Team Aeternum: From Heaven to Hell

by TheRedGhillie

Brought together by a promise from before their time, Naruto Uzumaki, Shikamaru Nara and Shino Aburame are thrown into the world to show what they are made of! Trained by Jiraiya and Yugao Uzuki, these three were brought together to keep Konoha safe, but not everything is what it appears to be. When two higher powers take an interest in the trio, the world will never be the same!

11. Help Wanted, No Pay

Team Aeternum: From Heaven to Hell

Chapter 11: Help Wanted, No Pay.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

"You mistake my need for help as a sign of weakness, rather than a sign of intelligence."

-Unknown

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Chapter Start

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Hell, Maou's Library

"You want what?" The leader of Andrea asked with distaste. Her eyes narrowed before she reared a fang.

Maou rolled his eye. Dealing with the district leaders was always fun.

Always.

Halfway into the meeting between them, he had been interrupted more than three times, broken up a fight between Andrea's and Rosa's leaders and has had to ensure Maya's leader that no, nobody was going to hurt her in this meeting. Now, however, Maou had been cut off in the part he had expected to be the most… controversial in this meeting.

"A representative." Maou repeated to appease the grumpy leader. "From each of your districts to try and win over the champions' favor and bring them over to our side." His words echoed throughout the grand library they were in. Maou smiled, almost as if he was thanking them for their cooperation that they hadn't actually agreed to.

"Wait a minute!" Rosa's leader interjected. "Why is there a need for a "representative" in acquiring the champions – let alone a "representative" from each of our own districts?" The petite leader probed the information at the unusual request. "This was never needed before, so why now?"

Maou kept his exterior calm, but twitched mentally.

"Yeah! Flat-chest is right!"

"Hey!"

"Normally you'd be the one to go and try to collect the champion!" Andrea's leader retorted disrespectfully. "That's how you ended up with her, right?" She tilted her head at Fero's position next to Maou.

Maya's leader looked distressed; her round childish face looked back and forth between leaders timidly.

Maou could feel Fero trying to contain herself. "Now, now, you should let me finish first…" Maou, unperturbed by the leader's disrespectful actions, began for a moment but got cut off yet again.

"Perhaps you realized that your last two attempts of obtaining champions have resulted in their deaths, Maou-sama?" Rosa's leader chided

*SCREE*

The library was filled with a high pitched screech as Fero immediately pushed her chair back violently to stand on her feet, her face held an angry scowl. "Listen here-" Fero growled in anger, but was stopped when Maou placed his hand on her arm.

"Fero, that's enough." Maou stated neutrally, trying to get her to sit back down.

"B-But Maou-sama!"

"Let her speak, Maou-sama, let's see what the poor thing has to say." Rosa's condescending tone infuriated the champion.

With a growl, Fero slapped a hand on the table before them. "Remember who you are talking to, leader."

"Ara, ara, and who would that be? Some former human who thinks that a single title earns her respect from others?" Rosa's and Andrea's leaders laughed mockingly towards the champion.

Fero grew infuriated as she ignored Maou's hand tugging at hers so she could calm down. "I was talking about Maou-sama! You… You have no right to talk about him that way!" She placed a hand on the hilt of her sword, causing the opposing leaders to rise into action; Andrea's and Rosa's leaders were ready to fight while Maya's leader looked about ready to cry.

Maou blinked and inhaled. Still seated in his chair, he smiled. "I think that's about far enough, don't you think?" He spoke out loud to those present. Fero grunted in displeasure as she removed her hand from her weapon. Maya's leader nodded, her round face panicked with tears in her eyes while the others looked disappointed.

"Like a dog obeying its master…" Andrea's leader sneered at Fero, enjoying her reaction. Fero and the leaders – excluding Maya's leader – stayed standing up, eyes glaring at one another.

Maou clapped his hands once, mood immediately ruined as if nothing had happened. "Back to the matter at hand, you had objections as to why I would choose to have representatives go to the champions, correct?" Maou leaned back.

"As I said before, there's no need, no reason to submit a member of our districts to go to that desolate, pitiful mortal realm. Why would we tarnish our districts' name by comingling with those crude beasts?" Rosa's leader sneered as if she was insulted

"Yeah, it doesn't make any fucking sense to go to the insect's realm for anything but war." Andrea's leader picked at her teeth with her nails, eyes uninterested.

Maya's leader looked uncertain slightly confused as well. "M-Maybe Maou-sama has a reason for it?" Her words caused the other leaders to turn towards her. The timid leader yelped in surprise at their stares before looking at the floor.

Maou wrinkled his nose in distaste at the bullying going on in front of him, but remained silent for a moment longer before speaking up.

"…She's right actually." He interrupted their stares the timid leader was receiving. "This reason is beneficial to all who are involved, so please, no more disruptions until after I finish explaining, understand?" Maya's leader nodded, but the other two looked ready to interject. "…understand?" Maou repeated with the word stressed, stopping them.

Maou smiled in appreciation. "Very good. I know that you three are far from stupid, so I will cut to the chase. These three champions are the first of their kind, as you are currently aware of, and with that being the case, their acquisition will have to be different as well. Heaven…" The word made Fero and the leaders leer. "…obviously knows of these champions' power and will not back down once they see that we are attempting a capture."

