A calm night, serene and peaceful.

Then chaos as what appeared to be a demonic entity attacked a temple, easily blowing away the monks with its immense power.

Wind slashing everything, what appeared as a demonic claw growing and slashing through everything in sight.

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Sasuke bolted up, sweat covering his face, then winced and grabbed the Curse Mark on the back of his neck 'A dream… it was just a dream… what was that?' he looked to his side.

Kin was fast asleep aside him, cuddling up against a pillow, a little bit of drool escaping from her mouth.

Sasuke smiled slightly, then gently got out of bed, kissed her forehead, and went out on his balcony to think 'Hard to believe it's already been three months since the Mount Koryu mission, even harder to believe everything that happened. Right after the mission happened, Tatsu was promoted to jonin and with Tsunade's permission, he left the village with Hayate to train, something about wanting to master his new Dragon Blade and Genryu powers so that he wouldn't accidentally hurt anybody and wanted a little master-student bonding time with Hayate to catch up, said they'd be gone for a few months. After the mission, Kin quit being a field kunoichi and started working at the hospital instead. She only gets two days off a week, and lucky for me that's today. Granted we haven't done any of that since we moved in together, but you've really gotta love PG-13 relationships. Last week, Lee and I took the exams and we both became full-fledged jonin, the same with Neji, only he's almost always out on missions.' then he looked back to see Kin stirring and smiled slightly, then frowned 'I wonder, can I really keep doing this? Can I really go through with this knowing that at any moment Itachi just might rip them away from me again? Can I keep lying to myself, saying that it'll never happen again? Do I really have the power to stop him as I am now?'

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Lee was in the library, looking up some books on a certain matter 'Let's see… oh perfect, that'll work…' he took out a certain book 'I know I was able to use Shadow Clones to perfect my Hidden Lotus, but I wonder… is it possible to add elemental chakra to my taijutsu to make it even stronger? Like adding fire chakra to Asakujaku, or lightning or wind chakra to the Hidden Lotus? Maybe even add wind to the Hirudora, if I can use it without losing consciousness…'

"Looking up elemental chakra?" asked a voice.

Lee looked to see Dosu standing in front of him "Oh, Dosu… Well now that I can use my elemental chakra after the mission at Mount Koryu-"

"You thought incorporating it into your taijutsu would make it much more effective. An interesting theory really."

"Yes. What're you doing here?"

"Looking up Earth-style jutsu, and some material for a water-style jutsu I'm currently developing."

"I see. I honestly never pegged you as a reader."

"I had to come here, the only material back home is Zaku's seemingly endless collection of porn."

"Fair enough." Lee stood up "I was going to meet up with Sasuke and go visit Kakashi-sensei in the hospital. Wanna come?"

"Sure why not, maybe he can help."

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Sasuke sat on a staircase, lost in his thoughts, tugging at his Curse Mark 'Why did I have that dream? Is it somehow because of that Curse Mark Orochimaru gave me? I know I've been having a lot of nightmares because of it, but that one somehow seemed related to Kurama. What does it mean?'

"Hey Sasuke." a voice called.

Sasuke looked up to see Lee and Dosu approaching him "Hey guys, what're you doing here?"

"We thought you'd wanna go visit Kakashi-sensei in the hospital."

"He's back from his mission?"

"He got back sometime last night, he was in pretty bad shape though."

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Kakashi sat in a hospital bed reading his Make-Out Violence when he heard a knock on the door to his room "Come in."

Then Sasuke came in, with Dosu and Lee right behind him "You doing alright Kakashi?"

"A little rest and I'll be fine."

"Good."

"So I hear you guys went through quite the ordeal on Mount Koryu."

"Yeah." then Sasuke's mood turned serious "Listen Kakashi, on that last mission-"

"I know. Yamato told me everything he could, and Tatsu sent me a messenger dragon and told me the rest. About Itachi too. I've gotta say Sasuke, all things considered I'm actually really proud of you. You put your mission and the lives of your comrades over your grudge, that's something a true shinobi would do."

"That's not the only reason though. I could feel it, even at my current level Itachi is still way too strong for me."

"Well then I guess you're just going to have to get even stronger than that."

"But you've seen how strong my brother is first-hand, his growth was never natural and now isn't any different."

"Which is why the only thing we can do is accelerate our own growth."

"But how?"

"I've actually got something." Dosu cut in "It's a bit of a longshot, but if all goes well then I think it just might work."

"What is it?"

Dosu handed him a book.

"Atmospheric Conditioning?"

