AN: Okay, so…um more stuff which brings this Fanfic even closer to its end. But, to all that are interested, I will be doing another book which will just be a collection of one-shots mostly about my OCs that I felt didn't really get a lot of character development….So that means stuff with Gontei, Shoji, Kai and all of Po-chan's sisters! W00t! Okay…back to stories.

The boys and I all head back to the Leaf after a full day of me training with Juugo. I didn't want to leave right away; I wanted to have at least a grasp of control on my second state before I went back to Konoha. Juugo told me it was unlikely, but I wanted to be sure that I didn't randomly go to my second state and start slaughtering everyone or something.

Shoji and Gontei have warmed up to my other team members. Shoji has gotten a feel of Suigetsu's sense of humor, and has been cracking jokes with him for a while now. Gontei and Juugo share a quiet eminence, they don't talk all that much, but they aren't uncomfortable around each other. Me, I just direct the group back to the village. I see myself as the navigator of sorts.

When we reach the village gates, we're greeted by the same group that had seen us off. Hinata, Ino, Tsunade, Shikamaru, my Sensei and uncle are all making small talk with one another until we come into view. Once they catch sight of us, the group somehow manages to all flash us smiles then drop the grins at the same time. They're happy to see Gontei, Shoji and I are alright, but they don't know who the hell Juugo and Suigetsu are.

Suigetsu looks over the small crowd and snickers, "Well, I feel welcomed. Do I get some free ramen to go with those suspicious looks?"

Juugo doesn't say anything, but by the look of his uptight shoulders, he's ready to attack if need be.

I sigh, then walk straight up to Tsunade, Shoji and Gontei close behind me, and look her in the eyes before saying, "This is Suigetsu and Juugo. They've decided to fight along side us ninjas."

My Hokage narrows her eyes at me before turning her glare to the ex members of Taka. "These boys…they were also with you and Sasuke in his little renegade group, correct?"

I nod then say casually, "So was Karin, the girl brought in for questioning. You've pumped every piece of information from her and set her to work at the hospital. I'm sure you could give these two a job while we're waiting for the war to start."

The blond woman looks the two males over before sighing peacefully, "You and your shenanigans, Popori Ikame…I swear you'll be the death of me somehow, someway."

I take that as a yes, so I bow my head and turn to Suigetsu and Juugo. "You're in. You have to behave though, or we'll send you back to the samurai." I advise before waving them into the gates.

Tsunade nods, "Yeah, yeah. Oh and Popori, you're in charge of these two. If they do anything to disturb the village, it'll be on your shoulders." I bow my head in acknowledgement and she turns to leave.

Suigetsu and Juugo hesitate, but follow after Tsunade as she walks away. Gontei and Shoji have already gone to talk with the people who wanted to see them – Ino, Hinata, Sate and Oricha – so that leaves me to speak with Shikamaru.

I look up at him, then speak tightly, "I told you I would come back."

He nods, putting a hand to my cheek. "Yeah…too bad you're so troublesome. They send you out to get stronger, and you come back with two additional fighters." He sighs then drops his hand. "When do you ever do anything for your own personal gain?"

I shrug, "Eh, I don't know. I think all that personal gain stuff is overrated. Thoroughly stupid if you ask any normal person."

We share a chuckle whilst we head into the village.

Not too much time has passed since Juugo and Suigetsu have been counted as part of the Leaf. They now both bare the Leaf's symbol; Juugo wearing his on his shoulder while Suigetsu ties his around his waist, I would think it usual if I didn't know the two so well. I look them over now as we're heading to the hospital and have to chuckle. Suigetsu is repeatedly fiddling with his forehead protector, mumbling to himself about the placement. I wouldn't be surprised if he took it off and just tied it around his arm like Juugo did. The red head keeps touching it lightly with the tips of his fingers, then smiling slightly. It's sort of creepy, but I think it's because he belongs somewhere now. He has a place.

We reach the hospital, and conveniently, Karin walks out of the front door as we're walking in. She looks at us as we look at her. For a moment, I think she'll faint from surprise, but she only points at us and yells so loud I nearly go deaf.

"Dear God why are you guys here!" She bellows with a disgusted look on her face.

I snort but let Suigetsu take this one, "Well, look at this, we're all together again. This would be such a nice little reunion…if only Sasuke were here…and I didn't hate you so much, Karin."

She clenches her teeth together and punches him in the face, only succeeding in making him turn to water and getting her all wet. The four-eyed female is now seething with rage as she begins yelling at the sharp toothed male about virtually random things. He's ugly, doesn't know how to treat a lady, and has horrible manors… etcetera, etcetera.