Rosa's leader raised her hand. "May I?" She asked for permission, earning a nod from their ruler. "If they do know about these champions' abilities, why have they not attempted to capture them before us? You certainly gave them enough time to do so." The flat-chested leader jabbed Maou verbally.

"Kami must have thought the same thing I did. Going in blindly would have been foolish and dangerous to the champions' and capturing party's wellbeing."

"How could it be dangerous? There are three champions; one or two of them dying wouldn't matter as long as we gained one, right?" Andrea's leader pointed out. "If we would have taken the chance and nabbed them the moment they were chosen we would have-"

"Gotten into a fight with Heaven's scouts?" Fero interrupted the leader.

"A fight we would have won." The leader stated as if by fact.

"Tensions are high, can't you tell? That fight alone would have brought a full blown war." Fero chided the leader, but stopped when she saw the leader's confused look.

"Is that not what we want?" Andrea's leader licked her lips. "We could have completely destroyed those stuck up pricks if we would have gone to war."

Fero looked at Maou and stayed quiet as she silently agreed with the cruel district leader.

Rosa's leader nodded. "We have an advantage in size." She clarified.

"Size means nothing when facing a stronger opponent; I thought you knew that." Maou responded calmly, his words shocked those present. "We could have won, but at the cost of far too many lives – as the ruler of Hell, I will not allow the decimation of a majority of my subjects over a small squabble between capturing parties."

"I cannot afford a war, not at a cost so high. Please understand and respect my decision to avoid a massacre." His words made some sense to the leaders then.

Some.

"Which is why we need to obtain the champions as quickly as possible starting now – all three of them, not one or two. I need a member from each of your districts to perform the Synchronizing Contract –"

*SLAM!*

*SLAM*

"WHAT?!"

"HOLD THE FUCK ON!"

Rosa's and Andrea's leaders slammed their hands on the table, causing it to crack from the middle. Fero looked equally as appalled by the notion as they did, but did not voice it. Maya's leader looked blissfully confused.

"To perform that…contract… would mean the binding of both human and devil at a spiritual level! That's the lowest a devil can become! Why would we ever do that to one of our own?!" Rosa's leader, still standing in shock, yelled at Maou.

The Synchronizing Contract, better known as the "Hand over Heart Binding Seal", is an ancient part of Hell's history – a part that a majority of Hell would like to leave behind in the past – that allowed the first ever contact with mortals eons ago. When signed by both parties – a mortal and a member of Hell – the contract would bind them to one another at the root of their souls; intertwining the very essence together only to be nullified at the event of the mortal's death.

In the current Hell, mortals are deemed to be trash by everyone who resides in Maou's realm, but that was not the case several eons in the past where the mortals were considered invaluable due to their humanity being used to fuel the eternal flame that lay in the base of Hell once they passed away. The contract was only made with mortals who vowed to spread the word of Hell and offer their humanity to the realm in exchange for power, prosperity and health.

The contract would siphon the mortal's humanity slowly, producing more humanity for the eternal flame in Hell. When a mortal passes away, a percentage of their humanity goes to all three realms – Heaven, Hell and Earth – but with the contract active, Heaven's realm is blocked out completely and a majority of the humanity goes directly to Hell instead.

Hell had it very well with mortals during those times as both sides benefited from the contract, but then… Heaven appeared and changed that. Turns out, they had formed a contract that worked in the same fashion as Hell's, and each realm's side eventually came across each other as their influence spread. A war soon erupted between both factions – the supporters of both Hell and Heaven – and neither side profited. But those were eons ago during the time of Gwyn… but that's a history lesson for another time.

The mortals were blamed for the loss by both sides of the spectrum, meaning those that were under contract at the time were deemed as traitorous trash, explaining the leader's reaction to the idea of using it on their own members.

Maou smiled in the usual way that he did and raised his hands defensively. "Now, now, I said there were benefits to my plan, did I not? I'm sure you have noticed the low morale and high tension that has been plaguing Maria lately. It bothers me, honestly." Maou tapped his fingers on the table several times. "They too know about the champions and the lack of effort in acquiring them which contributes to their anxiety. I fear that the only way the situation will get better is having the champions under our control." Maou explained.

"And how does that benefit us, exactly?" Andrea's leader narrowed her eyes. "The moment we bring up the contract, our districts' names and reputation will go to shit in the blink of an eye."

"Will it?" Maou was quick to the reply. "The situation is very bleak at the moment; my people are in need of a show of progress, and they'll happily accept anything I throw at them."

"I'm still not hearing where we benefit." Rosa's leader scoffed.

"With the correct words, presentation and authority to back it up, a "punishment" can be made into the biggest honor that Hell has seen in a long time." Maou stood from his chair and traced a finger across the table's surface. "With a member from each of your districts being proclaimed as brave heroes for holding such a burden in order to safely acquire the champions under our control, morale will rise in all districts while simultaneously inspiring the young to choose a certain district faster based on what they see being proclaimed…"

Propaganda – that was his plan and their benefit. Morale will be raised and the military districts would gain a surplus of recruits by the end of it. A reasonable reward, they reasoned, but were still not willing to go through with it.

"And if we say no?" Andrea's leader asked, somewhat irritated by this point.

