AN: Alright. I was so happy that my writing had reached over 250 pages, so I told my mom that, and she decided to look at it because she couldn't believe. She also has a talent for writing, but she is having issues getting past 30 pages, I think is the count. Then she looked at it and was completely surprised, because I didn't have my document set up like traditional documentation of books, like if I ever wanted to publish this. I had it single spaced. So my mom had me traditionalize it into double space last night, and the actual count of pages for my story is – drumroll!!! – 390 pages. And that last chapter was actually 27 pages instead of 18 pages. . haha. Just thought I'd share that story with you guys! Now, I would have posted this last night, but I was WAY too tired to do so. So here it is! Please review!

WAIT!!! I forgot to mention this! Last chapter, Shikamaru had a memory bit which seemed choppy, compared to my normal writing. I did that on purpose. I wanted it to mimic this Shikamaru AMV my sis and I found over the summer. Here it is, and (p)= period, because they can't just make it simple and let us post links.

http://www (p) youtube (p) com/watch?v=iO2TyphLCQM

And my sis wanted to make sure you all knew what exactly everyone looked like. I had asked her when I started writing this last June to draw for it if it becomes popular, which it has, thanks All!!! Anyway, here are her pictures.

Cordi: http://windgoddess08 (p) deviantart (p) com/art/Cordelia-from-Legendaries-142638735

Roxanne: http://windgoddess08 (p) deviantart (p) com/art/Roxanne-from-Legendaries-142638463

Lynne: http://windgoddess08 (p) deviantart (p) com/art/Lynne-from-Legendaries-142640834

I'll tell you when she finishes the other two, she's working on them now. . And GrimSpeck18 told me she would also do fan art for my story when I told her my idea for Legendaries and asked her for some insight on Sasuke, because I'm basically Sasuke's biggest hater. But because she's one of my besties and she's obsessed with Sasuke and Itachi, I deal. Yes, I will say it again. Sasuke is only in this story because of my good graces. If I had my way, Gaara would be Sand Coffin-ing that boy until Kingdom come. Haha, anyway. The first one she drew, but let me color, because I may not be much in the drawing department, but since Junior year, GrimSpeck, my shading skill on my coloring pages has many people asking me if I'm an Art major. So, here is the colored version of Sasuke.

http://rose91 (p) deviantart (p) com/art/Legendaries-Sasuke-Uchiha-22-140931194

And then she had one of her friends draw a Sasuke/Lynne piece if you're a fan of that pairing!

Black and White: http://fox4859 (p) deviantart (p) com/art/Sasuke-OC-commission-146157137

Color: http://torafox (p) deviantart (p) com/art/Sasuke-and-Lynne-146190536

And she did one of her version of Lynne:

http://torafox (p) deviantart (p) com/art/Lynne-Attacks-146292806

I drew three of the dragons over the summer, I just didn't put them up. . So far, it's just Aleera, Gryffin, and Nessie drawn. And I also drew all of five of the girls too, but I didn't put that up either. I'm looking at it now, and it kind of looks like crap anyway. . I also have some other characters drawn that you won't see for awhile, so I'm not posting those up, because then the story might be given away. .

If any of you other readers are artistically inclined and want to draw your fave character from here (like grown up Shikamaru … but he looks the same, so that wouldn't work. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Sasuke from this story would work), that would be cool. Just send me a link, and I will post it for the other readers to be able to view if you want me too. Anyway, that took way longer than expected! Enjoy the chapter!

And to GrimSpeck18, I MISS YOU TOO!!!! I miss waking you up only to have you yell at me that you have a migraine! I miss playing the Pirates MMORPG with you and Mary when we should have been studying for exams! I miss discussing story ideas with you, including Cascaria, which btw, YOU NEED TO WRITE!!!! I miss having Mr. Trani glare at us for having "Too much fun" at dinner. I miss talking about Dr. Stumpo's ridiculously "Stumpotized" stories. I miss dyeing your hair in the bathroom having the Dorm parents give us crazy looks, especially when we dyed it red and it looked like we scalped you. I miss playing Pokemon with you and Mary, and discussing battle tactics. My family misses how nerdy we all got in the theater with Iron Man, and hoping we can do that again this year!

