WAZZAAAP! It's me again! Now, last time, we saw that the Mokuton bloodline is not quite dead just yet, and no longer limited to just Tenzo. How will the village react to the new wood-user in town? And what will happen to Mizore and Hikari, the two OCs? You'll have to read to find out! Also…

ShadowBloodedge9396: Sasori and Deidara are not dead yet, but they were forced to retreat. Also Lucy does have her own apartment; sorry I didn't make it clearer last time.

Dregus: Oh, you can bet on that! While Kurama just might survive, I am not capable of saying the same for the flunkies

Theunfunny9: Sorry if it seems a little quick-paced. Don't worry, though, things will go nice and slower from now on.

Who wants to do the disclaimer!?

Hinata: B-BladeOfThePoet does n-not own N-Naruto-kun or E-E-Elfen Lied…

*Points at Hinata* If only you knew the role you'll play later on… hehehe…

Konoha main Hospital

After the event with Kurama, Naruto had taken Mariko down to the Hospital for a quick check-up. He was still shocked by the fact his daughter could use the ancient Wood-Release techniques. He knew there was a Jounin Captain capable of using it, but even so, his own daughter had used it!

'But how did she know what Jutsu to use? It's almost as if… wait, wasn't there a Jutsu that allowed the user to transfer some memories to someone? I can't remember… but what if… one of her parents sealed his or her knowledge of the Jutsu into her?' Naruto thought, watching his daughter sleeping peacefully in a Hospital Bed. Tsunade had ordered the ANBU to keep an eye on the Diclonii and to apprehend anyone suspicious near them. After a while, the Demon inside Naruto decided to share something he had found.

"You know, Kit, maybe I should tell you that I felt a high similitude between the chakras of your Daughter and that man… I think he's her Biological Father…" No sooner had he said that, he felt Naruto's anger spike. "BUT, before you fly into some sort of murderous rage, you should know that this man has the Chakra coils of a tapeworm, plus the only wood I sense in him is the one coming from his pocket... Possibly a photo frame"

'Meaning?' The Jailor asked his prisoner, feeling wrath bubbling up inside him.

"Meaning, the girl's bloodline limit must come from her mother. The woman must've somehow locked away the Mokuton Jutsus into the girl when she was born. Almost as if she knew the girl would need them…" Before Naruto could ask what the demon was implying, however…

"NARUTO!" The blond Shinobi was separated from his tenant by his childhood friend, Kaede/Lucy (A/N How do you guys think I should call her from now on? Lucy or Kaede?) By the looks of it, she must've been calling out for a while now."Were you talking to the Fluffy Asshole again?"

"Yeah, sorry for spacing out…" He answered, scratching his head sheepishly. He took the chance to check out Kaede's new outfit. She was now wearing a Chunin vest, with a pair of form fitting pants, ninja sandals, and she had her forehead protector tied to her arm. 'Man, she's HOT… KAMI-DAMN YOU ERO-SENNIN!' Somewhere in the Village, a certain pervert sneezed. Anyway, after practically acing the graduation exam from the advanced Academy (An academy made for people above the age of 15 who want to be Shinobi) Lucy had quickly become a Chuunin, her years on the run granting her an amazing set of skills and high-stealth, and had an unbelievably high pain threshold. Another factor was that she could easily steal information with her vectors. As for Naruto, he had been given a field promotion after the Sasori-Deidara interception mission.

"It's ok. It must be quite the challenge to have him in you." The pink-haired girl answered, a small smile gracing her lips. She couldn't get over how often she smiled ever since she got out of that hell they called a lab. Seeing her smile caused an unfamiliar feeling to appear on Naruto's gut, and had an idea that, quite honestly, was terrifying him.

"Hey, Kaede-chan…"

"Hai?" She noticed how Naruto seemed fairly nervous about something.

"I was thinking… would you like to go for a bowl of Ramen with me and Mariko later today?" He asked her nervously, barely keeping himself together. Inside of him, the nine tailed fox was laughing his tails off.

"Hahaha! To think that you, the great Naruto Uzumaki, who has bested hundreds of powerful foes, would be left a nervous wreck at the thought of asking his childhood friend for a simple bowl of Ramen!"

