Rave Master Naruto

Rave 50: Midnight Rush

"Kami, it's really cold here" grumbled Tenten as her teeth chattered and she shook from a sudden blast of wind. "How can people stand to live here?" she asked Sandayu.

"It's not as hard as you might think, but I can see how one from the land of Fire would think this unbearable. Though in truth, its actually summer time here for us. You should come around during the winter months; then you'd see what cold really feels like."

"You got to be joking" says Tenten. Sandayu simply shakes his head in response. "Then no thanks to any further return trips thank you."

Sandayu laughs before reaching into his pack and pulls out a red colored root which he hands to Tenten. "Here, chew on this fire root. It will warm you up quickly. Be warned though; chew it only, don't swallow it unless you want a very painful stomach ache."

Tenten takes the root and tosses it into her mouth and begins to chew on it, saying "Mm, rubbery."

"Out of curiosity mister Sandayu, why did we make land fall here on a deserted beach when there was a perfectly good port not several miles further up on the coast? Surely there would have been good spots there to shoot the arrival scene for the movie" asked Haku.

"Yeah, I was wanting to ask that too" says Tenten.

"Well..." says Sandayu, wondering on just how to respond to this question without revealing to much.

"Quiet on the set. We're about to commence shooting" shouts the director from his chair.

'Thank you, Hoshi' thinks Sandayu, unaware that Kakashi was keeping an eye on him.

"Puun" says Plue as he hops onto Haku's head, getting the feminine looking boy to reach up and pat him on the head. "Looking forward to Naruto and Hinata's acting are we Plue?"

Hoshi Rowe sits down in his chair, looking around at their make shift set. "OK, cue the wind machine" he shouts.

"Is that really necessary?" ask Yukie as she gets up from her chair to take her position alongside the others. "We already have a strong wind blowing as is, creating enough blowing snow flurries."

"Who's the director here, me or you? Don't undermine the creative processes of the men behind the camera's" replies Hoshi.

"Fine" says Yukie, though she was obviously annoyed.

"Everyone ready?" shouts Hoshi, getting an affirming nod. "OK, scene thirty three, take one; and ACTION."

The camera began to role as the actors moved away from the fake boat, which would be made to look more real in post, and they all stopped except Hinata who walked a few more steps forward. "So, this is your homeland, Prism" asked Gale.

"Once upon a time. Now, just a bad memory for me" says Prism; Hinata doing her best to try to sound more emotionally detached than was her norm.

Dew walks up and places a hand on her shoulder, saying "Don't worry, we're here for..."

Prism jerks her shoulder, causing Dew's hand to go slack. "Please don't..." says Prism before walking away. 'Sorry Naruto, I have to be cold towards you just a little longer' Hinata mentally adds.

Sukeakuro walks up to stand by Dew and says "Don't worry, she'll come to understand your feelings in time. I can tell these things."

"I sure hope so" says Dew, wondering if that was true.

"In any event, we need to get moving. If this lord Iceheart truly has spies everywhere, then its possible he may soon know we're here. We need to get moving and find a safe haven to take shelter in" says Shishimaru.

"Agreed" says Gale who then looks at Prism and ask "So, any idea's? You are more familiar with these lands than we are."

"Well..." says Prism as she considers her options, which were limited.

"Hold a moment" says Burikinto, getting everyone to look at him. "I feel an ominous presence in the air. One that is familiar to me. No way, its..."

"Heh heh heh, I see you still haven't lost your touch, master monk" comes a voice from the ice hill above. They all look up and see the familiar white haired old man come into view.

Gale glares at the man and says "Mao, I should have known you'd be here. Snakes always slither into places they aren't wanted."

"That's cold, my dear. Almost as cold as these lands" says Mao as he spreads his hands out wide.

"Why are you here, old man? Isn't this place outside your sphere of control?"

"I suppose so. But since you were coming here, I felt compelled to do the same and lend Iceheart my assistance" says Mao.

"You tipped him off" shouts Prism.

Mao laughs before breaking into another speech. But not far away, three figures watch from the frozen shadows. "So, are we sure it is her?" asked the big, bulky man.

"No mistaking it. It's Koyuki alright" says the smaller, more muscular man.

"So when do we attack?" asked the female.

"If my guess is correct, there's going to be a fight scene coming up. We'll attack at that time. Now, take your positions and wait for my signal" says the muscular man, getting a nod in response from his teammates. "They want an action scene for their movie? Then lets make sure to give them one they'll never forget."

"Anyways, enough with all the pointless chatter. Let's get on with the show, my dear Gale" shouts Mao as he spreads his arms out wide. "Behold the power of the Frozen Legion."

"And cut" shouts Rowe as he gets up from his chair. "OK people, here's were we do the first major fight of the picture. As you know, the Frozen Legion will be added in later during post. So, just remember the rehearsals, look for the cues with the explosions, and make it look as real as possible."

Getting a nod from everyone, he sits back down, takes in a deep breath, then shouts "AND ACTION."

'Now...' mentally commands the lead assassin as he nods to his two hidden teammates. As soon as the first fake explosion goes off, they jump out into the open and launch a jutsu aimed at Gale's allies.

"Wind style; Crushing Funnel" shouts the bulky, burly man before slamming his hands together while inhaling deeply, then cups his hands in a circle around his mouth then breaths out to create a clearly visible and fierce looking funnel of shrieking wind.

"Water Style; Scald Flow" shouts the woman, making a diamond shape with her hands with visible chakra present while spewing water from her mouth, which passes through the diamond and comes out boiling, bubbling, steaming, and crackling with intense, scorching heat.

"Wind style; Break Press" says the leader, his attack aimed at Yukie herself, the direct contact attack intended to disable her so as to insure she can't run away.

"WHAT?" shouts Rowe, jumping up from his chair.

"Hold on" shouts Hinata as she jumps in front of Burikinto and Hidero and using Rotation to save them from the scalding waters. Meanwhile, Tenten reacts fast and jumps before Michy and uses her Silver to create a shield that blocks the wind funnel attack.

