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 85 – Coming home

8-8

Nuance. Sometimes nuance makes all the difference in the world. And the better you know the person, the more nuances might mean.

Nuances like Momochi-san's non-existent eyebrows twitching in annoyance. Nuances like Mitarashi-san's right index finger twitching almost microscopically to show she's tempted to grab a kunai and carve something pretty –in her eyes– into the source of her annoyance.

The reason I find this so amusing? I'm the source of their annoyance? Why? "I don't know why you're being so touchy about this. There's no longer any need for my team to stay. The bad-bad man is in jail. Mitarashi-san can have her fun with him. And Kusushi can continue showing Haku-chan how to deal with the hundreds of patients we're leaving in their care."

Twitch-twitch.

I don't fight the grin. They know I'm right. There's no longer any need for backup. Protocol dictates that my team head back home. "Namiki. I hate you so much right now." Momochi-san says, even more annoyed now.

"Aww, Momochi-sa~aaaaan, don't be like tha~aaaat!" I sing happily. I know they're so annoyed because I can leave and they can't. The film is only half done. And dozens of scenes have been postponed because Kazahana-san activated some big machine that turned the Land of Snow into the Land of Spring. Something like that could put a real dent into the planning when you're expecting a snowy backdrop. "I'll be sure to let your darling know you've been good." I wink, knowing I'm just making things worse. He wants to tell her that himself, after all.

"Anko… you're rubbing off on her." Momochi-san isn't taking the blame for this. It must really annoy him to know that anyone else would find him being annoyed with them to be a threat of almost assured death.

"Alright, mister grumpy. What has our big, scary swordsman in such a bad, bad mood?" I ask using the same tone I'd use when teasing Kenshin. Momochi-san knows that. Mitarashi-san knows that. Haku-chan's giggle tells me that she's also quite aware of what I'm doing.

"Namiki. If I didn't just kill a few hundred people, I'd take offence to that." He says, his tone showing just how annoyed he is.

"Chocolate?" I make a peace offering, knowing he'll understand just what it is. He sighs, but holds up his hand anyway. When I unseal some of my fancier chocolate, laced with brandy, he knows… he knows just how much I wish I could take them with me. I offer him the whole box, knowing I mean it's for his team – mostly, seeing as even I am kind of annoyed with Kusushi-san.

"Alright, alright. Get going you. And take Haku with you. No reason to make her suffer through this crap when she could better spend her time in Konoha with her mother and brother." He tries sounding annoyed, but I know him better than that. I hug him and Mitarashi-san, telling them to be safe. Haku, wanting an extra few seconds with her father, is slow to follow. We wait, knowing she deserves as much.

8-8

We make it to the coast in less than an hour. The first leg of our journey will undoubtedly be the hardest, seeing as we're facing at least twenty-four hours of nonstop running over open waters. I'd already updated the guys that we're en route, that Haku's with us, and that Momochi-san and the others will come when the mission is wrapped up.

Interestingly, when I start handing out breakfast, I smell the others already catching up. "Miss us that badly?" I ask, teasing them.

"I convinced them to sign that the mission is complete." Is all Momochi-san will admit to. I grin, knowing that he already planned that and didn't want Haku-chan to witness the 'negotiations'.

"Works for me. That means you have command again." I say, not caring. I'm a bit of a control freak, but I'm not nearly as bad as Momochi-san. I update Naruto-nii, who just laughs.

8-8

We enter Konoha a week later, glad to be home. Mostly glad to be home. I see one of the royal messengers camping out at the gate, hoping to spot me, but not recognizing me thanks to my Anbu uniform and mask.

We report to Senju-san's office, offer our initial report, are officially welcomed back and told to take at least a week to rest. I nod, we leave, and other than Kusushi-san, we all head back to our den.

Once home, I enjoy the simple fact that I'm home. I go check on Tsuren, finding that she's doing much better now. She's weak from recovering and the inactivity, but she's eating raw meats again, and her eyes are far sharper than when I last saw her.

