I still don't own Naruto, or The Last Guardian Challenge. BUT I do own this story, its plot and my OCs.

Please hold your applause (and your desire to kill me for this inexcusable delay) till the end of the show.

Chapter 7: With Clouds between Their Knees

"Green is the color of life little one."

Morino Ibiki held her close as she trembled in the grave yard. Somehow the man had known where she would be and had returned to the graveyard to find her hours after the funeral. Dressed in all black, she knelt before the great marble slab, her head resting against its base. He held on to her as she struggled against him, he held her till she quieted and simply trembled, fighting the tears. And even after the trembling died down, for a long time she simply stared at the grass around the marble slab. And he held her still when she murmured finally:

"I hate green."

"Green is the color of life little one," he said.

"Then it shouldn't be here."

"Yes, it should." And then he told her why.

Green was life.

Green was the grass. The same grass that grew above the graves of their dead. Over the graves of the unknown, unsung heroes that gave their lives for Konoha, over and over and over. It was their spirits that gave that life to that grass because it grew taller and greener than that around it.

Green was the moss. The same moss that crept around the sides of the Konoha Memorial. The single stone that bore the names of the fallen heroes whose names they did know. The same that covered hard, jagged stones that would have hurt their bare feet otherwise.

Green was the ivy. The ivy that grew higher and higher, unyielding. The height of the walls did not cause it to falter, to stop, to fail. It would keep rising, growing taller and stronger until it had risen to the top of the structure. Like the ivy that grew around the Hokage Tower.

Green was the trees. The grass at their base, surrounding them -uniting them. The Ivy growing around them - protecting them. And at the very top, the leaves that covered the bare branches. They stood united and created the shade that would ease the weariest and most hardened of travelers. They were the beginning and the end of it all. They were the reason. They were the cause.

For a long time she listened as he spoke, explaining in detail. Some time around the end he noticed how her gaze had finally, finally shifted from the green around them to the slab she had been avoiding since the beginning.

Uchiha Fugaku –Uchiha Mikoto

Father, Brother,

Mother, Sister

Leaders

"And know that the flame never truly dies"

Green is life Katana.

Green is Konoha.

They were Konoha.

XxXXxXxxXxXx

Something warm and furry brushed her cheek. A gruff voice nudged her mind.

'Get up Kit. Their mewling is getting irritating.'

Mewling?

And then she heard them.

Like a door opening, bright light filtered in. She blinked as it hit her and suddenly she could hear them.

"…have they kept this from us?"

"Not long, I think, they're children. They may have decided on a whim. What is important is that our Shinobi did not think to warn us that there was a traitor in our midst."

A sigh. Tou-san? " Danzou sama, I have heard their side of the matter. The council has agreed that while there were other methods available-"

"Methods that would not have endangered the Village, which is still recovering from the last Biju rampage."

"While there were other methods available, the circumstances had resulted in an unavoidable situation. It was the children who alerted the Senior Shinobi of Mizuki's intentions. And, really, if they had approached any of us, would we have listened? Or taken them seriously?"

"If we had an ounce of sense, we would have." Hiashi's voice was a low, gruff reminder that all had not been well, long before Mizuki's attempted betrayal. "Though of course, if we had had an ounce of the common sense we're supposed to have, the children- our heirs- would not have been in this situation-!"

"Hiashi Dono," Itachi's soft voice brought an end to the Hyuga elder's tirade. "She is still resting."

You couldn't get more obvious if you tried, the Kitsune huffed from the back of her mind as she automatically stiffened. Relax,they can't see you move. Then, as if as an afterthought: well, that is, if you could move.

That got her attention. The Kitsune huffed as she started scratching at his tail. Let me up you big … you… Fox!

