Thanks for the ideas, Mikan, I hope that you like how I've incorporated them. I figured that this would be a good place for some fluff, even if everyone is kind of losing their minds a little. Now they can lose their minds a little less.

And thank you, girani, I did work hard to make that...maybe not perfectly authentic, since I'm not Japanese, and I skipped a few steps (and holidays), but immersive, at least.


Sasuke's P.O.V.

It's so...eerie. It's a statue, and yet it feels almost alive, as though it could start breathing, moving, spitting fire without even a moment's notice. And its eyes...it's like it can see me standing here. Unsettling, yes, threatening, no. But definitely not normal in any way, shape, or form.

My eyes bleed red and a second vision overlaps the first, laying a sheen of white over the entire temple, growing brighter within the statue itself. I take a step back, then another, and another. Everything around me is bathed in this white energy. And now, more than ever, the dragon statue in front of me seem alive, thrumming with this energy that so resembles chakra.

But it's not. It looks like chakra, but it moves differently. It's not confined to a network, bound to a single object, or dissipating into the air. It's like a living presence hanging over the entire temple, as though another being is half sleeping, and half awake, keeping watch over this place.

Which is completely bogus. Or at least that's what I would say if I wasn't seeing it for myself. Ciara...what ARE you? This place just makes no sense. Not unless Madara's story about the dragons was true. And if that's true, then there's a lot more about this world that I didn't know. I hate that there are so many secrets. I hate not being able to see the whole picture. I hate being deceived and misled and LIED to.

...But at least she's not lying to me. She's searching for answers too. Different answers, but answers nonetheless.

"Found it!" Karin's voice shrieks from inside the back room. She and Ciara took a break from researching to make and eat dinner, but they've been back at it for hours, going through a small mountain of books.

I step back into the room with an eyebrow raised as Karin slams the book down on the floor, pointing at a page about eighty percent of the way through. "Kazuhiko, Taiyo to Hoshi no Koe!"

"You found him?" Ciara's eyes widen as she puts down her own book and picks up the other, scrutinizing the information carefully. "...It's him, but..." She looks around, staring disbelieving lay at the walls. "If that's accurate, then this shrine is over eight hundred years old."

Suigetsu looks up from his corner, looking more than a little shocked. "There's no way this place is that old. It can't be any older than us, it's too nice!"

"I wouldn't bet on that." She summons a number of other books, flipping through a few pages, before tossing them aside one by one. "My house is over three centuries old, and even abandoned for ten years, it still looked pretty pristine when I went home." Ciara pushes a lock of hair behind her ear, frowning as she focuses on one book in particular. "I did see one ruined temple to Ayumu no Ginku, but considering who it was for, it would have had to be well over a thousand years old, maybe even twice that old."

"Ayumu no Ginku...?" Karin frowns. "I didn't see that name in the book anywhere."

"I'm not surprised. He was one of the dragons. I doubt we were keeping records nearly that far back." Something about the war she says that feels off.

So I cross the room and sit against the wall next to my chokuto. "Who was he?" the name rolls easily off her tongue, it's familiar. Which means that she must know something about him at least.

She glances up at me once, her deep emerald eyes watching me carefully, then softening as something warm flickers through them. "He was one of the four who survived. To answer your question from earlier...yes, the four who founded the clan were survivors from a great war that predates all major human conflicts. According to the old stories, it was after that war that humans finally began to thrive and build nations of their own."

"Four dragons survived the war, to my knowledge, and they found themselves a home in what is now called the Land of Fire. They lived harmoniously together for years, and after a time, took human women as their wives and gave up their immortality to grow old with these women." She glances at Suigetsu, a smirk playing about her lips. "And as some might put it, they started popping out half human and half dragon babies, lots of them."

"See! See! I told you!" Suigetsu points at me, as though expecting me to...what, get up and do something? "You two should just get a room and-"

"Suigetsu!" The last thing I need is him planting ideas.

