Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Naruto.

Chapter 27 – Unpleasant Memory, Relaxation!

Forest of Death – Tower Stadium

Naruto closed the Bingo Book that Ibiki had handed him and heaved a sigh. It seemed that the authors of the infamous Book had found out some of what happened during his and his brother's travels, but thankfully they hadn't uncovered all of Ronnel's secrets, nor had they found out that he was a Jinchuruuki. The blonde was a bit curious about the rumor from Iwagakure mentioned in his section, and wondered if it might be based in truth. He shrugged, putting it out of his mind for the moment. It would be easy enough to ask his brother later when they meet up.

No time to worry about that right now. I need to catch up to Temari-chan so we can talk about earlier, then I'll have time to talk to him about the Stone ninja from earlier. He ruffled his hair then strode forward half a pace before pausing. He turned something over in his mind, irritating the Kyuubi which tried to roll with the thing, then turned to look back at Ibiki.

"Ne, Morino-san, how are we supposed to get out of the Forest of Death? The entrances are sealed tight last I saw." The heavily scarred man chuckled and shook his head with a grin. He moved forward to where Naruto was and laid a hand on the blonde Jinchuruuki's shoulder.

"Figures that it would be you who catch on to that little tidbit. I'll explain though to set your mind at ease. We had Chuunin standing outside of the doors, using the Shunshin to take the maggots to specific points where they could then Shunshin out of the Forest. I'll take you out since you're the last Gennin in here. Shunshin no Jutsu." A gust of wind swept around the duo, kicking up leaves that hadn't existed seconds before. The leaves swirled around the two shinobi, obscuring them from sight for a brief moment. When the wind died down and the leaves stopped spinning, the Stadium was empty once more.

Outside The Forest of Death

There was a growing hustle and bustle as Gennin began recovering from what was, for many, their first Shunshin experience. The Chuunin proctors almost immediately began shepherding the younger shinobi and kunoichi away from the fenceline, many casting nervous glances back over their shoulders towards the Forest, as if afraid of something within it. Unfortunately for the poor older ninja, clumps began forming as acquaintances and friends met up and began chatting, like they couldn't in the stadium.

Temari ignored the talking, only noticing enough to see that there were more Gennin here than had been in the Preliminary fights. She figured that they were the ones who hadn't been able to find the pieces of the key, and had been forced to wait somewhere else in the Tower. She shrugged off the urgings to move that came from the proctor who had Shunshin'd her and her brothers out into the city, her eyes scanning through the crowd, searching for the distinctive combination of black and white fabric on top of blonde hair. It took a few moments, but she finally managed to spot the Konoha Jinchuruuki that her family was living with.

The kunoichi grabbed her brother's hands without thinking and began dragging them towards where she had spotted the blue eyed boy. A few steps after they started moving, her redheaded brother saw what had caught his sister's attention and sped up his own movements so that he was moving apace with Temari, instead of being dragged along behind her. Kankuro on the other hand just sighed and slumped over into dead weight, letting himself be pulled through the crowd, wincing occasionally when Temari jerked on his arm to hoist him out of the way of other ninja.

Naruto staggered only slightly as he and Ibiki appeared from the Jounin's Shunshin. The fact that the boy managed to maintain his balance so well caused the scarred man to raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Maintained your equilibrium well. How many times have you Shunshin'd before?" The cerulean orbs of the Demon Container slid over to look at the older man as he pulled his bucket hat off and ruffled his hair. Shaking his head minutely, he responded.

"Haven't. Aniki's got a speed technique that screws with your balance a lot, lot more than the Shunshin does. And since I used to pester him constantly for rides while he used that, I've gotten used to keeping steady up. The Shunshin, while a bit different, doesn't mess with your inner ear as badly as Aniki's trick does, so staying upright is a lot easier." As he finished answering the Jounin's question, the Jinchuruuki spotted a ripple moving in his direction through the crowd. He stared at it with puzzlement evident in his expression, then began grinning when he saw what was causing it. The boy's fingers twitched through a short sign message requesting that Ibiki remain for a discussion, something that startled the older man, before Naruto headed over to intercept Temari and her brothers.

As the two blondes finally managed to cut through the crowd to each other, Temari realized that she didn't have a single clue as to what to say to the native Jinchuruuki. And even had she known what to say, she certainly wouldn't voice it with both of her brothers right there with her. The kunoichi stifled a groan of aggravation at her hasty grab to drag her siblings with her. She opened her mouth to say something inane when a finger pressed against her lips.

"We can talk back at the Apartments Temari-chan. It'll be a bit more private than here with all of these other people."