And to Thomas Drovin, Just one experiment, but it's bad enough. You should never use a fellow human as a guinea pig. As for Tsunade, what was she going to do, abandon her friend to be either killed by Madara or Konoha? No, she's more loyal than that. And if you got Hinata's sickness, good for you. I'm not entirely explaining it until the next chapter. I'm glad that this has made up for everything! ^.~

And to PrincessSayaka, You always love love love love love. ^.^

And to Dantesfreezer, Haha, yeah, I thought it put a little more personality in my characters. BUT, if you didn't notice, there was a DBZ reference when Rox lost her memory, too. And I never noticed the parallel of Yu Yu Hakusho you pointed out. I mean, yeah, that's where I got the name, more because I 3 Hiei and Yukina's his sister. But the whole Kuwabara thing was based on where Kankuro was in the Naruto Fave character list. Apparently, he's ranked #30. Haha, and Kuwabara doesn't have as many fans last I checked. That could just be my opinion though.

And to Me and Gaara 4eva, I like to think of them as cute together too! ^.~ And here is more.

And to Gaaras1Girl, Yeah, Kirigi's life pretty much sucks, and almost together. Remember, Kankuro is in Suna, anchored down by his daughter, and Fred is in Konoha and she can't always leave. And long distance relationships suck too. Keep those in account.

And to Azura Soul Reaver, glad you thought so.

I wanna thank the newbie alerter. Riss737, thanks and welcome to the family!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters etc. You know the drill. Oh, and Kirigi, Saito, belong to Thomas Drovin, which I'm very grateful he's letting me use. Although, I did take some creative liberties with Saito, Thomas. Thanks a bunch!!!

Chapter Nine: By My Side

"Ah, there you are," Naruto sighed, finally seeing Lynne walk in. It had taken her a while to get there for some odd reason, but now he was just happy to see her. Saito sat in the corner nervously. He had no idea what was about to happen. But both ignored his worried glances. "I have a special case that needs tending to," Naruto stated.

"A special case?" Lynne repeated, not really understanding what he meant.

"That comic you used to read in your world centered around me … how far did it go?" Naruto asked curiously, leaning on his desk and staring her down.

"Well, it reached about where Gaara met up with you after the Five Kages' meeting, well, at least before we left, that is. Why?" Lynne asked.

Naruto smiled. "So then you know Madara's plan, correct?" he inquired, hoping she did.

"You mean about putting everyone under a genjutsu and playing God?" Lynne stated, unsure though if that's what he was talking about.

"That would be the plan," Naruto smiled. "This man, Saito, was brought here with Kirigi." Lynne instantly tensed as he said this. "Although, according to Kirigi that is, Saito is very different from the other Akatsuki members. For some reason, he always seemed like a sheep in wolves clothing to Kirigi. His feelings were right. Before Kirigi escaped, he overheard Madara say something along the lines of Saito being his guinea pig for his genjutsu plan."

"So," Lynne drawled, "you want me to what?"

"If it's possible, could you remove it from him?" Naruto requested. She gave him a confused look as if to ask "Why me?" "I've found that this genjutsu is very different from others and can't be fixed by a simple 'release,' due to the fact that it's from the sharingan. I figured with your power over spirit and mind, you could help him get out of it."

Lynne furrowed her brows at him, then nodded. She had never used her power over spirit like this, and some part of her doubted it would work. "You might want to stay back," she warned Naruto, not sure exactly what would happen.

Saryu, if I need any help … she started.

I'll lend you my power as much as I can, Saryu reassured.

