He was looking into the water, observing the steady downstream of the river without a care in the world, and eventually his gaze landed on his own reflection. A young man in his early twenties looked back at him, a head full of spiky red hair coupled with bright blue eyes, which had a wisdom shining in them that belied his age. Soon afterwards, Naruto saw his reflection begin to speak, his mouth moving on its own.

"You showed up after all."

He turned back to see that strange looking pale man again, but this time his eyes were different. The odd concentric circles that were present in his eyes in Naruto's last dream were not there, but he had a different Doujutsu, one that looked very familiar – the Byakugan. Isshin's eyes narrowed as the pupil enlarged, the veins on the side of his face bulging with power.

"How did you know who I was?" Isshin's voice had an edge to it, on the verge of attacking.

"Simple." Asura smiled as he continued to watch the water. "We're cousins."

"Huh?"

"Sit, I'm sure you have a lot of questions." Naruto motioned for Isshin to join him, taking off his shoes and dipping his feet ankle deep into the water. "Ask away."

"Hm." Isshin grunted, wary and distrustful, but something about the redhead's easy-going smile put him at ease. "Who are you?"

"Oof, that's a tough one." Asura chuckled. "In this life, I was born as Uzumaki Arashi, but recently my eyes have been opened to who I truly am. I am Otsotsuki Asura, the son of the Sage of the Six Paths, reincarnated into this body."

"Wait, what?" Isshin was astounded. "Can you repeat that; I don't think I heard you correctly."

Asura only shot him a wry grin, unable to hide the mirth dancing in his eyes. "I think you did."

"That doesn't make sense."

"The world is a mysterious place, my friend. You see, me and my brother have been locked in this feud for almost a millennium now, and until that's resolved, our souls will continue fighting, not able to move on and rest in the Pure Land."

"Your brother?" Isshin racked his brain; he should know this – he had learned about their family history when he was younger.

"Indra." Asura helped, and Isshin nodded, then did a double take – was this crazy man really telling the truth?

"Shouldn't you be doing something about that, then?" Isshin griped. "What are you doing, bar hopping in a random part of Lightning Country?"

"I could ask you the same, Hamura's descendant."

"I asked first."

"Jeez, is it so wrong to just slow down and relax?" Asura laughed. "Besides, Indra didn't get reincarnated yet, so there is no existing conflict between us this time around. The previous pair consisted of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, but I suspect my brother's soul hasn't passed on yet."

Isshin shrugged, accepting it for what it was, slowly coming to terms with the fact this man truly could be what he claimed. He pulled out a bottle of gin that he stole from the bar, opening it and taking a large swig. Wordlessly, he passed it onto Asura, who accepted it with a grin.

They were cousins, in a sense.

"You never gave me your name, brother." Asura inquired.

"Isshin. Otsotsuki Isshin." He nodded a greeting, taking the bottle back. "What do I even call you? Asura or Arashi?"

"I prefer Asura." Asura pulled out a bottle of rum of his own, shooting Isshin a smirk. "How about a toast, then?"

"Sure." Isshin chuckled at his antics, maybe they really were related. "What are we toasting to?"

"To family."

Uzumaki Naruto opened his eyes slowly, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to retain as much of the dream as possible. This was the second one now, and these visions always left him with an eerie sense of Déjà vu. Who were these people? And what did they have to do with him? As far as he was concerned, all this happened before he was even born.

Still, he was more concerned about what Danzo had attempted to do to him yesterday. He was not too sure on the mechanics of what happened, but he could swear on God's green earth that a Sharingan was involved. Yami Naruto had relayed what the orb looked like, and both of them had come to the conclusion that Danzo might be more connected to the Uchiha Massacre than they thought. It reinforced the notion that this man might really know what happened to Shisui.

And it probably did not end well for the Uchiha.

Yet another thing that baffled him was Yami Naruto's intervention to the Genjutsu; from how he understood things, it should not have been possible. Both of them shared the same brain, so the Genjutsu should have affected both of them.

"Unless I'm a separate living entity." Yami Naruto scoffed.

