Chapter 14

"The Replacement"

"What am I going to do...?" Miu kept muttering to herself as she cleaned the edge of the dojo, "Oh, what am I going to do...?"

Shirahama Kenichi was a very simple boy. He did not have any extravagant tastes other than flashy, action-packed adventure books - so he was not well-versed in the skills of scheming. His best friend, Furinji Miu, had been running herself ragged ever since receiving a call from their school to issue a 'Home Visit' in order to 'assess' her living conditions. Logically, he thought that it was a very ridiculous thing to be worried about since Miu had proved time and again to be a perfectly sane person.

At least, compared to the people she lived with.

"Sakaki-san! Repeat your lines!" She ordered from a distance. The intimidating scar-faced Master sputtered in the middle of his drink and looked away from Miu's glare.

"U-uh, my name is F-furinji Saiga and my p-profession is a-" He stumbled even further when everyone began scrutinizing him. The blonde girl narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms at him. "-a, a JET PLANE!"

Kenichi just imagined his Karate Master carrying people on his back and flying over the ocean to the United States. For that matter, he had to hold back his laughter when Miu hit the back of the man's head with a rolled up newspaper. "Jet PILOT, Sakaki-san! Jet PILOT!"

"Pilot! Right, right, I'll get it next time." He muttered and re-read the words she printed for him. "Man, this is so hard for some reason."

"I wanted Akisame-san to play the part." She admitted and glanced back at the time. "They're coming later! We just don't have enough time."

"The old man leaves at the worst times." Apachai scratched his chin, "Apa! Too bad Akisame also left on a trip, he's a good actor!"

It was as if the winds of fortune continuously kept blowing the other way when it came to her. Not to mention, this visit could cause them a lot of trouble if too many weird, super-natural things happened. Miu knew that this was inevitable so she made a script to curtain the weird with as much regular as possible, so to speak. But with these simpletons as her main actors, pulling the wool over teachers (and a professional like Professor Yasunaga was not easy to fool) would be incredibly difficult.

Not to mention, Shigure kept cutting things. It was like working with the impossible.

"I wish someone could come by with all the answers." Miu sulked around as she watched Sakaki mess up his lines once again, just in time to see Shigure accidentally cut a random table with a spoon. The socially-inept teacher had to be kidding around at that point - right?

"So, what's up everyone?"

The blonde turned her head to the side and saw the girl she had grown accustomed to seeing as a younger sister of sorts. "Honoka-chan, how are you today?"

Smiling as bright as she ever had, Honoka skipped to her enthusiastically and replied. "Great! Wonderful...like, everything in the world is perfect right now."

"You do seem really happy." And it was true. While she was usually up-beat and smiling, the girl always seemed to carry an edge prior to today. It was as if she had been going around and hiding things, and her facade as an innocent child had seemed forceful, but now it looked different. The girl looked as genuinely happy as Miu had ever seen in their brief history. It was like looking in a mirror after the the time her Grandfather told her they would be settling in Koryou with the others.

That day had been something of a dream come true.

"So...what's goin' on here? Ken' seems to be in a good mood." The girl then pointed over to a stumbling Sakaki and the spoon-cutting maniac Shigure. "...Should I ask?"

"My school called a couple days ago and they said that two teachers were coming over to...'observe' my living conditions. I don't even know why!" She seemed depressed. "I wrote on my application the name's of my father and mother but...well, I live with my Grandfather - and those people." The girl thumbed at the crazy Masters.

Honoka felt her pain.

"So...what's your plan? If I had to guess, you're gonna try to deceive them by having two of them act as your parents. Why not Akisame-san?"

"He left on a trip! Grandfather also went to West the earlier this week."

The situation seemed hopeless when the two walked over and Sakaki was still stumbling over lines. "How hard could this possibly be?" Miu asked rhetorically.

"Maybe he's just shy." Honoka shrugged. "Some people fear public speaking more than death, according to magazine polls. Almost everyone sucks as speaking in front of people."

"There's only two coming though!" Comedic tears dripped down her face. "I mean, when I played Juliet, I didn't let any of those thoughts bother me!"

She had a point, Honoka acknowledged. "Well, that's probably just natural charisma. I mean, look at 'Ken over there, he's untalented at a lot things, a lot. But he is surprisingly very good at inspiring people with words."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" The boy yelled from a distance before dodging quickly and rolled away from Kensei's back hand. "Never mind, gotta stay focused!"

"...Anyway, this looks like a lost cause." Honoka said, making her older sister figure drop down in misery.

"You're right! I mean, Sakaki-san and Shigure-san don't even look like me! I have blond hair while they have black too! This is hopeless..."

"Well, you could always say you dye your hair. But I guess you're right, I mean, how many blon-"

Honoka suddenly stopped in mid-sentence before a large smile made it's way to her face. Noticing this, Miu looked at her with a questioning gaze. "Honoka-chan?" The brunette's eyes began to twinkle mischievously.

"I think I know someone who can help." She smiled widely. "But I need to let the Masters know."

"What is it?" Miu asked curiously. At the moment, her situation was near rock-bottom and guaranteed to fail, so any idea would work. "I'll take just about anything."

"My...Master is blond."

Miu shivered at the girl's insinuation. "Uzumaki Naruto." While she did not harbor any personal dislike for him, the blonde girl was not unfamiliar with the story often dubbed as 'The Night of October the Tenth'. The media never covered such horrific things since such events happened away from the public eye - but anyone who had connections in the Underworld of Martial Arts knew of the tale. Anyone who lived in the darker side of the world knew exactly why they called him 'Aukuang'.

