"Ugh, I hate this place." The young man walked with purpose in his attempted to flee from the repulsive smells wafting from the nearby hospital, nose and eyes crinkled due to the sharp smells assaulting his sensitive senses. His canine partner keeping stride next to him barked in agreement. A few seconds later a familiar voice reached Kiba's ears.

"Would you please hold still..." he heard Sakura plead.

Looking up, the Inuzuka found the pink haired nin struggling to keep a blond kid in her arms as she made her way towards the infirmary, Shizune close at her heels.

As soon as the small boy spotted Kiba his tiny blue eyes widened and he suddenly began to squirm, wriggle and squeal like his life depended on it with this crazy excited expression on his face.

"Hey Sakura! Shizune," he greeted as they approached conversational distance. At that exact moment, Sakura lost her grip on the wriggling infant and he began to dive head-first toward the unforgiving ground.

Kiba reacted instantly, scooping the boy up before he could crack his head open.

"Whoa there, let's not add brain damage to the list, ok?" He gave the small blond a broad toothy grin.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close, thanks Kiba."

Kiba blinked and exchanged an imperceptible glance with Akamaru, before slowly handing the gaki back to the young medical nin's outstretched arms. "So, who's the kid?" He asked casually.

The two kunoichi exchanged odd looks.

"Um, well we..." Sakura trailed off for a moment before quickly continuing. "We found him on our way back from the mission. He was being attacked by a wolf cub."

Kiba had already spotted the bandages around his tiny arm. "Is he alright?"

"We're not sure yet..." Sakura hadn't answered immediately, and when she did her voice sounded distant, worried.

"A-Anyway, let's get him checked in, ok Sakura?" Shizune piped up, guiding Sakura with the blond spiky haired kid toward the front doors of the hospital.

Confusion crept up inside Kiba, but he shoved it down to keep it off his face. Something told him that these two were hiding something; and that they weren't going to tell him. "Ok then, see you later," he called cheerfully with a wave as he passed by.

"Yeah, ok."

Kiba only took three steps before the confusion again tried to worm its way back onto the contours of his face. He glanced over his shoulder at the trio as he continued walking to find the kid staring at him from Sakura's arms, and the moment their eyes met a broad, open-mouthed grin threatened to crack his tiny features.

Facing forward again, the young clan heir tried to process what he'd smelled.

0o0o0

"-iba. Kiba!"

Said boy's head snapped up. "Huh?"

"Ah, troublesome." Several seconds passed with no response. Shikamaru furrowed his brow, but Choji beat him to the question that popped into his head.

"Are you ok?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Because you're not acting like yourself," Shikamaru intoned as if it were a bother. Which it was. An Inuzuka acting strangely almost always meant something out of the ordinary was up.

"Yeah, you didn't even say hi," Choji agreed, hand paused in the act of retrieving a fistful of chips.

Hinata piped up then. "Y-You have been staring at the ground for quite some time."

Shino was standing in the background, silent, observing the scene in front of him.

"Sorry guys, I've just had something on my mind." The spacy teenager blinked, suddenly realizing his two friends hadn't been there a minute ago. "What are you two doing here anyway?"

Shikamaru shook his head while Choji explained with a confused look on his face. "We just said that we just got back from a mission and we're heading to Ichiraku."

Kiba looked at his comrades and teammates in turn from his spot sitting under a shade tree. Kiba and Akamaru had been sparing with Hinata and Shino in one of the training grounds, since they all had had a few hours of free time, and were in the middle of a short break. Running his fingers through his hair, the Inuzuka huffed out a sigh. He looked to be about ready to just brush it off as nothing, but was interrupted.

"Kiba, why don't you tell us what is on your mind," Shino suggested. "Why? Because we are worried about you."

Kiba glanced at his teammate, surprised, then turned to his friends when Akamaru looked over to bark reassuringly.

The Inuzuka turned and smiled fondly at his partner. "Heh, you're right boy."

Returning his gaze, Kiba tried to find the right words—something Inuzuka were not known for. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed minutely. Something was definitely up. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, the Nara sighed. "Just out with it," he huffed, trying to speed his friend along. Curiosity was picking at him and he wanted the puzzle his friend was presenting to bring enough pieces to the board for him to actually have something to analyse.

