AN: It's been forever and a half, I know. But these last few weeks have been a major pain for me because of a wedding I'm expected to go to and also because school starts up again soon. So patience, okay?
This is mostly a filler chapter but with a lot of important pieces to the unraveling of future plots.
---

For the Love of my Friends
Chapter Fifty: Spies and Monsters
by Foxie

---

Naruto and Gaara were not the only ones up late that night. Surrounded by crumbled up pieces of paper, half opened scrolls, and a book or two, a hunched over figure scribbled something down on a piece of paper before making a crude noise and crumbling it up into a ball, tossing it somewhere over his shoulder.

Normally such a task (that, for some reason, he immersed himself in with such diligence and patience that most would believe he was delirious because of a fever of some sort) would be deemed troublesome and steered clear from.

But this task of researching, strategising, and pretty much trying to figure out what the hell was going on wasn't just an average task that Shikamaru could blow off in favor of more interesting pursuits. It could mean the future of Konoha as a whole, and that's why Shikamaru took it very seriously.

He was willing to ignore the fact that, had he known how much trouble it was going to cause him beforehand, he would have told Naruto to keep his knowledge to himself, for pity's sake. Even though he found himself idly cursing Naruto for dragging him into this mess, he couldn't find it in his heart to get mad at the blond at all.

What little he had been able to read between the lines from the sparse amounts of information he had been given was that the future had scarred Naruto in more ways than one. That, in Shikamaru's mind, was the only explanation for the brief looks of anguish or pain that would pass through Naruto's eyes before disappearing under a dull sheen of indifference.

Mildly annoyed at the other boy for trying so damn hard to hide his emotions, Shikamaru realized that the boy's stupid grin did a better job of hiding his negative emotions than his poor imitation of Sasuke's stoic stare. Shikamaru tensed a little, frowning to himself as he wondered just when he had realized that smile was a mask as well.

Stretching his sore back and abandoning his musings over the strange boy, Shikamaru leafed through one of the books, his face marred by a frown as he glanced through some of the many theories of time traveling. He no longer questioned that Naruto was from the future (he predicted too many things that came true and Shikamaru knew he wasn't a Yamanaka, despite their uncannily similar looks), but he wanted some sort of concrete fact to explain how he got to the past.

Of course, with time, nothing was concrete. All Shikamaru got in return for his diligent research was theories, paradoxes, and even some writers insisting that time traveling was impossible. Half of the theories offered up were so mind boggling that even he, with his exceptionally high IQ, had to read it twice before it made some marginal sense.

After reading a theory that carefully explained how the universe would implode if someone messed with the time stream, he tossed the book aside, an action that the stern librarian who had gave it to him would have gasped in horror at. Lovely, he thought with a sneer as he threw it. In an attempt to save the world, he would destroy everything. The greatest cosmic irony...

The motion, however, let a loose piece of paper slip out of the book and into his lap. Shikamaru looked down indifferently. It had nothing to do with time traveling at all. It was just the symbol of yin and yang. The balance of the world so easily illustrated in a single circle.

As he stared at the symbol, the white and black halves lazily twisting in his half asleep mind, his thoughts grounded to a halt. His vision became hazy, his mind perfectly blank.. and then it suddenly clicked.

It made sense now. He sat very still as the possibilities ran through his mind, frozen in the horror of what could have happened and also in fear of loosing what little understanding he had of the situation.

It makes sense. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered exactly how it made sense, but he doggedly held onto his realizations, almost convinced that it was some sort of otherworldly knowledge slipped in his mind because he, a mere pawn in this game of chess, was taking too long to make his move.

Suddenly, at the sound of a clap of hooves somewhere outside, he lunged forward, writing quickly on a new piece of paper, trying to put into words the idea that had sprung in his mind and deciding not to question it, at least not until it reached the right sources.

He didn't get any sleep that night.

----

When Gaara finally got back to the rooms reserved for him, his siblings, and other various sand nins, he was greeted by a worried Temari who, judging by the rumpled state of her clothing and her lengthy yawns, had sat up and waited for Gaara's return the entire time.

She never fussed over him in an obvious way, but Gaara could tell she was worried by the way she looked him over critically. He could never figure out, however, whether she was looking for someone else's blood or for his own injuries. But he would never ask. It made no difference in the long run.

"It makes all the difference in the world, Gaara!" Naruto's angry voice hissed in his mind and, once again, Gaara felt a little bewildered. Not a feeling that he was very fond of.

But, then again, it had been the first time ever that such pure anger had been displayed towards him without a single drop of hate. From Gaara's experience, anger and hate usually went hand in hand with fear hanging around as the awkward but necessary third wheel.

Gaara sneered. He didn't even think Naruto was capable of fear and not because of any sort of power on his end. Most likely misplaced confidence and foolish bravery made him able to stand toe to toe with Gaara and make him back off. Yes, that had to be it. Naruto simply could not be stronger than Gaara. It was a foolish notion.

"Your neck is red." Temari stated, reflexively reaching towards him. There was concern in her dark eyes. A cold glance in her direction made the hand curl and return to her side. Satisfied with her retreat, Gaara moved to slide open the door to his room.

A bold question made him pause. "Where were you?" she asked, her fingers twitching nervously. He didn't need to look at her to know that she had that tense look on her face, a look that she had been wearing more and more frequently and especially with him. He turned around, his eyes unreadable, a cold retort about to slip out of his mouth before he remembered Naruto's words with disturbing clarity.

"I bet that all of Suna would want to know that their Kage is dead, Gaara. Just 'cause you don't give a shit doesn't mean that they won't either." The boy's half angry words floated through his mind.

Oddly enough, the only time where Naruto seemed extremely angry had been the times where Gaara insisted that nothing he could do would change anything. Gaara could only imagine that the blond hated the idea of not being able to have an effect on the world. Gaara just couldn't bring himself to care.

In a moment of curiosity (and perhaps a bit of weakness), he decided to test the other demon host's theory. But he wouldn't make it easy for Temari. If she was going to be dumb or stubborn about it, she was not worth him spreading the knowledge. Let Suna burn to the ground, for all he cared.

"Have you noticed how odd the Kazekage is acting recently?" he asked, almost a little reluctantly. Temari noticed, but was surprised that their father was a topic that Gaara would willingly bring up without the phrase 'I will kill' being tagged in front of it. When Gaara's eyes narrowed, she realized that he wanted an answer.

"Uh, yes!" she stumbled eloquently, then paused to think. Actually, the Kazekage had been acting odd as of recently. Sure, their father had rambled on and on in the past about showing Konoha which village was stronger, but she had never pegged him as someone who would go through with his ambitions.

This was especially clear where Gaara was concerned. When the Kazekage had been so firm and cold about his ambition to make his child a killing machine, even at the expense of his wife's life, he had faltered when he had seen the results and attempted to destroy his creation. And then he stopped trying to take Gaara's life after Yashamaru got himself killed.

Inconsistent. Temari had thought many times before, but kept her opinion to herself. She was glad he was, however. As scary as Gaara was, the last thing she wanted was for him to die. He was her brother, after all.

But recently, the Kazekage had focused on this goal of destroying Konoha with almost frightening intensity. That's it. She thought with a frown. Destroying it. The man she knew wanted to bring Konoha down to it's knees then flaunt Suna's power in Konoha's face. The man she was taking orders from now wanted to destroy the very foundations of Konoha.

"He.. has been acting weird, hasn't he?" Temari tentatively sounded out, her eyes flitting around nervously, as if she expected someone to hear the mutinous words and punish her for them. But only Gaara stood there, looking faintly annoyed at her for essentially repeating what he said.

For once, Temari didn't back away at the faintly murderous look in his eyes. She was too distracted by her own thoughts. She looked at her brother, wondering if this was some elaborate ploy to prove her dishonesty but even as that thought ran through her head, she immediately dismissed it.

Temari trusted him not to be a spy to sniff out traitors or to deliberately try and get her to say something to get her killed. It wasn't because of any sisterly faith. It was because she knew that those tactics were too underhand for her little brother. If he wanted her dead, he would kill her himself.

Knowing this, she leaned forward, eager to share her opinion with someone who wouldn't turn her in. "His actions are much different nowadays than what I would have based on what I know of him in the past. His whole attitude has changed. He's become.. firmer. More ambitious. And.. it's scary, I think." she paused, placing a hand on her hip. It was always startling how someone so much shorter than her could be so terrifying but for once, she didn't feel fear towards Gaara.

For once, she felt something was connecting them, something more than blood, but so brief and precious that she didn't want to let do. It was almost like they were comrades, both seeing the same things, sharing the same opinions. But Gaara didn't share his opinion lightly nor was willing to listen to others so Temari made sure he heard hers while he was still in the mood to.

"I think he's not.. the person he used to be." she said slowly. Gaara gave her a 'no duh' look. Temari started to explain why before all of her thought processes halted with a fleeting idea. The nervous expression on her face changed to one of horror. Gaara's turned curious and he watched her carefully.

Temari bit her lip and looked down at her feet. She had a horrible thought. What if the Kazekage wasn't just being weird? What if the Kazekage.. wasn't really the Kazekage? It would be the perfect explanation for all the changes.. but the consequences of it being true were too horrible to think about for Suna, let alone the fate of her father. She tentatively started to feel out a plan in her mind.

She had to make sure that the change was just a phase her father was going through. Temari hoped that it was just that, but with reasonable doubt still lingering, it was her duty as a sister and a ninja to find out. What if he was an imposter in disguise? That would be very very bad for Suna, especially in the midst of a surprise attack on a powerful village. She had to make sure that he was her father and no one else. She would face him tomorrow, armed with the knowledge she had obtained of his quirks through the years.

If he wasn't really her father.. she faltered. What could she possibly do but pass the knowledge on and hope for the best? Before she could even think about telling Kankurou, let alone Baki, she had to be a hundred percent sure that he wasn't the Kazekage before trying to denounce his name. The Kazekage wasn't forgiving to traitors. She tried not to think about how the imposter wouldn't like to be betrayed either.

Gaara looked at her, a slight frown on his face as his hand lingered on his door. His eyes were dark and sharp, but then again, they always were. Other than that, Temari couldn't read the expression on his face. The only time she could was when he started acting psychotic but that was definitely a time she wanted to get away from him as soon as possible.

Inwardly, Gaara was slightly impressed. He could tell by her facial expressions what she was thinking and he had no doubt that she had fit everything together to get the end result that he hadn't told her purposely. She wasn't stupid. Knowing her, she would most likely want to do something about it.

He turned back to his room sharply, startling a still thinking Temari. He slid open the door, then paused in the threshold. Temari held her breath, knowing he had something else to say.

