Chapter 10: Tales of Ba Sing Se Part I

Tale of Sakura, Toph, and Katara

Ba Sing Se, Team 7's temporary residence

It was a few days after the party. Things had settled down and the team reluctantly settled down in the house they were given. The Konoha Shinobi were still adapting to life in the city…and longing for home. Kakashi had disappeared several times, and like this morning, he was gone before anyone woke up. In the bathroom, everyone…but Toph was getting ready for the day.

Aang was shaving his head to keep hair from growing over his arrow. In three careful, clean swipes, his head was shaved around the arrow and smirked. Naruto dropped his hair under the water and shook his head, drying his hair and all his spikes stood up correctly. Sokka used his machete to begin shaving his moustache, and he clicked at his reflection after he shaved.

Sakura brushed her pink hair several times before examining her look in the mirror, and she smiled. Her Inner Self let out a "Hell Ya! We look good!" in her mind which made her smile widen. Next to her, Hinata arranged her bangs right in front of her face the way she liked them…and she decided to put her long hair in a braid. After a few minutes, she had wrapped her long hair up around her head in a bun, which was held together by decorative glass hairpins. Next to her, finishing up her look was Katara, who attached her hair loops to the back of her head and she smiled. Over on the bathroom bench, Momo cleaned his face.

Katara and Sakura were finished, and they left the bathroom to get some stuff for the day in the girls room when the saw…Toph still sleeping, face down in bed, her hair 'let down' and out of control. The Waterbender gasped, and then frowned.

"Toph, aren't you going to get ready for the day?" Katara asked as the blind Earthbender woke up, sat up, and then spit in the spittoon on the other side of the room.

Sakura sighed. 'She's more tomboy every day…'

"I'm ready," Toph said as she sat up and wiped the dust off her body.

"Toph, you need a bath. You're covered in dirt," Sakura stated bluntly.

"You call it dirt, student Sakura, but I call it a healthy layer of dirt," Toph told the pink-haired kunoichi with a grin.

"…you know what we need?" Katara asked them. "A girls day out! I'll see if Hinata wants to come!"

"Sounds good, but I think we should leave Naruto and Hinata-chan together, they haven't spent any down time together and like each other's company after all," Sakura said, stopping her friend. "Though a girl's day out does sound fun, doesn't it, Toph-chan?"

"…do I have to?" Toph asked like she was a younger kid who didn't want to go somewhere.

"It'll be fun!" Katara and Sakura cheered at the same time, and their younger friend just shrugged.

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Fancy Lady's Day Spa, Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se

After Toph got changed, got her hair the way she liked it and got some of the dirt off her face, she followed the two other older girls to the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se. The Earthbending Tomboy wasn't too keen in doing the 'girly thing' her friends were planning…but she went along anyway since they were her friends.

"Ah…this looks like a good place to start!" Sakura said as she looked at the spa they stopped first. "Hopefully they'll have a hot spring or a sauna!"

"The Fancy Lady's Day Spa? Sounds like my kind of place…" Toph said sarcastically after Katara read the name as two well dressed ladies walked out of the spa.

"Are you ready for some serious pampering?" Katara asked excitedly. She never had this done before, and she was sure excited.

"This will be so good! I can't wait to get inside and make myself more beautiful!" Sakura cheered with a sigh. "Sometime's beauty is a curse…" and she smiled. "But a good one!"

"…sure Katara, Sakura…whatever you say…" Toph said disappointedly. She would rather be out with the guys watching a fight or something. "…as long as they don't touch my feet."

With that, the three of them walked into the Fancy Lady's Day Spa. Toph wasn't looking too forward to it…

Inside, Sakura and Katara were reclining in chairs in the massage room as the women there started giving them a foot massage. They were wearing pale green bath robes with a dark green trim on the lapel. However…three ladies were also doing Toph's feet. One was scraping her feet so hard, the dust was coming off. The young Earthbender couldn't take it…and launched the woman back with an blast of Earthbending, throwing her out of the room.

A little while later, the three young ladies were taking a mud bath. Sakura stretched…she was loving this. It wasn't every day she was pampered…and was taking full advantage of it. A towel lady walked over to Toph to hand her a towel, and the Earthbender took a deep breath…and began to bend the mud on her face. Her cucumbers on her eyes were projected upwards when she bent the mud on her face up, making them look like stock eyes of a chameleon. She also bent the mud around her lips to the same…and the entire look was very…alien.

