kakashi, you have your nose buried so deep in those stupid books of yours that you haven't noticed that a lot has changed over the last couple of years."

Since both men then got into a glaring contest, Temari turned her attention to Ino. "Since they're a little busy right now, what's your opinion?"

Ino was chuckling at the two men, but she sobered enough to give Temari her full attention. "Well I haven't really thought a lot about it before." She mused, turning thoughtful. "But I would tend to agree more with Iruka. There are still a few that just can't let go of the past. But for the most part he has won the majority of the village over to his side."

Temari nodded. "That was the impression I was getting that day at the training grounds. But then again from some of the comments he's made since I've been here, along with a hostile encounter or two I wasn't sure if I was seeing things or not."

"Let me guess." Ino's voice turned hard. "You've had more run ins with 'The Fan Club'." She made quote marks in the air as she spoke.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Well yah there are those bitches. I could cheerfully cut up that red head and feed her to the crows."

Ino got an evil smirk on her lips. "If you decide to go for it, give me a call, I'd love to help with that."

Temari smirked back before returning to her explanation. "But there was also that black ops guy who was falsifying reports about Naruto just before he left."

That got both men's attention. "What?" Their outburst was in perfect unison. Then Kakashi paused. "Oh wait, I heard about that."

Temari couldn't help but wonder at the way the two of them always seemed to speak at the same time. She had also noticed that they tended to finish each other's sentences as well. Pushing the thought aside for later, the Suna kunoichi refocused on her companions and interrupted Iruka's yelling at the Copy-nin for not telling him about this sooner.

Since the teacher was getting rather loud, and was drawing attention, which the fan wielder didn't like. Temari started explaining what had happened, and how there had been an investigation into the allegations by the Hokage and the ANBU Captain.

"Do you know the guy's name?" Ino asked when Temari had finished recounting the incident. The Sand Kunoichi immediately noticed the hard glint in her fellow blond's eyes as she shook her head.

"No they didn't say. And Naruto was so upset that night when he got home, I didn't want to bring it up again." Temari felt that she had covered herself quite well, considering that her blond savior had been upset for an entirely different reason that night.

"Oh right.' Kakashi snapped his fingers. 'I remember Tsunade mentioning something about that, but I never heard the particulars of the incident. What day was that again?" He questioned, his one eye betraying his interest.

Temari had to think about it a bit, since her days were still messed up thanks to her memory issues. "I think if was about two weeks ago. It was just before he was sent on his mission."

Drumming her fingers thoughtfully on the table top, the kunoichi shrugged. "At least I think its been two weeks. I've been having trouble keeping track of time lately." She admitted to her companions.

Kakashi nodded as he turned to Iruka. "That was probably the day before he went nuts in the training field."

"I don't blame him." Iruka murmured, his face troubled.

Temari's curiosity was peaked. "What do you mean he went nuts in the training field? When was that?"

She certainly didn't remember Naruto mentioning anything about something like that happening. But then again, the accusation had happened right in the middle of her trying come to grips with her pregnancy, and deciding what to do about it. So she knew that she probably hadn't been the most observant person in the world for those few days.

Absently she brought one hand up under the table and rubbed her lower belly. She didn't feel any of the emotions that had run through her at that time. There wasn't a single hint of anxiety, or worry in her at all now when she thought of becoming a mother in a few short months. She remembered going through all those emotions, and more. But they were just no longer there.

Kakashi cleared his throat, making Temari realize that she had been letting her thoughts wander again.

"I'd have to find out for sure, but I would bet that it was the day after. First thing in the morning we were sparing. And Naruto was not his usual self. I don't think I have seen him that angry in a very long time." Kakashi informed the table at large. "He was completely out of control. It wasn't until he shattered my arm that he seemed to snap out of it."

Temari frowned, remembering something. "That was in the morning?" It was clear to her that Kakashi had planned on continuing his tale before she had interrupted him. But she really didn't care.

The Copy-nin nodded. "He was already at the training grounds when I got there."

