Temari was practically bouncing as the two left the street fair. It was very unlike her to be this hyper, but she was slightly tipsy and on a sugar high; induced by 4 bags of mini-doughnuts and too many free samples of sake.

Naruto was following her at a distance looking slightly exasperated. About the only thing he had done in the last two hours was give Temari the fan he had bought her. She loved it, and that alone made it worth the money, but Naruto was wishing he'd given it to her later.

See, Temari had quickly discerned that there was no reason she couldn't use wind jutsus with a smaller fan, combine that with her temper, her being only slightly drunk, and a sugar high, and what you got was a rather dangerous girl.

She had already threatened a stall keeper who she claimed had cheated her, when in fact she had missed the target she had been aiming at.

The man hadn't known why the strange young woman was waving her fan at him, and Naruto intervened before a small windstorm disrupted the fair. It was then decided that it was time to go back.

So now, the two were walking back to their hotel, except that random things in the vicinity regularly distracted Temari. It wasn't that she wasn't moving, she was just moving very slowly.

Finally, Naruto settled for the same method he had used to get her to leave the room in the first place, he just took hold of her hand and started off at a high pace.

Eventually, Temari started to calm down, and a few blocks from the hotel she pulled her hand from Naruto's.

When they arrived, Naruto said he wanted to go for a run, so Temari went back to the room alone and flopped down onto her bed, covering her head with her hands.

She was confused.

Her entire life had really been a very simple process. She had gone to the academy, become a shinobi, and the theoretical continuation of her life should have included a perfect mission record until she was a jounin and a lifetime of service to her village.

In her entire life, she had really only ever had to deal with 4 males on a regular basis. Her father, who was an ass, who Temari ignored, Baki, whose two passions in life were being melodramatic and playing go fish, who Temari was indifferent to, Gaara, who had been insane most of her life, and who she had been mostly afraid of, and Kankuro, whose main hobby was pissing her off, who she beat on.

She now found herself in a situation where she had a new person to deal with and a new life to plan for.

For all her efforts, Naruto was an enigma to her. He wasn't anything like anyone she had ever met before. At first, she had been afraid of him, but that fear was vanishing faster every day. The more she thought about it, the more 'human' he became.

Naruto had never hurt her in any way, quite the contrary in fact. He had been nothing but kind and generous. It was, she justified, his fault she was in this position in the first place, but she doubted most kidnappers were as nice as he was.

But for all that, she had never yet managed to shake the memory of how she had first seen him on the field of battle, his eyes burning with a dark inner fire as she found herself frozen in terror. But equally impossible was it to forget how just this afternoon he had been so sweet. Never once complaining, always complimenting her when she won a game, and picking out that fan for her...

Temari rubbed her temples; all this thinking was giving her a headache.

Baki sat with his face firm, his eyes unwavering as he stared across the table at his opponent.

Gaara stared back, undaunted, His whole body perfectly still.

Kankuro, the moderator, sat between them, a deck of cards sitting unopened in his hand. Championship matches were always held with a fresh deck. It was also tradition that each player had to bet something of personal value.

Baki took out a Katana passed down in his family for 3 generations and set it down. Not willing to be outdone, Gaara set his special edition of 'Icha Icha Paradise: The Motion Picture' down on the table. Baki's eyes widened. The stakes were high indeed.

Kankuro carefully unwrapped the cards, shuffled them, and slowly started to deal. The tension built until both players had their hands ready and Kankuro placed the deck in the middle of the table. The puppet master raised his hand and brought it down dramatically, "GO…...FISH!"

Naruto ran.

He found himself reminiscing, as his afternoon with Temari had reminded him of times long past. Of another afternoon he had spent with another person who could smile so brightly, despite the hardship they were dealing with. He wondered idly what it was that gave Haku and Temari the ability to do that.

As always, he was soon lost deep in the depths of his mind.

As Zabuza stood immobile, Kakashi had started to lecture about how Zabuza's ambitions were 'too dangerous' and how no shinobi should act that way.

