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 34 – Let it flow

8-8

"This is soooooo much better than what I had planned!" I announce happily. More shopping to be done! Moegi needs clothes. Udon needs clothes. They both need furniture for their rooms – even though Moegi will be sharing a room with Saki, she still needs her own things. We're picking up… well, not more food, seeing as the two of them eat practically every meal with us anyway, but we're trying to include some of their preferred foods as well!

"Hnn." Sasuke looks almost annoyed, but I see that little smile he thinks no one else will notice! He's enjoying himself too! Ha! Take that, stick in the mud!

Other than the things Udon and Moegi need, and the list that Yasu-nee gave me, we're also stopping by some random stores just for a look around. Sure, this is putting a major dent in the projects we have planned, but the pack comes before the den! You can always find a new den, but finding a new pack is nearly impossible!

"We need to get Moegi some makeup and stuff too!" I point out, already steering the group into the drug store.

"Really, Aya-nee!? Can I!?" She asks, shocked but beaming nonetheless.

I nod, smiling. "And we soo need to get you and Saki-chan a vanity. You're both a bit young, but I see no reason not to get you something I think you'll need anyway." I say. Luckily we haven't gone into the furniture store yet.

"Oh, hey sis. I was thinking. You're already kind of halfway adopting Yasu-nee and Saki-chan. So I'll take Udon and Moegi." Naru-nii says. I blink. Uzumaki Moegi and Uzumaki Udon. That works.

"They're part of the pack either way." I shrug. "I'm still training them though."

"Like I'd have it any other way. Think you could include them in sound release too? I'll try to teach Saki and Yasu-nee sealing?" He bargains.

"Sounds fair." I agree, and we bump fists to make it official.

8-8

"Udon, Moegi. We need to get you two properly suited up." Naru-nii announces as we enter the blacksmith's. "We'll go through weapons and whatnot when we get home, but for now you need proper a proper shinobi uniform and… Hey sis, shouldn't we get those targets while we're here?"

"Sounds good. We're setting them up in the front yard though." I tell him. It'll be better if Udon, Moegi, Hanabi and Sakiko can practice their kunai and shuriken throwing without nearly getting killed from out training. "Ah. There you are. I was hoping to speak with you about a custom piece?" I say as the blacksmith comes into view. He nods to me, motioning me to join him at the counter.

"What do you need?" He asks, already grabbing a notepad to keep track of the details.

"Twin tantos. About the length of my forearm." He looks at my arms for an estimate, nodding for me to continue. "They need to be made of chakra conducting metal. No hilt. Grip and sheath both black."

"Reverse edged or not?" He asks.

"Hmm… reverse edged."

"Sounds simple enough." He says, going over his notes to see if he has any other questions. "Anything else?"

"Yes, but a different project. I need windmill shurikens, but smaller. And as dark as you can make them." He narrows his eyes at that. I raise my hand, fingers spread wide. "About that big. And a much lighter material if possible."

"Hmm, maybe a titanium alloy? I could coat it with another alloy to make 'em black? Would make it lighter and more durable, but a lot more expensive too." He explains, eyeing me curiously.

"That is acceptable."

"Retractable blades?" He asks, referring to how the standard windmill shuriken folds up.

"No. I want them to always be open. I'll need about… fifty of them, to be safe." He nods seriously.

"The kodachis will end up being heavier than normal, because of the material I'll be using." He says.

"That is acceptable. And please include a hole in the grip so I can tie ninja wire to it if needed?"

"In the kodachis?" I nod. "Nearer the back or front of the grip… Sorry… closer to the blade or farther away from it?" I tell him as far from the blade as is stable. "Hmm, nothing too unique about either order. Should take me about a week, maybe two. I'll need a down payment before I start working on it though. About… thirty thousand Ryou."

"Done. I'll pay once they're done with their shopping. I'll also need a few other small things. Is that agreeable?" I offer.

"Under the name Namiki, right?" I nod, he nods, we shake on it. Having dealt with that, I go back into the section with flutes. But I do hear negotiations starting up behind me.

"If you aren't too busy… I would like a sword custom made?" Sasuke begins.

"What you looking for?"