"C-can he help?"

"Of course!" There was a slight tone of indignation in her voice. "He's my Master! And even if he didn't want to, he kind of owes me a favor."

Three years of being away while she had to train all by herself? Oh yes, Honoka would be squeezing as much tutelage from the man as she could during these next two weeks. For now though, the student was content with allowing her Master to roam the city to appease his curiosity.

"I would be really grateful." Miu nodded, "And I don't think the others would mind at all."

Ryouzanpaku rarely disallowed people to enter their dojo - whether they were mass murderers or the Pope himself - everyone had equal right to enter a dojo. Not to mention, Naruto is on friendly terms with Hakubi and thus, might be on good terms with Kensei. Maybe. Honoka was honestly still in the dark about her Master's connections with other famous Masters.

"I'll go get him now!" There was a spring in her step as she skipped away.

Ragnarok Base - Unknown Location

"Where is he?" Kisara mumbled to herself quietly. "I told him to come two hours earlier than the meeting time and he's still late."

Luckily for her though, Kakashi's opponent had also yet to show which was not particularly surprising. Loki was not someone who was known to be punctual. Then again, now that she thought about it, the only person who could have been considered punctual in Ragnarok were Freya and her Valkyries.

"Hm." Odin's fingers tapped along the crate patiently.

"Something on your mind, Odin?" Asked Valkyrie, "You seem a bit off today." He was quieter than usual. While he was already considered a very hands-off leader, the teen did speak enough for him to be recognizable in public. Everyone who was apart of Ragnarok knew him, except for maybe the lower and new members.

"Siegfried has gone missing." He replied. "I've asked Freya's troops to locate him...but so far, it has been in vain. Hermit is still off doing his own thing as well. Luckily, he was courteous enough to let me know of his return via email."

"What a professional guy." Thor commented and frowned. "I'm worried about Sieg, I've sent half my guys to look for him but nothing so far. It's like he just disappeared."

"Loki might know something." Freya put in her two cent, "He supposedly went to go visit Siegfried the other night to discuss some business. Perhaps..."

"Mhm." Odin nodded. "Well, we can ask him before he fights Kakashi-kun."

As soon as he said that, a single person walked into the warehouse grounds. It was Kakashi. "Hm."

"You're finally here. Took you long enough." Valkyrie scoffed, jumped from her seat and walked over to the boy. "Where have you been?"

"I was ordered by my superiors to assassinate a politician around here. I just got done with that, so I'm a bit late." Kakashi replied in a deadpan tone. "Sorry."

Kisara rolled her eyes. "Sure you did. Will you stop with your lame excuses already? At least make a good one!"

The girl had no idea.

Kakashi shrugged. "Well, here I am now."

"Right, right! Luckily, Loki isn't here yet. So you won't have to deal with his taunting of your bad habits!"

"I don't have bad habits."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

She resisted the urge to smack him upside the head. But her eyes were drawn to another person just walking in - it was Loki.

Odin narrowed his eyes immediately at him, eliciting a grimace from the trickster. "Loki. I have been told that you were the last person to see Siegfried before his disappearance."

The boy nodded. "He was defeated last night by Shirahama Kenichi."

Thor widened his eyes in disbelief. "Impossible! Siegfried was invincible!" To think that there was a person out there who had the skills to beat Siegfried (who was not a member of Ragnarok) was a bit of a shock to him. Ever since befriending the odd musician, Thor had yet to see him get bested in a fight.

It was Thor who coined him as the 'Immortal Composer' in the first place, after all.

"Apparently not." Loki replied. "I sent Number 47 to get him after I saw Shirahama leave the premises but he was gone by then. In his place was a pile of blood."

"Damn him!" Thor smashed a nearby crate, sending back into the wall. "I'll have my men hunt down that twerp."

"We have other matters to attend to right now." Freya spoke up, "I'm sure my Valkyries will locate Siegfried soon...so for now, why don't we get down to business?"

Odin nodded and signaled the two fighters to stand facing one another. Kakashi's hands were in his pockets as he lazily looked Loki over.

"You seem cocky, kid! Not even gonna take a stance?" Loki taunted from where he stood. "You won't beat me like that."

Kakashi didn't answer, preferring to take out a stick of gum and chew on it. The trickster gritted his teeth. "If you don't wanna talk, fine by me." From his jacket, he took out an easy to conceal gun.

Freya narrowed her eyes. "That..." Odin waved off her comment. "But Odin-"

"Enough. They were told to fight for the esteemed spot of Fourth Fist, did you not think Loki would stoop to such depths? He is our trickster."

"But it is dishonorable." Thor argued, "We should stop this!"

"Yeah!" Kisara added in loudly. "What the hell is Kakashi gonna do against that?"

"I said, enough." Odin's previous calm demeanor slipped slightly, "Besides, if you are so worried about blood-shed, then I find it prudent to inform you that it's just a pellet gun. Even Loki does not have the heart to kill a person, let alone a kid."

The silver-haired boy didn't seem to register the danger and stood calmly. Loki then pulled the trigger, shooting multiple pellets in his opponent's direction. However, the result was not as expected. The younger boy tilted his head ever so slightly and dodged all of the incoming shots in the same fashion. "What the-"

"Good reaction time." Odin commented with a smile. "My, my Valkyrie, you really did find a good one." She just smiled.