Zabuza laughed, "I don't give a damn, I fight for my ideals, and that shall continue!"

It was a statement made by someone who in his heart, knew he had lost, but the demon of the mist had never given up. For the first time in months, tears started to run down Naruto's face as he ran through the city.

He could remember it as if he were still there, Zabuza already half dead, taking on a horde with nothing but a kunai in his mouth, fighting with all his soul to protect the memory of his precious person.

The boy continued to let these dark memories roll over him, when he suddenly stopped. Naruto had been running for many minutes and was atop a bridge, looking down at a flowing river.

He suddenly pulled out his forehead protector, examining it. Everything about it was the same as when he had modified it months before, the kanji for "Demonic Mirage" staring back at him. It was then that he realized he'd made an error in judgment.

He had been worrying ever since he left Konoha about whether he would be able to live up to Zabuza's legacy, whether he was worthy of holding the demon's sword. He realized as he stood atop that bridge that he had been foolish in thinking either of those things were what had made Zabuza great.

It didn't matter how strong he was, as long as he was strong enough to protect his ideals and what was precious to him. Both Zabuza and Haku had tried to live like that, and had both died without regret in trying.

Naruto released his forehead protector and watched as it fell and landed with a tiny splash in the water.

Kakashi had said that fighting only for your ideals and those precious to you was no way to be a ninja. If that were true, Naruto didn't want to be one. He slowly turned and walked back towards the hotel, feeling refreshed.

He had Seirei Kirite, and Temari's smile.

He had strength, and a precious person to protect.

Baki fought to maintain his composure as he felt hundreds of eyes on him.

Shortly after the start of their game, the Hokage had interrupted, and as any form of gambling immediately entranced Tsunade, everyone who was looking for the Hokage had come to their tent. Soon, the tent had been disassembled around their ears as more people wanted to watch, but the game had never paused.

Both players were cautious, the game was more than half over; with Gaara showing a one pair lead. More people gathered, and some were standing on chairs to see over the throng. Somewhere in the crowd, a chuunin had set up some huge speakers and was playing 'eye of the tiger.'

Baki made a daring move, "Gaara, Do you have any fives?"

The crowed collectively held their breath, until Gaara slowly pulled a card from his hand and passed it over. Everyone burst into cheers and claps, waiting anxiously for Gaara to make his move.

Elsewhere in camp, Iruka was fretting. There were too many delays; his squad would have to start the hunt now, without returning to Konoha first. This was very unusual, but time was of the essence.

Iruka had taken the initiative and ordered a group meeting without consulting Tsunade; he had ordered his team to get ready to leave in four hours. Now came the problem. Iruka would have to explain to the Hokage exactly why it was he was breaking regulation and going behind her back.

But he would make her understand; he had to. This was their only chance.

As Iruka planned his departure, Naruto was just arriving back to the hotel. The first thing Temari noticed from her prone position was that he seemed more…invigorated than he had when he'd left. His eyes had just a bit more fire behind them.

He grinned, "I hope you're enjoying your break. Tomorrow, we leave the city and train."

Temari looked skeptical; "Train? Shouldn't we be putting more distance between our pursuers and us?"

Naruto shook his head, "Running is mostly pointless, they will find us eventually, and so we'll travel only a few hours a day and devote ourselves to training."

With that, Naruto walked over to his bed and flopped on it. The two lay there, unmoving, basking in the fact that, at least for now, they could relax.

Far away, Baki stood among a cheering crowed, holding Gaara's special edition tape above him proudly.

-8 days later-

Hyuuga Neji ran through the forest. They had been traveling constantly since the departure from the Konoha camp, and it was suspected that they would soon find their prey.

He knew the others were somewhere nearby, but it was his job to initiate contact. After that, he was just supposed to fight as hard and as long as possible. He only accepted his task because he trusted in his team to uphold their part in the plan. Neji understood the role he was to play, but that didn't mean he liked it.

