The calm, almost matter-of-fact way in which Yōshoku spoke of the Kyuubi stunned Kosuke for a moment.

'The incident', as the various ninja had named it throughout the day, had taken place only twenty hours earlier but it had already been nicely wrapped-up through an overnight investigation and a few meetings in the morning. Of course, what had actually occurred was only alluded to and anything within the hearing of Naruto had been vague at best.

Kosuke's mind digressed as he briefly considered whether Yōshoku would fall under the Hokage's law or not.

'Ok. hmm...' Kosuke tried to reboot his mind as he quickly considered his options.

Naruto looked confused more than anything. He didn't appear to be angry or sad, a pang of remorse perhaps at most but the hopeful way Yōshoku tried to prod Naruto to continue brushing his fur quelled even that-mostly.

Yōshoku eventually shook himself before poking Naruto in the chest with his nose, "Canine Mender said I should rest my leg for the next few days, but if you want to help me you can come by anytime with that brush."

He looked at Kosuke, "Herb Hermit, thank you for your help as well." He winked, "If you start healing a wound early enough with the proper medicine it seems to me that infections are unlikely to occur."

With that the large deer limped back into the nearby woods and quickly disappeared-leaving Kosuke alone with Naruto.

Kosuke wanted to grab his own face with both hands and squeeze, instead he started scrubbing his pants again as he distracted Naruto by waving at his still muddy shirt.

It would be easy enough to continue distracting Naruto. If he did ever ask, Kosuke could lie just as easily-lying was a skill that was even taught in the academy, at least when he had attended.

That wouldn't take care of the problem though. Taking a muddy strip of cloth and tying it around a wound as a bandage might hide the wound, but it wouldn't help the wound heal-well, technically mud could be u…

Kosuke shook his head to clear it as the silence deepened between the two.

He dumped his bucket out and refilled it with clean water.

"Yōshoku is going to be ok, right?" The quiet tremor had returned to Naruto's voice as the subdued atmosphere had let him go back to his original line of thought.

'Not after I get through with him, he won't be the one having to deal with the paperwork and an angry Hokage.' Kosuke grunted, 'Damn.'

"Yeah, he'll be fine. He's probably playing it off worse than it is to get off of his duties." Kosuke started to hang his clothing on the wire they used for drying, it would be fine overnight as it didn't look to rain and Kosuke didn't think there would be dew.

"Here, hand me your pants and rinse off the shirt."

After hanging Naruto's pants up to dry Kosuke decided he might as well get this over with and looked down at Naruto.

"Naruto!" Kosuke shook his head in exasperation, "not in the dirty bucket, you rinse it in the clean water."

Naruto's cheeks turned pink before he grinned up at Kosuke, "I knew that, I just wanted to see if you knew that." He vigorously started to dunk his shirt in and out of the clean water.

"In any case, Yōshoku was injured by the demon inside of you."

Naruto kept dunking his shirt in the water and nodded, "Oh, ok."

"Wait, what?" Naruto's pupils started to expand as he started to panic.

'Spirit, I should have used spirit instead of demon!'

Kosuke took the shirt from Naruto's limp fingers and hung it on the line as if he hadn't said anything out of the ordinary.

He rubbed his hands together and blew on them, "Let's go get something warm to eat."

Kosuke started to walk back to the house as he chatted with a false casualness, "Everyone has a few demons they have to control. Last night someone...cheated. They did something that didn't help anyone and even hurt some people."

Kosuke tried to figure out where he was going with this. He didn't want to petrify Naruto into never wanting to sleep or being afraid that people were all out to hurt him. But truthfully, Shinobi children were often exposed to hard truths early in their lives to better prepare them for life.

Many a sheltered child broke when they became Genin and learned some of the harsh truths their parents or teachers had avoided. Even 'prepared' shinobi usually broke at some point in their career.

A lingering patch of snow where they had made the snowmen gave Kosuke an idea, he pointed it out to Naruto.

"Playing in the snow was a lot of fun, would you like to do it again soon?"

Naruto looked skeptical at the change of topic, for once not immediately getting distracted by whatever popped into his mind, but he still wandered over to the slush and poked at it, "Yeah, that was fun."