I sigh before taking Karin's glasses from her. "Hey, shut up."

She stares at me like I've grown a second head, then holds a hand out for her glasses while muttering something under her breath. Suigetsu snickers, loving every bit of Karin's distress. Juugo sighs with a hint of a smile; he might miss the old days or something along those lines. I give Karin back her glasses then gesture towards the hospital.

"We were heading to give Juugo and Suigetsu a check up of sorts. Lady Tsunade said it would be ideal if they get hurt before the war. They more than likely don't have the simplest systems, so it would be better to know how they work sooner rather than later."

Karin huffs before going back into the hospital. The three of us follow after her, and I can't help the feeling deep inside that I sort of miss Taka. Back when it was just us and Sasuke. Back when Sasuke wasn't totally insane and just wanted revenge on his older brother. Back when things weren't so damn complicated and I didn't want to kill the bastard.

Karin leads us for a while, before I just branch off on my own. I walk quietly through the memory soaked walls of the Konoha hospital for what seems like hours. Each room represents a different mission gone wrong, every tile signifying one of the gut-wrenching walks either I, or one of my loved ones had to go through to see an injured ally. I'm lost in my own thoughts for a while. It's not long before I bump into three familiar faces.

Sakura, Ino and Shoji all come around a corner, each of them talking medications and healing techniques. All three of them have chosen to become a medical ninja. Sakura has been fortunate enough to be trained under Tsunade herself. Shoji is a natural born medic so he doesn't really have any room for improvement. From what I've heard, Ino is pretty much not that good, but can do the basics. Their formation sort of shows this. I notice that Sakura looks like more of the leader, walking slightly in front while the other two hang back slightly and brush hands every so often. When they notice me, I give them a short wave.

Shoji smiles brightly at me, "Hey Popori-chan! What brings you here on this fine day?"

I smirk at him then bow my head to the trio. "Well, I brought Juugo and Suigetsu here to get checked out. Karin showed up and they all went where ever they were supposed to go, I guess." I shrug, getting a chuckle from the male in the group.

Sakura hugs the clipboard in her hands, giving me a look that I know has to be Sasuke related. Great, she's still attached to him for some stupid reason. If anyone should be moping around about Sasuke going evil, it should be me. I mean, I didn't grow up with him or anything…

I grimace with my sarcastic thoughts then give the pinkette a knowing nod. I won't say anything rude to her, but I will talk with her if she wants me to. Tsunade's apprentice smiles weakly at me, a sign that she might want to have a talk with me soon.

Ino seems to notice this as well, seeing that she's taking Shoji's arm and practically dragging him away from us. As soon as their footsteps are no longer audible, Sakura speaks in a calm voice.

"Popori…" She begins, her grip tightening on the clipboard. "I went to go see Sasuke recently…I…I said I would follow him. I said I didn't care what the consequences would be…just that I would go with him anywhere."

I lean against the wall closest to me, staring at the floor as I listen to her. Yeah, that sounds like something she would do. I understand why she did it, too. I was the same way, when he first defected from the village. I followed after him because he wanted me to, then stayed and did as he told me when he asked me to do that. She went because she partly hoped that he wasn't as bad as his reputation led to believe, and partly because she wanted to see him again.

"He told me…that if I was going to come along with him that I had to kill Karin." She choked at the last bit; I don't blame her. "I didn't even know who she was or why he would ask me to do something like that…and then he attacked me…Oh, God…Popori he attacked me…"

The salt water that falls from her eyes are accented by the soft sobs that escape her lips. She's crying now, like I expected her to. I guess she wants to get this all off of her chest…but I don't know what to tell her. 'Yeah, Sasuke almost killed me too. Join the club.'? That just seems like a bad idea. I have nothing to say here, so I just stay quiet.

I watch her shoulders shake as she stares at the ground and cries some more. I wonder; when the war is over and Sasuke somehow ends up dead, how will she react? She obviously still has – or had – feelings for that boy up until that meeting. Will she be able to move on and let herself love someone else, preferably Naruto?

I've talked with Naruto a lot over the years that I've known him, and I can tell that he likes Sakura a lot. And honestly, I think he's a better match for Sakura. Sasuke has always been out of her reach. He's not going to just wake up one day and come back to her begging on his knees for forgiveness. He almost killed her.

