Ok, first off Jaliera and Brittany will not be part of the harem anytime soon, they have to get past Brianna and Gina first. Which could take some time! Also, for anyone who knows the normal timeline you'll notice changes right now, Civ-alpha is supposed to take place at the same time as this chapter but I decided to mix things up a bit. Worry not, Civ-Alpha will occur! Now, read, review and tell me how I'm doing at this!

Naruto stood over his bed, an array of sealing scrolls unfurled as he began to pack. 'Lets see, need some clothes, emergency food, extra weapons...'

'You're packing for a vacation, not a mission dumbass!'

Naruto sighed as he ignored the voice in his head, aka Kurama, and continued to collect his gear from his room. Looking out of the window, Naruto saw the four girls he was currently living with and grinned as they were giving him a free show, laying out at the pool and soaking up some sun. 'Very nice bikini, who knew Jaliera was so daring.'

'Heh, I see you've DEFINETELY taken after your old teacher!'

A slight twitch of Naruto's jaw was the only indication that he had heard Kurama as he continued to pack. A shrill scream from outside caused Naruto to look out the window again, laughing aloud as he saw Jaliera using her telekinesis to soak the other girls then jump into the pool just before the others dove after her, intent on exacting a watery revenge. Naruto grinned as Brittany even started to halfheartedly get into the action, having been stuck in a funk after returning to Earth a few days ago.

'Nice, that new girl is definitely fitting right in, all you have to do now is get her in the sack...'

Naruto dropped his kunai pouch, focused his mind internally and dove into his mindscape, diving towards a unsuspecting Kurama with a feral grin on his face. Kurama looked up and the shock expressed on his face almost made the teasing worth it as Naruto flung a Futon:Reppusho at his partner, stunning the kitsune and holding him in place just long enough for his next move. One quick twist at Naruto's gut and a set of massive torii slammed down, trapping Kurama and causing the massive being to struggle against his bonds.

"DAMMIT, LET ME OUT! KISAMA!"

Naruto jumped onto his trapped partner snout, gazed into his eyes and growled. "Stop the innuendo. Right. Now."

"But... but it's so hard not to! You live your entire first part of your life mostly ignoring girls, except for the banshee, and now your like some kinda God among women! Two women already under your belt, a third that's totally hot for you and a fourth..."

"That fourth girl just lost her fiancee because of greedy old manipulative bastards. Lay off of her and the others. Whatever happens, happens. I'm just being my normal lovable self, they're the ones that are instigating everything here." Jumping off of his trapped partner, Naruto released the Torii Seal and Kurama stood tall as his bonds disappeared, gazing down at his container.

"All joking aside, the Kryn female is fitting in pretty well, no?"

Naruto began to snicker, the first few days after him and the others had returned flashing through his mind.

Chapter 15

Flashback

Naruto slowly woke, the familiar weights of Brianna and Gina beside him causing the shinobi to smile as they cuddled closely to him, hoping to keep him in bed longer. A quick kawarimi with one of several clones in the Diggers complex and the blonde was free once more, both girls moaning softly as they got comfortable again with their new body pillow that looked at the two women cuddling up to him and grinned at his creator, waggling his eyebrows as a way to say thanks. Stretching as he exited the room quietly, Naruto padded silently down the stairs and stopped as he entered the kitchen, a grin plastered to his face as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorjamb while taking in the chaos before him.

Apparently, Jaliera had woken up even earlier than Naruto did and had been trying to make breakfast before anyone had awoken... the evidence that she hadn't expected anyone to be awake being the fact she was still dressed in a pair of panties and a short t-shirt, her clothing revealing that the former Archon was in excellent shape. Unfortunately, her cooking skills... well, they were somewhat... lacking.

"No, no, no, no! Why does it keep burning! Naruto makes this look so easy..." Naruto couldn't take it anymore, he laughed loudly enough to cause Jaliera to start screaming before the blonde launched himself towards the girl, covering her mouth before her cries could wake the rest of the house. Jaliera looked at Naruto in wide eyed shock, her hands still clutching a spatula to her impressive breasts and her wide eyed stare causing Naruto to finally gave in once more, laughing loudly as he held himself up using the counter top. A shocked Jaliera quickly changed her mood to an angry Jaliera, slapping Naruto on his shoulder and pushing the laughing blonde away. "You jerk! You scared the hell out of me!" Naruto continued to chuckle as he grabbed the burning eggs from the stove, dumped the ruined food into the trash and turned back to the fuming woman with him.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist... and as for how I make this so easy, lots and lots of practice, I did take care of myself for pretty much my entire life." Jaliera's expression became contrite, her gaze lowering as she thought of the times Naruto mentioned. Though her clairvoyance had helped her learn all the good things about Naruto's past, it also showed her the bad times as well. Naruto sighed as he reached forward, ruffling the woman's hair and receiving a squawk of indignation in reply.

"Now come on, that part of my life is over. Water over the bridge or under the dam, how ever that expression goes..." Jaliera giggled at the butchered saying that Naruto was spouting as he grabbed a new pan and several ingredients to start cooking. "By the way, love the new look."

Jaliera looked at the blonde in confusion for several seconds until what he had said finally clicked. Looking at her state of dress, Jaliera looked back up at the grinning face of Naruto, an intense blush rapidly forming that managed to show through the fur on the mortified woman's face. Naruto's wink was the final nail in the coffin, a loud "EEP!" was heard and Naruto was alone once more, preparing breakfast for the girls.

"Ah, good times."

End Flashback

'Yeah... that was fun.'

'But man, telling Julia about Stripe not coming back to marry his daughter...'

'Yeah... that wasn't as much fun.'

Flashback

Naruto ran into the library, desperately looking for a place to hide. A large bookcase near the wall provided him him a perfect spot, the blonde using henge to transform into a decorative statue to escape detection. 'Do you think we lost her?' The sound of rapidly approaching footsteps laid this hope to rest as Naruto prepared a Shunshin, timing the escape technique just right to hopefully escape unnoticed. 'NO! AH SHIT, MAKE THE DEVIL WOMAN STOP!' Naruto silently landed behind the couch in the nearby sitting room just as the side of the library he had bee hiding on was obliterated, his senses screaming that he wasn't out of danger yet. A slight shimmer nearly sent Naruto bolting again when Theo suddenly appeared, his spell of invisibility dropping as he huddled behind the couch with Naruto, a look of fear etched into his features. Naruto reached over, hauled Theo close and whispered urgently, hoping that he didn't attract his attacker's attention. "Dammit man, call your wife off!"

