AN: I would like to thank Shocktroop for agreeing to Beta my fics. I also want to thank everyone who reviewed, and say that I am glad you like this fic so much. Lastly I would like to apologize for how long it has taken to get this chapter out. Unfortunately life has been a real pain lately, and screwed a lot up.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
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The first couple days spent at Tazuna's house were spent formulating plans, scouting the area, and setting up traps that would sound an alarm if the wrong people tried to approach the house. Guard duty was split into two shifts where one team would guard Tazuna at the bridge the other would guard his daughter and grandson at the house. It had taken 3 days to get everything settled, and it was on the 4th day before Kakashi had a chance to speak with Kurenai privately. They were scouting the woods while Team 7 guarded Tazuna and Team 8 the rest of his family, and were about 2 miles from the house before he broached the subject.
"Kurenai there is something I think we need to talk about." Kakashi said seriously causing the rookie jonin to look at him curiously.
"What is it?" She said coming to a stop on the next branch she landed on.
Landing on the same branch he sighed knowing this had to be approached delicately. "I saw something after the fight, and since that has me a little concerned. Don't take any offence to this please." He said holding his hands in front of his chest palms facing her. "As a fellow jonin sensei I have to know…Are you showing favoritism on your team?"
"What are you talking about?" She said crossing her arms starting to get angry at the accusation.
"I've seen the way you look at Strife." He said simply.
Kurenai dropped her arms to her sides, and looked away from him. "It's nothing, Kakashi. He's already engaged to Anko, and Tenten." Her voice dropped to a whisper at this point. "Not to mention his first love has shown up."
Kakashi's experienced ears picked it up despite how softly she spoke, and had to wonder even more about the enigma that was Strife Naruto. "I'm being serious, Kurenai. I need to know if your feelings are going to affect not only the mission, but your team as well. If you can't control yourself I'll have to inform Hokage-sama about it, and neither of us would like that." He said trying to sound sympathetic.
She sighed deeply and leaned her back against the tree knowing he was right, and only doing his duty. "I know what you are trying to say, Kakashi, and you are right. I don't know when or how I started to fall for him, but I won't let it interfere with my duty as a jonin sensei. He doesn't know how I feel, and I plan on keeping that way. Anko is my best friend and I don't want to break her heart by trying to steal her fiancée especially after all she's been through in her life. She deserves to be happy." Her tone was morose the whole time, and towards the end had started to crack behind the weight of the emotions she was trying to keep at bay. When she spoke the last sentence her arms were wrapped around her stomach as she started to cry.
Kakashi seeing the "Ice Queen of Konoha" actually break down in tears widened his eye in shock realizing just how truly she loved the blonde teen. Running a hand through his hair he tried to think of something to say to make her feel better, and was drawing a total blank. Finally he settled for placing a hand on her shoulder, and spoke kindly to her. "It'll be ok, Kurenai. I'm sure you'll figure something out." He said lamely patting her on the shoulder. "If it gets too bad you could always talk to Anko about it since you two are best friends right?"
Kurenai's head jerked up at his words fear showing in her eyes at what Anko would do to her in a jealous rage, until she realized that Anko probably wouldn't mind sharing him. As she processed that thought her tears slowed and finally stopped. Kakashi handed her a handkerchief with an eye smile.
"See? Nothing to worry about. Now we should finish scouting so we can get back, and you can get yourself together." He said kindly.
Kurenai nodded with newfound hope, and wiped her face clean. "Of course. Let's get going." She said before jumping to another tree father along their route.
Kakashi sighed at the situation as he followed her through the trees. 'What a mess. This is the last thing we need on a mission like this. I really hope we can find Gato, and eliminate him soon so we can get back to Konoha.'
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In a cabin deep in the woods Gato was talking with Zabuza, and he really disliked the way he was being yelled at.
"What the hell are you doing? I am paying you a lot of money to take care of the bridge builder, and all you are doing is sitting on your ass while he get more of the bridge done every day! If you don't do something soon I will find someone else that can get the job done!" He yelled at the large man, and attempted to poke him with his cane.
When he tried to hit Zabuza the cane was suddenly slashed into pieces by a bladed gauntlet that was quite obviously dripping with poison.
"You really have no idea who you are fucking with, little man. Tazuna will die before the bridge is complete. Now I suggest you leave before you're usefulness drops below what you are paying us." The owner of the gauntlet said emitting a good amount of KI.
Gato backed up behind his so called samurai, and growled. "Fine, but make sure it gets done or you won't get paid!" He yelled before storming out leaving Zabuza and the other shinobi alone.
"You didn't have to do that, Gozo. We need the money he is paying us." Zabuza said as he put his feet up on the table.
"I know, but he pisses me off. You should have the bishi partner of yours assassinate him, and raid his treasury. I hate dealing with egotistical people like him that can't back up their mouths."
"I have to agree with brother on this, Zabuza. I have a bad feeling about working for this guy." Meizo said as he appeared from hiding.
"As nuke nin we don't have many options, and Haku is scouting the area along with the people Tazuna has hired. Until we have the information just relax. We'll attack after a plan is made, and when the enemy is complacent."
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A few days later Shino was deep in the woods shortly after dawn in search of new species of bugs to catalog. He was crouched down watching a beetle crawl through the grass when his bugs alerted him to someone approaching. As usual he had his bugs watch her while he positioned some near him incase of an attack. Turning his head slightly when the sound of the person walking reached him he saw it was a girl in a light blue kimono with white stripes carrying a small basket. The girl stopped for a moment at seeing him, but continued on in short order.
"Good morning." The girl said with a polite smile.