"Wrong day then." Temari informed him. "Naruto didn't go to train that morning. In fact he didn't go to work until around noon."

The other three occupants of the table all gave her a rather startled look. But it was Ino that voiced the question they were all thinking.

"And you know this because?"

Temari chuckled. "I am staying in the man's house Ino. We slept in." Her voice trailed off as she remembered the reason for their late night. Then because she didn't like the speculation in her companions eyes she elaborated slightly. "He has nightmares you know. We stayed up most of the night talking after he had one."

She noticed that the speculation didn't leave Ino's blue eyes as she continued. "He made breakfast and said that he didn't have to be in the office until later in the day."

Temari had a feeling that this topic could go on forever as Kakashi thoughtfully rubbed his chin. But luckily for the wind user, their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their drinks and the appetizers that she and Ino had ordered.

Then once their waitress had left Temari wanted to turn the subject back to her original line of questioning. So she quickly voiced the next one on her list before either of the men, mainly Kakashi, could return to the previous topic.

"So if Naruto is pretty much well liked. Why do you think he's still single?" She really didn't like the smirk that Ino gave her. She knew she was being blunt, but she didn't want to beat around the bush over this issue.

Iruka sighed, and Kakashi shook his head as they both spoke one word at the same time. "Jewel."

Temari saw red at the mere mention of the woman Naruto had told her about. She still wanted to kill the heartless bitch. But instead of showing any of her hostility towards the woman. She pretended ignorance. "Who is Jewel?"

"A bitch." Ino answered before Iruka added.

"She was Naruto's last girlfriend."

Kakashi supplied. "Disappeared while he was away on a mission."

Temari frowned. Of course she knew this. But she wanted to see if there was any more information that Naruto might have over looked. Or possibly forgotten in his drive to find his son.

"Was she kidnapped or something?" She questioned.

Ino shook her head. "No, according to Sakura she turned in her commission one day. No one thought anything of it since it was common knowledge that she and Naruto were getting pretty serious. Although only God knows what he saw in her." The last part was grumbled out by the blond ANBU.

"No one realized that she was gone until Naruto came home and asked when she had been assigned a mission."

Temari frowned. That had not been in Naruto's little narrative, and she filed it away just in case it became useful later. "You mean she left without anyone noticing? How is that even possible?"

Kakashi and Iruka both shrugged. Making it obvious to Temari that the girls disappearance was no longer much of a mystery too them.

"Market days can get pretty crazy around the gates with all the merchants coming and going. And Jewel was a chunnin, so if she really wanted to get out without being noticed it could be done. Ninja are always coming and going on missions so there isn't any reason to stop them when they leave the village." Iruka informed Temari.

"There was a bit of an investigation of course." Kakashi added. "Naruto was so worried that Tsunade saw to it right away. But it turned out the girl had told her roommates that she had broken up with Naruto and couldn't stand to be in the same village as him, so she left to go find some distant relatives."

"I remember that, Naruto was really upset when no relatives were found. And neither was Jewel." As Ino spoke, the hand sporting her chop sticks was waved slightly to help get her point across. "But since the all the roommates claim she packed up and left on her own. The investigation was quickly wrapped up."

Temari nearly growled in anger, but she managed to keep it under control by remembering that she was only getting upset because she knew Naruto's side of the story. "And it was closed just like that?"

Iruka shrugged again, a casual movement that was starting to get Temari mad. "She resigned. So she wasn't a missing nin. And since there were witnesses who said she left on her own, there was nothing more that could be done. Although I think Naruto might have kept looking for her for a while longer."

Temari shook her head in disbelief that these people that were so close to Naruto could be so easily fooled by him. She wanted to yell that he was still trying to find Jewel. But she managed to restrain herself enough to collect her thoughts and try to lead the conversation back to her mission.

"So it was a bad break up. That might explain why he hasn't had anything serious since." She managed to speak in a cool, calm voice. Even though she noticed that Kakashi was giving her a funny look.