Kakashi rose his left arm and revealed a pellet in his hand. "Looks like I caught one." The boy had managed so by using the metal plating on his gloves.

"Tch!"

The silver-haired boy then rose his hand in a finger-flicking gesture with the pellet on the shooting joint. "What the hell are you doing?" Loki seemed exasperated. "That's not gon-" Kakashi flicked his finger and the pellet shot at the elder teen at a high speed, hitting the boy right in the shoulder - making him step back in pain.

"What the hell?" Thor sputtered, "He flicked it so fast!"

"Strong fingers." Odin replied, "I still want to see his close-quarter abilities."

Loki agreed and took out a steel pipe to charge in. Kakashi also picked one up from the ground. He used his own pipe to block the boy's initial swing and simultaneously grabbed the boy's hand. In the same motion, Kakashi swung his pipe to strike at his opponent's midsection followed with a round-about disarming swing that was then followed with a swing to the temple, knocking down the white-haired trickster out-cold.

"Excellent stick technique." Freya commented with a small smile. "You don't see many Escrima users around here."

"Escrima?" Thor asked, "What's that?"

It was Odin who spoke up from beside him. "A martial art that can be traced back to the Phillipines. It emphasizes the use of sticks, knives and other weapons. Today, many military programs integrate it's ideas into their training due to the sheer versatility of the style."

"I've never seen him do that before." Kisara admitted, "He struck me as a free-form Karate style when I first tested him against some chumps. Guess he has a little more up his sleeves."

"The fight looks just about over." Thor commented after. "Loki's down."

"Not quite." Freya shook her head. "And it seems, Kakashi has also realized that."

The silver-haired boy was chewing his gum and calmly analyzed the downed teen. When he heard the sound of a trigger being touched, he spun away from a pellet gun that had been shot from the top window of the building. "Heh! You didn't think I was stupid enough to fight you up-close, did you?! No, I'm way smarter than that! The person you beat was one of my Shadows!"

The Fourth Fist placed his hand in his mouth and whistled, signaling the other fighters he had recruited. Suddenly, multiple clones of Loki ran through the warehouse and surrounded Kakashi immediately. "You may recognize some of them." Loki smirked.

"Hey, that kid goes to my school." Kisara pointed at one of the Loki clones, "He's the ace of the Koryou basket-ball team."

"And that guy over there is the best linebacker in our region! Why is he here?" Thor looked over to a bigger form of Loki that was standing on the front lines, so to speak.

"I blackmailed all of these athletes to work for me part-time! It really is easy to get dirt on people you know, and it is especially easy to blackmail jocks." The trickster laughed cockily. "You're done! Take him out!"

The thirty 'Shadows' of Loki charged at Kakashi head on. But they stopped as soon as the boy sighed, dropped his pipe holding hand to the side, and used his other hand to reach into his jacket. "What's he taking out?!" The lead Loki-clone said. "A weapon?"

Once that was said, Kakashi's hand left to reveal something none of them expected.

It was an orange book.

"What the fuck?" Valkyrie scoffed instinctively. "Why the fuck are you reading at a time like this?!"

Kakashi merely glanced at the other Fists - all of whom seemed bemused except for Odin, who had an amused quirk of the lips on his face - and shrugged.

"This is obviously going to take a while." The boy replied with a long-suffering sigh. "Besides, I just got this the other day. It's pretty good so far."

"You're looking down on me after this, kid?!" Loki laughed even harder than before. "Forget him! Just take him down, Shadows!"

Kakashi moved smoothly in-between the clones and randomly lashed away at them at the same time. Even though his face held an expression of laziness, the boy's movements told of another story - his footwork was easily sustained and he never stumbled after dodging once - making it difficult for Loki to find a clear shot.

"Amazing!" Thor couldn't believe his eyes. "Just amazing!"

"Indeed..." Freya agreed. "He is a better fighter than any of my Valkyries."

"Well..." Thor smirked and place his arms on his wrist and replied very loudly:

"He IS in his Springtime of Youth!"

And then something happened.

Kakashi widened his eyes, put away his new book, and began to move at an even faster pace. The lashes became even faster and held more weight than before - the real Loki who was still sitting by the window had a hard time finding a good shot because of this. Before he knew it, all of his shadows fell to the boy. "Un-fucking-believable." He gritted his teeth in anger. "I can still shoot you from here!"

"What the hell made him up his tempo?" Kisara quirked a brow.

Meanwhile, the fighter shook himself from a shiver that had come down his spine. "I could have sworn I heard...that accursed mantra. Must have been my imagination." Kakashi mentally scolded himself for losing his cool like that.

Throwing away all restraints, Loki kept his fingers on the trigger and unloaded the gun at the boy from a distance. Kakashi grabbed one of the Loki's and used it as his shield. "Son-of-a-bitch!"

The silver-haired boy grabbed a loose pellet and performed his finger-flicking technique, forcing Loki to jump down to a nearby crate to dodge. The younger boy took advantage of this and immediately rushed up behind his opponent. "Heh, not so fast!" He had a hidden weapon - a taser gun.

But Kakashi had long telegraphed the so-called 'sneaky' move and disarmed it the moment it was taken out. He then kicked the boy up off the crate - high into mid air - and jumped in pursuit. "Konoha Taijutsu Ougi: Hasu no Aki (Fall of the Lotus)." As Loki was falling down, Kakashi slowed down his own fall before unleashing a ferocious mid-air punching/elbow combo on his opponent - that eventually ended with him spinning downward with an elbow dropped down on Loki's abdomen just before reaching the ground.