"If you get caught, sister, I will immediately kill you myself." He stepped over the threshold and slid the door behind him, leaving a confused Temari to stare in silence as she sluggishly translated the initially threatening words into the meaning Gaara wanted to get across.

Oddly enough, Temari felt better. If she did get caught, she'd be spared the torture and interrogation because her brother promised to kill her. It was the only act of mercy that Gaara probably knew.

---

The next day was oddly bright and cheery considering the events that occurred late last night. It was so bright and cheery that Naruto, Gaara, Shikamaru, and Temari were all equally irritable, though for different reasons.

Naruto was exhausted, mentally and physically. After Gaara left, he was plagued with nightmare after nightmare before he woke up and, after tripping over the sheets he had kicked off the bed (a rather painful meeting with the hard floor woke Naruto up instantly), he realized exactly what he had done to the sand nin. He immediately began to berate himself for his complete lack of tact.

While Kyuubi unhelpfully blamed Naruto's aggressiveness on his generally cranky attitude when woken up at a bad time as well as Gaara's obvious attempts to piss Naruto off, Naruto worried about what his actions could have done. His behavior last night probably seemed like a challenge to Gaara and he knew all too well how Gaara never backed down from a challenge.

Dammit! He cursed to himself, punching the wall in irritation. His loss of temper did little more than pissing him off further. Naruto now was mad at himself for provoking Gaara, putting a hole in the wall, and for breaking three of the bones in his hand. Equally irritated at the blond, Kyuubi didn't heal or numb the injury at all. Naruto, in an oddly sadistic way, was grateful for the pain. It reminded him of how much of an idiot he was being.

Gaara was, as usual, slightly homicidal but his thoughts, contrary to Naruto's terrified belief, were far away from the other demon host. He was, instead, occupied with trying to keep down his own demon. Shukaku wanted blood and Gaara said no. That led to a huge conflict and it took every ounce of Gaara's control to suppress Shukaku.

He still remembered Naruto's 'condition' for fighting him, even though Naruto himself hadn't realized how it had made an impact on him. If Naruto said no killing, then fine, he could deal with that. What he wanted more than blood was to fight Naruto. Shukaku just didn't understand.

He still couldn't sort out exactly how he had felt when Naruto had overpowered him. He was certain that, being only half awake, the blond's guard would be fully down, leaving him completely vulnerable. He hadn't expected Naruto to be so damn strong and (unrestrained? Was that what it was?) almost terrifying.

Never poke a sleeping fox in the eye. He thought to himself. His neck still ached from the brutal hold. He wondered, with that shudder of suppressed fear, if Naruto could have crushed his windpipe if Gaara had prodded and pissed him off just a little bit more. It was a sobering and terrifying thought all at once.

Shikamaru hadn't slept at all. He had taken a very brief nap during breakfast, much to his father's amusement, but his mother had woken him up when his head sunk into the rice. Surprisingly, his normally overbearing mother offered to let him sleep in for a few more hours, thinking that his exhaustion was because of the training he had been going through for the last month.

But Shikamaru declined sadly, knowing he had business to take care of that day. He couldn't slack off, no matter how troublesome his predicament was. Shikamaru could live without a little sleep.

When his mother heard him say that, tears gathered at the corners of her eyes and she had hugged him tightly, saying something or other about how proud she was of him. Instead of annoying him, the affection made him very solemn, reminding him of his purpose. This was what he needed to protect. This was what he needed to help defend in the dark days ahead. He missed the look of concern that his father shot him over his cup of tea.

Temari was alert but her hands were shaking. She had overindulged in caffeine while trying to mentally figure out a plan how to get close enough to the Kazekage to find out if her hunch was right. She didn't dare put it down on paper, knowing that either one of her own or one of those annoying sound nins they were allied with would catch her and get her in a lot of trouble.

She had several ideas but one seemed just as bad at the other. Temari couldn't get past the idea that the Kazekage would catch her in the act and that was effecting her deeply to the point where she couldn't think straight. Her temper, naturally, was also affected. She scared off Kankurou within minutes that morning and it was a good thing Gaara wasn't around or she might have said something to him that could have gotten her killed.

In the end, she had told one of the Kazekage's assistants, an odd man she found herself not recognizing (odd, since Suna was so small and everyone knew each other) that their team was a little confused as to what their roles in the invasion was and that she wished to clarify that with him. It was a reasonable request and the man came back immediately and gave her a time to see her father. This, instead of soothing her nerves, did not help her anxiety. She almost wished he had said no.

However different the four's reasons were for being irritable that fine morning, any and all who dared to greet them regretted it immediately. None of them were very sociable at all and Gaara wasn't the only one giving people murderous looks.

----

"Dammit, Naruto!" a loud voice echoed throughout the training area. "I just asked you a question! Don't be such a crab!" Kiba pointed at the apathetic blond, his face red in anger. "Why are you being such an asshole?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I don't know, why are you such an idiot?" he hissed underneath his breath. Though the others had a hard time hearing what he said, Kiba heard him perfectly.

"Oh, you've done it now, chibi boy." the admittedly taller genin said, rolling up his sleeves. Akamaru hovered awkwardly in the sidelines next to Shino, unsure whether to go to Kiba and help him fight or just watch the show. "Those are fighting words!" Shino sighed, glad that Hinata wasn't around. She shouldn't have to be exposed to this level of immaturity.

Sasuke leaned against a tree with a concealed yawn. "Wake me up after Kiba gets his ass handed to him." he muttered to Sakura, who looked like she was on the verge of stepping between Kiba and Naruto. Kiba heard Sasuke's comment and growled but Naruto let out a bitter laugh, interrupting what Kiba was going to say to the Uchiha.

Naruto's eyes positively glowed. "Come on mutt boy." he said softly. "I dare you."

Kiba smirked, ignoring the instinctive desire to back down. Naruto was not in a good mood and that could only mean trouble. "I'm not one to back down from a dare." he said dangerously before lunging at Naruto. Before the taller boy could reach Naruto, the boy abruptly disappeared from view behind a flak covered back. Kiba slid to an awkward stop, not wanting to be accused of attacking a teacher.

"Hm, I seem to sense a bit of a pattern here." Kakashi tilted his head back to glance at Kiba before returning his gaze to his student. "Do you realize that this could disqualify you for the exam? Fighting with your fellow genins right before your match?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Kiba doesn't count. He's not in the finals." he said blandly. Kiba flushed red when he remembered exactly who had kept him out of the finals. Sakura grinned at him shamelessly, sticking her tongue out. Kiba scowled at her. "Me and Sasuke weren't fighting yesterday either. We were training."

"I find that hard to believe." Kakashi said lightly. "It's public knowledge that you two are rivals..."

"It's true, Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke straightened and walked away from his tree. His face was a careful mask of boredom. "We were training together, and have been doing so long before this exam." He stuck his hands in his pockets with a shrug. "He's taught me more about taijutsu than you and Iruka-sensei combined."Kakashi's exposed eye widened. "Is that so.." he murmured to himself. He hadn't focused on taijutsu with Sasuke as much as he had made the boy drastically improve his speed. He believed that the only chance Sasuke had to win against Lee was to exploit the boy's weakness in ninjutsu and genjutsu, though Sasuke would definitely need the speed to dodge Lee's attacks.

Sasuke needed to be fast enough to react to what he could see happening with his sharingan and fast enough so that he could do more than just defend, but Kakashi wasn't sure if Sasuke was ready yet. He had exposed him to some fast paced fighting s few days earlier to test his speed, only to be shocked at the highly advanced taijutsu that the Uchiha would use in defense. He had chalked it up to the boy being exceptionally skilled at learning these things himself but it turned out he had another teacher.

Naturally, such learned skill would have to have come from a learned instructor (he decided to brush off the knowledge that he had only seen Naruto perform only the most basic taijutsu, knowing that the genin had a habit of hiding things) and he turned, wanting to ask how the blond had known these things to start with."Naruto-"

Naruto was gone. Kakashi frowned, wondering why Naruto always seemed to disappear right when he wanted to get some answers.

"Leave him alone, sensei." Sasuke spoke up once more. "He's stressed out. You know Naruto."

Sakura piped up with a bright smile. "He hates waiting. He'd rather fight right now and get it over with. He's very impatient." She had no idea how right she was.

"Hm.." Shino nodded once and turned away. "If Naruto's impatient to fight, then Kiba's an idiot for picking a fight."

Kiba rounded on his team mate. "Hey!" he shouted, pointing a finger at the stoic boy's back. "Whose side are you on!"

Shino looked at his team mate for a moment before directing his gaze down to the dog by his side. "Let's go, Akamaru." Shino said instead. The bug user and the dog walked off quietly, an annoyed Kiba at their heels.

Kakashi frowned, not hearing the background noise of Kiba and Shino bickering. He was staring at the spot where his most unusual student had been standing. Why are you avoiding me, Naruto?

----

He knelt in the grass, the heat from the sun warming up his back better than any blanket. Had it been any other situation, any other person, any other place, it would have almost been peaceful.

Instead of relaxation, it was battle for dominance. Gaara gripped his head between his hands, willing away Shukaku's voice. He pushed down the youki as much as he could, trying to regain control but Shukaku was being unusually persistent for a tanuki with a short attention span.

Just let me kill one little girly, who would notice? Take a nibble off of one of the more whiny of brats... Shukaku demanded, sounded a little whiny himself. Hell, let me rip into a bunny and I'll be happy!

No. Gaara put all his will behind the word. Naruto said he wasn't going to fight me if I kill someone. Gaara, for some reason, had completely twisted Naruto's words. Perhaps a small part of him that was still capable of guilt and of mercy was responsible for it. If that's what it takes-

Ack, I don't get you! Blood is blood, and I want it NOW! Shukaku screeched. Gaara flinched and curled in on himself. First you don't want to kill, then you'll be promoting some sort of 'save the trees' foundation like a good samaritan! I don't want to be in a peace loving brat! Shukaku smashed youki against Gaara's will, trying to take over.

I never said I wasn't going to kill. Gaara snapped out. He tried not to think how much the thought of killing for sport made him feel a little nauseous. Had a month and a half without death or blood reverted him back into a human being? If Gaara had a sense of humor, he would have laughed at the thought. I just said not now. After I kill Naruto- Shukaku laughed.

That Kyuubi won't let the brat die so easily, you know! He's a tenacious bastard and so is his host! Apparently, Shukaku hadn't been too pleased to note that Naruto not only was capable of getting past Gaara's defenses, but also could be provoked enough to kill him, in the right circumstances. Gaara himself was rather indifferent to it all. The idea that he could die didn't bother him (what did he have to lose?) but the thrill of his self preservation instincts going haywire over Naruto's brief show of killer intent made him feel more alive than he had ever felt in years.

