REVIEWS:

AlienTokusatsuDuelistMangaGeek Thanks for the review. I think Hana and RJ could be friends, but because cooking used to be such a big part of my life, I figured I would put it in as the catalyst for RJ and Ayame to become friends and more eventually.

bob19h That... is not outside the realm of possibilities. We may do the Land of Snow as an arc. If we decide to go that route, it will show how Kurama even knows what a train is. Haha.

AN: Sorry for the delay. Both Einjeru Hatake and I are busy working on other IRL projects respectively, so we write when we can and have time. She surprised me by e-mailing me this nearly finished product yesterday. So thank her for her hard work. :D .

And thank you for your patience. Faves, Follows, and Reviews are greatly appreciated. Much Love.

NOW

Brutality and Healing

By Einjeru Hatake and Shinobi Gatana

Trigger Warning: A moment of OC Marital Abuse

The moment that the word begin was said, Team 7 dashed at their assigned opponents. Anko said to them over the span of their training that they needed to end a fight before it began and to avoid posturing as the sooner one struck the less time the opponent can make hand signs or defend themselves. The only exception was when you need to bide time to come up with something and to be able to get into your opponent's mind long enough for it to work.

Naruto charged at Kiba without the slightest bantering. Before he was halfway, Kiba was making Akamaru stay out of it, but Akamaru sensed the danger his master was in and charged at Naruto, whom flipped over Akamaru and landed behind Kiba, aiming for a reverse elbow.

In kind, Kiba moved forward slightly, which allowed him to reduce the impact by half and keep him in battle longer. 'Damn it! How is the dobe that good?'

Kurenai was appalled by how brutal Naruto was being and was about to intervene before Anko nipped it in the bud.

"Cool it Kurenai! I trained them to end a fight before it begins if they can, and to avoid posturing unless it would distract one's enemy." Anko also thought about when they started using their ranger powers and told them not to relinquish that rule unless they're on an S-Ranked stealth mission.

Kurenai narrowed her eyes in disagreement but looked on as Kiba regained his bearings. She then looks to the girls and was surprised about Sakura's actions. 'I hope she didn't forget that Hinata could just close her tenketsu…'

Hinata was surprised by the gall Sakura was showing. Sakura was always defeated by Hinata in the academy, and it was something that her pride couldn't allow. She may be a nice, relatively soft-spoken person, but she started fighting back, a fire lit under her. She struck Sakura's tenketsu.
It seemed like Hinata was starting to get the upper hand as Sakura's chakra points were being closed. However, Sakura got an idea and started encroaching on Naruto's sparring area.

Kurenai was about to jump in again before being stopped by Anko putting a hand on her shoulder, and having a look that says 'Let's watch how this pans out.'

Sakura started springing her plan into action, as she was halfway to being done and in the perfect position to spring it. "Hey Naruto, weren't you supposed to ask Hinata on a date when we got back to Konoha from our first A-Rank?"

Naruto groaned internally before having an immediate reply. "Sakura-chan, this is not the time to talk about that!"

Hinata stopped dead in her tracks. 'Is this real? Is she lying?' She noticed how Naruto technically didn't dismiss what was said, but found herself distracted enough that Sakura came in for the knockout.

She fell to the ground, not unconscious, but teary-eyed. Not only did it sting, but the potential that it was all just a trick and she fell for it easily.
Sakura called over saying their spar was finished, and helped Hinata up and discreetly pointed to Naruto. "You're welcome, now go get him Hinata."

The attention was turned to Shino and Sasuke, who were sizing each other up by circling one another. Sasuke eventually disappeared and reappeared behind Shino, looking for a devastating blow, but started feeling a drain and jumped back. 'What is this? I felt like my chakra was being sapped away.'
His eyes narrowed and morphed into the Sharingan, helping to gain an insight into what his opponent is going to do. The moment he activated them, he noticed chakra flowing out of Shino and surrounding him.

"Anko sensei is right about ending the battle before it begins. Why? Because you can find yourself in an unfavorable position. You should forfeit the match."

