I'm sorry I took so long with the chapter. School is getting harder, leaving me with less time to write. Luckily, I got hit with a good bit of inspiration for this chapter that helped me out. I hope you like the chapter.

Chapter Thirty-Six: Last Minute Return

Minato opened his eyes the morning after the picnic, groaning as he realized he was still in control of the body.

"Still no success?" Gaara queried from where he was getting ready.

"None at all," Minato sighed. This was really beginning to scare him. At this rate, he really would be taking Naruto's place in the Finals. He felt like he was cheating his son and that didn't sit well with him.

"There's nothing we can really do but wait," Gaara said. It bothered him too that it was taking Naruto so long to recover from the synchronization attempt. He was beginning to miss his brother...

Minato nodded, eyes downcast. He had hoped more than anything that things would have returned to normal already.

"We should get ready. We'll be expected at the Stadium soon," Gaara advised and they set about getting ready.

"Are you sure you want to come alone?" Gaara asked Minato once they stepped outside of Naruto's apartment.

Minato nodded. "I need a little more time before I get there," he said. He wanted to stretch things out a little while longer, in the hopes that Naruto would finally pull through and come back.

"Okay," Gaara conceded, understanding his father's feelings. "I'll see you both soon."

Minato walked around the village, trying to mentally reach out to his slumbering son.

'Come on, Naruto. You've never failed to be there when you were needed. Don't change that now...' he pleaded, looking frustrated.

"He's still not back, is he?" a voice rang out and Minato looked up to see Shikamaru standing behind him.

Minato marveled over how distracted he must have been to have failed to sense the Genin nearby.

"Unfortunately, no," Minato sighed, shoulders sagging.

Shikamaru sighed and ran a hand down his face as he pondered the situation.

"Do you know what's keeping him from returning to consciousness?" Shikamaru queried.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't still be in control, now would I?" Minato countered. "All I know is that he should have awakened by now. Originally, it was thought that my chakra had ended up suppressing his but our chakra have leveled out now. I can feel that. Why he still won't come to the surface is beyond me."

"Maybe it's Naruto himself," Shikamaru mused. Minato gave him a curious look.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying perhaps the reason Naruto isn't waking up is because he doesn't want to," Shikamaru proposed

"Why would he do that?" Minato frowned. It most certainly didn't sound like his son to do something like that. Well... not before, anyways. Since Daichi had given his ultimatum, Naruto hadn't exactly been acting the same. He had been more distant... worried. Realization hit him. The emotional stress had got to Naruto and this situation had provided him with a nice little hiding spot to sort himself out. It wasn't something that Naruto generally did but he was still a child with far too much on his plate already. Minato could understand Naruto's feelings.

"It looks like you've realized what's wrong," Shikamaru assessed, raising an eyebrow.

"He's worried... and a little scared - for you, mostly. That Iwa nin got under his skin far better than I'd imagined."

Shikamaru's brow furrowed as he pondered over what Minato had told him.

"Is there any way I can talk to him?" he queried.

Minato hesitated. One certain way to allow Shikamaru to do that was to pull him into the mindscape but Minato wasn't ready to do that. He didn't want Shikamaru to learn about him or Kyuubi. It would be up to Naruto to share that if he wanted to.

"You can try. There's no guarantee that he'll hear you, though," Minato responded. He wouldn't let Shikamaru within the mindscape but if he pulled himself back in and left control up for grabs, Naruto could probably hear what Shikamaru had to say. At this point, he was willing to try pretty much anything.

He led Shikamaru to a safe area, hidden from the sight of most people before sitting down.

"I can only give you a few minutes. I won't leave this body vulnerable for longer than absolutely necessary."

Shikamaru nodded and watched as Naruto's body went limp. Kneeling in front of the blonde, he took a deep breath as he tried to put his thoughts into words.

"Look, Naruto, I know you're scared but you can't let Daichi's threat get to you. What happened to the Naruto I know? You would never let threat get to you. You would never let anyone bend your will. Why start now? If he's threatened your precious people, than fight to protect them. Giving in to his whims is not the way to go about things. Protect those precious to you... and I will protect you, I promise. I won't let Daichi hurt you anymore. I'll defeat him, I swear it. Just like you... I won't go back on my word," Shikamaru promised. "I care too much about you to just let you go. Please, Naruto, come back."

Leaning forward, he pressed a soft kiss against Naruto's lips, hoping that his words had reached the lively blonde.

Just as he was about to pull back, he felt arms wrap around his neck and pull him closer, making the kiss deepen.

Opening his eyes as he pulled back, he met with Naruto's sleepy eyes.