"Konoha hasn't had that much snow in years so it affected everyone differently. You and I were able to play in the snow but it caused Suzaku and Yōshoku to have to work extra hard to keep the herd healthy. I know some people even died from the snow when they were caught on the roads without heeding the warning signs of an approaching storm."

Naruto turned from the snow with his large blue eyes opened wide.

"The last few years have been dry, even in the mountains to the northwest, so our rivers and fields have been needing..." Naruto's started to glaze over at the superfluity of information, "Um, anyways, the snowstorm that killed a few people will also help farmers grow a lot of food this year."

Kosuke smiled slightly at the ingenuity of his little dialogue, "Storms are natural and are neither good nor bad, yet at the same time both helpful and harmful. Everyone has storms in their life, it's important to know how those storms come about so that they can be useful rather than cause harm."

Kosuke looked at Naruto only to see him making a small snowball to put on top of his miniaturized snowman.

"Naruto!"

Quizzical eyes turned to look towards Kosuke.

"Did you hear a thing I just said?"

"Yep."

"So what did I say?"

Naruto thought for a moment, "Um, I don't know." He managed to state it as if the answer were obvious.

After having prepared himself to break the Hokage's law by telling Naruto about the Kyuubi (thus courting death-albeit with a potential loophole) Kosuke felt his mind cloud over as the adrenaline that had coursed through him ever since Yōshoku's very unhelpful comment quickly dissipated.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow." As they approached the door he shook his head to clear it, unsuccessfully, "You know, let's just get something to eat in town and head back to the clinic."

"Awesome! I wanna eat at Mr. Fatty's restaurant."

Kosuke wilted, if the Hokage didn't execute him, Naruto seemed determined to find some other way to kill him today. He wasn't sure if Naruto's imagination was infecting him but suddenly he could almost feel an Akimichi wok embedding itself in the side of his face.

Kosuke almost fell into the bamboo chair after closing the door. The bed looked more comfortable but he was afraid he wouldn't get up if he collapsed on it instead.

As they were staying in the clinic overnight, Kosuke had let Naruto visit his mother again. In truth, he had more foisted the kid into the caring hands of his comatose mother and fled.

After taking a deep breath, Kosuke scanned the room. The guestroom of the clinic was nice enough, the paper doorway and adjacent wall was covered in a blend of poplar leaves-dark, glossy green overlapped with light, flat greens. The remainder of the room was mostly white with tall, thin furniture in comforting browns to break it up.

Several books sat on a small table next to the chair Kosuke had absconded, 'How to Work With and Respect Another's Pain' and 'Grief, How Long is Too Long?'. A book of what looked to be comedic poems poked out from the bottom of the pile.

Kosuke allowed himself several minutes to relax. He hadn't been this moody or pensive in years, probably not since the Kyuubi attack, even that had been a short time of sadness and pain to be put aside to continue life-not several months of random bouts of claustrophobia, annoyance, and even jealousy.

As he slowed his breathing, he brought up the various issues that bothered him. Naruto was at the heart of the majority of his problems: responsibility, inadequate training for his mission, forced interaction… the list took him a while to catalogue in his mind.

Still, Kosuke knew that while Naruto was at the heart of the problems he wasn't the problem. It had taken him long years, along with the lives of his best friends, to learn that lesson. It was a sad fact of life that people usually focus on themselves to much...except when it comes to problems, then they start to focus on everything but themselves.

As he cross-referenced his feelings with the various problems that had risen since his latest mission, he attempted to find the common denominator. He was claustrophobic after having to spend entirely too much time in the loud, busy city. He was jealous of not having the freedom to take missions doing something he was good at far away from the pollution of noise. He was annoyed that he was forced to do something he wasn't prepared for and didn't want to do. And of course, it was Naruto-given time and proximity the kid could annoy anyone.

What did all of Kosuke's problems have in common? Shunting Naruto to the side of his mind, the answer was...himself. More specifically, a fear of change.

No, he didn't fear change-he loathed it. As much as he prided himself in his ability to take everything that came his way in stride, it was as much for routine as a philosophical way of life.

He snorted.

Imagine that, his current problem mirrored that of thousands of people's problems and, of course like them, having looked in the mirror he had immediately foisted the problem onto the faces around him-The Hokage, Naruto, Konoha.

Kosuke clapped his hands together once and rested his mouth against his splayed fingers.

