De-Raz: Hey there everybody, sorry about the wait. Classes were a killer, and I thought it'd be good to stay in the hospital for a realistic amount of time (for explanation, see last chapter). But anyways, I'm back with a new Christmasy chapter!

Naruto: Is Christmasy even a word? Plus, it's May!

De-Raz: SILENCE!! Or do I have to make YOU the next victim of HARUKA-STYLE BEATDOWNS! (See her in the background, pounding a fist into palm)

Naruto: (Shivering like crazy in fetal position) N-n-n-no De-Raz-s-sama, I-I-I'll be good!

De-Raz: (nod to myself) Good then. OH MY GOD, IS THAT GAI AND LEE DOING THEIR SUNSET GENJUTSU!! (Points in random direction)

Naruto: AHHH, RUN AWAY!! (Runs without looking where he's going into a wall, breaks through it cartoon style)

De-Raz: There we go, now that he's out of the way, we can start this story. And, there's a special surprise at the end of the chapter, AND IT'S NOT GAI AND LEE! SO READ THE END, AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!

Naruto and Rei, both in the same civilian clothes they had worn to the dance now, were walking up towards Rei's shrine right now, a comfortable silence hung about them in the cool night air along the path. Both of them were just thinking about the dance, and of course what had happened afterwards.

After the fiasco was over, the police and a few ambulances had arrived; several calls from passer-bys had had described screams and sounds of fighting, and lots of it, coming from inside the school. The girls and Mamoru, being the only ones awake (or so they thought), were stuck telling the police and media a fabrication on how a huge spider monster had attacked all the students, and them being awake just long enough to see the Senshi arrive, only to wake up with everything over, lots of damage done to the gym and the Senshi gone again.

Needless to say the dance had been cut short, with the girls, Mamoru and Naruto being some of a minority of students that weren't being taken to clinics to oversee their condition. Luckily, the blonde's limousine had arrived again to return all the girls to their homes, leaving Rei and the blonde where they were now.

Rei couldn't help but shiver a little as it was pretty cold, being a winter night and all, though she was trying to not look weak in front of Naruto. God what a dumb mistake, way to forget a coat or something Rei.

After a few seconds of shivering, the fire using Senshi felt something large being wrapped around her, and she unconsciously snuggled deeper into it, feeling the warmth it gave off was intoxicating. She looked at what was around her, and saw it was large and dark orange. Rei looked at the blonde beside her, and sure enough, he was only sporting the white coat that had been underneath.

"I saw you shivering a bit, so I figured you needed it more than me" Naruto explained seeing her confused glance. "That is, if you don't mind of course?"

"No, no, thank you Naruto" the raven haired girl answered. A tinge of red painted her cheeks as she pulled the coat around her more.

Even his coat is able to make me warm, it's like he's hugging me again.

Memories of their final dance before the spider youma had attacked reared itself, almost staining Rei's pale cheeks a vibrant red when she remembered what the two had almost done near the end.

I wonder if he even remembers that.

A glint of light stole her attention away from her thoughts, only to notice the strange green gem hanging from Naruto's neck; she recalled seeing it earlier that night as well.

"Naruto?"

"Hm?" the blonde murmured as he looked at her, the same foxy smile plastered on his face.

"I was just wondering" she began "where did you get such a beautiful looking necklace?"

"Oh this?" he gestured to the green gem now resting on his palm. "I guess you could say it's a memory of somebody very important to me."

"What was that person like? I mean, you don't have to say so if you don't want to" Rei added when she saw his vibrant blue eyes dull a little as his smile slipped a bit. She would never say it out loud, but the black eyed girl loved to see the blonde smiling, it seemed so natural for the boy; it just seemed wrong to imagine him depressed.

He seemed to ponder it to himself a few seconds, before nodding his head. "Her name was Tsunade…when I had first met her, I had thought she was just some old hag who had addiction problems with alcohol and gambling. It was funny though, she was old enough to be my grandma, but didn't look a day over thirty. Her age was not something a person wanted to make fun of, not if they wanted to keep themselves intact…it never stopped me though."

Rei's eyes had widened in surprise when he mentioned her age and looks. She knew any woman would kill to learn how to do that.

"As I got to learn her story though from her traveling assistant Shizune though, I learned that she was just a person who was trying to get away from her problems…it turned out she had lost both her brother and fiancé, neither incident had been more than a few years apart and had happened after she gave them each this necklace. She blamed herself and this necklace for it; Shizune even said this necklace I'm holding was cursed."

She was once again surprised, hearing that he'd go around wearing a cursed necklace.

"That first time I met Tsunade, she had mocked my dream, along with all the people who had that dream, a couple of those people were very important to me. Apparently my dream had been the same as both her brother's and fiance's, and had stirred up bad memories. Needless to say I was pissed at her attitude and challenged her to a fight. I got my ass royally kicked."

Rei couldn't help but laugh a little when she had heard that. "Hahaha, you getting beat by an old woman, that's hilarious!"

He scowled in mock anger with an eyebrow twitching. I doubt she'd be saying that if she saw Tsunade-baa-chan in action.

