Sweet lord Arceus, I LOVE ALL YOUR COMMENTS. Some of you made me crack up so bad I almost lost my breath. Gerdammit. So to show my gratitude, there is more Kaiju celebration, partly also because I wasn't exactly done. HUE HUE HUE. And of course, plot movement. Because class for me has just begun and I don't want to leave this here gathering cobwebs. (Because it happened before. I crei) and I'm typing this through my phone. So expect plenty of typos because of me as a person. And I dont have a beta so yeah. Nobody's perfect. BUT ENDURE IF YOU CAN. I'M SO SORRY, PEOPLE.
OH AND ONE MORE THING. IT'S FIRST POV SO THERE'S YOUR MEMO.
Chapter Thirty Three: Past Resurfaced
The Kaiju Festival is a blast!
Well, even though the few of them kept squabbling, we still played a lot of the festival games, like throwing beans and lighting little lanterns in the fields(which was actually a couple sort of custom, but the ten of us did it anyways). All in good fun.
Of course, Naruto had to set something on fire. As usual.
As I was laughing my butt off as Naruto tried to pat down his afro hair, I felt someone nudge my back. Duckbutt was standing beside me warily. His chest was pressing against my shoulder, as if he was trying to hide me from something.
Curious, I wiped my tears away and followed his gaze. Then I burst into a large grin.
"Gaara!"
The Sand ninja turned his head slightly at the sound of my voice and looked at me. I heard the others sudden hushed silence as I bounded to him, and pretended not to hear Kiba's soft warning growl.
Gaara's my friend. No worries.
He stood there, waiting for me to walk over to him. I could feel the other nine Genins eyes on my back. Temari and Kitty boy wasn't around, to my surprise. And I noticed that he was wearing his normal garments. Doubt that he even brought any festival clothes. It's a Konoha festival anyway.
"Came to see the festival?" I asked cheerfully when I got close enough of earshot. He nodded, and I saw him give a moment's glance at my other friends. His scent spiked suspicion and wariness. Not a good combo.
I turned back and waved at the group, smiling, "You guys go on, I'll look for you later!"
They exchanged glances, probably deciding whether they should risk my life. But to my relief, Shikamaru said something to them and they visibly relaxed a little, except for Naruto, who looked pretty confused.
Kiba gave me a look but my smile never wavered. Shika lifted a hand at me before leading the others away. Naruto looked from them to me in bafflement. He wanted to speak up but Sakura just dragged him away by his ear, shooting insults at the blond for being so dense.
I giggled, still watching my departing friends. "They can be a bit weird, but they don't mean any harm. They're all really nice people." I told Gaara as I turned back to him, smiling. He was looking at me now, but he quickly turned his gaze away and walked off. I hummed in wonder before picking up my pace to catch up with him.
A comfortable silence fell between us as I began taking in the rowdiness of festivities instead of attempting a conversation.
Two children were squabbling over a bag of candies they both won over the shooting-bottles game. Stall vendors called out to us to check their wares. The smell of food wafted in the air, making me lick my lips greedily. But I just had dinner with the others, so I stopped myself from buying anything. The sounds of adults laughing over their chatter were a myriad of cacophony. But it's not exactly unpleasant though.
"It's so noisy." I heard a soft complaint coming from the boy beside me and let out a soft giggle. Well, maybe to some.
His green eyes slid over to me in suspicion and I smiled, "Come on. I know somewhere you'd like." Without any further explanation, I beckoned the redhead to follow my lead.
Slipping through the crowds, I didn't need to look back to see if he was following. I already knew he was. Then I took a quick turn into a quiet alley.
After a few moments I had entered, a soft pattering of footsteps and the smell of curiosity behind me allowed me to move forward. I turned sideways to look at him and smiled, "Close your eyes and give me your hand."
Gaara didn't move and I frowned slightly, trying not to seem disappointed by the fact he hasn't trust me enough yet.
"I can't show you the exact route I'm taking. It's a secret." I told him. He was hesitant, but I waited as he looked from me to my hand, deciding if this was really worth his time.
Then, I guess he thinks it is.
He closed his eyes but he didn't do anything else. Gaara just stood there, frozen as a statue. I felt my mouth twitched upwards gently as I slipped my hand into his, "Don't worry, I'll make sure you won't trip on anything." Tugging lightly, I watched as he took a step. And then another. Until he was beside me.
