EVERYONE! PLEASE BREATH!
I am not going to discontinue this story, and if, for some reason, that changes, I promise I will put up a notice and even try to find someone to adopt the story. The reason it's taken a while to update is it's difficult to show the flowing time line without being obvious or just repeating things, and you will notice when reading this chapter that I have added some things that one: will change things from cannon a bit, and two: foreshadow things to come.
Also, I have recently gotten a job which takes up a chunk of my time, so if it takes me two months or something to update, don't freak out.
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Her fingers had barely brushed the seal before a vice clamped around her wrist. Before she could comprehend what had grabbed her she was spun and thrown away from the Nine-Tails' cage. Whatever threw her had done so gently. She rolled twice before stopping, allowing for her see a man standing before a snarling Nine-Tails. Taking in the messy blonde hair and white robe she wondered where she had seen the man. When he turned to smile at her she studied his tan face and bright blue eyes framed by thick black lashes. She had seen that face, often, but couldn't pin down from where.
"Look at you!" the man said in a lilted voice. He studied Naruto's face with a wide, cheerful gaze as she slowly rose to her feet. "You're so beautiful."
When he stepped towards her she took a step back, trying to work out how to get around this stranger to the Nine-Tails. Her weariness made the smile drop off the man's face and the Nine-Tails chuckle.
"I'm not going to hurt you," the man assured in a soft voice, his hand reaching out for her.
Again, she stepped away from him, making the Nine-Tails laugh.
"She doesn't know you," he taunted to the stranger. "I've been her protector, not you."
It clicked in her mind as the man studied her stance. "You're the Fourth Hokage!" Instantly Naruto stepped towards the Fourth, punching him in the face and making him tumble to the ground. "You did all this to me!"
The Fourth touched his jaw, looking up at Naruto from the ground. "Nice punch. And I put the Nine-Tails in you because I knew you could handle it."
"Seriously? How the hell would you know? I was alive for what, an hour before you turned me into a cage? I was your only choice, an Uzumaki," Naruto spat.
"That's not true. There was another Uzumaki child in the village." The Fourth slowly stood up, much like she had, smiling as though he was proud of Naruto's hit. "But if the Nine-Tails needed a new host I knew you would be the one. Just like I knew you'd be beautiful and strong."
Again he reached out, as though to stroke her face, but was smart enough to not make contact. Instead his hand ghosted the shape of her cheek and jaw as his eyes darted around her face, taking in every detail.
Naruto gave a sarcastic laugh, throwing her arms in the air and knocking his hand away. "You don't know me. You're just the man who took me from my mother the day I was born to turn me into a prison. Or did she hand me over? Are you the one who banned everyone from telling me her name, or did she want to distance herself from the 'monster' you turned me into?"
A heartbroken expression covered the Fourth's face. He took a breath as though to steel himself for the conversation he was facing. "No, that's not what happened. I had hoped that the Third would tell you the truth when you came of age but I guess not."
"The Third died when I was thirteen." Naruto crossed her arms. "What was he meant to tell me?"
"This is going to be good."
"Do you know what he's going to say?" she asked the grinning fox.
"He does. Let's move this conversation elsewhere." The Nine-Tails disappeared, leaving Naruto and the Fourth on a grassy hill. The Fourth smiled, stepping closer to Naruto and trying to put his hands on her shoulders. When she tensed he dropped them, his smile drooping. "The reason I knew you were strong enough is because I knew you'd be like your mother. Her name was Kushina and she was just as powerful and beautiful as you. And had a mean punch too. When she told me she was pregnant I knew there was a chance that the Nine-Tails would get out. So I made a seal for you, one that would allow you to gain control over the Nine-Tails' power. I knew you could. It was a risk, but if anyone in the world could do it, it would be you."
"How can you be so sure?" Naruto exclaimed, wiping at her tears in frustration. She was confused, more questions than ever rolling around her mind. To make matters worse her body was humming for movement, the adrenaline and fear from the fight with Pain still running through her body. She wanted to hear more about her mother, but her thoughts kept moving to the image of Shikamaru kneeling over her, blood running down his pale face and his chakra burning out, only surviving thanks to Naruto funnelling the remainder of her chakra into him.
Again, the Fourth smiled softly at her. The look in his eyes was one Naruto couldn't identify as he reached out to lightly touch her hair.
"Haven't you worked it out yet?" The Fourth studied her face again, trying to soak in all the details.
It wasn't like when Shikamaru studied her. There was something about how the Nara looked at her that made her blush. The Fourth's gaze didn't. If anything she felt the desire to stand a little straighter. It was much like when Pervy-Sage or Old Man Hokage would look at her, thinking she didn't notice. There was a hollow, sadness in their gaze. The Fourth's gaze was worse. There was a desperate desire to it, as though in a blink he was going to loss everything. Something gripped her stomach tightly as the image of her last interaction with Pervy-Sage flashed through her mind. He had hugged her close before pulling back to cup her face. He had kissed her forehead before whispering into her hair that he was proud of her, and loved her, that before long she would be stronger than him and that he hoped to see that. At the time Naruto had thought Pervy-Sage was drunk and had shrugged off his weird behaviour, whilst silently hoping that he was speaking true. After his death she tried to forget that moment instead of wallowing at the fact that she missed the signs.
"Naruto, I knew you were going to be the most talented ninja the Leaf have ever seen because how could I not know that about my own daughter."
Her ears had stopped working. That must have been it. There was no way she heard him correctly. The Fourth… one of the village's strongest, the person who single-handedly stopped other villages from attacking them was her…
"You're lying!" she snapped. "You're not my dad. You're the Fourth Hokage! You… you're known as the Yellow Flash of the Leaf. You're a genius, and a hero. You can't be my dad."
The Fourth chuckled. "You can't see the resemblance? Though I bet that if you smile it'll look like your mother's. Naruto, I know life couldn't have been easy for you, with your mother and I gone, and I'm sorry for that. You have no idea how much I wish I could have raised you."
"I still don't believe you." Naruto shook her head. "It's just… a coincidence that we have the same hair… and the same eyes… and tan skin. Okay, yes, that's a lot but still. Pervy-Sage trained you. He would have known. Why didn't he tell me?"
"Pervy-Sage?" The Fourth chuckled. "I'm guessing you mean Jiraiya-Sensei. He must have loved that. And I'm not sure why he kept it a secret for so long. But I assure you that I am your father."