Sasuke tsk'ed and narrowed his eyes seeing that the mass of chakra was a massive amount of insects. He flipped backward; looking for an opening, but the bugs kept sapping away at his chakra and started causing an unexpected effect. As more and more of his chakra was being sapped, he noticed a build-up inside that he couldn't explain and before he knew it an arc of lightning surged and affected the bugs on him and the trail of bugs coming toward him.

Shino recalled the insects to check them and saw they weren't dead but in need of some attention. "I concede, my insects are in need of attention."

Sasuke looked at his hands like they were foreign. 'What was that just now?'

Naruto walked up to Hinata, scratching the back of his head. "Hi Hinata… Sakura was…"
Hinata's heart was racing as she hoped for this kind of moment in the academy, but her mind had other thoughts as he mentioned Sakura's name and kind of said aloud what she was thinking. "She was kidding, wasn't she?"

Naruto panicked seeing a sad expression on her face and started stuttering. "N-n-n-nooo! While we were on our mission as everything was going to, for lack of a better expression, to hell in a handbasket… I said to Sakura that maybe I should ask you out since you were nice and all… Ya know? She kind of agreed and used that to her advantage and I'm sorry."

Her face was redder than a cherry and her heart raced. "Naruto… I…N-N…" She collapsed into his arms, a smile adorning her features.

"Hinata?! Hey, wake up!" Naruto was panicking as he was sure someone was going to say it was his fault something happened.

Kurenai chuckled at the innocent expressions that Naruto was demonstrating even though he beat Kiba to the ground. She walked over to explain. "She is rather shy when it comes to demonstrating her emotions toward you. She kind of just overloaded. It's not your fault."

Naruto still was panicking but calmed down some. He held her close and smiled. "That's a bit of a relief, but I'm still nervous…"

"Hey! What did you do to her?!"

'Here we go…' Naruto sighed, shook his head and put on his calm mask. "I didn't do a thing. She fainted in my arms. She's perfectly fine Kiba. Your sensei just said so."

"I don't care! You could have hurt her for all we know!" Kiba was starting to be on the verge of annoying and pushing Naruto's mask.

"I didn't. We were just talking…"

Kurenai shook her head and bopped Kiba. "Idiot… I was watching the whole time."
He whined like a kid rather than acting like a ninja and glared at Naruto.

At JKP, Einjeru came in, smelling the aroma. "Ah, it smells delicious in here as always." She looked around to see only R.J. and Haku.
Haku came over and welcomed her. "Welcome to Jungle Karma Pizza. Dining in?"

"Yes, please. Where is everyone? It's normally bustling in here."

"Probably training. However, you're here to eat aren't you?"

"Yes, lead the way."

Haku leads her to a table, gets her choice of drink, and leaves her be.

Heaving a sigh, she pulls out some classifieds and a picture of her old squad. 'You guys were right… After everything is said and done you guys were right. The plan worked, and I'm here… Working myself to the ground to forget the pain in my heart, as well as avoiding my parents. I always asked "What would you guys do," and you'd never have an answer. Unfortunately, now I have nowhere to turn as I am on my own. You guys were my rock…'

R.J. comes up with a warming smile. "Your usual, I assume?"

Einjeru couldn't help but smile. "Sure, extra banana if you don't mind. I'm having a bad day…"

He notices the photo and nods. "Of course. Also, have you talked to anyone?"
Einjeru found it an odd question for him to ask, considering she was nothing more than a patron of his business but felt comfortable enough to answer. "To be honest, I don't have anyone to talk to… Lord Third is too busy, everyone else in my age group is a genin and are as busy as I am, and… my adoptive parents are still being unreasonable…"

"I believe we went down this road last time. I also noticed the classifieds. Aren't you a little young to move out on your own?"

"At least rent would be reasonable… My teammates and sensei were all urging me to try and talk it out with them before it got to this point, but my parents did something that broke the camel's back and I refuse to accept they were right for it."

"May I ask what they did?"
Einjeru looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't. "I want to say, but I can't. For some odd reason, I feel as if you'd get upset about it."

"Well how about this, I bring your pizza and we can talk. I can sense this has bottled up too much for you to handle, and you need to heal."

"You'd be willing to play counselor to someone like me?"

"I think it would be beneficial for everyone." R.J. had a bit of thought coming into his mind. 'Whether you notice it or not, you're undergoing a change. I feel that much.' He goes to grab the pizza and came back to notice all the papers and pictures gone.

