The Legendaries (Revisited): A Naruto Isekai (PART I)

by Rose1991

"Fred? Fred!" someone hissed in Winnifred's ear, poking her harshly in the shoulder. "What?" she grumbled, trying to go back to sleep. "The sun's up. And I don't think we're in Pennsylvania." Five girls from our world arrive on Konoha's doorstep with no clue how to return home. And when five dragons choose them as their masters, they begin to realize something bigger is at play.

7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Revealing Secrets

Ronnie sat at the front desk of the vet's office, making notes in the schedule from the clients' letters scheduling check-ups as well as Tsume's notes from client discussions about future visits. Tsume had mentioned a couple days ago that they were getting the new system that handled electronic mail soon set up and office phones. Ronnie was over the moon, and told the girls about it immediately. Phones. Email. That meant they'd have internet soon. When she asked how the phones were supposed to work, Tsume mentioned they likely ran off the satallites and towers, which is the system the Daimyo and Kage's have been using the past couple years. At that revelation, Fred decide to try and reboot her cellphone, then hit reconfigure system, and voila, their cellphones were back. She did the same for everyone's cellphone, and now they could call each other. Just in time too, since Cordi was going to be thousands of miles away in the desert in two days.

It was already three, and Tsume hadn't said anything about her being late today when she arrived at one twenty, which Ronnie was very grateful for. Tsume was a great boss. Strict. But good and fair. And working there for a week and a half, Ronnie was already looking at a good paycheck. Enough to double her allowance at least.

But she didn't take the job for the money.

Akamaru sprawled behind her on his pillow, chewing on one of his squeaky toys. Kiba had mentioned once or twice that Akamaru used to never leave his side, and joked that Akamaru might like Ronnie more. Ronnie joked back that Akamaru had good taste in people, to which Kiba agreed with a dreamy sigh, only to shake his head muttering he had to get back to work.

That's what she and Kiba did. He'd make some lame excuse to talk to her at the front desk. They'd joke and flirt. Heavily. Then he'd make some lame excuse to return to what he was doing.

The kennel door opened, and she knew Kiba was about to walk into the lobby. Ronnie quickly made sure her periwinkle blue blouse was opened just enough to show off the cleavage her push-up bra created, and corrected her posture, and fluffed her hair. Something had to give with him soon. Any idiot could see there was chemistry between them. She'd seen him looking at her ass, so she knew he found her attractive. But so far, playing innocent with frequent Freudian slips hadn't worked. Feeling his bicep hadn't worked. Hell, the basic Bend and Snap didn't work. So maybe she had to be a little more obvious. Force his hand, she figured.

Kiba strolled in from the Kennel side with a frown on his face. He placed his forearms on the client side of the front desk. He smiled evenly at Ronnie, his gaze drifting down to her breasts as she puffed out her chest. She smirked, knowing he couldn't see it with his attention fully enveloped by her bosom. She fingered her blouse's collar at her clavicle as she asked, "Do you need something?"

"Uhm," he breathed, taking a long moment to drag his gaze from her breasts to her face. He heard Akamaru grumble behind Ronnie from his usual spot on his tempurpedic pillow, and Kiba blinked away his stupor, giving the water user a charming smile. He jutted his thumb over his shoulder and said, "D'ya mind helping me with some of the dogs?"

She nodded, standing and "straightening" her blouse as if it was supposed to be showing more cleavage. She was totally aware of how intently he was watching her, and she mentally vowed she was going to break him today. Whatever was holding him back wasn't going to hold him back anymore. If Rox could land Shikamaru, she could land Kiba easy. She walked in front of him back to the kennel, expecting him to be watching her butt sway in her tight miniskirt.

As she stepped into the kennel, she asked, "You just need help with feeding and watering again, right?"

"Yup," he chirped.

She smirked. She knew he didn't actually need her help. He just liked to watch her in precarious positions. She bent over to check the lower cabinets for the measuring cup, even though she knew full well that the measuring cup was on the counter by the sink. "Coincidentally" where she placed her ass as she hummed, "Where's that cup?"

She felt Kiba step up behind her, his hip touching her but as he reached for it by the sink. He stepped back so he wasn't touching her as he extended the cup to her. "Right here," he grunted.

She straightened up, grabbing it and biting her lower lip seductively. "Right. How silly of me," she chided herself, giving him a sultry look. He stared at her lips, and she knew she had him stuck. Time to go in for the kill. She held the cup against her shoulder as she stepped up to him, her chest pressed against him. "Kiba?"

"Uh-huh," he breathed, his mind clearly somewhere else as he stared at her.

"What are we doing here?" she asked.

"Feeding the …"

"No," she interrupted. "I mean us. What are we doing?" He gulped as she put the cup down on the counter, chewing on her lower lips as she posed, "We can't go a conversation without flirting. You stare at my ass, and I pretend I don't notice." She saw him blushing and smiled. She reached up, fingering his jacket's fur collar as she added, "I know you've noticed I have difficulty keeping my hands off you. So why are we fighting this?"

"Uh," he grunted dumbly.

"Do you want to kiss me?" she asked. "Do you want to give into this animal attraction we clearly have for each other?" she added, her caramel brown eyes penetrating his black eyes.

His gaze flicked to her lips, as he said, "Yeah, but …"

That was all she needed. She fisted his jacket and pulled him to her, crashing her lips against his. She licked at his lips, and he let out a groan as he opened for her, his tongue pushing against hers eagerly. His eyes fluttering shut as hers closed. Mentally, she began cheering for herself that she finally did it. Not only was she kissing him, but he was kissing her back with the same urgency she felt. His hands held her head to his in an intimate grasp as he held her to him. "Oh, Ronnie," he groaned, seizing her lips again as he pressed his body against hers. Her hands snaked around his neck, one hand finding its way into his silky brown tresses. The kiss was hot, and his hands dropped to her hips as he maneuvered her around, pressing her into the counter, using its pressure to pin her hips against his.

She reached behind her to push herself to sit on top of the counter, wrapping her legs around his hips, her miniskirt hiking up, allowing her to feel his hardening cock through his pants and her thong as her tongue licked at his lips and tongue, then using kisses to travel to his ear. Their heavy breathing echoed off the kennel walls, and some of the dogs began to bark and howl. He ground into her, and she let out a pleased moan. "I shouldn't be doing this," he grunted, his hand squeezing her ass, enjoying its tight but plush shape. "Ma's going to be pissed."

She kissed back to his mouth as she said between kisses, "You always do what your mother says?"

"Clearly not," he grunted back before seizing her mouth with another searing kiss. "Fuck, you're hot," he breathed against her lips. His fingers pressed into her ass cheeks and thighs as he added, "And you feel amazing."

"Shame we waited so long," Ronnie joked, grinding against him before pulling him back in. And he sighed into her. Heaven. This was heaven.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON IN HERE!?"

Kiba and Ronnie broke their kiss, turning fearfully to the Kennel door, where Tsume Inuzuka glared at the couple murderously.

He gulped as his heart plummeted. He was screwed. "Uh, Ma," Kiba croaked, easing away from Ronnie awkwardly, as she did her best to close her legs and fix her skirt, "this isn't what it looks like."

Tsume held up a dismissing hand, and ordered, "Outside, Kiba."

"Yes Ma'am," he mumbled sheepishly, quickly walking out, and abandoning the young water user to his mother. Tsume didn't even look at him as he passed, her glare solidly on Ronnie.

"We were just …" Ronnie started.

"You're fired," Tsume barked, interrupting her and pointing an accusing finger at her. She pointed back to the desk and huffed, "Pack your shit and get out of my office."

Ronnie moved swiftly, mentally cursing herself for getting caught. She actually enjoyed working there, even when she wasn't actively seducing Kiba. She grabbed her purse and quickly walked out, seeing Kiba standing outside looking at the sidewalk awkwardly. She paused by him, and said, "I …"

Kiba opened his mouth to say something, but his mother barked from behind him, "Go on!"

Ronnie nodded, quickly walking back to her dorms, Kiba watching her retreating figure, his heart sinking a little at the sight. She looked somewhat dejected about being dismissed like that.

"Damn. She was good too," Tsume growled next to him as she watched the water user continue down the road. "I told you … I fucking told you to keep it in your pants with that girl. My own son can't follow simple, stupid directions."

"You didn't have to fire her," Kiba stated, not daring to look his mother in the eye. It was his fault. He had realized he couldn't control his emotions around the otherworldly girl after working with her a day. He couldn't keep himself in check enough to save her job. She probably hated him. His heart ached at the thought.

"I caught her making out with my son on the clock," Tsume growled, turning to him, her arms crossed. "What? Am I supposed to give her a raise?"