Naruto, despite not having Eisen Meteor on him, manages to get to Yukie quickly enough to save her, pushing her clear before her attacker could touch her, then pulls out a kunai he had stored secretly on himself.

"Not bad, kid. You and those two girls were sure quick to react to our surprise attack. Obviously, you three aren't actors or stage hands" says the leader as he pulls out a long sword with a serrated blade.

"Who are you guys? Why did you attack us?" shouts Naruto, making sure to keep this himself between Yukie and the attacker. Luckily, Yukie was also making sure Naruto was between them two...or was that more a bad thing from here?

The bulky guys laughs, then says "Who do you think? We're the Frozen Legion that Mao guy was speaking of. Weren't you paying attention?"

"Don't go playing around, fatty. We have a mission to do" shouts the girl as she lands a few yards from Hinata as Haku rushes to join Tenten who was now faced with the bulky guy.

Without warning, the leader shoots forward, his blade and Naruto's kunai colliding as he says "You really want to know? Fine, I'll tell you before I kill you. We're assassin's in the service of lord Doto, ruler of this land." The two break away before exchanging in more rapid blows while the other two intruders attack Hinata, Tenten, and Haku.

"Quick, run for it. I'll cover you" shouts Hinata, getting a nod from the actors before counter attacking her opponent with Gentle Fist attacks.

"Your eyes..." says the girl. "I see, you must be a Hyuga. I better not let you touch me directly then..." she then forms water around herself like armor. "...otherwise I might regret it. By the way, you can call me Fubuki Kakuyoku, not that you will have much time to do so before I kill you."

Tenten, having shifted her Silver into a massive mace, swings it around; trying to land a hit against her bigger opponent. But he is able to dodge it each time and even Haku's Senbon couldn't seem to touch him. "Names Mizore Fuyukuma. Remember it as the name of the one who will crush you flies."

"Rowe, we need to get out of here. This is getting dangerous" shouts the assistant director.

"Are you out of your mind?" shouts Rowe back, who then looks at the camera man and ask "You still filming this?" Getting a nod in response, he says "Good, don't miss anything."

"What? Are you crazy, filming this fight now" shouts the assistant director.

Rowe looks at him and replies "I'd be crazy not to, you idiot. A fight scene like this is pure gold."

"But the script? And miss Tenten and mister Haku being in the scene..."

"We'll deal with that in post. Just go with it."

Naruto finds himself being momentarily blinded as his opponent suddenly reaches down, pulls up some snow and blows it into Naruto's eyes. He takes the moment to send Naruto to the ground and knock the kunai from his hands. "Nice effort kid, but not enough to defeat me..."

The crackling of lightning causes the man's gaze to shift to his left as Kakashi comes racing in with his Lightning Blade aimed for his head. The man barely dodges in time, then leaps back to make some distance as Kakashi comes to stand next to Naruto.

"You OK, Naruto?" asked Kakashi.

"Yeah, I'm fine. That jerk just got in a lucky shot. One that won't happen again" says Naruto as his eyes finally clear and he gets back on his feet.

"Well, well, Kakashi Hatake. So that explains the skills these kids have. I should have guessed the Leaf would be called in for this" says the man. "Do you remember me, by any chance?"

"It's been ten years, but I haven't forgotten. Me and you still have an unfinished fight if I recall...Nadare Rouga" says Kakashi.

"Indeed we do" says Rouga, feeling a rush he hadn't felt in years pass through him. "I've become stronger than I was back then so don't think you'll be making any successful escape attempts this time."

"You know this clown, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto.

"I'll explain later" replied Kakashi. "Rouga, why are you attacking us? I was under the impression Doto had allowed the filming of the new Princess Gale movie to occur. Has he changed his mind?"

Rouga laughs for a moment, then says "Oh Kakashi, surely you jest. Even you must know what's really going on here if you were the one chosen to be in charge here. And surely you must know the truth. That dear little Yukie Fujikaze is actually Koyuki Kazehana, our long lost princess you yourself took away from us ten years prior."

Kakashi takes a second to glance back at Yukie and thinks 'So it is you, Koyuki...'

Rouga suddenly jumps up onto the cliff were Mao's actor is standing in disbelief and makes a motion with his hands which is seen by Fubuki and Mizore, who break away from their respected fights and take up similar positions. Mao's actor quickly runs for it. "I think its time we got serious here. We'll end Kakashi and his team in one devastating swoop, then collect Koyuki and be on our way."

Then all three of them make the same hand sign; a sign Haku is very familiar with. "No way, it can't be..."

"Ice style; White Tiger" shouts Fubuki, causing a tiger made of pure ice to form before her.

"Ice style; White Rhino" shouts Mizore, a rhino of ice forming before him.

"Ice style; Great Bismark" shouts Rouga, a massive ice whale exploding from the ground behind him.

"What? Those guys are Ice style users? But I thought Haku was the last one left" says Tenten as the three Ice beast go on the attack.

"Puun" comes the voice of Plue, making Naruto look and see Plue spinning around with Eisen Meteor held within his paws, then lets it go and sends it sailing towards Naruto, who grabs it and shifts it into Blue Crimson form. Plue then tosses Hinata her Tonfa Blasters.

As the White Rhino charges Tenten, she shifts her Silver into a massive, and rather heavy, sledge hammer and swings it hard into the ice style creatures nose horn, the impact causing it to shatter, but otherwise the rest of it to show no damage. The creature, mad with rage, slams Tenten with its head and sends her flying from which she is barely able to recover and land on her feet as the rhino's horn regenerates.

Looking at Haku, she sees him just standing there, frozen by what he was seeing. Cursing a little as the ice beast charges her again, Tenten jumps up. Does several flips along the creatures upper body, and lands on its far side and runs at Haku as the Rhino slowly turns to target her again.

"Nimble little minx" says Mizore, making a hand sign to insure she doesn't dodge the next attack.

Tenten comes to stand before Haku, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. "OK Haku, snap out of it, ice boy. Now is seriously not the time to be spacing out here." When Haku doesn't respond, Tenten resorts to extreme measure and delivers a hard slap to his face. This works as Haku suddenly blinks as he returns to reality.