"If so, how did I get my name?" Naruto challenged, making the Fourth chuckle again.
"From 'Pervy-Sage's' novel. I honestly believe you can bring peace into the ninja world." He reached out to wipe away the tears running down Naruto's face, only to have her turn away from his touch. "You still don't believe me? The Nine-Tails can confirm it."
"No, it's not that." She turned her back on him. "I just don't cry in front of people. The only one who has really seen me cry is Shikamaru."
"And who is Shikamaru?" The Fourth asked in a tight voice.
"Her boyfriend," the Nine-Tails sniggered, making Naruto jump.
She hadn't realised that they were back in front of the cage. Her… father obviously thought her denial would be hard to shake without his help. However, the Fourth's reaction to the Nine-Tails' joke was all the confirmation she needed.
"He's her WHAT?" the Fourth snapped.
"He's my friend," Naruto sighed, before giving the Nine-Tails a hard look, "and he better be alive!"
"He is. And your end of the deal is about to be done too."
"Oh, no it's not!" snapped the Fourth before he reached over, tightening the seal.
"Please tell me that tightening the seal wasn't literally that easy."
The Fourth laughed. "No, it wasn't as easy as it looked."
The Nine-Tails started running off a list of swear words, making both the Fourth and Naruto blink.
"Watch your language around my daughter," the Fourth warned.
"How are you even here?" growled the wolf.
"I put some of my chakra into the seal to activate if the seal weakens enough to allow eight tails out. Admittedly I mostly did it so I'd have a chance to meet you, Naruto. And I'm glad I did. Though, can I ask you to do one thing for me?"
"Um, sure… dad. What is it?"
"Stay away from this Shikamaru guy."
"No deal."
The Fourth glared at the Nine-Tails who was chuckling at the man's unhappiness.
"You said something about the seal being designed specifically for me," Naruto reminded.
"Ah, right." Again the Nine-Tails disappeared in favour of a grassy hill. "The reason the seal can weaken is because it's designed for you to be able to use the Nine-Tails' chakra. I knew you'd be able to do what even your mother couldn't. You can control the Nine-Tails' power. Very few Jinchurikki have managed to control their tailed beasts but I know you can."
"If it's so hard to do all that, how can you be so sure I can do it?"
"Because you're my daughter."
"But I'm not as talented as you."
"Even if that was true, and I don't think it is, the ability to control a tailed beast's power has nothing to do with talent, and everything to do with the person." The Fourth reached out his fingers brushing Naruto's cheek. "Your mother's chakra is also in the seal. She'll appear when you need her help."
"She will?" Naruto smiled.
"There's that smile." The Fourth drew her into his arms, kissing her on the forehead. "I love you so much, Naruto."
"I…um…"
"It's okay, sweetheart." He drew back, his hands on Naruto's shoulders. "Now, you were in the middle of a fight, weren't you?"
"Crap, I was!" She looked around for an exit before remembering they were technically in her mind. She looked back at her father, unable to deny the resemblance. "It was nice to finally know who you are, and to meet you… dad."
The Fourth just smiled at her, kissing her on the forehead again. "I am sorry if you had to suffer because of the Nine-Tails. I had hoped the village would see you as the hero you are."
"I…I'm sorry I punched you."
Her father laughed, touching his jaw. "At least I know my girl grew up to be tough. Now are you sure I can't convince you to stay away from that Shiitake Mushroom?"
"Shikamaru," Naruto chuckled. "And no."
"Damn. Well, I'm still glad I got to see you. But now I have to let you go. Just remember that I will always love you."
She gave him one last smile before the feel of waking overtook her. Until the real Pain was dealt with she had to push her interaction with her father to the back of her mind. She did, however, know who she wanted to tell first. When she found Shikamaru he was clearly exhausted and badly injured, but alive. She thanked the Nine-Tails, getting a string of swears and abuse in reply.
Her friends were all worried about her, after the beating they had seen her receive and her having lost control. It was this selfless fear that made Naruto pretend her chakra was just low. In truth her body burnt, and many of her chakra veins had to be healed. Eiji had paled upon examining her. If she wasn't an Uzumaki, and a Jinjurikki she would never be able to fight again, and would have died from giving Shikamaru her chakra. She had triple checked that Eiji couldn't legally tell any of her friends just what state she was in. Eventually she would heal, and keeping her state silent would be wiser given how weak the village had become. If the Akatsuki knew that she was completely defenceless than the entire village would suffer.
The battle had been hard and overwhelming and yet the events that followed it were what truly drained Naruto. When she had realised she enjoyed being studied by Shikamaru, and when she became closer with Sasuke, she wondered if they would cause her to break like Waku. Oddly enough, it wasn't their friendship that broke her. It was getting the respect she always wanted that started to unravel her. To try and quell her fears she focused on the rebuilding of the village, even when she could feel her strength waning.
The only time she felt safe and relaxed was when she was with Shikamaru and their friends. However, whenever she was alone or taking a break from the reconstruction the doubtful whisper in her mind became a dull roar. She began questioning who it was that Shikamaru loved. It was hard for her to keep denying that she was his replacement. When the woman he truly cared about returned his feelings she would be little more than a friend. And yet, Naruto couldn't bring herself to walk away. If anything she encouraged him to use her. At least, if only for a little while, she could feel wanted.
Shikamaru had an unusual ability to quiet the doubts and negativities in her mind. Unfortunately, with him injured he couldn't be with her as she helped with construction. Their other friends made a point to find her when she had buried herself in the clean up. Often she forgot what time it was, focusing so fully on her work to stop other thoughts. Whenever one of them appeared to walk her back to the Nara Estate for lunch she was always surprised. She could tell they were worried, and yet, she couldn't bring herself to pull back. Even the small voice in the back of her mind sounded worried.
"You're going to burn out if you keep going."
"Like you care!"
"I don't but when you do reckless things like this I get a headache."
"Well deal with it!"
She thought that was the last of it, but as she guzzled water, trying to stop the dizziness to her head, the fox started again.
"Don't start this again."
"I'm helping to rebuild the village."
"Don't pull that crap. I'm inside your head, I know what you really feel, and I know what you used to do. The only difference is that this time you don't have the village helping you along. I wonder what your Nara boy would do if he finds out."
"There's nothing to find out about."
"Keep saying that to yourself, one day you might actually believe it too."