The winner was quite clear.

"Holy shit." Kisara reacted first, it had been a brutal combo. "Nice, Kakashi! That's my boy!" She lifted her arms in a cheering motion.

"Well fought." Odin nodded to the boy, who shrugged. "I would like to congratulate you, the new Fourth Fist of Ragnarok."

"Indeed." Freya acknowledged. "You are certainly deserving of it after this."

"That was amazing! Amazing indeed!"

Valkyrie patted the silver-haired boy, who just shrugged uncaring.

"So, what are you goin' to do with the bastard over there? I don't know his name so...do we still call him Loki?" She asked.

"Of course." Odin smiled enigmatically. "As of now, Loki will be temporarily replacing Siegfried as Fifth Fist until he is found. After we find him, Loki will then be demoted to Ninth Fist."

"Ninth Fist? Didn't you say they were fighting for the Fourth seat?" Kisara asked skeptically.

The violet-haired boy just smiled. "I believe it is prudent to keep as many talented people around as possible. Had Kakashi-kun lost, I would have made him the Ninth fist, depending on his performance. Though since he won, the Fourth seat will belong to him. And rightfully so..."

"This means...the kid will need a title." Berserk spoke up for the first time since the entire meeting had begun. Odin just glanced at him, the boy must have been interested in Kakashi's free-form style as well.

The others just looked at Kakashi. "So, what will you go by?" Valkyrie asked.

The boy honestly didn't care. He just shrugged and replied, "I don't know, I like dogs. So why don't you call me...'Dog'."

"How distasteful. Naming things is also one of my many skills, so count yourself lucky." Odin scoffed before smiling widely. "No, I have a better name. Since you like dogs so much, I will bestow the title of 'Fenrir' to you, Kakashi-kun."

"The wolf, huh?" Kisara smirked, "Very fitting. I like it."

Odin looked to the others and nodded.

"Well then. Since this matter has been completely decided, I would like to be the first to welcome you - Fenrir, the Fourth Fist of Ragnarok!"

Orphanage: Backyard

Honoka only stared comically as she watched the spectacle before her.

"And a one, a two, a one, two, three..." Naruto then began to play an Erhu instrument to lead off, producing a soft and simmering sound that befitted that of a mountain scenery. Followed next was a flute - she looked to the side to see Asuma playing it skillfully while sitting on a chair next to her Master.

~ There was once a hero who stood tall in the North, chivalrous and mighty like a dragon

In the South was a healer, his hands cured the greatest of all poisons ~

~ In the West, the passion of the land, a man with one hand stood against all odds and won

And the Master of all, the greatest evil of the land, his strength unrivaled in the East ~

~ In the Center, the origin of great power sung, his fists turned into thousands

And these five together, ruled the world ~

"These lyrics are kind of weird." She said bluntly, eliciting a soft laugh from beside her. Looking at the direction, she saw an amused Haku fanning himself with his retractable white metal fan.

"It's a Peach Blossom Island classic, Hona-chan." He teased her with a wave of the finger. "You're too young to understand the depth of the story. Besides, the kids seem to like it." He pointed at the growing crowd of children who lived at the orphanage listening to the song.

"Right, right." The girl then noticed just who was singing. And in perfect Chinese dialect as well, "Isn't that..."

"Yeah, apparently, he's a quick study. The kid's got a tough body - must be a well trained martial artist." Haku replied, "I wonder who he is. He seems very happy for someone who got beat up to a pulp just last night."

"Hm." She watched as the performance ended and the kids all cheered. Naruto smiled at them before noticing his two students standing side-by-side. He signaled them over.

"Disciple." He nodded, "This is Siegfried. Siegfried, this is my disciple - the one I was telling you about."

"Stupid name too." She thought to herself before coming to a startling realization. "Wait a minute, isn't Siegfried one of the better General's of Ragnarok?!"

When she thought about it, it all made sense. Kenichi's bright attitude from earlier must have been because of this Siegfried guy's defeat. Was it Kenichi who had fought him? "Possible. But if Ken really did beat him...that's good! He's getting a lot better at a fast pace."

It was almost supernatural how good her brother was getting in such a short amount of time.

Ryouzanpaku definitely didn't do things half-way.

"It's nice to meet you, Siegfried. My name's Honoka" She bowed before the grey-haired teen, who merely beamed back.

"Hello, it is nice to meet you! Aaaaah Lalalalala ~..." He then spun once in excitement. "They call me the 'Immortal Composer', Siegfried!"

She sweat-dropped. "Right."

"The boy must have suffered terrible brain damage. It is a tragedy but alas, his musical skill is still excellent!" Naruto praised and nodded sagely, "He is very knowledgeable."

"...Sensei, the boy did not suffer any brain-damage from what my tests suggest." Haku replied bluntly. "Nonetheless, you are very skilled. I applaud you, Siegfried-san."

"Why thank you, thank you."

Honoka couldn't help but be amused by the situation. "Maybe I was wrong. He doesn't seem like the type to be apart of a dumb gang like Ragnarok."

"Alas, as much as I enjoyed this very much, Naruto-sensei - I must leave to find myself! Aaaaah Lalalalalalala ~..." He then bowed waist deep before the blonde and the caretaker, "I am forever indebted to the both of you!"

