Butterflies

"Me? I'm nobody. I'm not skilled like Uchiha-san. I am not passionate like Haruno-san. I am not smart like Nara-san. I'm not as strong as Chouji-san. I'm not as collected as Aburame-san. Or as pretty as Yamanaka-san. I'm not as confident as Inuzuka-san. If anything, I'm like Hyuuga-san, socially awkward. Oh wait, no, she's just shy. The socially awkward one is me." OC! Team 7 remix!

Chapter 25 – Leading the pack

8-8

"Well, that was just boring." I complain. Nothing in the medical class that was discussed was something I didn't already know, and when it came to the practical part, it was tips about the diagnostic jutsu – which Kitou-sensei admitted I'd already mastered. The only thing useful was me getting more scrolls to study, but I'm told one of them has some more advanced jutsus for me to practice.

"I don't know. I found it quite informative." Of course Yuki-san thinks that, she's never been to one of our classes before.

"So, Aya-chan, I notice you haven't been around much since getting back. And on top of that, auntie's been missing a lot too. Something I need to know?" Ino asks. Honestly, she's been almost saintly patient, seeing as she didn't interrupt the class once to interrogate me.

"You've heard about what I said?" I ask. She, Hinata-san and Haruno-san all nod. "Hokage-sama is taking it very seriously. So I'm pretty much under house arrest."

"That's outrageous!" Ino's angry for me. "I mean, if anyone were to treat Shikamaru or Chouji like that, I wouldn't be any different!"

"Relax, Ino. It's only temporary while Hokage-dono deals with it. And besides, nothing's stopping you guys from coming over whenever you feel like it. Please make sure to tell Nara-sama and Nara-san this as well. I feel horrible that Sensei isn't there to take care of them."

"Y-you wouldn't m-mind?" Hinata-san asks. I turn to her, smiling brightly.

"Of course not! If I did, I certainly wouldn't offer. Now would I?" I point out. "And besides, now that I'm back, we can start holding our study groups at my place again! I just have more room now, and a few more people there as well."

"What do you mean?" Ino asks. Of course she'd be the one to. I never did thank her for unknowingly teaching me so much about interrogation.

"Well, Naruto-nii lives with me. And two others moved in with us as well. You'll meet them when you come." I offer with a smile.

"I see. Just a heads up, by the way. Auntie already asked our team to come over tomorrow. She wants another tournament type thing, like last time. I'm sure Hinata-chan will hear the same tomorrow." Ino says. I'm glad, to be honest. This way I can still keep in contact with everyone. And now I'll know to have those rooms switched around today. Otherwise, I'm just going to be a nervous wreck, having so many people going through the office like that.

"Sounds good. I guess that means you'll both be there then." I smile at them. Haruno-san looks left out. Really left out. "No. I'm not inviting you. Not until you stop being such an idiot towards Naruto-nii."

"WHAT!?" Haruno-san shrieks. I fight back the urge to slap her; my ears are a bit sensitive to sudden loud noises like that.

"Haruno-san, I would advise you be careful. Namiki-san is rather protective of Uzumaki-san." Yuki-san warns. I smile at her, thanking her wordlessly.

"Sakura, look. Aya's not saying you have to like him. Just stop treating him badly. There is such a thing as a middle ground, you know?" Ino translates.

"But… but… but this is Naruto we're talking about! Why should I treat that cockroach-"

Shhhhhing!

"Finish that statement." Haruno-san gulps painfully, feeling my tanto pressed against her windpipe. And just for good measure, I have my kodachi's tip hovering an inch from her left eye as well. Haruno-san shivers in my sort-of-embrace. It's hard to not get really close and still keep the two blades right where I need them.

"Well, Haku-chan did warn her." Ino shrugs. "Sakura-chan, a tip. Don't do anything stupid right now."

"A-a-a-a-alright… I-I-I'll b-be-behave." She stutters terribly, but I can't tell –or care to tell– if she's sincere. Nii-san needs positive people around him right now. And that's not something I'd ever call Haruno-san; not when it comes to him. I slowly withdraw both blades and resheathe them.

