He let the chill air waft through his hair for a brief moment before pulling the cloak a little tighter around himself, and the loose hood back over his head.

The warmth of summer was fading, and the Village Hidden in the Leaves was fading from green into the reds and oranges of fading leaves.

A mere two weeks ago, he had taken orders from the Hokage, and been content to do so. He had been in control.

But now.

He was in control. He was. He stopped his brief pause to survey the fading leaves and kept moving.

He didn't remember much after Anko had arrived. Actually, that was a lie. He remembered all of it; it was his training to remember all of it.

He realised that he didn't want to remember. Deep and quiet parts of his brain replayed his Lord's comments to him about sealing away unwanted memories. He could. He probably shouldn't.

He really shouldn't.

He wouldn't. Even as his fingers twitched, want to form the hand signs he had been shown and throw the memories into the pit of the seal on his chest, he couldn't. A wave of nausea swept through him and he stopped.

It was illogical, but he would not use the seal. He would not.

He hadn't received any missions, and he hadn't received any word from his old master. So he'd taken the initiative. It turned out there were limits to his patience after all.

Not to say he'd been idle. He'd felt the need for more lessons with Anko, even though he wasn't sure why. His knowledge of poisons felt greater than ever before. He even had a new weapon to play with.

He still wasn't sure about it, as it required him to be a lot closer than he liked to a target. But it was the epitome of his art. Stealthy, quiet, deadly and compact.

Much like himself.

He regathered his thoughts onto the unofficial mission he was doing. He was trailing one of the genin teams he had followed before. He'd chosen the team with the Hyuuga, because they had come closest to finding him.

He also felt nagged by the way the girl had waved at him when she had seen him. Her reaction was wrong, it was stupid, it was...intriguing. He wanted to know why.

Still, the chances of having any kind of interaction were slim. This was a patrol on the border with Suna, which had become unstable after their defeat.

Bankrupt, leaderless, and with a great asset squandered and soon to re-emerge in the desert as a great threat, the desert land was in turmoil. There were rumours of a push to take some of the border lands back, but they were whispered lightly. Konoha had taken its fair share of casualties as well. It too was leaderless.

He looked on towards the teams at a good distance through his Byakugan. There were two teams. Apparently the team he had chosen to follow had met up with another team that was already doing a sweep.

With a slightly thrilled feeling of dread, he realised that one of that team was a Hyuuga. Double the trouble. This one might not be so merciful.

He felt reassured that he had worked on extending the range of his eye. He wasn't entirely sure of the mechanics of it all, but what was somewhat clear was that the eye didn't remain in stasis whilst implanted. It became part of the body itself. It seemed to enhance if he trained it enough.

At that moment, he was at his maximum range. What was better this time was that he had come more prepared.

His time reading the chemistry textbook has allowed him to create a chakra-laced compound to keep him scentless. It was an odd mix of chemistry and chakra, but when he cast the right genjutsu, the chemical would keep him scentless.

All he had to do was hold it in place like you would a henge, and he could hold a henge for hours if not days.

Thus he could keep observing a team with two Hyuuga's, an Aburame and an Inuzuka without being instantly discovered. Even so, he occasionally rubbed the headband he had on him. It was the only thing that would keep him alive if discovered the wrong way.

Hinata stared out towards the border with Suna with her eyes active. She focused the vision into a thin tunnel before her to extend the vision. Narrowing the vision kept the strain to a minimum when at high distance.

She scanned the dead scrublands near the border, and her eyes fell upon the stream where she had seen her first real action occur.

Her concentration was broken as Kiba walked straight in front of her cone of vision. The sudden close up of chakra this created was unexpected and she as good as slammed her vision off as she was treated to a close-up vision of Kiba's pale bluish brown chakra.

She staggered slightly and Shino put out an arm to gently stop her falling off a branch.

"Kiba-san. Be more careful in front of Hinata, you know sudden chakra signals can startle her."

"Oh. Sorry Hinata-chan."

"D...don't worry Kiba-kun. I was nearly finished. I didn't see anyone in the area in front of us."

"I don't smell anyone, let's go."

They were about to when Shino held up a hand.

"There is someone near the border."

"How?"