"What are you talking about?"

"When do you think that Yang mark appeared on your palm?"

"I dunno'." Naruto mused. "Don't remember."

"Well, I was 'born' soon after the mark appeared, which was when you tried to kill yourself, so… Give or take six years ago."

"What does that mean?"

Yami Naruto didn't answer.

Naruto was a bit scared of what Yami Naruto implied – his ability was life, after all. Creating complex life – ex nihilo – required matter, the other end to the duality of Yin and Yang. Thus, he could not truly stretch the limits of what Yang chakra entailed. But if Yami Naruto was truly a separate entity as he claimed, was the power of Yang capable of giving his already existing fractured personality life? Was Yami Naruto indeed a separate being, one with his own hopes and dreams, confined to this shared body, as the subservient one?

He was brought out of his musings as the sharp shrill ringing of the alarm pierced through his thoughts.

Today was his first day in Root.

A part of him was rather apprehensive about it all. He was in the big leagues now, and each mission would carry the risk of imminent danger. Naruto knew that he had been training relentlessly throughout his life to be ready for anything, but he could only hope that he had done enough. Persistence, hard work, and consistency had not failed him yet, and he was determined to meet this challenge head on like all the rest.

Either way, the blonde did not have much time to dwell on such matters; he was about to start his Anbu training.

He sped through his morning routine with renewed vigor, stopping to grab his gear as he headed out the door. When he reached the Root compound, Danzo was already waiting for him, accompanied by two other root operatives. Naruto was still unclear on the details of what Danzo had tried to do to him, but it had not worked. Thankfully, the War Hawk was unaware of this fact, allowing Naruto to keep his cover intact. Naruto had even decided not to go to Tsunade just yet, as he did not want to raise any suspicion.

Danzo looked over his new recruit with detached optimism, letting silence reign for a moment before addressing him.

"Let's get started," the Yami of Shinobi began as he made his way over to nearby table, "I trust you're aware that both Anbu and Root require you to take on a codename, a moniker of sorts. On missions, you are to only use these codenames when communicating, and this is especially pertinent now that we have begun our expedition into Mist."

Pausing to pick up the mask at the center of the table, Danzo continued explaining basic procedure, the words practically burned into his mind after countless repetitions. He knew Naruto would be indispensable for the battles to come, even if boy himself was completely oblivious to it. As such, the old war veteran made it a point to make sure the blonde had all the information and assistance he would need to carry out his duties.

"Your codename is Kitsune, for obvious reasons," Danzo supplied as he handed Naruto the mask. "You will be working with Owl and Penguin as part of a three-man cell whose primary focus is the Jinchuuriki hybrids Mist has been producing at an alarming rate. Follow them to the training area; they will walk you through everything. I will oversee your training personally."

"Hai, Danzo-sama," Naruto almost choked on the words as he forced them out. The fact that Danzo had tried to manipulate him by replacing the old man in his memories was not lost on him. It was bad enough that he had to call the sick fuck "Jiji" to protect his cover, but he could not afford to give Danzo any reason to doubt his loyalty. As far as Danzo was concerned, everything was going according to plan.

Naruto would have to navigate this new challenge rather cautiously.

The blonde shot his two new teammates a grin as he approached them, his hand already poised for a handshake as he closed the distance. He could only imagine the types of personalities Root tended to attract, but it would not hurt to put his best foot forward. The girl in the Penguin mask met him halfway, politely introducing herself.

"Hey, I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"My name is Yuki Haku, and this is…"

"Don't." Owl warned. "I think it's best if we just remain as Owl and Kitsune to each other."

Haku removed her mask as she gave Naruto a sheepish smile; if she was going to be spending that much time with this person, she did not want to be wearing her mask at all times. Her beauty was not lost on him, and the blonde could not help but return her warm smile, noting how Haku puts her friend's behavior behind her like it was a practiced maneuver. "I look forward to working with you."

The girl in the Owl mask made no move to greet him, her body language signifying she was slightly on edge. Unsure as to why she seemed somewhat bothered by his presence, Naruto simply gave her a small wave, at least one of them was friendly.