She ignored him. It wasn't like last time. She was helping the village, and no one could hate her for that. Whenever he tried to bring it up again Naruto started humming loudly in her head, off key until the Nine-Tails started banging his head against the cage door. Unfortunately this would result in them both getting a headache.
It was after one of these occasions that Neji found her rubbing her forehead. Since she had been unable to sense his approach she jumped when he greeted her.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you," Neji muttered, reaching out a hand to steady her as she swayed. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just a headache. I've never had one before and now I'm getting them almost every day. I'm not a fan."
"Hmm. Turn around."
"What?"
"Turn around, I'll help you with the pain." Gripping her shoulder, Neji turned her away from him. When he ran his fingers down her back she tensed. "Relax. I'm just going to push some pressure points to relieve the tension that's causing your headache. You'll still be able to use your chakra."
Naruto tried to take a breath and release the tension in her muscles. She wasn't sure she succeeded but when Neji gently pressed certain spots on her back she felt them relax. The pinching in her mind dulled too, making her sigh.
"Thanks, Neji."
She felt the man move back enough for her to turn and face him again. When she had first seen him she had been filled with fear. The anger in his eyes had reminded her far too much of the violent villagers. She had only been able to meet his gaze when he had hurt Hinata, a girl who had only ever been kind, if shy, towards her. Seeing Hinata broken and bleeding had reminded her too sharply of herself. Before she had realised what she was doing she was standing in front of Neji, making sure he wouldn't make a run at Hinata as she was put on a stretcher. Even though she had just seen a showcase of his abilities she meant every word when she said he would pay. That same rage she had unleashed on Huruma was building in her. This time she controlled it and forged it to her advantage.
When Neji had tracked her down only days after their fight she almost didn't recognise him. He had done nothing to change his looks but now there was a vulnerability to him and he was the one who couldn't meet her eye. She feared that she had broken him but it was nothing compared to the terror she felt at him admitting to knowing her gender. It wasn't until she returned from her training with Pervy-Sage that she realised she hadn't broken him at all. Instead he was simply much kinder, happier, and more open. Naruto had felt flattered when he had thanked her for helping him reach such a point. Now she had no issue meeting his eye, even if on occasion he avoided her gaze and turned red in the face.
"Is your headache from staying with the Naras? I know Mr Nara is one of those running the village whilst Lady Tsunade is… recovering, and I know Mr Yamanaka and his family are staying at the Estate as well. If it is too much stress on you I can speak with my uncle about you staying in the Hyuga Estate. It's much quieter there."
"I thought the Hyuga Clan couldn't take anyone in because they are often targeted for your eyes."
Neji hesitated. "That's true, but I'm sure I can convince my uncle, especially with how close you and Hinata are."
"Thanks for the offer but I like staying at the Nara Estate."
"Even with the conflict that happened the other day?" When she looked at him with surprise he shrugged. "Word got around, as did what happened to you years before."
Naruto was thankful that Neji didn't offer any apologies for her past. "Shikaku dealt with the man, and Shikamaru told me that the Clan is keeping the gate closed when I'm there now to protect me. The Nara Clan are good people. I'm actually really thankful that they took me in."
"Well if there is anything you need, just let me know."
Naruto opened her mouth before closing it again and scanning Neji's form. When she noticed that he wasn't suffering any injuries she requested what she had wanted to ask of someone for a while. "Do you want to spar?" When Neji blinked in surprise she elaborated. "I could use a good sparing match to get some frustrations out. But everyone is either busy, injured, or doesn't want to fight me, which is a weird experience."
Neji nodded. "I could use a sparring match myself. Many ninjas are injured and it would be wise to make sure those of us who are mobile keep our skills sharp."
The blonde let the Jonin lead her to a training ground that was surprisingly empty. Giving Naruto forewarning that he wouldn't hit any chakra points that would affect the Nine-Tails, he charged. She was actually thankful that Neji had agreed to fight her. They were both close range attackers so they were each other's weakness. However, Neji's mind rivalled that of Shikamaru, meaning Naruto had to think carefully and quickly when dodging his attacks.
Unfortunately she no longer had the Nine-Tails' power to rely on either. It was uncomfortable to feel her strength waning as the fight prolonged. It was a stark reminder of how much damage her fight with Pain had truly done to her. If Nagato hadn't given up the fight Naruto wasn't sure she would have been able to fight the paper woman. This was a weakness she knew she couldn't show. Far too many in the village couldn't fight due to injuries and she knew that the village was relying on her more than they would normally. There was also the Akatsuki. With the defeat of Pain and Nagato's change of heart Naruto knew she had given them pause. This was reinforced by Shikamaru's team having taken down two members only months before.
She saw Neji's palm coming towards her chest, knowing the hit would take her out of the fight. At the last moment his hand moved, grazing her ribs instead. It was this hesitation that allowed Naruto to land a hit to the man's jaw, making him fall back. He crashed to the ground with an unflattering 'oof'.
Before he could jump to his feet and continue fighting laughter rang through their training ground. The two looked over, seeing Hinata grinning at her cousin sprawled on the ground. Giving Hinata a bemused look, Naruto held out her hand for Neji, wondering why he was blushing and avoiding her eye.
"Were you trying to get another feel?" Hinata cackled causing Neji to splatter his denial.
"I made sure to avoid her chest," he snapped, crossing his arms. "Stop teasing me."
Hinata just laughed. "No."
Naruto grabbed Hinata, pinning her arms behind her back. "Quick, Neji, grab her feet and we'll drop her in the river."
Hinata squealed and tried to stop her cousin from grabbing her legs. This made Naruto laugh enough for the dark haired woman to slip out of her grasp and dance out of their reach.
Neji sighed dramatically, making Naruto blink in surprise. "Now we can't put her in the water. I suppose I'll just have to settle for someone else."
"What are you –" Naruto gave a yelp when the man's arms clasped around her waist, lifting her into the air. She instantly tensed at the contact. Neji was leaner than Shikamaru, and smelled like a strong wind right before a storm. She tried to calm her racing heart and the tightness in her throat.
"Neji," Hinata giggled, "stop flirting with Naruto."
"I'm not! I'm dunking Naruto in the water."
"True, that would be horrible flirting," Naruto pointed out with a laugh, trying to kick Neji and get him to drop her.
"Well it is Neji," Hinata shrugged, sniggering when Neji exclaimed his disapproval.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I think she's trying to say you suck at flirting," Naruto clarified. "I say get her!"