"Go home, Haruno-san." I order. If she's lucky, no one will notice she went a little. Naturally, she hightails it out of here like her tails on fire – or something like that.

"Was that really called for?" Ino asks.

"Yes. It was. Nii-san is not in a good way right now, so there's no way I'm going to let her anywhere near him with that attitude problem of hers." I drone, still staring in the direction the pinkette left in.

"… w-what do you mean?" Hinata-san asks.

"Nothing." I say, already walking off.

"Namiki Aya!" Hinata-san uses the same tone Sensei would when she's upset. "You will tell me this instant!"

I turn to the normally shy Hyuuga, finding no trace of that person anywhere. The tense posture, the steel in her eyes, the way she balls her fists against her hips and leans forward to really get in my face about this. All I see is her resolve; a kunoichi worried about someone she cares for. "Come. I'll show you."

8-8

We turn onto street where my home is. It's obvious that we're here, seeing as it's a dead-end street. Ino and Hinata-san both look around curiously, studying the quiet surroundings, the trees in the middle of the street that sport autumn colours. Judging from their approving looks, I think they like my neighbourhood.

"It's really quiet." Hinata-san murmurs. Whether she knows it or not, she hasn't stuttered once since her little outburst. "It's pretty too."

"Nn." I smile, looking around a little as well. I don't know the neighbours –and I don't care to– but I do know that there's an elderly couple across the street from us. They've been… leery of Naruto-nii.

Once at my gate, at the very end of the street, I turn to Ino. "This is it. Would you mind getting Nara-san and Chouji-kun?" I ask, begging with my eyes. "Yuki-san can go with you? So you can interrogate her to your heart's content."

The two girls eye each other. No doubt Yuki-san is wondering just what I mean by that, but she'll figure it out soon enough. "Alright. We'll be back. Should we get some snacks?"

I fish into my pouch, taking out two thousand Ryou notes. "Yes please. Chocolate ice cream for me, and use the rest for flavours of ramen." She nods, understanding just what that means; ramen is Nii-san's comfort food. The two head off, Ino already asking a million questions before they even get to the end of the street.

"Hinata-chan." I don't turn to her. "I know you like him. And we both know he likes you too." I turn around, finding her blushing like mad.

"… y-you don't… mind?" She's fidgeting again, poking her index fingers together and all – there's no doubt in my mind she hasn't noticed just how protective I am of him.

"Naruto-nii means everything to me." I tell her honestly. "So long as you take care of him, then you'll mean everything to me too." She nods, unsure of just what that means but obviously happy I think she's good enough for him.

Having said my piece, I unsheathe my tanto partway and slice my right thumb a bit. I smear the blood onto the seal and we enter. Sakiko-chan's running around in the front yard, with Moegi and her friends. I smile, glad they get along.

"Hey, sis! Come over here, I want to introduce you!" Sakiko's head snaps towards me, beaming like the midday sun. She runs to me, glomping me while squealing happily.

"You're home! Aya-nee, guess what! Naru-nii invited Moegi and Udon and Konohamaru over and we've been playing ninja ever since you left! It's been so totally awesome!" She's so hyper right now, and bubbly. I pet her head, trying to get her to calm down a bit.

"Really? That's nice. I hope you've been treating your guests well then. I mean, if they're here playing with you and all." She beams, already going on and on about how she's been helping Yasu-nee make some simple snacks and how she brings them juice boxes if they look thirsty. I pet her head again – we've been gone about an hour and a half… "Good. It sounds like you're being the perfect little hostess. I'm proud of you, sis." I beam at her, but it's nothing compared to the shining smile I get from her.

"Ah, where are my manners. Hyuuga Hinata, meet Namiki Sakiko. Saki-chan, this is Hinata-chan." Sakiko bows properly to our guest, and Hinata-chan's quick to do the same. I smile at both of them. "Now, we're going to head inside. Do you know if everyone's in the back yard?"

"Uh huh! That mean ol' scarecrow says we're not s'pose to go back there while they're busy! Says he doesn't want us trying the things he's showing Naru-nii!" She tattles.