Theo looked at Naruto as if he had asked the man to try and attack a dragon barehanded and Naruto realized how ludicrous this sounded, but what else could he do? It was as if Julia blamed Naruto for the fact that Stripe hadn't come back and was more than willing to extract the price from his hide. Moments later Theo's eyes widened as he looked over Naruto's shoulder, the blood draining from his face rapidly as he vanished again. Naruto tensed up as he felt an immense evil presence behind him, dodging the blow meant to slam him into the ground, abandoning his hiding spot and running through the Diggers mansion once more, dodging several flying objects that would have taken out a lesser man as he tried to escape the furious Julia Diggers. Ducking into the living room, Naruto nearly cried in relief as he saw Gina, Brittany and Brianna in front of him. Naruto dove behind the trio and hid, his actions causing all three girls to giggle at his absurd actions. "Naruto, what are you doing?"

"Gina, your mom is trying to kill me! She says I didn't try hard enough to bring Stripe back and I deserve to be punished! Your dad jumped in to save me and now he's gonna get the same! SAVE ME!" As Julia stormed into the room Naruto decided that enough was enough and fell into a ready stance, hoping that he could subdue Julia before things got out of hand. Julia raised her sword and pointed it at Naruto, causing the blonde sweat a little as the pair faced off. Brittany sighed as she stepped between the tense blonde and angry mother

"MOM! Stop attacking Naruto, he tried to get Stripe to come home, it's not his fault!" Julia's gaze focused on the blonde as he nodded rapidly, not wanting to try and put the smack down on his girlfriends' mom. Julia's eyes narrowed and she slammed her sword point first into the ground, walked towards Brittany and pulled her into a hug, dragging the young woman out of the room quickly. As soon as Julia was gone, Naruto fell on his ass as his adrenaline rush faded from the chases.

Both Gina and Brianna giggled as they helped Naruto back to his feet and linked their arms with him, escorting him back to their home so they could help the young man... relax. No one paid any notice to a wide eyed Jaliera that had been watching the entire scene, the new arrival to Earth wondering if this was a normal occurrence for the people that were now part of her life.

End flashback

Naruto shuddered at the memory, hoping that the duo never experienced anything like that again. 'Well, at least she apologized later for overreacting...'

'Overreacting?! Overreacting is yelling at someone when it's not warranted, not trying to decapitate them!'

Naruto grunted softly as he finished packing up, turning around grinning as he watched his unsuspecting prey. 'Well, almost time to meet up with the parents and Seance, all that's left is...' Naruto turned around just as Genn entered the room, several bags clutched in his hand. Looking at the currently male Rakashasa, Naruto gestured with his chin at the bags he carried. "Got all of their stuff?" As Genn grinned and gave Naruto a thumbs up, the shinobi grinned and stuck his head out of the window, yelling, "OK JALIERA, NOW!"

A smirking Jaliera raised her hands, activated her TK bubble and snaring all three Diggers women despite their protests and struggles, lifting them out of the pool quickly and hovering over the girls home. As soon as the sphere was stable, Jaliera turned and immediately flew towards the Mansion while Naruto grabbed a now female Genn, roof hopping after the clearly annoyed sisters. Moments later the group dropped down on Julia and Theo's front lawn, the girls' parents waiting for their arrival along with Seance. Everyone grinned as the girls were dropped on the lawn, the girls complaining about the rough treatment as Jaliera landed gently on her feet. Seconds later Naruto arrived with Genn, the pair grinning at a successful snatch and grab, dropping a backpack in front of each girl on the ground. Each woman looked up at Naruto in confusion, the maddening grin the shinobi wore causing their patience to quickly fade. Gina was the first to open her bag, seeing all the gear needed for an overnight trip, confusing her even more. Looking up at Naruto with a quizzical expression, Gina stood and gestured at the now opened backpack.

"Naruto, what the heck is going on?" Naruto grinned and gestured at Theo, the arch mage holding his hands before him as a glowing tear in reality appeared before the group, a veritable paradise appearing before the group of people.

"Simple, we're going on vacation, between the time line crisis and saving a planet, I think it's time for a little R&R. And what better spot to do that, than Jade. After all, I'm sure you'd love to visit your grandma for a week or two, isn't that right? And don't worry about not having enough stuff, we'll pick up whatever we need over there. So, grab your clothes, get changed and lets get moving!" The three sisters jumped up and glomped onto Naruto, grins threatening to take over their faces as they pulled out some clothes and ran into the mansion with Jaliera, appearing several minutes later fully dressed and eager to go.

Naruto looked back at the others and held up a hand, stopping everyone in their tracks. "Um... before you guys go over, lemme see if I'll have the same problem from when I botched that seal. Remember that Kurama was fading away and I had to pretty much lock him up? I'd rather not do that to him again if I can avoid it." Turning back to the portal, Naruto stepped through, a similar feeling to when he used the hiraishin washing over him. As Naruto stood on the grassy plains of the Seer's Desert, a quick check of the energy flowing through his system caused the man to grin. 'Well, looks like the only reason you were fading was because of the phase shift, maybe we were unable to establish a link with the natural energy on this plane because of it? Well, that's something for Theo to figure out later, we should be fine here even if we stay for an extended period of time.' A relived sigh from Kurama caused Naruto to grin and wave at the watching girls, the four beauties grinned and ran forward and joined our hero as he looked around the beautiful grasslands.

Brittany crossed her arms under her breasts as she grinned at her friend, shaking her head in amusement. "How long have you been planning this?"

Naruto chuckled as he adopted a pensive look. "Hmmm, I'd say, probably since we got back to Earth. I had to work out the planning and timing to get things right, after all I couldn't have any of you suspecting that I was planning this kind of surprise. Actually it was Seance's idea, he mentioned he was going home for the summer to visit his family so I decided that we should tag along." Just as Naruto finished speaking, Seance and Genn stepped through the portal. As Seance walked towards Naruto the young Aura mage bumped his fist with his friend, walking past the group as if looking for something. A loud exclamation of "Ah hah!" and everyone was treated to a sight of a town appearing out of thin air, it's many buildings and variety of people causing the group to gasp in awe.

