(peeks out of a bomb shelter)

Hi everyone! I know I ahven't updated in a long while (4 months) but I've had a ton of crap going on with my life. My computer has crashed six times, I started college and had to adjust to that, and someone ripped my self-confidence to itty bitty teeny pieces at school because I scored higher than them on a test. That affected my writing, but I worked out the kinks and here the next chapter is. There should NOT be such a gap between this one and the next. LOOK AFTER THE REVIVEW RESPONSES FOR IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS! THANK YOU!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Kazara Yume, Kazara Natsumi, Shiroko and some of the techniques used in this chapter.


Hinata followed her father towards the Hyuuga training grounds, Hanabi walking beside her. She got more and more nervous with every step that she took, but she kept on walking anyway. Her hand traced over the bracelet around her right wrist. Even without his chakra, Yume-san had made sealing charms for the five of them. They concealed their outside gifts quite nicely, so they all could at least have a semi-normal life outside in the village.

Hiashi glanced at his older daughter over his shoulder. He hated doing this, he really did. As if the village council making him reinstate the Hyuuga Council of Elders wasn't bad enough, now they had demanded that his daughters fight one another, the loser possibly being branded as a member of the Branch family and the winner made the official Hyuuga heir. He couldn't just choose one of his children, he loved them both too dearly to place them in the Branch family. He could only hope that dobe came through with his part of the plan…

Hanabi looked at her older sister with mixed emotions. She felt bad for beating her, but she also hated the way her sister held back against her. It was supposed to be an all-out fight, not a one-sided thrashing. Hinata never even tried to fight back. Lately though, Hanabi had noticed, since she started hanging out with the other kids… She'd been getting more confident. It wasn't much, anyone else would still be a wuss, but for Hinata, any backbone was better than the way she had been.

The three Hyuuga nobles reached the door that lead to the arena. According to tradition, Hiashi knocked four times, waited as many seconds, and then opened the door. The council smiled smugly as Hiashi and his daughters bowed, while Sarutobi looked on nervously.

Hiroshi, the lead Hyuuga on the council, and previous clan head, smirked as the three of them rose. "Hiashi-sama, we have called you here today to put an end to the debate of who will be heir to the Main family. You will take your place at the table, and watch as the heir is chosen by battle." Hinata swallowed nervously as she walked to the middle of the training ground and stood opposite her sister.

Hiashi took his seat, but looked over at Hiroshi. "I have invited someone to come and watch the match. I trust they will not be turned away." Before the council could ask who was invited, the door to the grounds was slid open without so much as a knock. The council turned to glare at the intruder, but choked on the insults they had prepared.

Yume strode through the door wearing his Hokage robe open, displaying casual ninja gear underneath. He grinned a foxy smile at the stunned council. "Miss me, suckers?" he asked as he plopped down in a vacant seat near the council and put his feet up on the table.

Hiroshi was enraged. Someone had the gall to impersonate a dead Hokage, much less the Yondaime? Simply unforgiveable! That man had never given them the respect they deserved, just like the rest of his family! He stood and activated his Byakugan to teach him a lesson, only to find… that he couldn't see his tenketsus!

Yume just snickered as Hiroshi-baka tried to use his bloodline. "Won't work, bub. My bloodline protects me from that, remember? Oh, I know. 'Oh my god, he's dead! This can't be him, who the hell is it?' Well guess what, I'm still here. Now then… I came here to see a good fight, so let's get this started!" he cried, pumping a fist into the air. Hanabi looked at her sister, and noticed that Hinata wasn't even surprised… she was actually smiling at him! She knew this impostor somehow, and she had had a hand in this, somehow. Her eyes activated out of anger, and she slid into the Jyuuken stance. Hinata tore her attention away from her sensei, and slowly slid into the same stance.


Two minutes later, Hinata roughly fell to the ground and spit up some blood. Hanabi glared at her again. Hinata stared up at the sky, her vision slowly fading to black. 'Is this my limit…? Am I really this weak? I'm sorry, Naruto-kun… I tried, but I can't be strong like you…'

("BULLSHIT!") Same interrupted. ("Have you already forgotten what he told you last night!")

FLASHBACK

Hinata was sprawled across Naruto's lap with her face flaming red. They'd been training with their summoning contracts, and were all tired. Sakura had managed to summon a slug about six inches long named Katsuki, while Sasuke had managed a foot-long purple snake. Hinata had gotten a white tiger kitten that liked playing with her hair, Haku had gotten a bear cub that wanted food, and Naruto had finally managed to summon something other than a tadpole by the end of the day. She had tripped while walking over to him to talk, and now she was in his lap. Naruto just started stroking her fin with his hand, and Hinata almost melted, her embarrassment over her position forgotten.

