Here We Go Again

Disclaimer. I don't own Naruto. Doubt I ever will either. However, I do own Hinata, Kenji, Yusuke, Kuemon, Yasuoka, Kazu, Yukio, Eriko, Akane and any other folks I may dream up, so if you'd like to borrow them, just let me know, okay?

AN: Sorry about the long wait. I've just been lacking in mental stimulation, or I might have burned out my brain. Oh well.

Chapter 6: Come Again?

"Come again?" said Naruto.

Tsunade sighed. "You heard me Naruto. I want you to lead your former genin team on an extraction mission. We have confirmed that Kabuto is in the Stone country, along with a fair contingent of runaway Rock-nins. You are to cross the Stone country border and extridite Yakushi. You have 14 hours before you leave" said Tsunade briskly, and then she turned and walked out of her office, leaving Naruto standing there, dumbfounded.

An hour later, Sakura was staring at her husband, a similar expression to the one he'd been wearing adorning her face. "She wants you to take 3 chuunins, and infiltrate the Stone country? To go after Kabuto?" she spat incredulously. At Naruto's helpless nod, she threw her hands in the air, a disgusted expression on her face saying what she thought of her former teacher's decision. Naruto, for his part, shrugged and sighed. He had a pretty good idea of why Tsunade was doing this, but he wanted to keep his ideas to himself for now, just in case.

Sighing again, he looked at Sakura. "So, where's Hinata at?" he asked, his tone indicating that he probably knew the answer.

"Where else? She's at the park, training with Shiro at stealth tactics" came the expected reply. An all-too familiar mischivous grin crossed Naruto's face.

"I think I'll go pay a visit" he said as he took the quick balcony exit. Sakura could only groan. Eight years of marriage and he still hadn't changed at all.

Hinata crouched, sneaking along behind the hedge row. She knew that dog-boy was somewhere nearby, but where? Pausing, she noticed the familiar scent of Aoshi's flea shampoo, and leapt out, crying "Aha!" as she crashed right into the leg of a tall, powerfully built man, who was staring down at her with a mixed expression of confusion and curiosity. Rubbing her head, Hinata began to apologize, but before she could, the big man broke into a wide grin.

"Well, if it isn't Hinata-chan! You've definitely grown. It's good that you take more after your mother's looks than your father's" he laughed in his deep, booming voice.

A sweatdrop making it's way down her face, Hinata inched backwards a step. "And how exactly do you know me, jii-san?" she asked, assessing her options for escape. As the big man opened his mouth to answer, her father's voice came from behind the big man.

"Crap! I mean... how's it going Ero-sennin?" The big man pivoted and engulfed Naruto in a massive hug.

"Naruto! I was just having a friendly chat with Hinata-chan here. So how's my favorite student been these past, what's it been, eight years?" chuckled Jiraiya as he released the now-gasping Naruto.

Checking his ribs for bruising, Naruto shook his head. "Me and Sakura've been fine, thanks. What're you doing in Konoha anyway Jiraiya?" he asked, wincing as he found a slightly tender spot.

The larger man gave a non-committal shrug. "I was in the area, and thought I'd drop in on my favorite student"

"I'm your only student"

"Irrelevant Naruto. The point is, here I am" the Toad Hermit grinned. Naruto shook his head.

"Have you dropped in on Tsunade yet?" he asked, scratching at the stubble adorning his chin. At the mention of his former teammate, Jiraiya paled for a moment.

"No, she wasn't at her office, and Shizune wasn't around either. So, I decided to check the park on an off-chance, and Hinata-chan here crashed into me" he said.

At that moment, said ninja-in-training was looking at this man who spoke of the Hokage as casually as her father did in stupefied wonder. No way was this easy-going, light-hearted old man the legendary ninja Jiraiya, was he? All the evidence seemed to point that way, but he stuck Hinata as... kinda dumb. Not the fake-dumb that Kakashi jii-san played to keep people off their guard, but honestly somewhat stupid. Still, unsure, she realized that Shiro and Aoshi had managed to evade her for the time being. "Dammit!" she swore, then realized that her father was still standing right there. Looking up at him and Jiraiya with a sheepish expression, she rubbed the back of her head. "Ummm, I have to go find Shiro now... bye Daddy, ojii-san!" she said as she turned and darted into the bushes.