"Erm, what's going on?"
The three looked over to see Kotetsu frowning at Neji, who still held Naruto.
"Neji's attacking us," Naruto answered simply, trying to shrug around the uncomfortable tightness to her muscles.
The Jonin finally let her go, stepping back. "Naruto, don't say that. They will believe you."
"Yeah, Naruto, he wasn't attacking us, he wanted to see you in a wet shirt," Hinata said, a serious expression on her face.
Neji scowled at Naruto. "You're a bad influence on my cousin."
"Me? She's the bad influence!"
Kotetsu shifted his gaze from one person to another, finally settling on Naruto with a slight shake of his head. "I came to get you cause the Kazekage sent people to help with the rebuilding and one wants to meet you."
Naruto nodded, tugging at her shirt and trying to remove the feeling of someone else's touch. With a quick goodbye to her two friends she followed Kotetsu to where a group of Sand Ninjas organising building materials. Before she had a chance to speak with them a voice called out to her.
"Hello, Naruto-Sama."
Naruto turned, finding a girl with curly, light purple hair standing between two imposing Jonins. The girl would have had to be only a year or two younger than Naruto and had a small smile on her face, showing a dimple on either cheek. The blonde frowned at the girl, trying to place where she had seen her. Then she remembered.
The girl's dark eyes were yellow, something Naruto had noticed when the sick girl had cried to the Sand Siblings' sensei about how she should have known of the attack on Gaara. The sensei had hushed her, reminding her that it had been Gaara himself who had ordered for her to rest instead of use her abilities so she was not to blame for the Kazekage's kidnapping. She had also been one of the first people in the clearing upon Gaara's revival and had ordered the reluctant Sand Leader to get a medical check up upon returning to their village. Such a tiny woman bossing around her superior had made Naruto laugh into her hand, getting a mocking glare from Gaara.
"You're the Head of the Intelligence Department, right? Gaara said you were ten or something when you got the promotion."
"Twelve, actually, and yes, I'm Hatsumi. It was shortly before Lord Gaara became Kazekage," Hatsumi corrected with a friendly smile. "Anyhow, I wanted to talk to you about Pain, and any other information you might have on the Akatsuki. You were also the one who saved Gaara so you might be about to give us information that has been eluding us until now."
"I don't think I know anything others don't."
"Anything is helpful." Hatsumi waited for Naruto to reply. When she didn't, the Sand ninja simply smiled politely. "Can we go somewhere to talk?"
Naruto nodded before leading Hatsumi to one of the dining tents, which was mostly vacant. She noticed the two large Jonins following them. Hatsumi explained that she was to return to the Sand in two days and the men were to escort her home under Gaara's orders. It was with this comment and a wave of Hatsumi's hand that the blonde noticed Hatsumi's bracelet. It was made of woven twine and coloured beads. At first it looked to be clay beads but Naruto could feel a slight hum of Gaara's chakra from them, making her realise that the beads were made of Gaara's sand. It made her wonder if Gaara had given the girl an extra defence. Kankuro's joking comment of his baby brother having a crush ran through her mind, making her question if it had weight to it.
When they had seated themselves Naruto started explaining what she knew of Pain with prompting from the Head of the Intelligence Department. Even when she was describing her interaction with Nagato she felt as though she was failing to provide anything useful to whatever information Hatsumi was gathering. However, the Sand Ninja looked highly intrigued with what Naruto had to say.
"Lord Gaara told you about me gaining my title at a young age," Hatsumi started when Naruto had finished her tale. "Did he tell you about my kekkei genkai?"
"He said something about you being a mind reader… like the Yamanaka Clan?"
"Er, not quite but somewhat. The Yamanaka Clan can use a jutsu to read people's memories. I, however, can read what a person is thinking at the exact moment that I want, and I can follow that line of thought through their entire mind."
"How does that work?"
Hatsumi pondered how best to explain it before speaking again. "Take Tatsuo here," she gestured to the man standing on her right, whose eyes widened, clearly wondering what was about to be revealed about himself. "I know that his favourite scent is golden suncap flowers. Whenever he smells them or hears the name of them he subconsciously connects it to the memory of the garden his grandfather tended to. From there I can access memories of his grandfather, which opens more connections in his mind."
"Please don't," muttered Tatsuo, making Hatsumi chuckle.
"I won't unless Lord Gaara needs me to," she assured. "If you imagine a thought as a rope, I have the ability to grab said rope and follow it through a person's mind, and even assess the emotions connected to the thoughts."
"That's… really powerful," Naruto said.
"And it can be very confusing. When I first unlocked my ability I often lost myself in others' minds. It took me a long time to untangle my true memories from the minds I had read."
"Why tell me about your kekkei genkai? It can't be safe to just explain it to people."
"No, and I normally don't," Hatsumi admitted with a small shake of her head. "But Lord Gaara allowed me to see his memories of you and view how he sees you, so that I know you a trustworthy. You see, Lord Gaara was semi-conscious when the One-Tails was extracted. Although he couldn't recall his memories they were in his mind and I was able to view them, with his permission, of course. From what I was able to find out, it appeared that Pain, or as you have said, Nagato, was running the Akatsuki. However, if that was true, the Akatsuki would have been destroyed with your victory in battle. Moreover, the one who attacked Lord Gaara said to the Kazekage that he viewed explosions as art. If Nagato truly wanted to bring about peace, in his misguided way, why have someone on his team who worshipped destruction?"
"Well, one of the Akatsuki members that Shikamaru went up against worshipped death as well. He loved to kill and treated it like a ceremony, according to those who witnessed Asuma-Sensei's death."
"Interesting, and tragic." Hatsumi stared at the table between them. "I will wish to speak to whomever witnessed that Akatsuki member in battle."
"Choji and Ino did. Don't ask Shikamaru about it, he has already filed a report and shouldn't have to relive his sensei dying. Kotetsu saw Asuma-Sensei's death."
"He was the one we sent to fetch you, correct?" Tatsuo asked, his deep voice rumbling through his barrelled chest. When Naruto nodded he asked Hatsumi if he could go locate the Leaf Ninja in question.
"Of course, Tatsuo, just try not to scare the poor man." Hatsumi gave him a kind smile before turning back to the blonde. "Lord Gaara has instructed me to be open and frank with you about any information I might gather about the Akatsuki. At the moment, I believe my suspicions are becoming confirmed. I believe that there is another person ruling the Akatsuki. A true mind that the Akatsuki are hiding from us or someone who controlled from the shadows without Pain's knowledge. Either way the true leader would have to be powerful to be able to make so many contradictory personalities work together."