Toph then looked at the towel lady, who promptly screamed in fright and ran away. Sakura, Katara, and Toph then laughed at what happened, for it was very funny. The pink-haired kunoichi then practiced a little Earthbending that her young teacher had showed her, and as another towel lady walked in…she was freaked out by giant slug, made out of mud, crawling out of one of the empty baths. More laughter broke out as the towel lady ran.

For one of their last stops, the three girls relaxed in the sauna. Toph and Sakura stomped their feet sending a heated rock over the kernels, and Katara bent water from the wooden bucket near her onto the heated rocks, creating a refreshing steam. Their bodies and hair wrapped by towels, they stretched and sighed in pleasure, they hadn't felt this good in a long time.

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Ba Sing Se Streets

After relaxing in the Fancy Lady's Day Spa's sauna, the three young ladies had expert makeup artists finish up their day at the spa. Blush, blue eye-liner, lipstick, and in Toph's case, her hair parted around her face to show off her pale, green eyes and makeup were all used on them. They walked with satisfied smiles on their faces as they went further down the road.

"Well that wasn't so bad. I'm not usually into that stuff, but I actually feel girly," Toph told her friends happily as she walked proudly with them.

"I'm glad, it's about time we did something fun together," Katara said happily as Sakura pumped her fist.

"We're going to have to beat the guys off with sticks!" Sakura cheered, loving the way she looked after the makeover.

Katara and Toph giggled at the image of beating Aang, Sokka, and Naruto off with sticks when they saw their appearance. Sakura added it a step further when the three of them were beating off every teenage male in the city away from them. They continued to laugh as they reached a bridge to get across to their next stop.

While walking on the bridge they passed three high class rich girls, one holding a parasol above her head. They were wearing formal green raquns of different shades and the girl with the parasol looked at Toph for a second.

"Nice makeup..."

"Thanks!" Toph replied cheerily as they continued walking.

"…for a clown!" the rich girl finished meanly as she and her friends laughed in contempt, as the young Earthbender looked down sadly, tears starting to well in her eyes as she kept walking.

"What was that?" Sakura snarled as her Inner Self started bubble to the surface like Naruto's Kyuubi, and she looked to see Toph's state. "You heard me…"

"Just ignore them guys," Katara said as she put her arm around the young Earthbender's shoulders. "Let's just keep walking."

"I think she looks cute, like the time you put a sweater on your pet poodle-monkey," one of the mean girls with an oversized, mouse ear haircut similar to Tenten's added meanly as she and her friends started laughing again.

"You…little…bitch…" Sakura growled as she squeezed her fists tighter. No one, absolutely no one insulted her friends.

"Good one, Star!"

"Lets go guys," Katara told her friends as she kept her anger in check.

"…no, no, that was a good one!" Toph said as she turned around. "Like your poodle-monkey! Ha, ha, ha! You know what else is a good one?"

With that, she stomped the ground, carving a circle in the middle of the bridge that gave way, dropping the three mean rich girls into the canal. Katara walked over with Sakura and smugly put her hands on her hips.

"Now that was funny, right Sakura?" Katara asked as her pink haired friend flew through the summoning seals.

"Yeah, we'll make it even funnier," Sakura grinned evilly as she wiped her blood on her hand after finishing the seals, and slammed it into the ground. Three, arm-length sized slugs dropped down the hole in the bridge, directly onto the rich girls heads. "How do you like my cute, little sluggies?"

"Nice…makes their looks look even better," Katara said as she bent the water into a wave that threw the three mean rich girls further down the canal.

Toph had already started walking away, still sad and angry about being teased for how she looked. Sakura and Katara ran to catch up, and they did when they were about a hundred meters away from the bridge.

"Those girls don't know what they're talking about," Katara told her younger friend who was still glancing at the ground.

"Yeah, those stuck up girls are probably just jealous," Sakura added as she put her hand on the younger girl's shoulder.

"It's okay," Toph said a hint of sadness in her voice as they past a green wall with yellow titles on it. "One of the good things about being blind is…that I don't have to worry about my appearance. I don't care what I look like; I'm not looking for anyone's approval, I know who I am…"

Her voice cracked as she said that, the mean rich girl's had hit her vulnerable part. Toph closed her eyes and a tear streaked down her cheek.