Naruto just shook his head. Turning to his former teacher, he found a bemused expression on Jiraiya's face. "I guess her personality is more like yours than Sakura-chan's, no?" Jiraiya laughed heartily.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Guess so. Anyway, I have to go. Got a mission in about 12 and a half hours to prep for" he said as he started walking away. Jiraiya stood there a moment longer, then scratched his head.

"Why does everyone keep doing that to me today?"

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12 hours later, the reunited Cell 8 stood at Konoha's North Gate, looking out in the direction of the Stone country. Kazu cracked his neck, moving through his stretches with fluid ease. It'd been a few years since the four of them had been together, and it felt... right. He looked at Yukio, who had since become a teacher at the academy, but left when he realized that he missed the excitement of field work. Eriko had long since grown her hair out, allowing it's natural dusky brown color to shown through, although the bottom 3 or so inches still showed evidence of the her once blonde dye-job. As she talked quietly to Naruto, throwing out a few playful jabs here and there, Kazu allowed a half-smile to creep onto his face. It was almost time. Almost time for Team Naruto to ride again.

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3 days from Konoha...

Naruto yawned. His team had set up camp 20 minutes ago, and Yukio was now making dinner. Although Kazu had first watch, Naruto didn't feel right about falling asleep first. He smiled as he noticed that Eriko, who had carried around such a crush on him for so long, flirted with Kazu, who, for his part, seemed as oblivious as Naruto had been once upon a time. Then again, spend enough time with Lee... Naruto grinned at that line of thought. Lee was still single, even though most of the rest of them were at the very least involved with someone. He could still remember Gaara's reaction to Shikamaru and Temari. It was a pretty standard Gaara reaction, granted, but it still kinda funny to see just Shikamaru's head sticking out of a column of sand that Naruto still swore looked like a pineapple tree. Kiba and Ino had gotten married about a month after Naruto and Sakura, and had a baby boy a few months after that. Coincidently, Akamaru became a father right around the same time. But Lee, well, his intensity had a tendency of frightening off girls. Oh, he'd had a few girlfriends here and there, but he was overall still single. His stomach reacting to the smell of Yukio's now-finished cooking shaking him from his reverie, Naruto looked just in time to see Kazu with an expression indicating that he'd become aware of the fact that his teammate was hitting on him, and he wasn't sure how to handle it. Smiling and shaking his head as he stood up, Naruto walked towards the campfire. Maybe tonight he'd start reading that book Kakashi had loaned him...

A few hours later, Kazu sat up on his watch, deep in thought. He'd often listened to Lee-sempai lament about his inability to keep a girlfriend over the years, and now he was in a potentially awkward situation. On the one hand, he couldn't deny that Eriko had definitely grown into an attractive young woman, but... but what? He found that he couldn't really think of an argument beyond the fact that at the moment, they were on a potentially deadly mission, but provided they came back, what was there to prevent them from pursuing something more than friendship? Looking back at the last few years, all he'd really done was perform missions and train with Lee. He suddenly realized, as he watched Eriko shift slightly in her sleep, that he'd become very lonely somewhere along the line, and he didn't like the feeling. He decided to talk to her about it the next day. Sighing, it occurred to him that conversation would likely be the most difficult thing he'd ever done.

The next day...

Eriko brushed her bangs out of her eyes as Team Naruto moved at high speed towards the Stone country. They were a few hours out from the Grass country, where Naruto had announced they would stop for rest and resupply. Some time ago she'd noticed that Kazu was acting somewhat abnormal, shooting her glances when he thought she wasn't looking, a worried expression on his face the whole time. Glancing at Yukio, who seemed oblivious to the whole situation, she sighed to herself. This mission was a potential powder-keg on several points, and she didn't even know what her own teammate was thinking. All she could think to do was look up at the sky, and then she muttered something that she'd vehemently deny she'd said for years to come. "How bothersome."