"MOVE IT MAGGOTS!" Ibiki's strident voice cut through the last pockets of talking between the Gennin. With the Head Proctor yelling, the other proctors were finally able to get the large group of shinobi and kunoichi moving away from the fenceline. The fan-wielding Sand ninja was about to walk off when she saw that Naruto was standing still, as if waiting for something. She shot him a curious look, asking for an explanation with her expression.

"Sorry. I need to talk to Morino-san about something to do with the Tournament. It shouldn't take too long, but I'll have to catch up to you three later." The girl pouted, an image that sent a shiver down Naruto's spine. He managed to keep his resolve though, not wanting the kunoichi to hear what it was that he was talking to the Chief of Torture and Interrogation about. After a few seconds passed and the younger blonde didn't cave in to her outstretched lip, Temari grumbled and crossed her arms. A sharp nod preceded her stalking after her brothers, who had immediately started walking when Ibiki shouted.

Red-streaked blue eyes followed the pigtailed girl, until she turned a corner a fair distance down the street. Only when he was sure that the girl was out of range did he slide his hat back on and move back to Ibiki's side.

"What did you learn from the traitor?" The normally cheerful tone of the young ninja was harder than steel as he spoke. The scarred Jounin glanced over and noticed that the crimson streaks had grown slightly, and now took up nearly a fourth of the space in Naruto's irises. He pondered whether or not to tell the boy what had been extracted from the silver haired spy, and eventually decided to.

"Firstly, that he was never a traitor. He was a spy. His only loyalty was to Orochimaru no Densetsu no Sannin, never to Konohagakure. We did manage to confirm what we've heard from a few rumors and from Sunagakure – the Snake Sannin is officially the Otokage." When he said that, the man noticed a pensive look flash across the blonde's face, but it was gone so fast that he wasn't sure it had actually been there. "Aside from those two tidbits, most of it was confirmation of things we were already certain of. Kabuto did know a couple of other things, but those aren't on your need to know." He watched as Naruto's expression grew frustrated.

"I will say this too. I don't know what all you did in that fight when you captured him, but you had him terrified of even your name. Twice we were able to get additional information from him by threatening to bring you in to help with the interrogation." That made the Gennin chuckle and shake his head. "That it kid?"

"No. Morino-san, it would be a very good idea to have a security detail placed on the Uchiha Heir. I would suggest ANBU or Jounin. During the intermission when the stadium floor was being repaired, I overheard him talking with a Sound Gennin. The foreigner was trying to convince the Duckass haired one to switch his allegiance to Otogakure. Uchiha refused at the time, but from my experience with him, he is unstable enough that he would eventually take the offer if he believed that he would get stronger there." Ibiki frowned and nodded, considering what he knew of the boy, from his own observations and from the psyche evaluation that was ordered by Hatake a week after the debacle in Wave.

Suddenly the Jounin tensed up, his senses alerting him to something approaching him incredibly fast. He spun on his heel to face the direction the feeling was coming from, only to see a dust cloud approaching him. He was still bringing his guard up when the dust cloud vanished.

"Naruto. We need to talk. Now." Ibiki's head swiveled around in time to see Ronnel hoist Naruto off of the ground before the brothers vanished into another trail of dust.

"The hell?"

Training Grounds 17

Ronnel set his younger brother down on the field of the empty training grounds and crossed his arms.

"Explain." The Gennin stiffened slightly. For a moment, his eyes searched his adopted brother's face, trying to decipher his mood. When that failed against the blankly impassive stare that he was being given, the blonde slumped over and sighed.

"I was following your order Aniki. The Iwagakure team had found me, and tried killing me. I only used that technique to make sure that they were all gone." He scrunched his head down, afraid of how his brother would react to him using his most devastating attack again. There was a noticeable flinch when he felt a hand on top of his head.

"Re-lax." Blue eyes shot up when those syllables were spoken. An expression of, not anger, nor joy, but acceptance was layered across the older ninja's face. "Seriously Otouto, relax. I saw the bodies, and assumed that someone had tried attacking Hinata or something. If I wasn't going to get angry at you for using that in that situation, why would I get angry at you for using it in a situation that kind of demanded it? Especially when it's fulfilling one of the few orders I've ever given you as your sensei?" Naruto's face brightened immensely as he jumped up and threw his arms around his brother's neck. Seeing the relief in the Jinchuruuki's face, Ronnel finally smiled slightly.

"Alright, alright, enough of the sappy stuff. I only want that from Ko-chan. Speaking of which, we need to hurry back to the apartments. She has a surprise waiting for you." The words were no sooner out of his mouth than Naruto dropped down to his feet and took off towards their home, still with a relieved grin on his face.