And, really, that was all that mattered to him. In the hollow shell of life where he felt more dead than alive, he killed to prove his existence, to make everyone acknowledge his presence. But even that was loosing its glamor. People were getting used it. And, to top it off, Gaara found himself more and more disgusted with his prey the stronger he got. What was the point of wasting any energy on those weaklings? Even just the energy to wipe their existence off of the face of the earth?

But Naruto... he was different. He acknowledged Gaara. He had strength inside of him that rivaled his own. He was even a demon host, just like Gaara. But even in their similarities, there were many differences. Naruto was his opposite in every way. The other side of the coin, the good to his evil. And, just like all opposites, neither could survive while the other lingered.

Gaara's eyes closed a fraction, a briefly cold smile curving his lips as he thought about the inevitable battle between the two demon hosts. He shook his head lightly, turning back to his conversation with his irate demon. Isn't that the point? He said, almost tiredly. He was exhausted suddenly, all at once feeling as if he was much much older than he truly was. Whether it was because of his whiny demon or because of his unsatisfying life, even he wasn't sure.

Point? Shukaku pulled back a little, a little curious as to what his antisocial host was thinking. Sensing a way to keep the demon from lashing out, Gaara tried to explain.

Aren't you... bored? Gaara asked, surprised to find out that he, at least, was willing to admit it to another. But who would Shukaku tell? His confidence was boosted by this and he explained a little further. Of all these easy kills? Don't you want... a challenge?

Death and blood are all the same. Shukaku insisted, but there was a bit of reluctance in the demon's voice. No matter where they come from. Gaara realized that Shukaku, though a little irritated by Naruto, couldn't care less about a fight with him. Humans were humans. Death was death. But challenges were different.

"Wouldn't you love to best Kyuubi?" Gaara whispered, unaware that he had spoken out loud. There was a shifting feeling near the back of his mind and he just knew that Shukaku was going to rant about blood again but the tanuki paused, thinking a little.

Gaara felt the demon's curiosity and smirked. Naruto is my challenge, and Kyuubi will be yours. He prodded further. Shukaku, after a moment's deliberation, grinned evilly. The demon made no attempt to hide his bloody fantasies of ripping into Kyuubi.

In response to the blood lust, Gaara only closed his eyes, glad that he had won the verbal battle this time.

----

Temari never was the type of girl to wear her heart on her sleeve, nor was she the type to admit her weaknesses. She was strong and confident in the eyes of all and she wanted to keep it that way.

But if anyone was to ask her what was wrong right at that moment, she would admit without hesitation that she was scared. But who wouldn't be? She was on her own self-assigned undercover mission to find out whether her father was really her father. And the worst part of it was that she didn't know who would, if properly provoked, would kill her faster, her father or the would be fake Kazekage.

But, nonetheless, she brushed a hand over her hair, took a deep breath, and walked into the room that the Kazekage was staying in. She managed a smile when he turned away from his scrolls to look at her.

Oddly enough, he hadn't discarded the kage robes he was wearing, even though Temari heard him time and time again complain how uncomfortable it was in the overbearing heat. But they were in Konoha and she supposed that he would make an exception, since the temperatures were fairly cool when compared to the desert. He also did have the habit of wearing it whenever he felt he was going to have an important meeting and he wished to impress. So she let it slide.

"Good morning, Kazekage-sama." she said formally. Over the partial face mask, her father's dark eyes narrowed. The girl held herself rigidly until the look in the man's eyes relaxed.

"Ah, Temari." he said quietly, after a moment. Temari ignored the little voice in her head that asked why it had taken a full minute for him to remember her name. "And what brings you here?"

She bowed quickly. "Forgive me for intruding but Kankurou and I were wondering what the exact details of our mission." She kept it as vague as possible, knowing that there could be spies about. "At least regarding what needs to be done with Gaara." Perfect excuse. Even a spy who knew nothing would know that Gaara was a dangerous person who needed to be handled carefully.

She laughed inwardly, a little hysteric. The person in front of her could very well be a spy as well. But what was the point of spying on a village when you had the top seat? The Kazekage shifted so he could look at her better. Temari tensed under the sudden scrutiny.

"Isn't that something you should be asking Baki?" he said, his eyes narrowing further. Temari guessed her nervous laugh and blush were mistaken for embarrassment instead of anxiety because he continued. "You are to hold back Gaara until the time comes to Shukaku to be unleashed." He turned away, a silent gesture that meant that he was done with her.

Temari, however, lingered. Her mission wasn't complete! "Uh.. K-Kazekage-sama!" she blurted out. He turned slightly, glancing back at her in annoyance. With the slight twist of his shoulders, Temari could now see that he was writing in the scroll... with the wrong hand. Her father was right handed, not left handed.

Strike one. She thought, biting her lip nervously. Though it could be very likely that her father was ambidextrous, it didn't change the fact that he, in all her memories of him, used his right hand to write. She hesitated on using that as evidence, but decided, if he really was her father, one little strike wouldn't matter.

Temari smiled nervously. "I didn't mean that, Kazekage-sama." she said, getting her anxiety under control. "I heard that you changed the time of attack. Instead of during the fight with the Uchiha boy, you plan to stage it.. later?"

"Are you questioning me, Temari?" the Kazekage asked mildly, no hint of a threat in his voice. But Temari knew better than that. Somethings didn't needed to be hinted at in order to be heard.

"No, no! Of course not..." she spoke up immediately, putting her hands up in defense. "I just don't think Gaara can control his blood lust for that long."

"He will, if he keeps his eye on the prize." the Kazekage turned back to his scroll. "His prize, naturally, being the death of Uzumaki Naruto."

"Who?" Temari blinked twice. Of all the people that she would have thought of that Gaara wanted to fight, Uchiha Sasuke came first. He was everything that Gaara despised. He was loved, had friends, he was acknowledged, and the little brat knew it.

The Kazekage twitched in annoyance. "Uzumaki Naruto." he repeated. He glanced over again, a faint look of amusement in his eyes when he revealed the next bit of information. "He's a demon host."

Temari sucked in a breath. "A demon host? In Konoha?" It made sense why Gaara would want to fight Naruto, then. Killing this Naruto would be bigger 'proof of his existence' than killing Sasuke.

"Your brother wants nothing more than to kill him." the Kazekage said lightly. "Who am I to stand in the way of a monster?" There was cruel humor in his voice.

Temari's eyes sharpened, reminded of her duty at the word 'brother'. Strike two. She thought sadly. Her father never acknowledged that Gaara was a part of their family. It was either a slip of the tongue or... she swallowed, one last idea to try.

Temari pasted on the brightest smile she could manage. Since she was a ninja, it came out looking pretty honest. "I'm sorry if I'm annoying you with all these questions." she said warmly. "I'm nervous." she dropped her eyes to the ground, a faint flush on her face. "I only wish to please you.. Father." She held her breath, peeking a glance at the Kazekage through her lashes. He had an uncomfortable look on his face.

Before she could glance at it closer, it was gone. He stood slowly, the motion making Temari tense. This is it, moment of truth. She thought, preparing herself for a punishment. Her father never acknowledged that they were related either, not when he was in full Kazekage mode and only very rarely when he was in casual clothing. As much as Gaara had been a disappointment to him, she and Kankurou were sometimes viewed even worse. The only thing they had going for them is that their father would never call them a monster.

A heavy hand dropped on her bowed head, making her look up. Her eyes widened at the sight of her father close up. He almost looked like he was smiling, though it was hard to tell past the cloth. Temari felt a sick feeling at the pit of her stomach. Dread from being punished suddenly changed to a horrified dread of knowing something that, now that you know it, you wish you never did.

"Everything will go as according to plan, Temari." he said kindly, the tone making Temari twitch. "Follow my lead and everything will be alright."

You.. you son of a bitch. Temari thought, gritting her teeth inwardly. She now knew. There were too many things, too many pieces of evidence. Alone, they meant nothing, but together... Where the hell is my father! What have you done with him!

That was the fake's mistake. Their family wasn't conventional. The only relatives she had some sort of relationship with was her brother. Her father was barely her father, too tied to his duties as Kazekage to bother with the son whose life he had screwed up, let alone his other two kids.

It didn't change the fact that she was raging inside, angry at the fake for trying to take his place. Bastard or not, Temari's father was Temari's father. She loved him the same way she loved Gaara. Hopeless family love that barely held on by the skin of its teeth through their family's darkest moments, but love all the same.

Outwardly, she smiled again. "Of course." she said, her voice sickeningly sweet. "I am at your command." She ducked from underneath his hand, bowed once, and left. She quickly made plans to spread the news. Someone else higher than her, Baki maybe, had to make sure that the whole invasion was turned around. Why risk the ire of Konoha when their 'all powerful' Kazekage was a fake? She walked quickly, her mind whirling with possibilities, plots, and an undercurrent of unavoidable fear.

"Hm..." Back in the room, the man in the Kazekage robes tapped his cheek. "You." A sound nin popped out of the shadows.

"Yes?" he said, alert and ready for a mission.

"There was something odd about that conversation, wasn't there?" the man asked, but didn't wait for a reply. "Follow her."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

----

Though her walk had done wonders for calming her rage, Temari was still furious, for two very important reasons. One was, obviously, that someone was pretending to be her father. Even though he wouldn't have received any awards for parenting, he was still her father. The fact that she knew that the present Kazekage was a fake meant that there was a high possibility that her father was dead. The second had less to do with grief and more with pride.

Who did they take her for anyway? She gritted her teeth. Someone was following her. She was a sand nin, not a child! They thought she wouldn't notice. Her hand clenched into a fist as she glanced over her shoulder at the ninja shadowing her footsteps.

One of the things that Temari took much pride in was that, though they didn't have as many ninjas as Konoha, each and every sand nin was powerful in their own right. Temari herself was strong enough to be a chuunin. It often made her laugh to see the Konoha genins still acting like they were fresh from the nursery.

She would not be insulted with that ninja's utter lack of stealth! Just because she couldn't see him or hear him didn't mean she couldn't feel him! She whipped around, about to charge up the side of the building and show that damn stalker who the real ninja was, subtlety and tact be damned-

But a pair of sharp blue eyes made her falter. Actually, it was more the fact that a tiny genin had been standing behind her the whole time and, when she had turned, was almost tripped because he stood so close.

I didn't... he wasn't... Temari stared into the familiar face. She hadn't felt his chakra, heard his breath, or anything! The only time she had a hint of his presence was when she almost stepped on him! She gathered her thoughts and straightened. Now that is stealth. Her opinion of Konoha ninjas raised a notch.

