Chapter 7

9 years before Emergence Day...

Naruto's morning started with a pained grimace and a gasp for breath. Naruto's eyes snapped open as memories of battles from nearly a century ago left him, the tumultuous dreams of pain, loss, and death giving way to a day full of possibility. It was the reason Naruto stayed up as late as he usually did; sleep meant revisiting the darker sides of his past. The regret, the knowledge that he could have saved so many of his friends...it kept him up. And now Samuel and Sheraya had joined the faces of his lost loved ones.

The blonde man sat up and shook his head, his bushy hair shaking as well. There was a time to grieve, and there was a time to improve his home. He could go back to mourning later.

"Time to get up." He muttered. Naruto swept the covers over to one side, and set his bare feet down on the carpet. His torso was bare, showing off defined, healthy muscles and a toned stomach. There was also an angry, white scar that fell below his left pectoral muscle and ran down to just below his ribs. Despite himself, Naruto couldn't recall exactly where he'd gotten it. His pajama pants were orange, of course. He'd learned a long time ago that pants were a necessity in a house with a young girl, not that he was planning on walking around in his underwear.

Naruto stood up from the bed and walked into his bathroom, warm carpet being replaced by cold tile. The sensation caused him to shiver, but it served to help wake him up. His bathroom was furnished with light woods and a marble counter. The sink was stainless steel, and the toilet was white porcelain. A large mirror stretched across the bathroom counter, showing another unfortunate side effect to his restless sleep: bed head. His blonde hair on the back of his head stuck up in the back, bushy but out of whack. Naruto grabbed a toothbrush and started brushing his teeth, and could faintly hear footsteps from the kitchen. It seems Samantha is up already.

Fifteen minutes later, Naruto emerged from the bathroom showered, brushed, and shaved. He changed into a pair of blue tear-resistant pants he'd acquired from a military surplus store that was very similar to his ninja uniform. His shirt was a simple white t-shirt, but Samantha had written on it in permanent marker in her earlier childhood. The words, 'World's Greatest Dad!' were written in a five year old's clumsy hand across the stomach. He wore it often, though repeated washings had faded the black letters to a dull gray. He wore no socks, and padded into the kitchen barefoot just as Samantha was hopping into a chair with a bowl of cereal on the table. Her pajamas were black, bottom and top, with little dogs on them. Her black hair was pinned up behind her ear, though it only fell to her cheek. She put a spoonful in her mouth and was half way through chewing it when she noticed him enter the room.

"Gloob morgning." She said through a mouthful of cereal. Naruto chuckled and ruffled her hair, earning an irritated grunt.

"Gloob morning to you too." He walked past her to the refrigerator, and pulled two eggs from a drawer within. He grabbed a milk jug as well, and shut the door. The cupboard yielded an apple, and an iron skillet went on the stove. Naruto chewed on the apple while the stove warmed, an electric stove he'd collected from Tyrus. Once it reached the appropriate temperature, he started mixing the eggs in a bowl with salt, pepper, and a little bit of cheese. He then dumped the eggs into the skillet, and started spreading them around as they cooked.

"What are we doing today, Dad?" Samantha had evidently finished her cereal by this time. Naruto took another bite of his apple and chewed, wondering the same thing himself. Normally she'd be in school, but the small schoolhouse in Anvegad had been destroyed in the siege. Another one had been rebuilt, of course, but there weren't many competent teachers living in the mountain fortress anymore. As such, it fell to Naruto to teach her, and so far he had done a fair job of it. But it also led to days where he had nothing to teach her. Nothing mundane, anyway. Naruto swallowed the bite of apple.

"I think it's time we tried something a little newer. You're already good at math, and I've gone through as much literature as I could with you. I guess I should teach you some things I learned in the academy." Here reaction was predictable, but it still made him smile.

"REALLY?! Oh, that would be so cool!" She crowed. The girl had cleared the table and wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug that almost made him budge. But not quite. Naruto smiled and ruffled her hair again. Samantha released him and bounced up and down in excitement. Naruto chuckled and held up a finger.

"I have to get these blinds installed first, and I haven't even had breakfast yet. But yes, I'll get you started." That said, the eggs were ready anyway. He moved them from skillet to plate and poured a glass of milk for himself. He created two clones after he sat down, both clad like he was, and one started working on cleaning his and Samantha's dishes while the other went to go get some tools to install the blinds they'd gotten the previous day. Samantha ran to her room to get dressed, leaving the three Naruto's in the kitchen to themselves.