Kiba's eyes momentarily rested on Shikamaru before lowering to where his hands were fiddling with some grass under the tree. "I saw Sakura today," he began slowly.

"So they're back?" Choji piped up.

Kiba nodded before continuing. "She was taking this kid her team had apparently found in the woods to the infirmary."

He paused.

"Did you know the kid or something?"

At this, Kiba's whole countenance seemed to shift. "No," he finally answered. "It's just that, everything about the kid reminds me of Naruto; his hair, his eyes, his smile. Even his smell."

Shikamaru blinked as the gears to this puzzle rearranged a bit in his head. "How old is the kid," the Nara prodded. "Could Naruto have been holding him the entire time?"

Kiba thought about it. "The kid's definitely young enough for that, but—"

"Hey! Have you guys seen Naruto-Nii-chan?" a new voice interrupted, causing several heads to turn.

"Hey Konohamaru," Choji greeted cheerfully. "How've ya been?"

"I've been all over Konoha looking for Naruto-Nii ! I thought he was supposed to get back yesterday but I can't find him anywhere!"

"Yeah, that's what we thought too," Shikamaru answered. "But it seems they were detained and have arrived just today."

Konohamaru brightened. "Do you know where he is?" he asked excitedly, almost bouncing at the prospect that his search was finally over.

"No. But Sakura was seen at the infirmary, she might know where he is."

"Thanks! I'll go ask her!" Konohamaru yelled, waving his appreciation as he ran in the general direction of the medical facility, his ever-present scarf flapping in his wake. Shikamaru had the vague sensation that something was missing during that exchange, but he filed it away in favor of the present dilemma.

As soon as the genin was out of sight, Shikamaru turned back to Kiba to reinstate their conversation. "So the kid is young enough to be held, but the theory of Naruto holding him for a period of time cannot explain why he smells like Naruto?"

Kiba nodded. "I could smell someone, several people actually, on his clothes. If Naruto had been holding the gaki then the clothes should have smelled like Naruto, however they barely smelled like him at all." He crinkled his nose then, finishing with, "Actually they smelled a bit musty too, like they'd been in an attic for years."

Shikamaru grabbed at his chin as he considered this new information. "So the kid smells strongly of Naruto, but his clothes don't by comparison?" he clarified.

Kiba nodded affirmatively.

The Nara heir let several theories bounce around in his head, trying to rule out as many of them as possible. But in the end, every hypothesis he conjured could either be eliminated or remained inconclusive due to lack of information.

The fact that the child was presumably found abandoned in the woods... didn't fit. However, the fact that Team Kakashi had picked the kid up at all made even less sense. Shinobi didn't pick up random strays for no reason. Which meant that there was a reason.

"You saw the kid, right? Was he malnourished in any way? Any abnormal markings or injuries?" Shikamaru asked, trying to get a feel for the situation Team Kakashi might have been in.

Kiba thought. "Not really. Aside from the bite wound, he looked well taken care of, healthy and chubby like any baby."

"Since when are you an expert on infants?" Shino droned.

"I'm not," Kiba retorted mildly. "But, haven't you seen the kids in the village? Brats that age usually look like a bunch of sausage links. This kid wasn't quite that plump, but still...he didn't look like anything was majorly wrong with him."

Shikamaru would have been amused at the exchange if he hadn't been so focused on the puzzle at hand.

The information just didn't fit. If Shikamaru were presented with an abandoned infant being attacked in the forest, his first thought would have been 'trap'. However, knowing Naruto, the blond would not have been able to leave a defenseless child to the mercies of the forest.

But why risk bring the kid back to Konoha with them? They had to have found the kid before reaching Konoha's wooded outerparimater. If the suspected scenario had occurred close to Konoha, Naruto's team wouldn't have been delayed for over 24 hours. Therefore, Naruto likely found the kid in the wood before they'd reached Reimori City, the last village on their route back to Konoha. In those circumstances, Shikamaru would have left the kid at the orphanage or functioning medical facility there. Naruto would have been appeased and having to deal with a possible danger would have been averted, so why was it necessary to bring the infant to Konoha?