"No," Kiba huffed, still not looking at her. "You could have fired me instead," he suggested glibly. Although, it wasn't a suggestion he made lightly. He'd actually been thinking about it a lot. Sure, he liked dogs, but certainly there were other jobs he could do than vet work. He always hated working the vet. Dealing with the prissy clients, like Mrs. Sekkachi who spoiled her dog rotten. He was horrible at it. In the week and a half since Ronnie started working there, the front desk was actually organized, and clients weren't waiting thirty minutes for him to find their paperwork. It was one of the reasons he liked Ronnie. She fit well. And his mother liked her as a person.

He knew crushing on Ronnie was a bad idea. For so many reasons, it was a bad idea. But he couldn't help it. She was pretty and bubbly, and the first girl Akamaru liked around Kiba. That was saying something. When Kiba would go back to handle the Kennel, Akamaru preferred to hang out with Ronnie behind the front desk. He treated her so differently than he treated Tamaki.

"You're my son," Tsume stated. "When I'm gone, you and Hana will be running this vet clinic. Ronnie, although an invaluable worker, was expendable." She let out a begrudging sigh as she said, "You probably just did it to spite me. It's the same thing with Tamaki."

Kiba scowled, "What are you talking about?"

His mother rolled her eyes, then looked at her son knowingly. "That cat girl. Tamaki. You pretended you were serious about her not three weeks ago…" Kiba opened his mouth to defend himself, but his mother pressed on, "… Even though you knew she was from our rival clan, and any relationship between us and them is forbidden. Now it's with Ronnie, who you also knew was off limits. It's self-sabotage. Your father did the same thing."

"I am nothing like Dad!" Kiba howled back, baring his teeth. His father was famous in their home for running away when Kiba was about six. Kiba long knew his mother probably scared him away, but as an adult, his mother dropped hints that there was something more broken between them than her personality. His mother appraised him coolly, a hint of disappointment in her eyes. He scoffed as he added, "And what if I don't want to run the vet clinic?! I have bigger plans, you know."

She glared back at him, her nostrils flared as if she was smelling insubordination. "Don't be ridiculous," she huffed. "I love you, son, but we both know you're never going to make Hokage. At some point, you need to get your head out of your ass and realize that." The comment hit Kiba squarely in the chest, and he did his best to keep a straight face. Tsume turned back to the vet clinic and growled, "Now go home. You smell like a bitch in heat."

Tsume shoved the door open and walked back in, with Akamaru walking out. The old dog stood next to his master whose gaze was trained off into the distance. Akamaru nudged his hand, and Kiba blankly patted his head. Then he began walking, letting his feet carry him. Akamaru followed along all the way to the familiar stoop, and Akamaru let out a groan.

"Hush," Kiba ordered. He lifted his hand to knock on the red door. His knuckle made two raps, and the door swung open, revealing a young woman with chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes. She wore a short-sleeved kimono, with capris pants.

"Kiba?" she asked, swinging the door a little wider open.

He didn't say anything, and pulled her into a kiss. She kissed him back, pulling him into her house. He broke his kiss a little as he panted against her lips, "I'm sorry, Tamaki."

She frowned, caressing his cheek as she said, "It's ok. I knew you'd come back."

He paused, blinking as he tried to remember what she thought he was apologizing for, realized she didn't know anything about Ronnie starting to work at the vet. Or that he'd been dreaming of the otherworldly woman in such illicit ways. Playing with fire by entertaining the undeniable chemistry he had with her. So there was no reason for Tamaki to know about Ronnie at all. Ronnie was gone, and he would likely never run into her again. His heart ached again at the thought. He wasn't sure if he could handle if it did that with every thought of what he blew with Ronnie. He was sure it was Hell.

Clearly, she could see his frown, and she filled in, "You suggested we go on a break a few days ago."

"I know," he breathed quickly, their break-up coming back to him. It was a week though. He did it because he started seriously considering pursuing what he felt between him and Ronnie. That if he felt so drawn to another woman, then clearly Tamaki wasn't who he should be with. He wasn't sure about Tamaki to begin with. She was from a rival clan, meaning they could never be more than this. And she had a thing for cats, which was fine until it got weird and started arguments. The biggest thing against her was Akamaru didn't like her. And he did like Ronnie. Tamaki was pretty and made his heart pound, but after meeting Ronnie and seeing how his dog liked her, he wasn't sure that was enough. But that was over now. Ronnie probably hated him for getting her fired. "It doesn't matter," he said more to himself now, pulling her back into another kiss, falling back into their usual rhythm.

---

Oddly enough, this Thursday evening, the Nomu Ki Bar was not its usual hotbed of activity. Several people came in to eat and drink. Karaoke was slotted for Saturday nights, and trivia on Tuesdays, so usually Thursday was the first day of weekend socializing. And the Nomu Ki usually had a special on half-off kushikatsu and sushi. But it hadn't pulled in its usual Thursday night crowd. Fred suspected it had something to do with the festival going on tomorrow.

Fred's favorite past time since becoming the Nomu Ki's bartender was people watching. The people were so strange here, compared to where she was from. Their interactions, while completely alien to her, had also become familiar. She'd begun to pick-up on who was into who. If a date was going sour. If a date was going well. Who the regulars were and what drinks they liked. Some of the faces that had come in she'd begun to recognize, mostly as regulars, but some as ninjas her friends pointed out from the show. And Fred had always been good with names and faces.

There was a table of three girls with varying hair colors and styles. The demure one with dark purple hair, fair skin, and a modest outfit was Hinata, she remembered from their arrival. The stunning blonde with the purple outfit was Ino, whom the group had run into a couple times going from their dorms to the school. The one Fred didn't know had a medium strawberry blonde, almost pink-haired, bob, who wore a red dress that went to her mid-thigh and a purple diamond decorating her forehead. They chatted of their lemon sours, with Hinata mostly staying quiet, but chiming in occasionally.

Fred picked up a dirty glass, pocketing the tip under it as she dumped it in the chute for the kitchen, then mopped up a spill with her rag. Over her year working as a barista, she learned it was always best to look busy at all times at work.

The door opened, and in walked the familiar frond shaped ponytailed ninja currently dating Fred's childhood best friend. Next to him was the obnoxious blonde they ran into the first day, Naruto. When her friends would talk about the comic or show during school, she vaguely understood the appeal. Now that she met Naruto Uzumaki, the main character, she really didn't understand the appeal at all. He was so loud. And dumb. She understood he probably had his genius moments, but generally speaking, he was clueless.

Fred's gaze shifted over to Hinata, who all of her friends, except Lynne, agreed belonged with the annoying blonde. Hinata, who had been relaxed talking with her friends before his arrival, was now sitting rigidly straight, staring straight ahead, and blushing. Oh, yes. Fred could see what her friends had been gushing about.

Shikamaru and Naruto sat at the bar, Naruto huffing, "Why couldn't we just go to Ichiraku's?"

"Because it's half off kushikatsu here, and you can't eat ramen every day," Shikamaru stated as he sat down on one stool.

Naruto sat next to him with a pout as he grumbled, "Says who?"

Fred moseyed over to them, leaning gently on one arm as she asked, "What'll it be, boys?"

"Fred!?" Shikamaru yelped, looking up wide-eyed. "I didn't know you worked here."

Fred shrugged as she put her rag away. "I started last week when Iruka got Kakashi to agree to drop the afternoon half of our schedules since we can't use chakra. So …?" she trawled the last bit, looking at them expectantly.

"Erm," Shikamaru mumbled blankly. "Two beers. One stout and one …"

He pointed to Naruto, who filled in, "One pale ale."

"Pale ale," Shikamaru clarified, even though she heard the blonde. "And an order of kushikatsu."

Fred nodded, writing down the order for the cooks before ripping off the sheet and calling back, "Another order of kushikatsu!" She then reached for two frozen beer steins and lined them up with their corresponding ale taps, and began to fill them.

"You aren't going to tell Rox I was out drinking tonight, right?" Shikamaru asked a little nervously. Naruto giggled like Shikamaru was busted.

Fred let out a scoff as she let the taps go. "Rox likely won't care," she stated, handing the boys their beers.

Shikamaru frowned as he took his stout from her. "She told me she didn't like to drink."

Fred frowned with a shrug. "Did you ask if she wanted to drink or if she wanted to grab a beer?"

"Is there a difference?" Shikamaru asked as Naruto began sipping his pale ale.

Fred nodded. "Yeah. She and Cordi aren't big beer drinkers. They prefer their white wines."

"She said she tries to avoid the bar scene," he clarified, still confused about this new information.

"Ah," Fred laughed. "That."

"So she does avoid bars?" Shikamaru asked.

She shrugged as she went back to wiping down her bar area as she said, "That has less to do with drinking, and more to do with people not holding their liquor." Shikamaru shot her a confused look, and Fred leaned in on her elbows on the bar so he could hear her. "Rox is terrified of vomit."

"What?" Naruto balked. "Why?"

Fred shrugged. "I dunno'. Just a Rox thing." She turned to Shikamaru, adding, "So, if you drink smart, she won't care."