The sun rose up in the sky, prompting Naruto and Samantha to go around to the back of the house. There, the ground was flat and sparsely covered with grass until it butted up against the wall that separated Naruto's property from the upper side of the mountain. There was roughly sixty feet between the back door and the wall, but it was a large enough area for what they wanted to practice. Naruto had managed to cultivate a decent amount of grass in a spot closer to the wall, and that's where they sat down. Naruto assumed the lotus position, with his legs crossed underneath each other. Samantha struggled to imitate him, but only partially succeeded.

"Alright, now the first thing you have to do is calm yourself. No thoughts, no speaking, nothing." Samantha's nose scrunched up, like he knew it would. "It's easier if you close your eyes and focus on nothing. Just let everything slip away."

"How is this training?" Samantha was mature for her age, but eight years old was still young. Naruto smirked, and poked her forehead.

"You'll see. Now less talky, more meditation." His voice only carried half of a reprimand, but the effect was immediate. Samantha squinted her eyes shut, her forehead wrinkling with intense concentration. Which was half of what he wanted.

"Not like that. It's more like...trying to daydream. Just let everything fall away." He struggled to explain it to someone with no experience with chakra, but she did settle down somewhat. Samantha's features relaxed to an expression of calm, and he could hear her breathing slow.

"Like this?" He smiled, and closed his eyes as well.

"Yes, but stay quiet. Talking provokes thought, and you need to be empty of thought."

"I don't know, I've met a bunch of people who talk without thinking..."

"Hush. Now, I want you to take deep, calming breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth." Samantha did as she was told, and her body relaxed. It was difficult to calm her anticipation, but she stifled it as she had been told.

"Now, I want you to think of water moving in a circle. Just a slow, spinning circle. Don't think of anything else, and remember to keep your breathing steady." It was difficult for Naruto to sense chakra when outside of sage mode, and there wasn't any nature chakra on Sera that he had discovered. Still, he could sense chakra if he concentrated, and sure enough there was a trickle of energy that he could feel, running through the young girl's body. What little there was seemed reluctant to move, remaining dormant within her. There was chakra within the people of Sera, but no nature chakra. It was a curiosity that intrigued Naruto, but he brushed it off as something he could look into later.

"Now, I want you to become the water. Imagine it flowing through you. Focus on the current." Naruto could feel some chakra flare, but not much. It was a difficult thing, getting an eight year old to meditate, but she was trying.

"I feel funny." She said, in a voice that was somewhat detached, as if she was under the effects of anesthesia. Naruto grinned.

"Good. You can feel it. But you're not focused enough to use it." Naruto opened his eyes and stood up, causing Samantha to do the same. Her eyes were drooping, and the girl stretched her arms above her head and yawned.

"Why was that so tiring?" She asked.

"Well, chakra is energy. And like all energy, you need to control it. You've never controlled it before, so it's hard to do and very tiring for you. I guarantee if you practice meditating, it will become easier." Naruto held up a hand. "Wait here."

Samantha stifled another yawn and watched as Naruto went back into their house for a few seconds. While he rummaged around in the house for whatever he wanted to get, Samantha stared at her hands in wonder. She had felt chakra! It was the same stuff that let Naruto do all the amazing things he'd shown her, and she had felt it! Her tiredness began to ebb away, and her excitement grew. The girl was so embroiled in her thoughts that she didn't hear Naruto come back out of the house.

"When I was young, they gave us these. It was the basic exercise required to enter the Shinobi Academy." Naruto grabbed Samantha's hand gently and placed something small into it. When his hand moved away, she found that she was holding... a leaf?

"What am I supposed to do with this?" She asked incredulously. Naruto chuckled and ruffled her hair.

"First, I want you to learn to control your chakra. You don't have much, so it will take some concentration, but I want you to meditate like I showed you today. Once I'm satisfied that you can mold it as necessary, we'll move on to the next task. Which will involve the leaf." Samantha put the small green leaf into her pocket, patting it for reassurance. "Until then, you need to practice."

"I will!" Samantha promised, and hugged the blonde again. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and chuckled.

"Yeah, I know you will."

Pad had laid in the same spot for three days, the temperate forest offering spotty shade from the intense sun. His hide was made to look like a partially fallen tree, but synthetic netting and a green shooting mat beneath him made the difference between itchy, sweaty hell and barely tolerable comfort. Field craft and the ability to sit still for long periods of time were mandatory for snipers, and especially for a sniper thirty miles into enemy territory. Pad's Raven had come and picked him up after his little chat with Chairman Dalyell, and he'd been inserted into Ostri as quickly and quietly as a chopper could. Raven pilots were universally crazy, but this one had nearly dumped him out of the crew cabin before banking hard and leaving. No missiles or enemy aircraft chased after, but Pad understood that the less time the Raven spent in the area, the less likely he was to be spotted. Night insertions were tricky, because a patient man could turn a helicopter drop into a fiery crash very easily. But nothing had happened.

