Hey guys, back with another chapter. Forgive me for taking so long I've had little time as I've been busy preparing for Dual-enrollment. Also for those who I have personally talked with I simply had a mad idea that would get the progression moving, which will hopefully add some more drama.

On with the show

"Naruto!"

Konan's world crashed around her. Red. There was no way. She lifted her wings to hold her perpendicular to the ground as she slowly descended down. Her eyes changed as she watched the barrier collapse and as soon as the barrier fell to pieces and her feet met cold hard misted ground she knew she needed something. Anything!

"No! Please!" a far off voice cried out.

Lifting her hand to meet one of the buildings sitting near the bridge, she pretended like she hadn't heard that name. Were her thoughts playing tricks on her again? Were her dreams coming back to play cruelly in the day?

Konan shook her head madly as she reconciled everything. Even if the world gave her any indication she struggled to find meaning behind it all. Out of frustration, she put a hand firmly to her head like someone with an unrivaled headache.

Limply, she patted down her hair, taking the paper flower out Konan bended it and morphed it to what her vision ensued—the Nine Tails. Now that the opportunity had shown it's face what could it all mean?

Red. The Nine-Tailed Foxes signature chakra color, and it appeared in this boy named Naruto, presenting itself in a sudden burst of flaming inferno red. Not only that but supposing someone had identical hair to her lover was considerably low. There was no way around it now that Konan thought about it. Her hand twitched to play with the grass around her as she observed the misted battle ahead.

She chuckled, giggled, laughed, and then trickled tears down her eyes that could only precede the symptoms of hysteria.

Her thoughts gathered momentarily as she went over everything again and again as the voices out on the bridge collected and madly unified while a gargantuan chakra signature filtered the air.

If this is Naruto-kun... then maybe...

Konan's smiled frightfully, almost insanely. Her goal to find her child hadn't been for nothing! Crouching low to the ground, and laying a hand to her cheek she wrung her hand slowly in the grass in a futile attempt to be rid her of those years of torment, or at least she hoped so.

If that boy, the one they said was my child, is really him, I will go and aid him if only to try and see what he looks like! I need to see him!

Greedily, the hand settled on her face clamped hard down like a machine tearing leather. Or atleast, that's what it felt like.

"Don't you dare touch him!" a voice, again, rang out.

Konan started arching her head, peering out to the fogged bridge. Her sense of judgment seemed to fail her as she quickly flew into the mist and onto the bridge where the unnaturally red chakra managed to filter the sharpest of her senses. Her eyes trailed the small splotches of blood carelessly flopping on the ground. After a moment of standing in the fog Konan could feel a small congenstion mock her lungs and she knew she had to act fast.

Where are you, Naruto?

Konan ran through her head; the small puddle of blood, a collapsed barrier, fractured and hollow speech screaming in the distance didn't bode well for her son. She smiled slightly—she really liked the sound of that. So familiar. Running that much faster, Konan blurred before coming to a halt. She panned her head while she eyed the surroundings. A little more than anxious, she found rubble and melting ice crumbling like a rotting decrepit building caving in on itself.

"You may be some sort of specialist-," a deep voice strung out, "-but that doesn't mean you can take on someone who's out of your league. Genin."

A squelching noise echoed in her ear and her stomach clenched. She grit her teeth. Taking flight again she rose til she looked down upon a scene bloodier than she could've ever imagined. She felt like vomiting. Her son had several spikes of bones lodged deep in his stomach. Copious amounts of blood slipped and fell onto the ground, and the two bastards who did this had somehow slipped back into the mist where she could hear faint clashes of what she could presume were kunai.

She felt a slight twitch cracking her normally calm façade whilst looking down on the scene. Konan licked her lips and then pursed them. Two head counts was all she wanted now. Two little targets aimed in the back of Zabuza and Kimimaro's skulls.

Well, she swallowed, I want them dead.

After about a moment of just two flapping wings Konan singled the pulse of her beats, the rythmn of her drum as though she was in sync with the wind itself before she began to fall. She let her muscles loose for a moment.

I really want them dead, she told herself.

Directing her stare to her fallen child's body she tipped her head over to the mist down aways on the bridge until a wind picked up and she fell into a current where she drifted slowly and methodically back into the mist. If anyone saw her, the only feature they would have noticed was her smile.