Shikamaru sighed inwardly. That line of thinking was going to get him nowhere without more information, so he decided to switch gears and glean as many facts as possible.

"How strong was the kid's scent on his clothes?" Since the clothes smelled musty maybe the infant hadn't been wearing them for very long, although he couldn't think of a reason for the infant to need clothes more than likely pilfered from a civilian attic.

"That's just it, the gaki didn't have his own scent."

Shikamaru blinked, staring oddly at his friend. "What?"

0o0o0

"How may I help you?" the coffee haired woman behind the hospital reception desk asked pleasantly.

"Is Sakura here?" Konohamaru asked bluntly, panting just a bit from the run over.

The brunette began checking the files in front of her before answering. "Actually, yes, Sakura brought in a patient just a little while ago." She glanced up at him, but he had gotten all the information he needed.

"Thanks!" he called as he sped away, opting for the old fashioned way to find who he was looking for. If he'd asked for a room number the desk lady probably would have just spouted some sort of nonsense about 'patient privacy' or something anyway, this would be faster.

Konohamaru wasn't entirely sure how he was going to find the pink haired girl, but he figured if she was bringing a patient in, then it was probably Naruto. And knowing her rather boiling temper, all he'd have to do to find them would be to listen for an angry kunoichi ranting about how reckless her teammate had been. That's usually what happened when Naruto landed himself in the hospital.

After fifteen minutes of wandering the hallways to no avail, the inexplicable apprehension he'd been feeling for the last two days began to steadily increase. He would never admit it to anybody, but he felt like he needed to find Naruto. Now.

Suddenly he heard Sakura's muffled voice in conversation.

Konohamaru blinked, eyes cutting toward the sound. A door left slightly ajar a few meters ahead seemed to be what he was looking for. He walked up to it and peered inside, expecting to see a bandaged blond in a hospital bed with a pink haired girl ranting about acting rashly. He did find the blossom, and a blond, but not the one he was looking for. This blond was just a baby.

The kid was in Sakura's lap facing the nurse, who sat in a chair opposite them, as she wrapped a white bandage around his tiny arm. Sakura observed, asking weird medical questions and stuff.

Konohamaru's brow furrowed. There was something about him. He seemed... familiar.

He watched for a few minutes, trying to figure out why he knew the baby. The more he looked, the more sure he became that he knew this kid from someplace. But where?

Suddenly, the tiny blond shrieked an excited 'Koh!' and Konohamaru flinched at the unexpected noise.

"What is it, little one?" The nurse cooed. "You trying to talk?"

As if in answer, the baby repeated 'koh' over and over again, almost as if testing the sound he made when saying it.

"Konoha?" the nurse tried, smiling gently.

The baby looked at her oddly, blinking, then a wide grin cut across his face and he exclaimed 'Ooo!'

"No. Ko-no-ha," the medical person repeated good naturedly.

The baby looked to be concentrating very hard on the few syllables. Konohamaru smiled. The kid was learning to talk.

Little Mini-blond suddenly began squealing, stretching his stubby arms and leaning toward the door. Konohamaru tensed as the two girls looked over and spotted him. The nurse looked surprised but smiled as she beckoned him to enter. A fleeting expression crossed behind the pink haired kunoichi's eyes, but it was hidden before he could tell what it was.

Sheepishly, he opened the door, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry. I heard Sakura and..." He paused, letting his eyes land on the baby. "Hey there, Mini-blond," he shifted his attention, abandoning his feeble explanation. "How are your injuries?"

"Would you like to hold him?" the nurse asked suddenly.

Konohamaru was startled; he'd never held a baby before.

"Here, come sit here," the nurse directed, getting up from her seat and gesturing to it.

He faltered, not quite sure what he was supposed to do.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Sakura encouraged with an amused grin.

That wasn't exactly the problem. He wasn't so much worried about himself as he was dropping the kid, but he hesitantly walked over and sat down as directed anyway.

Sakura maneuvered the blond in her lap, turning him around and transporting him to his own lap.