Same made a noise of assent. ("Ooooohh… I told you this would feel good…") Hinata sighed again, then let out a happy mewling noise.

Naruto let out a deep sigh, and finally spilled what was on his mind. "Tousan told me what you have to do tomorrow, Hina-chan."

She stiffened under his hand, and tears welled up in her eyes. Sitting up, she brushed them away. "I-I can't do it, Naruto-kun… She's my little sister, I c-can't hurt h-her…"

Naruto snorted. "You shouldn't go out of your way to hurt her, but don't be afraid to fight back, Hina-chan! You have to fight back! I know you can do it! You said you wanted to be like me, didn't you? Well, the first step is NEVER. GIVE. UP. You have to keep fighting as long as there's breath in your body. I believe in you, Hina-chan, even if you don't believe in yourself."

Hinata blinked tears from her eyes and looked away from him. He got an idea, and spun her face around and quickly kissed her on the lips. Hinata's head exploded into fireworks, and she got a dumb, blissful smile on her face. He kissed her. Naruto kissed her, plain worthless Hyuuga Hinata, full on the lips. She looked up into his cerulean eyes as he smiled and blushed slightly.

"You win, and you can have another one of those, Hina-chan."

END FLASHBACK

Hinata's eyes snapped open as gray chakra surged around her body. Her bracelet that hid her demonic features was yanked off of her wrist, making her fin jut out through her shirt. She forced her aching body to her feet, and her injuries started fading, the bruises caused by Hanabi's strikes vanishing into nothing. She looked her sister in the eye, and Hanabi stepped backwards in shock. Instead of the normal blank eyes of a Hyuuga, Hinata's eyes were a cold grey color with a slit pupil in the middle.

Hiroshi and the rest of the council were rooted to their seats with terror as wave after wave of chakra rolled off of the heiress. "I promised someone that I would try my hardest…" she spoke clearly and confidently, "… and I have no intention of letting him down!" She bit her thumb and ran through five hand seals before slamming her hand on the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Hiashi smirked and shook his head whle Yume let out a whoop.

'Please work please work please… work…' Hinata opened her eyes once the smoke had cleared, expecting to see a kitten again, but… 'Did I do that?'

The tiger that she had summoned stood almost six feet tall at the shoulders, and was at least twelve feet long from head to tail. Her paws were bigger than Hinata's head, she realized as the tiger shook herself. Hanabi fell on her butt on the ground as she stared open-mouthed at what her sister had just done.

The tigress let out a rumbling growl. "Who has summoned me?"

Hinata swallowed nervously and stepped forward. "I-I-I did, t-t-tora-san." The tiger turned and looked at her.

"Oh, you're Shizuka's girl, huh? We were wondering when you'd get the scroll. Nice to meet you, I'm Shiroko."

Hinata bowed and smiled nervously at the large feline. "H-Hyuuga Hinata…"

Shiroko nodded at Yume before turning back to face Hanabi. The White Tigers were in the man's debt for saving them long ago, and tigers never forgot a favor or a slight. "So, you have to beat her, huh? No problem."

"Please Shiroko-san, don't hurt her, she's my little sister…"

Shiroko nodded. "Of course." In a white blur, the tiger had pinned Hanabi to the ground, her fangs an inch from the terrified girl's face. Hanabi screamed repeatedly to Hiashi to save her, then to Hinata. "Give." Shiroko growled into the young girl's face.

Hanabi shouted as loud as she could. "I GIVE! I GIVE UP, JUST DON'T EAT ME!" Shiroko got off of her, and walked over to Hinata, leaving Hanabi a trembling mess on the ground.

"Just call anytime you need help, Hinata-san." With that, she vanished in a poof of smoke. Hinata walked over to Hanabi and offered her hand.

"Ane-ue…" Hanabi stared at Hinata's hand, not understanding why Hinata was still so nice to her.

"Good fight, Hanabi." the older sibling said gently. Hanabi teared up and launched herself at her sister, latching around her waist.

"Ane-ue… I was so scared… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Hanabi degenerated into sobbing, constantly repeating that same phrase over and over. Hinata rubbed her back and comforted the crying girl.

Yume stood and stretched. "Weeeeell, I think this fight's over." Hiashi smiled at the sight of his daughters making up.

Hiroshi stood as well. "We will discuss this… unforeseen turn of events, and will let you know of our decision as soon as we make one." The council filed from the courtyard with astonished looks on their faces. Yume and Hiashi shared a high-five, and both of them laughed. The blonde man turned to the girl who was slipping her bracelet back on as she helped her little sister up off of the ground.

"Oh, Hinata? It's Naruto's birthday today, just so you know." Hinata gasped and dashed to her room. Snagging the medical kit off of her bedside table, she ran for all she was worth to her sunshine-kissed crush.