And with that, he spun away into the distance while singing random tunes. Naruto couldn't help but give out a light sigh of melancholy before yelling, "You're always welcome here!"

Honoka honestly wasn't sure if this was a memory she wanted to keep so she moved on forward with her own task. "Sensei, I have a favor to ask of you."

Naruto quirked a brow. "...I'm not teaching you one of my Wu Long Shen Zhang (Five Dragon God Palms) techniques until you truly Master the Sky Dragon Steps."

"N-no, that's not what I meant." There was a scream of utter agony in the back of her mind when he heard that admission, she had yet to completely Master that technique. The girl spent a millisecond mourning over her loss. "A friend of mine is in a dilemma and I was wondering if you could help. She's like a big sister to me...please?"

Her Master shrugged. "I suppose. What is it?"

Honoka quickly explained Miu's problem. As expected, he was more than a little skeptical. "Disciple, deceiving a teacher - who wants nothing more then the best for their students - is not the right thing to do. It is better if your friend just came clean." He scolded lightly.

"But that's the thing, Master. This is all a misunderstanding...and from what I remember, my friend's father left her a long time ago so she just needs someone to fill in! All she wants is to feel like she has a family for once!"

"Honoka, it is better to accept reality rather than stand against it!" His voice became harsher all of a sudden, making her recoil back a bit. A flash of regret glinted in his eye and he followed with a small sigh. "...But, if you insist, I will do as you please. However, you will be paying for this during training - I will not hold back on any account! Do you understand?"

"Thank you, Master!" She bowed and smiled. "Well come on, let's go!" Taking him by the arm, they began to make their way. Haku just smiled and gathered the kids up for lunch.

"Where does this friend of yours live anyway...?" He mumbled.

His student smirked. "You'll see."

When they got there, his reaction was less than impressive, for her anyway. "You're kidding." He chuckled and shook his head. "Did you expect me to be surprised?"

"W-well, you know - I thought I would have gotten a better reaction than just a 'You're kidding'." She muttered disappointingly. Naruto just smirked and patted her head.

"Silly girl. I'm not surprised because your brother is their disciple." He pointed at the 'Ryouzanpaku' sign, "I'm curious as to who this girl is though. I am not completely familiar with the all of the Masters that dwell here. I only know of four."

"And those are?"

"Fuurinji Hayato, Koetsuji Akisame, Ma Kensei and Sakaki Shio. They are the most famous and most powerful users of their respective arts in the realm of Katsujinken."

"...Huh, I guess Apachai-san and Shigure-san are new then." Naruto quirked a brow at her answer.

"If you are talking about Apachai Hopachai, then I have to say that I do know of him. They call him the 'Death God of Underground Muay Thai' around Thailand. So...he's also a member of Ryouzanpaku? The story behind that must be incredibly good." He commented, "I do not know the other name you mentioned. Is this your friend?"

"Oh no, my friend is Fuurinji Miu!"

Naruto blinked outwardly, his mind freezing mentally for a moment. "...Could it be?"

"Fuurinji Hayato's grand-daughter." She clarified. Naruto nodded, making an 'ah' sound.

Honoka then sighed and motioned towards the door. Her Master merely scoffed and motioned for her to do it. "But I've done it twice today already!" She whined.

He just gave her a look that said 'Nice try'.

"...Fine." Honoka easily opened the large gates and the two walked in, gathering some attention from the others in Ryouzanpaku.

Kenichi watched from where he was training (with Kensei) - as his sister walked in with a man he had never met before. "Hey, who's that?" Kensei blinked and turned his head. When he saw who had walked in, his eyes widened by a fraction.

"Hm." His eyes never the blonde's form as he spoke, "Don't get sloppy, Kenichi-kun."

"Y-you're not even watching!" He whined at the shorter man, who just shushed him in response.

Sakaki walked out from the dojo after having sensed an immense fighting presence walk in through the front gates, and saw the infamous blonde man. The Karate Master smirked and crossed his arms, "Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto merely inclined his head. It was not a bow in any sense of the word - but the respect was felt between the two Masters. "Sakaki Shio."

"Don't be a hypocrite sensei! You told me to always be polite and you're not doing the same!" Honoka accused comically, pointing a finger right at him. He rolled his eyes and flicked her forehead.

"Sha-nu." His eyes roamed around. "My disciple has asked a favor of me. I must say, I'm surprised these walls are still standing after all of the ruckus that always happens around here."

"We have a professional sculpture that lives here. He is a quick worker, as you may know." Kensei had walked over and bowed, his left hand over his right. "A pleasure as always, Naruto."

Naruto returned the same gesture, "You are in good health, Kensei."

Kenichi watched the man who their Masters were talking with and quirked a brow. "Um..." Naruto looked down to him.

"You must be the disciple of 'History's Strongest'." He reached a hand. Kenichi nodded and shook it, before grimacing slightly at the blonde's grip.

"Strong."

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, just another martial artist."

"Shirahama Kenichi. I'm a student here."

The introduction was very plain but straight to the point. "So, do you know Honoka?"

Naruto rose both his brows and looked at his disciple, who scratched her head, and looked away at a far wall. "I teach her martial arts." He smiled, contemplating the new insight.

"Really?! You must be pretty strong then!" The young brown-haired lad smiled brightly. "She's really good!"