The Rei-Uzumaki shook his head with a small quirk to his lips before following after his brother, albeit at a more sedate pace. As he followed the older, familiar route home, his mind traveled back to the first, and only other time, that Naruto had fully used his Kohai no Kami jutsu.

Despicable Author Style: Flashback Technique!

Small Bandit Camp just inside of Kami no Kuni (Lightning Country)

A hand rubbed through dark hair as Ronnel studied the encampment in front of him.

"Here's the situation Naruto. This particular group of bandits has apparently been raiding homes out away from villages, or the outermost homes in a community. Because of this, there hasn't been a big enough stir to get Kumogakure involved. However, just because they aren't attacking proper villages doesn't mean they aren't committing atrocities." He thought back to the last house they had seen, with its walls painted red in the family's blood. "So we're going to use these rotten bastards as the final proving grounds for that new technique you've come up with. Start your hand seals out here, and I'll carry you in to the center of the camp. Don't worry, I'll get out of there before it goes off. And Naruto." The boy looked up at his trainer.

"Kill every last one of the fuckers." The would-be ninja nodded and began the stupidly long chain of hand seals for his second original wind technique. He was about half-way through the series when he felt Ronnel pick him up and began heading towards the camp. His eyes closed so he could keep his concentration on the hand signs, ignoring when he was tossed into the air, and the screams that sounded below him before he was caught.

"Alright, here's the center of the encampment." Blue eyes snapped open to see Ronnel giving him a thumbs up before shooting back to the rooftops and hurrying away. He grinned savagely as he neared the end of the seal chain for his technique.

Ronnel was leaping across the roofs when he spotted something that made his blood run colder than Snow Country. Chained to a hitching post for a horse was a small girl, no more than six. From the way she was shaking and blood was running down her legs, it was obvious that the bandits had been using her for their pleasures. Normally the wanderer would be glad in this situation – after all, the rapists were about to be killed. But this was different – the girl would be caught in the attack as well, since Naruto had no control over who the technique hit or not.

Fuck me sideways, I'm going to regret this. The ninja changed his course and leapt down to the ground near the girl, who should have screamed in fright at the man suddenly appearing near her. Instead, she just looked at him, her face completely dead of emotions. They've broken her. FUCK. When he reached towards her, she finally reacted, cowering slightly as if expecting him to abuse her like the monsters that were about to be killed had been. When his arm went past her and snapped the chain that was holding her in place, she collapsed to the ground, revealing that the chain around her throat had actually been keeping her upright.

Then there was a cry of "Fuuton: Kohai no Kami!" from the direction that Ronnel had come from, and he knew his time was up. The man threw himself across the girl's frozen body and desperately began channeling his chakra into the air around him diverting everything to around him instead of where he, and the girl, were laying. The attack began. Giant blades of visible wind slammed in to the ground all around the bandit camp. Ronnel watched as a few feet away, a man who had run out of his little tent to see what the screaming was about was split in half by one blade. He heard a strange sound in the air above him, and realized with a feeling of dismay that one of the wind blades was falling towards him. The wanderer diverted every bit of chakra he had into the air directly on top of himself, creating a solid mass of wind. Even with that done, he felt the wind blade slice through his defense and slam into him. Luckily for him and the girl under him, the mass of wind and his own armor weakened the wind blade enough that he wasn't sliced apart by it. Instead, his back was torn open down to the bone, revealing his spine and the back of his ribs.

Fighting back tears of agony, Ronnel refocused his chakra to redirecting the wind currents around him, knowing what the second stage of the Kohai no Kami was. Tornados sprang from the sky, ripping through unsuspecting tents and men without warning, in some cases flaying the men alive with dirt and stones pulled from the ground. Against all odds, Ronnel's fast fading attempts at diverting the winds were successful. All around him, the ground was shredded by tornados and the last few wind blades, but the small spot where he and the girl were avoided destruction.

Fading in and out of consciousness, the wandering ninja lost track of time. He was seeing spots all across his vision when he saw his apprentice's face suddenly appear in front of his eyes. Naruto's mouth was wide open, screaming something, but whatever was being said was lost on the older man. He struggled mightily and lifted away from the ground, revealing the trembling girl hidden by his frame. The young boy pulled the child out from under his teacher, and watched in fear as the man collapsed to the ground, his eyes rolling around to show the whites.