She smiled, and took a seat in front of the young man. His black eyes darted around hurriedly and his reddish-black hair was brushed off his face unnaturally, as if he had kept running his hand through it. "Calm," Lynne urged, holding a hand out to him. She put her hand on his forehead, as if she were feeling his temperature, and she could see what Naruto meant by the complicated genjutsu. With most people under genjutsus, their mind is lightly clouded with a gray mist of sorts, changing the aura's color slightly. But it's so thin, a small shove of chakra through it can easily get rid of it. But this one was worse. Instead of a light gray film around his mind, she could see little shines of his lightning blue aura through menacing black clouds, thick and slowly drifting around his mind and aura. A small release would do nothing against it. The thickness of the genjutsu was immeasurable, showing the amount of chakra shoved into it. When she thought about it though, if Madara was making an entire world for the people's minds, it would make sense how much chakra was oozing from the black clouds.

She drilled her mind through, sifting through the clouds, searching for the lightning blue light. Come on, it can't be this difficult, she sighed.

Suddenly, off in the distance she heard, Hello? … Is anyone there?

She wanted to call back to the voice, but she didn't want to spook him. It was very possible if she did spook him, he'd shrink back into the genjutsu a little more. Instead, she followed the direction of the voice, hoping desperately it would lead her to his aura, so she wasn't wandering blindly in the black haze.

HELLOOOOOOOOOO!!!! the voice called out, but it echoed throughout his mind, making it hard to place exactly where it came from. But, good news, it was closer to her this time. She suddenly broke out into a sprint towards it, hoping to find the origins of the voice somewhere through this fog. She could feel she was almost there, but she couldn't see it just yet. The fog was brightening a little, fading from black to the lightning blue color of Saito's aura. Ignoring her tired inner-self from running, she kept running. Soon enough the entire black fog was gone and she was in the midst of Saito's aura, at least the boarder of it. It was being contained in this bubble of sorts that slowly oozed his cloudy aura out. She pressed a hand against it, feeling a strange glass-like texture, smooth and cold. She knew the voice was inside the glass-like ball, and she needed to get inside somehow. She pressed harder against it, feeling its elasticity.

Suddenly a thought ran through her mind, echoing around her. What would happen if I punch it?

Needless to say the voice in the bubble heard her. Who are you? Who's there!? it demanded.

She stayed silent for a moment then said, My name is Lynne. I'm here to get you out of this genjutsu.

Is that what I'm in? he asked.

Yes, she replied. She looked around at the bubble, then asked, Is there any way I can get in?

Why would you want to get in? he asked incredulously. I've been stuck in here for years. I'm not exactly sure how long, but I'm pretty sure on the outside I look like an old man. Sometimes I can escape for a few seconds but I quickly get sucked back in. I… I think that the pumpkin masked man placed me under a ninjutsu too that keeps my body awake. It's the only way no one else could have noticed.

Lynne pursed her lips. That's very possible, then again, it could also be a part of the genjutsu. I think the genjutsu makes your mind malleable, so it's easier for Madara to control you.

Who? he asked.

The man in the pumpkin mask, his name is Madara Uchiha, Lynne stated. Now, how can I demolish this bubble?

You can't, he stated in a resigned tone.

No, there must be a way, Lynne muttered, looking around at it. Maybe…. She began to gather chakra in her hand and balled it into a fist. Here goes, she heaved, winding her fist back before striking the bubble as hard as she could, pushing some chakra through her hand, sending ripples through the bubble's surface, making it unstable. Its massive reverberations over its surface made it so unstable, she was sure it was about to pop. Ok, one more! Lynne shoved more chakra into her hand and gave it one more punch. The shockwaves from this punch were too much for the bubble to handle. It immediately burst under the pressure, its loud explosion reverberating around his mind.

What was that? he asked.

Hopefully, the sound of your freedom, Lynne stated, walking through. The black fog started to mingle with the light blue. This had to be quick she realized. She didn't know what would happen if the blue and black clouds completely mixed, but she was pretty sure it wasn't going to be good. Soon enough, she reached the center of the lightning blue fog and found Saito standing in the center looking around.

Y-you got through … he asked, not sure if it was real.

