WOO. O: Another chapter~

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! MASASHI KISHIMOTO DOES! I also do not own any of the OCs introduced within this fan fiction, save for:

Tsukuyomi Clan

Nero

Roku

Fumichi Ecchio

A/N: THIRD POV~

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Chapter Thirty-Nine: Rules and Regulations are Mandatory. Cannibalism Revealed!

"I can't believe this," Akira whined, "He was right next to me and I only stop to flirt for one second and he's off!" Nero shook his head, looking the other way at the shops lining the streets.

"I hope you don't plan on having kids… They run around and they're a bunch of annoying brats." He responded. Akira beamed, giving Nero a little smack on the back and making him wince.

"Of course I want kids! I love kids! They're so cute and adorable and you get to dress them up and teach them the rules of the world!" He replied cheerfully. Nero sweat dropped.

"It sounds more like dolls than kids."

"There's a difference?"

"Yea. Kids scream and cry… And get lost." Nero added. Akira laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm working on it! I'm only eighteen!"

"And Kasumi's only fifteen."

"… So? I like young girls~ And it's not like we're dating… Not yet! I will ask her out as soon as I get everything together and all this drama passes over." Akira explained simply, folding his arms over his chest. Nero sighed before yawning.

"I don't get what's up with all this mushy romance going on around here. I had enough with Daisuke and Sora. Then there was Kishi and Eiji. Now you and Kasumi. What the freaking hell?" He muttered. Akira grinned, poking him in the cheek and making his eye twitch comically in annoyance.

"You're just jealous is all! You need to find a girlfriend, who's not my stubborn, man-beating sister." He added. Nero rolled his eyes, huffing.

"I don't need a girlfriend."

"Boyfriend then?" Akira asked with a grin. Nero went pink and smacked him upside the head.

"Shut up! I have me, myself, and I. That's all I do need." He retorted. Akira held the back of his head, whining a little.

"Jeez, you're strong…"

"I have to be to carry this thing around." Nero responded flatly, thrusting a thumb toward the heavy maul strapped to his back. Akira blinked, then beamed at him.

"And girls like strong guys~"

"I couldn't possibly care less."

"The more you keep denying it, the more noticeable it is that you need a girlfriend."

"Why am I even helping you find this kid if all you're doing is pestering me?"

"Oh be quiet," Akira huffed, his eyes scanning the streets as he walked, "My gods, how hard is it to find a little kid? There can't be that many children running around in Konohagakure… At least, there aren't that many in Sunagakure."

"What does that tell you?" Nero asked. Akira looked at him blankly. Nero rolled his eyes in aggravation. Sometimes he felt like he was the only smart one wherever he went.

"Sunagakure obviously has more rules. Konoha lets their kids run around and cause trouble. They need someone to watch them." He explained. Akira raised an eyebrow.

"What if some kids have no parents?" He asked. Nero frowned, then scuffed.

"Then they should at least find some family to stay with, even if it's not their own. Kids that run around without parents don't know any rules or good from bad, they just play around on their emotions. Why do you think some of the kids around here are total brats, like that Naruto kid? And their so-called friend, Sasuke… They grow up on their own and have no one to teach them what's good and what's bad. They just ruin everyone else's lives because they're acting on their emotions." He muttered. Akira frowned.

"But, Nero, it's not their fault. Naruto said he never had any parents. Sasuke's were obviously killed in that massacre by his brother. They couldn't control that. And what kind of kid would stay with a bunch of strangers…?" He shifted a bit uncomfortably as they paused in front of an alley. Nero looked at him flatly.

"Good question. That's what I thought when my dad dumped me with my aunt and uncle. I had never met them before. Sometimes people have to do things they don't want to." He replied. Akira rolled his eyes, putting his hands on his hips.

"Yea, well, if there's another way, then I say take it! Since when have you gotten so mean?" He asked. Nero snorted.

"Mean my ass. I'm just telling the truth. Look, I'm too tired to argue with you over something so touchy. We need to keep looking for Roku… Or are you going to be the one to tell Ruriko that you lost her little boy?" He questioned. Akira flinched.

"You don't have to be so harsh. I said I'll find him and I will!" He insisted, then pushed past him. Nero sighed, but followed reluctantly, frowning to himself.

Later…

"Wow," Ecchio mused, "That's a long story… But so cool! I wanna meet 'em!" Roku smiled a little, then yelped when Ecchio hugged him tightly.