"Is it you this time?" he asked, hope shining in his eyes.

"It's me," Naruto agreed, smiling sweetly.

"Thank god for that. I think I'd die all over again if I ended up being the one kissed by your boyfriend," Minato drawled as he materialized in his transparent form. He stretched his body with a great deal of satisfaction. He had missed being normal sized.

'I wouldn't allow that to happen, love. You're mine,' Kyuubi declared possessively.

Minato just smiled indulgently. He had missed her too.

Shikamaru helped Naruto get back to his feet, supporting the wobbly Genin until he was able to stand comfortably.

"You're going to defeat Daichi?" Naruto repeated what Shikamaru had promised.

Shikamaru nodded. "I'll kick his ass. He's strong, yes, but I'll defeat him one way or another."

Naruto smiled. "I'll look forward to seeing that."

"We should probably get going. The Chuunin Exam Finals should be starting soon," Shikamaru reminded his object of affections.

"Oh, right," Naruto responded, recalling the situation. "We should get going..."

Shikamaru sighed. The stadium was on the other side of the village. "How are we going to get there on time?"

"Leave that to me" a voice called out and they looked to see Jiraiya standing there, a smirk on his face.

"Ero-Sennin!" Naruto greeted his godfather with a glomp.

Jiraiya chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair. "Don't call me that, brat," he spoke without malice. In truth, he had kind of missed Naruto calling him that, but he would never let the Jinchuuriki know that. "Now let's get you guys to the Stadium."

In the Stadium, the new proctor, Shiranui Genma, was standing in the center of the Battle Arena alongside the contestants that had already arrived: Sakura, Chouji, Shino, Neji, the Sand Siblings, Michiru, and Daisuke.

"Shikamaru should be here already," Chouji mused, wondering where his best friend had gone. They had been walking together when Shikamaru had caught sight of Naruto. He had promised he would follow after Chouji soon before running off. He still hadn't arrived and Chouji was getting worried.

"Maybe that lazy ass got scared and decided to run away," Michiru sneered. "After all, there is no way in hell he can beat Daichi-kun."

"Shut up, bitch. There's no way that Shikamaru would do that. He's not a coward!" Ino yelled as she stormed over.

"You're not even supposed to be here, you pathetic little bimbo. You lost in the Preliminaries by your own amateur mistake," Michiru snapped back. "How else could this pink-haired hussy make it to the Finals?"

Sakura flushed in anger and embarrassment.

"I'm here to support my team, dumbass," Ino spat back, flushing in embarrassment. Yes, she had made a big mistake during the Preliminaries but she didn't necessarily regret it. She had gained a lot out of it. When Michiru insulted Sakura, Ino felt her anger grow. "Don't you dare insult my best friend,. Do it again and I'll kick your ass!"

Michiru scoffed, derisively. "Like you could."

She blinked and found Ino standing right in front of her, her eyes appearing red and slitted.

"Just watch me," Ino hissed with an oddly guttural voice and Michiru couldn't help but flinch in fear as she felt the potent Killing Intent pour off the blonde. What could have changed in the last month to make the blonde seem so threatening? That Sannin couldn't have been that good of a teacher, could he?

"That's enough, Ino," Sakura placed a hand on her friend's shoulder to appease her. She felt happy to see Ino defending her, it made her feel like things were as they once were between them but the time for other people defending her was over. This time, she would show everyone how strong she was. "I'll get her for the both of us during our match."

Ino's eyes changed back to blue before she turned to face Sakura. "Kick her ass."

She then turned to Gaara. "Good luck, Nii-san."

Temari and Kankurou exchanged looks at that. First Naruto found a place in Gaara's heart as a brother and now this girl too? They had understood that she was one of his teammates in the group Jiraiya had created but for them to have created their own little family? It seemed odd especially given that just a short while ago, Gaara had been as bloodthirsty as they came. He accepted no one as family and now he was building one. They were happy for him but it didn't make how he had changed any less shocking.

"Thank you... Imouto," Gaara responded, almost shyly. He had always been the youngest in the family. With his new extended family, it looked like that had changed.

"Where's Naruto?" Ino wondered. "Didn't he come with you?"

"He had said he wanted to take a walk," Gaara admitted.

"Sasuke-kun is not here either," Sakura said, worrying about the two members of her team. "Even Kakashi-sensei has already popped up and he's usually always late. Where could Sasuke-kun be if not with him?"

"Something tells me he wouldn't miss out on this even if it killed him. He'll be here," Ino reassured Sakura. "Don't worry."

"Your friends better get here soon. Uzumaki Naruto is taking part in the very first match. If he's not here soon, I'll be forced to disqualify him," Genma spoke up. He couldn't delay the matches forever just because a few Genin were late.

