destined for it

by modern-wonder

on one fateful day, three lonely souls, found solace and friendship with each other. Now perceived as unwanted by their village or families, they will have to make decisions that will effect the world and themselves in ways nobody knew existed. watch as they become the best of the best to realize their dreams and what it means to truly be great.

18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

Down with the queen and all her conflict!

"time is the greatest of teachers, unfortunately it kills all its pupils."

-Louis Hector Berlioz

It was a few weeks later when Naru felt she had to have the meeting with the Hokage.

Blue eyes so normally jovial were currently narrowed in exhaustion and stress. Two weeks had passed since her sudden rise to Clan-head and her now unending responsibilities. It never seemed to stop. The stress and lack of sleep was wearing on her sanity, not to mention she hadn't been able to properly train with her team since the ball had been dropped on her thin shoulders. Although she now she could honestly say she had found a new respect for the clan-heads of Konoha.

Naru's mouth thinned as she walked up the stairs to the Hokage's office. Normally she wouldn't have asked for this type of meeting, but with all that was happening, she knew she needed help and advice in order to stay afloat.

Seeing the big door ahead of her she stifled a sigh and tried to put on a simple smile. here we go. she mentally snarked. Two brisk knocks later and a aged voice called out to her. "Enter."

Opening the door, she walked in feigning confidence. "Hokage-sama" - she bowed respectfully - "thank you for seeing me on such short notice." behind the large desk Hiruzen nodded back to the young shinobi. "you have much to talk about Naru?" he asked.

Smiling thinly, Naru walked forward. "Hokage-sama…I need help." his brows rose in surprise, but still he stayed silent. She needed this time to properly vent. "they wont leave me alone. Always something has to be cleared up or something is going wrong…nothing seems to work with us. How am I supposed to be leading a clan if I don't even know how to lead myself, sir? I have no idea what im doing and sooner than later, ugh this is a huge mistake." her voice squeaked shrilly as she finished her rant.

Hiruzen nodded slowly to himself as he gazed at the child before him. so much like her mother and father, its almost unsettling. he chuckled before addressing the frazzled youth. "Naru… its okay to feel like the world is conspiring against you. The thing is to simply show the world that you are strong enough to stand and fight under that pressure. This is what makes a true leader. Your clan is both old and new, they simply look towards the guidance of one who knows the traditions of their new home, the terrain so to speak. Give it time and soon things will settle down and life will continue peacefully." he smiled reassuringly towards Naru, his dark eyes twinkled with a hidden humor.

Naru grinned at the old man before returning to her pensive frown. "Hokage-sama, time is all well and dandy, but I need things to straighten themselves out before then. I mean, I have training and missions, not to mention all of the private lessons Anko-sensei is putting me through. I'm swamped as it is." she looked back at her leader as she crossed her arms.

Sinking more into his chair Hiruzen sighed. "Naru, have you ever thought of training an aide?"

"no…what's an aide?"

Nodding at the confused question he explained. "an aide is someone who helps out with all of the daily things you are too busy to deal with. Such as, rosters and lists and letters. They also over see the main living of the clan. They file the complaints that they then deliver to yourself." he rubbed his chin in thought before once again turning to Naru. "ah but enough of that. Naru I want a report on your clan as of now. How are they doing settling in and so on?"

Stiffening up Naru nodded. "yes Hokage-sama. As of now, the clan seems to be settling nicely into the compound and we have plenty of room and space for at least half a dozen more families to move into the area. If that is the case, we have the ownership of the land surrounding the compound to build off of. One of our newest couples has just announced that they are to have a child…as for the able bodied shinobi in the clan, all are ready to be placed on the roster and sent out into rotation - building off of that we have several mid to high level jonin and a swath of high level chunin in the clan who need something to do…as for the children, several have requested trade learning instead of the academy, so I need to find suitable trades for them as soon as possible. The rest are to be signed up for the next available classes for their age groups at the Shinobi academy for the next term.

The Hokage clapped his hands and smiled to Naru. "well done Naru, well done. Now that that has been taken care of, I need to ask about what your clan will be doing for the village besides fighting for and protecting it?"

Seeing the small frown Hiruzen hurried to throw out a life-line. "like the Nara clan is responsible for most of the medicines in the village. The Uchiha had the police force. So on and so forth. I just need to know so I can file the necessary papers."

Thinking hard, Naru racked her brain for something for her clan to do, some way they could benefit the village. Suddenly the answer came to her like lightning.

"Hokage-sama, could you give me a couple hours to meet with the clan about this?" seeing his nod, she raced out of the room and down the stairs, shouting at people who were too slow to move out of her way.

Inside the office, the old man laughed heartily as he reached for another piece of paperwork. Whatever Naru came up with, it was sure to make him proud.

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Racing down a side street Naru hurried to a small shop hidden amidst the bustle of the market.

Dragon scale designs laid as dormant as a flower in the heart of a winter morning. The bell that signaled a customer rang out in the tiny shop. To Naru though, this little slice of heaven was peace in her hectic life. Smiling to herself and the fondness of the old place, she walked over to a tiny old woman.

"old Hag, how's it goin. Still haven't kicked the bucket yet huh." she warmly embraced the tiny lady. "well I guess that's for the best because I need to have a word with you."

The old woman grinned and with surprising strength, led Naru over to a pair of comfy chairs. "speak child, I don't have much time left in this world and I would rather not wait for thee to collect thy thoughts in such a short amount of time." she cackled noisily when the brat stuck out her tongue.

Shaking her head, Naru leaned into the warmth of the chair." I need a favor…more like several and to be honest they are not the most selfless ones…I have several children in my new clan, they want to learn a trade and I need to give them one only because we are such a new family to Konoha, we haven't found an outside trade to incorporate into the village yet. that's where you come in if you agree. I want to add you into the Uzumaki clan and have the shop added as an outside source for the village."

To say the woman was shocked would have been an understatement. True she was getting on in years and she was lonely for the most part. But to be considered as a possible member of a clan. It was a lot to take in. after all she had only ever known this shop, it was her home and the home of her late husband as well. She knew she could never leave it, but saying that she also knew she couldn't have it torn down and destroyed once she died either. She looked into Naru's shining blue eyes and smiled mentally.

The girl was of a good sort. Maybe not the smartest or the one with the most tact, but she had heart and spirit. Could it be so bad to let the girl have her clan take care of her home once she was gone.

"Naru, dear brat. you've been a pain in the rear for as long as I have known ye. Sometimes I want to hit you with a ladle and will the common-sense back into that thick head of yours. But saying that, I am old, I need a reliable successor for when my time comes. If I agree you'd be doing me a favor by having one of your younglings learn the trade here. I will take at the most, four of those children, under my wing. Make sure they come here tomorrow an hour before dawn so I can start their lessons." she wheezed out sternly. Her cloudy eyes smiled in glee.

Naru looked at the old hag before breaking out in a wide grin edged with happy tears. "you really mean it. Oh goodness, I need to get back to the clan and tell them the news. Four you said, okay I have some in mind. Before dawn, one hour got it. Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me and my own, thank you!" her voice was filled with happiness as she hugged the old woman tightly before bowing and rushing out the door.

Inside the store the old woman brought out her pipe and smiled. Tomorrow was a new day after all.

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Running into the street once more Naru hurried to her next destination. The shop was coming along nicely. Several huge windows showed out the first batches of weapons and everyday tools along with some specialty items.

The sign hung on the wall saying "the Jade shield" glowed with fresh paint. Behind the counter Naru could see both Yoh and Hana chatting and looking at some kind of catalog. Grinning wildly she raced in and stated to gesture wildly for a few moments.

To a random shopper who just was walking by at that moment and looked into the new store and nearly dropped his bags at the sight of three people -two older and one still a child - hugging and jumping around in a circle.

Shaking his head the man walked further away. "Women?" he muttered under his breath.

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Out of breath, Naru burst into the silent office. Her hands white knuckled a piece of paper as she marched up to the desk and consequently, the old man behind it.

Bowing tersely, she held out the rumpled paper. "Hokage-sama." she said. Withered hands gently pried the poor parchment from the excitable girl as she visibly vibrated in excitement.

Looking over the scrawled handwriting, Hiruzen smiled and reached for his seal.

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In the large open courtyard of the newly named Uzumaki compound, Naru watched as the clan slowly filtered in. the old walked up behind her as sat on some beautiful carved benches. She nodded to the elders with both respect and trepidation, after all they were the ones who held the true respect over the clan due to their ages and the knowledge of tradition. Sitting right in front of her, both Hinata and Lee watched as their friend fidgeted. They both shook their heads and laughed at Naru's predicament.

