INTERLUDE

SUPER HERO

She hadn't always had strange skin. But it was strange now; blue, in the way that a raw steak is blue, but smoother, and browner. There were marks on her neck, too, like gills. She wore overlarge goggles with dark glass in the frames to cover the marks on her cheekbones, and to keep her eyes from view.

This, of course, was all due to the prickly sword that was so-often strapped to her back, which she had inherited from her father.

Well, "father." He wasn't that, exactly. Not biologically.

They did live together. And he made an effort at being kind to her, when they weren't training. But she shut him out, otherwise. It was nothing personal.

Her name had once been Ana, and she had come from what those upper-class people called "the rougher part of town."

She just called it the slums, where dinner was often the leftovers from convenience stores, and heaven was the hot-air dryers in public bathrooms after a downpour.

She didn't have a mother, or a father. She'd maybe had an older sister, but she had gone away somewhere.

The orphanage had lured her in when she was seven or eight, with promises of a better life. Of warm food, and a bed. How could she have resisted?

They didn't tell her that she'd have to fight the other children to stay.

"You gotta work if you wanna keep your bed, Ana-chan," the mountain-wide head of the place said, with her man-muscled arms crossed. "You either train or you leave."

Of course, since she was little, she was kept with the beginners. They were like her, wild and tangle-haired, and hungry. Most learned eagerly, how to punch, how to kick, how to hook one's elbow just so around a neck, so that it was whipped back and to the ground.

Ana discovered her talent there. Within two months she was knocking the teeth out of children almost twice her size.

When she had been alone, she had to be quick. Quick on her feet, and in her mind. This proved to be an advantage here.

She also discovered that she was not the only one with talent. Other children, just as quick, and quicker. Like her, they were favored, given extra attention, the best treatment. They ate first at mealtimes, and their clothes were usually the right size.

(The easiest way to eat was to get better at the things the folks in charge approved of.)

After a while, Ana refused to fight anyone below her. She was not denied.

After a while, there was no one left in the facilities, beyond the staff, that she hadn't defeated. Even the ones that had come back for revenge. If it could be called revenge.

They needed to decide what to do with her.

Luckily, the jinchuuriki was searching for an heir.

She was aware of him. Everyone was. She didn't want to fight him—he was way out of her league. But to be told that maybe—just maybe—he might take her as his protégé.

Ana trained hard.

And when the day finally came, she was lined up with all the others. Her eyes, dark and hard, slid sideways as she appraised them. One or two of her kind. The rest, clean people. They'd come from the "academy." Where the kids with homes went. Where they weren't forced to fight each other, no doubt.

She would beat them first.

Though, to her bitter shock, they would not be fighting each other, no. Just showing off their strength.

The jinchuuriki looked on, his hands in his pockets. He wore dark glasses, and had light hair and brown skin, like Ana did, but his skin was far darker, like a stone mottled with gray soot.

She excelled.

In the end, four were left. Two of them were shivering rich kids, and the other had an ear with a missing earlobe. They were called to step forward, and the muscles in Ana's arms tensed. Perhaps now, yes?

But instead, the jinchuuriki extended a fist, and they were told, one by one, to do the same.

The two before her touched fists with him gingerly, and the jinchuuriki nodded, smiled, and said, "All right, next."

When it was Ana's turn, she looked into his glasses with defiance, and jabbed her arm forward.

And for a moment she felt so very, very small, like a child standing before a great wall made of white marble. Her fists and all her strength made no more an impact than pinpricks on a paper surface.

And this angered her. She would make a mark. She was not small.

So she made her mark, her fist grinding against the hard, purple-brown knuckles, against the warm, white-tile wall.

And when the sensation faded, when the moment ended, a creature like a worm covered in fangs had crawled up and over the jinchuuriki's arm, and was nuzzling against the top of her hand. The jinchuuriki flinched first, and pulled back.

Ana took it as a good sign. She watched the worm return to his back, and the boy that came after her hesitantly reach forward to touch fists, with shaking fingers.

She was not surprised when they came to her later and said that she had been chosen as the jinchuuriki's heir, and would begin training with him at once.

She learned, after they had started, that the jinchuuriki had his doubts.

"She's jus' so angry, I mean she has the drive, th'ambition, an' she wasn't in it for the fame, but still…" He was confessing to a pink-skinned man in his kitchen one night, a few months after they had come to live together. Ana—though her name was now BB, the second Bee, they told her, and she was getting used to it—had been down to use the bathroom when she found them. "I dunno, man, it just don't feel right."

"Just hang in there, Bee-jiisan. She's not a bad girl, she's just got a whole lotta anger that she can't deal with. I've known a lotta people like that. She'll turn out fine if she stays with you, y'know."