"Oh man oh man oh man oh man not good! I need to get him out of here…. Kumo is close, but Konoha's on tense terms because of the Hyuuga incident and they might think we're spies… oh man oh man oh man… Kusagakure here we come! Kaze Bunshin on Jutsu! I'm sorry miss, but you'll need to come with us for now." Several copies of Naruto assembled themselves from the blood filled wind around him, giving the clones a distinct red tinge. The clones picked the heavily wounded body of Ronnel up from the ground, holding him steady as possible as the real Naruto applied the emergency bandages from his and Ronnel's kits. The fabric stemmed the bleeding, but couldn't hide the fact that he was dying from blood loss. They bought the boy the time he needed though, so he scooped the six year old girl up from the ground where she had sat down and watched as he bandaged up his sensei, then he and his clones took off for the next closest village, Kusagakure.

Despicable Author Style: Flashback Release!

His feet had carried him to the main entrance of the Apartments as he had relived that day. Unconsciously, his left hand went to his shoulder and traced the top of the scar that had come from the horrible wound. In the time since then, Naruto had managed to block most of the memories of that day from his mind, something that his older brother was incredibly grateful for. The Gennin did not remember how close his sensei had come to death, and if Ronnel had his way, he never would.

The Jounin opened the front doors to see his girlfriend holding his younger brother upside down, pinning his arms to his sides as Temari and Haku painted on his face with make up stolen from Kankuro, who was off to one side laughing. When the sound of the door hinge squealing reached them, all five people jerked their heads around to the doorway. There was silence and stillness for a moment, then Ronnel walked backwards out of the building, ignoring his brother's pleas to be rescued from the women.

The ninja sighed and shook his head as he began walking up the side of the building. He reached one of the upper floors and jumped over the balcony railing, then nearly fell backwards when he saw Gaara's flame red hair directly in front of him.

"Hello Rei-Uzumaki-san. I take it you came this way to avoid the… scene in the front room?" The monotone way that the boy said it nearly had the man laughing. He stopped himself though, not wanting to deal with a psychotic killer who was already within arm's reach.

"Yeah, I think that's a fair assumption, and completely accurate." The Jounin crossed his arms and studied the redhead in front of him. "So anyway, why aren't you down joining in?" He was treated to a blank stare from the Jinchuruuki, who shrugged one shoulder slightly before responding.

"I already have one Kabuki actor in my life, in the form of my brother. I do not really desire to have a second one. Thus, I refuse to help paint Naruto-sama." The 'sama' reference made the older ninja blink several times. He opened his mouth to ask what had brought it on.

"AUGH! MY FACE!" The anguished cry from downstairs caused both shinobi to twitch slightly and look towards the room they were standing outside of. With simultaneous sighs, they nodded to each other and headed into the building, through the room and hallway, then down the stairs. When the duo reached the first floor, they saw Temari collapsed against the wall laughing, Haku leaning against the wall with tears streaming down her face, and Anko slumped in Ronnel's overstuffed chair, grasping her sides. Kankuro was holding on to the doorway to the kitchen as he laughed. Naruto was nowhere in sight.

A few minutes later, filled with the two somewhat calm ninja watching the slowly recovering pranksters, Naruto came back in through the kitchen door, shoving the puppeteer out of the way as he scrubbed at his face with a steel wool bundle. Ronnel and Gaara watched as the blonde Jinchuruuki brushed the metal mesh across his face with enough vigor to tear away the skin, sending rivulets of blood down his chin to the floor. This continued until his older brother grabbed his arm and tugged it away.

"This is your fault Aniki." The cerulean blue eyes were unhappy as the flesh under and around them knitted itself back together.

Despicable Author Style: Mini – Flashback!

Minutes before, when Naruto reached the Apartments.

The blue eyed Demon Container looked around the street one last time and sighed. Temari hadn't waited for him outside of the building, so he would have to pull her aside once he got in so that they could talk about their fledgling relationship. He tugged his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair, then plopped the bucket hat back down and opened the door.

Once his eyes adjusted to the lessened light of the interior, the shinobi saw the girl he was looking for standing in the middle of the room tapping her foot as she looked impatiently at him. With a few strides, he made it across the space between them and halted a half pace away from her.

"Sorry about that. Aniki needed to talk to me after I left Ibiki, and I didn't really have a choice in the matter." The kunoichi just glared at him, making the blonde boy fidget nervously as the seconds ticked past and she remained silent. Finally she spoke.