"Listen up." Danzo announced, entering the training ground and taking a seat on a wooden chair. "Naruto, I'm confident in most of your abilities as a shinobi; there's a reason you and Sasuke were drafted into ANBU forces at thirteen. However, your Kenjutsu with the tanto is what really needs some work, so you're going to be sparring with Owl to refine your skills."

"Can I spar with you, instead?" Naruto whispered to Haku. "I don't think she likes me very much."

"I'm not really a close-range fighter, sorry." To her credit, Haku did sound apologetic.

He walked to the center of the training ground, and Owl grabbed two wooden tanto's, chucking one at him and assuming her stance. He could not get a read on her expression through the mask, but he could tell it was not friendly. Slightly getting annoyed at her stuck-up behavior, Naruto made it a point to one up her, one way or another. He was a quick learner, and he doubted she was as fast and strong as him.

"Begin."

Owl charged at him with a fluid grace that completely took him by surprise. Still holding his wooden tanto in a standard grip, Naruto blocked her first two strikes, but Owl had managed to get her tanto under his. Flinging her sword upwards, Owl sent his sword flying into the air as she held the wood close to his neck while Naruto threw his arms up. She scoffed, and then brought her wooden blade down to mildly dig into Naruto's stomach.

"I don't see what Danzo-sama sees in you."

"What's your problem?" Naruto was bewildered as he picked up his sword.

"I just don't like the preferential treatment."

And so, they went again, and again, and again, but Naruto would never get too far in the exchange before she broke through his guard and poked him here and there. His annoyance was building at an alarming rate; he had not expected being paired with such an infuriating teammate. She was getting a sick sense of amusement out of this, knocking down the fabled recruit who was immediately cleared for missions. Everybody else in Root had to go through strict procedures before they were even allowed to think about serving Root in any official capacity.

What made this guy so special?

"Fuck this!" Naruto yelled, after an especially bruising hit on his back. "Danzo-sama, can I fight how I would typically fight? With my clones?"

Danzo was curious.

"I'll allow it." Danzo announced. "No lethal Jutsu, though."

They did not have enough time to make Naruto a Kenjutsu master, after all, but Danzo had heard of Naruto's mastery with the Kage Bunshin, combining it with the Academy Three with a perfection that was never seen before. Just those basic techniques – the Kawarmi, Bunshin, and Henge – had allowed Naruto to create a close combat fighting style that was his very own, and it was lethal. He was hoping all those facets would trickle down into his Kenjutsu style as well.

Naruto smirked as he was the one to take the initiative this time, forming four shadow clones around him as they used Shunpo to appear around her. Owl ducked under a clone's swipe, pivoting to dodge the rest of the attacks and appear behind a clone. She quickly dispelled it with a strike on its back, hastily blocking another errant strike from her left. Naruto Shunpo'd behind her, coming down with an overhand slash.

She kicked the clone she was clashing with and jumped ten feet into the air and ran through hand seals.

"Suiton: Mizurappa!" (Water Release: Wild Water Wave)

Owl spewed a torrent of water from her mouth, and Naruto had to substitute with a clone to come away unharmed from the velocity of her attack. One more clone perished, but Naruto replenished his forces by making three more clones, bringing him back up to four. They Shunpo'd to her position, and Naruto and his clones had switched how the held the sword, switching from a standard grip to a reverse grip.

Hotaru was still free falling down, which limited her options, but she blocked the first strike, dispelling the clone easily, kicking back on it to hasten her decent to the ground. As soon as she landed, Naruto and his crew were upon her, coming down at her from above. She rolled away from their lunges but barely had time to take a breather as another Naruto clone Shunpo'd to her position. However, she was still prepared for the strike, bringing her sword up to block the slash.

To Hotaru's surprise, that clone simply passed through her, while another clone followed up from right behind the regular Bunshin. The clone spun like a corkscrew, the wooden tanto jutting out from the vortex that was Naruto's clone as Owl tried to power through the repeated strikes. Naruto's clone stuck out his leg while he was rotating, however, and it connected right at the shoulder junction of her sword arm. Another clone Shunpo'd at that precise spot, and Owl quickly rotated on her heel to lash out with a roundhouse.