A look of sheer disturbed sadistic pleasure leveled her face when she bulleted through to where the anbu were once again fighting with Zabuza and his apprentice. Looking back to Naruto's prone form on the other side—the safe side, as far as she was concerned—she noted two other chakra signature's hovered frantically over her son. Good. They were his team-mates.

Singular hands etched just outside the protection of the fog at the same time as she made more and more paper shurikens appear until the fog was a bog of paper.

"Please. Die."

She sent them spiraling, all spiraling toward the Kaguya. Konan smiled peacefully. That beautifully sick smile.

"Naruto-kun, wake up. Please, wake up."

Naruto couldn't believe what had happened. Everything was going in their favor. The battle was in their hands, the odds were stacked against their opponents and yet they were able to simply bum-rush them by literally barreling through Haku's mirrors and Tenten and his weapon barrage.

He winced. What had they done?

Cold and tingly hands rubbed over his eyes while he attempted to unravel the mystery.

"Good, you're awake. Thank goodness the Kyuubi is helping."

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he watched as a blue haired woman's face leaned over him with what he could only guess was a crumpled rose sitting atop her head. Judging by the way his head was inclined, and not to mention how soft the pillow was, he surmised that he was resting on her lap.

They were in a cave of sorts, dark, but warm. Above him little light seemed to warm through whatever they were in. He turned his head to find no entrance and two other occupants lying comfortably in paper. Naruto flicked his finger—him too.

"Where am I?" he asked.

Groggily, Naruto tried sitting up. A sharp pain ricocheted through his stomach. Her hand clamped down on his shoulders while he was distracted by stars forming strangely tingling sensations throughout his prone body.

"Wha-?"

"Quiet," the woman ushered gently, her voice sounding almost like a shadow of Haku's when he was sick and being stubborn.

"You've opened your wounds. Sit tight while I go fetch some more bandages."

The blue haired woman glanced back with what seemed to be a caring eye while she opened a slight portal to the outer realm.

"Your friends are over there so make yourself comfortable."

Naruto peered over to the bodies sleeping to the side of him and noticed that, with the light, they were Haku and Tenten. They didn't look too bad, a few scratches here and there—not too bad overall. The pieces of paper seeming to provide a nice bed of warmth like a sleeping bag.

"Again, Naruto-kun, I'll be gone for a little while, and then I will be back. I promise. Just sit tight and keep an eye on them."

Konan contemplated telling Naruto of their relation before deciding against that. There's not a chance in hell he would believe her—at least not yet. Soon hopefully she would be able to tell him, and even if he didn't believe her, they could always have a blood test to prove it. Though she didn't need any more proof than the red chakra exuding from his body.

"They weren't seriously hurt, so do not worry. I'll explain everything when I get back."

And with that, Konan exited.

"She's gone," Naruto exclaimed softly.

"I know she is. Her chakra was hard to miss."

Haku rose from the monumental amounts of papers before sitting comfortably next to him. Delicious droplets of blood fell down his side as Kyuubi healed him again. After a long time of simply waiting, Haku broke the silence, patting the warm spot next to her. Tenten drudged slowly over to them.

"Why'd she leave when she knew that you could heal as quickly as you can?"

Sitting down, Tenten yawned slightly. "Well, she sounded worried and the way her body moved suggested that she was distressed for some reason."

Haku nodded and continued. "And with the way she seemed to take favor of Naruto-kun means that she has some sort of attachment to him."

"How could you two collect that much when you two were in the dark, and with masks on your face?" Naruto shifted uncomfortably.

Haku rubbed Naruto's shoulder before lithely squeezing it. He really was knocked out, wasn't he?

"We saw that after she took off with us in her arms," Tenten answered.

"Don't ask how she did that 'cause I don't remember. All I felt was a huge mound of warmness," she said, cutting-off Naruto.

"Did she leave any trace as to where she took us?"

"Not that I know of."

Haku looked around the room, searching for a way out. Her mask became undone and fell to the floor if only to relieve her of the impending heat nestling in the cacoon-like cave with Tenten following.

"Haku-chan?"