"I like you, Roku. You should stay here with me!" He announced. Roku sweat dropped and poked him in the side.

"Na… Find… Er, Aki-raa."

"Aww… That's no fair," Ecchio huffed, pouting, but he got up anyway, thrusting a finger in the air, "Fine, let's go find Akira!" Roku smiled and followed Ecchio off the fire escape out the living room window. They landed in the dirt below in the alley before walking out into the street, where little shops were set up. Ecchio looked up and down the streets before shrugging.

"Let's try this way!" He beamed and took Roku's elbow, leading him down the street. Roku sighed, but followed after anyway. They walked down the street, taking a few twists and turns before they ended up at the hospital. Ecchio huffed.

"He's probably in there… He's a doctor ninja, right?" He asked. Roku nodded. Ecchio sighed.

"I guess we has to go in here then… I just hope they dun say nofin about my feet." He mumbled as they walked in. Roku nodded and they walked into the building, the odd smell of medicine and sterile objects filling the cool air. Ecchio plugged his nose, pouting. Roku ignored the smell and walked around the hospital, taking small little peeks into room before he came to the end of a hall, two familiar girls walking the other way.

"You can't be serious," Kasumi was muttering, "You're only fifteen… Maybe you guessed wrong?" The pink haired kunoichi shook her head slowly, holding her arms in front of her.

"I don't know… I'm hoping so. I'm a little afraid to tell Lady Tsunade…"

"Then tell Shizune. I'm sure she'll know what to do."

"I pray so-" She was cut off as Roku stepped out of the hallway with Ecchio stumbling behind.

"Na!" He yelled. Sakura and Kasumi jumped, whipping around to see the two toddlers at the end of the hall. Sakura blinked, then sweat dropped. Kasumi sighed.

"I think we found Akira's kid." She stated. Roku smiled and Ecchio grinned behind him, shifting from foot to foot.

"They're cute, Roku. You didn't say nofin about 'em bein' cute." He said quietly. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" She demanded. Ecchio just grinned at her. Kasumi shook her head, ignoring the argument and bent down a little, reaching out a hand to Roku.

"Come on, kid. Akira's probably running around the village in a panic because you ditched him." She said. Roku nodded and took her hand. Kasumi stood up and glanced at a blushing Sakura.

"Hey, I'm gonna go find Akira. Take care of that kid's feet." She added, pointing at Ecchio, who yelped. Sakura looked at Ecchio's feet, her eyes a little wide.

"Oh! I didn't notice that… Thanks, Kasumi." She said with a smile. Kasumi nodded and led Roku out of the building, sighing a little.

"Finally I got out of there. Way too busy and I had enough with those files…" She murmured, yawning a little. Roku looked up at her.

"Doctor?" He asked. Kasumi blinked and looked at him before smiling.

"Kind of. I'm working on medical techniques." She replied. Roku smiled back. He was beginning to feel more comfortable in this village. He had no intentions in leaving, he decided. Even if Ruriko came back and told him to leave. They kept walking until they found a small shop where Akira was sitting with Nero, groaning.

"I'm never gonna find him! Then Ruriko's going to kill me!" Akira whined. Nero frowned, then glanced over his shoulder to see Kasumi approaching with Roku in hand, making him blink, then smirk.

"Hey, Akira." He said.

"She's going to rip my head off! And then Kasumi won't wanna date me!"

"Akira."

"Or have kids!"

"AKIRA."

"Excuse me?" Kasumi demanded, coming up behind him. Akira twitched and leapt to his feet, throwing his arms out.

"Kasumi~! You found him!" He exclaimed. Kasumi smirked, but it hinted annoyance as she let go of Roku's hand.

"Yea, actually, he found me at the hospital. What was that about kids?" She asked. Akira twitched, then laughed a little.

"Oh, just thinking ahead is all~ Ignore that~ Sorry if he caused you any trouble." He added, patting Roku on the head. Kasumi shrugged, then raised an eyebrow at Akira.

"No trouble… Just keep an eye on him or else he's gonna get hurt." She replied. Akira smiled sweetly, tilting his head a little.

"You know, that's kind of hard when it's just me." He said slowly. Kasumi blinked, then stared at him.

"Oh?" She asked. Akira nodded, grinning.

"Yup. Why don't you help me out?" He asked. Kasumi paused, her expression thoughtful as she put her hands on her hips. Behind them, Nero sat at the table, taking a sip of his chai tea, raising an eyebrow curiously.