However, Naruto substituted with that clone, blocking her kick and creating a wide opening. The clone rushed forward, bringing its wooden tanto up in a fierce upward swing; Naruto had decided exactly what how he was going to fix this girl's attitude. He was going to brute force his way through this problem the good old Uzumaki way, deciding that the best course of action was to take off her mask.

Owl tried to lean backwards, but the clone grazed the underside of the mask, loosening the ties enough so that it shot off from her head. Owl quickly regained her composure, striking out with a flurry of strikes that dispelled the clones and connecting right onto Naruto's stomach with a lunge. Naruto grunted but held on, kicking out his legs and sweeping Owl's knees.

Naruto landed flat on his back while Owl landed on his lap, straddling him while they both pressed their tanto to each other's necks. Her face was centimeters away from his, and Naruto finally got a good look at her; she was surprisingly attractive. Her furious expression only served to embellish her features, and Naruto smirked as he had accomplished what he wanted. Now, it was time for a proper introduction.

Strangely enough, he could not help but shake the feeling that she looked familiar.

Naruto could smell her on him, noting the fact that she smelled like lavender, but he was especially focused on the hot air caressing his face from her frequent pants. She pawed at her face and realized her mask had been taken off, which only increased her anger as a blush overtook her features, and she pressed the tanto deeper into Naruto's neck while he choked.

"Baka!"

Naruto grinned, rasping out a response. "You're going to have to tell me your name, now."

She scoffed, rising up from their entangled position on the ground, and she was beyond furious at the proud glint in Danzo's eye. Danzo knew Naruto was indeed a generational talent, but he did not expect him to produce results so quickly. Perhaps he really could shape Naruto up to par in two weeks, which was more time than he could really sacrifice at this point; Kiri's timeline has been progressing at an absurd rate recently.

"I'm Tsuchi Hotaru." She crossed her arms. "Don't try that shit with me again, Uzumaki."

"What shit? You mean embarrass you in front of Danzo-sama?" Naruto smirked.

Hotaru growled, getting into her stance while Naruto's face lost its mirth.

"Ready yourself."

"Bring it."

A man with a grey mask stood over a pile of dead Mist shinobi, a single Sharingan eye gleaming in the darkness. His tanto was caked in blood as he swiped at the air, hurling the blood off of his sword as it drenched the wall behind him. He took slow, measured steps to the scientist who was pleading for his life amongst his dead crew members.

"Tell me." The stranger's eyes transformed into a Mangekyou. "Who's in charge of this?"

"I don't know!"

"Look, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way." The Sharingan whirled for effect. "Who exactly is ordering these nukes?!"

"Please, I'm just a scientist who was brought to improve the process." The man pleaded. "I don't question orders from that high up on the chain!"

"Fine, then." The masked man scoffed. "How are you guys doing this? Who taught you this seal and the entire process?"

"It's in the notes from the head of the Tsuchigumo Clan!"

"And where is this source?"

"I don't know!"

The masked man could tell he was telling the truth, and he quickly finished him off with a measured swipe of his blade. Muttering to himself, he looked around at the destruction he had caused, shaking his head at the blood spilled throughout the room. The Hidden Villages hungered for war, small conflicts eventually escalating to the brink of a World War with every single classified mission.

He wished this was not necessary.

Nonetheless, he resumed his trek through the compound, looking at the terrified people locked in the cages, their fearful eyes begging for mercy. Others looked at him with hope and adoration, thinking their savior had come to rescue them from the clutches of these evil Mist shinobi and scientists. However, each one of them had that distinct seal on their back, the one that marked them as a bomb for the rest of their lives.

Their humanity was robbed from them the moment it was engraved into them, dooming them to a life as a weapon. As a result, he would have to rob them of their lives; he could not just let a plethora of human bombs just walk around, free to blow up at any moment and cause an untold amount of death and destruction. He had to wipe any traces of bases like these, so this technique could never be replicated and utilized again.

