Author's Note: Hey everyone, let me start off with that I am so sorry that this story had come out so late.

I'd tell you what happened, but none of that can excuse for the lateness of this chapter. Writing has still proven to be a fickle beast for my brain to handle, and it has taken it's toll mentally on me.

I think this is my largest chapter yet, and with it, I have decided to expand on multiple things within the story. Character development (at least in my opinion), lore, plot progression, and other things that a new writer should expand upon.

In any case, let's check in on our Demon of Konoha, and his current situation.


Iwagakure

As the boy's eyes flickered with tears, his heart was torn between unending sadness, and insurmountable rage. The reason being was that two of many people he thought to be dead, was brought up to him solely for the purpose of killing him...and he couldn't do the same.

Looking to his left was a teenage girl that could qualify-no, she was a woman guessing by age, but he knew she must be 19 by now. She was well built for her age, tall, fair-skinned, muscle toned, but not too much to the point of showing it. When he took a closer look at her, he could see that she was wearing something only she would wear despite the protests of those around her.

Just a plain white tank top covering her moderate C-cup breasts with a combat vest untied hanging freely from her shoulders, and baggy, grey camouflage pants tucked into her military boots. Even as he looked at her attire, the real qualities that identified the "big sister" was her long, fiery auburn hair that could put sunset's to shame to no end flying wildly in the wind, and her green eyes shining brighter than emeralds.

What also put him on edge were the iconic weapon or rather weapons in her hand, and strapped onto her back. In her left hand was a large strange shaped sword he had never seen before, but had definitely been warned about. It was the sword that could eat chakra like it was nothing, and could only be wielded by those with whom it chose, the Samehada. While that weapon was intimidating enough, it was the other one the boy was wary of.

A blade so tall it almost surpassed her height, it was equivalent to a giant butcher knife made to cleave people in half as if they were pieces of meat, and with ease as well, the Kubikiribōchō, or it's more infamous name the Executioner's blade. A blade that the boy had longed to master, but was unable to for it was stolen from it's last master, her father, from her.

Even though her lineage was a well protected secret, there was no doubt in his mind that this was Akakiri Momochi, daughter of Zabuza Momochi, and Mei Terumi, born out of wedlock from a one night stand unwanted by merely everyone in the world...not him though. She may have her mother's smooth face, however her eyes resembled her father's purely from the death glare she was giving him, but were also devoid of any indication that she was in control of her actions.

The same could be said to the person on Akakiri's left who was equally out of his mind. The boy did not know much about him, or interacted as much but if he were to guess the man was around the same age as Akakiri. He was much slimmer than the woman to his right actually, almost looking physically weaker and less intimidating. With his pale skin, greasy black hair with the bangs draped over his eyes covering them completely, and body structure that of a sleazy snake, couple that with sunken in violet eyes hovering over a twisted grin, he looked more disturbing than threatening.

His wardrobe didn't help that either, but given who his mother was the boy knew she wouldn't care. Considering his partners clothing that showed she didn't care about what the world thought of her body, this man thought otherwise. Long sleeved black shirt with mesh armor underneath all covered by a evenly dark yet sharp dress vest, sleek black pants with sunday shoes, but his posture said another thing.

Even though he was sitting down, with his head hanging between his legs, the man was hunched over severely to the point of it looking painful, yet he looked like he was in paradise for whatever reason, but one thing out of all that surprisingly set the boy on edge the most. That being the 20 ft. human sized anaconda wrapped around his whole body like some child clinging to his blanket, but he knew this snake didn't have any real attachment to the man. Rather, if the boy had to make a guess he say the snake was enslaved to him.

This was the man who could stare death right in the face, and smile without a care in the world. He'd give veteran ninja chills just by walking close to them, and scare torture enthusiasts with a twinkle of his eye. Rumors of his defection from Konoha spread across the world, but then again he was loyal only to himself. That is, until someone put a mind controlling seal on his forehead, because that'd be the only logical explanation for him not leaping at his prey right now.

The boy knew this from the oddly placed large headband around his head covering his hair completely making the head band look like a cap instead, and there was also the fact he could sense some weird chakra specifically around his head...the same he sensed around Akakiri's chest. This, was Izaya Mitarashi, the son of Anko Mitarashi with the father still unknown to everyone save for him.

The boy would have to admit, even though he never met the man for an extended period of time, he felt a strong connection, and had an obligation to see it through that he would let Izaya live...or at the very least avoid being killed by him.

No matter how he went about it one thing was for certain, he was so screwed.

"Any last words?" Izaya asked emotionlessly slightly lifting his head to the boy's position

"Not that you deserve them." Akaikiri spat

"Just a question. Have you ever killed a demon before?" the boy asked curiously looking down

"Can't say I have. This'll be my first time." Izaya said disinterested

"Then you'll find that we're...resilient." the boy said raising his aura staring the pair down with his red eyes suddenly noticing the snake surrounding Izaya was gone

"Can't deny that. But you'll find that we..." Izaya said pointing behind the boy, causing him to quickly and reluctantly look behind him to see the snake already in a whipping position

"Don't care." Izaya finished as he snapped his fingers commanding the snake to do it's job

"Shit." the boy moaned as the giant snake whipped it's tail on the boy's back launching him through several buildings finally landing in an alleyway

"Oh, god. That's gonna sting in the morning." the boy groaned as he cracked his neck

"You're assuming that you'll live that long. Ninja Art: Striking Shadow Snakes." Izaya commented as multiple vipers slithered out from his sleeves launching themselves at their target

Dodging narrowly the boy quickly decided he had to keep running in order to think of a strategy.

"Damn it, I need to get some distance. Maybe if..." the boy thought to himself looking toward a large group of people off in the distance

"Perfect." the boy thought in anticipation sprinting toward his objective

"Get back here!" Akakiri shouted

"Make me!" the boy shouted as he threw paper bombs at them

"He's heading toward's the plaza!" Akakiri shouted

"We better stop him then." Izaya said boringly

Still sprinting at full speed, the boy charged onward toward a mass of people, and began to come up with an idea to prove an idea of his.

"Time to test their will to kill me." the boy thought to himself as he jumped in front of the crowd filled with fear

"Aaaah!" a random woman screamed at the top of her lungs

"He's coming!" a elderly man moaned despair

"Run for it!" a random man shouted as he pushed someone out of the way only to be stopped by the one thing he was running from

"Nice try, good on you. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" the boy shouted as 20 clone's popped into existence surrounding the mob of civilians

"We're surrounded!" a cowardly genin stated hiding behind the adults

"Oh my god, we're trapped!" another genin said doing the same as his comrade

"We're gonna die! We're gonna die!" a woman shouted getting into a fetal position

Deciding to quiet them down quickly the boy threw up a paper bomb so set the mood, and gather their attention at the same time.

Boom!

"Now, since I have your attention, shut up, and you might not make that happen. Get over there, now." the boy demanded said pointing to an open area

Reluctantly the mob of hostages followed to where the clones leaded them, and just as all hoped seemed loss, it would seem a hero would arise in this situation. As the two former cowardly genin jumped in front of the shadow clones trying to put up a front.

"Unhand them dem-"

But it was pointless, as their throats were instantly slashed preventing nothing more to come out of them, but the blood beating from their hearts.

"I said, shut up." the boy grunted kicking the bleeding corpses away from the crowd causing another random woman to scream at the top of her lungs

"Aaaaa-!"

Only to share the same fate as the soldiers.

"Anyone else?" the original boy asked turning to the crowd

"W-We'll be q-quiet." said a random civilian as the others slowly nodded their heads covering each other's mouths

"Good, now stay that way. You're saviors have come to your rescue." the boy said in disgust as the two pursuers

"Coward, using weaklings to cover yourself." Akakiri growled in contempt

"I'm right here." said the original stepping in front of the crowd baiting them

"OH! Did they come-" said a random bystander only to receive a kunai to the forehead turning him into nothing more than a falling corpse causing the crowd to gasp before closing their mouths again

"What part of shut up do you not understand?" the boy said annoyingly keeping his eyes on the two in front of him

"My my, aren't you a cruel one?" Izaya asked licking his lips

"Let them go demon!" Akakiri shouted in rage gripping her swords tightly

"So, they're instructed to kill me, but aren't jumping wildly because of the civilians. Huh, now I know they're controlled, there's no way they would've just stood there watching me killing people. Must be a command given to them whenever they send them out, probably to act as some sort of propaganda warriors. Then again, she did just call them weaklings, and Izaya just licked his lips so I guess that the seal isn't perfect if it lets them keep that amount of personality like that."

"Here's the thing. I want out of here, you want most of these worthless chumps. See the connection?" the boy asked rhetorically

"A trade huh? You seem to think that you'll escape here alive." Izaya asked fixing his suit

"I am." the boy simply replied

"What makes you so sure of that?" Akakiri asked dangerously

"This." the original said as he dove into the crowd confusing everyone their until he did something none of them had expected

"Aaaahh!" screamed a young girl no older than 5 being carried away by the boy

"Mio!" screamed the woman to her child

"Mommy!" the child screamed back

"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu." the boy along with his clones said as they as well took off in multiple directions

As they said these words thousands of clones of the boy holding the small girl surrounded the entirety of the plaza as well as the citizens who were now panicking to no end. Using the confusion to his advantage the boy's clone's spread out in multiple directions including charging the two hunters with weapons in hand.

"Seems we have a chase on our hands." Izaya commented as he kicked one of the clone's away with ease dodging another's swift lunge attack

"Damn it, we need to call in for back up. Neither of us have reserves to find those clones." Akakiri growled as she swept the 3 clone's charging her with Samehada

"Agreed, but we need to be careful not to slice and dice the girl he's carrying. One wrong move, and our "precious" image might be in a bit of trouble." Izaya droned

"As if that's worth worrying about. Let's clear these worthless..." Akakiri groaned until a sudden headache came over her

"I mean, the safety of Iwa civilians is our highest priority." Akakiri said weirdly polite to the point of confusing Izaya

"Reall...Agreed, we should do this in honor of our Empress." Izaya said in a more enthusiastic tone

"For Kurotsuchi-sama." they said together in unity

"All hail, Empress Kurotsuchi." they said together with a blissful smile on their faces that seemed to enrage the clones, who all said the same thing

"That bitch, I'm gonna kill her!" the clones roared in unison rage as they all charged in without any thought as to what they might do


With Naruto

Clutching his mother's side like the scared child he was Naruto trembled as he asked his mother if the nightmare he just experienced was real.

"M-Mom, was it r-really a dream?" Naruto asked his mother sobbingly

"Yes, Naruto. See, I'm right here with you, and nothing bad is going to happen to you." Kushina said as she comforted her son

"Really?" he asked his mother straight in her eyes

"Really. You ok now?" Kushina asked her son as she rubbed his back

"Mhmm." he answered wiping away his tears

"Good. Now lie down sweetie." Kushina said gently as she separated herself from her son

"What, wh-OW! OW! OW! OW!" Naruto cried out in pain as he tried to move away

"Careful, careful. Slowly, there we go." Kushina said gently lowering her son onto the bed

"Mom, why does my back hurt so...FU! HIR-OUCH!" Naruto yelled again holding his back

"Careful! Fu, and Hiromi are fine. Just a couple of cuts, and bruises nothing major." Kushina assured her son

"Or at least that's what it looked like, but he doesn't need to worry about that." Kushina thought to herself

"It's you who you need to worry about. You got hurt really badly, and you need your rest." Kushina said calmly to her son

"But mom, didn't you-"

"I'm fine, Naruto, really I a-Yeouch!" Kushina squealed as she noticed a small finger prick her on her shoulder

"No, you're not ok, and you need rest as well." Tsunade said seriously in her doctor tone

"Tsunade? When did you-"

"Just got here, now it's your turn to get into bed. No if's, and's or but's about it. Back in bed." Tsunade ordered in a tone that was not meant to be talked back to, but that didn't stop the redhead

"You can't make-"

"Now." Tsunade said pointing down at the bed

"I'm his mother." Kushina replied standing up

"And I'm your doctor. Now don't make me say it again." Tsunade said glaring at the Uzumaki who began to lean back

"You're not seriously thinking-"

"1..." Tsunade counted

"Tsunade, I'm a grown wom-"

"2..." 'crack'

"OK! OK! Sheesh." Kushina sighed as she sat down on her own bed

"Uh huh." Tsunade said puffing her chest as she watched Kushina slowly, and somewhat painfully lay on her bed

"Mom?" Naruto asked in concern

"I'm fine Naruto." Kushina said quickly

"Kushina." Tsunade said sternly raising her fist

"Just a little scratched up sweetie." Kushina said with a weak smile

"Yes, and those scratches are gonna keep you in bed for the next few days." Tsunade said firmly

"Wait what?" Kushina said nearly falling off her bed

"You're lucky I don't knock you back into a coma to keep you there. You've been working your body overtime ever since you woke up, and now it's finally catching up to you. So now, you're stuck here." Tsunade explained

"Fine." Kushina said defeated

"Glad you understand. Shizune!" Tsunade called out followed by a shaky apprentice

"R-Right here Milady." Shizune answered nervously

"Status report on those two girls." Tsunade said without a beat as did Shizune in her response

"The blonde child is doing fine health wise, but for some reason half of her chakra was nearly depleted. We are looking for the cause, but all she require's is some rest, along with some time to heal those wounds. It's the other one I'm worried about. She seems to be somehow suffering from extreme chakra exhaustion, and is currently being kept under an IV. There's no immediate danger to her health, but just to be sure of ourselves she'll have to stay that way for at least a week, if not longer just to be safe." Shizune reported looking at her clipboard as Tsunade reflected on the information

"I see, very good. Keep an eye on these two will you? I have other patients to worry about, and what's the status on those rooms for them at the hospital? Those two young idiot's are especially in critical condition." Tsunade said gravely

"The hospital has made arrangements for Jiraiya-sama, Itachi-san, Kakashi-san, and Anko-san. But Milady, are you sure we should be leaving that child here as well?" Shizune asked in concern

"Shintaro?" Tsunade asked for confirmation

"I mean, he's technically the most injured one here by comparison. Even if he's technically not a citizen of Konoha we can at least treat him more so than we have." Shizune said sympathetically as Tsunade sighed

"That's what I had in mind, but Ayano told me he'd somehow break out anyways. He's not fond of hospitals for some reason, and also made the point that they're not technically citizens of Konoha. So since we only offer advanced medical treatment to our own, assets, or diplomatic figures for free or tolerable rate we have to charge them quite a lot. Even if that girl is my student there's not much I can do for her in that regard." Tsunade said regretfully

"That's true, but can't we make this a special case?" Shizune asked

"I'd have to take it up with the old man, but ultimately it's up to the kid. Unless he has crucial information that we need we have no obligation to help him stay alive, unless he changes his mind about joining the village." Tsunade explained

"Tsunade! He's just a kid, you can't honestly expect him to abide by that. Not to mention he's a Senpu, he's going to be stubborn on everything. Plus, when did you become such a stickler for rules like that? You're one of the greatest medics in the world why are you bothering with unimportant crap like that?" Kushina rebutted annoyingly

"Because we ordered her to." said an old gritty voice

"Hiruzen? Jiraiya?...Danzo? First off, why are you out of bed? Secondly, what's he doing here? And lastly, what do you mean ordered her?" Kushina said glaring daggers at the old men

"1. It's not as bad as it looks, actually I just feel sore as hell. 2. You got me, I was wondering the same thing. 3. Care to explain that one Sensei?" Jiraiya said leaning against a wall

"Yes, allow me to explain. As for your second question Danzo is here to discuss business we made with each other." Hiruzen said holding a folder in his hands

"Business?" Kushina asked raising an eyebrow

"I'm afraid that's all I can say for right now, the rest is confidential, and there are things your child doesn't need to know." Hiruzen said looking at Naruto who chose to remain quiet mainly due to lessons learned in the past

"Fine, so what's this about orders?" Kushina asked agitated

"That is also confidential, but the brunt of it is to benefit Konoha as a whole." Hiruzen explained as Kushina sighed

"Figures." she thought to herself

"Hokage-sama, if I may have a moment of your time we need to continue discussing our...business together." Danzo said carefully

"Yes, I'm afraid I must leave now. I suggest you take it easy from now on my former student. Less you face the wrath of the one who patched you up." Hiruzen teased

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Tsunade smirked

"Ehehe, right." Jiraiya laughed nervously

"Good, Kushina stay there. I'm going to check on that idiot boy, but you better be in bed by the time I come back, and next time, try not to break down the door when leaving." Tsunade droned picking up the door on the floor, and setting it against the wall

"Ok ok." Kushina pouted

"Mom?" Naruto said finally speaking up

"Yes, sweetie?" Kushina replied to her son

"Is Shintaro gonna be ok?"

"Ooh, boy." Jiraiya sighed sympathetically

"Talk about blunt." Tsunade said rubbing her neck

"Um..." Kushina said trying to think of something to say

"Where is he? Did he come back? Can I see him?" Naruto asked urgently as his mother had a hard time finding an appropriate answer

"Woah, woah easy kid. One question at a time, no need to pressure your mom like that." Jiraiya said

"Sorry."

"Listen, Naruto. We need to talk to about Shintaro, something...happened. Tsunade, Jiraiya, I'm sorry to ask you this, but can you..." Kushina said unable to finish her sentence

"Don't worry about it. I actually need to have a talk with Tsunade, and the kid anyways." Jiraiya said looking at his former teammate

"Fine, but you aren't to leave this room unless it's an emergency. Even then I suggest you wait it out. Shizune, stay with those girls for the time being, and make sure that Hozuki brat doesn't do anything stupid to the machines. He seems like he'd be a troublemaker." Tsunade warned

"Hai, Tsunade-sensei. I hope you get some rest, Kushina-san." Shizune complied as she left the room

"Will do. Actually, I think this'll be the only alone we'll have for a long time. Tsunade?" Kushina sighed as she looked at her son

"Got it, come on you." Tsunade said to her patient

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Jiraiya sighed as they left the room

"Mom?" Naruto said, confused at his mother

"Naruto, I need you to understand a few things something before we talk ok? I feel like we need to talk." Kushina said seriously to her son across the room

"Mom, what happened to Shintaro?" the blonde asked worriedly

"I'm not going to get out of this one am I Minato? Oh man, already breaking hard news like this is going to kill me. I gotta find a way to tell him about it, and quickly move on." Kushina internally sighed to herself

"Shintaro's...he's in the hospital." Kushina explained to her son

"What? How, what happened?" Naruto asked in concern

"Shintaro overestimated his abilities, and more dangerously underestimated his opponents despite being accompanied by strong shinobi, he still ended up like he is. Although, I'm not sure how things exactly went down, I am sure that's what happened." Kushina said calmly explaining in her own words surprising herself at the way she spoke

"Wow, I sounded just like Minato. I wonder if..."

"Uh..." Naruto uttered confused as can be

"Never mind. Looks like you got stuck with my brains after all, sorry about that Naruto." Kushina sighed sympathetically

"He picked a fight he couldn't win." Kushina simplified

"Oh, why did he do that?" Naruto asked tilting his head

"Eh, that part get's a bit complicated. You see, there were some bad guys who were taking kids from their home's, and...did bad stuff to them, stuff you don't need to know about, ever." Kushina said staring seriously into her son's eye's

"O-Ok." Naruto replied as he started to roll under his sheets

"I'm sorry Naruto, but after last night, and this morning I'm just a little bit on edge right now." Kushina apologized holding her head

"It's ok mom, sorry that I worried you." Naruto said coming out of his sheets

"And I'm sorry I let you into that mess, but let's get back to Shi...crap." Kushina groaned as she facepalmed herself

"So, what happened Mom? Who could do something like that to Shintaro? Why'd he go there at all?" Naruto asked continuing his barrage of questions

"I sure dragged myself into this one. As for who, it could only be that cold twisted monster who deserves to rot in hell, and why..."