"I did try waiting for you, but it was getting muggy outside. So I came inside, and I ran in to Anko, who was bored at the time." Naruto gulped at that. He knew from personal experience that dealing with a bored Anko was a dangerous proposition for anyone who wasn't his older brother. He started to speak but the pigtailed girl held up a hand for silence. "I only got chased by the snakes for a short while. I came up with an idea that she liked, and preparing for it has occupied her until….. now." As she said the last words, a shiver went up the boy's spine. When she stopped speaking, he tried spinning around and running away, but it was too late. He felt ice wrap around his legs, and a boa constrictor pin his arms to his chest. The snake lifted him up into the air, and he became nauseous when he was flipped over so that he was completely upside down. His shirt and jacket fell over the snake's restrictive coils as his hat fell to the floor.

"Hello there Naru-chan!" Anko grinned evilly as the blonde boy was spun in place so that he was facing her and Haku, who was standing beside her. "Boy, do we have something nice for you today. Sandy, didja get it?"

"Sort of. Kankuro agreed to let us use them, but he wants to watch." Naruto began panicking as he kept spinning in a circle, once more facing Temari. He saw Kankuro come down the stairs, holding a thick wooden box with a simple clasp holding it shut. Another shiver traveled across his spine as his spin was arrested by Temari grasping his frozen legs and steadying him. Crimson streaked cerulean orbs followed the Sunagakure Gennin until he was out of sight behind him, standing near Anko and Haku. A grin split Temari's face as the box creaked open.

"Perfect! Sure kid, watch, just don't get involved. This is gonna be work for the ladies." The puppeteer stepped back into Naruto's line of sight and leaned against the wall, his smile evident. The blonde began squirming when Temari spun him around to face the other two girls, and he saw what they were holding. Make up, brushes, and sponges.

"No no non onononono!" The squirming became a frantic struggle to escape, but he was held fast by the snake and the ice. Kyuubi-sensei, HELP ME PLEASE!

I don't think so gaki. This promises to be entertaining. The demon's amusement was evident in its mental tone. The Demon Container cursed his prisoner silently as the girls began removing various shades of makeup from the box. Anko pulled out a bright canary yellow, Temari got a deep maroon red, and Haku got an emerald green.

As the girls descended on the helpless boy, the victim had time to wonder why on earth Kankuro had these strange colors inside his makeup box. But then the brushes began tracing across his skin, and his only thought was on escaping from their grasp. Despite his best efforts, the combined strength of the boa constrictor and the Bloodline Limit created ice held him fast.

The boy felt the three kunoichi sweeping across his face with their brushes, and grimaced slightly at the feeling of rough liquid that was left behind. Suddenly the snake's tongue flickered across his face in front of his eyes, causing him to flinch and close them. As soon as he had, he felt one of the brushes dart across his eyes, staining them in a color he could only guess was as vivid as the others. He kept his eyes closed as the women colored across his face, putting a base of some color down before going after the whiskers. In time the brushes moved across his forehead, and he felt them catching the fringe of his hair as well, irritating him immensely. Eventually though, the feeling of bristles against his skin ceased.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Kankuro leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, laughing even harder than he had been before. Temari was nowhere in sight until he let his eyes drop to the floor, where she laid laughing. He felt the ice around his legs crack, then shatter apart as if suddenly gossamer fine. Because of that, when the constrictor around his chest and arms suddenly vanished, he was ready, and caught himself on one hand instead of crashing face first onto the floor. Naruto flipped to his feet and glared around at Haku who was leaning against the wall and Anko who had collapsed into his older brother's favorite chair. Suddenly he realized what being freed meant – they had succeeded in painting his face how they wanted!

In a rush now that he had figured that out, the blonde Jinchuruuki shoved past Kankuro, who grasped onto the doorjamb as he struggled to stop laughing. The Konoha shinobi headed to the sink, where a mirror rested on the wall above the faucet. He stared in shock for a moment.

The majority of his face had been painted over in a neon orange shade that nearly made him vomit. The rest was no better – each whisker had been painted in one of the three colors that the girls had originally pulled out – the blue, green, and red were visible on each side, set in no apparent sequence, giving his face a decidedly lopsided look. On his eyelids was a white shade that matched his corneas, making it seem that he had gone blind whenever he closed his eyes. Rimmed around his eyes was a deep purple shade, drawing attention to his eyes which were already attention grabbers. The final insult was his forehead and hair fringe – a lime green shade was there, a yellow green tone that made it seem as if he was slightly sick. The boy's mouth dropped open and closed, gaping like a fish for a moment.

"AUGH! MY FACE!" His hand darted out and snatched up the steel pot scrubber that his brother used on tougher stains after cooking. The steel mesh scratched across his face, tearing the makeup away, as well as a fair portion of his flesh. Naruto scrubbed so fast at it that even his advanced regeneration couldn't keep up, and soon blood began dripping between his fingers to the ground. He spun around on his heel and stalked out of the kitchen. When he felt someone tug his arm away from his face, he looked up, expecting to see Anko there in front of him. Instead, it was his older brother. He glared at the older male unhappily for a moment before speaking.