"Oh," Shikamaru breathed, blinking at his beer with a small smile. Something about that expression told Fred he felt refreshed to learn that about Rox.

"KUSHIKATSU!" the kitchen called with a ding.

Fred dove over to the food window, grabbing the steaming plate before depositing it in front of the guys as she overheard Naruto commenting, "You lucked out. Didn't Temari have that rule where you couldn't go drinking without her?" Shikamaru nodded along as he sipped his beer. Naruto continued, "This one sounds like a winner. Which one is she again?"

"Black hair, reddish brown eyes," Shikamaru answered. Naruto frowned, clearly not able to pick her out from the group.

"Was the navigator of our group," Fred stated, placing the plate in front of them. Naruto made a small, "Oh," face as Shikamaru begun to dig into the fried food. Fred frowned at the blonde as she asked, "But why are you so curious about who Shikamaru's dating when you should be worried about your own relationship?"

Naruto shot her a weird look as he scoffed, "I don't have a girlfriend." Meanwhile, Shikamaru glowered at her with his mouth full.

Fred smirked, seeing the strategists mouth full, so she could spring into this. "Oh, but you could," she stated, leaning closer to the blond.

Naruto's cerulean eyes connected with her forest green eyes, and he smiled. "Are you asking me out?"

Fred barked out a laugh. "As if!" Naruto looked crestfallen at that, and even Shikamaru had to let out a laugh at his sad friend. "No, I'm going to help you ask out your soulmate."

Now was Naruto's turn to scoff. "You know who my soulmate is?"

"I know who everyone in my world thinks you'll end up with," Fred answered with a pearly smile. She jutted her chin towards the dining room towards the kunoichi as she added, "And she's right here in this bar."

That piqued Naruto's interest, and he spun around looking at the sparse dining room. "Who?" His eyes flew wide as he located the kunoichi's table. "It's not Sakura, is it?" he asked a little nervously.

Fred bonked him on the head annoyedly, and he let out a yelp. "No!" she huffed.

"Fred, I don't think—" Shikamaru managed, but she cut him off with an arched look.

"Come on. Who is it?" Naruto whined.

Fred smirked, as she answered, "Hinata."

Naruto balked at her. "Hinata!?" Fred nodded with a beaming smile. "But she's so weird," he huffed.

Fred waved him off. "She's only weird because she likes you and she's shy."

"Fred –" Shikamaru tried again, but Naruto interrupted him.

"How do you know she likes me?"

"Apparently, it's covered in great detail in the comics," Fred explained blandly. She shrugged as she added, "If you don't believe me, we can settle this with a bet." Naruto frowned at her, but clearly she'd piqued his interest again. "It looks like she's almost done with her drink, so I'll make her a new one for you to take over and strike up a conversation. I'll pull the other two away, too. If she's not interested, I'll buy you ramen."

Naruto really perked up at that. "Ichiraku's?"

Fred gave a bland head bobble of "whatever" as she grumbled, "Sure. BUT…" She held up a finger for emphasis. "If she is interested, you owe me twenty bucks."

Naruto pursed his lips, eying the earth user carefully, then shifting his gaze back to the table of kunoichi. He laughed as he put his hand out over the bar, "Alright. Deal."

Fred shook it with a beaming smile to match while Shikamaru looked between both of them disappointed, mostly at Fred. As they let go of each other, Fred began to quickly make a new lemon sour for the dark-haired beauty.

Naruto began to move with some excitement showing in his shifting shoulders as he asked. "So, what do I talk to her about?"

Fred gave him a weird look as she laughed, "I dunno'. Cheese."

"Cheese?" he asked skeptically.

She set the newly made drink down, and said, "Any topic will do. If it's right, things will just start flowing." She straightened herself out, then turned to leave the bar. She made her way over to the women's table, bowing between the blondes and stated, "I'm sorry. But can I talk to you two at the bar? There seems to be an issue with your tab."

"What?" Ino gasped.

Sakura grumbled, "Alright. Come on." They both stood, and Sakura turned to Hinata and added, "Just hold on. We'll be right back."

Fred turned to Naruto as the women got their purses and gave him a wink. He grabbed both drinks and began walking over there as Fred led the two women back to the cashier at the bar. "I'm so sorry," Fred trawled as she got behind the register with an easy smile. "I spilled some water on your tab ticket. So I have to rewrite your orders to make sure everything is accounted for." Ino rolled her eyes, and Sakura huffed, repeating their table's order as Fred wrote it all down. Once she finished, she reread it, and Sakura confirmed it. "Thank you so much. I'm terribly sorry for the interruption. Would you like another round of lemon sours? Complimentary, of course."

"Yes, thank you," Sakura stated, while Ino was looking back at the table with bewildered interest.

"Actually," Ino started, putting her hand out to slow her friend, "just the two. Looks like Hinata doesn't need one."

Sakura frowned at that, and turned, only to gasp in surprise at the sight of Naruto happily chatting with the Hyuga heir. He sat down in one of the vacant seats at the table, and it looked as if they had fallen into a comfortable conversation. Sakura narrowed her eyes, and furrowed her brow, before snapping back to the bartender and asking suspiciously, "There wasn't anything wrong with our tab, was there?"

Fred's placid customer service smile remained as she said, "Let me get you those drinks." She moved down the bar towards Shikamaru, making two more lemon sours. Shikamaru shook his head in disapproval as he sipped on his stout.

"Excuse me," Sakura huffed as she and Ino made their way down the bar to confront Fred. "You didn't answer my question."

Fred paused, giving the two ninjas an innocent look as she said, "I was under the assumption you wanted your drinks. Was I wrong?"

"No, but…" Sakura tried.

"Ok then," Fred continued mixing the drinks and ignoring Sakura's sour face.

Ino turned to Shikamaru accusatorily. "Were you in on it too?"

Shikamaru held up his hand, glaring at Fred as he said, "I wanted no part of this."

Ino scoffed. "So they were just trying to pull us away."

Fred finished the drinks and set them down. "Look," she growled, her verdant eyes looking at both girls, "for the past the past six years, I've had to listen to a 'will they/won't they' debate about those two ad nauseum. I now received an opportunity to capitalize on it. Now, you two can ruin that opportunity, and go back to your table. OR you can have these drinks at the bar free of charge." She held her hand over the drinks possessively for her final point. "What's it going to be?"

Sakura and Ino looked at each other, clearly sharing in a nonverbal discussion before both sat down at the bar next to Shikamaru, Ino sitting in the middle in Naruto's old seat. Fred smiled, and pushed them their drinks, then went back to mopping up the bar, keeping an occasional eye out on Naruto and Hinata.

After a minute of silence, Ino turned to Shikamaru and asked, "Why did you bring him here? You knew it was our girls' night, right?"

Shikamaru made a weird face, and replied, "I actually did not. I brought him here because on Thursdays, it's half-off kushikatsu here." He gestured to his half-eaten platter of fried food

"What?" Ino and Sakura gasped, apparently unaware of the Nomu Ki's Thursday night special.

Ino frowned at the food, then turned to Fred and asked, "Can we get an order?"

Shikamaru pushed his platter over to her, stating, "Take some of mine. I was planning on sharing with Naruto." Ino shrugged, and grabbed a stick off his plate, eating it. Sakura did the same. They chatted some more, which Fred tuned out as she handled a few new customers coming in. She overheard some of their conversation. Sakura thought Naruto hadn't matured enough, and was going to hurt Hinata's feelings by saying something stupid. Ino seconded that opinion. Shikamaru thought Hinata was going to turn him down on account she was much too sophisticated for the blonde hero. Something Sakura too agreed with.

After a little while, Naruto came back up to the bar, a sheepish smile on his face as he approached Fred. The brunette smiled as she asked, "So?"

He reached in his pocket and pulled out a crisp twenty. He held it over the bar to her, and Fred took it with her thumb and index finger. "We're going out for ramen," he said happily.

Fred smiled wider. "Good." Naruto gave a proud nod, and turned back towards Hinata, who was waiting at the door for him. "Oh, and Naruto," Fred called before he stepped too far away. He turned to Fred, a curious expression on his face as Fred added, "Don't fuck it up." He scratched his jaw as he laughed sheepishly. Then he turned to leave.

Fred smirked as she shot the Naruto's classmates a look, snapping the crisp twenty dollar bill at them.

"Well, I'll be damned," Shikamaru breathed, watching Fred as she pocketed the money, then turned to watch Naruto join Hinata at the door.

"What?" Sakura and Ino asked together, looking between Shikamaru and Fred, only to follow his gaze to see Naruto walking out with Hinata, his hand on her back as if guiding her outside like a gentleman. Only Ino was able to manage a small, pleasantly surprised, "Huh."

---

Cordi paced in the field outside the Forest of Death gate, fidgeting with her claddagh ring her parents had given her years ago. Her sister had an identical one, except with an amethyst, while Cordi's was an emerald. She always twisted it when she was nervous about doing something. It was after one o'clock in the morning. She was sure she'd written to meet at one.