'Hang on, Naruto-kun… I'm coming, I'll be there soon.'


Naruto groaned as he rolled over in bed, sweat trickling his brow. His muscles ached like nobody's business. He hadn't trained that hard yesterday, had he?

("Kit, you awake? Good.")

Naruto let out a muffled curse as his brain caught up to his body. 'Ah crap… it's my birthday…What are you gonna do to me?' he asked resignedly.

Kyuubi laughed and shook his head, not that anyone could see it. ("Ah, quit your whining, whelp. You're just getting your musculature strengthened, and I decided to be generous and give you something even better than an increase in chakra.")

Despite the pain all over his body, Naruto's interest was caught. 'Better than more chakra? What is it?'

("Heh. Chakra is so weak, but it's all you ningen have. I'm giving you partial access to my youki reserves. And before you can ask, baka, youki is what we demons have instead of chakra. It's far better, but your inner coils have to be overhauled a little so they can handle it.") Naruto moaned into his pillow as he clutched it. Every nerve in his body was protesting, and his muscles felt like someone was using them for kunai practice.

"Naru-chan? You awake yet honey?"

Naruto managed to turn his head to look over at his mother standing in the doorway. "… Hurts…" was all he could say.

Natsumi hurried over to him and brushed some sweat-dampened hair out of his face. "I know it does, sweetie, but you can do it. Just hang in there, okay?" she said as she kissed his forehead. "Can I get you anything?"

Naruto shifted in his bed before replying. "… Hina-chan…" he mumbled. His mother only giggled and kissed his forehead again before walking out of the room. Naruto closed his eyes as the burning sensation increased. If this was how bad he felt, he actually felt sorry for making fun of Sasuke… almost. After a few more minutes of slow, tortuous pain, Naruto couldn't take it. 'Hina-chan… where are you…?'

-"Hang on, Naruto-kun… I'm coming, I'll be there soon…"- Naruto only groaned in response to the pain. After a few minutes, Hinata threw the door open and slid to a stop next to his bed. She took the lid off of her case and withdrew a pre-dampened cloth, which she used to wipe his brow clean of sweat.

"Hina… chan…" he muttered, his eyes fluttering in response to her touch.

"I'm here, Naruto-kun, just relax." The pain crescendoed after a few more minutes. The base of Naruto's spine steadily started hurting worse than the rest of his body, making him roll over and whimper into the pillow. Hinata started to roll him back over, but Yume's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"I'm sure he has a reason to do that, Hinata…" Yume trailed off as he pulled the sheets back from his son's body just in time for a tail to burst from the small of Naruto's back. The boy shouted something most impolite into his pillow as his ears shifted up and changed into a pair of fox ears on the top of his head. His body slackened suddenly, and he tiredly lifted his head and smiled at them.

"Hey…" Yume ruffled his hair affectionately, and rose.

"Come on out when you're clean and dressed, Naruto. I have to go check on Haku-"

"Naruto-san?" Haku's jaw was hanging loose as he looked at the other boy. Naruto did a double take of the former girly boy. Haku was, in a word, ripped. Defined muscles now adorned his whole body, not huge hulking ones, but lean, coiled muscles. His hair was also now a snow white color, The boy in front of them looked almost completely different than the skinny, feminine child that he was yesterday.

"Haku? What the hell happened to you?" Naruto forgot his aching body and ran over to his best friend. "You… You look like a guy!" Haku just laughed and hugged Naruto.

"I know! Isn't it great? It turns out Tsume had been giving my gift to me in small segments every birthday, so I wouldn't be crippled by the pain."

("… Now why didn't I think of that?") Kyuubi idly wondered, making Naruto sweatdrop. Haku scratched the top of his head where a pair of white fuzzy bear ears sat. The other boy flicked his tail back and forth, watching it with a sort of curious detachment.

"Heh. You actually don't look too stupid, dobe." Sasuke commented from the doorway. A vein in Naruto's forehead started twitching, but he spun around and ran back over to Hinata instead of commenting. The dragon host glanced at Haku, then looked more carefully before one eyebrow raised. Haku shrugged, but he just laughed.

"Hey Hina-chan, how'd your fight go?" Naruto asked as he hugged the shy girl. Her face turned a bright red, and her eyes glossed over slightly. Even though Naruto had claimed her as his girlfriend, she still wasn't used to being hugged by him, and sometimes she wondered if she ever would be.

"I-I won, Na-Naruto-kun." she quietly said as she poked her index fingers together.

"That's GREAT! See, I knew you could do it!" Naruto picked her up and spun her around in the air, making her squeak in surprise. As the children started talking amongst themselves, Natsumi leaned back in her husband's embrace as they watched.