My reverie is interrupted by Sakura speaking to me once again. "Popori, you're the one person I can ask this and get a straight answer from. You're the only one that will tell me the truth."

She sniffles, and I look up to meet her puffy red eyes in mild interest. What is this question of hers?

She takes a calming breath then looks up at me. "Popori, do you think Naruto will be able to bring Sasuke back to Konoha?"

I stare at her.

What? Is she serious? If he was able to do that, Sasuke would be here right now at this very minute! Naruto would have talked him into coming back the day he defected.

"No." I sigh, "Freely I think Sasuke won't even live through this war. He's strong, and that means that he'll be one of the first priorities of the ninja and samurai. He's too big of a threat not to pay attention to. He can't be taken down by words; death is the only thing that will stop him."

I watch as her face drains of all the emotion that had just been pouring from it like a faucet. She understands, she just doesn't want to.

After what seems like years of silence, she nods and offers a weak smile that I don't return. I simply give her a bow of the head and turn on my heel and leave.

I don't have time to talk with her about my former best friend; I have to get this curse mark under control.

The earth that was beneath me a split second ago is now being made into a crater, about fifty yards in diameter. Juugo has smashed it with his mutated fist as I dance out of the way of the threat.

We've been training like this, in our second state, for about three hours now, of course managing to somehow draw a crowd. The people of Konoha know very little about Orochimaru's cursed seal, and witnessing the source of the power fight against one of its offspring must be an interesting sight.

I'm a lot faster than Juugo is; maybe because I have less weight to carry around, maybe because I've always been fast. Whatever the reason, I'm glad for it now. I'm sure that taking a blow from one of Juugo's punches would put me to sleep for a while, and sleeping just isn't an option right now.

I take a massive breath in through my nose, and then blow out from my mouth. Lightning spews out into the area in front of me where Juugo is raising his arm. I think my attack hit him, but then the smoke clears and his unscratched form lunges for me.

My eyes widen slightly before I curve my body in such a way that I dodge his attack entirely, he flies past me and to stop his momentum he has to dig his hands into the ground. I whip my head around, my waist long electrified hair floating around my body like flowing water.

Juugo lets out an irritated grunt, picking up his arms then holding his fists together and pounding the earth beneath him as hard as he can. The cracks that it makes send me struggling for my balance, which gives my opponent a half a second to take advantage of my opening. The red head lunges at me, and I end up on my back.

I glare up at him, falling back into my middle state. The only thing left of the curse being multiple thick horizontal lines running up and down the right side of my body.

"Cheater…" I mumble, grudgingly.

Juugo smiles a bit before going into his middle state. He stands up, and then helps me to my feet. "That was good; you lasted longer than last time."

I sigh, nodding while looking at the onlookers. "True, but I'm a sore loser."

Of course Lee and Gai are here, jumping up and down and acting like my personal cheerleaders for some unknown reason. Neji is nowhere in sight and Tenten is most likely with him. Oricha and Gontei are watching silently on their own little patch of grass. Oricha looking a bit unsettled by my form and Gontei looking like he's ready to start trading punches with Gai and Lee. Suigetsu and Karin are also here, but they're busier with insulting each other to really know what Juugo and I are doing. Shikamaru and Choji are watching, too. Choji munching on some chips thoughtfully as Shiky sits in front of a tree, a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth as he watches Juugo and me.

Juugo rubs the back of his head, studying the people watching just as I do. "Hm, we've attracted quite a following. Are we that entertaining to watch?"

I look over and meet his eyes, shrugging. "Eh, how should I know?"

I hear Lee shout at us from the sidelines, "Yes Popori and Juugo! You two are most entertaining to watch train! Juugo is like a most intelligent bear while Popori resembles a floating dragon! He plows through anything in his path while she glides over air like it is nothing! The way the both of you fight against each other is so youthful; it makes me want to cry tears of joy!"

Gai puts Lee in a headlock and points to the sky while shooting a blinding smile. "Nicely put, Lee! They are very youthful while training together aren't they? Maybe I should get in there and show off my youthfulness!"

I watch in horror as the two of them hug each other, and then bound over to us. "Oh no, this is horrible. Juugo, you take Gai, I think I can handle Lee…maybe if he doesn't move." I whisper quickly to the taller male beside me.

He gives me a strange look before speaking in a peaceful voice, "Gai Sensei, Lee, do you wish to spar with us both, or just one at a time?"

Gai strikes a pose as Lee nearly jumps out of his shoes while saying loudly, "I think we should both take on Popori, since she is the one in need of the most development. She has to get stronger with her new technique, right Gai Sensei?"