And now there Pad lay, and the uneasiness in his gut was not from the shitty rations he'd brought with him. A face to face talk with the Chairman of the COG was almost always very bad. He'd been stubbornly silent everywhere he could, but it only took one stern warning from the Chairman that snipers disappeared into the bush all the time before Pad had been forced to change tactics. So, he'd told them a little bit of everything.

Naruto's abilities were still mostly a mystery, but cloning himself and moving from point to point instantaneously were abilities they expected Pad to know. He told them that it was a nauseating experience, but he left out the need for Naruto's special three pronged knives. He told them that he could copy himself, but he didn't mention that he could do it in large numbers, or that the memories transferred back to the original.

It had been a nerve-wracking game, with Pad testing the limits of the Chairman's knowledge while the Chairman did what he could to see through Pad's half-truths. For the most part, he'd been successful. But then the Chairman had asked about Samantha. And the Chairman knew more about the little girl than Pad did, but that line of questioning was to determine how devoted Naruto was to Samantha. That was a lot more difficult to lie about.

Pad was interrupted from his musings as motion below caused him to focus on the task at hand. He sat on a hill above a somewhat hidden Ostri training camp. According to intel, it was a major commando training area. New recruits went in, killing ghosts walked out. Pad had been tasked with eliminating the head trainer and, if possible, the base commander. The idea was that if the UIR were shown that their super secret solders' super secret base was found and high ranking personnel were killed, it would deal a blow to their commando program. Hell, they'd waste resources just relocating the camp. And there was one middle-aged man, average height, being followed around by two other soldiers as he made rounds in the barracks. His shouts could be heard from Pad's position, a testament both to how close Pad had gotten and how mad the officer was.

Rustling echoed behind him, and Pad quietly flipped the covers down on his scope. With his close proximity to the base, it made sense that there would be patrols and training exercises in the surrounding forests. He could hear the trainees creeping slowly through the woods, likely hunting for a trainer hidden in the brush. It meant he was in danger of being found, but his hide was good and Pad knew how to stay quiet. He was also alone, as Baz had gone on fifteen day leave.

As he sat there quietly, listening to the UIR's ghosts-in-training, he still found the time to think about his talk with the Chairman. Apparently they had received intel of Naruto's existence from an agent in Gorasnaya. And it was largely enemy intelligence that the Chairman was using to research the abilities and behavior of a man living in COG territory. That meant that they had not attempted to grill Hoffman for information, not that the man would give anything up. But Naruto was definitely in danger of experimentation. The war had gone on for nearly eighty years; both sides were growing desperate to end the conflict. War was a reality broadly accepted across Sera, but every now and then, you need peace.

Three hours passed as Pad sat and waited, each minute possibly bringing discovery and a slow death in some Ostrian interrogation room. But the trainees never found him. After the third hour, Pad open his scope back up and continued observing the camp. The sun had gone down considerably, lengthening shadows and putting the sun behind Pad in a way that would blind anyone attempting to look for him from the camp. It was why he had chosen this hide in the first place. The trainees and their instructors ran their evening drills, standing in formation for extended periods of time and following drill instructions quickly, efficiently, and without error.

But it was a trainee error that earned Pad his chance. The candidates were conducting rifle drill, a series of structured movements that improved familiarity with the rifle and discipline that comes with holding an uncomfortable position for long periods of time. But one recruit in the platoon closest to the exterior fence, near the back, lost his grip on the sweat-slicked rifle and it fell to the ground with a clatter that Pad could barely hear at his distance. It was the officer that he had observed earlier that came out to chew the trainee up one side and down the other. Judging from the trainee's wide-eyed face as the coarser parts of the Ostrian language assaulted him, this was the head trainer.

Pad brought the rifle to his shoulder and took in a deep breath. He adjusted for the distance, and a slight breeze caused him to aim high and a little to the left of the tirading officer. He released his held breath slowly, and his finger gently squeezed the trigger.

BAM!