I'm not doing anything idiot, besides keeping you alive of course. Sides, the Uchiha's watching you. The rest can't tell we're talking, but if the Uchiha get's in here he'll know, and you know you're not supposed to be talking to me. Kit! As she felt his hold on her tighten,keeping her bed bound and immobile, his voice grew louder, suddenly strict.If you fight me anymore, I won't be able to keep your defences up.She froze at that. Unwillingly, her mind conjured a picture of a sobbing Ino and a confused, very dizzy Sakura. Having Itachi nii in her head was not something she would like to experience anytime soon. She remembered when once, in their first few months at the Academy, Ino had tried to practically demonstrate how her clan's technique worked. Predictably, she had picked Katana. The two girls didn't get along (which Ino blamed completely on the red head), and everyone knew it. At the last minute Sakura had jumped in between the two girls. Even with her lack of experience, Ino had managed to somehow complete the Jutsu, though admittedly, the results had been different from what she had expected. Which is why, when the teachers came running back from their coffee break, they found the blond heiress desperately trying to get as far away from the four friends as possible, screaming about a pink monster that had threatened to pop her. Though the other students never really understood what had happened, they definitely developed a healthy respect for Sakura, and Katana had learnt to be wary of all doujutsu's and genjutsu's .

The Kitsune grunted. He wouldn't go that far, and you know that.She shrugged and cuddled into his fur. Why was her subconscious so cold? Do I have to tell you everything? You're unconscious kit. You depleted your chakra reserves. Trying to show off with all those clones. I had to lend you some chakra half way through that little tiff you got so worked up about. He cuffed her lightly on the head. Strange, he was never soft with her. She must really be injured badly for him to be…

Sasuke! Hinata! Sakura! She tried to move, but it was impossible. The Kyubi scowled down at her. When she didn't stop, he raised his paw and slowly brought it down on her shaking form. Effectively pinned down, she had no option but to glare up at the scowling face looking down at her. Safe. They're all safe.

But…

Katana. Listen. She looked up, scowl still marring her face. When he remained silent she tried to open the channels to talk to him again, but he nudged her with his paw to shut her up and jerked his head to where the light was still pouring in. Blinking, she looked towards the open door.

It took her a second longer to understand.

Listen to them.

"…if not today, then some day, Mizuki would have targeted the children, for one reason or another. We would never have been fully prepared. The man is mentally unstable, but he is an excellent strategist and a meticulous planner- the very reasons that the council of Elders nominated him for the leadership positions in assignments that he was often denied due to his low rank. Positions that the council argued should be allotted to him, because his "near genius" potential far outweighed his obvious inexperience. Positions we denied him, we, the Clan Council and the Council of Jounins denied him because we felt that sharing that level of intelligence with him would be hazardous."

There was a long silence after this and Katana mulled over the new information as the Kiyubi looked on, waiting for her to work it out on her own. As a young child, it had not taken her long to come to terms with the beast in her mind and she had often let him in on many of her plots and secrets. Similarly, he had learnt that when faced with a troubling situation, the child was best left to her own devices. With every prank, with every new adventure, the little princess had demonstrated an extraordinary intelligence, the kind that often reminded him of another shinobi he had known a long, long time ago, though he would never admit it. One who had had the same unique, mischievous streak, the same loyalty and courage, and the same intelligence that this fledgling kunoichi did.

And so he waited for her to work out the information on her own. And he was not disappointed.

Danzou Sama is on the council of elders.

...

If the Clan Council and the Jounin Council actually agreed on something… it would have to be something… important, neh?

…They wanted him on my guard, didn't they? Or… Kuraima, did they want him to train me?

Can you imagine it? You were all attached to him, but you the most. He was your "special friend".

She felt a blush rising. Stop it! He… at the hospital…he was the first one… to visit. He told me…

What? There was no room for kindness in this situation. If this girl was to grow, if she was to discover even an ounce of her potential, and if he was to keep his promise, she would have to be trained. And while he knew that that fool of an over protective father of hers would now provide her with the physical training, he knew that the humans could not hope to begin on preparing her body if her psyche was not strong enough to handle the bare realities of life that would be thrown her way. And so he pressed on. What did he say?

…that I could trust him.

Remember one thing kit, at some point or another, everyone will betray you. Some will do it because, fools that they are, they think it's best for you. Some will betray you because you're not thinking straight, and you need to be set on the right track again. Some will want you to learn a lesson. And some… some will betray you because in the end, when you're screaming and crying over the skeletons tumbling out of your closet, they'll be the ones to gain.