"Anyways" he began after his date had calmed down more "she mocked my dream some more, and I made a bet with her that I couldn't accomplish something that she deemed impossible for me. If I won, she'd acknowledge I could achieve my dream, along with giving me this necklace" he said, gesturing to the gem again. "If I had lost, I'd have to give up my dream and all my money. She was able to steal my wallet whilst kicking my ass."

"I'm guessing you won?" the raven haired girl asked looking at the jewel.

"Damn straight" he said grinning. "Not only had I won this necklace, but in a way I guess I even helped her get over her loved ones' deaths, don't know how but I did. She became a lot better after that, and though I never told her so…I saw her as the mother I never had. She was gentle and caring most times, except when I hurt myself too badly; than she could be the fucking scariest thing on the planet. I guess you could say the old hag was overprotective, plus she was always a person I could turn to when I needed it. She had been one of the few people who had ever cared about me so much…"

Rei had a few unshed tears brim her cobalt eyes; the way he described her told her how much he missed her. She was almost afraid to ask, but sucked up the courage. "So…what happened to her? Did she…you know…"

At that, Naruto widened his eyes in surprise as he turned towards her, waving his arms reassuringly. "Nonono, it's not like she died or anything!" He sighed deeply, "I'm just not sure if I will ever see her again." Silence surrounded the couple for not even five seconds, before Naruto seemed to miraculously cheer up. "Oh hey, it looks like we're here!"

Sure enough, the two were right in front of the shrine's entrance, their conversation had completely distracted both of them.

"So I suppose this is good night then?" Naruto asked, getting a nod from the black haired girl. The blonde spoke again, his tone was a bit lower. "I'm sorry that spider thing ruined the night though…"

"I still had a wonderful night" she cut in to what she knew was going to be some apology he didn't need to give. "I thank you for asking me, and for sharing that story of the necklace. You didn't have to."

He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Yea, but with anybody I could have confided in, I'm glad that you were the one I did."

His closed eyes made it so that he couldn't see her blush again. How does he just say things like that so easily?

The fox boy's eyes still closed, he didn't see but could feel something soft and slightly moist press against his whiskered cheek. Naruto's blue eyes opened wide in shock, but Rei was already shutting the door. He barely even acknowledged when she said 'goodnight' as the door closed, in what must have been a rush to hide her embarrassment.

The blonde shinobi must have been standing there for maybe a full minute, his brain trying to process what occurred. He could still feel her lips' contact on his cheek, and his nose had gotten more than a good whiff of her unique mix of incense and…lilacs? His body was frozen to the spot, taking all its effort just to create enough movement to make a handseal for Shunshin. The blonde shinobi disappeared in a swirl of leaves with only one thought on his mind.

Did she really just kiss me?

I can't believe I just kissed him! Rei mentally berated herself for doing something so impulsive; it was like arguing with Usagi, she couldn't help it. I can only be glad it was on the cheek and not the lips. Still, he must think I'm some kind of weirdo now, or maybe that I'm like his fangirls. Why did I do that, it was like I was possessed or something! The raven haired girl took a deep breath to calm herself down.

I'll just apologize for doing something so rash next time I see him. She couldn't help but draw in his coat more; it gave her a wonderful sense of comfort. I'll also need to give this back to him. Sigh.

At the 'Uzumaki' household, Naruto was laying down on his bed, his vibrant blue eyes staring up at the ceiling absentmindedly. His brain had finally caught up with him, but was occupied with a conversation he needed to have with the fox.

Hey Kyuu-sensei, I need to ask you something?

"Yea kit, what is it?" the fox asked his container. "If it's about any tips for your next date, I'm probably not the-"

Not now Kyuubi! He yelled mentally, trying to keep his thoughts away from what had happened. Anyways, you said you're the one who created the Sharingan, right?

"Yes, I did make it. Who else could have made such an excellent doujutsu?" he boasted. Now if only the people who had it could have been as perfect.

Well then, doesn't that mean you can give me a Sharingan as well?

Dead silence greeted his question. The fox wasn't saying anything, and the blonde was beginning to get annoyed by it. Naruto was about to yell up at him until he heard Kyuubi speak up.

"Kit, what you're asking me involves more than just giving you some eyes. I'll be rewriting the very strands of you're DNA, basically recreating you to make yourself more suited for a Sharingan. Not to mention the work that'd have to be done on a larger level, like the signal connections between you're eyes and brain, your memory processing capabilities, and the enhancements on your entire nervous system to be able to recreate the images you copy down into physical results. Then there are some flaws that I've realized that I'd need to fix, thereby including experimental portions into the procedure. Do you realize how meticulous I'd have to be for every molecular alteration, every slight rearrangement of your brain cells, how life threatening this operation could be and the unpredictable consequences if it succeeds?"

Naruto had a sweat drop running behind his head, which had kept increasing the longer the fox ranted. So, I guess that means you can't do it? Naruto asked dejectedly.

"Oh no I can do it" Kyuubi said casually, like he was talking about the weather. Naruto knew that if he wasn't already lying down on a bed he'd be face down on the floor, whether from a face fault or the weight of his sweat drop he couldn't tell. "My question is why you would want the Sharingan anyways?"

