This chapter is…slightly boring.

I apologize

Naruto isn't mine. I wish some of the Naruto men were…but unfortunately they're not real.

------------------------------------------------

After Roku's exclamation of the man's name the room fell to eerie silence. A thick tension that affected everyone except the peacefully resting Malvika. A sort of shiver ran through Sakura; she remembered only too well the trouble caused by the Akatsuki when she herself was a Chuunin. Had they now returned?

"The what?" Shin spoke up, staring with wide-eyed wonderment at the white-haired, broad-shouldered fellow who was easing his way into the small room, followed almost immediately by a rosy-cheeked Naruto, his light eyes sparked with worry. Instantly the blonde was beside Malvika, gently holding onto her hand, the one Roku wasn't gripping anyways, and stroking his thumb against her palm. All Shin got in response to his question was a sharp look from his mother. One that told him, quite clearly, that he had no business speaking, and was lucky that she wasn't kicking him out. Humbled, he fell silent, spinning his stool around to face the bed, which was now crowded by the girl's family. Something like longing sparked in the back of his pale green eyes. He had no siblings to protect, or to protect him. When he got injured, he never had more than one member of his family in the room at the time.

For some reason, he was jealous of the battered girl and what she had.

"Why…" Naruto's voice was slightly raspy as he clutched Mal's hand, brushing back sweat-soaked locks from her face. He paused, clearing his throat and swallowing heavily, glancing at his son, "Why was she out there? Alone?"

Roku's stomach twisted itself in knots, and he couldn't meet his father's gaze, eyes dropping to Mal's sheets. Boy, were they white. Clean….they probably smelled lemony fresh.

"Ahem." He looked up at Jiraiya, who stood, arms folded across his chest, and he became a deer caught in the headlights, staring up at the older man, who raised an eyebrow in question. Roku gulped, staring down at the sheets.

"Tou-san was…trying to get her Sharingan to come out," He began, pausing to sneak a glance at Naruto, whose expression was suddenly harsh. Roku's face flushed. "And…things got a little out of hand. Mal was really upset, and I…I said some mean things." He clenched his teeth, suddenly hating himself. His sister didn't need him making fun of her, "And then Tou-san told her to get out…and she ran."

As he finished, Naruto stood, fists clenched and jaws set, a sort of intense feel about him that made Roku's insides quiver. Jiraiya, however, simply nodded, his eyes now focused completely on Mal.

"Naruto…" The Sage's voice was low, warning almost, "If you need to sort things out with your husband, it's going to have to wait. Right now we need to find out what happened."

Naruto nodded, now looking to Sakura, "How long will she be out Sakura-chan?"

The pink-haired kunoichi rolled her eyes. Did these boys know how irritating it was to be asked the same question over and over? Scowling lightly she bent to smooth out the wrinkles in Mal's sheets, "Impossible to tell, though most of the injuries sustained are already healing. On count I have a minor concussion," She ticked them off on her fingers, "Two broken ribs which have already healed, the injury on her arm is healing itself," She gave Naruto the kind of look that said 'I know you know what I'm talking about', "But several layers of skin were shaved off…"

"Shaved…" Jiraiya murmured beneath his breath, holding his chin between his thumb and forefinger, thinking on something.

"But she should be alright. Right now she's just resting. She could wake up any moment."

"Who…who got rid of the Akatsuki?" Naruto now asked. Whoever had saved his daughter…they needed congratulations, a present…something.

Shin finally spoke up, "Me!" He raised his hand into the air, a hint of pride in his voice.

"You?" Roku practically spat the word, glaring at Shin as though he were a kind of gross, plain, irritating bug. He was disdainful and mocking.

"Well…" Now that all eyes in the room were on him, Shin had to rub the back of his neck, swiveling on his stool, feeling awkward and shy, "Erm…me and Yukio, and, well, we didn't actually fight them or anything. They just kind of…disappeared when we got there."

Jiraiya nodded, and Shin was thankful that his story seemed to check out. It was true, after all. The two cloak-wearing, Malvika-assaulters had taken a look at the two of them, glanced at each other, and seemingly disappeared in thin air. He had been thankful for that; judging by the way they'd butchered the Uchiha girl, they weren't lightweights.

Then why had they run?

"Just what is the Akatsuki?" He repeated an earlier question, taking advantage of the opportunity, while everyone's attention was on him.

"Mean." The voice was soft, slightly hoarse, but spoken with a hint of humor. A soft, childish, feminine voice that came from the bed. Mal lay still, her eyes closed, but with a soft smirk curling her lips, "Very, very mean."

