I hope everybody who got this far is having a wonderful day! As I finish up the editing before I post this chapter, I just wanted to say thank you to all the kind readers who have left a review for me. Though I have always been unsure whether I could actually write anything worth reading, the feedback that I get is generally positive, and even when it isn't, it's usually constructive. Thank you. Thank you for reading, thank you for enjoying my story. Thank you for being a part of my growth as a writer.

But most of all, thank you for sticking with it. I suck at self-editing, so if any of you see obvious and inexcusable errors in any of my chapters, please let me know and they will be corrected ASAP. I do my best on my own, but it's not that easy. At the same time, I cringe every time I read my own work and am like "Oh shit, I let THAT get through the net?"

Anyway, enjoy the story, and I hope you all have a wonderful fuckin' day.

Chapter 6

It did not take too much time to clean up the mess that we had left over from last night's party, but it did give me enough time to think about how things were going so far. To be honest, I was still on the edge of my seat and nervous about the way things were going with the three of us, but at least the ice had been broken by now.

The ladies made small talk on my couch while I finished up the dishes in the kitchen, sans any of my clones. I need a time to think things through, after all. After last night's fun and our awkward morning after, so to speak, I needed to stop and figure out where this was all going. Where it could go. If I even wanted to go down that path. Everything was happening so fast already, and I hadn't had much time to breathe and process it all.

That didn't mean the road wasn't interesting, I was just looking for speed limit signs, you know? I'd listen to the "Yield" posts, probably ignore the "No U-Turns" if it got dangerous.

Hinata and Sakura had returned to my bedroom halfway through the cleanup to talk and... other things. I wasn't sure what the two were up to while I was finishing tidying up, but they weren't in there for long. "Hey, Naruto?" Sakura's voice shouted from the doorway. "Mind if we use your brush?"

"Hairbrush? Yeah, sure. Drawer under the bathroom sink, on the left."

"Thanks. Don't wanna go out with my hair all messed up like this." A few moments later while I was placing the last of the plates in the drying rack and toweling my hands off, they came out, Sakura thankfully fully dressed and looking as beautiful as always, followed closely behind by Hinata, likewise glamorous.

Just because I had reservations about Sakura's scheme didn't mean I didn't think Hinata was beautiful too, all right? Just made me feel a little guilty for thinking it.

I rubbed at my chin. The coffee was doing wonders waking me up, but I still needed to clean myself up. I was still wearing yesterday's clothes, a shower would be appreciated, and I hadn't shaved in a few days. I felt scruffy. "Looking good," I told Sakura.

"I always look good," she said. "Well, not when I'm in scrubs. Those really don't flatter me much." She stood by me in the kitchen and lightly pinched my jaw. "Nice whiskers."

"Yeah, I need to shave," I said, "been putting it off because-" I saw the cheeky grin. "What?"

"I just had a thought," she admitted.

"What's that?"

"Well, when you transform into your Asura Kurama mode and get all glowey, your hair, your eyes, clothes- everything about your appearance is affected, yes?"

"Huh? I guess so."

"I was just wondering, if you grow a beard, would it glow like a facial night-light too or stay like it is?"

I smiled while twisting my face away. "That tickles, stop!" I said with a laugh. "But yeah, it does. I don't know the actual cause and effect of everything that happens." I shrugged. "This is one of the things that I just chalk up to mystical ninja magic and don't look too deep into it."

Sakura nodded in agreement. Ninja magic bullshit was something that we all accepted and worked with on a near daily basis. Why did seals work? How could I grow into a half-kilometer tall monster in three seconds? How do summoned beasts teleport? Ninja magic bullshit, that's how. "Okay, that makes sense," Hinata said.

There was a short silence while Hinata stood by my couch and Sakura was by my side that I quickly filled before it could get weird again. "So, uh, you cool with playing tour guide, Hinata?" I asked her to get the ball rolling.

"I, um, I d-don't know if I'd be able to," she said, glancing away. "I don't really know it well..."

