Sorry its a bit late but It didn't take me too much longer. Finals are in full swing at State and well, I got pretty distracted with other games... (Animal Crossing...) Anyway, I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter as it's the last one before the big stuff starts. (According to what I have planned so far anyway.) But I shant hold your gaze anymore. Please read and if you could maybe review afterwards?=^-^=

Ch. 8 - Premonition

The stranger seemed very curious about the cat demon as he leaned down to him. "Given his tame nature I can only assume he's your familiar, but where did you get him? This has to be only the second Cat Sidhe I've ever seen outside of books."

Rin looked up to the cat in question. "Oh, well Kuro used to be my dad's familiar, but- Hey!" Rin snapped as he noticed the Salamander reaching down for his small paper bag. He stepped back but the demon jumped onto his arm and took hold of the bag with its teeth. Rin flailed his arm a bit and Bon tried to grab the demon, but was unable to break the salamander's strong grasp.

Kuro soon joined the struggle, and Rin served as their jungle gym while they wrestled for the bag. "Give it back!"

The man was beside himself as he too tried to reach for his salamander only to have the demon slip by him. "I'm sorry! H-he's not normally like this!"

Rin's interest remained on the salamander as he held tight to the bag which the demon was so intent on getting. "Get off damn it!" He shouted as he finally caught the lizard by its tail and a small blue flame ignited in his palm in warning. The salamander screeched in fear as it let go of the bag and flew back to the safety of the temple man's shoulder. It ducked its head under the man's long hair and peaked out from the other side with a low whine. Rin gave an agitated glare towards the frightened Dazzle before Bon placed his hand on the teen's shoulder.

"Chill, Okumura." He then turned to the man. "I hope you can keep that Salamander of yours in line now."

The man bowed in apology. "Yes, I really am quite sorry." He then stood back up. "Though it's common for him to take food from other familiars of the temple, he should know better than to steal from people. Its very out of character for him I assure you." He then turned back to the Hokage who seemed like she was about to laugh, though she hid it very well. "My apologies, Lady Hokage. My name is Reisho Tendo of Gonyo Temple. I am here to assist and discuss the matter the three Exorcists you mentioned. I assure you, our Temple has sent no such team into this area for exorcism."

"That's what we figured." Tsunade responded. "We would have received some word from the Fire Temple."

Reisho gave a nod in agreement. "Of course, though I am curious as to what they think they can gain by posing as exorcists of all things."

Shizune raised a finger to her chin. "It does seem rather strange, but wouldn't it get them access to certain places rather quickly? They were able to come through the village gate without the usual inspection."

Tsunade sat up. "That's true, but that wouldn't keep them from being assigned a surveillance team." She then let out a sigh. "Anyway, speaking of Exorcists, what do you think of those two?" She asked as she gestured towards Rin and Bon. "They claim to be Exorcists in training, but they don't seem to be from anywhere we can find."

"And this one entered from a sort of doorway, but it wasn't normal. It was as if, it were some sort of time space ninjutsu." Neji added in as awaited the Monk's appraisal.

He turned back to the boys with a raised brow. "Well, if I had to give you my honest opinion, I cannot truly say. There are many kinds of exorcists." He then turned back to the Hokage. "I will say this though, that young man seems to know how to handle a demon, and the other was knowledgeable enough to know Dazzle was a Salamander; two things I would be surprised to see someone untrained doing."

Tsunade gave a nod as she processed the man's appraisal. "Alright then," She started as she turned to the teen's in question. "For the time being, the both of you shall remain in the village until we can attain any further information about this True Cross." She then turned her gaze onto Naruto who'd been watching Rin rather intently. "Naruto!"

His train of thought broken, he turned to face her. "Uh.. yeah?!"

"While these two are in the village, you will be assigned to watch them. There will of course be another surveillance team in the area. Since both Yamato and Kakashi are away on other missions your team is on standby anyway."

He seemed ready to complain, but instead turned his head to the side and grumbled out, "Yeah, fine."

Tsunade, though annoyed, decided to be happy he agreed before an argument started. Getting him to do simple mission like this tended to be like pulling teeth. She then leaned back and motioned towards the door. "Alright then, the four of you are dismissed."

Once outside the office Naruto let out a sigh. "Man…. I knew this was gonna happen."