"This is your fault Aniki."

Despicable Author Style: End Flashback!

The frustrated tone in his voice sent the Anko into laughter again, but the sight of his blood hitting the floor had frozen the younger kunoichi in place in shock. Unlike the older woman, they hadn't fully realized how Naruto would react to being turned into a parody of a geisha like that.

Ronnel dropped to one knee and studied his brother's face for a long moment, unspoken words passing between their expressions. Finally he stood up and rested a hand on his brother's blonde hair, some of which was still tinged green from the makeup. He spoke in a low tone, but made sure that it carried to the three girls.

"Sorry about that Otouto. To make up for it, I'm going to release all restrictions on your pranking until they have been repaid for that. Do what you think is appropriate." This time, it was Anko and Haku who froze solid, while Temari looked mildly confused. The Sunagakure kunoichi stood up and scooted over to Haku and leaned over her shoulder to whisper in the medic's ear.

"What on earth is he talking about?"

"Naruto-kun used to be infamous as a prankster. You remember the story that Nara-san mentioned once about how all of the deer of his family had somehow made it inside the clan compound one night when everyone was asleep? Or the one that Akamichi-san told us about how all of the salt and sugar in his family's containers had been switched daily for a week while no one could figure out how?" At Temari's confused nod, the dark haired Chuunin continued. "Those were Naruto's mild pranks. I can only remember one, one prank that Naruto has done outside of Konoha. It's the reason that my father got into the habit of waxing his eyebrows so that it would never be repeated." She shivered.

"One night, while our two groups were together, Naruto somehow managed to sneak into Zabuza's tent, levered and balanced the Kubikiri Houcho over my father's face so that it just barely wasn't touching him, then used a seal that sent the temperature of the blade to well below freezing. The metal froze onto my father's eyebrows and sat there all night, until he woke up to see his own face in the blade in the morning. He sat up, sending the Kubikiri tumbling away. Well, his hair follicles weren't all that strong, and every hair that had frozen against the metal was torn out by the roots. It left him with a couple of patches of thin hair, but not a lot. The worst part is Temari-san….that was after Ronnel placed heavy restrictions on the pranking that Naruto-kun could do." The whole time that Haku had been speaking, Anko had been frozen in her seat. Suddenly she burst into motion, thrusting her hand to point at her boyfriend who was leaning back and watching his brother as Naruto plotted.

"What the hell are you thinking? You can't unleash that on us!" Ronnel turned a mild eye towards her, and the devious smile hidden within it let her know that this was just the opening salvo in a long list of payback for many of her torturous antics.

"Damn, she has a point Naruto. We need to wait until after the Chuunin Exams. I have one month to train you in for the Finals, and we can't take time off from that for plotting. Full restrictions will be released after that." Naruto frowned for a minute, then remembered something that he needed to mention to his brother.

"Fine, fine. Aniki, I forgot to tell you earlier – I may have gotten around my elemental fixation. I charged a gust of wind I sent at someone earlier with electric energy." The eyes of those who normally lived in the Apartments widened, well aware of the fact that Naruto had been thought incapable of ever using an element other than Fuuton. That his secondary was the element that was weak to his primary was even more astounding to them.

"Well hot damn Otouto! I can't train you in Raiton, but I know someone who can, and he wants to make up for his behavior before." The way his brother phrased that made Naruto tilt his head with suspicion. "But until he becomes available, we'll need to focus on other things."

Eager to distract the prankster king from thoughts of revenge, Anko immediately spoke up, revealing the surprise that her boyfriend had mentioned earlier. "And I have just the thing! All of you here are invited to a Karaoke night at the Jounin Bar. All of the local Chuunin Exam participants are welcome, and that extends to the three of you as well, considering what's going on with your village." Each of the Gennin reacted to that statement.

Temari shifted nervously at this revelation. She had no trouble singing normally, but in front of a crowd of her peers? She wasn't sure she could handle that as well as singing around her family only. Kankuro began sweating slightly at the words, wondering if he could have Karasu go up instead of himself. Gaara merely tilted his head to one side and glanced towards his 'brother' Jinchuruuki, who had reacted far differently than the Suna ninja.

Upon hearing that there would be a Karaoke event, Naruto's eyes immediately shifted from plotting to ecstatic. The blonde began bouncing on the heels of his feet as he turned towards his brother, an expectant look on his face. When his adoptive sibling nodded, the blonde grinned widely and nodded rapidly.