"That's fine," I said. "If you could just show me to the place I can look around the outside without going in without permission."

"Not that we're pressuring you or anything, Hinata," Sakura interjected.

"No, it's okay!" Hinata said. "Actually, the civilian board in charge of land development and maintenance has asked the Hyuuga clan to steward the property for the past decade or so. It was one of the few areas that didn't get destroyed by Pain during the attack..."

I gulped as I remembered that day. I think Hinata did too. "...but nobody has lived there all this time," she continued. "The previous tenants left because they claimed the house was haunted, and I think that Father enjoyed the buffer zone between us and the outer walls."

"Steward? You guys?" I said.

Hinata shrugged. "Every few weeks, some of the younger ones go to sweep, clear any tree branches from the lawns, that kind of thing. That's all."

I rubbed my chin in thought. "So if I want to get this place, I gotta go through your dad, huh?"

"We don't own the property, technically it belongs to the village," said Hinata.

"But I still gotta go through your dad."

"Probably," she admitted. "Another possible reason it's been empty for so long."

"Yeah," I said. "It definitely isn't haunted, though."

Sakura joined Hinata's side to stare at me with arms crossed under her chest. "And how do you know that?" she asked me.

I glanced between the two; Sakura's curiosity mirrored Hinata's partial knowledge, and I felt the need to satisfy them both just then.

No, not like that, you perverts.

"Well," I began. "Two reasons. If it was haunted, I would have sensed it by now." I tapped my right temple with a forefinger. "When I use my Sage power, I have the ability to sense not only all life and chakra around me, but negativity and hostility too. One of the reasons it's so hard to get a hit on me when I'm hopped on toad juice is because almost all killing strikes come with hostility and malice behind it. Only somebody who's objective about my very existence could get a really good sneak attack on me, and that's if they can get close enough. I've seen hauntings before, and trust me, there's nothing like that over there."

"Okay," Sakura said. "That makes sense. What's the second reason?"

"Remember when I mentioned the prank from my early days a while ago?" I asked with a sly smile.

"Yeah?"

"Let's just say I allegedly spent a summer training squirrels to carry out some extremely specific commands, gained their trust as leader and head nut, and somehow convinced them all that their promised land was in the larder of that place's kitchen." Sakura groaned while Hinata tried to be patient. "And kept telling them it was somewhere else for three weeks."

"You trained... attack squirrels."

"Technically, I trained hunter-gatherer squirrels," I corrected her. "But yes. Allegedly."

"But why did that make them think the place was haunted?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not admitting to anything," I hedged. "But there is a small chance that these alleged squirrels might have only come at night." I paused for effect, then continued, "there is also a chance that they might have been glowing green and yellow."

Hinata laughed and Sakura groaned. "It is too early for this headache," she muttered. "I need a shower."

"Good idea," I agreed. She glared at me and I backpedaled. "I mean, uh, not that you stink or anything, because you don't, you smell great!"

"Naruto..."

"Not that I'm sniffing you or anything, because I don't- haven't- Um, that would be creepy, right?"

"Naruto!"

"But I don't do that! Even though we're dating, that would just be weird, right?"

"I'm gonna murder him," Sakura told Hinata through teeth. It was the singsong way she spoke that made me realize I had walked into the Danger Zone.

"Shutting up now," I said.

"That is probably for the best," agreed Hinata.

"Let's go, Hinata," Sakura said. "How about this: Split up for now, everybody go home, get cleaned up, meet around one or two this afternoon at the Hyuuga place so Hinata can show us to it without the rest of the clan wondering about trespassers? Naruto, you can talk with Hiashi-san 'bout the place too. I'm sure you can work something out if you like it. If not, nothing lost but time."

I had to admit, that was a smart plan. I haven't had too much alone time the past couple weeks, and I seriously needed to go grocery shopping; the hotpot from last night had taken creative use of all the ingredients I had in my fridge that was still passable, and I had the feeling I was going to be cooking for more than myself a lot more often in the near future. "Sounds good to me," I said. "Hinata?"