"Mal!" Naruto's full attention snapped back to the blonde as he bent over her, cupping her face in his hands, blue eyes darting over her soft, childish features, "Can you open your eyes?" Were they permanently shut? Did she not have the strength? Worries filled his head.

"Dad?" Black eyes blinked open, causing Naruto's worries to spill onto the floor, forgotten as he lifted her small, thin, still awkwardly-boyish body lightly, hugging her tightly against his chest. She grunted something, but was smiling, wrapping her arms around his neck and breathing in the musky, sweaty, and comfortingly familiar scent of her father. The embrace lengthened over a few seconds, and when the two finally separated, both held a look of nostalgia.

Somehow, both Malvika and Naruto realized that carefree days were over.

"Not to ruin this spontaneous love fest," Jiraiya spoke, and Mal grinned at him, propping herself up so that she was as much a part of the conversation as anyone else in the room. "However, we have a very serious matter to discuss." He perched himself lightly on the edge of the bed, meeting the girl's gaze with his wise, aged eyes. Suddenly the atmosphere in the room was awkward, everyone felt they shouldn't be there…and yet, no one could bring themselves to move.

Finally…

"Did you save me Jiraiya-sama?" Mal asked, certain that this was the case; he was like a grandfather to her. An invincible, powerful, friendly grandfather that she loved. Already her eyes sparkled with admiration, Jiraiya smiled softly, shaking his head.

"I believe you have this young man to thank for that." Jiraiya placed a hand on Shin's shoulder, and Shin could just barely meet Malvika's gaze, a bright crimson creeping up his collarbone to color his face crimson. Roku scowled, folding his arms over his chest and glancing off to the side.

"Erm, thank-you." Mal shifted uncomfortably, though she found no discomfort in eye contact, "I'm….um…"

"Malvika." Shin finished the sentence for her, smiling nervously and taking her small, extended hand in his warm, calloused palm, "I'm Rock Shin."

"Right, Sakura-neechan's son." They'd met before as toddlers, before Shin had taken to traveling with his father, making brief appearances in Konoha every now and then. Shin nodded his response. Then awkward silence began.

"Well…thanks. For, um, saving me and all."

"No problem."

More awkward silence, and then suddenly Shin was aware that he was holding the girl's hand still and dropped it as though burnt, face deepening in color, if that were even possible. Mal blushed lightly before shaking her head, as though to clear it out, and looking back to Jiraiya.

"Why do they even want it?" She asked, brow furrowed, "All the dumb thing does is…well…nothing."

"The Kyuubi, or the nine tailed fox, is a very powerful being." Naruto replied, folding his hands, eyes serious. Everyone in the room fell silent, eyes focused upon Naruto, "It is…an almost limitless amount of nearly uncontrollable power."

Sakura was holding her breath, lost in memories of Naruto unleashing such power…his eyes, the way his body would shift and change…the way he would bleed. They way his flesh would seem to scream from every pore on his body. The pain in brought, but the power it held. She was horrified. Terrified.

Because now, after so long, after Naruto had just been learning to control his immense power…it had been transferred. Released form him. During childbirth, in fact. Indeed, after nine months of holding onto the complexities of a modified Oiroke no Jutsu…Naruto's body had been exhausted; the seal had broken. The Kyuubi had been released. Luckily, Jiraiya had been present, using his expertise to, essentially, channel the Bjuu directly from Naruto as it was released into the tiny body of the second born child, placing a slightly modified seal onto her.

Sakura herself had been present at the time, holding Naruto's hand as he had screamed. They'd been lucky he hadn't died.

"And…they can take it away from me?" Malvika's voice held fear, and if he didn't know better, Roku might have thought there was also an underlying hint of hope. Of course; she wasn't a fan of the fox's invasion of her mind, she didn't appreciate him. She wasn't interested in achieving power; she just wanted to have fun. Be a kid.

Too bad.

Naruto nodded solemnly, "At the cost of your life Malvika."

This put the severity of the situation in Mal's mind clearly, as if already almost dying from her earlier encounter hadn't had much affect on her. Her stomach dropped, her face grew ashen and pale beneath the whisker marks, making them seem even more prominent. Everyone allowed a few moments for the information to set in.

"Whoa…" Shin immediately covered his mouth, eyes darting around crazily, instantly understanding that he should not have spoken.

"OUT!" Sakura roared, pointing to the door, sending a bashful Shin scurrying.