Temari stood behind Naruto in the forest, her hands guiding his through unfamiliar motions. She was finding it interesting how something that felt so natural to her could be so alien to someone else.

She was also finding it mildly awing how fast Naruto was able to learn Jutsus.

He was slightly clumsy, but held the huge fan confidently; it had taken her 3 months to learn the basic Kamaitachi, it took him only 7 days. Temari was feeling weak.

On the other hand, she was infinitely stronger than when she had been kidnapped. Her progress with Kaze Nenshou no Justu had been swift, and she was now able to make the slicing winds hot, if not scorching. She had also, at Naruto's request, continued to practice Mizu Gyoushuku no jutsu, and had become adept at that as well.

Naruto hesitated in his motion and Temari snapped back to reality. His hands had slipped so she re-placed his hands in the correct places and took a step back, "Try it again."

He nodded and again started the motions. Temari had explained that it simply wasn't possible to try to use a fan in combat without knowing at least a little of the Taijutsu that went along with the huge weapons.

The sand-nin looked over at Kyuubi's practice, and was, as always, impressed. Seirei Kirite was stuck in the ground, surrounded by trees. The demon was trying to manifest and destroy the trees farther and farther away, using the least amount of chakra possible. Kyuubi had been practicing with Naruto or by himself almost constantly, because if there was one thing the demon hated, it was weakness.

As amazing as it was watching huge glowing red appendages tear apart a forest, the boy and demon together were even more astounding. The two had been practicing synchronizing their thoughts and perceptions, and now both could see into a bit of each other's minds.

All these thoughts passed through Temari's mind as she came to her archnemesis, the water balloon. This had been her assigned practice for the afternoon. She had been nervous when Naruto had grinned so much while explaining what she would be trying to do, and now she understood why. The thing just wouldn't break.

She could spin the water with her chakra, but never managed to get anything close to the pulsating and exploding that Naruto had achieved with so little apparent effort. It was pissing her off, to say the least.

Naruto let out a yell as he finally got the motions right, not slipping or hesitating once.

He looked at Temari to find her glaring heatedly at the small water-filled object in her hand. He knew she didn't have the chakra capacity yet for a full-fledged Rasengan, but intended for her to at least start practicing. He had been serious when he had said he was going to teach her everything he knew.

Naruto glanced at the sky, "Ne, Temari, supper sounds good right now, you done practicing?"

Temari threw the balloon violently against a tree as Naruto retrieved his sword. He took that as a yes. He passed her fan back to her and they walked the short distance back to camp.

"So what is it today?" The boy asked, "Dehydrated rice or dehydrated rice?"

"Hard choice," Temari muttered

Naruto just grabbed a pot and started the 5-minute walk to the river, humming to himself.

When he arrived, his hand flew immediately to the blade on his back. Someone was watching him.

Naruto turned to the left, and found a pair of white eyes looking upon him with hatred. He slowly removed his hand from Seirei Kirite's handle, "Yo, Neji. I was wondering when someone would show up."

The Hyuuga's glare became even darker, "I was told not to confront you if we met, but I don't need a team to beat scum like you…...Byakugan!"

The veins burst out around Neji's eyes as Naruto responded with a smile, "That's a little arrogant, isn't it? But I'll tell you what, since your going to be so brave, I won't even remove the sword from my back, that should make it at least amusing."

Neji practically boiled with rage as he charged. Naruto noticed that Neji had become much faster, and it took some effort for Naruto to dodge the Hyuuga's first few punches. Soon, the two were exchanging blows at a steady pace.

Naruto was starting to get mildly concerned, as Neji wasn't using his gentle fist, just ordinary punches. Leaping back, Naruto opted for his usual, and created a small army of shadow clones and ordered them to attack.

The fight that followed really wasn't anything new. Neji fought methodically, slowly reducing the number of clones until a Kaiten removed the last five.

He had to admit, Neji had gotten much better, but Naruto really didn't have time to play with the Hyuuga. The two closed again and now Naruto could feel the telltale chakra surrounding Neji's hands. They were playing for keeps this time.