"Tenten..." starts Haku, but Tenten hears the approach of the ice rhino and quickly breaks in, saying "Later, lets just survive for now."

As insurance, Tenten the pushes Haku hard to clear him from the rhino's latest charge, then goes to jump dodge again when the rhino's regrown horn suddenly extends outwards and manages to pierce Tenten's sides. Crying out while blood is coughed up, Tenten instinctively switches her Silver into a blade and frees herself, then stumbles as she lands as the rhino turns and prepares to charge her again.

'Damn, I have to do something...but what can I do?' wonders Haku.

Not far away, Hinata finds herself facing both the ice tiger and Fubuki in a two on one fight. Luckily, her quick reflectes and nimble, dance like movements is keeping her alive and mostly untouched, but she was quickly becoming exhausted. "What's wrong, Hyuga girl. Are we tiring you out already?" asked Fubuki as she slashes a kunai at Hinata, who blocks it with her Tonfa's.

Little did Fubuki know was that Hinata was studying her and her tiger; using her Byakugan to determine the best spots to target. When Fubuki tries a leg sweep her, Hinata back flips into the air, only to find the tiger had lept up at her as well with its claws ready to shred her alive.

'Now or never I guess' thinks Hinata as she aims her Tonfa's, unleashing a barrage of chakra bullets from the Tonfa's the slam into the tiger, making it roar as it begins to crack and parts of it shatter. Fubuki roars at what Hinata has done to her tiger, but then stops surprised as Hinata tosses her Tonfa's into the air and hits Fubuki with several Gentle Fist attacks, blasting her back away. Hinata lands then catches her Tonfa's in free fall.

"Damn witch..." growls Fubuki as her tiger regenerates.

Bismark's tail slams into the ground, causing it to erupt and forcing Naruto and Kakashi to jump clear. Naruto the sends a flame wave from Blue Crimson while Kakashi sends out a fire ball; neither attack doing any damage from what they can see.

Rouga smiles as he comes at Kakashi and the two cross blades. "Sorry, Copy Ninja, but you'll need a stronger flame to melt my jutsu."

Naruto, I have an idea

'I'm listening, Kyubi' thinks Naruto.

Jump atop that beast, then channel my chakra into Explosion while piercing the beast with the blade

"Worth a try" says Naruto before jumping onto several ice structures then onto Bismark's back while shouting "Empower, Ten Powers; Explosion." He then calls upon Kyubi's chakra, then slams the blade into the beast back. "Detonation Impact" he shouts.

"What" shouts Rouga as a blast explodes outwards from the Bismark's belly followed by cracks racing across its body, the beast ultimately shattering from the attack of Naruto's. "My jutsu was...defeated?" Kakashi takes the opportunity to charge up a Lightning Blade and aims it at Rouga's heart and he's barely able to react in time to save his life though his shoulder is hit though.

"You bastard..." roars Rouga before slamming an open palm into Kakashi's chest. "Ice Style; Tundra Blast" which hurls Kakashi back with a beam of ice and snow. "This isn't over yet, I still have my best jutsu..." shouts Rouga as Kakashi gets back on his feet. "ICE STYLE..."

His words are cut off as he finds himself being surrounded on all sides by mirrors of ice. Fubuki and Mizore also find themselves being surrounded by ice mirrors as Naruto runs in and does a Explosion/Silfarion combo to save Tenten by blasting the rhino into rubble and Hinata combo's Gentle Fist and Gentle Shot attacks to shatter the tiger.

"This technique..." says Mizore.

"Is it Crystal Ice Mirror's?" wonders Fubuki.

"Is it Hikara?" says Rouga before Haku's form appears in each mirror. He then begins attacking each one of them, managing to deliver multiple hits each. "Damn, we need to retreat for now."

"But what about Koyuki?" shouts Mizore.

"We'll have another chance later" says Fubuki before casting the Ice Breaker jutsu as does Mizore and Rouga; causing all the Ice Mirror's to shatter and Haku to fall onto the ground from which he quickly recovers.

"Enjoy your victory, Kakashi. We will be back" says Rouga before the three Ice style ninja vanish.

"AND CUT" shouts Rowe, jumping up from his chair. "That was perfect; far better than anything we could have gotten from normal shooting and special effects...you did get that, did you?" asked the camera man, getting a nod in response. Yukie and the other actors just look at the director as if he was crazy...and maybe he was.

As Sandayu walks up to Kakashi, the Copy Ninja looks at him and says "I think you owe us an explanation, Captain."

"So you do remember me then" says Sandayu. After a pause, he says "But your right, we do have some talking to do. But not here. We'll head to Reeda and get some rooms at the inn. Then we'll talk."

"You OK, Tenten?" asked Naruto as Plue runs up to join them with a medical pouch in his small paws.

"Everything except my pride. I really need to step my training up" was her reply.

Haku is walking towards them when he notices Hinata looking out over the ocean. Walking up to her, he places a hand on her shoulder which makes her jump. "Something wrong?" he ask.

"I don't know. When I was fighting that woman and her ice tiger, by Byakugan was active and I could have sworn I also saw something watching us from the water. It was a dolphin I think" says Hinata.

Haku looks out onto the ocean and sees nothing. 'I wonder...could it have been a companion to Grandeer?'

"How are you doing? Seeing people who can also use Ice style, Haku" asked Hinata, drawing Haku from his thoughts. He thinks for a moment then says "Honestly, I'm not sure what to think..."

"Hey you two, we need to get the set packed up so we can get moving" shouts Rowe. They nod as the run over to join the others. But not far away, a figure watches from the shadows. "That boy...he can use ice style. And his face...it looks just like..."

RMN

Is was much later in the afternoon within the quite resort town of Reeda. The group had taken up residence within Reeda's famous hot spring inn. Actually, they were the only ones currently staying here do to the nonexistent tourism in the land and the fact the inn had been rented out for the exclusive use of the cast and crew of the Princess Gale movie for the duration of their stay in Reeda.