It was hard for him to suddenly trust someone blindly, but I was patient. I took the first few baby trust steps very slowly until Gaara himself began to picked up pace.
Then I allowed us to move in a medium speed. I kicked away anything that might make him trip and fall over as I navigated through the quieter streets of Konoha, leaving the festival behind. Gaara followed me obediently, pausing a few times for reasons I didn't know.
"Hold on, we're almost there." I assured as I took one last turn.
And here we are.
There were a few kids in the small forest clearing already. I smiled at some of the children that I got to know over the years as I gently sat Gaara down. Some of them moved away slightly, due to Gaara's presence. Thankfully, he didn't saw them cowering in fear. I didn't want that to happen. It's not a nice feeling. Of course, I should know that fairly well.
I gave the kids a knowing smile and nodded, before mouthing, "It's okay." They were young and were easily comforted. I waited until they were all properly relaxed before turning back to Gaara.
"We're here."
Slowly, he began to open his eyes. Obviously, the boy was surprised at the curious looks and smiles on the children faces as he took in his surroundings. It was alien to him, I guess. Having people smiling at him instead of scowling.
Lastly, his eyes landed on me and I felt my lips curl upwards into a smile, before putting a finger to my lips.
As softly as a gentle spring breeze, little emerald lights began to flicker around us. Gaara startled slightly when one of them suddenly appeared on his nose. I stifled a laugh as he looked at it cross-eyed in bafflement. It was cute, to see him so naive like that. I saw a little movement on his gourd and quickly covered the stopper with frost.
"No sand, Gaara." I warned gently before giving his nose a soft boop, chasing the lighting bug away. His teal green eyes turned back to meet mine and I couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face.
"Your hair." he stated softly and I smiled even wider. "I know."
Tens of fireflies had stopped to rest on my head, lighting up my hair like a Christmas tree. They flickered and glow and I heard a few kids giggling with mirth as they teased their friends who were in the same condition as I am. A young man crept out of the forest, and everyone grew silent. Did someone found our little paradise?
But when the fireflies flitted to him excitedly, all of us, except a very confused Gaara, sighed in relief.
Aburame Hotaru stood before us, a smile on his lips as a firefly sat on his pointer finger when he lifted it to his face, illuminating his gentle features. His glasses were clear, unlike the other Aburame clan members who wore black shades, and it had thick black frames. His golden eyes gleamed cheerfully when he took in his young audience.
He was surprised to see Gaara but quickly masked his expression, giving the Sand ninja a small nod of acknowledgement.
"Kaneme-nii-chan!" A little boy whisper-shouted, careful not to alarmed the fireflies, and Hotaru smiled kindly at him. "Glad to see you made it, Akito-kun." Hotaru replied, leaning down to ruffle to the little boy's hair.
The nickname Kaneme meant golden eyes, which befitted the Chunin perfectly, and it was a loving nickname thought up by the younger kids. Not many of them know that he's a ninja, only those who actually went up to be a Genin because we always see him helping out in the Hokage's office. If I remembered right, he's the youngest of the council's assistants.
I followed his movements as Hotaru spoke quietly to the children. As I did so, a wave of nostalgia hit me as I remembered how I got here myself. It was a lovely memory. I noticed Gaara's gaze on me and I tilted my head to him, "Yes?"
"How..." he started, before blinking in surprise, as if he didn't know why he even spoke up at all. But he continued, albeit after a few moments, "How did you find this place?"
I smiled at him before shifting closer to him, lowering my voice, "I found Kaneme-nii-chan during the Kaiju Festival as well. That was when I was six and Kakashi was on a mission." I looked away wistfully, playing with a few of the fireflies in my hand.
"I'll spare you the whole sobs story. Tried playing with the other kids while wearing a mask but in the end, they found out that it was me and chased me away. I was crying in the alley, and that's when a firefly came to rescue me." I told him, smiling as I did. A few fireflies fluttered away from my arm to land on Gaara's red hair. It looked funny.
"Kaneme-nii-chan always puts on a small show of fireflies for the special kids every time there is a festival. You know, only those who are different and got to find their way here. Naruto did have the qualities to come. Then again, he'd probably chase the fireflies away with his loud voice." I chuckled at the thought.
"Indeed, he will. But I won't be surprised if he actually managed to get here." A voice spoke up in front of us. Hotaru grinned at us as he crouched at a considerable distance.