Shino turned his head to fully face her, but kept the beetle in his vision. "Good morning." He replied in his usual stoic tone.
"It's unusual to see someone in this part of the woods. Are you lost?" She asked as she picked a small flowering plant, and placed it in her basket.
"No I am not lost. I am cataloging some of the insect species I have found in the forest."
"That sounds interesting. Have you found anything new?" She asked as she continued to fill her basket.
"Nothing that has not already been cataloged by other members of my family."
They continued to talk like this for several more minutes until Sakura showed up.
"There you are, Shino. Kurenai-sensei wanted me to find you to let you know breakfast was ready." The pink haired girl said slightly out of breath.
"Thank you, Sakura. I will return momentarily." Shino said stoically as he stood up. "It has been good to talk with you this morning. Thank you for the conversation." He said bowing respectfully to the girl.
Sakura not having noticed the girl before opened her eyes wider seeing the beautiful girl picking herbs, and couldn't help but blush in envy seeing the grace the girl moved with as she stood up and returned Shino's bow.
"You are very welcome. I enjoyed it a lot." The dark haired girl said as she picked up her basket.
Shino had turned away and was walking back toward Tazuna's, but stopped at a few feet away. "Are you coming, Sakura?" He asked since the pinkette hadn't moved since seeing the unknown girl.
"Huh? Oh…Yes!" She said blushing again as she ran after the bug user.
The girl held her basket watching them disappear through the trees with a thoughtful look on her face. "Hmmm…They seem to be nothing more than low level ninja, and certainly not capable of what Gato told us. That boy could be a little dangerous though. I'll have to inform Zabuza-sama about this before I do some more scouting."
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Over the next two weeks the Konoha ninja took turns guarding the family and trained. During this time a strained atmosphere had been growing around the jonin and Naruto. Kakashi always seemed to be watching what was going on, and redirecting any questions from the genin. Kurenai grew ever more withdrawn, and could often be heard crying at night. Naruto was more irritable every day, and when not on guard duty would train for hours on end. The tension spread to the other ninja making them jumpy, and walk on egg shells whenever around the three. Hinata had attempted many times to try to find out what was bothering the woman who had become like a mother to her, but each attempt had failed. Each time she thought about what might be the cause she could only come to one conclusion…Naruto. Something was going on that was being hidden from the genin. She knew that no answers would come from Naruto or Kurenai so she decided to confront Kakashi. She finally got an opportunity when he was looking out over the water after dinner.
"Kakashi-sensei, do you have a few minutes?" Asked Hinata trying to keep her voice calm.
The man turned his head to her having noticed a bit of concern in her voice. "What can I help you with, Hinata?"
"I know there is something going on that we are not being told. Naruto-san is more on edge with each passing day. Kurenai-sensei is full of pain, and I can tell it is tearing her apart from within. My team is falling apart, Kakashi-sensei, and I don't know why."
Kakashi sighed heavily, and silently prayed to Obito for answers. "They are dealing with personal matters, Hinata. All we can do is complete our mission, and watch over them. You and Shino have to be strong. It falls to both of you to keep your team whole. I failed my team. Do not fail yours." He said with great sadness as he thought about the current situation, as well as Obito and Rin and how he had failed both of them.
Hinata heard the pain and sadness in Kakashi's voice for it conveyed what she had felt ever since her childhood love had died. She looked up at him her eyes wet with unshed tears. "Surely there is something we could do? I cannot let Kurenai-sensei and Naruto-san continue like this. We have to help them."
Kakashi knew she was right, but was at a total loss at what to do. "I don't know if we can help them. Let them know you are there for them, but let them make the first move. If they do ask for your help give it to them. They are fighting their own demons, and will need all the strength you can give them."
Hinata wiped her eyes wondering just what the problem was if Kakashi's demeanor was any indication of how bad things were. She took a deep breath and resolved to aid her teammates in any way she could. "I will not fail them. I failed the love of my life and I will not repeat the same mistake with my team." The girl bowed before heading back inside.
Kakashi watched her until the door shut behind her, and looked to the window of Kurenai's room. "You should tell him. You are only hurting yourself, and those around you." Sighing deeply he looked up at the stars seeing the faces of those he had failed to his regret. "I'm sorry." He whispered seeing the faces of his dead teammates.
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A few nights later when everyone was sitting down for dinner Tazuna's grandson Inari suddenly slammed his hand on the table gaining everyone's attention.
"You are all fools! What makes you think that people like you who haven't suffered could understand what we are going through?"
Everyone was shocked into silence by the boy's words, but that quickly ended when Naruto stood up so forcefully that the chair he was sitting on slammed into the wall behind him.
"Haven't suffered?" The blonde said in a voice so cold that it even sent shivers down Kakashi's spine. "What would a child like you know of suffering? On the day my twin brother and I was born our parents died. I was sent away to a distant land for my protection, and my brother… My brother had a demon lord sealed within him." At this point anger, sorrow, regret, pain, and an immense sense of loss could be felt rolling off of him in waves. "A year ago I was forced to leave the woman I fell in love with, only to find out later that because of my departure she miscarried our son. Finally when I do return to the village we were born in I find out that my brother was murdered by the same people our father had died to protect, but that was only after years of beating, torture, ridicule, theft, swindling, and abuse. Don't you ever say that you know what it means to suffer!" Naruto finished nearly shouting the last words glaring at Inari with such force that the child visibly shook from its intensity.
The reactions of the gathered people were mostly of pure shock and disbelief with a few exceptions. Sasuke merely harrumphed and turned his head away. Shino's eyebrows had risen so far they were hidden in his hair. Sakura and Tsunami were both openly crying. Hinata, though she had tears in her eyes at hearing that her beloved was murdered, stared at Naruto praying that he was lying about the boy who had died before she could tell him of her love.