But it looks like it's too late, because I catch a hint of pink on tanned cheeks. "Alright, I'm going out into the main hall to meditate." She piles up the books into a few stacks and gets to her feet. "Come and get me if it looks like the world is about to end. It seems to like doing that a lot." With a wave of her hand, she disappears through the door, sliding it neatly shut behind her.

I stare at the door, drawing in the silence until Suigetsu opens his mouth again. "Wow. She's definitely nothing like those other girls we see around. Chicks usually fall all over themselves trying to get into your pants, but she fled the room. Fled."

It's an exaggeration, but it still gets on my nerves. "Shut up and go to sleep." In this place, I'm guessing we'll have the luxury of getting a full night's sleep. "I'll keep an eye on things."

"Fine, fine." Suigetsu huffs and lays out his bedroll, plopping himself down on it unceremoniously. "What crawled up your ass and died?"

My glare shot at his back shuts him up in a hurry. Then I glance at Karin, then Jugo, and signal them to get some sleep as well. Best to quiet this place down for now. She'll be able to meditate, and I'll be able to do some research.

As Jugo and Karin turn in for the night, I reach for one of the books Ciara was working on earlier. From what I remember, she mentioned rituals when she was reading this one. I wonder what sort of rituals dragons could have...

It's old. I can tell as much the moment the book is in my hands. The paper is expensive, soft but strong, high quality writing paper. Someone put a lot of effort into making this book... I flip through a few of the pages and skim through what I think is an index, then into the pages of the first few rituals. Most of them mark milestones in growth and development, accomplishments, clan-wide celebrations and the like.

I frown as I flip to page sixty-eight and a few names pop out at me. Ayumu no Ginku is there, and further down the list, I can see Taiyo to Hoshi no Koe sitting next to the name Kazuhiko. Why do some of these names list actual names next to them?

Reading through the exorbitantly long list of names, a pattern starts emerging. If each one of these people are dragons, and they start listing names next to these other...names? Titles? Then it means that every dragon has two names. And some of them are pretty simple, while others are incredibly elaborate. Masahiro, Hideaki, Amaya, Makoto, Naomi, Daisuke... And the last name on that list looks very familiar. Ryouta. And that's where both columns stop and a full page and a half following it are left blank.

The following pages detail a number of steps for naming a dragon, right down to the lighting of candles and incense, ceremonial clothing, the nature of the participants... It's like a damn instruction manual... I can't help but laugh at how thoroughly they seem to write down everything that pops into their heads.

As I turn another page, the door slides open again and Ciara steps back into the room as quietly as a mouse. She blinks in surprise, her eyes falling on me. "You're still awake?" Then her eyes drop to the book in my hands, her surprise growing. "...Oh."

I frown slightly, but she doesn't comment on my choice of reading material at all. Did she expect me not to read her books? It can't be that she doesn't want to share the information. If that were true, she wouldn't have let Karin at her books.

She rolls out her bedroll and fluffs a pillow for it. She glances at me, acutely aware of my gaze. "Shouldn't you be sleeping? I've been out there for three hours."

I hadn't realized that I'd been reading for that long. But I'm halfway through the book, so I suppose I could simply have gotten lost in the visualization of the steps of a few of the rituals. "Hn."

She huffs and rolls her eyes as she pulls a blanket over herself. "Okay. Then I guess you can just read books all night. If you find anything interesting, let me know in the morning, alright?"

"Hn." I flip another page as she settles down, but I look back at her as she closes her eyes, watching as she slowly settles down to sleep.

As my gaze stays trained on her, she opens her eyes hallway, staring back for a moment. Then she smiles softly, her emerald eyes almost sucking me into their depths. Soft pink lips part and exhales a sigh. "Thank you, Sasuke."

Confused, my eyes narrow. But her eyes slide shut and she doesn't see the questioning look I shoot her. ...Thank you for what? I can't think of anything in this moment that would merit thanks.

I roll my eyes as I sort through a couple more pages. Whatever. I'll deal with her later. For now, there's a naming ceremony that's calling for my attention.