"They're all growing up so fast…" she whispered. Yume leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"I know. These kids are the hope of Konoha. They'll grow to be some of the strongest ninja this village has ever seen. Now if only the villagers would see them as the lonely children they are, and not some form of monsters…" he trailed off, his voice thickening with anger. Natsumi reched up and ran her fingers through his hair.

"They'll prove themselves, koi. Just you wait." Natsumi laughed as Sasuke gave a sharp tug on Naruto's new tail, which resulted in the much faster and stronger Naruto, along with twenty clones, chasing Sasuke out of the room and towards the courtyard.

"GOD, NARUTO, IT WAS JUST A JOKE!"

"JOKE MY ASS! GET BACK HERE AND TAKE YOUR PUMMELING, YOU BASTARD!" the Narutos roared in unison.


Sakura walked out of the door of her house, only to be bowled over by a smaller girl. Sakura helped her to her feet, but stopped once she got a good look at her. The girl's white eyes were shining with fear, and she was out of breath.

"Are you Hinata-chan's little sister?" She nodded, and looked around nervously.

"D-Do you know ane-ue? Could you help me?" Before Sakura could ask what was wrong, five men from the Hyuuga household, judging by their clothes and eyes, landed in a circle around the girls.

"Hanabi-sama, come with us. You cannot run." Hanabi wrapped her arms around Sakura's waist, thoroughly confused and frightened. Sakura's hand was inching towards the bracelet around her wrist.

"What do you guys want?" Sakura asked, doing her best imitation of Sasuke's glare. Her pink hair and green eyes somewhat weakened it, however, making it seem like she was pouting. One of the men stepped forward.

"Hanabi-sama is to be branded into the Bunke, at the orders of the high council." Hanabi whimpered and hid her face against Sakura's hip. Sakura smiled brightly, making the men relax somewhat.

"Oh! In that case… How about no?" In one fluid motion, she tore the bracelet from her wrist, and with a snap her wings shot out of her back, fitting through the holes in her shirt. She grabbed Hanabi in her arms and rocketed up into the air, not stopping her ascent until the streets were far below them. Hanabi just stared at the older girl.

"You're… like ane-ue?" Sakura nodded, watching the angry figures below them.

"I think I know a safe place. Hold on, Hanabi." Hanabi wrapped her arms around Sakura's neck, and the winged girl flew through the air, her powerful wings guiding them towards the safest house in Konoha. After a few moments' flight, she landed outside the mansion and ran to the door, Hanabi still in her arms. Hanabi looked over Sakura's shoulder and gasped.

"They followed us!" she cried as Sakura glanced backwards as well. She hurriedly opened the door and slammed it closed again.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, distracted from chasing Sasuke. The black-haired boy walked over as well.

"Hanabi?" Hinata rushed over and the youngest girl launched herself at her older sister.

"Ane-ue! The council sent people to fetch me from my room and they brought me into a dark room and they were gonna brand me with the branch house seal and chichi-ue didn't know about it and I got away and found her and I'm so scared!" the hysterical girl buried her head in Hinata's shoulder. Yume offered his arms to her, and Hanabi reluctantly moved over to the man at Hinata's insistence. He looked at the kids.

"I'll let you give our guests a warm welcome. Shout if you get in over your head." He walked off to the guest rooms, and Natsumi followed, fretting like a mother hen over Hanabi. The children looked at one another, and nodded. Sasuke took off his bracelet, letting the ridge of scales show themselves under his shirt. The children all filed out the door, their demonic features apparent to the guards that they stared down.

"Child, you will return Hanabi-sama to us… Hinata-sama? What is the meaning of this?" Hinata's aura was something that it had never been before, making the other kids edge away from her slightly. Hinata was more than willing to hurt someone. Badly. Naruto cracked his knuckles.

"Now see here, dorkface, that's Hinata-chan's little sister you've scared silly." the blond said as he bared his new fangs at them. Sasuke stepped forward and popped his neck.

"We don't take kindly to someone messing with family." Sakura stood next to Sasuke, and glared at them.

"You guys have some nerve, scaring a little girl like that." she said, her wings rustling with her anger. Haku said nothing, merely standing behind Naruto at an angle, flexing his new muscles. Hinata, however…

"I will never forgive you. No one threatens my family and gets away with it." she growled. Naruto grinned.

"Well guys? One for each of us, huh?" The guards slid into the gentle fist stance, and glared at them.

"You demons cannot hope to win." Sasuke smirked. Then, as if some unseen signal passed through the area, all the combatants exploded into action.


Naruto charged his opponent headlong. The guard was more than confident as he activated his Byakugan…

"KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" At least, he was until there were fifty-one of the boy charging him, and he couldn't see any of their tenketsu. He started attacking anyway, but the clones swamped him and then let Naruto form three clones right by him. He placed his hands out, and the clones mirrored his action, making them look like they were all holding something. Identical looks of extreme concentration appeared on the four faces as sweat began to trickle down them. At first, nothing happened. Then, there was a small swirl of energy between all the hands, which soon grew until it was a vortex barely contained by the joined hands. The four of them charged the man as he eliminated the last clone.