After three days of silence and distant sound, the report of his Longshot would have startled a novice sniper. But Pad was no novice. The round flew straight and true, erring slightly right due to the wind and the range. The bullet wound up dropping right into the shouting Indie's right temple, showering the area with arterial blood and dropping the man like a sack of potatoes. The trainee he had been yelling at didn't register anything more than a spray of blood at first. By the time he looked down to see the trainer bleeding in the dirt, Pad had already slung his rifle and started moving away.

A siren started howling behind him as Padrick moved to the extraction point, his radio already on and keyed to the Raven's frequency.

"Overlook to Pelican, target eliminated. Request evac as quickly as you please." His Islander charm had dulled, despite the weeks harsh events.

"Roger that, Overlook. Pelican inbound to Exfil zone Alpha. Don't be late." The pilot was female, a young bird with an acid mouth and impressive flying skills. He'd worked with her once before, though her name escaped him. Pad adjusted his rifle's sling and got the lead out, hurrying across the Ostrian hillside to a clearing nearly a klick (kilometer) away. He kept his rapid pace easily, both in part to his physical endurance and his light kit. He carried a pistol, his rifle, a light jacket and spare rounds for his weapons. His shirt, pants, and boots were water resistant and very light, making it easy to outpace the tired trainees likely on his tail.

After a few minutes of jumping stumps, sliding down embankments, and straining to hear his pursuers over the blood pounding in his ears, the clearing came into view. And once he got his breathing under control, the steady thrum of an approaching Raven reached his ears. A fallen log sat near the edge of the clearing, giving good cover toward the direction the Indies were coming from. Ravens were fast, but you could hear them coming. Pad slid behind the log and propped up his rifle, waiting for his pursuers. The chopper grew steadily louder as he waited, seconds ticking by slowly. Nothing disturbed the foliage, but he wasn't out yet. Come on, Pelican. Where are you?

As if summoned by his willful thought, the sound of the King Raven's rotors reached its zenith as the chopper cleared the trees on the other side of the clearing. It was painted blue Pad kept his rifle pointed the other direction, but his eyes were watching the mechanical life saver touch down. Right when the wheels touched the ground, he was moving. It took Pad ten seconds to cover the field. He jumped into the crew bay and the crew chief slammed it closed behind him, and then knocked on the pilot's seat twice. The Raven took off immediately, climbing to safety before banking back towards friendly territory. Pad strapped himself in slowly, the cross country sprint and stress leaving him slightly winded as he took a few breaths.

"How was your camping trip?" The pilot asked over the in-cabin radio. Pad switched his radio over to that channel off of scan and grinned.

"Oh, you know. Bugs on the skin, bladder full of piss, and one empty shell." Pad said cheerily. The pilot wasn't impressed.

"And here I was in a hurry to pull you out. If I knew you were such a lazy camper, I'd have saved some fuel." The crew chief, a man with a non-regulation black beard and thick black sunglasses laughed, though the noise was lost to the sound of the Raven's rotors.

"You shoot and I'll fly next time, and we'll see who complains first."

"Ungrateful. Next time, it's the tow hitch for you."

4 years before Emergence Day...

Naruto stood above Jacinto's bustling streets, a critical eye combing the streets for his target. He's done this many times in urban environments in the Elemental Nations, but his current prey eluded him. He inhaled deeply, taking in the scents of the city in an attempt to narrow down his search area. A promising odor wafted from the east, but it led down the street towards a building that Naruto did not expect. His objective was to prevent the target from entering the bank below him. Why would they backtrack?

He suspected it to be a lure, but decided to try anyway. He followed the scent down the street from above, sliding down the side of the building in an alleyway using chakra. The scent led him into an alley way across the street, suspiciously close to the police station.

So, trick the police into detaining me while you slip away, huh? Naruto had no intention of running afoul with local law enforcement, as the lengthy explanations would cost him his prey. So he followed the scent to the alley and peered around, but not entering. Quite a few people shuffled past, walking or running to their various destinations as they went about their daily lives. The scent was close, and it seemed stronger further down the street. He also saw the bright red jacket his target had been wearing. It disappeared around the curve of the building at the next intersection, but he crossed the distance very quickly. Just as Naruto turned the corner, he knew that he had been duped. There, staring up at him happily, was a medium sized dog with the jacket wrapped around its belly. Naruto gave the dog a deadpan stare, allowing the pooch to jump up and lick his face. He pushed the dog down and flashed back to the rooftop. He immediately noticed his quarry, already entering the bank. With a curse, he jumped down to the street and rushed in, but the target was already walking up to a bank teller.