Naruto's P.O.V.

"Damn it!" It's been three weeks since she disappeared, and there's still no trace of her anywhere! What the fuck are we doing just sitting around!?

I would be tempted to put my fist through the wall, but this is her house, and it's old...and if I did that, she'd kill me when she gets back. She might still kill me if she finds out that I let everybody in our year set up a home base here while we look for her. Or she might forgive me. I hope it's option two.

"Hey, Naruto?" Sakura pokes her head into the training room, her voice quiet. "...Dinner's ready. Ino and Tenten are setting the table."

"Right..." I scrub my hands over my face frustratedly. We'd turned her house into a headquarters about a week ago so that we could make sure we got all the information we could. And Grandma Tsunade said that there could be people we couldn't trust listening in at her office, so this was the safest place in the village to bring information. "Yeah, let's eat." If Ciara were here, she'd say that I'll do no good to anyone if I don't keep my strength up.

When I look back at her, Sakura smiles. I've noticed that she's got a lot of different smiles. When she's excited, she smiles nice and big, it shows her teeth a bit and her cheeks get a little red and her eyes sparkle like those jade earrings I saw at a festival once.

Her determined smile has a bit of a smirk to it, and her eyes get all sharp and she sees damn near everything. When she's happy, she'll smile brightly, her eyes will light up and she'll tilt her head just a little. It's so cute. Almost as cute as that blushing smile she gets when she's embarrassed. She looks just like an apple then.

But when she's working at the hospital, that determination shines through and the corners of her mouth turn up a little as she tells them that they're gonna be just fine. Unless they're me, then I just get a scolding for doing something stupid and dangerous. That happens a lot.

And then...there's the one she's giving me right now. It's the smile she uses when she's sad, but she wants to be strong anyway. She gets like that when it's hard to smile, but she wants someone else to be happy. It helps a little...it helps take the pain away.

"Come on." She steps fully inside the room and puts her hand on my arm. "We'll find her. We just need a little more information, and then we can go out again. We're all ready to head out as soon as Lady Tsunade comes with word."

"Yeah..." It's true. All of us have our gear ready to go as soon as we get the signal. Everyone's here, even Sai and Captain Yamato. We've got Shino, Hinata, Neji, Kiba and Akamaru, Sai, and Kakashi-Sensei for tracking, Sakura and Ino are on medical duty if she needs it. Shikamaru can do his thing with Akito and Hiro and figure out where she might be and where she might go, but they've been in the library with Neji most of this time. I have no clue what they're looking for, but it had better help find Ciara, or I'm gonna tell them to shove the books up their asses and get started on real work.

Anyway, I'm ready to go whenever we find out something about where she is. Cause I hate to admit it, but Grandma Tsunade is right. Running around like a bunch of chickens isn't gonna help us find her. I just wish sh'd let me back out there to cover everywhere I can reach with my clones. That would get us something and fast.

When we get back to the living room we've been using to eat in, I plop down on one of the couches next to Lee. "So, what's for dinner?"

"I believe they have made us curry!" Lee grins widely. "Just like Grandma Sancho makes."

Grandma Sancho...? I get a sudden sinking feeling in my gut. "Oh no...not that old lady who made the curry that only Ciara can eat?"

"Yes, she makes the Curry of Life!" Lee's smile brightens, then disappears. "But Tenten has made it milder, do not worry. And I'm sure that Ciara will share a meal with us when she returns to the village."

Now that makes me smile. "Yeah, we'll have super spicy curry when she gets back, and everyone's gonna die because she's the only one who can eat that stuff with a straight face and not fall over."

"That would be because she breathes fire, Naruto." Tenten comes in carrying a big pot of curry, followed by Ino with just as much steamed rice. "How she disappeared in the first place is a bit of a mystery considering that she spits fire like those stories about dragons that Sakura keeps telling us."

