Author Notes:

Dark and Alive Minato, Minato fans beware.

Alive Kushina.

Darker Naruto.

Original Characters x Established Characters

Not sure what everyone's big beef is with a background coupling but it's not going to change, might as well stop reading now. Same goes with the OC's, they are not going anywhere so if that is really such an issue for you then just stop reading here, it doesn't bother me.

Chapter 14: Land of Rivers and The Day Before...

The Inuzuka heiress had made extremely good time in traveling to the Land of Rivers. She was one of the top trackers for Konohagakure, so she was easily able to follow Kiro's scent since he wasn't expecting someone to follow him. When she arrived at the small village Kiro had gone to in the Land of Rivers, she quickly removed her Konohagakure leaf headband so as to not give herself away, then she entered the village cautiously. She couldn't seem to pinpoint him with all the different scents, that plus her limited interactions with him made it so she didn't have his scent completely memorized.

What she didn't know was that the criminal organization that ran this town main source of income was selling women. This was something that Kiro had already found out about from Jiraiya before he even left for his mission. The thing was that since she didn't know about that bit of information, and was an attractive young woman, she was already on their radar.

Kiro had already figured out that Hana was here. When her scent was back in his radius he at first believed it to be just remainders from Konohagakure, but when the scent started to get stronger he knew that she was coming his way. The only thing that would explain it was his senpai went and made her feel guilty about his leaving, something that he was not happy about in the slightest. He had eyes on her the second that she entered the small village, knowing that she would be targeted. When she was walking into the city he appeared behind her and spoke in a low voice, "Ms. Inuzuka... this is a dangerous place for someone like you to be."

Stopping where she was walking she didn't turn around while speaking in a low voice as well, "You left."

Starring at the back of her head Kiro let out a small sigh, "It's better for everyone like this. You don't have to be with me because of this mate thing and I don't have to torture myself. Besides, from what I read about the Inuzuka Heat Cycle, you have someone that you want to be with. If I do this then I am no longer an obstacle in the way of your true happiness. As I have said all along, the idea of us happening would only become a reality if you agreed to it."

The woman turned around to look at the man, "Iruka is just an old friend, not someone I see in that light. I have known him since our Academy days."

The Ookami Survivor stared back at her, "You seemed happy when talking to him, laughing and smiling the whole time, you never seem happy talking to me. Although our interactions have been only a few times I have never seen you smile or laugh like that. Anyways, why are you here Ms. Inuzuka? As I said, this is not a safe place for you to be."

The brown haired man looked around briefly until Hana grabbed his hand then pulled him into an alley way, "I am here to make sure that you come back when you finish your assignment."

He just stared at her, his gaze focusing on her, "Why?"

The Inuzuka Heiress stared right back, not wavering under his critical gaze, "Because you are important to people in Konohagakure."

Letting out another small sigh at her response he shook his head, "Darious-senpai has Shizune-san now, so my absence will not be that major."

Putting her hand under his chin to hold his head still Hana looked at him, "If it is not something major to him, then why did he come and tell me that you left?"

The brown haired man just stared at her, "So... it's as I thought then."

Raising her eyebrow at him, clearly that wasn't the response that she expected from him, "What do you mean that it's as you thought?"

Giving her a bit of a sad smile he looked at her, "That you only came looking for me because someone told you that I was gone and didn't plan to return to Konohagakure. I was fairly sure that you wouldn't even notice. The only real reason that you're here, that you came to convince me to come back, is guilt."

The words struck her hard, she wasn't really able to dispute what he was saying though, "I..."

Putting up his hand she stopped, "You don't have to say anything or apologize Ms. Inuzuka. We were not anything so you not noticing my leaving is not important, or not even something that you should have to notice."

That was when Hana curled her lip, "It is important!"

Staring at her after her little outburst as she glared at him a bit, showing that fire he had seen a few times. Slowly glare softened as she continued to just look at the man, "It is important Kiro... you are a good guy. You have always been respectful towards me and I wanted to have a date when my heat cycle was over. That way you're not trembling and shaking the whole time. I saw it the last few times we were near one another, I thought that it would be uncomfortable for you."

Said man stared at her with widening eyes, "Wh.-what?"

The Inuzuka heiress gave him a small smile, "I said when you come back from this mission and my heat cycle is over I want a date. For that to happen though, you actually have to come back to Konohagakure."

The man just stared at her, he was thinking that he was imagining what she had just said. She could see it on his face as he stared at her blankly making her shake her head, "Kiro, snap out of it."

Said man blinked and looked at her, "You really want a date?"

With a nod of her head she saw him have a smile on his face she hadn't seen before. That was when there were suddenly footsteps in the alleyway. They both looked over to see some of the members from the organization Kiro had been tracking blocking their way out of the alley. The Ookami noticed how they were looking at Hana and stood in front of her, putting himself in their path if they tried anything. The members of the organization smiled, feeling confident in their numbers, "You won't be able to make a difference boy. That being said why don't you just let us have the girl."