Seance grinned as he presented the town in a flourish. "Welcome to Seer's Hamlet, my home."

On a balcony overlooking the entrance to Seer's Hamlet, a short woman was looking at the newest arrivals to the hidden town, her senses tingling as an unknown type of energy was drawing closer to herself and her associates. Turning towards the approaching group, the woman's eyes narrowed as she studied the young people below her.

"Weapons Master G'nolga, do you see something that catches your eye?" The now identified G'Nolga looked over at her associate, Hanzo, and grinned.

"Yes, I do Hanzo. Cruk, use the spyglass on that group, I think we'll be pleasantly surprised at the results." G'Nolga watched as Cruk, a Wart Ogre stepped forward and passed the spyglass over the first three members of the group.

"UUhnnurgh GuhHn. kUgHHuhh DURRH. UBlech." G'Nolga smile grew more devious as she listened to the report from her associate.

"Hmmm, a polished cyan-green aura with shimmers of bright wisps. A talented young mage with great untapped magical ability, very nice. The one the appears to be a Djinn spawn, the Rakashasa has a faded red glow? Decently powerful, but low on energy, good. Wait, did I hear you right? Brown with glowing white sparkles? Well, that tall blonde girl's not what we're looking for. Cruk, what about the other four, tell me about that were-cat." As Cruk let G'Nolga know that the two other blonde women had next to no magical talent, the furry woman with a topknot possessed a decent amount of magical energy and finally...

With Naruto and Co

As Brianna and the girls were looking at the market, doing what women do best when presented with an opportunity to shop, a loud roar of pain echoed through the market, everyone looking up towards a set of balconies overhead. A loud guttural voice began to say something, causing Naruto to slide over to Seance and elbow him softly. "What the heck is that and what is it saying?"

Seance looked over at Naruto and shook his head, obviously confused about something. "It... it sounds like a Wart Ogre. I'm a little rusty, but it sounds like he's saying, "MY EYE, OH GREAT MAKER MY EYE, MAKE THE PAIN STOP!'... I think." As Seance finished his translation, every female that arrived on Jade with the blonde shinobi turned and glared at him, causing Naruto to wave his hands in the air.

"What!? I just got here! I haven't even done anything yet! I haven't even created a clone yet!"

Back on the balcony

Cruk was on the ground, covering the eye he had been using for the spyglass, his pitiful whimpers causing G'Nolga to frown as she leaned forward and picked up the fallen item. Squinting before looking through the device, G'nolga bit back a scream as she dropped the magical item, rubbing at the stinging organ.

"An intense, bright blue aura with a core of crimson flames, it's almost like looking into the sun... I have never seen an aura like that before, that one is different from any other human I have ever seen. I think I'll have to keep an eye on him..."

Just as G'Nolga was observing our hero, a new arrival to the market district also saw the blonde shinobi and studied the man before him, his senses telling him that there was something very off about the man before him. Gar, jag-were member of the Edge Guard and friend to the Diggers family, watched as the blonde haired man walked towards a stall that was selling various weapons and began picking several of them up, handling them with an expert hand as he inspected the craftsmanship. As the weapons vendor that was trying to foist his wares on the blonde became more and more pushy, the blonde haired man tried to tell him to go away until he finally threw the man into his store, causing Gar's gaze to narrow. Walking towards the unsuspecting blonde(HAH!), Gar put his hand on the man's shoulder and spun him around. "Sir, I need you to come with me, now."

Naruto looked up at the obvious were-cat and shook his head at the request. "Sorry man, I don't swing that way, go find someone else to bug." Naruto pushed Gar's hand off of his shoulder and walked towards anther stall, not paying attention to the annoyed look of the man behind him. Gar growled and grabbed the blonde haired man by the back of his shirt. 'Well, I gave him the chance to come quietly, so public humiliation it is.' The blonde began to squirm and yell at Gar to let him go or, "You'll really be sorry!"

After several steps, Gar was confused the man had stopped spouting his protests, when suddenly he lost his balance as the weight he had been dragging drastically dropped. Looking behind him, Gar saw a log on the ground and the man he had tried to bring in standing in front of another shop, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Growling softly, the jag-were reassesed his quarry and assumed he must be some type of mage with how had disappeared from his grasp. Gar stalked towards the blonde, spun him around and punched him in the gut, hoping to disable him long enough him to a mage containment cell and interrogate him. Just as the hit landed, the body before Gar exploded in white smoke, blinding the jag-were to the danger rapidly approaching him from behind. A vicious roundhouse kick to the side of his face sent Gar skidding along the ground, scattering merchandise and patrons as he slammed into a storefront. Shaking his head to clear the ringing in his ears, Gar slowly stood and saw a very pissed off blonde haired man cracking his knuckles as he stood in front of him, the people in the streets scurrying away to give the two combatants room. 'I think I'm gonna need my elemental weapon for this one.'

"Wanna try again asshole? I can keep going all day..." Naruto growled at the young man he had sent flying into a shop, watching the were-cat rise to his feet slowly as he held his arms before him, as if he was holding a staff or spear when suddenly a spear actually did appear in his hands, lightning skittering up and down the weapon's length. Spinning the obviously magical weapon in his hands expertly, Naruto reached for his weapons pouch, undoing the catch and dipping his hand inside and fingering a kunai.

"Oh I see, now you're bringing out the big guns huh? Well BRING I..." Naruto suddenly slammed into the ground, a cloud of dust spreading out from the impact. Gar looked at the scene in confusion until he saw the person that had attacked the blonde, a grin forming as he watched Brittany Diggers standing over the prone blonde, a scowl gracing her beautiful features.

Naruto growled loudly and jumped to his feet, spinning around and staring into the green eyes of a seriously annoyed Brittany Diggers. Seconds later a clawed finger was jabbing Naruto's chest and forcing him to step back towards the guy he had just hit.