Routine wasn't a bad thing anymore than change was a bad thing. Over the next few years he would simply have to change his routine slightly, he snorted again, assuming he survived today and tomorrow.

With that thought he slowly rose from the chair and walked up the wall until he was standing from the ceiling. He regulated his chakra until his blood flow normalized and quietly sat, facing the stylized wall mosaic.

Once more he slowed his breathing as he forced himself to relax. He had thought on the problem and now was the time to ground his mind and body in the truth. Life moved on and so must he.

"Come in."

The door slid open and a bemused young lady stepped into the room.

Kosuke released the chakra connecting him to the ceiling and landed gracefully on his feet after a quick somersault in the air.

His knee gave a slight twinge reminding him that showing off at his age was, perhaps, ill-advised.

As he looked to his visitor he realized that his expectations had misled his eyes. Her face did look young and carefree, always ready to smile or laugh, but he had to adjust her age to her mid-thirties or even early forties upon his second glance.

Kosuke continued to smile in a welcoming manner but didn't lower his guard, "How can I be of assistance miss..." he left the phrase open.

She noted his behavioural change and handed Kosuke a small scroll.

"Hamasaki Yousei." She gestured at the scroll as Kosuke broke the seal and glanced within, "We met once through our young Samurai friend."

Kosuke relaxed and handed back the scroll, "May I get you some tea Miss Hamasaki? Naruto is in his mother's room, if you wish I can retrieve him shortly."

She laughed, "Miss Hamasaki," a decidedly unladylike snort escaped, "please call me Yousei-mother named me well."

She took a moment to study him before smirking, "Tea with a fine gentleman such as yourself sounds lovely." She twirled her fingers through her long indigo hair and winked, "I imagine you have some good stories to tell." She breathed deep as she hushed her tone.

Yousei was of a middling height and quite stoutly built with sun-darkened skin-everything that the current trend of beauty snubbed.

Kosuke felt a slight blush cross his skin before she laughed again, complete with several snorts.

She punched him lightly in the arm, "A lady's like to die of dehydration around here, perhaps you need some assistance in making tea old man?"

Kosuke smiled before puffing himself out, "I would happily prepare some tea for a lady, if only this old man ever had any visit him."

Yousei pouted, lower lip thrust out and eyes opening wide. A single tear fell slowly to the ground where it fractured, shimmering gold and silver.

He was happy to see that, while her decorum was seriously lacking, she was able to be on either side of a joke.

Kosuke debated leaving the room to retrieve Naruto (it would allow Yousei to poison or drug the tea) but she would have access to Naruto often if she became his personal physician. It was always good to be ready for anything, but true paranoia wasn't something Kosuke was ready to accept even after his long service.

"I'll be back with Naruto in a minute. Our young black samurai will need to go to bed soon."

"Oh? I didn't know you were so senile that you can't tell a black samurai from a red samurai."

Kosuke waved behind him as he tottered out the door, pretending to lean on a stick.

Soon Kosuke arrived at Kushina's room and checked Naruto's progress on his picture book.

Naruto was very unsettling at times. Usually he didn't pay attention to any details while at other times he was painstakingly careful in his efforts. If something interested him, he could be an exceptional quick learner when he put his mind to it, or rather, his hands. But if he saw no immediate purpose he was, well, dense would be kind.

"Wow, that is really nice."

Naruto was putting some finishing swirls in the river with the blue, violet and white chalk to create a nice mixture of colours and textures to the flowing stream.

Naruto very seriously finished what he was doing before thrusting the page at Kosuke's face, "We should make a picnic for mum and old man Hokage and Uncle Inoichi. That's what families do right? Hey, I bet they would like that eh? Right?"

Kosuke took the page and smiled at Naruto, "We can have a picnic sometime. Although, Master Inoichi and the Hokage are very important and busy people."

Naruto jumped in immediately, "Yeah, but picnics with family is even more important."

With that the matter was settled, at least in Naruto's mind.

Setting the paper on the table with the rest of the pictures-it really was well coloured for a five-year-old if a bit on the bold side of the spectrum-Kosuke motioned for Naruto to come with him, "It's almost time for bed and we have a visitor waiting for us."

Naruto hopped up from the ground and ran to get his moccasins, "A visitor? Who is it? Is it old man Hokage?"