"Alright, so with you four added, we have thirteen Gennin showing up. Great! I'll go let the others know how many to set up to tort-er, how many will be in the contest." The purple haired snake summoner vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"…Contest?" Temari's voice was quiet and confused. She glanced towards Ronnel, who rubbed his forehead while muttering something under his breath.

"Too eager to get away from a near prank active Naruto… Ahem. Yes, what Anko-chan forgot to mention is that the Karaoke is actually a contest for originality, and how faithful to the song you can be. Top prize is an A-rank Ninjutsu of your elemental affinity. Second is a B-rank, third has a C-rank. Only you Gennin are eligible in the contest, but there will probably be a few Jounin and Chuunin who sing as well. Oh, and if you don't already know your elemental affinity, then you'll be tested and also learn that along with a prize if you win." The eyes of the two Wind users widened. Gaara merely sighed, convinced that on the off chance that he won, there was no way there would be a Sunaton scroll for him to learn from.

"Now then you lot, grab showers and meet me back down here inside twenty minutes or so. The event starts on the turn of the hour, and that doesn't leave you a lot of time to get ready." The Gennin shot up the stairs to their respective rooms to get ready for what promised to be an interesting night. After the last of them had gone up the stairs, the Jounin leaned against the wall and spoke softly to himself. "I hope she likes it…" He shook his head vigorously and turned to wait for them young ninja to return. Standing against the wall a short distance away, Haku wondered what he had been talking about, but realized that she would see what he meant later that night.

A singing contest…this might give me a chance to pull that girl aside and ask her what the hell she was thinking kissing Naru-kun like that… The medic rubbed her hands together then formed ice senbon that she studied closely, pricking one against her finger to test their sharpness. She nodded then the needles melted away as she waited near Ronnel for the Gennin to return so they could leave as a group.

Despicable Author Style: Cliffhanger Technique!

-AN

Alright, sorry it's taken me so long to get this next chapter up everyone! I've been having some issues with my internet and laptop that seemed determined to make me lose the story totally. And I know I planned on having the Karaoke start in this chapter, but the face paint scene kinda grew into its own beast before I knew it. Hope ya'll enjoyed it, and the real reason why Zabuza is 'No-Brows'! –chuckles-

Anyway…Reader reviews. Been a while, but here I go!:

Umbra8191:

Sorry for the delay, here's the next chapter.

Still Not Dead Yet:

Probably, but for my version of the Naruto-verse the Bingo Book authors are an independent entity from the villages entirely. They operate by keeping track of famous or infamous shinobi and kunoichi, and print it out themselves. They make their money by taking a small percentage of the bounty. Oh, and yes, they are Kakazu's favorite people in the world. He gets advance copies of the Bingo Book before others, so he gets first crack at the bounties offered. Might not be true for the 'official' version, or other stories'.

SythAngelwing:

Sirrah, I do not lie! –laughs-

Thankee, sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. And the OC will show up in a few more chapters.

Geetac:

Thanks, look forward to the next one after the time skip.'

No – I'm not on Facebook:

Like I told Syth, she'll show in a few chapters. And yes, she is an interesting person, and will cause a fun scene herself.

Dkh1212:

There is going to be another B.B. chapter after the time skip just to reaffirm those things. And as for Miss Zenli, you'll have to wait and see.

Kiyomos:

The new OC will be making her debut soon. But don't worry, Ron might mention more when he finally sees the Bingo Book.

Lostmyshoeinsheol:

It's entirely possible that the hat was a fedora, but if it was, this is the new official version lol. And as for the bone clone – consider it just a skeleton. I mean, think about Kimimaro's ability. He created a freaking FOREST of bones! Creating a skeleton of himself and covering it in a henge wouldn't be too hard…

When more info on her is out you'll have to let me know if your idea was correct.

Firelordeg:

Not a mistake, Ron acquiring the Kusanagi is just a rumor – until a confirmation comes, the info on Anko's chapter won't change beyond what it is now. As soon as it is confirmed by one of the Bingo Book info gatherers, her info will update to reflect that.

Too Lazy to Log In:

Wait and see. And Naruto skimmed that part, though he'll bring it up when he shows the B.B. to Ron. And one person will have to fight twice during the Final Exams. The fox-hunt will begin with Temari soon, though the others will wait a little longer – not too much longer for Haku though. –prepares for pitchforks and torches-.

Warriorx559:

Sorry you feel that way. But you have to remember, Naruto did spend approximately six years out and about with Ronnel before joining Konoha. He'd already gained himself a nickname during that time, so when more info on him was confirmed it would be added in. And unfortunately, Miss Zenli won't be added in for a few more chapters.

