"I expected Shinnosuke to follow you around," smirks Kisara. "He isn't the type that will accept defeat so easily."

Naruto walks next to Kisara. The two are leaving school and headings towards the Sumo Stables. "I believe…he went back to the mountains…to train." He stretches out his arm. "I look forward to…fighting him again."

Kisara knows that she will need to step up her own training. Shinnosuke managed to increase his strength by an incredible amount in such a short amount of time. If she wants to be able to help Naruto and the others fight against Yomi she will need to get stronger too. She is not going to be sitting around on the sidelines depending on the others to fight. This is her chance to show everyone that she is strong.

"Naruto-san!"

A large young man waves at the two. Thor walks towards Naruto with a large smile. "I was hoping you would stop by," laughs the sumo. "Kisara-san, it is good to see you too."

"Hey," smiles Kisara.

"Thor…good to see you."

Thor gains a challenging glint. "I have wanted to have a rematch against you. I hope you are ready, I plan on winning this time."

Naruto gives a smile that is hidden behind his mask. "I…am ready."

Break

Kenichi is running like a hamster in a large spinning wheel. "Master, Miu has been acting strange all day. She was running into poles and barely able to register anything that was going on around her." He stops for a second causing an electric shock to zap him. The boy screams in pain and begins to run faster.

"It is not surprising…tomorrow will be the day…" says Shigure cleaning her sword.

"The day?"

Akisame nods. "The day her parents passed away." Kenichi's eyes widen. He stops for a second causing another electric shock to zap him back into running.

Kensei examines the time left on the machine. "The unfortunate girl lost both her parents. When I came to Ryozanpaku I took the role of her father."

"More like you took the role of the enemy."

"That pisses me off, another 20 minutes." Kensei resets the timer. Kenichi screams as the wheel begins to move faster.

Apachai enters into the dojo. "Apa! Where is Miu?!"

"Leave her be," grunts Sakaki.

Nighttime

Naruto yawns lightly. It is time to head home and catch some sleep. He spent the entire day sparring with Thor and Kisara. Today was a great day. Too bad it is Sunday or he would spend time tomorrow doing much the same thing. Oh well, school isn't so bad. School is a good time to catch up with friends and gain a few extra hours of sleep.

"Meow."

The weapon disciple hears a familiar voice. Turning around, he spots Miu kneeling down in front of the window to the pet store. She is waving at the kittens on the other side of the glass. Naruto tilts his head in curiosity. What is she doing out here? Miu should be at home sleeping at this hour. "Miu…san?"

Miu spins around in surprise. "Naruto-san!" She stands up with a light blush. "What are you doing here?"

"I…am going…home." He stares at her. "What are…you doing?"

"I wanted to play with the kittens." Miu gives a sheepish smile. Naruto stares at her. A silence fills the air between them. She looks down at her feet. "Saw through that huh?"

He shrugs. "No need to…lie. If you don't want to tell me…that is fine."

She pushes a strand out of her face. Miu stares down at her feet. "Tomorrow I am visiting a gravestone that always makes me uneasy."

"Parents?"

"Yes."

"I never met…my parents." Naruto comes up beside Miu. He leans against the glass. "How…about you?"

Miu shakes her head. "No, I never met mine either." A longing look is in her eyes. "I often wonder what it would be like to know them. Haven't you ever wondered?"

The former ninja thinks deeply on the matter. "I…suppose I did when…I was younger." Naruto feels uncomfortable sharing such intimate feelings. Ninjas are taught to keep information about themselves secret or it can be used against them. He glances at Miu noticing that she is more relaxed while he is talking about his feelings. Against everything he was taught, he decides to continue. "All I remember…is that my parents died to save…me."

"Really?" Miu smiles softly. "I don't remember anything about my mother, but grandpa tells me that she died saving me."

Naruto places a hand on Miu's shoulder. "Giving one life for another…is the ultimate form of love…You should not be so uncomfortable when you go to her…grave." The old man told him that when he first asked about his parents. They gave their lives to protect him and the village, it was the ultimate sacrifice for everything that they loved. He was told to honor their deaths.