"Yeah..." And she was with Utakata, so there's no way that they would have gone down easy. The whole place where they fought was wrecked, like a meteorite had hit it. I just can't believe that she's been gone for so long. "Hey Sakura, could you tell us another of the stories that you heard from Tonbei?"

"Hm...alright." She sits down next to me and picks up a plate to load it with rice and curry. "Oh. I think I know one. Tonbei said that this one was a true story, but he didn't tell me when it happened, just that it was after the village was built."

"A true story?" Shikamaru raises an eyebrow as he walks in, hands in his pockets like usual. "Is it story time again?"

"It appears so." Neji walks in behind him,, followed by Hiro, and Akito who still has his nose in a book. "Mind if we join you?"

"Go ahead, the food is on. And Sakura was just about to give us our in-dinner entertainment." Tenten sits on another couch with a plate of curry, and it looks pretty good. Smells better, though.

"Yeah, now let's see..." Sakura takes a bite of her food, letting her fork draw circles in the air. "Way back before any of us were born, there were three Great Ninja Wars. I'm not sure which this story takes place in, but it was probably the first or second. Anyway...it's said that as the hidden villages descended into conflict, the elders of the village and the clan heads of the time went to a holy mountain to petition the dragons for their help in battle. Know as fierce warriors and guardians of their people, they agreed after days of negotiation and persuasion and gathered their followers together for the ensuing battles."

"They had to negotiate?" Chouji frowns through his face full of food. "Why?"

"Because the Shiryugu Clan won't go to war without a cause." Instead of letting Sakura answer the question, Neji goes ahead. "It's written in their codes to never fight meaningless battles. I assume that it is because they numbered only four after a war nearly destroyed them all, and because they have no wish to lose any of their family to violence and bloodshed."

"How do you know that?" I mean, it sounds like something Ciara would say, but how can he be sure that's how they all thought?

Neji smiles softly. "Because it's written in some of the books, and in the hall with the large statues in it. 'War is the measure of the weak. Protection is the duty of the strong.'"

"That's a good saying." Kiba's fangs show when he smiles, and Akamaru yips loudly at Neji. "Akamaru thinks so too."

"Yes, it is a good saying." Sakura laughs and puts her plate down on her lap. "So, when the dragons and their clan moved to join the war, they would split up to different fronts, different fields. It's said that the dragon's never fought together, but instead, they fought with a hand-picked group of guardians who had trained together and with them since birth. A dragon's guardians are picked from their closest family, but they acted like a team or a ninja squad. In that war, there were...seven dragons fighting, and every one of them was accompanied by cousins or siblings or some other family members who would protect them while they fought."

Fighting with your family protecting you sounds nice. Sometimes I wish I knew who my mom and dad were and how they fought, but... I guess that Ciara is close enough to family now, and I know what it's like to fight with her at my side. "That's nice."

Sakura laughs and nods. "Yeah, it is. But during one of the battles, one of the dragons was fighting against forces from the Hidden Stone, and they'd trapped about three dozen of our ninja, including a few members from the Katsuragi Clan, which is how Tonbei knows the story. It looked like the battle was lost until he dropped right into the middle of the battle and roared so loudly that the earth itself shook, and it could be felt in the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and all the way to the Land of Rice Patties. A Dragon of the Earth, they called him, and his name meant Flames of the Scorched Earth.

"But he wasn't alone. One of the kunoichi who was fighting in that battle had no fear of his power, unlike her comrades. She broke through his line of guardians fearlessly and charged the enemy that had surrounded them. The ninjas that day would tell stories of earthquakes and fire that truly did scorch the earth. Her breath raged scarlet and gold, and his was a torrent of pure, shining white flame. For when the two of them blew plumes of fire, the light from them could be seen for miles, and all of the forest around them was reduced to ash and cinders. The enemy ninja who survived the display surrendered."

Ino's eyes widen and she totally forgets her own food. "What happened then?"