"I figured I was going to need a clear table…" Einjeru looked less comfortable than a moment ago.

"Relax, I am not here to judge, but we need to rip the bandage off if you're going to feel the least bit better."

"I know… It's just hard to say at the age of 12-13 you've had the ANBU called on you by your parents for defending yourself…"

To say R.J. had a damn good poker face was an understatement when he heard that. He asked her to repeat that and then go into details.

As Einjeru unfolded the complicated story, a door slammed open, and Einjeru immediately felt a familiar presence. "Dad… Or should I say Okami…"

R.J. felt the tenseness in her voice and tried to remediate the situation by being professional. "Welcome, may I get you a slice of our specialty?"

"I'm just here for her." Okami pointed at Einjeru, a glare setting in his eye. "Your mother and I haven't seen you for almost a whole day, and it's obvious you aren't on a mission."

Einjeru was hesitant to say anything before something lit up inside, and made her feel nothing but anger. Her head twisted towards her adopted father her own glare matching his own. "Oh? You mean since that time you and mom called the ANBU on me for defending

myself against you? After you tried to hit me for no good reason?!" In her fit of rage, she forgot R.J. and Haku were there and let her chakra surge. "You ought to be lucky that I have enough self-restraint not to end you after what you two pulled!" As her anger came down, she looked to the floor, her bangs covering her eyes. It took the slamming of a door and an empty restaurant to make Einjeru realize that maybe she went overboard.

R.J. took advantage of the situation by putting his hand on her shoulder and looking her in the eye. "It's ok. Go sit down and relax." He pushes her towards the booth, the thought from earlier, coming back. 'Now I definitely know, but she has to realize it herself before I can help.' He looks to Okami and internally snickers knowing the Japanese meaning before telling him that Einjeru had no intentions of going home.

Okami tries to square up before hearing someone come in.
He turns to see team seven, dirty from training and glares at Naruto, who couldn't care less. One of the benefits of being on a team that was starting to support him... even if just a little. He was growing stronger by the day, inside and out.

"Hey Okami, instead of glaring at someone who has no part in your situation, maybe you should probably go because I'm sure the ANBU has been notified." R.J. still kept his professionalism about him and tried to keep a situation from escalating by telling Team 7 to go clean themselves up and relax in the loft.

Okami left, but not before telling Einjeru that she was kicked out of the house and that she has 24 hours to collect her things. "This is for thinking you're grown enough to survive on your own."
With the door slamming and Team 7 upstairs, Einjeru slumped and sobbed. "Damn it! Oh, damn it all…"
R.J. couldn't help but be concerned now. "Did you want to stay here for now? I have space upstairs."

"I couldn't intrude like that… Also, sorry for my outburst… This happened before a couple of days ago, and all of us were stumped on why I just had a large burst like that…"

R.J. had a knowing look on his face, but ultimately gave her some help. "Alright, but if you don't find a place to live within a couple of months, you're in the loft, no questions. Ok?"

Einjeru didn't know what to say. "I guess… I'm not used to someone being kind and insistent like this."

"More like it's unusual for you to encounter it."

Team seven came back in to see them talking and came over. Naruto was the first to speak. "R.J. we made it through Anko sensei's training today. What do you have for us to do?"

R.J. looked at Einjeru and team seven. "You guys will be doing a little peer mentoring." He gestures to Einjeru. "This is Einjeru, I think you guys may find something in common with her in time, but get to know her and listen. Also, Einjeru, be yourself. You may find yourself among friends here." With that last instruction, R.J. disappears into the kitchen.

Einjeru looks at them and an unbearable silence sets in. Looking at the pizza pie that was left, she offers some. "You guys hungry?"

Team seven sits in the booth, mostly chatting among themselves with Einjeru listening and being so quiet that they forget she's there at times, at least until Sakura says something. "So Einjeru, what rank are you? I've never seen you around."

"Oh, I'm a chunin… I made it during my first six months…"

Naruto was amazed by that. "I hope we can make it to chunin in our first go," happy Anko kept them a little in the know about all things Ninja that they would have to know and/or learn in time.

"I'm sure you will. You guys looked like you were training hard."