Ironically, Death was the only way they would be free again. As hard as this part was, he knew sometimes that the only way to save lives is by taking them. Although he would have to bear the burden alone, he knew it was necessary.

Self-sacrifice, protecting peace from the shadows; that was what he believed in.

Miles off, near the coast of Mizugakure, a figure made his way through the marshland, tree hopping to his destination. His investigation into his target had led him to this war-torn nation on the brink of collapse, and he had no doubt in his mind that his prey was somehow profiting off of this village's current state of affairs. The Uchiha prodigy was well aware how high the stakes were.

After the death of Pein, the Akatsuki promptly disbanded, no longer having a vision or a means of attaining it. As far as Itachi knew, the majority of them had gone their own way, most likely selling their loyalty to the highest bidder. The Akatsuki only truly posed a threat as an organization, and Itachi did not believe it was necessary to keep tabs on each individual member. Itachi even had no knowledge of Kisame's plans, and his last conversation with his shark-like partner was rather cryptic, which was unlike him.

However, he was well aware that the masked man who claimed to be Uchiha Madara was the real mastermind behind the Akatsuki. The Uchiha prodigy also knew that he was not the kind of man to give up on his ideals after a setback, no matter how major. The implications of his new plan would probably be even more horrifying than the original, and Itachi was the only one who had him on his radar.

The prodigy had gathered some intel throughout his journey into Mist, rumors of how the Fourth Mizukage might have been under a Sharingan Genjutsu. The normally gentle, kind ruler turned into a ruthless tyrant in a matter of days, and Mist was left reeling from the aftershock of that shift. The bloodline purges resumed with a tenacity that even shocked the loyalists, burning them at the stake or even lynching them in groups; the bloodline users were stripped of their status as human beings.

Itachi had a feeling the masked man was behind everything.

However, there were far reaching consequences that could arise if that rumor was instead treated as a fact, because that would mean Mist has been operating under false pretenses for decades now. If the masked man truly controlled the Mizukage, who knows what else he could accomplish by a proxy of Mist's manpower.

It seemed as though the masked man had been very busy; Mist was riddled with schemes and problems that were covered in his scent. The pseudo-Jinchuuriki that have been popping up all over Mist was undoubtedly his handiwork as well, and Itachi was confident that chasing this lead would bring him one step closer to the man himself.

Despite having so much on his plate, the prodigy found his mind drifting to thoughts about his younger brother. It seemed as though the peace that had been established after the Third Shinobi World War had been a fragile one, and Itachi had a sinking feeling that Sasuke's generation would be caught in the ensuing conflict. Having experienced the horrors of war first hand at a young age, the Uchiha knew that Sasuke was most likely going to lose his way as well. Itachi had overcome this obstacle by becoming a pacifist, but he had a feeling that it may lead Sasuke down a much darker path.

If that did end up becoming the case, Itachi knew he was responsible.

But the world did not care about his guilt, Sasuke, or even Konoha. There were sinister forces at play, and the greater good had to be prioritized over personal desires; Itachi knew this all too well, but part of him could not help but shake the feeling that the world he was seeing was an illusion. Perhaps he only saw half the picture, and his focus should not be on the masked man at all. If someone had the power to infiltrate Ame and best Pein on his turf, Itachi doubted Konan would be strong enough to defeat him.

Whoever killed Pein was probably still out there.

"Kanpai!"

The group cheered as they downed a shot of sake, each of them making a sour face as the liquid burned down their throats. This was the last night Naruto and Sasuke would stay in Konoha; they would be on a boat to Mizu no Kuni tomorrow afternoon. Two weeks had passed since they were drafted into ANBU, running through procedures and preliminary training, and they were already deemed ready to join the forces in Water Country. Ino and Sakura had decided to throw a little get together last minute, and they had even managed to rope Shikamaru into their planning.