She nodded. "That sounds fine," she said. "Um, er..."

"Yes?" I prompted. Sometimes, Hinata needed a little help along.

"If Father asks..."

"You spent the night with Sakura, watching movies," I finished. "Which isn't a lie."

"Yes, please," she said. "I don't have a curfew or anything-"

"I should hope not," Sakura interrupted. "You're twenty-three, for crying out loud"

"You know how he worries," said Hinata. "He, uh..." She glanced at me. "You know."

Ah. The elephant in the room, right there. It was a big one, had to admit.

"Of course," Sakura said. "It's not lying if we don't talk about it."

"A tactful omission, at worst," I added. "What he doesn't know can't kill me in the middle of the night."

"You would be surprised," Hinata said with a ghost of a smile, "what everybody thinks he doesn't know."

Oh boy did that sound ominous. "Please remind me to be nicer to her father, Sakura," I asked my girlfriend.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'll do my best," she halfheartedly promised. "Let's go, Hinata. I'll, uh, I'll keep watch so nobody notices you leaving."

Hinata's face took on a shade of red I was familiar with, but she nodded and, with a moment's recon, Sakura gave her the all clear. Hinata slipped away, and with a quick "see you later" Sakura was on her way too, the door shut softly behind her.

And then, I was alone again. It was a bittersweet feeling, to be honest. There have been times in my life where I avoided others, but at heart I am a social person. I thrive in crowds of friends, my favorite thing is to be around people I love and just embrace the chaos. When I'm alone, there's nobody to entertain. There aren't any familiar faces to plant a grin on. I can't eat chips with Chouji alone. I can't lose horribly at shogi if Shikamaru isn't pretending I'll ever have a chance against him. Each and every single day, my mission is to bring peace and laughter to everybody. There are so many people I call family in the world, and it extends well beyond the borders of Konoha. B. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro, they count. I swear, if I ever have kids, I'm gonna get them to call Gaara "Uncle Sandman" in public every single chance I get. Gaara will hate it, of course, but it will definitely supply Kankuro with an endless source of amusement. Some pranks need long-term planning, after all, and this one would be among the most legendary of all time.

And that's another thing: you can't prank yourself. If you do, it's called self-abuse.

I had time to fill, and time to kill. First priorities: Shopping. I needed supplies. After that, I needed something a bit more valuable than food- advice.

Against all odds, I was going to need help from the one person I had ever known who had a stable love life. Problem was, he was kinda dead.

Somewhere in the several dozen volumes of the Icha-Icha books, there had to be a solution to my conundrum. I gulped. I guess Jiraiya really was gonna have the last laugh in my love life.

One lightning round of shopping later while a half dozen clones skimmed the collected works of the great Toad Sage himself- which helped in absolutely nothing but giving me unreasonable expectations he had in this kind of scenario- and I found myself wandering the streets going nowhere in particular. I still had over two hours to go before the three of use were due to meet up for the house inspection, but I could get there in no time flat from anywhere in town.

So, I did the reasonable thing. I just wandered the streets. There were days when I sometimes forgot about all the day to day life of the village, but then there were days like this that I felt the need to immerse myself in the life of all those around me. Being a Sage is a big deal. It isn't just a fancy title I get to call myself because I learned some cool tricks. The training I had to go through to get this power, it changed me on levels that I am still struggling to understand. I don't just see people anymore. I see... I see everything. Not like the Uchiha, not like the Hyuuga. Not like Pain. When I tap into that side of my being, I see all of it. I see life. The vibrant hues that flow between every living thing, the wisps of crackling pure life, it is a dazzling array that is like a super subtle filter on my eyeballs. I can forget that it is there most days, but if I pay attention I feel like I can suddenly sink into the whirling vortex that is the ocean of humanity the village has to offer. I admit it can be hard to understand; I don't understand it myself.