She's still not allowed to do much, but she has strength enough to walk to the back porch to laze about in the sun. And she enjoys watching her pups running about playing with each other. Well, we enjoy it.

We don't talk, not even a greeting. There's no need for it. She just lays her head in my lap and I idly scratch behind her ear as we drink in the moment.

Hoshie, Sakiko and Katsuo find us here, squealing and trying to glomp me. I glare at them –mildly, when compared to what I'd do to others– to wordlessly remind them Tsuren needs her rest. They still grin, hugging me tight to welcome me home.

"I have a week off. And I plan on spending that week with my pack." I tell them. They're all smiles, knowing just what that means. "I'm also going to start working less at the Tower, so I should be home more now."

They take turns telling me how awesome that is and how proud they'll make me when they show me how hard they've been training. I smile, warm, relieved. "I know you will. That's why I want to be home more. I've… been offering my time to all the wrong people lately. It's time to make things right." I murmur that last part, knowing that only Tsuren will hear me, as intended.

"Guys, I'm going to go wash up. Please tell the others that I want a Namiki clan meeting in a bit."

8-8

Hitomi, Kin, Keito, Sakiko, Yasu –who still counts as a Namiki regardless if she took her husband's name– Hoshie, Kenshin… Miwako and Satsuma. I study them for a long moment, going over what I have to say.

We're in the visitors' sitting room, with the sliding paper screens wide open so Tsuren and her pups can listen in. No privacy jutsu has been cast – it's not that kind of meeting, yet.

"Hey guys, I just want to start off by saying that this isn't a big deal kind of thing, but I want you to know what I'm planning for the future." I begin, showing them how casually I'm taking this with how I'm talking to them. "I want Tsuren and her pups to listen in too, because this involves them just as much as it involves you guys."

I get nothing but nods. "Alright, I want to start with some announcements. I'll only be working half days at the Tower from now on. That means I'll be home more. That means I'll focusing on your training more. All of your training. Even you Ki-chan."

They nod, most of them happy about that – I've been absent a lot, even when home.

"Other than escorting Gaara and Kankurou to Sand next week, there are no major missions coming up. And frankly, I need to make sure my teams is properly trained, so I plan on not taking missions for a while. By that I mean at least six months, maybe a year."

Again nothing but nods. "I have some major and minor plans I want to discuss in a bit, but that's going to be way too boring for our little munchkins." I tease a little, getting four smiles since they know I'll let them go play soon enough. "But the biggest thing I want you four to focus on is the six wolves we have with us. I want you to spend time with them, get to know them. Really get to know them. I don't doubt you will be signing with their clan, so I want you to know how to act around wolves when the time comes. Alright?" All the pups sound excited about that – Tsuren's and ours.

They shout something excitedly – Hoshie being the exception, who closes in on herself. Too many loud noises too close to her. I offer her a special little smile, promising myself to help her deal with that the best I can.

"Alright. Now, pups, I want you guys to go play in the backyard while we talk about all the things too boring for you." They don't hesitate. Hoshie and Kenshin hug their parents, and all four of them come to hug me, before disappearing into the backyard. "Tsuren, you mind coming inside?"

She's slow to stand and moves a bit jerkily, but she moves on her own steam – baby steps.

Once she's comfortable, with her head in my lap once again, I cast a privacy jutsu. All present know that means this is far more serious.

"Hitomi, Kin, Keito. I'll be blunt. I'm going to be running you into the ground with your training. You're not going to enjoy it, but I promise it'll be worth it." They nod seriously. Only Kin seems surprised. "Don't give me that look. By becoming Tomi's mate, you make your training my top priority. The last thing I want for her is to lose you because you were lax in your training. Do you understand?"

"N-nn." She blushes happily.

"You have some sound release training, but frankly I find it laughable. I'm going to be retraining you from the ground up. I don't know what your sensei thought he was teaching you, but… ew." She looks crushed. "Don't blame yourself, Kin. Whoever it was obviously meant to keep you in the gutter. I plan on making you a kunoichi worthy of the Namiki clan crest."