The man had blue eyes like plastic buttons, and he turned around to smile at BB there, which caused her to scurry away like a cockroach until she was certain it was safe again. BB was uneasy around that man. His stare was far too honest and invasive to be comfortable.

But Bee didn't trust her, did he. That was fine. She could deal with that. He wasn't really her father, after all. They just lived together, trained together.

But her anger had nowhere to go. In fact, it only grew.

There were certain side-effects that came with using the Samehada, as she came to know the worm-sword. Unlike Bee, the sword had taken a liking to her immediately, and though she despised the energy it sapped from her at first, she came to rejoice in the strength it shared once they got used to each other.

But her skin began to resemble Bee's, losing its warm brown-ness and growing ashen. The whites of her eye were turning black, the blacks of her eyes were turning white.

Bee gave her a pair of goggles, once it became too noticeable. "So's people don't stare. Looks cool, too, y'hear?"

She took the goggles without a word. They didn't help much.

When she wasn't training with Bee, she was allowed to travel where she pleased. She often traced the paths of her old haunts, and loitered around the gates of the academy, where she sized up her competition.

The looks and names that were tossed at her were not kind, nor pleasant.

Yeah, of course she looked like a monster. She wasn't looking for friends. She was just the jinchuuriki's heir.

She trained hard, falling further into it all.

And then he showed up.

She'd noticed him long before he'd even said anything to her. He was ugly, undeniably. His limbs were ill-proportioned and he didn't seem to have any eyebrows, and he seemed clumsy besides.

Also, first thing he said to her was, "Hey, uh, are you, like, a superhero or something?"

BB's eyebrows tangled with the question. "A what."

"A superhero. You know, like, in the comics?" He began digging around in his schoolbag. "I mean, sorry if it's rude to ask or whatever, but you just look so… so cool, I couldn't help but ask…"

"Uh… no, I'm not from any of your comic books," she said. She sighed. "This why you been following me? Cos I look 'cool' like that?"

He paused, mid-rummage, looking up. "Well, uh. Yeah. I just was sorta… unsure about talkin' to you, I mean, you just seemed like you wanted to be left alone…"

"That's 'cos I do," BB replied. "Sheesh, kid, what's your deal?"

"Sorry, sorry, I sorta just started here," he replied, closing his bag and scratching the skin behind his ears. "I'm still sorta getting used to the city an' all."

BB scoffed, but something in his words caught her ear. "What you mean, 'you just started here'?"

"Oh, well, uh, I'm in beginner's ninja classes! I saved up money to move up here and live with my aunt so I could get taught," he replied. "They put me with the five year olds to start out with. It's pretty ridiculous, haha."

She laughed, once. "You're joking, right."

"Nope, not at all. I mean, I am a beginner, so…"

She shook her head. "Look, hero boy, if y'think you're funny, it's not working."

"Oh, I don't think I'm that funny, really," the boy replied. "I'm kinda dumb, really, but whatever, I'm used to it." And he grinned. "My name's Fuzan, by the way. What's yours?"

"…BB," she replied.

"Oh, nice to meet you, BB-chan! Cool name. Like Killer Bee, right? The jinchuuriki? He's so cool."

Fuzan had reached his hand out for her to shake it, but she hadn't taken it. Her connection to that man was one of the rare positive things people could say about her. She hated flaunting it. "Yeah, sure," she replied. "That the only word y'can say? Cool?"

"Do I really say that a lot?" Fuzan replied. "Sorry, guess I'm not thinking. So hey, do you go to school here or something?"

"I'm already a chuunin," BB replied, flatly. They had graduated her without much fanfare as soon as Bee had named her his heir, several years before.

"Oh! Wow! But you're, like, only the same age as me, right?" Fuzan said.

"Depends. How old're you?" He was taller than her, but his overgrown frame felt deceiving.

"Thirteen, you?"

"…fourteen," she replied.

"Oh, dang! I've really gotta catch up, then!" Fuzan then seemed to realize something, and smacked his palm against his high, bare forehead. "Shoot, I should probably get home and study! Bye, BB-chan! See you later!"

This was not the last she would see of him.

In fact, the next time she dared wander past the school, he approached her with a frantically-waving, gangly limb, and a cheerful, "Hey, BB-chan! Hey!"

And she had almost been wondering if the dork would be there again. She'd had a frustrating day. He was somewhat amusing.

"Oh, hey. Busa, was it?"

"Fuzan. How was your day?"

"…all right? Why d'you care?" she said.

Fuzan shrugged energetically. "I had a pretty good day. I'm doing great in class! Studying's paying off. But I still don't get what the heck is up with chakra."

The speech breezed past her. "Wait, wait, wait, chakra?"