"Well...the woman who blew the fire stood before the dragon and said 'That was beautiful fire. Would you teach it to me?' And he said 'It is a gift from my ancestors, and not one that can be taught. But I would not teach it to you.' She was getting angry because she felt like he'd insulted her, but instead, he picked up her hand and kissed it, and said 'For you already breathe fire as beautifully as a dragon, and there is nothing that I could do to add to your skill. Or your beauty.'" Sakura giggles at her own story.

Then, she takes a breath and leans back against the couch, her eyes twinkling with happiness. "They say that her cheeks turned as red as her fire, and that from that day on, she would always be at his side when he went into battle, their trust in each other as important as their strength and support for one another. And years later, after the war was done and they both emerged alive and bonded through the fires of war, they put down their weapons and swore their love to one another in this new time of peace. The feasts that followed were glorious and triumphant, for a dragon had fallen in love and brought the one who held his heart in her hands into his family, and with her, created a new family all their own."

There's a moment of silence, then Hinata pipes up from between Akamaru and Shino. "That was a beautiful story, Sakura. D-do you know what the dragon's name was?"

Sakura shakes her head and sighs. "No. And I think...only one person does."

Silecnes falls again, but this time, I know we're all thinking the same thing. "We're going to get her back." I don't want to keep feeling like there's a huge piece missing from this place. It just feels so quiet without her here. "No matter what it takes, we're going to get her back."

"You are right, Naruto. We will do our very best and Ciara will be returned to us safely." Lee grins at me, sticking his thumb confidently in the air.

"Naruto!" A giant thump and familiar voice interrupts dinner, and a big flash of orange lands right next to the table with the curry pot.

"Gamakichi?" What the hell is he doing here? "Why are you here? Is Pervy Sage back?"

"No, it's Ciara!" And that gets everyone's attention on my toad real fast. "I was following her for a few days after she got out of the Hidden Rain, right into the Land of Rivers. She's there now with four others." Gamakichi holds up his...hand? Paw? Flipper? Ah, whatever, he holds up his fingers, showing the number four. "Last I saw her, she was heading for an old shrine near the border with the Land of Wind. She got attacked by an Akatsuki, but she drove him off and ran in the opposite direction, smart kid."

"Okay, but who's she with?" Sakura's eyebrows scrunch up. She does that when she's worried. "And where's she been all this time?"

Gamakichi grows quiet, then turns his groggy eyes on her. "She was captured and held prisoner by the Akatsuki. She was in rough shape, but she's in recovery now. And she was rescued by..." His eyes flick to me, like my head's a huge fly. "Sasuke Uchiha."

That...was about the last name I was expecting to hear.


Sasuke's P.O.V.

I put down the finished book on ritual and ceremony, my mind whirling with all of the information and possibilities. And here I thought that my clan was secretive. they hid a coup from almost the entire village, but...they've got nothing on these dragons if all of this was just from one little book.

Sighing, I look around at my sleeping team, and at the girl across the fire from me. Just what are you...? I thought that I'd figured her out, but now I've just got more questions, and I don't even know if she has the answers.

I get to my feet and walk silently across the room. She's got more books, so there's no point in just sitting around and wondering. I reach for a book on top of the pile, hesitating when I notice her medical pack slightly open, and another book inside of it. What's that...?

Reaching for it, I pull it out of the bag and sit down with my back to the fire. I flip it open, only to find a picture instead of words. Beautifully painted and completely life-like, the man and woman in the picture are so...familiar somehow, though I certainly don't recognize the baby. Who are they...?

At the bottom of the page, there's an inscription. Lord Daisuke Shiryugu, Lady Akane Shiryugu, and their firstborn son, Eiji Shiryugu. Akane...as in Uchiha? That...would explain her dark hair and dark eyes. She looks a bit like mother, but...there's a soft curl to her hair that Mother never had.

I flip to the next page and see them again, Daisuke and Akane. But this time, Daisuke holds a young boy in his arms, and Akane holds another baby. Daisuke... Akane... Eiji... and Miko, firstborn daughter. The next page is similar, a portrait of Daisuke and Akane with Eiji and Miko, both of them resembling Akane more than Daisuke. This time, the baby in her arms is labeled as Yukio, their second son.