Gai winks to us, "Right Lee!"

I stifle a groan, while ripping into my second state. I sigh as Gai takes a seat beside Juugo and lets Lee go up against me first. The mini-Gai gets into his fighting stance, as I do mine.

Taking a small calming breath, I let him attack me first. He moves quickly, almost disappearing entirely as he positions himself behind me. I duck to avoid the kick he aimed at my head then move with my own speed. It's not as quick as his, but it's fast enough to put distance between us as I ready an attack.

Slapping my hands together, my whole body flares with lightning, making it a bad idea to hit me at the moment. Lee doesn't know this yet, so when he delivers a punch to my stomach, it not only makes me falter in my stance, but it shocks him enough to make him vulnerable for five whole seconds. Those five seconds allow me to straighten my hand, and chop his throat at just the right angle. As I planned, he drops to the ground from the force I put against the pressure point.

I crouch down beside Lee, disarming my jutsu and checking his pulse rate, so when Gai sprints over to us I know Lee will be just fine.

"Lee!" Gai exclaims as he kneels down and does the same thing I just did.

"He'll be okay Gai Sensei. I just got one of his pressure points." I say while going into middle state.

The older male nods seriously, looking up at me. "That was impressive, Popori. You took that punch in order to knock Lee unconscious."

I smile sheepishly, "Well, I actually used a special jutsu to manage that." He quirks an eyebrow, so I explain what really happened.

"Ah, impressive still. That should be a useful thing to have in the battles ahead." Gai says to me.

I nod in agreement; that was pretty much why I worked to get it in the first place. But I'm not going to be rude so I keep my mouth shut about that part.

I stand after Gai has carried Lee off the training field and walk over to Oricha and Gontei. The two look me over silently as I approach. It almost makes me feel uncomfortable, but I know the two well enough that I can handle their looks. I take the water that Oricha is offering, and then turn to watch some bystanders go talk with Juugo.

It is sort of entertaining, watching his reaction to the alien attention, but after a while he warms up to it. I smile as he chuckles at one of Choji's attempt at a joke. Who knows, maybe he genuinely thought it was funny. I shrug, starting off the training field.

It isn't long before I feel someone touch my shoulder. I really don't have to, but I turn my attention up to a concerned looking Shikamaru. When I see that expression, I frown just a bit.

"What is it?" I ask, turning my vision to the road in front of me, rather than his smoldering brown eyes.

He takes his cigarette from his mouth and flicks it to the ground, stomping it out. "I don't like it. That curse…it makes you look so evil. It's dangerous and brings out a part of you that is nothing but darkness…"

I roll my eyes before commenting. "Yeah, well it's the only way I was getting stronger. So, unless you want me being thrown around like a ragdoll come wartime, then I suggest you get over it."

I can hear the irritation in his voice as he says, "I highly doubt that."

Huffing, I narrow my eyes at the younger yet taller male. "Really?" I demand of him, throwing my hands onto my hips.

The dark haired male stares at me for what seems likes days before hugging me. Dear God, what is this? I feel like such a whore all the damn time! This is fair to no one. Kankuro, Shiky, me…it isn't right. Groaning, I push him away from me then swivel on my heels and start to storm off.

Shikamaru follows after me, and in return I grumble at him. "Go away."

"Not a chance. Pori I'm sorry." He says, his voice pleading.

My eyes start to tear up as I say, "I don't care what you are! Leave me be!" I stop walking, holding a tree nearby for support as I begin sobbing quietly.

Shiky stands a few feet behind me. "Popori, I know you love Kankuro. Hell, I know you're in love with him. But…you love me too. It's not fair that I get nothing…"

What am I? Chopped liver? "Too much. Damn both of you… it'd be easier if one of you were less willing to make me happy…but you just both have to be dicks about it!" I mumble, not really making any sense at this point.

He chuckles half-heartedly, I can tell that he's hurting, and places a light hand on my shoulder. "Well I think that it would be best if I let you alone for now. I'm not going to force myself onto you anymore…"

I wipe the tears from my eyes, then turn around and face him. "We need to focus on the war right now. If we all survive," I ignore the look of horror that comes to his face, "Then I'll sort all this out."

AN: Cheese! This took forever to get out! For good reason, though. I'm back in school and it's kicking my ass. Well, next chappy will be war stuffs, right in the middle of it! So, get ready! People will die! And action and bloody ends with ensue! So be prepared for less romance and a little more action stuff! W00t!