"More specifically cumulonimbus, or thunderclouds. I figured that if you can somehow control the lightning in those clouds like how ninja can manipulate water to make water-style jutsu more powerful, you might be able to enhance your lightning jutsu exponentially, and if you combine that with your Raijin power you would be more than powerful enough to kill Itachi."

"An interesting theory." Kakashi noted "I'm impressed, but it seems rather iffy to me. How would he even create a cumulonimbus cloud?"

"Well…"

"Hey Kakashi, how're you feeling?" then Asuma came in with Team 10.

"Asuma-sensei, you really should try knocking first you know." Ino scolded.

"What's up guys?" Choji waved.

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Tsunade received a report that made her realize that the Akatsuki would soon start to make their move.

While it was a dangerous development, it could also be their chance to smash them.

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Shikamaru leaned in to Sasuke "I heard what happened on Mount Koryu, sorry I couldn't be around to help."

Sasuke nodded "It's alright, I know you were busy with the Chunin Exams and all. Man Naruto's gonna be pissed when he finds out everyone's a chunin except him."

"Tell me about it, especially when he finds out you, Lee, Tatsu and Neji are jonin."

"Asuma, why'd you bring the whole gang in here of all places?" asked Kakashi "This isn't a rec room you know."

"You have a point." Asuma looked at the others "Why don't you guys head on over to the BBQ restaurant, and Sasuke, Lee and Dosu are more than welcome to join us if you'd like."

"You mind if I bring Kin?" asked Sasuke, having completely forgotten the conversation with Dosu and Kakashi about training.

"By all means-" Asuma stopped when he saw that the space that Sasuke had been occupying was suddenly empty "...Anyway, I need to talk to Kakashi alone about some business. In the meantime, the barbecue's on me alright?"

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The group was later at BBQ.

Sasuke was waiting to see Lee show up "Damn Lee, what took you long?"

"Sorry, had to check on something." Lee told him "Where's Dosu and Shikamaru?"

"They said they had to go take care of something."

"That's weird." Ino commented "I don't know about Dosu, but Shikamaru always showed up to celebrate successful missions before. This is a first."

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Asuma stared out of Kakashi's hospital window "Word is, things are really starting to heat up outside the village."

"I figured." Kakashi agreed "Especially after the Mount Koryu mission."

"As long as their objectives are the Tailed Beasts, we can be certain they'll come here sooner or later. They want Naruto, and I'm certain that once he returns to the village they'll make their move."

Then Dosu came in, with Shikamaru right behind him "You don't have to leave us out of this, we're just as concerned about the Akatsuki are you are. Will Naruto be alright though? What if the Akatsuki attack the village? Even you guys couldn't-"

"You're right." Kakashi admitted "Even after training with Master Jiraiya, there's no guarantee he'd be able to do it. Not yet at least."

"We still have Tatsu and his new power after all, as well as Sasuke and Lee. Though now that he's been marked by Orochimaru, Sasuke going out on missions possesses rather high risk when you think about it."

"Tatsu claimed that Dragon sealed the power of the Curse Mark, but even so, we oughta keep him away from any missions too difficult for awhile."

"He just made jonin though, so we can't just stick him on D-rank missions."

"Yes you're right, but for now he'll probably be busy studying up on that lightning idea I told you about."

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Outside the village, two unknown individuals were ransacking a grave, only to find that it wasn't the one they were looking for.

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A few days went by, and things were settling down again.

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Sasuke stumbled out of bed, exhausted from pulling an all-nighter 'God, at this point I'm never gonna get anywhere.' then he saw something that woke him up almost instantly.

"Morning hun, I was wondering when you'd get up." Kin smiled from the kitchen, clad in an apron with her hair in a ponytail.

Sasuke found it incredibly hard not to take her into his arms right then and there 'If this is the last thing I see, I will die halfway in peace.' the other half being the death of Itachi of course.

Kin giggled when she saw the look on his face "Go sit down, it's almost ready."

"Alright." Sasuke sat down at the kitchen counter.

"So how's your research going?"

"In all honesty, hard as hell. Trying to tame lightning itself has a pretty fair chance of frying me inside out." received a hum in reply "Apparently I can make cumulonimbus clouds by sending enough heat into the atmosphere."

"So just use a fire jutsu?"

"That along probably wouldn't be enough, I figure that if I can get Itachi to use the Mangekyo Sharingan and generate enough flames with Amaterasu, maybe that'll heat it up even further and create electrical charges in the atmosphere."

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After some more research, Sasuke was training with some of his Thunder Clones "Alright, come at me!"