"One of my bugs has died; my hive has smelt the blood and distress."

"A bird?"

"Possible. I do not believe so."

Hinata activated her eyes again and began to extend her vision. As the length extended the degrees she could see properly decreased, but then she caught something.

It was him. Him.

She lost focus for a second and gasped.

"Hinata-chan? What is it?"

"Ano, just forgot to breathe Kiba-kun."

She did her best to ignore the figure sitting about five hundred metres behind her and looked forwards. She tuned out the faint glow of the plant and animal life in the scrublands as she looked towards the desert. There were figures. A dozen. Two dozen."

"Suni shinobi. They're coming."

"We must call for Kurenai-sensei and retreat for backup."

The kunai hit the tree by his feet. Maybe a little too late for any urgent calling then.

Shino and Hinata leapt on instinct as the explosive tag detonated beneath their feet. Hinata retracted her vision to encompass twenty metres in all directions. No sense in looking straight forwards now. Kiba had already thrown Akamaru a food pill.

Shino lit the flare and sent it high into the sky. A red burst flared into existence.

The Suna ninja began to flood towards the trio of genin who were gathering together in a defensive formation. The skirmishing force was armed with an array of close combat weaponry. Hinata realised that this was probably why she hadn't seen them in the first sweep. They weren't planning on using jutsu.

Kiba and Akamaru leapt to meet them, forming the distinctive drilling jutsu of his clan. Shino's bugs spread outwards in an all encompassing cloud. Hinata waited patiently for the first of them to reach her.

The man leapt, a curved scimitar coming down in a swift and deadly arc towards her. She slipped under the blow and caught him with a juuken strike to the chest that saw his leap sprawl. She ducked under a swing from a pole arm.

There were far too many of them. The realisation had dawned on her as soon as the fight had begun.

She wove around another jab from the pole arm, the long hooked end of the weapon whipping through the air. Another scimitar sliced a flesh wound into her arm. There was a crunch as Shino smashed another in the face with an arm before insects swarmed the man.

Kiba and Akamaru were still moving, but the enemy ninja were working out his patterns. Where was Kurenai sensei? Where was he?

The pole-arm wielding man fell down with a bolt sticking out of his head and Hinata knew he had arrived.

His companion tried to take advantage of her slight confusion and thrust forwards. He met the spinning dome of chakra Hinata produced on survival instinct as she spun.

Kiba cried out in pain as a blade caught his leg. A Suna shinobi came in to finish him and took a bolt to the chest. The man next to him took another bolt swiftly afterwards.

Hinata finished spinning, and looked out. There he was.

He was in the trees, picking off targets with such speed that she could have sworn the crossbow wasn't being loaded before the next bolt left.

She also saw another shinobi coming straight for her, hands slamming through signs. She leapt to get out of the way of the jutsu just in time as the earth tried to leap after her. The jutsu user took a crossbow bolt to one of his arms, then his torso. The second spun him around so he landed face down.

Shino was moving to try and get Kiba clear, but there were many of them rushing for Kiba. Akamaru was standing guard over his fallen master, his teeth bared and claws ready for a stand before his master.

Suddenly there was another figure amongst them. The black cloak fell from his shoulders as Naruto landed tanto drawn in the middle of the crowd. Two fell as he slashed quickly, the crossbow slung over his back. His sudden appearance had them panicked.

The Suna nin drew back for only a moment. There were still a dozen of them, and only four Konoha shinobi facing them. Then there were 6 Konoha ninja and one less Suna shinobi.

A veritable storm of kunai was falling on the Suna platoon, and although most were able to block or dodge the projectiles, one fell under the hail. The instant it stopped two more figures were in amongst them.

"Dynamic Entry!"

"Kaiten!"

The dome of chakra expanded and bodies bounced away from it. The counter attack was sudden and forceful. Naruto took up his bow once more and took out a pair of tumbling figures. He then realised the Suna party was falling back.

He took out two more fleeing figures before something heavy impacted his chest.

The man had been moving so fast he had barely seen him. And he wasn't from Konoha.

He hit the ground and skidded, rolling to try and get to his feet. He heard another heavy impact as someone hit somebody else very hard. He reactivated his Byakugan to see one of the newcomers going backwards fast.