"Yeah, it's kinda hard…"

She almost wanted to sigh, to shake her head, to brush him off, but there was something almost puppy-like in his disappointment. "Eh, everyone has trouble with chakra. The trick is to practice focusing it in one place before moving onto hand signs and stuff."

"Oh, oh, like, um, my hands?"

She shook her head. "No, idiot, like a point in the middle of your head, or your chest. Practice that first before you do anything big."

"Oh, okay! I'll give that a try. Thanks, BB-chan!" He grinned, closing his small eyes.

"…yeah, don't mention it," she replied.

"So you wanna hear about this comic I read the other day? It's nuts, it's about competitive rice-cooking."

And she sighed, though not unpleasantly. "Sure, why not."

"Okay! So it starts out in the country, see, with this kid that really, really likes rice…"

He started walking forward, and she followed. And somehow, she found herself listening, even amused.

The passage of time surprised her with him saying he was going home. "See you later, BB-chan!"

"Yeah… sure," she replied, though she was waving weakly back.

For some reason, she kept coming back to that academy gate around the time school got out, just to see if Fuzan was there. Which he often was.

The little nerd was growing on her. She had no idea why.

Though, eventually, she did.

Looking back, she did not remember when she had the revelation, exactly. But she eventually came to realize what made Fuzan so different.

It wasn't his eagerness or his clumsiness, or his enthusiasm. That could be found anywhere. That was nothing special.

It was because he treated her like she was normal. Which was saying something, considering the first thing he said he liked about her was her bluish skin. (The second and third things were her butter-colored hair and her glasses, respectively, which made her laugh and punch him gently on the arm.)

Maybe that was why she didn't want to tell him that she was Killer Bee's heir. Stupid as it was, she was almost afraid that telling him that would make her less of a person, and just a celebrity. That he'd grow distant.

Which only made her angrier, so she would try not to think about it. She liked when she wasn't angry.

But sometimes she couldn't help it. Sometimes she would lie awake at night and wonder if there was really anything she could do about all the other people, who weren't blissfully ignorant, like Fuzan was.

She couldn't help who she was. She was a replacement-in-training, she was a living weapon. She was someone—something to be feared.

What could she do to change that?

An opportunity came during dinner. She and Bee, at that point, usually ate separately. He usually went out to eat, she preferred to make whatever at the stove and eat in her room. But he was home that night, so she offered, ever so casually, "Hey, Pops, how's about you and me get something to eat together tonight?"

She usually only ever called him "Bee" or "Old Man," so this caused his eyebrows to rise. "Why 'zat?" he said.

"I just feel like it, all right? Plus we could talk, it might be nice." She shrugged. "I mean, if y'don't want to, whatever, but…"

"Hey, naw, that sounds cool," Bee said. "Where you wanna go?"

"…sukiyaki," she replied, trying not to blink in surprise at the affirmative. She didn't really care, but she knew that was something he liked to eat.

"A'ight, sukiyaki. Let's go, yo!"

She rolled her eyes at the rhyme, but behind her goggles, her expression was affectionate. She had grown used to it—tolerant, at first, but now it seemed familiar in a comforting sort of way.

Yeah, so Fuzan was also dabbling in freestyling, but that had nothing to do with it.

They talked, during that dinner. Small talk, stiff, but present.

In later dinners, to other restaurants, where BB was pleasant to the wait staff and laughed at Bee's jokes, the words loosened and warmed.

And in even later dinners, they would take turns cooking at home, and laugh at each other, and talk about their days, even if they had spent with each other, the two blue glories of Cloud.

And finally, one night, BB asked him, "Man, how the hell do you put up with me so well?"

Bee looked up from his meal with a puzzled expression. "Now what d'you mean by that, puttin' up with you."

"Y'don't have to lie to me, I know this whole… cohabitation thing was just s'we could get used t'each other," she said, twirling her spaghetti with her fork. Bee had made the noodles, she had made the sauce. "I just don't understand why you stuck with it. I mean, y'could've asked for me to live somewhere else, m'sure."

The great man across the table shrugged. "Jus' didn't seem right leavin' you alone, I guess."

"I can handle bein' alone," BB said, quietly.

And Bee shrugged again, a thick sigh easing past his mouth. "Yeah, but that ain't no fun, is it."

Her fork stabbed her noodles in reply.

"B'sides, this is just more convenient, y'know?" Bee continued. "In gettin' to know each other, anyhow. Can't expect t'get to know each other as people if we're just fightin' each other every day."

"D'you really consider me your daughter or whatever, though?" BB said.

At this, Bee paused. He cleared his throat, and put his fork down. "I could if y'want."

"S'not what I want," BB said, forcefully. "S'what you think. Cos if m'just an heir or an apprentice t'you then that's fine with me, all right?"

Bee didn't say anything for a while. "Does that matter t'you that much, BB?"