The petite girl sighed. "Unfortunately the only time I have been within range of an Akatsuki member I was rather ill and unable to read him. Though I'm starting to doubt that the Akatsuki members would have answers to my questions anyway."
"Do we have any idea who the leader might be?" Naruto asked, absently returning a wave from a passing villager.
"No, but I was able to get a spy close to the Akatsuki. She was able to find out that since Lord Gaara's kidnapping they have only taken on one new member. This is interesting to me because when Shukaku was extracted from Lord Gaara all members were needed. So why aren't members being replaced as they are lost? Why is this new member the only one?"
"Maybe he is really powerful," suggested Naruto.
"That is a possibility, or he might be the second in command to the real leader. It's hard to tell at the moment." Hatsumi sighed, pondering over what they had discussed.
"How is Gaara doing? You know, after having the One-Tails extracted."
Hatsumi signalled for her remaining guard to leave them before she turned back to the blonde. "Lord Gaara said you would ask. He also told me to answer all your questions. It has been difficult for him to adjust, especially to the silence. I know firsthand that Shukaku was a chatterbox. Lord Gaara has still needed me to help him sleep, but he is getting better."
"Wait, what? You help Gaara sleep!"
The small girl seemed to realise how it sounded because she blushed darkly.
"Not in any inappropriate way. I don't know if you are aware but Lord Gaara used to be kept awake by Shukaku. When Lord Gaara became Kazekage this proved problematic so I began to repress Shukaku's thoughts from Gaara's mind to allow him to sleep. That's how I know the One-Tails talks a lot."
Naruto couldn't help but smirk at the Sand Ninja. "Do you sleep in Gaara's bed?"
"No," yelped Hatsumi at Naruto's teasing. "Though, to use my abilities I do have to be near him as he sleeps, but I make no physical contact."
"So your kekkei genkai doesn't need touch?"
"Well, it would be easier if I made contact but Lord Gaara has requested I never touch him." At Naruto's confused look, she went on, "Shukaku once told me why as Lord Gaara slept but I don't know he's telling the truth. He told me that I am the type of person that Lord Gaara would have hurt before he met you. Shukaku said that Lord Gaara fears he will return to his old self and hurt me if I ever get to close to him. I don't believe he will but I have no reason to make contract with my Kazekage anyway."
Naruto looked at Hatsumi's bracelet again, wondering if Gaara had made it for her to protect her from himself. Naruto could understand Gaara's fear though, given that she had felt similar with Shikamaru after she had lashed out at Varric. She had tried to convince herself that it had been the Nine-Tails who had thrown him off his feet but the fox had cackled in her head.
"It wasn't me, and you know it. Does your boy toy know how violent you can be?"
Naruto was impressed by Gaara's will to keep his distance from someone who saw him for who he was and still wanted to be near him. Naruto had tried with Shikamaru but found she didn't have the strength to stay at arm's length from him.
"Are there still people who want to get rid of Gaara?"
The Sand Ninja gave a smile that chilled Naruto. "When you went after Lord Gaara those who wished Lord Gaara dead tried to make a move for the Kazekage title. I got our best healer to fix me up whilst this was going on and read all the higher ups. When Lord Gaara had returned, and Kankuro-Sama had recovered I passed the information onto the Sand siblings. Those who would harm the Kazekage were of course at the top of the list. Lord Gaara handled the situation well, making sure to win over many of the people and arresting those who were planning harm to the village to get at Lord Gaara. His position is safe, as is the village."
When Hatsumi's guard returned with Kotetsu, Naruto extracted herself from the conversation, returning to help the rebuilding process. As she walked closer to her designated area the man in charge came up to her.
"Hey, would you mind working with the Akamichi woman?" At Naruto's frown he went on. "She's anbu and can read people really well and it makes people uncomfortable."
The blonde laughed. "I just finished talking to a girl who literally had a gift for that so I don't mind."
It wasn't hard for her to spot the Akamichi woman, seeing as she had the traditional build of her clan. She smiled widely at Naruto when she spotted her.
"Hi, I'm Aaliyah, but you can call me Liyah." She scanned Naruto. "I would hug you but I can tell you don't like physical contact. Don't worry, I won't tell people either."
"I see what they mean about you," sniggered Naruto.
"Yeah, but you can ask me for information about myself if you want, to even the field."
"How long have you been in the anbu?"
"About twelve years. I joined around the time that Te-Yamato did. We were both on Kakashi's team."
"Does that mean you have some good stories about the two?" Naruto grinned when Liyah nodded. "I think I'm going to like working with you."
/ / / / / /
Naruto would be lying to herself if she said that Liyah's presence didn't make her uncomfortable. She had noticed so quickly how much Naruto secretly hated being touched by most people. This was a fact that she had tried to hide for a number of reasons and yet with a quick scan she had known. Every day they worked together Naruto feared that Liyah would notice that she was having difficulty breathing, that she jumped whenever someone appeared near her, and adrenaline was constantly flooding her system. It was hard to tell if the Jonin noticed or not but she never commented.
The Nine-Tails' wasn't helping either. He constantly reminded her how weak she was, though she tried to deny what he insinuated to her.
"They aren't going to help you, not this time. Though they never finished the job years ago either. Congratulations, you finally have their respect and now you want them to be their old self."
"No I don't!" Naruto hissed at him.
"Are you sure? When is the last time you ate without prompting? Have you gone an hour without flinching? Your sensory chakra wasn't just for battle, and you know it. Without it, you don't know what to do."
"Just shut up!" growled Naruto. "You don't know what you're talking about! I'm happy."
"Did you say something, Naruto?" Liyah asked, putting down the wooden beams she had been carrying.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Naruto smiled, though she could feel it straining to stay in place.
Liyah stared at the blonde for a beat longer before nodding, seeming to accept what she was told. Naruto was thankful since she had no idea how to explain the dull, cold ache that had buried itself in her chest. She tried to dismiss the feeling but whenever she was away from her closest friends and Shikamaru she felt it clawing its way deeper into her.