"The reason why he left in the first place was a noble reason to be sure. As I explained before, Shintaro found out about those kids, and didn't hesitate to find them to try and rescue them. As for who did this to Shintaro, let's just say they're someone who doesn't deserve to be talked about, but he is a very, very dangerous man, if he can be called that anymore." Kushina explained in disgust

"Shintaro went up against someone like that?" Naruto said shocked, thinking of his savior taking on someone like that

"He wasn't scarred at all, he went up against someone stronger than him, and didn't even stop to think about saving those kids...kids like me probably." Naruto thought to himself

"He seems to be taking this seriously, good. Time to finish this up." Kushina thought to herself

"I know right? It was completely-"

"Cool!" Naruto praised with gleaming eyes throwing his mother off

"Eh?" the confused mother uttered as she watched her son get excited

"I never knew Shintaro could do something so cool like that. I knew he could fight, but to think he did something as crazy like that. I wish I could do something like that-"

"Naruto." Kushina said sternly and motherly as possible

"Y-Yes?" Naruto replied thinking he upset her somehow

"Calm down Kushina, he's still a 5 year old boy. Hearing stories about barely kids older than him take out bad guys, and save kids like him will only make Shintaro look like a hero to look up to." Kushina said calming herself

"Naruto, you need to understand something." Kushina said calmly taking a deep breath

"Yes, mom?" Naruto said timidly

"What Shintaro did was brave, even noble in a way, but it was also stupid." Kushina clarified

"Why? Should he not have saved those kids?" Naruto asked even more confused

"Oh boy, this is gonna get complicated." Kushina thought to herself in preparation for her next words

"A lot of people, especially ninjas, would say what Shintaro did, was a waste a time not worth his efforts." Kushina said bluntly

"What, why would they say that?" Naruto asked, getting a little angry of how people would act

"Well, if you look at the results it would be obvious. His condition is critical, meaning he got hurt really badly, as well as his teammates, and all he got in return for it was one child who's proven to be extremely dangerous, especially in her head. In fact, you met her last night." Kushina said plainly unsure of what to think of that girl

"Last night...you mean that girl?" Naruto said in surprise, still a bit shaken when he thought about her

"Yes, the one who...took you last night." Kushina said quietly holding in her motherly rage

"So, that girl was the kid Shintaro saved from those jerks. Now that I think about it, she did sound kind of scared talking to everyone. What did she have to go through to be like that?" Naruto thought to himself wondering if she was like him

"Naruto? What's wrong?" Kushina asked her deep in thought son

"Huh, oh, sorry mom. I was just thinking if she was living like me before she got here. She sounded kind of sad, and scared...like I used to be before all this happened, before Shintaro found me, before...I met you mom. Sniff sniff, sorry about that mom." Naruto asked wiping his tears away surprising his mother pleasantly

"Is he really crying over someone who tried to take his life last night? Naruto, you're just like your father, caring, and worrying about others despite what they do to you. Despite how this village treats you, you still have that much kindness in your heart...I only hope that kindness doesn't come back to haunt you." Kushina thought earnestly hoping the best for son

"You're only crying over someone's well being, and that someone might not deserve, but you cry anyways. That just shows how much you care about people Naruto, nothing to be ashamed about. I just hope that girl apologizes for what she did next time we see her." Kushina grunted

"I don't know mom, she must've been scared with how she got here." Naruto said in her defense

"I'm sure she was, but enough about her and Shintaro for now. I want to talk about this morning." Kushina said sitting up, and stared at her son intently causing him to lower his head in shame

"..."

"Now, I'm not mad at you. I just want to talk, ok?" Kushina said calmly

"Ok." Naruto nodded

"Good. First thing, do you see that kunai?" Kushina said pointing to a broken kunai hilt placed on the counter

"Yes, it's the one I used to keep myself above water because..." Naruto answered before stopping himself

"Because what?" Kushina pressed

"I was...trying to protect myself! Yeah, that's it." Naruto said rubbing his head nervously

"Naruto. Even if that's part of the truth it's still a part. Now tell me the rest." Kushina said

"Oooh...you're not going to laugh, are you?" Naruto asked embarrassed in front of his mother who realized he was more like him than she thought

"Naruto, I'm not going to laugh at you. Why did you use a kunai to keep you up? This is a dangerous weapon, and something you should not be in possession of. You're lucky you didn't cut yourself down there, and yet you held onto it like it was your own life. Do you not know how to...swim. You can't swim, is that it?" Kushina asked her son who still couldn't look her in the eye

"..."

"Oh Naruto, it's perfectly normal that you can't swim right now. Especially since there are hardly any places to practice in the first place. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Kushina said gently as she walked over to her son's bed

"But Hiromi could swim." Naruto said dejectedly

"Great, he has both of our defeatist attitude when we lose. I hope I can at least tell him the right thing right now." Kushina thought as she internally sighed until she thought of something

"Hiromi's from outside the village, I'm sure she, Fu, Suigetsu, and all of the others know more things than you do. And you know what?" Kushina asked her son

"What?" he asked curiously

"That's completely ok. It doesn't make you less than them in any way. In fact, I'm proud of you for your quick thinking Naruto." Kushina said proudly rubbing her son's back

"What do you mean?" he asked getting his hopes up

"As much as the thought of you using that kunai at your age terrifies me, I have to admit one thing. You thought on your feet, and used what you had to keep you alive. I'm sure your father would be proud of you, just as much as I am." Kushina praised her now blushing son

"Wow, thanks mom." Naruto said hiding his red face from his mother

"But! That doesn't mean I want you holding these things in the near future. Understand?" Kushina said seriously

"Y-Yes mom." Naruto said quickly bobbing his head up and down

"These things can be dangerous in...untrained, and inexperienced hands." Kushina said carefully trying not to put down her son

"Oh...ok." Naruto simply replied

"Which brings me to what I wanted to talk you about next. That being..."

"Come on Kushina, you know he needs this, and if my motherly instincts are right, which I hope they're not, plus he seems to have my knack for getting into trouble." Kushina thought to herself

"That being me teaching you survival tactics." Kushina sighed reluctantly as she watched her son beam with excitement

"You're gonna teach me cool stuff? Awe-"

"Ep pep pep! Hold your excitement young man. I'm not teaching you how to use kunai, swords or any type of weapons...not now anyways. I'm going to teach you the basics of how to keep yourself alive, and mainly self-defense." Kushina said clearly

"So wait. You're not going to teach me how to fight, or anything like that? So, I'm not going to learn how to use a sword like Suigetsu or wield two kunai like Fu?" Naruto said a bit disappointed

"Not with this mother your not. Suigetsu, and Fu have been, though by someone too young in my opinion, trained to handle dangerous weapons like that...at least to the point where they don't cut themselves on purpose. No, you're going to learn how to fight with these (holds his hands), and more importantly this (points at his head). Although, you seem to have a knack for doing so already." Kushina smiled

"My head?" Naruto said confused

"Yup." Kushina said rubbing his head

"But why? I told you didn't I? I'm not that smart, and I can barely read at all." the blonde child said depressingly

"That's another thing I'll be working on with you. When you come home from school I'll be teaching you a whole lot of things." Kushina said trying to lift up

"But there's so much I don't know, and all the kids make fun of me. Can't I just stay home, and have you teach me how to be a ninja? You're awesome, and already a ninja so I can just learn from you." Naruto begged his mother as she chuckled at his attempt to skip school

"Sorry Naruto, even if I teach everything I know, and trust me it's a lot trust me, that still won't make you an official ninja. I know it sucks, but you have to go through all those boring, yet necessary, lessons that only the teachers at the academy can teach you. As for those kids, they're just something you'll have to push through on your own or with the help or your friends, that is up to you." Kushina said with a semi-serious tone

"Friends?" Shintaro said with a mixed range of emotions, mainly confusion

"Yes, friends. Like Fu, Hiromi, Suigetsu or any that you might make at school." Kushina explained as her son groaned

"Not sure I will, only nice people there are Hiromi, Fu, Hinata, Ino, and Sakura-chan." Naruto sighed

"Oh, only those 5 people huh?" Kushina smirked as she watched her son blush in embarrassment

"And those were all girls too...great, please don't be an early bloomer. Or worse, a fan club, blegh." Kushina dreaded at the mere thought of her son gaining a following from the opposite sex

"Mmm..." the child groaned

"You just don't want to go to school." Kushina teased

"Hmph." he pouted

"Uh huh. Well, if you want to be Hokage like your father you're gonna have to suck it up, and deal with it." Kushina said puffing her chest as she smacked her son on the back, although unexpectedly getting no response from him

"Naruto?" Kushina said to her son

"Yeah...hey, mom?" Naruto said to her mother as he looked into her eyes with an unusual seriousness to them

"What's...our family like?" Naruto asked surprising his mother

"What do you mean Naruto?" Kushina said confused

"I mean, you told me about dad. About he was smart, really cool, and became the Yondaime...sorry that's still just crazy to think about." Naruto said taking in the facts

"I know it might be a bit much to take in, but you'll get used to it." Kushina smiled at her son

"I don't know, he got that way because of his skills, and talent right?" Naruto asked somewhat down causing her mother to wrap her arm around him

"Not entirely, but yes, your father...he was an amazing man, and I'm sure if he were here with us, he'd be a wonderful father. Why?" Kushina asked trying to find out what was wrong with him

"I know about him, but are there any others? Like, did he have have brothers or sisters, or parents growing up? Or what about you mom? Honoka-nee told me we're cousins, and how her dad is your brother, my uncle. She doesn't know a lot about others, but we have a grandpa, I have an actual grandpa who's also the leader of our clan. I'm...part of a clan, a family like Ino or Hinata. Where is he? Where's the Uzumaki clan? Do they not care about us?" Naruto asked sincerely with a mild bitter tone in his voice

"Oh boy, this is going to be a tough one. I can see where he's going with this." Kushina thought as she took a deep breath thinking of a way to talk this through

"Son, your grandfather, my dad, cares about you more than you realize. If he knew you were alive right here, right now I'm sure he'd send Kenshi to pick you up. Actually, if Kenshi came here he'd probably find out about me as well, and boy would he be mad. They do care about us, believe me, but you have to remember, grandpa is the Clan Head of the Uzumaki Clan. Think of him like...the Hokage of the Uzumaki. Sure he loves us, but he also loves the clan as well and has to think what's best for the clan which means us as well." Kushina explained carefully to her son who seemed have his spirits lifted up immensely

"Oh, does that mean Grandpa's the strongest Uzumaki?" Naruto asked excitedly as Kushina smirked confidently

"You better believe it. He's not only the strongest, but the smartest too when it comes to fuuinjutsu. He's even stronger than me." the red headed mother proclaimed to her son in awe

"Really? Wow, Grandpa, and the Uzumaki are really cool." Naruto said in amazement as Kushina snickered in agreement

"Yeah we are, and don't you forget it. Wanna know our clan creed?" Kushina asked her son until she realized her mistake

"Oh crap, I forgot! Calm down calm down, let's just hope he didn't hear me." Kushina hoped

"What's a creed?" Naruto asked curiously

"Damn it." Kushina cursed within herself

"It's like a code of honor, in other words, a cool phrase we live by." Kushina said trying to save face hoping she got the point across

"Uh..."

She didn't.

"It's uh...kind of like our own personal rules." Kushina explained again

"Rules? Why would you want live by rules all the time? That sounds boring." Naruto said with a sour face

"They are, or at least that's what I thought at your age Naruto." Kushina sighed internally

"Ok, how do I put this? Um...it's important like tradition almost. Here, why don't I say it? Now pay attention ok?" Kushina said seriously to her son who sat at the ready listening attentively

"Ok." Naruto said looking straight into his mother's eyes

"Calm down. Just remember what mom, and dad hammered into you. You can do this Kushina." she thought determinedly

Closing her eyes, and concentrating on her old memories of the lectures her mother drilled into her, Kushina once again calmed herself as she took a deep breath before opening her eyes. Without realizing it completely, but at the same time feeling it within, her eyes held a type of seriousness with a glint of pride that carried her family name with confidence. Naruto never saw this look in her mother before, and paid attention with all his might like his life depended on it.

"With my body, sturdier than the stone of the sea, I defend my home to the last breath."

"With my heart, stronger than the roaring tides, I proudly stand up for my beliefs until the day I die."

"With my mind, clearer than the sky, I rule my house with peace and prosperity."

"With my spirit, never ending like the sea surrounding the world, I plant my feet steadfast against all enemies."

"All these things I carry within myself, blending together, forever making the Uzumaki in me." Kushina finished

As Kushina finished speaking her clan creed she sighed in relief thanking that it was over. Her eyes returned to their normal state being filled full of life, but tired from today's events.

"Whew, nailed it! Did he get it that time?" Kushina asked herself nervously only to be met with an awestruck Naruto Uzumaki looking at his mother at a whole new perspective

"Whoa, that's our creed?" Naruto asked in amazement as Kushina sweat dropped

"Oh no, that's not even close Naruto. If Mom were here she'd have me repeat the whole thing in our ancient native tongue, but nobody uses that anymore. Heh...mom." Kushina thought sadly to herself before shaking her head to clear her mind

"Yup, it's actually a lot longer than that, but I put into words that you could understand." Kushina explained

"That sounded a whole lot cooler when you said it mom. I thought it was going to be boring...I still don't get all of it, but the way you said it sounded like it was really important." Naruto said enthusiastically

"It is Naruto. What are creed boils down to is this. We may be strong, smart, or even loyal, stand up for ourselves, but in order to become a true Uzumaki "At least according to dad." you need to blend them all together in harmony. When you do, you'll find out what kind of person you really are, in other words, your true self. Not all of us believe in the same things, but we believe in them wholeheartedly, never backing down no matter what people say." Kushina said to her attentive son

"Whew, alright. I think I'm getting the hang of this talking stuff down. Ok Naruto, got anything else to say?" Kushina thought to herself confidently

"What do you believe in mom?" Naruto asked innocently

"Crap." Kushina cursed mentally slapping herself

"Me? Uh..."

"Should I tell him? No, you're his mother, and he barely knows you. If he knows this it'll make him more comfortable around you, and it will give him something to base his morality."

"Well, I've always used believed in being the strongest meant everything. After all, I always saw people who were bigger, and stronger get what they wanted. I also used to believe in only having strong people around me. I did, until my mom literally beat it out of me, boy did she pack a punch. Hehehe." Kushina laughed nervously, only watch her son not share the same sentiment

"Baa-chan beat you as a kid? How could she?" Naruto asked aghast, and somewhat disgusted

"Nonononononono! Listen Naruto, she didn't do it out of hatred, but out of love Naruto. It was tough love, literally." Kushina said quickly trying to save her mother's reputation

"Tough love?" Naruto repeated skeptical of his mother

"Yup, back then my dad wasn't around as much, always put his job before us making it more important, or that's what it felt like. So, like the dumb kid I was I always got into trouble just to have dad stay home a little while longer, even if he did yell at me. I even used to drag Kenshi along just to make the lecture longer." Kushina explained nostalgically

"Jii-chan yelled at you too? Are they really nice people?" Naruto asked unconvinced of his lineage's goodwill toward them

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes. Believe me Naruto, it might sound bad, but I'm sure once he finds out about us he'll rush over to see the wonderful grandson he has waiting for him." Kushina said rubbing her son's head

"Mmm..." he grumbled annoyingly

"He's probably thinking I'm trying to cover for them, and thinking they're terrible people. Well, technically I am, but for good reason. Have to convince him somehow that they're not." Kushina thought determinedly

"Listen Naruto, I know from what I'm telling you they may seem like bad people, but they're not. I'm sure once you get to know him you'll change how you think about your , and Uncle Kenshi." Kushina said to her skeptic son until he realized something

"Wait, what about Grandma? Is she not coming?" Naruto said confused as Kushina's eyes twitched with sadness that didn't go unnoticed

"Mom?" Naruto said in concern

"I'm ok, it's just she's...she passed away, a long time ago." Kushina said sadly wiping her eyes of any tears, existent or otherwise leading Naruto to feel immense guilt

"Oh crap, Mom I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

"It's ok Naruto, you didn't know. I'm sure you would've loved her, but you won't get the chance. She was a wonderful woman, there's a lot to tell about her, but that'll have to wait. You need your rest Naruto, and I'm starting to get tired as well." Kushina said putting a hand on her forehead head moving to her own bed

"B-But mom, what if I get another nightmare?" Naruto asked shakily

"That's right, oh man I don't know how to calm him down. Wait a minute." Kushina thought to herself as she came up with an idea

"Tell you what, why don't you sleep with me?" Kushina offered

"Really?" Naruto said joyfully

"Yup." Kushina confirmed as she lied on her side waving her son to come

"But you're hurt. Aren't I gonna get in the way, and hurt you?" Naruto asked concerned about his mother's health

"Don't worry Naruto. Like I said, it's just a few scratches. You're not already old enough to be embarrassed to sleep with your mother are you?" she asked with a mock hurt face and tone that her son took seriously

"No! I'll never be embarrassed to be with you mom." Naruto proclaimed proudly sliding off his bed pillow in hand rushing to his mother's side despite the pain

"Oh? Even if I start to call you my little Naru-chan?" Kushina teased as Naruto nearly fell over once he heard his possible nickname

"Eh...well, you see uh..." he mumbled twiddling his fingers unable to see his mother's victorious smirk

"That's what I thought. Now come here, let's get some sleep." Kushina snickered as she pat the bed

"Ok...Kaa-chan." Naruto replied with a small blush on his face quickly diving onto the bed

Snuggling up next to his mother he quickly went back to bed without realizing the full impact of his words they had on her. If he had turned around he would've seen the broken mess he had turn her mother into. She was sobbing uncontrollably holding her mouth close to prevent herself from making any noise to worry him. Yet the tears she shed weren't from sorrow, but from joy. The joy of being called mother by his own son.

Oh sure, he called her mom, mommy even mother before now, but those words were not said the way he called out to her now. Kaa-chan...it was the more formal way to address your mother, but the way he said it, so innocently, so...lovingly like a child would naturally say to his mother. Kushina had always known this was her son, ever since the day he was born she knew that she was a mother, but now...now she realizes that fact with all her heart that her child knows she's his mother. And that, is the most wonderful thing a mother could ask for, from her Musuko.


With Shintaro

After all things had settled down Tsunade had caught up with Ayano, who was chatting with Tayuya getting to know her, and talked for a bit before finally deciding it was finally time to let Shintaro in on everything they had done with the past few hours. He...

"They did WHAT!?" Shintaro shouted in rage to the point of his voice shaking the room

Is not taking it well.

"Ow." Tayuya groaned as she rubbed her ears

"Shintaro-kun, please calm down." Ayano said removing her hands from her ears

"Geez kid, can you turn it down a notch?" Tsunade grumbled as she poked her ears

"Calm down? Turn it down a notch?! You expect me to be calm when all this was done behind my back!? When my SISTERS are in unknown danger? I knew I sensed Choumei's chakra, but I thought it was the damn drugs and my head playing tricks. Apparently not, it's because they're in danger!" Shintaro yelled in annoyance

"Danger that they put themselves in, but are out of now." Tsunade assured

"Where are they?" Shintaro asked quickly

"In a room not too far from here. Both are under medical watch, but nothing serious." Ayano said to confirm

"And the rest of them?" the angry child asked

"Haku-kun, and the others are waiting patiently at the entrance of the underground labyrinth. I've sent Ling to properly explain what...happened to you." Ayano said sadly as she imagined their hearts being broken from the news

"..."

"They got hurt trying to find me, they risked their lives trying to escape, even if it wasn't real they thought it was, using the training I gave them to survive. They almost died trying get to me...to me...and I couldn't do a damned thing even if I wanted to help." Shintaro sorely thought as something inside of him gave way

"Shintaro-kun?" Ayano asked in concern

"Damn it." Shintaro grunted bitterly to himself

"Huh?" Tayuya asked unable to hear him until she felt a deep amount of frustration and anger emanating from the broken boy

"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" he shouted in rage unintentionally unleashing his chakra to the point of pushing the young girls back

As his rage continued Shintaro kept swinging his left arm to the point of releasing it from from it's restraints, and crashing against the wall. Crashing so hard that it eventually hit the wall behind him shattering the medical cast protecting his still broken arm exposing it freely.

Shattering its only protection, the arm was now hanging freely showing the fact that it hadn't healed one bit, with the bone's in between the shoulder and elbow being shattered while in between the elbow and wrist was bent the wrong way.

Shintaro, in fact hit the cast so hard it caused some of the loose bone fragments in the upper arm to shred his skin to the point of bleeding. Despite all of this, Shintaro was still somehow able to grip his hand into a fist, clenching it tightly making his bones crack all the more intensely.

"Shintaro-kun! Please, calm down!" Ayano begged as she immediately began looking through the cabinets for medical wrappings while Tsunade began working on his arm

"Idiot, you've broken your cast off less than a day it was put on. You're dealing with not only a compound fracture, but a comminuted one as well. Don't move, let me work on this so the pain won't kick in." Tsunade said quickly applying medical ninjutsu until Shintaro swatted her hand away

"I don't need it." Shintaro said coldly

"Care to repeat that?" Tsunade said cracking her knuckles

"I don't this damn thing on both of my arms, one is good enough." the broken boy said raising his arm in front of his head letting it hang over his blind eyes as blood dripped from his fingers

"Oh? Do you expect that arm to heal instantly just because you will it?" Tsunade growled

"Something like that." Shintaro mumbled as he rested his arm on his chest

"What?" Tsunade asked losing her patience

"Watch." Shintaro simply said

Concentrating on his "special" chakra ability to heal, he focused his efforts on the still broken left arm. Ayano knew what he was doing, and decided to step in if it looked like it was going awry. Standing at the ready Tsunade was willing to knock Shintaro right then, and there...that is, until she saw red chakra pour out Shintaro covering his left arm completely. Watching the arm itself was both a miracle, and a nightmare to watch at the same time both as a doctor and a person in general.

She watched as the chakra that has ruined so many lives before, her grandmother, her close friend along with her child, and the entire village. All have shared pain when it came to this chakra, but this boy...with that monstrous chakra was forcibly making his arm fix itself against it's own will. She saw the bones retreat back into their fleshy case, repairing themselves with the sounds of crackling not ending anytime soon.

Fresh flesh surrounded his healing bones, covering the open wounds he had before bone fragments began to leak of out his arm like pebbles falling from a crevice onto the floor. Within a few painful minutes followed by some held in grunts the arm that was formerly broken now looked like a regular arm as if nothing had happened to it save for the blood rushing down his arm, and fingers dripping onto the floor.

"How..."

"The hell? How'd he do that?" Tayuya thought to herself in surprise

"If there's one thing you're going to know about me let it be this...don't insult my will to live." Shintaro said coldly as he raised his fist before cracking his wrist as if nothing hurt at all

"B-Baka, just because it looks healed on the outside doesn't mean it's...what the?"