I felt Gaara flinched a little when Hotaru sat closer to me but I patted his hand reassuringly. Slowly, he eased under my touch, but I felt him shift closer to me.
I greeted Hotaru with a smile, "Kaneme-nii-chan." He smiled as he poked my forehead teasingly, "You brought a friend, Mononoke-chan? Without my permission? That's not very nice."
I swatted his finger away gently and looked over to Gaara, my mouth twitching upwards, "Gaara's special. And he's my friend. I thought he would like it here." I almost missed the slight tinge on the Sand boy's cheeks but it quickly disappeared from sight. Must be the lighting problem.
Hotaru chuckled before turning to Gaara, "Hmm, a Sand nin. But, I trust your judgement, Mononoke-chan. You never brought anyone here before. This one must've been exceptional." With that affirmation, the Aburame stood up and walked away.
He clapped his hands once, getting everyone else's attention. A kindred smile was flashed to his audience, "Well, it's late, kids. Time to run along now." A few of them groaned but these were good kids. Laughing and chattering, the children waved and hugged their goodbyes to the Aburame. Some even waved their goodbyes to me and Gaara, who they charmingly called "Scary-nii-chan". Poor Gaara had no idea how to react to that.
Although Hotaru left after a polite nod to us, the fireflies remained in the clearing. Some were still clinging on to my hair.
We sat in silence as the fireflies danced around us.
After a while, I piped up, "The last phase of the exam is next week." To my delight, Gaara made a soft hum of agreement as he turned his fingers this way and that to watch a fireflies crawling up his hand.
"What do you think, about going up against Uchiha?" I asked again, prodding him.
It took some time but Gaara answered, "Nothing." I sighed and leaned back on my hands, before looking up to the night sky.
"Well, either way, I hope it won't end that badly."
I growled and kicked away the blankets, out of annoyance. Scowling at the ceiling, I cursed.
"Bastard."
Neji said we couldn't train together anymore. He didn't want me to drop hints to Naruto. What does that stuck up think I am anyway?! I'm no tattle-tail! But I had to respect his wishes. As much as I hate it, I had to. I didn't like going against other people's wishes, unless they're stupid or risks lives.
But it didn't stop me from sulking.
"What a drag, woman." Shika complained as he came into my room, "I could hear you whining even from the living room."
I grunted, still looking at the ceiling, "You're welcome." He sat beside me and sighed, leaning across me as he placed a hand beside me. "Either way, it's useless pouting."
"I do not pout."
Shikamaru snorted in amusement, "Sure you don't." I didn't even bother to glare at him as he sighed again, "I thought you had training to do."
I crossed my arms and glared harder at the wall, "Neji bailed on me."
"I'm not surprised." His comment made me glare at him and Shikamaru cleared his throat before scratching his neck, looking away. "Are you always training with that guy?" This time, his tone of voice sounded different. I sneak a peek at him and got caught by surprise. Did I smell...
Jealousy?
I propped myself on my elbows as I smirked at him, "Are you actually envying Ji-chan?" His glare just confirmed my suspicion, "In your dreams, woman. I'm going out."
As he got up, I laughed at his pink ears, "Where to?"
"Dad wants me to train. And I actually thought of asking you to come along. Forget it then." he replied, not bothering to look back. I shot up from bed and grabbed my armband, "Hey, you never asked, Nara!"
"Don't want to anymore." Shika said sourly as he continued walking on as I quickly tied my armband on my right arm while trying to keep up with him. "Aw, come on, grumpy potato. I was just kidding."
"I like it better when you were moping." he deadpanned when I blocked his way with a grin.
"Love you too, Shika. So where are we training?" I asked but he just smirked at me, "Love you too? That's your comeback?" I gave him a shrug, still grinning, "So that's the only thing you heard? Shame on you."
Both of us were looking stupidly at each other until we heard a cough down the corridor. "You kids better hurry up, or I'm leaving you behind."
It's strange, really, how our banters became more sassy and how the both of us got closer. It's like we just jumped over some invisible barrier together. The nightmares were gone for the time being, thanks to those nightly snuggles. I doubt that whatever that was looking for me can find me again now.
But then again, I shouldn't jinx it. We all know how stupid my luck can get.
After Aomaru had passed, the herd needed a new leader. And I had to wait until this new leader had accepted me as Aomaru did. Thankfully, it wasn't some snotty buck that took Aomaru's place.