"Indeed." Kensei stepped in. "How about some tea, Naruto? Kenichi, you can take a...small break for now." The blonde nodded and walked over to the edge of the dojo, followed by a relieved Kenichi. Honoka was still silent as was Sakaki, who was eyeing her Master like he was some sort of video game boss that needed to be defeated. It was amusing and unnerving at the same time - how Kenichi missed the slightly tense atmosphere, she didn't know but kind of envied him. "Miu! We have a guest!"

Kensei walked in first, followed by Naruto who suddenly heard a whizzing noise, and easily caught three shuriken in mid-air with three respective fingers. "Hm." A woman suddenly met him face-to-face as she held herself on the ceiling with her feet.

"Hi."

Naruto blinked and inclined his head. "Hello."

She just stared apathetically into his crisp eyes. "You...smell of oranges...and is that...ramen?"

The blonde shrugged and replied with an equally un-responsive voice. "I suppose I do. And you have quite the pair of demure, violet eyes - I kind of find it attractive." The edge of her lips twitched a bit, but otherwise, she just shrugged and walked away - while still hanging upside down.

"M-master!" Honoka sputtered slightly at the sight of him actually flirting. She didn't think such a thing could have been remotely possible - he always seemed like the old man type of person and his demeanor did nothing but enhance that image. For some reason, when she saw that, it gave Honoka an impression of a younger man.

"What?" He asked with an honest to Kami face.

She just shook her head, "N-nothing. Anyway..." The girl looked over to her brother, who just seemed overly amused by the whole spectacle. "Where's Miu-neechan?"

"I think she's-" The door from the other side slid open. "-just right over there." He finished.

The girl walked in and saw a blond man, who she assumed would be her mysterious helper and smiled to welcome him. As she moved forward though, a small shiver crept in her spine as the logical side of her brain kept running the horror stories she had heard over and over through her mind. "No! If Honoka respects him, then he must be a completely different person then what they say." When Miu looked at him, he just seemed like another Master. He didn't have any mysterious edge to him nor did he have the insane blood-thirsty, red eyes from the stories.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Fuurinji Miu!" She spoke a tad fast, showing that her nerves starting to go over the edge by being in his presence.

Now Kenichi seemed a bit suspicious of the situation. "She's nervous about something?" He just shrugged and stretched to relieve his muscles.

Naruto walked over to her and stopped just short of reaching her - he could practically hear the girl's heart beat increase. The man just looked at her right in the eyes and smiled softly before placing his hand on her left shoulder.

"You have your mother's eyes."

Miu froze and looked at the man in utter shock. "W-w-hat did you j-just say?!"

"Master?" Honoka also inquired quietly, also surprised by the insinuation of his words. Her Master merely waved his hand and calmed down the blonde girl who looked on the edge of hyperventilating.

"I will tell you after we pull the wool over your teacher's eyes, is that okay with you?" She nodded furiously and shakily led him to the table in the center of the room, where they all gathered. Naruto calmly glanced over the room and felt another massive presence enter the room from the side, it was a huge man with very tan skin and white hair.

"Apa! Hi!"

"Hello." Naruto returned. "You must be Apachai Hopachai. It is a pleasure."

"A-Apachai-san!" Miu stood quickly and moved over to the Thai man, "W-we need to hide you. They're going to be here any minute!"

While this was going on, Sakaki looked over to Naruto and began to speak. "So, what's a man like you doing around these parts?"

"Just checking in on my cute disciple here." He replied. "What's a man like you doing here and not across the country fighting Akira Hongo?"

The Karate Master just scoffed. "Stingy conversationalist, huh?" Naruto just smiled cheekily in return. "You have a good student. I think she's better than ours."

Kenichi was indignant, "You don't have to be so mean, Sensei!" He cried out, with comical tears. "I mean, I'm pretty good! I beat a member of Ragnarok!"

"After he let you walk up right to him! If what Miu told me was right, he was probably owning you for most of the fight!" The gruff Master countered and rolled his eyes when Kenichi made no effort to deny that claim. "I really need to teach you Gamaku. That would have been perfect for your fight!"

"Gamaku?" He tilted his head.

It was Honoka that answered. "Uh, isn't that the technique that subtly shifts your center of gravity or something like that?"

Naruto confirmed that. "Mmhm. It is something like that - you don't meet many at a young age who can do it, however. It is a technique that is usually reserved for expert level fighters."

"I'm back!" Miu announced, "Alright, so we'll need to get your story together!"

Sakaki seemed relieved. "Good, I suck at acting this out." He gave the papers to Naruto who only glanced at them.

"Hm, Fuurinji Saiga." He muttered quietly and thought to himself privately, "What a dangerous name."

So when he saw the profession, he couldn't help but smirk a little bit. "Jet pilot. I'm afraid to say that I'm not well-versed in that profession, Miu-san. However, since it is completely natural for people to switch jobs due to the economic cycle, I believe I can easily convince your teacher that I somehow became a private tutor. My reason for doing so would have to do with something along the lines of, 'wanting to spend more time with my family' since being a pilot means traveling very often."

"Such a logical thought process." Kenichi thought to himself. "That sounds perfect." Even Miu nodded without any arguments.

"Perfect! Now, since we haven't gotten any practice with the two of you-" She pointed at both Shigure and Naruto, "-as a couple, this might be tough."

They just shrugged. Honoka was sure Naruto could pull off a convincing Husband, having been one before, if she remembered correctly. She suddenly wondered how her Master was feeling like at the moment and a bit of regret entered her at making him do something like this. "He must have loved her. Was I wrong for doin-"

He flicked her forehead again, eliciting a hiss from her. "Why do you always do that? I was in the middle of a very serious thought process!"