More than once she thought about telling someone that she felt as though she was drowning but every time she did she felt a wave of fear. She knew her terror came from Haruma and the idea that no one would care or try to help her like so many Children of Iron believed. Part of her knew that it wasn't true, that she did have those who cared for her and her safety. She had seen the disgusted looks on her friends faces when she had only hinted at Haruma's cruelty. However, no matter how much she tried to remind herself of that there was a small voice that disagreed with her. That small voice had far too much control over her.
The only times that she surfaced from the work she used to distract herself was when her friends came to insist she had a proper lunch or when members of the Nara Clan walked her home at the end of the day. Most in the group were around her own age or a bit older. She found it interesting to see the varying personalities in the Nara Clan. Many had traits similar to Shikamaru where they were highly intelligent but with very little motivation. Then there was Hiro who reminded Naruto of a hyena. He was always snickering and seemed to take little in the world seriously, and yet, he was perhaps the sharpest mind in the Nara Clan besides Shikamaru and his dad. Naruto liked to declare him a bad influence, especially when they were busted moving a worker's equipment around, making him spend an hour trying to locate everything only to have it more again. Hiro had tried to defend their actions by pointing out that they only did it because the man had been belittling Captain Yamato. Jun, another Nara, had pointed out that Hiro would have been more believable if he hadn't been cackling and grinning like a mad man as he spoke.
She picked up the last slab of wood to move it to its necessary location only to hear a pained scream from behind her after she turned. Quickly she dropped the slab and turned, finding a man lying limp on the ground. Rushing to his side, Naruto turned him onto his back, only to find Hiro laughing at her. In retaliation she punched him in the arm, making him give a real yelp of pain. From around another stack of building material Jun and Emon, a Hyuga the men were friends with, appeared, laughing at their friend's pain. Rolling her eyes, Naruto stood, only to feel a wave of dizziness come over her. Her knees buckled and next moment she was being held up by Emon, who was blinking down at her in surprise.
"Are you alright, Lady Naruto?" he muttered in his soft voice.
"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me Lady?" Naruto put a hand to her head, closing her eyes to try to stop the world from spinning. Hiro, who apparently enjoyed ears dropping had overheard Kakashik-Sensei and Shikaku talking about her recently discovered heritage. He had wasted no time in telling his two friends that she was actually the village princess. Since then Emon had been treating her with the 'honour' she deserved, though whether it was to annoy her or not was unclear.
"I think she just needs food. Emon, you should carry her though," Hiro exclaimed, jumping to his feet and being unable to hide his amusement.
"No you should not!" retorted Naruto, glaring at Emon who had already moved to sweep his arm under her knees. "But maybe Hiro would like to be carried."
"I wouldn't say no. I hate walking." Hiro went to jump in Emon's arms. "Carry me like a princess!"
"No." Emon stepped away, letting Hiro stumble to the ground with no one to catch him.
Jun sniggered as he put an arm around Naruto, helping to steady her steps. "Relax," he whispered to her. "I can feel you tensing." Amusement laced his next words, "is Shikamaru's touch the only one you don't tense at?" He grabbed her elbow when she tried to slam it into his stomach. He made sure the two men trailing behind them didn't notice her aggression before he turned serious. "You need to stop what you're doing!"
"What?" Naruto felt her stomach drop. She had tried to be so careful but maybe staying with the Naras wasn't smart.
"Shikamaru is healing, you are not," Jun said, his voice low. "How much chakra are you filtering into him each day?"
"Jun!"
"I won't tell anyone, but you need to stop. Shikamaru can heal on his own from now." When Naruto just shrugged Jun grunted in annoyance. "Naruto, you are a guest of the Naras because of Shikamaru. That means your safety and health are also his responsibility. If you don't stop what you are doing I will have to report it to him."
"Fine," she grounded out, "I won't give Shikamaru so much chakra, but I'm not going to stop using my healing chakra to help him."
"Man." Jun shook his head, reminding Naruto of Shikamaru. "They do like them headstrong, don't they?"
"What?" she asked.
"Never mind."
"I heard 'headstrong'," Hiro piped up, slinging an arm over Emon's shoulders and dragging him to catch up with the two. As Emon pushed the hair out of his face Hiro gave his signature bark of laughter. "Are we talking about where our charming heir's affections lie?"
Naruto felt her insides turn cold and she wished she could distance herself from the entire conversation. She bit down on the urge to mention that it was her that Shikamaru was planning a date for, not some other woman. She didn't need them to point out that she was a replacement. That was obvious to her but she still liked to deny it.
"She's definitely strong headed," Jun chuckled.
"And rather beautiful," Emon added, only to blush darkly. "Perhaps that was inappropriate."
"I'm sure she would be fine with being complemented by a handsome man like you." Hiro gave Emon a shake, making his long hair sway violently. "What do you think, Naruto, handsome or no?"
Naruto stopped, pretending to study the man seriously. Emon was older than Naruto by at least three years, if not more. His hair was long like all Hyugas, but was a lighter brown than most others. His lilac, pupilless eyes were more angular than his fellow clansman, and his jaw had a sharper curve to it. Naruto couldn't see anything unappealing in the man's appearance, but he didn't draw her gaze like some others.
"Not bad. Definitely better than you, Hiro."
Emon snickered into his fist as Hiro looked insulted, a hand coming to cover his heart in a dramatic fashion. "That hurts, darling."
"I'm surprise you aren't trying to make Shikamaru confess to her," Jun mused, continuing to lead the group to wherever they were meant to be going.
"Nah, he's taking strides to get with her so he doesn't need me meddling." Hiro shrugged.
"That's almost mature of you." Emon hid his amused smile behind his hand.
"I have my moments. Jun's dad and Satoru have forbade me from interfering too." Hiro sighed heavily, dramatically lamenting his situation.
Naruto looked around, trying to find a good change of subject. Instead she saw her team, clearly looking for her. She ducked behind Emon, the tallest of the three men, making the Hyuga look over his shoulder at her.
"Is everything alright, my Lady?"
"Stop looking at me," she hissed. "I'm hiding from my team."
"Why?" Jun asked slowly, looking around for the white hair of her well-known Sensei.
"Kakashi-Sensei is acting weird and thinks we should hang as a group to 'keep the team strong' and 'moral support'. It just ends up with Sakura complaining about the rumours going around about me." She peeked around Emon's hip, trying and failing to spot her team. "As much as I care about my team I just need a break from it all."
"That's too late, darling," Hiro said, staring at something she couldn't see. "Your sensei has spotted you."