Rowe was in the specially set up editing studio with the rest of his people, going over the recorded footage of the earlier fight to see what would be needed done editing and additional shooting wise to make it fit more in with the movie. The cast were in their rooms resting and recovering from the surprise attack while reeling from the reveal their friend and costar Yukie was really a real life princess.

In another room, a large dinning room, sat Kakashi and Team Rave and Sandayu, having a much needed meeting in regards to what had happened and had been revealed during the attack. "Well, I think you owe my team an explanation, Sandayu...or should I say Yoshida Nabari."

"So you really did know it was me, master Kakashi" says Sandayu. "When I saw you were among our hired help, I'll be honest and say I felt a great weight being lifted from my shoulders as well as more confident of our success here."

"Not at first, though I did have my suspicions. The attack by Rouga and his team only confirmed it" said Kakashi.

Sandayu nods, then looks at Naruto and the others and says "Allow me to reintroduce myself. My true name is Yoshida Nabari, former commander of the royal guard of the Land of Snow and long time friend to our fallen king, Sosetsu Kazehana, as well as his most loyal follower...who's still alive of course."

"You were head of the king's royal guard?" asked Tenten, wanting to make sure she had heard him right. Sandayu nods and she then ask "So tell me, how does a commander become a manager to a princess turned movie star? In fact, how did Yu...I mean Koyuki become Yukie anyways?"

"It's a bit of a tale, but I'll stick with the facts. Around ten years ago, we learned from our ally the Hikarikage who headed the Hidden Snow Village that several of his ninja had gone rogue. This included Rouga and his team. Furthermore, they were planning to attack the capitol in an attempt to take control of all of Snow. It was speculated that because several of the rogues had been refugee's from the Land of Water, that this coup was so they could obtain the power needed to get their revenge."

"Naturally, we prepared as best we can and even the loyal Snow ninja would stand by us. But there was no way we could have been prepared for what was to come. Fearing the conflict that was to come, lord Sosetsu contacted the Hidden Leaf of the Land of Fire and requested a special team be sent in to smuggle his daughter out of Snow till the situation had been resolved. Even the Hikarikage was in agreement of this action. But by the time the Leaf team had arrived, the true mastermind behind the coup de ta was revealed; Doto Kazehana, brother to our king who wanted the throne for himself."

"Doto betrayed and murdered our king, then made a move to take Koyuki captive. But luckily, she was saved by Kakashi and his team who were quick to spirit her away from Doto's grasp. With help from the Snow Ninja, I was also able to escape. After four years of searching, I finally found Koyuki, who was now calling herself Yukie, and she was a small time actress looking for her big break. I bought her contract from her old manager and the rest is history as they say."

"Did she ever recognize you?" asked Hinata.

Sandayu shrugs, then says "I always wondered if she remembered me, even though I had grown this beard after my own escape. But if she did, she never told me or called me by my true name nor did I ever get any indication that she did. But then again, she had become hard to read." Sandayu then looks at Kakashi and ask "What happened after you rescued her?"

"We were pursued and I lost a man during that escape. But we managed to escape, obviously. After returning to the Leaf, Koyuki was sullen and distant as was expected given what she had been through. Shortly there after, there was a movie being shot in the Land of Fire and I heard she was chosen as an extra. Sadly, we lost track of her after that though lord Hokage was sure she was safe. My guess is that he did know where she was and maybe had a special team watching her at all times though I can't say for sure" explained Kakashi.

After a moment of silence, Naruto ask "So, does Doto want to kill her too in order to insure his claim to the throne he stole can't be challenged?"

Sandayu shifts uncomfortably as he considers what he should say. "It's a possibility, but I believe his real target is the Hex Crystal Koyuki always wears around her neck."

"Hex Crystal?" asked Tenten.

"That's what lord Sosetsu called it. From what I understand, the crystal acts as a key that can unlock the treasure of Snow which is said to be hidden within the great rainbow glaciers. Naturally, he's desperate to get his hands on it, if only to learn what it is as the truth is known only to the rulers and their chosen successors, meaning only lord Sosetsu and Koyuki herself."

"I wonder if the Rave is hidden there too?" wonders Hinata aloud before eeping and covering her mouth, blushing from the embarrassment of having blabbed their secret mission aloud.

"Rave?" asked Sandayu.

"Since you're being honest with us, we'll be honest with you" says Naruto. "We ourselves had an ulterior motive when we accepted the mission to help with the movie. We learned that we'd be coming here to the Land of Snow where we believe we'll find one of the four Rave Stones hidden away."

"What's this Rave Stone you speak of?" asked Sandayu.

Naruto reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out the Key Rave and the Rave of Knowledge and shows them both to Sandayu, who's eyes marvel at their beauty, especially the Rave of Knowledge as it sparkled like the sun. "There are five stones in total and we need to gather all five together so that I, as the Rave Master, can use their combined powers along with this blade, Eisen Meteor" he then points to his sword resting against the table beside him, "and destroy the threat of the Dark Bring."

Naruto then explains as best he can to Sandayu about the current situation. "So, have you heard anything that could be connected to the Rave?"

Sandayu shakes his head, then says "Sorry, but nothing comes to mind. If lord Sosetsu was still with us, I'm sure he might know something. Or maybe the Hikarikage himself might know as both of them were well versed in our lands history and myths."

"So do you think we can go meet this Hikarikage then?" asked Haku suddenly. He had been quiet up till now as he had been lost in thought over what he had learned during the attack. "I'd also like to see if more of my clan might still be alive and with this Snow Village."

"I wish I could help you, but I heard Doto had his loyal men attack the village after his coup had been completed. I'm unsure if anyone survived and are now in hiding. But it's my hope that if any of them did survive, then they'll learn that Koyuki has returned and will seek her out to offer support. Or at least, that's what I was planning to happen when we came here so we could remove Doto and get Koyuki back on the throne where she belongs."

"So what do we do now?" asked Hinata.