"A…A…Ano. Is that true, Naruto-san? Was his life really that bad?" Her tone clearly begging him to say it was a lie.
Naruto turned his eyes from Inari to Hinata and stared at her for what seemed several long minutes before he reached into his vest, and pulled out an old beat up book. The look in Naruto's eyes softened after a moment of looking at the item before putting it back, and walking out the door. The sound of the door closing seemed to have the effect of sending everyone back into motion once again evidenced by Kiba emitting a deep growl at Inari. "His brother was my best friend you little shit! Strife-san won't harm you, but I suggest you keep your mouth shut from now on or I will rip your tongue out!" Kiba stormed out of the house more violently than Naruto had followed by his canine companion Akamaru.
Kakashi sighed deeply thinking about the friends and family he had lost over the years, and looked at Kurenai only to see her clutching herself as she stared at the door silently weeping. "Unfortunately what he said is true. Each of us has suffered great losses, and have learned to live with it, each in our own way. Right now we should eat so that Tsunami-san's cooking doesn't go to waste."
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While events were unfolding with Naruto a small group of women was heading to the Hokage's tower. The tallest was feared by almost everyone in Konoha for her sadistic tendencies, the shortest was well known to casually carry enough weapons to arm a small country, and the last member of the group, though even more dangerous than the other 2 combined, was a complete unknown in Konoha. Each woman had an expression on their faces that clearly said that if anyone got in their way there would be more pain than could be imagined. This is why the Hokage's secretary let them in without hesitation when they arrived at his office. Walking in Anko, Yuffie, and Tenten moved to stand side by side infront of Sarutobi's desk.
"We need to talk, Hokage-sama." Anko said forcefully drawing the old man's attention.
Looking up from the paperwork he took note of her companions before addressing the tokubetsu jonin. "Judging by the look on your face this is important, but why don't you introduce me to your friend first?"
The woman in question crossed her arms as her eyes hardened. "Cut the crap! You know damn well who I am, and don't even try to deny it. Now tell us why you think all these fucking secrets are so important that you have let koishii go through hell?"
Despite her tone, and obvious disrespect Sarutobi just sighed deeply. "There are reasons for what has happened, Kisaragi-san. Many of which involve classified information that even Anko-san doesn't have the clearance for."
"That's bullshit!" Yuffie yelled while glaring at him. "Do you have any idea what he went through in this village before we met? Can you even imagine the number of times he was beaten, poisoned, abused, tortured, and nearly raped? You can try to justify it however you want, but the "For the good of the village" excuse isn't going to cut it with us."
The Hokage winced at each account of the harm the village has done to Naruto over the years, and easily understood how the women before him felt. Closing his eyes tightly he took a deep breath before gesturing for them to sit. "You have to understand that even though I am the Hokage my hands were mostly tied concerning Naruto. I did what I could for him as did others, but there was only so much we could do without putting not only our families at risk, but the security of the village as well. The Ichiraku's were only one of the families that suffered from trying to help Naruto."
"Wait. What do you mean?"
Sarutobi took off the Hokage hat, and set it on the table before running a hand through his hair. "Naruto doesn't even know this, but when he was 7 Teuchi tried to adopt him. Unfortunately because he was a civilian it had to be approved by the Civilian Council. Over the next week there were many threats most of which he ignored, until they started targeting Ayame." Seeing their shocked faces he nodded solemnly. "That's right. When he refused to bow to their wishes they made a point of putting more than her life in danger, and he had no choice but to back off to keep his only daughter safe. Luckily she was in school at the time so she doesn't know either. Do you see now the kind of people I have had to deal with over the years?"
The women were speechless hearing the lengths the villagers would go to in order to torment the man they love. Silence held the room in its' oppressive grasp for several long minutes before it was finally broken by Yuffie. "Even though I don't like it I can understand your position, but no more secrets." Yuffie raised her eyes to look at the old man. "Tell us everything."
Saratobi Hiruzen sighed deeply refilling his pipe, and set it to the side before pulling a bottle of warm sake from a drawer of his desk. Reaching into the drawer once more he brought out a saucer with intricate designs on it that his late wife Biwako had hand painted. He stared at it silently for a moment before setting it down and filling it with sake. Slowly he lifted the saucer, downing the contents quickly before refilling it once more. With that done he used a small fire jutsu to light his pipe take a long draw from it before looking at each of the women before him.
"I guess I should start from the beginning…"
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The sun was about an hour from reaching the horizon when the girls could be seen walking out of the Hokage's tower. The expressions they each wore would have fit perfectly at a funeral, which is unsurprising considering what they had just found out. Their steps were shuffling in an almost zombie like way as they tried to put their minds back into some semblance of order when suddenly Anko's stomach growled loudly protesting the fact she had eaten almost nothing all day.
With a forced chuckle she gave the other 2 a sickly smile. "I haven't eaten anything since our talk this morning."
Tenten rubbed her own stomach as she sighed being in the same situation, while Yuffie checked the sun's position. "Considering how late it is we should eat out. Do either of you know a good place?" The dimensional traveler asked.
"Yeah I know just the place. The food is great, and we won't be bothered there since it is mostly frequented by jonin. Plus they have cheap sake which I am sure we all could use right now." The snake mistress said licking her lips at the thought of dango.
"No shit." Tenten mumbled as Yuffie nodded her head. "Alright lead the way." Yuffie gestured towards the road ahead of them signaling for Anko to take the lead.