Even when I wasn't channeling Sage chakra, there was always this kind of background white noise of life. I have never really been good at putting it into words; imagine if there was a scent in the air that you couldn't place. It was always there, and pleasant, not distracting in the least, and you can almost forget that it is there. But when you are reminded of it, oh, it smells so good, like fresh baked cookies, or your favorite apple pie on the cooling rack just out of the oven, or a warm bowl of noodles that was just right...

I realized that I was getting hungry again.

Point being, life itself was the sea that I drew my real strength from.

I was strolling through the shopping district when my quiet thoughts were interrupted by one of my favorite little goobers. "UNCA! UNCA NARU!" a shrill cry came through the crowd. I turned my head to see a small little body careening toward me, arms outstretched and a smile plastered on her face. Eyes as red as her mother's beamed at me as her stubby little legs closed the distance.

"Hey! Mimi!" I said. I crouched and held my arms open for the girl. Sarutobi Mirai, the daughter of Sarutobi Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai, was a wonderful girl and extremely energetic. Reminded me of a certain someone. She jumped into my arms and wrapped my neck in a cross between a chokehold and hug. Dang, this girl was strong! I stood and held her aloft with my hands around her belly. "Hiya, you little goblin!" I said to her with a big bright smile. "You being good?"

Mirai gave me a mischievous smile and nodded. "Yes! I'm being real good today!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, really?" I asked. "Where's your mom?" I glanced up and away to see her weaving through the crowd. "Oh, there she is."

Kurenai came into full view in only a couple seconds. Like everybody in our little circle, we'd all taken turns to help take care of Mirai at one point or another while Kurenai went back on active duty. With the situation being what it was with the child's birth, she would have held every right to move into the Sarutobi stronghold and raise her daughter without ever having to return to her shinobi career. But like hell would the mother of Asuma's child be benched like that. Oh, yes, she had moved into the compound so that Mirai could be raised with her family, but Kurenai was a shinobi of high regard, damn it. She hadn't gone through everything that she had just to retire at the earliest convenience. So it was that the "village raised a child" and all that. I had spent a lot of time with the runt over the past few years, and she had a lot of promise of being a top-class mischief maker. I could mold her to my darkest reflection. The pranks I would teach this girl would surpass anything that I had ever done, if I had my way with her.

"Hey, Kurenai-san," I said, hefting Mirai up in my arms, letting her side-saddle my left forearm while holding her belly steady with my other hand. Looked like I was holding her in a ventriloquism pose or something. "Lose something?"

Kurenai gave me a tired smile. "She lost me," she explained. "I made the mistake of saying that I thought I saw you over here, and she just went off running. Swear, I think I'm about to listen to Anko and just get her a leash or something."

"Might be a bit much," I said dryly. I turned look at the smiling girl's face. "Goblin? You shouldn't run off from your mama like that, you know? She gets scared."

"I sorry," she said. "Jus' wanna play wit' Unca Naru!"

"And that's okay," I said, "you know I'll play with you any time you want! Just remember to listen to your mama from now on and don't run off, okay?"

I loved kids as a general rule, but little ones like Mirai were special to me. She'd lost a lot in her short life; she and I had something in common, being that we'd never be able to meet our fathers. But she had a wonderful mom in Kurenai, and she was so lucky to be surrounded by thousands of people who would fight to make sure she lived as happy a life for as long as she could. A generation of peace, that was the promise that I had made to myself after the war. I would never let a catastrophe like that happen again on my watch. Until I took the big chair in the Hokage office and put the funny hat down for the last time, I wouldn't let anything happen to my village.

My village. Mine. I had to protect it. Before I was even born, they called me the Child of Prophecy. I never wanted that burden. I hated it. To have so much of the world on my shoulders was a heavy burden for a young kid like I had been. I won't make excuses for the way I had acted in my youth, but I hadn't been given a fair chance to be happy, either. But I could not, would not, let another kid under my watch go through any of that ever again.