"Right! Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" all 5 clones simultaneously fired fire dragons forward.

Sasuke activated his Sanda Sharingan, electricity quickly coursing through the blade of his Raijin katana "Lightning Style: Thunder Blade Barrage!" he quickly thrusted the sword forward, lightning meeting fire, resulting in an explosion that sent him back.

The clones dissipated.

Sasuke staggered to his feet "I've gotta… keep going… I've gotta… get stronger…"

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Ino handed Asuma some flowers from her family's shop "Here you go."

Asuma breathed a sigh "Perfect, thanks."

"Who're they for?"

Asuma blushed "Well… no one… in particular… Well see ya later!" he started rushing out.

"Say hi to Kurenai-sensei for me!"

Asuma froze at the doorway 'How… How did she know?' then he thought of something and looked back "Actually, could I get a second one?"

"Asuma-sensei, isn't two kind of stretching it?"

"This one isn't for her."

"Then who?"

"Someone who taught me a lot, I just didn't realize it yet."

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Limping forward despite his wounds, Sasuke slowly slashed through the last of his Thunder Clones, the force sending him tumbling back into a tree 'Dammit…' slowly, he stumbled back onto his feet "Okay, now to…" then his eyes rolled back and he fell forward.

Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and caught Sasuke on his back "Should've expected this, he's so driven he's pushed himself to the point where he's so exhausted he can't even move."

"Sasuke!" Kin rushed out from the trees, with Dosu and Zaku behind her "Is he alright?"

"A little bit of rest and he should be fine." Kakashi gently set Sasuke on the ground "Though maybe you should…"

"Right." Kin got to work healing Sasuke's injuries.

"I got some word that Tatsu and Hayate are returning today, I know Sasuke will wanna be there to see him."

"I'll be quick with it."

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Asuma stared at the grave of his father, the Third Hokage, as he slowly pulled out a cigarette and began smoking it, recalling his time in the Guardian Shinobi 12 'Sometimes I wonder, was I ever really that young? You'd berated me and said I still didn't understand what it meant to protect the king. But now, I think I'm finally starting to understand what you meant. I'm sorry I used to duck out of the village the way I did, going off on my own. Not that I regret any of it. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all, being born into the Sarutobi Clan. You've fulfilled your duty as leader of the village, I see that now.' he placed the cigarette down on Sarutobi's grave "I see how good a father you were." then he looked back at another grave "And how good a sensei you were as well."

"Thinking about the king again?"

Asuma looked to see Hayate walk up next to him with a huge grin "When'd you get back?"

"About an hour ago, Tatsu went off with Sasuke and the others to BBQ to catch up."

"So how'd you like training the kid again?"

"Honestly, it felt great. Just like old times."

"Back when you trained him when he was a kid of back when we were both genin training under Kuroga-sensei?"

"Both. I lost my parents during the war, and Kuroga-sensei and Kumiko both took me in, cared for me like I was one of their own. I thought that looking after their sons was the least I could do. But in time, I came to see Kazuma like a younger brother, but Tatsu himself is actually like a son to me."

"He sees you like a father-figure, and I should know. He's mentioned it god only knows how many times."

"I know. He's grown far beyond my teachings now, he'd beat me easily in a one-on-one fight. You too probably."

"I don't know about that, but he'd definitely give me a hard time. He's really come a long way since those days he was in the academy."

"I know. So you look like you're heading out on a mission."

"Yeah, it's just a little training mission at the Fire Temple, gonna help train some of the monks and see how Chiriku is doing."

"Oh him, well give him my regards."

"Will do." then he walked away.

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"So yeah, that's about it." Hayate placed a shogi tile on the board.

Tatsu raised an eyebrow "Really? The Climbing Silver move right off the bat like that? What's the rush? Come on, let's take our time sensei."

"To penetrate the enemy's line, sometimes you have to be willing to risk a bold move."

"But I thought you and Asuma both hated risky moves like that."

"To defend your King from a superior opponent, one must make some sacrifices."

"What's with you? You've been like this ever since we got back."

"It's nothing, just thinking. I'm just glad that Asuma finally came to understand the true importance of the King."

"Well sure, if you lose your king then you lose the game, end of story."

"Let me ask you something Tatsu, if I picking Leaf shinobi to represent the pieces on this Shogi board, I'd say you were most like the knight."

"Why's that?"

"It's not the most powerful piece on the board but it keeps getting stronger to protect its king, and it has the unique ability to keep leaping over others. It reminds me of how flexible your mind is, the same for your will."

"Fair enough. So which one would you be?"