"Tsunade-sensei?"

"This arm, it's not only healed perfectly, but the bone and muscle seem stronger than before, especially around the parts that were broken. How did you...not even my grandmother or Kushina could do this sort of thing."

"This kid." Jiraiya mused sighing in relief

"Tsunade, the kid's a Senpu remember? Chakra manipulation is their specialty no matter the kind, be it human or not." Jiraiya said

"Master of Chakra manipulation or not, this must've taken a lot of energy." Tsunade said as she stood up

"It did. Now, Ayano." Shintaro called out seriously like a general to his soldier

"Y-Yes?" Ayano responded in surprise

"How soon can you arrange a meeting with those that have left? I want to talk to them, today." Shintaro said plainly with the tone of not having it any other way

"So soon?" she questioned

"Ayano." he repeated

"A-Ano...if I travel alone it may take me a while, 2-3 hours at most." Ayano said after thinking about it as Shintaro

"Perfect, if it isn't too much trouble I'd like you to do so. I'd like the meeting to start around if not before 12:30 if possible. You up for it?" Shintaro asked

"I'm sure Shintaro-kun wants me notify them about the trouble were in, and it'd be nice to check on everyone to see if they're living comfortably, even if it has been less than a few days." Ayano thought to herself thinking this will help calm him down

"I understand. I'll be leaving now." Ayano said quickly leaving the room

"Tayuya, you still here?" Shintaro asked

"Yeah, why?" Tayuya said keeping her cool despite appearances

"I want you to get acquainted with your new roommates. Don't worry, if Ling is there she'll make sure nothing will happen to you. You guys just got off the wrong foot so I'm sure thing will be different this time. If nothing else you'll learn a few things about the people you'll be living with." Shintaro said more calmly

"Uh, sure." Tayuya said uneasy rubbing the back of her head

"You'll get more pancakes out of it." Shintaro baited the shy newbie

Grooooowwwwlll

"Hmph! Whatever, I'm leaving." Tayuya grumbled with a blush on her face

"Now, I'm sure you two have more things to discuss other than my sisters well being. Especially you Jiraiya-sensei. I honestly expected you to say something, but you stayed quiet the entire time. Does that mean you have serious questions for me?" Shintaro asked cynically to the old hermit

"What if I do?" Jiraiya responded

"Depending on the question, I may be able to give you an answer. That is, unless you answer some of mine. Same goes for you Tsunade-sama." Shintaro mocked

"Trade huh? Fine, but the same rules apply." Jiraiya said seriously grabbing a chair

"Very well, we're in agreement. I have questions, you have questions, so ask." Tsunade said leaning against a wall

"This'll be an enlightening conversation to say the least." Shintaro commented as the three gave into their own questions for a conversation none of them will come to regret


With Tayuya

Walking away from the room trying to get rid of the red off her face Tayuya tried her best to forget about the fact she was in these damn tunnels again.

"What's his deal? If he wanted me to leave so he could talk with those old farts he should've just said so. I would've gladly left if it meant leaving the same room as that old bastard. Ah well, might as well get some more breakfast out of it. Those pancakes were good." Tayuya said as she thankfully managed to escape those suffocating deathtraps

"I'm glad you liked them." said a happy voice behind her

Turning around quickly based on instinct, while at the same time lifting her leg in preparation for a roundhouse kick, only her leg was stopped midway, and misdirected into making her trip

"Gyah!" she shouted as she tried to regain her balance

Reinforcing her footwork Tayuya turned around completely to see...a hottie?

"When did you...hey, your that...uh." Tayuya groaned as she tried to figure out the gender of the beautiful person in front of him

"My name is Haku, and I'm a boy." Haku said patiently sighing

"Bullshit! You're dressed up, and look like a girl, not to mention you don't sound like a guy." Tayuya said in denial of his statement of gender

"I can assure you that I am a boy." Haku said keeping a smile on his face as Tayuya's glare remain unconvinced

"Mmm...whatever you say. So, there something you want or do you like sneaking up on girls?" Tayuya asked crossing her arms

"I...heard your conversation with Shintaro-san. Is he..." Haku said concerned for Shintaro

"He's alive, but...from what he told me, and what I saw...he isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Then again, he somehow managed to fix his arm like it was nothing. I don't know how the hell he did it, but that part of him seems fine at least." Tayuya said bluntly unaware of the effect of her words

"I see, it's a relief to know he still lives, but..." Haku said depressingly lowering his head

"H-Hey! Don't worry, that old hag said it might be possible to fix him up." Tayuya quickly mentioned trying to fix his mood

"Old hag?" Haku said confused

"Uh...Tsu...Tsund...Tsundere?" Tayuya said to herself trying to think of the name of the woman

"Tsunade-sama?" Haku corrected

"Yeah, her." Tayuya replied

"Then there's hope." Haku sighed in relief

"What do you mean? She's just a doctor." the redhead asked confused of what the big deal was

"I've learned from Hiromi-chan, and Ayano-san over our travels that this Tsunade-sama is a world renowned doctor that is rumored to heal any ailments, injuries, or diseases. If she says there's a chance then I can only hope for the best outcome, and pray Shintaro-san come's out like he was before." Haku said with hope surprising Tayuya

"He really does care about him. Wonder if the rest feel that way about him." Tayuya thought trying to imagine if Shintaro was worth worrying about

"Well, he kept acting like it was no big deal. Making jokes, dumbass ones at that, kept talking to me, and even asked me to play a song for him." Tayuya said a bit embarrassed at the last bit

"That sounds just like him. Well, I'm glad to hear that his spirit isn't broken at least. Come." Haku gestured the girl as he walked toward her

"Huh?" Tayuya said flustered

"Shintaro-san wished for you meet us again on fair ground did he not? I must admit we all...treated you harshly once we've learned Shintaro-san's condition. Let me be the first to apologize for doing so. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me." Haku said genuinely sorry as he bowed in front of her causing the redhead to become red faced

"T-That's fine, n-no skin off my back." Tayuya said trying to play it cool scratching her head through her cap

"Are you alright?" Haku asked concerned as he raised his head getting face to face with the girl

Although, while doing so with the best intentions his actions had the opposite effect with Tayuya's face getting red again.

"H-Holy shit, he's so close! He's so...cute, and he...smells good. Oh crap, did he notice? Please tell me he didn't notice." Tayuya prayed while she kept her head down

"F-Fine. Totally fine, just...perfect." Tayuya said blissfully raising her head with the blush still present on her face staring at Haku's confused face

"Your face is getting red, perhaps you're getting a fever. Let me check." Haku said putting his forehead against hers intensifying the heat generating from her head

"H-H-He's, t-touching-g m-meee-"

"AIIIIEEEEEE!" she screamed headbutting the poor boy and punching him in the gut before taking off out the door in a panic

"Oof!"

"S-Sorry!" she apologized running out the door to the not moving Haku

"What am I doing? It's all your fault! Baka Hentai! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka! BAAKAAAAAA!" Tayuya screamed at the top of her lungs leaving the hotel in shame


With Ayano

After receiving the task her friend had gave her Ayano began to contemplate how they would react after she'd ask them Shintaro's request to talk. Then again, given the material she was sure they would be reluctant to discuss it in the first place. Regardless, she had to try her best to comply with her friends wishes, and doing this could help ease her mind about apologizing to him.

But that would have to wait, she was given a task, and she has a lot of ground to cover. She also had to thank him for those drills of memorizing the village's layout by heart, if someone asked her directions to that broken down shop near the flower shop, she'd tell you without skipping a beat First stop, the Akimichi Clan Head's residence.

It looked like a nice house, very humble looking. Two stories that if she had to guess held around 10 rooms in total, had practically no front yard with only a sliding door in the front to accompany guests. Though there was no yard to speak of there was a small row of flower pots across the front porch. Walking up to the main door Ayano proceeded to knock in hopes of a response.

In a matter of a seconds surprisingly enough someone had responded to her knocks.

Given her appearance Ayano quickly deduced that this must've been the wife of the Clan Head. She was a rather full-bodied woman with black hair, and eyes that had orange markings at the corner of each one, wearing black pants as well as a high collared Chinese purple blouse with gold trimmings, and if she turned around Ayano would see the Kanji for food on her back.

"Hello, may I help you?" the woman said politely

"Ano, I was wondering if you knew where one of my friends would be. His name is Hideki." Ayano explained as the woman's face beamed with happiness

"Oh, you must be one of Hideki-kun's friends! You must be Ayano-chan I'm assuming?" she asked hopefully

"Yes, that's me. Pardon my intrusion." Ayano said bowing her head

"Oh, your not intruding at all my dear. We were just in the middle of brunch that's all. Oh, where are my manners? My name is Emi Akimichi, a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine. Did you say you were having brunch?" Ayano asked

"Yes, yes. I made a wonderful banquet for my 3 bottomless pits, not that I'm one to judge. Do you wish to join us?" Emi asked the child

"No, no, thank you for the offer, but I'm just here to talk to Hideki if that's alright." Ayano said politely refusing

"Oh, don't worry. I'll be sure to get him. Hideki-kun! One of your little friends are here! She says she wants to talk to you!" Emi called out into her home

"Coming, just a-chomp-second!" said a food filled Hideki still munching away in the other room

"Just a moment dear. He'll be right with you, please come in." Emi said inviting her in

"Are you sure? I can wait right here." Ayano said

"Nonsense, a pretty little thing like you musn't stay out here. Just wait right there, and I'll fetch you something." Emi insisted as she stepped inside her house

"That's not-"

Grooooowwwwwlll

"Necessary." Ayano sighed embarrassingly

"Well, now you have to share a meal with us. The #1 rule in this house applies to all who enter: No empty stomachs allowed. Come, come it's the least we can do for you." Emi insisted as she stepped behind Ayano slightly pushing her in

"A-Ano, I'm really not that..."

But it didn't matter, much to her slight protests she was taken deeper into the Akimichi household to, which she assumed, their dining room, and she was correct. It was much more modest that she was expecting Plain brown walls, white carpet, a ceiling fan, sliding doors that she assumed led to the kitchen, but what she wasn't expecting was the giant size of the room, dining table that looked like it could hold up to ten people, and the food...she wasn't lying when she said she made a banquet.

Although, what was left should be around half the banquet Ayano imagined in her head. Yet, what really turned her head were the three people no, bottomless pits as the wife described them, were chucking down food as if it were their last meal.

Nevertheless, the table was large enough to hold more than lived here, it was shaped differently than a normal table. Actually, the placement of the table is what was strangest of all. It was a oval-shaped table similar to the hotel's own, but one of the ends of it were facing the wall horizontally, and it seemed the table was...rotating?

Yes, it seems that this table acted like one of those rotating sushi bars only it was done manually it seems so the food could be quickly passed around to the others.

There were 2 boys, and 1 man present at the table. The plump man had long spiky red hair wearing a headband around his forehead, purple marks on his cheeks, and wearing simple clothes that a farmer would normally wear.

Next to him was who Ayano assumed to be the man's son happily eating without a care in the world. To most they would see a cute, "chubby" child, a miniature version of his father scarfing down meat from the grill in the middle often fighting for pieces with the boy Ayano was looking for, but Ayano knew different...she stopped herself from those thoughts approaching her mind, deciding to focus on why she was here in the first place, turning to the other boy in at the table.

Hideki, for once she was glad to see him scarfing down food. Before, she or someone else had to lecture him on controlling his appetite, a feat he'd constantly swore was impossible, but now he was free to be the glutton he proudly proclaimed himself today. In a way, she was happy for him, but at the same time a part of her looked upon him with an indifferent disgust.

He had a choice to leave the group, sure it may have been sprung on them, but Shintaro made it perfectly clear to everyone who these people are and where they were before they entered Konoha. Yet, nearly half of the original members left because of their blind nostalgia guide them. She knew what they were going through, she knew the feelings that came with coming here, the ignorance she had to display when meeting certain individuals, she knew it all too well, but she also knew that it'd do no good to act upon them. They were strangers, no matter how much they wanted to deny that fact, it would change nothing...nothing at all.

"Oh, Chouza-kun! We have a guest to feed!" Emi said happily

"Oh ho ho! Wonderful, food always taste better the more seats are filled. Isn't that right boys?" Chouza laughed happily drumstick in hand

"Yup!" the two chubby children agreed in unison

"Hmm, you're that girl at the meeting a few days ago right?" Chouza asked

"I am." Ayano answered

"Now, what was your name? Blast it I'm always terrible with these things." Chouza said rubbing his head

"It's Ayano, Akimichi-san." she answered with a bow

"Ayano! That's it, I'm terribly sorry about that." Chouza apologized snapping his fingers at the mention of her name

"It's no trouble at all Akimichi-sama." Ayano said properly until Chouza waved off her stiffness

"Please, I prefer to be called by my own name in my house. If you wish you can call me Akimichi-san like Hideki-kun here." Chouza said

"If that is what you wish. Akimichi-san." Ayano said walking into the room

"There's a chair next to Hideki-kun, please have a seat while my wife will get some more refreshments. Honey, if you please." Chouza said to his smiling wife who happily agreed

"Hai, Watashi o motte kurete arigatō." Ayano said politely as she took her seat

"My, such manners. It's not everyday you find someone speaking the old tongue like that for simple greeting." Chouza said in admiration

"So Ayano, what brings you here? Not that I mind, but, it's barely been two days. Did something happen?" Hideki asked nonchalantly

"You could say that. I'll explain later." Ayano said sadly as she took a plate handed to her

"Hey dad, she's got a mask too, but it's not as cool as Hideki's." Choji said pointing to the masked girl

"Choji, it's rude to point. Both of them have legitimate reasons for keeping their masks on I'm sure, but that doesn't mean you have to call them out on it." Chouza said chiding his son

"Sorry dad." Choji said downcast

"It's fine. I apologize for my son's rudeness, and the trouble he's probably caused." Chouza sighed

"Please, it's no trouble at all. I'm used to it by now, and besides, you don't normally find a child, much less two of them wearing a mask covering their face." Ayano waved off with smiling eyes

"Tell that to Kakashi. I swear I have no clue what gave him that idea." Chouza said

"Who knows, maybe it was seeing Jiyu in action for the first time? Or perhaps the legend of the Senpu is what intrigued the boy?" Chouza pondered as he dug into a rice bowl

"I have no time for this, hungry as I am Shintaro-kun asked me to do something." Ayano thought determinedly

"Forgive my rudeness, Akimichi-san, but I have urgent news to deliver Hideki...it involves a...an acquaintance of ours." Ayano mentioned sadly putting the bowl of food away

"Sounds dire." Chouza said seriously noticing the girls plight

"It is, Hideki please." Ayano said nearly pleading

"Is it that-"

"Shintaro is currently receiving medical treatment after being..." Ayano said stopping herself from reaching across the table and smacking him into the floor

"Ayano?" Chouza asked in concern for the girl holding in her feelings

"Forgive me, I only stopped myself because..." Ayano said quietly as she calmed down

"I understand, Choji, go help your mother in the kitchen. See if she'll let you have some of tonight's deserts." Chouza told his son who agreed happily

"Ok." he replied getting off his seat

"I take it that this is a personal matter for you two?" Chouza said seriously putting his food down

"Hai." Ayano replied sincerely

"I see, Hideki-kun, I think it would be wise for you to listen to what the girl has to say. Do you need long?" Chouza said standing up from his seat

"No, it should only take at most 5 minutes." Ayano explained

"Alright then, I'll keep my family busy in the meantime." Chouza said heading towards the kitchen

"Arigato, again I apologize for my intrusion." Ayano thanked wholeheartedly

"It's no trouble at all. If a friend of Hideki-kun is in trouble then by all means please inform him. Hideki, be sure to listen what she has to say." Chouza said as he left the room

"Sure." Hideki said uneasy being alone in the room with her

After Chouza had left the room Ayano let out a sigh of relief thanking him for his understanding. Once she was sure he had left Ayano had begun relaying what had happened recently since he had left, Shintaro's mission, Hiromi's condition, to even the her recently being appointed Tsunade's new student, but she had a hard time convincing herself to not speak of what really happened to Shintaro.

"Wow, all that happened since I left?" Hideki said

"You would've known if you'd stayed." Ayano said staring at Hideki coldly making him even more uncomfortable

"Ayano-"

"You made your choice, and we've accepted it. Though, I'm amazed of how...never mind. Shintaro-kun requested that an audience with everyone that first appeared. That would include you Hideki, and this a mandatory meeting. I feel like I shouldn't have to express what that means?" Ayano said standing up looking at Hideki with contempt

"Is it really that important? Why can't Shintaro-"

"He's...immobile, at the moment, and besides, the matter we'll be speaking about regards them." Ayano said gravely in which Hideki finally dropped his fork

"W-W-WHat? I t-thought we lost them?" Hideki stuttered

"We did, however it appears they might have found out due to...random encounters." Ayano said losing her calm demeanor seeing Hideki getting into a fetal position trying to rock himself to comfort

"Now I know how Shintaro-kun feels when he's talking to us, and we don't listen. To think he's had to deal with this the entire time." Ayano thought in sympathy of her crush

"Oh man, what're we gonna do? I still have nightmares because of them. Wait, does this mean we have to leave again?" Hideki asked looking up at Ayano in desperation

"It might. It might not." Ayano said simply

"I don't wanna leave. We just got here! Sure the other villages weren't safe, but this is Konoha. It's-"

"Not our home Hideki. We have no home remember? Ours was lost to disease created by our foolish leaders, the same leaders we had to suffer under because of our parents foolishness." Ayano said without mercy causing Hideki to actually stand up to Ayano face to face

"Hey! Don't you diss my dad! He did everything he could to-" only to be interrupted by a hand to the face

"Enough. Your arguing is only delaying what I was set out to do. If you do not wish to participate in our meeting that is your choice, but do not be surprised if I come back to drag you with me if Shintaro demands your presence that much." Ayano said authoritatively before turning around heading toward the exit

"..."

"You forget, Shintaro has always disliked having others relay what he wants to do or say personally. Ask yourself, why am I here, and not Shintaro? That's all I have to say to you at the moment, give the Akimichi's my regards, and my apologies for my rude interruption. Continue your meal if you wish, but my business with you is done for the moment." Ayano said coldly with glares of icy steel piercing through Hideki

And with that Ayano had left the troubled rounded child with his own thoughts, and onto her next destination, the Inuzuka compound.


With Rei and Akihiko

After crossing the treacherous ice bridge Akihiko began to think about travelling at a normal pace in this raging blizzard. If he picked up the pace he risked losing more energy, and the possible chance of his passenger falling off himself without his knowing. On the other hand if he stayed walking normally there's a strong chance that they'll both freeze from this weather at one point or another. He could try to dig his way to an underground cave of some sorts for warmth, but then there was no guarantee such a place existed.

"Blast it. Oi, bug girl." Akihiko called out to his passengers

"W-What d-d-do y-you want?" Rei stuttered from the freezing cold

"I'm going to kick it into high gear. I suggest you hold on for your life." Akihiko warned

"F-F-Fine. N-Not l-like I h-have a c-choice. J-Just hu-hurry up." Rei shivered as she attempted to grip his fur even stronger

"Don't blame me if you fall off." the large beast snickered

Taking off at high speeds Akihiko ran at full speed to pass through the frozen tundra. At first the idea of running through this blizzard question his sanity, but as he thought about things other than the temperature, he noticed the cold wasn't affecting him as much as he thought it would.

It was a shame, a small part of him thought this would be a fun challenge for him, reminding him of his training days in the mountains far off from his homelands. Yet, as that memory came to mind he noticed the snow falling from the sky felt like warm water, whilst the snow beneath him began to feel like...rocks?

"The hell is this place? Would it hurt just to tell me what the hell is going on?" Akihiko roared in annoyance

Just as he said those words the rocky snow suddenly transformed into fiery coals burning hot like the fires of hell itself.

"What happened? Where are we?!" Rei yelled as she avoided the flaming rocks falling from the sky

"Arrrgh! What just happened? Where did the freezing snow...go." Akihiko said slowly as he watched his words bear fruit

Once again, as Akihiko finished his thoughts on the environment it changed again back into a frozen tundra according to his words as if he was the one...

"G-Great, now it's f-freezing again." Rei said as she tried to warm herself again with Akihiko's fur

"When I spoke or thought about the environment it changed instantly the moment I clarified what I meant, or used specific words to morph it according to them. It's like this place changes upon the will of whoever is here. If that's true, then I can get us out of here, I wonder how far I can take this." Akihiko thought to himself as he stopped moving altogether

"H-Hey! W-Why'd you s-s-stop moving!?" Rei shouted with shivering teeth

"Hold on..." Akihiko said calmly as he focused his mind

"W-What are you t-t-talking about? What h-happened?" Rei asked demanding to know what was going on

"Be quiet! Let me try something..." Akihiko shouted in annoyance

"What are you...woah." Rei said amazement as the cold faded away from her mind

As Rei calmed down she no longer could feel the cold embrace of a wintry blizzard against her skin, instead she was greeted with a gentle, warm breeze that eased her mind. Looking around she could see she was in some sort of ravine, standing on a pathway, and a giant one at that, big enough to hold Akihiko in his tiger form with some room for another one of his kind to boot.

She looked over the edge, and just as she expected there was nothing but darkness as far as she could see. On the contrary when she looked up she was nearly blinded by the rays of light creeping through the crevice upon the ceiling.

