1SC: Okay, fair warning. Most of this chapter is completely random filler crap. Sorry.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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Chapter 5

The Decision

"I can't believe he still isn't here." Hari muttered.

Asuka, who had her head laid down on a table, looked up. "Seriously. How do you get lost on a five minute walk?"

"Well, it is Kakashi-sensei." Shingetsu replied, pulling a chair over to the cabinet by the wall to peer on top. "Ah ha!"

Hari glanced up. "Shingetsu, what are you doing?"

"I just found were Iruka-sensei puts all the stuff he confiscates." A pause. "Why is there porn up here?"

Kakashi, who had just walked in. "Those would be mine." He got a weird look from all of his students.

"Kakashi-sensei, what took you so long? We've been waiting." Asuka asked, standing up.

He blinked. "For what?"

"OUR MISSION!" All three yelled at once.

"Oh, yeah."

"What is it?" Again with the harmony.

"What's what?" If Kakashi didn't know any better, his students appeared to have flames rising from the ground behind them and in their eyes. "I'm just kidding. Your first mission is to guard this little guy for the day." Kakashi held out a tiny kitten.

Asuka slammed her hand on the table. "Wait a sec- we're being cat sitters!"

"Well, I guess... if you want to call it that..." Kakashi started, but was cut off by Shingetsu.

"It's only a D-ranked mission, Asuka. What did you expect, a mission to guard some big rich millionaire?" She asked, closing her eyes and reclining back in her chair.

"Well no, but not to guard a cat!" Asuka smirked and put her hands on her hips. "But it's perfectly suited for you, Shingetsu."

She opened one eye. "Was that supposed to be an insult?"

"No, a fact. You're not suited for anything above a D-ranked job."

Shingetsu stood. "And I suppose you are?"

"Yes, actually." Kakashi sighed. Why did this seem familiar? Let's see, two students... arguing all the time... ready to kill each other at any moment... oh yes, Naruto and Sasuke.

"Care to say that to my face!" Lightning sparked between the two girls' eyes.

Hari stepped between the two girls. "Would you two cut it out?"

"Sorry." Asuka muttered.

Shingetsu turned away, crossing her arms. "She started it."

Kakashi sighed. "I'll leave this to you three." He set the kitten down and walked out. It mewed piteously. Shingetsu, forgetting her rage at Asuka, went over and picked it up.

"Oh, cute!" Hari raised his eyebrows as Shingetsu Uchiha, who he'd known since they were little and had never shown affection for anyone other than her parents, much less cute and fuzzy animals, cooed over a kitten. And the kitten was purring!

He smirked. "I never knew you were so good with animals, Shin."

She turned around and blushed, the cat cradled in her arms. "I like cats, okay?"

Asuka walked over and took the cat from Shingetsu's arms. "Puh-lease! You'll probably scar the poor thing for life!"

Shingetsu held her hand out to stop Asuka. "Wait, don't-!"

"Hisssssss!"

"Ow!" Asuka dropped the poor creature and stuck her hand in her mouth. "It bit me!"

"-Hold it like that." Shingetsu finished. "It hurts any animal to get held under its legs like that, especially one as tiny as a kitten."

"Uh, guys?" Hari pointed their 'charge', which had just climbed out the window and onto a tree branch.

Shingetsu groaned. "Oh great. We've got a cat stuck in a tree. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a cat out of a tree?" Blank stares. "Very, very, very hard. It's like getting Tsunade to stop gambling."

"So basically, we're doomed." Hari said.

Asuka's face lit up. "I've got an idea!"

Outside

"Why do I have to do this?" Hari muttered. The three Squad 7 members were standing at the base of the tree the kitten was stuck in.

"Come on, Hari. You're the best at henge-no-jutsu. And no one's going to see you." Shingetsu pleaded. "Please?"

He looked away. The puppy eyes were to much. "Fine." He made several hand signs. A second later, a large fish stood where Hari was. After a few minutes of climbing, and a few close calls, the kitten was back on the ground. Another poof, and the fish disappeared.

Shingetsu walked over and picked the kitten up. "How about I hold it for the rest of the day?"

Four weeks later

And so the completely pointless D-ranked missions continued: weeding gardens, walking dogs, housework, etc. Finally, the four squads had a day off.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you guys!" Menrui squealed, hugging Shingetsu and Hiun.