"I hate to say it. But that's what he gets for letting a Fan Girl into his life." Ino said sadly as she helped herself to a mushroom off of Temari's plate.

"Jewel was one of them?" Temari couldn't hide her surprise at that revelation.

Ino nodded as she chewed. "One of the big leaders of the time in fact."

The wind user did growl then. Causing both men to give her looks that were reminiscent of how people used to look at Gaara when he wasn't happy. But Temari ignored them. She was suddenly getting a very bad feeling about this situation. And she decided that she needed to find out more about Jewel.

But not from these three. If she kept asking questions they might want to know why she was being so nosey, and she couldn't chance slipping up and telling them why Naruto was still so hung up on the woman.

Temari noticed the Ino was smirking at her as she brought her emotions back under control. And carefully chose her next words. "Well, bad breakup or not. I'm surprised that some girl hasn't decided to grab the boy and made him change his mind about relationships."

Ino snorted then. "They wouldn't dare."

Both Temari and Iruka gave her a questioning frown. But it was Kakashi that spoke next. "Because of who Naruto is, after Jewel disappeared there were whispers that he had gotten rid of her."

"WHAT!" Temari slammed both fists onto the table top, causing all the contents, as well as her companions to jump.

She didn't even care about the attention she was drawing as she glared across the surface at the masked jonin. "Who in their right mind would ever think such a thing? Naruto would never, ever harm someone like that!"

The Copy-nin raised both hand in surrender as he leaned back in his chair. "Hey, no one who really knows him believed it for a second." He soothed, trying to get the dangerous blond to relax and calm down. "But there are some people, mostly civilians, who don't know him at all. I'm just saying that it happened, and that's the reason that there are almost no women in the village who will look at him twice as a partner."

Temari couldn't believe what she was hearing. Even as she heard Iruka deny that the rumor was even a factor in Naruto's lack of a love life.

So not only had Naruto been beside himself with worry over the safety of his son. But he had had to put up with the speculation and whispers of those around him who at least wondered if the rumor was true.

She almost wanted to start crying. And was afraid that she just might when Ino started chuckling.

All attention was on the other blond as she shook her head at Kakashi. "Leave it to men to be so dense about something like that. And you call yourselves ninja."

The Suna Kunoichi resisted the urge to wipe her eyes as she gave Ino her full attention. "What does that mean?"

"It means that that stupid rumor has nothing to do with the reason women around here don't cling to him as he's walking down the street." The blue eyed blond informed them.

"Then what is the reason?" Kakashi's voice was loaded with sarcasm as he voice the question beating Temari to it.

Just then, the waitress returned with their lunch orders and quietly set a plate before each of them.

"Allow me to demonstrate." Ino smirked at Kakashi before she turned to their server.

"Would you mind if I asked you a question?"

The young woman looked a little surprised at being addressed. But she quickly nodded her head. "Of course, what can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering if you know who Uzumaki Naruto is?" Ino asked, her voice light and curious.

Temari was rather surprised when the waitress suddenly looked a little flushed. "O…oh, yes, yes of course, everyone knows who Uzumaki-sama is."

Ino cast Temari an amused look as she continued. "My friend here is from Suna, and I was just telling her about him. Would you agree that he is rather handsome?"

"Oh my yes! He is very, very handsome." The girl gushed as her cheeks turned even rosier then they were before. "He is probably the best looking man in all of Konoha."

Temari found herself suddenly having the urge to attack the blushing girl and scratching her eyes out. Something that had never happened to her in her life. And the very thought made her once again question her sanity. But she was distracted from the sudden flow of new negative emotions by Ino's next question.

"So if he were to ask you out, would you accept?"

If Temari thought the girl was flustered before. She seemed almost beside her self now. She stammered and nodded vigorously. "Yes!...... Oh that would be so…… Oh my, a dream….. wow!.... I mean wow.. that would be….."

Then just as suddenly as she started she suddenly froze and paled. "But of course I would never accept you understand?" Her voice was quite adamant as her eyes darted to the other people sitting at the café. "It would be wonderful to receive such an honor. But I really wouldn't." She seemed to be really earnest about getting Ino to believe her.