She looks a bit happier about that – knowing that I don't look down on her for someone else's stupidity. "I won't let you down." She promises.

"I know you won't." I say, nodding. "On to other matters. I have a few ideas to ensure our clan will prosper for generations. Starting with investing. Satsuma, I know you know about this." He starts, staring at me with shock.

"Don't give me that look. I've read the books in your office on investing wisely. I know you have, too. I need someone that has the time to deal with this and make the phone calls to do the research and be available to be called back. I just so happen to know you have the time and the knowledge this needs."

"Nn." He noises, nodding solemnly. "I won't let you down." He promises.

"Good. Miwako, I expect you to start giving Yasu-nee a hand around the house. Don't give me a reason to start getting on your case about taking it easy, but… so long as you take breaks when you start to get tired, and you promise not to overdo it, I see no reason why you can't get in some exercise regularly."

"Nn. I will." She says, tears in her eyes.

"Good. Yasu-nee, you're the Hatake matriarch, but you are also a Namiki. I want to help you with your studies. I know you're a noble. I didn't care then, I don't care now. But that can be used to the Hatake clan's advantage. I want you to focus on Konoha clan laws, general laws, all the fun stuff I have no patience for. I want Hitomi, Kin and Keito to join you as well. You'll be in charge of educating them as clansmen, not as shinobi. And no, Hitomi, I don't care if the Hyuuga clan taught you their version of this stuff. I don't trust how they trained you."

"They didn't, so…" She admits, looking annoyed. Figures. We share a look, both of us wondering what is wrong with the Hyuugas.

"If for any reason I cannot attend a council meeting, I'm going to need someone to stand in for me. That means I'm going to need you all to know how to deal with them the Namiki way. Yasu-nee, you're the only one exempt from this. You and Kashi-nii have to decide for yourselves what you want to do. I'm not getting into that, not my place."

"I'll talk to him tonight about that." Yasu-nee assures me.

"Good. Apart from that, Keito, Kin… you are both officially registered as genin. I want you entered into the next chuunin exams. Hitomi will be your jounin sensei for this. I plan on talking to Kashi-nii about having Tsu as your third teammate. The next exam should be held in Mist, for the first time in years. I will make sure you're ready for those exams. And I want you to show the world that the Namiki clan isn't depending on my reputation. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. I want you two and Hitomi to start spending time with the wolves as well. I do not decide for them who is allowed to sign, that isn't our way and it certainly isn't theirs. Should Tsuren give you the greenlight, I will let you sign the summoning contract. Not a moment before." The three of them nod seriously. "Good. And Tsuren. I plan on spending a lot more time training with you and your pups. I want to make sure we are at the top of our game. After all… we still have our escaped prey to hunt down, do we not?"

"We do." Tsuren agrees, grinning a little. She's thinking about repaying his… kindness.

"That means I want to teach even you some new skills. Some basic, most advanced. I also want to work with you on the more advanced collaboration jutsus I've found in the Namiki library. As well as some interesting ones I've come up with. Is this agreeable?" I ask carefully. I know she is proud of her skills, but I also know that everyone can stand to learn a new trick or two.

"It is." She nods.

"Alright. Oh, Kin, Tomi… when are the two of you going to admit you want to share a room?" The two of them blushing is too cute for words. "Seriously, it's not like I haven't figured it out, and I certainly don't mind."

"We… were going to… speak with you… about that… tonight…" Hitomi hesitantly admits, still blushing deeply.

"Well, if it's my permission you're waiting on. You have my blessing." I say, rolling my eyes and wondering why they'd need my permission in the first place. They share a look, nervous but excited, before thanking me. "And let me know if you two start seriously considering making the arrangement more official. I can't promise I'll be able to change Konoha clan laws to allow you two to get married, but I can officially adopt Kin into our clan and offer you at least that. We all know I'll honour your relationship as such, and I will fight for you should you need or simply want me to."

