lostmoonchild: Thanks for the reviews! I know, I'm a day late with the update and I have no excuse. This is just a head's up, there will be a case or two of yaoi in this story. I'll give a head's up which chapter(s) has yaoi smut but there will be hetero smut in here too.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do, however, own a chocolate chip cookie that I'm enjoying.

Chapter Sixteen

"This had better be important, Granny Tsunade!" Naruto protested as he entered Tsunade's office. "I've got a five year old convinced there's something wrong."

"Where is Hisoka?"

"On a play date with Yukimaru Nara." Naruto said simply. "Shikamaru's got her at the moment so it's all good."

"We need to do a blood comparison." Tsunade told Naruto with a solemn look. "You don't have a choice."

"What the hell for?"

Lord Raikage raised an eyebrow as he watched the blonde immediately get defensive and saw the tints of red leaking into his azure eyes. "Settle down before I make you." Tsunade warned the Jinchuuriki.

"I'm not letting anybody take her away from me! You know full well that if Hisoka isn't around anybody with even the barest traces of demonic chakra she'll go back to a walking skeleton and may actually die!" Naruto shouted.

"Just sit down and shut up!"

Naruto crossed his arms as he plopped down onto a chair, irritation showing on his features. "There's a reason we need a blood test done. If the results confirm what's written down, then it could possibly save Hisoka." Gaara stated calmly.

Immediately interest showed on Naruto's face, letting them know that they had his undivided attention. "Well why didn't you say that before?" Naruto questioned. "So what's the idea? I mean, what could be in my blood that's so important it could possibly save Hisoka?"

It truly was a miracle that he had survived this long. "We've retrieved some important and highly unsettling documents from the former Whirlpool Country where Hisoka had been born." Tsunade told him. "As you may have already heard before, the Uzumaki clan was originally from Whirlpool."

"Yeah, sure. Some of the older shinobi still compare destroyed villages to Whirlpool." Naruto told them. "So?"

"Hisoka's mother didn't have a reputation as a kunoichi. Instead, she had a reputation as a genius."

"The woman was ingenious scary and they felt that rather than make her mad at them, they'd go along with preserving the clan even if the one being put in stasis was the daughter of the exiled Kairi. They all thought that Hisoka would die." Naruto remembered Shikamaru commenting. When he had asked about Hisoka's father, the lazy genius didn't know.

"Okay, so Hisoka's mother was a genius. So are Neji, Shikamaru, and Kakashi, right? It's not like her brain's going to rot being around me."

"While her mother's ingenious mind is something that was to be feared, our interest is more in Hisoka's biological father."

"That's where you come in." Gaara told his friend. "Hisoka was apparently sired by a member of the Uzumaki clan according to her birth certificate."

While he was impressed that his almost daughter even had a birth certificate, Naruto was even more impressed by the knowledge that she may actually be a blood relative. "That would actually explain what the final straw was for the Kairi clan regarding Mishima." Kyuubi commented. "I've seen both families around each other and they generally didn't get along very well. If an Uzumaki did indeed impregnate Mishima, she would have faced either aborting the pregnancy to save her pride or getting kicked out. From the sounds of her treatment, however, it seems she felt no pride for being a Kairi so her pregnancy continued."

"So basically because my last name is Uzumaki, I need to give up some blood or spit or whatever just to confirm that Hisoka's dad was some relative of mine which would make Hisoka a cousin or something."

"A distant cousin perhaps."

He could already hear the clans in Konoha complaining and from the look on Tsunade's face, she could already hear it too. "Go ahead." Naruto told them. "Even if I did have a choice, I'd still choose to do that test."

Tsunade gave the teenager a weary sigh before saying, "Naruto, I want to hear your opinion regarding Hisoka's current situation."

"Honestly?"

"Yes."

"You want my opinion over the whole having her judged?"

"Yes."

Naruto stared blankly for a moment before answering, "I honestly think it's complete bullshit. It's like saying I'm Kyuubi or Killer Bee's Hachibi. Hisoka feels their chakra as easily as she feels remnants of Ichibi's chakra. She thinks that Gaara's injured so she's been directing most of the chakra she's been getting to him."

That'd explain a lot regarding his energy levels. "I think the main concern, Naruto, is when she becomes an adult." Gaara told the blond. "You and I know she will not remain a child forever."