Well, you know…my genjutsu training is going pretty slowly…I just thought it would help, you know? Naruto mentally winced at how lame that excuse sounded.

"You know I live in you're head, you're going to have to be much more convincing than that."

It is the truth.

"It's not going to work, there's another reason you want them. Tell me."

Well, I also thought it'd make my kage bunshin training be more effective, since it'd be easier to tell what they're doing wrong and recreate what they do right.

"Better, but that's not it" Kyuubi was getting sterner now. "Tell me, I'll shift through your thoughts if I have to."

Alright, alright! It's because I need that damnable Mangekyou, happy!? Naruto yelled at the fox demon.

"No I'm not" he replied sternly. "The reason you want them is to use their power to get back home."

Naruto didn't respond at all.

"What happened to you're promise to train these girls? Are you going to just up and abandon them to the Akatsuki to be used as bait?"

Of course not! He cut in angrily. I said I was going to train them, and I will! It's just…what happens afterwards? How do I get home once the Akatsuki are beaten and the girls don't need me around?

"That's simple, you just stay here like I said you should. Like hell these girls won't need you." he answered gruffly.

Well anyways, are you gonna create me a pair of eyes or what? Kyuu-sensei, you know I'm going to need them if I want to at least be a match against Itachi's genjutsu, and who knows how strong the other members I don't know about are."

"…I don't like it, but it would be helpful. You're still starting off with just one tomoe, you're going to need to evolve them with training and practice. Besides, how are you going to gain the Mangekyou anyways?"

I'll find my own way. I doubt Kakashi-sensei killed his best friend to get his, I'll discover my own way like he did. Kyuubi just sighed at the kit's answer. But, if there was anybody who could do the impossible, it's him.

"And what about when you do get them?"

I already told you, it would not be right for me to leave before the Akatsuki are finished and the girls/Mamoru are safe. Afterwards…we'll cross that road when we get there.

The fox demon grinned from inside its cage. It might not have been a yes, but it wasn't a clear refusal of staying either. The boy was getting there.

"Fine then gaki, but this is going to be a very difficult procedure, the only way I'm going to be able to do this without killing you is by putting your body into stasis. And before you ask me, that means I'm basically shutting down your body for a day while I do it. Hopefully none of the girls bother you around that time…I doubt they will respond well to seeing you comatose in a ball of red chakra."

Okay then, so when do we start? Naruto asked the demon tenant.

"As soon as you fall asleep, I'll begin constructing the barrier. Remember, you'll be out for an entire day."

Kay, then. Good luck with that Kyuu-sensei, and you better not mess with my body more than necessary.

Naruto got a noncommittal grunt from the fox, but figured that was good enough as his eyes began to droop down in his exhaustion.

Heh, I still don't know what I'm getting everybody for Christmas. Guess I'll just wing it.

In an unknown location, in a place devoid of sunlight, five figures could be made out in the darkness. One, a female was sitting on what might have been a throne, elevated above the other four males. Three of said males were standing off to the side, while the fourth was kneeling in reverent obedience to the woman.

"You have failed me again Jadeite. All those damnable Senshi still live, along with that new threat." the woman said; the tone in her voice suggested she was not pleased at all.

"Forgive me my Queen" the kneeling figure, Jadeite spoke with his head bowed. "But I bring news on the target the Akatsuki have asked us to bring."

One of the three males to the side spoke, contempt laced in his voice "It appears Jadeite actually was able to do something useful, how unusual." In the darkness, the person could have been mistaking for a woman.

The kneeling male turned his head to glare at the one who spoke. "I do not see you accomplish anymore than I have" he retorted, garnering a glare back.

"Enough foolishness" the woman spoke harshly "tell us what you've learned about our newest target."

"Yes Queen Beryl" Jadeite stated. "When I confronted the target to capture him, I had suspected something different about him, something that separated him from an ordinary person. What I had not expected was for him to be that new ally for the Senshi, the cloaked one that calls himself Meitsuki. I have observed that man in many of his fights with the Senshi, he is very powerful in his own right, but there is something more about him."

"More you say?" Queen Beryl spoke, a small amount of curiosity veiled, gaining a nod from her follower.

"Yes my queen, getting close to him, I was able to decipher there is something locked deep inside him…I myself am not sure of what it could be, it felt like another consciousness trapped within his own. While the thing inside itself did not feel evil, the power it exuded reeked with malicious intent and evil emotion, and was more powerful than anything I have felt before. Forgive me for my brashness, but I could say it was much more powerful than even yourself, my queen. What is hidden in that boy…is perhaps…more powerful…then Queen Materia even."

The last bit of information caught all of them by surprise. The three males to the side were prompted to speak out, their anger was evident.

"Lies!"

"You dare insult the Queen like that!"

"Watch your words, Jadeite."

"Silence!" the Queen ordered the three Shitennou, turning towards the forth one. "More powerful then me you say?" Jadeite nodded his head, not daring to look at her in the face.

She leaned back into her throne, taking a pondering stance while the other four looked on; their faces concealed their nervousness of her reaction to such information.