She smiled comfortably at him before she relinquished and settled down next to him. Surprisingly, she didn't seem to notice the small trickle of blood soaking her robe for some reason, that is, if she was choosing not to notice. He sighed. He needed to ask about the bridge and what made her trigger go off as badly as it did.

Of course he knew. She just needed to hear it for herself.

"Why did you get so angry out there? You lost yourself for a second."

Cold sandals crunched the ground beneath her as she walked leisurely through the misted forest.

Would it be possible to not be followed? Konan settled her eye on a tree near the open path and knew that Zetsu, the spy of Akatsuki, was watching her now. Routinely, the green man beast would slither in the shadows and check up all of the surroundings to gather information to saddle where the tailed-beasts were. With that, he would point the members in the right direction.

Konan guessed this was what he was doing now...

"You can come out now."

No doubt the blast-radius of that red-chakra was enormous, and knowing him, he was all over it. Hopefully, Zetsu wouldn't have noticed her escape despite his keen eyes. If he was even there to see that.

"Nine-Tail Jinchuuriki. Close," Zetsu's voice echoed.

He pointed out to the bridge where she was heading and Konan let herself feel a small smile. Wrong way Zetsu... better luck next time. When the Akatsuki found out, or so they thought, they were all mislead. They began to think that the beast was transferred afterward as Nagato forced her away from the village once Naruto was born and her husband took him off to seal the Kyuubi. She thought he died as their numerous spies couldn't riddle their ways into any truths.

"Hai. Alert Itachi-san and Kisame-san that I am pursuing the Nine-Tails and am currently engaging off near the border of Sunagakure."

"What information do you have that would lead you to a confrontation battle near that location?"

"Sources."

Zetsu nodded.

"Very well."

He disappeared back into the tree and she felt his chakra disappear instantly.

Sometimes being the closest to the leader had its perks, she had to admit. Directing her gaze back to where her son and his friends were, she contemplated giving them some more time to figure things out.

Or did she need some more time?

Konan walked quickly and diligently on the path leading to the town Gato controlled. As she traversed, she carefully placed a hand on the trees as if she were feeling for some inexplicable answer to her problems.

Since the rumors were false regarding the Kyuubi's passing to another host, that would mean that her son would have to be sated as a sacrifice for Nagato's plan. Unless she found a way to transfer the Kyuubi without killing her son, but she hadn't the slightest clue how she would go about doing that.

Saving a host had never been accomplished and in fact had never even been considered since the lives the hosts lead were to be stereotyped as unusually foul. Konan shivered. Hopefully Sarutobi was able to make her son look like a hero in the midst of the false tales.

Racking her brain for any answers, Konan walked for minutes. She found herself entering the small town with what looked to be insignificant entrails of fish grinded into the ground. The scales stuck up and shone against the sun's midday sheen.

That's odd. The way this village looked deemed any and all food to be named invaluable. What would condone this?

Quickly, Konan dismissed the thought before finding a nearby drugstore that of which had little actual drugs to speak of except ragged and worn looking bandages. After purchasing them, Konan sprinted out of the store, intent to get back to Naruto as quickly as possible. Her answers would have to come later.

After a few more minutes of running, Konan leapt into a nearby tree with tall expansive branches just above her makeshift hideout below. Maybe she should introduce herself, she wondered?

No.

She dropped back down to the hedged mound of bushes below and swiftly opened the door and walked in to find something interesting.

"This is unexpected," Konan muttered to herself. She hid her blush well whilst she slowly stepped into the cave. She closed the door.

Her son was leaning against the cave-like wall with his teammate on top of him. Although that wasn't what made her blush, it was the physical affection the girl was showing him. They were cuddling though truly it was the intensity that caught her off guard. One more thing though: the girl was tearing up.

"Haku-chan, it's ok. You had a right to," Naruto said.

"It's not! I thought that making him suffer would make me feel better! It's not alright! I've never felt such wrath!" Haku said quietly. She pressed her forehead to Naruto's.

"It's only natural," the brown haired girl stated.

"It shouldn't be. Ever since I met Naruto I resolved not to feel that kind of rage again and to move forward, but it looks like I haven't made any progress!"

Deciding against simply standing there, Konan moved to sit down next to Naruto's brown-haired teammate, to the left of Naruto and nearest the entrance.