He spoke first. "Temari, you know you're being followed, right?" he asked nonchalantly. Even as she struggled to put a name to his face, she still found the time to get annoyed. At least her stalker was too far away to hear the conversation.

"Of course! Who do you take me for?" she snapped. Even though she was aware of the dangers of lip reading, she found herself more unnerved by the blond she was talking to than the ninja who was following her. How did he know her name? "One of your Academy students?"

For a second, there was no reaction on the blond's face. And then, suddenly and without warning, he grinned. "Of course not." he said lightly. All the tension rushed out of his shoulders and he positively beamed at her. Temari was thrown off balance. "...Even though you did get your ass kicked by Hinata-chan..."

A vein throbbed in Temari's forehead. She didn't think twice about nailing the blond in the head with her fist. The cry of pain was well worth it. "Evil brat..." She continued to walk away, twitching when she heard the blond (whose footsteps were now audible, the jerk) hurry to catch up.

"Temari!" he whined. It was rather unfortunate that the tiny blond whined so well. "Don't ya want my expert help?"

"At what?" she growled. "Being an idiot?" She looked at him, disturbed to see how bright and happy he was now when he had been so gloomy and stressed before. Bipolar, anyone? "Who are you anyway?"

"Aw, don't hurt my feelings!" he said lightly, bouncing a few steps ahead of her. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, of course!" Temari froze. Naruto continued ahead, rotating his arm energetically. "Future Rokudaime and, a little closer to the present, the future winner of the Chuunin Final Ex- eh?" he turned around, noticing that she wasn't following him anymore.

Temari stared at him. This is Uzumaki Naruto? How can there... be a monster hiding behind that cheerful face? She questioned herself. How can he be so happy... when Gaara is so miserable? For a second, a brief flash of white hot anger bursted in her chest. Why does Gaara have to suffer when this kid does not?

The smile on Naruto's face slipped when he saw Temari's eyes grow cold. It eventually disappeared until all that was left was that oddly stern yet impassive look remained, the same look that Temari had seen when she had whipped around.

He tilted his head to the side, towards the sound of quick footsteps. She did the same, also noting that her stalker had paused on the roof top closest to Temari, apparently waiting for Temari to move again. Someone rounded the corner a moment later, a fearsome scowl on his face.

"Naruto!" the genin called out, looking annoyed. Temari vaguely remembered the genin's face from somewhere. She narrowed her gaze on him, trying to fit a name to his face.

"Hiya, Shika." Naruto said lightly, a small smile appearing on his face. The irritated look on the other genin's face, if possible, increased at Naruto's greeting. Temari snapped her fingers inwardly, suddenly remembering the genin was to be the first one who was going to fight Kankurou in the exam.

Temari looked him over, a smirk appearing when she realized that Kankurou was going to have an easy match. The genin was too short, almost slender, and looked to all the world as if concentrating on one thing too long would be mildly troublesome. He was too... twelve-ish. Kankurou was going to wipe the floor with him. Shikamaru spared her a brief but bored look before turning back to Naruto.

"Thanks for running off yesterday, you idiot." he said, a scowl twisting his features. "We need to-" Anything he was about to say was cut off when Naruto gestured for him to stop. Temari marveled at how the genin instantly froze in place but before she could make a rude comment about it, Naruto was speaking to her again.

"There's a library not too far from here, just around the corner, in fact. It has some pretty interesting stuff on jutsus." he said vaguely to her before turning back to the other genin. He tapped his shoulder twice, jerked his head towards Temari, and then made a sweeping motion with his hand.

The other genin nodded slowly, the meaning of the gestures clear. Someone's following her. Let's get them off her tail. Though he couldn't understand why Naruto would be helping out a sand nin, much less one of the three that he had warned him about, he also read something underneath the gestures that suited his own ends. Naruto's eyes pleaded with him to help, a promise in them.

"You owe me." the genin said quietly. "Training area six. Don't run off again." Naruto solemnly nodded. Then, waving at Temari with one of those bright grins, he jumped back several feet, rudely sticking his tongue out at Shikamaru.

"Nyah! You'll never catch me!" he boasted, all but ignoring Temari as he cackled and leapt on the roof. "Slow poke! I've seen slugs move faster!"

"You better get going." Shikamaru murmured to Temari before lunging after Naruto. "Hey, get back here, you annoying brat!" Though her feet obediently started walking the rest of the length of the alley, she couldn't help but watch what was going on over her shoulder.

Shikamaru jumped up the side of the building, chasing Naruto with occasional inputs of sarcasm and irritation. Naruto cackled evilly and stayed out of his reach, his inputs much more vulgar and more insulting.

With a sudden burst of chakra, Naruto hurled himself backwards with a lot of force and wasted chakra. A truly unfortunate move (Temari snorted softly to herself) since he wasn't aware of the sound nin's presence, of course. He ended up slamming hard into one of the metal advertisements on the opposite roof. The metal trembled and groaned, weakened from the impact, and the thin supports snapped.

Just as she reached the corner, the wood and metal advertisement fell over on an unsuspecting sound nin, who yelped as it nearly crushed him. Seemingly just noticing the injured bystander, Naruto yelped as well, rolling off the ad to see if the sound nin was alright.

Shikamaru jumped over the gap to land at Naruto's side, rolling his eyes at Naruto's loud accusations thrown at him. "You killed him, Shika!" the blond whined, pointing a finger at the groaning sound nin. "You broke him!"

"If anyone killed him, it was you, you idiot." Shikamaru said mildly, just loud enough to be heard. They had caused a scene, apparently. Two passing ninjas (leaping from roof top to roof top as most ninjas did) paused to watch. Even an ANBU, one of the silent specters of Konoha, watched from his (or her? Its?) perch on a wire.

"I'm fine, really." the sound nin said, trying to get up. No doubt trying to get back to his mission, Temari thought grimly. She stopped observing, noting the library that Naruto mentioned. Nice and big public place. Most likely with a back entrance. Excellent. It was time to shake off that damn stalker.

Temari smiled, easily pushing open the door and sliding in. Maybe that kid wasn't half bad.

---

After waiting patiently for ten minutes for Naruto to arrive (after he, naturally and with a big commotion, dragged the sound nin to the hospital to get him 'fixed'), Shikamaru's efforts were rewarded when he heard the soft thump of someone sitting down next to him.

The grass was cool, the bright blue sky was only slightly hindered by cottony pure-white clouds (his favorite), but he couldn't feel any more solemn even if he tried.

"So, what did you want to talk about, Shika?" Naruto began the conversation amiably, tension easing from his body as he relaxed in the relatively empty clearing of one of the less frequently used training areas. He still had a wicked smirk on his face, most likely because of the nurse's misunderstanding of what he meant that the sound nin needed to be 'fixed', a misunderstanding that he had made no move to correct. He truly had no pity for any of Orochimaru's men at all.

Shikamaru glanced over, aware that Naruto's posture was the exact opposite of his own, relaxed verses tensed and ready to spring. Shikamaru was sitting up, a rare thing since clouds weren't so easily viewed like that, his shoulders hunched over slightly as he kept a tight grip around a roll of paper.

Naruto yawned and looked over, a frown replacing the dazed look of exhaustion and sated look of mischievous satisfaction on his face when he saw how tense Shikamaru was. He ran a hand through his hair, an oddly nervous gesture even though it was disguised as something more vain than nervous, before he sat back up. He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees and lightly clasping his hands where they hung.

"Didn't sleep much last night, huh?" Shikamaru asked, knowing the answer already. He hunched forward a little more, balancing his chin on his palm. His elbow dug slightly into his knee where it was perched and his other hand tensed around his night's work.

"I had a late night visitor." Naruto said vaguely. "Between him and the nightmares, I didn't sleep much." He slanted an all too knowing glance at his friend. "Not that you can boast having a full eight hours either, eh Shika?" Shikamaru wordlessly shook his head.

Engaging in simple small talk wasn't his style but it served to calm him down a bit. It also gave him some time to figure out how he was going to address his problem.. their problem really. The whole damn world and everyone in it, human or otherwise. Well, theoretically.

Shikamaru's hand twitched as he wondered why he needed to keep reminding himself that it was just a theory and it could be wrong. Where was the cynical side of him hiding? Probably behind Shikamaru's unfortunate epiphany that Ino was really pretty when she wasn't being a nag, the coward.

"So... um." Shikamaru frowned a little, not sure how to start. "What do you know of the world and the balance?" It was an odd theory that he had ran across in one of the scrolls he had filched from the library but it made more and more sense now that he thought about it. The world was full of examples of the natural balance.

"Um.. it uh balances?" Naruto guessed immediately. Judging by the annoyed look on Shikamaru's face, it probably wasn't the answer he was looking for. Naruto thought some more. "Like, between good and evil?" he said, stabbing in the dark. The look on Shikamaru's face lightened a little. Naruto sighed when he realized it was a good answer.

"That's good." he said with a faint smile. "I was a little worried that you were completely oblivious to the world." He ignored Naruto's half hearted protests and carried on. "It's a belief that nearly everything that happens in the world has something to do with balance."

"I know that balance stuff." Naruto said irritably, even though it was the first time it had been brought to his attention. It could have been one of the many topics that Iruka had brought up in class that he had missed because he was pranking people, and it wouldn't have made a difference. Shikamaru seemed to know this but carried on without a comment.

"Just listen." the boy said urgently, all traces of his smile fading. "You have no idea what you did, did you? When you came back here?" Naruto opened his mouth, about to defend himself when the slightly jumpy Nara shook his head. "No, listen. There's a balance, yes, but not between good or evil. Those are just values forced upon us by society. Just lies, you know. The real balance is between what is and what should not be." He slammed a roll of paper down on the ground, making Naruto jump at the noise. The roll spun open, revealing Shikamaru's writing and strange scribbles.

"Naruto." He spoke with such a tight voice that Naruto looked away from the paper and at Shikamaru questioningly, no doubt wondering what had knocked Shikamaru off of his eternal pedestal of calm indifference. "You should not have been able to travel back into the past. That ruins that balance, you see? It goes under 'what should not be'. And thus, is impossible."

Naruto pulled away with a snarl. "Are we back to that shit again?" he snapped incredulously, jumping to his feet. "I'm telling you, I wasn't lying-!"

"I believe you." Shikamaru said, his voice pitching low. Naruto's rant died in his throat. "I believe you, Naruto. I do. I really do. But, you see, it's... even worse than you thought. The future? As much as you may have though it was bad... it was worse."

"How so?" Naruto whispered, not liking the look on Shikamaru's face. He wasn't confused. He was worse than confused: he was out of the loop. He hadn't been out of the loop for a long time and to suddenly be hurled out was a little scary.