Hmm, more powerful then even the Queen…I can see why those Akatsuki men would desire that boys' power then. But…if we could take it for ourselves…

"All of you" she spoke out after a minute or two, making them look up at her. "For now, continue to gather energy for our Queen's revival. Jadeite, capture this boy by any means you find necessary. The Akatsuki have only given us so much time to get him; by the time they return I want that boy to be the one to…greet them for us. If that boy has as much power as you say…he will be the perfect gift for Queen Materia, and the perfect tool for our revenge! Who better to finish off the damnable Senshi than one they see as a friend."

It was finally Christmas Day, and right now all the Inner Senshi, along with Mamoru and Chibiusa, were hanging out at Rei's shrine home, it being the roomiest of anyone's place. The only ones who were still missing were Usagi and Naruto. All of them could understand Usagi, she was most likely finishing up celebrations with her family before she could come over. The one who had them wondering was their newest blonde friend. It was strange because they hadn't seen him since the dance. They had checked his house, but if he was there he never answered, and they hadn't seen him at any of the places he usually goes to.

"Hey everybody!" all six of them heard a voice call from the doorway, and turned to see it was Usagi, carrying a bunch of wrapped up boxes, the wrapping told them they were most likely presents for all of them. The problem was that she looked like she couldn't hold all of them too well and was going to fall down any second.

"Usako-chan, watch out or you might-"

Mamoru's warning arrived too late, for the blonde klutz was already beginning to topple over as the boxes slipped from her grasp.

They all closed their eyes on reflex as they heard the boxes hit the floor, but the lack of Usagi screaming or saying 'ow' prompted their eyes open again to a surprising sight.

At the doorway was a familiar spiky haired, blue eyed blonde. In one arm was a pile of presents, while at the same time his other arm was grabbing the back of Usagi's shirt. Said girl was leaning forward with only his arm holding her up a couple feet away from hitting the floor. She looked over her shoulder at the boy who was staring at her impassively, like he was expecting it, as she began to speak.

"Thanks for catching me, Naru-"

That was until he suddenly let go, his face still uncaring as he let her finish her trip to the wood floor.

"OW!" The onlookers in the room couldn't help but sweat drop at the two's antics, seeing Usagi glaring at Naruto as she rubbed her nose and her blue eyes getting glossy; that ruined any chance of appearing menacing.

"Why did you drop me like that, Naruto?" hearing that made him smile in amusement.

"To teach you not to be so stubborn. I told you you were going to trip carrying all those boxes, didn't I? And didn't you say you'd be fine without any help?" She blushed in embarrassment as she remembered he had said that when she met him outside. Everyone else's sweat drops grew hearing that.

"Hmph. Anyways, Merry Christmas everybody!" Usagi yelled cheerfully forgetting the whole thing.

For the next few hours, Naruto had taken part in what was to be his first ever Christmas party. The blonde could honestly say it was a wonderful celebration, one that he wished happened on his world. Makoto had made a whole lot of cookies and other sweets for the occasion, which led to a large argument between Usagi and Rei when the bun headed blonde began pigging out on said sweets.

Another mishap that had occurred was while everybody had exchanged presents. Apparently, Minako had given Makoto a pair of fingerless gloves, which the blonde had replied that they'd be good for when she was sparring. At the word 'sparring', the tall brown haired girl had remembered the fact she and Naruto still hadn't had a spar, and practically dragged him outside to 'wear them in'.

No offense to their blonde friend, but none of them had expected him to win against the tomboy, so it was to their great surprise they saw Naruto walking in with a sweaty, exhausted Makoto leaning onto him for support after maybe twenty minutes. Even though the blonde appeared to be breathing heavy, there didn't seem to be any real proof he was even heavily winded.

After that mishap, the rest of them continued exchanging gifts, though Naruto held back the gifts he got for them as the last. When his presents were finally last, the girls were hard kept to keep their anxiousness in check. Rei and Ami were hiding it the best, the former was used to hiding feelings, while the latter was just too introverted to express it.

"Okay" Naruto said, passing out the boxes to each girl. "One for Usagi, one for Minako, Makoto, Rei, Ami, and of course Chibiusa."

All of the boxes were a bit small, and curiosity tugged at them to rip open the wrapping, remove the lid, pull out the item inside, and…

"Oh my gosh, Naruto are these…" Minako said, stunned as much as the rest of the girls. What was so special about those gifts you might ask? Well, about 95 of all teenage girls love being given jewelry, and those six were no exception.

Each of the girls was holding in their hands a solid gold bracelet, and was stunned that it was real gold. All the bracelets were similar in design, they were thin on one side and thickened as it reached the top, beautifully crafted. At the top of the bracelet was where they got more unique, as each bracelet had three jewels side by side. The two outer ones were each of the girls' birthstones while the center one were different colors of a decent sized pearl: Chibiusa's was pink, Rei's was a fire red, Makoto was green, Ami was aquamarine, Minako was a yellow, and Usagi's was white. Below the three stones, there was an engraving of all their names while a swirl was above it, which was basically his signature.