The anger in her eyebrows and the corner of her eyes felt hot. She was not wearing her goggles, not here. "Doesn't matter t'me much, I just wanna know if this's the best it's gonna get for us. Or… or something."

She stabbed at her plate again. Her legs itched with the desire to leave.

"What d'you mean by that?" Bee said.

She pressed her mouth together tightly. "Look, jus'… never mind." She got up. "'scuze me."

She took her plate and began to her room.

"BB, if you're tryin' to ask if I like spendin' time with you, I want you t'know that I do."

There was a feeling like water pouring out of her shoulders and into her feet, making them heavy.

"S'not like I'm just puttin' up with you, y'know. I've had a lotta fun spendin' more time with you lately. An' I'd be glad t'do more things with you, if y'want."

She tried to move forward, but.

"I'm honestly glad you're reachin' out to me like this, y'know. I was afraid you'd never want to."

At that, she turned around a little. "You… wanted me to?"

"Well 'course," Bee replied. "I mean…"

"I always thought you didn't want to," BB continued, turning around more. "I mean, there was no reason for you t'really want to…"

"The only thing keepin' me from reachin' out much was you," Bee said.

Air hissed past BB's teeth as she inhaled. "Now what is that s'pposed to mean," she said.

"Y'just didn't seem like you wanted to be bothered, s'all. You had this… wall up, I felt it when I first met you. An' I was sorta scared by what you were tryin' to hide. I didn't wanna hurt you over it."

A wall?

That had been her wall?

"So I guess I sorta din' know how to handle you at first, an' after trainin' with you, I thought that all I could do t'even touch that wall was t'fight with you. So I left it alone. Stuff like that y'can't just have people tear down for you."

BB returned to the table, and set her plate back down, but did not sit.

"But I guess t'get back to your question, 'puttin' up with you' was me just… waitin' to see if you'd ever manage to start at that wall. I didn't wanna leave you all alone, just in case things got bad an' you needed someone. Even if y'didn't want my help. Y'know?"

A laugh escaped out of him like a cough, his lips sliding into a smile, the old skin of his cheeks shining from the kitchen lights. "I'm glad t'see you makin' some progress, BB. If all this dinner business an' stuff is progress, anyways."

That stupid nerd.

She started laughing, and hard.

"Awright, awright, what's goin' on. Don't go makin' fun of me just cos I was tryin' to be serious, now!" Bee said, leaning forward on one, massive forearm.

BB wiped her hand against her nose, but she continued to grin. "Would it count s'progress if I'd made a friend?"

Bee's smile puckered into an expression of surprise. "What, you countin' me as a friend or somethin' now?"

"Well… well, yeah." She couldn't deny that. "You an' a boy I been… hangin' out with these days." She sat down, fidgeting pleasantly with the words.

"A boy, huh," Bee said, with a lion-like purr. "Well why don't you tell me 'bout him."

"He's not my boyfriend, just sayin' that right off," BB said.

"Never said he was," Bee replied.

So she told him about Fuzan.

Bee said that he sounded like a fine young man, and that he wanted to meet him.

There, BB quieted. And Bee tilted his head in concern. "What, y'afraid I'll embarrass you?" he said, with a laugh.

Everything she had done was to tear down a wall she never knew she had.

Fuzan had torn away the first brick.

She gulped down her fears and told Bee, "M'afraid he'll start treatin' me diff'rently if he knows you're my old man, is all."

Bee mulled it over while leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed. "How d'you think he'd treat you diff'rently?" he finally replied.

BB shrugged. "I 'unno, I think he'll… stop talkin' to me like a friend and start suckin' up to me or… whatever," she said. "Like he'll stop treatin' me like he used to."

Bee nodded a few times, his eyes heavy. "I gotcha, I gotcha. Well, BB, if he's as good a kid s'you say he is, I don't think anything's gonna change. An' if it does…"

BB lowered her eyes further. Their dinner was getting cold.

"…well, hey, he's not the only kid'n the world. You got me too, r'member?"

"Tch. Well you're worse than nothin', Pops," she replied, trying to turn her uneasy smirk into a scowl. Bee raised his eyebrows and spread his hands out, as if to say, "Well, that's me," before the both of them returned to a warmer meal, with the assistance of the microwave.

Bee went with her to the gates of the academy the following week. She had finally worked up the courage to tell Fuzan, though she never would have admitted it. What she did admit was that she wanted to do a bit more thinking before making any solid decisions, which Bee respected.

Fuzan's mouth gaped open like a fish's when he saw that Bee was there. Well, him and several other kids, who were gathering around him with eager cheers and smiles.

"BB! BB! Oh my gosh, do you see who's here?!" he said, grabbing her arm and pointing vigorously at Bee.

"Yeah, that's my pops," Bee said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Your 'pops'?"