Maou's smile, the one that he had been using throughout the entirety of the meeting (and the past couple hundred years) fell and turned into a scowl. His eyes hardened. Standing in front of them, he disintegrated the table and slammed his foot against the floor. With a tilt of his head, Maou stared them down.

"Have you possibly forgotten who I am?" Maou asked, his words putting more than enough pressure in the atmosphere of the library to make those present feel constricted. "It certainly feels like it. Have you?"

The leader's rose to their feet as did Fero.

"Answer me." His words hit hard. "Do you know who I am?"

They nodded ever so slowly, their bodies strained.

"Answer me. Now."

"Y-Yes, we k-know who y-you are, M-Maou-sama." The champion and the leaders answered together.

"You say that, yet you challenged me during the entirety of the meeting. Why? I think you are lying when you say that you know who I am."

They tried to shake their heads, but weren't able to due to the increasing pressure that Maou placed on them.

"I don't think you understand just who you are speaking to." His tone was neutral, too neutral to be even. "I am king; ruler of this realm. Do you understand? This is not a request. You do not get a choice in this matter. You will do as I say."

"I called this meeting to tell you what I am going to do. I was civil, patient and understanding, but I guess that backfired. You do not talk back to me. You will listen to me and you will happily accept what I say." Maou tightened a fist, popped his fingers and narrowed his eyes. "I will behead you if I have to; make you go down the path the previous leaders' before you."

The pressure was too much to handle, destroying the little furniture that was left while collapsing the massive shelves that held the library's books. Resounding slams echoed across the room as more and more books fell.

They could barely stand on their feet.

"And yet you dare stand before me? Kneel." He commanded, making Fero fall to her knees alongside Maya's leader. The other two leaders could barely stay on their feet. Maou clenched his teeth and shot a hand forward.

"You… will… kneel…!" His command boomed throughout his realm, causing allof his subjects to kneel from where they stood. The leaders collapsed onto the ground.

"Never let this happen again. Or I will get mad." Maou's words echoed throughout the library as he left the room, leaving his champion and his districts' leaders unconscious on the ground.

For the first time, in a very long time, Maou had dropped his smile.

'Time to choose the representatives, eh?'

xxOxx

"You shouldn't glare too hard, Tenten; they might burst into flames if you do." Neji commented as his bun haired teammate leered at the group that walked in front of them.

"I am not glaring." Tenten defended herself, crossed her arms but did not look away from the group ahead. Neji sweat dropped.

"…Of course."

Since their departure from Wave, both groups had somewhat separated from one another in terms of distance. Team Gai was left furthest to the back, Hana and her canines were in front of them and finally, leading the way home was the trio and Haku in the front. This happened about an hour into the trip.

"What a jerk, stupid Shino…" Tenten muttered bitterly under her breath, lips pouting as she eyed the ground. Neji grinned at the sight of his distraught teammate.

Tenten, his obviously "enamored" teammate had actually attempted to strike a conversation with the Aburame several of minutes before the groups separated. His response was the reason as to why Tenten was so "not" angry.

"I apologize, Tenten-san, but for the remainder of the trip I would like to spend it with my friends – blah, blah, grr…!" Tenten mockingly repeated his words with pseudo-anger. The bun haired girl kicked a small rock with enough force that it ricocheted off of the Aburame's head in front of them.

He pretended not to notice.

Neji found it hard not to snort out a laugh, but had enough incentive to stay quiet due to his close proximity with the girl. The Inuzuka, Neji noted, must have been told something along the same lines as to what Tenten had been told, as Hana had been previously chatting with the Nara before the groups separated. She seemed to be taking it better than Tenten was, from what he could see.

"With my friends, my ass! Why is she there, then?" Tenten muttered. Walking alongside the trio was Haku, the enemy-now-friend-missing nin. "Oh, forget it." Tenten spat before taking a kunai out and a whet stone. As she sharpened the weapon, Neji felt at ease as that was Tenten's calling card for when she was calming down; meditation, anyone?

The steel meeting against the stone made a nice, crisp noise as it was constantly being sharpened. Neji made a mental note not to irritate his fellow teammate for the next couple of days.

"Done!" Tenten smiled as her kunai's tip glistened in the sunlight. "Now, on to the rest." She grabbed several more.

'Several weeks. Do not irritate Tenten for several weeks.' Neji corrected himself as he and his spandex wearing teammate slowly inched away from her.

Meanwhile, in front of the groups…

"Are you certain that this will work, Naruto-kun?" The only female of the group asked.

"Everything will be fine, Haku. Don't worry too much about it." Naruto reassured her with a thumbs up.

As it stood, Naruto had wanted to officially introduce his new friend to Shikamaru and Shino, but had no real opportunity to do so during their time in Wave. Naruto had wanted to do it privately; just her and his friends, but Shino and Shikamaru seemed to have attracted some sort of attention from Tenten and Hana. While Haku knew their names and some of their mannerisms from what Naruto, Tenten and Hana had told her beforehand, that kind of information hardly forms an acquaintance level relationship – let alone a friendship. This was their first official meeting, and despite their rough first impression – "Hey, we kinda killed your master, how do you do?" And "Yes, hello, I almost killed your best friend. Lovely weather we're having." – it was going rather well.