Less than a half hour from Hidden Grass, a genin team of Grass-nins confronted Naruto and his team. As the Jounin leader approached Naruto, he paused, scrutinizing the woman's face. "What? Is there something on my face?" she asked, a concerned expression crossing her features.

Naruto snapped his fingers. "Nyoko-san! It's been a while, hasn't it?" he said, a light tone to his voice.

"Do I ... dear Kami, Naruto?" she stammered as recognition set in.

Grinning his usual grin, he started to respond, only to duck a slap intended for his face. "What'd I do?" he cried as the woman launched into a flurry of taijutsu, which he either dodged or blocked.

"Like you don't know" she responded as a roundkick went high over the blonde Jounin's head.

"Actually, I really don't. Care to let me know?" he said as he cross-blocked a knee intended for a particularly valued piece of anatomy. Nyoko froze at this statement, a punch only inches from Naruto's face.

"You're serious? You don't know?" At Naruto's vigorously shaking head, she stopped. "He didn't tell you? That bastard Jiraiya arranged to bring me with you guys in exchange for room and board" she said in a dull monotone, her eyes vacantly staring forward. Before Naruto could say anything, she fainted, pitching forwards into his arms.

"Why does this always happen to me?"

While their team leader was off dealing with both diplomacy with the leader of Hidden Grass and his issues with Nyoko-san, Naruto's team was given free leave to wander about, with Nyoko's team acting as guides. While the male team members engaged Kazu in conversation about various things, including his visible scars and Eriko, the lone female tentatively approached Yukio, who for his part seemed engrossed with the local foliage. Clearing her throat, she bowed. "Hello, I'm Hisamatsu Yukari. Pleased to meet you" she said, a slight quaver in her voice. Yukio startled, and turned to see the white haired girl bowing low.

Scratching his nose for a moment, he leaned in, trying to see the girl's face. "I'm Tomori Yukio. Are you okay?" he said as the girl straightened suddenly, a light blush visible on her face. As she nodded, he again scratched at the scar adorning the bridge of his nose.

"Umm, if it's not too forward of me, could you tell me the story behind that scar, Tomori-san?" she asked in a quiet voice. Cocking an eyebrow at her timidness, Yukio mentally shrugged.

"Sure. I got this scar about, hmmm, 8 years ago. We..." he said while gesturing to his teammates "...were on a recon mission to the ruins of Hidden Sound. We encountered a team of enemy ninja. They were arrogant enough to take us on one-on-one, which was what cost them in the end. My opponent fought in an unusual dual katana style. This..." he pointed at the scar "...was the only blow he managed to land on me. I guess that I got lucky. I also used a genjutsu I'd learned some time earlier to help me beat him as easily as I did" he stated, finishing his story. As he looked at the girl, he realized that she'd long-since fainted, yet continued walking. Sighing, he wondered what it was with these Grass-nins and fainting.

Shortly thereafter, Team Naruto found themselves suitable lodging for the night. Yukio was still out, talking to Yukari about his past exploits while under the tutelage of the rather infamous Uzumaki Naruto, which left Eriko and Kazu alone. Eriko, who until this point had been trying unsuccessfully to get a moment to talk to her teammate, now cornered him as he sat on the veranda, staring at the rising moon. "Kazu..." she said softly "...I think we need to talk. I, um, noticed that you've been acting strange all day. If it was what I said the other..."

"It's not you. It's me" he said, cutting her off. "I've been thinking, Eri. We've known each other a little over half our lives, right? So, I'd say that makes us pretty good friends. I mean, we've had our arguments now and then, and I'll admit, I've been something of a workaholic over the last few years, but I'd like to think that I've been an okay friend to both you and Yukio." he said, not rising from where he sat. After a moment's hesitation, Eriko walked over to him, and sat next to him, a guarded expression on her face.