Neji turned and gave him a stern look. "Lady Tsunade has been very busy since the reconstruction, and you can't expect her to simply go out of her way to keep you entertained." He then crossed his arms. "Though, your self-restraint was admirable. Regardless, you should still be ready should anything happen."

Lee backed up his teammate with a fervent grin and gave Naruto a thumbs up. "Yes, Naruto, no mission is too small if it's for the sake of your village." The two ninja then parted ways with Lee following Neji.

Naruto wore a relatively despondent expression as he watched them. "Was that a compliment or a lecture…?" Naruto asked himself rhetorically before turning to Rin. "By the way, what was in that bag anyway?"

Bon gave a nod as he looked down at the back. "Yeah that Salamander seemed pretty adamant on getting it."

Rin gave it some thought for a moment before taking a peek into the bag for himself. He pulled out what appeared to be a piece of dried meat which Kuro seemed to drool at. "That smells good…. Can I have some huh? Please!" Rin gave a shrug and held the piece up for Kuro who sucked it into his mouth happily. He seemed very content by its taste and after swallowing waved a paw for more. "Oh wow! It's so tasty! Can I have more? Please, Rin!"

Rin raised a brow and decided to try a piece for himself. He too found it pretty tasty though it mostly reminded him of jerky. "It's pretty good." He then held up the bag towards Bon and Naruto. "You guys wanna try?"

Bon immediately refused. "Pass." Naruto seemed more willing as he reached for the bag.

"Hey, big brother, can I have some?" All three boys immediately turned to see a small child, looked to be around eight, held their hand up at the bag. They wore a cloak that covered them down to their ankles, wore no shoes and what could be seen of the face seemed dirty with mud spots on their cheeks. Their eyes, somewhat hidden behind blonde almost orange hair, seemed to be those of a pleading child.

Rin raised a brow to the child, but gave a shrug and lowered the bag so they could reach. "Sure I guess….. uh.. who are you?"

"Thank you, big brother!" Was all he got in response as the child grabbed the bag. After a slight pause and a smile to Rin he turned and dashed away like lightning.

"What the!? Hey!" Rin shouted as he chased after him.

Kuro encouraged Rin with determination from atop his head. "Hurry, Rin! He's got the food!"

Bon watched with a dry expression as Naruto simply ate the piece he was able to get. "You think maybe you should go after him?" Suguro questioned as he turned to the ninja. "Aren't you supposed to keep an eye on us or something?"

After a moment's hesitation it seemed to click in the boy's mind as he too dashed off behind the demon hybrid. "Aww man!"

Bon let out a sigh as he watched him go and crossed his arms. "Man, that idiot's karma must be contagious or something." He wondered to himself before realizing he now had no guide in the village. He rubbed his forehead with agitation before starting to run himself. "Damn it, Okumura!"

The young child dashed down the street and while several people seemed to watch him pass, no one dared to get in the way even when Rin came running after him only seconds later. The spectacle seemed to border on entertaining as Naruto came running with Bon not far behind. "Damn that little Jerk! Come back here!" Rin shouted as he went through, the kid showed no signs of stopping, and while Naruto seemed to be catching up with the young Exwire, poor Bon seemed to fall further behind.

Once he seemed close enough, Naruto called out for him to stop. "Come on, Rin, it's just a little bag of dried meat!"

Rin turned his head to respond. "That's not the point! That kid jus-" His determined run was cut off in a somewhat comedic display as he ran headlong into someone because he'd stopped watching where he was going. The two of them were thrown a few feet as they slid on the ground. "Aww….damn it…." Rin grumbled as he pushed himself up from the ground.

The other young man sat up while rubbing his head. "What just hit me….?"

"You alright?" Rin asked as soon as he'd realized he'd run into someone. "I'm really sorry I…. wait….. You're uh…. Choji right?"

The round teen turned to him in surprise. "Oh, it's the guy who works for Mr. Ichiraku."

Naruto was just catching up as he recognized the ninja who had collided with Rin. "Rin! Choji!" He slowed as he came to be only a few feet away. "Man… you can run pretty fast." He commented as he stopped right in front of the two.

Rin then stood up and turned to help out his victim of carelessness. "Sorry about running into you again, Choji, I guess I wasn't looking again…" He said rather sheepishly.

Choji didn't seem mad at all as he gave a laugh. "You've got to start paying attention then. I don't know how someone else would have fared if you'd tackled them like that." Rin blushed in embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head.