"You're not supposed to be here." the other genin said quietly, his gaze fixed to the ground. "But... here you are. And I've been thinking about this long and hard and there's only one reason why the powers that be allowed you to come back here." He looked up, seeing the confused look on Naruto's face.

"I'm... not following." Naruto said slowly, fully focused on Shikamaru with an intensity that was almost frightening.

Shikamaru clarified it softly. "Two negatives make a positive, Naruto. Something... happened. In your future, something so bad that the gods themselves put their asses on the line to allow you to break a few laws of physics. Think!" The Nara said, his voice almost desperate. "Not about Konoha, yourself, or even Sasuke. What is the worst thing that could have possibly happened then, in a god's point of view? What would shake the very foundations of the balance itself?"

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, deep in thought, a little annoyed because Shikamaru had a look on his face that said that he already knew the answer but was patiently waiting for Naruto to catch up. He scowled a little, then attempted to figure out what it was, pacing in front of Shikamaru as he mentally searched his mind for an event that would break this balance... thingy.

Lots of bad things had happened then. It was war, after all. But in a god's point of view? How the hell was he supposed to know what they wanted, or even what they thought was bad? It's not like he knew any, for crying out loud.

Naruto tapped his bicep as he tried to remember something important, something... earth shattering. One of those rule breakers, one of those 'things that should not be'. The only thing that he would have considered 'earth shattering' back then was-

Naruto's breath caught in his throat when he suddenly realized what had happened. He trembled lightly as he remembered his last day, the sudden bold attack after months of strained peace. The utter triumph he could feel outside of the broken walls, the echoing laughter of a pleased man as they retreated like scared rabbits. The tight feeling around his heart when he had tugged and hauled Ino away from Shikamaru's dead body, the knowledge that they had lost more than just Konoha and the entire damn war…

"Oro... Orochimaru." Naruto rasped out, tortured eyes seeking out his friend. "He... he..." The thought was too horrifying. He fell to his knees in front of Shikamaru. "Impossible!"

Ah, but that's what makes it one of the 'things that should not be'. Kyuubi commented lightly. He was hardly moved by Naruto's horrified realization. The fact that it breaks all laws, all rules, and shreds any and all decency. Just imagine how many people snake face sacrificed to rid himself of all of his human weaknesses. Pitiful fool..

"Not impossible." the other genin said softly, something like sympathy or perhaps empathy passing over his face. "Perhaps improbable. But it happened, didn't it? The last attack on Konoha? It wasn't because he was pleased with his new host, was it?" Naruto's head was bowed. Shikamaru prodded further. "It wasn't because he knew Konoha was barely holding on, was it? It was because he had an advantage that no... earthly body could boast."

Naruto looked up, looking so lost and worn down. Shikamaru's heart went out to him but he had to say it. He had to make sure that Naruto knew it before he continued his quest to save Konoha. Even if he had to tell Naruto that, even if he had stuck around Konoha in those final days, he wouldn't have made a difference against Orochimaru. And that was knowledge that could possibly kill Naruto if he ever realized it fully.

"This was never about Konoha." Shikamaru continued softly, his words strengthening with each sentence. "It was never about you. Your duty... your only real mission... is to stop that thing that made the gods relent and push you back here. You need to help them regain the balance by making sure it doesn't tip in the first place." He gripped Naruto's arms tightly and gave him a slight shake when the blond's head lolled down once more. "Naruto! You need-"

"I know." Naruto looked up, his eyes hardened and his lips pulled into a tight frown. "I need to kill Orochimaru before he becomes immortal."

A tense silence followed the blond's proclamation. Shikamaru found himself mildly disturbed at the dark look in Naruto's eyes. It was the same cold eyed gaze that Naruto had given the sound nin, even as he laughed and smiled and caused a commotion. The genin found himself wondering what kind of ninja Naruto had really been in the future. Something about those icy blue eyes screamed 'ANBU!'.

A part of him had hoped that Naruto had at least become a Hokage (because he knew how much that dream had meant to Naruto during the Academy), even though he knew inwardly that it was never possible. Had he been Hokage, Naruto would have never left his Konoha, not even for the past. He would have went down with it, like a captain with his ship.

"Well..." Shikamaru said a little reluctantly, shaking his head out of his thoughts. "It's just a theory." A theory that made so much sense that it had to be true but there was still a good chance it could be wrong. Shikamaru didn't know who he was trying to convince more, Naruto or himself.

Naruto stood suddenly, an abrupt motion that Shikamaru imitated. The shorter genin was silent for a moment, his head bowed and what little Shikamaru could see of his face completely blank. "It doesn't change much." Naruto said finally, slowly giving voice to some optimism. "It just gives me more of a reason to kill him."

It chilled Shikamaru to hear Naruto speak so casually of killing someone, but even he knew that Orochimaru had it coming. Especially if Naruto had some higher powers aiding him to do it. Still, Naruto looked like a child, with his bright blue eyes, his sunny blond hair, and his short stature. He did not look like a killer. It was faintly disturbing but just another dark part of the shinobi lifestyle.

Suddenly and without warning, a wide grin appeared on Naruto's face, startling Shikamaru. The blond started to laugh, crossing his arms behind his head while his eyes danced with amusement. "Oh man, Shika..." he said between chuckles. "You have no idea how much better your theory makes me feel."

"What?" Shikamaru gaped at Naruto. His theory wasn't amusing! It was horrible. The idea that someone as powerful as Orochimaru had attained godly status was terrifying! After developing it, he couldn't sleep because he was plagued with a vivid imagination as to what would happen to the world under the power of Orochimaru. But Naruto was laughing. Laughing, the idiot!

Naruto snickered some more, amused by the shocked look on Shikamaru's face. "Come on, think about it, Shika!" he said with that wide grin. "You just gave me the best news ever!" He turned around, walking away. As he walked away, he filled Shikamaru in. "That bastard... he's afraid of dying! Ha! Not so fearless after all, eh?" There was nothing more amusing than a villain with a phobia, apparently. "The only fate we all share." Naruto snorted. "Pansy."

Shikamaru watched Naruto walk off, still chuckling at some joke that the Nara boy didn't understand. The only thing that he did understand about the situation, however, was that they were now back to square one. Before Shikamaru remembered why he had wanted to talk to Naruto in the first place, Naruto was gone. Shikamaru scowled.

Naruto, living up to his new reputation of being the most mysterious person in Konoha, had left without telling Shikamaru a damn thing. The Nara sighed to himself, about to run after Naruto and demand the answers he wanted before he realized that there was no point. Naruto would only slip out of his grip again. Instead, he decided to focus on what little he did know.

"A theory is just a theory until it's proved to be a fact." Shikamaru murmured to himself. And, even though he truly believed that what Naruto told him was true, he still was yet to learn of how exactly the blond had gotten to the past in the first place.

He was almost certain that knowing how Naruto came back would be able to prove or disprove his theory, or at least help him figure out the situation. If the gods had intervened, there had to be some sort of supernatural element involved in the process of it. Breaking unbreakable laws, after all, wasn't something an average person could accomplish. Normal human power had its limits.

But Naruto managed to get away before Shikamaru could ask. The Nara sighed, rubbing his temples. He decided to pry answers out of Naruto on a day when he felt more that half awake. The boy was just so exhausting...

Though Naruto had not given him an answer to his unasked question, Shikamaru had already come up with another theory of how Naruto powered the jutsu (jutsu because he very much doubted Naruto used a machine, like in those bad sci fi movies). This was an idea that spawned when he had researched Gaara.

If he was right, then Naruto would no doubt be shocked that Shikamaru had figured it out with little to no evidence. If he was wrong, then Naruto would most likely be offended. After all, wouldn't be offensive to imply that someone was playing host to a demon? Shikamaru doubted that Naruto would have appreciated Shikamaru's logic if Naruto ended up to be just one of those strangely powerful but normal ninjas.

With that thought, his mind spiraled off into another direction, moving so fast that he felt ill. He also felt like he was connecting unrelated ideas to create a picture but in his mind, it just made so much damn sense that he didn't throw it away. Had he been a more religious person, he would have joked something about 'divine revelations' but since he was more rational than to put faith in something someone else said was true, he found himself ignoring the oddity of it and simply followed through.

Maybe his theory, his original one, was more right than he had ever imagined. It wasn't about Konoha, Oto, or Orochimaru. Maybe it didn't have anything to do with Naruto either. Maybe Naruto wasn't even a part of the balancing act. Maybe he was just a vessel of the heavy gamble that the gods had played. Maybe-

Shikamaru rubbed his temples with a groan. He had a major migraine beating behind his eyes. There was too much information going through his mind right now. And way too many damn maybes.

---

Kankurou leveled a sharp stare at his sister, his fist clenching by his side. "Do you have any idea of what you're doing?" The words, though harsh, were hissed softly, desperately quiet to prevent eavesdroppers. "Are you insane?" Temari stood up a little straighter, tossing her head back as she tossed a glare at her angry but worried brother.

"Of course not, I'm no more insane than you are. I know what's at stake." she snapped, her eyes narrowing on her brother's rapidly paling face. "That's why I went through so much trouble to get evidence."

"Evidence? Evidence?" Kankurou groaned, hiding his face in his hand. "This is beyond crazy... this is mutiny! People have been killed for less!" Yet he didn't skip out to report her, choosing to look at his sister through his fingers. He waited for some sort of rational explanation, sure that there was one somewhere. Temari wasn't without reason.

Twenty minutes ago, Temari had slipped a tiny piece of paper into his hand as they came across each other in Konoha. Sensing her distress, Kankurou didn't stop to ask her what she was doing. He immediately went somewhere private (a public bathroom, of all places, yet it was surprisingly private) and read the piece of paper while hiding in one of the stalls.

It contained a single sentence: He's not our father.

They met back up in their rooms, which were relatively private because Gaara regularly scared away any sound ninjas that came around. After a few 'accidents', no sound nin dared to come near their rooms.

Kankurou, blown away by the accusations against their father, tried to talk some sense into his sister, only to be met with a firm and unwavering wall of resistance. She really and truly believed that the Kazekage was a fake and their father was gone.

The door to the room slid open and, his face impassive as a brick wall, Baki walked in. Seeing them there made him frown a little before he turned his full attention to Temari. "You wished to speak to me, Temari?"

Kankurou rounded on his sister. "You're getting him involved too?" he demanded furiously. "Do you have a death wish?" Temari glared at her brother, about to let loose some rude retorts but Baki waved his hand.

"That's enough bickering." he said, his frown growing more pronounced. His curiosity grew at Kankurou's anxiety. "Now, if you please, I wish to know why I'm here."