BB rolled her eyes. "My dad, y'moron! Seriously, did y'not have any idea? He said he wanted t'meet you."

Fuzan's eyes bulged. BB gulped.

"…no way. Your dad is Killer Bee?! The jinchuuriki?"

"Yep, an' I'm… next in line," BB replied. Her voice shook.

Fuzan's mouth pursed and puckered. He pointed at Bee a few more times, and back at BB.

"Look, you gonna say somethin' or what?" BB said.

"…that is so cool," Fuzan squeaked, before collapsing.

Once the crowd had been dispersed, which involved Bee parting the waves of people with his voice and hands, and BB picking Fuzan up in her arms with an uneasy roll of the eyes, they managed to get to a private room in a restaurant not far from the school, where Bee had booked a reservation earlier. Fuzan came to in the booth and practically jumped onto the table in his shock.

"Fuzan, c'mon, can you… be cool about this, okay?" BB said, pressing down hard on his bony shoulders. "Jeez."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm just… this is so exciting, I dunno what to say!" Fuzan replied. He was sitting, now, at least, bouncing on the vinyl seat. "Uh, it's an honor to meet you, Bee-sama!"

"Pleasure's all mine," Bee replied, laughing. "BB's told me a lot about you."

"Ohmygoshreally." Fuzan was whispering, his face suddenly growing sunburn-red. "I, I had no idea, um."

"No idea what," BB said.

"That you two were related." He pointed a finger back and forth between the two of them, his voice still hushed, though not as much as before.

"Well we ain't related by blood, but that don't matter," BB said. "I honestly thought you knew but were just bein' on the down-low 'bout it."

This was a lie, of course.

(Though BB wondered, in her planning, if it would turn out to be true.)

"Well, I didn't," Fuzan said. "Is this… supposed to be a secret? Because I swear, up and down, I will not tell a soul! I promise!" His eyes widened with glowing sincerity.

"Y'moron, th'whole city knows who I am," BB said, pressing down on his head. "It's not like there's anything t'hide."

"Oh, gosh, really? Wow, huh…" He started nodding, thoughtfully. "Well, okay! Glad to finally be let in, then!"

"He's n'enthusiastic one," Bee said, leaning in and mock-whispering. BB shoved him, in return.

The conversation, as it continued into their drinks and appetizers, focused mostly on Bee. Fuzan's questions were breathless, lightning-quick, and mostly focused on asking if a large number of events involving him had actually taken place.

"An' is it true that you know Uzumaki Naruto?" Fuzan asked, in between sips of his melon soda. "Like, really?"

"Bro, we served side-by-side'n the War," Bee replied. "'course I know 'im, he's a good friend o' mine."

(In later meetings, after the demolition of the wall began, BB began thinking of Naruto as a friend too, hugging him nearly as warmly as Bee did.)

"Oh my gosh you're so lucky," Fuzan said. He was practically vibrating.

Bee laughed. His voice was starting to grow a little hoarse, because he had been laughing far too much that afternoon. "Lucky how?"

"Well, Uzumaki Naruto's only the most amazing ninja living today, Bee-sama. I mean, no offense at all to you, you're amazing too, but Naruto's just… in a whole class of his own. I can't even."

BB sucked her cola through a straw, trying to hold her laughter until she had swallowed. "You are such a freakin' dork."

"He's certainly somethin', I'll say that," Bee said. "Hokage an' everything."

"Yeah, yeah! Wow, seriously." Fuzan was just nodding enthusiastically. "Though your achievements are nothin' to sneeze at, Bee-sama, I mean really. You're cool too!"

"Glad t'hear it, kid, glad t'hear it," Bee replied, warmly.

Fuzan left for home after the very long conversation ended, their many empty glasses littering the table like huddled penguins. He waved at them as he went.

"Bye, Bee-sama! It's been super nice meeting you! And see you later, BB!"

Bee waved back. "I din' know you let him call you by just your name," he said, once the boy had gone.

Fuzan had dropped the honorific ages before.

"M'just glad it's not BB-sama," she replied, sighing, smiling.

Though the next day, she was just that little bit more hesitant in setting out for the academy entrance after training with Bee. And even when she did arrive, she stayed more out of view than usual, as if to see if there was some sort of visible difference in Fuzan's behavior already.

Even though he still called her BB, her heart still thudded in her ears. The visit the day before hadn't said anything, otherwise. It was just him fanboying over Bee.

And then, she heard him calling out for her. "BB! BB! Hey! Hey! There you are! I was lookin' all over, where were you?"

"Just over here," she replied. "What, y'thought I wouldn't show?"

"Well, no, just… oh, whatever," Fuzan replied. "I gotta tell you about class today, we did shuriken practice today!"

"Oh, yeah?" she said, trying to turn her faltering relief into a laugh. "Did you suck?"