"A chokutou. Longer than my arm by half. And made of chakra conducting material."

"Oi! Oi! If you guys are going custom made! They you know I will too 'ttebayo!"

"Hold your horses, boy. One customer at a time! Now, anything special need to be done?" The blacksmith turns back to Sasuke.

"Not really. No hilt. Black grip and sheath. I do want the grip and sheath to look it it's one piece."

"Sounds simple enough. Hmm, it'll need a lot more material than the kodachis. Down payment should come up to about the same as hers though. Under the name Uchiha, right?"

"That's right."

"Good. Should take a little longer though. I'll contact you when it's done. Now, mister impatient. What do you need?"

"Twin scimitars, 'ttebayo!"

"What are you, an Uzumaki?"

"You better believe it!"

There's a pause. The man's probably putting two and two together – Uzumaki, with blond hair and blue eyes? "Works for me. Let me guess. Chakra conducting material. Black hilt. Uzumaki red grip and sheath. Uzumaki swirl on everything."

"You know it!"

"Can I get creative? If you're who I think you are, then your mother use to come here for regular care of hers. I know what your clan likes." Worst kept secret in history. And no one ever seems to believe me!

"I like it! And can you do a kitsune design near the tip? Three tails?"

"On both sides?"

"On both sides, 'ttebayo! And I'll also need like three pairs of practice twin scimitars. I've got two young Uzumakis here that need to learn the ropes, dattebayo!"

"Hnn. Now that you mention it. Could you put the Uchiha fan on the blade, sheath and bottom of the grip?"

"Can do."

Now I feel left out. "Blacksmith-san! Could you do the same for me? But with the kanji for 'wolf'?"

"I think I can work with that. Anything else?" We each agree that we're satisfied with the orders as they currently are. I love my team sometimes. Now let's see. No idea what colour Sakiko would want. But it would be smart to have some spares just in case something goes wrong. I'll just pick up hiyashi styled shinobue of every colour, and let her pick one she likes. Having the extras will come in handy.

"Udon, Moegi, you two really need to pick a musical instrument as well, by the way!"

8-8

Minutes gather and turn into hours. Hours huddle and turn into days. Days group and turn into weeks. And before you know it, two months pass, almost without notice. I hated Christmas – I blame Naru-nii. New Years was fun at least – I thank Yasu-nee.

Trainings are only getting harder. Jutsus are only getting more demanding. And Sasa-nee is being a total slave driver with my sealing studies too! As if I don't have EVERYTHING else going on right now!

Moegi is growing into her new role. She used to be a patchwork of hand-me-downs, now she wears traditional Uzumaki reds and blues, with some black and pink. Seriously. Uzumaki red winter jacket. Black skirt. Uzumaki blue leggings and shinobi boots (you don't wear sandals in the snow, that's just silly). With a pink sweater and top under her jacket. She's also taken to wearing her twin scimitars everywhere! And she's taking her sealing studies VERY seriously as well.

Udon, like Moegi, is taking to his new role well. He mostly wears Uzumaki blue though – a bit monotonous, but it's his thing. He also wears his twin scimitars. But he's a good deal better at sealing that she is. And they both wear the Uzumaki swirl on everything they own – even their socks and books. Naru-nii just laughs and gives them pencils and pens with the Uzumaki swirl to encourage them even more.

Not that I'm any better these days. I've taken a liking to their style and asked Yasu-nee to embroider the kanji for 'wolf' on everything I wear, using the same earthy brown from mama's scrolls. Even my Anbu uniform. Saki-chan likes it, and decides that she wants the same! So we double-team Yasu-nee to get her to follow suit. She doesn't put up too much of a fight, so we know we did the right thing.

Haku's kind of getting dragged into this as well – she should know that if she hangs with us, she'll have to go with the flow. So Yasu-nee designs a stylized six-point snowflake, that almost looks like it's made of the senbon Haku specialises in. She makes sure it's the purest white we could find – just like snow. Haku's in tears when Yasu-nee shows it to her. In fact, she likes it so much, that she offers to pay Yasu-nee to embroider it into her clothes and uniform – which Yasu-nee does happily, but she flatly refuses the payment. "My sister doesn't keep many friends. So that you've earned a place in her heart and continue to do so, is more than payment enough for me." She says.