Shooting Kankurou a glare that screamed 'Shut up!', Temari straightened and began explaining the situation to her sensei, who looked more and more worried by the minute.

---

If there was one thing Hinata could wish for, it was to be with Naruto right at that moment, instead of standing outside of the Hyuuga home. Even with her anxiety over their match, Naruto was the one person who brought her happiness without question or confusion and without even really being aware he was doing it.

Just seeing him smile was enough for her, the gleam of amusement in his eyes uplifting, and the sound of his laugh was enough to put her at ease. It was easy to forget how hard life was when she looked at him.

But, all that aside, she had promised her father that she would return home after her missions and before that, she had promised to speak with Hanabi. Her sister, apparently, still was holding a grudge against her. This knowledge bewildered Hinata, who couldn't imagine why her little sister would even bother thinking about her. Did she already have what she wanted?

Hinata wondered how her father knew these things. Every time she had caught a glimpse of her sister, the girl's eyes had been blank and her face impassive. Could there really be emotion behind all of that apathy, let alone anger? It was hard to think that her sister really could be capable of emotions, even though her father assured her that she did.

Hinata slipped off her shoes and walked in and, in spite of herself, smiled at the familiar surroundings. No matter what, this was her home and she was happy to be back. It was a place full of good memories and bad, and although the bad seemed to outweigh the good at some moments, it still was easy to come home.

Hinata didn't know why but she had sort of half expected some sort of barricade keeping her out, or a sign on the door that said 'No weaklings allowed'. She should have know that those weren't things that her family would stoop so low as to do, but she couldn't help thinking that she was so much more wanted in a tiny apartment by that one special person than in the huge Hyuuga home with all of her numerous family members."So you're back." Hinata's gaze immediately shifted to the source of the voice, meeting her cousin's empty stare as she was jolted out of her thoughts. He was leaning against one of the walls, his arms crossed over his chest. Nothing gave him away. Just complete apathy, a mask more perfect than her sister's.

Hinata wondered more and more often why Neji couldn't have switched places with her. He was more befitting of the Main House, and besides, she didn't mind the idea of helping the Main House from the sidelines. That was more her thing. Neji, in contrast, was never meant for a life of servitude. The thin scroll she kept close to her at all times suddenly weighed her down like lead.

How much more longer will it be until I can master that jutsu? She thought, biting her lip. Of course, even if she did end up mastering the jutsu, her family would kill her the second she performed it. The seal was never meant to be lifted, no matter how talented the recipient from the Branch Family was. But it would be worth it, just to see the look on his face afterwards.

When Neji's eyes narrowed in that way that always had her wondering if he could read minds, Hinata rushed to speak and stumbled over her words for a moment before firmly answering. "Yes, I am." she said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "My mission is complete." She knew that her mission wasn't what he was talking about but she wanted to avoid any questions asking where she had lived in the several weeks period of being absent from home.

Feeling slightly guilty, she turned away and walked to her room, briefly activating her eyes to make sure that he wasn't following. Neji didn't follow her, much to her relief, but his gaze followed her until she was almost to her room.

She shook her head in sadness. He was another blank person that she just couldn't understand, no matter how much she tried. Maybe, once she took the seal off, he could be able to open up? But most likely not. Hanabi, after all, was just as bad as he was and she didn't have a seal or a long and bitter grudge.

She opened the door, tugging on her necklace with absentminded nervousness and walked in, trying to figure out a way to deal with her sister, hopefully in such a way where neither of them would get hurt.

---

Sasuke was angry that Kakashi had interfered with his and Naruto's battle. Couldn't the jonin see that it was less of a spar and more of a training match? Naruto had complete control of the fight. Even Sakura had seen that.

There was a brief stinging pain to his pride, knowing how easily Naruto controlled their fights, even with the sharingan activated. But he found himself caring less and less that Naruto was stronger than him.

There was, of course, the fierce feeling of rivalry and the thrill of finally having some competition. But, in a normal circumstance with only this feelings present, it would easily give way to jealousy, bitterness, and anger, knowing that the kid with the lowest passing score was leaps and bounds stronger than him, and would only get stronger.

However, any sense of jealousy towards Naruto that Sasuke may have had was abruptly killed when he realized just how much Naruto wanted to pass on his knowledge to make Sasuke stronger. This change of pace, having a rival who was more of a teacher than a peer, bewildered Sasuke to no end and made him often question Naruto's motives.

Who would, after all, want their rival to best them? Yet, even with this in mind, Sasuke couldn't erase the image of the gleam of pride in Naruto's eyes when Sasuke mastered a move perfectly.

Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck, directing his gaze low so that his hair would hang in front of his face and hide his expression. If he had been vocally honest about the situation, he would have admitted that it made him a little embarrassed.

There was pleased, like how Kakashi would nod to him when he got something difficult right the first time, then there was pleased, like how Naruto would grin brightly in excitement when Sasuke was improving. The only other experience he had with the second type of 'pleased' was with his mother. No matter how many times he fell and scraped his knees, she was always proud of him for getting back up and trying again, just like Naruto.

It was an alien feeling, one that he had thought had died with his mother, the feeling of being pleased with himself because another was proud of him. It was nothing like the cold pride of seeing himself becoming stronger. It was warmer. It made him miss his mother dearly.

He'd be a good father. Sasuke thought unexpectedly. But it was true. Naruto was lenient, but hard, forgiving, but a bit forceful. There was also the fact that he would die to protect his family. He started to smile at the thought of Naruto finally getting the family he had always secretly desired but it wilted at the sudden mental image said blond and family.

Not that the image itself was bad. It was Kodak moment worthy. But it brought a wave of pain, a mental anguish that he thought he had buried a long time ago. The older looking Naruto was replaced with his father, the woman Naruto had his arm wrapped around with was replaced with his mother. And the two children at their sides suddenly became a younger Sasuke and Itachi.

Sasuke closed his eyes tightly, willing the image away. He clenched his fist so tight that his blunt fingernails dug into the fleshy part of his palm. Grateful to have something to focus on, he turned all his attention on the slight pain and breathed slowly out of his mouth.

As it always did, the mental anguish went away, this time before any physical hints of it came to the surface. The thud of another's sandals against the wood of the roof made him open his eyes and look up, unsurprised that his visitor happened to be the one he was thinking about. Naruto always seemed to know when Sasuke was, as Naruto phrased it, 'in a mood'.

And, like always, Naruto offered the one sure fire thing to get Sasuke out of his 'mood'. "Hey, you wanna spar?" the blond asked, leaning over his seated friend. Sasuke glanced over at Konoha below, as if he just realized where he was, then looked up at the shorter blond. He was tempted but his gaze dropped down to Naruto's hand. It was swollen and an angry red. Naruto wouldn't be able to make hand seals with that sort of injury.

"Kakashi-sensei will barge in again." he said, not being able to take the regret out of his voice. "There's no point."

Naruto sighed with just as much regret before sitting next to the Uchiha. "That sucks." he mumbled. He leaned back, bracing his hands against the roof. A flinch shot up through his arm and the blond looked back at his injury, surprised to see that it was still there. "Why doesn't he trust us?" Naruto asked, more hypothetical than anything else as he idly tested the movement of his injured hand.

"One, we're rivals and we're bound to kill each other." Sasuke answered promptly. Naruto flinched but not from his injury. Besides a long questioning look, Sasuke didn't ask why and only continued on. "Two, if everything works out well, we could fight each other in the exam and fighting now could end up disqualifying us both. And three..." he paused, glancing at Naruto. "He finds it hard to believe that you could teach someone something."

Naruto laughed, something about it a little forced. "Heh, I know. Short attention span and even shorter patience." he said with a grin. Only half of the blond's amusement seemed real. Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly.

That's not the reason, Naruto. He thought with a frown, but dropped the subject. If Naruto wasn't going to tell him anything, then he wasn't going to force him to. Sasuke had to push down the sudden wave of bitterness and tried to convince himself that he couldn't care less. It was a tactic that he found was working less and less for him.

As a rival, he didn't feel much jealousy towards Naruto because of the blond's constant 'teaching' methods. But on a personal level, as Naruto's friend, he couldn't suppress the waves of bitterness and anger when he realized Naruto wasn't telling him everything. It was a stupid thing, since everyone has their secrets.

But it just seemed like Naruto had a lot more than everyone else. So much secrets that Sasuke knew that he had to unload some of them on somebody. The bitterness mostly surrounded the fact that he knew that it wasn't him who Naruto was sharing with.

"Hey, listen up." Naruto said, the tone of his voice changing. It suddenly became low and serious. 'Teacher Mode', as Sasuke liked to think of it. "About the exam... I know you don't like me giving you advice-" Sasuke looked away. He liked hearing Naruto's advice because it ended up being beneficial but his pride demanded that he pretend that he didn't want it. "But listen. The only way you can defeat Rock Lee is to defeat him before he pulls off his weights. And in order to do that, you must rely on taijutsu as a defense and ninjutsu as an offense."

Sasuke nodded. From what he had seen of Rock Lee, that seemed like the best course of action. The older boy had a weakness for ninjutsu and genjutsu but was almost crazily strong in the taijutsu field. "Weights?" he echoed, his frown becoming more pronounced.

"Yeah, he has a bunch. He's fast as is, but he's a lot faster without them." Naruto gave him an apologetic smile. "If he takes off those weights, Sasuke, and I mean no offense... you're a goner."

Sasuke made a soft contemplative noise before propping up his chin on his clasped hands. So I have to hit him hard and fast with ninjutsu. He thought, running over his knowledge of ninjutsu. It seemed like he'd be using a lot of fire jutsu this time around.
He tensed a little when he remembered that nearly all the taijutsu that Naruto had taught him was defensive, save for one or two moves. Sasuke hid his smile behind his hands. That guy... for someone who acts like an idiot, he sure does know his stuff.

"And also... um." Naruto pushed himself forward, leaning his elbows against his knees. He looked both parts reluctant and fiercely determined. "Be wary of sound nins."

Sasuke looked at him, a little confused. He couldn't see Naruto's face because the boy was leaning forward, his back almost hunched as the shadows hid his face. "What do you mean?" he said, finally asking. "None of them are in the exam. They were all wiped out in the preliminaries." Befitting of a tiny village out in the middle of nowhere, he had thought with the arrogance of a strong genin. And Naruto was still worried about them?

Naruto glanced over, his normally bright eyes dark. Sasuke suddenly regretted asking at the brief but miserable look on his friend's face. "I just don't trust them." Naruto said slowly, once he had a somewhat indifferent mask fixed in place. He stood up in a fluid motion. Sasuke couldn't remember a time where he felt more confused. Naruto refused to look at him. "And, while I'm at it, I'd better tell you to stay the hell away from Kabuto too."