Kosuke in turn bopped Naruto lightly on the head, "Remember your manners, and she is a doctor. She wanted to meet you and make sure you are growing up to be big and strong."

Naruto ran ahead to their temporary room and slid the door open. He spied his visitor quickly and made a beeline for her, "Hey, I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

Questions danced in his eyes but he managed to hold himself back and gave a small bow.

"Hi there Naruto" she gave a small bow in return, "I'm Hamasaki Yousei."

She gave him a quick wink, "You can call me Miss Yousei."

"Gramps said you were a doctor, is that true Miss Yousei?"

Naruto had an odd relationship with the medical world. While he had a general aversion and distrust of hospitals, he practically idolized doctors.

"Yep, I'm a medic." Yousei motioned for the others to join her for some tea. She also magically produced a box of dango to share.

While Kosuke nodded his thanks and quietly enjoyed the tea, Naruto went straight for the Dango, "Wa's a medic?" he asked around a mouthful of glutinous rice.

"Naruto." Kosuke sighed as Naruto turned his innocent face towards him, "Please don't talk while you eat."

"Oh, righ'. Sowwy gramps." Only then did he make a show of swallowing the treat.

Thanks to the warm tea, Kosuke managed to enter into a slight state of meditation and calm once again. For this he was thankful as the stress of the previous day and the anxiety of tomorrow still threatened to overwhelm him.

Naruto and Miss Hamasaki seemed to be getting along famously as the pair bantered back and forth. Had Kosuke not been in such a muted mood, he may have had even more reason to feel anxiety… Naruto really liked some of the stories his new friend told while she was examining him.

"Alright Naruto, you seem to be quite healthy!" She gave a predatory smile, "I'll let you know how your idea worked, ok?"

Idea? What idea?

Kosuke sluggishly nodded his thanks to Miss Hamasaki as she left.

"Ok Naruto, time to get ready for bed."

Kosuke could barely manage to put the cups in the sink before wanting to collapse into the bed. He remembered being this tired only a few times in his life-almost always it was after the excitement of battling an enemy wore off and you realized that every bit of you was exhausted.

"But gramps, I'm not tired yet."

"We are going on a camping trip in the woods tomorrow and need to be well rested. Now please go to bed." If Kosuke were a bit terse so be it. While the statement didn't really make Naruto tired (quite the contrary to be honest) he did settle down.

Within minutes though Naruto fell asleep and, with a final sigh, Kosuke soon followed suit.

Stealth and Sensory abilities were the core of a Ninja's life. However strong or even fast (within normal parameters) someone was, they would still die from an unseen opponent.

The recent wars had clouded that simple truth as strength prevailed in organized multi-squadron open warfare.

But stealth had been the tool that raised the Ninja clans, and eventually the Hidden Villages, in order to prosper in politics, economics and-to put it bluntly, power. In counterpoint, the ability to sense danger and react to it meant life.

Dog recognized this more than most…

He had met many ninja that idolized the Fourth Hokage-he had, after all, ended the war in such a dramatic show of strength and speed. But Dog, as Hatake Kakashi, had trained under Namikaze Minato and knew that his most important ability had been the speed with which he could interact with his insane amount of sensory input.

Hide-and-seek had long been Kakashi's least favorite game.

Still, as Dog followed his mark for the day, he was forced once more to quell those rebellious thoughts of happiness from his former life with Sensei.

His target in this particular case was not known for being a strong sensor, but he was old. Old... astute, subtle and able to use the few tools he had to create an amazingly strong whole. Kakashi almost reflected on the irony of that being why he had suggested Kosuke for taking care of Naruto in the first place.

He had just come in from an overnight mission when he had been pulled aside by the Hokage. He was to follow Kosuke and Naruto for the day to insure that nothing untoward happened, evidently there had been some commotion earlier.

The last few hours had actually relaxed Dog as he set his mind and body into the singular act of following unseen and unheard behind the pair.

"Naruto." Kosuke took out a handful of mushrooms from his pack, "This kind is edible." He then pointed at what Naruto was gathering, "That is poisonous."

Naruto ran over and examined the difference, "They look the same to me." He added, "Mine is much prettier."

Dog shifted that statement in his mind.

Kosuke came to the same conclusion as he retorted "How can yours be prettier if they look the same?"