Even though Haku and Momochi-san still have their 'dinky little place' in the Civilian Sector, they spend most of their free time by us. We don't mind. I don't understand why they don't just look for another apartment, and Momochi-san's 'that would just waste more money on a place we barely go to' didn't really explain a lot to me.

And the missions. Kami-sama those mission are getting annoying! At least the pay's good, and with our luck we encounter more rogue shinobi than any other Konoha Team we know!

Even though we're still in the 'dead of winter', Capatin insists that we take on or about one 'C-rank' mission per week – averaging to about four a month. So far, only one of those missions remained C-rank. And that's because we were helping Umino-sensei with a lesson in the Academy. No chance of rogue shinobi there!

"Oi, Kaka-sensei. What's our official mission count right now?" I remember Naru-nii asking a few weeks ago.

"Hmm, well let's see. Eighty-two D-ranks, two C-ranks, twelve B-ranks and three A-ranks. You'll have to work harder if you want to get an S-rank though." I remember laughing in his face, telling him that all it would take was to encounter someone like Orochimaru during a mission and we automatically get our first S-rank. The funny part, is that even Captain can't argue against it – we have the worst luck with missions.

8-8

"Oi! Come on sis! If you don't come out soon spring's gonna start without you!" Naru-nii, please shut up!

"You don't rush a girl when she's getting ready!" I shout to my bedroom door.

"Oi, Moegi, Saki, can you two PLEASE go in there and see what part of her face she needs to rebuild before we leave? We HAVE A RESERVATION!" So ignoring you!

"Alright, alright! Just go downstairs and we'll be right down." Moegi shoos him. Honestly, boys! Rushing me will just making me nervous, and that'll make me mess up, and that'll make me do certain parts over again, which will just MAKE ME TAKE LONGER!

SO. STOP. RUSHING! ME!

There's a knock on the door. "Aya-nee, can we come in? It's just Saki-chan and me." Moegi assures me.

"Sure." I say, applying my eyeliner. The door slides open and the two of them walk in, sliding the door shut behind them. I put away my eyeliner, looking at the two girls in their new kimonos. We're going out tonight to celebrate Yasu-nee's birthday, so Naru-nii and I agreed that she deserves for us to really go all out. So I took the girls, and Yasu-nee, out to buy a new kimono for tonight. And I convinced Naru-nii to take Udon to get nice kimonos for them as well.

Moegi is of course wearing Uzumaki red again, with white plum blossoms to offset the colour. She also wearing an orange obi belt with, of course, the Uzumaki swirl on the back of it.

Saki-chan couldn't decide on what to buy, so I suggested the peach coloured kimono she's wearing, with wolves howling at the moon – she's been begging to wear it for no reason ever since. She's wearing an Uzumaki red obi belt, with the kanji for 'wolf' on the back to show her allegiance. They're both also wearing the standard white socks, and I made sure we got them wooden sandals to complete the look.

I can tell that Yasu-nee fixed their hair for them. Saki's red hair brushed back, but with a decorative comb –with a silvery-white lotus– on one side. Moegi's thick, orange hair, has been combed out, brushed, and done up in a fancy bun with chopsticks holding it in place and a decorative comb with a white plum blossom.

They look gorgeous!

Me on the other hand? I simply don't have the patience for fancy hairstyles. I asked Yasu-nee to French braid it for me earlier today, knowing we wouldn't have the time otherwise. I'm amazed the braid reaches my upper thigh… I didn't realise my hair grew so long.

Anyway! Focus! Just your lipstick now. I start off with a clear base coat to kep my lips from drying out, then my red lip pencil, drawing the outline of my lips with it and colouring it in right after. Once satisfied, I take my red lipstick and add apply that over the first two layers. Then a top coat to make sure it lasts longer. I sigh, knowing that I'm going to hate wearing lipstick tonight, but… this is for Yasu-nee! She'll really appreciate how much trouble we're all going through to make tonight simply amazing for her!