About 10 minutes later found the trio entering a place with a sign that read "The Swirling Leaf". Tenten and Yuffie looked around the place as they followed Anko to a table near the back. In short order a waitress showed up to take their orders, and Anko made sure to impress upon the girl that the sake was to be kept flowing as long as they were there. While they were just trying to relax during the time it took the order to be filled a tall blond haired man with a long ponytail, wearing the standard uniform of grey pants, shirt, and black trench coat that signified the ANBU's Torture and Interrogation division walked over to the table.
"Hey, Anko. I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you'd still be breaking in your fiancé." The man said with a smile before taking a drink from the glass of sake he held.
Anko's normal reaction to a comment like this would be to laugh and make some scathing remark, but what he got instead was for a morose look to cross her features before she looked sadly down at the table fiddling with a napkin. Caught off guard by this the man quickly glanced at her companions noting that they had similar auras about them. Being from the infamous T&I this sent red flags and clarion calls to him practically screaming something was wrong. Taking a serious yet sympathetic expression he sat down at the empty chair setting his glass down carefully.
"What's wrong, Anko? It's not like you to act like this." He said quietly while using his skills to observe the three girls.
Anko sighed deeply casting a glance at the other two before shrugging. "It's been a long day, Inoichi, and we got some unsettling news about Naru-kun. It doesn't help that he suddenly got sent on a mission out of country."
"If it's something you can talk about I'm willing to lend an ear if you need it."
Inoichi hid his surprise and curiosity when he saw Anko surreptitiously look to a woman he had never seen before as if she was deferring to her on the subject. Taking a slow sip of his sake he examined the byplay going on as a feeling in his gut told him this was a situation that was trouble, and more complicated than getting Orochimaru to stop groping little boys.
"Maybe later, after we've had time to get our heads on straight. Right now we're just trying to absorb the news, and get something to eat since it's too late to cook at home, Inoichi-san." The unknown woman said drawing more of his attention.
Taking a closer look at her upon hearing the way she spoke he wasn't sure if he liked what he saw. She was sitting with her hands in her lap seemingly relaxed, but the slight tensing of certain muscles told him she was ready to move into action in an instant. They way she glanced around the room only accentuated that she was an experienced warrior. While there were no signs of how powerful she was the way Anko, and the teen girl seemed to follow her lead did not bode well to him. With his suspicions raised he couldn't help but wonder if this was some foreign konoichi infiltrating the village. Resolving to speak with the Hokage about this his hand moved in a casual way that any member of ANBU would recognize. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a motion that said the movement wasn't unnoticed. Standing up he placed his hand on Anko's shoulder, and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Whatever the problem is I'm sure it will work out in the end. Just remember that you have friends willing to help whenever you need it." Giving her shoulder a slight squeeze he turned, and walked away picking up his barely touched sake.
Noticing the curious look from Yuffie Anko smiled at her. "That was Yamanaka Inoichi. He's the head of the Yamanaka clan, and a good friend. I work with him and Morino Ibiki at the T&I division. He is one of the few people I trust in this village."
Yuffie nodded her head knowing that if he could still be trusted after what today has brought than he wasn't someone to worry about. Tenten on the other hand looked fearfully to the man who was now sitting at the bar with a few other Jonin having heard horror stories about him just as she had Ibiki. Any further conversation came to an end as their food and sake arrived, and the rest of the time there was spent in silence as each woman ate almost mechanically while deep in thought. After their meal they sat talking quietly about minor things while drinking sake. Deciding to call it a night the girls left the restaurant to head home. After stumbling around for a couple blocks they leaned on each other for support, and made their slightly more stable way back home.
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Inoichi had waited nearly 30 minutes before leaving the bar so he wouldn't draw suspicion from the girls. When he was sure he was far enough from the bar he took to the roofs, and made it in record time to the Hokage Tower. Running up the stairs he went straight to the Hokage's office, and walked in not bothering to knock.
"Hokage-sama, we have a problem." He said before noticing that the old man had several empty sake bottles on his desk, and was very wobbly as he set the sake dish down on the desk.
"Wha ish it, Inoshi-shan." He slurred as he fumbled for his pipe.
Inoichi stared in shock never having though to ever see the man known as the "Shinobi no Kami" drunk off his ass. "It's about Anko, and her future sister-wife Tenten. I think they may be in trouble. I saw them earlier at the Swirling Leaf with an unknown woman, and Anko was not only depressed, but she was actually acquiescing to her!"
Hiruzen had finally managed to get his pipe filled, and lit while Inoichi was talking. He blew out a large cloud of smoke emitting a drunken giggle causing Inoichi's eyes to widen. "Ish noshing to worry about. Jush a family matter. Ash for da woman she ish one of Nartu's fianshés."
Inoichi was seriously considering doing a mind scan on the old man cause he wasn't sure what was just said, but pushed the thought aside for now as the Hokage didn't seem to be concerned from his actions, though it may just have been the sake in his system.
"Ok, Sir. I'll come back in the morning and give you a full report then." Inoichi said hesitantly.
Hiruzen waved with a drunken grin, and fumbled for one of the bottles knocking it on to the floor. Inoichi shook his head at seeing the leader of the village in such a state, and left quietly shutting the door behind him having serious doubts about the visit being remembered tomorrow.
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The next morning Tenten walked down the stairs cringing at the slightest noise slowly making her way to the kitchen. Wincing at the light coming in through the window she made her way to the table, and sat down groaning loudly much to Yuffie, and Anko's amusement.
"I take it this is your first hangover?" Anko said with a chuckle earning a glare from the teen girl.