Trust no one completely, no one but yourself. And even then, only when you know that you're in the right.

They were quiet for some time after that, as she focused on the world beyond the door. The adults were still discussing the affair in the woods, but Danzou sama was admittedly less vocal this time round. Only by a little, but still. He knew he'd been chastised, she realized. But was that the right thing to do? Won't that make things worse? I mean, what if the council- the elder council, what if they-

The council often works on different principles, and that holds true for Danzou too. Your Hokage knows that, everyone knows that, and they know that everyone knows.

She was quiet for a minute longer. So they're not worried about the council of elders retaliating… or is it that the council can't retaliate enough?

The Kiyubi grunted. Namikaze Minato is one of the few humans in shinobi history who can inspire that amount of loyalty. It's a unique gift.

And a burden, she commented without really thinking. The great beast grunted in agreement.

All mortals must live with burdens kit.

Though of course, he wasn't thinking about the Hokage when he said, but the kid didn't need to know.

Can I get up now?

He looked down.

They're leaving. It's just Tousan and Kaachan now. And.. oh.

"Hokage Sama," a boy's clear voice broke through. "Did the Medics mention when she would get up?"

"No Sasuke, they said it was up to her now."

The Kiyubi grunted and nidged her a little harder than he had before. The boy? You take down a criminal and you're scared of the boy?

I am not scared. She argued as the light grew brighter and the dark, cool room faded away.

Then, by all means.

"…Tousan? Kaa-chan?"

If it had been any other situation, she would have been humiliated at how her voice sounded right then. As it was, her throat hurt so badly she couldn't focus on anything else.

"Katana!"

A mass of red suddenly covered her face, blocking out the harsh lights. She sniffed. Apple, brown sugar and cinnamon.

And her lips tweaked.

"Kaachan, did you make pie today?"

Somebody laughed in the background as the red blur moved back a little and green eyes came into focus. Green eyes that were torn between laughter and furious tears.

A pink form joined her.

"Katana no baka! Do you know how worried we were? And all you can think about is your stomach!"

"I am not!" Her stomach grumbled in protest and the sound of shy laughter came to her ears again. "Though I wouldn't mind having some if that's okay. I haven't eaten since…" Her eyes went wide.

"The graduation! What- Mizuki- What day-?"

"Kushina," A soft male voice interrupted her frantic ramblings, "maybe you should go get her some food before she faints. Again."

Her mother's eyes softened a little. "Right. Girls, would you come with me? We'll get some for everyone."

"Hai!" But Sakura tugged at Katana's arm before leaving. "Welcome back baka." She smiled up at her pink haired friend before turning to her mother.

"Could you help me up before you go?"

Her father cut in before her mother could answer.

"We'll do that." And her mother nodded, bending down to hug her again.

"You are in so much trouble young woman," she hissed fiercely. And then her tone softened as she stroked the girl's cheek. "And we are all so proud." A final kiss to the forehead and Kushina moved away and a blond head took her place.

She blinked and blue eyes came into focus. "Tousan…" His eyes were guarded. Or maybe she was just too tired to read them. Either way, she couldn't confirm the emotion in his eyes as he bent down and shifted her slightly to raise her. His touch was gentle though, as was his voice when he said:

"Sasuke, could you rearrange her pillows please? Yes, like that."

"Tousan…" her hand clutched at his, and she held on despite her arm's protests at her sudden movements. The man stayed silent as he shifted her into place and she turned to look at her friend.

"Sasu-?"

"We're fine." His voice was gruff, but his tone was softer than she'd expected. That, at least, was heartening. "You?"

"I'm…" she thought for a second. Her body ached but other than that… "I think… yeah. I'm good too."

"You should be." He grunted, "You slept long enough."

"How long?" She asked in confusion. How long did the kiyubi keep me under?

"Two days." It was her father who answered and she whipped her head towards him so fast, she thought she'd get whiplash.

"Two days? But. But…"

"Graduation was delayed." She turned to look at Sasuke and she thought he smiled a little. "Hokage Sama had it delayed because of the lax in security that Danzou Sama pointed out. Every one agreed."

