Scroll 3: Sleep Over

Shino Aburame was walking along next to Kiba Inuzuka, both talking to each other animatedly about something completely insignificant. They had just been wondering around the village and angled towards Yukari when they saw her. Still a few feet away, they paused in silence when the wheel dropped and shrugged thinking it some sort of kid toy.

"Hello Yukari-san, heard you've had a pretty active day so far…" Kiba asked, smiling.

"AACCK!" She started nearly a foot in the air as it had been two, quiet minutes since the thread-weaver and her husband left Meko with her. She had just stand in front of her door, quietly pondering when Kiba, Akamaru and Shino approached her. The cat was wearing, what had to be the closest thing to a feline grin, rolled over in her arms, causing her to drop the Naruto plushie.

"Oh, did you finish a mission or whatever!" Yukari fought a smile and glanced at the unicycle, rather puzzled. But that thought quickly passed through her mind as she saw the two ninjas walk towards her.

"Oh, uh…please don't mind the damage. Meko wanted to add a new cat-house…and I made the mistake of telling him no." Yukari motioned to the tarp that covered the wall's hole. "As it stands, I've got no warm place to sleep tonight, but I'll probably take over Kensuke-nee-san's place."

Kiba laughed and looked at Akamaru as the dog gave curious sniff of the unicycle wheel. "I know what you mean. Akamaru can get pretty vicious too if I say no. I usually don't though. But hey, if you don't get a hold of your brother, then you're always welcome at my place. I'm not sure how you'd feel about staying at Shino's place. Most girls aren't too fond of bugs. HEY!"

Shino's hand was in its pocket once again, but it been removed to smack Kiba upside the back of the head at an amazing speed. Kiba growled at him and turned back to a blushing Yukari, noticing the plushie on the ground and picked it up.

"Hey you…dropped this…" Kiba said, pausing between words as he noticed what it was.

"Ah." Yukari had dropped Meko, earning a slash to the leg and a loud yowl, and snatched the Naruto plushie from Kiba just as he had finished saying 'dropped this.' She quickly stuffed the thing behind her back and grinned fakely.

"Well, Uh, I guess the kids around here like throwing their toys at my place…must be a game or something, I don't know, but yea…!" She would laugh nervously and glance shyly at Shino just the same. Their eyes locked onto each other longer than normal.

Ever since the chuunin exams, Shino had proclaimed he had the hots for her, after rescuing her from Kabuto. Then Kabuto had to go and ruin it by screwing with her kekkai genkai and changed her clan-tattoo into a mild, hormonal-induced curse. Since then, she never found time to develop whatever good feelings she started to have for the Aburame rookie. Now it was just a basic friendship, and Yukari always felt that nervous, butterfly-type feeling in the pit of her stomach when Shino was around. It'd better if she stayed away from Shino and dating him. It was a sad loss to both of the young shinobi. However, it seemed that Shino still had feelings for the bird-user kunoichi.

"Yea, I'll go see if brother is home now. I guess I'll have to fix this place up tomorrow, seeing its night already. You guys stay cool and don't be strangers!" Yukari tore her eyes away from Shino and kicked Meko into action, as the cat had 'caturday-ed' himself on her foot. She waved to the two Nin as she veered away from her place to aim for Kensuke's.

Shino sighed as he watched her leave, trying not to think of the past. Kiba waved and they continued to talk as she walked away.

Yukari then was joined by Hinata, the third person of the team that Shino and Kiba were in. The red-eyed kunoichi nodded a greeting to the Hyuuga female as she opted to break the news of what she had told Kiba and Shino. The two boys were gone by the time Yukari had recalled her discussion with the Hokage pertaining to the fact that she chose to team up with Kurenai's team.

"Oy, Hi there, Hinata? Out a bit late? Your teammates I just saw, so I guess you guys had a mission or whatever."

"Oh…hi Yukari-san…I heard about the event are your place, such odd things happen to you, don't they?" Hinata, poor thing, still shy at times; but had not broken down in a blushing, mumbling mess since Naruto had left for his training with Jiraiya-sama.

"Oh, that…yea…hahaha! I guess things like that do happen to me every now and then…"

The two girls walked in peaceful quietness as Yukari headed towards her brother's place, across from the Ichiraku Shack. Before knocking on the door Yukari had smiled at Hinata, telling her to relax as she handled her brother. Then, holding both a wriggly Meko and plushie in one hand, she knocked.

"Hup! Just a moment, please!" the gruff voice of Kensuke echoed through his two-floor room; as crashing, twittering and cursing could be heard from behind the white and brown door. Apparently Kensuke was on a clumsy streak this day, and had been care-taking of the messenger eagles and his own cache of birds.

"OH SHUT UP TORIKA! I know there is a person at the door! Hey! Yuka-chan! Hyuuga-sama…" Kensuke looked like a normal male ninja, brown-black hair, muscular built; and wore a normal chuunin outfit (at least at the moment). His eyes, like his younger sister's, were stark red. They were dormant at the moment, so the black, colon-like pupils weren't showing. Kensuke was the first born of the Uzaruki clan. Like his father, uncle and his dead younger sister, Raikanami, he had reached the second level Akashingan – the Akasoragan – Red Sky Eyes. Yukari had yet to unlock that stage in her kekkai genkai, but she was getting extremely close in doing so.

This second stage, split the pupil into two black parts, much like an equal sign, and could allow the user to move their sight (optical nerves) into thin air and scry up to twelve miles out from the point of origin – the origin being the body. The difference of the first and second stages was the tools used: the first stage always needed a moving base, such as a bird or eagle, to carry the sight around. The second stage required more chakra and concentration, as the base was freestanding air, something that would be dubbed as 'ghost' sight – nothing was there, but the sight was still in effect. (Think sight beyond sight.) It was written down in the history scrolls that there was yet another stage, a third step, but it hadn't been seen in effect since the first and second Hokages died. (Which would make it Yukari's thrice-great brethren – five generations back.)

"What brings you to my humble home?"

"I was wondering if I could spend the night here since a bunch of kids wrecked the wall to my apartment." Yukari finally snorted out to her elder brother.

"But of course you can, Yuka-onee-san!" the bright smile of his would grace the two girls. "I would be honored to help my Onee-san."

Yukari smiled back as she waved a farewell to Hinata and entered her brother's apartment for the night. Meko had long since jumped from Yukari's arms; and vanished; leaving her with nothing but her Naruto-plushie.

XXX

The unicycle, moving from its spot on which it had fallen in front of Yukari near her apartment, squeaked through the empty roads on its way towards the holding cells where the children were. Nothing important interrupted its passage there – the wheel would only gain odd looks from civilians. In fact, after recent events the night would seem a little too quiet and boring.

XXX

Kakashi, having slept for a minimal three hours that night, had left before the break of dawn on a mission with his remaining student, Sakura Haruno – as to what that mission was: only the Hokage, Kakashi and Sakura knew…