"Naruto! That's our friend Gar, what are you doing hitting him like that!" Naruto was caught so off balance he tried to stammer out an apology before he stopped, spun around and pointed dramatically at the Jag-were that was standing their with a confused expression at the latest development.

"The guy wanted me to go with him, for what I have no idea! Then when I said no he tried to kidnap me! I don't know what kind of friend he is but I wasn't going to let him get his hands on me!" Gar adopted a 'Why me?' expression and Brittany did the only thing that she could in this situation. Naruto watched in confusion as Brittany rolled on the ground, laughing her head off and attracting the attention of her sisters. Gina walked forward, looping her arms around Naruto's and grinning at Gar.

"Hey Gar, I see you met my boyfriend Naruto! Naruto this is Gar, member of the Edge Guard, think of them like cops for the entire realm... Cheetah, what are you doing down there?" As Brittany pounded the ground, laughing up a storm, Naruto looked at the sheepish Gar and sighed. Grabbing a giggling Brittany and planting her on her feet, Naruto turned to Gar and shook his head at the obviously embarrassed man.

"Well shit... you know, maybe you should have identified yourself as a cop, then I wouldn't have attacked you... oh who am I kidding, I still would have kicked your ass but I would have felt bad about it at least. Anyways, got a place I can drop Giggles here off at? I'm starving."

Meanwhile, at the Dragon's Jaw Inn

"He's late, again. Seriously, my brother is really turning into a flake Thorpan." A petite jag-were sighed as she folded her arms behind her head and leaned back, wondering what was keeping her brother Gar this time.

"C'mon Sheila, you know as well as I do that he's going through a rough patch in his life right about now. After finally getting the nerve up to let Brittany know how he feels about her, he got shot down." The were-panther Thorpan took a sip of the drink he was nursing as he looked at the tavern, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

"Yeah, got you a point... What do you think, Tirga? Tirga?" Sheila looked to her right and scowled at the scene before her. The final patron of the table, Tirga, was currently observing the sight before him... the sight of a very scantily clad Amazon breeder that was none the wiser to the unwanted attention.

"Good luck getting his attention Sheila... Tirga is busy studying the 'moon', so to speak."As Tirga continued to stare at the sight before him, he never noticed that the amazon he was ogling had been warned by her companion about the unwanted attention. While Tirga watched the ass before him continue to move enticingly, the Amazon spun around rapidly and performed a rising kick, catching the stupefied were-tiger in the jaw and knocking him out of his seat. As Tirga landed flat on his back, the amazon's staff slammed into the ground, breaking the floorboard between Tirga's legs, catching the playboy's complete attention.

"Rather than watching my backside, always watch an amazon's hands and feet!" The miffed woman sauntered off, leaving a chuckling Tirga as he picked himself up and sat back in the booth with his team.

"Alright, laugh it up you two, I know you want to so lets get this over with." Tirga watched as Sheila adopted a shocked expression as she laid her mug on the table.

"Tirga, we're your comrades! More importantly, your friends! Would Thropan and I be so unfeeling and cruel to as to laugh at you and your crushed ego right after getting kapowied for ogling amazon ass?" Tirga looked at his companions with a deadpan expression, which was the final straw as both Thropan and Sheila laughed loudly, Thorpan hitting his fist against the top of the table and Sheila nearly falling out of the booth and onto the ground. Tirga then smirked and rested his hands behind his head as he listened to the laughter and shrugged.

"Heh, it was worth it." As Tirga reached for his drink, the door to the tavern opened and Sheila brightened as Gar walked in, the jag-were's good cheer changing to confusion when her brother held the door open instead of walking towards their table. As several others entered the tavern, Sheila grinned and dropped her mug to the table once more, leaping over the table and walking up to the new arrivals.

"Gina! Brianna! Brittany? What are you three doing here, I thought that the wedd..." Sheila trailed off as a hand came out of nowhere and clamped down her her mouth, causing the jag-were to tense up as a voice softly whispered in her ear

"Um, your not going to want to mention the wedding, there was a problem and I think we'll leave it at that. So, promise not to scream when I let go?" As Sheila nodded quickly, she felt the pressure on her mouth vanish and the jag-were whirled around, angry with herself that she had let someone get the drop on her and wanting to give the bastard a piece of her mind. Looking back at the blondes that had entered the room, both Gina and Brianna were shaking their heads in exasperation while Brittany struggled to hold in her laughter. Sheila's eyes narrowed until she felt a hand gently tug on her tail, causing the jag-were to jump in the air, screaming bloody murder. A loud laugh echoed across the tavern, causing Sheila to growl in annoyance and pull Ice Fang from storage, preparing a wide area ice spell.

"WHOA, ok Sheila, that's enough! Naruto, stop antagonizing my sister please or else the enter room will be on ice faster than you can blink." Sheila nearly screamed as a person appeared beside her, a blonde haired man that grinned at the jag-were mischievously as he ruffled her hair.

"Don't sweat it kid, someday when you grow up you'll be as good a fighter as your brother I'm sure, but till then keep practicing!" Naruto frowned as he saw Gar shaking his head and backing away quickly, Gina and Brianna both preformed a face palm and Brittany shook her head in disappointment. Naruto felt his hand grow extremely cold and looked at the girl under his palm, ice swirling around the blade she held in her hand.

"KID?! ICE KAPOWIE!""

Genn and Seance were just about to enter the in the group was going to be staying at when an explosion of ice rose up in the air from the general location that Naruto and the others had gone. Genn looked at Seance and the Aura-Mage sighed, shaking his head. "Naruto... I should have known he'd get into trouble as soon as possible."

Back at the tavern

Gina watched in amazement as Naruto was completely engulfed in a shard of ice a dozen feet tall and ten feet thick, the look of complete surprise on the man's face causing her to giggle loudly. Brianna joined in after a moment and soon the entire tavern was laughing uproariously at the human popsicle before them. Sheila was breathing deeply as she tried to calm down, realizing she may have gone a little overboard with that last attack. Sheila watched as Brittany came forward and tapped the pillar of ice, looking at the man trapped inside with a quizzical expression.

"Is he ok in there?" Sheila growled as she turned away from the frozen man, walking back over to her table and plopping down in her seat.