"Wow, Naruto, this is so cool!" Usagi yelled, quickly putting hers on. Following her example, the rest of them tried theirs on, and was surprised to see how well they fit, even Chibiusa's.

"Thank you Naruto-nii-san!" said pink haired girl crashed into the blonde, giving him a hug that was stronger than a girl her age should be able to do. They rest of the girls also expressed their heartfelt thanks while he tried to get her off him.

Naruto was rubbing his head in embarrassment at their praise. "It's nothing really, I just thought that I should make this first Christmas with you guys' special!"

"Yea, special enough to have them custom crafted, then steal them while using genjutsu to make the clerk forget they ever existed."

Hey, you know I placed some money in the register!

"Yea, about half of what you actually owed."

"Oh, I can't forget about your gift too Mamoru!" Naruto yelled out, ignoring Kyuubi's mostly accurate statement whilst heading towards Mamoru, who had taken a spot next to Usagi to look at the bracelet as well. The college student looked up at the blonde as he held up a small box, not as prettily wrapped as the others.

"Thank you, Naruto" he thanked the blonde as he took it. The blonde had the faint traces of a mischievous smirk planted on his face as his friend tore through the wrapping to reveal an orange covered book. Mamoru read out the title slowly, as if testing the name.

"Icha…Icha…Paradise? What kind of book is this Naruto?" Mamoru questioned the blonde. It took all of his willpower to not reveal his shit-eating grin as he answered.

"Oh, it's just something that'll help in your's and Usagi's relationship in a couple of years. I know the author of this series personally, so I get these for free" Naruto answered, trying to hold in his laughter for the finale.

This is going to be sooo good.

"Even though you're going to get your ass kicked" Kyuubi interjected.

Yeah, but it'll be worth it The blonde answered mentally, getting a nod from the fox.

"It's even better for me, I'll just get to watch without any pain."

Hmm, what does Naruto mean by that? Maybe this is some kind of dating guide or something Mamoru thought to himself as he slowly opened the book to the first page. He would have been even slightly more prepared had he noticed the sparkle in the blonde's fox like blue eyes.

All the girls were watching Mamoru begin reading, and noticed that he seemed to be getting very embarrassed, if the redness of his cheeks were any evidence, especially as they kept darkening. What shocked all six of them was how the normally calm, if somewhat stoic college student had, after maybe five minutes toppled over the edge of the couch in a huge nosebleed, hitting the wood but was already out cold. Seeing the planned sight, Naruto finally let out his laughter, guffawing on the wooden floor as the girls' all checked to see if Mamoru was all right.

Wow, I'm impressed. He actually got through five pages of that smut before succumbing. Every new reader I've seen barely even lasts fifteen seconds.

"NARUTO!!" Still laughing, the blonde opened one of his eyes to see Rei coming at him, the icy glare in her cobalt orbs contradicted the flames of feminine fury racing behind her; he mildly wondered if that was an illusion, her powers as Sailor Mars, or just a prelude of the hell he was about to receive. The raven haired girl must have seen what was in that book.

Sigh. Here it comes…but it was still worth it... The blonde only heard the fox's laughing as she descended upon him.

A couple hours later, Naruto had finally recovered from the pervert beating Rei had delivered to him, and the blonde had to admit she was definitely a terrifying figure when she needed to be. He proceeded to give Mamoru his real gift, a nice, though expensive looking leather jacket along with a few books Usagi had mentioned the college student desired.

Through the chaos of the party, Naruto had discreetly sent a Kage Bunshin off to his house with his own gifts from the others. The party was pretty much over now though, as Minako and Makoto headed to their apartments and Ami to her parents' house. Mamoru and Usagi had headed out together as well, though not before Naruto was able to say 'Don't go using Icha Icha's advice too soon now!' Needless to say, the two couldn't look at the other without looking like a tomato. The blonde himself opted to stick around a little longer to help Rei clean up, much to the shrine girls' relief.

However, both of them clearly remembered what Rei had done the night of the dance, as they were in the same position Mamoru and Usagi in the fact they couldn't look at the other and spent the time cleaning in an awkward atmosphere.

Amazingly, it was Rei who decided to speak up first, gathering her courage as she turned towards Naruto.

"Um…Naruto?" her nervousness only increased when his face turned towards her, slightly tilted as blue eyes gazed on in confusion. She had to admit, it gave him a childish cuteness. "A-about last n-night…" damn it, just relax! Deep breath! "Sigh. I just wanted to say…sorry…for…you know…"

The blonde didn't even seem to catch what she meant for the first few seconds, but eventually got it through his thick skull. "Oh, you mean that kiss!" he yelled out in realization. Hearing him shout it like that embarrassed her even further, and was infinitely relieved none of the girls were around anymore. "You don't have to apologize for something like that" he continued, "it wasn't weird to me at all; in fact it felt kind of nice." That last part was directed to himself, but he had whispered it loud enough for the raven haired girl to hear it, making her eyes go wide as she pulled a blush that could put Hinata to shame.

Whoa, calm down, he doesn't mean anything like that. Probably talking before thinking again Rei thought to herself to calm her down. Despite her embarrassment, the atmosphere had lightened up considerably once that had been out of the way, enough for her to remember the other thing she had to do as she picked up his orange kimono coat.