Now if only they could relax and shrug the feeling of a death stare coming from behind off of their backs…

Shino sneezed.

Moving on.

"We'll talk to our sensei, he'll make sure to put in a good word for you and everything should end up okay." Naruto clarified while the other two nodded.

"Even after what I did?" Haku asked uneasily, slightly ashamed at the spilled blood. The trio nodded. "Really? I was not aware that a village could be so forgiving."

"Stanger things have happened." Shino shrugged with his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, but you're very lucky to have attacked one of us…" Shikamaru began.

"Oh? How so, Shikamaru-san?" Haku tilted her head slightly as she looked at the Nara.

"Shino and I are the next heirs of our clans, while our sensei just so happens to be very influential when he needs to be…"

"O-Oh…" Haku nodded nervously, silently telling him to continue.

"…and the Hokage is very fond of us, but especially fond of Naruto in particular."

Haku paled.

"He visits my home every now and then to see how my parents and I are doing." Naruto smiled.

"And… And the Hokage…"

"…is the ruler of the village, yeah." Shikamaru finished for her. "In all honesty, you couldn't have tried to kill a better meal ticket, Haku. You're very lucky."

Despite the cold sweat that formed around her, Haku found it within herself to nod.

Naruto frowned. "Stop scaring her, Shikamaru. He's playing around, Haku. Don't listen to him."

"I-I see…"

"You will get used to it." Shino told her and in return raised a question from her.

"I am?"

Shikamaru and Naruto grinned; she could only assume that Shino did the same.

"We're a tight-knit group of friends, Haku. It's cliché, but "any friend of Naruto is a friend of ours" kind of thing." Shikamaru stated off handedly. "And if you're our friend, you'll spend more time with us."

Haku allowed herself to quirk an eyebrow at the words but smiled nonetheless. "Thank you for being so accepting of me, Shikamaru-kun, Shino-kun."

"We trust Naruto's judgment, is all." Shino explained before the group decided to change the subject.

It was about two hours later when Shikamaru and Shino both silently agreed on their approval towards Haku as part of the group. They had a very strong feeling that she'll become very close to their team one way or another sometime soon…

Naruto picked up a lone squirrel that was nearby their path and held it up for Haku to see, but only for the vermin to turn around and maul his face, causing Haku to laugh for a bit at the misfortune.

…but they couldn't really explain why.

Haku was a lady they have never seen the likes of before, Shikamaru and Shino noted, where the past women they had to deal with were just Yoshino, Rei, Yugao, Tenten and Hana – all of which had some sort of…violent quirk or violent alignment. They could say with confidence that Haku was lovely compared to those mentioned and would be a very much appreciated addition to their small group of friends – namely, their team, really. The way she and Naruto got along made Shino and Shikamaru very optimistic for the upcoming future.

"I am still worried about being accepted, unfortunately." Haku admitted when one of their conversations finished. "I have never had a permanent home, nor do I have any experience with a village as big as this one…"

"Ara, ara…" Shikamaru yawned. "You don't have to worry about that kind of thing, y'know. We said we'd put a good word for you, so relax."

"I will trust your words, Shikamaru-kun." Haku replied. "But I will still need to find a place to live and my lack of funds will certainly be detrimental in that aspect, unfortunately."

"You could always stay with us if you would like, Haku-san." Shino offered, catching his friends by surprise. They turned to look at him, a certain look in their eyes.

"You three live together?" Her tone was curious.

"No, not…really. Not really." Naruto responded with a stutter.

Haku could tell immediately that he had meant to say something else in that pause, but didn't question it.

"In the meantime, you can stay with me and my family at my house." Naruto scratched his head before offering his home as a solution.

"I wouldn't want to be a bother, Naruto-kun." Haku smiled softly but didn't say "no" outright.

"Are you kidding me? It wouldn't be a bother at all!" Naruto smiled.

"Won't your family mind, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Rei and Keima are really nice. There shouldn't be a problem if we explain the situation." Shikamaru replied evenly. Shino nodded.

Haku stayed quiet for a moment. "You three must be very close – to call each other's parents with such familiarity…" She stated with a tone the trio couldn't decipher.

Shikamaru stammered. "W-Well, that kind of thing happens when someone is raised tightly with other families! Before you know it, you'll be calling them mom and dad also!"

"!"

The trio wouldn't understand why Haku turned a bright shade of red at that statement for quite some time.

Several hours later, the group of ninja had finally made it to the large red gates that signaled the entrance of Konohagakure, a sight the trio sorely missed. Both groups stopped short of the entrance, the trio and Haku faced Team Gai and the Inuzuka group.

"Home sweet home, wouldn't you say?" Gai grinned. With a hand outward, he directed his words at the trio.

"A job well done. Thank you for your assistance, Naruto-kun, Shino-kun, Shikamaru-kun! You have our sincerest gratitude – may your flame of youth only grow from here on out!" Gai shook their hands rather brutally one by one as he said their names. His students nodded behind him.

As Gai turned around to thank Hana – and each of her dogs as well – Neji stepped forward. "Next time we meet, we will be different – as will the outcome." The Hyūga stated calmly to all four of them, his eyes determined. Tenten and Lee nodded in agreement.