"We're glad to see you to, Menrui." Shingetsu told her.

"Yeah, but you mind letting go?" Hiun asked.

"Oh. Sorry." She giggled and let go.

Roba, who had just walked up, held his arms out. "What, no hug for me?" Menrui giggled and hugged Roba tightly. Shingetsu noticed Hiun glaring. She knew all to well the arguments between her two friends over Roba. Both of them liked him. A lot. But thankfully, neither of them were willing to risk their friendship over a guy, unlike a certain two kunoichi, (a/n: Sakura, Ino, I'm looking in your direction.) and the arguments were less and less frequent and violent. But that didn't mean they'd stop competing for attention.

Kiseichu nudged his brother. "So, how'd it go with Shin?"

Hari tapped his brother's scar. "Nothing, and nothing's going to happen, so unless you want another one of those, shut up." He walked over to the others.

"I'll take that as a 'really bad' or 'didn't even try'." Kiseichu muttered to himself, following behind. Menrui was going on about something or another.

"...So I was thinking we could go out to Gin-Kin tonight. You know, all of us."

"Shinobi don't go clubbing, Menrui." Hari told her.

"Yeah, but we haven't seen each other for more than, like, three minutes in the past four-and-a-half weeks! This is the one day we've all gotten off, and none of you want to do anything together! What kind of friends are we!"

They all looked around and each other. Hiun looked at Menrui. "You know, going out to a club sounds like a great way to unwind."

And so, the group eventually agreed to go, though a few were more forced than others.

That night

Kiseichu looked over at his brother as Hari leaned against the wall near the corner. "He is such a sociopath."

Roba nodded. "Yeah. No wonder he doesn't have a girlfriend. You seen the girls yet?"

"No. When we left, Hiun and Menrui were still picking out an outfit for Shingetsu." Kiseichu looked towards the door. "Hey, there they are... woah."

Roba turned around. "What are you... wow. Okay, yeah. Woah."

Menrui was wearing a bright orange miniskirt and matching tank top, again, brilliant orange. Her hair fell straight down to her waist and several bracelets jangled on her wrists.

Hiun had on a dark green mini-dress. Her hair was still up in its usual buns, but they were messier than usual and had small jewels woven into them. That was normal for them when they went here. It was Shingetsu they were woah-ing.

Shingetsu had on black jeans and a white halter with black-jeweled vines climbing up the side. Her hair was up in short ponytail on the nape of her neck with small pieces of hair escaping behind her ears. Menrui nudged her side. "Look, there's Hari. Go talk to him."

"I feel ridiculous." Shingetsu muttered. Both girls shoved her towards the Hyuuga, who had just seemed to notice her. She waved half-heartedly and, after sending a glare back towards her alleged 'friends', walked over. "Hey."

Hari smiled. "Hey." He was wearing a soft gray long-sleeved shirt and black cargo pants, probably picked out by his sister. "They're trying extra hard tonight."

Shingetsu glanced over her shoulder. Her other four friends were watching her and Hari from across the room. Well, two of them were. Roba and Menrui were busy talking to each other, which probably explained why Hiun looked so mad.. "Yeah. What's wrong? You look like you've got a headache."

"I do. I don't like clubs. Too loud."

Shingetsu grabbed his hand. "Well then, we'll go outside." She pulled him through the crowd and out the door. "Any better?"

"Much, thank you." He looked away from her. "Hey, Shin, do you want to go for a walk?"

"Ano? Yeah, sure." She smiled and, in a burst of boldness, slipped her hand into Hari's. "I'd like that."

Earlier, Hari's POV

I was standing in a corner of Gin-Kin. Why? Because for one thing, I had a pounding headache, and the lights and noise of the club wasn't helping. Two, I couldn't dance and therefore refused all offers from the girls who asked me. My little brother, on the other hand, had been on the dance floor with at least five different girls since we got here. Roba was diligently waiting for Menrui, of course, like he usually did. I shook my head. He was in deep.

Kiseichu looked over at me and raised his eyebrows. I gave him a clear 'I don't dance, and you know it' glare in response. He shook his head and went back to talking to Roba. I closed my eyes in an attempt to block out some of the bright light that was making my head hurt. I opened them to see the girls had walked through the door.