Inspecting the walls closely, she also noticed that there were thick vines running across the wall from the ceiling to what she assumed to be the bottom of the ravine as well.

"So, that's how it works. In that case, I won't need this. Reverse!" Akihiko said reverting to his human form causing Rei to suddenly use her wings to ease down

"W-Woah! Hey, what's the big idea? W...Where the he-?" but Rei was interrupted via hand to the mouth

"Keep quiet will ya? Let's get moving already, I know where we can get some food, and water." Akihiko said as he turned around moving forward

"That doesn't-"

Grrrooowwwwwllll

"Fine, let's get going." Rei gave up in defeated hunger

"Typical, I take it your a vegetarian?" Akihiko groaned

"What if I am?" Rei asked sarcastically

"Then you'll want to follow me if you want your fruits, and veggies. If this place works how I think it does then you'll have the pleasure of tasting food unobtainable to most humans." Akihiko said in faded pride as Rei started to drool

"Really? Wait, hold on. Where are we?" Rei asked the former giant tiger

"A place I'd never thought I would return again. Even if this purely a replica, I know this place by heart." Akihiko said solemnly as he grabbed the thick vines

Pulling away multiple vine's in front of him Rei had to shield her eyes again from the strong light piercing her eyes. As her eyes adjusted to the light she was awestruck by what her eyes saw, and for the first time in her short life she was dumbfounded by what she saw.

Now, Rei may have had the memories her mother implanted in her, but that was mainly memories of darkness, plagued by the sight of blood leaking from the corpses of her mother's enemies, bones from the leftovers of more enemies, screams from both the guilty and innocent, needless to say all of her previous memories were the opposite of what she saw. Disgusting, immoral, depraved, wicked...evil. This is what all she knew, but something within her wondered if that really was what all the world had to offer.

Ever since she had left her pod all she had known was turned upside down, and was met with many wonders she'd never dream was possible. But this...this was on a whole new level.

As far as Rei could tell, and to her knowledge of her limited vocabulary there was only one word that could describe what she saw...beautiful.

It was unlike Konoha in so many different ways, mainly because she didn't hate the place with a fiery passion, but the other main difference was the fact she felt at peace here.

What laid before her was partially a large flatland about half the size of Konoha, surrounded by large mountains that seemed tall enough to claw at the sky itself. Underneath those mountains rested a peaceful valley at the east with rising hills to the west around the area. There was also very large huts the size of most hotels made of various materials what she assumed were grass, mud, and wood located in a small valley.

Yet, amazingly enough the most beautiful thing of all was a waterfall that circled the entire mountain edge save for the ravine entrance she stood upon. It triumphed over everything both in size, and beauty. It helped that a rainbow ring hovered above the waterfall never disappearing for a second.

Across west from them lying on top of hills were old-fashioned buildings more giant than the huts that towered over most things looking like they were made of old bricks, painted only with the color of red for whatever reason, and the entrances to them were also large enough for giant beings to pass through with ease.

To the south was largely farmland surprisingly with no crops to speak of, but for some reason the land was plowed already as if waiting to be planted. There were also huts near the farmland, but those were normal sized, for humans anyways, lying still as if waiting for someone to fill them in.

Lastly to the north was a large forest that put everything else to shame size wise. If Rei had to guess the forest trees alone were the tallest she had ever seen, including those of The Forest of Death, and filled up half if not more of the interior. She could not see what lay past that, but one thing was for sure, something was off about it.

"Akihiko, what is this place?" Rei asked in wonder

"This...is my home, Batorubare." Akihiko said with a sense of nostalgia, and heartbreak at the same time


With Shintaro

"And that answers most of your questions. Satisfied?" Shintaro asked

"I would be if all of them were answered, but this'll have to do." Jiraiya sighed unsatisfied with his haul of answers

"Glad we've come to an understanding. Anything else?" Shintaro asked

"Just one." Jiraiya answered

"Well?" Shintaro asked impatiently

"What are the chances of those two coming here? Either in secret or in force?" Jiraiya asked seriously

"It all depends." Shintaro replied just as seriously

"On what?" Tsunade asked

"Mainly, three factors." Shintaro said raising his healed hand giving them three fingers

"That would be?" Tsunade pressed

"The first would be on how quick they recover, and that alone is a mystery. I have no idea how they do it, but no matter how hard we, or I, beat them down they come back just as healthy if not stronger than before. The reason for that escapes me, but the time frame's of when they find us varies on multiple factors including the amount of distance we've gotten in between us from last contact, who they send to buy time for them to arrive, where we are also plays a big role, but the most one important is depending on my condition to fight. Don't ask me how, they just know that if I'm out of the picture they arrive faster that before." Shintaro explained

"Although, there was that one time after Kumo where they didn't show up for up to two nearly three months. I wondered what happened then." Shintaro thought confused of their actions then

"That was the first factor. The second one depends on their mood." Shintaro said gravely

"Their mood?" Tsunade said confused thinking it would be something else

"Despite how they look they're very meticulous on why they're on the hunt. If they're babbling to no end to each other then they've come on their free time, and if that's the case that's when they're the most...easiest to deal with. You can sway their conversation to your advantage, and for some reason they never catch on. However, if they were sent because of orders then that's when you really have to stay on edge." Shintaro said seriously

"Isn't that the case with most shinobi? Kind of reminds me of Danzo's men actually." Jiraiya said half serious and half amusingly with a slight chuckle

"You don't understand. When they're focused or told to accomplish something that will be the only thing on their mind, no negotiating, bargaining, begging, will set them off their course. There are ranges in between their moods, but one thing is for sure the last thing you want to do if you want to live is this...make them angry." Shintaro said for the first time with a sliver of fear in his tone of voice

"Angry? Why would that matter? If anything an enraged fighter should be more manageable to deal with." Jiraiya said confused

"You're wrong, dead wrong. As I told you before one's an near emotionless machine only worth worrying about once it's been given a purpose, and the other is a total psychotic who's a bit less unpredictable than I am. However, if you somehow managed to get them enraged then that's when all hell breaks loose. You have to say, as well as do a lot to get them to that point, but once they pass their breaking point they turn into, for lack of a better term, a whole new kind of monster. You know that they're strong enough to put a squad of jonin in their place, and that they're most likely on the level equal that to a Sanin. However, as I said before if they're enraged they lose most of their control, and become powerful enough to take on a Kage." Shintaro said with certainty

"What? How do you know that? Is that even possible?" Tsunade asked skeptically thinking the kid was merely retelling a fairy tale

"Because they're the one's who killed the 4th Mizukage." Shintaro said deadly serious causing the two Sannin's eyes to pop wide open, especially Jiraiya who couldn't believe what he was hearing

"What!? But Kirigakure hasn't announced anything related to that, and my spies haven't-"

"Because about 3/4 of Kiri was slaughtered including civilians, but mainly it was their military who took the bigger tole. Not to mention, they'd be pretty stupid if they announced to the world that not only their Mizukage was killed, but nearly the entire population as well, all done by two individuals...no, monsters is more like it." Shintaro said completely serious

"How did you come to this information? Is it even accurate?" Jiraiya demanded to know like an interrogator

"Jiraiya calm down." Tsunade ordered her fellow Sannin

"It is." Shintaro simply replied without missing a beat

"How do you know?" the old hermit asked getting into his Spy mode

"Because I watched it happened with my own two eyes." Shintaro chuckled darkly

"..."

"I chose to watch at the sidelines, watching at the top of the gates, but at one point I realized enough was enough. I disguised myself as a random mercenary through transformation helping with evacuation. They didn't have time to argue so they accepted my help, and when they eventually left the people of Kiri "graciously" paid me in bonds for future investments. So, it wasn't a total loss anyways, I got major bank back in Kiri. Not that it matters now." Shintaro sighed in disappointment

"Or, at least that's what they think." Shintaro said internally grinning as Jiraiya sat there dumbfounded by what he heard

"How is that..."

"Like I told you, if you get them mad, then they're practically unstoppable. Now do you understand why I'm contemplating to leave? I'm starting to think Hanzo's deal wasn't all that bad." Shintaro grumbled annoyingly as the Sannin's eye's nearly popped out of their eye sockets

"Hanzo? As in-"

"Hanzo the Salamander? Leader of Amegakure? Overseer of the Akatsuki? The one who gave you two, and Orochimaru the title of Sanin? Yeah, the same guy." Shintaro remarked cynically

"You had an audience with him?" Jiraiya said with surprise

"And lived?" Tsunade added with skepticism

"I "caught his eye" or so he called it. Apparently he was interested in me, or more specifically my abilities, and offered to teach me all he knew in return for total loyalty and the usual stuff one would expect from a paranoid nut job. However, paranoid or not the man knew how to keep things tight, and secure."

"In a way I respect him, but the environment weighed on the others. Though, if I'm being honest, if Konoha didn't work out, and Suna would not take us in or prove even more hostile I would have taken them all back to Ame whether'd they wanted to or not. But, for now at least Konoha seems like a decent place for the others to root in." Shintaro admitted as Jiraiya began to contemplate how lucky he they were

"Did Hanzo really offer to teach this kid? Jeez, if he decided to stay then I'm not sure what would've happened. I need to talk this out with the old man." Jiraiya promised himself thinking he'd have to direct some of his spies toward Shintaro, and his journeys

"Not to be rude or anything, but your hardly in any sort of condition to be anyone's student, much less leave to another village." Tsunade pointed out only to be slightly disturbed by the smirk rising from her patients lips

"Don't you worry about that. I plan on having that surgery of yours whenever your ready, but if that fails I have a backup plan." Shintaro said confidently

"Backup plan?" Tsunade repeated

"It's never a good idea to rely on just one plan. Surprised you don't know that." Shintaro remarked cynically

"When you're living out in the wild, and on the run 24/7 you need at least 2 back up plans in case you fail, even then you need a third for the unexpected." Shintaro pointed out

"But that surgery isn't guaranteed to work. If something goes wrong you could die!" Tsunade warned only to be greeted with a scoff

"Please, a botched up surgery isn't going to kill me. Even if I'm paralyzed from the neck down I have contingencies for that scenario. You seem to think that I value my life in some way don't you?" Shintaro said chuckling darkly some more

"What are you talking about?" Tsunade asked trying to figure out the child

"I have goals that I want to reach before I die, and purpose added to them. Once I fulfill them to my liking I have little use for this life. If I fulfill them at an early age that's when I die, if it doesn't happen until I'm an old man so be it, but either way I'll die when I see fit."

"You can burn me to ashes, or drown me at the bottom of the sea, it doesn't matter because I'll come back to finish what I started. So if you think a case of playing doctor goes wrong will kill me...you're insulting my will to live, and that is something you don't want to do." Shintaro warned coldly as the air around him filled with darkness, his chakra levels rising exponentially to the point of his metal bed supports creaking under the pressure

"This presence, the feeling of unsurpassed hatred just waiting let loose, there was only one person to get this feeling in my gut..." Jiraiya thought jarringly as Tsunade stepped back holding her head thinking to herself

"I haven't even felt anything like it once during the Third Ninja War, the only one that gave me this feeling of dread was..."

"Raida." the two Sannin thought together as they exchanged looks

"Oi, oi, no need to be hostile. Tsunade, I'm sure your worried about the kid, but you forget he's a Senpu. They're not exactly the most fragile of human beings, if you can call them that. The first one created The Fallen as a countermeasure against the 5 Great Nations, the second drove them into a major powerhouse to be feared, and the third one...by Kami what didn't he do with The Fallen?" Jiraiya chuckled

"Nothing, that's what. That kid did everything in his power to piss off the whole world, even though they were at war with each other." Tsunade pointed out

"Good point, and now it seems this one is going to bring them back into action. For what..."

"You'll never know." Shintaro simply replied

"Just as I thought. See?" Jiraiya said raising his arms at the boy to prove his point as Tsunade simply sighed in defeat

"His body still needs rest no matter who he is. The recommended amount of wait time for a normal person is 2-3 weeks if not a month or even longer, but in your case the minimum wait time I suppose for you would probably a week or two at best." Tsunade said grabbing a nearby clipboard reading his stats

"Your right that's what it'd normally take for my body to recover enough for surgery." Shintaro agreed calmly

"But I don't have enough time to wait for either option. I still have things to do before I can play the helpless cripple. It looks like I have to go with plan B after all, but I'm going to need Ling all on her own. Good thing I called for that meeting." Shintaro considered as he used his formerly broken arm to rub his chin in

"If that is what it takes, then I suppose I have to be patient. If you see them please tell the others that are hanging about in the lobby I want to see them, I'm sure they've been patient enough if they haven't stormed the door already. I'd like to let them in on what's happening, and if possible calm them down so they don't do anything brash...again." Shintaro sighed

"Sounds like a good idea. Tsunade, I think it's time we leave, we have much to discuss." Jiraiya grunted as he stood up

"I'm sure we do, but first things first." Tsunade said grabbing her teammate's ear

"OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!" Jiraiya screamed in pain

"You need to get back to bed, and rest. Low risk injuries or not I'm putting you under mandatory bed rest for a week, and your off duty for the next two weeks for recovery. Come on, I'm sure there's a nice comfy bed for you at the hospital." Tsunade droned dragging her teammate to the exit

"Ooh, maybe I'll get to see some cute-yeouch!" Jiraiya cried out in pain as Tsunade squeezed harder

"Cute what?" Tsunade asked the injured man with a death glare pointed right at him

"D-Drapes! Yeah, I heard the hospital put in some new curtains for the patients!" Jiraiya said trying to save face as Tsunade merely rolled her eyes

"Yes, real pretty I'm sure. Come on pervert." Tsunade droned letting go expecting him to follow

"C-Coming!" Jiraiya said quickly following her

"Well, that answers that." Shintaro said to himself as two more voices popped in his head

It sure does.

Not only do we have what we need, but the information to carry out our plans.

You know what this means?

"It means we need to act soon. We have more clues as to who these Senpu were, and what purpose The Fallen really serve. That makes it all the easier to use them." Shintaro said with a sinister smile creeping on his lips

Such a lovely speech you gave.

Even lovelier bloodlust you displayed to them. I could taste their fear.

"Whether they adore me or fear me is irrelevant. Unlike most of those idiots, save for Ayano, I know what this world really is." Shintaro scoffed

Even so, you seem to be getting attached to the locals.

"I have to. It makes what I say, and do all the more convincing. Doesn't mean I'll lose sight of our goal." Shintaro assured

Better not.

Agreed.

"I won't, jeez. Honestly, you two are such a pain. Believe it." Shintaro said annoyingly rolling his imaginary eyes


With Ayano

Walking away furious at her "attempt" to talk the dog whisperer of the group or the most stubborn girl in existence, Ayano decided to try her luck or what was left of it for the more...reasonable members of their journey residing with the Hyuuga.

Thinking back on it that girl seemed more hostile than usual.

"I have never heard such awful things from like that. Honestly, what was up with her? Did she have to say those things?" Ayano asked herself frustratingly

Flashback

As Ayano walked up to the entrance of her next location she forgot how...prideful the Inuzuka could be. Whether it be in their appearance, their combat skills, mood, or anything else, Ayano knew how prideful the Inuzuka could be. It also displayed in their housing as well, from the grand houses lying in the back, to the large cages left open for their companions to dwell in, to even the "humble" homes purposefully leaving openings in their home for some random burglar to steal from them, almost as if they were challenging the world to attack them.

Striding through as if it none of it bothered her Ayano continued to observe her surroundings calmly out of reflex from the training she went through from Shintaro. Without turning her head Ayano used her peripheral vision to see the hidden Inuzuka casually hiding behind corners of buildings or the children "playing" behind bushes while the dogs merely went about their own business as if the world didn't matter to them.

As Ayano continued her walk she was then confronted by three random teenage boys about a year or two older than her. They were all wearing more or less the same thing as if trying to say they were a threat to any they come across. What they wore were flaming black fur jackets with the skull of a wolf howling at a nonexistent moon, and grey shorts with a black belt holding them up. Next to them were small canine companions about the size up to their heels.

Though they wore the same clothing their physical appearance varied among the three boys. The boy on the left had greasy brown hair that slicked down his face covering both of his eyes leaving only the bottom half of his narrow face exposed to the world. This led to his slumped shoulders the only defining trait to distinguish himself from the group.

The boy on the right looked like the key factor or "muscle" if possible, wearing a black spiked collar around his neck complimenting the ferociously spiked black hair that looked like they could pop a balloon if need be, but oddly enough it was oddly razor spiked teeth and feral eyes that drew her attention like he wanted to be an animal.

Lastly, the leader or so she thought, was wearing in addition to his "gang" attire were black gloves that covered his hands completely, his hair was slicked back smoothly obviously with the help of gel or other hair products, and his face besides the tribal tattoos on his face had cocky bastard written all over it. These boys are what stood in her way, and observing them she took the time to look at their other friends beneath them.

The one to the left was brown bloodhound pup with a white circle on it's left eye lying down lazily on it's belly, to the right was a young black bulldog with a spiked collar around it's neck rolling around in the dirt without a care in the world, and in the center was a doberman with red eyes sitting proudly at the heel of his master.

After waiting for one another to speak, it seems they would make the first move.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" the feral boy asked licking his lips

"Looks like a little puppy's lost her way." the leader said smoothly taking a comb from his pocket to fix his hair

"Heh heh, puppy. Good one." the small boy to the right chuckled

"Ugh, how revolting." Ayano thought to herself keeping an uninterested straight face

"May I help you?" Ayano sighed tiredly

"That depends sweet cheeks. Maybe we can help each other?" the leader said leaning in Ayano's face

"Oh?" Ayano mused raising an eyebrow

"You look a little lost, what's a pretty flower like you doing in a place like this? You do know where you are right?" the leader said continuing his advance

"The Inuzuka compound?" Ayano answered boringly

"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk." the slumped boy said clicking his tongue

"That's right, but oh, so wrong at the same time." the feral boy said shaking his head in disappointment

"Pardon?" Ayano asked acting confused

"You see, this here is our turf." the leader said pointing to the ground

"Our turf see?" the feral boy clarified

"Why do I feel as if I'm going to regret this?" Ayano internally asked herself

"And who are you?" Ayano asked reluctantly

"Heh heh heh, who are we?" the leader asked in pure amusement

"She wants to know." the feral boy chuckled

"We should give her what she wants." the slouched child said looking to his comrades

"Alright then, let's do it then!" the leader said enthusiastically as somehow their surroundings turned pitched black with a spotlight on each of them so they spoke in unison

"We prowl whenever we please."

"We hunt whoever we want."

"We're the envy of the Inuzuka clan."

"Saburo, the brains." Saburo said quietly leaning against a nonexistent wall

"Jiro, the muscle!" Jiro shouted posing into a muscleman figure

"Ichiro!" Ichiro proclaimed smoothly

"We're the...HELLHOUNDS!" they all shouted in unison turning their backs to their intended target showing off their design

...

Only to receive a gust of wind twirling dirt swaying by them, and the sound of silence as the only indicator that their intent of showing off was a complete failure...as well as majorly embarrassing not to mention hurtful to a particular someone's ego.

"Eh?" Ichiro said as he and his friends comically shared a dumbfounded face

"Where'd she go?" Jiro said confused looking around trying to sniff the area

"She was right here." Saburo commented also confused at the situation

"Find her! We'll teach her not to mess with us." Ichiro commanded angrily as his canine companion barked at the other dogs to search as well

"Yeah!" Jiro shouted in agreement as Saburo nodded his head before the three of them taking off

Leaving off in multiple directions they failed to notice to look behind them as Ayano calmly walked off looking for her destination.

"Thank goodness Shintaro-kun taught me how to sneak by ignorant fools like them, and this scent eraser works wonders. I guess Shintaro-kun was right about one thing, it's always best to come prepared no matter what. I would've been there for who knows how long, and it seems like I need to start training again because that took longer than necessary. Now, where should I start looking?" Ayano asked herself

"You lost missy?" asked an elderly man walking by on a cane

"Yes, I'm looking for a friend of mine. I believe the clan head Tsume Inuzuka-sama may know where she is." Ayano explained

"Oh, are you referring to that girl with the demon mask, and her two nin hounds?" the old man asked for clarification as Ayano's eyes gleamed with hope

"Yes! Her name is Katsumi, do you know where she is?" Ayano asked in hope of getting a straight answer

"I do, she lives over at Tsume-sama's house, but I should let you know that she doesn't live in one of those fancy houses. Those are for the elders who felt like they "deserve" it after living so long. Tsume-sama, against tradition mind you, decided to live in a modern home over about 4 miles that way over those hills." the old man said pointing north

"4 miles!?" Ayano repeated surprised as her eyes nearly bulged from her sockets

"She prefers to have a lot of range, and it's not uncommon for us Inuzuka to live far out. After all, back in my youth I constantly went on "walks" with my old friend as well. But enough about me rambling, you need to find your friend don't you?" the elderly man asked rhetorically with a sly smile

"Hai, Arigato." Ayano said politely and tiredly at the same time as she began her journey

"Such a good child, unlike those ruffians. They could learn a lot from her." the old man said as he took a swig of alcohol from his coat pocket

After taking off at the highest speed she could manage without straining herself, it surprisingly took not that long for her to reach her destination.