The trio smirked, but only Naruto's and Shikamaru's showed. "We'll see about that when the time comes, huh?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Indeed." Neji confirmed his question with a nod before he and his team turned to follow their sensei towards the administration office to submit their report of the mission.

"See you around, Shino." Tenten smiled before waving to the Aburame as she left. Shino nodded in confirmation.

Hana and her canines made their way towards them and stopped where Team Gai once stood. She placed a hand on her hip. "I wasn't so sure about you three at first, but boy, did you ever prove me wrong." The Inuzuka smiled slightly. "Good work, Naruto-kun, Shino-kun and you too, Nara – no… Shikamaru." She corrected herself, surprising the boy.

Shikamaru laughed very slightly and held out a hand. "It was good working with you… Hana." Shikamaru stammered slightly at the name.

Hana smiled and took Shikamaru's hand with her own. Their handshake was short, but firm as both parties recognized each other with respect.

"I'll catch you later?" She asked as she turned around to face the entrance of the village.

Shikamaru had crouched to pet the youngest of Hana's companions one last time before responding. "Maybe." The reply was short, had no definite answer and was vague, but that was good enough for her.

"Come, let's go." She called her dogs before making her way to the Inuzuka clan grounds.

Little did Hana and Tenten know that this would be the last time they would see a sign of the trio for several weeks after today.

xxOxx

"You almost done in there?"

"No. Quit asking."

"I could have written a whole new series in the amount of time you've spent in there."

"Then why don't you?"

"I don't have the right source material… unless you'd like to help-"

"Pervert."

"And proud of it."

Yugao sighed as she turned up the heat for her shower; steam filling up the room as the water began to grow warmer.

This has been the typical scene in Yugao's apartment for the past couple of months – almost a year, now that she thinks about it – and her tiny, almost depressing one bedroom living quarters has been all but quiet and boring. It all started, she realized, when Jiraiya had a breakthrough in a possible team combination attack for the trio late at night. At the time, Yugao couldn't really forget, she was preparing to fall asleep on her bed when there was a knock on her door.

Then another.

And another.

Thinking it was an annoying prank from some of her old ANBU friends, Yugao opened the door with a bag of flour primed and ready on hand. When she finished emptying the contents of said bag, Yugao was a little more than surprised (and embarrassed) to find Jiraiya on the receiving end.

"Is this a bad time?"

Yugao apologized before letting the older man in after he shook off the flour outside. They talked for hours about various things before Jiraiya asked if he could crash at her place for the night on the couch. Of course, she was hesitant at first, but after he promised no funny business, she allowed him to stay. Come morning, she was surprised to see that he not only cleaned the space he used, but he also took care of the disaster zone known as her kitchen before he left. He was gone before she had awoken, off to take care of who-knows-what. After that, Jiraiya showed up at her doorstep every night; sometimes with something to talk about and sometimes not, sometimes sober and sometimes not.

After three months of his nightly visits, Yugao simply left the door unlocked for him.

'Maybe I should give him a copy of the key.' Yugao thought absentmindedly as she dried herself off in the bathroom.

"Isn't she worried?" You might ask yourself, and you would be surprised to find that, no, she wasn't worried. As surprising as it may be, Jiraiya had been behaving himself when he was in her apartment – perverted jokes and jabs aside. To think that the old pervert could behave his urges… who would have thought it?

That didn't stop him from being a total pervert when it came to other women, much to her ever increasing irritation.

When Yugao exited the bathroom, dried and fully clothed, she found Jiraiya sitting on the couch, that he's called a bed for the longest time, reading several scrolls.

"What's that?" Yugao asked as she fixed her hair for a moment.

"Just some status reports…" He answered vaguely.

"Your network?"

He nodded. "Yeah, they might need me soon."

Yugao wrinkled her nose in distaste as she grabbed her crutches that leaned against the wall next to the bathroom door before she made her way to the kitchen area. "I thought you taught them how to be self-sufficient several years back, Jiraiya." The ex-ANBU turned on the faucet over her sink, waited for the water to settle before filling a large glass full of water and then emptied it into the water compartment in the coffee maker. With that being done, Yugao put her balance on one of her crutches as she reached up to open one of the cabinets above the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room area before grabbing a large plastic container of grounded coffee.

"I did, but there's some information that can only be spoken face to face; you know that. They need me." Jiraiya rolled the scroll back into a neutral position and moved on to the next one.

"We need you, Jiraiya." Yugao responded, the *pop* of the plastic lid of the container being removed filled the kitchen/living room area. "I hope you're not thinking about – want some?" She shook the container for him to see, he nodded. "…leaving them alone with me again, are you?" She placed a paper filter over the grinder, using it as a holder for the grounded coffee as she poured it in. With a flick of the wrist, Yugao turned on the coffee maker.

"That's the last thing I want to do, trust me." Jiraiya sighed before closing another scroll. "The old man doesn't like the idea of me taking them along until they make Chūnin."

Yugao nodded, two mugs on hand ready for the coffee. "Speaking of the Hokage, I heard he was talking about-"

There was a knock on the door, cutting Yugao off. Both teachers turned towards the door.

"Now who could that be?"