My eyes automatically traveled over to Shingetsu and my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Wow. She looked... for lack of better word, great. She waved at me weakly and started walking over, though not after glaring at Menrui and Hiun. "Hey."

"Hey." I responded, smiling through my headache. "They're trying extra hard tonight."

"Yeah." She looked over her shoulder. I followed her gaze to see the rest of our rag-tag little group watching us from across the room. Except for Roba and Menrui, who were deeply involved in conversation. I chuckled. Hiun looked ready to throttle someone. "What's wrong? You look like you've got a headache."

Observant as ever. "I do. I don't like clubs. Too loud."

Shingetsu grinned and grabbed my hand. "Well then, we'll go outside." She tugged me through the crowd and out the door, where the silence washed over both of us. "Any better?"

I looked over at her. She looked even better without the ever-changing light colors. "Much thank you." I forced my gaze to the buildings in front of us. 'Well, now's as good a time as any...' "Hey Shin, do you want to go for a walk?"

She looked over at me, surprised. "Ano? Yeah, sure." She smiled and slipped her hand in mine. I prayed it was dark enough to hide the blush on my face. "I'd like that."

As we headed away from the club, I realized how many people were actually out tonight. There was a lot. Quite a few classmates from school, actually. I glared at anyone who even thought about smirking at me. "Come on, let's-"

"Shingetsu! Hari!" Both of us turned around to see Iruka-sensei running up to us.

I let go of Shingetsu's hand. "Iruka-sensei? What's going on?"

"It's your parents, they're back."

Shingetsu smiled. "Well, that's a good thing, right?"

Iruka shook his head. "No... the mission was a set up. They... they're at the hospital."(a/n: And that would mark the end of the random filler crap. I'm sure you're all overjoyed.)

Konoha's Hospital

Hari and Shingetsu ran into the waiting room to see one of the doctors standing there with Kakushin, Kiseichu, Hiun, Menrui, and Roba. "What's going on, what happened?" Hari question urgently.

"Hari, Shingetsu. We were waiting on you. Follow me."

The doctor led them to a large observation room where all their parents sat. All seven kids ran into the room to their parents. "Mom, what happened?" Shingetsu asked.

Sakura sighed. "When we were on the island..." The door opened again and they all looked up to see Tsunade walk in.

"Perhaps you should let me explain, Sakura." She looked solemn.

After a minute, when everyone was settled down, Tsunade pulled out the medical report. "It seems that the darts you were hit with were filled with a poison we couldn't identify. This means that it was another shinobi that attacked you, or the poison was taken off our records." She handed the sheets of paper to Sakura, who began to read them over carefully. "The poison moves extremely slowly, leaving a black trail behind it as it travels through the blood stream."

Sasuke grunted. "Probably to scare whoever was poisoned."

Tsunade nodded. "More than likely." She paused. "I need anyone not of Jonin rank to leave now."

"But Tsunade!"

"That was a direct order." The six Genins and one Chuunin left the room, grumbling under their breath.

After the door was shut, Tsunade locked it. Three times. She turned back to Sakura. "Did you finish?"

She nodded. "I didn't see anything that seemed different from any other poison, except that it moves extremely slow."

The Hokage closed her eyes and sighed. "Not all of the facts are in that report. It seems that, as the poison spreads, it turns the victim to... to stone."

There was a stunned silence over the room. "Tsunade... Tsunade, you can't be serious." Ino gasped.

"To do that, it would have to completely alter the structure of the body." Shikamaru said. "It's completely illogical. A poison that could do that would require ingredients that are found in places I doubt even the most skilled ninja could get to."

"But someone obviously did, Shikamaru." Tsunade snapped, cutting him off. "It will take over three months for the poison's effect to complete itself. Until then, you will all, with the exception of Naruto, be held here in the hospital. Please don't argue, it's for your own safety."

No one said anything, but faintly, they could hear sobbing coming from the hall. The door may have been locked, but it certainly wasn't sound proof. Tenten grasped Neji's hand tightly. "Tsunade-sama... can they...?"

She nodded and walked out, looking sadly at Menrui, who had obvious tear trails on her face, before walking down the hall. It took half a hundredth of a nanosecond for the kids to run back in the room and bury their faces in their parents' shoulders, their tears soaking them. Even Kakushin had tears running down his face as he hugged his mother. Hiun pulled away. "So it's true then? There isn't an antidote?"