Is he here yet?Aleera asked in her mind.

No. Just wait until I call you.

She heard a distant "harumphf," and rustling of branches. Aleera was always so impatient.

Cordi kept pacing. Her heart pounded as she worried what he would do. What he would say. Think. A part of her heart told her to trust him. That since he changed in the Chunin Exam arc, he was always known to make sound and wise decisions. He would see that Aleera was harmless. To his village at least. He would see that Cordi was responsible enough for her. That she could trust him to trust her.

So, why was she so nervous he would freak out? Why was there a nugget of fear telling her this was a bad idea? Even though it was her only option. He won't just make snap judgement about Aleera. He's more understanding than that. He'll want to hear me out, she reassured herself. "Nothing to worry about," she breathed as she paced. "Nothing to worry about." Except that he was late!

A twig snapped and she jumped, fearfully looking in its direction. Nothing was there. She squinted, doing her best to look into the shadowed forest. It was way too dark, though. The clearing where she was standing wasn't much brighter, but it was being illuminated by the half moon. Seeing nothing, she sighed, muttering, "Get a hold of yourself, Cordi."

"Temari was right."

"JESUS CHRIST!" she yelped, jumping in the air like a scared cat. As she calmed her breathing and put a hand over her heart to calm its frantic beating, she turned to see Gaara watching her coolly. He was dressed for battle in his red outfit rather than his Kazekage robes. But his crossed arms and slightly disappointed expression was disarming. "You scared the shit out of me!" she hissed.

"You would make a terrible ninja, and an even worse assassin," he assessed.

Cordi gave him a look that was a mix of horrified and confused. "Thank you?" She gestured to his gear and asked, "Who're you planning on fighting?"

He raised his hairless eyebrows at the question and remarked, "Well, given the oddity of your request, you or someone who put you up to it."

Cordi balked and put her hands up in a surrendering fashion. "I just want to talk." She couldn't believe she was still huffing from her heart's pounding pace.

His gaze narrowed skeptically as he commented, "At one in the morning, by gate six of the Forest of Death? Alone."

She huffed annoyedly at his suspicious tone. Yes, it was an odd request. She knew that. "I just needed to show you something before we leave in a few days. Since it's a secret, I didn't want any prying eyes, or judgements from the peanut gallery." The glimmer in his eyes was her only hint that he didn't understand what she was meaning. She closed her eyes, straightened herself, and took a calming breath. "Look, I'm letting you in on a secret between me and my friends." She frowned before adding, "Well, Temari also knows. But that's it."

His brow furrowed at that. His sister knew a secret about Cordi and her friends that had the girl on edge. So he was right with his suspicion that his sister was hiding something with Cordi for the past week and a half. He decided his best move was to listen to what she had to say. He had earned her trust, which was something he'd been hoping for since it was decided she would be staying with him and his siblings. Best not to waste it.

She ran her hand nervously through her hair as she chewed on the inside over her cheeks. "Ok," she started with a sigh, "before I tell you anything, I need your word that you will first hear me out, and not make any snap judgements. Kind of the reason I'm telling you now," she added more absently as she began pacing nervously again, twisting the ring on her finger, and he just watched her. "Because if I didn't tell you now, then there is no way you won't find out once we reach the desert. Which then you will definitely make a snap decision, which might hurt someone. And everything will get blown out of proportion, and I really want to avoid that -"

He began to worry she would keep rambling, so he cut in, "Cordelia."

"Right," she huffed. "Do you promise to hear me out first?"

He frowned, still standing in a guarded position. "Yes."

She let out a long steadying breath before whispering, "Alright." She closed her eyes, and turned to the forest. Now! she directed.

There was only silence for a few seconds, then the sound of trees rustling and branches snapping, which pulled Gaara's attention to the Forest of Death. There was no wind to cause them to move like that. He pooled some chakra in his navel, readying to fight. A large shadow sprung from the trees, soaring over the gate. He felt his heart plummet in what could only be fear as he saw what landed in front of him. It was a red giant, winged lizard. A dragon, he was sure. It had vibrant red scales that looked like armor. It had horns like a ram, and was easily the size of a horse, minus the black wings. Its fiery red eyes looked at him appraisingly as it stepped forward, its tongue flicking out occasionally.

Without thinking, he pulled out some sand to incapacitate the beast. Cordi sprung forward as his sand shot out at the beast, and she cried, "NO!" She threw her hands out in front of the beast, getting between it and his sand.

He froze, his sand stopping as he was struck by the memory of his uncle jumping between his sand and the other kids. She looked so much like Yashamaru did that day. But she wasn't protecting children like his uncle, or her sister like the Hoki girl did the last time he was struck by the memory. She was protecting a beast. A dragon. A monster, any normal person would agree.

"You promised to hear me out first. She's what I brought you here to see," Cordi said clearly.

He frowned. She. This wasn't a monster to Cordi. Against his instincts, he pulled back his sand. He did promise.

Cordi visibly relaxed as his sand retreated to his gourd, and she turned the giant lizard, placing her hand on its nose. If he wasn't mistaken, she looked at it like a mother would a child. "This is Aleera," Cordi stated as the dragon nuzzled her hand. "On our second day here, their eggs came falling out of the sky. And when they hatched, they awakened our powers." She laughed as she turned to him with a smile and asked, "Remember when I caught the kitchen on fire?"

He nodded, still warily watching the dragon.

"I'm fire," Cordi explained. "I can summon and control anything to do with heat, fire, explosions … I think one time I summoned a lightning bolt, but I'm not certain." Gaara frowned, realizing she was about to explain all of the weirdness that had gone on the past two weeks between her friends and his sister. Honestly, he'd been curious why Temari felt the sudden need last week to own a hundred metal spoons.

"My sister, Rox, is air. Anything with wind, she can control it." She laughed as she added, "She's probably gotten the most out of Temari's training. She can perform both Temari's Wind Scythe and Cyclone Scythe jutsu without needing a fan. Temari was really impressed about that."

As was Gaara, although he remained resolutely pokerfaced.

"Ronnie is water. She's picked it up the fastest. Summoning rivers, underwater springs. She was even able to use her own sweat as bullets for Temari's target practice," Cordi bragged, although she wrinkled her nose with disgust on the last tidbit.

"Her sister, Fred, is earth. Anything from the ground, she can control it. She could probably out control your sand if you fought her," Cordi joked. Gaara remained quiet as he filed that information away, feeling trepidation at the idea someone could use his sand against him. "Not to mention summon trees, and flowers, really any plant."

Like the first Hokage, Gaara realized.

"And Lynne is mind or spirit," Cordi added. That one took him by surprise. Wasn't the fifth element lightning? He realized Cordi said she thought she summoned a lightning bolt, so maybe he was wrong. "She can use telekinesis, which she's been practicing by bending spoons." That explained the hundred spoons. "Her powers are the most unknown, to be honest," Cordi added. "Oh, she can also read minds like a book." Cordi turned to him with a sorry look as she finished, "So, she told me you're dating Matsuri."

Gaara's eyes flew wide at that, feeling blindsided by the news. Not only could one of her friends read minds, but she'd already read his mind. That explained the strange conversation the evening before the summit.

Cordi continued on, turning to Aleera as she added, "We each got a dragon that we've been hiding out here in the Forest of Death. Aleera is mine." She turned to Gaara as she nervously added, "Meaning she's coming with me to Suna." When Gaara only answered the comment with a stern frown, she added more fervently, "I have to take her with me."

Gaara looked at the lizard appraisingly, letting the pregnant silence linger between them before he asked, "And where do you plan on housing … her?" Cordi looked at him warily, which he only responded with a skeptical scowl. "According to you, she's only two weeks old, and already the size of a small horse. She can't stay in the tower, and it may shock you to hear, but Suna doesn't have a readily available lair for a dragon."

"That's one of the reasons I needed to talk to you before we left. I know the general setup of Suna, with the Kazekage tower sitting in the center of the city. The city itself is walled in by a mountainous canyon," Cordi stated. She chewed on her cheek before adding, "I was hoping it was like the Grand Canyon back home, which has an extensive network of caves and caverns. That would work well."

The redheaded Kazekage looked at her deadpan. For a girl who's never seen the Village Hidden in the Sand, she sussed out the general defensive structure of the city, as well as its secret, the caverns the village used for its evacuation protocols. He had mixed feelings about that. "Yes," he answered, slowly. "There are caverns in Suna's walls. Some large enough to accommodate her growing size to a point."

"So, she'll stay there," Cordi said with an easy smile. Something about that expression made him uneasy.

"And if she out grows that? Then where?" Gaara asked. Someone had to ask the difficult questions. "What about feeding? Can you guarantee she isn't going to eat the villagers?"