"Did he? Well, I'll tell you what. If you're on your best behaviour with your friends here, I'll show you something cool with your tanto later, okay?" Of course, she swears by all that is holy (including ramen… apparently) that she'll be the 'bestest' hostess ever. I smile, shooing her so she can go play again.

"Aww! No fair! Show us something cool too!" Konohamaru begs, obviously listening to our conversation.

"Nuh uh!" I tease. "Anyone who doesn't come and introduce themselves to my friends aren't getting taught a thing." Of course, that means the 'introduction jig' happens. After the smoke dies down a bit, Hinata-chan introduces herself properly to the three. She notices something about Konohamaru though, but I can't say for sure what.

"Alright. You all pass. So I'll show you all something cool before you leave. Okay?"

8-8

"Yasu-nee?" I enter the family sitting room, not finding her there. I check in the kitchen, not there either. So I look through the window, finding Yasu-nee sitting on the porch next to Sensei. The two are chatting like they're old friends.

I lead Hinata-chan through the (new) visitor's sitting room (and ignore the desk and whatnot), out onto the porch. "Yasu-nee! There's someone I want you to meet!" I say loud enough for Naruto-nii to hear me as well – even though he's sparring with Uchiha-san.

"Welcome back, sweetie! How was your class?" Yasu-nee asks, waving us over.

"It was kind of boring. I already knew everything that Kitou-sensei was talking about. But I got some more scrolls to study and some new jutsus and stuff." I explain, trying not to make a face – but really wanting to. "This is my friend Hyuuga Hinata, but the way. Hinata-chan, Namiki Yasu."

"It's so nice to meet you, Hinata-chan. You know, I don't think I've met anyone that Aya considers a friend. I do hope this means you'll be coming around more often?"

Hinata-chan stutters something I can't make out, blushing a bright red. "Oh, how rude of me. Sorry, Yoshino-san was just telling me about inviting two other teams over tomorrow. To have some sort of… tournament?"

"Yes. We held one a month and a half ago. I'd like to hold one again so that we can see how all three teams are progressing. Would that be alright?" Yoshino-sensei plays it off as if she hasn't already made the arrangements.

I smile a little too sweetly at her. "Now, now, sensei. How rude to invite people over before even asking us. Ino just so happened to mention it already."

"You can play innocent all you want, Aya-chan, but we both know you were looking for a reason to have those two here." She counters smoothly. Hinata-chan blushes so deep that even her heels should be turning pink. I guess she knows we all know about her thing for Naruto-nii. And hopefully she sees we all approve.

Heh… busted. I bite my lip, trying not to smile. I'm sure I'm smiling anyway though. "Anyway! I asked Ino to drag Nara-san and Chouji-kun over here. I hope she remembers to invite Nara-sama if she sees him as well. That girl can be so scatterbrained sometimes." Hinata-chan and I take a seat on the edge of the porch, much like Sensei and Yasu-nee. "Is he… doing any better?"

Nii-san is really focused on his match with Uchiha-san. No clones are being used though, so he's mostly just going all out in Muay Thai and his focus is so intense that even Uchiha-san is having a hard time with him – not that he'd ever figured out how to counter the style. I do appreciate that Captain refuses to let Uchiha-san use his Sharingan against anyone but him though; something about not becoming dependent?

"He's… focused. It's a start." Sensei answers, but I can tell she's still worried.

"He's still wearing that mask, though. I'm not sure if those two over there can see through it or not." Yasu-nee adds.

"I-is th-there something w-we can do to h-help?" Hinata-chan asks, looking at her favourite blonde. Hmm, I wonder if she can see how, even though his focus, his eyes are still drooping slightly.

"Like Yasu-nee said… all we can do is love him. Love him and be there for him." I say, spying a deep blush from the corner of my eye. I see the timid Hyuuga nod though, and her eyes seem to radiate that same steel I saw earlier. She might seem a timid little mouse, but she is a lion waiting and wanting to roar. She just needs to see that for herself.

8-8

The rest of the morning and most of the after passes in much the same way: Naruto-nii training. I join him for most of it. The others don't. It's their day off, they argue. And they're right, of course, but that doesn't change Nii-san needing this.