Neji glared yet again, only slightly out of breath, and fell into a stance Naruto remembered all too well, "Do you have any last words?"

Knowing Neji had the honor to wait while he decided what to say, Naruto had an idea sent an image to the fox, "Can we pull this off," Naruto mentally asked.

"Yep" The fox replied, and Naruto could feel the demon's grin

"Without killing Neji?"

"I suppose…" the fox's grin grew wider.

Back in the real world, Naruto felt his perception extend as he and Kyuubi synched their thoughts.

He looked up at Neji, "I have words to say, and I want you to never forget them."

The Hyuuga nodded slightly, but his eyes widened as Naruto fell into a stance that mirrored his own.

The fox boy smirked, "It's over, you are within the field of my Hakke"

Neji's only response was to attack, "Gentle fist style, Hands of Hakke!"

"Two Hands!" Neji called
"Four Hands!" Naruto called simultaneously

If Neji was shocked when Naruto called out at the same time he did, he was even more shocked when Naruto successfully blocked two strikes and landed two of his own. Neji knew it was impossible for any non-Hyuuga to use the hands of hakke, and yet Naruto was doing it, and starting with 4! Despite all this, Neji refused to be intimidated; Naruto wouldn't be able to keep up with his speed forever.

"Four!
"Eight!"

Neji growled as his 4 strikes were blocked, and he felt 4 strikes land on his body.

"Eight!
"Sixteen!"

Again, Neji was thwarted.

"Sixteen!
"Thirty-two!"

Neji was slightly worried, this shouldn't be possible!

"Thirty-two!
"Sixty-four!"

His body was in agony as Naruto blocked all thirty two of his strikes and landed thirty two of his own.

"Sixty-four!
"One-hundred-twenty-eight!"

He had won. Naruto's strikes had always missed slightly, Neji had some burned Tenketsu, but none were completely closed. Naruto was doing the impossible, imitating a Hyuuga skill of the highest level, but there was no way to block his next attack. 128 was as many strikes as the greatest of Hyuuga could manage.

"One-hundred-twenty-ei…" Neji stopped.

Halfway through his final strike, two wickedly clawed red arms manifested from the sword on Naruto's back.

"Hakke: Demon Claw! 256 Hands!"

Neji tried to block, but it was impossible. All 4 arms were striking with godlike speed, and where Naruto missed the Tenketsu, the demonic arms had perfect aim.

The final blow was landed on Neji's chest, sending him flying back. He smashed into a tree and fell to the ground, unmoving.

Naruto snorted as the Kyuubi disipated his arms, the Hyuuga really were stupid. The greatest attack they had required that their enemies be slower than them, in one place, and limited to two arms. Beyond that; when all was said and done, the hands of hakke were rarely lethal.

Then again, he thought, on the positive side, he had gotten his first field test of his and Kyuubi's mind synch. He had been impressed when, in practice sessions, Kyuubi's perception had shown the ability to give a blurry image of the chakra systems of nearby people.

Naruto sighed, picked up his pot, and headed back to camp. Unfortunately, they didn't have time for supper anymore.

As soon as he set foot in camp, he had an idea of what had happened. Temari was nowhere to be seen. Her fan was lying near the fire. She would never have left without it.

Sitting on the ground was his magnetic chess set, only three pieces on the board. A Black King and Black Queen were being pincered by a white knight. It was a position where the knight could take either the King or Queen on his next turn.

The only way for the black king to survive is to sacrifice the black queen to his opponent.

The whole thing with Neji had been a setup. The bastards had taken Temari.

Naruto growled and gripped Seirei Kirite's handle. They had gone too far this time.

He was done with holding back.

Author's Notes: Expect slight delays the next little while, I have a convention this weekend and family visiting, so I'm a bit short on time.

To answer someone's question, yes, Kyuubi's manifesting is visible.

Naruto 'faking' the hands of hakke was another thing I didn't plan, but liked anyway.