"I sucked so hard," Fuzan replied, with a triumphant smile. "Missed most of the targets. But I was third-best in the class! How about that?"

"Pathetic," BB replied, crossing her arms good-naturedly.

"Yep, that's me," said Fuzan. He nodded a few times, almost sagely.

"You want me t'help you practice?" she said.

"What, you mean it?"

"Don' want you stayin' pathetic forever, c'mon."

And she took him by the wrist, there. She had never done that before, always pulling him with her words before, if ever.

As they practiced, neither of them mentioned the day before. The following days remained just as silent.

This frustrated BB. She was certain, certain, that there was something wrong. After all, Fuzan was Fuzan. He didn't just shut up like that.

She tried not to let it out at Bee. He didn't deserve to get yelled at, especially with him actively suggesting things to do now, and not always depending on her making the first move. He was making plans to take her to a concert at the end of the month, and movie visits besides.

So on a Saturday, almost a week later, BB was grumblingly silent as she helped Fuzan with kunai practice.

He noticed. "Hey, somethin' the matter?" he asked, putting his kunai back into his pouch with lumpy concern.

She didn't ask herself if it was worth talking about. This was far past the time. "Look, Fuzan, you can talk about my pops in front o' me. I know you wanna."

"Uhh… no, I don't," Fuzan replied.

BB's eyebrows lowered. "Come on, don't lie t'me. You gotta be dyin' to talk to me about him. Right?"

"But I don't want to," Fuzan said. "I mean, I don't wanna be rude…"

"Then be rude! It's drivin' me nuts!" BB snapped. "An' while you're at it you can go ahead an' ask me about what it's like bein' next-in-line to be a jinchuuriki, since I bet you're dyin' t'ask."

"BB, I really don't care…" Fuzan said. His features were wrinkling, mouth stretching awkwardly.

"Oh come on. Yeah you do. This is your thing, I mean, you saw how y'exploded when my pops showed up at the school…"

"Well, yeah…" He stared at his feet.

"So go ahead an' explode again if y'want! Okay? Jeez!"

She crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently. Fuzan fidgeted.

"Well?" she said.

"Er, it's just… BB, I think it's incredibly cool that you are who you are, like, you have no idea, but… well, since you didn't tell me right away when we first met, I figured that y'wanted it to stay that way, so I decided not to make a big deal out of it…" He started kicking at the dirt. "I mean, s'not like you have a secret identity or anything, since you told me everyone else knows, but…"

"…wait, y'mean that?" BB said.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I figure you must want a break from all that ev'ry once'n a while…" He had shoved his hands into his pockets, now. "It'd be awful stupid of me to pester you 'bout it all the time, so, yeah. It doesn't really matter, anyways, I mean, s'not like you being a jinchuuriki-in-training ever comes up when we hang out, cos it's always just me talking or you helping me with training, so…"

And then he looked up, biting his bottom lip quite fearfully.

"…unless you want me to freak out at you about jinchuuriki and stuff?"

BB ran over, after that, and forced a round kiss on his thin lips, which Fuzan squirmed against like a fish out of water.

"No freakin' out unless I say it's okay," she said, when they pulled away, "an' I'll keep you around. Deal?"

Fuzan just gawked, with a hand over his open mouth, in reply.

"…that was so awesome," he finally said. BB shoved him for that, and told him to get back to work.

She had kept him around for almost five years, when he was sent to the hospital with the broken arm and the pneumonia, after the mission in Sekiraun. And she waited for Bee in the lobby a day after Fuzan's return, so she could visit him.

This was the first time that anything like this had happened to her. In regards to Fuzan, anyways. Despite his clumsiness and general ineptitude, he had managed to keep himself fairly injury-free and out of the hospital.

(But the year before, around BB's twentieth birthday, Bee had fallen very, very ill, and for a time it seemed like the eight-tails would have to be transferred, and soon. Naruto had raced to Cloud himself to be there, it was that serious.)

(Fuzan had held her hand and her body during those long, terrifying nights, in Bee's hospital room and in her house, assuring her that nothing would change between them if that was what it came to. That he wouldn't leave.)

("I mean, beyond you getting t'turn into a sick octopus beast, but that's not much," he'd added, and she shoved him through her tears in addition to her smile.)

(She hadn't made many friends in the passing years. But she had gained several fans, and the affection of Sachiko, the other vessel. Though it was easy to gain Sachiko's affection.)

(Knowing Fuzan would remain was a greater comfort than she expected.)

The waiting here felt uncomfortable and unfamiliar. BB didn't want to go in and see Fuzan alone, and she told herself this was because it would probably cheer Fuzan up a ton if she'd brought Bee along. From what the doctor had told her about his injuries, he could use the cheer.