"EAT THIS!" four voices shouted in unison. They thrust their hands forward, and there was an explosion which sent all participants flying, the clones poofing out on contact with the ground. The guard was embedded in a tree, unconscious, while Naruto picked himself up off of the ground, covered in small cuts and bruises.

'Heh… I did it...' He'd been training with his father and the old pervert almost nonstop over the last couple of days learning the basics of that technique. 'Rasengan, huh…? I think I like it.' He ran as fast as his abused body would let him towards Hinata's fight.


The last Uchiha stared at his opponent, a confident smirk playing at his lips. The Hyuuga elite guard glared at him.

"Don't be so confident, boy. You have no chance of victory." Sasuke shrugged, his hands still in his pockets.

"Maybe." He took a deep breath, and then a large stream of fire jetted out of his mouth as he exhaled. The guard, who hadn't seen him do any hand seals, barely jumped over the attack. He didn't jump over the flame-coated fist which caught him square in the face. As the guard rolled around on the ground to put out the fire, Sasuke made a few simple hand seals before putting fingers to his lips.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" the stream of fire produced was… more than Sasuke had been expecting. At least five feet wide, it missed the guard, but the ensuing explosion didn't. Knocked on his knees by the shockwave, he couldn't recover before Sasuke's knee found his nose. The man slumped over on the ground. Sasuke gave him a swift kick in the ribs for good measure, then looked at Sakura. Smiling, he sauntered over back to the house. The trick with the flaming hands was something he'd thought of at the spur of the moment. It worked fine, but his arm warmers were ruined. He'd have to investigate getting some fireproof bandages or something to wrap around his wrists.


Sakura watched her opponent warily, and leapt into the air when he charged her, staying out of his range of attack. Thinking quickly, she formulated a plan in her mind. She climbed even higher, out of range of his Byakugan, then circled behind him. She dove right in the blindspot, and he could only see her when it was too late. She slammed into him with the force of a sledgehammer, and lifted him into the air. Her strong wings beat hard, unaccustomed to the excess weight of her passenger. She climbed higher and higher, then tucked her wings close to her body. Yume-sensei had been training her in taijutsu, since hers was abysmal. She hadn't tried this move with anything besides a log before, but she was confident she could do it. She slowly began to spin as she neared the ground, then started spinning faster and faster.

"Shuuseihan Renge!" The unfortunate man slammed into the ground hard, sending fracture lines along the ground from the point of impact. Sakura landed rough, rolling to a stop a short distance from the victim. She checked him once the dust cleared (and she pulled the top half of his body from underground), and he was out cold. Probably some light head trauma and a concussion, but alive. She stumbled as she walked back to the house, more than a little dizzied by the move. Sakura couldn't help the giddy grin that spread across her face at the success of her new trick. Sasuke came up alongside her.

"Nice trick. Looks painful." She laughed, and gladly leaned on him for support after he offered his arm.

"Yeah, but I'm so dizzy the path's spinning!" she giggled as she leaned against the wall.


Hinata glared with all her might at the man in front of her.

"Please forgive me, Hinata-sama, but Hanabi-sama must be branded." The servant explained as he nervously looked at the heir in front of him. She merely slid into the Jyuuken stance and activated her Byakugan.

"I cannot. Now prepare yourself, I will hold nothing back." she said as she charged suddenly. The guard parried her hit and delivered one to her chest. Hinata coughed, and collapsed into water, saturating the ground around him.

"A… Mizu Bunshin? But when…" Hinata slid to a stop on top of the stream behind the man. She focused on the water beneath her, and forced it to her will. Same had said that it would not listen to her unless forced, so she directed all her anger at her sister's attackers into the water. It vibrated with her rage, and started rippling, waiting for her command. She gathered the water in her mouth, taking in as much as her cheeks would hold. As instructed, she laced some of her own chakra into the water in her mouth.

"Suiton: Chiisai Suitaihou!" She expelled the water, and a large ball made of the liquid flew through the air and hit the back of the man's head with an audible smack. He whirled around, disoriented, only to receive another in the face. She panted heavily, noticing that she was having trouble staying on the surface of the stream. The man regained his bearings, only in time to see her open-palm strike connect with his face, sending him flying through the air. Already unconscious, Naruto took a passing kick at him mid-route, making him hit the ground hard. He ran up to her and steadied the wearied girl's footsteps.

"You were awesome, Hina-chan! He didn't know what hit him! POW!" he shouted as he thrust the arm that wasn't helping her through the air in front of him, mimicking her final blow. She just giggled slightly at his antics, and hugged his arm.