"I'm nothing, I'm just…" he placed a piece.

"A sacrificial pawn?" Tatsu made his move "Come on sensei, you'd have to be more like a rook or bishop."

"If you say so, but do you know which one the King is?"

"Well that'd have to be the Hokage right?"

"I thought that too a while ago, the same with Asuma, but that's not it."

"Then who? The elders? No way in hell it's Danzo."

"Oh by no means." Hayate waved his hand, then gave a kind smile "You'll know when the time is right."

"If you say so." Tatsu made another move "Looks like Naruto's gonna be back in a few months now."

"Yeah, and then the Akatsuki will probably make their move."

"No doubt about it, they're apparently targeting jinchuuriki. Who knows if any of us will make it out of this alive."

"Well that's one of the reasons to live life as full as you possibly can, don't leave behind any regrets."

"You're one to talk sensei, isn't there something you should be doing at some point?"

Hayate caught his meaning and blushed "Well…"

"Come on man, it's been 10 years! I know you guys kept putting it off because of your sickness, but that's been over and done with for 2 years. Now you're just dodging the subject. Come on sensei, if you love her then just go ahead. You sleep with her almost every night, you might as well already."

"...I'm really beginning to regret telling you about that." Hayate breathed a long sigh "You know you're right, maybe it's time I do take the next step. After all, with the Akatsuki on the rise who knows what's around the corner. Like I said, live life to the fullest you possibly can so that you don't have any regrets when your time's at an end." he clutched something inside the pocket of his jonin vest and smiled "You do whatever you want for today Tatsu, I've gotta make sure I have no regrets." and he walked off.

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Tatsu later found Sasuke moping on the Fourth Hokage's head "Well you seem as cheerful as ever."

"Yeah whatever." Sasuke grumbled.

"What's up with you?"

"It's about Kin."

"You didn't get her pregnant did you?"

"We haven't even had sex yet."

"Then what'd you do?"

Sasuke shot him a serious look "I fell in love with her."

"Uh-huh. And the problem is?"

"Can I really let myself fall in love? After Itachi slaughtered my clan, I felt a lot of things. Anger, sadness, frustration… loneliness. Can I really commit myself to her, knowing fully well that it could happen again at any time?"

Tatsu let out a heavy sigh "Honestly, I was like that too. After my brother died, I was a little paranoid because he was basically my whole world. It took me awhile, but then I remembered something."

"What's that?"

"I still had people who cared about me, Hayate-sensei in particular." he put a firm hand on Sasuke's shoulder "Look man, you've got a choice here. You can be paranoid about Itachi for the rest of your life, or you can forge new bonds that you can protect. Your choice. Well I'd better go, if you need me then I'll be watching while Hayate-sensei proposes to Yugao." and he leapt off the Hokage monument "Summoning Jutsu!" he summoned Ryu and landed on his back once he cleared the Fourth's chin, flying into the distance.

'Well he knows how to make an exit.' Sasuke stood and stared out at the distance 'He's right, a decision has to be made and it's mine to make.'

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Kin sat atop the apartment she and Sasuke shared, lost in her own thoughts 'Should I tell him how I feel?'

"What's with you?"

Kin looked to see Zaku climb up on the roof and sit beside her "Zaku…"

"You've got that little kicked puppy look that you always had when you were alone back in Sound."

"Don't remind me, I never wanna relive those memories. And yet, they continue haunting me…"

"What's wrong? Come on, tell protective big brother, my cute little sister." he wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder.

Kin pouted slightly and looked away "I told you and Dosu not to call me that."

"And that's why we do, so what's the problem?"

Kin shot him a sad look "I'm in love with Sasuke."

"...That doesn't answer my question."

"I mean, can I really love someone after all I've been through? You know what my life's been like, can I really find it in myself to risk something like falling in love?"

"Kin…" Zaku held her closer "Come on, you know just as well as any of us that that part of our lives is over. We've got Sasuke to thank for that. If you really do love Sasuke then you should be with him, but if he hurts you then I'll find him and stab him in the balls."

Kin giggle softly "Thanks Zaku, I needed that." she pecked him on the cheek and walked off, knowing what had to be done.

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Sasuke found himself down by the lake, staring at his reflection in the water 'I only wonder, will she feel the same way?'

"Hey."

Sasuke looked to see Kin standing beside him "Hey…"

"It's really beautiful…"

"Yeah…"

"You wanna go for a swim?"

"Sure why not." he took off his shorts and shirt, revealing his swim trunks and his chiseled muscular abs.