"So what, serves the jerk right! He can freeze for all I care!" As Sheila put her feet up on her table and closed her eyes, a high pitched whine was heard and a very large metallic object was shoved into the young woman's face. Sheila opened her eyes and was treated to the sight of a fully charged photon cannon aimed at her forehead, said cannon being held by a maniacally grinning Brianna.

"I suggest you start caring and get my boyfriend out of there, I'd like him in one piece, he's already trained so I really would hate to lose him. Not to mention Gina would be pissed about losing Naruto too and no one wants to see a pissed Gina." Sheila looked behind Brianna and nearly squeaked in fear at the cold hard gaze that Gina was directing at her, making the jag-were realize that maybe it was in her best interested to let Naruto go. Standing quickly, Sheila pulled Ice Fang free and willed the structure to shatter, dropping a shivering Naruto to the floor. Brianna lowered her weapon as she pulled Naruto to his feet, holding the man in her arms as she glared at Sheila. Gina looked around and saw the bartender holding out a blanket for her, a gesture that made the archeologist nod in thanks as she wrapped her shivering boyfriend up in it. Gina and Brianna helped Naruto to a seat, glaring at the contrite jag-were as they passed. Just as Sheila was about to apologize for the incident, Naruto looked towards her with a smirked and a wink, causing Sheila to raise Ice Fang again. Just as she was about to unleash her Ultra Mega Ice Kapowie Combo, Gar's hand lashed out and grabbed his sister's wrist, stopping her strike and shaking his head at his struggling sister.

"Sheila, I think you've done enough, go cool off, we'll talk about this later." Sheila opened her mouth to argue with her brother but a stern glare cut her off, sending the jag-were storming from the tavern. Naruto pulled the blanket tighter around him as he watched Sheila leave, his eyes following the young woman as she angrily pushed her way through the crowd.

The real Naruto was currently sitting on top of the Tavern, receiving all the memories of what had just transpired. Chuckling softly, Naruto watched as Sheila ran through the town and decided to follow her via the roof tops, the pair of them now heading for a small group of buildings that were separate from the rest of Seer's Hamlet. Naruto watched Sheila enter a building and several minutes later the jag-were was sitting on a balcony, her arms wrapped around her knees as she looked out over Seer's Hamlet, the annoyance she felt displayed openly on her face. 'Well, guess now's a good a time as any to get my ass kicked. Oh shut up, Furball...' Naruto blocked out the mocking laughter from his tenant, leapt forward and landed on the railing of the balcony lightly, his hands held up in a gesture of peace. "Hey, I just want to apologi... OH SHIT!" Naruto back flipped off of the railing and down to the ground, a spike of ice ripping through the railing that he had just occupied and it's shattered debris now raining down on his head. Naruto looked up and saw Sheila jump from the balcony, Ice Fang raised above her head and a roar passing her lips. Naruto dove away from the falling jag-were, the ground he had been standing on icing over as Sheila lunged at him again, her sword flashing out rapidly as she tried to tag him. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he dove, dodged, dipped and ducked like a master, the flashing blade passing mere millimeters from his skin as he danced around the furious woman's attacks.

"STAND STILL AND TAKE IT LIKE A MAN!" Naruto grimaced as he slid his hand into his weapons pouch and pulled a slim senbon free, twirling the deadly needle between his fingers quickly as he rushed forward, intent on stopping the fight with the least amount of bloodshed. As Sheila slashed at the dervish before her once more, Naruto dodged towards her right side, the previous exchange of blows having given the shinobi a chance to observe Sheila's technique and determine which of her hands was the stronger of the pair. A quick jab of the senbon he held and Sheila's hand locked up, causing the woman to gasp in surprise as her hand fell from her weapon and she began to backpedal from the dangerous adversary before her. Naruto sprung forward, grabbing Ice Fang from her left hand and slammed it point first into the ground while Sheila fell back in fear. Crouching down, Naruto looked at the scared girl before him and flashed an apologetic smile.

"Now, can we talk without you trying to skewer me? And give me your hand, if you pull that needle out wrong you'll damage the muscles." Sheila timidly looked at the man before her, his smile never leaving his face as he waited for Sheila's response, his hand still out towards her. Sheila slowly presented her hand to the man and watched as he gently grasped her palm and slowly teased the needle from her flesh, a brief twinge of pain the only sign it had even been there. Moments after it was removed Sheila was able to move her fingers again and looked at the blonde man in shock. Naruto stood and offered his hand to the young woman once more, a gesture that had Sheila wondering if she really should be trust the man before her. "Oh come on, I don't bite... well, not that much." A cheesy grin caused Sheila to giggle at the lame joke and she finally took the offered hand and stood beside Naruto, watching the man seemingly collecting his thoughts.

"Hmmm, I see, so that's why you got so angry with me... Really? Huh, that must suck..." Sheila looked on in confusion as the man seemed to have a one sided conversation with himself, till he looked up and saw the confused looking woman. "Oh, sorry bout that, my clone in the Tavern is getting the story of why you reacted the way you did and he's sending me the details. So you have a birth defect that makes you look younger than you are, now I understand why you blew up at me." Sheila pouted as she turned away from Naruto and ignored him. "Look, I'm really sorry, I totally understand what it's like to be smaller than everyone, I had the same problem when I was younger. Lets go back, I'll take full responsibility for this whole fiasco, I'll even buy you lunch! Come on, please?" Sheila glanced over her shoulder and nearly giggled at the pathetic look Naruto was sending her way.

"Oh alright, you twisted my arm..." Just as Sheila turned around Naruto held his hand up and cocked his head to the side.

"Wait a second, someone named Onoli just showed up and started talking about your new assignment. Something involving mages disappearing?" As Sheila nodded, Naruto's eyes widened as he turned back to Seer's Hamlet.

"Oh shit, I came here with two magic users, I think I better go check on them." Just as Naruto was about to leap away a hand on his forearm stopped him in his tracks.

"Not without me your not, this is a job for the Edge Guard so I'm coming with you." Naruto looked at the results of their little 'spar and the determined look on Sheila's face, nodding his agreement. Just as Sheila was about to run towards the town, Naruto scooped the surprised Jag-were in his arms and grinned.