"Well, yours is all brown and scrawny. Mine is bigger and a pretty red, I bet it is tastier too."

Dog didn't move… or laugh.

He did wonder if the red mushrooms were truly tastier though, some of his compatriots would probably know-it wasn't a deadly mushroom… Also, could the kid really be that dense? Had he not been following the pair all morning (not to mention at the orphanage on occasion) he truly would have said the kid was the greatest actor he had ever met. Instead he simply acknowledged that Naruto truly was an idiot.

Kosuke grunted and simply pointed at Naruto's new-found mushrooms "Poisonous!" and then at his own "Lunch!".

Naruto's stomach growled. "Lunch?"

Kosuke nodded and gestured at Naruto's bright orange backpack. He had been directing Naruto in his efforts to gather edibles, and while the backpack wasn't nearly as full as Naruto's energy output should have produced, there was enough to supplement the basics Kosuke had bought from the market that morning.

"We just need to find the river for some cooking water along with some dry wood to cook with."

Dog could hear a stream, probably not more than 200 meters from their current location. He could also hear several waterfowl from said stream. Lacking the ability to hear, he could see several animal paths that all travelled in the same direction towards the water. There was also the variation in the trees, the cooler air, the…

Naruto yipped in happiness as he marched along the path that continued to parallel the stream. "Well come on then gramps, follow me to the river!"

Kosuke didn't move.

Naruto hesitated and slowly came to a stop as Kosuke raised an eyebrow and looked with an anticipatory question on his face.

Naruto returned the silent question with a simple innocent blink.

Kosuke relented first, "How do you think we should go about finding water, Naruto?"

"Um," Naruto put a finger on his pursed lips and drew his eyebrows down as he started to think, "a well?"

"How!" Kosuke muttered something to himself before continuing, "The where would be a river, although yes, technically a well would work." Kosuke tacked the second part on, "What I am asking is, 'How would you find a river?'"

Naruto's face brightened, "Oh, you walk downhill."

Kosuke once more muttered to himself, 'Congratulations old man, you managed to get him to remember something you taught, a miracle.' Aloud he said in an even voice, "So which way is downhill?"

Naruto turned in a full circle before pointing to his left.

Correct twice in a row. Third time's the charm…

"So if you were to sit quiet and listen" he pointed vaguely to the left side of the path, "do you think you might be able to find where a river is so we can eat?"

It only took a second for Naruto to hear the stream at that point, "Hey gramps, I think there is water down there!" He said it in such an excited voice, full of discovery-also with a cavalier 'I bet your glad I came with you.' look on his face.

Kosuke looked torn between total frustration and dumbstruck with awe. Eventually a twinkle of laughter won out in his eyes.

Dog went from speechless at Naruto's antics (granted, speechless was somewhat a necessity of stealth) to battle ready.

While Kosuke and Naruto made there way to the stream, Dog thought he had noticed the slightest disturbance after Naruto's incomprehensible show of denseness. Not moving, he waited while they gathered wood and started a little fire.

He could hear Kosuke directing Naruto as well as the sound of splashing as something heavy fell into the water. Also something loud as that something spluttered words a five year-old really shouldn't have known-that's an orphanage for you though.

Still, Dog didn't move or make a sound.

Now he could smell the herbs blending with the mushrooms and meat Kosuke had purchased earlier. Assigning the disturbance to his imagination...was something an amateur would do.

Dog waited.

Kosuke set the lid on his simmering pot after the gathered vegetables and herbs joined his mushrooms and a large bone he had purchased from the butcher. The meat would join it shortly but he had little excuse left to continue procrastinating.

"I promised you a story, didn't I naruto?"

Naruto nodded eagerly as he settled down next to the fire. Even at midday the air was quite chilly with a few patches of snow left over in the deeper shadows of the forest. It didn't help that he was half-naked after falling into the cold stream with his clothing heating up on some rocks next to the fire.

Kosuke tried to stop his mind from wandering into the little details that surrounded him. Change, it turned out, required a lot of pain.

"This is the story of a young man and his demon."

A shiver noticeably ran through Naruto, but he stiffened himself with a stubborn will and subconsciously leaned towards the speaker.