Temari was about to ask her why she wouldn't go out with Naruto when the girl suddenly bent down so she was closer to Ino's ear. "I….. I know the rules. You should make sure your friend knows them too." She cast Temari a frightened look.

"Yes I will make sure she knows about them. But thank you for your time." Ino answered smoothly.

And with a quick nod and not another word, the girl hurried away. Leaving everyone but Ino confused and looking at the mind manipulator for answers.

"Rules?" Iruka asked, he sounded like wasn't sure if he should laugh or be horrified.

Temari agreed with him, but decided to wait until she heard the explanation before she chose one or the other of those emotions.

Kakashi was shaking his head. "Don't tell me its like when you and Sakura were part of the Uchiha fan club."

Ino turned serious then. "I only wish that it was that light hearted and innocent." She took a deep breath and looked directly at Temari as she explained. "The truth is. The Kyuubi fan club has made it known that anyone who gets involved with Naruto, who isn't part of the club, will be punished."

Suddenly her run-ins with the red head and her cronies made perfect sense to Temari. "Your telling me that they have threatened and intimidated all the single females in Konoha? All in order to try to keep him to themselves?"

"How come I have never heard anything about this?" Iruka added, he looked genuinely upset now.

Ino shrugged. "You haven't heard anything about it Iruka simply because you're male. That is one of the rules. The other is that the rest of Naruto's female friends, all of whom with the exception of myself and the Hokage, happen to be married. Never find out either. And their threats are very real." She assured them.

"If its so secret, then why are you telling us?" Kakashi wanted to know.

A hard glint came into to black clad woman's eyes. "Very simple. I'm not afraid of them. And I can kick all their asses if I wanted too. I also have the ace up my sleeve of being best friends with Sakura. And no one in their right mind wants to get on her bad side if anything were to happen to me."

Temari agreed with both men on the last point. But even though this revelation made her just as angry as it did Iruka. She pushed it aside for the time being as she contemplated were this left her plan for setting Naruto up with a nice girl.

Because now it seemed that any woman she chose would not only have to be loving and kind. But she would also have to be very good at defending herself. Remembering that Ino had also mentioned that Jewel had once been a part of the infamous fan club, added another twist that Temari had a strange feeling about.

But as the fan wielder glanced around the table at her now somber companions. She decided that she would have to wait until she was once again alone before she tried to puzzle this whole mess out. As well as plan her new strategy.

So after taking several bites of her food she helped Ino start up a much lighter conversation about clothing style. Even as she ate her food as quickly as she could without seeming rude. She really needed to get back to the apartment so she could plan.

---

Tsunade ground her teeth in frustration as she scanned over the scroll in her hand for the third time before looking back up at Ibiki.

"So we're really no further ahead with this then we were yesterday are we?"

The head of interrogation shook his head. "I'm sorry Hokage-sama. But most of the stories conflict with each other. And even with the few that do match up, we still aren't really sure what started the whole mess." He leaned back in his chair as he folded his arms. "But I'm now pretty convinced that there was no outside influence."

The Hokage nodded her understanding as she rerolled the scroll. "What do you suggest our next move should be?"

Ibiki shook his head yet again. "Normally I would say that we need to raise the level of interrogation tactics." He raised a hand when Tsunade started to protest. "However, these are children we are talking about. With the oldest Chunnin being only sixteen. I would hate to have to scar any of our own. Especially when they are so young."

Tsunade was very glad that her head of torture seemed to have a line that he didn't want to cross. Even though she was certain that if she gave him an order to that effect that he wouldn't hesitate to follow it.

"Are the parents still getting in your way?"

"Only a few Hokage-sama. But then we have refrained from speaking to those children who are still in the hospital." Ibiki informed her.

"Well I guess that is something at least." Tsunade muttered.

"Do you have any idea when Naruto will be back?" Ibiki's question surprised the Hokage.