Naruto swore before Jun gave her a sympathetic smile. "I've got you." He turned to her advancing team, putting a joyful smile on. "Hey, Naruto's team, how's it going?"
"We're good. Why is Naruto hiding from us?" Kakashi-Sensei asked plainly, looking at her when she peeked out.
"Oh, Naruto agreed to spend some time with us and didn't know how to tell you she couldn't be in your team get-together." Jun lied so smoothly that for a moment Naruto wondered if she had forgotten actually doing what he said.
"Hmm, that is an issue," Kakashi-Sensei agreed, scratching his chin. "I suppose you three can join our team."
Naruto held in a groan, something Hiro didn't succeed in. Jun, however, nodded.
"Sounds like a great plan."
Jun hooked his arm with Naruto, dragging her after her team. If he noticed her tense he didn't show it. Hiro had taken to pulling faces behind Sakura's back as she complained that Kakashi-Sensei wouldn't let her add her mud balls to the picnic basket that he had made Captain Yamato put together. Apparently Kakashi-Sensei was holding a grudge from the captain binding him to a hospital bed. Naruto had decided not to ask. She couldn't help but give a small smile as she watched Emon try to not laugh at Hiro's actions. The Hyuga was as overworked as Naruto was, and the blonde had noticed how his friend tried to make him smile at least once a day. She had failed to notice how her new friends were doing the same thing for her.
When they reached one of the few remaining grassy fields the two leaders of Team Seven stopped, instructing everyone to sit. Naruto felt her body give a painful shutter. She hid it though as she sprawled out on the grass, giving a laugh when both Naras flopped onto their backs. She half expected them to start gazing up at the clouds like Shikamaru did but it appeared that this wasn't part of the Nara trait.
Admittedly, the scenery helped to calm her some. The hill looked much like the one her father had created in her mind for them to talk privately on. Part of her still couldn't believe that the Fourth Hokage was her father. Until she had found out about the Nine-Tails he had been her favourite Hokage. She had asked Iruka-Sensei about him whenever he had gone into the history of the village. She had even tried to steal a copy of the Fourth's Hokage photo that had been hung in the Third's office but she had been busted. At the time, Naruto hadn't understood why the Old Man was so against her having the picture. Now, knowing that he was her father and that the resemblance was fairly obvious with some thought she could see why he wouldn't let her have the picture.
When she had commented to Uncle Inoichi and Shikaku that it was difficult picturing herself as the great Fourth Hokage's daughter the two had told her about the silly names he came up for things and how he was often seen as dumb because he hid his intelligence under a heavy layer of idiocy and jokes. Both had commented that when they had first seen Naruto doing the same thing they had thought she had found out about the habit and had adapted it out of a form of hero worship. They had appeared happy to hear that no, that was not the case and it was just her personality.
"So, Naruto," Sakura started, making the blonde silently groan. Naruto laid back and stared up at the sky as the other girl went on. "These are your friends from the Nara Clan?"
"Ones a Hyuga," Naruto pointed out, indicating Emon. The man looked up from stacking crackers on Hiro's forehead long enough to give a wave. Naruto snorted, wondering if Hiro was asleep or just didn't care.
"But you met him too from staying at the Nara Estare, didn't you?" Sakura asked accusingly.
Hiro opened his eyes, seemingly unbothered by the towering pillar of crackers on his head. "What are you getting at? Also, Emon, if you're going to do this at least give me one to eat!" When Emon stuffed one in his mouth he gave a muffled thank you.
"I'm just wondering why you get to sleep in a bedroom in an estate whilst so many others have to sleep in tents with eight other people."
"I sleep in the Foundation," Sai commented, only to be waved off by Sakura. Kakashi-Sensei and Captain Yamato rolled their eyes at the same time as Sai.
"You almost sound jealous," Jun taunted, munching on a sandwich triangle from the picnic basket. When Sakura glared at him he offered her the remander of his sandwich, getting a disgusted look in return.
Sometimes Naruto was uncomfortable with the realisation that she had managed to befriend the two Naras that actually had a read on human emotions. There was something reassuring being in a clan that was almost as bad as she was with emoting.
"I'm just wondering why Naruto is getting special treatment," Sakura pouted.
"Because Naruto saved us?" Captain Yamato suggested with a frown.
"But he wasn't the only one who fought," Sakura argued.
"She does have a point," Naruto muttered, taking a cracker off the swaying stack on Hiro's forehead. She munched it slowly, feeling the shiver of pain rack her body again.
"No she doesn't!" Kakashi-Sensei said, not adding any further comment. Instead he stared at Naruto, making her worry that he would randomly hug her again.
"Kakashi is right!" Hiro declared, making the crackers wobble dangerously. "Naruto did a lot for the village, and the village reflected that. Not to mention Naruto took a lot of damage during that fight."
"I've seen plenty of people who are worse off than Naruto."
"Admittedly, it is hard to tell when Naruto is injured," Sai commented plainly.
As though in response, Naruto's body shook with more pain. Every night she told herself that she would only filter her remaining chakra into Shikamaru at the end of the day. But every night she found she only had a little bit of chakra left. A mear drop in the ocean that used to be her stores. In the morning she had rejuvenated more, even after giving Shikamaru chakra the night before. She woke before him and would see him flinching in his sleep, his chakra veins still burnt like her own, his leg causing him discomfort, and even though she knew she shouldn't, she funnelled at least half of her chakra into him. Lava ran through her system as she forced the chakra out of her and into Shikamaru. Her muscles clenched in protest and the Nine-Tails would call her an idiot. Still, even as she told herself that she wouldn't do it ever again, that Shikamaru wouldn't want it, and that she couldn't survive doing this day after day she still did it again and again. Each morning he would flinch, or groan in his sleep and she would stroke his hair, his cheek, and his jawline as chakra played across her fingers, slowly ebbing into his body. She would watch her energy flicker over him, easing the tension and lines in his face.
"Oh, I know what your problem is!" Hiro declared, grinning up at Emon, who was creating two more pillars of crackers to balance out the first. "Did you get better marks than Naruto in the academy?"
"Sasuke and I are top of our class," Sakura boasted, making her team roll their eyes. "Naruto is the bottom of the class."
"And there you do," Jun sung. "You just said 'are' and 'is'."
"So?"