Samantha had bought the jacket for the express purpose of distracting her father, and it had worked beautifully. She'd figured as old as he was, he'd run into a situation like this a few times. As she walked up to the teller, a younger blonde woman with her hair up in a bun. Samantha pulled her prize from her cargo pants' pocket: a check, written from Naruto to her. If she could cache it without him noticing, she got to keep the cash. And her father was nowhere in sight.

"Hello! Welcome to Embry National! How can I help you?" The blonde said energetically. It caught Samantha off guard, as the attendant was unusually...perky. Nevertheless, she pressed on.

"Yes, I'd like to cache a check, full withdrawal please." Samantha said, occasionally glancing around. The large lobby of Jacinto's largest bank was filled with suited investors, borrowers, and the occasional executive. No white battle coat with red flames to be seen. Granted, her black tank top, gray jacket and cargo pants stuck out somewhat, as well as her age. A thirteen year old Kashkuri girl in a building full of suited adults stuck out somewhat.

"No problem! Let me open up the account on the check..." As the blonde went to work, Samantha couldn't believe her luck. She'd finally beaten her father in one of his scenario games! The sense of triumph caused a grin to form, though she kept in in check. She hadn't quite won yet.

"Oh shoot. I misplaced my pen. Let me find another one." Samantha turned to tell the attendant that it was quite alright when she saw the woman digging through her purse. More specifically, her white purse. With red flames on the bottom.

Oh balls. When the blonde looked back up, it was with a predatory smirk. Samantha just sighed heavily.

"When did you notice?" Her defeated tone made the blonde 'woman' laugh, though 'she' didn't break the transformation.

"I figured it out when you first bought the jacket. I also knew you'd go to the first teller you found, because you didn't expect to make it this far." The blonde pointed to a sign on her desk that Samantha hadn't even noticed. It was a metal prop up that clearly said, station closed. He'd posted up on a closed terminal and waited for her to walk in.

"Aw man..." And on top of that, the check was in his hand. She couldn't have lost any harder; she had handed him her prize.

"Don't feel bad." Naruto walked around the stand and towards the door, Samantha following behind dejectedly. As they walked out the door, Naruto used the transition to let his illusion fade, no smoke or anything high profile. One second he was the disguised bank teller in a long sleeved button up and vest, the next he was Naruto, dressed in his battle coat and cargo pants.

"You conned one of my clones into chasing that jacket. I can't give you all the money, but I think you earned a nice allowance boost." That caused Samantha to perk up a little, and when he turned around, Naruto was grinning. "I think you could also learn a few self defense techniques." That was really good news.

"Really?" Self-defense had been something Naruto had taught infrequently; he'd focused more on teaching her to hide and move silently, citing the logic that stealth would keep you alive better than fighting would.

"Yes, really. Now let's get back to the studio. We're going to need some room to move around." And off they went.

Due to their frequent travels, Naruto had elected to purchase a small studio in Jacinto, since that was one of their many stops. He'd come into quite a bit of money with a contracting job, something he'd done very well in with the use of his clones. As such, the house in Anvegad had been added on to slightly, and then he'd bought the studio. Not only that, but he'd also been generous with the studio.

Not wanting the studio to sit and gather dust whenever he and Samantha weren't in town, Naruto had allowed another person to live there in his stead. More specifically, one Lieutenant Taylor Wilkins. Despite the events of Anvil Gate, Wilkins had jumped right back into the cockpit, only this time she was flying a Raven. When Naruto had asked why, her answer had been a good one.

"The people of Anvegad survived because I had the guts to bring them supplies. Even though I lost my bird, I still made a difference. And that means there are still others out there that I can help."

Thankfully, she's lost some of her star struck fangirlness with Naruto, though she'd likely still jump him if given the chance. His gift of the flat in Jacinto only solidified her trust in him, though he was with Samantha often. There had been a time or two when he'd come alone, however.

Hey, sometimes you just have to scratch that itch.

But his past relationship with his wife prevented the two from going farther than good friends and occasional lovers. He'd told Taylor to move on from her obsession with him, and she had tried to listen. But there was only so much he could do without turning her out on the street.

So when they entered the studio, a medium sized flat on the third floor of an apartment building near Olafson Academy, they found Taylor lounging on the couch in her pajamas and over sized t-shirt. Naruto had given her a call earlier that day, but he hadn't told her when they'd arrive.

"We're home!" Samantha said with a grin. She surprised Wilkins constantly, since it seemed every time the girl visited she had either grown or learned some new trick. Naruto walked in behind her a little more quietly, shutting the door with a chuckle. Samantha ran to the couch and gave Taylor a hug, her enthusiasm almost causing the young woman to spill her tea. Her brown hair was up in a ponytail, further confirmation that she had no plans on her day off. When Naruto followed behind, Taylor turned her attention to him.