Okay, now he was really out of his comfort zone. He did want to hold the kid, but he had no idea how. His hands hovered next to Mini-blond, completely unsure of what he was supposed to do with them. "Here," the nurse directed again, taking his hands and placing them around the kid's middle. "Hold him like this." He did and Mini-blond actually stayed put.

'Well, this isn't too bad.'

But not even ten seconds later the baby was wriggling, squirming and twisting on his lap. Only then did Konohamaru realize how heavy the fragile thing on his lap was.

How was he supposed to hang on to him without breaking him?!

"Do you want to move?" the nurse -he really needed to find out her name- asked the kid.

'Mo!' the kid exclaimed. Repeating it again and again, 'Moh. Moh!' Konohamaru would have smiled if he wasn't so flabbergasted trying not to drop him. The nurse grabbed him and lifted him up, only to set him right back down again, just turned around so that their eyes met.

Konohamaru stared into those deep cerulean eyes. Those oddly familiar eyes.

Suddenly the kid's bright orbs crinkled in a wide grin while stretching his mini hands towards him. "Koh- Moh- Ooo-"

Konohamaru froze.

A/N:

Dun-dun-dun.

sis1&2 - YAY! WE'RE DONE WITH CHAPTER 8! \o/ \o/
Gomen'nasai ! We're Sorry! x10 Life got in the way of writing! ):

sis1 - We do actually have several viable reasons for taking so long. One of them being that we no longer live in the same house, and it makes co-writing extremely difficult... so we are, unfortunately, going on semi-hiatus with this story. And it is for this reason we must announce that chapters will take longer than they used to.

sis2 - She left me! She moved out! Gah! Why doesn't anyone love me?

sis1 - 0.0

sis2 - Doesn't anyone care about Sid the sloth? Oh wait, thats not me. :p

sis1 - You poor child...

sis2 - What do you mean poor child... I am an extremely poor child. How dare you run off on your own without me! (baer with our family issues for a bit here)

sis1 - *Rubs back of head* Sorry about that. Anyway, back to the AN. Before anyone asks, Shizune is not forgotten, there is a reason she's not with Sakura right now.

sis2 - She is wandering around the hospital somewhere.

sis1 - Sheesh, just tell them everything before we get there why don't ya... *smirk*

sis2 - Sorry, sorry, got ahead of myself. You type, I'll stop.

sis1 - *Rolls eyes* :) Oh, this is a bit random but, the city name is made up. We tried to find the name of an actual village that was where we put it, but we couldn't :/ Also, Naruto is a bit hyped up on adrenaline so he doesn't notice the vague ill feeling in his body.

So, as usual, please review and tell us what you're thinking, what you liked, how something works, why it doesn't, what you think would work better, any pointers you may have, anything we're doing that is frustrating you... basically, if you read it then we want to hear from you :)

sis2 - Also, since we lost both our betas we would like to know if we missed anything, so if you could point out any and all grammatical (or otherwise) mistakes/errors, it would be much appreciated.

sis1&2 - Many thanks to all are Readers, Followers, and Reviewers! XD

Story Recommendations:

"Chance for a Prophecy" by Dorcyy
You can't stop the flow of time. It's wheel only whirls in one direction. It is impossible for a mere human to change that path. But sometimes the impossible must be done… Naruto time travel fanfiction.

-This ongoing story is very long and amazingly well written. Don't let the grammatical errors at the beginning throw you off (whoever Dorcyy's beta was could have done a better job), it does not reflect the quality of writing. Dorcyy got a new beta at about chapter 8 and it flows much better after that. Oh, and don't just stop reading because you think the story won't change; there are so many twists that it is just mind boggling to think that this is their first fanfic.

"Dreaming of Sunshine" by Silver Queen
Life as a ninja. It starts with confusion and terror and doesn't get any better from there. OC Self-insert

-Ok, we're not the Self-insert type of readers, but this fic is amazing. I (sis1) still can't figure out why I started reading it in the first place, but I kept reading it because it was just that good. :) They build the Naruto-verse to a degree that is just...it makes you feel like you're there. Also, this author's writing improves as they write, almost as if you're watching the character grow and mature.