A giggle comes from the girl. "Thanks Naruto, I feel better." Miu steps away feeling light hearted and with her usual warm smile. "Do you think Kenichi will come with me to the grave? I think I will feel better with him around. Kenichi always seems to make me more at ease."

"I am sure…he will." Naruto pushes off the glass. He throws up a wave. "Good…night."

"Night Naruto!" waves Miu.

School

Makoto and Kisara are glaring at each other. "You trying to start a fight with me?" Kisara gains a predatory gleam. "I will gladly kick your ass."

"You may be stronger than me, but I am the one who went on a date with Naruto-kun." Makoto gives a superior smirk. "How many dates have you been on with him?" Kisara splutters. "I thought so!"

"Shut up!" Kisara's face is bright red. "I am not interested in him like that! We are friends!"

The smirk never leaves Makoto's face. She walks by Kisara humming a tune. "Whatever you say…loser!"

Kisara glares at the back of Makoto's head. "Just one good kick."

Ryozanpaku

Naruto looks over at the masters that are unusually quiet. Akisame is reading a book. Kensei is staring at a porn magazine while upside down, Sakaki is drinking a beer while sighing constantly, and Apachai is playing Othello alone. He sweat drops. The masters really have nothing to do with their time when Kenichi is gone. Miu, Kenichi, and the Elder went to go visit the gravestone of Miu's parents. Without a disciple to torture, the masters have way too much free time on their hands and don't have a clue what to do with it.

"Focus…"

On instinct, Naruto moves his arms in different directions knocking away six shuriken. In each hand he wields a wakizashi. Dual wielding swords is not that much different from using two kunai. The main difference is accounting for the reach so that he doesn't take his arms off. He holds the wakizashi in his right hand in a reverse grip and the one in his right hand is being held in a standard one-handed grip. Naruto moves around in a circle deflecting all the shuriken that come into his airspace.

Akisame watches Naruto deflect the shuriken from every direction. The boy is so used to being attacked from every angle that his body is acting on instinct. Naruto doesn't realize it, but he is starting to develop his Seikuken.

A ringing sound causes Naruto to turn his head. He sheaths the wakizashi on his back and walks over to his clothes. Shigure lands next to him with a curious look. Naruto pulls out a brand new cellphone that Kisara made him buy. Curiously, she is the one giving him a call. "Hello…?"

"Hey Naruto, can you get a break from training tomorrow?"

Shigure shakes her head. Naruto gives her a blank look. Tochumaru begins to shake his head too. The former ninja answers. "How…about Wednesday?"

"Fine! It is a date! I'll meet you at Matsui Café at 7, don't even think about being late!"

The line goes dead. Naruto wonders why Kisara is mad all the time. "A…date?" Shigure pokes Naruto's arm. "I want…to go on…a date."

"Chu!" Tochumaru nods.

Naruto gives her an incredulous look. "What about…training?" Shigure narrows her eyes. Tochumaru gives him the same look. "Ok…let's go on…a date."

Shigure and Tochumaru throw up their arms. "Yay! A…date!"

'Females are…weird,' thinks Naruto.

Botanical Garden

Miu kneels down smelling the roses. "Wow, it smells just like soap."

Kenichi smiles at Miu's enthusiasm. "Actually, soap is made to smell like those flowers." He points at a bush of flowers. "Go smell those." Miu eagerly runs over to the flowers.

"It smells like bananas!"

"Yep and those ones over there smell like cocoa."

"Wow, I had no idea you were so smart." Miu giggles. "I guess you have talent for other things besides getting beat up."

He gains a gloomy aura. "That was rude," whispers Kenichi. A smile appears on his face. Miu is returning to her normal self. He wonders if it would be ok now to ask about her father. On the gravestone that they visited, he knows that her father's name was missing. The masters told him that her parents died, but only her mother's name was on the gravestone. Why wasn't her father's name on the gravestone? 'I am just going to ask her.' "Hey Miu…" Kenichi turns around to find empty space. He blinks wondering where she went.

Botanical Garden

Sho stares up at the entangled bird. "Poor thing." He loves things that are able to fly. Birds are the most magnificent creatures in the world. It is a pity that the entire world is filled with so many bugs.