"I'm not a fan of humans," a gravelly voice replied. Gaara's eyes flew wide as he realized the voice came from the giant red lizard glaring at him. That was unsettling. Aleera added, showing off her teeth, and a roiling fire in the back of her throat, "I prefer my meat more gamey. It chars better. But if I ever find I need to eat a human, then …" She trailed off at the end, glaring at the Kazekage as she licked one of her sharp teeth.

Gaara could tell the dragon was making a thinly veiled threat to him, but Cordi reached up to the dragon's neck, and growled, "Be nice, Aleera." The dragon snorted at the reprimand, smoke billowing from its nostrils as she turned, padding away from her master, curling up on herself and preening her wings. "Look," Cordi huffed, crossing her arms tightly under her breasts as she stepped closer to Gaara, "I can control her, but she has to come with me." Gaara looked at the fire user carefully. It was clear Cordi felt uncomfortable under his discerning cyan gaze by the way she looked away and licked her lips as her chest puffed. "Temari trusted me. If you can't trust my judgement, maybe you can trust hers."

Gaara let the silence hang between them as he thought it over. Not only were they getting a woman with untested and untrained fiery capabilities, but also a carnivorous, fire-breathing dragon. As he mulled it over, he realized the Land of Wind would be one of two nations with such a power. The girls each had the possibility of complete mastery of an entire element, similar to his ability with sand. Except their magic wasn't limited by chakra. Which might make them more formidable, despite their slow speed. On top of that, dragons. Likely similar in strength, and possibly size to the tailed beasts. The last time the ninja world was faced with such a power, it had been split equally among the five great nations at the first Kage Summit. He hated thinking of Cordelia as a weapon, but as Kazekage, it was impossible to overlook he'd already put Suna ahead of the curve against the other nations having already acquired one set. Meanwhile, Konoha still had four.

"Alright," Gaara breathed, looking at the dragon carefully. I'll need to write the Council about this change immediately, he realized. Knowing them, he was certain they'd likely want Cordelia tested to become a shinobi. He looked her over carefully as she let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank you, Thank YOU!" she cheered, quickly giving him a hug, which took him by surprise. His eyes flew wide, and his body went rigid at the sudden touch, but he held his sand back, not wanting to hurt her. He felt her arms squeeze around him as she pressed her large chest into his. His heart pounded as he realized how nice and warm it felt to feel her cushioned against him. Not to mention the surprising aroma. Her forehead pressed into his shoulder, her hair falling against his cheek and neck, which felt as soft as silk and smelled of citrus and mint. It was … nice. He blushed, realizing for the first time, he didn't mind the contact.

She pulled away, sheepishly muttering, "Sorry. Lynne mentioned that you didn't like being touched. I'm just a hugger." She blushed, tucking a lock of dirty blonde hair behind her ear as she added, "I'll do my best to reign my instincts in."

"It's alright," he said before he could think to say otherwise. He noticed her hopeful gaze on him again, and he grimaced as he felt that familiar flutter in his heart, a new phenomena since Cordelia's arrival he couldn't begin to understand. He cleared his throat as he added, "It's something I'm working on. So…" He trailed off, wondering what made him admit that. He shook his head, deciding not to keep talking. Something about her for some inexplicable reason was so disarming to him that it made his brain seemingly disconnect from his mouth to allow such personal and incriminating information out. No one except himself knew he was working on the physicality of relationships. But he just openly admitted it to this strange girl. His only solution to this problem was to be silent, so he pursed his lips and looked away.

Cordi beamed at him for an uncomfortably long moment. Gaara did his best to act like he didn't notice, meanwhile mentally cursing his loose tongue.

"Ri-ight," Aleera growled, standing up and stretching her back like a feline. "So I'm gonna' go." Then she promptly spread her wings, and launched in the air, diving back deep into the forest, the gusts from her wings blasting up dust and dirt at both Cordi and Gaara, who threw their arms over their faces to protect them.

"We should probably return," Cordi stated as the gusts died down, and they were now alone, in the middle of the night. "It's easily a forty-five minute walk back to the hotel, and it's late."

He remembered her saying she couldn't do a basic shunshin the other night when they had that surprising late night heart to heart. Without a word, barely even a sigh, he stepped next to her, grabbing her at her waist, and she stared at him wide eyed. He quickly swept her legs up under his arm with surprising strength and swiftness that caused her to let out another yelp as he held her bridal style. "Hold on tightly."

He felt his heart pound under her penetrating gaze. But silently, she put her arms around his neck, clasping her hands together. As soon as he felt her hands clasp, he jumped into the air, using the shunshin to make his way back to the hotel.

She made a strange clearing in her throat, and he looked down to see her blushing, and looking at his chest. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," she chirped, her grasp tightening. She mumbled, "I just wasn't expecting you to carry me back to the hotel."

Gaara frowned. "It's late, and you can't shunshin," he explained as if it meant nothing.

"Still," she peeped, her blush still enflaming your cheeks, "thank you."

---

July third was an oddly quiet Friday at the Nomu Ki Bar. Fred assumed it had something to do with the festival people were getting ready for that evening. Yuki had already informed Fred that they were to close at six, since Yuki was running a booth in town square, selling beer, wine, and sake with novelty cups as a promotion for the bar. Yuki had said it was a two-man job, her and cook, so she was giving Fred the night off, she'd just have to close up. It was fifteen minutes until six, and she was wiping down tables quickly, and setting up chairs in certain sections to close right at six. The only people sitting in the dining room were Ronnie and Rox, who were working on Rox's appearance for her date with Shikamaru.

Ronnie lightly brushed light purple eyeshadow on Rox's eyes while Rox sat rigidly, nervously adding occasionally, "Don't go too dark. I don't need to look like a prostitute."

"Chill," Ronnie huffed, dipping her brush into a darker purple this time as she added, "I know how to do eyes." She dotted it evenly on the lid, then switching to the other eye as she added, "Don't forget, I do have more practice than you."

Rox pouted at the comment, muttering a small, "True."

Through high school, neither of the Turner girls got into the practice of regularly wearing makeup. Rox was usually too focused on her portfolio to care how she looked, and Cordi said she was too lazy to make it a regular habit. They'd wear it for special events, like holidays, church, school dances, or dates. For the last two, if the girls were all going together, the girls each had assigned parts for doing each other's looks. Ronnie and Fred had mastered eyes. Both could create a smoky-eye look that dramatized the look without being too much. Rox was a hair master if she had enough time, but Fred usually had to fill in where she couldn't. Only Lynne was too particular about her hair to touch. She cut and dyed her hair herself, and short of a minor "hold this lock in place while I grab a bobby pin," none of the girls touched her hair. Cordi was a goddess of lipstick. She liked to mix her lipstick colors. No lipstick was the correct shade or level of bold for her. It always needed to be "enhanced" by another. Lynne always handled style. Basic outfit to accessories, she had an eye for smallest details to finish a look.

So, when Rox arrived that evening with her base foundation, blush, and clear lip gloss, and in a cotton purple tank dress, bronze gladiator sandals, and her hair in a messy bun, Ronnie immediately pounced, crying, "Rox, this is a date date! You can't just wear that. You need some 'VaVoom!' Have we taught you nothing?" She then ushered the wind user to a vacant table, and whipped out her travel makeup kit, and got to work.

Ronnie finished Rox's eyeshadow, then pulled out her eyeliner. She braced her hand on Rox's cheek and breathed, "Now, relax and don't move." Rox took a deep breath, then clenched her jaw. As soon as Ronnie applied the liner to the lid, Rox flinched a little reflexively. Ronnie hissed through clenched teeth, "I said don't move."

Fred let out a bark of laughter as she watched her little sister work on her oldest friend. Rox was clearly uncomfortable as Ronnie highlighted the line of her eyes.

Lynne walked in, announcing with a beaming smile, "Hello, all!" Her stride slowed as she saw Ronnie working on Rox's eyes, and she smiled more mischeivously, setting her purse on the table, "What's going on here?"

"Rox has a date with Shikamaru, and she thought she could go as Ms. Frump, and we wouldn't say anything," Ronnie huffed, moving to her other eye.

"I was going to finish the look once I got here," Rox grumbled.

Ronnie looked at the wind user crossly as she growled, "Did I say you could talk?" When Rox pursed her lips annoyedly, Ronnie resumed working on the eye.

"Well, you can't wear your hair like that," Lynne stated, walking over, pulling Rox's hair out of its messy bun.

"I 'qhas 'onna' 'raid it," Rox stated through gritted teeth to not disturb Ronnie's careful strokes.

Lynne frowned, running her fingers through Rox's black tresses as she asked, "Like French braid?"

"Mhm."

Lynne shook her head, starting to grab a few locks. "No," she said with a smile. She gathered more locks in her fingers as she begun to work, "You've worn a French braid or messy bun every day since you got here. Shikamaru should see what you look like with your hair mostly down." She reached into her purse quickly, pulling out a comb and some bobby pins and began to pull Rox's hair into a simple pin-up style, teasing it in places to give it more volume.