After a few minutes everyone had assembled before her. Raising her hand for silence - something she had seen the Hokage do - Naru called up the names of the children who didn't want to learn the ninja arts.

Hinata watched as her best friend performed her new duties with pride. Coming from a clan that specialized in non-verbal communication, she could tell that Naru was very nervous and uncomfortable with being the center of so much attention, yet she knew she needed to do this and thus endeared Hinata's loyalty and amusement.

Looking down at her friends the blonde haired ninja in training pouted moodily. They were laughing at her she just knew it.

Shaking her head, Naru refocused on her clan and smiled, "that's all for today. Reminder, all ninja currently placed on the active duty roster are to report to the jonin and chunin meeting rooms before five tomorrow - she watched as the ninja in question all nodded back to her before she began again. - secondly, new genin, the academy has arranged for you to be placed in classes of your age groupings. Orientation begins at seven tomorrow for all new students. There will be no tardiness nor excuses and this clan will except none either. Remember, you all set the course for how this clan and our family is perceived in the village, do your best out there. Oh, and before we let off for the night, all ninja who are assigned to missions leaving the village for more than two nights need to talk with me or the elders before they leave…that is all, dismissed."

A loud chorus of noise rang up in the dark pink sky as the clan moved off into the growing shadows of the compound, intent to finish tasks for the evening before the start of the morning.

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Lee grinned along with Hinata as Naru walked down the path to them. Her sparkling eyes shimmered in exhaustion as she stifled a yawn. Both her teammates bumped shoulders with her as they started to laugh and comment on how she did.

Together all three friends slowly made their way back to the main house, each just happy to be with their friends and vice versa.

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Time skip - one year and seven months

"this is Hinata and Naru…target has been spotted going into the Royal Daimyo bar and casino…approximately six ft tall with bright blue hair and is carrying a long pole weapon of some type…permission to enter the casino?" a young girl of about eight or nine crouched low on the roof of a brothel spoke into the head mike of her radio. Beside her a slightly older girl with blazing blonde hair and whisker marks looked through a spyglass and muttered a few random vulgar remarks.

It was about a year and a half since they had all joined up and became team Anko and so far they all loved it, or more so - they hated it…kinda was still up in the air on how they all felt. Out of all the genin currently alive, they were known throughout the village for having the highest amount of missions under B-rank. No easy thing since most of their graduating class from the academy was actually dead. In a way, it proved to the majority of the ninja population that they were not to be ignored, even if the civilians didn't give a rats ass.

At over seventy D-ranked missions completed and over forty low to mid-level C-ranks filed away under their belts, Anko had decided that her group of perpetually adorable genin needed a wake up call in the ninja world and had barged the missions desk with a request for a high level C-rank espionage and assassination mission.

Which led them to this exact moment in time.

Hinata was playing lookout on the top of the building with Naru taking point on the assignment. Lee acting as the heavy muscled go-between, was running back and forth between the two positions as they waited for conformation on the go ahead from their sensei.

Naru grumbled as she watched both her teammate/best friend and the streets below them from the corner of one blue eye. Sure she loved high level missions, don't get her wrong, but this wasn't just any mission. Below them somewhere in that damned adult pleasure land, was one of the most sadistic members of Gato's inner circle, and if that didn't tell you how sick this man was, then the name Gato cleared it up.

Blue eyes narrowed in thought. Gato of Gato company. Creepy little man is up to his tits in trouble. Smuggling illegal goods and drug dealings not to mention all of the Intel that Pervy sage has managed to scrounge up when he takes his eyes off of his disgusting "research". over a dozen complaints and yet, no one will come forward to testify against the shady midget, I've yet to hear of anyone that had the balls to do it and survive but that's just foolish. Naru bit back the subsonic growl that rumbled in her chest at the injustice. Sadly the old man wont give out the mission for a hit against the creep. Says it has to many unknown factors in it and we don't have the needed man-power for such a delicate operation. Even this mission won't do any true good, Gato will just replace this bastard with another just like him by the end of the day anyways.

Mumbling angrily and feeling restless, Naru refocused on her surroundings.

Tanzaku-gai, the fun place of the adult world and a hive of shady machinations, sprawled out in a rough circle around a dozen different casinos, bars and gambling dens. Near the south facing part of the high wall was the famed Tanzaku-jo, a large walled castle in a fine grey and blue color that is a popular tourist attraction. Besides that the town was famed for its fine women both domestic and professional. Naru would have liked to talk with some of them except for two reasons, one - this was a mission that held a high margin of stealth, and two - Naru was pretty sure that Pervy sage had worked his way through most of the women in the place and she had way to much respect for both herself and them, to hash out old grudges, wounds and restraining orders, both legal and threatening.

Which lead back to where she was now, waiting with Hinata on the go order for the rest of the mission.

Beside Naru, Hinata had to stifle another jaw-cracking yawn as she watched the area with her Byakugan. Man it was boring though to just sit and wait, even she, the one who cautioned peace and prosperity on the missions her team ran, felt the need to move, to do something besides waiting around for the order. It was tense.

Instead she turned her mind inward and consequently, the past.

Flashback - one year ago

Hinata was walking amongst the village as she shopped for some groceries and one of those bulk boxes of field rations that shinobi took on missions. She smiled fondly as she thought of her two friends who could both eat a box to themselves if she wasn't there to supervise.

She waved to a few of the Uzumaki's that were out shopping as well and even to a few of the shop keepers before delving back into her routine.

Already a few months had gone by since she joined the clan and yet, the white eyed girl felt conflicted. Sure she had joined the clan and she was respected even though she was not as strong as her other two teammates nor as resourceful but it still didn't feel right. It was as if the whole clan was waiting for something to happen that she only had a passing knowledge of and it annoyed her to no end. And yes, she had made friends with the others fairly fast even though she hadn't known these people from birth, like she had her old family and didn't have the connections the new Uzumaki's had grown up using. And through all of this, they had treated her like she had come from the clan's own womb, never mocking or putting her down just because she was unable to do something that the others could do.

Compared to her old clan, the Uzumaki's were a breath of clean air and a day at the beach. The whole family had a set of principles that was more instinctual rather than taught. Like, "Family always comes first before duty" and yet there was the other "duty before desire. "Help the clan not drag them down", "the elders are to be respected, cared for as was earned from a life of service", etc…

Children were taken care of by all of the clan, even if a child wasn't your own. The shinobi of the clan had morning and evening training session that even some of the academy students joined in along with the more robust elders. The old ones of the clans were building a semi-large library, that according to elder Tsubaki, was just like the one in the old village of Uzugakure that before being torn down - had held the amassed knowledge of over fifty generations of the old Uzumaki clan. Her and all the other elders were currently in the process of adding up and if need be, rewriting many of the old scrolls that had been once apart of the proud clans lineage.

Hinata smiled as a gaggle of academy children ran by, one of which had the silver-blue hair of his family.

It also hit her thoughts. Academy children differed from the academy children Hinata was used too. For example. Konoha children generally learned everything beside family techniques - at the shinobi academy, were they were taught everything from throwing kunai to the fundamentals of shinobi living. Yet, Uzumaki children seemed to come instilled with that knowledge directly harnessed and tried. Already the tiniest child in the clan - about a month old, could feel chakra and give out tiny bursts - like tiny heartbeats that though uncontrolled, held some surprising power. The mother of the child, named Uzu in remembrance for his family, assured her it was normal when Hinata had done the check-up. Apparently Uzumaki children, and those related to the clan had volatile chakra that was wild and strong and a mess to organize, so the clan worked with all the children to teach chakra manipulations and control at the earliest convinces.

All in all, Hinata thought, as she moved to avoid a puddle, the clan was way developed. Even the civilian children of the clan knew what chakra was and how to control it. Heck, most of them even knew how to fight just as good as any ninja. Tsubaki-san had told her that it was a good practice to observe since just being a civilian didn't mean the monster cutting your throat out would stop since you had no combat training. She agreed.

Besides that she was happy she had a new family to call her own. Even though at first she had been worried the people wouldn't accept her since she was an ex-Hyuuga. That was a thought that they had put to rest.

According to the oldest clan member - a man known affectionately as Akihiko, was clearing over ninety and was currently the oldest living clan member from the original clan and loved to tell the clans history had said to both her and her teammates that "Uzumaki's originally had red hair as a predominant gene and yet they accepted those who were different. They lived long years and such were more open to other clans and outside marriages within the clans. I was a small boy when one such clan merged with ours, Uzumaki and the Senju. Was big celebration, with much laughter and joy. We wed our heiress and the Senju heir, we became one family with two names. Now our clan is small once more, we will become big with many bloodlines and life will continue on, not stop because we cannot see beyond arrogance or differences. In the end it only makes us that much stronger, while other clans will wither away because they lack the will to change." he had said in his whispery voice.