I would watch this kid, help raise her, help train her one day. And when Shikamaru was her Jounin sensei in another half dozen years or so, and he came to me to complain about exactly what I had been teaching her in my spare time, it would all be worth it. She was our future. I felt it, in my bones, that she was special. Or, she would be one day.

But not yet. Not today. Today, she was just another kid on a bright summer afternoon.

"'Kay," she said warmly. "Wanna play now?"

Before I could even entertain the idea of saying "yes" Kurenai dashed that away. "Not today, sweetie," she said, grabbing the girl from my arms and settling her into hers with a protest. "We have to get home soon, lunch will be waiting for us."

That seemed to perk the child up a bit. "Oh, yay! Lunch!"

I laughed with Kurenai at her easily-broken attention span. "So, what brings you out this way, Naruto?" Kurenai asked me. "You doing some shopping?"

"Nah, just wandering around and killing some time," I explained. "I hunted down some groceries earlier and sent them home with clones." I put on my best advertisement voice, and said "Kage Bushin no Jutsu Delivery Service! There in half the time or your money back!"

Kurenai laughed. "If the shinobi biz ever fizzles out, you would make one hell of a delivery boy, that's for sure. Waiting for somebody?"

"Ah, well, kinda. I'm actually thinking about moving out of my apartment, and Hinata said there's a place near the Hyuuga compound that might be available. Sakura's gonna meet up with us and make sure I don't impulse buy or something."

Kurenai's eyes widened a bit at that. She knew Hinata better than almost anybody alive, myself included. After all, she had been the one to train the girl after graduation from the academy. "I see," she said carefully. "Do you mean the homestead north of there? With the-"

"-the stream, on the other side, yeah."

"Ah. Hm."

Oooooh boy. I had to step into another can of worms. Musta been a Tuesday. "Kurenai-san, it's okay," I told her. "I... I know."

She blinked. She hadn't expected me to say that. One of the downsides of being underestimated all the time is people often have trouble accepting that I sometimes shouldn't. "You... know."

"I know. She knows I know."

"She knows?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It's this whole thing we're trying to work out right now. It's complicated."

"I thought you hated that word," she reminded me, and it's true, that sting did strike true.

"Trust me, Kurenai, I know. It tastes wrong coming outta my mouth like that."

"Mama? Whas' wrong?" Mirai asked, a confused little look on her chubby face.

Kurenai smiled at her daughter. "Nothing, honey," she said, pressing foreheads together. "Mommy's just surprised right now, that's all. Turns out Uncle Naruto isn't as big a blockhead as I thought."

"That's right, goblin," I said. "I'm not... waaaaaaiiiit a minute, back up, Kurenai!" I could see her making assumptions in her head and I needed to stop that train of thought in its tracks. "Just- hold on, come with me? Please?" She nodded, and we ducked around a corner into an alley that might have made me pause anywhere else on the planet, but here in Konoha, it was roughly as safe as my bedroom.

Once we were out of sight of most of the street, save for anyone who might be passing by, Kurenai and I had a somewhat more... conspiratorial conversation. "Listen, don't get the wrong idea," I said. "We're not dating. It's not like that right now."

"Oh? Then what is it like?" She had this look about her that I had only seen a few times beforehand, mostly when Mirai was playing with some of the other kids and they were getting too rough. The first time I'd seen it was when Neji damn near killed Hinata during the Chuunin exams. Those big red eyes were scarier than just about anything at that point in time, and I felt pity for any fool who was a victim of their crimson ice. Especially if it happened to be me.

"Definitely not what you're thinking," I said. "We... we talked, okay? I'm not stringing her along. I'm not rejecting her. I'm not encouraging her. No, hold on, lemme finish." She tried to interrupt, but I had to say my piece first. "We're being adults about this. We had our discussion, and we're trying to sort a whole lot of things out right now, but these things take time to handle delicately."

She pursed her lips in thought once I paused, indicating she was choosing her words carefully. "Forgive me if I'm skeptical, Naruto," she said, "but pardon me if I'm not convinced you know how to be delicate. You, uh, aren't known for doing things quietly. You have a reputation for being... what's the word I'm looking for?"