Ronnie finished, handing Rox some mascara, and instructing, "Apply this," which Rox did as Ronnie dove back into her bag for lipstick.

"Why are we coming here, again?" the group heard outside just before the door opened. The voice was deep and bored. "It looks like they're closed."

"Well, I didn't say you had to join me," the unmistakable voice of Cordelia Turner snapped back. The rest of the girls had frozen in place to see Cordi walk in, wearing a red halter top, a white bolero crochet sweater over her shoulders, and blue jean capris with gray converses. She was followed by Temari in her usual outfit except without her breast plate. Behind them were two men who Fred was sure were Temari's two brothers. The Metallica brothers, she remembered from the group's old cafeteria discussions. They didn't look all that similar to her, but Fred had overheard enough to make an educated guess.

Fred ran her cleaning rag through her fingers as she took them in. She'd seen the redhead before when they first arrived. To Fred, he looked stiff and bored as he coolly regarded the girls. He was in the greenish aqua robes with what looked like a white cloak over his shoulders, and a white sash at his waist.

The last one wore a black tunic that reached his knees over a navy turtleneck. The tunic was tied close with a light blue sash at his hips, and he wore a black hood and purple facepaint. But she noticed he had dark, expressive eyes; thin brown eyebrows, and an easy, friendly smile. If it wasn't for the excessive facepaint, she'd say he was attractive. Really attractive.

The dark eyed man's gaze caught Fred's verdant stare, and she felt a zing go through her body and her throat close a little, which she cleared with an awkward cough. Those eyes didn't just see her. It felt like he was staring into her soul. It was a stare that would get her in trouble if she stared back for too long. "Ya'll can have a seat wherever," she stated going back to work. "And I don't think Yuki will mind if you want to order some drinks, but the kitchen is closed."

Temari whispered something to her brothers, possibly warning them about the difficulty or futility of interjecting on one of the group's conversations, as Temari had been experiencing heavily the past week. The Sand kunoichi had smartly developed an always listening and speak when spoken to habit while dealing with them as a group. Fred felt a little sorry for the exclusivity of their conversations alienating the woman who'd been teaching them to use their powers. But once a pop-culture debate got started amongst them, it was difficult to shut down, and included a lot of fast talking and quick quips.

"Thank God, you're here," Ronnie sighed over her sister, practically skipping over to Cordi, and looping her arm in hers. "I just can't decide which lipstick Rox needs." She steered the fire user to her sister and held up four different shades of lipsticks, light pink, dark pink, wine, and bombshell red.

Cordi inspected the lipstick shades carefully, and immediately eliminated the bombshell red and light pink, stating the light pink was too "Barbie" and the bombshell red was too bold for Rox. She held both wine and dark pink lipsticks up to her sister's face.

Rox frowned, looking at her sister contemplating her lips as Lynne pulled her hair into place, and Ronnie leaned on the next table. "Y'know, it wasn't supposed to be this big thing," Rox complained.

"Of course it's a big thing," Lynne replied staunchly. "It's your third date with ..." She paused awkwardly as her gaze flicked nervously to Temari then back to Rox's hair, working with renewed fervor, "… with this guy."

This interested Kankuro, who chimed in, "Oh? Who's the lucky guy?"

"I'm gonna' go with the wine," Cordi decided, holding the wine lipstick up, clearly ignoring the Suna jonin.

"No," Rox whined with a pout, "that's too dark. I'd never wear that."

"Not if I …" Cordi started, reaching into her own purse, where she was well known to carry around six different lipsticks of completely different colors. She pulled a pale nude lipstick the shade somewhere between pink and taupe out of her bag victoriously as she said, "… mix it with this color. It'll be perfect."

"That's actually a pretty color. What's it called?" Lynne chimed in as Cordi uncapped the lipstick and pushed it up.

Cordi and checked the bottom and read, "Nude Flash," She paused awkwardly and looked up to see everyone's questioning stares varying from Kankuro's smirk, to Gaara's wide-eyed awkward blinking, and Lynne nodding knowingly. "I didn't pick the name. It's one of those drugstore lipsticks," Cordi murmured as she focused on applying the lipstick to her sister's lips.

After a momentary pregnant silence, Fred piped in, "You all sure you don't want anything to drink."

The hooded brother held up a finger as he said, "I'll take a beer." He made a face as he looked at her, and added in a lower, mocking tone, "Though you probably knew that's what I'd ask for."

Fred scowled at him, not appreciating his snarky tone. "And why would I know that?" she snapped back, doing her best to not make too much prolonged eye-contact. It had been a long time since a guy could just look at her and make her squirm. Since Travis, at least. That ended in catastrophe before it ever even took off. Rox knew of Fred's crush on the eldest Turner when she and Rox were eleven, but she didn't know how deeply it burned. She didn't know how hurt Fred was when she walked in on him kissing his girlfriend, and realized he'd never look at her beyond his kid sister's best friend. But this was different. It wasn't Rox's brother this time.

Kankuro's brow furrowed with the slightest hint of confusion as he gestured to her group of friends and said, "I thought you all knew everything about us."

Fred rolled her eyes, picking up the chairs on the last empty table and stacking them. "Unlike my friends, I was not a Narutard." She finished stacking that table and moved to the bar, "What kind of beer?"

"Your best lager," Kankuro more asked than answered, his dark gaze following the eldest of the girls as she passed him with a hair flip, even though it was a short chin-length bob. "What's a Narutard?"

Fred reached into the fridge behind the bar and pulled out a bottle of Tsuboishi. She'd tried it once, and it reminded her of the beer her brothers liked to drink. "In the bottle or in a glass?"

"Bottle's fine," he answered.

She gave a stiff nod as she grabbed her bottle opener and answered, "'Narutard,' is the name for people who like the show Naruto, in my world." He reached in his pocket for cash, and Fred waved him off. "It's on the house," she stated, biting her lip as she watched how he moved. He reminded her so much of Travis in a weird way.

He tipped his bottle to her in a salute, and her heart skipped a beat as she watched him take a sip. He tilted his head, giving an agreeing nod to the taste as he swallowed. She was just staring at him. His dark eyes caught her, and he smiled. Fred forced herself to blink as a voice in her head screamed, QUIT STARING AT HIM! She turned back to the conversation, welcoming the distraction, feeling his eyes on her as she went back to cleaning up her tables.

"Yeah, like 'Potterheads' for Harry Potter fans." Ronnie mused airily. "Or 'Trekkies' for Star Trek fans." She smirked evilly at the redhead working on Rox's hair as she added, "But only the nerdiest of the nerds watch Star Trek. Isn't that right, Lynne?"

The girls laughed at Ronnie's jab, while Lynne smiled mirthfully, and replied with a laugh, "Yeah, ya'll can live long and go fuck yourselves." She went about setting the last bobby pin in Rox's hair as she added, "At least I wasn't obsessed with the dumbest show ever to grace television, Dragon Ball Z."

"Here we go," Fred sighed, under her breath, earning a concerned look from Kankuro.

Cordi jumped up at Lynne's comment, pointing and accusatory finger at the spirit-user, "You take that back."

Lynne smirked. "No. That show fifty percent screaming, forty percent 'this isn't even my final form,' and ten percent plot."

"Dragon Ball Z was a cultural tour de force," Cordi began to argue, gesturing with her hand for emphasis, "that paved the way for anime into international audiences, especially into western cultures. Without it, many animes would have been barely a blip on the radar, which includes Naruto."

Lynne stepped back, finished with Rox's hair as she huffed at Cordi, her arms crossed over her chest. "You done?"

Cordi nodded. Fred couldn't help but notice the three siblings were watching the debate with enraptured attention, their eyes flicking between Lynne and Cordi like spectators at a tennis match.

"Ok," Lynne smirked. "I'm not arguing with its popularity. I'm just saying that a show critic, which they market as a positive review on their material, described DBZ as a mix between pro-wrestling and martial arts. And personally, I would say add a dash of soap opera, and that's the show."

Cordi shook her head as she gave the redheaded girl an incredulous look. "And? It's amazing!"

Lynne shook her head with a scoff.

Fred let out a sigh. If she didn't stop the argument, no one would. Before Lynne could add anything, Fred stepped out from behind the bar and added, "In all honesty, if it wasn't for Dragon Ball Z, Ronnie, Cordi, Rox, and I would not have become the group of best friends we are. And without us, Cordi would not have invited you to come sit at our lunch table when she saw the Konoha keychain on your bookbag when you first transferred to our school halfway through sophomore year. So, you kind of have DBZ to thank for having such amazing friends." Fred finished with a flourish, gesturing to the rest of their friend group. Cordi nodded in firm agreement at Fred's statement.

