(Sorry about the long time between Chapter updates, folks ^^")

Chapter Five

--House Guests

"Naruto…" Sumaru shook Naruto gently in an attempt to wake him. He had been up for hours, and not wanting to disturb him he let Naruto sleep, but now he was tired of waiting. "Naruto… brother." Finally Naruto's eyes fluttered open. He sat up in his bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Ugh… Sumaru?… What time is it?"

"A little after two." Sumaru replied.

"AM?" Naruto turned to look out the window. It was bright as day outside. The sunlight burned his early morning eyes. "Guess not…" He climbed groggily out of bed and walked to the bathroom to wash and groom himself. As he was washing he heard some scratching noised against the door. "Sumaru?"

"Um… I was wondering…" Naruto could hear the uncertainty and discomfort in his voice. "If you could show me around Konoha. I've never been here before, but Naku and Kintaro have."

"Sure thing! I'll show you all of what Konoha has to offer!" Sumaru let out an excited laugh. For the first time since Naruto had met him, he was acting like a normal eight-year old kid.

***The Nara (Shikamaru) House***

"Don't you ever sleep?" Shikamaru said. Naku had been standing against the wall all night long.

"What do you mean? I was sleeping…"

"Are you telling' me you sleep standing up?"

"Yes."

He looked at him awkwardly. "You people are weird… First a kid with a tail and ears…" He patted his hind and head as if there really was a tail protruding from above his buttocks and a pair of extra ears on top of his head. "Kinda makes me wonder what kind of freak that guy Kintaro is… How troublesome…"

Naku stepped up to Shikamaru, got in his face, and looked him strait in the eye --- or at least that's what he though, since his eyes were completely covered by a black thick cloth. He pointed his thumb at himself. "You want to play this 'freak' in a game of Shougi?"

"Tch… I'll have you know I've never been beaten before." Shikamaru said proudly.

"I think I'll be the judge of your skills…"

***The Haruno (Sakura) House***

"So the other two are at Shikamaru's and Kakashi's?" Sakura nodded in reply. Sasuke sipped on the tea that she had handed him. "Naruto's brother…"

"Yes, I was surprised too. But you know… they're not really related."

"What to do mean by that?" Sasuke got to his feet.

Sakura realized her mistake and made an attempt to correct it. "Umm, I mean… They're really half brothers by marriage!" Though her cover-up seemed quite feasible, Sasuke didn't look at all convinced. She smiled sweetly.

"Your hiding something, Sakura-chan…"

"So are you!" He looked absolutely shocked.

"I don't know what your talking about!" He crossed his arms and turned around angrily, obviously trying to hide his expression.

"Then why is that when you said, 'brother', that you looked really angry and sad?"

"Tch… that's my business…" He stepped around the tiny table that separated them and headed for the door.

"Are you leaving Sasuke-kun?" Sakura followed him.

"I want to meet this Sumaru kid, and the other newcomers as well."

"Then I'm going with you!" Before he could protest she was already up the stairs to fetch her things. "As Shikamaru would say at a time like this… 'How troublesome'…"

***The Nara (Shikamaru) House, again***

"How troublesome… its like he's reading all my moves." They had been playing their game of Shougi for more than two hours. "He doesn't take any consideration in his moves, yet he's beating me…" Naku was staring (meaning his head was up) at Shikamaru, waiting for him to make his move. "What is his secret? It must be some kind of technique I haven't heard about. He can't be a better strategist than me…"

"No."

"No? No what?"

"I am not a better strategist than you, Nara Shikamaru."

He looked completely horrorstruck. "So then…you…."

"I have the ability to read minds, yes."

"Tch… How troublesome…" Naku smiled. "Fine, you win…" Shikamaru stood up from his crouched position. Just as he did so, there was a rapping at the front door.

***The Hatake (Kakashi) House***

"I suppose you'd like for me to show you around Konoha." Kakashi said, looking over the top of his copy of Para Para Paradise.