Sakiko-chan decides that she and her friends have waited long enough, so they all come to the backyard demanding their training! Naruto-nii and I share a look. "The promise of one is the promise of the pack." Nii-san says, smiling. I nod, liking that attitude. "So what are we showing them then?"

"I was thinking of showing them a few basic Muay Thai moves." I admit. "Mind giving me a hand?" So we do. I show them the basic stance, Nii-san helps me to show them how to toughen up your fists and elbow, and we have them pair off – girls together, boys together.

I love every moment of it. And from the grins on the girls' faces, so do they. It's a shame that night falls an hour later; it's time for them to go home. Naruto-nii announces that everyone needs to start heading out, even Hinata-chan and the others. Momochi-san and Yuki-san say that they don't mind staying longer – probably just refusing to see if 'the neighbours' are still fighting, or whatever.

I appreciate how Naruto-nii decides he's walking the girls home – even Sensei. "Sensei, you might be able to argue you can take care of yourself. But Hinata-chan and Ino-chan can just as easily argue the same. Would you really blame me for offering you the same courtesy I offer them?" He shuts down every other argument Sensei could come up with.

"And how do you plan on getting back here then? You know the situation." Well, mostly every other argument.

"I'll tag along then." Momochi-san offers. "I need to get some sake anyway. It's not like anything interesting's going to happen." Aww, he's being halfway nice.

Everyone makes their way to the front room, put on their footwear are say their farewells. I make sure to hug Sensei, Hinata-chan and Ino, but the boys get a fist bump. Even Chouji-kun. I wouldn't want to… do something embarrassing with so many people here watching.

I see everyone off, waving and smiling. Once the gate closes though… I sigh, feeling suddenly too old to be twelve.

"My, my, Namiki-san. You'll grow old before your time." Yuki-san teases. I turn, finding the black haired girl smiling at me. I wonder though. Is that a mask as well? Always smiling?

"A hard life will age you more than a calendar notices… Some of us just hide our wrinkles under a pleasant smile." She winces, her mask cracking just a little. Yeah, I thought so. I look out at the gate, wondering how the future will play out now. So much is changing in so little time. It's no longer possible to guess.

"I'll be in the front yard training. Don't worry, I'll open the gate when Naruto-nii gets back." I slip into my slippers, walking out into the 'night' air. It's actually about five in the afternoon, but the sun sleeps early these days.

I've focused on Muay Thai most today, and recently, so I think I'll go with Capoeira then. Yes, let's do that. I start playing the beat in my head, starting a slow but rhythmic dance in the yard – glad that both front and back yards are completely level.

I do all the basic kicks I know first. Then all the basic punches. Then I go into the best combinations I've come up with based on these. I'm not going to try anything new tonight, I just want to… I just want to dance a bit. And this is the perfect way for a kunoichi to dance.

Not even twenty minutes pass before I hear the bell ringing. I know it's too early for Nii-san, but who else could it be? Curious, I head over to the gate. "Yes?" I don't greet the redhead I see on the other side of the gate. What is she doing here?

"Good evening, Namiki-san." She bows, her tone and word usage polite, but distant. "I was wondering if perhaps Konohamaru was here? I haven't seen him since this morning and I am becoming quite worried."

"Just left." I say, my eyes boring into hers. She doesn't seem affected though. The silence drags out. She has something she wants to say, to ask. I only care that she's on that side of the gate.

"… how is he?" She eventually asks, her tone hollow.

"Konohamaru is well." I know that's not who she means.

"… Naruto I mean."

"…" I turn and start walking back to where I was, to get back to my training, light as it is.

"Namiki-san please." She begs. "I'm not asking for forgiveness. I just need to know how he is." I hear the pleading in her words, in her voice, in the tears just barely not being shed. I snort. Nothing compared to the tears that stained my jacket; that almost burned into my skin.

"Then ask him." I start walking, wondering why I stopped in the first place.

"He… he won't talk to me." I snort again. There's a shock. But… that would mean she tried. He only left the house just now… unless it's when he went to go find Konohamaru and his friends? Possible.