'Urusai, baka Kitsune!' Naruto thought back, a blush slowly forming its way up to his face. As for Lucy, she wasn't fairing much better.

'Oh my god! H-he's asking me out! What should I do!?'

"NYU!" An overly cheerful voice rang out inside her head. A tick mark appeared in Lucy's forehead at the sound, one she thought had vanished years ago.

'Oh, be quiet, Nyu! The last thing I need is you giving me relationship advice!' Lucy angrily mind-yelled at her childish second personality. Several years in solitude often cause victims to create imaginary friends, and after several years, this friend could actually become a second being inside the victim's mind. And thus, Nyu was created.

"Nyunyu?" The cheerful pink-haired said in a confused tone.

'Because you have the emotional maturity of a 3 year old! That's why!' Kaede answered the question. The only thing is, not even this humble author knows how the heck she can understand so much out of a couple Nyus. 'But fine, I'll go…' With one last triumphant 'NYU!', Lucy cut off the connection with the cheerful being. 'Thank kami I didn't get hit in the head and she can't come out…'

"Kaede-chan?" Naruto's voice drew her out of her musings. She could easily see he was very afraid of being turned down. She simply nodded as an answer… "YATTA!" The happiness in the blonde's voice was barely contained. Ever since Kaede came back, he's been dying to get some time with her. While it wouldn't be alone time, since Mariko would be there, it was good enough for him. "I'll go pick you up at your apartment when Mariko wakes up, alright?" The pink haired girl nodded, feeling oddly excited about this date of theirs, even if she was still wary of Mariko. Neither of them, however, noticed the black haired Hokage assistant furiously taking pictures of the two.

'Oh man, this is the best blackmail EVER!' Shizune thought happily as she kept on photographing. After all, she and Naruto were like brother and sister, and wasn't it the older sister's job to torture the younger sibling?

Meanwhile, at the Hokage's Office

To say Tsunade was curious right now was an understatement. Just a few minutes ago, the Diclonii Mizore had entered her office. She was currently wearing a set of regular civilian clothes, jeans and a t-shirt with a pair of shoes, with her pinkish hair wrapped in a bundle. But what really caught the Slug Princess's attention was the girl's request.

"So, you're saying you want to be a medic nin?" Tsunade asked her, feeling truly interested. The girl shyly nodded.

"H-hai, Tsunade-sama. I've never liked fighting, and even less so killing, and when I saw you heal Naruto-san the other day when he returned from a mission, I was impressed. I really want to become a medic and help!" The young Diclonius progressively gained confidence during her speech, and Tsunade could easily see the amount of determination this girl had. She was perfect for the job. Not only that, the idea of using her vectors to assist in healing was thrilling her to no end. For Tsunade, new medical breakthroughs or the discovery of someone capable of matching her healing skill was to her what finding new jutsu was to Orochimaru, or what a new sealing technique (or women) was to Jiraiya.

'Oh sweet Kami, if she can use Katon or Raiton jutsu I'll hug her to death!' Tsunade thought with a disturbing smile, which caused the girl to edge away slowly, slightly fearful for her own wellbeing. Luckily, Shizune stormed in just then with a camera in her hands.

A few hours later

In a matter of hours, the whole village knew the gossip: Naruto Uzumaki was going on a 'date' with Lucy. This had caused a myriad of funny reactions, among them Sakura spitting out a cup-worth of tea in shock, and Hinata to grow green with envy. It had taken the Rookie 9 only a few minutes to figure out where he was taking her: Ichiraku Ramen. They had all acquired some disguises (*cough* Henge *cough*) and got ready for their 'espionage mission', as they liked to call it. Unknown to them, Jiraiya and Tsunade were also planning on spying on the young friends in their date. Meanwhile, Naruto was getting ready for his night out in his own apartment, trying to tame down his spiky hair (and failing miserably) as well as trying to get Mariko ready. For some reason, his mind went back to when he told the two of them about the fox.

FLASHBACK! (You guys all asked for it!)