"So he came before?"

"Before?" Her father's confusion was evident.

"I heard… I thought I heard him a little while ago, didn't they just leave? Him and Itachi ni and Hiashi Dono?"

There was a moment of silence before her father spoke. "Katana, they came yesterday, and the day before, but not today."

There was a long moment as she processesd that information, before she groaned. "Kur-" Sasuke tapped her hand and she blinked at him. "...I was drifting... wasn't I ?"

Sasuke nodded, and urged her to lay back. Mentally, Katana made a note to thank him. It would not do for her father to discover just how deep her bond was with her Biju. Not now, at least.

"Katana," she turned to meet her father's gaze and winced. Here it was. "How could you drag your friends into that situation? Don't you know any better? Why did you not alert me, or any one else? No, why did you not alert me?"

She looked down at that. "You wouldn't have listened. You know that."

"... I may have. You never know, if you had just. Katana...Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"...captured a criminal? Passed our graduation test?" She looked up at him, suddenly glaring, then huffed and turned away, covering her face with a blanket. Sasuke bit his lip and Minato blinked in confusion for a second before he scowled.

"Look at me when I talk to you."

"I don't talk to strangers."

"Katana.."

"No. I don't know who I 'm talking to right now. It can't be my Hokage, because my Hokage would not... wouldn't forget everything good we've done so far just because he's mad at me. Because the Hokage thinks for the whole village. For the good of the village. And he doesn't... he's never this mean. Not to his Shinobi." She flung the covers back and stared at her father. "And we are Shinobi now because we did it. We passed the test. We defended our village. We did it.

"And it can't be my dad, because my dad wouldn't... he's a fair man, a good man ad he'd be proud And he'd ask me how it went, and if I kicked butt, and if... if.. I would train with him tomorrow because there's stuff I could do better." She choked a little. "And you can't be my dad because... because he hasn't been around in years.

"I don't know who you are. I don't think you know who you are. I... I ..."

"Katana," it was Sasuke who finally calmed her down. "Dobe, calm down."

"No! I-"

"Enough Katana." He gripped her arms and pulled her in to a hug. She froze for an instant, because there was no way Sasuke ever initiated contact any more, but when his grip tightened, and he started rubbing circles in her back (like Mikoto sama did once...) she felt her arms circle his waist and she hugged him back for all she was worth. Sasuke looked up at Minato, who was staring at the scene, completely speechless, something raw and hard wrenching at his heart as the girl fought tears. The boy met his gaze ad something passed between them.

Fix this. Please.

"...Katana," the girl stilled as he put his hands on her shoulders. "Katana, look at me."

With some difficulty, he managed to get her to turn around, though the girl kept a firm hold on Sasuke. As both children looked up at him, Minato fought the barriers he'd put around himself to let his emotions surface, to let them know.

"I...was so worried. When I found out you were gone, I was so... and when I found out about Mizuki... I think I would have killed Kakashi right there and then.

"But I stayed back when they told me to. Because they, all of them, they had so much faith in you, they trusted you so. And I realized, that they believed in your abilities, in your potential, in you. Something... I had not done for a long time. And it made me realize," here, he took her face in his hands, tilting it up and it almost broke her heart when he saw her hard, defensive gaze, "I realized how I had ignored you completely, all of you. But mostly you Katana chan. I'd ignored my.. my child. And I know I was busy trying to restore the village because of my responsibility as a leader, but that- that was no excuse for completely forgetting my biggest responsibility- that of a father."

For an instant the girl was silent, and then as her lips trembled he saw it again. He saw the little girl who had brought so much joy in to his life, so much happiness, and he moved forward to catch her as she flung herself at him.

"Tousan!"

He stroked her hair as he gathered he to him and dropped his chin to rest on her head.

"And I've realized something else. I've realized that I've been wrong about you." He looked up and met Sasuke's eyes. "All of you. That I am proud. So, so very proud. And so, so sorry Katana chan."

It took a long time for her to finally calm down, but she did, eventually. As Sasuke helped her lay back on her pillows, she looked up at her father.

