AN
InARealPickle: (chap 4 review): oh you're good- picked up right away that it was Itachi reporting to Naruto and not the other way around, hehe. I wouldn't peg too many people to suspect that without a couple more hints. (cp5) Well, I did my best to foreshadow so it could be figured out- the Naruto as Minato thing… I wanted it to be something you MIGHT figure out if you're good- but more importantly- something that when you read it a second time you get to go- "oh HEY- now that makes sense." (chap6) Yay! Was afraid I'd lost you for a bit- though I'm worried again? I mean, in one night you reply to the first five chapters- a while later you do the six one after I make sure you didn't drop of the face of the earth- err… nuts- prolly won't hit the 100 reviews mark by chap 30 at this rate… definitely not by chap 25… ;.; Sniffle…
DarkRavie: I dunno about 'if she didn't get who she really wanted' so much, I mean, yeah, there was that obsession with sasuke thing- but at the pre-teen age who doesn't have a little obsession, I still feel in time she'd have realized Shika was who she really wanted- but anyway, thank you for reviewing my story- as InARealPickle has made clear to me- I don't have near enough reviews to draw the more strict readers…
Serenity Maxwell: no kyuubi didn't fuse with Naruto, I guess it wasn't all that clear- not that I thought it would be obvious or anything, but I did hope some people would pick up exactly what happened- but dun worry, it'll get explained in time, because Shirei has defiantly figured it out if none of the others who might have any ideas as to what happened don't manage to figure it out specifically.
Dragonrider666: . that'll be a while- this story is only now entering high gear where the plot can kick it up a notch and hit the NOX… Well, I say that then enter yet another detour- but oh well..
IsabelCortez: . err- probably… but yeah, it's nice when your muse is in hyperdrive… wish it happened more often…
Xelena: Well- like I told InA the clues are there- some of them- others are just kind of intuitive I suppose- what with the nature of Naruto Fics already out there- bah. But thanks for taking the time to review, I wrote the mystery part with the intention of keeping my readers on their toes. As to your second review, they really already did, this was just a recap to the readers and Naruto's chance to let Sakura finally understand, while letting Gaara know more about what he's getting into.
Hope nobody minds, but the profanity picked up a touch this chapter too, at least the F-bomb anyway...
End AN
Shirei came down from the stadium and found everyone was heading the same direction as her. She frowned, but from within her jacket she pulled out a vial with a seal and tossed it to the ground, it broke open and let out far more water than it should have seemed possible for such a little vial to contain. With a few cramped, one-handed seals, the water turned to ice and formed a mirror against a wall. Below, and behind Naruto, a second mirror rose from the water. Shirei stepped into one, and out of the other.
"Fucking crowds," she grumbled, scowling with a glance back through the mirror. Naruto turned with more speed than he thought he had left, but winced in doing so.
"So I have to ask, do you even know exactly what you just did?"
Naruto looked first to the mirror, then back to Shirei, then down. Shirei noted the glance, but waited for Naruto to ponder out a moment. "The seal, at least a large part of it- the chakara put into it collapsed- I- it was water aspected. I- I've only used wind before, even in my other life- I never even tried anything else because I wanted to master wind chakara."
"Congratulations, your second element is water, which you've suppressed your whole life- both of them, and used it to seal off the Kyuubi- kudos to you that water suppresses fire, so it worked so well."
"So, when I needed it, I took down part of the seal, and was able to use that chakara," Naruto said, half explaining, half asking, in a way of explaining it to himself.
Shirei smiled, "Also because your chakara has grown between growing up again and the constant struggle with the Kyuubi, all that excess chakara you took away from the barrier probably won't even need to go back."
"But- I've always only barely held the Kyuubi back?"
"Because you've held him with a strength you've never explored- that- I can help with."
"Like a child with a shield against a skilled wielder with a buckler," Naruto sighed, "If only I'd have had more time to understand everything before I sealed the Kyuubi," Naruto groaned.
"So it was you; that would mean-"
"Eep"
Shirei turned to Naruto, her smiled turned a little warmer. "I do that to people, I get under their skin, make them forget I'm an outsider."
Naruto looked back and finally smiled in return, "I know, I haven't felt that way in a long time- being the outsider, even Iruka, Jiraya, even Itachi, it only helps so much."
"It hurts, even if you had chosen my path, to know the rest of your village would never understand, would never look at you the same."
"Yeah, but you had it a little easier, everyone already was weary of you, and you'd worked past that."
"I'd thought so, but people like Klein will always be around."
"Mizuki."
"Who?"
"My village's Klein."
"Ah."
Naruto took a half limped step and took a sharp breathe, and without a word Shirei came up beside him, took his arm, and pulled it over her shoulder…
gaGAgaGAga
"Well," Tsunade started, drawing everyone's attention, "The crowd is starting to clear out, I suppose the people staying would like to know our decisions."
"I think most of us have already stated those."
"Yeah I guess, sorry Gaara."
"No, I suspected she wasn't quite strong enough, I can tell the announcer on my way back to the medical ward."
Tsunade and a couple others nodded back to him while rising from their seats, "You'll have to invite us all to the wedding you realize," Tsunade said in a half-serious tone.
Gaara froze- he hadn't thought nearly that far ahead, the whole last month had been one long and vibrant roller coaster ride, slowly he continued to the door, pausing when he got there, and turning to face everyone, "I- I will. All of you… It's a promise."
Kankuro couldn't help the smirk as he left behind Gaara. The two of them stopped off at the announcer box, and made it back to the medical ward shortly after Temari had returned with Shikamaru in tow. As Gaara came into the medical ward, Temari slipped over to his side without seeming to pass the distance between them. She whispered something into his ear. Gaara's eyes went wide- then wider still as she continued. There was a touch of red in his cheeks-
"You wha- you wan-," Garra wasn't sure what part to respond to first. Kankuro and Shikamaru both turned to each other with confused- 'caught in the middle' expressions. They both turned to Matsuri- hoping she might hold the missing piece. Matsuri looked from Gaara and Temari, then back to Kankuro and Shikamaru, she mirrored the two boys expression's and turned back to Gaara as he spoke back in hushed tones. Both Shikamaru and Kankuro lean towards the whispering two hoping to catch stray bits of conversation, while Matsuri just continued to look confused.
It was only a moment later that Temari practically leapt over and took Shikamaru by the shoulder and proceeded to drag him into the next room despite half-hearted protests…
"Kankuro," Gaara paused for Kankuro's response. He gave a non-committal response made to sound somewhat positive, letting him know he was listening. "Could you give Matsuri and I a moment to discuss something, in private." He added the last part to make his meaning fully clear. Kankuro resisted the urge to protest as he all but sulked from the room-
…
"WHAT!!!" Shikamaru's response came first. Kankuro jumped to a start, but stopped quickly as the gears in his brain kicked into drive and shot forward-
"No… Fucking… Way…."