"Loud? Obnoxious? Obvious?"

"Like a firecracker in a coal mine."

"That's a new one," I admitted. "Hold on, I gotta write this down." Kurenai rolled her eyes, then bopped me upside the head. "Hey! What was that for?"

"I had a feeling you deserved it and went with my instincts," she said with a snort. "Mom powers."

I rubbed at the back of my head. "I'm not saying you're wrong," I said, "but it still hurts."

"Deal with it," she said. "So, when you say you're handling it, what exactly do you mean?"

"I'm still not sure," I admitted. "We talked a bit. We finally opened up about a lot of things. Admitted a few things. Honestly... Kurenai, I'm glad I ran into you. I think I need help."

"You? Need help?" she asked.

"Yeah. Advice. But not today. Another time. Do you think we could meet up soon and hash this out?" I glanced toward the street, on the lookout for eavesdroppers. "Discretely?"

She reacted like she was surprised I even knew how to pronounce that word. "I would welcome the opportunity," she said with sincerity. "And don't worry, Naruto, we've been under a genjutsu veil since you dragged me over here. Nobody is listening in on us."

Damn. Wow. I hadn't even noticed her setting it up. Illusion techniques are easily my weakest branch, but I have so many different chakra signatures flowing within me that I can usually tell when one is being cast on me. Makes trapping me with them that much harder, too. Me being unsuspecting of it helped, sure, but the fact that a passive illusion like this was put over me without tripping my subconscious alerts was impressive.

I made a mental note to try not to piss her off. Ever. In any and all future reincarnations, if it came to that. I knew those were real. I had reason to be afraid.

"Thanks, Kurenai," I said with genuine appreciation. "I know you feel protective of Hinata."

"She is like a daughter to me," she said evenly. "He got better at being a dad thanks to you, but I picked up the broken pieces of a girl that Hiashi left for me to gather up, and I did the best I could with her that was possible back then." She looked into my eyes. No- she dove into them. Whatever it was that Kurenai was doing, I could feel the subtle, but very real, pressure of her chakra pressing against mine. She was doing a good job of keeping her emotions in check, but there wasn't any mistaking it. She meant business. "If you hurt her," she said, "I will use every resource at my disposal. I will call in favors you can't imagine. I will pull every string, make every bribe, and follow through with every threat I have ever made, and I will end you. If you hurt my girl, Naruto, someone I love... I will make you disappear." She took a step closer to me, just a step. I had several inches in height over her, but this woman was towering over me in those enclosed walls. I had a feeling she could follow through on her threat, now, in the middle of all these people, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. "And nobody would ever know what happened."

A shiver went down my spine. Asuma really knew how to pick them. I held her gaze, though. She deserved that respect. Without looking away, I took a kunai hidden under my shirt- slowly- and offered it to her, pommel out to her. "Take it," I said. "Go ahead."

She did, an unspoken question in her eyes. "Take this," I continued, "take it home. Write my name on it. Put it away where nobody will ever find it but you. Bury it if you have to. But if I ever go out of my way to hurt her, in the event that happens... You find this knife and jam it into my skull." I tapped the back of my head. "Right here. If you want to kill me instantly, this is the only shot you got. Sneak attack. Give me the best genjutsu whammy you got. Don't let me see it coming. Don't give me the dignity of fighting back."

Kurenai stared at the knife in one hand, and the girl in the other. I had felt her throw a silencing filter around little Mirai's head before she even began her threat; I respected that she didn't want her daughter to hear those words. How the hell did she do that without hand signs? "A suicide vow? In this day and age?" she asked.

"Sure as hell beats cutting my hand open and making a vow on my ancestor's grave," I said.

She gave my words a few moments' thought, nodded, and stowed the blade away. "I think I have a newfound respect for you, Naruto," she said. "Maybe you are the kind of man who could make her happy after all."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Kurenai," I warned her. "At this point I'm not even sure anything is even gonna happen. Even if it does, it'll be-"

"Complicated."