Ino and Sakura prepared a big home cooked meal – filled with all of their favorites – for all of them at their place, and the leftover plates piled up in the trash can. Shikamaru was tasked with getting a cake, and he chose a large chocolate mud cake, which was left half devoured on the counter. Music was playing on the TV, and the ambient rhythm traveled through the open balcony door, where the teens were currently drinking, refilling their saucers once again.

"Okay, it's your turn." Ino beckoned towards Shikamaru. "Draw a card!"

"Jack." Shikamaru slurred.

"All guys drink!" Sakura cheered.

Naruto and Sasuke cursed Shikamaru under their breath as the boys each finished their cups, and they began to sway in place just a little bit. They were playing King's cup, a drinking game in which each card represented a certain action you had to perform. Naruto had consumed the most amount of alcohol by far, as they knew it took a lot for Naruto to actually feel drunk due to his heightened metabolism.

Every time the card would land on a two or a four, the person drawing the card could make two people drink. If you drew an eight, you could choose one person to be your mate, which meant your mate would drink whenever you had to. As a result, he had to drink on each of these occasions, and he was now officially Ino's mate.

"Nine!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes landing on the clock on the wall. "Rhyme time! Clock!"

"Sock."

"Block."

"Lock."

"Dock."

"…" Sasuke hesitated for just a second, desperately trying to come up with something. "Cock."

"What the?" Naruto sputtered, caught off guard.

"Ahah!" Ino and Sakura pointed at him, laughing at Sasuke's response. "Drink!"

Naruto gave him the evil eye as he drowned another shot.

"I meant a rooster, dobe, not a..." Sasuke felt the need to explain himself.

"Whatever you say, Sasuke." Sakura cut him off, pretending to look at her nails.

"Hn."

Shikamaru bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing outright at the Uchiha.

"King…" Naruto drew another card and noticed all three of the other Kings were already on the table at this point. "Fuck."

"The King's Cup for Uzumaki-sama." Ino spoke in a faux regal voice, presenting the massive cup filled to the brim with liquor and bowing her head. "Your Majesty."

"Oh my god, that thing built up." Sakura grimaced. "You really shouldn't drink all of that in one go, Naruto…"

"Nah, he's got it." Shikamaru smirked, goading him into drinking.

"Uzumaki Naruto doesn't back down!" Naruto yelled.

The group grimaced as he kept chugging, feeling the phantom burn going down their throats as well, and Naruto finally finished and set down the cup in victory. Soon after, though, he began to sway in place and fell back onto the chair, sinking into it.

He drank too much.

"Cigarette…" Naruto slurred, half dead. "I need a cigarette…"

"Is he…" Ino could not help but be worried.

"He'll be alright." Sasuke reassured.

Inside Naruto's mind, however, Yami Naruto smirked, gleefully watching his counterpart become more and more inebriated. Soon enough, Naruto became too drunk to function, his head lolling back onto the head rest, and Yami Naruto took over. Naruto futilely tried to take back control, but he was simply too drunk to muster up the energy. The rest of them were surprised when Naruto bounced back up, raring to go with a big smile on his face.

Time to have some fun.

"Well, the game's over, now what?"

"C'mon, Shika. Let's settle who's the best shogi player in this group." Sasuke challenged, hiding a grin.

"We all know it's me, but I'll humor you, Uchiha."

Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Sakura started going inside, looking through his shelves to find the Shogi board and set it up on the counter, where Shikamaru and Sasuke sat down facing each other. Sakura busied herself by going through his food cabinet, making some sandwiches for the crew; Sakura was starting to get the munchies. She would be the only one willing to go through the hassle of preparing drunk food, and the men would sing praises to her for the entire night.

That left Ino and Naruto on the balcony, waiting for Naruto's cigarette to extinguish.

"I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow." Ino's voice was solemn.

"Yeah…"

Yami Naruto looked over Ino, mentally cataloguing her features and comparing them with Sakura. In his humble opinion, Sakura was the cuter one, but he could see why his counterpart was so stricken with Ino; she was beautiful. In fact, Yami Naruto loved the fact that Ino was a tease, but his partner was a bit too shy to really challenge that facet of her personality. He had no such qualms against it, so he smirked as he thought of ways to leave this girl tongue tied.