"My head feels like something is trying to claw its way out, and my stomach is churning like the bottom of a waterfall." Tenten said dejectedly.
Anko chuckled as she got up to make some kind of concoction for Tenten while Yuffie smiled at the teen restraining her mirth. "Don't worry it'll pass. You also build a tolerance after a while."
"Ugh. I don't plan on doing that often enough to even start to tolerate this." Tenten said holding her head with her elbows on the table.
Anko still chuckling at the teenager's discomfort placed a glass in front of her. "We all say that in the beginning, but with the life we lead sake has a tendency to make a normal place alongside the kunai. Here drink this. Make sure to down it as quickly as possible."
Tenten eyed the glass, and felt her stomach churn at the disturbing look of the contents. "Is it poison?"
Anko and Yuffie both laughed at that, and shook their heads. "No it's a morning after remedy for hangovers. It tastes awful, but it works." Yuffie said before taking a sip of her tea.
Tenten debated with herself about drinking the weird substance, and finally decided that even if it was poison she couldn't feel worse than what she already was. Slowly taking hold of the glass she grimaced at the smell before chugging the glass. "GAH! That tastes like the inside of Lee's sandals after one of his extreme training sessions with Gai-sensei!" She exclaimed gagging slightly.
The two older women watched Tenten's dramatics with much amusement as they sat at the table sipping their tea. After a few minutes during which Tenten had finished gagging, and down 2 glasses of water in an attempt to rinse the taste from her mouth, Yuffie set her cup down with a loud thump gain the others' attention. Yuffie looked at Anko and Tenten as if trying to discern the depths of their souls.
"Do you still love him?" Yuffie asked as her eyes evaluated their reactions to the not so simple question.
Anko sighed softly, and placed her tea cup down tracing the edges of the handle. She knew the answer, and held fast to it. She had years to deal with some of what they had been told, but it was all new to Tenten, and wondered if what she had heard the day before changed anything for the young konoichi. Anko glanced at Yuffie only giving a slight nod before turning her attention to Tenten who had gone still at the question with a glass of water halfway to her lips. After a few seconds the lithe brunette lowered her hands to the edge of the counter letting the glass slip into the sink. The two older women watched her silently waiting for her to speak first.
After a long moment Tenten finally spoke with a voice filled with emotion, and her hangover forgotten. "How can you ask that?" Pain clear in her voice as her grip tightened on the edge of the counter. "Naruto… He has been through so much, and still manages to smile and care for others. Where others would have reveled in slaughtering the entire village he…he wants nothing more than a family to love, and be loved by." Tenten's form became hunched as she leaned over the sink slightly. The fact she was crying was not lost on Anko and Yuffie, but they didn't move as they waited for the teen to sort herself out.
After a few minutes Tenten managed to get control of herself, and took a deep breath before turning around with tears still sliding down her face. "He deserves as much as we can give him. Everything I have I give to him freely." The teen's eyes became filled with resolve as she pulled a kunai from one of the many places she keeps them secreted upon her person at all times. Not moving her eyes from Yuffie's she slowly slid the blade along her palm, and let the blood pool in her hand before tilting it slightly to allow the blood to drip onto the floor. "I swear by this blood freely given. To guard him, protect him, and love him in this life and the next even at the cost of my own life."
Yuffie watched her expressionlessly while Anko smiled proudly at the genin, while Yuffie stood up and walked over to her. She looked down at the shorter girl for a moment before taking the kunai from her, and slashing her own hand. Grabbing her wrist she brought Tenten's hand up, and pressed their bleeding hands together. "An oath sworn in love, and sealed by blood. No harm will not touch our beloved except over our corpses."
Tenten and Yuffie smiled at each other when another bloody hand was placed on top of theirs. Looking over they saw Anko with a look as hard as steel. "So it is sworn so shall it be." The purple haired jonin said as her grip tightened none of them paying attention to the small puddle of blood growing at their feet. They stood together like that bonding in spirit as well as blood before they broke apart to tend to their wounds. Anko had to apply a low level medical jutsu to Tenten since she had cut much deeper then she intended, and had almost severed some of the tendons in her hand. After their injuries had been taken care of they sat at the table getting to know each other better. Nearly two hours later, after Yuffie had told them about what Naruto had done to get back at Cid for taking a picture of them while they were celebrating their 6 month anniversary at the Golden Saucer; Tenten got a thoughtful look on her face.
"I'm really curious about something. Naruto never talks about it, but how did you get here, Yuffie?" The brunette girl asked.
Yuffie sighed as the answer was directly related to her miscarriage. "All we know about how Naru-koi got there was that it involved the life stream. So after my…recovery I went to Nanaki, and asked him about the life stream, and his thoughts about Naruto's arrival. I learned a lot from him, but we were still at a loss as to what the connection was, so after I left there I sought out a man named Hojo. He is a genius of the first order, but it he also totally insane. He will do whatever it takes in the pursuit of knowledge, and the advancement of science. It was 3 months before he had a breakthrough, and with Nanaki's help, he was able to build a device that locked onto koi's communicator, and tapped into the lifestream through a Mako reactor. After many experiments Hojo was finally able to transport objects, and small life forms. With the continuing successes he built a prototype. When I heard the news I was overjoyed, and tried to get him to let me use it. He refused saying that it needed further testing to find out a way to return what was sent." Yuffie looked into her cup spinning it back and forth in her hands for a long moment as Tenten and Anko waited for her to finish her story. Yuffie closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.
"I was upset, and fought Hojo. I ended up knocking him out, and used the device before the guards arrived. I didn't care about going back as long as I was able to be with Naru-koi again. I used the device to send myself here, and arrived in the kitchen behind him. You know the rest." She said still looking into her tea cup.