Hinata giggled. She liked the old man who had become one of Naru's closest advisors on clan matters and who sat on the clan seat in the shinobi council of Konoha. Both his age and wisdom garnered him much respect.

Stopping before a stand that sold multiple brands of fruit, Hinata thought. ' maybe I should give up the Hyuuga name. after all I am now apart of the Uzumaki clan, I know it does them no favors to hear other call me by Hyuuga. Maybe, just maybe I should change my name…

Hinata stood motionless before the stall. Her thoughts running against each other. On one hand was a loyalty to the people who had taken her in, gave her purpose to be herself and had given her the best friends she had been forced to live her previous life without. On the other, was a loyalty to her blood family, the people who had raised her all the way up until she was seven. The family who had in the end cut her rope as she dangled of the precipice of her beginning career. The people who in one breath praised her and in the next spit on her name as if she was dirt and even lower than that. And as she was falling, gaining speed and twirling out of control as the harsh reality that was the ground raced up to meet her - a safety net built of the strongest cords and rope had shot out from beneath her to halt her fall as the Uzumaki family and her friends, the lord third, crane-sensei and the members of anbu, her teacher Anko, the nice butcher and his family, the old hag at the shop who got along with both Yoh and Hana…they took her hands and willed her to stand and fight back. So she would.

As of this moment, Hyuuga Hinata - first heir of clan Hyuuga, at four minutes before the third evening hour on a dry Wednesday before summer, has died. In her place Uzumaki Hinata, medic-nin of the shinobi forces and summoner to the mice contract, student to Mitarashi Anko and a member of the Anbu black ops, is born.

And she never looked back.

Flashback end

Up on the roof Hinata smiled at the older girl as she used the Konoha hand signals for short speech, mostly to call lee a ass for wasting her time. A sudden flash of reflected light tickled the edge of her Byakugan as she used the near 360 degree view to pinpoint the location. It was Anko-sensei.

The small earwig radio crackled to life as their wayward teacher laughed manically on the other end. "helloooo, sweet kawai genin, my adorable little minions. Anko-sensei has the orders now. So pay attention because I'm not repeating myself… Lee your going to act like the girls' bouncer/guard, make sure they are in your sights at all time. And no youthful talks this time okay!" both girls giggled at Lee's disgruntled exclamations that youth was a great icebreaker. "now Hinata you're the eagle eyes of this mission, make sure that piece of trash disguised as a hunky man doesn't even pass gas without you knowing it, we cant have him getting away or it could be months before we get a solid watch on him again. Now on to my little troublemaker after my own heart, Naru…kick his sweet ass until he is unable to walk, but don't kill him yet. We need to do a field interrogation to find out more about Gato, this was a new request submitted by the Pervert of mount toad and nosebleeds. Oh, and iff you fail or muck this one up sweet genins, ill put you through the wringer and make you all do my backlogged paperwork for the academy. Bye bye kiddos."

The ear pieces were quiet for a minute before Naru summed everything up in a nice vulgar swear.

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The bouncer to the casino wiped sweat from his eyes as two exotic women sashayed over to him. Blonde hair down to a wasp bottomed, tight dress, and boobs so big you could use them as floatation devices. Shimmering blue eyes reminiscent of a cats narrowed invitingly as she walked forward barely leaving room between their bodies. Her dress was a haunting red and stopped at mid thigh, with six inch heels that went well with her long tanned legs. In her hands was a small red clutch. Slender pouting lips shiny with lipstick enticed his gaze as she grinned foxily, three small marks on her face made her exotic.

"mah, lookie here…such a big, strong man." the blonde purred as she eyed him like a piece of meat. "you must get all the ladies…sir. Hmmm, maybe this town wasn't such a waste after all. What do you think sister." she looked behind her, blue eyes smiled at the slightly taller woman.

The bouncer followed her gaze and nearly died of blood loss. Oh Kami he needed a cold shower or a seat.

A tall woman with an hourglass figure practically floated to stand next to the dangerously hot blonde. Her bluish hair was colored like a ravens wing and long and so straight it fell to the ankles of her delicate looking feet clad in platforms. Her skin was as white as milk and so very soft looking. Her dress longer and more refined then the blondes held many different sequins sewed in. the color was a deep dark purple with long sleeves that nearly covered her hands as the rest of the outfit stretched over her body before ending just above the knees. Her face was so gentle and peaceful compared to her blonde sister that she rivaled the moon in her beauty. Her eyes were pupiless blue that almost seemed to pretty to be real. Oh god they were like the sun and the moon, so hot and cold and damn their breasts could be licensed as weapons. A man could suffocate in those precious lumps of boobs. He felt like volunteering for such a hot death.

The dark haired woman spoke, her voice smooth and quiet as she talked to her sister. "indeed sister dear. My this is such a pale town compared to home…but the attractions" -she looked over at the sexually grounded male and winked. - "were just to good to pass up. My, my such a handsome man before us and yet, we are still outside dear sister. Maybe this nice man will help us with that." she giggled softly into her sleeve as the blonde brazenly grinned back.

"Indeed sister, shall I ask the…nice man for help. I guess I could make it worth his while. hhm, decisions and such are so not my forte, eh sister. I just like jumping into things with no regrets. All this thinking is going to give me wrinkles." the blonde pouted sultry as she turned blue eyes back to the male. "could you help us out sir?"

The bouncer felt his eyes bug out of his head as his blood currently wandered south, leaving his brain and therefore rationality to pack up and leave town. "what is two beautiful ladies doing at such a place. If your lost. I know a place to…stop and ask for directions." he winked and purred, never noticing the hidden looks of disgust that the girls hid from him at the insinuation.

Hell they were ninja and not going to remain pure forever, but that still didn't mean they were going to sleep with this lowborn cur brute with his dick buried in the ground and his head in the clouds. No they had a clan to honor, which meant as honorable a marriage as can be held by a ninja family. They were not going to tumble in the hay, so to speak, with a man they could barely look at without revulsion. besides, he was just a means to an end, his cooperation got them in the door and thus one step closer to ending this mission.

Still Naru and Hinata both safely in their henges as older teens, knew as a shinobi and more importantly as a konoichi, there may come a time and mission where they will have to sleep with someone to either kill them, manipulate, or gain information from in the service to their village. Thankfully Anko had told them that she would not have them do such missions until they had either gained more years or hit chunnin rank and were placed in the new seduction corps of Konoha - which was conveniently commanded by their friend Yoh.

Naru forced a coy smile to her face as she gave the pervert before her a sweeping glance. "my, that's a secret sir…but cant two girls have a little…fun before the night brings its more…exciting fun." she fluttered her long fingers while the nausea in her stomach rolled.

" besides, if you let us in now…I'll make it worth your while later tonight, Hun." she felt sick. The man practically flew to the door and opened it up for them before stopping at the shadow just behind the girls. "who the hell is he, " the bouncer growled.

Hinata looked behind her shoulder and smiled prettily at the older version of their teammate.

Lee's disguise was made by Naru as she henged him to look about twenty-five with nice thick muscles and the height to intimidate. She gave his bowl cut hair a slight messy look to it and even added a few facial scars to the mix. His outfit was a pair of dark green camo pants and a mesh wife-beater shirt that accented the heavy muscle and the abs. his hip pouches were replaced by a sword that Hinata recognized as Naru's. that made sense since the girls would look suspicious with any weapons.

His large round eyes were slightly narrowed into a fierce but blank mask as his arms crossed over his broad chest. Both Naru and Hinata looked over their friend, discreetly looking for any flaws in the design. Besides that, the girls nodded swiftly at each other. He definitely looked the part.

Hinata opened her fake blue eyes and smiled at the bouncer, practically disarming him with a flutter of those big lashes. "why, my dear sir, he's our bodyguard. Mother and father would be so upset if we left the manor without him. Consider him our shadow and confident."

Naru snorted in humor as she flashed a loud smile at the bouncer. "besides him, I find you much more interesting. You see, the man never talks or reacts. I like a man with a sense of how to have a good time…like you. I bet you know all sorts of way to treat a lady. Id much rather spend my time getting to know you instead of staying with such a boring male." she winked and the bouncer caved.

"alright then, I see nothing wrong here." he opened the door wide admitting a symphony of slots, yelling, and laughter along with the smell of booze and food. " have a good time, but don't forget to find me when your done, eh." he smirked cockily as both girls and the silent guard walked by him followed by the sounds of the door closing.