James Larthol:

It's Yasukawa Zenli lol. Had to change the name to avoid two 'Ko-chan' people. As for Gaia, my internet and laptop have hated me for some time now. And I'll make note of that when she appears.

Marc;

I'm trying, I'm trying lol.

Mizuumi Uchiha:

Get stuck in a menial job that requires no brain power whatsoever. You end up with a lot of time to come up with ideas for stories. –shrugs- that's all I've got to offer.

DarkMegaSF:

Huh? The psycho priest? And like I mentioned to Lost, this is the official hat – Bucket Hat like Uruhara Kisuke from Bleach, just different colors.

Mizuumi Uchiha:

Young Kunoichi and Shinobi, yep yep. And…. I hadn't thought of that O.o. –ponders making a stalker for Naruto from the Bingo Book issue-

Ey:

I'm sorry…. But wth is a Wish Fulfillment tag supposed to mean? And I'm sorry you feel like you wasted your time.

Hanzo of the Salamander:

Thankee. Have to say that a few ideas earlier on, and in the Finals, came from the fic 'Chuunin Exam Day' by Perfect Lionheart, but I do try my best to make it original in my own twisted manner.

Too Lazy To Log in Again:

-pulls out water hose and lightning rod- back, back I say! Erm…. I've looked over my profile several times nad can't find what you're referring to. Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter uploaded. Next one will hopefully be up much, much faster. Oh, and you make three.

I do what I want:

Glad to hear that. Trying to go easy on the fluff, since it would be way, way, waaaay to easy jjust to write a fluff fic…. I must have dozens of those running around in the dank dark recesses of my mind lol. And I'll do my best with the Harem, just gotta love the Kage Bunshin though. It'll make things a little easier to get the girls alone with 'Ruto.

Again, sorry it took me swo long to update this. Normally the updates are every week-two weeks, barring issues like what came up with my internet and laptop hating me and my story. Hope you come back and read more, the story ain't through yet!

Nayami-chan:

*blinks, does a double take, then a triple take* O.O HEYLA! You came back! –clears throat-

Alright, to review respond.:

I'm glad to hear that. I know how that can be with some fics – they're really good, but you don't want to read fanfic at that time. No harm done.

You didn't have to push yourself you know – the story isn't going anywhere you can't read it lol.

Glad youy enjoyed the chapter.

Sorry, but yes, in this fic at least, the Uchiha is a prick of the first degree. But at least there is someone he obeys – his God.

-reads, rereads, rerereads massive message- That is the longest review I have ever gotten. Ever. And like I said earlier, no harm no foul. I knew that I had thrown a few people from my story with my unique aspects (still haven't figured out what the bloody 'ell 'Ey' meant by his/her review…) so I figured that was what had happened. And yes, I'll message you as soon as I finish responding here. –twitches at being poked- that's not very nice though. And yes, I do enjoy reading your reviews, you normally say a fair bit (not this much though!) so it's always a good thing. Hrm. Yes, I read this whole thing, and sent you a message, so stop feeling bad young lady! And stop worrying your cousin's ear off about me, the poor soul is probably sick of hearing about some random fanfic author lol. And it's 1:17 here, so I need to wrap up review responses, so I win! *sticks tongue out at you and crosses eyes*

Glad you liked the conversation between Kiba and Yugito, wasn't too sure I handled that part correctly. And the games and hug thing is one of those things that will become a reoccurring joke in this story. –sagely nod-. Which poll though?

Good to hear that.

Hmm. Your vote makes it even, three for each. Damnation, this makes it a toss-up.

Here's the next chapter, glad you enjoyed the Bingo Book info. Yes, there will be another after the time skip, or possibly sooner if enough people ask for an entry about someone in particular. I'm sorry this chapter took so long to upload, but I am striving to finish the next oen and get it up on the site as well.

Is there an all of the above option? And you don't need to try making it interesting, just getting the review is satisfaction enough for me.

Alright, that's the end of the reviews! One last time, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get this chapter uploaded. Though it makes me wonder what will happen when the story is done with… Anyway. As I said just above, the focus for my next two stories is now a toss up between NarutoxNier and HpxEd, versus NarutoxEd, HPxNier. So, put your vote in your reviews for this chapter, and the tally from this chapter alone will decide it! So come on ladies and gents, vote in for the story focus you'd rather see!

PS: I have the prologue of the first chapter of the Harry Potter fic mostly complete, I just need to know which book he'll find. Yes, the H.P. stories will have similar prologues, but the final protion will be the difference before the rest of the story.

Alright, vote for which story set you'd rather see!

Ja Ne!

Garran out!