Sasuke's frown deepened. "Who?" Sasuke mumbled to himself, not intending to be heard or answered.

"The gray haired guy from the exam. Glasses, nosy, pony tail. Medic nin wannabe. Dangerous as hell." Naruto replied, his shoulders losing some of their tension. The blond couldn't help but feel a little relieved that Sasuke couldn't remember the traitor. It meant that Kabuto hadn't approached Sasuke a second time after the Uchiha's cold rejection.

Maybe we should... make special efforts to ensure that there will be no 'approaching' on the worm's part. Kyuubi inserted, a wry grin pulling at his lips and revealing a rather terrifying sight of all of his teeth.

Intriguing. Naruto said, his reply deceptively mild. Kyuubi wasn't fooled because he could feel that Naruto was just as darkly pleased as he was at the idea of killing Kabuto. I'll keep that in mind.

While Naruto was briefly distracted by fuzzy memories of Kabuto's dead body, Sasuke thought over what Naruto had told him. He didn't care who this 'Kabuto' was and couldn't even remember a face to put to the name. What he did know was that seeing Naruto so tense and serious was annoying to him, at least in the sense that Naruto's more cheerful behavior was something that Sasuke was used to.

Not that he liked it when Naruto was happy or anything. No, of course not. Who would think that? It was complete and utter nonsense, in Sasuke's point of view. Caring how that dobe acts... psh.

One would also argue that being defensive in your own mind would be 'complete and utter nonsense', but then would be beaten over the head with a crowbar by Sasuke at the first mention of 'denial'. Sasuke did not take kindly to being informed of innocent geographic facts. Or, at least that's how he reasoned it.

"Whatever." Sasuke stood with a dismissive gesture. He walked down to the end of the roof, taking a moment to glance over his shoulder at Naruto. "Come on. Let's go get some ramen." Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as the dark haired genin jumped off the roof. He scrambled over to the edge, staring at Sasuke's retreating back.

"W-what?" he said, sure that he had heard wrong. Since when did Sasuke eat ramen? Willingly? And not just because Naruto or Kakashi was paying for it?

"You heard me." Sasuke said gruffly. He looked over his shoulder, the unfriendly look on his face completely at odds with what he was trying to do. "I'll even pay for it."

Naruto stared before a slow grin appeared on his face. "Yes!" he cried, punching his fist into the air. Sasuke started walking away again. Naruto was quick to jump off the roof and hurry after him, unaware of how hard Sasuke fought to keep a smile off of his face at the return of Naruto's good mood.

----

Hinata crept into the large training room silently, her eyes on her sister. Hanabi, her eyes blazing with their blood limit, focused on trying to get past her father's guard. Naturally, she was so focused on her father that Hinata knew that Hanabi was deliberately ignoring her. It was painfully obvious.

Hiashi glanced over Hanabi's head at Hinata. Hinata, trying to remember the tired man she had conversed with before the Chuunin Exam (as opposed to the stern and almost scary one in front of her), attempted a smile and was overjoyed when Hiashi nodded towards her before bringing his gaze downwards to defend once more.

Still trying to not disturb the training match, Hinata gently put down the tea and rice balls she had brought in (a rather lame attempt at a peace offering, she would be the first to admit) and sat down next to it.

Watching her sister and her father wasn't as entertaining as it was awe striking. Her sister's form was perfect, every hit and every strike executed with the right about of force and right amount of chakra. But even all that sheer perfection couldn't measure up to Hiashi's overwhelming skill, power, and, most important of all, reach. Hanabi was good, but Hiashi was a hundred times better. That, somehow, made Hinata feel a little better about losing to him so many times when she was younger.

As if her presence was a trigger, Hiashi ended the match quickly, immediately moving over to her. Hinata offered him a cup of tea and a rice ball, which he took with another nod before moving to walk out.

"You and your sister need to talk." His voice rang out in the previously silent room. It took Hinata a second to realize that he wasn't talking to her, but to Hanabi, who was froze in mid step in her attempt to sneak out of the room. As the girl turned around, her face screwed up in a fearsome scowl, Hinata suddenly remembered the encounter she had with her former opponent, Temari of Suna.

She had been in the library, burying herself underneath a pile of scrolls and books, desperately trying not to think about the upcoming match against Naruto. She had been very surprised to see a slightly flushed Temari jog into the room, glancing behind her suspiciously. The girl had spotted Hinata and a very awkward conversation had sprang up. But the blonde left with a parting bit of advice.

"This is for your own good, chibi." the taller girl had said, her dark eyes narrowed. "Forfeit the exam." The scowl on the blond's face nearly matched the scowl on Hanabi's face, only Temari's eyes had hinted at traces of concern while Hanabi's burned with anger under a thin veil of apathy.

Hinata swallowed, face to face with the very reason why she couldn't back out of the exams. She took a heavy breath and offered a cup of tea to her sister. It was pointedly ignored. The gesture lost on her angry little sister (why? What did Hinata do wrong?), Hinata sighed and put the cup back down.

"Spit it out, I have more important things to dwell on." Hanabi said with venom. Hinata winced. Her sister really knew how and where to stick the knife in and twist it. Nonetheless, she managed to keep her cool.

"I... was under the impression that... you were the one who wished to 'spit' something out." Hinata said bravely, her voice only trembling a little. Hanabi was not impressed but Hinata sat up straight, somehow managing to keep her gaze, a nearly impossible feat that would have drove her to tears a few months ago.

Hanabi finally turned away, stalking to the middle of the room. She stood there for a moment before turning her icy eyes on Hinata. "Well?" she said, her voice full of irritation. Hinata's eyes widened.

She wants me to... fight her? The genin swallowed, bad memories of their last fights making her fingers twitch. She always was in so much pain afterwards. "I... um... well..." Hinata tried to come up with a good excuse out of the fight but couldn't think when Hanabi was glaring at her so impatiently. "...Okay."

Reluctantly, Hinata stood, facing her sister with a worried frown as she took up her position across from Hanabi. She slid into a similar stance as Hanabi, already gathering chakra to activate her byakugan.

"Now." Hanabi said suddenly, before Hinata could make the appropriate hand seal to activate her blood limit. The little girl's eyes narrowed, her eyes already glowing with it as she darted forward.

Stifling a gasp, Hinata jumped back from the first strike and jumped when it looked like her sister was about to knock her off her feet with a low sweeping leg. This is just like last time! Hinata thought, her throat constricting as she landed and defended against the next blow at the same time. She won't let me activate byakugan!

Every Hyuuga had the byakugan but the only difference was the user's ability to wield it. Extremely gifted people, like Hiashi, Neji, and Hanabi, could activate their bloodline without much more than a burst of chakra. People like Hinata, however, needed a few seconds to make a hand seal in order to make the chakra flow correctly to their eyes.

Hanabi had no intention of letting Hinata have those few seconds.

The little girl hounded Hinata's every step, shadowing her footsteps, attacking when Hinata was off balance. She was ruthless, cold, and Hyuuga perfection in its highest form. Hinata couldn't defend herself against every blow. It wouldn't be long until she was no longer to channel chakra through her right arm, that was for sure.

Tear pricking the corner of her eyes when she realized how utterly weak she was, Hinata wondered what Naruto would say if he saw her right now. And he had seemed so proud of her too, after that failure of a mission. Her arm was now useless. Jyuken was now useless. She was now useless. How could she have ever thought otherwise?

An image of Naruto flashed before her eyes. He looked very impatient, his hands fisted at his sides. "Come on, Hinata-chan!" he said, his blue eyes glinting. "If the brat won't let you use your eyes, then hell! Don't use them!" He shook his fist at her, his fierce scowl suddenly changing into a small smile. "Dammit, Hinata-chan! You're a ninja! Act like one!"

Hinata focused on her sister, a slight smile playing around her lips. Naruto would say something like that, wouldn't he? Hanabi was surprised to see the smile but even more surprised when Hinata switched from a jyuken stance to a taijutsu stance, landing a solid blow to Hanabi's chest.

The little girl immediately jumped back, wheezing and coughing for breath. But this time, Hinata was the one to follow her retreat. For every step the girl took back, Hinata followed, landing one out of three blows.

Hanabi was shocked at how the fight had turned around. She thought she had pretty much won, since Hinata was no longer able to channel chakra through her right arm. But the older girl had switched fighting styles, unknowingly finding Hanabi's ultimate weakness.

The little girl was used to fighting with jyuken, defending against jyuken, and finding weaknesses in other people's application of jyuken. She had little to no idea how taijutsu worked and was caught completely off guard. Damn you, Hinata! Hanabi thought angrily.

Hinata didn't allow herself to think. If she thought too much, she'd jinx her winning streak, she just knew it. It was only a matter of seconds before Hanabi adapted and wiped the floor with her. Hinata's right arm was screaming in pain and trembling in exhaustion.

But she couldn't stop. She knew enough basic taijutsu from the Academy to fight and defend, since Iruka insisted that everyone, even people with families like the Hyuuga clan, learn taijutsu. She seen enough semi-advanced taijutsu from Kiba to know how taijutsu worked beyond the basics. But the switch from jyuken to taijutsu had rattled her as much as it rattled Hanabi.

Jyuken was all Hinata had ever used in battle or training, but jyuken wasn't all that she knew. Naruto was right. She was a ninja. Ninjas used every tool to their advantage to win a fight, even if it meant going out of their comfort zone. And that's what it was all about, right? Even though she didn't want to fight Naruto, she had to. She was a ninja! Ninjas don't back down.

And she couldn't become the ninja she wanted to be, a ninja that Naruto could be proud of, if she forfeited from the exam. Or if she was too scared to fight her little sister.

Hinata, wincing at the pain of two fingers poking into one of the major chakra points on her shoulder, grabbed her sister by the front of her shirt and hurled the little girl over her good shoulder.

Immediately expecting an answering attack, Hinata jumped away, clamping her hand over her bad shoulder until the pain had gone down enough for her to think properly. In her current state, it was hard to string even two words together.

But there was no attack. There was no soft sound of feet bounding against the wood. There was only a very loud thud. Hanabi hadn't flipped around and landed on her feet, like Hinata thought she would. She instead met the ground with her shoulder and laid still, her dark hair covering half of her face.

"Oh no." Hinata whispered. Not moving equals not good. She hurried over, dropping to her knees next her sister. She rolled the girl over, somewhat pleased to see that the girl was conscious. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to throw you that hard. I wasn't even sure I could throw you! Are you hurt?" She babbled, looking for some sort of injury.