He grinned in the lowered light. Today was a great day, he decided.

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Inside the royal Daimyo, both girls and the guard burst into laughter as they started talking.

"ewww, I need to wash my mouth out with soap when this is over. The things I said to that man…ergh, I feel dirty just remembering it." Naru shuddered in disgust as both Hinata and Lee laughed.

Lee looked down at his blonde teammate and grinned youthfully. "I must say the powers of youth were with you Naru-chan. You definitely showed that guy back there the whole springtime treatment. " he barked with laughter as Naru elbowed him in the side. Beside him, Hinata giggled as she say them both messing around. With all this pressure on them, it was nice to see her two friends acting normally. It was most refreshing.

Lee stopped wheezing for air as he looked over at the two. "anyways how old did you guys make yourselves?" he asked.

Hinata looked over at Naru ash she answered. "about twenty or so. I didn't want to be too young were it would be suspicious if we entered nor did I want to be too old so we couldn't move around without drawing attention." the blonde shinobi shrugged as she turned around to survey the place. "we have to be careful here you guys. One wrong step and this whole mission will be crashing down around our ears faster then Iruka-sensei can put a class asleep with a history lesson." both nodded as well. Naru may be a lot of things, but when push comes to shove, she always seemed to pull off a miracle.

Looking around the bright golden room. Naru sighed. It was gaudy and loud. Gaggles of adults moved from slots to the bar in rapid subsection that it made the whole place roll. The ground was littered in fancy carpets and guards in dark uniforms patrolled the floors.

To Naru the place stank of wealth and she hated it it. It was all so superficial, like a craftily woven Genjustu that sucked you and could barely find the strength to break. All around her and her team, people laughed and joked, cried and hugged, spat insults and threw punches. And even though she was in the thick of it, Naru couldn't be more disappointed.

Looking at Naru, Hinata sighed before rolling her slightly tense shoulders, "we should start searching before Anko-sensei decides we need a refresher course in evasion maneuvers." she didn't need to look at her friends to know they had paled at the implications of another round of Anko's teachings.

Nodding at each other the three friends started off into the bright glitz and glam of the gambling world.

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Thirty minutes later three exhausted genin in disguise moved to an empty table close to the center of the room. Both Hinata and Naru massaged what the could of their feet while Lee sat heavily slumped in the chair across from them, his face hidden by his messy hair.

Naru glared at the loud and very annoying room as her henge wavered slightly with the force of her turbulent emotions. "well this was a huge waste of time." she hissed out as both genin turned to look at her. "I'm mean how could he have disappeared so fucking fast. All our Intel pointed to him not being a damn shinobi. We couldn't have been in the door no less than forty minutes after he entered. Stupid vanishing men, fucking asshole." Naru raged. She wasn't angry that he had disappeared she was more pissed that they couldn't find him. After all they might be genin, but they were a thousand times more qualified than any of the other genin teams from the class they technically graduated with. Stood to reason they should be at least competent enough to find a man who wasn't even a ninja to begin with.

Hinata glared right back at her friend as she ranted before slapping a hand over the irate blondes mouth. Her voice steady and slightly peeved as she said, "we need to stay in character Naru, you of all people know about maintaining a good cover while on the mission. We cant afford people talking about us while you blow off some steam…besides, its not like me and Lee don't get it because we do. The man slipped away, we are all tired, hungry, sore and upset but that will not stop us from completing this mission with a good mark. Kami knows we need this B-rank and the experience." she smiled grimly at the end of her small speech.

Both Lee and Naru looked cowed before their gentle teammate before breaking into small smiles themselves. She was right of course. Just because they couldn't find their target now, didn't mean he had disappeared of the face of the earth, for all they knew he could be in the hotel portion of the casino or in one of the backrooms. No they had too much riding on this to just throw in the towel.

Naru grinned foxily at her friends before ordering a tropical drink from the nearby waitress, she also ordered for her friends seeing as they had dropped their jaws when she had flagged down the wayward server.

Lee had his mouth open when he furiously whispered at the blonde konoichi. "what in the name of all that is youthful are you doing Naru?!" the blonde shot him a amused glance. "Naru that's a adult drink, we are too young to be ordering it, let alone drinking it." he gave a look of helplessness to Hinata when Naru stuck out her tongue at him.

Shaking her head exasperation at the two's antics, she stage whispered to Naru. "he's right Naru. We really shouldn't be drinking on the job."

Naru snorted at her overprotective friends. "listen, this is the espionage portion of the mission. We are several young adults looking to have fun and experience life on the wild side. It stands to reason we need to not only look the part but act it also. So I ordered a alcoholic beverage with just a small content of the crap. Its mostly fruit juice with ice shavings okay. Besides I also ordered something to eat as well, with the amount of booze in the drink and the food, I couldn't possible get drunk now can I!" she looked between both her friends as they contemplated her answer. Sighing, both Lee and Hinata admitted defeat. Anyways they might as well relax before they had to go look for the dumbass non-shinobi again.

Smirking in victory Naru watched the room for anything out of place while Hinata struck up a conversation about the new seduction corps that Yoh had put together.

"its odd, seeing the new building the renovated for the corps. I helped design the interior and let me tell you it is so much better outfitted than the Anbu HQ. the Lord third says that he is going to be implementing service in the seduction arts for a minimum of a year in order to advance to jonin rank." she murmured.

Lee blinked. "is it mandatory for promotion or is just like how they wish everyone did the tour?"

Hinata shook her head, "well Yoh says this will help out the Uzumaki clan seeing as the majority of Uzumaki's are helping it to be put together. I believe she wants to make it part of our clan specialties. You know how the Inuzuka are trackers and Yamanaka's divide their talents into T&I and therapy. The woman does have a point though, we are still a new clan to Konoha and thus have to pull our own weight much longer before we start accumulating the respect that some of the older clans have."

Several drinks were placed on the table before the waitress exclaimed that the food would only take a moment longer.

Naru sipped her bright acid blue drink and sighed contentedly. "I have yet to sign off the paper claiming the clan will have this as a specialty. For all we know, something much better could come along and we wont be able to participate. And another thing, seduction corps is a lot like the anbu except they Anbu are the private service of the Hokage, while the corps is more of a general assassination/ espionage/ tactician group. They are supposed to be taking missions based on the targets preferences and either kill or interrogate them. Not only that it basically left up to the solo objective. This means that teams like the standard three man cell is out of the question. If you go on these missions, you are likely to working alone and in the dark with only maybe another person working behind the scenes as back up." the blonde said to her captive audience.

Lee nodded thoughtfully, "it makes sense. A large team would definitely attract attention. Especially if the target has anything to do with shinobi since we are trained to notice irregularities in the pattern. Not only that, but with one person instead of several means we don't have to spare as much manpower for the missions. Not only that the pay would be very good."

Hinata agreed and said, "yeah. Yoh said the starting mission pay at the lowest is mid-B rank and it goes up until double SS-Rank mission status as the highest." both genin whistled in amazement.

Blinking a sudden wave of drowsiness from her eyes, Naru looked over at the still bustling casino. seriously doesn't this place have a closing period. Man it feels like ages since I have a decent night sleep. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just…fall asleep…right…here…

Naru felt her eyes close against her will as she slowly gave in to the wave of extreme tiredness. Sound slowly started to fade as the blonde tried to keep her azure orbs open, but it was so difficult, they felt like lead. A thump at her right barely even drew her attention as Lee slumped in his chair. His face puzzled as he tried to move his hands into the Kai sign. Next to him Hinata had dropped her glass onto the floor, her henge wavering like a small but steady heartbeat as she seemed to be drowning. Her mouth opened and closed but no sound came out.

How odd? Naru thought as she slipped deeper and deeper into sleep. this doesn't feel natural…this is wrong, I wasn't tired before I drank that drink. THE DRINK! Crap, where the hell is the fox when I need him. "Kyuubi…"Kyuubi, I need help. Fuck, where the hell are you. This is no time to be pissed at me you know. We are both in danger here." she mentally screamed in desperation.

Deep in the subconscious of the blonde the nine tails opened both red eyes in frustration. couldn't his kit go more than a year without landing in another heap of trouble.kit, I leave you alone to sleep for a while to regain energy and yet here you are yelling out for the big bad fox to save you pathetic mortal ass once again…how touching.

Naru gritted her teeth as she mentally calmed down. "listen foxy-loxy, I don't have time to play mind games today. Help me now and then once your done you can go back to sleep or whatever you were doing."