The injuries were the real reason. She didn't want to see him, her energetic, gangly goofball, connected to a machine and breathing shallowly beneath a plastic mask, his arm encased in plaster and not waving at her, cheerfully, like it always did.

But Fuzan wasn't her only support. Bee was still there.

He was also late. And each minute that she had to sit in that stupid lobby was a minute too much.

But he eventually showed. "Sorry 'bout that, BB, I got a bit hung up on th'way here," Bee said, upon arriving.

"About time," BB replied. "Can we go in already?"

"Yeah, 'course. Let's go see your man, hm?" His sunglasses were pushed up slightly by his cheeks as he smiled.

She rolled her eyes, sighed, and tried to smile back.

Her smile and her confidence were gone by the time they reached Fuzan's room. He was sleeping, an IV attached to his left arm, which was laid over the peppery-blue hospital blanket. His right arm was set in a cast that extended all the way up to his shoulder and his chest, and propped up with a bar. His hand hung limp at the wrist.

BB inhaled sharply. But Bee put his arm around her shoulder.

"It'll be all right, BB," he said.

This felt like something Fuzan would say. She lowered her head in place of a nod and slipped forward and out of the grip, and over to Fuzan's bed.

"Hey, baby, I'm here," she said, softly. Fuzan did not stir, just continuing to sleep. His short-cut hair looked fluffy; it had been washed, recently. BB ran her hand through it, gently, her thumb resting on his forehead. "You gonna wake up for me or what…?" she said.

Fuzan did not wake up.

Bee got her a chair, and she sat by his bedside until she didn't want to any more. He made dinner that night, though she didn't eat much.

Fuzan was sleeping again the next time they visited, but this time, as BB approached his bed, his eyes opened and he smiled.

"Man, m'I lucky or what," he whispered. "I get t'see you first thing n' the morning."

"It's the afternoon, y'idiot," BB replied, though her smile was gracious and uncontrollable.

The damage done to his arm had reached all the way up to his shoulder, hence the cast. "Can't move my arm at all, or else it won't set right an' I won't be able to do ninja stuff all proper-like," Fuzan explained, propped up in his bed, during a lunchtime visit. "But that's okay, I'm bein' a good patient," he continued, nodding. "Gon' be right back up to scratch before you know it."

"You'd better," BB replied, sitting with her arms propped up on Fuzan's tray table. "Or else I'll break your arm again an' make you do it all over."

"Aw, man!" Fuzan said, in a mock whine.

(He didn't talk to BB about the fact that his doctor had explained to him just how extensive the damage had been, with the tissue damage from the ice exposure and the severity of the fracture, which had affected his nerves. He still hadn't completely regained the feeling in his right hand.)

(He didn't want her to worry.)

BB began making regular visits to the hospital, with and without Bee, to see Fuzan. It was another routine, like how, in years past, she would go to the school to see him.

Though she was far busier now than she was in those days. They were sending her on missions, now that her training was complete, now that she was an adult. They were sending him on missions, too, but these circumstances made seeing him that much easier.

His new proximity made the depression that much more noticeable. Especially with the hospital stay extending for far longer than had been expected, and the possibility of surgery arising with each inspection of the healing. The ice-kid from the Taki clan had done far more than just a number on him.

BB wanted to believe that it wasn't there, that Fuzan was just feeling tired and still recuperating, but the glittering spark of his personality was dulling.

Bee had said that he was always there for her, so she brought it up to him. Though understating her worry, naturally. She didn't want him to go overboard.

"I just think we should… I dunno, find some way t'cheer him up. He's been stuck'n there way too long," she said, with a shrug.

"Maybe you should buy him some of those comics he loves so much?" Bee offered.

"Already have."

"An' what about those shows he likes t'watch?"

"I stopped by his place an' got all the stuff he sets his VCR to record already."

Bee thought for a while, rubbing the stubble on his cheeks. "When he s'pposed to be out, anyways?"

"He don't even know," BB replied. "Shoulda been out ages ago, that's what I think."

"Well, the chuunin exams are next week," Bee said. "It'd be his first time there since graduatin', if he could go. That might do it."

"Oh yeah, and his cousin's made it to th'finals this year, too. He told me," BB said, nodding. "I mean, that'd totally help, but he'd have t'get out of the hospital first…"

"Lessee what I can do," Bee said, with a grin.

Bee went to Rotsuki, explaining the situation. And Rotsuki, concerned and lukewarmly angry at the amount of damage that had been done to Fuzan, went to the chief of staff at the hospital. He was a coffee-colored man with candy-blue eyes, and he scratched his forehead at the request.

"With you and Bee-sama both asking, Raikage-sama, I understand I'm under a lot of pressure, here," he said. "Fuzan-kun is certainly well enough to leave, with the pneumonia gone, but I'm worried the most about his arm. There's been some extensive damage. He'll need therapy once the cast is off if he wants to get all the use of his arm back."