"Well, if your coming with me, we're going to get there Shinobi style, it'll be faster!" Naruto leapt towards the nearest building and jumped along the rooftops, Sheila laughing loudly as her new ride nearly flew over the rooftops of Seer's Hamlet, the pair rapidly entered the city to check on Naruto's friends.

With Seance and Genn

'Sure, get Genn alone, talk about this whole thing going on between me and her, it seemed like such a good idea at the time!' Seance grimaced as he strengthened his Aura shield, the dwarf woman facing off against him smirking as her weapon ripped through the enchantment as if it were tissue paper.

"Ooh, nice try, that Electric Shield would have been perfect if I was using a metallic weapon. Sadly, mine is simple wood with dwarven iron tips. Now, lets be reasonable, both of you should just give up and come quietly, you're both completely outmatched." Seance looked behind him and saw that Genn had been knocked out by the masked swordsman, leaving the dwarf and her wart ogre both free to attack to attack him.

'If there was ever a time I really wanted Naruto to be here, now's that time.' Just as the wart ogre raised his hand to deliver a punishing blow, a loud knock echoed through the room, causing everyone stop, look at each other then turn towards the door.

"HOUSEKEEPING! YOU WANT ME TO CHANGE THE SHEETS AND TOWELS?" Seance's attackers shrugged at each other and the swordsman turned to the door to deal with the annoyance.

"No, we're fine here, we don't need anything!" Just as the swordsman finished a fist blasted through the door, sending the man rolling on the ground towards his comrades. The door was then violently kicked off of it's hinges and the blonde man that had nearly blinded Cruk with his Aura earlier walked in, smirking as he spun a strange dagger around his finger lazily.

"Oh no, I insist you take what I'm offering. Free asskicking's for all intruders, with a side of ICE!" Naruto leapt towards the wall, clearing the doorway for Sheila to run in and lift Ice Fang over her head. Naruto grinned and launched his kunai at the wart ogre as Sheila charged forward, a wall of ice cutting off the dwarf fighting Seance to give him some breathing room. Naruto watched as the wart Ogre batted the dagger aside, not paying it any mind as the weapon fell to the ground and completely ignoring the tag wrapped around the handle. With a vicious grin Naruto made a hand sign and a explosion slammed the ogre into a wall, disorienting it and briefly taking it out of the fight. As Seance turned towards the new arrivals, the dwarf he had been facing somehow managed to pierce the wall of ice, sending large chunks of frozen liquid skittering across the floor and she also nicked the side of Seance's head, sending the young man spinning to the ground. Naruto growled as he leapt towards the dwarf, her arrogant smirk causing Naruto to remember an old comrade as he dodged the rapidly spinning dual sectioned staff. Naruto began to move like lightning, never standing still for more than a second as he wove around the deadly weapon, the staff wielder's expression turning from arrogant to concerned the more she attempted to hit the interloper. Sheila raised Ice Fang once more, sending another line of ice towards the spinning weapon to try and slow down the dwarf to give Naruto a chance to strike but the dwarf leapt over top of Naruto, trying to get behind him and past his defenses, but it was all for naught as an exact copy of the blonde appeared and kept the spinning staff at bay with a pair of kunai. Both Naruto's dropped to the floor without warning, narrowly dodging a thrown dresser and the real Naruto raised his hand, a rasengan forming as he slammed it into the wart ogre's gut and sent the creature spinning through the outer wall and into the street while his clone continued to keep the dwarven woman busy. The dwarf grunted as she leapt over another blast of ice, keeping an angry Sheila at bay as the swordsman recovered from the earlier cheap shot and grabbed Genn, the pair deciding that escape was more important as they ran from their attackers. Naruto growled as he looked at the blown out wall, seeing a nearby building he could use as a jumping point. "Sheila, you chase after them, I'll cut'em off!" Sheila watched as Naruto made an impossible leap across the street, landing on the side of the nearby building and as she ran towards the hole in the wall she watched in awe as he ran up the side of the building until he reached the top, a powerful back flip sending him catapulting across the street once more and onto the inn's rooftop. Shaking herself awake form her awe, Sheila ran for Seance, checking if he was ok as the Aura mage slowly stood and waved off her help, pointing towards the doorway.

"Forget about me, I'll be alright, get Genn!" Sheila nodded as she spun towards the the door, sprinting for the exit since she really didn't want to miss what Naruto would do next.

With G'Nolga and Hanzo

As Hanzo struggled with a recently awoken Genn, G'Nolga was steaming at the debacle this snatch and grab was becoming. 'Not only did we lose Cruk, but that thrice damned human with the decidedly inhuman aura is chasing us now! Ooooh, this is gonna be a bad day, I can already tell.' As the trio exited the inn, they screeched to a halt at the sight of another jag-were, a well built male that was blocking their path to freedom.

"Well well, what do we have here? Another Edge Guard, all ready to fight the 'bad guy'. Pity that you'll be dying here all alone, but take heart in knowing that you were done in by a true expert." G'Nolga's confident attitude diminished somewhat as the Jag-were grinned and held up a single finger pointing into the air.

"Ah, Weapons Master G'Nolga, I do recognize you and I will admit that I am completely outmatched by you. But, I must direct your attention up above, towards the sun... and the moon about to eclipse it. An event that allows me to do... this!" Gar raised his fists and energy began to flow through his body, expanding his muscles and causing G'Nolga to frown and clench her muscles in preparation.

'The Lunar Rave, only one in a million were folk can do that! This is no time to play around, I need to take this whelp seriously!' G'Nolga's muscles tensed as she channeled her all her will, all her concentration on a single blow. Her sectioned staff lashed out, the force of the blow ripping through the floor as the deadly tool raced towards it target, but G'Nolga's strike hit nothing but air as the jag-were leapt over his opponent, his feet grasping the dwarf's neck and flipping her into the air and far away from the inn. G'Nolga wore a slack jawed expression as she crashed into a tree far outside of the town, her mind replaying an event that happened years ago. 'That move... that was the same cheap move Julia used on me to steal the Arms-Master title from me! He's a student of Julia... hmmm, this could work out to my advantage after all.'