When Kiro didn't move they drew their blades, his well trained eyes watching them closely. Two of them charged at him but he easily dodged their swings then delivered hard punches to their jaws, making their heads hit the walls on each side. As they went down the the ground he growled at them before looking up at the third that was standing there in shock. Kiro quickly grabbed him and knocked him out as well, tossing all 3 bodies into a dumpster, "Never threaten her, especially while I am here."

The Inuzuka heiress had a smile while standing behind him. Kiro looked back at her as she gave him another smile, "Do you need any help with this mission?"

Kiro gave a small smile, "Not really but I wouldn't mind you staying either. I will leave it up to you."

Tapping her chin a few times she weighed the options. The idea of staying with him was appealing but she was still in her heat cycle, "I think I am going back to the village, I will see you when you come back right?"

Nodding his head at her, he gave her another soft smile, "Yes Ms. Inuzuka."

Raising her eyebrow again she narrowed her eyes, "Hana remember, I told you a long time ago to call me Hana."

The man smirked, "Okay Ms. Hana."

She narrowed her eyes at him even more before letting out a sigh, "Smart ass, I will see you when you come back. How long will it be?"

Shrugging his shoulders he looked at the dumpster that he had put the unconscious people in, "Not too long, I have finished my recon and with these three being attacked they will know something is amiss. I will need to make my move tonight. I should be back in the Konohagakure within a few days I would think."

Hana nodded her head, "Good, my cycle ends either tonight or tomorrow. That means that we will be able to have out date soon after your return."

With a nod he moved out of Hanas way as she went to walk past him. She looked at him then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, "See you later Kiro."

He stared at her with wide eyes and nodded his head. He now had serious motivation to finish the mission as quickly as possible. Something that he did, as soon as nightfall came. Within an hour he had dispatched with everyone from that organization and was heading back towards Konohagakure.

Back at the Uzumaki Compound...

Darious stood there watching over Naruto's training. He had moved on from the reading to the act of actually trying to do things relating to the his Storm Bloodline. Just as everyone had expected from Naruto, he was grasping and learning how to do his bloodline at a rapid rate. Though since the bloodline was hard for everyone to understand, his progression was still slower then someone would have done with a more basic bloodline. Regardless of how difficult the bloodline was. he was still moving forward and that was what they all wanted.

Letting his arms fall down, panting and sweating, Naruto looked up as the storm clouds above him cleared. Darious looked at him and nodded, "That is enough for today Naruto."

The teen looked up at him, confused and not agreeing with the decision to stop there, "I can keep going."

Shaking his head no the brown haired man looked at the blond teen, "If you push yourself to hard to quickly you're going to drain your chakra and stamina. That could leave you out of commission for the start of the Chunin Exams. I believe that it was you who said that you have some big plans for this exam don't you?"

Letting out an annoyed 'tsk' he nodded his head, he knew that Darious was right he just didn't want to admit it. Naruto stood and put his shirt on, heading back towards the house but stopped from a scent that was coming from the house. He knew that Naruko was here, the thing was that for some reason that knowledge made him feel nervous. He didn't know why this was happening to him. Maybe the girl had been right all that time ago when she said he wasn't use to the close proximity with the opposite gender. She had exploited that perfectly and gotten what she wanted.

Standing still there for a moment, he let out a small sigh before opening the door to see her sitting at the table with his mother. The blond girl gave him a smile and discreet wink. Naruto looked at her then the tip of his lips curled into a smile making her blush. Naruto then lowered it as he sighed, 'When the time comes... you're going to hate me Naruko, you shouldn't get too close to me.'

The girl looked back at her sensei then nodded her head as his mother gave her the day off. Since the exams were the next day, similar to what Darious had said, she didn't want Naruko expending too much chakra. Naruto stared at the girl as Kushina left the room and Naruko smiled, "Hey Naruto-kun."

Said teen nodded his head at the other blond as she stood up and came over to him, "How was your training Naruto-kun?"

He shrugged as he looked at the back door before looking back at her, "It was alright I suppose. I wanted to do more but Darious said that we shouldn't."

Naruko nodded her head then walked over to him, "Kushina-sensei said the same because of the Exams tomorrow. You know though, if you have the extra energy that you want to burn off, I know of some things we can do."

Naruto stared at her then since he didn't say no she grabbed his hand and pulled him up into his room for time together.

With Darious and Shizune...

The young couple was walking around the village, just enjoying their time together since Darious just finished training Naruto for the day. Coincidentally, at least in Narutos mind, Shizune had the day off from the hospital as well and they had decided to spend the day together. As they walked around the village with his arm around her she leaned into him, "Do you think that he will come back?"

Looking over at her he gave a small sigh as he thought, Kiro had been a typical topic of discussion for the two of them since he left. The man looked at her before looking ahead at where they were walking, "I hope so, the only thing that may be a serious disadvantage is if Hana says I spoke to her. If she does that then he may see it as pity which he would hate, which could in turn drive him even further away."

Shaking her head at the Shizune burrowed herself deeper into Darious embrace, "I am sorry I came between you two..."