And if I don't want to kit? Your inability to sense the presence of a strong sleeping agent in your fruity mortal drink is just as pathetic as your mortal ability to render me speechless…it seems there is no depth to stupidity that you will not sink to. the fox grinned menacingly at the mixture of emotions the disquieted child was making.

Pissed but still rational, Naru thought of what the feather duster was saying. "so it was a sleeping agent…like crushed sleeping pills made up as a fine powder and slipped into our drinks."

A evil laugh echoed as the fox grinned wider. His kit was finally getting it. you owe me kit. I will purge the powder from your body, but I expect this to be the last time you bother me before I come to bother you.

With that the fox turned into pure tainted chakra as it moved through her bloodstream and her chakra pathways, burning the poison that dared lay his jailor low from her body. Thankfully the fox was in a good mood despite being awoken before he was fully charged. He even left the girls pitiful henge up, seeing as she didn't need the extra complications.

Wakey wakey, kit…and remember, I'll be waiting to collect on our agreement.

The rush of pain to her head had Naru feeling sick. Thankfully she woke up with only the throbbing headache as a sign she had ever been put unconscious in the first place.

Shaking her head and then immediately regretting the action, Naru stumbled out of her chair and walked over to the unconscious forms of her friends. She hissed at the henges that they both wore, what was once a near solid projection was now nearly see through, showing the eight and nine year old bodies of her teammates. Reaching down, she grasped the flower vase that was still on the table and pulled out the flowers before chucking the slightly slimy water over both sleeping ninja. The effect was near instantaneous as both shinobi suddenly shot up from the table with yells over at the irate blonde.

"Naru what the…how unyouthful to wake us up in this way!" Lee bellowed. The sound so loud it cut cleanly through the din of the ruckus casino.

Hinata stood shakily as she moved her sodden hair to clutch at her temples. The pain was annoying but not debilitating. Moving her hand across her face she grimaced at the filmy wetness that clung to her. "Naru why did you throw water on us?" she asked, genuinely curious as to why her friend would do such a thing. As far as she knew, they weren't on Naru's prank list.

Before them stood a pale faced Naru as she scrunched up her face. "we were drugged. Somebody slipped a sleeping powder into our drinks and that knocked us out. I figured the fastest way to wake you two up would be to shock your bodies. Thankfully we had that vase with cold water in it or else I might have resorted to throwing what was left of the drinks into your faces." she grinned ruefully here. "I'm sorry that it came to this and I promise once we get back to Konoha I'll make it up to both of you but right now we have bigger worries. Somebody is on to us and the mission parameters just got a hell of a lot smaller."

Both Hinata and Lee looked at the blonde konoichi before nodding in agreement.

Stealthily moving away from the dining area of the casino, the trio walked further towards the hotel portion.

"do you think the person who drugged us knows we are shinobi, or was it just orders from someone else." Hinata asked as the moved down a slightly crowded hallway.

Naru looked back at her for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "hell if I know. What matters now though, is that we need to find that idiot who is currently mia. Damn if only this place wasn't so fucking big." she stage whispered. Her companions silently agreed.

The casino was already two stories tall with over twenty different rooms for gambling, relaxing, and eating. Private show rooms for auctions and events had to be booked months in advance due to the high cost and expensive designs had both civilians and shinobi from all over the elemental countries flocking to participate. Heading through a large set of double doors had you going through a short hallway that connected the hotel to the actual casino.

The hotel of the Royal Daimyo was almost four stories tall with a muted grey tone on the outside and a warm autumn red on the inside. Large pictures of cranes and dragons littered the walls while bell-hops in neatly pressed kimonos walked around delivering items to the many patrons.

Lee watched this with a impartial eye while both Hinata and Naru gasped and pointed. The fact that all three were in true excitement did little to effect how they had to act now, especially with the mission stakes going up on a steady rise. Lee himself was restraining from yelling about how youthful the place was. His eyes stayed forward, never once letting the girls away from his side or even attempt to meander into the roiling crowd and into some psycho lunatics grasp. After all he had finally made friends, two wonderful friends who didn't care about how he looked or wonder why he acted the way he did. They didn't care that he had been such a loser and an idiot or that he couldn't use chakra the way they could, they cared for him and in return he cared right on back.

Besides, they were being trained by Anko-sensei and occasionally Gai-sensei. They couldn't let those two nor the Hokage down by mucking up the mission. Hell if they did that they would find themselves on the butt end of a very painful remedial lesson more than likely held by Crane-sensei and the rest of Anbu. He shuddered.

Suddenly Naru stopped causing both Hinata and him to run into her back. " Naru, what's going on, why did you stop?"

A hand was held up for silence as Naru trained her blue eyes on the other side of the hall. Ahead of him Hinata gasped out in shock as she stiffened. Following their sight, he saw a fairly tall and leanly muscled cloaked figure make its way out of a room. As he turned, a long lock of bright blue hair fell out from beneath the hood.

"is that who I think it is?" he muttered. Naru grinned and whispered, "Showtime."

Looking back at her teammates she waved them over closer, "this is the plan, Hinata…"

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Walking down a deserted hallway in the Royal Daimyo hotel, Giichi snorted at the pathetic excuse for a meeting he had just had. honestly, the price for those drugs is not even worth the profit we could get from shipping and redistributing them among the people. already his day was horrible and having that meeting just made his head hurt.

He was Gato-sama's most loyal persuader after all. It was his job to over see the placement and figures who helped make Gato company so fucking successful, not that he ever really had the choice.

Gato had bought him from a human trafficking ring along Suna's southern most border as a child of only four. His whore of a mother and his deadbeat father had sold him into it to pay off a local warlord that his mother had slept with and then later scammed. To this day he hated the ones he had called parent. Not that he ever had to worry about them anymore. When he had turned sixteen, he had wandered back tot the small nameless village of his birth and killed every last person in the horrid place. Both his parents and the warlord he had left for last.

His father he had simply beat to near death with his own fists before chopping of his head with the axe the old man had kept around their shacks back wall. He had given him the kinder of the three deaths since his father had never really paid much attention on him in the past, unless of course he was being beaten like the dog his father had called him. He could still see the fear and desperation in the older mans eyes as his lost son, burst through the cracked door and slugged him across the cluttered and dirty room. He felt such pleasure at watching his old man break into tears as each blow hit his worker body. Years of farm labor had hardened his father, but Giichi had been trained to fight and kill.

He went after the warlord next. His pitiful little rundown castle didn't pose any problems for him as he killed anyone who stopped him. He found the sickly thin man in his personal rooms with several other women of poor repute. He simply broke their necks as he walked up to the man his parents had sold him for.

Long thin hair hung to his shoulders. Giichi thought that it might've been brown at one time but was now greasy and graying. He could feel the way his hand had lashed out at the foolish man, backhanding him into on of the beds' wooden poles. He couldn't recall if the pole had made the cracking sound or if it was the mongrels face hitting it. The man had blood covering his face as he had screamed for his guards.

No one came to save him.

Gripping the man in a vice-like hold, he had dragged the flailing idiot towards a large metal chair before dropping him in it and then punching him hard enough to daze. The warlords head had lolled around for a moment while he had tied him up with torn lengths of cloth. The mans frightened eyes still made him laugh to this day. Funny how a man who acquired his position in life by the blood and death of others, was so scared to die himself. A the cycle of life. Such a funny occurrence.

The warlord had been a spitting mass of bile as he dropped clay orbs onto the ground, breaking them open to reveal a slimy silver liquid that oozed over the expensive silk rugs. "do you know what this is milord. This thick silver liquid is redemption. These clay orbs represent the loss of a child's innocence. I'm going to kill you, that much is certain. I hope somebody on the other side is more merciful towards you than you are. Goodbye scum." he dropped the final orb before opening a lighter and flicking it on. The dull orange flame waved hypnotically in the low light of the warlords rooms.

The smile on his face went beautifully with the terrified screams of the scared man, his thrashing movements in vain as the small steel lighter fell onto one of the carpets. Oh he had made sure the lighter and the flame hadn't been near the accelerant, but rather onto the carpet to ensure he had enough time to leave safely, while also ensuring the disgusting man would die a long and agonizing death at the hands of a slow burning fire.

He had been a couple meters down the long road back to the village before he heard the boom and saw the large flames leap out of the windows as dark plumes of smoke rose into the sunset lit sky. He had giggled happily before resuming his unhurried walk.

He remembered the scream that had torn into the evening sky as he walked into the village. His mother holding the severed head of his asshole father would be seared into his brain. Ah, such good memories it was.

The grin he had shown his mother as she wept in absolute terror was music to his ears. His clothes wet with blood not his own had made bloody little lines in the sand as he walked closer and closer to her.