It was Rikumaru, who won fair and square against the other ambitious bucks. Rikumaru was Shikamaru's deer friend, which in turn was mine as well. I helped the Naras' tend to the deer every once in awhile, with Aomaru's help. Rikumaru was one of the fawns I helped raised.
Once Rikumaru deemed me worthy of entering the territory, we proceeded to train within the confinements of the Nara territory.
Since I had the Nara blood flowing in my veins, Shikaku decided to teach me the real Shadow Possession Jutsu as well.
But all that ever comes out of my shadow was ice.
And more ice.
When I tried to use it on Shika, I froze his feet instead. And would have done even more damage had I not pulled out immediately. The ice had already crawled up to his ankles the moment I retracted it.
As I crouched down to his feet, I wave a hand over it to disintegrate the ice. I hear Shikaku humming thoughtfully in the background as I freed the boy. Shikamaru tapped his foot, shaking the snow off and stepped away. I straightened to stand beside him as the both of us waited for Shikaku to speak.
"That's strange. Every jutsu you use is accompanied with ice." He mused, scratching his beard. Shikaku furrowed his brow as he thought about it. So far, he already taught me everything I needed to know to execute the jutsu.
Obviously, it freaked me out when a sudden voice snorted beside me.
"Well, of course not. I gave her the gift of ice. Whaddya expect, fool?"
I squawked and jumped, turning to my right.
Gintaro was standing beside me, proud and tall as he glowered at Shikaku. But even curiouser, Shikaku and Shikamaru looked as if I've seen a ghost.
"What is it, Mononoke?" Shikaku asked, concern creasing his scarred face. I opened and closed my mouth, trying to get my brain working. Can't they see him? But by the look on the father and son's faces, no, they could not.
"Well, mutt? Aren't you going to reply your godfather? Kakashi didn't raise a prude, and neither did I." Gintaro nagged as he looked down at me.
"What are you doing here, Gintaro?" I frowned once I managed to find my voice, after taking a deep breath of air.
The canine deity rolled his eyes, "I'm a god, fool. I do what I want. And no, they can't see me."
"Why not? I probably look stupid talking to thin air." I deadpanned and I heard Shika mused softly beside me, "Yeah, you kind of do." I only managed to give him a quick, sharp look and a whack to the chest before crossing my arms and glaring at Gintaro.
"Then if you want to complain to Shikaku, show yourself to them, not scare the living daylights out of me. What kind of guardian are you?" I nagged back and Gintaro gave me an incredulous look before complaining, mirroring me grumpily, "You don't get to be a judge of that."
"You wiped off my memories, left me in the woods and reappear nine years later when I was half dead. Sure, definitely, I don't get to judge." I shot back sarcastically.
And my guilt trip worked.
Gintaro grumbled as he glowered at the Nara leader. Something shifted in the air around him, like water ripples and I heard the collective gasps from the Nara males.
"Wha- Who are you?" Shikamaru asked, earning himself an amused look from my guardian as he announced proudly, "Fool, I'm Gintaro, Creator of the Canids, Lord of the Ice Mountains." The large canine deity leaned over me to bring his face closer to the boy. I spotted his large black nose moving up and down, sniffing Shikamaru.
Shika froze as a soft rumbling growled from the large creature. But it was a friendly sound, although probably doesn't know that. I spotted Gintaro giving him a toothy grin.
I looked over to Shikaku to see how he felt about this but the man was gaping at the deity. I wouldn't blame him though.
Gintaro is a large creature, standing close to eight feet tall. His size alone was intimidating enough.
"Gintaro?" Shikaku muttered and I felt Gintaro turned his large furry head at the man's direction. I heard the deity chuckled, " 'A' for effort, Nara Shikaku. Yes, it is I."
The Nara leader stepped closer before looking back to me, "I just remembered that Daiten's family prayed to Gintaro."
I raised my eyebrows at this new information and looked up at Gintaro. "Prayed?" I mused aloud. The canine deity cleared his throat and sat down to look at Shikaku at eye level.
He scratched his chin as he spoke, "The Yorukami clan families pray to different gods, depending on their core values. In turn, I would bless them with power and canine beasts to aid them. If I remembered correctly, Yorukami Daiten was the son of Dao, the one that stayed behind."
Shikaku confirmed this with a nod and Gintaro sighed, "He's a brave human, that one. Most of the deities know of him."
"But why did he not have the calling?" Shikaku asked, his voice a little shaky. I wouldn't understand why, until later, why Shikaku wasn't himself.