The man looked back down at her, her eyes glancing up at him, he gave a small smile, "You're not why he left Shizune-chan. You didn't come between us either, he distanced himself for us but that isn't because of you. He wants us to be happy, he doesn't want to be the third wheel of our relationship either. All in all, the reason he left was because of Hana."

That didn't seem to really help her with this though. She still believed she came between the two, that she was a part of the reason that Kiro left. That was when Darious made a sound. Shizune looked up to see Hana walking through the village towards the Inuzuka compound. Shizune got out of the hold that Darious had on her to run after the woman. When she caught up to her and said her name Hana turned and smiled, "Hello Shizune-san, how are you?"

Shizune smiled, "I am fine, thank you for asking. So... how did it go with Kiro?"

That was when Darious walked up behind her and put his arm around her waist again. Hana looked at the two then gave a small smile, "He should be back either tonight or tomorrow, basing it off the time frame that he gave at least."

A bit surprised at that Darious couldn't help that his eyebrow was raising skeptically, "How did you convince him?"

The Inuzuka heiress smiled, proud that she had done what she had set out to do, "I told him that I wanted a date."

While Shizune smiled at that Darious narrowed his eyes, "Do you really want the date or did you lie to him?"

The Inuzuka heiress looked at him with a shocked expression. Darious didn't waiver though, "Did you lie to him or not? If you did and he finds out he will leave and never return to this village. If that happens I swear to Kami I will burn your compound to the ground."

Hana growled at him, the fire that Kiro always talks about coming to the surface, "I didn't lie to him you asshole. Also, if you ever threaten me or my family again I will rip you apart to the point that even Shizune-san wont be able to put you back together."

He just stared at her for a moment before his glared softened, honestly he didn't care what she thought of him at this moment, "I had to make sure. Had it come out that you were doing it just to get him back in the village then it would have been far more detrimental then anything. If that was your plan when he figured it out he would be crushed, feel betrayed, and as I said he would then never come back here."

That didn't stop her from glaring at him, "Whatever, I actually want the date so keep your comments to yourself next time."

With that the Inuzuka heiress stomped away. Darious looked over at Shizune, "I think I just made it so that she doesn't like me."

Rolling her eyes at him, sometimes she really did see the influence of the Toad Sage in him, "Well I wonder why that is Dar-kun."

Looking at her he shrugged then looked in the direction that Hana had stomped off in, "I had to be sure, she got him to come back but if it was all a lie to get him back when he found out then he would have been furious. He would leave, we would never see him again and he would never contact us because I sent her after him."

The black haired medic looked at him then nodded her head, "I suppose that makes sense, but you could have taken a better approach. Tact is a beautiful thing that both you and Kiro need to learn if we are staying here."

He nodded his head, "True, I could have taken a more delicate approach, but the direct approach got me the answers I wanted."

Shizune shook her head as they started to walk again, "Come on Dar-kun, we are suppose to be going to get some food anyways remember." The man smiled and nodded his head before leading the black haired beauty to get some food.

At the Uzumaki Compound...

The two blonds laid there in Narutos bed, Naruko cuddled up into him enjoying her post coital bliss. They were both awake but nothing was being said between the two as they came down from their highs. Naruto had been absentmindedly running his fingers on her hip, something that she was enjoying. When he stopped and put his hand on her hip completely he finally broke the silence, "Naruko."

Said blond teen looked up at him with a small smile, "Yeah Naruto-kun?"

Looking down at her to meet her eyes with his own he stared at her, "Do you think that you could hate me?"

That made it so that Naruko sat up in the bed, not trying to cover any of herself as she looked at him a bit surprised, "Of course not, I really care about you. This isn't just about sex for me you know."

He continued to just stare at her for a moment then nodded his head at her. Naruko continued to look at him, she could clearly see that something was on his mind, that wasn't a question he would usually ask her, "Why did you ask me that Naruto-kun?"

The two silently stared at one another for a moment before he responded, "There are secrets about me that will one day come to light, secrets that I feel will make you hate me."

Quickly leaning down, Naruko gave him a quick kiss on the lips before giving him a smile, "Nope. That is not possible."

That was when a first for them happened, Naruto leaned up and captured her lips in another kiss, surprising her quite a bit. When he lowered his head breaking the kiss, she smiled then laid back down next to him, "Nothing can make me not want this anymore Naruto-kun, nothing."

Said teen went back to rubbing her side while contemplating that sentiment. No matter what she said, no matter how much he wanted to believe it, he had to be rational that when it all came out in the open she would hate and resent him. He now knew that somewhere in all of this craziness they had been doing, he had developed feelings for her. Maybe it was because he never saw her as his sister, just as another kunoichi, just another woman his age. Maybe it was because she was the first girl to continue to show him this kind of affection and attention, an assault that he clearly wasn't guarded against. He didn't know what caused it, he didn't know how it happened, the only thing that he knew was that it happened. He knew that when he showed everyone who his father really was she would be furious that he knew all this time and did these things with her.

Naruto let out a long sigh, unconsciously pulling her closer to him, 'I think that is the only thing I will regret when I reveal it all. I will regret losing her... I suppose that it was nice to have someone my age care for a bit though.'