It had only been a foot away from her that she recognized him.

"hello mother…" he'd grinned maniacally as the forty year old woman clutched the head closer to her now bloodstained body. He didn't give her time to talk as he leapt upon her and started punching and slapping her. He hadn't stopped when her nose broke, hadn't stopped when teeth started to fall from her mouth. Her screeches of terror filled pain lashed him like the whip the slave master had used on him when he wouldn't stop crying for his mother…the same mother who sold him like some object that had lost all value. This woman, the very bane of his existence and yet, the maternal figure who had wiped away tears when he had scrapped his leg. How they could both be one and the same was fracturing.

He remembered yelling, screaming at her. The answers she gave lost to the wind and sand as he rhythmically broke her bones. He just kept demanding and yet was deaf to her reasons. She was worthless, she was the monster…but so was he. In his mind, she was the creature who lurked and killed you before you knew she was even there. So he became the monster that would destroy her. After all only a monster can kill another monster.

That night once he took his pound of flesh, he dragged her unconscious body out into the desert, only a couple yards from the village and tied her up. The moment he gripped a old knife in his hands felt like the Kami had put it there, he had purpose.

He hated her. Hated her blue hair that he had inherited, the sparkling brown orbs that he could claim as her as well. Hell he was practically her male copy save fore the height, that was his father influence. The moment her brown eyes had opened, he had plunged the knife so deep into her arm that it lodged into the bone. Her scream nearly made him deaf as he wrenched it out of her before getting to work. He was going to make her suffer like he had suffered.

First went the toes, then the feet, next he had sawed through her lower arms leaving nothing but stumps. And even though she couldn't feel it - he had sliced off each of her fingers on her severed hands. Next he cut out her tongue. Then her nose. Until all that was left was her pretty brown eyes that had stared at him with such fear and pain. He loved it, the power over this woman, these people. In the back of his mind he thought this is what it must feel like to be a god.

He smiled so gently at the woman in agony, his bloody hand caressed her cheek leaving behind a dark red smear. "shush mama." he had whispered into her ears - or rather the holes where her ears had been, "you'll die of blood loss soon. But I don't think that's such a fitting death don't you think mama? I think, since you lived off of other your whole life, maybe you could give back for a change…yes mama, I like that idea. I see you agree with me huh. don't worry mama, you'll see father again, sadly it just wont be on this plain of existence…I love you mama…bye bye…" He had giggled like a little boy before moving away from his mothers dying body.

Sitting up on a large rock he watched as the prone figure of his mother laid in the bloody sand. It only took less then thirty minutes before a small pack of coyotes stumbled upon the body, drawn by the smell of blood and death. He watched as his mother only had time for one last garbled shriek before the mutts descended onto her body, ripping it apart in true gory fashion.

Giichi had stayed there watching both his mother and the villagers bodies be torn apart, desecrated and eaten. Before leaving the place of his birth with the rising sun.

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Sighing in visceral pleasure at the thought of his villages slaughter, the blue haired man walked further down the hallway, a slight homicidal smile on his doll-like features as he passed room after room before stopping at a door that led outside. He had just been reaching for the door handle when a sweet voice drifted over his ears.

Turning around, his brown eyes met the face of a young woman. Her blonde hair was let loose around her waist as she wore a long virginal cream dress that left much to imagination. Her feet had been shod with dainty slippers in a darker off white than the dress. Big blue eyes that rivaled the color of the sky looked up at him with a playful glint. Her lips were nice and pout as she spoke to him once again.

"excuse me sir…mister…I'm lost and I don't know how to get back to my room." she looked down and mumbled as her cheeks heated up with a bright red blush.

His trained senses went haywire as the tiny woman edged closer. Some instinct half forgotten warned him that the small lady wasn't what she seemed, that she was a thousand times more dangerous than he was. He ignored the feeling as he offered the blonde his arm. She giggled and latched on to it with strength she shouldn't have.

He smiled like an axe murderer as he asked her where her rooms were.

"oh, I think it was room 202...I'm staying with my family, but they ditched me to go to the casino and then I went to go after them and before I knew it I was lost." she said as she looked up into his eyes, craning her neck at an awkward angle to do so.

He smiled wider. She was perfect, if he killed her family he could have for himself. He was sure Gato wouldn't mind since it would stop him from killing off hi employees. Ever since he had hit his twenties, he had been looking for a wife…not one of his love interests, but someone he could control - someone who would never leave, could never leave him. He smiled…the little blonde was perfect…if he stole her away he wouldn't need to explain to anybody why…after all he had been planning to kidnap some woman anyways after he was done with his meeting.

Seeing her there, looking like a pure, gentle angel had lit a fire in his belly. She was nothing like his own mother had been - vindictive, manipulative, cruel. No she would be his, this was what he knew he had to do…

Meanwhile, Naru was trying to keep her skin from twitching as the target kept making 'innocent' touches against her. Not many knew that her sense of smell was heightened by the Kyuubi, which meant she could smell the old blood on his person. He smelled like the shinobi portion of the hospital back at Konoha right after Jonin exams. It made her feel ill.

Sadly she knew from Jiraiya's reports that this man preferred blondes, and as TL she refused to allow Hinata to deal with this creep. The poor girl didn't need these types of nightmares. Thankfully though, both her teammates were in position in the room, even Anko had made it in time.

"here we are miss." he had a light voice that sounded almost childlike and insecure. Naru beamed up at the very tall maniac as he grinned down at her. Suddenly he stiffened. Blonde hair on edge, Naru silently prayed to gods she didn't believe in that he hadn't sensed any of her team or their deception in the room. Determined not to let him get anymore suspicious, she suddenly said, "would you like to come in. I could use someone with me so I'm not alone when my family comes back." feeling uneasy she threw on a foxy hundred watt smile.

She didn't relax even when he returned it.

Opening the door, Naru dove out of the way as several snakes wrapped themselves around Giichi. His shocked words silenced as Lee ran up behind him and wrapped a cloth gag around his mouth. Getting off from the ground, Naru gently looked out into the hallway before closing the door.

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Watching the room and the surrounding hallway through her Byakugan, Hinata played lookout, cautious for any back up the man might still have in the building.

Nodding back at her sensei she signed the code for 'all clear' and 'no hostiles'. Anko seeing the gestures smiled back at her more timid student before turning her focus back to the struggling man in front of her.

Kneeling down to his level, the purple haired konoichi grinned before ripping off his makeshift gag. He instantly started to yell out for help while the other simply started to grab small bundles and blankets. Anko let him scream until he simply lost the will to continue before she spoke to him.

"what's your name and occupation."

The steel eyed woman simply shrugged her shoulder before motioning the only other male in the room towards her. In his hands he carried a rolled up cloth that bore no symbols or words on its plain brown exterior. Thanking the man, she unrolled it on a nearby table. The tinkling sounds of metal hitting each other drew the bound males gaze as the scantily dressed woman moved them around.

Scalpels, thumb-breakers, jaw clamps, small hammers and even a tiny saw were placed neatly on the brown cloth, laid out in plain view for his eyes to see. He shivered - though not adverse to torture, many shinobi didn't like the mess or hassle it took to break someone. He himself could even attest to rarely indulging in the dark craft, though that was mainly due to never having enough time to fully act out on the experience.

Anko turned back to the bound male on his knees before smiling once more. "what is your name and occupation." he grinned right back. The woman was good, acting like she was not fishing for more information than she was. She didn't ask a question but stated that he should tell her. Sneaky woman.

Sighing dully, Anko grabbed one of the tiny steel hammers before walking over to the idiot. Quietly motioning to Naru to bring a low table, she waited for it to be placed right in front of him before she grabbed his right hand and placed it on the tables top. Looking into pretty brown eyes, she waited for any indication that he was going to squeal - seeing none she slammed the hammer down on his pinky finger with strength most woman wouldn't have and listened to the snapping crunch as the bone shattered. His pained scream was loud and short as he suddenly groaned and panted for air.

"what is your name and occupation."

Silence.

She struck at the ring finger next. He screamed again. Each time she asked the question and each time he refused to answer. It went on and on until all the fingers on his right hand were completely shattered beyond repair. Even if they managed to even heal him of such nasty injuries - Hinata was completely sure he would never be able to hold a weapon in that hand ever again.

The man fingers were as large as sausages and a deep almost black colored purple. He had gone white in the face as the mid-stages of shock crept up on him. His blue hair hung around him with sweat dripping down his face. And even though it had to be almost ninety degrees in the small room, he was still shivering as though it was below freezing.