Naruto had sent out a Shadow Clone to ask Lucy to come over to his apartment, but to tell her he could only tell her the reasons in person. Right now, the Jinchuuriki was a nervous wreck. He remembered having said he was a Jinchuuriki when he and the others from the Rescue Team were going through the Konoha Gates, but he hadn't told Kaede and Mariko the whole truth. He knew that if Mariko was going to be living with him, she HAD to know, and then thought he should tell Kaede as well. After all, she had trusted him as they escaped the facility, so he felt obliged to trust her the same way. Despite this, he was terrified of how they'd react. What if they thought he was a monster? What if Lucy was afraid of him? What if Mariko thought she didn't want a monster as a father? The last thought was what really sent him into a panic. He had come to love Mariko as if he was her real father, and the thought of losing her was enough to drive him to the edge. Of course, the thought of Lucy fearing him was just as bad. When they arrived, Naruto was sure he was going to pass out, out of fear.

"So, why did you call me here, Naruto?" Lucy asked, bringing him out of his fear induced stupor. Mariko was also very curious as to what her new 'father' wanted to tell them. With a heavy sigh, Naruto began.

"You guys remember what I said as we were entering the village, right? When Gaara mentioned the Demon Containers?" The two of them nodded.

"Yeah, you pretty much said you were one of them. Why?" With another heavy sigh, Naruto continued.

"16 years ago, on October 10th, the strongest of all the Tailed Beasts attacked the village." Naruto began. "The beast was capable of leveling mountains with a single swipe of one of its 9 tails, and was said to be able to cause a tidal wave with another swipe." Even as he spoke, the two Diclonii were already piecing the puzzle together. "Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage of the village, rode out to fight the beast. However, it was too strong to kill, so he used a Seal he himself designed and…"

"Lemme guess…" Lucy interrupted. "He sealed the fluffy asshole in the only newborn child, which, at the time, was you?" Naruto's mouth hung open for a second, but quickly shut it out, and nodded.

"Yeah… You can probably guess my life was pretty much horrible because of him." He said slightly glumly.

"Well, at least you had some friends to help you out, right?" Kaede said, as gentle smile in her face. With a heavy gulp, Naruto spoke again.

"Actually… you were my first friend in… pretty much all time." The eyes of both Diclonii widened at that revelation. "The 8 years before I met you the only words directed to me were Demon, Scum, sometimes both, sometimes combined with beatings and such." He closed his eyes, suppressing the memories of the multiple beatings, insults and other mishaps he'd had. He hadn't been expecting to be hugged by his friend and daughter, however. He opened his eyes and saw the two of them hugging him tightly.

"Well, that gives us something else in common, I guess…" Lucy said.

"Feared and hated for something we did not choose… Abused for something we did not want… that is what happens to us Diclonii" Mariko said, experiencing one of her 'Mature' moments. "In a way, you ARE a Diclonius." When Mariko said that, Lucy let go of Naruto, much to his chagrin, and placed a hand on his head.

"As the oldest one in our bunch, I hereby name you an Honorary Diclonius, fox face!" When Lucy (rather playfully) proclaimed this, Mariko placed her own hands on Naruto's head, making them look like a small pair of horns. The three began to laugh, softly and slowly at first, but then they were all laughing like there was no tomorrow. Naruto stood up and began to roar between laughs.

"RAWR! I AM THE GREAT KYUBI, HONORARY DICLONIUS, FEEEEEAR MEEEEE!" He 'roared'. Mariko screamed in mock fear and Naruto began to chase her around the room, while Lucy grabbed some pillows with her vectors and began to hit both of them. They kept playing like this until they fell asleep in each other's arms (With Mariko sandwiched between Lucy and Naruto)

END FLASHBACK!

A smile appeared on Naruto's face when he remembered that day, even as he went to ask Mariko to hurry up. He wasn't sure when had been the last time he'd had so much fun, and he was willing to bet both girls thought the same.

10 minutes later

This author gives you a slightly late and rather lame April Fool's joke. NEXT CHAPTER: Naruto and Lucy are going on a date! And Mariko is tagging along. What will occur in this apparently innocent invitation for Ramen? Will love begin to bloom? Or will my slightly evil side take over and decide to leave you all with a massive cliffhanger? You'll have to wait to find out! (And maybe pray that I don't decide on the latter) This is BladeOfThePoet, logging out!