Gintaro hummed as he scratched his neck before he answered the question, "Well, to start off properly, us deities have different levels of power. The one who gives the calling are the second level deities, the Bringers. That would be Tenryu and Chiryu. I'm not sure why but I heard rumours that it was Uchuryu, God of the Universe, and Jikanryu, God of Time, brothers to Kyomuryu, God of Oblivion, which are the highest powers, I might add, ordered the second level to omit Dao's family from the calling. No one actually understood why. Not even the other deities."
He sighed before placing his large paws on his knees, frowning slightly at the sky, "Beats me why the Creators randomly picked that family. Those three had always been a mystery. But what's done is done, I suppose. And as Fate would have it, Dao's family died out for some reason, leaving Daiten alone."
Gintaro turned to me and smiled lovingly, patting my head. His large paw was enough to cover my head and face, "Which led this little mutt to me. I was keeping an eye on the only son of Dao. After his lifemate passed, I knew he would come to me for help. I was his family's god." The canine deity explained.
Shikaku suddenly spoke up, "Do you know what kill my soul brother's family?" Gintaro looked at the Nara with sorrowful eyes, shaking his head, "No one knows for sure. We all have suspicions but it's not enough to trace to the cause of it. It's a wonder why Daiten was alive."
"He was at my house." Shikaku said softly.
Gintaro made a soft sound of surprise, "Oh?"
"... He was staying the night at my place. I can't remember why he had, it'd been so long ago. But I know that when he got home, everyone was dead. He found the bodies in the living room, all bloodied and battered. It took him a long time to recover after that. Tenshi and I, as well as many of his friends, did all we could to coax him out again." He told Gintaro, unable to look at anyone at this point.
I could hear Shikamaru's ragged breathing beside me.
Figures. It's not every day your godsister has a god for a guardian, and you hear your father telling the history of his closest friend at the same time.
Of course, I didn't know what to feel when Shikaku talked about my father's story. It was sickening, yet heart wrenching, that he had to go through so much pain. Poor Dad. He lost his family, then his wife and he had to leave his daughter. And you'd had thought I have a shitty life.
Without a word, I slipped my hand into Shika's before giving him a gentle squeeze. He squeezed back and I could feel him relaxed slightly.
Gintaro absorbed this new information before nodding, "Now that makes sense. I'll try digging around to see what I can find." He looked up and turned to me, grinning, "As for now, the reason I came here."
Oh, right. There had to be a reason why he's out of the seal.
Wait.
Gintaro is out of the seal?!
"How did you get out of the seal?" I asked, my eyes wide in wonder.
Gintaro bawled with laughter when he saw the look on my face, "Hahahaha, silly child! Just because I sealed most of myself in you does not mean I am bound inside you forever. I have other responsibilities too, fool."
I heard Shika leaned over to me, "I can see why he's your guardian." I snorted at him, "What's that supposed to mean?"
He smirked, mirth shining in his eyes.
But before he could reply, Gintaro butted in, "As I was saying, lovebirds," he gazed at us pointedly, "the reason why I'm here is to clarify something because it's painful just watching you trying to get this mutt to do something she can't. Any jutsus Mononoke uses will only result in ice."
He looked at us for a moment before elaborating, "For example, even if she tried to learn a fire jutsu, the fire that comes out of her mouth is icy cold instead. Her chakra forbids her to do anything else."
I gaped at him, appalled, "Brrr-illiant. So it's obvious what my weakness is then."
Gintaro whacked my head, earning a yelp, "Nice try, mutt. I wasn't actually quite finished. There was an 'unless' coming up before you so rudely interrupted me."
Rubbing my head, I giggled sheepishly, "Sorry, Gintaro." He harrumphed grumpily before continuing, "Ahem. Unless of course, if the other deities wish, they can grant you a little bit of their powers, like how I gave you the gift of ice. Obviously, I would be more generous about it."
I couldn't help rolling my eyes, "Such modesty. Now I know who I take after."
"So, let me get this straight. You came out of the seal, told us a bunch of stuff about the Yorukami clan gods, and the main point of this is that Mononoke can only use ice?" Shikamaru's voice was doubtful as he summarised this entire visit.
Well, when he puts it that way, it did seemed like a pretty dumb move.
And it was so like Gintaro to do something like that.