"That's what I really admire about you Toph. You're so strong, and confident, and self-assured," Katara said gently as the younger girl sniffled.

"As Naruto'd probably say 'you kick ass', Toph," Sakura told her with a grin.

"I know it doesn't matter, but you're really pretty," Katara said as she patted Toph's shoulder gently.

"…I am?" Toph asked as Sakura and the Waterbender both nodded.

"Yeah, you are," they both told her, which made the young girl feel better.

Toph, now smiling softly started walking ahead of them. She was back to her old self and they continued walking after her.

"I'd return the compliment, but I have no idea what you two look like," Toph told them cheerfully, and they both giggled. "Thanks guys."

With that, she lightly punched them in the shoulders. Katara winced and rubbed her shoulder and Sakura acted like she didn't even feel it. Tsunade had hit harder than that, after all.

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The Tale of Naruto and Hinata

Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se, Team 7's residence

Naruto yawned, and looked around for everyone. Kakashi had left early in the day to do something, which was weird for him since he didn't seem to be a morning person. Yamato had left after he got ready for the morning. Katara, Sakura, and Toph had left after getting ready as well, going to do girly things. Aang had gone out to search for Appa again, this time going to the local zoos located in the middle and upper rings. And Sokka…he didn't really say he where he was going.

The jinchuuriki's stomach grumbled and he went to the kitchen. While walking there, he bumped into Hinata, who was still in the house with him. The Hyuuga Heiress began blushing and stepped away.

"S-Sorry Naruto-kun…" Hinata said as she stuttered as she blushed deeply. "I-I didn't know you were still here."

"Same, why didn't you go out with the other girls, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked as he looked down at her. 'She…looks cute when she blushes…'

"T-They didn't ask me to come. Probably were helping Toph-chan with something," Hinata replied looking up at him. "Or probably they were in a rush and forgot to ask me."

"It was probably something to do with Toph. And here I thought Kakashi-sensei was a late person," Naruto said with a grin. She giggled at that. "…since there's nothing to do here, want to go out with me for the day?"

"O-On a date?" Hinata asked her heartbeat quickening. Naruto suddenly gulped.

"N-Not a date, Hinata-chan, w-we're friends after all, and we should hang out together!" Naruto replied desperately as he waved his hands crazily. "R-Right, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata looked down at the floor for a second, and sighed. "Right, we're friends…."

Naruto noticed she sounded a bit sad when…he said it wasn't a date. "…would it make you feel a little better if it was a date, Hinata-chan? I mean, friends do go out on dates, not date-dates right?"

"…I'd like that," Hinata replied as the blond jinchuuriki grabbed her hand, and she blushed more.

"Well then let's go!" He cheered as he began pulling her out of the house.

Hinata let herself be dragged by the jinchuuriki out of their temporary residence. Her blush grew on her face as she thought…she'd have the entire day with him. It…it was like something out of a dream for her.

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Inner Ring of Ba Sing Se

One of their first stops for the day was in the crowded streets of the Inner Wall. To avoid getting caught up in the streets, they leapt from building to building, then down to ground level to check out a few stores. Naruto grinned; he had recently exchanged all his ryou for Earth Kingdom money, and fattened up Gama-chan a lot since the Earth Kingdom bankers didn't know the exact rate of exchange, so they gave him as many coins that he had in his wallet, mostly gold and silver. He wasn't a poor shinobi, both in the literal sense and in the monetary sense. All the missions he did gave him a large bank account, as well as plenty of spending money.

"So, Hinata-chan, where should we start?" Naruto asked as he carefully placed Gama-chan into his pocket, and zipped it up.

Hinata looked around. There were so many shops…and she saw one that caught her eye. It was a little jewelry kiosk that had shells with precious gems on them, arranged into necklaces, earrings, and even rings.

"I…would like to go over there, Naruto-kun," Naruto said as she pointed at the kiosk, and he nodded and walked over, gently pushing through the crowd to get to it.

"Oh, hello young sir and miss, buying something for your lady friend today? A broach or bracelet perhaps?"

"Hinata-chan's just my friend," Naruto said quietly, just enough for the salesperson to hear. "Got it?"

"Of course, sir. Miss, what would you like?"

Hinata looked over several of the jewelry boxes, and she picked out one that caught her eye. It was a beautiful bracelet made out of small scallop shells with orange gems. She shyly pointed it out, and the salesman reached into the box and brought it out for her, and it was placed carefully on her wrist.