"After thinking for a moment, Kakashi says "For now, we continue doing as we have up till now; acting and working on the movie. We must also stay alert as there will be another attack coming in the future. And during our off time, talk with the people of Reeda about myths and legends of this land and hope we get something to work with where the Rave is concerned. Now, let's return to our rooms and rest. It may be our last chance to do so..."

"After we shoot the next set of scene's of course" says Rowe, popping his head into the room from the doorway.

(capital)

The chirping of the birds was oddly relaxing to Doto as he scattered bird seeds into their cages and watched his pets jump down from their perches to eat their meal. He then looked over to his flower garden and breathed in their beautiful fragrance. Though he and his brother had been of different minds about many things, this was one of the very few hobbies they had both shared and even enjoyed doing together in their younger days.

And for a moment, Doto felt a pang of regret in his heart over what he had done; a wish that it could have gone differently and that Sosetsu could still be alive now, albeit confined to a cell or something. He pushes that feeling away as dwelling on the past did nothing but breed pain. A sudden whooshing sound alerts him to their arrival.

"So, you finally return..." he says, moving to water his flowers while not looking at the three kneeling ninja. "And yet, I don't believe you have something for me. Don't tell me one little group of actors and a movie production team were able to somehow overpower a man as strong as you, Rouga?"

Rouga keeps his gaze lowered to the ground, his humiliation being unbearable. "No sir."

Doto then looks at them and says "Then what happened?"

"It was those damn Leaf Ninja the studio hired to help them with making the movie. And one of the ninja sent was Kakashi Hatake" says Rouga.

"Hatake? Hm, Kakashi Hatake...Kakashi...oh, I remember now. The one who took our precious princess away to begin with, am I right?" asked Doto.

"Yes sir" was Rouga's response.

"I see" says Doto before returning to watering his flowers again.

"Sir, let us go again. This time, we'll..." says Fubuki suddenly, but stops as Doto raises his hand.

"In time, my girl. In time..." he says as he finishes up, then looks at them again. "I considered a failure to a possibility, though and extremely unlikely one. We have another opportunity coming up we'll take advantage of."

"Like what?" asked Mizore.

"I was able to bribe a studio executive and got their planned shooting schedule. If it's accurate, they'll be staying in Reeda now where they'll be doing much filming for the movie. One scene is planned to be done around midnight in four days at a small forested area northwest of Reeda. That's when we'll strike with our full force" says Doto.

"A forested area northwest of Reeda...oh, now I see" says Rouga. "We'll be using the rail system to transport our forces."

Doto nods, then says "Exactly. And with my full army involved, failure will be nonexistent. Just like the Hidden Snow is now." Doto then burst out laughing to which Rouga, Fubuki, and Mizore join in on.

RMN

Prism lay in her bed, unable to sleep despite how tired she knew she was. It had been a long day and the attack that had been aimed to bring about her assassination was still haunting her. If it hadn't been for lady Gale and her warriors, she would be dead now.

Rolling onto her side for a moment, her thoughts turned to Dew. When she had first met him, she thought he would be nothing but a hindrance on this quest. But she had allowed him to come along as Gale had told her that she had promised him to help him become a true warrior.

And during this trip, something about him and how he treated her had began to affect her. And then, he had stepped in between her and the assassin's blade, saving her from a fatal wound and nearly dying as a result. Despite how she had treated him up to this point, he had done it without any hesitation.

And now she couldn't stop thinking about him.

As more thoughts came to mind, she found herself blushing as she placed her hand over her heart. Was it possible that she...no, it couldn't be. But somewhere deep inside, she knew that it was true. At least to some degree. Returning to laying on her back, she gazed up to the skylight and the view of the stars it gave her.

I lie awake at night

see things in black and white

I've only got you inside my mind

you know you have made me blind

Prism then slowly sits up and gets out of bed, walking over to her vanity and sits down; looking at herself in the mirror as she pulls out a comb to brush her messy hair with.

I lie awake and pray

that you will look my way

I have all this longing in my heart

I knew it right from the start

She then places the comb down, gets up, and walks outside onto the balcony, leaning forward against it as she gazes across the beautiful garden before and below her.

Oh my Pretty, Pretty Boy, I love you

Like I never ever loved no one before you

Pretty, Pretty Boy of mine

Just tell me you love me too

She then pulls away and reenters her room, moving slowly and dancing a little on impulse.

Oh, my Pretty, Pretty Boy, I need you

Oh my Pretty, Pretty Boy, I do

Let me inside

Make me stay

Right beside you

As Hinata continues her song, stopping before her bed and falling back upon it; her fake hair bring spread out all over, Rowe smiles from his chair as he looks to his editors and says "This girl is such a natural. And quite a beauty too. If she were to become a full time actress, she'd be making millions easy."

Off to the side and out of ear shot, Naruto and Tenten stand by one another with Plue sitting on Naruto's head, sucking on a lollipop as usual. Naruto's eyes are transfixed on Hinata; his very being in awe of just how good she was. A real natural.

"Getting turned on by this, Naruto?" teased Tenten, making Naruto blush hard.

"No...well, maybe a little. Hinata...she's just the most amazing girl..."

"Hey, what am I? Chop liver?" asked Tenten, faking an annoyed huff and puff.

"Wait, I didn't mean it like that..." Naruto starts to say, but Tenten just grins and says "I'm just teasing you, whiskers. Don't worry as I'm kind of agreeing with you now. Hinata is a one of a kind."

"Yeah, she is" agrees Naruto. "Just like you" he adds which makes Tenten blush hard.

"What?" she says, her voice showing her surprise from his comment.

Naruto looks at her and says "Both you and Hinata are one of a kind in my book. You both have traits and talents that make you stand out from the rest. And to be honest, I'm really glad I have the both of you in my life."

"Puun" agrees Plue.

Tenten looks away, fighting her fingers together in a manner similar to Hinata's own way. No guy had ever given her such a compliment before. It was a nice feeling to experience, especially for a tomboy who was used to being treated more like a guy than a girl. "Thank you, Naruto" she says sweetly.

"And cut" shouts Rowe. "Beautiful, perfect; your a natural gift, girl. NARUTO, get over here so we can shoot the next scene."