Kin is almost moved to tears, but I can tell Hitomi isn't far behind. "And that includes if you two ever decide one of you wants to get pregnant, or if you decide to adopt. And don't write off pregnancy because of the 'guy factor', there are a few tricks I've read about to work around that. Neither of you would have to mate with a male for that. Alright?" That did it. I'm engulfed in two tears hugs as both of them blubber out their thanks.

"Don't thank me. I'm only offering you what you deserve."

8-8

After –politely– kicking everyone out, other than Satsuma and Miwako, I gaze at the nervous pair across from me. "I don't like beating around the bush, so I'll get right to it. Senju-san wants the two of you here for a few very specific reasons." They share a look, wondering about that. "First off is rehabilitating you in a safe environment, mostly because she's a medic first and Hokage second."

They shrug, having figured as much.

"Second is Namiki babies." I say, refusing to lie about my well founded suspicions. Miwako blushes, not hating the idea. "You both know I'm not going to push one way or the other. I'm just telling it like it is." They nod seriously.

"Next is more of a suspicion than anything, but I believe I know Senju-san well enough to say this is more likely true than false. She wants your children to get to know their parents." I carefully don't –exactly– add myself into that statement. I have no doubt that Senju-san does include me in that. They look almost hopeful at that, but I ignore it.

"I'm telling you this because I'm seeing improvements in you. Hoshie and Kenshin are much more open and trusting towards both of you." I explain seriously. "That is the reason I offer you your tasks. And that is the reason I will also be overseeing Satsuma's Namiki training. Honestly, married for over a decade and still knowing next to nothing of the Namiki ways." I roll my eyes, annoyed with Miwako's stupidity.

"I…" Satsuma obviously doesn't know what to say.

"Don't read into it. I'm correcting her idiocy. However, it would be nice if I could trust you to oversee the pups' training when I'm busy. You'd have to learn it first though and that's something I expect you to offer your all to. Do you understand?" I fix him with an annoyed stare, showing that I'd write him off as hopeless the second he slacks off. Just to be sure though, "You get one chance, Satsuma. Use it wisely."

"I will." He nods, tears collecting in his eyes for some reason. I roll my eyes, even more annoyed now. He probably thinks this is me offering more than just training – I'm not. I'm trying to make sure there's a safety net for our pups. Nothing more.

8-8

Having dealt with that, I track down Tayuya. But she's busy getting busy with one of the Operatives, so I'll just leave them be. I didn't think the Inuzuka would be her type, but hey, to each their own. Not Hana, Ichiyo, one of the new Anbu Captains. Still, whatever.

Aya, just breathe. You have to deal with the idiots eventually. Better sooner than later.

Sigh.

With Tsu, Hitomi, Kin and Keito shadowing me –and Ikoku for some reason, but whatever– I make my way out into the street. I know the messengers don't know where I live –they would've been hounding my den otherwise– so I figure just going out into the village for some shopping will lead them to me.

It takes less than ten minutes to prove me right.

"Namiki-dono! How fortunate to run into you here of all places!" The messenger acts like he hasn't been haunting these streets to find me.

"You're one of the messengers. I don't care which one. I don't care which land or which lord. Find the others, tell them I will be holding a meeting in my office in the Civilian Sector tomorrow at three in the afternoon, because frankly I'm not going to repeat what I have to say. Is that understood?" I say, glaring at him, daring him to deny me.

"A-a-as you wish, N-n-n-n-namiki-dono." He manages, before bowing low, turning and hightailing it out of here.

"Well that was fun." I intone, obviously being sarcastic. "Anyway! Shopping!" I ignore Hitomi's annoyed groan. I count to ten, barely making it to three before Kin swats her arm. I grin. "Don't worry, Tomi, we're also going to blacksmith's. We have to get Keito's new blades after all."

"Ooh! And I still have to see Tenten about that weapon!" Hitomi's in a much better mood now.

8-8

I try to be nice about it, so we alternate. One civilian store, then one shinobi store, then one civilian store… and so on. Hitomi and Kin need a much bigger closet, so we get one for them. We have two babies on the way, so I buy two of the most adorable cribs, changing tables, the works. We even make sure to go into a clothing store to get some baby clothes. I really like this cute little baby romper with the text 'Careful, I bite' and a picture of a wolf on it, so I buy two – one for the Namiki on the way, one for the Hatake.