It's the fifth picture that draws all of my attention. With an almost teenaged Eiji, and preteen Miko and Yukio. The baby this time is. Miyako, their youngest daughter. But the third son is the one who I swear I've seen before. And I know just where I've seen the image of this five-year-old before. That's...Ciara's face. He looks so much like the little girl who was dropped into our academy class ten years ago. He's got her eyes, clearly, the dark forest green that would become the emerald eyes that have been staring at me a lot over the last few days.

I glance at her, understanding dawning on me. This is a family photo album... She must keep it with her so that she has images of her family close by if she wants to see them. I...have nothing like that, because most of the pictures of my family included Itachi. And until recently...

It's not something I want to think about, so I turn my eyes back on the book, flipping through images of their childhoods. There's a lot of care that went into these pictures, even as they start to shift from life-like paintings to actual photographs.

The pictures of a young Ryouta are...they make it easy to see where she gets her looks from. If she suddenly transformed into a boy, this is what she would look like, I know it.

A picture of her as a baby catches my attention, and the expressions on her parents' faces... I glance at her again. They obviously loved you and gave you all the attention in the world. I'm not sure if I should envy her for the bond she had with them, or be grateful that my own father was so distant from me that his loss didn't hurt quite so badly. Mother's did. And Itachi...

Her necklace catches my attention next, slipping out of her shirt and into view. It's Itachi's. ...She must have taken it when he died. I know that I should probably be angry that she took something of his without permission but...somehow I just can't bring myself to hate her for it. It just feels...right for it to be there, like there's still a little piece of him alive inside of her.

My heart nearly stops when I look back at the photo album and turn the page. there, staring at me from the pages of this little book is a three-year-old Ciara, riding happily on Itachi's back. I remember my brother growing cold and distant over time, and the last time I saw him alive, it was like all of the life was bleeding out of him. But here, in this photo, holding Ciara and laughing next to Shisui...I know that my memories of him are riddled with resentment, since he stopped paying much attention to me, and then left me alone. But here, in this picture...I see the brother that I remember best, the one who lived and laughed and loved me. And...clearly loved her as well.

A staggered breath next to me breaks the quiet of the night, barely audible over the crackling of the flames. But as I look down at Ciara one more time, I notice the tears trickling down her face, glimmering in the light of the fire. "Ch-Chi-Chi. Don't-" She gasps again, a soft, heartbroken sound as her hand reaches out and tries to grab nothing but air. "Don't go..."

She's having a nightmare. I wonder just how many nightmares she's had since her family died. More than she can count, I'd bet. I would know...I've had them too. They don't come as often now, but with Itachi's death so fresh...

Before I even know what I'm doing, I place a hand on her head and run my fingers through her hair, brushing it away as it falls into her face. Looks like she still loves you, Aniki...

"Chi-Chi..." She twitches under my fingers, slowly relaxing under the touch and pressing into it. "...Back..." She must be dreaming of Itachi now... A dream is definitely better than a nightmare, it hurts less when you wake up. But I wish she wouldn't confuse me with Itachi. I was compared to him enough when I was a kid.

But when she shifts again and presses the top of her head against my thigh, she smiles faintly, the tears drying slowly across the bridge of her nose. "Sasuke...missed you..."

I freeze, wondering for a moment if she's gone and woken up, but she doesn't say anything more, and her breathing only slows down again, calming and stabilizing. I sigh and watch her as she drifts back into a deep sleep, my fingers working through her soft hair. So...even in her sleep, she knows the difference between us. And for just a short while, I can't help but smile. And I turn my eyes to the photo album, flipping through a few more pages filled with her and Itachi and Shisui, her cousins, her aunts and uncles. Photo after photo of her being played with, hugged, cuddled, snuggled, carried, and pampered. She looks so happy, so ready to smile.

I wonder if she'll ever smile like that again...