"You still think how you did in the academy is what level you are at now," Captain Yamato explained with an exasperated sigh. "It's not. Out of all those in your class Naruto has made the most improvement. He is a Sage now, Sakura. That is a title that even the most elite Jonin can't always get, and Naruto did it in a month at age sixteen. On top of that Naruto worked with Jonin to instruct people during the fight with Pain. He has proven himself to be able to strategies, lead, and take instructions and improve on them. He is at Jonin level but realises that when the Chunin exams were available to him he had more important missions to complete instead of getting validation from his comrades. You still rely on instructions, unless you are forced to lead, and even then, you have trouble staying focused on multiple tasks. You are at a Chunin level."
"Captain Yamato," Sakura gasped as Naruto wondered if Kakashi-Sensei would be kind enough to use an earth style jutsu to make her disappear into the ground. "I can make critical decisions and give orders if I need to."
"You should work on showing that potential," Kakashi-Sensei stated plainly, which shocked Naruto.
It was with that one line that she realised her team and her friends had noticed how Sakura's usual negativity was draining Naruto. Although she cared for her teammate, she was starting to dread the very sight of her. She knew that Sakura was getting a lot of questions from the village about Naruto, and perhaps she felt overlooked or inferior and was taking it out on the only person she really could.
"Guys, just leave it be," Naruto said fore standing. "I'm gonna head home."
"We'll walk with you," Jun commented, jumping to his feet. He snorted when Hiro shook his head, sending crackers flying.
Hiro than made Emon pull him to his feet, with the declaration that he was too tired to get up. In retaliation Emon started softly kicking Hiro in the side until his only means of escape is to get up. This and the Naras grumbling complaints made Naruto laugh as Jun slung an arm over Naruto's shoulders and started leading her to the Nara Estate. She barely had a time to shoot a goodbye over her shoulder at her team.
As much as she appreciated how her friends tried to protect her she was uncomfortable with the way that Hiro kept shooting her worried gaze. He had never seemed concerned with her emotional state when they had first met, and on the contrary appeared to enjoy seeing her try to hide the cracks starting in her mentals barriers. Now he was one of the ones trying the hardest to keep her together.
/ / / / /
Part of her was mad at Hiro and Jun. She had enjoyed her date with Shikamaru. For a few hours it had just been them, she wasn't worried about who Shikamaru was really in love with, she didn't worry that she was letting down the village, and she didn't have any fear of the village finding her in a dress and punishing her for it. It was much like whenever she and Shikamaru spent time together. She found herself relaxing and just having a joke with someone who was important to her. Those moments were a glimpse into what her life would have been like if she hadn't been an orphan and hadn't been the cage for the Nine-Tails. In any other circumstance these moments would have been bittersweet reminders of what could have been, but with Shikamaru they didn't feel fleeting. These moments felt solid and tangible.
Unfortunately, when she went off afterwards to help Sakura no matter how much she threw herself into her work she couldn't stop thinking about what Hiro and Jun had talked about. They both were under the impression that Shikamaru was going to confess to the woman he actually cared about soon. Even running her chakra into the ground didn't stop their words from ringing through her mind.
The next morning she tried to push it out of her thoughts as she funnelled chakra into a sleeping Shikamaru. She hadn't had any chakra left the night before to give him and she refused to let him go without. He had chosen to get the cast removed simply so they wouldn't have to postpone their date even though it left him in pain. Naruto had seen him more than once trying to rub the ache out of his calf. When she had given all the chakra she could spare she stood, only for the room to tilt and spin. She landed on the ground, hearing Shikamaru mutter her name in his sleep.
"I'm alright," Naruto promised, kneeling next to the bed and stroking his cheek. "Just keep sleeping."
She kissed him, feeling him respond. Pulling away, she gave herself a moment to clear her head before writing Shikamaru a note to know where she was. As the room tilted again as she walked out she was tempted to not go and help Sakura and instead climb back into bed beside Shikamaru. Part of her screamed that soon she wouldn't be able to be so close to him and that thought terrified her.
This fear was still coursing through her when Shikamaru came to have lunch with her. It didn't help that she was exhausted from making too many shadow clones and with each day that the village treated her with kindness she found herself tensing further, waiting for it all to fall away and the violence to return.
As the two sat beside the river eating their lunch all Naruto could think about was how easily Shikamaru was going to replace her. She wondered if the woman he wanted was more like Sakura instead of her. She doubted it was Sakura herself, and Naruto knew she wouldn't handle it at all if it was her. Would anything about the woman remind him of Naruto? Or would he choose to forget everything that they had shared? The thought of moments that she held so dear being turned into nothing caused a hollow feeling to embed itself into her chest.
It was this thought and feeling that made Naruto kiss Shikamaru hard, pushing him onto the grass. Part of her knew that she should stop but she couldn't talk sense into herself. All she could imagine was searing her mark on him, making it impossible for him to forget her. That she could linger with him the way he would always stay with her. Naruto could feel Shikamaru responding to her touch and yet, he pushed her away, asking her if this was really what she wanted.
His rejection stung, but it was not as painful as the thought that rang through her mind at Shikamaru's question. *I just want you!*
It was with this one thought that she realised she had handed Shikamaru control over her. He could do more damage to her than Huruma ever could have. It felt as though, with that thought, she had tied a noose around her neck. An image of Waku hanging, the rope pinching into his neck as her heart dropped into her stomach. She ran, trying to distance herself from her biggest threat.
For some reason she ran back to the Nara Estate, even though this would be the easiest place for Shikamaru to find her. Before she could think of a new place to go, Hiro walked up to her, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slumped. He scanned Naruto's appearance, his mouth pulling down at both corners.
"What happened, Naruto?"
"It's nothing."
Hiro grunted. "It doesn't look like nothing. But if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. Honestly I'm about to make your day worse."
"How?" Naruto breathed in shock.
The Nara looked away from her before whispering his answer in a volume that the blonde was just able to hear. "Because I have orders to find a way to destroy you… and I have."
Naruto sat down on the porch, leaning forward and putting her head in her hands. "Better you than him," she muttered, not caring if Hiro heard her.
"Are you going to stop him?" the Nine-Tails growled in her head.
"Why bother?" Naruto thought back.
"Of course, I forgot, this is what you wanted all along. Why commit suicide when you can get someone to kill you! You haven't changed, even though you promised that you had."
"I never actually promised, I just said that I was going to use the iron in my blood to fight to get the village to respect me. I kept that promise."
"You're pathetic."
/ / / / /
Sorry for the cliffhanger, had to be done.
I'm off to bed. R and R.