Yugao walked towards the door and when her hand touched the door knob, she smiled when she sensed the chakra signatures on the other side.

The door was opened, revealing her students and a very pretty woman with a massive sword attached to her back standing behind them.

"Welcome back." Stress left her shoulders when she saw that they had returned unscathed – weirdly dressed, sure, but not injured.

Naruto, Shikamaru and Shino visibly relaxed for the first time since their mission started all those weeks ago at the sight of their sensei. Realization finally stuck them; they made it – first mission complete!

"Come on in, Jiraiya is here too." Yugao opened the door completely, allowing those outside to see their older sensei sitting down. He waved, rising to his feet as he did so. Yugao leaned forward in front of Shino and whispered. "Who's that behind you?"

Naruto overheard. "Who? Do you mean Haku?" Naruto asked aloud, catching Haku and Yugao by surprise.

"She was an enemy we met in Wave." Shikamaru rolled his shoulders. "You making coffee, sensei?"

"W-What?"

"S-Shikamaru-kun!"

Jiraiya tilted his head to the side.

"Haku is the "hunter-nin" that interrupted Zabuza Momochi's and Gai-sensei's battle." Shino clarified, seemingly ignoring Haku's shocked expression.

"What?"

"S-S-Shino-kun!"

Yugao looked horrified.

Naruto pointed to himself with his thumb, a smug expression on his face. "Haku almost killed me – riddled me with so many senbon I looked like a pincushion!" He smiled, bragging about his experience.

"WHAT?!"

Haku couldn't say a thing as everything that wanted to escape her lips were nothing but choked gasps. She was absolutely petrified at the moment.

Naruto grabbed her wrist as Shikamaru and Shino pushed their shocked teacher back into the apartment. As Naruto led Haku into the apartment, he kept the door behind him open.

"But don't worry, she's our friend now!" Naruto smiled brightly while Shino and Shikamaru nodded. Yugao's expression didn't change while Haku slightly thawed from her petrified form. Naruto turned around and placed a hand on the door.

"Pretty crazy, huh? But, get this, that isn't the craziest thing that happened in Wave…" He then closed the door. Shikamaru and Shino both shook their heads. "Far from it."

"Can either one of you please…" *click!* The door was locked. "…explain to me…" Naruto turned slowly, still smiling for a second before he and his teammates' eyes hardened. "…WHY I HAVE THE KYUUBI INSIDE OF ME?!"

*Ding!*

The coffee was done.

xxOxx

An intense half an hour, two more batches of coffee and an explicit explanation as to what happened in Wave later, Yugao and Jiraiya both looked surprised but complacent.

Both teachers remembered that faithful moment oh so long ago when Jiraiya merged their students' chakra pools together. The image of the large red sphere of chakra pouring out of Naruto's seal before splitting up into equal shares for the other two made much more sense now. But to think that it would end up with something like this!

Well, isn't that something?

"You were fighting Naruto when he changed, right?" Jiraiya asked Haku after a moment of silence. After her nod, he placed a hand on his chin. "And how was he? What changed about him?"

The trio felt uncomfortable as they couldn't exactly recall the events that occurred before they talked to the fox in Naruto's mindscape – that little tidbit was spared from their explanation towards their teachers until later. Naruto vaguely remembered the last conversation he had with Zabuza, but that was about it.

"Naruto-kun was…" Haku couldn't find the correct word to use. "…terrifying. He didn't resemble himself at all." She blinked at the memory. "A red energy – chakra, I believe – surrounded him and healed his wounds; pulled the senbon from his body and released them onto the ground. His speed, reflexes and strength increased substantially as well." Haku rubbed her cheek without thinking about it; her body remembered the pain that shot through her with his punch.

Naruto flinched at her words and her current reaction; no doubt he must have been something out of this world to leave such a burden on the girl.

Yugao, cup of coffee in hand, looked at the blonde. "Do you have any idea what triggered the change, Naruto?"

Naruto scratched his head in thought. "Maybe it was when I thought that Shikamaru and Shino had been killed…" He shuddered at the grief he went under.

Haku confirmed the blonde's suspicion, telling him about his inner fight to deny his friends' deaths before he changed.

"Mental stress?" Yugao turned to Jiraiya. He nodded.

"Possibly."

Shikamaru tapped his fingers on the kitchen table, his nails made tic-like noises against the wooden furniture. "But if the Kyuubi had been split between us for so long, why did it choose then to show itself?"

"Hard to say. Maybe it was weakened from the seal splitting it apart?" Jiraiya suggested before he shrugged. "Since the fight, have you three felt anything strange? Any struggle from within?" He referred to the fox briefly. At the shake of their heads, Jiraiya tapped his fingers on his lap.

"You are correct on the Kyuubi's weakened state, Jiraiya-sensei." Shino admitted as Shikamaru and Naruto nodded.

"How do you…?"

"That's a story for another time, Jiraiya-sensei." Shikamaru replied curtly, his tone clear to get his point across.

Jiraiya paused for a moment and nodded. "Too much for this old man, I guess." Jiraiya chuckled before rising to his feet. "All right…" He pointed to Haku. "Follow me; I'll take you to the Hokage's tower to get you acquainted with the old coot. He'll arrange everything."

Haku raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Is it really that easy?"