"Kazu, I..." Holding up a hand, he cut her off once more.

"Sorry, just let me finish what I have to say, then you can say whatever you want" he said as a sad smile crossed his face. "Last night, I did some serious thinking. I realized that I was very much alone, and wasn't even aware of it. I'd become so engrossed in my life as a ninja, that I forgot to have a life as a person too. Look at the other people around us Eri. Naruto has Sakura-san and their daughter, and that is a place of belonging and happiness for him. Yukio has his parents and siblings, and now that Grass girl. Even you have your mother. All I've had since the war with the Sound was Lee-sempai and you guys. And after we all received our Chuunin promotions, we fell out of contact. At least, I did with you two and Naruto. My life has been very empty for a long time now, and I think it's time to fill it with something" he said, his voice straining with emotion. "I don't really know much about relationships, or anything of that sort even, but I know that I hate being alone. And I'll admit, I'm somewhat envious of the happiness that seems to come to others so easily, but I can't seem to find. Do you understand, Eriko? I don't think I can do it anymore" he said, his voice finally cracking. As his head slumped forward, he felt arms encircling him.

"It's okay, Kazu. I'm here. I just... I never did thank you. For that time, back at the Sound, when you came to check on me, despite your own exhaustion and injuries. And, I guess, I just want to be there for you" she whispered, her chin resting on his shoulder as she held him. They wouldn't move for many hours to come.

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Another week passed, and they now found themselves in enemy territory. Naruto had been privately observing the progress of Kazu and Eriko's relationship, and he approved. Now, though, they were stuck behind enemy lines. Kabuto's force of renegade Rock-nins also happened to have a fairly large number of surviving Sound-nins, and they had managed to discover the presence of Naruto's team. Although unable to escape, they did manage to conceal themselves, occasionally skirmishing with patrols. Naruto had summoned Gamakichi and sent him to Konoha to retrieve reinforcements.

Several days after dispatching the summoned toad for backup, Naruto and his team found themselves in a tight spot against a combined force of Rock-nukenins and Sound nins. Although between Naruto's raw power, Kazu's taijutsu and Yukio's genjutsu they had stalled the enemy for some time, their chakra stores began to run low, and they began to tire. As the enemy began to surround them, there was a sudden chakra flare and a cry of "Katon: Ryuuku no Jutsu!" as a massive dragon, entirely made of flame, tore into the enemy ranks, and a figure burst forth from it's mouth. The darkly-dressed ninja lashed out, cutting down off-guard targets nearby. A moment later, a Rock-nin closed on him, only to be slashed in half by a well-placed katana strike.

Naruto laughed as he realized who Tsunade had sent as their back-up. "Yasu, Kuemon! It's been a while guys!" he laughed as he drove a kick into a Sound-nin's throat, collapsing the man. Kuemon gave a mock salute and a grin, while Yasuoka nodded grimly as he slashed out the throat of another enemy. A pair of rock-nins regrouped, and began to charge when a pink-glowing kunai tore through the left one's guts. Coughing up blood, he turned in time to see a red-haired girl drive a glowing foot into his skull, imploding his face. The other one backed up a step. The girl's entire body was wreathed in a peculiar pink-red energy, and it burned the ground where she stepped. Snorting, she turned and looked towards the other new arrivals.

"Hey, you guys can't kill all the competent ones and leave me with the chumps" she called out as she returned her attention to the remaining Rock-nin. Grimacing, he charged the girl, who flashed through a series of seals, finishing on the Dragon seal. "Genkeishitsu: Nenshou Hayate!" she cried as she thrust a fist in the air, causing the air around her foe to coalesce into the same pink-red plasma the surrounded her, and engulf him. Trotting casually over to Naruto's group, she stopped dead as she spotted Eriko, who'd also noticed her presence and was wearing a similar expression of disbelief.