"You like it Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked with a grin, and the girl nodded as she looked at the bracelet. "Oy, how much is that mister?"

"120."

Hinata gasped. Naruto was actually going to buy it for her…but she had her own money. She shouldn't make him pay for something she wanted.

"No way, more like 75!" Naruto said as the man gawked at him.

"Hardly, I'll go as low as 105!"

"Yeah right. Make it 80 and we have a deal," Naruto said as the as the man sighed in resignation.

"Deal," the man said as the blond dug out his wallet and opened it up. He gave the salesman 80 silver Earth Kingdom coins and grabbed Hinata's hand again.

"Well thanks, by!" Naruto said cheerfully as he dragged the still stunned Hinata through the crowd.

"…why did you buy this for me, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked quietly as they funneled their way through the crowed.

"You liked it so I bought it for you, is there something wrong with that?" Naruto replied, hoping he didn't do anything wrong. They were friends, and friends bought each other stuff they liked, right?

"I…I could have bought it myself, N-Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a stutter, and she looked at the blond again. "…thank you though."

Naruto gave his trademark smile again and she let herself be pulled through the crowd again. From the shadows, a young man, around Aang's age, with short black hair with brown eyes and wearing traditional Earth Kingdom green shirt and pants, watched them, and he spied Hinata's satchels…and he could see her own wallet hanging from her belt. He didn't like doing this…but he needed to survive, to pay off his father's debt. He pushed through the crowd quietly and silently, trying not to arouse suspicion from the various onlookers.

They soon reached what looked like a Tea Shop, and Naruto looked back at his friend.

"I wonder if this place has ramen, want to go in, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked her, and she blushed and nodded.

They walked into the shop, and the person who was shadowing them decided to wait outside. Naruto and Hinata walked to a nearby table and a young man, around the blonde's age, walked up to take their order. He was wearing green clothes, and had short, dark brown spiky hair. Yet…the most striking feature was his massive burn scar over his left eye.

"Hello…I am Lee, I will be your waiter today," the boy said with a heavy sigh. He didn't want to blow their cover.

"Yo. I'll have one pork ramen please," Naruto said as 'Lee' looked at him weird. "…if you don't have ramen, I'll have some noodle soup pork."

"…alright, you?" Lee asked as he looked at Hinata.

"I'll have some green tea please," Hinata replied as their scarred waiter nodded, and walked back up to the counter where a man who was balding on the top of his head, but he had a gray beard and long hair on the sides and back of his head.

"The blond kid wants noodle soup with pork, and the girl wants green tea," Lee said as the man smiled.

"I'll get right on it," he said, but Lee grabbed onto his arm. "What is it nephew?"

"We should watch them…they could blow our cover," Lee said as his uncle 'Mushi' smiled and shook his head.

"We have a new life here nephew, now I have to get their orders ready," Mushi said as he walked further through the kitchen. "If it worries you so much, nephew, go talk to them."

Lee nodded with a sigh, and walked over to them and he sat down. Naruto raised his eyebrow.

"Your order will be ready in a bit. My Uncle is just trying to get me more sociable with the people my age…we're new here," Lee said as he looked at them.

"Will, we're new here too," Naruto said as he glanced at the burn mark. "…if you don't mind me asking, man, how'd you get that?"

"…had a run in with a powerful Firebender a while back, I…didn't fight back and got scarred for it," Lee replied. It wasn't really a lie, it was half-true…though he couldn't blow their cover. "So what are those headbands about?"

"Oh, they're the symbol for our village," Naruto said as he adjusted it. "We're here in the city visiting…it's nothing like home though."

Lee nodded. "I know what it feels like. I…wish we were just visiting, but we can't return home."

"That's terrible," Hinata said softly, and their waiter looked at her. "No one should be driven from their homes."

Throughout Lee's travels…he saw what the war, his Nation had started…was reeking on the Earth Kingdom. "I agree," he said as he saw his uncle bringing out their orders. "I'll get those for you."

"Thanks, nice talking to you," Naruto said with a grin. "I'm Naruto, and she's Hinata-chan."

"Hello," Hinata said nicely as Lee nodded with a small smirk, and he walked to get their order.