"But the cast isn't off yet, is it?" Rotsuki said.

"No, no, but I don't want him getting jostled or anything that might interfere with the bone-setting," the chief replied. "Plus, I don't want him getting over-excited. Getting exhausted and sick all over again won't do him any good."

"I think if he's with Bee-sama and BB-chan I get the feeling he'll be okay," Rotsuki said, with an easy smile. "We could always send a medic nin with them in case anything happens. We always have at least a few of your staff with us for the chuunin exams, anyways."

The chief of medicine hummed and scratched at his hairline again. "Well, you're the Raikage."

Rotsuki went to Bee. But Bee did not go to BB, not right away.

He'd gotten an idea in the meantime, and needed to see if it would work.

When a letter from Naruto came back in the positive, he went to his daughter. But he didn't tell her all the details yet, just what Rotsuki had confirmed.

"So let's go tell 'im, yeah?" he said.

"You don't have t'ask me!" BB replied, practically flying.

Fuzan was already glowing slightly, when they went to go visit him. "What's the haps, aside from naps?" he said, closing his eyes with his smile.

"Fuzan, my main man, we got a plan, yeah!" Bee replied.

"What does that even mean," BB said, through a scratchy chuckle, as Fuzan lifted his left hand for a fist bump from Bee.

"What you got for me, Killer Bee?" Fuzan said. "Or should I, uh, choose my news?"

"You go first," Bee said.

"Yeah, what's up, Fuzan?" BB said.

"Well, the doctors said they're gonna let me outta the hospital tomorrow!" Fuzan said. "So I'll get to go to th'chuunin exams!"

"Jeez, that's what we were gonna tell you!" BB said.

"Well, not all've it," Bee said.

"Huh? You mean you guys knew too?" Fuzan said.

"Well of course, my pops went to the Raikage about gettin' you let out!" BB said.

"Ohmygosh." Fuzan gasped. "No way."

"And we were gonna have you in th'same box as us for the tournament," BB continued. "That's star treatment, right there!"

"You guys!" Fuzan said, almost squealing.

"An' that ain't the half of it," Bee said, laughing deeply.

Both Fuzan and BB turned at him at that. "What'chu mean, Pops?" BB said.

"Well, I jus' got a letter back from a friend o' mine," Bee replied, reaching into the pocket of his sweatpants to take it out. "Now, you was always gonna be watchin' the tournament with BB and me, but I managed to work in one extra surprise."

"What is it?" Fuzan said, breathlessly.

"Well, me an' the other jinchuuriki get t'gether at every chuunin exam to have dinner an' catch up. BB, you know that."

"'course I do, you always bring me along," BB said, though suspiciously.

"Well it's usually a VIP thing, you ain't allowed in unless you're one've us. But we just made 'n exception." And Bee's smile turned into a blinding grin. "How'd you like t'meet Uzumaki Naruto an' the rest of the jinchuuriki, Fuzan, my man?"

The stars in Fuzan's eyes were ones that would burn brightly in BB's memory for years.

"No way."

"Yes way."

"No WAY. You serious? You serious?" Fuzan really was squealing, at that point.

"Yep! He even said that any friend-a BB's is a friend-a his, right here'n this letter. He can't wait t'meet you."

Fuzan's face was wrinkled in a ridiculous, frenzied smile of disbelief. His breaths were halfway between dog-like pants and laughter. "Ohmygosh. Ohh my gosh. Bee, you're—oh my gosh."

"Dude, calm down!" BB said, though she was smiling almost as much as he was. She noticed that his voice was reverting to its wide, rural accent, the one that sharp street talk had been slowly replacing over the years.

"I can't calm down, this is too exciting!" Fuzan replied. "Oh my gosh, will I really get to meet him?"

"Sure's you're born," Bee replied. "I could prob'ly get him to sign your cast, too."

Bee had already signed Fuzan's cast. The sharp, stylized letters took up nearly all of the plaster, but Fuzan wasn't complaining.

"Pops, f'you keep this up, he's prob'ly gonna have a heart attack," BB said, giggling.

"A'ight, a'ight, I'll save it for when y'actually get t'meet him," Bee said. "We're settin' out th'day after t'morrow, so be sure to have all your stuff ready."

"I'll help," BB added, pointedly. "What with that bum arm o' yours."

"BB, c'mon…" Fuzan said, coming down a bit from his excitement for a dog-like look of exasperation.

"I'm jus' kiddin', baby," she replied, and leaned over for a kiss on the forehead and a snuggle. "Man, tiger, you sure hit th'jackpot."

"I think I hit it a long time ago, but this ain't a bad addition," Fuzan replied.