Naruto would thank him, really.

"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it." Naruto smiled at her. "If it helps, you'll probably be on my mind a lot."

"Oh?" Ino turned a challenging smirk towards him.

"Yeah, I dream about you sometimes, ya' know."

"What are we doing in these dreams?"

"A lot of things." Naruto smirked. "Before I answer any further, however, tell me. Do you dream about me as well?"

"Sometimes," Ino smirked back, batting her eyelashes and licking the front row of her teeth.

"What are we doing in your dreams?"

"A lot of things." Ino's Cheshire grin only widened.

"Like this?" Naruto whispered as he closed the distance between them.

Ino actually found herself blushing when Naruto leaned in, his palm lying flat across her back. His arm slowly traveled upwards, hinging on her shoulder and pulling her in close. She smiled into his embrace, hugging him back and looking into his eyes. The alcohol was working its way through their systems, making both of them feel a bit too bold and loose – knocking down on their inhibitions to put an end to this cat and mouse chase.

"Naruto, what're you doing?" Ino giggled as she bit the inside of her cheek, wondering if this was going too far. They were just friends, right?

"One of these days…" Naruto's rough voice was barely audible as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind the platinum blonde's ear, eliciting a deep blush on her face. She felt herself leaning into his touch, both unsure and excited about what he was implying.

"Slow down, Tiger," Ino breathed, her mind was completely blank. At this rate, something was bound to happen, and Ino knew she was not the one in control of this situation. Naruto simply smirked as he took in the details of her panicked expression. Ino was really cute when she was flustered.

"You're asking for too much, always prancing around in that cute little mini skirt," Naruto teased, as his hands started traveling down her back, stopping just shy of her assets.

Ino squeaked, laughing and slapping her hand on his chest, slowly withdrawing from his embrace as she could feel herself heating up. When did Naruto get this… bold? Where was the usually shy boy she could run circles around, always sporting an embarrassed blush on his face at her teasing? This Naruto was confident, matching her word for word and upping the intensity. She needed to fan herself off, as she felt butterflies churn in her stomach.

Ino could not make sense of her fellow blonde's behavior at all; she was usually the one with the upper hand in these situations. The Naruto she was used to would always look away and blush whenever she would get too close to his face or scoot a little bit off to the side whenever she would sit too close to him. She found that part of him way too endearing, but at the same time, she really liked this new attitude of his. There really were not that many guys that could turn the tables on her like that.

However, things were getting a little too hot and heavy, and she needed to change the subject before things pushed past the point of no return. Part of her wanted things to play out, hoping Naruto would not let her get away that easy.

"How long do you think you guys will be in Water Country?"

Seems like she was conceding this round, Yami Naruto thought with a prideful smirk. Masterfully, he let it pass and his features became neutral again, and Naruto looked off into the distance as his teasing mood left him. He would not push anymore – that could cause something his counterpart could not come back from, whether he wanted it or not. It should be Naruto's choice in the end; after all, he was still a tag along in this body for now.

"I don't know."

Back inside, Shikamaru had made quick work of the Uchiha, as he was apparently the better drunk shogi master by a mile. However, Sasuke and Shikamaru had upped the stakes to their battle; each piece lost resulted in a drink. Shikamaru had won the shogi battle, but when Sasuke realized he was losing, he made it a point to take out as many of Shikamaru's pawns as he could, often making useless moves just to make him drink.

"I… I gotta' go to the bathroom…" Shikamaru burped, rubbing his stomach.

"That was evil." Sakura commented, wincing at Shikamaru's retching sounding out from the bathroom.

"Hn." This was Sasuke's smug, very-pleased-with-himself grunt.

Still, Sasuke did not come away unscathed, as he was several more shots deep, and his mind was in a haze. Everything looked blurry, he struggled to look at things – wait, he should turn on the Sharingan. Sasuke couldn't hide the smug smirk that overtook his features at how much his vision improved; the Sharingan is the shit.

"What are you smirking at, Sasuke?" A coy smile rested on Sakura's face.