"Guess I have Shintaro-kun to thank for those cardio exercises as well." Ayano thought amusingly to herself

When Ayano saw the house she was surprised by what she saw. Normally, or so she thought, when one of them returned to their respected clan she'd imagine it would be a dream for them, but what she saw...baffled her. That being Katsumi in a heated argument with another girl her age with three hounds beside her, with a small child and his pup on his head between them both unwillingly to move. She also noticed the lack of nin hounds on her friends account.

"Odd, Tomoki, and Tomoko never leave Katsumi's side. I wonder what happened?" Ayano thought to herself

"Just lay off Hana will ya?" Katsumi asked pleadingly

"I'm just asking you what's behind the mask." Hana said curiously leaning toward's Katsumi face who looked like she had enough

"And I'm asking you to back off!" Katsumi said sarcastically pushing Hana away from her pushing her last button as well

"What's the big deal? It just some stupid festival mask." Hana asked angrily as her dogs began to growl a bit

"To you it is, but to me it's a different story." Katsumi said defending her position

"Come on Sis, lay off already. If she don't wanna that's fine." the young Inuzuka said meekly afraid of the two teenage female's

"At least someone care's about what I think. Right Kiba?" Katsumi asked the boy

"Don't bring my idiot brother into this. Look, if it means that much to you fine, but then can you at least change it? It's an eyesore." Hana asked annoyingly

"That's the point. I wasn't a big fan on having random strangers come up to me, besides if my friends could take it so can you." Katsumi countered as Hana's eye's twitched in annoyance/anger even more

"We're not your-"

"Hana!" yelled an angry woman at her daughter

"M-Mom?" Hana and Kiba said in fear while Katsumi stiffened unable to speak

"If she doesn't want to take it off that's her choice. Need I remind you that she's not only our guest, but has been on the run for half of her life? There are habits you pick up to stay alive, and your body acts on them accordingly. I'm sorry about that Katsumi, it seems manners have escaped my daughters mind." Tsume groaned as she rubbed her head

"But mom-"

"That's enough. You forget that Katsumi comes from a line of Inuzuka that may have left us, but have exceeded our past limitations. Her mother was not only a close friend and rival, but she has saved my life more times than I can count, even when we were enemies on the battlefield. Look, I know this came out of nowhere, but I'm keeping a promise to Kazumi by watching her daughter in her place." Tsume said tiredly as something else seemed to bother her

"I'd better intervene. This is starting to get too intense for Katsumi to handle." Ayano thought to herself as she started to walk toward them

"T-That's really ok, you don't have to go through with all this. I'm honored, but to be honest...I didn't know my mother, I never even met her actually. I'm sure she was wonderful from they way you're describing her, but I'm sure she wouldn't like you going this far for me...maybe, this was a mistake. I've screwed things up since I came here, it's probably best if...Ayano?" Katsumi said confused as to why her friend came by for a visit so soon

"I'm...interrupting something aren't I?" Ayano said acting uncomfortably

"No no, actually you came at the perfect time. Uh, Tsume-sama I'm gonna go talk with my friend if that's ok." Katsumi said grabbing Ayano's shoulders

"It's fine, I think it's time I try to talk to my kids again. Your name is...A..." Tsume groaned as she struggled trying to remember the girl's name

"Her breath smells like sake, and if I can smell it then...by the looks of them they know about it. I better handle this professionally." Ayano thought determinedly

"It's Ayano, Tsume-sama." Ayano answered politely

"Ayano, right. Sorry, but as you can see I'm not the best with dealing with these kinds of things. Kind of going through a lot of grown up stuff right now." Tsume said weakly rubbing her forehead

"Thank you, Katsumi, if you have the time." Ayano said keeping her pleasant tone

"Yeah, let's go." Katsumi agreed as she left with her savior

As the two girls walked off to a more private area near the house's limits, Ayano began to recap just like she did with Hideki, needless to say Katsumi reacted just about the same.

"Shintaro's what?! I mean I heard rumors that some big shot's went on a mission, but Shintaro went and it was that dangerous? Who could do something like that?" Katsumi asked fearfully to herself

"Who do you think?" Ayano asked rhetorically as Katsumi acted accordingly as Ayano expected

"T-Them!? I thought we lost those freaks!" Katsumi proclaimed drastically

"As I said with Hideki, we did, but it seems unfortunately that they might've allied with...that snake. I take it you know to whom I'm referring to?" Ayano asked the shaken Inuzuka only causing a similar reaction that of Hideki's

"Oh god, oh god, oh god. What are we going to do?" Katsumi asked herself

"We may have to leave." Ayano pointed out calmly

"Leave?! We just got here! We have no home, we have no one to count on, we're wanted fugitives by everyone in the whole damn world, and we have maniac's after us on a daily basis! If we leave where are we supposed to go that's safe?" Katsumi asked angrily as Ayano thought of something to calm the panicking pre-teen

"There were many suitable locations for us to live in. If my memory serves, the Land of the Crescent Moon, Hoshigakure, even Suna may be a safe place, but from experience I have to say that Ame-"

"Ame?! That drenched wetland with the paranoid mask freak!? It felt like we were in prison there, there's no way I'm going back." Katsumi refused ecstatically

"Do you have any other suggestions?" Ayano offered sarcastically as they started to argue more heatedly

"Hell yeah I do! We stay here, and tell the higher ups what we're-"

"You know we can't do that. That mask-"

"Is the reason why I can't be trusted by anyone here! Do you know what's it like to be ostracized by your own clan, your own family?" Katsumi said dejectedly sitting on the dirt floor face palming herself

"But, they're not." Ayano pointed out mercilessly

"What did you say?" Katsumi asked threateningly as her anger led her to confront Ayano face to face

"You heard me." Ayano said not losing her ground staring directly

Growing tensions raged between the two preteen girls thick enough to cut through with a knife, and their words didn't help to ease the situation either. However, the longer Katsumi stared into Ayano's piercing eyes the less angry she began to feel, even if slightly.

"Yeah...I did." Katsumi said regrettably backing off

"We're having a meeting later today to discuss what we're going to do to ensure our future. Shintaro wishes that everyone join in so that their opinions may be heard." Ayano said calmly

"Is that after or before?" Katsumi droned rolling her eyes

"What are you talking about?" Ayano asked annoyingly

"Figure it out yourself, then again you're always doing it." Katsumi thought to herself amusingly

"Hmph, never mind, not like it'll happen anytime soon." Katsumi groaned to herself lightly snickering as she started her way back to the house

"Katsumi." Ayano called out

"I'm not going to that dumbass meeting when I know what's going to happen. We're going to stay here because that idiot cares about our safety, and "feelings" more than he does to ask us. Well...some of us anyways." Katsumi said looking straight into Ayano's glaring eyes

"..."

"Tch, just come back when your done riding his d-"

SMACK!

"You need to learn to keep your mouth shut." Ayano growled as she clenched her still warm fist fresh from a hit to Katsumi's now black eye

"Least I know who's side I'm on, or did you forget your mission?" Katsumi accused

"I know...I'm just starting to think it's not worth it." Ayano said quietly releasing her fist

"Hmph, get lost. At the very least, I can find my find out what my father fought for. When you don't even know who your father is, well your real father anyways." Katsumi spat coldly

"..."

"We're not all mindless drones Ayano, and we're not paranoid freaks with hidden agendas like Shintaro, think for yourself for once." Katsumi said almost pleadingly as if to reach out to her

"..."

"Forget it." Katsumi said waving her off giving up on the blonde

"You may not agree with me or Shintaro-kun, but you can't deny that he's the reason your alive right now." Ayano said simply

"Yeah, so what?" Katsumi growled

"If what you said was true, that Shintaro-kun only cared for our safety or pretended to care for our feelings, and nothing else...then we wouldn't be in the situation we are in right now. In fact, if he'd went through with a certain idea of his, perhaps his friends would still be alive." Ayano said sadly

"What are you talking about?" Katsumi asked tiredly after her talk

"Nothing you'd want to hear, then again, you always want to hear nothing, but the sound of your own voice." Ayano remarked cynically as Katsumi glared at her

"12:30-1:00, if you do not show up by then I'll assume you're not going to participate. Shintaro-kun said it was mandatory, but I'm sure he wouldn't expect much from you." Ayano commented negatively causing Katsumi to clench her fist

"However, know this, if Shintaro finds your absence excusable I'll leave you be. But if Shintaro absolutely requires you, I will come back for you." Ayano finished coldly leaving Katsumi be

As Ayano turned her back on her "friend" Katsumi, that "friend" began to think of the specific words from Shintaro a few days ago, that surprised her to no end.

"We're not friends...you're family...we all have lost something...always keep your promises."

"Did he really mean that? Ah, what does it matter? Doesn't change the fact that were still staying here...maybe Hana's right about this thing, and it might be time for me to take this thing off. One thing though...can I?" Katsumi asked herself as she reached for the back of her mask strings, only to be shocked by the usual small amounts electricity when she touched them

End Flashback

"I hope the Hyuuga will be more cooperative...did I really just say that? Ugh, I just need to focus on the next two. Excuse me." Ayano said politely to the two Hyuuga guards with spears in hand

"State your business." the Hyuuga on the left said stamping his pole into the ground

"I'm here to see my friends. They may have arrived recently, their names are Momoji, and Shou." Ayano said politely

"Oh, them. What do you want with those brats?" the same Hyuuga said in disgust

"Did I say something wrong? He seems to want to intimidate me...sigh, and here I thought the men here would be different than those children. Men, they never change. Might as well play the innocent type who's afraid of this sort of foolishness."Ayano sighed internally

"Y-Yes, did something happen?" Ayano said faking nervousness

"It's best if you see for yourself. Pay no mind to him, go right ahead. Although, if you happen to see someone from the main branch, or even worse the elders it would be best if you avoid them." the second Hyuuga said with more kindness

"Hai, arigato." Ayano said quickly with a gratuitous bow

Walking through the front entrance Ayano noticed a huge range of tension overshadowing the Hyuuga Clan grounds. Whenever she looked around she wondered if someone important had died, and no one took the blame. It was also more desolate, devoid of any plant life far as she could see leaving nothing for botanical appeal, hardly anyone was around, and if she was honest was starting to feel like a ghost town more than a prestigious clan's property grounds.

Looking around Ayano had thought that her task would be just as hard as the last one. Although, she was expecting things to be peaceful here from all the things she heard about the Hyuuga clan from Shou, and Momiji...however, things didn't play out at all how she expected.

What made it obvious to her was watching Hiashi Hyuuga participate in a talking or rather shouting match with two Elders she presumed from the first branch, one male the other female with a younger surprisingly second branch member with them as well who seemed to be wearing a headband for some reason. From looking around some more Ayano had seemed to locate the cause of the dispute, that being the exact pre-teens she was looking for standing behind Hiashi like a wall of protection, though they seemed reluctant to use him that way.

"This is UNACCEPTABLE!" shouted the elderly Hyuuga man at the top of his lungs

"Quite right, guest or not they are Hyuuga children, and are from the deserters. Meaning, that they are most likely from the second branch, and you are aware of the traditions we must follow when it come's to our lesser members." the aged Hyuuga woman said calmly as she ripped the headband off the second branch man revealing the "Caged Bird" seal on his forehead only...it looked different than the one's she had seen before (Note: I'm going with the Manga version as the Caged Bird Seal as the main version she's talking about.)

Instead of it being the form of a slanted X shape with lines coming from the sides, it took the form of a cross turned upside down surrounded by a circle. She found it odd that the Hyuuga would change their seals like that, but she was definitely sure that it did it's job whatever it was.

"I will not be lectured on how to lead my clan that my father left to me. Need I mention how low morale is as of these last few years? Do you honestly think it'll matter or change at all if I force the new Caged Bird upon them?" Hiashi asked pointing to the frightened children

"It'll remind those lower than us of their place." the Elder Hyuuga man answered

"Causing yet another revolt within our clan?"

"With this new seal that won't be possible." the old Hyuuga woman replied with pride

"So, are you telling me that you've turned this desperate as to hound me to no end for the simple purpose of putting under our power? Power, need I remind you that we're no longer in possession of due to the hotheadedness, and stubborn behavior of Elders like you sticking to your narrow minded ideals forcing those under us to rebel. Rebellions, that have caused our numbers to decrease either from casualties of overworking the seal or abandoning the clan altogether." Hiashi stated silencing the Hyuuga Elders before stamping his left foot stating his authority

"I am Hiashi Hyuuga, Head of the Hyuuga clan, as such decisions regarding my guests or clan members fall to me. You are merely Elders who have lived long enough to advise or state your outdated opinion from times past. That is it, your purpose is to advise, that is it, anything else, and I will consider it abuse of your position. Are we clear?" Hiashi said in an icy tone walking up to the aged Hyuuga on the verge of activating his Byakugan

"Yes, crystal." they said in unison while the second branch member quivered in silent fear

"So I advise you walk away right now before you embarrass yourself any further." Hiashi said coldly as he stepped back

"We are not done talking about this." the male Elder said gritting his teeth

"I'm certain, but at this moment, right now, we're done. You, go about whatever business you had before this." Hiashi said in his authoritative tone to the second branch man

"H-Hai." he said before bowing to everyone present

"This is the reason the Hyuuga are falling apart." the old woman said in despair

"We used to rival the Uchiha, now we are just a shell of our former glory." the old Hyuuga man said

"And yet they have the decency to respect the decisions the Clan Head makes." Hiashi commented expecting nothing from them

"..."

"As I thought, now leave my presence, at once." Hiashi finished turning his back to the grumbling Elders leaving the hallway

After watching them leave from sight the twins finally calmed enough to express their gratitude in words.

"Hiashi-sama, I thank you for defending my sister and I, but was that the best course of action? Perhaps, coming here has only hindered your situation." Shou said with a shameful bow

"Do not think twice about that them, the first branch members, or any of the Elders. I'm not sure what your parents have told you about the Hyuuga clan, but things have been like this for years now, decades even before my time. Ever since your arrival, you've been nothing, but helpful to my family. You've even managed to make some of my headache's disappear, a feat I thought only possible by my wife." Hiashi admitted keeping his face straight

"Thank you Hiashi-sama. That means a lot to us." the twins said in unison

"My praise does not come lightly, you should do well to remember that." Hiashi said firmly

"Hai, Hiashi-sama." they said together with a bow

"In any case, I believe you have a visitor." Hiashi pointed out turning his head to the blonde

"Who...Ayano?" they said in surprise

"Kon'nichiwa...I hope now is a good time to talk." Ayano said uncomfortably

"May we?" they asked turning to their guardian

"You may. Although, if the conversation requires an extended amount of time, do remember that Hinata, and Aiko's noon training session is about an hour and half from now." Hiashi reminded the youth's who bowed again

"Hai, Hiashi-sama. We'll be there at the required time." the Hyuuga twins said

"Very good, you're dismissed. I'll be in my chambers." Hiashi said with a confirmation nod

"So Ayano, what's up? Come to check in on us? It's barely been a few days. What, does Shintaro not trust us or something?" Momiji half-joked until she saw the sad look in Ayano's eyes

"Ayano-san?" Shou said in concern

"Is there somewhere we can talk in private...and a place to sit? Today's been a long day." Ayano said wiping away small tears that were forming at the corner of her eyes

"Sure, actually we can take you to our room." Momiji said putting an arm around Ayano for comfort

"Thank you...wait, you have a room?" Ayano said confused/surprised

"Yup, actually it's not that bad compared to what we're used to. Come on, it's not too far from here." Momiji said guiding her

"You two go ahead, I'll join you later." Shou said as he took off in another direction

"Shou-san?" Ayano said still confused

"I'm heading toward the kitchen. Ayano is clearly fatigued since her journey here, and I believe some light summer soba noodles with chicken and fresh lemon sesame sauce will do the trick. I do hope they have the ingredients for..what?" Shou asked as he saw the hunger in the girl's eyes

"I know this might sound weird, but I'm glad your my brother." Momiji said trying to keep herself from drooling

"Sometime's I wish for that as well." Ayano agreed nodding her head as Shou merely rolled his eyes

"My, how gracious of you. I was planning on making some for Hiashi-sama to calm his nerves, but I suppose I could make some for you as well." Shou droned

"Arigato, Shou-sama." Momiji and Ayano said with a grateful bow as Shou merely sighed and left for the kitchen

"Now come on, let's get to that room!" Momiji said cheerfully pointing to her intended directions

Following her friend Ayano began relaying in her head how she was going to break the news to them. She knew that no matter what she'd say they were going to freak out one way or another, and would most likely draw attention to themselves causing a scene. She had to think of a way of convincing them to come back without telling them too much if possible, and she had to think of it quickly so...no...she couldn't do that. Especially not...here?

"Um...Momiji-san?" Ayano said quietly

"Yeah?" she replied

"Where are we?" the blonde asked wondering if they were transported to another world

"Our room." Momiji said simply

"But isn't this..."

Looking around Ayano began to notice that her surroundings had changed for the better somehow. There was noticeably more grass in the courtyard, a few flowers here and there, and the sun seemed to shine more brightly for some reason. As if where she had entered at first was sucked out of it's life, and transferred into here.

"This is the Main branch grounds, you entered through what was essentially the backdoor of the Hyuuga clan grounds, and passed through the 2nd branch grounds."

"That was the 2nd branch grounds? But it was so..." Ayano said quickly stopping herself

"Bleak, devoid of life, the opposite of here?" Momiji finished for her

"Uh..." she moaned nervously as Momiji laughed it off

"It's fine. Most people would react that way, but it'd be pretty hard not to think that. Come on, I can feel the death glares from here." Momiji said as she opened the door for her guest

Opening the sliding door Ayano could see what sort of room her friends lived in. If she had to guess what sort of room they would prefer to live in, they would most likely prefer to live by function rather than punctuation. In terms of the former she would have to say it was quite...functional, it wasn't large, but had enough space to house at least two sets of bunk beds. All in all it was a pretty normal normal room for them to live in...if you didn't include the large amounts of death threats thrown into the trash can.

"Sumimasen." Ayano said politely

"No need to be formal. Have a seat, let's talk." Momiji said as she pointed to a free chair in the corner

"It's how I was raised Momiji, but thank you. I need something to calm my headache from Katsumi." Ayano said sitting down as she nursed her forehead

"Katsumi? So you went to see her too huh? How is she?" Momiji asked out of curiosity

"Ugh...she at least seems to remember to keep her mask on, but now I'm beginning to worry that she's letting her emotions get the best of her." Ayano said with worry

"Well, doesn't sound that much different than how she usually is." Momiji shrugged as Ayano sighed

"Yes, well..."

Deciding to hold out on the reason why she visited Ayano in the first place telling Momiji that she'll explain when Shou arrives, but also decided to...vent out her frustration with the Inuzuka. The process of which took a whole 30 minutes with the occasional nod from Momiji, and more often than not a sigh of pure frustration followed by a facepalm from Ayano interrupted her speech. When she was finally done or quiet for a long enough period of time Momiji finally had her chance to speak.

"Wow, I know Katsumi can run her mouth, but still...I'd say more, but I don't know the whole story. Or you haven't told me the whole story more accurately." Momiji said

"I'm sorry, truly I am, but I'd rather talk about what happened when the both of you are present." Ayano said tiredly

"Then you shall wait no longer." Shou said as he opened the door

"Shou-san." Ayano said in gratitude

"I apologize for taking so long, but there was a matter that needed my attention." Shou said smoothly

"Well, it looks like we have more matters that need your attention. Apparently so important that we needed you to be here in order for her to talk." Momiji said crossing her arms

"It really is." Ayano defended

"I'm sure it is, but first let us eat. Food can do wonders for the body, mind and soul just as much as medicine, relaxation, and sleep can. We can talk while we eat, but keep in mind we still have Hinata-sama's training session to go through." Shou reminded

"Very well, but..." Ayano said unable to finish

"But what?" Shou asked

"It's just a fair warning. What I'm about to say may cause you to lose your appetite, or possibly choke on whatever your eating at the time." Ayano explained

"Is it that serious?" Momiji asked

"Very." Ayano confirmed

"If that's the case, then perhaps it would be best to get the news out now. It was probably a mistake on my part to bring in food like this." Shou said regrettably as he distributed the bowls

"No, no, it's fine. In fact it looks delicious, it's just...sigh, this is not an easy topic for me to talk about. Oh well, maybe this food will...MMmmm!" Ayano moaned

"This is really good Shou!" Momiji complimented

"Thank you, but...never mind. Let us finish this meal then discuss your business." Shou said shaking his head

"Yes, can't wait to tell you." Ayano said hesitantly

As the three children continued to eat their meal occasionally giving praise to the chef something was amiss between the three children. There was an odd tension in the air that they all seemed to ignore, whether it was the looming threat of the Hyuuga Elders hanging over the twins, the foreboding conversation Ayano had in store for them, or perhaps it was the sense of dread being lifted from their shoulders, and not knowing what to do with it. Even though the meal was delicious in every right they all knew they had other things to do so finishing their meal quickly was perhaps the wisest of decisions.