An angelic voice interrupts his thoughts. "What are you staring at?" Miu comes up behind Sho. She takes a look up and gasps upon noticing the entangled bird. "Oh no, the bird is entangled in some wire."

'Shit, I forgot to keep my presence concealed. Master is always yelling at me that I get too focused and forget about my surroundings.' Sho smiles as he remembers the many times he was scolded for his habit of fixating on a single object. He shrugs not concerned with it. 'I will free the bird and leave.' Showing amazing leg strength, he leaps high into the air and uses the nearest tree to spring even higher. Just as he is about to reach the bird, his eyes widen in shock. The girl behind him lands on the branch above him. Miu moves through the air like a feather dancing in the wind. Sho is absolutely captivated. 'She…she has wings!'

Miu gives a warm smile. "Will you hand me the bird?" Sho wordlessly does as told. He gently takes the bird handing it to the girl with wings. Humming, Miu carefully untangles the bird. The bird chirps in gratitude before flying off into the sky. "You are pretty good, are you a martial artist?"

"I finally found you! I have been searching forever for you!"

"What?!" blinks Miu.

Sho gets right into her face. Miu steps backwards touching the bark of the tree. "My name is Kano Sho! Let's go to the wide dark sky together!"

"Eh? Do you mean Yami?"

"Of course! Surely they will accept you!"

Miu's eyes narrow. "Are you a Yami assassin?!" Sho continues to smile. Her leg comes up straight up with such speed and power that it almost hits him. "Get away from me!"

"Wow, you really have similar movements to Furinji Saiga!" Sho easily dodges her next attack.

"Furinji Saiga?! You know him?"

Sho gets behind Miu putting an arm around her neck. "Of course I do. Naturally because I am part of Yami I have gathered all information on him." He leans in whispering into her ear. "If you come with me, I'll tell you everything you could want to know." Miu stares straight ahead not making any move to fight back.

Break

Kenichi walks outside the Botanical Gardens. He spent the past ten minutes trying to find Miu, but was unable to succeed in the task. It doesn't make any sense. Where did she go? Is it possible she headed home after getting separated?

A loud roaring sound makes him turn his head. Kenichi spots a motorcycle drive by him. There are two people on the motorcycle, but his eyes fixate on the passenger. "Miu?"

The girl on the back of the motorcycle turns her head around. 'Kenichi-san?' Her eyes shine with regret and pain. Kenichi grits his teeth. Those eyes, it is the entire reason he decided to grow stronger. It was to protect Miu from having such pain filled eyes. "Miu! Get back here! Kidnapper!" At speeds that no one knew Kenichi possessed, he takes off running.

Sho glances back. "Idiot, you can't keep up with a motorcycle." A smirk is on his face. Ryozanpaku's disciple will never catch him. This girl is going back to Yami with him and with her at his side they will be able to fly anywhere in the world! It is destiny that the two of them met.

A scream makes Sho's eyes widen in surprise. "Ultimate shortcut!" Miu turns her head in surprise as well. Kenichi took a shortcut by leaping from roof to roof. He uses all his strength to jump off the last roof. Reaching out with his arms, he manages to catch the back of the bike and make it swerve off balance before letting go. The bike spins out of control heading towards a lamp pole. Sho and Miu leap from the bike in perfect synchronization. Both perform a backflip landing in a crouch. 'He has the same movements as Miu,' gasps Kenichi.

"Ah! My bike!" Sho turns to face Kenichi with anger etched on his face. "This happened because you tried to be a bird, but you are just a flightless bug!"

"Shut up! You are a kidnapper! Let Miu go! Kidnapper! Pervert!" Kenichi senses an attack and his body moves on instinct. He barely avoids a powerful knife strike.

"Not bad, you managed to dodge me." Sho's eyes narrow. A huge killing intent begins to smash down upon Kenichi. "I would quit while you are ahead. I am seriously starting to get pissed."

Kenichi gets into his fighting stance. 'Such a huge killing intent. He is not normal!'

"Get lost or I'll break you!"

'If I compare it to my masters…' Kenichi stomps his foot down. He charges forward throwing a punch of his own. "You get lost!" Sho narrows his eyes. Kenichi sees the movement this time and barely dodges the high speed punch aimed at his chest. Stepping to the side, he aims a punch at Sho's face, but Sho raises his arm blocking the punch with little effort. Sho is about to throw another punch, but a person tackles Kenichi out of the way. "Tsch…" scowls Sho.