"None, why do you ask?"

The scared jonin smiled ruefully. "I hate to admit it Hogake-sama. But it is very likely that he could get this whole mess figured out very quickly."

When Tsunade gave him a questioning look he elaborated. "Almost all of the genin and chunnin that were involved in the fight are ones that have been training with Naruto in the mornings. The level of respect they have for him would make it easier for them to open up to him. At least that's the impression I've been getting."

The Godaime nodded her understanding. "Well the boy has been gone about ten days. So hopefully he will be back soon. In the mean time, maybe we should hold off any further questioning for a few days. And hope that it will help the stress level go down with all those who are involved."

"I would agree with that Hokage-sama. We have recorded each interview that we have already done. So maybe in a few days we can compare the stories again. If someone is lying, they are more likely to trip up after having let their guard down." Ibiki solemnly agreed.

"Very well, keep every one of the participants under surveillance. But let's give them some room to breathe. It may help calm the parents down as well."

"Yes of course Hokage-sama." With that, Ibiki rose and bowed before leaving the room.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes after the door had closed behind the big man. She was exhausted, between the office work and the extra rounds she had been making at the hospital because they were understaffed with medic's right then. She was barely getting any sleep.

She sure hoped that Naruto was back soon. Things just always seemed to run smoother when he was around.

26 26 26 26 26

It took Temari three hours and a whole jar of pickles to come up with a new plan of action. Even once she had gotten home, her intuition was telling her that there was a whole lot more to Jewels disappearance then those she had talked to seemed to think.

She just knew that somehow the fan club was somehow involved. But there was no way, short of torture that those women would tell her anything. And it looked like she wasn't going to have any luck finding a woman for Naruto in Konoha. If they had all been intimidated so easily, there was no way they could stand by his side when things got bad.

So the search for a woman would have to take place outside of Fire Country. There were a couple possibilities back home in Suna. But Temari decided that that aspect of her plan would have to be put off for now.

Instead she felt there was a better way to help Naruto out. She was going to find out what happened to Jewel. She knew that there was no way she could pull it off on her own. And yet she didn't really think that going straight to the Hokage was a good idea either.

Tsunade was likely to demand more information the Temari was willing to give. And so, after much debate. The fan wielding kunoichi had finally settled on the right person for the job.

Uchiha Sasuke. Not only was he one of Naruto's best friends. But he had even helped the blond look for his missing girlfriend for a time. So he, theoretically anyway. Should have some idea as to where to start this particular investigation.

Happy that she had come up with a plan of action that she felt would work. Temari went and put on a clean kimono. It was getting close to dinner time. And since she had no idea when the Uchiha's usually sat down to their evening meal she wanted to make sure she was presentable in case she interrupted them.

Not wanting to put this off at all. She was quickly ready and on her way to the Sharingan clan's compound.

Obito opened the door to her and invited her inside. Once her footwear was removed, the young man escorted her to the kitchen, where Uta was busy preparing food with the help of her daughter.

"Temari. How nice to see you." Uta beamed up from the counter where she was chopping leeks. "Come in and make yourself comfortable."

Temari returned her greeting and pulled out one of the kitchen chairs so that she could sit down and prop up her crutches out of the way.

"So what brings you here today?" Uta asked as she pushed the contents of her cutting board into the soup she was preparing. She could tell that that Sand- nin had something on her mind.

"Well I was actually hoping to speak with Sasuke about something." Temari informed her. She didn't really want to elaborate too much to the other woman. Since she had no idea how much Uta had been told about the search for Jewel. And Temari wanted as few people involved as possible.

"I see." Uta nodded, as she suppressed the urge to ask for more information. Temari's aura was clearly saying that she didn't want to discuss it right then. So Uta decided to play along. Sasuke would always tell her what it was about later. "Well he's not back from his shift yet. But he should be back in about an hour. Would you like to stay for supper? That way the two of you can have a nice talk then."

Temari nodded. "If you're sure it's not too much trouble for me to stay."