"Ah man, I feel so relaxed! So, what's this serious talk you need to have with us?" Momiji asked as she patted her stomach

"It regards Shintaro-kun." Ayano said sadly

"Oh, what now? What did he accidentally peep on Misaka again?" Momiji groaned rolling her eyes

"N-No! Nothing like that all, Shintaro-kun...he's been injured, seriously injured." Ayano said clearly to a somewhat skeptical

"Coming from you serious can mean a lot of things, but that look on your face says otherwise." Momiji acknowledged

"Oh, did Jugo lose control of himself again?" Shou asked wondering that was the case

"No, he's quite alright." Ayano replied

"Or did Hiromi-chan have one of her breakdowns?" Momiji added sadly

"As far as I know, no she hasn't had any." Ayano answered

"Did Fu-chan's training go wrong again?" Shou asked curiously

"No, No, and good kami I could only hope that's what happened." Ayano quickly shot down

"Ayano?" Momiji said concerned

"When I say Shintaro-kun's been seriously injured, I should've said he's critically injured." Ayano explained

"Critically?" Shou repeated

"As in..."

"Hospitalized...perhaps forever." Ayano clarified

"Wait what?" Momiji asked not believing what she just heard

"How did this happen?" Shou asked seriously

"No no, scratch that. Who did this to him? We all know how strong Shintaro is, even when he's down it doesn't take long for him to get back up, and come back swinging hard...he didn't pick a fight with the Anbu did he? Or worse those Root freaks we heard about from Shintaro?" Momiji asked afraid

"No, they had nothing to do with his condition, but if they were...I'd make them regret it." Ayano said coldly as her aura as well as her hair began to rise and somehow darken dramatically

"Ayano, your doing that thing again." Momiji said clearing her throat snapping the blonde out of it

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Guess I'm still a little strained from my previous conversations." Ayano apologized as she calmed herself down

"Well, try to keep a lid on it. The Elders already have enough reason to hate/distrust us." Momiji sighed

"Sorry." Ayano said downcast

"It's fine, but seriously who would be strong enough to take down Shintaro like...wait." Momiji said after slowly thinking about it

"You just came up with the same solution I did, didn't you?" Shou asked his worried twin

"I hope not. I hope to Kami above we're not thinking the same thing." Momiji said seriously

"It's probably correct, whatever the two of you are thinking." Ayano said regrettably

"It can't be...them right?" Momiji asked carefully as Ayano shifted her eyes in silence

"..."

"Shit." the two twins cursed uncharacteristically

"Of all the times for them to show up why now?" Momiji groaned

"Forget that, how'd they break into here? I thought we were supposed to be safe here." Momiji said

"We are...for the time being, but they didn't come here." Ayano reassured

"What do you mean?" Shou asked

"Sigh, let me start from the beginning...again." Ayano sighed wearingly

Once again, Ayano had to regrettably retell the tale of how Shintaro's condition came to be. She was thankful she came here next, even with Momiji's minor breakdown the two Hyuuga twins managed to keep themselves calm enough to listen through the entire story. Ayano wondered why the two before couldn't be like this, refined, calm, reserved, and even asking what happened in greater detail than she had known.

She could only hope that her next, and thankfully final stop with her br...half-brother would be as easy as this. Then again, knowing him she'd might have to study his face for a twitch of a smile that may rise from his lips. If that happened she would have a little present for him at the ready if he was stupid enough to show his true emotions to her. But those plans would have to wait, for now she would have to see how these two would react, and what their decision would be.

"So, that's everything that's happened. Shintaro-kun's requested, no, issued I should say a mandatory meeting to discuss what we should do in the future. I am aware that you have your duties here serving the Hyuuga clan, but perhaps you could talk things out with Hiashi-sama?" Ayano bargained

"I don't know. From what I've heard Hiashi-sama he, and Shintaro didn't exactly get along." Momiji said crossing her arms

"There's also the fact that the Hyuuga have a large amount of contempt for the Senpu." Shou added

"Yeah, though that's mainly the Main branch, and the Second branch members here either love them or hate them with a passion." Momiji finished

"Why such a mixed reaction?" Ayano asked

"It'll take too long to explain, but the gist of it is that the Senpu are responsible for the current state of the two major clans in Konoha." Momiji explained

"The Hyuuga, and the Uchiha." Shou continued

"Right. As it turns out, a big chunk if not half of both clans have deserted Konoha to join The Fallen for generations, and every time the Senpu were involved one way or another." Momiji explained

"Those that were unable to escape or chose to stay got the short end of the stick, and have been forced to live in poor conditions for a while now." she finished

"Some regret staying here, other's curse the Senpu for putting them in this situation, and others hope that another Senpu will come save them again." Shou said in sympathy

"News of Shintaro's arrival haven't made their way to the Second branch members, and it would be best if it stayed that way, for now at least." Momiji sighed

"Yes, as much as I want to help them, I don't want the Elder Hyuuga blaming us for another possible civil war." Shou said despairingly

"I understand. So will you come?" Ayano asked the twins who shared a look with each other nodding their heads

"Yes, we will." they said with a nod of confirmation

"I...really?" Ayano said in surprised

"Although, we will have to send clones in our place if Hiashi-sama will not allow us to visit in person." Shou said

"That's...the best response than I have gotten all day." Ayano said dumbfounded

"Yeah, considering how Katsumi can be a b...Katsumi, and Hideki's a flat out coward, I can see how you're stressed out." Momiji said in sympathy

"Well, I can safely say my job here is done. You do remember how to get to the hotel right?" Ayano asked standing up

"Yeah, we do. So, who you do you have left? That lazy bum, and bug boy decided to stay, Ling doesn't belong to a clan, Misaka, pfft we all know what her deal is, Hiromi's stuck like glue to Shintaro, so all that leaves is..." Momiji said before stopping herself as she watched Ayano slouch

"Shusuke, my br...sigh, half-brother. Thankfully, he's my last stop, but..." Ayano said as she slouched further

"Good luck." the twins wished upon their friend

"Arigato, I'm gonna need it." Ayano sighed heavily


Unknown location with the 3rd Hokage, and Danzo

Walking through dark filled tunnels with only small torches lighting the way the 3rd Hokage along with his old friend, they were discussing subjects that would be known only among them.

"So, you really think this will work?" Hiruzen asked his old friend while looking at certain documents

"Of course, I wouldn't have come to you otherwise." Danzo said with confidence

"There have been infiltration's like this before." Hiruzen pointed out

"Not with candidate's like these." Danzo countered continuing his point

"While it is true we are using tactics that they would use , but then again, they have often relied on unsuspecting factors before. Why not give our hand at it?" Danzo said

"I never figured you for taking this kind of risk." Hiruzen admitted humorously

"We are Shinobi, risks are required, and necessary for us to improve. There are times when we must break out of our comfort zone in order to get an advantage over the enemy." Danzo said with experience

"Wise words, perhaps you've gotten old enough to finally garnet something from all these years?" Hiruzen asked with a twitch of a smile on his face

"Considering I'm older than you, that should've given me an edge from the Nidaime." Danzo commented

"Still griping over Tobirama-sensei's decision? I thought we were past this." Hiruzen groaned

"Who's to say I am or not? Doesn't mean someone like me can wonder how life would've been different." Danzo said keeping

"Hm, never pegged you as a daydreamer." Hiruzen said with interest

"I wonder, not dream." Danzo clarified intensely

"In any case, these..." Hiruzen said looking at the documents in question again

"Volunteers." Danzo specified

"Right, volunteers. Do you think they have the skills necessary for this kind of job? They are rather young, and that child is pathologically skeptical of most things." Hiruzen pointed out

"They won't be infiltrating immediately, although how ideal that scenario may be, that child's condition will only make any newcomers arrive sooner on his watch list. Therefore, we will have to be patient for the time being, and have them continue to observe the child from afar." Danzo explained

"Do you think they will fair any better than the Anbu I've sent? If I remember correctly, you haven't sent agents of your own yet have you?" Hiruzen asked

"These are my agents. Though their age, and inexperience ironically is what we need here. No amount of training will prepare you for a life with a Senpu." Danzo said with tiredness in his voice

"Fair enough, but will they be adequate for the job?" Hiruzen asked seriously

"We will find out in due time." Danzo simply said

"I suppose so, now shall we discuss the other subject we need to prepare for?" Hiruzen asked tipping his hat in front of him

"Yes, and will you approve of my methods?" Danzo asked raising his eyelid to look his superior in the eye as Hiruzen sighed

"I'll never truly approve of your methods, but in this case, I must regretfully say that we do need them. However, if you go to far Danzo, old friend or not I will see you hang." Hiruzen said seriously as he took out his pipe to lit it

"When you're planing on fighting against Madara, the strongest Uchiha to ever live, you can never go to far." Danzo said just as serious

"Truer words have never been spoken. I just hope we'll be ready when the time come's for us to face him." the old Hokage said grimly

"On that we agree." Danzo nodded

"Now, has our guest recovered from his wounds?" Hiruzen asked changing the subject

"I am unaware of his state at the moment, but the second he does wake we'll be notified." Danzo assured

"I see, and what of his parent?" Hiruzen asked

"Guardian to be precise, and we have him in interrogation as well." Danzo clarified

"I just can't believe it. 2 traitors found in less than a week, and both of them were right under our noses." Hiruzen said with a weary sigh

"As I reluctantly add, both of whom who were uncovered due to that boy's interference with our village." Danzo grumbled

"I wonder how many other's we have in this village." Hiruzen wondered

"We need to tighten up on security, and crack down on the Leaf Police Force." Danzo said nearly demanding his cooperation

"Do you mean before or after we free the Uchiha from suspicion?" Hiruzen said with a sliver of sarcasm

"Just because the clan as a whole wasn't responsible for the 5 years ago, doesn't exclude the fact it was an Uchiha who attacked Konoha." Danzo said with confidence

"An Uchiha who defected due to the "sorry" state his clan was in." Hiruzen corrected

"It wasn't long till the "sorry" clan began to share his line of thinking." Danzo countered

"And that is what negotiation is for. Until we can find a compromise the situation will only get worse." Hiruzen said calmly

"The Uchiha may be our most powerful clan in terms of combat and natural ability, but they're also prideful to the very end about everything. Once they realize it's one of their own, if they don't know already, there's no telling what they'll do." Danzo warned

"They have suffered discrimination after being falsely accused, I can't say I blame them." Hiruzen said in their defense

"Falsely accused would mean someone other than an Uchiha had committed the crime." Danzo corrected mercilessly

"Egh, enough of this. If we continue this conversation any longer I'll lose whatever hair I have left. Stress is not good for someone of my age." Hiruzen griped as he pinched his nose

"Then I suppose some sort "good news" will relieve it." Danzo said

"Oh?" Hiruzen said interested

"Since you're so concerned about the Uchiha's fate, I've left the interrogation of both the traitor, and his guardian to the Police Force. With Fugaku leading the charge no less." Danzo said trying to hide his bitterness

"You trusted Fugaku with something like this? I'm not sure whether to be impressed or concerned." Hiruzen said in surprise

"Think of this as a test. If the Captain of the Police Force can't handle a simple task like this then I see no need for him to keep his position or for them to exist." Danzo explained

"Really? Well, I do hope for the best outcome. After all, results are all what you seem to care about." Hiruzen commented offhandedly

"You always lacked discipline." Danzo said almost grumbling

"And you have too much." Hiruzen countered with a sliver of a smile

"Hmph, you always were quick to words." Danzo grumbled this time

"And you were always slow on the uptake. Perhaps that is why Tobirama-sensei put the two of us together so often." Hiruzen said nostalgically

"Perhaps." Danzo replied

"I wonder if he or Hashirama-sensei had to deal with similar situations like this?" Hiruzen wondered

"Has anyone ever had to deal with 12 unknown children all born from The Fallen's best shinobi, multiple outcasts from the 5 Great Nations all of who posses great power, come into their village to announce not only a war is coming, but is being masterminded by a shinobi rivaled only by the Shodaime?" Danzo asked sarcastically

"Not only that, but the ringmaster of said children is descendant from a line of shinobi who have constantly interfered with our way of life?" Hiruzen added

"If anyone has had to deal with that, I should shake their hand when I meet them." Hiruzen complimented

"This truly will be a critical time for the Shinobi of Konohagakure." Danzo said seriously

"Whether our future is secured is uncertain or not, one thing is very clear." Hiruzen grunted

"Yes, another thing we can agree on." Danzo nodded

"That the Fallen will be the key to everything." Hiruzen finished as he put away his pipe snuffing out the flame's behind them


With Ayano at the Uchiha District

After walking through with much interruption due to the guards, and other nuisances, Ayano had finally managed to convince the Uchiha guards to visit the person she was looking for with the condition of guards be with her every moment. Reluctantly she agreed, and right now she started to see why. Right now, for some reason everyone she saw was on edge, or showing grief in some way. As if someone had come in, and personally destroyed someone they worshiped while insulting them the entire time. Some people were gritting their teeth in anger, other's held back tears, while some stayed in a praying position begging for some sort of miracle or something.

Ayano began to wonder if this was because of Itachi's condition on the mission. Or perhaps, and this was more likely, it was the fact the reason Itachi was injured so badly on a mission that had not one, but two more than capable shinobi to finish a mission as important as that. In short, the Uchiha have failed, and miserably to boot. It goes without saying that Ayano knew that the Uchiha were prideful, and she definitely knew that when the Uchiha had a prodigy, the Uchiha tended to think very high of when someone can show what the Uchiha can really do.

Just as these thoughts, and more stirred in her mind, Ayano began to wonder, just how her half-brother would feel about the whole situation? She knew above all else how her half-brother idolized the Uchiha, and even though he never met Itachi, she knew he was the one that could compete for her brother's respect second only to hi...their father.

Heh...father. That man had never taken an interest in her the first place, why did she end up with someone like him taking the role of a father for her? Why did her mother compete for attention for a man that care's only what kind of offspring she could produce? What did she see in him in the first place? How did she end up becoming the reason for their situation? When was it acceptable for a 5 year old to cook for a drunken mother coming back from a brothel?! Did she even...

"Enough, I can't think about that right now. I need to find a way to talk to Shusuke calmly while figuring out how to bring Shintaro-kun's request. I wonder how I'm going to convince him. He's not like the others. Now that I think about it, how am I going to react to-"

"We're here." said one of the Uchiha guardsmen

"Eh? Oh, Arigato." Ayano thanked with a bow

"You're here to see that kid right? The one Fugaku-sama accepted into his household?" the same Uchiha asked

"Hai." Ayano answered

"I see, well he should be still inside occupying Sasuke-sama." he said in a grim tone

"Is there something wrong?" Ayano asked the serious man

"No, no, I'm fine. Thank you, but I guess I'm still thinking about what Shusuke-kun will say to me after our awkward goodbye." Ayano explained uneasy

"You two are siblings no?" the second Uchiha asked

"Uh...yes. Half-siblings, so not directly related. We have the same father, but different mothers." she explained reluctantly keeping her pleasant tone

"Hm, that would mean you have Uchiha blood within you." the second Uchiha pointed out with a small smile verging on a twisted grin before he held it in

"I suppose it does. Thank you for escorting me, I can take it from here." Ayano said in a plain tone with bored eyes

"Hold on." the first Uchiha said firmly

"Yes?" she replied doing her best not to twitch her eyes in annoyance

"I'm sure you've noticed, but the Uchiha as a whole have had their spirits weakened. Are you aware of the reason?" he asked

"I'm assuming it has to do with Itachi-san's condition?" Ayana asked calmly

"Correct. Somehow everyone in the clan knows, but Fugaku-sama has forbidden any speech of the subject escape from anyone's lips. This knowledge however, according to Fugaku-sama hasn't reached Sasuke-sama's ears though, and would prefer it that way. I hope you understand." the second Uchiha explained

"I do, not a simple mention of it will slip from my mouth. You have my word." Ayano said with a sincere bow

"Good. We'll await you here. How long do you intend to talk to your friend?" the second Uchiha asked

"If all goes well, it shouldn't take longer than 20 minutes, perhaps less if he knows what I'm going to say to him." Ayano said giving them their answer

"Very well, you have 30 minutes before Fugaku-sama returns from his rounds. I suggest you hurry." the first Uchiha said waving her off

"Hai, arigato." Ayano said before taking off to the house

Watching the young girl leave, and waiting for her to get out of earshot the first Uchiha stared the now cynically grinning clansmen next to him, it didn't go unnoticed.

"What?" the second Uchiha asked

"You think she should be here don't you?" the first one asked his comrade

"Don't be ridiculous, she's only a half-blood." the second one said waving him off

"Yet, she's still a daughter of that man." the first one pointed out with a sly grin

"Be quiet. His name is forbidden here you know that." the second one said in a nervous tone

"Doesn't change the facts." the first one said enjoying his friends squirming

"Hm." he grunted

"Should we tell Fugaku-sama about this?" the first one asked seriously

"You mean if he doesn't already know?" the second countered

"What makes you say that?" the first asked

"Well, it's bound to come up eventually. Even so, you know he wouldn't be satisfied with one offspring, much less with one woman. Even if that woman was obsessed with him." the second said annoyed

"Man, what I wouldn't give for that woman to be my wife." the first Uchiha sighed in wonder thinking of said woman

"Tell me, I'm sure yours would be most interested in hearing this story." the second one grinned as he watched his friend go from blissfully wondering to quivering fearing of her wife

"Shut up." the man groaned thinking of what his wife might do to him if she heard that

Little did they know that someone did hear them despite being from a far distance.

"Ugh, men." Ayano thought as she rolled her eyes in annoyance

Walking away from the chatting Uchiha in disgust, Ayano only shook her head in mild amusement of their thinking of her joining the clan. As if she would betray him, especially after that night when he poured his heart out onto her, and created a bond with her strong enough to withstand all things. At least, that was what it appeared to him, but not her. After all, he was the only one who shared his secrets with her, he only gave while she took it all not giving something significant in return.

How could she not only fail to say she loved him after that, but fail to mention her side of the story...her secrets, she couldn't. If she did everything she accomplished with him would crumble to pieces, and he would look at her the same way he did her father. With disgust, hatred, contempt, but most of all, betrayal. She couldn't bear those thoughts, the very idea of earning his wrath shook Ayano to her core, and yet she felt as if she deserved nothing less for what she...

"Shusuke, there's a weird lady here." said a small boy standing behind a sliding door

Watching the last person to notify

"Sasuke, I thought I told you to stay...inside. Ayano?" Shusuke said in surprise

"Shusuke?" Ayano replied just as surprised

Even though she knew he was here, and knew that he'd be more comfortable here with his clan, more so than the others, he took it to a whole new level. Out of everyone she visited she saw they still had their regular attire on despite the time of day she had visited, but Shusuke was entirely different. He still had the bandages wrapped around his lower face, but other than that he looked completely different, at least from her perspective.

He wore simple clothing, a plain black pair of shorts with the Uchiha symbol on the back pocket with no shirt to speak of, other than the white one he held in his hand. A sight most girls Ayano's age would squeal in joy upon seeing, but to Ayano it just showed her that Shintaro hasn't been the only one training his body. It was mesmerizing, seeing him like this, regardless of how physically appealing he might be to most of the opposite sex, half or not he was still just a sibling to her. Yet, despite that he had a look in his eyes she had yet to see during their entire time spent on this journey of theirs, and that something, at least in her opinion was happiness.

"Uh...hi." Shusuke said breaking the silence with a weak wave

"Hi." Ayano replied doing the same

"..."

"Well uh, you want to come in?" Shusuke offered

"I'd appreciate that, yes." Ayano answered as the young Sasuke looked between the two awkward teens

"Are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?" Sasuke asked as both children got red as a tomato despite the masks covering most of their faces

"NO!" the two kids shouted in embarrassment causing the smaller child to jerk a bit

"Sasuke, clean up your toys. Remember my friends with the masks like mine?" Shusuke quickly said regaining his composure

"Uh huh." he nodded

"She's one of them, and uh...oh, I'm close to her so we'll talk a lot. She also lives with one of your Mother's friends as well. You don't want to chance her to tell your mother how messy the house is when she's gone, do you?" Shusuke asked crossing his arms as he nodded toward the house amusing himself watching the boy go wide eyed

"N-No! I'll go clean up now. Hold on!" Sasuke said as he dashed into his own home fearing his mother's wrath

"Come on, I'm sure you want to see him frantically shove his plushies into his toy box." Shusuke said amused

"That would be an amusing sight I'll admit." Ayano giggled as she walked

"Then let's go, he's surprisingly fast, and efficient for his age." Shusuke remarked as he put on his shirt

"Hai, Hai. I'm coming." Ayano nodded as she walked up to the entrance

As Ayano followed her sibling into the house she casually talked to him about his experience with the Uchiha's so far. Surprisingly, it's been more pleasant than she would expect. In fact, from what he described it almost sounded like they're trying to adopt him. From the pleasant dinner, to the questions, to even the sparring match between him, and Fugaku. From everything he told her, it sounded like he was in paradise compared to everyone else.

Even compared to Hideki who can gorge on everything he sees now, it felt like to her that Shusuke was given a new breath of life. Even if those bandages weren't wrapped around his face thoroughly she could see the small smile his face was fighting to create.

Continuing to follow the for once in a good mood Uchiha into the household, Ayano finally noticed the sounds of small feet running back and forth throughout the house. It was then she remembered they weren't alone, but were accompanied by a small child frantically grabbing a multitude of toys scattered throughout the floor. All for the sake of avoiding his mother's wrath, a reason to him most worthy of going all out.