"They called you a friend; that's all I need to go by." Haku nodded slowly before rising to her feet as well. "As for you three…" He glanced at the trio. "…go home, spend it with your families and rest." Naruto looked like he wanted to retort, but got shot down. "That's an order."

The trio nodded obediently. "Yes, sensei."

"Tomorrow we will discuss everything, understand?"

They nodded.

Naruto turned to the nervous looking girl and gave her a smile. "Just remember what we talked about and you'll be fine, okay?"

She visibly relaxed slightly. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"We'll see you soon." Naruto reassured her as he and his friends waved goodbye before leaving the apartment.

When the door closed, Haku was immediately flanked from both sides by Yugao and Jiraiya, causing the unfortunate girl some mild distress.

"So, you think you can just try and kill one of my boys and expect everything to work out if you just make "friends" with them, huh?" Yugao glared at Haku.

"E-Excuse me?" Haku stammered, her body's instincts to fight being suppressed by her will power and common sense.

"I don't trust you." Yugao stated heavily, her eyes locked on to Haku's before narrowing. She leaned in to plant her forehead against Haku's to intimidate the younger girl before Jiraiya flicked his index finger on Yugao's forehead. The ex-ANBU recoiled in mild pain, covering her forehead at the point of impact.

"Oi, you're scaring her, Yugao." He deadpanned before gently poking Haku's head from above. Haku's head bobbed up and down from every poke.

"Convince me." He stated simply.

"I fail to understand." Haku raised an eyebrow.

"Convince me that their trust in you is real." He stated with a still simplicity that could not hide any hidden motive.

"B-But, earlier did you not say you trusted their-"

"Well, yeah, but that was because they were in the room." Jiraiya leaned on the kitchen counter, arms crossed as he waited.

"Do you not trust me, Jiraiya-san?" Haku eyed the ground in understanding, how could they anyway?

Yugao rubbed the spot on her forehead before frowning. "Why would we? You tried to kill one of our – ow!" Yugao began but got stopped once again by another flick to her head.

"I trust you not to betray my students' judgment, sure, but you? Not so much. Convince me." He repeated again, shrugging as he spoke.

Several seconds were spent in silence. "They gave me a second chance." Haku sighed. "After everything I did, they forgave me. That is a rare trait in the shinobi world."

Jiraiya nodded. "They seem to have that kind of mentality, unfortunately. One of these days it'll turn around and bite them in the ass and I'm just making sure it doesn't happen so soon." Yugao looked like she wanted to add onto that, but stopped when Jiraiya lifted a finger.

"I do not understand what you want me to say." The girl glanced at the ceramic tiles that composed the floor she stood on.

"Just tell me why you decided to trust them; why you decided against killing Naruto when you had the chance." Jiraiya crossed his arms and waited.

She didn't sense any hostility coming from the older man in front of her, just a sense of curiosity that came from his eyes. As the seconds passed, she felt herself lose confidence in Naruto's words; would she truly be welcome here after all?

"I do not know." Haku replied honestly, her words spoken in a hushed voice as if she were trying to keep her answer a secret. Her confusion stemmed past her mind and resonated from within – deeper within was the answer; the honest truth that she wouldn't find for quite some time.

A true maiden, huh.

Seemingly satisfied with her response, Jiraiya smiled. "That's all I needed to hear." He chuckled before he swept his surroundings with his eyes. His response surprised both women in the apartment. "Let's get going then, Haku-chan, Yugao." Moving from the counter he leaned on earlier, the older man walked to the front door and opened it before walking out.

"J-Jiraiya! What are you...?" Yugao stammered as she saw her partner leave. She sighed sharply, giving up and followed him, but not before giving Haku a halfhearted glare.

Haku did not understand what just happened at that moment as she grabbed Zabuza's sword – not hers; not yet. Was she accepted? She didn't know.

What she did know, however, was that things were about to get real interesting in this new chapter of her life.

Haku closed the door behind her as she left.

xxOxx

Shibi Aburame, esteemed leader of the Aburame clan, shifted in his chair as he closed the peculiar book, War of the New Age –For Dummies, in his hands and placed it back into its appropriate place in the library shelf next to his personal reading station near the entrance of the book-filled room. The book was obviously fictitious, but seemed to be more of a "How-to" manual for a far-fetched game involving two armies of sorts. How the book even found its way into his sanctuary haunts Shibi to no end.

The library in the Aburame clan head's home was extensive in size and quantity – more than enough for a single man to go on a reading spree for a couple years and still find no end of inked paper between hard covers. He himself was an avid reader with more than a couple hundred books under his belt – a true achievement if it could be called one.

Stories of heroes, villains – human, imaginary, beasts – and their crimes, ambitions, victories both real and fictional and losses all made a small portion of his collection. Shibi collected books; indulged in them almost as if it were an unhealthy habit – which it wasn't, he would say. Out of all the books in his collection, Shibi was never really able to connect with the protagonists; never finding something he had in common with them.

And yet, he read whenever he had the opportunity.

Shibi leaned back in his chair and stared at her collection of books – a small, shorter-than-the-rest bookshelf that seemed out of place surrounded by its giant neighbors – for more than several seconds before blinking.

The only books he did not dare read, not because of what they held, but by what once held them.