I could point out that she abandoned him. Or how she could have tried helping him once she graduated – whenever that happened. I… I don't want to. Nii-san is already hurting, and if he were to see me fighting with her it'll only hurt him more. "What would you have me do?" I ask, trying to keep my tone pleasant… I'm not sure if it worked though.

"… just… just tell me if he's alright." She really is crying. I can hear it just in the way her voice quivers as she speaks. I don't look to confirm it though.

Is he alright? That question loops in my head over and over again. Is he alright? Each time it does, I feel my anger boil up a bit more. Boiling up to the point where words will never tell her just what that boy's been through.

I walk up to the gate, ignoring her tears, opening the gate and-

SLAP!

Her chin snaps to her right from the force of my slap. Even in the low lighting, I can see an angry red handprint across the side of her face staring back at me. "Answer enough?" Tears are her only reply though. How sad. "Anything else?"

"Aya… I…"

"Don't. If you think a few little tears shed now will ever compare to the buckets in my shirt, in my jacket…" It takes her a second to understand, but once she does that hurts her more than the slap. I can tell just by the hollowness in her eyes…

"But you know what's even worse? Seeing Naruto-nii put on his brave face all day. Acting like nothing keeps him down. Like having living, breathing family in this village his whole life that didn't take the time to piss on him when the world was against him, like that doesn't tear him apart."

Her heart sinks lower with every word I speak. Well, princess, I guess you should have thought about this while you were up in your ivory tower then, huh.

"In or out." I demand. Her hear snaps up, her eyes focused on me… and her jaw almost dropping low enough to taste the dirt. "In. Or. Out."

"I-in." She manages, taking a cautious step forward. Once inside, I close the gate, walking towards the front door. I guess Capoeira will have to wait for another time. Nii-san needs this – whether he admits it or not.

8-8

It takes Naruto-nii and Momochi-san an hour to get back. When the bell rings, I leave the morose redhead at the table, and head to the gate. Momochi-san is grumbling about something… something to do with incompetent clerks? No idea. "Good morning, sunshine." I tease him.

"Namiki. I'm not in the mood." Grouchy much? I open the gate. I can tell just by the look in Naruto-nii's eyes that it's him. Momochi walks to the house, but I keep Nii-san back.

"She's here." I tell him. He looks away from me, knowing exactly who I mean. "She looks just like your mother. Same hair, same hairstyle, same eyes. But she has your father's personality. Cool, laid back, reserved. You take more after your father with looks. Twins from his younger pictures, really. But you're personality is a clone of your mother. Even your love for ramen, and her verbal tick was 'dattebane'. You should ask the Ichiraku's about her sometime, she used to eat there all the time." I'm really glad I didn't say 'haunted the place'. That might be uncomfortable.

He doesn't speak. Not that he needs to. "You and her are practically nothing alike. Even though you're reserved, it's your defence mechanism. She'd rather spend the night reading, and you're always going to be more of a people person than she is. Your mannerisms are completely different as well. Especially the subconscious ones. She acts a lot like Chouji-kun's sensei, but she's very passionate about some things. She'll eat ramen, but she prefers a good home cooked meal. If you ever really wanted to talk to her, sealing is the best place to start. Or her wind release jutsus."

"That's the only thing the two of you have in common. You hide yourselves in your training. You try to drown out the world with sore muscles and bleeding fists." He still isn't moving or reacting. I can't say I blame him though. This is too much to deal with, but if I don't tell him, he'll always wonder. He'll always have that nagging doubt in the back of his mind. And he'll always try to hide that from himself.

"Even though I can't stand her, she's a kind person. She cares for you. And she knows all about your parents as well. What they were like, what they did, who their friends were. Hokage-dono and Chouji-kun's sensei spoke a lot about them over the years."

And now comes the part he could really flip his lid over. The part he had to hear last, or he'd never listen to any of it. "She wasn't allowed to come see you, because if anyone saw you two together, they'd automatically see miniatures of your parents. From the pictures she's shown me, I have to agree."

"She sounds a lot like you." He eventually says. Yeah, maybe. "So why don't you like her?"