Back with Hanzo

Hanzo backed away form the powerful jag-were as he dropped his squirming cargo on the ground, deciding that flight was more important than valor. "Oh, would you look at the time! I'm late for an... aw screw it, I'm out of here!" Grabbing a ring from his pouch, Hanzo grinned beneath his mask as he went to place it on his finger. 'Ah, I'm so glad I grabbed this ring of invisibility from one of those mages we kidnapped.' Just as the ring was about to touch his finger, a shadowy form dropped in front of Hanzo and grabbed his wrist, preventing the swordsman from donning the magical artifact. A suddenly fearful Hanzo looked into the angry eyes of the blonde that had decked him earlier, his once blue orbs a dangerous crimson.

"Attacking my friends was a bad move." Hanzo watched in morbid fascination as a glowing ball of energy rapidly formed in the man's hand, the swordsman's eyes widening as it was then thrust into his gut and he was sent spinning rapidly into another building across the street, a loud crash signifying his abrupt landing. Gar looked at the damage with wide eyes and looked back at the new grinning blonde beside him.

'Yeah, I think getting into a fight with him by myself would be a bad move.' Gar watched as Naruto leapt towards the demolished building that Hanzo impacted, the blonde digging through the debris to locate their suspect. While Naruto was doing that, Sheila burst out of the inn, taking in the destruction around her and stamped her foot, pouting as she crossed her arms under her breasts.

"No fair, I missed the rest of the action!" Before Gar could ask his sister what she was doing her a frustration yell was heard across the street, catching the attention of both jag-were's

"Dammit, he's gone! Sonofabitch must have a way to go invisible..." Naruto walked back to the inn, frustration apparent on his face as he watched the rest of the Edge guard and his friends run up to the inn. As Gina and Brianna saw Naruto with Sheila and her brother they looked at the destroyed buildings around them, shook their heads and looked at Naruto expectantly. "What? It wasn't my fault! Should I have just let them kidnap Genn and Seance? Or I could have... hang on a minute, what the heck Hime, why didn't you tell me you could transform?" Immediately everyone stopped talking and looked at the half were-cheetah in shock, seeing how she had somehow shifted into a shorter version of Brittany's normal hybrid form but with a few more human characteristics, such as rounded ears. Brianna looked at the fur covering her body in shock and squeaked cutely when she felt a newly formed tail batting against her leg. Naruto grinned as he ran his hand through his girlfriend's fur, the action causing the girl to purr loudly at the wonderful feeling. "Heh, guess I don't need a blanket anymore, do I Hime?"

After dropping Genn and Seance off at a local clinic, the Edge Guard decided that they should keep an eye on the Diggers and their friends, just in case G'Nolga decided that she wanted to get even with the group or try and capture the magic users in their party. Unfortunately, Edge Guard HQ was a little over crowded at the moment, several rooms that could have been used as temporary bedrooms were full of necessary suppiles for the groups many adventures. As such, people were going to have to share, which presented it's own set of problems. Jaliera was fine bunking with Sheila and fortunately there was a spare room in the compound for the Diggers sisters to share, but that left... "Oh no, I ain't sharing a room with someone other than my girls, last time I shared a room with a guy we started an epic battle that spilled over to the rest of the guests in the inn. I'll camp out somewhere else, it's all good." Naruto turned to leave but a strong hand on his shoulder stopped him, the concerned gaze of Onoli meeting Naruto's confused look over his shoulder.

"Unfortunately, you were instrumental in G'Nolga's defeat, meaning that you are in more danger than anyone else. We need you nearby, just in case she decides to strike so that we can protect you." Naruto laughed under his breath, turned to face Onoli and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Um, I don't think you really understand just how wrong you are. If I was a wet behind the ears Genin, I'd be inclined to agree with you, I'd be worried that I'd be attacked by this G'Nolga. But, I'm not a Genin, meaning that I can look after myself. Besides," Onoli tensed up as he felt the point of a sharp kunai resting against his neck, having not even felt the approach of the person behind him, "if she can get the drop on me then she deserves to kill me. See you in the morning girls!" Naruto took several steps outside and waved as he walked away, disappeared from sight before even taking a dozen steps. All of the Edge Guard looked at each other then back at the spot that Naruto had vanished from, the same thought running through each of their minds. Just who, or what, was Uzumaki Naruto?

Next Morning

Naruto yawned as he woke up, his eyes being greeted by the blinding light of the rising sun from the perch in a convenient tree he had found last night. Stretching as he sat up, Naruto yawned and cleared the sleep from his eyes, looking around his surroundings. A large field stretched out below him and Naruto grinned as he saw the tell tale signs of a training field, large furrows of earth and scorch marks dotting the landscape. As Naruto continued to observe the landscape before him, a trio of chakra signatures entered the field, causing the blonde to see who had arrived so early. Naruto grinned as he watched Gar yawn loudly, Thorpan stretching his muscles as he entered the field and Onoli appearing as if he had already been up for hours. Naruto smirked as he vaulted off of the branch, landing in front of the three were cats and causing them all to shift into defensive stances.

"Whoa! Sorry guys, didn't mean to scare ya, just wondered what you were up to." Gar and Thorpan looked at Onoli, the large were-lion shrugging as he turned back towards Naruto.

"Well, we're here for our early morning training. If you'd like to observe, you're more than welcome to do so." Naruto laughed loudly, confusing the trio as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Observe, oh that's a good one. Nah, I was hoping to get some training in as well, how about we have a little spar? I'll even give you guys a handicap, the three of you against me!" Both Onoli and Thorpan looked at the blonde as if he had grown a second head, the fact he wanted to take on three were-cats at the same time causing them both to think there may be something wrong with the man. Only Gar had a vague idea of what Naruto could do and he knew that the man before him was formidable, scarily so. Gesturing towards Onoli, Gar whispered into his ear for several minutes, causing the were-lion to look at him in surprise.

"Really? Well then, we accept your challenge Naruto, any terms you'd like to make?" Naruto grinned as he pulled a pair of trench knives from his pouch, a pair similar in design to the ones that were used by one of his old teachers, Sarutobi Asuma.

"Nah, just go wild, trust me, you'll need it. Oh, one more thing, that weapon you showed me yesterday Gar? Can it be fixed easily if it gets damaged?" Gar looked over at Thorpan, weapon-smith of the Edge guard and the were-panther nodded.