Anko grimaced at the pure stubbornness of the man before her. Hell she had broken stronger man in less time then it took to eat her dango after a long mission and yet, this scrap of humanity was holding up to his fingers being shattered one by one. Gosh all she was asking for was his name and job, not like she had asked about what color Gatos underwear was. Really, she didn't like torture all that much, it reminded her too much of Orochimaru to ever feel natural. Still though it had to be done.

"what is your name and occu…"

"Giichi. No family name…I work as a negotiator for Gato company…" Giichi replied as he gulped in precious air. Silence rang in the room as Anko leaned back against the table with her torture tools.

Rolling her shoulders the purple haired woman looked down at him. "is that so." she said. The tone she used sounded very disbelieving. Near her spot by the window, Naru shook her head in disgust - honestly why did the bad guy always think he could lie and get away from it. Leaning up against the frame the blonde pulled out a small bound book and opened it to a section marked with a 'G' and perused the embarrassingly small list of names.

"Leader I found some information pertaining to our smuck over there." she waited until her sensei nodded and then continued. "Giichi of the death-call. Rank - civilian, no last name and no previous shinobi training. Works as a guard and shadow of Gato from Gato company. Is presumed armed and very deadly, proceed with caution." Naru paused and gave a surprisingly chilly glare to the pathetic waste of flesh before her. "that's were it ends besides saying how he 'may' have been behind several high ranked assassinations of the political kind."

Anko grinned as she caught sight of the small glaring match between her student and the small booklet in her tiny hands. After working with the often times excitable blonde gaki for more than a year now, she knew how her student hated lousy and incomplete information. Of course she hated it too, but the child always took it like a personal offence. There all ninja could agree - bad information is what got teams killed out on missions.

Putting down the small hammer the sultry woman grabbed up a simple kunai from her hip pouch. "see that's the problem nowadays kiddo. Everybody lies. Its either your throwing somebody's ass on the line or covering your own. Sadly, I hate and love when people try to bullshit me. Makes me particularly motivated." she cackled as her victim went pale - or at least more pale than he was before.

Giichi for his own credit didn't say much as the cutting began. Oh he screamed, don't get him wrong, it hurt like a son of a bitch out of the hottest portion hell had to offer. Thankfully all the training Gato-sama had put him through made it just a bit easier to block out the copious amounts of pain the sadistic woman was inflicting.

"Blondie, over here on the double!" he cracked open an eye just in time to see the pretty woman from the hallway, walk up to him and the lavender bitch. Even now she looked like an angel as she stood in front of him, her wide blue eyes fully trained on the minutest of details while she waited for the orders.

"take over for me."

he grinned maliciously when the gasps echoed in the still room. Seems those other two weren't as keen on their blonde counterpart taking part in torturing. They had a long way to go before they were ready for this type of work.

Feeling a laugh boil in his throat, Giichi turned to watching his lovely as she regarded her leader.

He couldn't wait to see how this would pan out.

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Hinata felt the bile rise out from her stomach when Anko-sensei gave the order. Her friend, the person whom she considered a sister in all but blood - torturing someone for information - the safety of a village full of innocents…no matter how she looked at it, no matter how she reassembled the pieces: she just couldn't see Naru doing it.

To her, Naru was the sky of their own little world. She was bright and warm and larger than life. The insurmountable ball of energy that was as continuous as the very wheel of time. And she couldn't let her friend burn out. The thought of Naru losing even a smidgeon of her own natural spark, the will to keep on burning was painful. She was the stormy clouds and lightning flashes that sometimes caused fires, but her other side was of sunny days and clear nights. But Hinata didn't care, she didn't want to. Call her selfish but she felt spoiled with the ability to say she had known eternity in the bright light and its ever-present warmth that Naru had finally brought to her world.

Lee was the green fields and rocky earth, pure black soil for growing. He was the trees and the grass, the flashes of mountains in the distance. If she had to describe him, she would say he was youthful enough to be old. Naru was her sky, clouds and sun and moon. How could she give them up now that she knew she could no longer survive if they left her alone.

Hinata trembled slightly as she remembered growing up in her old family. How cold and fathomless the deeps were. The dark caverns were blind fish swam as the heavy waves crashed over her head until she felt she was drowning in expectation and no matter how hard she swam there never was a shoreline. Until she had met her new family, all she had ever known was a stormy ocean.

But now she knew better. Knew that Naru had to overcome a fear and grow into her own, just as Lee and herself were doing. And Hinata could cry and scream and say how much she didn't want Naru to do this, but in the end she would only be holding her precious friend back.

The feeling of a heavy hand landing on her shoulder startled her out of her thoughts. Looking out of the corner of her still henged eyes, she tried to give Lee a reassuring smile - but all that she could manage was a wobbly grimace. Lee to his credit, just smiled lightly and turned around to watch and wait.

He knew Naru would need all of their support after this and he was determined to watch and counsel her when he had all the facts and seen everything with his own two eyes. Anything less than that would only shame him and his teammates.

Even still though, he had to forcibly stop the wince when the first blow was struck.

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Naru walked along the crowded street alone. Her hands were bloody and yet, she didn't have a scratch on them as she weaved though the excited crowd. Her henge had long fallen since she had left the room in the hotel and was once more in the form of her eight year old self. The clothes that she had worn since the day she had purchased them from the old hag felt tighter and more form fitting. The only differences to her outfit was a simple choker made of whale bone that had a square piece containing her Konoha symbol on it.

Her original hiate had broken on a low ranked mission after some dude used a wind justu on her. Thankfully Anko had grabbed it when it had fallen and had commissioned Hana to make a metal and bone choker from the pieces to replace her old forehead protector. She liked how the ends were held together with a seal. Making it seamless.

On top of that she now had a poison and antidote kit and over a thousand senbon, courtesy of Lee who had gotten the idea from watching her do her speed training. He said they fit her when she couldn't use her sword. Plus the senbon had been forged to with special tubes in it that once hitting the target could self administer the dose due to the containment seals near the middle of the tiny needles. Plus with they kit, a special pouch had been added that fit on the back of her pants to hold it all.

And finally, since both hers and Lees birthdays were so close together, Hinata had gotten both of them cloaks. Lees was a dark forest green with tiny orange decals and had a hood colored a midnight black. She also didn't know what it was made of but it felt heavy and was extremely soft. It also was made for shinobi in mind , so it could take a very extensive beating. Hers was a silky cloak with splashes of deep oranges and reds and even yellows in such fine details of mountains and crashing waves and even a tiny village that rested in the middle of a tiny forest. Like lees it boasted a hood only hers was in a navy blue and it was made for shinobi.

She had felt like crying when she had been given such great gifts. Being the jinchuuriki of a tailed beast made it hard to receive positive vibes and all.

Still. The blonde genin was just relived to be allowed out of that…place. Everything from the stale air to the sounds made her cringe and shy away.

Hell, she wouldn't have even thought about torturing that douche, that is - if the option of the villages safety wasn't on the line. And Naru, with her brash attitude and disregard for symbolism, knew that in a contest between her own unwillingness and the wellbeing of her people - her village would win nearly every time. When it came down to it all she could do was help and try her best. Even with all the abuse the villagers had put on her since she was born.

Maybe it was because of the Kyuubi that she held such strong feeling for her home. After all, foxes were very possessive and territorial about things that they claimed. It couldn't be that much of a stretch for her to view her own dealings off of the same basis.

Shrugging once more she turned her eyes to the street that led to the villages main gate.

After all, her team would catch up as soon as everything had been cleaned and discarded. Until then however, she just wanted some alone time so she could reorder her own chaotic thoughts. Peace would be very hard coming when they got back to Konoha.

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In the unnaturally silent room Anko sighed.

She had never really wanted a team, didn't work well with many of Konoha's shinobi and was generally talked about by the whole populace for her ways and lack of regard for her fellow man.

The few memories of her own genin team were hazy at best since she had thought it dumb to connect with them at the time. The thought had held true since they had been selected to take the chunnin exams only months after graduating the academy. After being chosen as Orochimaru apprentice, she had only sparsely checked up on her former companions'. to her knowledge today, only one of her teammates had even made it to adulthood. The first had died in the war after she had left the team, the other was now crippled due to a ambush from some samurai that left him unable to continue being a shinobi.

Pursing her lips, she felt a uncomfortable feeling of guilt that she had never connected with her team. Anko didn't like to feel guilty.

She could still feel the shock when she took the jonin exams. True it was on orders so she could gain access to higher level work and be in the ring closer to her leader. She guessed the Hokage was feeling some type of paranoia for him to feel the need to promote her to the full jonin rank, especially since she had been near invaluable as a specialist in the rank below that.