After that, we do the blacksmith's. Keito is moved to the point of tears when he receives four new blood blades. The white sheaths and grips meant to make them look like fangs, the kanji for 'wolf' engraved in gold –not actual gold, just the colour– onto the sheath and on the butt of the grip. The blades themselves have a stylised wolf depicted near the hilt. All in all, the perfect blades for a Namiki samurai.

Once I offer them to him in that traditional, overly formal way, and he both checks each blade in turn and properly arms himself with them, we start nosing around to see if there's anything interesting.

I mention that Hoshie needs to start her kenjutsu training. Hitomi and Kin agree. Tsu mostly just talks about Kin needing to focus on her kenjutsu training – this time Hitomi gets on her case, slacking off like that. Ikoku is mostly listening, quietly studying the merchandise. Keito asks about some of the more interesting looking kunai and shuriken, and I take the time to explain what I know about most of them. I make sure to point out that he'll need to really step up his training with projectiles. I'm not having a slacker that can only swing a sword – no matter how good he is.

He seems to like the Fuuma shuriken, so I tell him I'll let him nose around in what I have at home so he can try his luck with the different types to see what he finds is a worth invested – both of time and money.

Then a thought hits me… "Hey guys, what if we design a custom shuriken just for the Namiki clan? Maybe even custom kunai?"

"…Why?" Tsu asks.

"Why not? It would be cool, and we wouldn't be the only clan that does it." I point out. "Then again, I already have my custom windmill shurikens. Maybe just some regular ones, and the kunai? I won't mind of the Uzumaki, Yukis and Hatakes use it, but I'd want it to be just for us, you know? Stand out a bit."

"Not a bad idea." Keito gets it! "Perhaps I could offer lessons on tessens as well. It is rather basic, but useful all the same."

"Hnn?" Tessen? Battle fans? Well, that is a pretty common samurai thing, really. "No training is worthless. I say we buy a few and see who's interested in learning it." With that I start bugging Keito about the things to pay attention to for good tessen. We make our way into the section that has tessens –these mostly look like something you'd buy at a festival, but even I can tell they look sturdy– and I ask him to pick at least six good quality ones. Ones he'd use. "No, better yet. Tessen you'd have me practicing with." I'd rather not give him the chance to pick out subpar crap just because he thinks he isn't worth the money, or whatever.

I make a mental note to talk to Momochi-san, Naru-nii and Kashi-nii later about my ideas about the kunai and shuriken. We'll see what they have to say about it.

It takes him nearly ten minutes before he selects what he sees as the best of the bunch. He offers them to me, probably for inspection, or something. I don't really know. He's the one that knows these things. Still…

"I like this." I admit. "A polite weapon you can wield in an upscale restaurant. I'm definitely up for learning." He beams, obviously happy about that.

We go through some more weapons, mostly just talking about this or that regarding them. It turns out that Keito knows quite a lot about most of them. "Ah, the nodachi." He says pointing at a long blade with a REALLY long handle. I mean, seriously! The handle alone is longer as my kodachi! "Most commonly used by mounted forces, but I've met a man that claims he could wield it as smoothly as I can wield a kodachi."

"Che, arrogant much?" I offer my two Ryou. No one can wield a sword that big like… then again, I'm sure Momochi-san could. He's really good with his blade, and he keeps up with my speed even while I'm wielding my kodachis. It's possible.

"Ah, this is one I have not held in some time. The jitte." He says grabbing a matching set. It's a funny little weapon, with no blade to speak of. It almost looks like a little metal stick, but with a little hook sticking out to capture –and likely break– an enemy's blade. It's a very defensive weapon, I guess. "There are many palaces where the lord does not wish for any to carry a blade. Because of this, many centuries ago, a wise blacksmith crafted the first jitte and gifted it to his son, who wished to become his lord's honour guard. The son, though his name long forgotten in the mists of time, became a legend. Ever since the jitte has been a symbol of samurai guards and high ranking officials. Even more so than the daisho."