"Well, back to work" says Naruto as he places his face mask on and heads into position.

"Break a leg, Naruto" says Tenten, wishing him luck. As she stands there and watches the scene play out, she finds herself thinking an odd thought. If it wasn't for the obvious feelings Naruto and Hinata had for one another, she felt she might be half tempted to ask Naruto out herself...well, maybe?

RMN

It was still early in the morning as the door to the inn slides in and Tenten sluggishly enters with one hand rubbing her butt. "Ouch, that really hurt" she grumbles while looking around and is glad to see the entry room was empty. She had awoken early, not really able to sleep that night, and had gone for a brisk early morning jog. Everything had gone well till she had slipped on some ice just outside as she was heading back in and now her rump was seriously sore. As she heads up a flight of stairs, heading to her and Hinata's shared room, she can't help but quietly comment her luck as of late.

"Why me? It's bad enough I had to fall and injure my rear. But it probably wouldn't have been so bad had...NARUTO?" she says suddenly as she exits the stair well and sees her blonde headed friend pacing back and forth in the hallway.

"Oh man, what am I going to do? Maybe it was a dream...but what if it wasn't? Ah snap, what am I going to do?" he says to himself.

"Hey Naruto..." comes Tenten's voice, making him jump.

"Ahh...of, Tenten..." jumps Naruto, backing away from surprise. "Um...surprised to see you up this early."

"Yeah, I had trouble sleeping last night so I went out for a little early morning jog" says Tenten. "You?"

"I'm really not sure" admits Naruto. "After last night, I don't know what to think." He then mentally debates on if he should tell her or not.

There's a moment of silence, then Tenten says "Listen Naruto, about..."

"I think I had sex with Hinata last night, Tenten" says Naruto suddenly, having decided to tell her after all. "WHAT?" shouts Tenten before rushing forward and grabbing his shoulders. "But...how...? OK mister, tell me what happened. EVERY LITTLE DETAIL."

"Every little detail?" questions Naruto, getting a nod from Tenten.

Naruto gulps before saying "Alright, just promise you won't castrate me when I'm done."

"Just spill it already" says Tenten, glad that the rooms they were all given were on the next floor, as it was the VIP floor, and this one was, as far as she knew, was fully vacant.

"Then you better sit down, Tenten" says Naruto, getting a nod from the brunette as she spies a pair of chairs and sits in one, jumping and yelping from having forgotten about her sore bum. "You OK?" he asked as he sat in the other chair.

"Slipped and fell as I was getting back from my jog. Just tell me what happened" she says.

"Well, it all started last night as I was about to jump into bed. As I was digging through my pack for my lucky night cap, I found that stuff pervy sage gave me before we left. Looking at it, I saw it was something to help make you relax and have an easier rest. I figured what the hell and took a few then jumped in bed. And that's when it began."

"What began?" asked Tenten.

"I'm not sure what time it was or anything, but I recall waking up feeling weird; my head was light and fuzzy feeling and my vision was blurred, and I felt really hot. I recall getting up and heading to the bathroom, but I instead found myself in the hallway; everything spinning. The next thing I knew was I was outside the hot springs entrance and I step in. I see the men's only and woman's only paths blocked off but not the shared one so I think I walked in there, though I'm not sure why. I then recall seeing Hinata's silver and white bathing robes in the changing room and I strip down I think..."

Tenten blushes as she begins to get an idea where this was going.

"Stepping into the pool area, my already blurred vision was further fudged by all the steam, but I recall seeing a single form, a girls form, with her back to me. I believed it was Hinata and I...I don't know why, but I stepped into the water and approached her. I wrap my arms around her, causing her to jump. I hear her speak, but I find her voice strange and muffled; ringing suddenly I think. Despite how close I was, I still couldn't see her face properly. But I'm sure it was her."

"And you know this how?" asked Tenten.

"Well, one reason was Hinata's robes being in the changing room. And because...I think I raised my hands to her chest and I started to fondle her breast. I saw Hinata naked once, back in Wave, by accident and what I felt seemed to match up size wise I think. Anyways, I know she tries to say something, but I don't really hear her because I...I leaned in and kissed her passionately. At first, she didn't respond, maybe even resisted? But then she returned my kiss and it became heated as my ministrations on her breast increased including teasing her nipples."

Naruto's eyes fell away from looking at Tenten as he continues. "I spread my lips a little; my tongue tracing a line against her lips and she responds, our two tongues dancing against one another. I think one of my hands left her chest and traveled downwards. I know she suddenly jumped and then our kiss intensified greatly. Her moans made me lose more control as I continued my actions; how long it lasted I can't be sure. But I do recall her suddenly becoming ridged; a cry escapes her as I feel something warm flowing around my hand that was positioned against her lower regions. She then collapses back against me, breathing heavily. I then said I love you I think and I'm sure she says it back to me. After that, the rest becomes a blur of flashes. One image is me looking down as she's doing something to me on her knees; I think maybe a blow job or something. Then an image of her pressed against a large rock in the middle of the pool, her body jumping as she cries out. And finally, one where I'm sitting and she's on my lap bouncing up and down; I think that one may have been anal based on this and that. And then, everything goes dark and I wake up in bed feeling really out of it. I then ended up here where you found me. So, what do you think Tenten...TENTEN?"

Naruto freezes as he sees said girl, pink cheeked as one hand massaging her chest and another between her legs. Apparently, hearing Naruto's story had gotten her rather horny and turned on. "TENTEN" he says louder, snapping her out of it. She blinks, saying "Huh?" before she realizes where her own hands are and cries out in shock.

A minute later, a red faced Tenten says "So embarrassing, masturbating in front of a boy because he was telling me about one serious wet dream he had."

"So you think it was all a dream?" asked Naruto hopefully because if it wasn't, would he ever be able to face Hinata again knowing he molested her in the hot springs.

"From what you said, it would seem so; what with the blurred vision and hearing not to mention the random jumps from moment to moment. But there's one way to know for sure..."

"How" says Naruto.