"Oh no, not at all. I always make lots, Obito is always having friends over so I always count on at least a few extra mouths at this time of day." Uta assured her. "So what have you been doing to keep yourself busy since Naruto's been gone?"

Relaxing now that she was sure she wasn't intruding. Temari told her about her daily lunches with Iruka and Kakashi. It wasn't long before the two women were happily visiting while Uta and Mikoto continued to prepare food.

While Temari ended up taking charge of Kashin when the little boy showed up in the kitchen and wanted to be included. The little boy seemed to be very taken with Temari, and was more then happy to sit with her and then later help her set the table.

By the time Sasuke got home, dinner was ready and Uta quickly had everyone sitting down so that they could eat. The Light Bender had two motives for wanting dinner under way as quickly as possible. One, she knew that Obito and Sasuke were always ravenous by this time of day. But she also was hoping that Temari might be at ease enough to ask whatever questions she had over the meal.

Uta's second wish wasn't granted. It wasn't until the end of the meal that Temari politely asked if she could have a few minutes in private to speak with Sasuke. The dark haired Sharingan user seemed surprised by the request. But agreed.

Being rather impatient to know what was going on. Uta shooed the two of them out onto the back porch to talk, while she and the children cleaned up the dishes and left over food.

After ushering their guest through the back door and closing it behind him. Sasuke turned his full attention to woman from Sand. "What can I do for you Temari?"

Not wanting to draw this out any longer then necessary. Temari immediately started into her carefully planned speech. "I wasn't sure who else to come too. But decided that you are probably the best one to deal with this."

Both Sasuke's eyebrows disappeared into his bangs. "Just what exactly am I going to be dealing with?" He asked carefully. Not wanting to be wrangled into anything without being able to think about it first.

"I need a favor." Temari informed him.

"What kind?" The Sharingan user asked again as he folded his arms across his chest. His tone rather suspicious.

Temari wasn't intimidated in the slightest. "Well actually the favor isn't for me. It's for Naruto, but I don't want him to know about it." She informed him.

With a slightly annoyed sigh Sasuke rolled his eyes. Not letting on at all that he was surprised by her indication that she wanted him to do something for Naruto. "Temari, would you just tell me what you want?"

"I want you to find out what happened to Jewel."

Of all the things that the dark haired man had been expecting. That was nowhere close to even being on the list.

"Why on earth would I want to do that?" He growled. He still hadn't forgiven the stupid woman for leaving Naruto the way she had. The normally sunny blond had been devastated by her disappearance, and it had taken quite a while for him to get over her.

Temari sighed, and she looked rather upset. Causing Sasuke to wonder why she was making such a strange request. He was surprised that Temari had even found out about Jewel, let alone that she had disappeared.

"Look, you have to promise me that you will not tell anyone about why I'm asking this of you. Naruto would be very upset if any of this got out. And I don't want him to think that I betrayed a confidence."

When Sasuke gave her a hard, suspicious look, Temari quickly waved her hands out in front of her to ward off any words. "I swear I'm not betraying anything. I already heard from Ino, Kakashi and Iruka everything there was to know about when Jewel vanished."

"Then you know that Naruto is much better off without her around." Sasuke snapped. "Why on earth would you want me to find the blasted woman?"

Temari's grey eyes once again turned very sad. "Because he's still trying to find her."

Sasuke was stunned, he blinked down at the blond in front of him several times as he tried to decided if what she said had said could possibly have any truth to it.

"No he's not. I know because I helped him. No one has tried to find her for years." He finally managed to tell Temari.

The fan wielder shook her head. "I'm sorry to say that you're wrong Sasuke. Naruto and I have been doing a lot of talking since I've been staying with him. And one night we somehow got on the topic of family and relationships. He didn't elaborate too much." She lied. "But he did say that every time he left the village he was still on the lookout for her."

Sasuke ran the fingers of both hands through his hair as he shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense. He told me that he had finally accepted that she had moved on. And he said that he was going to too."