"I have DBZ to thank for my sexual awakening," Ronnie mused aloud, her gaze focused off in the dreamy distance. The comment earned weird stares from everyone, especially the Sand siblings who had been silently observing the girls during the debate. They regarded the water user with mostly apprehension, and varying levels of disgust, while Ronnie's close friends and sister looked at her with bland disapproval.

Fred licked her lips before sucking on them, giving a small tut before responding, "You didn't need to share that." She quickly segued away from her sister's awkward comment by adding, "Anyway, if you want to compare anime series on quality, then the animes Gundam Wing and Evangalion outstrip Dragon Ball, Naruto, and even Yu Yu Hakusho, which of the latter three is probably the highest quality."

Lynne scoffed, "You're only saying that because you have a weird preference to Gundam shows."

"Evangalion is not a Gundam show. It's Evas," Fred corrected haughtily.

Lynne shot her a rueful expression as she asked, "And the evas are giant mech suits, like Gundams."

Fred opened her mouth to retort only for Cordi to interrupt. "Honestly, Fred has a weird preference for everything," Cordi remarked, going back to Rox's lips with the wine color lipstick this time and dotting it along the bottom.

"Excuse me?" Fred gasped, her pitch higher than usual.

"Do this," Cordi directed to Rox, before smacking her lips together for example, a move that would blend the colors. She straightened as she added, "Remember her favorite character in Yu Yu Hakusho was Kuwabara."

"Now wait just a minute –" Fred tried.

"Yamucha in Dragon Ball Z," Rox added with a shrug once her lips were set. She turned to her oldest friend with a question expression as she added, "Seriously, who likes Yamucha?"

"Voldemort," Lynne added, "Although granted, he was hot when he was young."

Fred threw her hands up as she said, "Alright. I'm feeling kind of attacked now. And since this is my bar at the moment, I think ya'll should leave." She finished with a swinging gesture to the front door. She added, "With exception to Temari and her Metallica brothers, who are being nice," pointing at them grouped together at one table.

"Metallica brothers?" Gaara asked, his tone dripping with confusion.

"A nickname we had for you and Kankuro," Cordi explained quickly with an uncaring wave of her hand, still looking over her sister. "Your missing something, Rox."

"Here. Stand up," Lynne directed positioning Rox in the light to get a good look at her.

"But, why?" Kankuro asked, looking around the group for answers.

"Metallica," Cordi sighed, stepping over to them, "is very popular band where we are from, and have been making music for almost thirty years. Two of their most popular songs are 'Enter Sandman,'" she stated gesturing to Gaara, whose eyes went wide at the fact. She turned to gesture to Kankuro as she finished, "and 'Master of Puppets'. Hence, Metallica brothers."

Fred added to no one in particular, "'Master of Puppets,' was my ringtone for a long time. It starts with a really awesome guitar solo."

Both Gaara and Kankuro frowned at the earth user with bewilderment at her explanation. "Shame we can't hear it," Temari commented, her arms crossed as she looked at Fred blandly. "I'm sure the music from your world is fascinating."

"Actually," Cordi corrected, "I have 'Enter Sandman,' on my computer. I can play it for you later."

"But not 'Master of Puppets'?" Fred asked, shooting her youngest friend a judging look.

Cordi shrugged, stating, "While I agree 'Master of Puppets' is one of the best guitar songs, the vocals leave a lot to be desired. Meanwhile, 'Enter Sandman' was an instant platinum record, and is considered their biggest hit as well as their signature song."

"That's it!" Lynne exclaimed, pointing at Cordi. "Give her your sweater."

Cordi frowned, fingering her crocheted sweater's lapel as she whined, "But it's my white for my red, white, and blue."

"Fourth of July is tomorrow," Lynne argued.

"But aren't there fireworks tonight," Cordi argued back, looking around the group. A few people shrugged.

"Just give your sister the freakin' sweater!"

Suddenly Ronnie jumped up, exiting the bar with quick movements and into the town square. Everyone's gazes followed her out. "Where's she going?" Fred asked, seemingly the only one able to talk at the sudden action.

There was a long silence as the group crowded the front window and watched Ronnie skip out into the square until Cordi grumbled, "Oh."

"What?" Fred asked, still confused as the rest of the group crossed their arms, joining the other three at the front window.

"Three guesses," Rox replied with a smirk. "First two don't count."

Fred frowned. "A guy?"

"Yup." "Bingo." "Uh-huh." Each answer was said simultaneously and with the same bored tone and banality.

"Anyone we know?" Kankuro asked before taking another sip of beer.

"Kiba," Temari, Cordi, Rox and Lynne answered together.

This earned raised eyebrows from the men. "Apparently, she's been trying to seduce him," Temari added quietly to her siblings.

Kankuro spat out his drink, earning strange looks from his siblings, and Fred who turned to frown at the mess he made. "Sorry," he muttered sheepishly, grabbing a napkin off the bar and cleaning it up.

Cordi lost interest in watching her best friend woo the dog trainer, and took off her sweater, revealing the red halter top she wore that showed off her well-endowed chest. She handed the crocheted clothing to her sister, muttering a small, "Here." Rox took it, putting it on over her dress.

"Perfect," Lynne stated before taking off her key necklace and said, "just add this."

Kankuro mopped up the puddle he made, adding under his breath to his sister, "Seduce him? Really?"

Temari nodded her answer with pursed lips.

Kankuro was about to ask why when Fred interrupted them, asking Kankuro directly, "Another one of the nicknames from this show my friends had was 'Reverse Pinocchio.' Given you're into puppets, is that also you?"

Kankuro's mouth hung open at the question. He looked to his sister for a clue, but she just frowned, shaking her head with a shrug. "I'm sorry. Pinocchio?" he asked.

"Yeah," Fred brushed off. "The fairy-tale about the puppet?" When he only frowned at her, she added, "Y'know. 'I'm a real boy!'" she said it in a weird voice, as if she were quoting something. Again, he only frowned at her, but his siblings also looked at her confused.

Kankuro began to shake his head when Rox chimed in, "It was Sasori."

"Huh?" Kankuro and Fred grunted together.

"Sasori was Reverse Pinocchio," Lynne clarified, still watching Ronnie and Kiba. Her brow began to furrow as she continued to watch.

"In Pinocchio, Pinocchio was a puppet who became a real boy. In this world, Sasori was a real boy who became a puppet," Cordi explained, her arms crossed as she watched Ronnie flirting with the dog trainer, and Kiba sheepishly warding off her advances. Cordi turned pointedly back to Fred, adding, "Hence 'Reverse Pinocchio.'"

"Oh," Fred mumbled, giving a small pout. "I thought it had something to do with lying, since Pinocchio's whole thing was not lying."

Kankuro frowned at the comment. "Why would a puppet worry about being honest or not?"

"Because his nose would grow when he lied," Fred answered as if it were obvious. When she was again only met with strange expressions from the Sand siblings, she waved it off. It would be too much to explain if that story didn't exist here.

Lynne turned back to watch Ronnie, who was now standing awkwardly alone while Kiba walked off. Ronnie turned to her friends in the bar, and gave a large, "What the fuck?" shrug. Lynne pouted back. "That sucks," she breathed.

"Huh, she struck out," Rox commented with a frown. Both she and Lynne leaned to watch Ronnie as she stomped back to the bar.

"Really?" Cordi asked with a frown. That rarely happened for Ronnie.

The front door swung as Ronnie stormed in, her hands on her hips as she paced and howled, "What is wrong with the guys here? I'm fucking Veronica Buchanan. The hottest girl in the school! Back home, guys were lining up to date me. But here, I can't get one asshole to talk to me after his mom walked in on us." Through her anger, the sink behind the bar groaned, then began pouring water with tremendous pressure, water spraying out the base.

"Oh shit!" Fred gasped, sprinting over to the sink with a towel. She put her hand over the faucet, using her power to dent the metal into closing and slowing the torrential flow. Kankuro jumped in to help her, grabbing napkins to mop up the pooling water on the back counter. "Ronnie! Cut it out!" Fred cried.

Ronnie ignored her, growling to herself, "I mean, it shouldn't be that fucking difficult!"

Cordi stepped up, grabbing Ronnie by her shoulders to slow her down. Lynne stepped up behind the fire user, and ordered, "Look at me, Ronnie." Ronnie did begrudgingly. "Alright, breathe in…" Ronnie did as instructed, her scowl permanently fixed. "And out …" Ronnie did with a whoosh, and the water from the faucet slowed to a trickle, then just a drip. "Now," Lynne said in a calming voice, "I agree, what Kiba did was a dick move, but –"

"What'd Kiba do?" Cordi asked, her tone low and threatening.

"You aren't supposed to be reading our minds," Ronnie scolded Lynne.

"Sorry," Lynne apologized, holding her hands up in surrender, "But you were practically screaming it after talking to him. You know, my power is a lot more difficult to just turn off."

"What'd Kiba do?" Cordi growled more urgently.