"And seriously, running off to chase some kid who stole a snack from you? Come on."

Choji looked all too serious all of a sudden. "A kid did what now!?"

Naruto tensed up at his friend's demeanor change. "Uh…. A kid-"

Choji raised a hand to silence him. "Go after him, Okumura."

He said with a serious tone that made Rin seem to tense up as well. "Uh….." He then looked in the direction he was running. "I don't even know where he went anymore…." He continued dejectedly. He then let out a sigh as he accepted the loss of his snack. "And it was tasty too."

Choji now seemed more calm and like his normal self as he placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. "You know for next time, to keep hold of your snacks." He said with a decisive nod of his head.

Rin didn't really seem to follow but agreed all the same. "Uh… okay?"

They all then heard a older man clear his voice rather irately and turned to see an angry shop keep. "Excuse me, but does this cat belong to one of you?" He asked as he held up the pouting Cat Sidhe.

"Kuro..?"

The old man instantly homed in on Rin. "So he's yours huh?" He then dropped the cat in front of the teen causing Rin to reflexively open his arms to catch him. "I don't allow animals in my shop! Keep track of your pets!" He then stomped away leaving a tense silence between the boys.

"Damn… it… Okumura….!" Bon shouted rather out of breath as he finally caught up to them. He stopped a few feet away and began to catch his breath. "What kind of idiot chases a kid for something so stupid?" He finally asked as he stood up straight. "I mean, is it really worth it?"

Choji seemed to be about to shift to serious mode again before he was stopped abruptly by a new voice. "What's going on out here, Choji?" A young girl came out of the restaurant they had been standing next to. She had long blonde hair, wore purple and looked anything but happy. "And by the way, what was with the hurry…" She trailed off as she noticed Naruto with the two new boys she'd never met. "Oh hey, Naruto, these guys new here?" She asked as she pointed to the Exwires.

Naruto gave a nod. "Yeah, Grandma Tsunade wants me to keep an eye on them while they're here."

"She was probably just trying to keep you from getting restless since you tend to attract trouble when you do." Said and unenthusiastic Shikamaru as he exited the restaurant. He then recognized Rin and seemed genuinely surprised. "Oh, I remember you from the other day." He said with slightly curious tone. "Rin Okumura?"

"Yeah, and you're…. Shika…. Shikamaru!" He finally got out after some serious contemplation.

Shikamaru seemed slightly put off by the way he'd said it before turning to Naruto. "So you were assigned to watch him?"

"Yup." The boy responded concisely.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the fight that occurred earlier in the shopping district does it?" He asked with a obvious contempt for the answer he knew was coming.

"Yeah, these three weird priest guys showed up and picked a fight over Rin's cat."

Choji reached over to pet him along with Ino who smiled at him. "Aww but he's so cute."

"Yeah, why would these guys have a problem with the cat?"

Naruto paused a moment to think of a way to explain it. "Well, he's not a normal cat, he's a…." He then turned to Bon. "What was it called again?"

The boy sighed. "He's a Cat Sidhe, a demon that possess cats. When they live long enough they'll develop a split tail like Kuro's." All three of them froze and both Ino and Choji retracted their hands from the cat as Kuro simply looked at them blankly. His tails wagged slightly below him as Rin held him up by his under arms.

"That's a….demon?" Shikamaru asked for clarification with a more serious expression.

Naruto was quick to steady the situation he saw was growing tense. "Don't worry guys, he's not a bad one. He's Rin's familiar, and not anything to worry about."

Rin placed him back on his head. "Yeah, Kuro's awesome."

Kuro gave a happy response which came out as meow to all but Rin. "Yeah, I like people. Especially when they have food."

"See, he's harmless." Naruto reiterated once he saw the expressions of his friends seeming to soften.

"Well…. I guess if he's not dangerous…" Choji started as he reached up to pet the cat again.

Kuro purred under the teen's palm. "That feels good!"

Ino crossed her arms as she watched the cute spectacle. "Is that really a demon?"

Bon gave a dry nod. "Yeah, just a tame one….. when he's not biting people." He grumbled at the end.

"Are you still mad about that?" Rin grumbled back as he gave a side glance at his classmate.

"Anyway, Naruto, just try to get your mission done without letting it get out of hand." Shikamaru requested with a slightly tired tone. "We don't need any more problems in the village right now."