"I know that!" Naruto squinted his eyes as he thought. "The only person I think she'll actually attempt to kill is Sasuke-teme."

Tsunade could have told anybody that one. "Be at the hospital in half an hour to have the DNA test done. If I have to send ANBU just to collect you then you'll be stuck on D-ranked missions until I decide you've suffered enough."

"What? Even one year's worth of D-ranked missions wouldn't pay enough just to keep her stomach filled!" Naruto shouted. "Anybody that's ever seen that girl eat knows she can pack food away like nobody's business!"

"That's my point exactly. All of the pay from those D-ranked missions would go towards her stomach and you wouldn't be able to get more than one bowl of ramen a month."

It was a low blow but the look in Naruto's eyes told her that he hadn't even thought of being late before her threat. She had just needed to ensure that he wouldn't attempt to pull a Kakashi and be two or three hours late. "Fine. We'll be there in half an hour." Naruto huffed.

Tsunade smiled as they watched the blonde leave the room in a flurry of leaves, knowing full well that the blonde was annoyed. "Now that that's taken care of, after the test is complete we'll vote."

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Sakura was silent as she stared at the results of the DNA test a few hours later, shock numbing her entire body. She couldn't deny that she hadn't had a suspicion on some subconscious level but to see proof was an entirely different feeling. She didn't know how the results would affect the outcome of the vote but she knew for certain that there would perhaps be more hesitation.

Composing herself, Sakura tucked the results into a folder before rubbing her forehead. "I take it the results are in." A voice commented.

"Hey, Sai." Sakura replied. "Yeah, they're in."

"And I trust it turned out well for Dickless?"

She wasn't even going to bother getting after him for the crude nickname. "I honestly didn't believe it so I had the test run again." Sakura told him.

Sai stepped into the pinkette's office and sat down on the corner of her desk, dark eyes studying the conflicted green. "You are worried?" Sai guessed.

Sakura smiled faintly before answering, "Office politics can get rather nasty, Sai. They get even nastier when clans are involved."

"But the only two clans involved are the Uzumaki and Kairi clans." Sai stated simply. "I don't see how it would affect any others."

"It's politics. What can get involved will." Sakura summed up simply.

Sai didn't say anything for a moment as he stared at Sakura. He couldn't deny that she was fairly attractive and just seeing the look of relieved worry on her face made him want to hold her. "I believe that it is customary to offer a comforting gesture when one sees that another is worried or upset about something." Sai stated.

Alarms went off in Sakura's head as Sai cautiously and awkwardly hugged her, clearly trying to soothe what shock she felt. "Y-You hugged me!" Sakura shouted at Sai when the raven pulled away.

"I believe that's what it's called."

"You hugged me!"

"Yes, I believe we've established that."

Bam!

Dark eyes blinked in surprise as Sai watched Sakura's fist shake. He could see the furious blush on her cheeks as Sakura hurriedly grabbed the folder from the desk. "I was under the impression that women enjoyed being held." Sai commented as he rubbed his sore cheek.

"Usually by a lover!"

Sai blinked a couple more times, his mind trying to understand Sakura's reasoning. "By 'lover' you mean one that shares a sexual or romantic interest?" Sai questioned.

"Yes!"

"So would you consider me as a possible lover?"

She was going to beat him within an inch of his life if he didn't stop right then and there. "Sai, drop the subject right now." Sakura sighed. "We'll talk about it later. Are you going to be home tonight?"

"Yes."

"We'll talk about it tonight then. I'll see you there?"

Coming to the official conclusion that women were a confusing species, Sai nodded and watched as the woman left the room in a hurry. Having the feeling that when a woman said that they'd talk about something that they viewed as important, it was a good idea to have a plan to prevent things from getting out of control. Now he just needed to see if any of his books had any excellent ideas for diffusing whatever situation he might be facing.

lostmoonchild: Sai's just so cute when he's trying to understand stuff. It's almost like watching a child that's just figuring out the names to what he's feeling. I'm thinking that Sai and Sakura will have a romantic interest (I personally find them adorable together) whereas Naruto... I'm not sure yet. I think the closest he'd probably get to a romantic interest is a friends with benefits relationship but that's subject to change. Anyway, read and review!