Still though the shock came after that when the Third had asked her to look over a file of a academy three man cell. To her utmost surprise, it was the three idiots who she occasionally hung out with and bought dango for. She remembered asking her leader what is that he wanted with children so young. His answers surprised her.

Flashback:

Anko grumbled as she looked over the really small file her hands. Inside were papers that showed the smiling faces of three children, more importantly three children that she knew. Even more than the fact that she knew who the kids were, the big red tape labeled "classified" over most of their files gave her pause for concern.

"Hokage-sama…I'm afraid you've lost me. Why are they in the academy so young, why the hell have they even graduated? For kami sakes why am I the one you showed this to?" she practically screamed. Due to being Oro-temes student seemed to make her far more aware when she was being played and right now that instinct, ingrained after many hours being beaten into her, was going haywire.

Her Hokage was fishing her for information. To what end though, she couldn't tell at the moment.

With serious eyes, the old man suddenly looked older than his age as he started talking. "you are aware of what young Naru is, Anko-chan?" he paused until she nodded back at him. Of course she knew what the Uzumaki kid was…most in the village knew her status besides the younger generation that is. " the little girl on the next page is a Hyuuga, as I'm sure you have noticed. Her situation…is very complicated but we will get to that later. The last one is actually a year older than the girls. I felt that in addition to having been part of the Rock family, he would be able to work better with this team. He like them has had many circumstances to be noted as well."

Fiddling with the pipe the Hokage looked to Anko as she thought over what he was hinting at.

Stilling her thoughts, she gave a rare serious look as she straightened up. "what about the classified nature of their files sir? What circumstances? What is so bad that they are being allowed to leave out for a shinobi's life so early." she felt the last one was more stated than asked, but at the moment she didn't care. Of course she had a mild fondness for the gaki's, but that's as far as it went, as far as she wanted it to go.

"…Uzumaki Naru is as known as a Jinchuuriki, a jailor to the nine-tails demon fox who tried to destroy Konoha nearly seven years ago. Out of all nine of her kind, she is by far going to be the strongest due to the power her inhabitant carries, and by proxy - she carries. Due to this and the growing unrest the general populace has towards her, I felt it prudent to have her admitted into anbu and trained so she will have a better chance of reaching adulthood. As far as the rest of the file is concerned, her parentage is still classified and will be until I have to make a public announcement at the Kage summit…I just hope that when that time comes, she will be well enough trained to survive the amount of assassination attempts that will inevitable follow." he sighed as he leaned back into his chair.

"what about the Hyuuga?"

He groaned. "the daughter of the head of the Hyuuga clan - Hyuuga Hiashi and his late wife. One of my spies in the branch family had started to notice the change that has come over Hiashi after his wife's death in childbirth to his second daughter - Hanabi. He favored the younger more than the older, constantly belittling her and neglecting most of the training she would need in preparation for life among a clan. As far as my spy is concerned, the elders have been pushing the younger girl into the role of heiress. Not to long ago the situation took a grave turn…Hyuuga Hinata was banished and disowned from her clan…due to her making a friend in young Naru, I have pushed them into taking the Anbu exam and they have inherited the old compound on the far side of the village. The only commendable thing I can say about Hiashi is that he fought for his daughter not to be branded with the cage bird seal." he finished. If Anko noticed that his hand had tensed into a fist or that he was puffing on his pipe more frequently than before, she chose not to admit it.

Mulling over that tidbit made the purple haired jonin wince. It was no surprise that the Hyuuga clan seemed to have fallen so low, most actually expected it since the fall from grace plunge that the Uchiha clan had taken before the end. In her private thoughts, Anko wondered if that's how a clan died when not in war…they alienated themselves to the point that they only saw enemies, and when you see an enemy the only logical thing to due is kill it.

Even though the Hyuuga were known to be rich judgmental dicks, it still didn't make up for the fact that they got rid of a 'child', who by testimony seemed to have little knowledge in the way to care for ones self on their own.

Turning light eyes on the older man she asked once more. "and what about the other kid…Rock something or other?" she asked flippantly.

At his name her leader appeared shaken and almost, dare she say it, remorse. "Rock Lee…his mother and father were apart of my demolitions team. I have…

had known them for a great number of years and I…I just couldn't leave him to the neglect of the orphanage. He couldn't utilize chakra very well, even as a child. His parents died with demo squad fifteen when the enemy locked them in a dome of earth from a justu and detonated the explosions against them…nobody made it back." Anko grimaced along with her Kage. it was during these rare moments when she was with her leader that she remembered he was just as much human as the rest of mankind. To lose a whole squad was sad, devastating even to the village. Losing a whole squad - many you knew personally, was devastating to the leader. As a shinobi head of state, Hokage, you had to prepare for loved ones and friends to maybe never make it home. Such a thing was almost never easy.

"my condolences, Hokage-sama." she whispered in the suddenly heavy atmosphere.

Smiling grandfatherly he reached into his robes and pulled out a small scroll. She looked on in curiosity. It was it was only about six inches long and about two inches thick with a simply red silk ribbon wrapped firmly around the crisp white of the paper. Anko knew an official assignment scroll when she saw one.

Rare orders that only the Fire Daimyo and the current Hokage issued to jonin rank or higher. Usually high pay rates and long tedious proceedings followed such missions. They also had a high risk for death. The last time such a mission was given, Nara Shikaku had become an ambassador to Suna before being promoted to the title of Jonin commander. Knowing this, Anko felt very conscious of her place in the ranks and briefly wondered if this was how Shikaku felt before he got his orders. She couldn't begrudge him if he had.

"Mitarashi Anko, elite Jonin of Konohagakure No Sato. By his esteemed Lordship of the land of Fire in the seat taken by the Capital, the Fire Daimyo along with the current Hokage of Konohagakure bid listen to the detail of this mission." his words were formal and clipped, no longer was he such a kind and benevolent grandfather but a wise and war torn leader - the Professor. " you will govern and train a team consisting of one Uzumaki Naru, Hyuuga Hinata and Rock Lee. The details of how they are to be trained is up to you as is when to see that they participate in any exams for promotion. you are to report annually about the changes of the shiki fuin on the Uzumaki and how they team reacts to her. You are also to be taking over the team when they reach promotion as the team commander. This is you mission, if you choose to except, you will begin immediately."

Anko felt her heart stop. A team. They wanted to give her a team - her? After what happened with Orochimaru she thought the old bat who ran the land would never trust her. Besides that though, what was her own Kage thinking by putting the fragile and easily moldable minds with her own corrupt and twisted one. She would eat them up alive, specially the quiet, timid one who always squeaked when she talked.

More so…she knew a direct order when she heard one. She may have been given a option, but she knew it was mostly for show. So with that in mind there was only one answer she could give.

"I accept."

Flashback end

Now standing in an empty room with one dead body, Anko wondered if she had made the right decision with pushing her student.

She was more fragile than she liked to let on. Was always second guessing herself. Now wasn't anything different. Her brash student with little respect for authority but more spunk than a platoon full of young mothers, was probably suffering due to her teaching.

It wasn't like she wanted to make her genin uncomfortable. She just knew from experience that death was a constant presence over the shoulder and if you were not ready for it, the next fool he took would be yourself. Looking down at the bloodied corpse of one Giichi of Gato company she could only try and shove some blame on him. Insidious words fluttered lazily in her mind saying how he had been a monster and she was just showing her student interrogation. She ignored them.

She ignored them like she had ignored his screams as Naru steadily broke him. Though part of her couldn't help being amused when the man declared is undying love for her as she threw another left hook at his face. Both she and Hinata had to hold Lee back or he might have charged at the incredibly stupid - well, dead man.

And though Naru had not used any metal on his person, she had one hell of a strong fist. Ibiki would love to get his hands on the bright genin when she progressed to chunnin rank. Anko wouldn't let him have her.

Still, when the man had been nothing more than a blood covered husk of his former self as he laid on the floor, Anko had dismissed Naru to wait outside for them to be done. The older woman wasn't sure if she had breathed out a sigh of relief when she felt her students chakra signature leave away from the door and out to the streets below.

Turning to her other two, she had waved them off and watched them leave to presumably find Naru and get something to eat before heading out onto the road to Konoha.

Looking down at the now dead man, she almost wished she had not used such a fast acting poison to stop his heart. In her mind, she felt he deserved more than this lackluster end.

Frowning, she set to picking up the room and sealing the body into one of her scrolls for the autopsy back home. Her mind was still churning as she left the room before head out to find her genin.

The paperwork for this mission was going to be a bitch.

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