"Too serious." Naruto's smile put her at complete ease. "The tea is ready. So, Shigure-san, I don't think we've been properly introduced."

The woman nodded and turned her head to him. "Kousaka Shigure...I like weapons...but Miu took them all away from me." She pouted and then continued. "...You have taught her well...but she won't use her sansetsukon whenever I watch..."

His lips curled slightly and he glanced at his student. "I didn't teach her many techniques with that - since I do not specialize in staff techniques, let alone a sansetsukon. Had she chosen a jian back during our training, I would have happily taught her my sword-play. That was not the case though."

"Hey, my triple-staff is awesome! Besides, swords are too overplayed and cliche!"

Naruto and Shigure narrowed their eyes at her declaration. "No, they're not." They replied simultaneously.

"My Master was a swordsman." Naruto admitted first of all. "Before I developed Yunlongquan, I was primarily a sword-specialist."

The Chinese Master indeed confirmed that statement when he saw the disbelief on her face. "He was an excellent swordsman in his youth."

"I love...swords." Shigure defended her own stance. "I can do...anything with them..."

"You can cut through metal." Naruto pointed out.

"Fish, you can...cut fish..."

"My sword has never failed to defeat an opponent."

"It is like a...dance..."

"And we are unstoppable once we become one." They said simultaneously once again.

Honoka and Kenichi just shared a look while Miu smiled knowingly. "Does anyone find that creepy or is just me?" The youngest brunette asked. Just as she said that, a knock was heard on the large gates out front.

"Show time." Kenichi grinned. "Good luck, Master Shigure, Naruto-san."

Everyone but Naruto and Shigure left the room to observe while Miu went to retrieve the two teachers.

"You...are very comfortable with doing this..." She spoke in her usual monotone voice.

"At first, it was just as a favor for my disciple - who I kind of owe a bit for leaving her alone for a few years." He admitted. "But...when I heard that it was Shizuha's daughter that was in need of a slight favor, any doubt left me. It is the least I can do for an old friend."

"The old man...doesn't really tell her about them."

"It is no surprise." Was Naruto's solemn reply. "The Kuremisago Clan is not a very happy topic of conversation. He will tell her when she is ready - no, when they are ready. It is not my place to tell her. Though, I think she would be happy to hear a little bit about her mother from a different perspective."

They didn't speak anymore when Miu's school teachers walked in.

"These are my parents." Miu smiled, gesturing to Shigure and Naruto, who were sitting comfortably.

"I am Yasunaga Fukujirou, Miu's homeroom teacher." The old man bowed - he was a bald man with glasses and a stern face.

"And I'm Ono, his assistant." A bright and happy looking woman said, contrasting heavily with the man she was accompanying.

The blonde man smiled kindly in return. "I am Fuurinji Saiga and I teach at a local orphanage. I also tutor students privately on occasion after leaving my initial job as a pilot to spend time with my family." He sent a fake, affectionate glance at Shigure, who just took his acting in stride. Though despite knowing that it was an act, there was a slight tug on the corner of her lips, as if she was fighting a grin.

Kenichi and Honoka, who were watching the show along-side Kensei, were impressed by the man's experience.

"Fuurinji Shizuha..." Shigure muttered, before seeing a fly, and proceeded to massacre it with a hidden knife in her jacket. Miu's mouth dropped wide open, as did the others except Naruto, who made a valiant effort at keeping himself from bursting with mirth. "...Fashion designer..."

The two teachers just stared at her in shock. "My wife has Pteronarcophobia, and tends to react...radically in the face of a fly. My apologies." Naruto inclined his head, and in a surprise show of synergy, so did Shigure - who just played along. The two teacher shared a glance and looked back, one suspicious, the other befuddled.

"Nice save!" Everyone thought with immense relief.

"It's alright." The older teacher replied, "So, Saiga-san, you said that you taught children at an orphanage. Can you tell me what you teach?"

"I specialize in preparing children for when they initially enter grade school. I teach mathematics, literature, music and history." Naruto replied smoothly. "I teach whatever they ask of me."

"Music? Do you play an instrument?" Ono asked enthusiastically.

"Yes." The blonde nodded. "I can play the piano, all types of violins and the flute."

"Of course..." Yasunaga replied skeptically and then turned his gaze to Shigure. "Well then, Mrs. Fuurinji..."

"What is it, baldy?"

The old man twitched and tried - and failed - to hide his offense. Ono merely held back a giggle while Naruto allowed a curl of the lips to show his immense amusement. The others in the back face-palmed, as did Miu who seemed exasperated.

"What company do you work for? Can you tell me Fuurinji's grades last year and can you tell me her birthday?!"

"Dokokanon Corporation. Miu's grades were complete tens except for English and Health which were both nines respectively. She was born on January 14, at 10:40 in the morning."

Clean and concise, Naruto thought to himself. "She didn't cry much." He put in his two cents, not really knowing if this was true or not.

Ono raised her hand. "Oh! Where's the restroom?" She asked. Her superior mildly scolded her for acting like a child before she went off with Miu.

The elder man seemed a bit hesitant about something but continued to contemplate mentally. Naruto and Shigure shared a glance before nodding, they were nearly finished.

The coast was almost clear.