"Th-Thank you, Naru-kun." He blushed at his new nickname, and looked over at Haku's fight. Trying not to laugh, he continued on towards the house.


Haku watched his opponent carefully. 'Ninja Rule number 3: Observation is the key to knowledge, and knowledge is the key to success.' he repeated in his head, remembering the phrase drilled into their minds by Iruka-sensei. The man charged him suddenly, and Haku leapt to the side, narrowly dodging a strike aimed for his heart. Being an aspiring medic-nin, he knew full well the kind of damage the Hyuuga taijutsu style could cause. He'd just have to eliminate his opponent's mobility. He held one hand behind his back and made three seals with it before taking a deep breath, the almost painful cold in his chest telling him the technique was ready.

"Hyuuton: Seikyoutouketsu Endan!" A pale blue blast of energy flew at the man. He screeched to a halt, which made the attack fall short. Or so it seemed. It worked just like Haku wanted it to, freezing the man's legs to the ground. As he worked to free them, Haku made more one-handed seals, and some water from the air condensed and froze hovering in front of him, forming into needles.

"Hijutsu: Sensatsu Hyuushou!" At Haku's bidding, the needles shot through the air and impaled the man in a few pressure points, knocking him out efficiently and quickly. He slumped over at the knees backward, his legs shin-down still frozen to the ground. He calmly walked over to the others as they made their way back to the house.

"Great job, Haku! That was awesome!" Naruto cheered as he gave Haku a gentle punch on the arm. Haku laughed and returned the gesture. Naruto went soaring through the air after a resounding THWACK when Haku's fist hit his shoulder. Horrified, the now white-haired boy ran as fast as he could to the dizzy fox vessel.

"NARUTO-SAN! Oh god, I'm so sorry, are you okay? You didn't break anything did you? Oh you're bleeding! Agh, I'm such an IDIOT!" Haku fretted over the boy as Naruto sat up slowly. Haku just kept berating himself until Naruto clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Calm down, Haku! You haven't had a chance to get used to your gifts yet!" Haku went a bright red, and nodded behind the hand. Naruto moved it, and Haku helped him up. They made their way back over to the others, just as Hanabi ran out of the house and latched onto Hinata again.

"Ane-ue was so cool! I didn't know you could fight like that! … No wonder I lost." She pouted as she let go of the giggling Hinata. Hanabi ran to each of the older kids and hugged them, thanking them profusely for keeping her safe and praising them for their fighting skills.


It was about three hours later when the front door was, quite literally, knocked off of its hinges. Hiashi stormed through the door and continued on a warpath to the dining room.

"Hey hey hey, calm down buddy!" Yume pleaded as he grabbed Hiashi's shoulder. The clan head glared at him.

"'Calm down'?" His voice was strangely even. "How can I be calm when my youngest daughter is probably either branded into the branch house or killed because she refused to cooperate?" Hiashi's tirade was cut short when he heard Hanabi laughing from the dining room.

"Or, she could be safe and sound right behind us." Yume said, trying his hardest not to laugh. Hiashi threw the door open and sagged slightly with relief at the scene inside. The three girls were laughing hysterically along with Haku as Naruto and Sasuke fought in an exaggerated sort of samurai battle with chopsticks. The two danced across the dining room table, their "weapons" constantly clashing with one another.

"I shall defeat you, rogue!" Naruto cried as he swung a chopstick down towards Sasuke's head. The other boy smirked.

"I think not, nobility scum." His voice oozed with confidence as he easily blocked Naruto's swing and lunged forward as if to stab him. Naruto parried his strike and victoriously swatted the black-haired head of his opponent.

"HAH! I win, Sasuke!"

"Hmf. You wish dobe. Check again."

"Eh? DAMMIT!" Naruto cursed loudly as he saw both of Sasuke's chopsticks hovering over vital points of his body. Hanabi collapsed into a mad giggling fit against the gasping Hinata while Sakura howled with laughter, wiping her eyes.

"Please reconsider your options, rogue-san." a sweet voice said in Sasuke's ear. Eyes widening, Sasuke noticed the chopsticks poised over pressure points on his neck. Haku smiled amiably at the other boy, but Sasuke poked Naruto anyway, "killing" him.

"AAAGH! I.. am finished… Avenge me, my… comrade…" Naruto gagged dramatically, and fell off of the table after stumbling around clutching his chest. As Naruto lay in a twitching pile on the floor, Hanabi fell on her back and kicked her legs in the air as she convulsed with laughter. She'd never had this much fun before in her life. Sakura's wings shook in time to her laughs as she picked herself up off the floor. The boys on the table couldn't hold it in anymore at the blonde's behavior and they degenerated into laughter as well, leaning against one another for support.