"Yeah."

I felt the tension break, and she gave a half-smile. "Well, there's that word again." And just like that, everything was good between us. "Well, Mirai and I have to go, Naruto. Another time?"

"Yeah," I said. "Goodbye, Goblin!" I told Mirai. She reached her little arms out towards me, and Kurenai let her slip into mine for a big, professional-grade hug. She gave my cheek sloppy laughing kisses before I returned her to her mom.

"Don't be a stranger, Naruto," Kurenai said as she turned to walk away. "My door is always open."

"You got it." It wasn't until she was nearly at the street when I had a thought. "Oh hey! Kurenai-san! Quick question?"

She stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"

"Just outta curiosity... since everybody is having sudden bouts of honesty lately... what was your bet?"

She had the look of a caught rabbit for a moment. "Bet? What bet?" she lied. Badly.

"I know about the pool," I said smugly. "Three years' salary, huh?"

"...Well. This is awkward. To be honest, yes, there's a pool on you two."

"What's the expiration date?"

"Don't even think about it, kid," she warned. "I'm not polluting the pool with insider information. Even I'm not that messed up."

"So it's still active?"

"You're treading dangerous water, Naruto," she said.

"No, no, you got it all wrong. I'm just curious about one thing. Somewhere in that spreadsheet, I wonder who picked last night for us to talk our feelings out?"

"Feelings?"

"Well, yeah. She admitted she loves me without me prompting her." Technically true. "Who picked this week?"

"...I have to go now," she said. "I, um, have to go see an accountant. About a thing."

"Wha 'bout lunch?" Mirai asked her mama.

"We'll have lunch, then you and Mommy can go to the bank together, honey."

"Tha one with lollis?" Mirai said with a big gap-toothed smile.

Kurenai held Mirai high into the air and grinned up at her. "Oh, yes," she said. "You want to go with me and see who's going to be the winner of the biggest jackpot in Konoha history?"

"Yay! Let's go!"

Omake:

On the other side of town, the summer afternoon was bright and warm. Retirement hadn't done anything to dampen Tsunade's spirits these past few years. When she wasn't busy in the hospital or organizing what she hoped would be her lasting legacy, a series of medical schools all over the world in her little brother's name, she took the moments she could to just... relax.

A quiet pond in the middle of the forest. A blanket, old, a relic from her grandfather's days, but soft and supple, was spread on the grass. She was curled up on it, a book in one hand, a sake cup in another. A cool breeze shifted air from over the water to wash over her, giving her a pleasant respite, if only for the moment. She felt... content. Happy, even. She wasn't quite where she had thought she'd be at this point in her life, but she was satisfied with it. She was debt free. She had plenty of competent pupils to carry on her work in the coming years, should the worst happen to her. Peace was a thing that she had barely even dreamed of, and yet, here it was. Her people were safe. Her loved ones were safe. The curse had been broken.

I like the quiet life more than I thought, she mused idly. Maybe... I should take a vacation. Somewhere warm. Might have to borrow some cash from the brat, though. He's been hoarding Jiraiya's royalties for years. Half those books are based on me, I deserve a little money in my pocket. Mental note.

Down in the bowels of the underworld, across the valley of death that the Shinigami crossed to deliver the souls of the dead to their, hopefully, final resting place, Lord Enma stared in nonplussed confusion at his realm. "Somebody wanna tell me where the fuck all this me-damned ICE CAME FROM?" he yelled to nobody in particular.

A/N: Heh. Sorry this one is so short. I had an idea and I ran with it. I'm happy with this little slice, though. The next chapter will definitely be longer. I've been typing for the past four hours straight, and it is almost three in the morning right now.

In case I don't see you, though, Good afternoon, good evening... and good night.

Praise the log.

Love everybody.

Love yourself, you beautiful bitch.

~DeadWitch