"So, what did you two get up to?" He sat down on the couch next to Wilkins before answering, while Samantha leaned against the back of the couch.

"Sam got to see if she could get away from her old dad. Unfortunately, she got a little carried away." Samantha groaned as he said that, but there was some pride in his voice.

"If it hadn't been me tracking her, she'd have probably snuck in no problem." He grinned as he said it, because it was true; with the skills he had taught her, no regular person could keep up with her in a city like Jacinto. And he was planning to take her with him to Shavad or Pesang to train on rural cover and discreet movement.

"Yeah, I was really close this time." Samantha said with pride. Taylor nodded with a smile and held up a hand, and Samantha gave her an energetic high five.

"That's great! I'm sure you'll be outfoxing him soon." She said with a smirk directed at Naruto. The blonde rolled his eyes at that. Samantha was cunning and smart, like her father. But Naruto had enough experience to find her in a city full of clones, let alone the scenario they went through today.

"Alright." Naruto stood and stretched, the other two watching him curiously. "Off the couch. It's learning time." Samantha jump up giddily when he said that, and Taylor looked between the two of them with mild concern.

"This isn't going to break anything, is it?" Naruto laughed at that, while Taylor got up and moved toward the kitchen. The blonde man picked the couch up enough to move it without scraping the hard wood, then pushed it against the wall. Once he set it down, he pulled a scroll from an inner pocket in his coat and rolled it out on the floor.

"Your first task is to unseal the pads. Once you do that, we'll get set up for the real training." Samantha looked down at the scroll of paper, and all the intricate little symbols that covered it. She'd seen Naruto unseal and seal all kinds of things into scrolls and other objects, but she'd never done it herself. That being said, she was eager to try.

"Alright. How do I do it?" The two knelt down beside the scroll, and Naruto placed his hands on either side of the spiral in the middle. Samantha copied his posture, while Taylor looked on from a stool near the hallway.

"First off, you want to pour a little bit of chakra into the seal. Only use a little; too much and whatever you decided to seal could go...everywhere. I chose the training pads because they're all fluff. But after this, you won't need a backpack for anything."

"This is so cool." Naruto nodded, and leaned back as Samantha concentrated. She wasn't the novice she had been when she was eight, but molding chakra still took some preparation for the girl. After a few seconds, Naruto noticed a small but steady flow of chakra enter the seal from Samantha.

"Alright, now I want you to picture the pads in your mind. The headgear, the gloves, the mat; Picture all of them sitting in a pile in front of you." Samantha's brow furrowed as she did exactly that, forcing her will into the image of the equipment. Naruto nodded and stood up, walking over to where Taylor was sitting. Just as he reached her and turned around, there was a muted pop and a puff of smoke, followed by Samantha's triumphant shout.

"I did it!" And sure enough, she had. Sitting in front of Samantha was a rolled up practice mat, two black foam helmets, and two pairs of padded fingerless gloves. They had done some training in the past, but now it seemed Naruto was actually going to teach her technique, instead of just building her stamina.

The two stepped forward and put their gear on, Naruto helping Samantha get her hair all the way into the helmet. Naruto also ditched his battle coat and sandals, Sheraya doing the same with her boots. Once they were properly protected, he rolled out the training mat over the seal where the couch had been. It was a blue foam mat, quite heavy but perfect for breaking a fall. It was measure fifteen by ten feet, and would work for basic grappling and strikes. He'd promised a full dojo back home once she had master a few techniques.

"Alright, remember: your stance is very important. Whether you are attacking or defending, a strong base can determine whether or not you stay on your feet." Samantha nodded and placed her feet shoulder width apart like he had taught her, with her left foot forward. Her weight was shifted forward on the balls of her feet, as if she was about to sprint ahead. Naruto observed the posture and nodded.
"Very good. The next thing you need to be able to do is read your opponent. If you get knocked out early in a fight, there's no sense in even learning a technique." He pointed to the hollow of his neck where his collarbone met his throat, just below the Adam's apple.

"Keep your eyes here, and your peripheral vision will be able to see almost all movement. Any movement with have to come from your opponent's core. Focusing here will let you predict what they are about to do."

Samantha nodded several times, and Naruto decided to test her. He took a stance of his own, similar to hers, and held up his fists. Samantha did the same, and her eyes locked onto the spot above his chest just like she'd been told. Naruto went through a few exaggerated punches, allowing Samantha to pick up on the movement.