"Hanabi…?" Hiashi's voice drew their attention to the doorway. Hanabi sat up quickly and ran to her father, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Chichi-ue…" she whimpered into his robes. He looked at the now somber children.

"I cannot thank all of you enough. You kept her safe when I could not." Naruto just waved off the older man's speech.

"Ah, don't worry about it, Hiashi-san. Besides, Hanabi-chan is cool." Hanabi looked up at her shocked father.

"Chichi-ue, I made friends! Naruto-ani is really funny, and Sakura-ane saved me! Can I play with them more?" she asked, looking all the part of her seven years. "Please?"

"Of course you can." He kneeled and looked her in the eyes. "And I think I was wrong in keeping you from going to the academy." Hanabi squealed and hugged her father again.


"Tsunade-sama? Wh-What are you doing here-"

"OPEN THE GATE BEFORE I KNOCK IT DOWN!" the legendary medic-nin bellowed at the shaking guards. She was fully willing and capable of knocking it down, too, which scared the guards more. She had lost Shizune somewhere on the way here, she couldn't keep up. Tsunade hadn't really cared, to tell the truth. The only thing that mattered was seeing whether her old teammate was telling the truth, or needed a slow and painful death.


Yume stood in the entry hallway with Hiashi, both watching Haku test his new strength. Currently, the boy had in his arms Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata. Hanabi was backing up so she could jump up too. Haku only looked mildly exerted, and when Hanabi landed on top of the others, he grimaced, but didn't shift his footing. It was when Naruto started to add Kage Bunshin one at a time that Haku started looking nervous.

"How long do you think he'll last?" Yume asked, raising an eyebrow when the boy's knees started to shake at ten clones.

"I give him ten more."

"Twenty-three." Yume countered his friend. They kept count, and Haku gave a strangled cry as he fell over when he had twenty-five more clones in his arms. The clones vanished in a huge poof of smoke, and the seven children all started laughing.

"Yu… Yume…?" Almost a whisper, the voice made Yume spin around and stare. Leaning on the door for support stood the woman who had raised him. Tsunade took a tentative step forward and reached out a shaking hand.

"Yume… It is you…" she murmured as she put her hand on his cheek. Yume's eyes started to water as his chest felt like bursting.

"Y-Yeah… kaa-san…" Tsunade let out a sob and crushed him in a hug, his arms wrapping around her automatically.

"My boy… my precious boy… Oh god, I thought I'd lost you forever…" she spoke softly as she dug her fingers into his shirt, and he leaned his head down so their foreheads touched. After standing there for a while, just soaking up each other's presence, they were noticed by the children.

"Who's she?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shrugged.

"Dunno, but 'tou-san seems really happy to see her." Yume turned his head over to them.

"Naruto, get over here and meet your grandmother!" Tsunade looked up at him sharply.

"Grandmother? What the hell are you talking-"

"Who's this, tou-san? Is she really my granma? She looks too young." Naruto asked as he bounced on the balls of his feet. Yume laughed as Tsunade let him go and squatted down to get a good look at the boy. She took in his every feature, Naruto doing the same.

"O… obaa-chan?" Naruto asked haltingly. Tsunade hesitantly opened her arms and smiled, only to be knocked flat on her butt as Naruto attached himself to her in a vice-like hug.

"Yeah, brat, I'm your obaa-chan." She smiled as she hugged the boy back. Yume really was alive. And she had a grandson now. Jiraiya was safe for now… until she caught him peeping again.


Later, once the children had met Tsunade and Natsumi had had a female bonding moment with her doing girl talk, Yume turned to the kids.

"So, Sasuke, Sakura, you've been doing a few missions with your team this week, right? How do you feel with them?" Sasuke made a sour face.

"Yamanaka's annoying, and won't let go of my arm. Aburame's… quiet. He's not too bad. The missions are a waste of time." Sakura thwapped him lightly on the arm, making him scowl at her. "What, she is annoying! I'm tired of loosing the feeling in my arm every time she's within ten feet of me! And I hardly think getting groceries is a skill a ninja needs to perfect!"

"Well, as of tomorrow, you have your first c-rank mission." Yume interrupted. All the kids spun to look at him. "Teams Seven and Nine will work together on this one. You're supposed to escort a bride builder back home, and guard against any attacks on him until the bridge he's building is finished. I'd tell you to meet at the gates at seven, but go at nine. Don't forget who your sensei is, Naruto, Hinata, Haku." The three kids sweatdropped and nodded. They could afford to be late, Kakashi-sensei wouldn't be there 'till at least nine-thirty.


The five kids, concealing bracelets firmly in place, arrived at the main gate promptly at nine. Much to the annoyance of Ino.