Che, it's just an excuse so he can hang around her. I hope she knows that… I wonder if Roku even knows it. I swear, Akira's just a pervert and nothing else. Using his excuse of being a medical ninja to touch people. Ugh, I am so glad I don't visit the doctors. He thought, shaking his head.

"All right," Kasumi agreed at last, folding her arms over her chest, "I'll help you take care of him, but only until Ruriko comes back. Then I've got to get back to all my training so I can become a Jounin." Akira beamed.

"That's great! You're the best, Kasumi! I knew I loved you!"

"Oh, keep it in your pants!"

"Try, but maybe not succeed!"

"Ugh!" Kasumi smacked her forehead as Akira hugged on her, Roku blinking in confusion. Nero rolled his eyes, taking another sip of his tea.

"I can hear the wedding bells now," He muttered to himself, then looked at Roku, "Take a seat, I'll order you something." Roku looked at him, then smiled and obeyed easily, much to Nero's pleasure. Akira and Kasumi sat down to eat as well.

"This is a comfortable setting," Akira declared as he ate his meal of tataki, "We should do this more often!" Kasumi nodded slightly as she ate, taking a sip of her tea.

"It's better than running around, that's for sure." Nero agreed, glancing at Roku curiously. Akira and Kasumi followed his gaze to see Roku using the skewers of his kushiyaki to make a chain around the scarf on his waist.

"That's an interesting habit." Kasumi commented, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, those things are sharp. I guess they are useful." Akira mused. Nero studied Roku's movements, his little hands taking the skewers and carefully tying them with thread of his clothes. Nero looked back at his oshiruko, watching the dark liquid ripple.

"His teeth are sharp." He stated. Kasumi and Akira looked at him, confused before looking at Roku, who went to eat again. It was clearly visible that Roku's teeth were slightly sharper than average, particularly his canine teeth.

"Is he some kind of cannibal?" Kasumi asked and looked at Akira, who blinked a little, then shrugged, looking at his food thoughtfully.

"Maybe? That's weird. I've never really met a cannibal outside our family."

"Can you be so sure?" Nero asked. Akira huffed, then nodded as he studied Roku eating.

"I don't think he's related to any of the Tsukuyomi Clan. We have specific styles of eating and not to mention, from the looks of it, he's gaining energy by eating… We don't get that kind of energy from eating. That's why people get confused and argumentative about whether our cannibalism is a Kekkei Genkai or just a learned habit. From the looks of this, Roku's is a Kekkei Genkai." He explained. Nero frowned and looked at Roku, noticing that Roku did look a bit more energized, like he could run around for hours.

"That's interesting…" He mused. Kasumi glanced at Akira.

"You don't even know if you have a Kekkei Genkai or not?" She asked. Akira laughed a little.

"Personally, I don't think it's a Kekkei Genkai. I think it's just something we're born to know. Most humans can't digest raw flesh because they don't have the bacteria in their stomach to break everything down. Dogs have this bacteria, which is why they can consume raw meat. For some reason, the Tsukuyomi Clan happens to have this kind of bacteria in our stomachs, explaining why we don't get sick from eating the raw flesh of our opponents. It's kind of nifty. Our father used to make jokes saying we evolved from dogs." He smiled a little at the thought. Nero glanced up at him, then back at Roku.

"He has the same bacteria then?" He asked. Akira nodded. Kasumi blinked, looking a bit impressed.

"Huh. That explains it. So that means you don't have the risk of getting food poisoning from raw fish or anything?" She asked. Akira grinned."Exactly. Ruriko loves sushi, she hasn't gotten sick yet." He replied.

"I think I agree with your dad," Nero mused, "I think you do come from dogs." Akira laughed and Kasumi smirked. Roku looked at them, smiling contently. He liked being around these people. He would like to see what Ruriko was up to, just to make sure she was safe, but he knew she'd want him to stay here and he could see why.

He was just curious… Was Ruriko just as fine as she was when he left her?

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A/N: DAMN IT. I almost forgot write the author's note again. I'm a fail. xD; I was just too excited. My bad… I hope I explained the cannibalism thing right… :'D I had to do a lot of researching for that bit. Sorry the chapter's short, you know, compared to the others… Anyway, thanks so much for reading, hope the OCs are in character, and your reviews are greatly appreciated!