Okay. I think I'm done. I already powdered my face to help the makeup set. Pink and chocolate eye shadow, light bronzer, VERY light foundation. Okay, I think this is about it.

I get up, walk over to my bed and the pink kimono waiting on me there. I've already put on the base kimono –the layer no one sees– so I just need to put on the two extra layers. I'm glad this is a much thicker kimono, meant to be worn in winter time. Because really, I won't wear ANYTHING over this! That means that this needs to keep me warm while we're outside in the SNOW!

I pull on the second layer of my kimono, glad for the extra warmth, then the outer layer. I watch myself in the mirror, studying the silvery wolves frolicking all over my kimono. I tie it into place, and wrap my Uzumaki red obi belt over the string and tie that snugly into place as well. I turn to check that the 'wolf' kanji is in exactly the right place, and that my socks are still wrinkle-free.

"Alright. I'm ready." The girls smile, telling me how nice I look. I'm just glad I managed to not mess up too badly with the eye shadow without wearing my glasses! "Thank you, but really you two are the ones that will get all the attention. I'm sure of it." They blush, pleased with the compliment. "Come on. Let's go before that boy starts complaining again."

8-8

Once downstairs, I find the Hyuuga sisters wearing matching burnt ochre (kind of a brown-orangey colour), and a white obi belt with the Hyuuga clan symbol on the back.

Naruto and Udon are wearing matching burnt orange kimonos with Uzumaki red men's obis. Between their shoulder blade they bare the Uzumaki swirl.

And Yasu-nee…

All the girls are wearing Iromuji kimonos – though fancy, they aren't the 'top of the line', so you would expect that we're going out to dinner. But Yasu-nee is wearing a gorgeous violet Furisode kimono, with long sweeping sleeves. She's also wearing a kimono with silvery wolves, howling as one at a silvery moon. And her bright red obi belt has little orange foxes skulking over it. And the kanji for 'wolf' on the back.

She's also done up her green hair in a huge bun over the crown of her head, bangs, two locks of hair framing her face and a pink rose decorative comb keeping it in place. She's wearing dangly ruby earrings, to match with the subtle reds of her makeup.

Her grey eyes meet mine. She smiles, but looks down. "Yasu-nee, you look beautiful." I tell her honestly.

"Thank you. I was about to tell you the same." She says, smiling a bit brighter. "All of you."

"Yeah, yeah. We're all cute as buttons. Can we please get going now?" Naru-nii is being REALLY impatient. Still, we don't have a reason not to. So we all head for the door and slip into our traditional wooden geta 'shoes'. Really, they just look like planks of wood with butt-floss to stick to your feet. But… seeing as it IS snow we'll be walking through…

8-8

We all filter through the gate, and Naru-nii shuts it behind him. Captain, Momochi-san and Haku are all waiting on us. Captain is ACTUALLY wearing a fancy men's kimono, and so is Momochi-san! That's how much respect Yasu-nee's earned with them! Even New Years wasn't reason enough for them! In fact, I remember Yasu-nee demanding that we not be away on a mission for Christmas or New Years, threatening to never cook for Captain ever again if he didn't give in.

Whatever.

Haku, like us, is wearing an pale white Iromuji kimono, with a deep burgundy obi belt. Her hair isn't done up at all, choosing to simply let it down for tonight. And, like us, she's also carrying a red umbrella. All of us –other than the guys– have a red umbrella. Well… Yasu-nee has a violet one. But she's the birthday girl! She DESERVES to stand out with every single detail!

They each take a turn to wish Yasu-nee a happy birthday, and we start walking as a group.

Yasu-nee's the only one (other than Saki, because she'd never keep it a secret) that doesn't know where we're going. We've been planning tonight for WEEKS, trying to make sure everything is simply and absolutely and irrevocably perfect!

We mostly chat about little things as we walk. The sky being so clear tonight, Saki mentions how funny she finds the sound her geta are making in the snow, Hina-nee and I talk about how grateful we are the EVERYONE is wearing their best for Yasu-nee.

Naru-nii does kind of ruin it, asking me whether I'm carrying a weapon, but Yasu-nee's kind of used to us by now. I sealed all my weapons in my scroll, which is in my sleeve. I don't tell him this though, I just nod.