"Come on, come on, come on." Sasuke said to himself as he looked around the room searching for any missing toys

"Watch this." Shusuke whispered to Ayano who raised an eyebrow

"Mr. Bitey is still on the kitchen table." Shusuke said simply as Sasuke suddenly dashed so fast he disappeared in an instant

"So fast." Ayano said in surprise

"Thanks Shusuke." Sasuke thanked as he held a crocodile plushy quickly putting it in his room

"Don't forget Ms. Chomp Chomp by the couch." Shusuke pointed out as Sasuke dashed yet again grabbing a blue hippo plushy from said couch

"Thanks Shusuke." Sasuke said putting the toy away

Amazed by Sasuke's body's attempts to keep up with more and more toys Shusuke pointed out Ayano noticed something dangerous littered on the floor.

"Why is there a group of kunai on the floor?" Ayano asked in concern as Shusuke face palmed himself

"Ugh, Sasuke, I thought I told you we'd practice throwing kunai until after we practice your fireball jutsu?" Shusuke droned

"Aw, but I suck at it, and I want Itachi to teach me that. Can't we practice something else?" Sasuke groaned as he halted his movements

"If you want to impress your father, then you need to get it down. Besides, you'll never get your brother's attention if you don't master that jutsu." Shusuke pointed out

"Egh, fine." Sasuke grumbled as he slouched his shoulders

"If you keep that attitude you'll never beat him, and it's such a shame. I had planned on telling your family you had something to show them." Shusuke said grinned watching the young Uchiha grow a few tick marks on his forehead

"Fine! You want me to practice? I'll practice till you're on the ground begging me to stop!" Sasuke proclaimed getting into Shusuke's face who raised an eyebrow in interest

"Oh, Really? I'd like to see you try, but first things first, when you're done cleaning up, make sure you come back to finish your lunch. You know your mother doesn't like it when you waste food." Shusuke said confidently enjoying watching the color drain from Sasuke's face

"T-Thanks, oh man, why do I have to do all this?" Sasuke groaned

"You made the mess, you get to clean it up." Shusuke answered

"You sound just like Itachi." Sasuke groaned as he cleaned off the plate off the table

"I wonder why." Shusuke droned to himself

"Shusuke." Ayano whispered sternly to her sibling who jerked at hearing his name

"Sorry." Shusuke apologized lowering his head immediately shocking Ayano

"Did he just apologize?" Ayano asked herself trying to confirm if what she just heard was real

"It's no problem, but we need to talk." Ayano said seriously turning to the boy who nodded

"Not here. Sasuke, I'll outside on the front porch, I need to talk to my friend. Let me know when you're done." Shusuke called out as he led Ayano through a back door

"Kay!" Sasuke answered back

"This way, I'm sure this isn't something he should here." Shusuke said seriously opening a sliding door

"Right." Ayano agreed

Following him once again Ayano walked through to an entrance at the back of the house leading into a peaceful garden with a view of the lake.

"So, what is it? Must be pretty important for you to come to this place, and on your own too. Does this by any chance have to do with Itachi-sama's mission?" the pre-teen Uchiha asked as Ayano internally sighed tiredly

"I had forgotten about this, it's been so long since Shusuke-kun, and Shintaro-kun have been separated from each other like this. I often forget that he can be frighteningly smart when he's calm about things, and thinks them through. I just hope he'll stay like this when I talk to him. Although..." Ayano thought to herself

"How does everyone here know about that? It's hardly been a day." Ayano asked unsure of where the information got through

"The Hokage sent an Anbu messenger as soon as he heard the news. Both Mikoto-sama, and Fugaku-sama were distraught to say the least. Some servants that were tending to the garden overheard the news, and it wasn't long until the news spread throughout the clan. As you saw before, everyone is hoping for some good news in their own way, and given how prideful the Uchiha can be you know this is going to affect them for a long time." Shusuke explained

"Yup, still scary." Ayano confirmed

"I see, well then I suppose I should make this quick. In short, yes this does have to do with Itachi-san's mission, but it mostly has to deal with Shintaro...kun." Ayano said quietly as she watched Shusuke's eye's noticeably darken at the mention of Shintaro's name

"Oh." Shusuke growled

"And there it is." Ayano sighed internally again

"Yes, I'm aware of your feelings toward him, but now isn't the time for that. He's..." Ayano hesitated to finish

"Injured? Majorly, i'm assuming." Shusuke finished much to Ayano's surprised

"How did you know?" Ayano asked as Shusuke who

"1. You're not talking to me in that usual cheerful tone of yours. 2. You look like you haven't gotten any sleep or have been crying your eyes out even if you did cover it up with genjutsu, and makeup. 3. I heard rumors that some outsiders were joining him on this mission with a different objective in mind. 4. That objective was search, and rescue, something that idiot specializes in. 5. Call it luck I guess." Shusuke chuckled crossing his arms

"I also forgot how annoying, and smug he can be." Ayano groaned to herself

"Judging by your silence that means I'm correct, and by that annoying glare you're giving me that means I hit the nail on the head. So, how serious is it?" Shusuke asked curiously

"What?" Ayano said still confused

"You know what I'm talking about. How hurt is that idiot?" Shusuke asked annoyed

"Can't he be just a little more tactful?" Ayano asked herself

"He's..."

"That serious huh?" Shusuke said cynically interested

"What are you talking about now?" Ayano asked now getting annoyed

"I'm right again, aren't I?" Shusuke asked a bit more serious

"..." was all she could say lowering her head causing him to sigh

"You know, you're not the same when you don't talk back to me. It sort of reminds me of your mo-" but Shusuke was interrupted during his comparison when Ayano suddenly grabbed his shirt violently

"Do not. Compare me. To her. I'm nothing like that woman." Ayano snapped coldly surprising

"I'm sorry, didn't mean to upset you." Shusuke apologized sincerely as Ayano backed

"It's been a long day, and the night before has been anything but pleasant. I'm sorry as well." Ayano apologized

"Let's just move past this. Now honestly, how hurt is he?" Shusuke asked getting serious

"In order to tell you that, I need to start from the beginning." Ayano said composing herself

"We have time, but not much. I suggest you hurry." Shusuke advised

"Very well." Ayano complied

Finally, and thankfully for the last time today Ayano retold everything she knew regarding Shintaro's fate, how he came to be, what really happened on the mission, and the meeting Shintaro called out on everyone. The news was so serious that Shusuke had even calmed himself down for Ayano's sake, and thought about what to do.

"This is troubling indeed. If it's those two then we do need to talk about it. Much as I hate him he does bring up a good point, still can't believe he's in that situation, should've been me." Shusuke said with noticeable regret clenching his fist

"Shusuke..." Ayano said in surprise

"Maybe he's changed for the better after all. I guess it was a good idea to let him stay here." Ayano thought hopefully while in reality in Shusuke's mind

"I should've been the one to put him in the hospital, if only I had more power. Well, now he's stuck like that while I'll only grow stronger, if I train endlessly with Fugaku along with Itachi, and Shusui I'll grow stronger than ever before. And when I gather enough, I'll kill the man responsible for the Uchiha's downfall, but for now..."

"Am I the first one you've visited?" Shusuke asked keeping his cool until he saw Ayano's aura drop depressingly

"No, unfortunately not. I've made the mistake of visiting Hideki first reminding me of how selfish he could be only to be matched by his gluttonous appetite, and cowardice. I then made another mistake of visiting Katsumi next, who aggravated me to no end while making unnecessary comments about my judgement." Ayano groaned as her shoulders slouched immensely

"Hmph, not surprising. When's this meeting of his?" Shusuke sighed regrettably

"Soon, I'd say 11:0 would be early enough, but for you I'd guess 12:30 if possible, that's when Shintaro-kun would like to start at the latest." Ayano said professionally

"I see, well if Fugaku-sama returns from his interrogation, then I'll make a request. Until then, I'm obligated to stay here." Shusuke pointed out

"Interrogation?" Ayano said confused

"Supposedly, he was assigned to retrieve information about some traitors or something. Both of which are doctors, but I have no idea who they can be." Shusuke explained

"Neither do I. Well, my job is done here, I should get back to Shintaro-kun, and at least notify him of Hideki's, and Katsumi's unknown position of whether or not they're coming." Ayano groaned

"Should that surprise you? One's an insufferable loudmouth while the other is a sniveling coward, at least the Hyuuga's have some sort of common sense, inferior as they may be." Shusuke grunted

"He always has to be on top doesn't he?" Ayano thought to herself with a tired sigh

"If that's all, I shall be leaving. Goodbye Shusuke-kun, I hope to see you at Shintaro-kun's meeting soon." Ayano said with bow

"Hn." he grunted

"Of course." Ayano sighed as she decided to start walking

"I'll take the long way around. Oh, and make sure you teach him properly whenever you do." Ayano said firmly

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. I have no intention of keeping him the way he is at the moment. The same goes for the clan, and especially Danzo Shimura." Shusuke said coldly clenching his fist

"Just remember Shusuke, if you truly plan on carrying out that plan of yours, you both Itachi and Shisui to do it." Ayano pointed out plainly

"Believe me, I know." Shusuke assured not losing his tone

"I hope so, for all of our sake's." Ayano whispered to herself


Back with Tayuya 1 Hour Later (Time: 12:54 p.m)

There were many things Tayuya hated with a passion with a passion. Spicy food, people telling her what to do with her life, adults obsessed with money, stuck up jerks, elitists who think nothing of you, but now...she found something new to hate, talking.

Because right now, she was sitting in a chair in front of a table filled to the brim with kids she was trying to escape from, emphasis on trying because no matter what she did they found a way to get to her. After a full hour of running, hiding, dodging, and screaming to go away they'd finally cornered her in one of the many abandoned buildings before tying her up and dragging her back.

At the very least they untied her if she promised to sit still so they could talk...it's been 10 minutes since then, and no one has even uttered a single word. Not the shirtless buff as hell goof off with the stupid grin, the weirdly quiet orange hair giant of the children, the creepy kid with red dots on his forehead, the two redheads with the bigger one looking at her intensely, the crystal chick sharpening her nails with a crystal itself, hell even the handsome as fu-I mean the he-she of a kid she decked in the stomach was silent as a pin...it was beginning to freak her out.

"Oh, what the hell! How did I end up here!? Why is no one talking? Are they waiting for me? Should I talk? Should I wait for someone else? I should talk right? But what should I say? Why am I worrying about this? Should I worry? The hell was that scream about anyway? Wait, why am I thinking about that when I have them to worry about? Come on, come on tell them something. Your name, hobby, wait do they even care about that shit? Oh just say it, say something!" Tayuya shouted in her mind

"So uh...hi. My name's Tayuya. I'm 7 years old, and I like music...I guess." Tayuya said quietly thinking it wasn't loud enough for anyone to hear

"Hi Tayuya." the group responded in unison causing Tayuya to jerk in her seat

"Oh thank god she said something!" Guren exasperated

"We all spoke at once, and she jumped. Did we scare her?" Honoka asked herself

"I was beginning to think I should lead." Kimimaro thought to himself with a sigh

"Why wasn't anyone else talking?" Jugo asked himself

"This is so much more difficult without Shintaro-san. It just goes to show how much Shintaro-san adds when it comes to introductions like these." Haku noted as he took a deep breath

"W-What was that s-scream earlier?" Karin asked herself still shaking in fear

Noticing the tense situation as well as the huge amount of awkwardness circulating within the group, one particular child decided to liven things up.

"Well, if we're going to be this stiff I might as well start things off with a bang." Genyumaru declared within himself

"So, names, age, and hobbies huh? Ok then. Sup, name's Genyumaru Yama of the small, but mighty Yama clan. Only 10, but man do I kick ass. If you need a sparring partner I'm always free." Genyumaru said with a cocky grin

"Uh...thanks." Tayuya nodded uncomfortably

"Greetings. My name is Kimimaro, age 7, also the last member of the Kaguya clan, thankfully. Come to me Haku or Guren if you have any questions about how things work here." Kimimaro said plainly with a bow

"Sure...I'll ask if something comes up." Tayuya acknowledged shyly

"Hello, Tayuya. My name is Jugo...I like birds." Jugo said trying to act natural only to fail spectacularly as he stared into Tayuya's eyes

"Uh...me too?" Tayuya responded

"Could you be anymore creepier? Just goes to show you you need a girl to lighten the mood." Guren thought rolling her eyes

"Hellooo, the name's Guren. Rumors, and shopping are my forte. Unlike these idiot boys, with the exception of Haku-kun, I know how to talk to girls obviously. So ignore the two creeps, and feel free to come to me." Guren said cheerfully taking out a makeup kit out of nowhere

"Y-Yeah, girl talk." Tayuya said uneasy with a weak smile

"She's...excited...I guess." Tayuya noted

"Did I come on too strong?" Guren thought to herself

"Thank you Guren-chan, and hello again, Tayuya-san. I can safely say my hobby is picking flowers, and finding herbs for medicine that help people." Haku said with a pleasant smile causing Tayuya to blush and look down

"Wow, not even a response." the majority thought in unison

"He's looking at me...he's smiling at me! Wait, why does that matter? What am I thinking? Oh my god, get out of my head!" Tayuya screamed internally shaking her head

"Nice to meet you, you can call me Honoka. I am of the Uzumaki clan, but do not worry to make a big deal out of it." Honoka said reassuringly holding a hand over her chest

"K-Karin...U-Uzumaki. I...hi." Karin squeaked shyly

"That's everyone, so should I say something? I have to, right?" Tayuya said to herself discussing the matter internally until

"H-Hi, everyone...so." Tayuya said uncomfortably looking to the side shifting her legs

"Don't curse, don't curse, don't curse, don't curse, don't curse." Tayuya thought to herself repeatedly like a mantra

"Just to let you know, we'd normally do this with everyone, but...not everyone's here so." Guren pointed out

"Considering the mood Shintaro-san is in due to that scream we all heard. I think it's best if we continue with our current members. So, does anyone have anything to say about our little friend?" Haku asked everyone looking around the room only to receive silence

"..."

"You're real good at hiding, you know that?" Genyumaru said crossing his arms

"U-Uh, yeah, I guess. Thanks." Tayuya said lowering her head in embarrassment

"That's no small feat." Kimimaro complimented

"Especially when were all looking for you." Honoka added

"You also pack quite a punch." Haku said with a smile

"Eh...hehehe...thank you?" Tayuya replied with a blush

"How would you know?" Genyumaru asked curiously causing Haku to pause for a moment

"Ahem, experience." Haku admitted as Genyumaru snickered

"You got your ass handed to you by a little girl? Hahahaha-hey! hey! hey!" Genyumaru shouted as he fell off his chair avoiding the crystal shards thrown at him

"Watch your mouth or stick this kunai up where the sun don't shine." Guren threatened as she made another crystal kunai in hand

"Fine. Just asking a question." Genyumaru grumbled as he tore out the crystals out of his chair

"Ahem, thank you Guren-chan, but rest assured his insults didn't get to me. Please do not let them have that affect on you." Haku said to the girl coming to his defense

"Y-You're right. He's just spitting out nonsense anyways." Guren said with a small blush

"Grr...lousy...forget it." Genyumaru grumbled

"By the way Honoka, you're putting yourself on awfully high pedestal there." Guren said snidely

"Yeah, Uzumaki-sama." Genyumaru chuckled

"Quiet you. I was merely stating if she knew the Uzumaki Clan there was no need for formality." Honoka said annoyingly

"Her hair, it's just like mom's...could she have been...nah...but I should ask her...right?" Tayuya asked herself

"Um..."

"Why am I so nervous? I know who they are, talking to them should be a cinch." Tayuya said to herself

"So, we heard from Haku that Shintaro-san wanted us to try, and get to know each other better." Kimimaro said to add to the conversation

"Normally, we'd do this with more people, but...they're kind of." Jugo said unable to finish his thought

"They're not here right now. They might come back once in a while, but as long as Shintaro's here we're staying here as well." Guren said firmly

"Well, except for Honoka and Karin anyways, but we kinda knew it'd be like this." Genyumaru added

"You know this would happen sooner or later." Honoka said sadly

"Yeah, we get it. That's why were not that upset about it, at least we know you'll come to visit from time to time. As for the others, well we all know what they think of us." Suigetsu said coming into the room

"Suigetsu? What are you doing here?" Haku asked

"How are Fu-chan, and Hiromi-chan doing?" Jugo asked with concern

"Why aren't with Fu, and Hiromi?" Kimimaro asked harshly

"First off, Hiromi, and Fu are doing fine while I'm still shaking over what happened thanks for asking." Suigetsu said annoyed

"Then the old hag said I was making too much noise with all the questions I was asking. I went to Shintaro only to back off because of that scream or whatever it was, Naruto's asleep with his mom, and that scary lady is still listing the ways of how she's going to kill the one's who did in her kid...it's a long list." Suigetsu said with a pale face as she shivered

"Who's she?" Suigetsu asked

"Someone new that Shintaro-san brought here." Kimimaro explained

"Oh." Suigetsu said simply

"Her name is Tayuya, and we're in the middle of talking. Would you care to participate?" Haku asked pointing to an empty chair

"Sure, got nothing else to do. So, what are you guys talking about?"

"About the lack of members currently with us." Jugo explained

"Oh, well then I say good riddance. Shintaro was the only one who gave a damn about us." Suigetsu grumbled

"Well, Ayano-san was also kind to us, and Hiromi-chan grew accustomed to us, not to mention Ling-san always welcomed us, so you can't say it was only him." Jugo defended

"True, but what that's like 3 more out of the 12 or so that found us?" Genyumaru countered

"There are more?" Tayuya thought to herself

"You mean there are others?" Tayuya asked the children

"Yeah, but don't worry about them. Most of them you'll probably see on and off if they decide to come here, but I guess we should talk about them." Guren said

"Well, to start off with there's the people that live here. There's us, Shintaro who you met already, his sister Hiromi-"

"Who is just the cutest little thing when I get to dress her up!" Guren interrupted with a blissful smile

"She's also just as bipolar as Jugo." Kimimaro added dampening the mood

"Yeah, poor thing's too attached to him, brother or not she loses it when he's not around. Doesn't surprise me at all with how she's been doing past few days." Genyumaru said shaking his head

"And with his injuries she's probably going to never leave that room until he can." Jugo said sadly

"Not to mention Fu's just as obsessed as Hiromi when it comes to him." Honoka sighed

"Uh huh, and even though he doesn't show it as much Suigetsu's just as big a crybaby as those two when it comes to Shintaro." Genyumaru snickered with the rest of the kids

"Hey! I'm right here ya know!" Suigetsu shouted annoyed

"We know." everyone replied

"Oh, by the way those last two including Suigetsu are kids around your age if not a year or two younger. They're officially the youngest of the group, and obviously the one's that tend to get themselves in the most trouble." Guren pointed out much to Suigetsu's annoyance

"I'm going to get a snack. Feel free to badmouth me while I'm gone." Suigetsu groaned as he headed toward the chicken

"Will do." Haku assured as Suigetsu merely grumbled in response heading into the kitchen

"You know what I noticed? They're also the most troublesome, bickering children we've ever met." Kimimaro stated

"I know right, it's like they were born to fight each other." Guren agreed

"At least Ayano is capable of breaking those two apart." Honoka sighed

"Yeah, but don't you think she's just a little too gullible?" Guren countered as everyone nodded

"Are we talking about Hiromi or Ayano? Because I'm confused." Jugo asked

"Both now that I think about it." Haku commented

"Yeah, you know, I just noticed how eerily similar those two are." Guren said snapping her fingers as everyone nodded with Genyumaru starting a chain

"Same, both are blond girls." Genyumaru said as Haku continued

"Who are very close to Shintaro-" followed by Kimimaro

"Who'll do anything for him out of love-" leaving Jugo to speak his mind

"And they also practice medical ninjutsu-" only to be interrupted by Guren

"So, that they can heal him when he inevitably needs it." Guren sighed until the room went quiet

"Wow, they're pretty much the same after all." everyone said in unison

"Only difference is the type of love they have for him." Genyumaru commented

"I suppose." Haku admitted

"They're all talking to each other so easily like they're family or something. Just I use to do..." Tayuya thought to herself on the verge of tears

"So, let's get straight to the point. Are you staying here or what?" Genyumaru asked Tayuya bluntly standing up

"What did he just ask me?" the redhead thought to herself in disbelief

"Huh?" Tayuya responded wiping her eyes

"What my compatriot means is, are you planning on staying here with us long term?" Kimimaro asked calmly as Tayuya still couldn't bring herself to words

"Ugh, you boys can't explain anything. Listen Tayuya, what they're failing to say is this. Do you wanna stay here with us like a family, or just hang out for a while until you think of somewhere else to go? Either one is fine with us, but make sure you think hard about it." Guren said considerately

"Are they...are they asking to be part of this? Part of them, their...family? Why...why are they doing this?" Tayuya asked herself

"Given how quiet she is I'm sure she's leaving us. She probably has her parents worrying about her." Jugo pointed out with everyone awing in agreement

"What?" Tayuya thought as her eyes widened with flashbacks of her parents leaving her coming back

"You're right, how could we be so stupid?" Guren said smacking her forehead

"What are they talking about? Mom, and Papa are..." Tayuya thought remembering things she'd rather leave forgotten

"It's gonna take a while to get a lead on them." Guren said getting into a thinking pose

"Why? Why are they doing this?" Tayuya asked herself clenching her fists

"Well, we can cross this place off the list that's for sure." Genyumaru said obviously

"Maybe we can look around nearby villages in the Land of Rice Paddies? It would also help in our search for Genyumaru-san's clan." Jugo offered

"Should we start looking into missing children cases?" Haku asked the group

"They're probably dead, no they are dead I know it." Tayuya told herself shaking her head

"Do you think they'd let us search the archives of the Land of Fire?" Kimimaro asked seriously

"They left me alone, otherwise they would've found me." Tayuya kept telling herself as she started to shake

"If not we'll just have to search ourselves." Genyumaru said determinedly

"Yeah, but they're not just going to leave it unguarded." Guren pointed out

"Stop it."Tayuya whispered gritting her teeth

"We've infiltrated a number of bandit, and mercenary camps." Haku added

"Those were just dumbass bandits, the mercenaries on the other hand were more of a challenge, but these are ninja, they're on a whole different level." Genyumaru said getting into a thinking pose

"Stop it."the child said barely audible to herself

"We should tell Shintaro before taking any major action." Kimimaro stated

"Knowing him he'll probably give us tips on where to look." Genyumaru chuckled

"And make sure we really know what we're doing." Jugo added as everyone shared a small laughter together

"We'll have to work this in our new daily schedule somehow, Guren?" Kimimaro said to the eager girl who stood up ready to start

"Leave it to me. I'll figure something o-"

"STOP IT!" Tayuya shouted at the top of her lungs bringing all conversations to a halt

Surprising them all, including herself, Tayuya's scream threw everyone off guard with how loud, and long the scream was. So much so that Tayuya was out of breath with her vision blurry for whatever reason after that, and as she finally caught it she'd finally realized what had happened to her eyes.