"Believe it!" Naruto jokingly shouts. He narrowly dodges Sakura's roundhouse. He didn't even notice she got up, which spoke wonders of her new training with Anko and RJ.

Sasuke nods and addresses the elephant in the room. "R.J. never mentioned your last name."

Einjeru went rigid. She wasn't quite ready to tell anyone, let alone team seven of her biological roots, but with what R.J. said, he was essentially hinting at telling them. "Alright, but do you mind if we go to a private place?"

They end up at the stone faces, overlooking the village. Einjeru looks at them, heaving a sigh. "I'll give a full introduction, but please hold your questions. I will do the best I can to answer them. My name is Einjeru Hatake. I like to read, train and go on missions. I dislike people being treated unfairly and people who judge without getting to know one another. I don't really have much of a dream anymore…"

Naruto felt a slight undertone of sadness with her last statement. "It had something to do with Kakashi sensei, didn't it?"

"You hit the nail on the head. Kakashi was my biological dad. I always wanted to meet him and get to know him. I was adopted so I only knew of him what was told to me."

Sasuke gives a nod. "It was similar to my dad except he trained me once in a while. My mom had always told me about how my father was proud of me."

Einjeru looked at Sasuke curiously. "I never expected to hear that of you based on our academy days."

Sakura then looked at Einjeru. "How old are you? You can't be that much older than us."

Einjeru nods. "You're right, I'm not. I'm a month and a week younger than Naruto, but I was bumped up a year due to my skills."

Naruto felt a light bulb go off. "Oh yeah! Didn't you have a different last name?"

"Yes, but I requested a name change since it would seem like the Hatake clan died off even though there was technically still one alive. Also, I wanted to feel closer to him…"
At that statement, Naruto gripped his stomach.

Einjeru looked at them. "I hope you guys aren't upset that I never talked to you until now…"

"I'm sure you were busy with missions. By the way, who was that guy that trying to be intimidating towards you? You seemed familiar with him."

Einjeru heaved a sigh. "My adopted dad. My adopted parents and I are not on good terms right now. The last few days have been a whirlwind and they don't like the independent attitude that I seemingly 'grown.' Ever since my teammates died in a suicide plan making me the messenger to bring home bad news… Things have been rocky with them. Before they were alright with me being a ninja and now they want me to devote every penny to them and it's burning me out just to have spending money after missions. We had an argument maybe less than 24 hours ago and he tried to strike at me. My reflexes kicked in and I grabbed him by the wrist, nearly breaking it. Because of that, they decided I was being unruly enough to warrant the ANBU being involved."
To say the three of them were astonished that something like that happened was an understatement.

Even Kushina wanted to rage and she was nothing more than a chakra construct.
"Why that—Ooohhh! I want to beat him into next week! Dattebane!"

Minato sweatdropped at the indignant speech of his wife inside his son's seal. "Honey, as much as we want to make right the wrongs that have been done, maybe we should first understand that Kakashi has a kid…"

At that moment, both of them realized that Kakashi had done something and hadn't rectified it.

Kushina began to rage again. "If I find that student of yours in the afterlife I'm going to give him a piece of my mind dattebane!"

Naruto got a devious grin on his face. "Anyone feeling up for a prank?"
Einjeru looked confused and paled. "No. No no no. My adopted parents hate you. That is a very bad idea."

"I don't care if they hate me. You're my friend now and I care about how you feel."
Sakura and Sasuke nodded at the sentiment. "Naruto is right."

"Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with us." Sakura sticks out her tongue playfully.

"Hn, I do agree the prank is a bad idea." Sasuke turns his head to Naruto. "But it will not deter him, and at least it will give me an excuse to work on my stealth skills."

Einjeru sighs in defeat. "You have an opportunity. He kicked me out and I need to pack my stuff."

Sakura was shocked. "You were kicked out?! You have to be about 12! Where are you going to go?"

"I'm thinking of this as survival training and just doing my home hunting on my downtime. You'll probably see me at the pizzeria frequently with the classifieds. R.J. gave me two months to find a place or I'm to move in upstairs." She rubbed her arm, unsure of whether or not to tell them about her bursts.

Naruto notices the uncomfortable tick and smiles. "It's ok. You don't have to tell us if you're not comfortable."