Tenten and Anko spent the next few minutes gathering their thoughts on what Yuffie had said before Anko finally nodded to herself. "You haven't gotten over it have you?" She said softly her heart going out to the woman across from her.
Yuffie winced, and her hands tightened on the cup as she heard Anko's words. She looked into the jonin's eyes her pain and guilt clear in her eyes. Anko reach across the table, and placed her hand on Yuffie's gently squeezing it as if to say "It will be alright." Anko looked at Tenten for a moment before smiling at Yuffie.
"It's settled. You will be the Matriarch of the Strife Clan." The I&T member said grinning like the Cheshire cat.
Tenten looked at Anko in surprise. "Don't you think that is Naruto's decision to make? It is his clan after all, and I put in just as much effort into it as he has, so why shouldn't I be Matriarch?"
"First off you are the lowest ranked ninja here as well as the youngest. Secondly she has known Naruto the longest. Third: You and I both have ninja duties while she isn't part of the military forces. You also have to consider that the Matriarch will also have to be a part of the Council when Naruto can't. You would be laughed at because of your age, and most of the village hates me almost as much as they did Naruto's "brother". Anyway I imagine that she plans of giving our Naruto the family he always wanted very soon." She said counting off on her fingers, and smirking at the end.
Yuffie blushed at what Anko had said while Tenten look thoughtful for a moment. "Ok I agree with you on that she does make a better choice then you or me, but I still think we should leave the final say to Naruto." Tenten said crossing her arms to show she wasn't budging on that point.
"She's right, Anko. Especially since Koi seems to have moved on." Yuffie said with great sorrow in her voice.
"Pfft. He hasn't moved on." Anko said disparagingly. "He keeps a picture of you two on him at all times, and nearly killed the Inuzuka mutt when he insulted you at the academy."
Yuffie had a shocked look on her face before she smiled as hope grew within her heart. With renewed determination she looked at Anko, and Tenten. "So now that I'm staying here how do I get ID papers?"
Tenten smiled at her while Anko laughed before standing up. "Come on. We need to talk to Hokage-sama, and then go shopping."
The three women went about showering, and getting ready for the next 45 minutes. When they were ready to go they walked out of the house smiling widely, and prepared to take on the whole world if necessary.
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Kiba had been extremely pissed off, and had opted to expend the energy, and anger he had at Inari's outburst by training in the forest, or more accurately destroying around an acre of forest. When it was close to 2 a.m. he was out of breath, and feeling drained from causing localized destruction, and had sat down under a tree with Akamaru which is why we find him in the situation of being sound asleep shortly after dawn as an ethereal beauty in a pale blue kimono with a floral print walking over to him.
The girl looked down at him for a moment before bending down, and shaking him awake with a hand on his shoulder. Kiba groaned, and tried to brush the hand away to no avail. Finally he opened his eyes as he stretched, and came to a dead stop in his actions as he saw the slim woman bent over him with her kimono open just enough for him to catch a glimpse of the top of her large B cup breasts.
"Good morning." She said with a smile as she stood back up, and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
'Holy shit she's beautiful!' Kiba thought as he stared at her until her words brought him out of his reverie. "Uh yeah. Good morning to you too."
He stood up brushing off his pants, and jacket to regain his composure. As he did this he blushed slightly when the girl giggled having caught him checking her out. With that done he coughed a few times before smiling at her.
"My name is Inuzuka Kiba, and this is my companion Akamaru." He said before bowing to her.
"I am Yuki Haku. Pleasure to meet you." She said returning his bow, and giving him another glimpse of her porcelain skin. "If I may…What were you doing sleeping out in the forest?"
Kiba snarled remembering the events from last night, and balled his fists before calming himself. "A little brat insulted a good friend of mine that died a few years ago, so I came out here to blow off some steam. It was either that or kill the little shit." He said through clenched teeth.
Haku watched him with a sympathetic expression as he spoke clearly seeing the emotional distress he was in from what happened. "I am sorry to hear that. It is always hard to lose someone close to you." As Haku spoke she was remembering her mother and how she was killed by her mother.
Kiba caught the tone she spoke with, and realized she had gone through a similar experience. "You lost someone too didn't you?" He asked giving her a look that could only be shared with someone who knew the same pain.
Haku closed her eyes, and nodded slowly as she relived the love of her mother and the pain of betrayal when she was killed by her father. "My mother was murdered when I was a child by my father." She said softly trying to get control of herself. For some reason her emotional walls were not as strong around this boy as they normally were. Her eyes shot open when she felt Kiba place his hands on her shoulders.
"Losing a member of the pack is a terrible thing. The members of my clan that become shinobi train for the sole purpose of protecting those we view as members of our pack, and see anyone that turns their back on an ally or betrays the village as the worst kind of being that must be hunted down and killed with the same ferocity as a rabid badger. The loss of your mother is a terrible thing, and what your father did is unforgivable. One thing you have to remember though is that it was not your fault. You must move on, and become stronger so that you can keep the loved ones you have left safe." Kiba said looking intently into her eyes with Akamaru barking in support of what he was saying.
Haku stared into Kiba's eyes caught off guard by the intensity of his gaze, and the diamond hard resolve within them. After a moment she smiled at him in a way that made him think she was an angel as she lifted her arm to place her hand on top of his. "You will truly become a strong shinobi. I believe that a person can only become truly strong when they are fighting to protect someone precious to them, and I can see that you fight for that very reason."