Kin took off her clothes, leaving her in nothing but a gray bikini, showing off her body.

Sasuke took a good long look at her and only one word came to mind 'Damn!' as he gazed awestruck at Kin's perfect body, marvelling at her beauty.

Everything about Kin was gorgeous, her creamy skin, smooth toned stomach with a slender waist and fully formed hips, toned thighs with legs any girl would kill for, and to top it off, large, round and perky D-cup breasts. She blushed when she saw Sasuke staring at her "So you wanna go in?"

"Yeah, sure…" he led her from the shore to a fairly deep part not too far away.

Then Kin stopped him "Sasuke, there's something I wanna tell you."

"What is it?"

Kin took a deep breath, no going back now "My life when I was little was, in short, hell. My parents were both killed by bandits when I was little, and I was left alone wandering the streets. I had to steal just to survive, and I was beaten for it time and time again, until Orochimaru found me. He said that he saw potential in me and offered to help me reach it in exchange for serving him until I died. Since it was either that or starve or get beaten, I accepted. Honestly, I probably would've been better staying on the streets. Sound was hell, almost as bad. We were basically pawns and lab rats for his experiments. Then again, if not for that then I never would've met Dosu and Zaku, and they became like protective big brothers to me. They always teased me for that though, but I didn't mind. It was like that for about 3 years, until the Chunin Exams came and he sent us to the Leaf. I already sensed the difference from the Sound. The Sound was dark, depressing, and filled with misery. The Leaf was bright, peaceful and full of kind and caring people. What mostly caught my attention was you, especially in the Forest of Death. You could've just killed us and taken our scroll, but you chose to let us live."

"Weren't you unconscious?"

"I was just faking, mainly hoping that I'd somehow survive." she gave a sad smile "I've never really been a warrior, that bell genjutsu I used against Shikamaru in the Chunin exams was as good as I was in battle, which is probably the main reason I lost. Zaku did too, but at least he put up a fight. Then Kabuto came and captured us, I'm sure he and Orochimaru were planning to sacrifice us for the jutsu he used to reanimate the First and Second Hokage, but you and your sensei came in and saved us and you sent me and Zaku to the home of Tatsu's dragon summons to keep us safe. After that, you saved us from Ibiki and even offered us a place in your home. In the beginning, I just felt gratitude, but now I feel something more. More than what we've been doing for the past two years."

Sasuke felt his heart racing "What are you saying?"

Kin wrapped her arms around his neck "What I'm saying is… I love you, Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke froze 'She… loves me?' slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist "Kin… to be honest, my feelings for you have been developing for awhile now too. The only thing is, well you know about my clan. And about Itachi."

Kin nodded.

"Well to be completely truthful, I've developed what Kakashi refers to as (word he refuses to use)-blocking trust issues."

"By word you refuse to use-"

"Kakashi's word, not mine. Anyway, he basically said that it resulted in me having a fear of commitment, and that the fact that I've gotten this far with you has to be some sort of miracle at work. Again, his words not mine. But a little while ago, Tatsu helped me realize something: I still have people that care about me, and I'm glad that you're one of them. Now I can let myself tell you this." he tightened his hold on her waist "I love you too Kin Tsuchi." he leaned in and engaged her in a long and passionate kiss.

Kin gladly returned it, the same thought as him going through her mind 'Who would've thought that-'

'-after everything I've been through, I'd finally find love who'd understand my pain?'

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Lee was watching from behind a bush through a pair of binoculars "Bout time."

Tatsu appeared in the bush beside him "Hey, how'd it go?"

"See for yourself." Lee handed him another pair of binoculars.

"Shit, they're already at the halfway point?"

"Yep. Oh speaking of which, how'd it go with Hayate-sensei?"

"She stared, fainted, came to after about 20 minutes, jumped on him and now they're doing it inside the Second Hokage's nostril."

"...Nostril?"

"Apparently Yugao is as dangerous with a sword in battle as she is in-"

"Woah woah woah woah woah, TMI."

"Hey you asked." Tatsu looked back to Kin and Sasuke in the lake "Woah. Holy crap, I didn't know it could bend that way."

"Are they doing it?"

"No I'd sense their chakra levels shoot way up- Hold crap, I didn't know that could bend that way either."

A/N:

In case you didn't figure it out, the whole thing about atmospheric conditioning was basically foreshadowing Sasuke using Kirin against Itachi.

I was gonna make the Guardian Shinobi 12 into another filler arc, but in the end I decided that one was enough, so this would be a shorter chapter and the last one before Naruto returns.