She interjected, "Feeling wrath over something is acceptable for the right reasons. I don't know your situation, but I feel that it's dire if you're making such a fuss." Konan leaned over to place a hand on the girls shoulder. "You must've been hurt severely, I apologize."

"No, you're fine."

Curiously lifting her head up, Haku looked over to the woman, voicing a question she had long wanted answered.

"Why did you bring us here?"

There plan was going well it seemed. Haku's idea of fetching answer's for them was brilliant in and of itself. That decidedly was deduced when he brought up the question about her actions on the bridge. Her answer before the blue-haired woman made her presence known again was simply that she wanted to make the two nuke-nin's pay and to protect them.

Simple enough.

In actuality, Naruto and Tenten had seen that coming when they put their heads together. Fear was something they needed, and fear of change was something Haku had seen in Kimimaro back when they were fighting. So she exploited that, but when the woman came back, Haku quickly instructed the two to play along as tears formed in her eyes as the skit continued like a well-rehearsed play.

And like planned, the woman fell for it.

"Bringing you three here had been instinct. I felt the need to protect the children while the adults dealt with the threats," Konan riddled.

Tenten had been sitting there silently for some time and now she felt the need to speak rise as she was wondering more about their teacher like an interrogator, ironically.

"What's your name and do you know about our sensei?"

"My name is Konan. I do not know about your sensei, but I did see Zabuza and his apprentice being bound and dragged somewhere. The one with the bandana on his head was the most vicious when he was searching for something. Could that be him?"

Tenten held a hand to her chin and looked to her team-mates.

"Could be..." Tenten furrowed her brows in thought before deciding to go ahead and ask. "Can you let us go? I mean, the fight is over, and we need to find our sensei."

"You may."

As the three smiled, Konan decided to break the ice lest she lose that long held wish of hers.

"I'm coming with you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Why would she want to come? Laying his head gently on Haku's, he pulled her closer to him and she settled herself on his lap. It wasn't that he didn't want Konan to come—he just didn't know her.

"You can if you want, Konan-san," he stated reluctantly.

Konan smiled.

Later, after setting her son and his friends free with her tailing them, the team soon found their sensei running along the trail back to Konoha, another hawk perched on his arm. When Naruto yelled out from the forest, pairs of anbu appeared suddenly in front of them. In their hands were kunai and in that they seemed to be ready for a fight.

As if Ibiki could actually see them, he yelled out, "That's them, back to your stations!"

Appearing dutifully in front of Ibiki, the three teens nodded their heads to him.

In the mean time , Konan's eyes kept a steady gaze. Easily wrapping her head around what the implications of her capturing, Naruto could mean …she grimaced slightly. If their sensei was as intimidating as he seemed, then there could be trouble. Intimidation was his specialty and by the way her son fought and talked, she could also tell that he held a cursory knowledge of that same practice.

Konan smiled lightly.

"Konan-san! Would you like to explain to me why you took my students during a battle?"

She stepped out from behind the tree and wiped away the wet mist clinging to her black cloak before henging the red cloud swiftly away from her person.

"I was merely playing the part of a protector," Konan played, smiling pseudo innocence.

"And that's a right reason to take my-," Ibiki pointed to himself as if to accentuate his point, "-students away from my person."

Ibiki grimaced menacingly at the whole ordeal. His students were taken during a battle, and what's worse is that he didn't even know where or when they were taken. Only after the maelstrom of paper struck that Kaguya kid, did he think to check the fog. And then his students, to which he found nothing but blood and rubble, were missing leaving the blood and the four ivory bones as his only clues.

Thoughts flew through his head as he silently connected the picture.

Kimimaro threw four bones into the fray, coming through and puncturing Naruto's stomach, then Zabuza rushed into the storm where his apprentice attempted to finish off his student's. That's when he came and they switched targets.

This woman must've seen that and took them because she thought they were in and over their heads...

"I did it because they were outmatched and needed help," Konan replied, still smiling.

Bingo.

"You know you could be in trouble for interfering with Konoha's business, like these two." He pointed over to a tree where chains wrapped roughly around Zabuza and Kimimaro's forms. Blood was savagely barbered from them. Around their necks freshly polished collars with spikes pressed lightly to their skin. Ibiki watched her smile at the boy in particular, the way her eye locked on to the small cuts the storm of paper caused him-he looked like he had been cut to hell by a sea of thorns.