"That is so cool!" Tsu says, obviously enjoying the history lesson.

"It's official, Keito. You're getting this. We're arranging that you get your own cache. Hitomi, would you mind if Kin shares yours?" I turn to the couple.

Tomi snorts, amused. "She already is."

"Yeah?" Kin gives me a look; what'd you expect?

"Good. Keito, if you see any more weapons you're either good with or just like, let me know. I don't mind splurging a little now and again."

"It's alright, Aya-dono. I was paid well for that last mission. I-"

"Keito, if I say I'm paying, you are not to argue with me. Your money is meant to be used on things like clothing, armour, scrolls of jutsu you like. And speaking of which! We should check out the scroll section! Maybe they'll have some tessenjutsu as well? Maybe a style for it? It can't hurt to know more than one style with the same weapon, after all."

"Ah, I'm afraid you misunderstand, Aya-dono. I like these weapons, and I would happily purchase them." He tries anyway. I roll my eyes, amused and annoyed at the same time.

We make our way to the scroll section. Technically this is the 'jutsu section', but not every scroll contains a jutsu, so I don't call it that. "Lucky!" I exclaim, finding a large scroll on a tessenjutsu style. I... my hands are getting a bit full like this.

"Aya, at least give me something to carry. I'll put them on the counter so long, because we both know you're going nuts in this section." Tsu teases, already grabbing my tessens. I don't fight her – no point. As if on cue, the blacksmith comes over, amused as ever whenever we feel like nosing around.

"Another new weapon, Namiki-san?" He says, smiling. "That style's from the land of Tea. I bought it off a noble down on his luck, a steal if you ask me." He explains seriously.

"May I?" I ask, wondering if I can take a look.

"Sorry, no. It's sealed and I won't unseal it unless you buy." He says. That alone tells me this is worth something.

"Good." I say, smiling. "What else do you have here? Keito is taking the jitte, maybe you have a style he hasn't heard of?"

"Hmm, depends. Where's he from?" He asks.

"Land of Iron." I answer. Keito looks at me, questions in his eyes. "What? You still smell like it too. Your chakra's scent is almost set by the time you turn five. That's why people can identify where you're from just by scent." I explain.

"Hmm… Three Wolves samurai huh?" The blacksmith thinks about that. "Yeah, I've got another large scroll here for a jitte style form the Land of Fangs. And another from the Land of Forests. Ah, there's also another tessen style from the Land of the Moon… and I believe I still have one from the Land of Sand as well. You're an earth release user, right…? Hmm, I think the Land of Tea style and the Land of the Moon style would better suit you than the Land of Sand – they tend to prefer water release users and it shows in their styles."

I LOVE shopping here! I fish out the Land of the Moon tessen style scroll, and I demand that Keito takes the jitte style scrolls as well. He doesn't fight me this time. I offer my new finds to Tsu, who carries them over to the counter for me.

"Ooh! Chokuto style!" I announce. Tsu and Kin are on me instantly. I let them fight over it, until I find a second one for them. They each hold one. I just grin and keep digging for more.

No more interesting weapon style scrolls, so I head to the elemental scrolls. I love how these scrolls are set up. Colour-coded to show which element they are, letter-coded to show which rank they are. Other than that, it's only names.

"Keito, we still have to confirm your element. Kin, you too. Would you mind going with Sengo-san to have that confirmed now?" I instruct. They nod and head to the counter, coming back with the most obvious news in the world. Keito's earth, Kin's lightning. I can usually tell just by smelling them, but I like being absolutely sure. "Let's see… I have more than enough earth scrolls to entertain us. I have quite a few fire and water as well. But almost no lightning or wind."

I grab six scrolls each of E, D and C-rank for both lightning and wind; making sure to check these aren't scrolls I already have copies of. That should tide us over for a while. "Speaking of which! I want to start testing the kids as well. You're never too young to learn E-rank jutsus." I pick up a few E-ranks of the other three elements as well; again confirming I'm not picking up copies of scrolls I already own. The lower ranked jutsus are dirt cheap after all, so why not? It's only when you start looking at B and A-rank jutsu that I start having to think twice. And there are almost never S-rank jutsus on display. I've never felt the need to ask if he has.