"Sorry, it's just I've been having bursts lately that I normally don't have." She hoped to change the topic. "I should probably head over to their house and pack while you guys plan your prank…"

At Einjeru's adopted house, she hears her mother screaming.
"What were you thinking?! Without you taking jobs, she was our only source of income and ability to survive!"
"I gave us one less mouth to feed. Besides, she wasn't on a mission and decided to back-mouth me."
Einjeru's fist balled up before she took a deep, quiet breath and silently dashed upstairs. Keeping an ear on the conversation, she packed quietly.

"Einjeru? Back-mouth? You're drunk."

"Maybe I am, but she's become rather defiant as of late and hangs out at that pizza place where that demon works."

"I feel you're being too harsh." Her mom silently wonders, 'And maybe I've been too hard on her as well…'

A throat clearing got their attention. "It's perfectly fine. If Okami thinks that's what's best, then it is what is. I will find my way on my own. And it's not like there aren't two able bodies adults here who can work."

Okami's face reddened in rage, but he kept his mouth shut for the time being.

Team 7 sits outside, hearing everything. Naruto is somewhat crestfallen that Einjeru would actually try to truly move out instead of trying to work things out. The feeling of living alone with no one that cares about you started to show.

Sasuke noticed and tapped Naruto on the shoulder. "Remember, one of them was the same guy that was belittling her earlier and giving you a glare that you don't deserve." Sasuke realized he was slowly beginning not to consider his team dead weight, and Naruto backed up what he promised in Wave Country. He also took note that his own blood was starting to boil at how this piece of fecal matter is treating his daughter. 'Adopted or not... if you had put your hands on my mother... You wouldn't have been alive long enough to summon the Anbu.'

"I'm not trying to sound like a fangirl or anything like that," Sakura worded carefully. "But Sasuke is right. Even though everyone deserves to live with their family, it's not that ideal, as you, Sasuke and now even Einjeru are demonstrating."

"As annoying as this is, Einjeru is doing this for herself. We should pay attention,

as we may have missed some of their conversation."

The conversation turned to full-on yelling, as Einjeru's mother was arguing that it's not ok when Einjeru has nowhere to go. Okami is yelling back, essentially contradicting her. Einjeru is sitting there quietly, unsure of what to do, until…

**SLAP** *PUNCH* **SLAP**

Team 7 and Einjeru heard the loud cracks of someone being struck and Einjeru looked at her adopted mother, nursing the left side of her face.
"Mom?!" Einjeru looked at Okami, who was shaking out his hand. Her demeanor changed and her voice got low. "Mom, please leave."

"But Einjeru… It's—"

"No buts! I don't want you to see what I'm about to do."

Team 7 got worried and rang the doorbell.

Einjeru had a questioning look on her face before she realized Team 7 was supposed to be coming along. "Could you answer the door actually, I forgot I had friends coming to help me."

As her mother left, Einjeru immediately gave Okami a left hook. "Don't you dare strike her like that. You may have hit me, hurt me, spurned me, and burned me. I have been cleaned up by your medical friends so the signs were never shown. You have done to me many wrongs, but it's only served to make me strong. You, however, made one grave mistake among many. Striking my mother in my presence…"

Team 7 and her mom came in the room to see Okami nursing his right jaw and Einjeru with her fist balled. She faces them and sighs. "Could you take mom to JKP. I'll be along soon." She faces Okami again, A dark look in her eye. "You have some time to think of what you're going to do to make up for that and if you hurt her like that again, I will make you pray to the Shinigami that I end your miserable sorry ass quickly because I will find ways that not even T&I thought of yet, as well as introducing you to my seven levels of hell, and even after that I can get a friend who's training in medical ninjutsu to just patch you up so I can do it all over again. Also, maybe, just maybe I'll grant you the decency of ending your pitiful existence in your sleep… The thing is you wouldn't know when, and no one would ever find your body. Even if they did, it would be so mutilated that those who found you wouldn't be able to identify you. Hell. There won't be enough left of you to find. And that's only if I can't convince my mom to leave you like the little bitch you are." She turned with her storage scroll in hand and went to go check on her mother.