"Long ago, during the Great War-the first of its kind-there lived three ninja warriors: The first warrior was as fast as the wind, the mighty Bishamonten. His spear flashed in glittering arcs, always in the one place that would insure the safety of his friends. The second warrior had the cunning of a snake, the wise Benzaiten. Her songs and shields dispersed flashes of lightning and bursts of fire through words and paper alone. The third warrior…"

Kosuke lifted the lid and gently stirred the soup before adding a little more salt.

Naruto's eyes were wide in stifled anticipation.

"The third warrior was pretty bad at everything." Kosuke waited a second to let the disappointment sink in before continuing.

"The three warriors were the best of friends though and, while the third warrior wasn't talented, his friend bought him a sword and showed him how to use it. He practiced with the sword everyday, but he knew he would never be as strong as Bishamonten. Benzaiten bought him a shield and showed how it could be used to shield others from danger, but he usually only got in the way."

"The three warriors were still quite young and yet they were intrusted with the delivery of important information that, if lost or captured, could lose Konoha the war."

Kosuke glossed over the fact that they were basically glorified messenger runners. To be fair, some of their mission satchels had likely been pretty close to that important.

"General Nara gave Bishamonten a dispatch to be delivered straight to the Second Hokage and it had to be delivered as quickly as possible! The three friends ran as fast as they could for a whole day but they were ambushed only kilometers from their destination."

"You see, a spy had infiltrated deep into the Land of Fire and his strength alone was greater than the strength of all three of the young warriors combined. Death stood in front of them and all three knew it."

Kosuke checked the soup once more before adding the chunks of meat into the boiling broth.

Naruto waited as long as he could, which wasn't long, "What happened? Did the Second Hokage come and save them? I bet he did, the Hokage's are pretty awesome!"

Kosuke smiled mournfully as he sat in thought for a moment longer, "The Second Hokage hadn't yet realized that his three warriors were in trouble. Death would surely consume them before help could ever arrive."

"But a star gleamed off of Bishamonten's spear as he stepped forward. He and Death leaped and danced around one another. Faster and faster they battled, blood dripped from Bishamonten's ear as Death sliced his sword around the parrying spear. And still Bishamonten stood firm, always between Death and his best friends."

"Benzaiten did not sit still while the two battled beneath the night sky. She sent flames of white and green and red up to the moon to summon help before she moved to interpose her shields between Death and her friends when Bishamonten wasn't quite fast enough."

"The third warrior waited for death stoically, for it would come whether they wished it or not. He would not cry before its onslaught but neither could he stop it."

Naruto interrupted, "I bet the Hokage could though!"

Kosuke grinned evilly, "Am I telling this story or you?"

"Hokage, hokage, hokage!" Naruto chanted back.

"Fine," Kosuke muttered, "Yes, the Hokage flashed into sight. By then Bishamonten's armor was in ribbons and soaked red with his own blood, half his spear held in each hand while Benzaiten's shields were cracked and broken. But Death could not stop the Hokage as he flashed in front of his three warriors and an explosion ripped through the night. Miraculously they were all still alive."

"Yeah!"

"The three warriors spent a week recovering after that fight."

"Bishamonten slowly healed, but he was also given a new spear to train with. Benzaiten worked hard to make new shields to protect them and the Second Hokage himself even helped her create new words that would deflect any attack. The Second Hokage also spent a little time personally teaching the third warrior as well. He could manipulate water,"

A small dragon rose from the stream below them and twirled itself around Kosuke and Naruto as Kosuke spoke before it broke apart and splashed across the ground in a soiled prism.

"The third warrior discovered a new weapon as well. A demon formed in his stomach and heart as he saw his friends train. They would always be stronger than him, smarter and faster. They were more courageous and finished missions that should have killed them."

"But no demon was as powerful as that which the third warrior discovered, not even the nine-tailed fox!"

Naruto gasped, everyone in Konoha knew how powerful the nine-tailed fox was. Surely nothing but a Hokage could be more powerful...

"The war continued and the three warriors were ordered to deliver a new dispatch to the front lines. Perhaps this would be the one that ended the war and brought victory to Konoha!"

"The third warrior knew that this time he would be the one to protect his friends, he would be the one to deliver the important news to the front lines!"

"They travelled quickly and quietly through the forests and the hills. They weren't seen or heard… until a lightning bolt struck down upon the three warriors. It struck to kill but Benzaiten was there once again, her shield catching the lightning out of the air and flinging it back at her attackers."