"Because she hurt you."

"But you let her in. Talked to her. And from the way it sounds, there was a lot to talk about." Circumstantial.

"You needed to know. And you wouldn't have gotten out of your own way to find out." He doesn't deny it, that's a start. "She's in the family sitting room. Yasu-nee is cooking enough if she stays for dinner, but it's your call if that's allowed or not."

"What… what about my parents' scrolls?" Can't say she doesn't deserve that blow.

"I won't let her so much as smell them." I tell him flatly. "You on the other hand… after Sarutobi-san leaves, we're going into the library. We have scrolls to study, summoning contracts to sign."

8-8

"Uzumaki… Kushina… That's how you knew her name." Nii-san says, staring at the summoning contract. I don't say anything, giving him the time he needs. While he's studying whatever he hopes to find, I open the wolf summoning contract and bite my right thumb. Using my blood, I sign my name next to mama's, then I smear some more blood onto my other digits and press my hand against the square below my name.

Looking over at Nii-san, I see him just finishing with the same thing.

"The red scrolls with the swirl… those are your mother's. The yellow ones with the 'four'… those are your father's. It's up to you which you want to study first, but they stay in this room." He nods, looking around again. I go back to the random one I'd picked up before, and toss him that one. "That's you're end goal. The Flying Thunder God jutsu. It's the only one of his I'd opened."

He nods, cradling the scroll carefully. I go and pick up a brown scroll again… Earth release jutsu. Hmm. I still don't know what my primary element is. Time will tell. I make a mental note where this one is, and I go for another. Hmm, this one is on the history of the Namiki family, and our history with wolves. A good place to start.

I glance at Nii-san, seeing that he'd made three clones. Two Narutos are reading red scrolls, two are reading yellow scrolls. Not a bad choice.

8-8

"Winner, Aya!" Captain announces. I don't react though. And I certainly leave the battered and bruised Inuzuka-san on the ground – he's just lucky he didn't pass out in the pond. I mean, really? Betting that if he beats me I'd have to go out on a date with him? He's lucky I didn't break his jaw just to prove a point. Whatever.

Nii-san and I were up until going on four this morning… reading. Even though we're both tired, red-eyed, and bags big enough to fit the house in under them, we're both in a much better mood.

He's buried the hatchet with what's-her-face, I've finally gotten to know my ancestors and our intimate relationship with wolves. I even got to study a few of those earth release jutsus and the collaboration jutsus when I summon my new partners – not that I've met them yet. And that other thing too. I think he's happiest about that.

"Next match, Naruto versus Chouji! Combatants ready? Begin!"

I plop down on the porch beside Hinata-chan, watching the match. Chouji-kun's making a decent show of it, using the partial expansion jutsu to fight Nii-san at a distance – he's seen just what Nii-san can do to people up close from his match against Uchiha-san. Still, Nii-san's ducking the high attacks, jumping over the low ones, and is steadily making his way over to his opponent.

"Jeez, just what have you guys been up to in the last month? Team Seven is winning every match they enter!" Ino complains.

"Arranging flowers mostly. What about you?" I drone sarcastically. She swats my arm playfully. "I'm serious. Nii-san's showing you how to work with roses now."

"Yeah, then why do you look like you haven't slept? The pollen?" She isn't buying it, it isn't hard to tell.

"It's not pollen season." I tease her, not even knowing if that's true. I've been studying wolves, not plants.

"Winner, Naruto! Next match! Sasuke versus Ino!"

"Why me?" Ino complains. I pat her on the shoulder, telling her it'll be over soon. She doesn't look comforted. Nii-san and Chouji-san sit down with us, Nara-san still staring up at the clouds. Whatever. I know he's following the conversation when he wants to.

"We stayed up studying by the way." I say to Hinata-san. "It seems the Namiki family has been tied to wolves for generations. So I've been doing the research, studying my family's knowledge. And I of course dragged Nii-san along for the ride."

Why am I saying this now, and not a second ago? Ino would want to know as well, and so long as Hinata-chan hears it, it should be fine. "I see." Chouji-kun murmurs. "So you're like Kiba then."