"Alright, now the key is to anticipate your opponent's movements, and defend accordingly..."

The two targets continued sparring in the apartment, both in clear view of Sigma Two's optics. Beside him, Sigma Actual had a satellite communications unit wired to his helmet's comm system. It looked like a bulky blue suitcase connected to a small satellite dish, set up and pointed toward the sky at an angle. It was this odd mixture of equipment that gave Sigma clear communications with their superiors.

"Both of them are sparring, it seems. Ma'am, the subject has some kind of storage ability. We got it on video, but... you'll have to see for yourself." The voice on the other line was a young female, though the steel in her voice was clear.

"Yeah, we get that a lot with him. Judging from the files we managed to salvage, he's also got quite the left hook. Stay quiet and observe."

"Roger that. Don't have to tell me twice. We're going dark." Without prompting, Sigma Two closed the briefcase and collapsed the miniature dish, cutting the connection off. This left just the two Sigma team members sitting on the ledge of a building in full stealth gear, watching a man spar with his daughter. The two observed them silently, recording everything on the camera that had been sent with them. But safe observation tended to be...boring.

"He's teaching a thirteen year old in martial arts?" Actual said in a low voice.

"Remember, this is the guy that killed Indie commandos in their sleep. He snuck up on the guys trained to be ghosts." Two said just as quietly. The two kept the camera and the optics pointed toward the window while they exchanged a look.

"So, we're spying on a guy that did nothing but kill people just like us in a quiet and effective manner?" Actual asked dryly.

"And his only known family. Can't forget that bit."

"..." Were it not for the custom goggles and face mask, Actual's discomfort about that idea would have been quite visible.

Sigma continued their watch on Naruto and Samantha for another three hours. In that time, they observed the physics defying storage ability again – how do you roll up eighty kilos of equipment into a piece of paper?! - and watched the pseudo family settle down in front of the television in time for the evening news.

In an operating room an undisclosed distance away, Louise Settile sat at a computer terminal in the middle of an information center, with several of her fellow Intelligence agents similar stationed. There were some that examined observed routes, others going over international and domestic sightings, and Settile herself was examining spectrometer readouts taken from earlier that day.

It was a room dedicated to information gathering, processing, and storage. And all the information was based on one individual: Naruto Namikaze. Technically, it was against COG policy and domestic law to scrutinize citizens as much as they were watching him, but since he was technically an illegal alien the litigation was in the wind.

Settile leaned back in her chair with a sigh. At the tender age of twenty four, she was the youngest intelligence officer in the city, but also one of the most ambitious. Her quick rise through the ranks of the COG Intelligence Agency granted her many perks, including multiple caseloads and classified intel. She'd already been to Azura twice, and was guaranteed a spot there in the worst case scenario. Not many people had a government-insured doomsday plan, but Settile was not a normal woman. Her brown hair was kept up in a tight bun, her face marred by only a few freckles left over from puberty. Her body did not lean towards lithe or curvaceous, as she was rather unremarkable in appearance.

As the information found half destroyed in Anvegad two years ago raced in front of her green eyes, Louise found herself smirking. When Chief Warrant Officer Rosa had attempted to erase all of her medical records on Naruto, she had no way of knowing about the 'black box', a separate hard drive that saved a compressed data file of everything on Anvil Gate's servers. When the COG had moved back in, the hard drive had been secured, reviewed, and brought to Jacinto for the Intelligence Agency to focus on. Along with the asset acquired, the Chairman himself had seen fit to classify their observations on Namikaze, code named Dawnbringer. It was one of several projects Settile had been assigned to, as she had also been brought in on the orbital weapons platform Adam Fenix was attempting to build.

Several months previously, the COG Intelligence Agency caught a lucky break on Dawnbringer. In a routine maintenance trip, the black box from Anvegad had been brought back to Jacinto for inspection and decommission. On it, the medical observations of former Warrant Officer Rosa had sparked renewed interest in Dawnbringer, since the few attempts to capture Namikaze had all failed disastrously, and on one occasion almost ended in their discovery. But with the data collected in the siege of Anvil Gate, Naruto's capture was no longer necessary. Several spectrometric readings had been taken during some of his practice sessions, and COG Intel had made some progress in understanding the energy he manipulated. Despite his hermitage in Kashkur, they were starting to learn everything about him.

