Another chapter is here!

Enjoy!

Karin stood off to the side as she watched the small celebration unfold, on this beautiful autumn day. The sun was just over its peak, so it was warm, but the drifting clouds that moved the shadows along the ground at the whim of the fair breezes kept the temperature at a nice range. The air was also filled with voices as most of the guest who were Naruto's peers had arrived at this point, and were filling in their time with eating, talking, or some combination of the two—opening the gifts would come later.

It was a relief honestly. A weight off Karin's chest that had been pressing down since that morning. If she had to be truthful, she would have been angry if they hadn't showed up for one reason or another.

Not because all of their efforts would have been for naught. But because Naruto would have been sad. If they made her responsible for his hopes being dashed after she had told him ahead of time that the party was being planned… well, it was better not to think that way in the long run, since they did show up in the end.

And Naruto was happy, smiling as he stood in a group with some of the other boys and talked. One was even that Neji-fellow, who had been his opponent in the Finals. She had thought there would be some animosity there after what had happened, given that his loss may have cost him his chance to advance to Chuunin. But he was surprising amicable as he arrived with Tenten, gifts in hand.

Karin couldn't hear what they were saying with the distance between them. But she didn't want to intrude on Naruto's time either, especially not when it was his day and he looked like he was having fun. So, she turned her attention to the nearby table where Ayame was.

The older girl was sitting in a chair, with the two little toads Naruto hung around with on one side, and the quiet Aburame, Shino, on the other. In her lap was Akamaru, gently being petted as she listened to Kiba talk about some mission he went on with his team loud enough for Karin to hear. He was exaggeratedly weaving it into a tale of epic proportions, in order to try and impress the older girl, stating it was just him and his hound partner going against an entire group shinobi leading an attack on a village.

Shino chimed in with the truth when he went too far with the exaggerations, of course. Separating truth from fiction, it had been three missing-nin leading a group of bandits, and the two had basically been acting as a distraction due to their mobility. While the shinobi tried to keep up with him, they didn't notice as the bugs drain their chakra before their teammate immobilized them, and their sensei had put all the bandits to sleep with a genjutsu, solving the problem of numbers relatively easily.

Still, Ayame called him brave for holding their attention. And that seemed to be enough to make him smile enthusiastically at the praise.

It doesn't look like there are any problems so far, Karin concluded before she decided to get something to eat from the food table. She had neglected having Lunch to make sure everything was setup for the party, and the fairly succulent scent coming from it was alluring at this point.

"Umm… excuse me?" a soft voice stopped in her tracks before she could make it to the table. Karin turned around to see that it was the teammate of Kiba and Shino. The one who Naruto promised to avenge in the Finals, after she was hospitalized in a fight with her cousin during the preliminaries.

"You're Hinata Hyuuga, right?" Karin asked, to be safe. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head slightly, avoiding eye contact. "I… um… wanted to thank you."

"For what?" asked Karin. She couldn't recall meeting the meek girl before and had no clue why she would thank her.

"You and Haruno-san helped Naruto-kun prepare for the finals, didn't you?"

Karin nodded. "We did. Though, even if we didn't, I'm sure Naruto would have come up with some way to win on his own. After all, he managed to get around the surprise of your cousin using that spinning technique."

"I know he would have. Naruto never goes back on his promises after all." Hinata clasped her fingers together and put on a slight smile, a rose-tint decorating her cheeks. "That's what makes him so amazing."

Karin, looking at the girl, felt a niggle at the back of her mind for a moment as she listened to her. But she ignored it to continue on. "Yeah, it does. Even when things look their worst, he'll always show up to help you if he can. Even when it puts him in danger instead."

"That's what worried me so much about that fight." The soft-spoken girl turned back towards Naruto, and gave him a gentle look. "I would have felt worse if either of them ended up getting badly hurt because of the promise he made me. But it was because of both of you that he found a way to end it well, and Naruto-kun has finally been recognized for all his hard work because of it."

That niggling instinct in the back of her mind became clearer as Karin began to put two-and-two together. The warm tone of her voice when she was talking about his good points. That look she gave him just now. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is Naruto to you?"

Hinata abruptly stopped looking at Naruto and turned her eyes back to the ground, pressing her fingers together. "I… um... I admire him. I have for a long time now."

Karin's brow rose in suspicion. "Really?"

She nodded meekly. "He tries so hard, even when the odds or others are against him, because he wants others to acknowledge him. That's a feeling that I was able to relate to, so I was inspired by him… that's all."

"…I see," Karin said, her voice more subdued than before. Naruto probably wouldn't notice, given his personality and upbringing, but it was pretty clear to Karin that her admiration for Naruto had turned romantic. Considering her own feelings for him, Karin could understand why the girl would feel the way she did. Her feelings for Naruto had been something that had blossomed from the month she'd spent with him, and his actions since then had only reinforced them.