Hinata took a drink of the tea, and her eyes widened. It was…really, really good. Much better than the tea she made, hell, much better than the tea in Konoha. She drank it faster than she normally would, and put the clay cup back down gently.

"Excuse me, Lee-san; what type of tea is this?" Hinata asked as their waiter rubbed the back of his head.

"You should really ask my Uncle. He made it."

Hinata nodded and walked up to counter and Lee's Uncle turned around after washing his hand. "What can I do for you young lady?"

"Ano…could I have your tea recipe? I really like it," Hinata replied politely, and Mushi smiled.

"Of course," Mushi said as he wrote the recipe for his Jasmine Green Tea on piece of paper, and handed it to her. "There you go young lady."

"Please call me Hinata," Hinata said with a smile, and she bowed, taking the tea recipe with her.

Naruto had just finished his noodle soup. "…I miss Ichiraku…" he mumbled as he put his chopsticks down. "Thanks…the noodle soup could use some more flavor."

"Oh?" Mushi asked as Naruto walked over. "Like what?"

"Try adding more pepper to it, as well as a tiny bit of spice," Naruto said as Hinata walked over and paid for them.

"Thank you very much sir," Hinata said with a bow, and Naruto followed. Mushi chuckled at that.

"No thanks needed! It was a pleasure serving you!" Mushi told them with a grin. "Right nephew?"

"Yeah, yeah, nice talking to you, have a good day," Lee said as he got their cups and bowls.

"Hey man, somehow we'll get those Fire Nation bastards back for starting this damn war, and giving you that scar," Naruto said with a grin, and Lee sighed.

Hinata and the jinchuuriki turned to walk out the door. "Thank you very much, we'll be sure to come back here," the Hyuuga told them with a bow, and Naruto followed.

The two of them walked out of the tea shop waving at Mushi and Lee, and disappeared into the crowd. The person who shadowed them soon followed, pushing threw the crowd like he was going somewhere else. He really needed the money…or else…

"So where do you want to go now, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked as he reflexively put his arm around her shoulder. "A play or something?"

Hinata pursed her lips and tried to think. Suddenly, she felt something reach…onto her backside. At first she thought it was Naruto, but his hand never left her shoulder. She then looked down to her pack…it was open.

"Naruto-kun, I've been robbed," she whispered, and he looked at her.

"What?" Naruto asked as she reached into her pack to get her wallet…yet found nothing. "Where is the bastard?"

Hinata's eyes darted left and right and she saw someone running. "Byakugan."

Her 360 degree vision zoomed in on the fleeing man. She saw that he was indeed carrying her wallet in his hand, and started to push threw the crowd. Naruto followed, squeezing his hands as his whisker birthmarks widened. No one stole from his friends and got away with it, especially not Hinata.

They followed the thief threw the alley at a speed that only the Dai Li, in the thief's mind, could match. Naruto and Hinata were literally leaping from wall to wall on the alley to catch up and he turned around sharply, hoping to lose them. Yet they kept on his back like they could see threw walls.

'How the hell do they keep doing that?' the thief thought as he hid behind a few rock boxes, and peered out to see Naruto and Hinata looking around.

"Where now, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked as he looked around.

"There!" Hinata replied as she pointed at the boxes, and the thief's hair stood on end.

'How is she able to keep finding me?' The thief thought as he began running again.

Naruto growled and leaped ahead of the thief, and both Hinata and himself cornered him. The young man gulped…he was really hoping he wouldn't be caught. He had to get the money…had to pay off the debt…

"Give that back to Hinata-chan," Naruto ordered as he brought out a kunai.

The thief gulped, he didn't like this. "Here! Sorry!"

He thrust out Hinata's wallet, and she took it back from him. "Why did you steal from me?"

"Sorry! I…I just really need the money!" the thief told them. "One of the crime bosses of the city has put me in debt, and I have to pay it off!"

"Wait, crime bosses?" Naruto asked as he put his kunai away. "What's your name kid?"

"Meijing, I'm working off a debt that they put me in. My…father was a gambler and he was incarcerated by the Dai Li before he could pay off his debt…now I have to," the thief said, bowing his head. "I'm sorry! I didn't want to do it!"

Hinata sighed, and poured her money out. "Here. If it'll help you get out of debt, please take it."

Meijing looked at her, his eyes widened. "Thank you very much! Thank you!"