Yeah, but we've got to go, now! Lynne stated, walking up to him and placing a hand on his head. She shoved as much chakra into her hand and cried, RELEASE!!! What seemed like a strong wind swirled around them viciously, then like a tornado, started to siphon the black fog from around his mind. As soon as it was gone, she began to pull herself out of Saito's mind, pulling his conscience with her.

As soon as they got out, both were breathing pretty heavily. "It …. It should be …. Should be gone," Lynne stated, very short of breath.

"Nicely done," Naruto congratulated. "Now, I'll take care of Saito. I suggest you get some rest. The Jounin Exams tomorrow won't be a breeze, and getting rid of the genjutsu obviously took a bit out of you."

Lynne got up slowly, making sure she would be fine. "Yeah, I'll see you later," she sighed, before slowly walking out of Naruto's office and back to her apartment.

Kiba stood underneath Ronni's apartment, throwing pebbles at her window cheesily. On one of their earlier dates a couple years ago, though, Ronni told him she liked cheesy things, so he figured he was just fine with that. He stopped as soon as he could see her shadow in the window. Soon enough, she was running down the stairs and into his arms happily. They spun around a little bit, just happy to be together again. She wore a blue cocktail dress with a squared neckline, showing off her cleavage fashionably, with straps that fanned out over her shoulders. The silhouette followed her figure until her hips, where it gently fanned around her legs, ending just above her knees. And she had on strappy black sandals with two and a half inch heels. She did nothing to her hair, except put it half back, and she didn't put on much make-up, but just enough for Kiba.

Kiba wore a black blazer, black dress pants, and shiny black shoes. He had a white dress shirt underneath his blazer, un-tucked and the top button undone. He wasn't one for ties anyway. His hair was combed, as if he tried to tidy it up somewhat, but failed miserably.

He put her down on the ground admiring her. Both of their hands were fastened together, and neither were about to let go of the other. She smiled at him, not needing any words to express how happy she was to see him. He knew how she felt because he felt the same thing.

"We should get going, the sun's about to set. We don't want to be late for dinner," Kiba stated sheepily. He was obviously nervous about something, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She shrugged it off and looped her arm through his.

They walked for a couple minutes toward the center of Konoha, before Kiba asked nervously, "So … that dress … where did you find it on such short notice?"

"Oh," Ronni sighed, looking down at her dress. "I hassled Lynne and Rox into helping me find one last night, because my sister and Cordi weren't in. Do you like it?"

"It's very flattering," he replied.

"Thanks," she smiled. It was silent for another moment, his nervousness hanging heavy in the air. "Is there something I should know?" she asked worriedly. He was starting to make her nervous with how quiet he was being.

"What?" he asked rather shocked. "N-no," he stuttered. "No, why would you think that?"

"Well," she shrugged, "you're being so quiet, more than usual. It's making me a little nervous."

He gave her a goofy smile and said, "There is nothing you need to worry about. I'm just really happy to see you."

"Me, too," she replied, holding onto his arm I little tighter and placing her head on his shoulder.

They finally reached the restaurant, and everything was nice in there. The hostesses wore all black, a lot of the people were in cocktail attire, and crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. In the darker corners, candles either hung on the wall or sat on the table, giving it a warm romantic feel. "We have a reservation," Kiba told the hostess.

"Name?" she asked.

"Inuzuka," he stated, grasping Ronni's hand and giving it a small squeeze.

The hostess smiled, picking up two menus. "This way," she stated. She led them to a small, cozy booth in the back that was lit by candlelight. She set the menus down, smiled at them and said, "I hope you both enjoy your meal," before walking back to her post at the front of the restaurant.

Both of them sat down, holding hands over the table and both thumbing the other's. Shortly after sitting down, a waiter came up and asked, "Is there any drink I could get you?"

"A bottle of white wine, please," Kiba ordered. The waiter nodded, then left to fetch the bottle. He quickly returned with the bottle and placed it into a bucket of ice. "Thank you," Kiba nodded to the waiter. The waiter gave a polite smile, then left the two to their date.