Temari gave him a sad, but understanding smile. "He felt that you already had too much on your plate and he didn't want to burden you with his problems. But I saw the look on his face when he said he was still looking for her. He is far from getting over what she did too him."

"Damn it." Sasuke growled. "Fine. I'll see what I can find out. I can't promise anything. Since she's not a missing-nin I don't know if I can get any help to look for her. And I can't go far with Uta as far along as she is."

"Thank you Sasuke. Anything you can find out would be good. But please try to keep it as quite as possible. Naruto can't find out about this, he has a weird obsession with keeping all his problems to himself."

Sasuke nodded. He did know that Naruto tended to look out for everyone else around him, and not himself. "So did he say anything else. Anything that might give me an idea where to start?"

Temari shook her head regretfully. "Not really. Just that he had looked for her on every mission he had ever gone on after she disappeared. Oh and he thinks she might be dead." She added sheepishly.

Sasuke's solemn lips turned into a frown. "Why would he think she was dead?"

Temari had to do some fancy mental footwork to cover herself. She couldn't very well reveal the connection Naruto had had to Jewel was because of his son. "He just said that for the last couple years he has had this weird feeling that she's gone."She shrugged, trying to appear casual. "I have no idea what he meant."

The Uchiha nodded. "I'll think about it, and see if I can find a way to find out what happened to her." He promised.

Temari gave him a relieved smile. "Thank you Sasuke."

When she started to turn to go back into the house, he stopped her by placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "Why are you doing this Temari? It's a very unusual request."

The blond kunoichi looked up at him with sadness still in her silver eyes. "He recently saved my life….. twice. Not to mention everything he did for Gaara all those years ago. It was the only thing I could think of that might be even come close to paying him back."

Sasuke wasn't really sure what to make of that announcement. He and Neiji has speculated on what had happened to the Suna kunoichi that had caused her to be staying with Naruto. And even though they were pretty sure they knew what had happened, it didn't really explain this odd request by way of payment.

As if she had been reading his thoughts Temari added. "He's very lonely you know. He thinks that no one would ever want to share his life with him. Partly because of who he is. But mostly I think because of what Jewel did to him. If there is any way for him to find closure, I think it would help him a lot."

He nodded yet again as he released her shoulder and moved to open the door for her. "I will do what I can."

26 26 26 26 26

It was nearly two hours later. After Temari had returned home and the children had all been put to bed that Uta was finally able to ask her husband about his conversation with Temari.

If the topic hadn't been so serious Sasuke would have laughed at her need to know everything that was going on about her. His beloved wife was quite the busy body.

"This cannot go further then this room Uta." He solemnly informed her before he would tell her anything. "Temari was very adamant about it. And I gave my word that it will not get back to Naruto in any way, shape or form."

That comment really got Uta's attention. "She wanted to talk to you about Naruto?"

Sasuke nodded as he took her hand and lead her to their master suite. "She asked me to find someone for him."

From the dark tint to his voice Uta quickly exclaimed. "Not HER?" The light user refused to even utter Jewels name. She despised the woman.

Sasuke nodded again. Closed the door then placed a kiss on her cheek before moving to his side of the bed and started removing his vest and other work gear.

"Temari believes that Naruto needs to know what happened to Jewel in order for him to have closure."

With a rather impressive growl Uta stalked over to her over stuffed arm chair that sat by the window and flopped into it. "I have my doubts about that."

Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle. His very pregnant wife just couldn't pull off being scary when her belly was so large. He thought it was adorable though, how hard she tried some times. But he was well aware the she saw Naruto as her brother, and would do anything possible to protect him.

"A few hours ago I would have agreed. But after a few things that Temari said. I think she might have the right idea." He confided.

"Well now you have to spill everything." Uta informed him. "Convince me that this in any way is a good idea."

Luckily for Sasuke, nearly nine years of marriage had taught him a few things about his wife. He wasn't nearly as good as she was when it came to reading people. But he understood how her mind worked. At least to a certain extent.