"Tousan?"

"Hai?"

"...About ... graduation?" Sasuke looked up at that too. Though the Hokage had delayed the graduation, there had been no update on how he was planning on dealing with the four of them.

He smiled and ruffled their hair. Katana looked both annoyed and delighted. Sasuke was simply shocked.

"Don't worry, though your methods were unorthodox at best, you all made it well within the deadline, and Iruka gave his blessings."

"You mean...?"

He nodded and grinned as she beamed. Even Sasuke looked pleased. "You're all graduating with your batchmates." There was a small squeak from the bedroom door and he tilted his head and called out, "I think we're ready for that pie now."

The door slid open and a blushing Hinata was pushed in ("Sa-Sakura Chan!"), followed by the culprit and a beaming Kushina. Minato winked at his wife as their daughter, injuries and minor emotional turmoil forgotten, began to flail in exciement.

"PIE! PIE! PIE! Yosh!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"So, Tousan," He looked up from his plate and had to supress a grimace at the sight of his daughter, whose face was completely covered with the food. "Who are we getting for a sensei?"

"Wipe your face Katana chan," Kushina broke in and reached forward to help her do that. "Besides, we don't know that yet. And even when your father decides, he can't tell us that. You'll have to find out on your own."

"Not tell? Not even awesome, legen- wait for it- dary! Shinobi like us?" He snorted as Katana gave him her best impression of the puppy dog eyes and succeeded in reminding them all of Kakashi's dog pack.

"No, dear. I 'm afraid not. Besides," he smiled at them, "you lot aren't shinobi yet."

That got their attenrion.

"WHAT? But we- and you- what what-WHAT?" The four children were flailing (well, not Sasuke, but the boy was pretty terrified).

"You mean all that work-?"

"The Academy designed tests are designed to ensure that you have the basic understanding of the most basic jutsus and theory and the physical prowess to pull them off. It's the team tests that determine whether or not you have the psychological capacity to be a Shinobi."

"What happens if you don't clear it?" asked Sasuke.

"Oh nothing much," Minato shared a smile with his wife before getting up. "Well..." He kissed his daughter's forehead as his wife collected the dirty plates, and went to hold the door open for her. "You just, get sent back to the academy for another year."

There was no sound from the four children.

"Good night kids!"

There was a dry choking sound in reply as Minato closed the door.

...

...

...

In the bedroom, the four children stared at the door. When it became clear that no one was going to run in and shout "Surprise! We were kidding!", Katana let out a choked laugh.

"He...he was... don't worry... he just..."

Sasuke clamped a hand on her mouth. "Bed." he stated firmly and crossed the room to the futon laid out for him.

"But..." Hinata shook her head, because there was no way they could go to sleep now.

"Bed." came the firm reply.

"SASU-"

Sasuke whirled around at the three girls and Sakura promptly shut up.

"...Bed."The three girls stared before nodding quickly.

"Bed," they agreed and promptly lay down in theirs.

As Katana reached over to turn off the lamp, a snide voice whispered in her ear.

so that's why you're so scared of him...

...shut up. Stupid fox. And the room was plunged in to darkness.

...

...

...

Minato grinned as the light under the crack disappeared. "What?" he whispered as Kushina shook her head at him in exasperation and turned to walk away. Chuckling, he caught up to her and kissed her head.

"Too much?" he asked, as he took some of the dishes from his wife.

"Well... they did give us the scare of a lifetime. So, no."

He grinned down at her. "We're horrible parents."

"The worst." she agreed, and reached up to kiss his cheek.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

I know this is super late. But I won't make any excuses, just a promise to write as soon as I can.

Speaking of which: any ideas for the team test? I feel like the bell test is a bit redundant right now...

SPOILERS: Yes, they will all graduate, but that doesn't mean they all get on the same team."

"Her team mates failed the test. The entire purpose behind the team test was lost on the two and yes, they failed. But she did not. It's highly unfair for her to be sent back to the Academy as well, Hokage Sama."

"Itachi, there is nothing I can do. ...Unless you can come up with an alternative?"

Stay tuned!