8-8

We arrive at the Akimichi restaurant, finding the lights out. Yasu-nee shrugs, walking ahead like nothing's wrong. I can't help but smile, knowing that she REALLY trusts us that much.

Just as we enter the main dining hall, the lights switch on, and everyone's there with streamers and banners and happy shouts of 'surprise' and 'happy birthday'. Everything is decorated in violet and green – Yasu-nee's favourite colours. There's a long table stacked with gifts, and another stacked with food.

Sasuke's here. Yoshino-sensei and her family are here. Akimichi-san and his family as well. And Ino and her family. Asami, Sarutobi-sensei, Konohamaru, and even Hokage-dono, are here. Ayame and Teuchi are here – it turns out that Naru-nii took Yasu-nee out to get some ramen, and Ayame and Yasu-nee really hit it off. We've even gone so far as to hire three geisha who are playing some music to set a festive mood.

Everyone takes a turn wishing Yasu-nee happy birthday, telling her how gorgeous she looks, and how happy they are no one let slip about this surprise – even though Yasu-nee didn't look surprised at all.

Captain takes it upon himself to seat Yasu-nee himself; even going so far as to offer his arm to properly escort her to the decorated chair in the most 'important' spot at the table. She smiles brightly, thanking 'the gentleman', and carefully sitting down. He also makes sure he's the ONLY one getting her food, asking her what she would like to try, and serving her like the princess she is.

I smile at Captain knowingly – he isn't like this because of her birthday… there's a deeper reason.

Still, we all gather around the table, eating and drinking merrily. Sake flows for those who wish it – Yuuhi-sensei and Sarutobi-sensei seem the be the most frequent of the bunch drinking, for some reason.

The geisha continue playing whatever music they feel fits the mood. And every time Yasu-nee has a request, they happily oblige her. They even perform Yasu-nee's favourite dance – a dual fan dance I don't recognize.

Once dinner is over, it's time for presents. Yasu-nee is, of course, forbidden to stand. So Captain fetches her presents for her. And stands near her, in case she needs to hand him something.

Decorative combs, perfumes, fans, books (of stories she actually hasn't read yet, but those were mostly from Hina-nee and I, since we know what she likes and what she hasn't read), sealing arts equipment (from Naru-nii and Sasa-nee), earrings and other jewellery. No expense is spared for her gifts. Even though there are less than thirty people here, the gift count is over a hundred!

What really amuses her though, is the scroll on a frying pan kata, from Yoshino-sensei. Sensei explains that it's just something every woman in Konoha should know. And, it comes complete with two special frying pans fit for fighting and cooking with.

"Speaking of which!" Yasu-nee says, after unwrapping a set of three cookbooks – from Reimi-san. Leave it to an Akimichi to find cookbooks from Sand, Mist, and Cloud 'just lying around'. "Aya's birthday is next month, isn't it?"

I'm sooooo grateful for the low lighting and the makeup, but I think they'll notice be going white as a ghost anyway.

"Yeah, it is. Don't worry. You can help us plan for that, 'ttebayo!" Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. Naru-nii made 'Christmas plans' for me… and look how that ended up.

"Yasu-nee, please be the one to plan that! I don't need another… incident!" I beg, ignoring Akimichi-san flushing in embarrassment.

I mostly ignore the conversation after that. Until Yasu-nee gets to one of my 'special presents'. She opens the envelope carefully, taking out the card within. Two tickets fall into her lap, which she carefully grabs before it has a chance to fly away.

"Dear Yasu-nee," She begins reading it. "Though words will never truly express the depths of our love and gratitude for all you do for us, we hope that a memorable birthday will help. If that isn't enough (by some miracle)," She even says the 'between brackets', rolling her eyes and laughing a little. "then we hope two tickets to 'Yagura, Yagura!' will do the rest. Love always, your adorable little sisters, Aya, Hinata, Hanabi, Moegi and Sakiko."

"There's also scribbled just below that: And your super awesome little brothers, Naruto, Sasuke and Udon, dattebayo." She's in tears, even as she laughs. Captain, ever the gentleman, offers her a handkerchief so she won't risk her makeup too much.