"Please, Naruto, get here soon..." Ino prayed.

Almost on cue, there was a large poof of smoke and once it was clear, loud exclamations of shock filled the air at the sight of the giant toad standing in the arena, towering over the young Chuunin-aspirants and the Tokubetsu Jounin.

"There's nothing to fear, Ino-chan, especially when the Great Jiraiya is here to save the day!" the exuberant white-haired Sannin declared proudly as he and two others leaped down from the top of the toad, who disappeared.

"Naruto! Shikamaru!" Ino exclaimed happily as she rushed over. She hugged them both before glomping her sensei. "Thank you!"

Jiraiya chuckled. "It's no problem, Ino-chan. I couldn't exactly leave them in the dirt, now could I? ... Especially when he's back."

Ino blinked before realization dawned on her. She turned to Naruto. "You mean..."

Naruto smiled, eyes twinkling.

Ino's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. She let out a loud squeal and tackled Naruto to the ground.

"I'm so happy!" she stated, peppering his face with kisses.

Naruto chuckled in amusement. "I can see that..."

Those who didn't know of Minato and Naruto's situation were completely lost on what was going on.

Naruto gazed over at Gaara, who gave him a small smile in acknowledgement before turning back to his godfather.

"Thanks for the ride, Ero-Sennin."

"Don't call me that, brat," Jiraiya said affectionately before turning to leave. He had preparations to make.

"If you're all done wasting our time, can we get down to business now?" Neji asked irritably.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you that eager to get your ass kicked, Hyuuga?"

Neji scoffed. "It's your fate to remain a loser, Uzumaki. Nothing is going to change that."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "We'll see about that."

Genma decided to interrupt the pissing contest before it could get any worse.

"Alright, all other contestants, please make your way to the viewing area so that the first battle can begin," the proctor instructed and soon, only he, Naruto, Neji and the invisible former Hokage remained in the battle arena.

"I half expected you to come here late," Jiraiya commented as he joined Kakashi.

"I wouldn't dare miss Naruto's match," Kakashi responded, eyes trained on the battle field. "I look forward to seeing what you've taught him, Jiraiya-sama."

"He's grown a lot in this last month... all three of them did," Jiraiya spoke with pride.

"I'm sure they have. I would have never imagined you would have built up an entirely new team with him and got them to work so well together. Now if only I could get my team to mesh so well. Sakura-chan is beginning to pull through at long last but I fear Naruto's progress and Sasuke's never diminishing arrogance are creating a far too large rift to allow Sasuke to allow himself to work well with his peers," Kakashi sighed.

"He has too much pride in himself as an Uchiha," Jiraiya mused from what he had observed. "It won't let him treat his teammates as equals, no matter how much they improve. He will always see himself as above them."

'Then I will just have to destroy that pride so he can rebuild it for the right reasons rather than what he considers a God-given right," Kakashi decided.

"Good luck," Jiraiya commented. "I have a feeling you will need it."

Naruto and Neji glared at each other hatefully, waiting for the sign for the battle to begin.

"You might as well give up, Uzumaki. There is no way you can win," Neji declared, eyeing Naruto closely. He could detect no uncertainty within Naruto's body language. The blonde really believed he could defeat the Hyuuga. He scoffed. How ridiculous.

"Shut your trap," Naruto scowled. "I'm going to make you regret what you did to Hinata-chan. I made a promise and I never go back on my word."

Neji just rolled his eyes. He didn't believe that Naruto stood a ghost of a chance against him, no matter how confident the blonde was. He would be the one to show him that he couldn't deny Fate.

"Fate will never get the better of us," Minato voiced his thoughts as he materialized behind his son, eyes narrowed into chips of ice. He could see a bigger meaning behind this battle than just an attempt to become a Chuunin. This was his and Naruto's chance to show the stubborn Goddess that they forged their own path and wouldn't be cowed by her will.

"Damn straight," Naruto agreed with a resolute nod.

"Who are you talking to?" Neji frowned. "Don't tell me that you're talking to that imaginary friend of yours. Your supposed 'guardian angel'... ha. There is no such thing. You're even delusional enough to view him as your own father. I'll be sure to knock some sense into you," Neji assured Naruto, as if he was doing him a big favor.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, not appreciating the words coming out of Neji's mouth at all. "On the contrary, Hyuuga, it will be me who knocks sense into you. I will show you that Fate is no more than a cold hearted bitch that you're better off without."

"We'll see," Neji scowled.

"So we shall," Minato and Naruto chorused as Genma finally gave the signal for the start of the battle.