Sasuke turned to look at Sakura, and he found himself wondering just why she stopped attaching the suffix to his name. This was a recent development, as it only started occurring three or four weeks ago. Now, Sasuke did not really mind that she stopped, after all, why would he… He was just curious.

"Why'd you stop calling me, 'Sasuke-kun'?"

Sakura was taken aback, stuttering, because she never thought in a million years Uchiha Sasuke would ask her that question. She ignored the desperate quell rising in her gut as to what this could possibly mean; she was supposed to be moving on. Still, her feelings could not just disappear overnight, and that inner part of her ached for hope, something to grab onto, that this moment could actually mean something.

She felt like biggest lovestruck idiot in the world, just so freaking stupid.

"I… uhh." Sakura racked her brain. "I didn't think you cared? You should be happy about that, right?"

"I'm not." Sasuke whispered, too drunk to hold anything back.

"Wha-?" Sakura was a bit delirious.

Shit.

Where was he going with this?

Sasuke suddenly found himself all too aware of what was going on, what he said; and a sobering chill washed over him. The moment was beginning to stretch out now, becoming a bit awkward, and he winced as he turned away. His stupid mouth was running rampant, without his consent might he add, which now landed him in this situation. He looked over at her slightly distressed face, as she brought her arms in, clutching her elbows.

Everything about her body language screamed distress, so he wanted to fix that, remove the discomfort from her face. He reached his arm over her, bringing her side flush to his own and rubbing her shoulder to comfort her, and she turned a bewildered glance up at him, eyes swimming with emotion.

"I like it… when you call me Sasuke-kun."

The silence stretched out for what seemed like an eternity.

"Oh haha, good one, Sasuke…" Sakura nervously chuckled.

As much as she would want it to be otherwise, she knew the facts – Uchiha Sasuke did not want to be with Haruno Sakura. Sasuke never even showed a hint of a positive indication towards her feelings when she outright said them, so she tried to explain this away using that line of thinking. The only way this made sense is if she was making this out to be a huge thing when it was not, maybe it was just a joke or a passing comment.

"I'm serious." Sasuke replied, confused.

Her face wrinkled in confusion, which Sasuke had to admit was adorable, and slowly lit up in joy. Sasuke tracked her features shift with his Sharingan, ingraining it into his memory as he was stricken by her positive energy. He could not help but return her smile, which Sakura was openly staring at, noting how much softer his visage would get when he would smile like this. It was not smug smile or a smirk like she was used to; there was a gentleness to his face she never saw before.

She could feel herself burning up, so she ducked her head to hide it from his view. Afraid he would pull away, she did not want to push too hard, so she was willing to let this play out, comfortable just letting this night be as is. A moment passed as Sasuke shifted in their embrace, feeling a bit uncomfortable at the prolonged contact. For the first time in his life, he could feel himself observing the way her soft, curved body would fit with his, burning up a bit at the thought.

"You can let go of me, now." He blurted out, flushed.

Sakura moved away on instinct, hiding a bit of hurt as she looked at his face. However, she was immensely surprised when she noticed his blushing visage – rosy cheeks and even the tips of his ears were burning up – and she sported a smug smile the Uchiha clan would be proud of.

"You're lucky you're so pretty, Sasuke-kun, cuz' sometimes you say things that just piss me off."

Sasuke smiled – she said it again.

"We should check on Shika."

A/N: We're back!

You guys get to see some more background as to who the mysterious person is that keeps appearing in Naruto's dreams. I urge you guys to check out the Naruto timeline; Hashirama died decades before Madara did, who was still alive to manipulate Obito in the Third World War. We thought why wouldn't there be a reincarnation of Asura then, which created the character you guys see in those dreams.

You guys see how Isshin and Arashi/Asura were actually really close, bringing a new dynamic to any confrontations Naruto would have with him down the line.

The rest of the chapter is some build up as our heroes prepare themselves for their excursion to Mist, culminating in a goodbye party with Ino, Sakura, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Naruto. Next chapter, we'll be diving right into Mist.

Let me know what you guys thought!

~Ja ne