"That's it! I need my hugs! Now please!" She demands playfully. We take turns hugging her, whispering how we mean every word in that card.

When it's my turn, she hugs me a little tighter, a little longer than the others. "None of this would be possible without you." She whispers.

"No… Not without you." I correct, whispering just as softly. "You're the one that glues us together, Yasu-nee. Never forget that."

Before we even end our hug, this perfect moment ends.

Cat appears next to Hokage-dono, saying something so soft only he can hear. #Dog. Hawk. Fox. Wolf. My office. Fifteen minutes.# I sigh.

"Yasu-nee. I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." I lie easily, signing to Naru-nii as I go. #Four clones. Transform into us, so Yasu-nee can enjoy her night. And please remember to leave a clone at home so they can get in!#

8-8

In Hokage-dono's office, ten minutes later and ready for a mission. He wouldn't call us here for a polite chat, especially knowing the situation. "There's a team that has reported being ambushed. They were to pick up the payment from the bridge builder in Wave. A single C-rank. Twelve hours since the report." He tosses Captain a scroll. "That has a description of the location the report was sent from, the report itself and pictures and descriptions of the team sent. You leave immediately."

"Yes, sir." And we're out.

8-8

We leave Konoha at just after eight in the evening. We run at top speed until going on three in the morning, then take a break. Captain gives us a basic layout of the situation. Cloud shinobi, no names or descriptions. Four of them. A genin cell, Captain guesses, but he tells us we're to be careful anyway. Duh?

After we rest, we head out again. We all agree without a doubt that we cannot rest until we get to our comrades. Yasu-nee wouldn't be happy if we had to bail on her birthday and didn't even save the lives we'd set out to save.

Luckily we can use that new bridge that was built. But we don't care too much about it. The sun is just rising when we set foot in Wave. And captain calls for a break. He tosses Fox-nii and I the report, so we can get a scent. Chuunin level. Female. Sweating badly as this was written, so the scent is even stronger. Good. I nod, tossing it back to Captain.

Taking a good whiff of the air around me. I pick up nothing resembling the scent. #Three kilometres from last know coordinates. Alert at all times.# Duh?

We dash off, hot on Captain's heels. It's not even five minutes later when I get pick up a trail. Fox-nii calls it first, but I'm quick to confirm. We follow the trail, which leads to the bridge builder's house. We enter, finding a black-haired woman. "The Konoha team. Are they here?" Captain asks.

"They left yesterday. Why, did something happen?" She asks, concerned. We don't answer, we just leave. That means there's another trail. We pick it up quickly, following it into the woods. There are signs of battle everywhere. Day old, and fresh. #High alert!# Duh?

We continue following the train, both of the battle and the scent. Until we come across a body. Our targer, breathing, thank Kami-sama. I don't wait to be told to check her. #Breathing. Steady pulse. Lost a lot of blood. Her team's near. Fox, clone and go!# I demand. My hands flash through the familiar signs for the Healing Palm, and I start closing every wound I can.

I hear a poof, so I know they'll listen to me. "You will join us the second she's stable." I'm ordered. I nod, refusing to let this woman die on me.

It takes almost ten minutes before she regains consciousness. "An… bu… san… my team…"

"I'm not here alone. My team is tracking them. Stop speaking, you're already weak." I order. After the last wound is closed, I drag her towards a tree so she can sit up. I force-feed her a soldier pill and a blood plasma pill, helping her wash it down with water. Her eyes flutter and are slow to focus on me. She's in bad shape. "I'm going to go help my team. Fox here will guard you. Stay here. No matter what. Understood?" She nods a little, falling asleep.

I immediately take to the trees, following the trails again. My team's scent is impossible to track, so I don't bother try. It only takes about two minutes to catch up, but I stick to the shadows. They've found the three genin, alive and kicking, thank Kami-sama. But I can see they're in bad shape. One has a broken arm. Another is bleeding badly. The third is scuff up, but he's by far in better shape.

#Wolf. We need you.# Fox-nii signs, knowing I'm here. I body flicker next to him, swatting his shoulder so he knows it's me. He nods, the motions with his head to the genin.