They stood like that for a few moments staring into each others' eyes with a smile on their lips until Kiba realized just how they might look if someone happened across them, and blushed. Kiba scratched the side of his jaw while offering an apologetic smile at her, while she blushed a light pink.
"So uh….What brings you here anyway?" Kiba asked trying to head off making the situation any more awkward.
Haku blinked at him having forgotten her task, and blushed even more. "I came out here looking for some herbs for a sick friend."
Kiba glanced down at Akamaru, who had yipped at him, and was looking up with what was unmistakably a grin. Seeing his companion's expression Kiba glared at him before smiling at Haku. "If you want I could give you a hand."
Haku smiled at him blatantly ignoring the dog making noises that sounded too close to laughter to be comfortable. "I would like that."
The two then spent over an hour gathering up the herbs she needed while passing the time with some light conversation. As Haku prepared to leave Kiba stopped her.
"I'm going to be in the area for a while, and I was wondering if we could meet again?"
Haku looked at him expressionlessly figuring that she may have to fight him later, but some part of her wanted to avoid that at any cost. She turned, and began walking away causing Kiba to slump his shoulders. After about 10 feet Haku stopped, and looked over her left shoulder at him.
"I gather herbs around dawn every day." She said softly before walking into the trees.
Kiba watched her go with a growing smile before he threw his fist in the air shouting loud enough for it to echo through the forest, and cause Haku to smile when she heard it.
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Kakashi went outside to tell Sakura breakfast was almost ready, and saw her gripping the railing overlooking the water with an expression of great turmoil on her face.
"Something bothering you, Sakura?" He asked as he moved up beside her.
"I've been thinking about what Naruto-san said last night. Those things couldn't have happened. Hokage-sama wouldn't have allowed it, and yet his emotions were real. I don't know what to think, Sensei."
Kakashi sighed deeply not wanting to deal with this especially during a mission. "When I was still in ANBU I was sometimes assigned to watch over Uzumaki-san. During those times I personally stopped 25 beatings, 7 assassinations, 27 break ins, 2 rapes, arrested 83 people, and executed 15 people. Strife-san and his brother have had harsh lives, and been through things I had hoped never to have seen since the war ended. To be perfectly honest I am surprised that Strife-san hasn't tried to destroy Konoha for what his brother was put through."
Looking down he saw Sakura staring at him with abject horror. "wh…Why? Why would they hate him so much?"
The jonin closed his visible eye, and slumped his shoulders as he put his hands in his pockets. "That is something I can't tell you. Sandaime-sama has classified that information as an S class secret punishable by immediate execution. Strife-san might tell you if you can gain his trust, but if not then you will have to ask Hokage-sama about it. They are the only ones I know of that are allowed to speak of it without punishment. I can tell you that it wasn't because of something he did, but because of a burden that was forced upon him against his will. I know this is hard to hear, Sakura, but you have to get over this. We are on a dangerous mission that we know will involve fighting, and if you can't get a hold of yourself either you or one of your teammates may end up dying. When the mission is over I will request a break from missions for our team as well as Kurenai's team. The information that you and Hinata have come across was never meant to be known, especially by ones as young as you two are. I'm going to assign you to guarding Tsunami and Inari at the house with Hinata since the treat level is much lower as Tazuna is the main target here. For now why don't you go inside, and talk with Hinata? I'll fill in the others so you don't have to worry about that."
Sakura was at a total loss hearing this, and didn't even know what to think so she just nodded, and numbly walked back inside. Kakashi brought his right hand up, and ran it through his hair letting out a deep breath praying to Kami-sama that he wouldn't have to deal with yet another teammate dying.
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Three weeks had passed since the Konohagakure ninja had arrived in Wave, and the emotional chaos seemed to have settled. Hinata had grown even more determined to grow stronger, and change Konoha into something Uzumaki Naruto would have been proud of, even to the point of taking up his dream to become Hokage.
Shino trained with her whenever they weren't on different guard rotations, and found himself drawn to the heiress. When he realized this he thought about it, and found that, yes he was physically attracted to her, but was that all it was? He also wondered if Hinata was feeling anything similar. He knew his clan was not looked well upon because of their close ties with the colonies, and decided to gather more information utilizing social interaction. It was small things like giving her a flower that he thought she would like to press, some sweet pastries from his trips into town, and spending time with her. So far the data was inconclusive as far as Hinata was concerned, but he had soon realized that he did like her as more than just a teammate or friend.
Sakura had talked with Hinata, and had found the heiress to be much more than a stuck up Hyuuga. She had also started to take her training more seriously when she wasn't fawning over the Sasuke, even going so far as to stop dieting.
Kiba had gone out every day before dawn to train, as he told his fellow ninja, but was really getting to know Haku. The two had spent a lot of time together talking, picking herbs, and other mundane things. The male Inuzuka heir had found himself quickly growing to like her, and was dreading when the mission would end.
Sasuke had demanded Kakashi teach him more jutsu, but the Cyclops had stated that until he had mastered tree climbing and water walking learning any new jutsu would be pointless. This of course caused the Uchiha to brood, and distance himself even more from those around him.
Kakashi had spent most of his time with the teams, and talking with Kurenai. As a military officer he hated the situation the two teams were in, and did what he could to get her out of her emotional quagmire. His success on that front had been mixed. It might not have been as bad if Kurenai wasn't so close to Anko, but they were almost sisters. That by itself was bad enough, but when you had in how Anko had suffered from Orochimaru, and how the villagers treated her it was just one large mess. Needless to say Kakashi wished he was back in Konoha reading his Icha Icha as Team 7 tried to catch Tora.