"The enchantments laid into the weapons allow them to reform if broken, the only thing that is required is time. Unless they are completely obliterated, they will recover." Naruto's grin grew as his weapons took on a pale blue glow that extending past the metal blades by several feet.

"Good."

Back in the main Compound

Sheila and a very tired Jaliera were silently making their way towards the room occupied by the Diggers girls, Sheila's room mate yawning as she wished she could spend a few more minutes in bed. 'Mmmm, I had such an amazing dream, maybe the day I can make it a reality is closer than I think. I'm going to have to talk to the girls and get this figured out, I'm sick of leaving this hanging over our heads.' A sensual smirk appeared on the Kryn's face as she thought of what could happen after her talk, but as soon as her roommate turned around it disappeared just as quickly. Sheila gently knocked on the door and opened it, the occupants groaning at being disturbed so early... well, early for them that is. Gina rubbed her eyes and looked up at the jag-were with a pitiful expression, nearly causing her to burst out laughing, her sister's covering their heads with their pillows to block out the sound.

"Ok, lets go, we better get to the pond before the guys muck it up after their early morning training. I put a purify-water potion in the pond last night, it should be clear of mosquito's and other pests until tonight. " Sheila grinned as he led the tired line of girls towards the pond, not noticing that all of them were looking at Sheila in confusion. Brittany was squinting at the image before her, thinking that she was seeing things.

"Sheila? Did you grow a couple feet during the night? And why aren't you in your hybrid form?" Sheila grinned as the group neared the pond and slowly began to remove her nightclothes and looked back at the group.

"No, I have a little... 'birth defect' if you will. Something happened to me when I was baby and now all of my speed, power and well... size, are part of my human form rather than my hybrid. I'm using it right now cause parts of the pond are deep and well... I'm not that good of a swimmer." As the group dipped their feet into the pond, the girls moaned aloud and sunk into the water, grinning widely at a smirking Sheila. A mock glare from Brianna cause Sheila to laugh as she stepped into the pond, enjoying the warmth that enveloped her.

"You could have told us it was heated!" Sheila grinned as she lowered her body into the warm water, her grin never leaving her face as she neared the group of girls.

"Hah, I had to see the look on your faces when you realized that your not in a backwater little town. Anything you need is at your hands in Seer's Hamlet, even a warm bath. You know, I wonder what the guys are doing right now?"

With the guys

Onoli and Thorpan were hiding behind a boulder, both of the were-cats clothes looking worse for wear as they took a moment to recover. Thorpan looked around the boulder, not seeing their opponent and turned back to Onoli with a wild eyed expression.

"Just what the hell was that?! He's been dodging around as if he has a permanent "Wings of the Zephyr" enchantment, not to mention his strength is unreal! Do you really think he's a normal human?" Just as Onoli was about to voice his opinion, Gar flew over the top of the boulder, groaning as he landed in a heap at his teammate's feet. Ad Thorpan pulled the jag-were up from his prone position, Onoli looked back and saw a calm Naruto standing in the middle of the field... reading a book?

"It appears our friend is something of a combat master. But his style, his techniques are like nothing I have ever seen before." Looking back at the spot Naruto was standing at, Onoli's eyes widened as the blonde disappeared suddenly, turning back to his teammates and grabbing their shoulders. "SCATTER!"

As the were-cats threw themselves away from their cover, a screeching sound rattled their eardrums as the bolder they had been using as cover exploded into a million pieces, small specks of stone bouncing off of their skin as then rolled to their feet. Naruto pulled his hand from the ground, shook the dust from his hand and turned to the apprehensive trio once more.

"So, had enough of a break yet?"

Back with the girls

Just as Sheila was about to relax, a soft chuckle caused her eyes to open in shock as she spotted her teammate Tirga standing behind a half submerged boulder in the pond, his lecherous eyes feasting on the veritable buffet of females before him.

"Well well, what a pleasant surprise. I never expected you all to be here so early, I must admit you all look exceptionally 'exciting' this morning." As Tirga was about to continue speaking, the Digger's sister's glared at him and sunk into the pond to their necks, while Jaliera merely crossed her arms over her breasts while a spout of water formed behind her, a display of the Kryn woman's ire that didn't slip past the were-tiger's attention. Tirga grinned mischievously and made his way to the edge of the pond, exiting in such a way to give everyone of the woman a show of what the water was hiding. "But, I can see that you wish to be alone, so I will leave you be. Goodbye ladies." As the woman watched the were-tiger leave, Sheila growled softly, annoyed at the blatant attempt to seduce any of their friends. A soft "Hmph." caught Sheila's attention and the jag-were looked over at Jaliera, the woman grinning as she shook her head.

"Poor fool, he has no idea what he's started. Plus, I've seen better... so have Gina and Brianna." Both of the Diggers sisters that were named glared at the former Archon, a cheeky grin her only reply to the angry expression as Brittany laughed at the unspoken war between the trio. As Brianna rose out of the water, she noticed that Sheila was glaring at the retreating back of Tirga, sparks nearly flying from her gaze.

"Why Sheila, if I didn't know any better I'd think you had a crush on Tirga!" Brianna giggled as she turned back towards her sisters, not knowing the danger that she was in. Sheila turned around and cuffed the half werecheetah in the back of the head, growling as she clenched her fist in front of her.

"I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM!" As Sheila took deep breaths, attempting to calm down, she saw that Brianna was face down in the water, her sisters and Jaliera looking at her in shock at what had just occurred. Everyone scrambled forward, pulling the unresponsive girl form the water and checking her over. Brittany rose out of the water and grabbed Sheila in a choke hold, pulling the girl towards her and glaring at the now frightened young jag-were.

"What the hell is your problem! She was just teasing you, you could have killed her! She's not as tough as a normal were-cat, she's still half human!" As Gina and Jaliera both tried to revive Brianna, an old memory broke free from it's long slumber and exercised it's control over it's chosen vessel once more.

'I remember... I remember d-dying...no, I hid! I escaped! That mage.. Dr. diggers, he tried to kill me! So I hid, in a place even Brianna couldn't find me. Her mind's shadow, a perfect place to wait for the right moment. And now, now that moment has arrived. Grave Digger will hide no more!'

Again, review please! Reviews make me write faster!