"Listen. I don't care what the reason is. You attacked our comrades. Stand down, or we end you." Captain growls, pissed to the max. I ignore them – Fox-nii and Hawk will keep me safe no matter what. So I tend to the genin. I start with the one that's bleeding – she's at the highest risk.

Luckily, she's in better shape than the chuunin was, so it only takes me about three minutes to close her wounds. I give her a soldier pill and blood plasma pill and some water as well, ordering her to sit and drink the bottle empty. She nods, doing as told.

I immediately turn and tend to the boy with the broken arm. He can't be older than nine, but he's taking this like a champ. I take my time, setting the bone manually and fusing the broken pieces together. All he does is grunt a few times – I've dealt with grown men that screamed out in pain, so I have to say I'm impressed. Once that's dealt with, I scan him for further injury, finding mostly bruises and nicks here and there. I disinfect those, leaving them heal on their own.

Then I go to the last genin standing. He waves me off, but grabbing him by the ear gets the cooperation I need. He sits down, letting me scan him in peace. Nothing other than some surface bruises. This kid's tough, I'll give him that.

"Captain. Nothing life threatening. The chuunin's also been stabilized. Request that Fox get her."

"You two will go together." Captain informs me. Can't argue with the man. So Fox-nii and I go fetch our brave little chuunin, and I unseal a stretcher and we carefully set her in it.

"You lead, I follow." I tell Fox-nii. He grabs the side her head's laying on, and I grab the feet. We carefully walk together, back to the others, finding that things have settled down quite a bit.

"You're lucky we arrived when we did." Captain says evenly. "If even one of them died, we'd have to kill you all."

"Captain, is the situation neutralized?" I ask carefully.

"Hmm. Well, Cloud-san. Is the situation neutralized?" He redirects, his voice holding an edge to let them know that he's threatening them.

"It is." The leader says.

"Good. Wolf, tend to them."

"No." There's no way I'll heal someone that just damn nearly killed my comrades!

"Wolf." He warns. I huff, walking over the Cloud shinobi.

"Oi! You be-" One of the Cloud shinobi starts. The one in the worst shape, mind you.

"If you refuse care, I will sit here and watch you bleed out. I even brought popcorn." I warn once, and only once. He looks hesitant. So I take out my scroll, and I unseal a bag of popcorn. I put back my scroll and sit on the ground, popping the bag open. "Oi, Fox, you want some?"

"A show's always better with popcorn." He agrees, suddenly beside me. He plops on the ground next to me and we both slide our masks slight up so we can eat in peace.

"I'd make up my mind quickly." Hawk begins. "They're serious."

"I give him two minutes before he passes out." Fox-nii says, tilting his head to see if I agree.

"Meh. He hasn't passed out yet. And we don't know how long he's been like that. He might have taken something. I'd give him ten."

"Ten minutes!? What'd he take then!?"

"My guess is a blood plasma pill. He's obviously their medic… in training from the look of how banged up he is. I wonder if he knows that I can't give him another until at least tomorrow." I take another handful of popcorn, munching away as I wait. "Hey, you think she's upset?"

"Nah. We saved lives. She'll be alright."

"Oi! You two are idiots, aren't you!" The unscathed genin from Konoha says, obviously annoyed with us.

"Hey! I'm a psychopath, and he's a blonde! Completely different!" I defend, but I know I'm just riling them up more.

Then the bleeding one from Cloud drops, unconscious. "Well, you were right. He didn't last two minutes." I take another handful of popcorn, hating that the bag is already half empty. "Think they'll let me save him now?"

8-8

I wake up hours later in the bridge builder's house. I feel annoyed. I feel bloated. I feel like killing someone – brutally. And when I go to the bathroom…

8-8

End Chapter 34

8-8

A/N: Sorry for the filler-ish content here. But these are things that are subtly important. Foreshadow the Christmas Interlude, the New Years Interlude, giving Yasu the love she obviously deserves for taking care of the pack. Bringing Team Dog out on this mission, which will set the tone for things yet to come. And... who'd like to guess what Aya (Wolf) finds in that bathroom? I'll give you a hint: it's not a puppy. X_X

Anyhoo! Until next time ^_^