A handsome blonde haired boy pins Kenichi to the ground with his foot. "Tanimoto-kun?" gasps Kenichi in surprise. "What are you doing? Get off me!"

Tanimoto keeps his eyes trained on Sho. "Shut up. Look at your opponent before attacking." Inwardly, Tanimoto is impressed that Kenichi managed to see Sho's movements. That training in the mountains with the Elder truly paid off. "It has been a long time, Kano Sho. Or should I say, Sparna." Sho doesn't lose the dark expression that promises death. Kenichi stops struggling and gives Tanimoto a questioning look. "He is the leader of Yomi and a soldier of Yami."

"Hermit, it has been awhile." Sho's speaks in a cold tone. "Get out of my way, I am going to break that bug."

"Think so? God Hand will kill you."

Suddenly, the oppressive atmosphere disappears. Sho gulps looking incredibly scared. He smiles out of reflex. "Shit, I forgot about sensei." Reaching out, he grabs Miu's hand and begins to run. "Come on Miu, we need to get going."

Kenichi shouts out to the girl. "Miu, don't go!" Using all his strength, he manages to stand up pushing Tanimoto back. "I don't know what you are worrying about and I don't know if I can be of any use but…" Tanimoto grabs Kenichi by the legs knocking Ryozanpaku's disciple face first to the ground. "Someday…someday I'll definitely be able I'll get stronger as a man and a martial artist! I will protect you Miu-san! So don't lend that guy your power!"

Miu can feel the sincerity of Kenichi's words. Sho feels her hand slip out of his own. He turns around in confusion. "Miu, what is wrong?" Tanimoto will never say it aloud, but he is impressed that Kenichi managed to reach Miu.

"Sorry," whispers Miu.

Sho frowns, but soon gives a warm smile. "I understand. I shouldn't be too pushy with girls." A blush soon heats her face when he leans forward giving her a kiss on the cheek. Kenichi screams in anger. "There is nothing to be confused about. One day you will understand that you belong on our side. I'll be waiting until then." One last smile before he vanishes like a feather in the wind.

Tanimoto lets go of Kenichi. "Don't be a fool, you are not on that guy's level." He stares off into the distance. "To be honest, I don't want to fight him either."

Kenichi runs over to Miu. "Miu-san…"

Date

Naruto and Shigure walk through the mall with no real destination in mind. Shigure has never been on a date and Naruto really has no clue what to do. The only date he ever went on was with Makoto and he doubts that Shigure will want to do the things that Makoto liked so he decided to just walk around until something pops up. Fortunately, the two are more than content with walking around to explore the city. Both of them enjoy learning about new things, but rarely go outside their comfort zone. Naruto prefers to be training and Shigure spends time with Apachai and Akisame at Ryozanpaku.

As they walk through the mall, many males are sending jealous looks at Naruto. The ones not hating on Naruto are too busy checking out Shigure. There is no denying that Shigure is one of if not the most beautiful and well developed woman in the mall. It is no wonder that she has so many admirers. Not that any of them have a shot since she is oblivious to their attention. Pity on the poor fool that tries to get her attention.

Shigure spots an ice cream stand. "Chu!" Tochumaru pokes out from between her breasts. He points at the ice cream. "Can…we?" she asks.

"Of course…" Naruto leads the way. "Pick a…flavor and I will…pay." Shigure leans forward giving an excellent view down her cleavage. The clerk almost falls over staring down her shirt. Tochumaru points at Mint Chocolate Chip. She points at it. "One…Mint Chocolate Chip."

"R-right!"

The clerk scoops the ice cream into a cone than hands it to Naruto. Naruto hands the cone to Shigure. He turns back to pay the clerk. Shigure lets Tochumaru takes a few licks before taking a lick of her own. "It…is good…" She offers it to Naruto. He shakes his head and walks away from the stand. Shigure walks next to him alternating licks with Tochumaru. "Where to…next?"