Sengo-san is kind enough to offer me a basket to set my purchases in – obviously noticing that I'm still going strong.

"Ooh! Genjutsu scrolls!" Interestingly they're marked as 'yin release', but that basically means the same thing to me. I filter through them, finding that I already know all the E, D, and C-rank genjutsus he has on display. I'm not too keen on asking about the prices for the B-ranks, so I don't even look – I'm not willing to splurge that much today.

Looking through the 'yang release' scrolls, I find that most are simple medical jutsus. A few are simplified body modification jutsus, I don't trust that idea too much, I already know one –the Okami jutsu– and it's MURDER to learn properly!

"Hmm? Sword of Silence jutsu?" I read the name.

"Nn. From the Land of Silence. Designed to work with pretty much any blade." Sengo-san explains. It's a C-rank, and the price isn't too steep.

"What the heck. Could prove interesting." I add it to my growing pile of jutsus. "Hey! Tessen jutsu! And jitte jutsu!" I grab them without thinking. Interesting that they'd be here in the yang section, and not the weapon's section. Whatever.

I think about that. I go back through the elemental jutsus. "Any elemental weapons jutsus I might be interested in?"

"Well…" That isn't a no! I love shopping here!

8-8

"Thank you all for coming." I begin, eyeing the six messengers and their armed guards. I'm tempted to believe they are here for intimidation, but… it isn't working. Not even a little.

Keito, Tsu, Ikoku, Hitomi, Kin… heck even Mitarashi-san, Momochi-san, Kashi-nii, Naruto-nii and daddy are here. Chouza-san too, as is Chouji. I grin, knowing exactly what their reason is for being here.

"Now, let me start off by saying that I'm not going with any of you." I let them get their stupid complains out of the way. But when they start shouting to be heard over each other, "SHUT IT!" I grab their attention, bathing them all in just enough killing intent to hear quite a few frightened whimpers.

I smirk.

"I'm not going with any of you, because I don't care for any of your countries, your lords or your people. In fact, I would happily accept your declarations of war for turning you down. Whether you want to issue that to the Land of Fire, to Konoha, or just the Namiki clan. Bring it. I've toppled two countries already, I won't mind trying my hand at a third."

They start fidgeting nervously, obviously not liking where I'm going with this. "What, you haven't heard? Oh right. Away from home. The former Land of Snow? It's now called the Land of Spring. Took out the castle and their hidden village in less than a week, mostly because they took forever to bring the fight to me. So tell me, which of you will be country number three? Hmm?"

Mind you, I'm still bathing them in killing intent. "And do keep in mind. I'm don't usually work alone. Everyone you see here is here to send a clear message to you and your lords. The Namiki clan is not without allies. Just to name a few, in case you're addled little brains can't recognize them. Here we have," I name them all as I go. I really like how their eyes nearly pop out when I mention Kashi-nii and Momochi-san.

The messengers and their so called armed guard, their hopes sink lower and lower with each passing second.

And the nail in the coffin? Chouji decides to show off a little a wraps his arms around my waist. "Chou, behave. I'm busy." I swat his bandaged arm, wondering why he wraps them up. I'll have to talk to him later about that.

"I know." He whispers in my ear, his warm breath kissing and teasing my skin as he speaks. I fight the smile, but the shiver can't be helped. Kami-sama, I both love and hate it when he does that. "Tell me to stop then." I shiver again.

I'm so getting you back for this later!

"Now that we've settled that." I say, grinning at what I'm about to do. "Who's up for a game of capture the daimyo? It's fun."

8-8

End Chapter 85

8-8

A/N: Just in case anyone wonders, the sequel to Butterflies is most definitely assured! I will start working on it after the spin-offs, so it might take a while, but it is set in stone that it's coming out!

Now... let's see... what haven't we already dealt with...? Hmm...