"Tayuya." Haku said in concern

"Just stop...there's no point." Tayuya said choked up

"No point?" Genyumaru said confused

"What do you mean?" Jugo asked

"What do you think I mean genius? My parents are fucking dead!" Tayuya shouted in rage lifting her dead showing everyone her tear ridden eyes flowing down her face

Explaining her reason for her outburst in tears Tayuya sat back down deciding to just get her story over with still drowning in her own tears wiping them occasionally.

"They've been dead for almost a year. Those ninja bastards attacked us out of nowhere, tracked us to our small village, and burned the whole damn place down. They were only after us, but they kept killing anyone that got in their way. Like a coward I ran while my parents fought, promising to find me again, and yet...and yet...they..." she tried to finish, but found out that the lump in her throat would make it an impossible task

Try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to speak her mind which was a first for her, but if she didn't they wouldn't stop wasting their time looking for dead people. Just as she'd thought she was about get to the hard part, she felt something warm encompass her shoulders causing her to stop

"Ima, Ima, no need to continue." said a comforting voice softly

"Sniff, h-huh?" Tayuya sniffed as she looked up to see someone surprisingly familiar

"Y-You?" Tayuya said surprised someone bedridden standing on his own feet somehow...even if he was bleeding from various spots from his arms and head

"You've said enough, no need to force yourself." Shintaro said showing her a warm smile that made her tears flow even faster altogether

Turning around completely Tayuya saw what a mess Shintaro was, and for some reason it didn't surprise her. Not the fact he was wearing bloody ruined clothe's ripped, torn and burned to hell being held together with pure white bandages. Not the fact that his face was leaking blood from where his eyes, and nose would be, even if they were covered with bandages.

Nor the fact that both his left arm shoulder and wrist was dislocated severely while the right arm was still in the cast while his formerly casted legs were also free, yet showing off that they still haven't healed one bit, but were somehow held together by some...golden chains? But the mysterious chains suddenly disappeared causing his broken legs to quiver severely leaving him to rely on his arms to hang on the chair.

"S-Shintaro?!" everyone said in surprise and horror

"You're awake!" Suigetsu said in happiness only for it to turn to shock seeing the shape Shintaro was in

"How you'd..." but Suigetsu was interrupted by a distraught blonde girl

"Shintaro-kun!" Ayano shouted in worry

"Damn, caught...already...huh?" Shintaro chuckled weakly as his arms gave way falling onto the floor

THUD!

"Shintaro!" the younger children cried out

"Shintaro-san!" the older kids shouted as they all charged toward him

"What are you doing here?" Ayano asked furiously as she started to check over Shintaro's body

"T-Trying...new...way to...walk. B...blow off...steam." Shintaro said as he coughed out small amounts of blood

"Shintaro-kun, this is no time to-ugh, never mind. Haku-kun, Jugo-kun, please go to my room, and get my bag." Ayano said in a serious tone keeping her eyes focused on Shintaro

"Right." Haku said

"Of course." Jugo replied as they took off

"Genyumaru-kun, Kimimaro-kun, please find a large cushion or mattress in one of the unused rooms so we can use it as a stretcher."

"Hai. Let's go." Kimimaro said looking at his friend

"Got it." Genyumaru nodded

"Honoka-san, take Karin-chan, and Suigetsu-kun to the other room, they've seen enough."

"Understood. Come on you two, leave this to Ayano-san."

"B-But Onee-chan, S-Shintaro-niichan is...maybe I can help by-" Karin said unable to stop crying, slowly extending her hand close to Shintaro's mouth only to have her hand held by someone giving her some stability

"S-Su-kun?" Karin sniffed

"Hey, don't worry about Karin-chan. Ayano's the best medic ever, and since we have that old hag Tsunade or whatever, Shintaro will back to how he was in no time. So, don't try, and do something stupid ok? Even Shintaro wouldn't want you to do that." Suigetsu said with a smile on his face

"I-I know, but...mn, you're right Su-kun. Ayano-nechan, can you help Shintaro-niichan?" Karin meekly asked the blonde who dawned sad eyes

"I'll try, but...no, I will help Shintaro-kun back on his feet. It may time some time, but it'll be fine just you wait." Ayano said changing her eyes from sadness to determination

With that declaration Karin felt comfortable enough to leave with Honoka, and Suigetsu back to their rooms to await the results of what happened. After that, it wasn't long until all four boys returned with the required materials.

"Here's your bag Ayano-san."

"And here's a mattress from an empty room."

"Arigato, all of you. Now, please set the bed down there with the bag next to it please."

"You got it."

"As you wish."

"Now, I need all of you to carefully put your arms underneath each of Shintaro-kun's limbs, and very slowly lift him up so you can carry him onto the bed. Then lay him in a cross position where each of his limbs are separate by at least 5 inches."

"Hai."

"Guren-chan, come here please." Ayano said to the nervous girl deciding to finally walk up to see what became of Shintaro

"Sure. What do you...need. What...what happened?" Guren said aghast holding her hands in front of her mouth

"I wish I didn't knew, but right now I need you to make some small crystal restraints in the shape of horseshoes the ends sharp as spikes, and four of them, along with a small cylinder, palm sized enough to stick into your mouth." Ayano said clearly as she looked through her bag grabbing some necessary tools

"Restraints? Why?" Guren said confused

"To ensure Shintaro-kun doesn't move." Ayano explained as she took out a needle clicking her tongue at the fact that it was empty

"Move?" Guren said uncomfortably

"Guren, please." Ayano said losing her cool for a fraction of a second

"Ok, now I want you boys to go underground together in the same groups to look for some anesthetic, and some new bandages. Be sure to stay together, and do not disturb the other patients staying there." Ayano instructed as the boys left quickly without a word, vanishing from sight leaving only the two girls there with an injured boy.

"Alright. Crystal Style: Makeshift Creation." Guren said after multiple handsigns creating what Ayano had desired

"Thank you." Ayano said gratefully as she took them

Grabbing each of the crystal creations Ayano took each of the horseshoe spikes, and carefully stabbed them through the mattress holding his legs down at the ankle. Figuring she could use them later, Ayano put them on the floor focusing on her patient.

"Shintaro-kun, bite on to this." Ayano said putting the crystal in his mouth

"Mm." he replied biting onto it

"Ayano?" Guren said confused

"As you can see, his left arm, and left hand are dislocated severely." Ayano said moving around to Shintaro's said dislocated limb

"Don't tell me." Guren groaned knowing what she would say next

"Yes, we're going to set them back into place." Ayano confirmed as she moved toward Shintaro's wrist

"I hate doing this. Can't one of the boys do it?" Guren asked uncomfortably as she got down on her knees

"They have their tasks, I understand you're a bit squeamish when it comes to this sort of thing, believe me I'm not fond of this either, but if I don't take charge in moments like these doing what's necessary Shintaro-kun will never re-cooperate. You don't have to do much, just hold down his torso, and his right arm. But be careful when you do, because even though we will have to do with those restraints, and we've been doing this for a while, he'll still move quite a lot. So please, do you your best." Ayano said to Guren with determined eyes

"Alright, let's get this over with."Guren sighed as she put her hands gently on Shintaro's chest and arm

"Thank you. Now, because we don't have anesthetic this is going to hurt, a lot, Shintaro-kun. You ready?" Ayano asked her crush

"Bwing id." Shintaro said through the crystal nodding her head

"Very well, we'll start with the wrist. One, two...three!" Ayano said as she snapped Shintaro's wrist back into it's original place

Snap!

"NNnng! Mmm! Mmhmhmhm!" Shintaro growled in pain biting hard onto Guren's mouthpiece

"Oh god, I hate that sound." Guren cringed as she held Shintaro down

"As do I, but it's the sound of success believe it or not." Ayano said plainly moving onto Shintaro's shoulder

"I'm just glad it's over." Guren sighed wiping the sweat off her forehead

"Who said it was over?" Ayano asked

"Huh?" Guren said confused

"We still have his shoulder, remember?" Ayano simply replied looking at his shoulder

"Oh crap, you're right." Guren said depressed

"And this one's really going to hurt, I thought it was just dislocated, but it's been actually pulled from it's socket, so please don't hold back. and make sure you keep him from squirming. The more he does the more he risks damaging himself even more." Ayano explained

"Right. I hate it when you're right." Guren sighed

"Ok, one more time Shintaro-kun. One more, and we're done for now. You ready?" Ayano asked again

"Then. One, two...THREE!" Ayano said putting her shoulder back into place

CRACK! SNAP!"

"Halfway there, just-"

"NNNNNNNNnnnnnnnng! Mmmmmm! Grrrrrnnnngg!" Shintaro shrieked in pain as his body squirmed terribly

"Just...stay...still!" Ayano said frustatingly holding his arm finally putting it back

C-C-CRAAAACK!

"MMmmmm! Nnnnnn-RAAAAAH! Ha...ha...haa. I hate...that-"

SLAP!

"...part." Shintaro gasped as he spat out the crystal cylinder

"Then I suggest you stop those outbursts, and control your temper better." Ayano said as she turned her head away from Shintaro

"Not like...I'm in...the best...of moods." Shintaro replied in between breaths

"That doesn't excuse reckless behavior, and that little show of yours cost you your vocal cords for the time being. Now, you can't move or speak, at least for a few hours." Ayano said harshly going through her bag for a towelette

"Damn...imph!" Shintaro said as his mouth was covered

"Stop talking, or I'll make you stop." Ayano said putting her hand over his mouth

"Hmpf." Shintaro puffed

"Hey, is he uh...ok?" Tayuya said quietly in concern for the boy

"Who are you?" Ayano asked narrowing her eyes

"Why does she look familiar?" Ayano thought to herself

"She's Tayuya, the girl Shintaro brought with him." Guren explained

"Girl?" Ayano thought to herself

"Oh, wait a minute. You're that girl from last night aren't you?" Ayano asked narrowing her eyes dangerously until she felt something on her shoulder

"She's...fine, Ayano." Shintaro said weakly putting his newly fixed arm on her shoulder

"Shintaro-kun, you need to stop talking." Ayano said as she gently put his arm back on the bed

"Mmm." Shintaro grumbled

"What the heck happened at that meeting?"

"It's...a long story." Ayano sighed sadly


Elsewhere in an unknown location

It was starting to get late as the sun began it's daily rest lowering itself down below the earth, the crickets began their chirping, the wind blew where it went carrying fallen leaves through the trees, and all of it contributed to an overall peaceful night. A night where one could look up in the sky, and admire the beauty of everyday nature.

Boom!

The explosions however, ruined the mood spectacularly causing multiple birds to flee from their nests, and other wildlife to flee for their tiny lives. Not that it bothered the one's who started it, that being two black cloaked figures, one child sized the other the adult sized, standing in front of a now collapsed tunnel entrance covered by rocks towering over them. Even though they were dressed suspiciously

"Aaaaand that's about it for the south entrance. We got everything?" said the small figure asked looking up to his comrade

"Just about." the man replied

"Should we get rid of them? The seals I mean, I mean they have to be still active right? " the smaller figure asked

"There should be no need, but I have a feeling someone will stumble across them at some point or another." the man said cryptically

"So..." the small child egged on waving his hand in a circular motion as the taller figure face palmed himself

"Yes, destroy it, but make it look natural...or at the very least keep it quiet somewhat." the figure sighed

"Got it. Anyone left in there?" the child asked

"Let me check, Byakugan!" the man said looking deep into the cave labyrinth

Scanning throughout everyplace he could think of the man found no signs of life whatsoever.

"I see no one present, it is deserted. Go ahead, but remember this isn't the time to show off your "art" if you can call it that. No use wasting it on rubble." the man said shaking his head as he watched tiny white spiders crawl speedily to random parts surrounding the forest and cave

"Heh, shows what you know. So long as there are eyes in my skull there's no way my art'll go unappreciated, you wanna know why?" the child asked with a cheesy grin on his face awaiting a reply

"Ugh, why?" the man asked knowing the child would not stop asking him

"Because art, is an e-"

"Explosion, yes, yes we all know." the man finished tiredly

"Hmpf, party pooper. Kai." the child said boringly bringing his hands together activating the explosion

Booom!

Blowing the last bits of what they wanted destroyed, the wind blew off the hoods of the two standing there, revealing a small blond child with extremely long hair, and an aged man with the trademark Byakugan for eyes

"There, happy now you stick in the mud?" the child droned with slumped shoulders

"Isn't that what most people refer the Hyuuga to?" the man replied cynically

"Dunno, you tell me. You're the one who got screwed over at birth." the child retorted pulling the hair behind his back into a ponytail

"I wouldn't call it that." the man said defended while the child scoffed in return

"Yeah, you did. Just a few seconds later, and wham! Screwed over. Just like your-"

"Can we please not talk about it?" the man interrupted agitated

"So you admit it-OW!" the child said as a huge fist smacked him on the back

"Oi, quit it Deidara, just-munch-because you-munch got invited here because of your..."

"Art." Deidara groaned as he rubbed his head to look up to see...two fat giant idiots with a dumbass grin on their face

The giant on the left was about a head shorter than the one on the right, deciding he'd wore a simple blue vest that failed to cover much of his large belly, and grey worn out shorts held up by a large rope. Standing next to him was the taller giant on the right who wore similar clothing only with the opposite color palette, and bore, in some's opinion, a larger belly.

"Yeah, yeah, art! Uh...oh, it-munch-doesn't mean you get to be mean-munch-other newbies. Ain't that right Raijin?" said another man smacking the child on the head while munching on a leg of meat

"You said it Fujin, that's for senpai's! And speaking of...er...oh,Senpai, Gari! Get your butt over here!" Raijin called out

"I'm coming, keep ya shirt on! What is it now?" Gari asked as he, and someone else came this way

The man named Gari, who looked annoyed being called out, was a very spiky haired individual, wearing typical Iwa brown battle gear only the bottom half was covered with a black cloak with the top part completely ripped apart for whatever reason.

The one next to him was a well-stocked, and very tall individual, tall enough to tower over the two idiot brothers by at least a foot. He was that tall, even if he was slouching forward, and was wearing a giant black cloak that over showered his entire body and face.

However, if one were to look closely at the hole that held his face in darkness, one would see a pitch black wooden mask with no spectacular features save for two very thin horizontal lines for eyes.

"It's Dei-kun, he's teasing the newbie again." Raijin said pushing Deidara toward Gari with a finger

"Yeah, he's your student." Fujin grumbled as he took a bite out of his leg

"So?" Gari responded with a raised eyebrow to an

"Take the pipsqueak and-"

"Hey, I ain't a pipsqueak!" Deidara shouted at the tubby giants

"Are ya shorter than us?" Fujin asked the child

"...yes."

"Are ya squeaking?" Raijin asked the blonde demolitionist

"I'm not that loud." Deidara grumbled as the two brothers looked at each other with a goofy grin

"Then you're squeaking, therefore, a pip..." Fujin said looking at the child

"...squeak." Raijin finished doing the same causing a few blood vessels to arrive on the verge of popping a few blood vessels

"Gee-ke-ker-r-rrr..." Deidara grumbled as he drew his hands together only for Gari to step in

"Alright, alright. Let's go Deidara, make sure you have your things, and are ready to go, I'm sure that sand witch is just waiting for something to complain about." Gari groaned as his student did the same

"Not her again, why is she even here in the first place Gari-Sensei?" Deidara asked his teacher

"Revenge." Gari simply replied in a plain voice

"That's it? Against who?" Deidara asked unsatisfied

"Don't know, but it doesn't matter here. Now come on." Gari said walking north of them

"Alright, let's just go Gari-sensei. Till next time Mr. Doom and Gloom." Deidara said waving off the cloaked Hyuuga

"Oi...Fujin-kun...Raijin-kun...go...check on...you...know...who." the very tall figure said tiredly in a deep morbid voice to the two brothers

"Eh? Whose he talking about Niichan?"

"You big dummy, he's talkin about-"

"If you...know...then go." the giant figure moaned as he leaned down into their faces

"S-Sure, we'll g-get right on it, right Raijin?" Fujin said shakily to his nervous brother

"Y-Yeah, r-right Fujin." Raijin said doing the same as they both turned toward west running while shaking the earth beneath

"Hey, Raijin, you think they'll feed us when we get there?" Fujin asked his brother

"Who knows? But I bet the Missus will!" Raijin replied happily

"Yeah, your right! Missus!"

"Missus! Missus! Missus! Missus!" Fujin and Raijin yelled together in glee as they continued to shake the earth

"Ho...don't worry...about him...kids always just...blurt out what they...are thinking. Even if they...are not thinking." the figure said lazily with a hint of sarcasm

"Hey! I heard that-ow!" Deidara yelled from a distance as he got bonked once again on the head

"And we can hear you, so shut it." Gari droned with him

"Besides...like it or not you have...two options now that...our leader's child finally... made it back to the...continent. You can either...stay with the majority of us as we head to Konoha...like the seals...lead us to...or you can be part of the small scouting groups...so you can help look for new members. It's up to you...but you must pick soon." the giant figure said as he walked in front of the man

"I'm aware." he replied

"Look...we are all aware...you're not...fond of your current situation...you know, with us denying you an honorable death...and all." the figure moaned tiredly

"..."

"But...look at it...like this. If we didn't do...what we did...faking your fake death...you might not have gotten a chance...to watch your child...grow up. It's not everyday...that you escape...the Hyuuga fate...especially with how things are...now." the figure said sadly

"I may have escaped, but my son hasn't." the man said frustrated

"I know...I know...trust me, if you want to do something...about it or want to...ask us then...go ahead. Nevertheless...the fact remains that...we outnumber the Hyuuga...in terms of...liberation. There will be some hostility." the giant warned as the man

"I know, this still feels unreal. Like..." the man said unable to finish his sentence

"A dream come true in a nightmare of a world?" the figure finished clearly with some motivation much to the man's surprise

"Yes, how did you-"

"Remember? You're...not the first Hyuuga... to escape...and you surely...will not be...the last." the tired figure said as he began to walk

"Thank you, I appreciate it." the Hyuuga said sincerely

"Now...if you'll excuse me...I need to...check up on...our guests." the figure said continuing his slow walk

"Please do, that poor child especially." the man said with concern

"You...do not need...to tell me. I'm sure...our guest...medic is doing...her best, but...we all know what...trauma can do...to a youngling...like that." the giant said sorrowfully

"All the more reason for us to head to Konoha." the man said urgently

"We'll...be leaving by...the end of the...day if not by dawn...tomorrow...at the very...latest, and...considering...it'll take a few...days if not...a week to get there...the sooner...the better. In any case... make sure to check in...on everyone before...we leave. I know it's...a lot to ask...considering...we're essentially...a moving village, but..."

"I understand, at least I'll get a better chance to get acquainted with the others if possible. I've been in your care for two years, but have only recently been repaying your debt." the man said with shame

"That was...not...your fault. Bringing you...back...was a...unanimous...decision. In order to...keep you alive and...ourselves secret...keeping you...unconscious in...a comatose state...was the only...way. It was also...convenient...for us to...implant our history...into you. If anything...you should...hate us." the figure said in his defense

"If you hadn't, I would not be aware of the fate that awaits the Hyuuga, and more importantly my family." the man said with growing hatred

"Believe, want you want to believe. Fight for what you want to fight. Do this or...whatever else...makes you live...through each day." the giant said turning to the man

"Well then, farewell Senju-san." the man said with a bow

"Please...just because...I have no memory... of my...birth name...does not mean I'm...automatically...Senju-san. Can't you...at least...call me...by my...combat name?" the large Senju requested

"I'm not sure. Deadwood isn't particularly a regular name used in casual conversation." the Hyuuga said in amusement

"I...under...stand, but...until I...figure out who... or what...I am...I would prefer it... if I'm not...classified by...my clan. I'm sure you...can understand...Hizashi." Deadwood said as he began walking toward his destination

"More than you know." Hizashi repliled with a grim look on his face, turning to the fallen sunset, and watched as the moon began to rise taking it's place with the stars