A/N: blah. I have now the fourth chapter for your enjoyment. I gotta warn you, there's OCC-ness...but it's good. There is happiness, even through tears. Naruto's having his party this chapter, and everyone's going to meet Risa-chan! It should be interesting, ne? Well, I don't really have any real warnings for you this chapter. Like I said before, I don't do lemons (my brain's fried enough as it is).

Legal stuffiness: I don't own Naruto... pouts...but Risa-chan is mine! (not that way, guys...get your minds out of the gutter.

Ok. Now on with the show!

Last time…

Slowly, he made his way back up to the inn he was staying at. The people on the street gave him wide berth. He felt like a leper. Itachi sighed inwardly. He had had enough of being kept at arms length. It was how his whole life had been.

Chapter 4: Parties and Presents.

Naruto sat on his couch, looking at the tons of food that lay strewn over the tables, counter-top, and floor. How many people were they expecting? He went over names in his head.

Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, Hinata, Neji, Ten ten, Fuzzy Eyebrows, Gai, Kurenai, Kakashi ugh—don't think about that! Also Tsunade and Shizune, Genma, Konohamaru, Closet Pervert, Moegi, Udon, and Asuma. Kotetsu and Izumo never turned down a free meal, and neither did Anko, who would kick the crap out of him if he hadn't invited her anyway. His apartment was going to be very full.

He heard a knock at the door, and grunted as he stood. When he got over to the door, he opened it to find a harassed-looking Risa-chan. She waved a tired hello, and he let her in. "Are you ok?" Naruto asked as she collapsed on the couch. She nodded. "Um, do you need a nap?" She seemed to consider for a moment, and then nodded. "Well, you go and take a nap. We're going to be having company later. That should make you feel better. There's lots of junk food, and hopefully, we'll all have fun."

She nodded, struggling to get out of her coat. Wow. She's really tired. He helped her up, and led her to the bedroom. When he had removed her shoes and her coat, he put them aside, and was about to put her to bed when there was another knock at the door. Naruto hurriedly pushed her under the covers and ran to the door.

Ino was standing there with a big covered tray in her hands. He took it from her and said, "Come in. There's a lot of work to do, but we gotta be quiet. Risa-chan is sleeping." The blonde woman's eyebrow rose. "She works at the pastry shop down the street. Apparently, today was very busy." Frowning, Ino walked into the kitchen.

"Ok, Naruto. Put that tray over next to your table. It has legs. I'll get started putting things in bowls and cutting the vegetables." Ino looked over at Naruto, who was unfolding the legs of the tray. "Sorry I'm here so early. I just figured since you've never really had a party, you might like a little help."

Naruto stood from adjusting the position of the tray, then removed the cover. "No. That's alright. I really need the help. Like you said, I've never done this before." He went into the kitchen and started taking out every bowl he owned. "Did you bring any pictures? I thought it might be nice if we all had at least one picture of Sakura with us." She reached into her pocket, pulling out a small photo album. "Perfect. You can put it on the table next to mine." His picture book as significantly larger, but he had been on the same team with Sakura, and had an enormous crush on her, too.

Half an hour later, everything was ready. Every usable surface in the apartment was covered with food. Ten minutes after that, the first guest arrived. It was Iruka. "Hi, Naruto, Ino. How are you guys?"

"Fine. What about you, Iruka-sensei?"

"Naruto, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me sensei anymore? I'm still only a chuunin. You've been a jounin for two years now."

The younger man smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I can't help it." Iruka smiled kindly at him. "Sit down, Iruka. Ino, I'm gonna go see if she's up to coming out yet."

Naruto went to the back of the apartment, and knocked on the bedroom door. He entered, and closed the door behind him. She was still sleeping. "Risa-chan? Will you get up? My friends Ino and Iruka are here, and they'd like to meet you." Risa opened her eyes, sitting up. She looked at him, and blinked.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Not quite an hour. Ready for company?" She nodded. "Ok. Put on your shoes, and come out when you're ready."

Iruka had already heard the story from Ino about this woman, and couldn't deny that he was curious to see if she really was like his former pupil. He sat on Naruto's couch, munching absently on a carrot-stick, listening to Ino talking. Apparently, she had met Itachi. "You know, Ino, I don't think I need to tell you that it's not safe to talk to him."

She stuck out her tongue at him. "I know that, Iruka. As if you have to tell me." Then she seemed to be remembering something. "But, he didn't seem to me to be a horrible person. He just seemed sad. Like all of the things he had done were weighing him down. It was like…hell, I don't know what it was like. Anyway, I wasn't scared of him."

