Chapter 14

A/N: Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of their summer. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please don't be afraid to leave a review! To everyone who did, as well as fave and follow, please accept my gratuitous gratitude!

Stallion6: Sure is!

SuomiTytt: I'll contemplate that. I always think I have what I want and then I sit down to write it and get new ideas! And also, you should enjoy your nice chunk of Toshiro in this chapter as you might not see him for a while!

Cloud Ex-SOLDIER: I'm glad you like the KibaIno. I always worry about the pairings as none of them are exactly the most popular besides NaruSaku. And Naruto definitely has a lot to learn still.

Toreh: So am I! Haha Jk, but sometimes this story writes itself. It will be interesting that's for sure.

laurah2493: thank you!

Exxcaliburr: You think so? I hadn't thought about that. However, KibaIno drama will go on a little while but the other couples have cooled down considerably. I just want to demonstrate how interwoven everything is. NaruSaku encourages Hinata to act rashly, she meets Gaara, they get engaged, Kiba feels sad, Ino empathizes, he kisses her, drama ensues. Thank you for your input!

Haruno Household

Sakura looked at the various packing scrolls on her bed as she tried to decide how she wanted to fit everything in. Strewn about the room were various clothing items, books and scrolls, medicines, herbs and medical supplies as well as food and weapons. As she started packing up her medical scrolls, somebody barged into the room. Looking up, her brother Toshiro stood there with a laundry basket and a disgusted face as he looked at underwear and bras. Using a wooden ladle, he picked up a fuchsia colored bra and tried to give it to her.

"That's Sayuri's," she said before returning to her packing.

"How can you tell?!" he sputtered, flicking the ladle at the opposite bed. Sakura smirked.

"It's not mine."

Toshiro picked up a black lacy negligee next and tried to ladle it onto her stack, before Sakura grabbed it and tossed it onto Sayuri's bed once again.

"How is that not yours?! You have a boyfriend! She doesn't!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "It's not lingerie Toshiro, it's a fancy nightgown, besides, don't you have better things to do than panty raid?" Toshiro frowned, "Mom made me."

"You know you could get out of a ton of chores if you just stayed at your apartment." Sakura chuckled before sealing one of her scrolls. As Toshiro set the laundry basket down, Kameko approached it and peered in, before pulling out a yellow sports bra. "Oh good it's clean, I need this." The youngest Haruno then continued onto her room, leaving her brother staring after her, with a horrified expression on his face.

"I'm going home..." he said, backing away slowly. Kizashi watched as he left and looked towards Sakura, confused. "What's all this commotion about?" Sakura merely pointed down towards the laundry basket, and her father promptly walked away as well.

Sakura merely rolled her eyes with an amused smile before returning to to her packing.

Yamanaka Household

Ino ran around her room panicking, trying to gather her possessions. She couldn't believe that when she thought she narrowly dodged the bullet in talking to Kiba. She had wanted to after it happened, but once he had confronted her all she wanted to do was run away.

'I'm a highly trained ninja, able to stay calm in high pressure situations, what's wrong with me?' she thought to herself as she packed for her mission. She was so lost in thought, she didn't notice her mother enter the room until she heard her say "Ino."

Ino whirled around to face her mother, fake smile plastered on her face. "Hi mother!"

Ino's mother, regal looking with nary a hair out of place, frowned at the disarray in Ino's bedroom. "You're going on a mission, I presume?"

Ino nodded, looking at the scrolls and clothes she held in her hands. "It's pretty long term, I don't know when I'll be home."

Her mother looked Ino up and down. "You don't seem particularly pleased about this."

"It's nothing, there's just a person going that I don't really want to work with."

Her mother pulled her into an embrace, and strokes her back comfortingly. "You'll just have to grin and bear it I suppose." she whispered.

Inuzuka Household

Kiba sat at the edge of his bed staring at his packed backpack. He dreaded this mission with every passing moment, and didn't know what he was going to do. He tried telling himself he was being a child and need to face the music, but what was he going to say? I'm sorry Ino, I love some other chick but for some reason I really wanted to kiss you the other day?

Akamaru whimpered in the corner. Kiba sighed. His moodiness tested Akamaru quite a bit, and it made him feel rather guilty with himself.

"Ready, bud?" he asked Akamaru. His companion barked his approval and headed towards the door. Kiba gave one last look around the room, before grabbing his backpack and followed Akamaru.

Konoha Gate

Sakura and Ino stood ready to leave at the gate, waiting for the remaining members of their team. As Sakura grumbled about Kakashi's lateness, Ino kept a lookout for Kiba. When she saw him approaching, she looked down at her feet, and looked around elsewhere, anywhere but his direction.

When he joined the group, it was overcome with an atmosphere of tension until Kakashi arrived 15 minutes later. With that, they set off for Ryugakure.

Naruto stood on the stoop of his Aunt's home in Ryu, hoping his family were home. A moment after his knock, his cousin Yumiko opened the door cautiously and peered out at him. Seeing that it was Naruto, she smiled and opened the door. "Hi Naruto, come on in!"

Naruto eagerly followed her into the house, looking around for other members of his family. Yumiko gestured to a couch in their living room. "I'll go get Mom and Mitsuo, go ahead and make yourself at home."

Naruto sat out on the couch, happy to observe their home. Seeing an open doorway to the kitchen he stood and peered through the doorway. Yoichi was seated at a table talking to a similar looking woman with orange hair the same bright shade as his. It wasn't Nakina, however, as her hair was too short and her eyes were blue instead of brown. Yoichi gazed in Naruto's direction, and broke into a friendly smile. "Ah Naruto, I didn't know you stopped by. This is my sister, Suka."

The Suka woman turned to face him, nodding politely and offering a handshake. "Suka Byaki. It's a pleasure."

Naruto shook her hand, but frowned. "Byaki? Like that civil war?"

Suka hesitated, but nodded. Yoichi sensed Naruto's confusion and interjected. "Like our cousin Nakina, we are some of the very few survivors of the Byaki clan. I chose to change my name with Mana due to the trouble it brings with some villagers. Suka has chosen to keep her name."

As Naruto pieced it all together, Mana and the rest of the family stepped in. Mitsuo smiled happily as he saw Naruto and greeted him, before seeing Suka sitting there. "Hey, Aunt Suka."

Naruto noticed that Yumiko stayed more reserved in greeting Suka than did Mitsuo. He also noticed Suka was wearing a doctor's coat. 'She must have refused to train Yumiko.' Naruto thought.

Deep in thought, Naruto didn't notice Mana speaking to him, and needed to be tapped on the shoulder. "Would you like to stay for dinner again, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded. "Sounds great, Aunt Mana!" His Aunt smiled, "Naruto, you don't need to call me Aunt."

He shrugged. It was something he rather liked.

Suka looked towards Yumiko. "Your dress looks rather nice without our Chunin jacket." Yumiko looked down at her dress, short and kimono style, seafoam in color, with blue waves along the bottom and a light blue obi. She smiled politely at her Aunt and murmured a thank you.

"Any luck finding a medical mentor?"

Yumiko shook her head no, before saying "You were my last hope for that."

Suka looked down. "I'm really sorry, I had already promised to train Nakina's daughter, Tsubaki."

Yumiko appeared sad, and Mitsuo decided to distract from the tension. "So Naruto, what's Konoha like?"

Naruto smiled, and started to answer, all the while wishing there was someway he could get Sakura to help Yumiko. Maybe his family could visit when he returned from this mission, whenever that is.

A/N: Sorry for the delay peeps! Please leave a review, it really encourages me to write! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, see ya next time! :)

-MyHikari