As Sigma squad observed Dawnbringer in his home, Settile stretched her arms lazily and stood up from her chair. Sigma would recon for another two or three hours, and then return back to HQ for a full debrief. Despite her interest in Dawnbringer, everything they'd find out today would be carefully reviewed and documented upon her return to Ephyra. She was needed elsewhere. Settile cleared her station and logged out, carrying the few reports she had bothered to read with her as she walked out. Surprisingly enough, as the door opened she found Chairman Dalyell standing on the other side. The short leader of the COG lifted an eyebrow expectantly, and Settile offered a quick salute.

"So, any news on our little project?" Dalyell could have meant any one of the numerous secret operations Settile hand her fingers in, but she was certain he meant Dawnbringer. The Chairman motioned toward the hallway, and the two starting to walk as Settile outlined their observations.

"We just finished decrypting his medical records sir, and I have to say he is quite the specimen. Reflexes are superhuman, muscle density is incredible, and we've got a confirmed video of him moving at incredible speeds." Settile fished a pair of x-rays out of her reports. "According to these time stamps, he also has an accelerated healing ability, able to recuperate from life-threatening injuries in just a few hours." They passed through a set of double doors into bright sunlight and an open patio, a tropical sun smiling down on them from on high. The ocean waves could be heard breaking in the distance, their little island hamlet creating the perfect atmosphere for research and development. After all, that was what Azura had been built to be.

"Is there any way these abilities could be replicated, passed on to our Gears?" The Chairman asked, leaning against a well carved stone banister. Settile frowned, but she wasn't about to tell the most powerful man in the Coalition 'no'.

"I'm no biologist, but the only thing feasible at this time would be the healing factor. It's possible that we may be able to come up with some sort of bone marrow transfusion, but that's up to the guys in white coats. The energy manipulation and muscle density appears to be a mutation of some kind, nothing I can see being passed to one without gene splicing." Settile offered her opinions on fixing their problems, but she knew the Chairman was a shrewd man. They had nothing at this point.

"I understand. I'll have a few of our Research and Development teams get on it. Right now, I need you back in Ostri. It seems that they have made a few breakthroughs on the Hammer of Dawn. We need to get to work on procuring that technology. I'm authorizing the use of Major Hoffman's commandos, and get Adam Fenix in on it too. We need to make a move before they get that weapon in the air."

"Of course sir. Will you be coming as well?" Settile said, even as the black Onyx Guard Raven flew overhead to one of the many helipads. Dalyell actually looked uncertain for a moment, an uncommon sight for the leader of the COG. He didn't answer for a moment, instead focusing on the distant sea.

"No. It's time I brought Richard here. He may very well replace me, and I need to let him in on a few secrets." Settile wisely said nothing. Dalyell's deputy Chairman, Richard Prescott, had obviously been groomed for succession since his breezy run through the officer's ranks. A few skirmishes on the Ostri border, and he was whisked away to be turned into the next in line for the Coalition's leadership. She'd met him several times, and he was everything she expected of him; confident, soft spoken, and destined for greatness.

"Very well. I'll make the usual excuses." With Dalyell staying in Azura, it meant that Settile and her colleagues would be creating a faux-Chairman, organizing schedules and excuses to where the Chairman would just miss being seen by his various contacts and meetings. It was a brain tickler, but a necessary if somewhat boring tactic to give the Chairman his time off the grid. It was how Chairmen in the past had gotten all of their nasty plotting done. Azura hadn't always been around, but smart assistants and a few lies here and there had been granting leaders of the COG a reprieve since its inception so many years ago.

"Keep Dawnbringer on observation for now. Once the project Fenix is working on takes hold, we'll have more resources available for study and, if necessary, containment. But the Hammer takes priority." Dalyell said, and turned to go back into the command center.

"He's been having trouble with the launch vehicle. The course correction and power source are moot points if we can't get it into space." Settile said. Dalyell didn't turn around, but he did stop, hands clasped behind his back.

"Our sources in Ostri indicate that the UIR have those problems handled. It may be time to... appropriate some information. There's a research station off the peninsula, Aspho Point. It may be our best lead."

"I'll get the boys in Spec Ops to look at it. I'm sure we could use Hoffman, maybe bring in one of the Navy men..." Settile theorized. Dalyell said nothing, but simply nodded. It was time to leave. Without looking back at her, the Chairman returned to the CIC in the COG's most closely guarded secret, and Settile turned toward the Raven waiting on her. If the information stored at Aspho Point was all it was cracked up to be, then the Pendulum Wars were about to come to an abrupt end. And once they did, Naruto Namikaze was going to become very popular. And it would take another war for him to get away.