"He's still trying to find her." He announced as he sat down on the bed and pulled his long sleeve shirt over his head.

When he realized that Uta was just staring at him in shock. He felt as if he had to add. "I didn't believe it at first either. But Temari convinced me it's true. After all, you know how loyal Naruto is."

The Uchiha matriarch slumped back in her chair even more. "That explains so much.' She looked into Sasuke's eyes then. "So all these years……?"

He nodded, not needing her to finish the question. "Apparently so, how we never noticed is beyond me. But we didn't, so I promised that I would see what I could do about looking for her. Without too many people getting involved."

Uta slowly pulled herself back out of her favorite chair, now that her temper was once again settled. "So are you going to talk to the Hokage about it?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. There really isn't much she can do on one hand because Jewel resigned."

"Yes I know that." Uta waved her had at him as she slowly made her way to his side. "But you know as well as I do that she has been trying to set Naruto up with someone for years. She really wants to see some grandchildren running around."

When her husband gave her a slightly confused look she elaborated. "Well think about it. If Naruto gets closure. That means that it is far more likely that he will be interested in moving on."

Seeing the direction her line of thinking was going, Sasuke found himself agreeing with her. "And that would probably make her more then willing to help out."

"Exactly." Uta declared with a grin.

Sasuke couldn't help but laugh at the sparkle in his wife's eyes. "You are almost as bad as Tsunade you know." He teased. "You want Naruto married at least as badly as she does."

Uta shrugged, not even bothering to deny the allegation. "I want him to be happy. And besides." She gave him one of her knowing smiles. "I think someone is very interested in him."

This was news to Sasuke. "Who's that?"

"Well Temari of course." Uta grinned. "I have a feeling that those two will be a couple in no time."

Sasuke frowned. He didn't want to burst her bubble and tell her that he thought he knew what had happened to Temari when she had been captured. Thus the reason she was staying with Naruto. And because of that, he didn't see her wanting to start a relationship any time soon.

So he just shook his head at her. "I don't think so Uta. She's just trying to pay him back for helping her and her brothers."

"Well we will see wont we." Uta grinned as she headed towards the bathroom. Casting a smoldering look at him over her shoulder just before disappearing through the door.

Never one to pass up such an open invitation. Sasuke decided that he could worry about his new mission in the morning.

26 26 26 26 26

Naruto was just getting ready to head off to bed when felt the odd sensation of his last shadow clone poofing out of existence from such a long ways away.

And within a few moments, all the clones knowledge was transferred to him and he couldn't help but grin. Mission accomplished.

Turning to the Headman he informed his host that the last merchant he had sent word to was more then happy to come to their village and look at their products.

The Headman was very near to having tears in his eyes at the happy news that the wealthy merchant would be arriving in about three weeks. "I don't know how we will ever thank you Uzumaki-sama."

Naruto just grinned. "Don't worry about it, it was my pleasure to be able to help."

Then getting up, the tall blond stretched. "Well I better get some sleep, I'll need to head home tomorrow after I make sure everything else is going smoothly for you."

"Yes of course, we have kept you much longer then you no doubt expected. I will make sure that there is some food prepared for you to take with you."

Naruto thanked him then headed for his bedroom. He felt almost giddy as he closed the door behind him and started getting ready for bed.

As he walked past the small window on the south side of the room he paused, and looked up at the night sky. "I'm heading home tomorrow." He whispered to the sliver of a moon just barely visible over the top of the neighboring house.

And even though he knew it was silly, that it was more then likely that she had already headed back to Sunagakure. He found himself adding. "I'll see you soon Temari."

26 26 26 26 26

In Konoha, the blond kunoichi smiled in her sleep as she snuggled deeper into her pillow.

"I'll be here." She mumbled quietly.

26 26 26 26

A/N: Well there we are. I finally got another chapter done. I just have not had the urge to write much in the last year and a half.

However, my muse seems to be back with a vengeance, so here is hoping that I can finally get this story done.

As always, your thoughts are welcome.

Legilmyth