Naruto gave a nod for the slight lecture. "Yeah yeah, I got it sheesh…"

Choji gave him a sympathetic smile. "It's alright, Naruto, you know Shikamaru's always like that." He then turned to Bon. "By the way, I don't think I've gotten your name yet. I'm Choji Akamechi."

Suguro seemed surprised as he uncrossed his arms. "Oh yeah, I'm Ryugi Suguro."

"Or Bon." Rin added in much to the irritation of the young Exwire.

"Shikamaru Nara." The young chunin added with a sigh.

"And I'm Ino Yamanaka. Anyway, we should get going before Kurenai sensei thinks we forgot about her." She suggested as she held up the take out box. Choji seemed to remember rather quickly. "Oh right, yeah we should get moving. Oh and, Rin? Thanks for the cooking tips, my steak was perfect!" He waved as he followed Ino up the street with Shikamaru following lazily behind. "See ya, Naruto, Rin, Bon."

Bon seemed to twitch at how quickly that nickname had caught on but gave a sigh in defeat. "I'm not going to win…" He was interrupted from his hopelessness by a low growl beside him.

Rin blushed as he grabbed his shirt. "Oh man….."

"Actually…. That was me too…." Naruto interjected. "We were talking about food and then the run and more food….. and we missed lunch." He had a slight blush on his face as well as he clutched his stomach. "Think maybe you could make something good Rin?"

The teen crossed his arms in confidence. "Definitely!" Naruto then began down a side street with Rin just behind. "Got anything in mind?" The young half demon inquired as he fell in stride beside his ninja friend. Bon simply watched in curiosity as he resigned himself to follow. One Okumura was bad enough, and now another one….?

"I have a bad feeling this is only the beginning." He grumbled as he thought over the day's events.

"Have you seen a small child in a cloak?" He heard from behind. He turned to see a young man, dressed in temple attire, who seemed to be in a panic. He seemed to be very worried as he repeated the question to another passerby only to receive a negative reply.

"Little kid in a….. cloak?" The man appeared to hear him as he raised a hand to his chin in thought. "Come to think of it…. That little kid whole stole Rin's snack had on a cloak.."

"Where did you see him!?"

Suguro stumbled back as the man appeared right in front of him in seconds. "Whoa!... Don't do that."

The flustered man bowed his head and apologized with a frantic tone. "I've sorry but I really need to find him! The fate of my temple may depend on it!"

Bon raised a brow as he pointed down the street. "Well, my friend Rin's the one who saw him, but he lost track of him running down that street there." He quickly bowed in response and took off without another word. "The fate of his temple huh?" Bon wondered to himself before rolling his eyes. "As if a temple could be trusted to a little brat like that. He's probably some relative of the head priest or something. That guy was way too dramatic." He turned and then continued on as he tried to spy where Rin and Naruto went.

It didn't take him long to see Rin waving him over impatiently. "Would you hurry up already!? I'm ready for some food."

Bon started to jog a bit. "Like I need that from you of all people!? I'm coming, alright?" Rin's hypocritical attitude aside though, he couldn't stop thinking about what that monk had said, and it bothered him.

Okay, so the ending is where I got the name of the chapter. As I was looking this over before posting I also realized how bad of a speller I am... Well I tried my best to make it legible so I can only hope Ya'll will over look it. Anyway, so things will start up next chapter, and be sure to keep anything from previous chapters that stood out in mind, cause I've hinted at a few things. (Yes in this chapter too.) Also, Neji is kinda like Yukio isn't he? He's got this serious attitude to him and he's kind smug at times.

Special note: I'm sorry for those of you who are Sasuke fans but I have no plans for him to show in this fic. To be honest I really don't like him at all. He's got next to no redeeming features or good aspects to his personality, which screams TOOL. (If you look up tool in the dictionary and see the third definition, that's Sasuke throughout the series, though mostly shippuden) I really don't like to hate on characters, so in order to keep my own dislike of the character from weaving itself in the fic, he will not appear. If he does at any time, it will be very brief. I thank you for your understanding.=^-^=

With that little bit out of the way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and look forward to the next one. I really hope I don't make you wait long, but giving me your opinion of it always helps. Reviews and responses, as well as questions are welcome. I also appreciate anyone who notices a mistake or oversight and tells me about it so I can fix it.=^-^=