"By the way Naruto, you forgot to grab this before you left last night" Rei explained, holding it out for him.

Said blonde rubbed the back of his head as he walked up to her. "Thanks, but you can keep it. I don't really need it since I have a few jackets anyway. Besides, I thought it looked cute on you" he finished as he bent down to eye level, ignoring any reaction she might have had.

What really shocked her though was when she felt his lips brush lightly against her cheek, and his warm breath tickled her ear as he whispered "that was just to return the favor."

He stood back up again after a few moments, and grin his usual face-splitting grin as if he had forgotten what just occurred. The only sign he remembered was the slight mischievous twinkle in his orbs of blue. "Well, I guess I'll see you later Rei!" Naruto shouted cheerfully his goodbye as he began the trek back home, hearing the shrine girl saying goodbye dazedly, though she had seen that glint in his eyes.

Just what is with him, it's like he gets off with messing with me?

Ah, messing with her is so much fun! The blonde thought to himself, thinking of how the raven-haired Senshi had reacted before suddenly sneezing.

Hmm, seems like somebody's talking about me.

He frowned though as he thought about what was occurring in only a single day. Hmm…can't dwell on it too much though, I need to start thinking about how to train them all, who knows how much time we'll have. The blonde shinobi was so deep in his thoughts, he had nearly walked by straight into a familiar bun-headed blonde girl.

"Usagi, what are you doing out here?" Naruto asked curious, gaining her attention as she faced towards him.

She smiled back at him while he was walking up towards her. "Oh it's nothing Naruto, though there is something I wanted to ask you if you don't mind."

He blinked confusedly. "Yea…sure ask away."

"Well, I was just wondering…if you weren't doing anything…if you'd want to come have Christmas dinner with my family?"

Usagi saw the blonde was fairly shocked and a bit anxious at her request, and worried she had done something wrong started spouting off reasons. "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, I just wanted to see if-"

"Nonono, don't worry youself Usagi" Naruto interrupted her ranting before it got bad. "It's not that I don't want to, I just don't feel very hungry right now anyways."

Unfortunately, his stomach betrayed his intentions with a loud grumbling sound, one that Usagi noticed easily. Said girl just looked up at him incredulously.

"Not hungry huh?"

"…Okay, maybe I am a little hungry" Naruto relented under her gaze, "but I don't want to have to burden your parents with having me over as well."

Usagi answered "Don't worry about that, my mom loves having guests over, and she cooks a lot of food, she does have me to feed after all. If this is really your first Christmas, it wouldn't be right for you to spend dinner alone."

"Gee…thanks Usagi!" Naruto expressed his gratitude with his usual foxy grin. "So, is Chibiusa going to come with us? Or what about Mamoru?"

"Well, Chibiusa decided to go play with Hotaru" she answered. However, her happy mood deflated a bit at the mention of the college attendee as a frown marred her features. "And Momo-chan's got studying to do. Stupid college homework" she muttered with a pout.

"Oh yea, he's probably studying a large amount, especially my gift to him."

That comment earned the blonde a punch in the arm as Usagi scowled at him, although her cheeks were flushed in embarrassment. "Why did you have to give him that!? I don't think he'll be able to look me in the eyes for weeks!"

"Don't worry about it, he's a responsible, mostly not perverted guy, he'll get over it. Hopefully without some form of payback" Naruto thought to himself. "So, are you going to lead the way or what?"

She smiled at him, and before he knew it she was already running off. "Hurry up, Naruto, unless you're too slow to catch me!" the meatball-hair blonde yelled over her shoulder, spurring him on.

"No way!"

The two blondes found themselves in front of Usagi's house, holding onto their knees as they panted from their self imposed race.

"Haha, (pant) looks like (pant) I won (pant)" Usagi boasted between pants.

"Yea, well that's (pant) 'cause I let (pant) you win" Naruto retorted. Though it was the truth, Naruto had to keep up a normal guy appearance, hence the fake panting.

"Yea, sure you did" she said after regaining her breath. "Well anyways, come on."

She knocked on the door as Naruto followed. Not even a minute later, it opened up to reveal a woman with long, dark purple hair wearing an apron. Naruto knew right away must have been Usagi's mother.

"Ah, you made it back just in time for dinner Usagi! And I suppose this is the friend who's been helping you" the woman added looking at him.

"Hello there, the name's Uzumaki Naruto Tsukino-san" Naruto introduced himself.

"Ikuko is just fine dear."

Usagi spoke up again. "I hope you don't mind if I invited Naruto over, kaa-san."

Her mom just waved off her concerns, saying that there was more than enough food for the shinobi-in-hiding. Both the teens made their way inside, leaving their coats by the door as they went into the kitchen. It was in there, the pair of blondes saw Usagi's father Kenji and little brother Shingo.

Usagi's father looked up to see the two of them step in, and decided to speak up amusedly. "Ah, it looks like Usagi finally got a boyfriend her own age, much better than that college student."