Naruto had calmed down some as he had plenty of time to think about what awaited him back in Konoha, and had taken his position of command just under the jonin very seriously. He had started drumming the other genin in security, stealth, observation, speed, and stamina in order to better prepare them for the inevitable attack Gato would send at them.
Kurenai spent more time out of the room Tsunami had given her, but could still be found most often staring off into space. She knew that she had to talk with Anko about her feelings for Naruto, but with the mission that was impossible, and as time went on she found herself wanting him more and more. This worried her greatly, afraid that she would do something that would not only ruin her friendship with the "Snake Mistress of Konoha", but also cause problems for Naruto with his other fiancé especially since Yuffie had shown up in Konoha.
This was the current situation Tazuna was thinking about as he wiped sweat from his forehead. Looking over the bridge he felt a sense of pride at how well things were going. He estimated that the bridge would be complete in another 2 weeks at most, and then Gato's strangle hold on the island would be weakened. Despite this he was worried about a few things he had overheard the ninja talking about. Things had been too quiet around the small village lately, and tension had grown to almost palatable levels. Glancing over to his current guards he noticed the pink haired girl giving first aid to one of the workers that had cut his hand. Turning to the left he saw the feral looking boy and his dog patrolling the length of the bridge. Turning his gaze further he saw the blonde boy standing on one of the pylons watching over the water. Taking a swig from his canteen he couldn't help but wonder how 8 ninjas were going to stop Gato if he decided to bring the brunt of his forces down on them. While Gato had numbers, money, and influence on his side Tazuna had seen some of the ninja training, and was awed and frightened at the destruction they could cause. Tazuna was an old man that had seen the horrors caused by ninjas going to war, so he knew that whatever happened would be ugly, and leave a lot of people dead. His only real worry was if his family and the people of the village would be alive when it was over.
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Over the weeks the progress on the bridge had been going at a steady pace. There were a few workers that quit because of fear, but no one could really blame them with what Gato had put them through, though most stayed seeing hope in the two squads of ninja that were guarding them. The bridge was now long enough that one of the workers could throw a stone to the mainland if they threw hard enough, and Tazuna estimated that the bridge would be complete within 3 days. Even though the villagers and Tazuna's family were in a jovial mood the ninjas were not. The Konoha ninja were on high alert knowing that an attack would happen at any time. The night before they had a meeting, and come to the conclusion that if Gato decided to attack the house while Tazuna was working on the bridge it would only be some of his mercenary forces and use any ninja he had hired on the bridge. After that they made plans to lay traps around the house, and have Kurenai cast multiple genjutsus on the traps as well as the house. She would also play bodyguard to Tsunami and Inari. The others would be on rotating patrols around the area, and guard the bridge in mass. As the genin rechecked their gear, and ate a ration bar Kakashi was surprisingly without his ever present orange book watching as the younger ninja readied themselves to make sure they didn't miss anything. When they were all ready, and Tazuna had said goodbye to his family Kakashi stood up, and signaled for everyone to move out.
"Alright, everyone, you know your assignments so let's get going. 5 minute check ins until the bridge then every 10 minutes. Guard team I want you in alpha-3 formation. Scout team take up delta-2 formation on a gamma-5 rotation. Keep radio silence unless reporting in. Move it!"
With that the teams moved out into the morning mist with Tazuna walking next to Kakashi.
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Haku stood in a tree watching the Demon Brothers knock out the civilians, than tie them up together by where some of the supplies were piled at. As she watched she thought about telling Zabuza about her meetings with Kiba, but decided against it and prayed that he would not be one of the ones on the bridge today. As soon as the brothers had finished their work Zabuza gave the signal to take their positions on the bridge, and used the Kirigakure no jutsu to hide the bridge.
Haku absently took out a senbon, and fiddled with it as she thought about the past few weeks, and her growing reluctance to finish this mission. A smile graced her lips behind her mask as she remembered sitting under a tree with Kiba, and how good it felt to do such a simple thing. Unknown to her over an hour had passed with her lost in her thoughts when she was dragged out of them by the sound of Kakashi's voice.
"Looks like Gato's hired Kiri nin to do his dirty work for him." Kakashi said giving hand signs for the others to take up battle formation.
A deep chuckling could be heard echoing from the mist though the source could not be seen. "Kakashi no Sharingan. A class shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato said to have copied over 1000 jutsus. Out of respect for a shinobi of your skill I will give you one chance to hand over Tazuna without a fight."
"I wish we could, but I have Konoha's reputation to think about. After all it wouldn't look good if we just gave up our client like that." Kakashi said loosening a kunai in its holster.
"I understand, but that still leaves us at a crossroads. As bad as it would look on Konoha it would look even worse if I didn't finish this mission since nukenin like me have to keep our reputations up even more than the villages do." Zabuza said as the mist thinned enough for the Konoha ninja to see the bound workers, and the enemy ninja.
Though it could not be seen Haku had a distraught look on her face, and her grip tightened on the senbon she had in her hand. Standing across from her was the boy she had been thinking so fondly of ready to fight for not only the life of his client, but his own as well. As her stomach clenched she knew she couldn't raise her hand to him, and prayed that he would survive this battle. She glanced at the others, and saw that despite the training the Konoha nin had gone through over the last few weeks that they still had a disadvantage in power despite their numbers. Sure the missing nin were outnumbered 5-4, but whereas there were 4 genin and one jonin each of the nukenin were at least mid-chunin with Zabuza on par if not better than Kakashi. As much as she wanted to stop this fight before it started she owed too much to Zabuza for saving her from the Kiri bloodline war. Feeling her hand start to shake she tightened her grip on the senbon, and steeled herself for what was going to happen.