I snort, unamused. "No. Wolves and dogs are nothing alike." Even though I've only known that for… twelve hours, give or take. Wolves are monogamous (mostly) and pair for life. Only those in the pack that do not have a mate will even consider looking at a wolf not of the pack, and even then it will only ever be a fling. The pack means everything.

"I'd have to agree with you there, sis. I think wolves and foxes are more alike." Nii-san sounds like he knows what he's talking about. "Did you know that the Uzumakis had a contract with foxes? Kitsunes to be specific – heavens' tricksters." He snorts, amused. That sounds just like my Naruto-nii.

"Oh? How'd you find that out?" Nara-san asks.

"Turns out sis's mother knew my parents. She'd kept some scrolls for me. Not much, but… it's more than I had. And the contract is one of them." I don't react. 'Not much'? He's got at least as many scrolls as I do. Still, this would explain the leaps he's bound to make, and the summons.

"What were the Uzumakis known for then?" Nara-san, curious as ever.

"Sealing mostly. But there was a scroll on sword techniques, a special style of theirs. And some water jutsus as well. Like I said… it wasn't much." I'm sooooooo tempted to tell Hinata-chan about papa's healing scrolls… but really I just… no. Not yet.

"Something is better than nothing." Chouji-kun encourages him. "It's a great feeling though, isn't it? To know you're following in the footsteps of your ancestors. To know that you can make them all proud of you."

"Yeah…" Nii-san looks up at the clouds.

"Winner, Sasuke! Come on, Ino. He didn't even have to work for it."

"Well excu~uuuuuuse me!" Ino huffs, walking away from Captain, clearly upset and her throat a bit pink from the kunai that was lodged against it.

"I-I might like to learn… s-sealing th-that is…" Hinata-chan… you are too precious for words!

"Aya versus Hinata! Come on, girls, please put on a better show that Ino did. That was just embarrassing."

Hinata-chan and I walk over to the pond, stepping onto its surface as if it were solid. Yeah, all matches are held on the pond, to ensure no one has a 'fair' advantage. "Combatants ready?"

"Hold." I say, eyeing my opponent warily. "Hyuuga Hinata. I propose a bet." I begin, wondering if I worded that right. That gets everyone's attention. Betting on matches is about as rare as a sunrise, but no bet is without a heavy price. It's an honour thing, so whatever the bet is it MUST be honoured. If you cannot fulfil it, don't bet it.

"Come at me with everything you've got. If you win, I will submit to the superiority of the Hyuuga clan. If I win, however, you will submit to the superiority of the Namiki family. Meaning, that the winner would have every right to dictate the training of the loser for no shorter than a year. Even if that goes against their jounin sensei's, or their family's, wishes."

She looks at me, worries clear as day in her eyes. She nods. "I-I a-accept your t-terms." Than you, for trusting me. And don't worry, Hinata-chan… I'll treat you right. I swear it.

8-8

End Chapter 25

8-8

A/N: Just a side note. In wolf packs, males are always dominant; there is no pack where a female is the leader. Yes, there are alpha she-wolves, and yes there is a hierarchy within the female population, but they do not lead the pack. Their role is to defend the den, raise the pups and stone-age crap like that (yes I'm a feminist), but the point is that this is how wolves are. Aya's thinking follows this. Males fight for dominance among each other, more or less (more like only the alpha, beta and gamma wolves ever really fight in this way) but other than that, unneeded violence is considered childish and the whole pack stands against it. Wolves do not fight those of their pack, not even for food. They respect the picking order, and any that doesn't is cast out (or killed if they put up a fight).

As well, I would like to point out that the Kitsune's of Naruto's contract will be based on red foxes, like the mythical kitsunes of Japanese folklore are. Both the foxes and the wolves will be made as 'natural' as possible, given that they're also summoning creatures that will have unique traits because of this. So, just for you nerds, geeks and other proud intellectuals, fear not! This proud nerd is going to do her very best to make this as realistic as possible, under the circumstances.

And for those that are just enjoying the story for the sake of the story... you can ignore this entire author's note...