The instructor shook his head. He knew that Ino was one of his strongest students, but that she should not fear Itachi was rather extraordinary. Even Naruto was a little scared of him. But then again, Ino had never really been one to know when to back down from anyone, and that may have something to do with it. "Iruka, did you bring any pictures of Sakura?" He smiled and pulled out a few loose photos. "Ok. Now just put them on the table. Thanks for coming. There is only one rule for this party. No one is supposed to be sad. Sakura wouldn't like it."

He nodded. They were interrupted by Naruto as he came out of his bedroom. "Iruka, Ino, I'd like you to meet Morimoto Risa." Then, from the hallway, came a tall woman who other than her height, and the color of her hair, really did look just like Sakura. Both Ino and Iruka had to try very hard to keep their mouths from hanging open. The woman waved hello to them.

Ino rose quickly. "It's nice to meet you, Risa-san. I'm Yamanaka Ino. I work at Yamanaka Flowers." Her face was totally incredulous. "I'm sure Naruto has told you this, and you'll most likely get pretty tired of hearing it, but you look just like my friend Sakura." Risa smiled.

Iruka was not far behind, and as Ino stepped aside, he bowed formally. "Hajimemashite. My name is Umino Iruka." Risa giggled, and he looked up at her, confused.

"Naruto, is he always like this?" Her voice was playful.

The younger man smiled, eying Iruka. "Nah. Only when he first meets you. Doesn't know quite how to act around you yet." Iruka shot him a hurt look, and walked back to the couch, looking decidedly sulky. Naruto laughed at him. There was another knock at the door. Ino went to get it.

This time, it was Konohamaru, with Moegi and Udon en tow, and they all rushed in. Moegi flung her arms around Naruto's neck, and gave him a huge wet kiss on the cheek. Ino snorted, and Konohamaru rolled his eyes. Udon seemed like he was going to fall asleep standing up, as usual. Naruto tried desperately to extricate himself from the overzealous shinobi. "Oi! Konohamaru! Can you get this leech offa me? She's squeezing me to death."

At that, both Konohamaru and Udon took hold of Moegi and yanked, and she came off of Naruto with a pout. Naruto shivered in disgust. Had she not been friends with Konohamaru, he wouldn't have invited her. Konohamaru was ignoring both he and Moegi now. His eyes had latched onto Risa. His finger shook as he pointed at her, looking back at Naruto. "I-is she a ghost?" His face held a look of horror. This produced a chuckle from Risa. She walked over to Konohamaru, and ruffled his hair.

"No, I am not a ghost. My name is Morimoto Risa. And you three?"

Konohamaru suddenly made his "nice-guy" pose, and Udon slouched over to his side, Moegi falling into place beside him. The overall effect was like the cover of a dorky comic book. "I am Konohamaru, grandson of the third Hokage. These are my teammates, Moegi and Udon. Pleased to meet you!" Risa laughed again.

"Full of youthful enthusiasm, isn't he?" She asked, turning to Naruto. He nodded, rolling his eyes.

In about an hour, the entire apartment was full of people who had been invited to the party, as well as a few crashers. Kiba had brought Akamaru as had been expected, but he also brought his sister, whose name Naruto could never remember. There were people everywhere. The only room that was not full of people was the bathroom. Kotetsu had been hitting on Risa for the past half hour, and Naruto watched as she put him off time and time again. Kakashi sat in a chair in the living room, Kurenai sitting in his lap. They seemed a little too happy. Naruto supposed that his former sensei was due a little happiness after all of the horrible things he had happened to him, so he just shook his head.

Hinata and Neji sat on the couch quietly conversing with those around them, but he could tell that Neji was a little nervous. His hand kept fiddling with a fold of Hinata's kimono that had bunched up next to him. Naruto walked over to them. "Hi, Neji. Hinata-chan. How are you today?"

"Good, Naruto-kun," both of them said at the same time.

Hinata looked up at Naruto and said quietly, "She really looks like Sakura-chan, doesn't she, Naruto-kun?" He nodded. "She's a little different, though, too. She's not as shy as Sakura was." Hinata's eyes became sad.

"Oi, Hinata-chan! You're forgetting Ino's rule. No one is allowed to be sad. We're here to celebrate Sakura-chan, not mourn." He smiled kindly at her, and then looked at Neji. "You two should have more fun. Always so serious!" He turned away, leaving a very confused Neji and a blushing Hinata. Naruto was always worried about them. He thought that Neji's face would freeze in that scowl, and that Hinata would scare herself to death. At least, that's how things usually seemed.