At JKP, team 7 managed to get Einjeru's mom settled while they go whip up a pizza. R.J. notices and gets a recap of what happened. Einjeru came in looking like she screwed up. Seeing her mother, she goes to the booth and sits.

"Einjeru, I have a lot to discuss with you. I feel you're old enough to understand now…"

"If this has to do with that low-life I gave a left-hook to then save it, mom. Nothing you say can redeem him."

"I am well aware, and all of these incidents as of late have made me realize that as well. I just want you to understand some of his background because I feel you are going to have to start watching your back more."

"Watching my back? What's going on?"

"Your adopted father… When I first met him, he was a low-ranking member of the Yakuza, otherwise known as the mafia. I met him in the land of steam when I was of the age to be married off to a wealthy family. He was quite the charmer and was building quite the reputation for himself. He said he was from the Hidden Leaf Village in the land of fire and thought I was the most beautiful woman he'd seen."

"Yet, nowadays he resorts to striking you… Real charmer…"

"Well, after we were engaged, he started moving through the ranks and we were living with a lot of money, but I preferred to keep it modest. A few years go by and I wanted a child… However, every time I conceived, I wasn't able to keep…"

"Mom, I…"

"It's ok. We heard that the orphanage was overfilled due to the fox attack at the time and in November; a baby girl had been born. Her mother passed away from the birthing and no one knew who the father was. The only thing that was known was the baby's name."

"It was me…"

"When we adopted you, I beseeched your adopted father to cut back on the jobs a little, just so he could help raise the baby girl we adopted. He stopped completely, not thinking of the problems it would cause. All the supplies necessary for maintaining a baby were very expensive and all of the money we had dwindled. He started taking jobs again, but started to change after you started at the academy."

"I noticed he was drinking a lot more… He definitely got more aggressive when punishing me…"

"I should've stopped it then, but I thought it would make you stronger."

"I can take anything he throws at me, but no way am I taking him hitting you. I would kill him before I

let him hit you again…"

Her mother paled at the thought of her killing Okami. "Einjeru, you must promise me that will not do that, even if he hurts me. Please, if anything do your duty and turn him over to the ANBU, but please don't kill him. He's not worth tangling with the Yakuza."

The pizza was set on the table, with R.J. listening. "I say your mother is right on this one kid, also I think it's best you come upstairs for a spell."

"Alright, mom, the pizza's on me, so go on and eat." Einjeru follows R.J. upstairs to see he's locking the door so no one can interrupt.

"Alright, remember that agreement we made?"

"About the 2 months?"

"Yes, I'm going back on that. You need to have an eye kept on you, and judging from how your mother is acting, it's safe to say you painted a target on your back when you struck him."

"She has a bruise on her face R.J.! How can you justify that?!"

"I can't, but I can do her a favor and make her worries less. Also, Team 7 set up their prank while you were talking and I wanted you to see it."

"Oh?"

The two watch the prank from his surveillance system, Einjeru wondering how he managed something like that to see Okami grumbling and an explosion of paint goes off. The kitchen and in turn Okami was covered in orange, pink and blue paint. Einjeru tried so hard but failed to keep her laughter under wraps.
R.J. was impressed, not only by the prank but by how big Einjeru's smile was and how loud she was laughing. A part of him wanted to see more of the relatively happy pre-teen, and the other part wanted to see how far she would grow if in the right environment. He got a look on his face that when Einjeru turned, she felt like she had to tell him something.
"R.J.?" She started rubbing her upper arm. "If I'm going to stay here… Can you help with something?"

"Depends on what it is. I can help with a lot of things."

She looks down at the ground, unsure of how to put her bursts into words. "I've been getting really angry lately… Which is unusual for me, and when I do… I feel this surge of power that doesn't feel like my normal chakra… I feel a wind roar and thunder crashing…"

At this moment, Team 7 comes in, somewhat hearing the last part. Naruto and Sasuke grinned like maniacs, and Sakura gave a small smile.
Naruto came down from his grin. "Can I tell her R.J.?! Can I?"

"Calm down idiot. She might not understand it coming from you."

"I think R.J. should. He's the most knowledgeable, and we've all had different experiences." Sasuke warned, having just experienced his animal spirit slightly somewhat recently with team 8.