"No Tou-san, Naruto is only a friend and there is nothing wrong with Momo-chan" she added as the two took a seat, though she seemed quite used to it. "He just couldn't come because he was too busy with college studies."

"Well, we thank you very much for all the effort you've made in tutoring our Usagi-chan Naruto-kun" Ikuko stated as she followed the two blonde teens.

"Yea, now nee-chan can actually get a C-grade on something."

"Shingo-kun, don't say mean things about your sister!" Usagi's mom scolded the young boy.

"Well" Naruto interjected, "it was Ami who was doing most of the tutoring. Besides, I'm a person not a miracle worker, and even a miracle might not be able to improve her grades any further."

Both the boys got a good laugh out of his comment, and even the parents were amused. Nevertheless, Shingo and Naruto had to deal with a punch in the head courtesy of Usagi.

Man, that reminds me too much of Sakura he thought to himself as everybody began eating.

The dinner itself had been a very pleasant experience in Naruto's opinion. Usagi had been correct that Ikuko made plenty of food; it had just been to their shock their guest had just as big of an appetite as Usagi. More than once the two blondes had gotten into a small scuffle over the last pieces of some food, which if they had not known better would have made them think the two were related. The five of them talked about several things like their Christmas presents, school, work, and of course trying to discover as much as they could about the blonde. Naruto mentally congratulated himself again on his ability to change the flow of a conversation away from him, though Kyuubi would brag about it being his inner 'Kitsune trickster'.

Overall, though, there had been a certain atmosphere the entire time he had been there; it had been warm and comforting, and provided a sense of contentment and safety the blonde was not used to. In any case, it was definitely a foreign feeling to the stranded shinobi. Coming back to his house, even though it was homey and familiar, it still lacked that certain something Usagi's house had. He felt strangely cold inside walking through the empty, mostly undecorated house, more so than the winter air outside could ever make him.

Naruto ended his train of thought, resolving to settle the matter later as he stepped in front of his bathroom mirror. He could see a familiar pair of azure orbs staring back at him in his reflection, but as he charged chakra into his eyes they underwent a drastic change. From the edge of his irises, metallic silver bled into his blue eyes, and as they reached their respective pupils, what was once black dots had shifted into slits, not unlike when he uses Kyuubi's chakra. Not only that, but a deep black tomoe in the outer corners on the eyes left a blemish on the otherwise crystal clear silver irises.

The blond, seeing his newly changed eyes staring back at him, grinned victoriously at his reflection as if it was an audience.

Alright Kyuu-sensei, twenty-four hours and despite the color abnormality, nothing else seems to have gone wrong. That's a change from my usual luck!

Naruto heard the familiar grumblings of his fox sensei. "Yup, but we can't be perfectly sure until we actually start your training with them."

Do you have any idea why the color might be different? Naruto asked mentally. Being the thousands years old fox he was, he could usually expect an answer of some sort.

"Not sure, it was probably just an automatic response, probably to be more compatible with you genetic structure."

Maybe it has something to do with that strange marking on my forehead?

True enough, despite being hidden somewhat by his bangs, he could clearly recognize the softly glowing image imprinted on the middle of his forehead. In a way, it was kind of like the sun with its golden glow and all.

The silver-eyed boy frowned as his eyes shifted back to their normal blue from the lack of response; the silver Sharingan disappearing as the blonde went through his nightly routine, before heading off to bed. As the blonde jinchuuriki was heading into bed, he took notice of a booklet on his nightstand that hadn't been there yesterday.

Naruto picked it up and, opening it, looked at the pages through the limited light the moonlight provided. Inside the pages were pictures; pictures of the girls shopping, Usagi with Luna or with Momo, pictures of Minako doing karaoke (one of which included the blonde trying to get Rei to sing with her, to his amusement), Makoto cooking, Ami reading, the two cat guardians napping, heck even some of their families. He could see some descriptions underneath a lot of the pictures, probably to explain what those pictures are about.

As the shinobi kept flipping through the pages, a small note fell out and onto his lap. What it said on there made the young man nearly break down:

To Naruto,

Naruto, even though you've only been here for so long, you've taken a special place in each of our hearts, and that you're presence has given us wonderful memories. In return, we thought it fair to share with you the memories we have already made together. It wouldn't be nice to let you feel left out of the loop, would it? Your enthusiastic and cheerful presence has become a part of our lives, and your encouragement in our endeavors is greatly valued by all of us. In a way you are kind of like a brother to us (Naruto could see a scribbled out portion that said "except for Rei, in which case a boyfriend"), though your maturity keeps it under debate whether you're and older or younger one.

Merry Christmas Naruto!

From your friends,

Minna (Everybody)

That warm feeling Naruto had felt in Usagi's house had returned with a vengeance, but this time carried along an overbearing sense of guilt that weighed down on his heart. Here these people were, sharing with him their own memories, when he didn't even have the decency to tell them the truth about his own life. The blonde jinchuuriki swore on his nindo silently that he would tell them the truth at some point; even if they hated him after they found out they at least deserved to know. For now though, he'd have to settle with giving everything he got to not only his own training, but towards training the girls as well, to make sure none of them got hurt for dragging them into his business with Akatsuki. There was no way he was going to fail, Uzumaki Naruto never goes back on his word! With his inner proclamation, the blonde felt something familiar, strange but familiar at the same time within him. It was warm like the sun on a good day, but he had a hunch that it was more than just that feeling he had hanging out with his friends.