"No, I've been here before. I was a merchant for our village."

"Interesting… What kind of goods did you barter?"

"Mostly Ramen products, they seem to be very popular here." Seeing the astonished look on Kakashi's face, he asked, "Are you a big Ramen eater?"

"No, but I know someone who is."

***The Streets of Konoha***

"And there's the village's farm," Naruto pointed to a large wooden shack with a rooftop made of dirty yellow hay. From a distance they could see a man in overalls chasing around chickens. "That's where all the animals are kept. And over there…" He turned to a tall ominous-looking black dome, decorated with statues of gargoyles and demons. The sky and clouds above it matched the building's dark outlook. "Is the Training Dome. Its more dangerous than Practice Area #44." (from now on will be referred to as: The Forest of Death.) "And there!!" Naruto said excitedly. "The Ramen Bar!" He dug into his pockets, searching for any kind of paper. Nothing. 'why didn't I eat before we left?…'

"Your hungry, aren't you?" Naruto turned to face him and nodded sadly.

"Its ok," Sumaru reassured him. "Kintaro and your sensei are coming this way." Indeed, both Hatake Kakashi and Kintaro were walking towards them.

"Kakashi-sensei!" He said excitedly at first, then a little embarrassed. "Do you have any money?"

"Nope."

Naruto returned to his sulking state once again. Then Kintaro spoke from behind Kakashi, "I know the woman at the Ramen Bar." Naruto yelped in excitement. "I can pull some strings and get you guys a free meal." Naruto leapt onto Kintaro like a schoolgirl jumps onto her crush. As he did he felt rough paper scratch against his skin. He pulled a book out of Kintaro's pocket and read the cover: "Para Para Paradise".

'Great'… Naruto thought. 'Another closet-chikan (hidden pervert)…' He slipped the adult book back in his pocket innocently. He whispered to Kintaro, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." And added a secure wink to seal the deal.

***About 12 seconds later at the Ramen Bar ^^"***

Naruto slurped up a bowl of chicken Ramen non-stop, devouring its contents within seconds. As he finished he slammed the bowl down on the table. "TIME!" Sumaru stopped the stop-watch that Kakashi had handed him and read the recorded time aloud. "28 seconds! That's a new record. Your amazing Naruto-kun!" He smiled in mild admiration.

"That's why he's my best customer." Lenne said from near the rear of the shop. She walked up to the counter and placed her hands folded on top of it right in front of Kintaro. He blushed visibly and removed his hand from the counter. "Want another bowl?"

"No thanks, I'm stuffed!" Lenne asked the others the same question, all declined. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Mfm?" Kakashi had a mouthful of Mushroom Ramen, still attempting to talk normally.

"Where are Shikamaru and that Naku guy?"

"Not sure, haven't seen sight nor hair of them all day."

"Then lets go pay 'em a visit!" Naruto hopped off his stool and began walking, not caring if any of the others were coming. The others quietly set down their bowls and followed him. Kintaro stopped mid-step and spun around in his tracks. He walked back up to the Ramen shop counter, where Lenne was picking up the leftover bowls. She smiled sweetly as he approached her.

He leapt over the counter with one hand. The unexpected action startled Lenne, and she in her surprised state she dropped a bowl. It cracked loudly on the floor. Not caring, Kintaro knelt on one knee in front of Lenne. He took her hand in his. When he spoke it was in a highly fake Shakespearian voice, though void of the terminology: "I … I don't… have much time…" Lenne stared at him curiously. "They say… I only have a few weeks…"

She bent down and leaned in close to him. Kintaro blushed furiously. She lightly brushed her lip against his. When she pulled away, she said "You know… Para Para Paradise isn't only for men…" And for that brief moment, Kintaro was the happiest man alive. "I'll go on a date with you, on one condition: you win the upcoming tournament."

"A tournament?" She handed him a flyer. Most of it was black and had flames soaring from the left to the right side.