"Kid, I'm a god. I pretty much do whatever I like. It doesn't need to make sense." Gintaro snorted before tilting his head to one side. "Besides, at least now I managed to piece everything up pretty well, so this wasn't a complete waste of time. And if I didn't show up, you guys would probably never know that I was inside that seal."
Gintaro threw me a knowing look, "Because you probably won't even tell them."
I countered back just as sasrcastically, "You think it's a sensible story? 'Hey, guys, guess what? I've got a god inside that strange marking on my gut!"
"You told Kakashi."
"I tell Kakashi everything, you cranky old thing, and you know that!" Gintaro and I glared at each other, bickering like children.
Just as both of pressed our foreheads against each other, growling, I heard Shikaku sighed dejectedly, "I don't even know what I expected from a god. So besides the useful information, anything else Mononoke should know? I suspect you can't stay out of the seal for long."
That certainly caught Gintaro's attention.
"Right, right. I forgot myself there." The deity pulled away and took a few deep breaths to retrieve his composure. "Another reason I came is that the deity killer is on the move again. This time he took one of my lifemate's creations."
Shikaku and Shikamaru had confused looks on their faces as they took in the news. I, on the other hand, was frozen.
"Your lifemate's?" It took me a moment but a few seconds later, it came to me. However, Gintaro continued to explain, "Neko-ami, the Creator of the Felines, the Lady of the Fire Lakes. My lifemate. Do you remember her, mutt?" The canine deity turned to me curiously.
I nodded, still trying to take in the news. If I remembered correctly, Neko-ami is Gintaro's exact opposite. A black feline creature with the power of fire. I could still recall her dazzling emerald eyes. And her temper. Man, everything was coming back to me now. Whenever she got mad, her tail and the tips of her ears would light up in flames. Scary deity, if you ask me.
How those two got together, I would never know. Anyway, I was four. How much could I know?
"Wait, her creations?" Shikamaru asked and Gintaro dipped his head at him, "It's a long story bht I'll tell you what I can. Me and my lifemate are one of the Makers, the gods that created the different families of animals. I had created the fox god, the wolf god and many other gods of canines, thus the title, Creator of Canines. My creation gods, in turn, gave birth to the animals on the earth. Specifically, they're the youngest of the deities. The god that was taken this time is the snow leopard god, Neko-ami's creation god."
"This is such a mess," I said, rubbing my temples and Gintaro chuckled, "It is, ain't it? The universe is vast and many things are born. It would be too much for a human to understand, even sometimes gods ourselves never really manage to grasp the notion either. Only the more enlightened ones do."
The humans nodded, taking it in, as Gintaro looked up at the sky.
"Mononoke." I looked up at my guardian at the mention of my name.
"Be very careful in the future. I have a feeling something terrible might happen. Keep your eyes open." He looked down at me and I could feel the burden weighing down on my chest as I looked into his eyes. This was very serious. The deity killer would most likely hunt me.
And whoever Sarabi was, they were looking for me as well. I still remembered the name that slug lizard had uttered the day Aomaru died. It still haunted me in my deepest memories until now.
"My time is almost up." Gintaro said finally as he turned to Shikaku, gazing gently at the man, "Please protect the child. If anything happens to her..."
The Nara leader nodded before smiling, "I won't forgive myself either."
Both males exchanged looks before a soft glow overtook Gintaro's body. In a heartbeat, the glow brightened until it was almost overwhelming. I shielded my eyes from the shining blue light as it shot through the forest. A strong blast of cold wind hurled me backwards, causing me to collide into Shikamaru but he caught me in time and steadied us before we fell over.
But as quickly as it came, the light and wind vanished into thin air.
And Gintaro was gone.
POOF. HE'S GONE. Gin sure knows how to make an exit, huh. Fabulous.
OKAY, SO HERE IT IS. NEW CHAPTER. YAY. Plot movement. DOUBLE YAY. But sadly, no fluff in this chapter. BOO. I KNOW. I'M WORKING ON IT. Next chapter is the final exam, so hang in there hahahaha. After that, it's going to be a whole lot of original stuff because my memory is failing me. And i would be getting slow on updates because coleg. I crei.
Also, this story would end before Shippuden, approximately before Naruto leaves with Ero-sennin. A sequel would be written for Shippuden, if you guys want it in the end of this ride, idek. And its because I dont want to lump it into like, a hundred over chapters. Crazy stuff, man. No way.
So toodly doo till the next one :D