The Suna Jonin, it could only be given the visible reserves, was gunning for him.

"Only Konoha scum would shoot a fleeing enemy."

He moved faster than any foe Naruto had encountered before. He dropped his bow and countered the sword movement just in time to avoid his head being removed.

Bugs enveloped the man as Shino tried to intervene. Then man sent a hail of earthen bullets in his direction which forced him back before he advanced back on Naruto.

Naruto considered his options quickly. Too late to hit him with a genjutsu. This was a battle of strength and wit, and he would need a lot of the latter if he couldn't win the former.

He threw the tanto at the man who parried it lazily. That was a mistake. The blowgun was in Naruto's hand within moments, and the dart flew towards the man. The black dart didn't get noticed until too late, the man's blade following through on the exaggerated parry.

It stayed in his arm for only a couple of seconds before it was knocked out by the sword. The man came forwards again with vigour, his face set in a snarl. Naruto rolled out of the way of the strike. He had to last a little longer until backup came or the poison worked.

The man changed direction quickly and Naruto's backup kunai was torn from his grasp as he attempted to block another swing. The man moved to strike again faster than Naruto could block.

Hinata's attack caught him in the side with a series of strikes. The first four hit cleanly, then the man twisted with the blows and hit her with the flat of the sword. He was panting, his side bent a little.

Naruto leapt across the battleground and grabbed up his bow and fired off a snap-shot.

The man took it in the shoulder but kept moving forwards.

"Dynamic Entry! Konoha Whirlwind!"

Before Naruto could blink, his opponent was flying backwards, jaw broken by the leg of a man in a green jumpsuit. He realised it was the same one that had interrupted earlier.

His new ally landed just before the Suna Jonin landed and lay very still. His blood was a little congealed.

The man stood, Naruto caught a hint of incredible strength before he deactivated his Byakugan to save energy. He realised his was shaking from the adrenaline in his system. He shook himself gently and approached the man.

"Thank-you, your arrival was required for victory in that battle."

"You are welcome," the man bowed extravagantly before striking a pose with his arm outstretched. "Konoha's Mighty Green Beast Maito Gai! Who are you?"

"Naruto."

"Ah. Kakashi has mentioned your paradoxical youthfulness. Truly I will find out on this mission! But first, we must attend to our comrades."

The other genin were just about still going. Shino was exhausted, Hinata shaken and bruised, Gai's Hyuuga genin was a little knocked about. A second came out of the bushes, wiping blood off several weapons.

Kiba was in bad shape. His dog was snivelling around his wound and making worried sniffs.

Naruto checked the wound. There was a smell of something. He gestured without looking.

"Hinata, could you retrieve my bag from the tree 50 yards in that direction."

The Hyuuga genin bristled and strode forwards.

"Who are you to command us around?"

"Do it or he will die from the poison in his wound. I have the antidote in my bag."

The genin turned to look for Hinata, only to see she was returning with the slim black bag in her hands.

"Here."

She placed the bag next to him. Naruto reached into the correct pocket quickly and drew out the chemistry scroll. He unsealed the correct poison and began to prepare the antidote.

The minutes passed with only slight, nervous chat between the genin. He tried to block it out. He was concentrating.

He injected the prepared liquid into Kiba's arm as Kurenai landed.

"Kurenai-san."

"You?"

She knelt beside Kiba and surveyed his wounds quickly. Naruto drew the needle away from the arm.

"Poisoned. I've administered an antidote."

"Well at least you've saved one life today."

The tone was cold. Very cold. Even Naruto could tell this was not a friendly gesture.

"Kurenai-san! Naruto's youthfulness in battle has assisted our mighty teams on this day! You should not belittle him so quickly!"

The woman sighed and softened slightly.

"You are right Gai, apologies Naruto."

Her eyes carried every message except that of apology. Apparently she still considered the downside of him nearly killing Hinata greater than his upsides today. Naruto wondered briefly how best to quantify social qualities.

"K...Kurenai sensei. Naruto-san help our team fight off the initial wave, and was instrumental in stalling their Jonin leader until Gai-sensei arrived."

