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Thinking

Emphasis

Biju, etc. speaking


"I don't know who the hell that guy is, Boss, but you need to get the fuck out of here NOW!" The clone of Naru slid over to the doorway and looked towards where the brown-haired guy went. She pranced back over soundlessly and opened up a window very slowly. "Out you go, boss!"


Naru didn't know what to think about the other her that had just tossed her out the window. The other her had been truly frightened for her, of that she was positive. Wait, Kakashi had made another one of himself and he called it a "clone." That clone of herself - she guessed that's what it was - really had been scared of her brother. The man that had taken her from Kakashi-sama's, though, hadn't seemed like a bad guy... Now, however, she felt like an idiot for trusting him. She must have indeed been naive since, after all, he said he was a friend of her brother's.

Still, where was she supposed to go? And who was that dark-haired guy with the ponytail on top of his head anyway? Sitting in the grass and thinking about it, she realized how stupid she had been to ask him about his girlfriend instead of asking what the guy's name was. Well, it's not like I know him anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter.

Why would someone want to kill her, though? Especially her brother? Was there more to the story of how she got buried than what Kakashi-sama had apologized to her for? Naru stood up and dusted herself off. She heard voices in the house she'd just been booted out of - and it was really bizarre hearing the dark-haired man's voice along with her own excited one. She couldn't tell what the other her and the dark-haired man were talking about, but it seemed like they were getting along. Why? Meh, if that was a clone, then maybe clones are just weird?

When she had made the sign to make a clone, she thought she'd see Kakashi-sama come out, although that seemed stupid now. She wished she could make his dogs come to see her but that hadn't worked at all. They always made her feel safe and warm, plus Pakkun's paws were really soft - although he was a little fixated on them. Thinking about everything that she had been told and had happened to her tonight, she just wanted to go home!

She walked to the side of the house and down a dark road. Suddenly Naru felt incredibly wary - paranoid, even. It was bad enough to make her hide as best as she could in the shadows of a building that was close to where she'd been. Her heart sped up and she tried to figure out what was happening to her when she started to gag. Finally bending down, dry heaving, she turned and placed her forehead on the side of the cool building.

I need to get out of here: her instincts were screaming at her to move! An image appeared in her mind of the cold, red eyes of a black-haired man. Naru took off running.


Shikamaru couldn't believe that the one time he especially needed to get his friends together, he couldn't find them. He had been all over the Hyuuga compound searching for Neji, Hinata, or Kiba, but none of them had been home. The main thing holding his sanity together at this point was that he had left a clone at Neji's place with Naruto's sister. If the clone popped or dispelled itself, he would know immediately that something was wrong and could go straight back to her. Aa, there's someone who might know

"Hiashi-sama." Shikamaru greeted the Hyuuga Clan head with a respectful but friendly bow.

"Nara-sama," the older man returned. "What brings you out this fine evening?"

"I'm looking for Neji, Hinata, and Kiba. I don't suppose you've seen them around tonight?" The Nara asked, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Hiashi gave Shikamaru a pointed look. Has he been drinking? To smell it on him was quite unusual - the Nara was a calculating, careful young man. Deciding that it was none of his business unless he did something strange or untoward, he answered, "I believe that I saw them earlier this evening exiting the compound. They appeared to be in good spirits." His cold, lavender eyes never left the Nara's face.

"Aa. I'll just be going, then," Shikamaru stated, heading the long way out of the compound. Hiashi didn't like it. He had a feeling that something was amiss tonight. He had been a ninja for a very long time and knew to trust his instincts.


Sitting in a restaurant near the hospital sat three couples dining, enjoying a night off work. Tenten had just arrived and ordered a drink, sitting down between her teammates Neji and Lee. Lee was seated next to his wife, Sakura, who was chatting with Hinata and Kiba. "Bottoms up!" Tenten cheered, clinking her glass with Neji's. Neji looked far less enthused about it but quickly took a drink anyway. Kiba downed his in one go.

"How I miss that," remarked Sakura sadly, rubbing her belly. "Not that it's not worth it, but things have just been so stressful at work."

As Lee began to worry over her and her "youth," Neji asked a question. "A difficult or interesting case, or is it simply a matter of your workload?" He was truly concerned - Sakura had been through so much with the death of her teammates, then had gotten married and was now pregnant. He and his friends made sure to seek her out often to make sure she was taking care of herself and her unborn child.

"Both, I guess." What could Sakura really say? Her idiot sensei was being so overly-possessive and protective of her formerly-dead teammate that was now a woman: a woman with memory loss who was still goofy as ever… Yeah, you can say that's an interesting case. She sighed heavily.

"Buttercup, you must look after yourself first! After all, you must remain youthful and consider your well-being for the good of yourself and our child! Not to mention, me," Lee said excitedly. Sakura blushed.