For right now though, said blonde pushed the issue away to the back of his mind and get some rest. Not only for the training he was going to have to endure, but becoming a part time sensei to eleven people. He could already relate to how Kakashi-sensei must have felt.

Inside the shinobi's mind, the Kyuubi was getting ready for it's own rest. The demon fox grinned in satisfaction as it heard its jailor's previous thoughts. It looked like the kit was already being swayed on his opinion. Staying here would give him opportunity Konoha could never provide after all.

However, the old fox couldn't help but speculate the newest addition to the blonde's sewer mindscape to the right of his cage which had appeared with the creation of Naruto's strange Sharingan. Where there had once been a dead end, there was now a door there, though it was definitely not meant to be opened, at least not right then. The chains covering the door and the complex lock on the knob could attest to that. There was a silver glow emanating from said door, and the only clue to its contents was marked by the symbol glowing in gold.

A large, detailed carved image of the sun.

Hmm, this brat just seems to attract all sorts of interesting, dangerous, yet entertaining things. Despite being an idiot, at least being sealed in this kit doesn't get boring.

Yep, the ancient nine-tailed fox would just have to watch and wait for the future of his container to reveal itself. If there is anything he's learned about the blonde, besides the fact that he could be incredibly dense or a complete genius at the strangest times, is that nothing about Uzumaki Naruto is ever simple or set in stone.

De-Raz: Well anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, looks like Naruto is going to be a sensei for the first time ever.

CRASH!!

Naruto runs up through the same hole in the wall, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt.

Naruto: What the hell man?! I didn't hear any speeches about the Flames of Youth, so I know you lied to me!

De-Raz: (Shrugs) So, it was funny watching you run like the devil was on your heels. Why would I want to write this:

GAI-SENSEI!!

LEE!!

GAI-SENSEI!!

LEE!!

GAI-SENSEI!!

LEE!!:

Anyways?

CRASH (AGAIN)!!

Gai and Lee appear through a new hole in my wall.

Gai: Did I hear somebody mention the Flames of Youth!!

Lee: YOSH!! Gai-sensei, I must express the wonders of the Flames of Youth towards these two people, and if I fail, I'll run five hundred laps around Konoha on my fingertips!!

Gai: And if you break your fingers Lee, I shall run another thousand laps with you on my elbows!

Lee: GAI-SENSEI!!

Gai: LEE!!

Lee: GAI-SEN-

De-Raz: WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH EVERYONE BREAKING MY WALLS! YOU TWO FREAKISH ASSHOLES GET OUT OF HERE NOW, I SAID I DIDN'T WANT TO WRITE THIS SHIT!!

Gai and Lee: B-but-

De-Raz: (Points to hole in the wall) NO! YOU TWO! OUT! NOW!

Gai and Lee: B-but-

De-Raz: (Continue to point, use Big Head no Jutsu) OUT! NOW!

Gai and Lee slump their shoulders, walk out through the wall dejectedly.

Naruto: (small eyes of fear) Wow, that was a little harsh.

De-Raz turns to glare at the blonde, Naruto shakes in fear. De-Raz sighs.

De-Raz: Yea Yea, I'll buy them a new pair of jumpsuits as an apology later. But anyways, now it's time for the real news for the readers.

BELOW THIS MESSAGE IS A COUPLE OF SUMMARIES FOR MY LATEST STORY IDEAS! NOTE THAT I WILL NOT START THESE UNTIL THIS ONE IS FINISHED, OR AT LEAST PRETTY DAMN CLOSE! JUST WANT OPINIONS ON HOW THESE SOUND, MAYBE AN OPINION ON WHICH ONE I WOULD START WITH FIRST!

Story Title: Untitled

Anime/Manga: NarutoxNanoha StrikerS

Rating: T or M, not sure yet

Summary:

After the destruction of the Akatuski and Orochimaru's Otogakure, the Elemental Countries appeared to finally indulge itself in another era of peace. However, that peace is soon shattered by the intrusion of another organization, only this one is from the most unlikely of places…the stars above! Homeless and alone, Uzumaki Naruto, now the only native of his world still alive, travels through the universe, forced to adapt to the change of tactics and technology for not only survival, but revenge! Obviously AU

Story Title: Untitled

Anime/Manga: NarutoxElemental Gelade

Rating: T or M once again

Summary:

Ninjas are defined as tools, people who are to destroy their emotions for the completion of the mission and the capacity to operate at optimum efficiency. A ninja's goal is to be a 'living weapon' essentially for the safety and prosperity of their village and country. What if Uzumaki Naruto, on the night of the Mizuki Incident, not only learned the Kage Bunshin that night? And that the blonde jinchuuriki meets a person who takes the term of 'living weapon' to a new and more literal level than ever before?! Naruverse AU

SO REMEMBER, PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO PRESS THE BLUE BUTTON!