Naruto stops at the directory. He only came to the mall because Matoko is always talking about coming here. In fact, many of the girls talk about this place a lot. It doesn't seem all that great to him. Glancing at the directory, he tries to find something that would be fun. "Arcade…?"

"Ok…" nods Shigure.

Arcade

"Interesting."

"Hmm…"

Naruto and Shigure stare at the arcade. There are so many machines and people. The people are at the machines making weird motions and playing with toys? Looking at each other, neither knows what to do in the situation.

"Hey sexy." A tall lanky teenager with piercing all over his face comes up behind Shigure. "Want to play with me?" He gives a perverse smile and is about to put his arm around her. Cold steel touches against the teen's throat making him freeze. His eyes look straight down to find the hand holding the knife is the boy standing next to the sexy woman.

A cold, emotionless ocean blue eyes gaze deep into the teen's soul. "Do…not touch her." The teen gulps. A splutter comes from the teen that is incoherent. Naruto lets the kunai fall into the sleeve of his shirt disappearing from view. "What do…we do in the arcade?"

The teen is sweating heavily. "Y-you put your money into that machine to get tokens. Once you have tokens you can play any of the games and earn tickets. The tickets can be traded in at the counter over there for prizes." He speaks so fast that it is almost impossible to understand the teen. Naruto and Shigure hear it clearly.

"Thank…you."

A palm strikes the teen in the chest blasting him out of the arcade. Naruto takes a moment to put a lid on his emotions. He was barely able to control his rage upon feeling the teen's intentions towards Shigure-sensei. A gentle hand touches his own. "Calm…down," says Shigure. Nodding, he relaxes getting his emotions under control. He wonders why he got so upset at the teen. It reminds him of that time when he found out that Kisara was hurt and how angry he had become. This is something he is going to investigate.

"I…want a prize."

Shigure looks at him expectantly. "Ok…let's go play…" shrugs Naruto.

The two walk over to the token machine that the punk teen told them about. Naruto puts in enough money to get forty tokens. He hands twenty tokens to Shigure and keeps the other twenty. Shigure spots a game that involves rolling a ball down the lane up into six different small holes, Skeet Ball. Both take a moment to observe a few others playing the game. It seems simple enough. Putting in their tokens, the two are given eight balls to roll. Naruto rolls his first easily getting it into the fifty hole. Shigure gets her into the 100 hole. His eyes narrow. Her eyes begin to glow. Suddenly, the two are rolling the balls down with incredible skill. "I…win!" Shigure puffs out her chest. She managed to get all 100 getting a perfect score and earning a great deal of tickets. Naruto loss by 50 points, but still got a good amount of tickets.

"Chu!"

Tochumaru points at a rifle game. Naruto and Shigure stare at each other. In an instant, the two grab their tickets and rush over to the next game. Master and disciple are determined to defeat the other.

Ryozanpaku

Miu stares at the earring. It was placed in her hair by that boy, Sho Kano. He knows about her father. This whole time her father was in Yami and grandpa never told her. Grandpa must have known which is why he never told her. As much as she wants to be upset with her grandpa from keeping that secret from her, she can't. Grandpa is the one who raised and trained her. Her father, who has been alive this whole time, was never there for her.

The doors to Ryozanpaku open up breaking Miu from her thoughts. Curiously, Miu stands up walking around to the front. A sweat drop falls down at the sight that greets her. Naruto enters the dojo carrying a large bag that is easily twice his size. Shigure and Tochumaru are sitting at the top of the bag playing with a couple toys. "Um, where have you two been? And what is in the bag?"

"At the…arcade," answers Naruto.

Shigure puffs out her chest with pride. "I won the most tickets…and got lots of prizes." Naruto grumbles under his breath. He drops the bag down. Shigure lands next to him. Grabbing the bag, she begins to drag it towards her room.

Miu tilts her head. "I thought you two were supposed to be training."

"Sensei…wanted to go on a date." Miu splutters. Naruto stares at the earring in Miu's hand. "Where did…you get that?"

A gasp comes from Miu, she is about to hide it behind her back, but she knows that it is too late. Miu pushes a strand of hair out of her face. "I had a run in with a member from Yomi. I really don't want to talk about it."

Naruto turns around. "Ok…night Miu."

"Night Naruto."