Hanabi's face looked very tight, as if she was trying to stay impassive but it was hard for her to do. This, naturally, only worried Hinata even further. As she helped a stiff Hanabi get to her feet (ignoring the screaming protests of her own shoulder), she offered to heal any injuries, forgetting briefly that Hanabi knew nothing of her ambition to be a medic nin. Hinata's worry and concern, however, seemed to have hit a sore spot in Hanabi's mind.

"Let go of me!" Hinata's light grip on Hanabi's arm was shaken off roughly. Hanabi did an odd skipping hop to put space between her and her sister. Hinata watched Hanabi, completely confused.

And, naturally, she completely misunderstood. "Oh no..." the kind hearted genin said softly, her eyes darkening in concern. "I did hurt you, didn't I?" The look of sorrow on Hinata's face lingered for a moment before she shook it off and reached a hand out to her sister. "Don't worry, I'll heal you." Her eyes brightened and she smiled. "I'm becoming more proficient in the healing arts, but if you are wary, I can still take you to-" Whatever offer Hinata was going to extend was cut off by her sister.

"I don't get you!" Hanabi shouted, irritation and anger making her voice high pitched. "I don't get you at all!" The confusion on Hinata's face, as well as her instinctive step backwards, reminded Hanabi to regain her composure. She took in a deep breath and turned away from Hinata. "Get out." Hinata froze in place at the cold order, hovering awkwardly behind Hanabi.

Hinata bit her lip, deciding to ignore the tempting offer. As much as she would rather avoid conflict, she was afraid that avoiding it now would only make it much more worse later on. "Hanabi..." she whispered, walking up to her sister. She made a move to put her hand on the little girl's shoulder but stopped two inches shy of her goal. Her hand fell back to her side.

"You..." Hanabi whispered, her voice tired and old all at once. "You're so weak." Whatever Hinata had been expecting to hear, it wasn't that. But it wasn't too surprising. Or, at least, it wasn't as surprising as it was hurtful, like an expected insult. "You show your weakness by stopping when your enemy is in pain. That... isn't the way of our clan."

Hinata frowned, suddenly understanding. On the battlefield, one was supposed to be calculating and ruthless. They weren't supposed to do anything more than complete their mission. In a way, Hinata showing concern for Hanabi had strangely insulted her.

"...You're not my enemy." Hinata whispered, almost too quiet to hear. "You're my sister."

As if she didn't hear Hinata, Hanabi spoke once more, sounding as if she was in a trance. "You're so weak." she repeated, a small frown appearing on her face. "But... everyone..." She turned to look at Hinata, confusion written clearly on her face. She looked lost for some reason.

"Hanabi...?" Hinata said, reaching a hand out to her.

"Despite all that, everyone... likes you." Hanabi said softly, her voice full of confused wonder. Suddenly, as if her admission reminded her of her anger, her soft frown disappeared and she glared at Hinata before running out of the room.

Hinata, watching her sister's retreating back, flinched at the sound of the door slamming shut. Her hand hovered and trembled in the air before she brought it close to her chest. Confused beyond all reason, she could only stand frozen while her mind wildly tried to sort out what was going on.

"What did I do wrong?"

---

"Reinforcements?" The word wasn't bitterly spat out, like a prideful man who believed in his abilities to the point of believing he needed aid. The word, however, was spoken with amusement. Dark humor, perhaps. A sort of taunting yet mildly curious echo of Baki's request.

Baki found this very odd and not very characteristic of their Kazekage but he didn't think much more beyond that. Or, normally, he wouldn't. But still vivid in his mind was the firm declaration of Temari that the Kazekage was a fake. He ignored a sense of newly awakened paranoia and elaborated on his request.

"Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that we might not have brought enough of our forces to make the invasion of Konoha possible." he said without a change of expression. "I feel that it would be in our best interests to have more of our ninjas supporting us."The Kazekage's dark eyes were perfectly blank. Another oddity. The Kazekage usually grew irritated quickly if someone started questioning him, although one would not find out much later on when they had a kunai jabbed in their throat. But Baki, like many others, had learned to judge the man's moods through his eyes.

"I thought you said before that we had enough." the Kazekage said mildly.

"That was before we gained a vital piece of information." Baki said just as mildly. The other man made a gesture for him to elaborate further. "Two of the Hokage's legendary students are here, not just that man Jiraiya. This could endanger the entire operation."

The entire operation was based on the fact that Jiraiya would be too distracted trying to fight off the summon creatures and saving everyone that he wouldn't be able to engage in one on one combat with any of their top players. As bad as the hermit's habits and interests tended to be, there also happened to be the cold reality that he was easily one of the strongest ninjas in the village, most likely even stronger than their own Kazekage.

Baki was irritated that the Kazekage wanted to use Gaara as a weapon of mass destruction when Jiraiya was around. Even if Gaara allowed Shukaku to completely emerge, Jiraiya could and possibly would bind up the youki in Gaara so tight that it would hurt. And, defenseless without his sand, Gaara would be open to any and all attacks, from enemies and so called 'allies'.

It was a horrible thought. A small part of Baki was terrified of Gaara, but a larger part of him wanted to make sure Gaara was safe. Temari and Kankurou better stay close to Gaara during this hellish mission. He thought grimly Baki didn't actually want to invade Konoha. He doubted any one of the ninjas pulled for this assignment did. But orders were orders and they were made to be followed.

"But there's also the fact that Tsunade happens to be a gambling drunk who doesn't care a whit about what happens to Konoha." The Kazekage reminded him. Again, there was that cold amusement. Baki slowly nodded.

"Perhaps but we can't take any chances." Baki said carefully, still trying to gauge the other man's reaction. Again, the Kazekage's eyes were too blank. He cautiously continued. "It's bad enough that we need to rely so heavily on another village in order for this operation to succeed. The least we can do is make it go off without a hitch."

Finally, there was a slight change of expression on the other man's face. But it gave Baki the weird feeling that he was being smirked at. "Very well." the Kazekage said regally. That in itself wasn't too odd. The man had a tendency of thinking very highly of himself. He probably thought he was granting Baki a tremendous favor by allowing the jonin to do his job. "You may go back to Suna to get reinforcements."

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama." Baki bowed quickly. "I will be back before the exam starts." With that promise, he immediately left, mentally sorting out the quickest route to Suna. If he didn't stop for sleep, he could make it to Suna in a day and a half. If he went fast, he could make it there in fourteen hours or under but would probably pass out once he reached Suna.

Solider pills it is. Baki though with a grimace, wondering why he was putting himself through so much work. He rolled his eyes when he remembered. Oh right. I don't have the heart to report one of my students for speaking out against the Kazekage. Great.

Temari's accusations were outrageous but they were based on what she believed to be facts. Baki knew what he was doing was insane but he was fond of his students. He wasn't going to tattle on Temari just because she believed in some wild conspiracy theory.

No, the best plan was to go to Suna and find some sort of foolproof evidence to prove to Temari that she was merely being overly paranoid in a very tense period of time, at least for them. Baki didn't even know how he was going to do that, only that he was.

Perhaps I could find out some bit of information that only the true Kazekage would know and respond correctly to? He mused, his frown more pronounced than usual. That's not without its own loop holes though... Perhaps I should give this more thought when I reach my destination.

He tried not to think too much why he had offered to go to Suna. If Temari had asked, he could have used that as an excuse. But no, he had offered to go. And that could only mean that, in the back of his mind, maybe he could see some merit in Temari's accusations. After all, wasn't he just questioning the Kazekage's odd behavior?

Baki shook himself out of his thoughts. No, it was best if he focused on getting to Suna as quickly as possible so he could get back to Konoha before the invasion. And, he thought, glancing over his shoulder with a sudden scowl. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to get that persistent sound nin to get off my back.

------

TBC

Next Chapter:

The girl looked so upset that Naruto immediately agreed to meet her outside once Kakashi let him go. When Kakashi waved him off, he politely said goodbye to Rin, Inari, and the rest of his team before he hurried outside.
Ino looked up as soon as he walked out, pleased that he had only taken seven minutes. She tilted her head to the side, gesturing that he should follow her. And, confused beyond all reason, Naruto shadowed her footsteps.
Ino's breath was heavy. Her hands trembled lightly at her sides. Her eyes darted everywhere, looking at anyone but him. All these gestures had to mean whatever she was going to do or say had to be bad. Naruto swallowed harshly, but stayed silent.
After a moment of quietly walking, Ino took a shaky breath. "I... have to ask you something." she admitted slowly. "And it might seem weird or odd. Hell, you might even be offended because it's kind of a personal question and I know you won't want to answer and I know you must be thinking 'Why is she talking to me?' and I can't really explain because it's weird even to me and I don't even understand-"
"Ino!" Naruto said sharply. Ino snapped out of it, wide blue eyes staring at him for the first time in the whole conversation. Naruto's frown gentled into a smile. "You're rambling. Just ask me, okay? I'm not easily offended you know. And if I don't want to answer, I won't."
Ino took another shaky breath and plunged right in. "Do you own orange pants and a black shirt?" she asked quickly. Naruto looked at her, an eyebrow arching. That's the all important personal question she wanted to ask?
"Um, yeah. I wore those orange pants almost all of the last year of the Academy, remember?" Naruto said slowly. "And I think
everyone owns at least one black shirt."
Ino nodded. "But it's kinda unique." she said. She started gesturing at her chest. "It has this red spiral thing in front."
"Oh yeah." Naruto smiled. It was his favorite shirt. "That's my shirt." For some reason, Ino seemed really distressed at that piece of information.
"And do you... wear a necklace?" she asked softly. It was the last piece of clothing that would prove that her vision could happen. Naruto was completely oblivious to the fact that she was trying to prove that he couldn't possibly die.
Naruto gave her another confused look. He unzipped his black vest, reached under the collar of his black shirt, and pulled out Tsunade's necklace. At the sight of the necklace, Ino turned pale.
Dammit. So vision does have merit. Ino thought, one hand fiddling lightly with the bracelet around her wrist. Her last hope had been that her vision had been some sort of fever dream. It was unlikely but she had clung to it even as she tried to figure out a way to save Naruto.
But he owned the clothing he had worn in vision, the clothing he died in... he owned that clothing. Sure, Ino was aware of the pants but she hadn't been aware of the black shirt and the necklace until Naruto admitted ownership. So it wasn't her subconscious playing havoc with her.
"When... when do you wear that clothing?" Ino asked softly, wondering if she really even wanted to know when. She was just torturing herself with the information.
"Well, orange is not a very good color for a ninja." Naruto admitted with a faint sheepish smile. "And that shirt's practically falling apart by now. I wear them to bed."

Ino stopped completely, her hand going over her stomach as it threatened to rebel. She felt nauseous. They, whoever those red and black cloaked men were, ripped Naruto from his very bed and killed him.