"Y...You!" they stuttered simultaneously, both of them pointing at the other. As Naruto and the others finished off the last of the stragglers, they came across the face-off. Naruto, who'd recognized the girl's chakra as soon as she'd arrived, looked on with a bemused grin. Yukio shook his head, while Kazu watched carefully, ready to step in at a moment's notice. Kuemon's expression was much like Naruto's, while Yasuoka appeared almost bored at this.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Eriko finally managed to exclaim, her mind refusing to accept what her eyes were seeing. Recovering from her own shock, the redhead glared.

"Saving your ass, apparently" she said, then turned her glare on the all-too amused Kuemon. "You knew about this, didn't you?" she accused. He could only grin. Sighing, she turned back to the girl who'd beaten her 8 years earlier. "Okay, I know we've got some history, but I'm willing to let it slide until we get back to Konoha, deal?" she said, extending a hand.

Eriko looked at her suspiciously. "I thought you were a Sound ninja? Why are you helping us?" she said.

"Orochimaru wasn't exactly a benevolent leader, and nobody liked Kabuto, okay?" Grunting, Eriko shook the girl's hand.

"Amagawa Eriko" she said.

A small smile crossed the other girl's face. She said "Matano Akane" as she released Eriko's hand.

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"…and we infiltrated the place, caught Kabuto, and escaped home. Tsunade baa-chan was so impressed, she gave up the title of Hokage to me" Naruto concluded, a wide grin on his face. Sasuke's expression on the other hand, was less than amused. Sighing, he glared half-heartedly at Naruto.

"Don't even try the Kakashi ending, Naruto. I want the story, in full" he said, his eyes leaving no room for compromise.

Naruto grumbled "I'm Hokage, outta be able to finish stories how I want, bastard" and resumed the tale.

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A few hours later, the reinforced Team Naruto sat in council, Kabuto's headquarters just beyond them. "Okay, so what's the situation?" Eriko asked at a whisper. Naruto nodded to Yasuoka, who, in addition to his fire immunity was quite the recon expert.

"Well, I've confirmed regular patrols here and here" he said, pointing to locations on the map that he and Yukio had been working on for the last hour, "and I'm pretty sure that this…" he paused as he pointed to a low, rectangular building "… is Kabuto's actual HQ. The other buildings appear to be barracks and storage. Overall, I'd say that last battle, combined with the skirmishes you've been in over the last few days, have reduced their numbers by about a third" he concluded.

Naruto nodded. "Kazu, Kuemon. I want the two of you to work on tactics. Yukio and Yasu, you guys continue with recon. Akane and Eriko, you two have sentry duty. That means NO arguing with each other, understand?" he whispered, his tone decreeing that they understood. Glaring at one another briefly, they nodded and walked in separate directions. Naruto waited until they were out of sight, then broke into a huge grin. He knew that giving them a different target, namely himself, would keep them from each other's throats. 'Besides', he thought 'this way, I get to use my favorite jutsu.' As his hands flashed through the seals, he grinned. It wasn't often he pulled off a infiltration mission.

Yukio frowned. He'd just reported in to Naruto, except that it hadn't been Naruto, it'd been a Kage Bunshin. Certainly, Naruto knew the results of his reports, but where was he?

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" asked Kyuubi, his tone indicating his annoyance at Naruto's plan. "I'm willing to lend you enough power to just level the place."

Naruto mentally sighed, his patience for the demon fox's attempts to convince him to utterly destroy Kabuto's headquarters wearing thin. "Look, I told you. We need to take Kabuto alive, and annihilating the place pretty much sends that straight to hell" he said.

"Fine, we'll do it your way. I suppose lending you enough chakra to make this convincing is doable, but if things start going down hill…"

"Yeah, fine, total destruction. Happy?"

"Close enough."

The blonde girl stumbled into the camp, her injuries causing her to limp slightly. As a pair of Jounin approached, she collapsed. Within minutes, she was in the makeshift hospital and Yakushi Kabuto was peering at her unconscious form suspiciously. As her eyes opened slowly, Kabuto shifted and set his gaze equal to her's. "Who are you? You aren't one of mine, girl" he said slowly, not disguising the suspicion in his voice.