There were several speeches, toasts to Sakura, and more pictures shown and stories told than anyone could count. It was a good time. At around midnight, Naruto stood on a chair and yelled over the crowd, "Ok, now I have to actually go to work tomorrow, so you all need to go home!" Everyone laughed, and it took nearly ten minutes to get everyone out. Chouji was the last to leave, even after Ino. Needless to say, there was no food left. He sighed and collapsed to the floor. "Ack! What a mess!"

Risa was leaning on the wall. She eyed him, chuckling. "What's so funny?" He asked, frowning.

"Nothing. You're just funny like that."

He got up and started to pick up all of the dishes and pile them in the sink. Risa helped him, cleaning the debris from the floor with a broom and a dustpan.

Ino walked home, holding her picture album. She thought that it had been a good party. Sakura would have enjoyed it. She sighed. Too many regrets. Her apartment was only two blocks from Naruto's, and she arrived at her door in less than five minutes, in spite of her slow pace. Shikamaru had offered to walk her home, but she declined. She wasn't sure why, but she preferred to be alone at this point. Another reason for her not letting him walk her home was that every time the Sand nins came to visit, Temari would shoot her a very hostile glare if she came within ten feet of Shikamaru. Ino might not be afraid of Itachi, but Temari really was scary.

When she reached her door and unlocked it, she noticed a note stuck between the door and the jamb. Plucking the thing out, she opened the door and went inside. Reaching out with her left hand, she found the light switch out of instinct. When the lights came on, she found her apartment much as she had left it. There was one exception. A bowl sat on her living room table, full of water, with a water lily floating on the surface. She blinked. What? Who? Then she remembered the note. Opening it, she read.

Dear Ino-san,

I'm sorry to have invaded your privacy. You were not home, and I didn't want the lily to wilt. If you are not busy tomorrow evening, would you please meet me at the bridge when the sun sets?

Arigato,

Uchiha Itachi

Her mouth hung open as she swung the door shut absently. He brought me a present? Why? She walked over to the table, looking at the lily. The bowl was a simple black lacquered wooden piece, well formed, and the lily was perfect. It was the sort of simple arrangement that she did herself at times. He had good taste. She smiled to herself, though she was unsure of what he might want.

There was something she saw when she looked at him, something buried. He was a man who had killed his entire family, but she thought that he might not be quite the same person anymore. Ino didn't know how to describe it, but she couldn't bring herself to be afraid of him. Not even the Akatsuki coat scared her.

For a long time, she sat next to the low table, staring at the gift Itachi had left her, wondering about his purpose. She folded her arms on the table, and rested her chin on them. Could there be a hidden message in the gift? It was unlikely that Itachi knew the language of flowers, so the choice of flower wouldn't be anything special. Perhaps it was the color. As her thoughts became hazy, her vision blurred, sleep taking her.

Tsunade watched for a short time as Itachi used his specialized Sharingan to torture his brother. It seemed to be having much more effect now, and Tsunade was almost satisfied that he was broken. She had celebrated with everyone else the night before, but she still wanted to see Sasuke suffer. That was why she had contacted Itachi. He was an s-class felon, but she was willing to take a chance if it meant that Sasuke would suffer greatly before he died. The young Uchiha whimpered, a pitiful sound.

As she walked away, she smiled.

Naruto had been training his genin for a few hours now, trying the bell routine again. Ami had been lurking about fifty meters behind him for the past twenty minutes, while the others seemed to be holding their positions to his left and right. He was scribbling something on a small notepad, noting their progress, when they decided to make their move. Finally working together, huh? Idate came from his right, and Hayami from his left. Smiling, he put his pad and pencil away.

They came at him with all their strength, and he countered their attacks easily, until Ami used the Shiruken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu from behind him, and he was forced to dodge them all, and knock her to the ground. "Damn. I should not have taught you that." The other two were still coming at him, and Idate and Hayami both used their trademark jutsus at the same time.

Idate, a more than proficient genjutsu user, created the illusion of a ring of fire around Naruto, while Hayami somehow had learned how to use the same fireball technique that Sasuke had. He used it just as Naruto released Idate's genjutsu. The young jounin barely managed to get away with no more than the back of his vest being singed. After knocking both boys to the ground, he clapped. "That was great, you guys. Your teamwork has greatly improved."

Ami stood up, her hair still smoking from Hayami's katon. "Do you mind, baka?" She smacked Hayami. The boy snorted in laughter.

Naruto sighed as he broke the two of them apart. "That's enough. Now, I want you all to train together for three hours tomorrow. You have passed this test. I have another one planned for next week." He left them, and went to see what Ino and Iruka were up to at the Academy.

A/N: Yeah, I know. A crappy way to end a chapter. I just didn't want to put the next bit in, so sue me. Press the little purple button! Review. I'll love you always!