"At the least you would probably just be talked to... if we did actually decide to detain you, though by the looks of it." Ibiki eyed his students. "You did do a nice job of patching them up."

Konan bowed lightly.

Letting the compliment sink, Ibiki finally looked back to the road. Featuring his favorite mist ahead, he startled slightly before looking to the woman.

"We should go now. Thank you," Ibiki said, nodding once.

"I'm coming too."

That snapped Ibiki back to look at her. He was then about to retort and reject, mind you, but Naruto tapped his shoulder.

Cupping his hand, Naruto whispered quickly into his teacher's ear. "I think we should let her come."

Ibiki merely offered a skeptical eye. What were they up to?

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

Shrugging his shoulders Naruto patted his haori from the wet droplets gathering on him. Tenten and Haku followed suit. The cave provided an excellent place to change from his ripped clothes before, but sadly he had to change into the extra clothes Haku had along with Tenten since he didn't have a scroll on him, so here he was swiping what he could off.

How fun could this mission get? he joked sarcastically.

After a moment, Naruto faced Ibiki with Haku and Tenten standing by him.

"She just said that she wanted to tag along and I don't see why not. It's not like she's an enemy. After all why would she save us just to kill us?" Tenten questioned.

"Good question." He cupped his chin. "Would it be wrong to assume that she just wants information? Trade secrets?"

Tenten shook her head.

"I doubt it."

"Alright," Ibiki relented.

Hours later, Konan sat silently on a log. Its cold damp texture gave it a slick feeling when she had to steady herself every so often as to avoid falling off. Dark skies were all she could see with glittering stars shimmering through the forest tops and the fire below crackled and popped as if trying to tell her something. So life-like.

"So are you going to tell me why you are really following us, or are you going to continue this charade even when the children are gone?"

Konan's ears perked and she could feel a slight dread enter her form at the perplexing tone he was using against her so she bowed her head and stared into the fire. If she told him, then maybe he would support her coming.

"I'll tell you-," Ibiki's eyes widened softly to narrow as he sat himself opposite her, "-but you must keep this to yourself until I deem it necessary. Do you understand?"

He looked off towards the tent behind him and knew his students were asleep. He already had some issues between himself and his students and this may or may not be the straw to break the camel's back, depending on what it was. Ibiki scratched his forehead in thought before an idea popped up.

Tapping his finger on the log he was sitting on, he began speaking in the meantime.

He nodded. "Shoot."

Konan sighed, steadying herself. Might as well get it over with.

"Do you remember the Yondaime and the Kyuubi attack years ago?" She asked.

Of course he knew about that, but what did that pertain to? Leaning forward, Ibiki analyzed her posture for any indication to where she was going.

"Yes, who doesn't?"

Konan nodded.

"Well, the Yondaime was my husband."

Ibiki's eyes shot open as he felt himself constrict in surprise and reel back at her words like he had just seen a ghost.

Is that true? he asked himself.

Looking back in his memory, Ibiki tried to find any sample of truth to what she said. He considered everything what that could potentially mean. It was true that the Hokage was married, but he had kept it secret as to whom, not even he had access to that. Looking up, he saw she had more to say.

"And Naruto... is my son."

Ibiki nearly slipped off the log he was sitting on before he directed a mean glare to her. "Bullshit!"

Konan merely shrugged before looking over to the tent.

"If you don't believe me than I can simply go to Hiruzen and have it confirmed. I've met him and he's always said that I had a unique chakra signature, and if that doesn't work and he doesn't remember me, I can always have a blood test occur to prove it," she said quietly.

Ibiki relaxed his testing muscles as he held his nerves in check. She really had all this planned out, didn't she?

"Do you have any proof besides blood to prove that you're Naruto-san's mother?"

I do, Konan thought in realization.

Pulling out a picture, Konan held it up for Ibiki's eyes to see. On it showed the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze with this woman, who was obviously a few months pregnant. The Yondaime's arm was thrown over the woman's shoulders in the softest of gestures as he looked down to her lightly growing belly with the happiest look Ibiki had ever seen on him. Switching between the picture and Konan, he noticed one more detail to put the nail in the coffin.

"Is-is that?"