Rubbing her eyes, she looked at him in confusion, then a degree of amazement. "Kabuto-sama? Is that really you? I though that during the Leaf invasion… I was just a Genin at the time…" she said, trailing off as her fingers grazed the paralled slash marks on each cheek. Following this movement, Kabuto's eyes began to widen. The girl's eyes narrowed as a wicked, fox-like grin crossed her face. "Gotcha!" she cried as the Kyuubi-reinforced henge dropped, revealing Naruto, who quickly executed Kage Bunshin and neutralized the other ninja in the room, leaving only himself and Kabuto.

"So, I was right. How have the last 9 years been to you Naruto-kun?" Kabuto asked, not quite able to keep the quaver out of his voice.

Shrugging as he stood, Naruto grinned. "Not too bad. Kicking the bastard's ass was a high point. You Kabuto?" Naruto replied, letting the air become saturated in the chakra of the nine-tailed fox. His head slumping as he realized just how overmatched he was, Kabuto's head snapped up as the sound of chaos filled the air outside. "And that would be my team. Hard to believe that the oldest of 'em is only 22, huh?" said the blonde ninja, his grin telling Kabuto that he'd be seeing Konoha again very soon…

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"…and so I took Kabuto in without even having to kick his ass. When we arrived back in Konoha, we were immediately summoned to Baa-chan's office. Man, when I saw that Sakura and Hinata were there, I started sweating. Then, Tsunade said something I never thought she'd tell me. She said 'Here's my job Naruto. You made it.' I couldn't believe it. I was still pretty out of it a day later when she announced it to the rest of Konoha, along with the fact that I'd just captured my second class-A or higher nukenin. Never thought that many people could be completely silent at once, but…" he finished, trailing off at the memory with a grin.

Sasuke sat silently, his old brooding expression back on his face. "So, what of the current threats to Konoha? Who are the big enemies now?" he said, his eyes now locked on the Hokage.

Sitting back in his chair, Naruto thought about it for a moment. "Well, our relations with the Cloud still suck. After we took care of Kabuto and his group, the Stone stopped being outright hostile, but they still don't like us. Akatsuki is still out there too, although…" he said, trailing off.

"Although what, Naruto? What is it? What about Akatsuki?" Sasuke pressed, a dangerous gleam entering his eyes.

"Itachi's dead, Sasuke." The Uchiha paused, the color draining from his face.

"What?" he said, his voice little more than a hoarse whisper.

"It was about three years ago. His body was found in a small coastal town, in a hotel. We still don't know what did it, but he was blind" Naruto said in a quiet tone.

"You mean that he'd been blinded."

"No" Kakashi interjected suddenly. "He was blind, like this" he said as he lifted the hitae-ate covering his left eye, his Sharingan eye, which was now milky-white. "It was the Mangekyou-Sharingan. It takes more than just that one sacrifice to get it, because that great power it carries takes away your vision."

Sasuke sighed. "So, my great power, the birthright I wanted so I could avenge my clan, is worthless?" he said, the defeat evident in his voice. "I'm all that's left. I truly am the last Uchiha now."

"Well, maybe not. See, we're pretty sure we know why Itachi was in a rinky dink coastal village. He'd been visiting the Land of Waves, and…"Kakashi said as Naruto suddenly cut him off.

"And we're sending your team on a diplomatic mission there in three days. You'll be working with a team from Hidden Sand as well." Sasuke's mood shifted suddenly, as he began to read the implications behind Kakashi's statements.

"We'll be ready in two".

Author's Notes

Finally done! Sorry about the delay, but a combination of writer's block and lack of internet slowed me down. Now though, I'm back in the swing of things, and hopefully I'll have the next chapter up in a couple of weeks, barring another stupid shift in my existing lifestyle.

-Shun