Neji and Tenten glanced at each other and remembered to breathe. What Sakura saw in her hyper teammate as a spouse was hard to imagine for Tenten. She loved the man like the brother she never had, but man could he be annoying! At least Sakura's gotten him to wear fairly stylish clothes over that spandex. She groaned internally just remembering having to deal with all that exposed green for so many years.

Suddenly the men at the table became apprehensive. Lee leaned across the table. "Neji, do you sense something unusual about the ANBU movements tonight?" Neji slowly nodded his head.

"Huh," Hinata remarked, curious. Something's up. The restaurant they were in was situated at the corner of the block. She saw way too many flickers of movement both along rooftops and in the streets.

Looking outside of the restaurant, Kiba agreed. "Well, damn. Guess this is my last drink of the night," he sighed bitterly. "Still guys, we should enjoy the evening until we're signaled. It's not like we've gotten the chance to do this lately." Sakura nodded her head; she was exhausted.

Neji focused on the ANBU moving silently in the night. Activating his byakugan, he frowned. Some of the teams that were out tonight were normally on his shift or in his division. The more he thought about it, the odder it seemed. Why haven't any of us been called in? Although he normally worked the day shift with Kiba, Lee, and Shino, Neji was in a different division with Shikamaru. He didn't see any of his group of friends, including Sai so far - he knew all of their masks, of course. "Odd."

"Whoa, was that Bisuke?" Kiba asked. "What the hell's the Hokage's ninken…"

"Kiba," Hinata warned, placing her hand softly on her boyfriend's mouth. She looked discreetly at other diners at their venue in warning. Kiba got the hint immediately and quietly growled. Catching the server's attention, Hinata asked to see if she could hasten their orders from the kitchen. She pet Akamaru who was quietly panting underneath the table. Suddenly, the dog barked.

"I agree, boy," Kiba answered, glaring outside. Something dangerous was going on.


As reports were radioed in to the Tower, a poof of smoke and a pug appeared. "Yo, boss." His summoner only glanced at him from behind his mask. Pakkun rolled his eyes. He knew damn well that Kakashi's vision was disturbed behind that idiotic three-headed dog mask. He felt like giving the man a nip, or maybe even a full out bite.

"Report," Cerebrus said darkly.

Pakkun sighed. "Hyuuga compound. I didn't see blondie though. The rest of the pack is still out searching and keeping an eye on the target."

"Excellent," Kakashi grinned behind his mask. He left in a sunshin.


Hiashi Hyuuga was once again contemplating his life choices as he walked through his compound. His daughters were both dating men outside of the clan, and his eldest was with an Inuzuka. It wasn't that he disliked the Inuzuka in any way. No, in fact, one of his teammates had been Tsume Inuzuka, and they had often gone on missions together even after they became Jonin. Although he wouldn't admit it out loud, both knew that he enjoyed her company. But her son marrying his daughter? That thought was still disturbing to him, and he couldn't help but hope that wouldn't happen, at least not anytime soon. Still, the two were living together. Hiashi groaned. They grow up so fast...

All those years spent trying to hinder Hinata's attraction to the Uzumaki... Which would he have preferred? The Uzumaki, no doubt, he realized now. Uzumaki - no, Uzumaki-Namikaze: Hiashi had known exactly who's son Naruto was, but before the war he had feared the fox. He should have known better, after all his twin brother's teammate was none other than Naruto's mother, Kushina - along with that asshat, Fugaku. Hiashi took a deep breath and sighed heavily.

No matter what his eldest did in order to gain the blonde's attention, the young man only seemed to view his daughter as only a good friend, however. Minato was the same way about the opposite sex except when it came to his beloved Kushina - idiots. Sighing out loud for what felt like the hundredth time that evening, Hiashi thought about the young man who was only recently deceased.

Uzumaki Naruto had radically changed his nephew for the better, and had done the same for Hinata - and that even influenced his younger daughter, Hanabi. Not to mention the fact that he had saved both Hinata and Neji during the war - well, he and Sakura had saved Neji. Plus with Tsunade's expertise, Neji was eventually pronounced fit to be a shinobi and was back in the forces. Naruto had done so much for his family, the village, and more. He once again regretted not doing what he could have so easily during the young man's childhood.

Activating his dojutsu, the Hyuuga clan head looked North. Immediately, he was angry, incensed even. What he saw had his blood boiling, especially given his earlier thoughts. Who was this person running through his compound, disguised as that obscene "sexy jutsu" version of Uzumaki Naruto? Oh, he would find out! How dare they!


Naru was running as fast as she could - she just wanted to get out of here! Looking back over her shoulder she saw that no one was following her, but felt anxiety that she hadn't felt since right after coming to this place. She only hoped that she was going the right way to get back to the Tower.

Turning her head forward, she realized that help might be available. She saw a tall figure with long dark hair and she began running directly towards him. The man looked at her and scowled, his eyes surrounded by veins that seemed to make him look even scarier. As she tried to slow down - because this guy looked dangerous - she heard him make a simple statement:

"You are in the range of my divination."