Tenten gets up and says "Simple, I'll go ask her about it now."

"HUH?" goes Naruto, not liking where this was going.

"Relax, Naruto. I won't tell her about your dream. I have an idea that should work in confirming whether or not you and her went to the next level. Just wait here and I'll be back in a moment. Trust me" says Tenten before heading for the stairs and leaving Naruto alone to worry.

Once she was standing outside their room, Tenten knocks a few times, then says "Hinata, you awake and decent?"

"Yeah Tenten, come in" was Hinata's reply.

Once Tenten was in the room and the door closed behind her, Hinata ask "So, where'd you disappear to so early in the morning. I woke up and you were already gone. Or, did you actually fall asleep down..."

"I couldn't sleep much last night, so I went for an early morning jog, slipped on some ice on the way back and now have a sore butt as a suvonier of my stay here" was Tenten's reply.

"Are you OK?" asked Hinata.

"Yeah, I'll be fine" says Tenten. After a pause, she ask "So...Hinata..."

"Yes?" asked Hinata.

"I was wondering...did you go down to the hot springs late last night and have some hot, steamy, wild and crazy sex with Naruto by any chance?"

Hinata stands frozen for a moment, her face is blank at first before turning pink, then going redder and redder, hitting a shade of red unknown to man or beast. "WWWWHHHHAAAATTTT?"

Tenten gets in real close and says "Did you do every dirty thing imaginable with Naruto last night, yes or no?"

Hinata felt like she was going to faint. And then, Tenten started naming things off; "Blow job, vaginal, anal, so on and so forth" and that made her want to faint even more as her mind was picturing her and Naruto doing these things and was making her really want to go do them with him right now to.

"Well, did you?" asked Tenten again.

"NO, of course I didn't. I was here asleep all night last night. I...I would be so embarrassed to do stuff like that...Wait, why are you even asking such perverted questions anyways?"

"Um..." says Tenten. "OK, the truth is I ran into Naruto down below and he told me he had an intense sex dream about him and you and he was freaking out because I was afraid it might have been the real deal and this thought is based on the fact the cause of the dream or whatever was something Jiraiya gave him. He confided in me and I told him I'd find out the truth for him myself. And so, here I am doing just that."

Hinata blushes as she looks away. "Naruto, has sex dreams about me? Does that mean he likes me?"

"He likes you enough to want to boink you at least" says Tenten. "So, you sure you and him didn't get physical with one another?"

"I'm sure, though I wish his dream was real" says Hinata.

"Real enough for me" says Tenten to herself, getting a "huh?" from Hinata. "Oh, I mean when he told me, even I got a little turned on by it and I kinda started feeling myself up in front of him, much to my embarrassment. Just promise you won't tell him that I told you, OK?"

"Your secrets safe with me" says Hinata.

"Great; well, I better go back and let him know he's off the hook. Catch you at the breakfast table" says Tenten as she goes to leave.

"Wait, Tenten, says Hinata, making her stop. "So did you enjoy it last night? The hot springs I mean? You did go down there to soak and relax after all that heavy lifting on the set gave you some sore muscles."

"Yeah, it was really great" says Tenten, drooling a little from the memory. "If it wasn't for the cold and the ice, I wouldn't mind staying here to live from now on just for those springs...and thanks for lending my your bathrobes too. I can't believe I left mine at home."

"Sure, anytime" says Hinata.

"And this lavender and purple coloring is perfect for you" she adds, liking the way it looked before finally leaving and making her way back to Naruto.

"So, what did she say?" asked Naruto, getting up quickly as his eyes spot Tenten.

"You can relax, whiskers. I can assure you that you and Hinata didn't have an intimate meeting down at the hot springs last night" says Tenten reassuringly.

This makes Naruto sigh in relief, saying "Thank Kami", though he must admit he was also feeling a little bit disappointed too.

"So, unless you met up with another girl, like Yukie or one of the six girls on the filming staff and thought they were Hinata, you were just dreaming it all along" says Tenten.

"Yeah, fat chance of that. Yukie would have done something like another mace to the face and the other girls; I wouldn't have mistaken them for Hinata under any circumstance. So, unless you were there..."

"HAH, fat chance, whiskers" says Tenten. "As if me and you would ever..."

Naruto scratches the back of his head and blushes, saying "Yeah, your right. We're more like siblings anyways. Any who, I better go rehearse my lines before we begin shooting again" and he heads off to his room, leaving Tenten alone.

"Yeah, we're more like siblings than lovers. Us, having sex? What a joke, huh?" says Tenten as she laughs about it; a laugh that soon stops and is followed by a sigh.

AN: I'm really making you bake your noodles here, huh? Read authors notes below for explanation about this entire scene...now, back to the story

RMN

Rouga watched as the last of the troops entered the train, steam blasting out from the sides to signal the readiness to depart. "So, are we all set?" asked Fubuki as she and Mizore walked up. Like Rouga himself, the were now equipped with Doto's special chakra armor, which could either empower a person or hinder them depending on how the armor had been adjusted.

"Our troops are already aboard. All that's left is the three of us" says Rouga.

"Then lets get going and finish this matter" says Mizore as the three begin walking to the front car.

"Wait..." comes a voice they recognize from behind. Turning, they see Doto himself entering the station, also wearing the chakra armor.

"Sir, what are you doing here?" asked Rouga.

"I've decided to personally oversee this mission. I will not tolerate failure this time" says Doto as he walks past them towards the train. After a few steps, he stops, looks back, and adds "And besides, my niece has been gracious enough to return home after all these years. How can I consider myself a loving family member if I don't at least make an effort to greet her and welcome her home?"

(Snow covered forested area; close to midnight)

"OK people, I know it's late and we'd all rather be back at the inn, cozied up in our nice warm beds. So, the sooner we shoot this scene, the sooner we can head back and do just that. So, everyone take your places" shouts Rowe, his voice echoing across the area.

"Hey, where's Yukie?" asked Hidero, noticing their star was MIA.