"And the third warrior's demon grew."

"In front of the trio were two Ninja from the Hidden Cloud village, but they had fought Death and survived. They could win through this small obstacle."

Naruto cheered once more for the heroic figures he saw in his mind. "They'll cream'em!"

"Before Bishamonten could move forward in his customary position, the third warrior decided that it was his time to attack. He could hear his demon demand that he be a hero and with its power he would win!"

"Nothing could stop him as he struck with sword and water and mind at the Lightning ninja and his demon crowed in glee as his sword struck true. But he had forgotten the second ninja..."

"Even as he struck he looked to his side and knew that he would die. And then Bishamonten was there, just in time to be struck by a second bolt of lightning that would have surely killed the third warrior-a bolt of lightning that instead killed Bishamonten."

Silence fell on the pair for a moment before Kosuke continued in a quiet monotone, "The fight continued even after Bishamonten died. Benzaiten struck with all her might, but she did not have the speed of Bishamonten and her strength was only as strong as Bishamonten made it. In the end, it was enough. She died with a blade in her heart, but not before she had returned the killing stroke with lightning she had once more reflected back at her killer."

Yari and Biwa had died for a damn missive concerning lines of supply and possible retreat. In the end the front line troops had been forced to retreat. Had Cloud learned of the planned passage early enough to create an ambush the war very well may have been lost. But they had still died because of him.

"The third warrior, Maruboshi Kosuke, completed his mission."

Kosuke looked directly at Naruto, "I learned something that day I will never forget. Every ninja has their own demons they must overcome or they will hurt the very people they wish to protect."

The cheer and excitement of a ninja story drained out of Naruto as he came to realize that the story was truly over. There would be no last minute heroics from the Hokage and there would be no miracles wrought by Princess Tsunade.

Kosuke took Naruto's clothing off the heated stone and tossed them over, "Remember this story whenever you have to face your own demons. You are stronger than I was," he smirked, "so when the demon tries to get you to hurt your friends just punch it in the face and tell it to go away!"

Only in Konoha…

To so callously bring up and then dismiss the nine-tailed fox to its container was messed up.

First the guardian would have to be killed and then the child could be taken to his master. They would find a better match to train the young jinchuriki.

While the guardian chattered about the food being done, the operative quietly maneuvered behind him. Seriously, who left a Genin to protect a jinchuriki? He twirled a kunai around his finger as he considered where the best pla…

Dog sighed as he wiped the blood off of his kunai. Listening to Kosuke talk had been annoying at best. Psychology was way over-rated (except when he used it of course). Not to mention, memorizing the entire speech to report to the Hokage while stalking his prey had almost been a challenge.

And now he was hungry.

As Naruto went to put his shirt on, Kosuke noticed a minute ripple of silence emanating from behind him.

As he gathered his ladle in his hand, a flicker appeared to his side and a third bowl materialized.

Well, I'm not dead yet. Maybe that'll be left for a public setting?

He continued to chat amiably with Naruto to return some cheerfulness to their outing as he filled the bowls with the appetizing soup. While he wasn't all that hungry, or cheerful, after telling his story both the other two bowls emptied as quickly as he could fill them. Probably Ox then… although it could be Dog.

Naruto, of course, was completely oblivious to the fact that a third bowl was being filled, consumed and returned as fast as his own.

Danzo stormed into his office, two hours of interrogation? Seriously, like he would be stupid enough to try to kidnap the jinchuuriki the day after the incident? Of course he would be the prime suspect, and while some might consider it clever to act in such a circumstance, clever was generally just another word for stupidly complex.

Anyways, Kinoe had returned and his new team had their first practice session already, he didn't think he would need the actual jinchuuriki. The light side of Konoha could probably make good use out of him eventually while Sora would work just fine for some aeration below.

A/N: So it turns out that I am more needy than I would like. I've always been somewhat insecure about my writing skills despite the fact that I love world building and [somewhat] believe I am a reasonable fiction writer and a skillful poet (although only an average essayist).

But yes, I get discouraged when a story has over 125 follows but only 21 reviews. And my other story (which is one of my favorites) only has 1 review… If you like a story enough to follow (and read for a couple hours) it's awesome to learn which parts you enjoyed. I know I've started reviewing a lot more since I started posting.