Somewhere halfway through the date, Kiba was getting suspiciously nervous. His hands were getting clammy, and it was bothering Ronni … a lot. She figured she was probably going to find out later, and he didn't want to be bothered by her questioning it yet. She realized he was probably feeling anxious without Akamaru by his side. Those two never parted ways, and this restaurant probably didn't allow animals. It made sense that he would feel that way.

"Where's Akamaru?" Ronni asked, hoping that would ease his mind a little bit.

Kiba shot her a nervous smile and replied, "Funny you should ask that." He looked over Ronni's shoulder toward the back door and nodded. Ronni turned around to see Akamaru trotting through happily. Akamaru walked up beside Kiba, who patted him gently before pulling something tied onto Akamaru's collar free. Ronni looked at it oddly. It was a small black box. Kiba gently grabbed Ronni's hand and sighed. "Ever since you left two years ago… well things just haven't been right. I've constantly thought about you. I've imagined you coming back to Konoha a million times. I've imagined how you'd have changed and how you'd have stayed the same. You became my whole understanding of the world. So much so that it started to annoy my friends. I-I've never felt like this with anyone before. And because of this … I-I knew that whenever I saw you again … I had to ask you this," he explained. He slowly got out of the booth, black box in hand. He kept hold of her hand as he stood next to the table, then slowly knelt next to her. Ronni lost her breath. "Will you marry me?" Kiba asked, slowly opening the black box to present a rather modest, but beautiful, diamond ring. Every fear of her rejection was shown on his face.

Suddenly, she broke out into a smile. "YES!!" She squealed, jumping out of her booth and tackling Kiba to the ground. Kiba relaxed and a huge grin broke out on his face. Akamaru let out a happy bark. He gave her a kiss and slipped it onto her left ring finger. "Is that why you were so nervous?" she laughed.

"Yes," he replied as if now that he thought about it, his nervousness was rather silly. They got themselves situated back into the booth.

Ronni set her left hand out in front of her, admiring the gleaming white jewel on her finger. "Oh," she sighed, "it's so beautiful. Where on Earth did you get it?"

"It was my mother's. My father died in battle when I was really young, so she kept it as a reminder of him. When she heard that I wanted to ask you to marry me, she gave it to me," Kiba shrugged.

"Oh, I must thank her. I can't believe her ring size is the same as mine," Ronni stated surreally.

"I'm a bit surprised about that too," Kiba stated, grasping her hand and looking at the ring. He let her go and poured them both a flute of wine. "To our future together," Kiba toasted. Ronni smiled, picking up her glass and tapped her flute to his. Both took sips, smiling at the other, happy for what was to come.

It took forever to get everything sorted out with Saito, and wouldn't you know right after, Naruto would be handed a HUGE stack of paperwork. It was nearing nine o'clock at night, and Naruto knew he'd have to go back home soon, otherwise he was going to be in no position to judge the Jounin exams the next day due to lack of sleep. He filed the paperwork he finished and stretched his cramping back from sitting at his desk for so long. Paperwork hours and hours on end could not be healthy, not in the least. He set the last remnants of the paperwork aside, putting it off until Monday.

He walked out and locked up the office. Slowly, he waltzed down the halls toward his apartment, contemplating the exams the next day. Now that the girls were back, it was guaranteed to be a good tournament. Not that it wouldn't already, but now just finding out all their new powers had him psyched. As soon as he reached his apartment, he swung open the door, happy to be home. The first thing he saw was Hinata, looking nervous but happy at the same time.

"Hey, Hinata," Naruto sighed happily. "What's up?"

"I-I have something I have to tell you," Hinata stammered, a slight blush rushing to her cheeks. Naruto shot her a curious look. She hadn't stammered in his presence in years. He suddenly had a feeling that whatever she had to tell him, he wasn't going to get much sleep with it on his mind.

AN: I know, rather short chapter compared to the last one. But if I kept this chapter and the next chapter together, as was the original plan, it would be the same length as the last chapter, and you wouldn't get it for a while. . I hope you enjoyed it!