"Wait!" Naruto said as the Hyuuga and the in-debt thief looked at him. "Take us to that crime boss, and we'll put him out of business."

"Wait, you can't do that! He has 200 men working for him, and fifty of the best Earthbenders the underworld can buy!" Meijing told them frantically. "Please don't get involved in my problems!"

"The moment you stole from Hinata-chan, it became our problem," Naruto retorted, and the in-debt thief looked at him. "Besides, we might as well have some fun, right, Hinata-chan?"

"Right, Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a nod. Meijing looked at the two of them in awe…they had nothing to gain from helping him, and were willing to risk their lives…

"Thank you…"

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Ba Sing Se, Middle Ring

The reluctant thief led them to the crime bosses' hideout in the middle ring of Ba Sing Se. They spotted a massive building, at least half the size of the palace, which looked like a small, Japanese castle. Its green titled levels had out posts, where guards looked out.

Around the base of the castle, several shirtless Earthbenders patrolled. They were branded with a tattoo on their shoulders; it was a green Chinese dragon trying to eat its own tail. Naruto and Hinata glanced at Meijing, and he sighed.

"At day, lord Laogang is a successful businessman of Ba Sing Se…at dark and in the Underworld…he's one of the Earth Kingdom's top five crime lords…" Meijing told them, and they nodded.

"I count twenty guards there," Naruto said and he glanced at Hinata. "How many do you see, Hinata-chan?"

"…thirty, there are ten more on the other end of the courtyard," Hinata replied, using her Byakugan. "How should we get in?"

Naruto smirked and cracked his knuckles. "Well, I would go for the direct approach. I create a thousand Shadow Clones and then we storm the compound, forcing this Laogang guy to drop this guy's debt. But…that's not very ninja-ish, is it?"

"Ninja?" Meijing asked them, and Hinata showed him her forehead protector.

"We are both Shinobi of Konoha," Hinata told him. "We need…a distraction."

"Leave that to me. Hinata-!" Naruto started before he saw one of the guards looking over at their location, and he quickly ducked behind the bush. "Sorry…"

"N-No problem…Naruto-kun," Hinata said quietly, and looked up again.

"I guess it was nothing…" the guard said as he walked back to his post.

"Meijing-kun, you'll be the distraction," Hinata said in a whisper, and the reluctant thief looked at her. "You…have to give him what you stole, right?"

"Y-Yeah…but…I didn't get anything…" Meijing said as he started shaking. "…he'll know I'm lying when I don't present him with the loot!"

"Yet you're the only person who can get in there now," Naruto argued, and the reluctant thief sighed. "Now get moving. Oh, and tell your boss you quit."

"WHAT?" Meijing asked in fear. "I can't do that! I'll be torn apart!"

"So you want to continue stealing?" Naruto retorted. "You really want to continue your life as a thief?"

"…no…I…actually want to make something of myself. Become a carpenter or something."

"Good, now go tell your former boss that," Naruto said with a grin.

Meijing sighed, and walked over to the path. The two Shinobi crept behind the bushes, being as quiet as they could. They peered threw the bushes as one of the bodyguards walked over to the reluctant thief.

"Meijing! You were due back a half an hour ago!" the bodyguard, Kazuku the Demon roared. He was a big man wearing a pony tail, at least seven feet tall and very muscular. "You better have quite a haul to explain your lateness!"

Meijing gulped. "I-I do sir. I…lost track of time."

Kazuku snarled, then led the reluctant thief threw the door as the various other guards glared at the in debt man. Naruto scowled, they were treating him like a slave. He turned to Hinata, and she nodded. They leapt onto the second level of the miniature castle, and stealth fully crept up the wall.

Hinata kept tags on Meijing, using her Byakugan to trace where he was as a bodyguard ran up to the where the boss was. They reached the top level, and peered into a window. Laogang was a piggish man, sitting cross leg with a bottle of alcohol in his hand. He was dressed in green robes and was balding. At his feet were several women, he seemed to have a harem of them, as well as other bowing men that led up to the crime boss. It was like almost like a scene out of a Yakuza film.

"Boss! You're little errand boy is back!" Kazuku informed his boss.

"Which one?" Laogang asked with a deep laugh.

"Meijing! The little creep still doesn't realize that his debt has been paid off for over a year now!"

Naruto's ears flinched at that, and he began to squeeze his fists. 'Those…lousy…'

"Send him in! The boy always has the best hauls of…my many 'errand' boys," Laogang ordered, and the jinchuuriki bore his teeth angrily.