"Indeed. Naruto-san's appearance was timely and effective, I surmise this is the second time he has assisted our team in such a fashion."

Kurenai stared at Naruto for a few seconds before her expression softened a little. She turned to Gai.

"Do you think it likely that Suna will attack again?"

The man suddenly became serious.

"No. This was a test attack, a scout party that got a little too eager, nothing more. The composition and tactics used dictate it not being a full scale assault. Given their casualties, I don't think they will be returning."

"Good. We should make camp and tend to our wounds and deal with the remaining enemy ninja."

"A youthful plan. What of Naruto? What team are you with?"

"I'm a one man cell."

"How youthful! Well, as a team leader Kurenai-san and I will need to discuss our next actions with you."

He nodded. The Jonin went about dictating some tasks to the more able genin about setting up a camp area for them to use near the border. Naruto began to re-gather his equipment, and salvaging any bolts from injured shinobi, silencing them if they still lived. Better that then leaving them in agony.

He slipped the cloak around his shoulders and slung his bow over his back as he finished. He felt like he was being watched.

It was the final member of Gai's team, a girl dressed in pink. He mentally shuddered at its lack of camouflage properties. She was staring at the bow intently and took a moment to realise Naruto was looking at her.

She rubbed the back of her head whilst looking away from him. Naruto realised that it was a gesture of embarrassment. He made a mental note of it for future interactions.

"It was...Naruto right?"

"Yes."

She extended a hand.

"Tenten. Weapons specialist."

He took the hand after a moment's hesitation, weighing up the grip strength and posture. She seemed competent enough; after all, she'd been wiping blood of several weapons.

"Can I see your bow? It looks interesting."

"You can already see it. It's on my back."

She rolled her eyes.

"I swear if you're a total pedant like Neji I will impale something. I meant pick it up, weigh it, examine it, feel it, touch it, get to know it a little."

"Oh. It hasn't got much personality, it's a crossbow."

He lifted the bow off his back and passed it to her. The enthusiastic way in which she took the bow interested Naruto. Was she someone who was somewhat like him?

Her fingers ran over every surface and she closely examined his bow.

"Oh wow. The mechanism! Oh the mechanism! Is that chakra conducting wire? It is! It is! Oooh this thing is awesome. The stock, wood, machined I think. No. Crafted, planed using a fine file to exactly fit something. This doesn't just have personality it has soul."

She jumped up and nearly rammed it into his shoulder.

"Perfect fit! Wow. This must have taken ages! The draw wire has a bit of dirt in a mechanism though."

A cloth was in her hands from somewhere as she polished the offending part vigorously. Naruto stared. She was completely and totally appraising his weapon in moments in a skilled manner. Was she the competent shinobi type he'd expected?

"Oooh, the magnetic loading system. Wow. Why would you go to such lengths to make one of these things when jutsu can do more? Such a beautiful thing though, I really just...wow."

She stared at him with wide, excited eyes that he found boring into his own.

"Can I fire her? I mean it. Well no. It's a her, definitely a her. I can feel it. What's her name? Is it Matilda? Matilda would be a great name for a crossbow. Still, can I fire Matilda? Can I?"

Naruto wordlessly passed her a couple of bolts from the bandolier on his back. Apparently she was not fully sane after all.

"Right, the gnarl on that tree at three o'clock."

She fired the weapon, the stock biting back into her shoulder from the recoil. The bolt was a couple of centimetres shy of its target. Naruto was still slightly impressed, it took a long time to get good accuracy with his weapon.

"Hmm, are you sure the sights are correct?"

He gently but firmly took the bow from her, snapped a bolt into place and hit the target within a second.

"Fair enough. I love it though. Where did you get it? Can you get me one?"

Ah. This could be tricky to explain.

He quickly restrained the instinct to drop smoke and flee away in the presence of, effectively, being found out. That seemed silly though. He wasn't in any immediate danger.

He did however, need a distraction. Fortunately one quickly appeared in the form of Gai and Kurenai.

"Tenten, could you go and help the others with setting camp? We need to talk to Naruto."

"Hai."

She gave the crossbow another longing glance as she left, leaving Naruto alone with Kurenai and Gai.