"Sasuke-kuuuuuuun! You're late, but I'm sure you have a good reason!" she said in her sugary sweet tone of voice, making Naruto gag and Sasuke's skin crawl.

"Ino, please-"

"Ino-chan." She butted in as she traded glares with Sakura.

"Ino… chan…" Sasuke ground out the suffix like it was painful, but the girl didn't notice. "Let go of my arm."

"But Sasuke-kun-"

"OFF. NOW." Sakura spat, practically tearing the blonde girl's grip off of her man's arm- Sakura blushed as she realized her train of thought.

("Sorry, chick, I get possessive… But it's not like you weren't thinking of doing it anyway.") Hane grumbled inside her cage. Ino's glare shifted up to full-death-mode. Kurenai raised an eyebrow. The girls were always jealous of one another, but Sakura had never done anything like this before.

"And why should I, forehead-girl!" Sakura humphed.

"Because that's not how you hold onto a boy's arm. Watch." she said, sounding like she was talking to a little child as she linked her arm with Sasuke's left arm. "How's that, Sasuke-kun?" she asked.

"Better. Now I can get to my weapons pouch faster if I need to." he grunted, but did nothing to make Sakura move her arm. Haku shook his head as steam started to come from Ino's ears. If their client and Kakashi-sensei didn't get here soon…

"Yo." Kakashi-sensei said casually from atop a light pole.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto, Sakura, Ino, and, surprisingly, Hinata screeched at him while Haku, Sasuke, and Shino gave him a glare that would kill a kitten on sight. Ino turned and gawked as the timid girl turned bright red. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, you see, the old lady next door had tripped and broken her hip…"

"LIAR!" More shouting and glares. Kurenai pinched the bridge of her nose. Honestly, the man was an elite jounin, one would think he could be on time once in his life.

"Are these brats supposed to protect me? They all look like babies, especially the super short one with the super stupid face." An old man, smelling strongly of alcohol, leaned against the gate. The stench made the vessels' noses burn.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked with a tic in his forehead.

"Mm?"

"Can I kill him?" Naruto asked almost casually, making Ino's jaw hit the ground and the old man drop the bottle he was holding.

"No, Naruto, killing our client would be counterproductive." Kakashi sounded bored as he answered his vertically challenged student.

"What about maiming?" Sasuke asked, a dark look on his face that made their client flinch. Kurenai tried hard not to laugh.

"No, Uchiha, no maiming either." she admonished him. The old man gathered his wits back together and looked down at the genin.

"I am the super bridge builder Tazuna. It's your super important duty to guard me super well so I can finish the super bridge I'm building." And with that, a supposedly routine mission began…


Scorpio V1.2 – You make it sound like I update fast. ¬.¬

GirlWaterShaman – Sorry!

KKSG – I'm glad you like it.

Dragon Man 180 – Webbing's not a bad idea. I might work it in later.

Bryr – Rives? Dunno who you're talking about.

December Jewel – Yeah, it's rather painful to get…

naruhina1 – I hope I met your expectations.

drakedragon1 – I'm glad everyone likes Kin. He might make a repeat appearance.

Lady-Frisselle – S'okay, that might motivate me more if people are demanding.

GreatMarta – Hope you like this one.

EVERYONE ELSE – Thank you for your continued support. If you want a more detailed response, give a more detailed review (and catch me before 1 a.m.) And now, an announcement…

LISTEN!

ARE YOU LISTENING?

YOU SURE?

GOOD!

1 - Naruto has TWO contracts, one with toads and one with foxes!

2 – Sakura's wings are pink, same as her hair. Naruto's tail and ears are golden like his hair.

3 – Yes, Each demon has an element. Sasuke is fire, Sakura is Wind, Haku is Ice, Hinata is Water, but Naruto doesn't need an element because he's just the pure powerhouse.

4 – If everyone likes Kin so much, I'll arrange it so he has an appearance in the next chapter!

GLOSSARY

"Ane-ue" --Older sister

"Chichi-ue" --Father

"Shuuseihan Renge"-- "Revised Lotus" BEFORE you all go "OMG he gave Sakura Lee's technique WTF?11" Let me say this: Yume is an all-around badass, so of course he'd know something like the Lotus. The version he taught her is called revised because it uses the force generated by falling from a great height to do almost the same damage without opening the initial gate.

"Suiton: Chiisai Suitaihou" --"Water Type: Small Water Cannonball" This skill is a miniaturized version of Gamabunta's skill. Works the same way.

"Hyuuton: Seikyoutouketsu Endan" --"Ice Type: Powerful Freezing Blast" This is the ice equivalent of Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu.

"Hijutsu: Sensatsu Hyuushou" --"Hidden Type: Flying Ice Needles" One of Haku's bloodline techniques. Makes ice needles and throws them at the opponent.