"A-Anyway, I'm glad that he's happy now and got promoted, so…" Hinata gave a small bow of gratitude as she trailed off. "Thank you for being there for him."

The animosity that wormed in Karin's mind evaporated as the girl raised her head and then walked away. Hinata was polite to a fault and seemed genuinely happy that Naruto was happy. It was hard to imagine that she could be a threat to anyone, so Karin figured that maybe she was just being too territorial when it came to Naruto—which wouldn't be fair to him, since the girl was someone he considered a friend and put himself on the line to avenge.

He promised never to leave alone, so I don't need to be jealous. She stopped dwelling on it when her stomach reminded her that she wanted to eat now and went over to where the various foods were. There, the Akimichi, Chouji, was enjoying a skewer with grilled meat, mushrooms, and some other vegetables packed onto it. Next to him was the sleepy-looking Nara, Shikamaru.

Chouji looked towards her while holding a skewer in his mouth as she approached, before chewing and swallowing it. "You made this, right?"

"With Ayame." She'd handled the seasoning for the most part. "Is something wrong with it?"

"It's got a pretty unique flavor for the combination," he said. "I think it's due to the spices, rather than the meat or other foods. But its cooked at just the point where it's the most succulent, so they blend in a way that brings it all together. The closest I've tasted to it was a soup my folks brought back from a mission some time ago, and it goes well with chips too."

"That's a compliment coming from him," Shikamaru said. "A good number of the members of his clan have expansive palates due to how their techniques work, so for him finding something both unique and enjoyable is rare."

"Oh, I'm glad you like it then," she said. "I was a little worried it might not suit everyone's taste. I know Naruto doesn't have a problem with it, but I'm not familiar with everyone else's preferences."

"That'd explain the variety." Chouji nodded in approval of the spread in front of him. "You were also in the medical thing with Ino, weren't you? She said you were really good at it too."

"That's just because I learn towards Yang chakra naturally," Karin said as she reached for a skewer herself. "She did well in the course too. Her chakra control was very fine. I'm guessing it has something to do with her clan's techniques?"

The Nara shrugged, but didn't elaborate and the conversation died there since neither had incentive to keep it going. Karin wasn't very outspoken—at least in terms of being friendly—with people she didn't know, and these were Naruto's friends. Not hers. So, Karin took her skewer and enjoyed it in silence until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

It was Sakura. The pink-haired kunoichi, compared to everyone else, had a worried expression on her face that bode ill. Karin finished off her skewer in haste before asking, "What's wrong?"

"Sasuke isn't here," she said, her gaze shifting over to Naruto. "He's late compared to everyone else, and I'm getting a bad feeling. Could you check from here to see if he's on his way?"

Karin frowned as she closed her eyes focused on her Mind's Eye. She didn't feel strongly about the Uchiha one way or the other, but Naruto and Sakura did. He was their teammate after all, and Naruto really looked forward to seeing him come to his party. I'll drag him in my chains if I have to before I let anyone ruin this day for him… wait…

Her Mind's Eye combed over the village, mapping every chakra signature and comparing it to those she recognized. She could feel Naruto's little friend, Konohamaru, on the way here now, despite half his chakra also being at the Academy. She could feel the Hokage, Jiraiya, and Kakashi….

But no Sasuke Uchiha. "He's not here."

Sakura's emerald eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. "What?"

"I don't sense him in the village at all," Karin clarified. Her range could easily cover the village and she knew where the Uchiha district was. There was nothing there at a long-range scan.

"He would have told us if he was leaving the village or training with Kakashi-sensei, so he should be here."

"Then the only thing I can think of is that he opted to get his Cursed Seal removed and that his chakra's been drained." Karin could attest to how exhausting that was. "If it was done yesterday, then it's possible he hasn't recovered yet."

"I hope that's the case, but…" Sakura bit her lower lip in thought, only for her expression to grow increasingly worried. "I'm going to go check on him."

"Hold on." Karin grabbed her hand before she could rush off. "Naruto will notice and get worried if he sees you rushing off like that. Give me a minute to think of an excuse and grab Suzaku. That way we'll be able to go there and back quickly."

[-oOo-]

"—much work for me to do before I can truly showcase Gai-sensei's teachings," Lee went on to Naruto, excitedly telling him about his new training regimen now that he had largely recovered from his surgery.

Naruto was genuinely happy to hear it. Lee had stuck his neck out for them in the Forest of Death, and showed his dedication to being a splendid shinobi despite not being able to mold chakra into Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. While bringing Shizune back to the village had been for Karin's sake, the fact that more good was done with her help and Lee was back in fighting shape made him all the happier.