Once outside the room, the door shutting behind him with a deafening thud and a final click, Shin side, pressing his back against the wall, sinking to the floor, pale eyes seemingly lost. That girl…there was some sort of strangeness about her than he couldn't quite pin down…of course there was the Kyuubi…but there was something else as well.

He sighed, tilting his head back to glance at the ceiling, thick brows furrowed. They'd been lucky. He and Yukio had been. The two men…they'd probably assumed that there were more shinobi coming…S-ranked criminals didn't simply flee at the sight of two Chuunin-aged boys. They just didn't.

They had been lucky.

"…and so every precaution must be taken to insure your safety."

Jiraiya was speaking to Malvika now, Naruto nodding at everything he said and holding his daughter's hand. Roku was now sitting in Shin's stool, scowling heavily, arms folded over his chest, obviously displeased with the way the conversation was going. She didn't need some goddamned baby-sitter! She was a fucking Genin now! Sure, she understood that the in the world of shinobi she was at the bottom of trash heap, but she could take care of herself.

"Did you ever need to have a baby-sitter?" She demanded, dark eyes boring through her father, pale brows furrowed angrily. Naruto stared back for as long as he could, but murmured a simply 'no' and looked away after a few moments. Malvika scoffed. He could even look her in the eye! This was just sad.

"Naruto's body was able to withstand the awesome power of the Kyuubi when he was your age." Jiraiya leveled gently, ignoring the intense glare he was getting from all the Uchiha in the room. A family that gets pissed off together stays together, he supposed, "Because he is male. Generally, male ninja possess a greater amount of chakra," Now Sakura joined the glare-fest. Jiraiya sighed in exasperation. No matter how mature, powerful, or intelligent the kunoichi, they all hated to hear that a man might ever be better than them at anything, "While kunoichi, though with less chakra, have much more control." He fixed Mal with a slightly patronizing look. Impressively, instead of shrinking away, she rose to the challenge, mouth set in a firm line, "You, however, possess amazing amounts of chakra, and no control, which, when combined with your female body, can be very damaging. Tapping into the Kyuubi's resources before your body is more adapted would most certainly kill you."

The tension in the room was thick, and then…

"Can we come in?" This voice caused a lopsided grin to twist the previously grim face of the bedridden Genin as she gazed almost lovingly towards the door, smoothing over the sheets that covered her legs, already nodding (sure she knew they couldn't see her, but…) and about to voice a confirmation when Roku spoke.

"No! Can't you wait until normal visiting hours?"

"They don't have to wait asshole, they're my teammates! Come on in Choni!"

The twins were holding eye contact, not at all pleased with one another.

Who was he to decide who could visit her? He was the entire fucking reason she was in here! Him and Tou-san, if they hadn't been so hard on her…

Then again, if she were stronger…

How could she knew what was best for her? Roku was seething, pallid features sunken into a frown. She'd nearly gotten herself killed! What had she been thinking, going off on her own?

With gut-wrenching realization, Roku discovered he knew exactly why.

Both glanced away with something like remorse, but glinting in Mal's eyes and tensing in her shoulders was determination as well.

The door creaked open a timid Choni stepped into the room, his arms overflowing with a bundle of flowers his mother had obviously forced upon him. His face turned a bright red as everyone stared at him, and the Akimichi busied himself setting the arrangement on the bedside table, perfectly aware of Roku's eyes boring holes through her purple-cloth clad back.

"Yeah, um, I didn't exactly…" Shikago felt slightly awkward, standing just inside the doorway, one hand shoved in his pocket, the other clutching a single flower. A dandelion.

He brought her a weed? Roku smirked. How cute.

Mal only laughed, grinning, "That's cool. Genma-sensei let you out from training early?"

"Yeah. He said something about bonding as a team…" Shikago shrugged, setting the yellow puffball down beside the flowers Choni had brought, "So we figured…"

"Well," Jiraiya made a big show of standing, clapping his hands together, now grinning, happy that the seriousness had passed without any sort of declaration of strength from Mal, "I can see that you three have some chatting to do. I'd like to talk to you, Naruto." The blonde man nodded towards his former teacher, also standing, "And I'll see you later kiddo." He winked at the girl, who grinned back. Nostalgia hit him like a truck.

It was uncanny how much like her father she was.

"And I have patients to attend to." Sakura followed the succession of adults from the room. Scowling at he son, who was still hovering just outside the door. Roku made no move to leave. She was his sister. He wasn't leaving until everyone else did.

"So," Shikago perched himself on the edge of her bed, "Who was the freak in the turtleneck hanging around your door? Some kind of stalker or something."

Mal laughed. At least she had a story to tell.

Of course. She'd leave some things out.