"You all have powers, now?" Kankuro asked, looking at the five girls with confusion. "I thought you all didn't have any chakra."

When his eyes settled on Fred, she sighed, holding her hand over the faucet, the loud groans and pops of metal the only sign she was using her power as the faucet returned to its normal shape. But no one answered Kankuro directly.

Ronnie chewed on the inside of her cheek as she looked at everyone who would now be privy to her dating life beyond her usual circle of friends. She sighed as she said, "Yesterday, I finally got him." Cordi's brow shot up, and her eyes wide at the news. Ronnie ignored her closest friend's reaction as she stated, "I told you all that for last week and a half, we had this chemistry going. Constantly flirting. Just generally vibing well, but every time we hit what seemed like an opportune moment, he'd get weird and shy out of nowhere. So yesterday, I made a last ditch effort." When she was met with looks of confusion, she clarified guiltily, "I did a variation on the 'bend n' snap.'"

She was answered with a small chorus of, "Oh," from the women present as they nodded along, like they knew what she was talking about. Both Gaara and Kankuro looked at each other cluelessly. Kankuro mouthed to his brother, "The bend and snap?" Gaara only barely shook his head to tell his brother he too was unsure what that meant.

"Yeah, I'm not proud of it, but it worked," Ronnie continued. "He fell for it hook, line and sinker. So, we're making out and his mom walks in."

"Oof," Kankuro laughed, only to earn scowls from all of the girls.

"Yeah. It wasn't the best timing," Ronnie huffed begrudgingly. "So, Tsume fires me on the spot."

"Woah, wait!" Fred called, holding her hand up to stop her sister's story. "You mean you did this while you were on the clock at the vet?!" Fred seethed, glaring disappointedly at her little sister.

"Ok, I didn't catch that part earlier," Lynne confessed with a baleful nod, clearly referring to when she previously read Ronnie's mind. "That's iffier."

Ronnie shot her sister an exasperated glance. She shrugged with a huff, "Not like I see him anywhere else."

Lynne scoffed, "Still." Fred nodding from the counter, clearly agreeing with the spirit user.

"Oh, like either of you are one to judge," Ronnie snapped back at the oldest members of their group. "You both have done worse in less respectable and sometimes less legal places."

"Hold on!"

"Now wait just a minute!"

"I'm just being honest."

"This is not about us!"

"Right, this is about you and Kiba not respecting the workplace."

"It's funny hearing that from you, Ms. 'I-did-it-in-a-church!'"

Lynne gasped, her expression murderous that Ronnie would bring up such a subject.

"ALRIGHT, ENOUGH!" Cordi yelled, overpowering everyone's voices and silencing them as a surge of heat rippled through the room. Cordi looked at Rox for assistance, setting her jaw as her older sister looked away from the group. She always was non-confrontational. "Ronnie," Cordi barked, frowning at her oldest friend deeply, "apologize to Lynne."

"But she-!"

"No. You just blabbed something personal you were told in confidence," Cordi rebuked. "Apologize."

Ronnie sucked air through her nose as she looked at her feet, her expression a bevy of emotions. She was silent for a moment before uttering, "I'm sorry for my big mouth, Lynne. I shouldn't have said that."

Lynne remained silent.

After a tense moment of silence, Ronnie cleared her throat, gesturing to the door as she said, "Well, I'm not up for the festival anymore, so I'm going to head back to the dorms." The water user regarded Rox quickly before adding, "Good luck on your date."

The silence returned, just as awkward and tense as before. Lynne looked to the Sand siblings briefly, then cleared her throat as well. "I'm not up for the festival either. I'll see you all later," she sighed, walking towards the door. She stopped by Rox, adding with assurance, "He's not going to know what hit him."

Rox smiled, saying a small, "Thank you." Lynne shot her a wink, and left.

There was silence again before Cordi grumbled, "Well, that could have gone better."

"Is that kind of blow up normal for you guys?" Kankuro asked, a little laughter in his voice to dispel the awkward moment.

"It's not uncommon," Fred sighed, returning to the final tasks of closing up the bar. She checked her watch, mumbling, "It's five until six."

Rox looked up, wide-eyed. "Already? Crap. He's probably waiting for me." She made her way to the door.

"I thought you told him to meet you here," Fred replied with a frown. "It's what he said yesterday when he came here for dinner."

The Suna ninja looked among the girls with interest. Kankuro turned to Rox and inquired, "So who's the lucky guy? You all have been dodging that question. Don't think we didn't notice." He nodded to his siblings, who also nodded with curious expressions.

She looked back at him sheepishly, shaking her head with weird frown. "Oh, just some guy."

Cordi suppressed a snort, watching her sister doing her best from letting Temari find out she was dating her ex. Non-confrontational to a tee. She looked away, only to catch Gaara watching her carefully, as if her small derisive snort just told him who Rox was trying to run off to meet.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at Rox's answer. "'Just some guy.' On your third date?" He scoffed as he mumbled, "High praise, indeed."

Rox glanced out the window nervously, ignoring the puppeteer's jibe. Her eyes went wide as she began to move in a flurry. "He's here! I gotta' go!" With a quick flurry of movement, she left the Nomu Ki Bar to cut off her date from entering.

Kankuro, out of curiosity, stepped up to the window to get a good look at Rox's mystery guy. His smirking expression quickly fell as he looked at Rox's date, as he uttered a grave, "Oh."

Temari stepped forward with a haughty smile as she asked, "Who is it, Kankuro?"

"Uhm," he breathed, not able to look at his sister.

She stepped up beside him and looked anyway. Her smile fell as her aquamarine eyes fell on Rox chatting lively with Shikamaru Nara. The shadow user laughed and scratched his head under his ponytail before offering his arm, Temari reading his lips as he asked, "Shall we?" Rox smiled eagerly, looping her arm with his as they proceeded into the festival.

Temari stepped back, shell-shocked at the revelation. Her brother caught her at her shoulders. "Temari?" Kankuro breathed worriedly.

She didn't answer, instead turning to look at Cordi and Fred. Cordi immediately looked guilty and apologetic. "I'm so sorry you had to find out like that," Cordi offered, stepping forward.

It was over. He was on his third date with another girl. It had been mentioned several times. He was dating someone else. Tears stung at her eyes that she blinked away, but the throbbing lump in her throat would not permit her to say anything. Her brain was going too fast to form thoughts into words. It did slow as she realized she could not break down and cry here in front of her brothers and these girls she thought were her friends. She had to leave. Find someplace quiet to nurse her shattered heart. "Excuse me," she coughed before running out.

Gaara watched his sister run out with blinking confused worry, then turned to Kankuro. His older brother chewed on his bottom lip, then turned to Cordi and asked, "Are they really on their third date?"

Cordi nodded affirmatively.

Kankuro let out a steady stream of air before grumbling, "Geez."

"Shikamaru?" Gaara asked. He seemed the most logical answer, but it was better to know definitively rather than assume.

"Yeah," Kankuro answered.

"Alright," Fred cheered, not entirely sure what everyone was so bent up about. "Time to lock-up. Everyone out." She started hitting switches that shut off lights, and moved to the table the Sand siblings had been occupying. She pointed to Kankuro's abandoned, half-drunk bottle of beer, and asked, "Are you done with this?"

Kankuro answered by grabbing the bottle as she began to stack the chairs on the table. They moved out of the front door as she turned off the last of the lights. It was only the beginning of the summer evening, and the temperature had only just begun to noticeably drop. Fred dropped the populated keyring in her purse to give to Yuki at the festival. She turned to the shrunken group from the seven they were supposed to be celebrating with to four. The man Cordi had a crush on, and Cordi, and the man Fred found irresistibly tempting, and Fred. Fred forced a smile as she cheered, "Let's go." Into the weirdest "non-double date that turned into a double date" I've ever been on, she finished in her head.

AN: So, this chapter was originally longer, but this last part stretched so long that just the part was 20 pages. And there were still 4 more parts to write. When I chopped it there, the entire chapter came to 27 pages. So, you can imagine how bad it was getting. Getting to split is taking way longer than it should. I'm on the last night! Whatever.

I know some of you are probably going to have a problem with me introducing phones, and giving them their cellphones. Here's why I'm doing it. Boruto has cellphones. And Naruto Shippuden has satellite communication and video chat, which I looked up how that worked for something else, and surprise, they all ran on phones. In the Naruto hiden novels, Gaara mentions the new email system, which became a thing because of the internet, which became a thing because of phones. Now, by the time email was a thing, car phones had been around for about a decade, which essentially worked just like cellphones (just plugged into the car). Just judging by the rate of technology and what came when in our world, and comparing it to Naruto, it would make sense for the technology to make cellphones work to be there, just maybe not in that use yet. And configuring your phone to new towers/signals is not that difficult, so I figured they could do that. It also makes communication between the group easier when Cordi goes away, which I plan on using.

That's all. Remember to leave a review!