"Naruto?" Karin called for him from behind, standing there with her hands clasped together in front of her face as she gave him a pleading look. "Can I borrow Suzaku for a bit? Sakura and I need to run back home for a bit to pick something up."

"Sure." He reached into his pockets and produced the sealing slip that had Suzaku's mask inside of it. A simple trickle of chakra was all it took for the mask to pop out with a slight puff of smoke into his hand, before he passed it over to her.

"Thanks." Karin took it from his grasp and then leaned in just as smoothly to deliver a kiss on his cheek. Warmth blossomed from where she'd kissed him, leaving him blushing as she pulled away and said, "Be back soon."

He couldn't find his voice, so he just nodded as she ran off with Sakura, to get far enough away to call out Suzaku without disturbing the area. Then he heard the snickering and that sobered him up. He looked over to where Kiba was sitting at the table and frowned, all while still blushing. "What?"

"Heheh… Just thinking about how red you are now," Kiba said, cup raised as though to toast him, with grin on his face that stretched wide. "Must be nice."

A low growl left Naruto mouth as he felt himself grow even redder out of embarrassment, causing Kiba to outright laugh. He was about to question who he was to make fun, when Ayame chided him.

"Making fun of someone in love is something a woman really doesn't find funny," she said, pouting slightly as she held one hand up to her cheek and sighed in disappointment. "I thought you were more mature than that, Kiba-kun."

He straightened right up, his laughing cut off as he tried to save face. "I didn't mean nothing by it." Kiba whipped his head around towards Naruto again. "Tell her, Naruto!"

The moment his head was turned, Naruto spotted the playful smile on Ayame's lips. Light teasing for light teasing, he supposed. "I dunno. Sounded pretty immature to me."

Kiba slouched forward and huffed. "Aw come on, man…"

"She's right," Ino said, now addressing her teammates. "I hear from Sakura all the effort he put into everything when they had a date here. You guys should take a lesson from him in how to treat a woman."

"Nah," Shikamaru said, fighting off a yawn. "Sounds like more trouble than its worth."

In contrast to the Nara's lack of enthusiasm, Rock Lee spoke with admiration in his tone as he looked to the sky the moment Suzaku flew overhead with Karin and Sakura on its back. His eyes were fixed on the latter, of course. "You are truly someone who is enjoying the springtime of their youth. I, too, wish to have the opportunity to do so one day."

I guess he still has a crush on Sakura, Naruto figured. Not that he didn't understand from previous experience. But if she still had a crush on Sasuke, then it wouldn't be that likely she'd return Lee's feelings. Now that I think about it, where is Sasuke?

"Boss!" Naruto's head snapped towards the sound of Konohamaru's voice as the young boy came running over, waving to them with one hand and a present under his other arm. "I made it!"

Ayame looked surprised to see him there. "Konohamaru, aren't you supposed to be in the Academy?"

"I slipped out and left a Shadow Clone in my place. That way I can learn while still leaving early." He flashed a cheeky smile. "Pretty smart, huh?"

"I'm not sure that your teacher would like that…" From her tone, Naruto wasn't sure she liked the thought of him skipping out early and leaving a temporary clone in his place. "Well, you're here now so I guess there's nothing for it."

"It'll be fine, Ayame-nee," Naruto told her. Probably, went unsaid as he remembered just how difficult his own clones could be when they were forced to sit through something they didn't like. Ah well, as long as his clone doesn't give anything away or dissipate too early, Iruka probably won't notice…

[-oOo-]

"Another runt has shown up," Kidomaru said as he sat off in the distance, nestled within the tree canopy. Spiders crawled over his flesh, relaying information as they scurried about in secrecy and passed messages to one another—acting as his ears while he had his main eyes closed in concentration to keep his third eye open. His words reached below to the remnants of the Sound Four, all of them wearing concealing cloaks and crouching low.

"And the traitor?" Sakon asked.

"Gone without suspecting a thing." His third eye focused on the bird growing distant at this point. "Seems like Kabuto was right about that ability of hers. She and pink-hair are heading towards the Uchiha district from the look of it."

Sakon closed his eyes in thought for a moment before rising to his feet. "Then this is a good chance for us, while they're split up. I'll go after them and deal with her."

"And that leaves us dealing with this on our own." His lips twisted at the prospect. Sure, the blonde-kid didn't look menacing, but they had seen what was left of the battlefield when they finally caught up to that woman. Kimimaro had gone all out and he still ended up a pile of rotten and putrid meat. It wasn't as though he minded a high-stakes game, but Kidomaru had no desire to end up like that.

"As long as Jirobo manages to drain the chakra away long enough for you to put the seal on him, there won't be a problem," Sakon said, his feet starting to move. "That is… unless you want to stick around when this village goes up in flames?"

Kidomaru scoffed, but didn't say anything as their 'leader' disappeared with a Body Flicker…