Tenten shook her head and stroked her daughter's hair gently. "No, but Tsunade is sending ANBU's best to find one. Don't worry, we'll be fine."

Sasuke hugged Shingetsu tightly as she sobbed into his chest. This was the first time he'd seen either of his children cry since they were little, and it unnerved him greatly. Not to mention that the poison's effect would move twice as quickly in him since he'd taken a shot for Naruto. But he didn't regret it. Naruto was his friend. An annoying one at times, but his friend.

After many more tears, the kids decided to leave. Naruto told Menrui to go without him, he was going to stay with Hinata. After the door shut, Hinata touched her husband's hand softly. "Naruto, you don't have to stay."

"But I want to. Anyway, I feel horrible that the only reason I didn't get poisoned was 'cause you shoved me out of the way, Sasuke."

The Uchiha smirked and waved it off. "You would've done the same for me. And you really should go. No doubt Tsunade is going to put you on the team to find the antidote."

Naruto nodded. "Sometimes I hate when you're right." He kissed Hinata on the cheek before walking out.

Over at Shingetsu and Kakushin's...

"I can't believe this." Kakushin whispered. "Mom and dad might..."

"Don't you say it. Don't you dare say it!" Shingetsu hissed. "Mom and dad won't die. None of them will."

Menrui slumped over in her chair. "You sound so sure. What if there is no antidote? Then what's gonna happen, huh?"

Hari wiped his eyes miserably. "Every poison has an antidote. The team Tsunade sends out will find it."

Kiseichu jumped up angrily. "How do you know! They may never find it, and then all of our parents are going to die!"

Hiun jumped to Hari's aid. "Hey, he's just trying to help so lay off Kiseichu!"

Roba shook his head. "I've done the figures. It will be nearly impossible for any amount of shinobi to find a cure."

"You aren't helping Roba!"

"I'm trying to be realistic! I'm not going to put hope into anyone's head just to have it shattered when they don't come back with an antidote!"

"Everybody SHUT UP!" Shingetsu yelled. The room grew silent. "Now, I don't know about you guys, but I'm making sure that my parent's have a chance at surviving. That's why I'm leaving Konoha and going to that Kage Ryu place myself."

Kakushin rounded on her. "Are you crazy? You don't even know where the place is! Wait, how do you know where they went."

She considered how to answer carefully. Finally, she just told the truth: "I have mom's mission specs hidden in my room."

"But dad burned the envelopes! He always burns the envelopes."

"Not before I can use a substitution jutsu and switch out the real papers for fakes. I've been doing it since I was ten. That's four years, and I haven't gotten caught yet."

Menrui, and everyone else in the room for that matter, stared at her in disbelief. "Shin... do you know how much trouble you could get in for that?"

"Do you think I care!" She yelled. "I'm going, and whether or not you guys come is up to you. But I'm leaving after the ANBU do and I'm ready."

There was a thick silence in the room for a moment. "Well I'm coming." Menrui said. "I may only have one parent at risk here, but my mom is my dad's world. He loves her a lot, and I'm gonna make sure she stays alive. Besides, I don't wanna see Tenten-ba-san and Neji-ji-san turn into statues either."

The Hyuuga triplets all looked at each other. "We're going too. We've got an aunt on the line as well as our parents." Hari answered.

Roba nodded. "No way in hell am I staying behind while you idiots get yourselves killed. Besides, someone has to come with a plan so we don't get recognized."

Kakushin sighed. "Mom and dad would both throttle me if I let you out of my sight, Shingetsu, so I'm coming."

Shingetsu nodded. "Well then, it's settled. Roba, start planning. We're going to need some really good disguises if we're gonna get across half a continent unnoticed."

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SC: I think that was a pretty damn good chapter. Well, good enough to make up for my last one at least. I'm focus a lot more on the ANBU squad much next chapter, but then I'm switching back to the kids. I'll give cookies to the reviewers who can guess any of the squad members other than Naruto, because he's a gimme. R&R peeps! Yes, I just said peeps. I've got a whole shelf full of those stupid little marshmallow chicks and bunnies.

Ja ne!

SC