"Hinata-chan…I don't know how much longer I'll be able to restrain myself from beating the crap out of that oafish pig," Naruto told his friend, who nodded.

"…I know how you feel, Naruto-kun…" Hinata said in a whisper, and her Byakugan scanned the area again. "We can get into the building…" she then pointed diagonally across from Laogang. "Over there…he has a open window that looks like its part of his private study."

Naruto nodded, and the two of them crept to the window before the guards could see them. The blond jinchuuriki carefully moved the curtains away, and looked at Hinata. She nodded, and both of them went into the study. Hinata used her Byakugan to navigate both of them threw the darkened room, and they slid the canvas door open to see that Meijing had arrived.

"So, Meijing, I hear you're late. You better have snatched at least 100 gold pieces today," Laogang told him as the reluctant thief gulped. "So…give me what you stole now, and I'll see your debt has been reduced."

"…I didn't get anything," Meijing said quietly…and he bore his teeth. "And I'm not going to steal for you anymore! I'll work off my father's debt another way!"

"What was that?" Kazuku snapped. The brawly man stomped forward, cracking his knuckles. "No one disrespects the boss!"

"I don't want to be a thief anymore!" Meijing yelled, working up all the courage he could. "I'll work it off as a busboy! A stock boy! Anything's better than being a thief!"

Laogang was unfazed. "Tell me, Meijing, those are what you would do instead of thieving? My boy, you have a gift for it. Using your talents for ordinary work will never get you out of debt to me."

"I don't care!" Meijing yelled as the bodyguard slammed his fist into the reluctant thief's face, making him crash to the ground. "…I don't want to steal…"

"And you won't have to," the voice of Naruto said from behind Laogang, and everyone looked in shock as the two ninja appeared from the room. "Right, fatty?"

"WHAT?" Kazuku roared and charged Naruto, who sidestepped the attack and slammed his fist right into the bodyguard's chin. The large man went flying, and his head was lodged right into ceiling, making Laogang stutter.

"Excuse me; I was talking to your boss. Just hang in there for a little while until the chat is finished," Naruto told the bodyguard with a smirk, and he glanced at Laogang, his eyes red, and the fat crime boss began crawling away. "Now, are you going to drop Meijing's debt? I really would hate to get violent."

"It would be in your best interest, sir," Hinata added, and Laogang gulped at the way she was looking at him.

"Y-Yeah! Meijing, you're free to go!" Laogang replied as his other bodyguards looked at him in shock.

"Thank you sir, Meijing-kun, let's go," Hinata said as she deactivated her Byakugan, and the three of them started walking out of the room.

"Boss, you're really letting them go?" one of the bodyguards whispered.

"…yes…we got off easy," Laogang replied with a gulp. "If we bothered fighting…there wouldn't have been enough of all of us to fit into one coffin…both of those teens could have destroyed our entire organization in one night…" Kazuku fell out of the hole he was in, and fell unconscious. "…and unlike Kazuku…that boy…it seemed like he was a real…demon…we're lucky all they wanted was one kid…"

The other bodyguards gulped and Naruto, Hinata, and Meijing were given a wide girth as they walked out of the room, and out the building. As soon as they got out of the estate and onto the street, the former thief turned to them and fell to his knees.

"Thank you so much! I'm free!" Meijing told them as tears of joy dropped down from his face.

"Don't worry about it," Naruto said with a grin. "So what do want to do with your life now?"

"I want to be a carpenter! The next time you see me, I'll be the best in all of Ba Sing Se!" Meijing replied as he started running away and turned around and waved at them. "Thank you so much!"

Both of them smiled and waved as the boy ran off. Naruto put his arm around Hinata, who started blushing.

"…well, the 'date' didn't go as planned…but we had fun, didn't we, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked as the girl nodded.

"Yeah…" Hinata said with her blush still on her face, and she stood up on her tip-toes…and kissed the blond on the cheek, making him freeze. "Thank you for taking me out today."

He put his hand up to his cheek as his own blush covered his face, and Hinata grabbed his hand. A smile appeared on his face. "Well, let's go have some more fun, Hinata-chan!"

To Be Continued…

Dedicated to the families and victims of the Virginia Tech Massacre. Rest in Peace, and you have my condolences.