Until.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH HHH!" A loud scream was heard from the direction of the bathroom. Naruto sighed while Shigure shrugged, "Looks like he was found." The woman muttered, though if one listened closely, an undertone of amusement could be heard.

After this, chaos erupted as Apachai ran into the room, chasing Ono in order to apologies for scaring her - while the female teacher just kept screaming in fear.

Naruto and Shigure just sat still as Kenichi and Kensei rushed inside to calm Apachai instinctively. "What the hell is all of this?!" Yasunaga demanded, looking right at Naruto, who seemed to be enjoying the show. However, he couldn't get an answer as Kenichi had taken him by the hand to lead him away from a determined Apachai.

"Should we...?"

"Yes." Kensei immediately said and followed Apachai who was following Ono who was following Yasunaga. Once they got to the statue room, Naruto saw a large statue about to fall, but was stopped by a flash of yellow that surprised even him a bit.

Holding the stature from falling on the teacher was a large, muscular old man with blonde hair.

"Hello, Uzumaki Naruto." Turning around, Naruto was met with a man exactly his height and pupil-less eyes.

"Koetsuji Akisame, it's an honor."

"W-what's going on?!" Ono asked bewilderingly, "Isn't your name Fuurinji Saiga?!"

Akisame chuckled and scratched the back of his head, "Whoops."

"Don't worry about it, Hayato-dono is clearing it up with Yasunaga right now." He pointed to the old man who was using the power of persuasion to convince the teacher that everything at the dojo was perfectly fine. After flaunting Akisame's name a bit, they succeeded.

After everything was settled, the entire group found themselves bidding farewell to the two teachers.

"That was close." Miu breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so tired...but-" She looked over to Naruto who merely inclined his head.

"I will be in town for two weeks. I live at the orphanage, Honoka can show you the way if you do not know. You may stop by at any time."

"OR, we could just come here." Honoka countered. "It's surprisingly very fun when you come here, Master."

"Things went insane." Sakaki agreed with a smirk. "It was awesome." He had been in his room drinking but stepped in once Apachai was found out.

"Ho ho ho, your disciple is quite bold, Naruto-kun." Hayato chuckled heartily. "I must say, it is a surprise to see you again."

"Yes, of course, Hayato-dono. It has been a very long time." The younger blonde's arm traced a spot around his lower abdomen. "I still remember the strength of your Kazoe Nukite (Counted Overhand Stroke) to this day."

"And I remember your supreme palm technique as well. I believe you called it the Muji Dizeng Long Shen (Sighting of the Ascending Dragon God)." Hayato acknowledged back. "It is without a doubt, one of the more powerful techniques I've ever seen."

The group looked at both men with heightened curiosity. "Do you two know each other?" Honoka asked.

"We've met." Hayato nodded. "Your Master is a strong man."

"You flatter me." Naruto looked at the time and nodded to Honoka. "I'm afraid that I must go. It is getting late." He stood up and bowed very lightly, followed by his disciple.

Miu also stood up and went to accompany him to the door. As did a few others, barring Sakaki whom joined Akisame, Kenichi and Kensei who were all cleaning up the statue room.

"Do come back sometime." Miu muttered tiredly. The relief had served like a drug to her it seemed. "Honoka will bring you!"

"You bet!" Said girl admitted. Naruto just smiled and waved at the group, and gave Shigure an incline of the head before turning to leave. Honoka was walking backwards with him while waving at the Ryouzanpaku group.

Hayato just watched the man walk off in the distance along-side Honoka with a contemplating look on his face. "Grandfather?" Miu mumbled, seeing his face that was deep in thought.

"...Nothing, dear." He gave her a huge grandfather-like smile. "Always remember, that Ryouzanpaku is our family, even if they are not by blood. Isn't nice to have family to rely on?"

And with that the two joined Shigure who had walked back into the dojo.

END

I covered a lot of stuff here. A lot. It feels long, I think it almost rivals CH7 and the other chapter. And this was without a Chronicles.

In fact, I covered so much that I have to read the chapter to even remember what I wrote. I just know that it all made sense. When I was outlining the scene by scene (something I do before writing the full chapter) - I didn't think it would go this long. After all, there was only three scenes.

I know many of you thought that Sieg will have a personal connection to Honoka. That was only part right. They will only recognize each other. It is Naruto who will have a connection to him through a debt.

Scene two was Loki v Kakashi and as you imagined, Kakashi owned him. Enough said.

Scene three, the Home Invasion Chapter (CH77) - I might have rushed the ending but at that point, I thought I was dragging it out. I would have liked to add more Akisame dialogue but I don't think it would have fit well.

Surprisingly, Honoka had little to do this chapter.

The song is not real (at least I think so, since I made the words up). They are a reference to "Northern Hero" Guo Jing, "Southern Monk" Yideng (Emperor Duan), "Western Eccentric" Yang Guo, "Eastern Evil" Huang Yaoshi and "Central Imp" Zhou Botong. If anyone knows the story, I'm also referencing "Western Poison" Ouyang Feng, "Central Divinity" Wang Chongyang and "Northern Beggar" Hong Qigong. Personally, my favorite of them all is Huang Yaoshi...for obvious reasons.

Naruto's Master is a swordsman. Yes, oh yes it is. You know him but only I know how he's applied in this story.

Well, that's it for now I guess. I hope that this chapter confirms that this story is an official Naruto x Shigure. It should have been obvious at the very beginning actually.

I mean, who else is there? Kushinada? Pffft, yeah right. *Laugh*.

Have a nice day