Konan nodded. "That's the Namikaze household, yes."

"So you really are Naruto's mother." Ibiki relented. Placing a hand sadly beside him, Ibiki leveled an even stare toward Konan, almost giving her a sober expression.

"He's not going to be pleased when he finds out you were alive and you didn't come back. You know that, right?" he stated.

Konan merely shaded her gaze against the amber light.

"I didn't have much of a choice-," she wiped at her eye lightly, "-and even then I had heard that he had died by the Kyuubi's raging."

Konan stared hard into Ibiki's eyes.

"I searched the battlefield for hours until I found a single lock of hair and Minato's robe sitting together under the starlit sky. Under a war-zone. I didn't just leave—it wasn't that simple."

Tears slipped and she felt herself shake and pulse.

"A friend of mine named Nagato dragged me out of there when he found me and then weeks later we heard that there was no sign of Naruto-kun or Minato-kun." Konan felt bile rise up her throat at the memories invading presence and Ibiki felt the need to rush over and perhaps put her at ease.

"I kept searching though, maybe not as actively as the first few years, but I never stopped!"

It took all of her will-power to stop from breaking down then and there in front of her son's teacher. Until realization set in and a glimpse of the insanity breaking smile gave itself light for a split second—not without notice from Ibiki.

"But I found him now, and I'll be damned if I am forced to leave him again."

Ibiki witnessed her monologue from his spot as steadily as he could. Occasionally he would prop his elbows up as to rest his chin on his hands but not often. At that smile of hers a thought went through his head, a single thought.

Hm, she's dangerous, that's for sure. If we do let her stay then she will need to see a Yamanaka to deal with the slight trauma, he thought.

Nodding his head, he bowed.

"We'll see what happens."

Konan smiled and no trace of that insanity from before tainted her portrait. If he had to choose what it was, well, she looked innocent.

Spiraling through the air if only to land and break a mercenary's neck the anbu continuously sprinted through the crowd as quickly as they could—they had a mission to accomplish. Not only had Zabuza and Kimimaro failed their master, they also sent the them to 'take care of him'! Perching himself up tall Bird watched from the high rise stone fence while he awaited his teams results. He watched dozens of thugs be incapacitated by at least 3 of his anbu as though he was the instigator to some riot-which in retrospect he sort've was.

They were rushing the large mansion that was shrouded in mist and rather than take the hard route one of the anbu, dog, threw a well-aimed senbon into the neck of Gato. Piercing him, but not killing him. Even though the midget was trying to run away he received it well before he could do anything about it, or even predict it's coming.

Congratulating himself Bird jumped down before neutralizing another thug with a deep resounding kick of his foot. When Ibiki had strolled through the poor town with the nuke-nin's in chains, Zabuza had offered him a deal: Information on Gato, for an easier sentence, or an interrogation—maybe for both of him and Kimimaro but he didn't think so. It looked like Zabuza was doing this just for himself as the kid didn't look all too thrilled.

Blinking out of the mansion's wide green courtyard and back to the bridge-builder's house, Bird offered a nod to Tazuna before his teammate shunshinned in with Gato—his movement restrained with ninja-wire.

"It is done. You shouldn't have to worry about the bridge being protected anymore with the source extinguished. Do as you wish to Gato."

Opening the door to Tazuna's house, he saw Cat and Dog nod to him as they shunshinned out back to Ibiki's campsite.

"Oh, and before I forget." Bird rubbed his fingers together. "Payment will be due at the completion of your bridge when you have the money to spare. You have the ample time of six months to gather that money."

Shunshinning out, Bird bowed to Ibiki before giving his report about their individual mission.

Success.

"We'll be back in Konoha tomorrow. Get some rest," Ibiki commanded.

Inside the trio's tent, Tenten sat wide awake, a hand clasped closely against her mouth to prevent her breathing from being heard—and speaking of hearing she heard everything. Looking over to Naruto, she pondered what her options were before opting to simply let the issue boil overnight to get her and maybe her sensei's thoughts straight.

Tenten turned on her side and stared softly at Naruto. Nothing. This will mean nothing, she concluded. Leaning over she pecked Naruto's nose as she slowly eyed his lips—should she? Rolling her eyes she kissed him deeply for a moment before flopping back down. She would tell him tomorrow.

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