Flashback

Shortly after the joint team sparring exercises with Team Eight, Sasuke felt extremely weak, but didn't dare show his body about to give out. His pride as an Uchiha would not allow it. He tried to walk home, but Sakura, who was walking in the general same direction decided not to ask him for a date as she could now stop pushing so hard now that Naruto was not chasing after her.

Sakura took note that Sasuke had a small burst of an energy she wasn't too knowledgeable of, but saw RJ and Naruto have similar burst already. Upon seeing Sasuke wobble and lose his footing, Sakura emitted a slight aura of her own, and a powerful burst of speed making it just in time to prevent Sasuke from a possible head injury. Upon catching him, she realized he was unconscious and decided quickly on RJ over the hospital.

Upon reaching Jungle Karma, RJ saw Sakura nearly pass out with Sasuke in her arms. She was awake just long enough to hand Sasuke off to RJ, and say, "Same energy you and Naruto released..." Before passing out herself.

Thankfully RJ was a master for a reason and figured out the problem fairly quickly. Their chakra is a different form of energy, so using Chi is taking its toll on the young ninja... at least until they strengthen their spirit animals. The fact that Sakura drew on hers concerned RJ tremendously as he didn't want to be responsible for introducing this new spiritual energy to the ninja world and adding one more killing device to their arsenal. He needed help, and he'd need it sooner rather than later.

Shortly thereafter he went into great detail with Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto over the fighting styles they were learning from him and how they drew on the very soul to help pull on one's full potential.

RJ had not seen a dark glint in Sasuke's eyes as Sasuke was quick to try to fight off those dark urges after remembering what Naruto went through in the fight against Dai Shi.

'I will not fall into the darkness... I will face my brother on my terms alone...' Sasuke swore.

Flashback End

Before anyone else could speak, Haku came in. "Excuse me, but Einjeru's adopted mother left some money on the table with a note."

Einjeru came over to see. "Einjeru, thank you for offering to pay for the pizza, but I already put you through enough strain. I was craving some sweets and have more to tell you. If you're able, come to the tea shop near the east gate… Mom."

R.J. looks at them. "We can discuss this later. Einjeru, go talk to your mom. I feel it was doing you some good."

Einjeru nods and leaves the room, leaving R.J. to talk to the rest. "I don't think she's found it yet, like Sasuke and Sakura, she's starting to tap into it unconsciously."

"You mean?"

"Yes, however, I feel she can find her spirit herself since her bursts are farther along. Also, when an animal spirit awakens, sometimes it's due to a person finding themselves. Einjeru already pointed out that she was undergoing emotional changes. Sasuke also felt so, and Sakura, you're finding your way.

Naruto, your situation is slightly different and you're farther along than you think."

"Should we tell her R.J.?"

"When she's ready, Naruto. However, she will be spending more time here, so I'm sure you guys will be able to feel it as well."

Naruto shrugs and R.J. directs him to meet at the training grounds.

Omake:

Meanwhile, in the shinigami/Master Mao's stomach, Minato and Kakashi were playing cards...

Minato draws an indeterminate look on his face. "So Kakashi, Have you… you know?"

"Sensei… I… Uhhh…" Kakashi looked like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Minato didn't know whether to be disappointed or concerned but decided to lecture. "You can't go around doing deeds like that and not expect there to be consequences. I believe my chakra construct is listening to Kushina raging about giving you a piece of her mind for abandoning your kid…" He sweat-dropped in anticipation of Kakashi's reaction.
Kakashi paled. "I have a kid?"

"Yes, and apparently she inherited your skills. She's already a chunin from what we heard."

Kakashi's eye widened in surprise. "I see… Is she well?"

Minato wanted to cringe. "Well, she was adopted, but she and her adopted parents had a falling out and now she's looking for a place to live… I'm just hearing this through my chakra construct in Naruto."

Kakashi didn't know how to feel at the moment, so he went for a neutral approach. "I see. I hope she made some good friends."

"I think she's opening up to Naruto and his team." Minato smiles and decides to tell Kakashi what he and Kushina had planned before their untimely demise. "Kakashi, Kushina and I had planned to adopt you.

We wanted you to be a big brother for Naruto."

To be continued…

AN- Thank you again for your patience. Faves, Follows, and Reviews are greatly appreciated.