"What? Yukie isn't here?" says Sandayu. Had she headed back to the inn? No, she wouldn't do that. No matter how she felt about being back home, she was an actress first and foremost now and would do her duty as such.

"I don't see Naruto anywhere either" says Hinata, looking around. "Maybe he noticed Yukie wandering off and went after her."

"Hinata, use your Byakugan and see if you can spot either of them" orders Kakashi, which Hinata is quick to follow.

(Naruto and Yukie)

Yukie was running as fast and best should could snow that was deep enough to nearly reach her knees. Finding herself running out of breath, she comes to a stop and leans against a tree; wiping the sweat that was forming on her brow.

"Going somewhere, princess?" asked Naruto, making her jump. She then turns and sees Naruto standing on a tree branch from a close by tree. "I'm assuming, from the direction you're running towards, that you are heading to the nearest port. Planning on running away, are you?"

"Shut up and go away" she yells. She then looks away and says in a lower tone "Just leave me alone. I didn't ask to come back here and I don't want to be here now." She then looks back at Naruto and says "So why can't I just run away?"

"What about the movie? And your friends and costars?" asked Naruto.

"There will be other movies. And I'm sure they will forgive me in time, knowing my past now as they do" says Yukie.

Naruto sighs as he jumps down onto the ground to join her. "But what about your home land? Doesn't it anger you that the man who killed your father is ruling over everything here? Don't you want to take it all back and bring him to justice?"

Yukie opens her mouth to respond, but stops as bitter and painful memories surface in her mind. "Once, long ago, I did want that. But to much time has passed and I...I'm not the same person I was then. I'm Yukie Fujikaze now and that's all I am. Koyuki Kazehana? I can't remember her and I doubt I ever will. Now will you please just let me go."

She turns and begins to walk off again, but stops as she hears Naruto's voice. "You know he won't stop chasing you now. He wants whatever is hidden away within those glaciers. If you really mean what you say about everything, then why don't you just go and give him that Hex Crystal and let it be done with?"

Yukie stands her ground for a moment before pulling the crystal out from beneath her top and looks at it carefully. It was in this moment she recalled something important; she had never once taken it off since her father had given it to her. Why? Was it possible that maybe somewhere deep inside she really did want to save her home and avenge her father. "Naruto..."

Her words are cut off by a low rumbling sound they suddenly both hear and quickly feel too. "What's that?" she says aloud.

A whistling sound is then heard, making Naruto say "Sound like a train I think." Just them, the shaking increases, causing rails to appear from the snow covering. Yukie's eyes go wide as realization hits her. "Naruto, we need to get out of here...NOW" and she then starts to run.

Naruto follows her and ask "Why? What's going on?"

"The Land of Snow has a train based transit system in place to help others get around quickly. A system my uncle will now have full control over" says Yukie.

"And you think this isn't your usual transport?" asked Naruto, getting a nod in response. "Well then..." he says as he moves a little faster, scooping Yukie up in his arms. "...we better get out of here."

Just then, a blinding light pierces the night directly behind them as the train blast its whistle again. Naruto realizes he's following the tracks and tries to break away, knowing the train wouldn't be able to follow. But bullet fire from the mounted weapons on the train insure he stays on the track path. Soon, they find themselves entering a long tunnel as the train gets closer and closer to them.

Yukie can see the exit, then looks back and sees the train practically on top of them. "We're not gonna make it, Naruto."

"Yes we will" he counters as he takes one hand off her and grabs Eisen Meteor, which he shifts into Silfarion while keeping it on his back, but maintaining his hold. "Hold on" he says before accelerating forward, making Yukie scream a little. Though not as fast as he normally could go, due to having Yukie weighing him down, Naruto is just able to clear the cave and jumps clear before they can be flattened.

The train comes to a screeching stop, blasting steam out to the side. "You OK?" asked Naruto.

Before Yukie can ask, a door opens and a figure walks out into the open. "Welcome home, my dear Koyuki. I'm hurt you haven't kept in touch."

Yukie stares blankly at Doto for a moment before a look of utter hatred cross's her face. "You, uncle Doto...you murderer."

Naruto gets on his feet and says "So, you're the one who has caused Yukie such pain." He then finally draws Eisen Meteor and points it at Doto and says "I won't let you harm her."

"Oh, you won't will you, boy?" says Doto, sounding slightly amused as he snaps his fingers. Immediately, all the cars of the train open up save for the last one, revealing Doto's army of soldiers. Yukie takes a step back as Naruto's hold on his blade shakes for just a moment.

"What about now?" asked Doto as Rouga, Fubuki, and Mizore come to stand beside him.

'Kakashi-sensei, Hinata, Tenten, Plue, Haku; I really hope you guys are on the way' thinks Naruto as he prepares for battle.

next time on Rave Master Naruto: Naruto and Yukie have been captured by Doto, who prepares to head to the Rainbow Glaciers to unlock the secrets hidden there. Meanwhile, Kakashi and the rest are beset by Doto's army. Will they be able to fight their way out and rescue Naruto and Yukie? Find out next time in RMN: The Rainbow Glaciers

AN: I can only guess what must be going on within the minds of you, my readers, now? "Wait, was it really a dream or did Naruto actually have sex with Tenten while thinking it was Hinata?" Well, the answer ultimately lies with each of you. Basically, you can each decide for yourselves what happened here though keep in mind that in Naruto's dream, the bath robe was silver and white yet it was lavender and purple within reality.

Why did I do it? Well, it was based on an idea I had way back when; an idea that may or may not still happen at a later point in the story concerning a key plot point regarding the Tenth Power and the Musica line (those familiar with the Rave Master series may know what I refer to here). Well, the plot point will still happen, but with a few slight changes made to it. I decided to go ahead and throw this in as both a just in case and mostly just for the fun of it. And maybe I just wanted to mess with your heads LOL.

But still, what is the truth? I will say this much. If it was just a dream, it will never be brought up again and if it wasn't, then it will be before the end. Now, one last thing.

Naruto and Hinata will be REMEMBERING their first kiss in chapter 52 of RMN. Just thought I'd let you know. See ya next month (where RMN is concerned).