Shibi stood up from his chair suddenly and headed for the door that led outside to his clan grounds. He stood facing the front door for a moment.

They hadn't come back yet.

It might seem unbecoming for a ninja in his position to be concerned – he did trust their abilities, after all – but damn it all, he was a worried father – and not just for his own son, either.

Shikamaru Nara and Naruto Uzumaki had made a permanent impact in the Aburame clan and were welcomed by all members. In that sense, they were just as much as his sons as Shino was – and he could say that with confidence.

Wanting to stretch his body, Shibi left the entrance to his home and stepped out into the porch and witnessed what he saw every day.

Across the grounds, a mixture of Aburame and Nara toddlers, children and adults intermingled with one another; playing, talking and the like. The sight brought a fond warmness to the Aburame clan head as he saw members of his clan warmly greeting members of the Nara clan into conversations. As it could be seen, the Aburame-Nara clans' relationship with one another was at an all-time high.

As Shibi made his way across his clan's grounds, he stopped short of his usual route to the village center when he spotted a rather large, mixed group of Nara and Aburame members bunched together some yards away from the Aburame clan's fountains. Shibi approached the group and smiled at the sight before them.

Sitting on the marble stone that composed the fountain's thick rim was one Michi Aburame, an unfortunate widow who lost his wife several years back in the line of duty and a petite, young woman that Shibi recognized as Koharu Nara.

To the oblivious eye, the scene would be that of just a man and woman talking, but that was far from the case. Koharu's and Michi's conversation was slightly informal, beneath the kind words and idle gestures were hidden meanings – longing for one another, attraction, and perhaps something else.

The large group of spectators began to murmur amongst themselves, both clan members talked in an awed hushed tone together. They seemed to be excited for the soon-to-come courtship, and quite frankly, he was too – even though he knew that the elders will have a lot to say about it, Shibi would be there to see things through.

With a grin behind his coat, Shibi walked away from the blossoming couple and pondered on the tremendous impact that the promise between Jiraiya and the Yondaime had brought forth. Massive changes have occurred since then and they would only increase as time goes on. As to what these changes could bring, well, Shibi could only wonder.

Upon reaching the large, warm colored doors that composed his clan's ground's entrance, the kikaichū inside him began to buzz wildly, catching his attention. Ahead of the gate coming closer were Shino, Shikamaru and Naruto, lightly conversing with one another before they noticed his presence.

The clan head could not help but feel relieved when he saw them approaching.

"You have returned." Shibi wanted confirmation, to which the trio nodded.

"Yes, father." Shino answered afterwards.

"What happened to your clothing?" The Aburame clan head asked them in surprise by their white shirts that they were wearing.

Shikamaru and Naruto sighed, giving a vague answer of "It's a long story." He would have to ask his son for more information, it seems.

Shibi examined the trio with an observant eye and noted that they were currently uninjured, eliminating the need for trivial questions. "I am more than glad to see you all returning safe and sound, but I am surprised that you would come to me first, Shikamaru-kun, Naruto-kun. I am positive your families would like to know of your return."

Naruto shook his head. "We know, we know, but we're just clones." Naruto pointed at himself and at Shikamaru. "We didn't want to send each other off alone, so we made clones to keep each other company."

"Quite effective, if you ask me." Shibi nodded. "Please send my regards to your parents, Shikamaru-kun, Naruto-kun and make sure to get some rest." The clones nodded.

"Will do. We'll see you tomorrow, Shino." Shikamaru's nodded in agreement before it dispelled itself along with Naruto's clone.

"Were you on an errand, father?" Shino asked as Shibi had been walking towards the gate of the clan grounds when they arrived.

Shibi shook his head. "Just my normal route around the village, is all, but that can wait." He turned around to face the clan grounds one more time.

"Were you, by chance, looking for Anko-san?" Shino inquired as he led the way towards his home.

Shibi raised an eyebrow. "Anko-san? Why would I be looking for her, Shino?"

Shino shrugged.

"Right." Shibi changed the subject. "Tell me more about the mission, will you, Shino?"

Shino nodded. "Of course, father."

xxOxx

An empty home was a sad home, Yoshino noted absentmindedly as she finished her daily chores on the main household. While most clans had servants that cleaned their homes, the Nara clan refrained from having any. Why? A clan could only be allowed to be so lazy (Yoshino wanted something to do at home, as well).

With her husband away on a mission and her son's return pending, Yoshino could only sigh – half with worry and the other half with boredom – as she tapped the dining table rhythmically with her fingers.

*tap-tap-tappity-taptap*

"What to do… what to do?" Yoshino sighed once more before pouting. "There's nothing to do…" She groaned before standing up from the chair and made her way outside.

Like a bird who had its wings clipped, Yoshino often fantasized about going out of retirement and rejoin the workforce as a ninja again. She wasn't old, she told herself and anyone crazy enough to tell her otherwise, she could handle it if the time comes for it, but being a wife and mother took a lot of responsibility and time.

'I've been out of it for too long anyway…' Yoshino thought solemnly as she walked outside her home. Incidentally, the large tree nearby rustled from a sudden gust of wind, causing dozens of leaves to float to the ground. With an experienced hand, Yoshino grabbed one of the many concealed hairpins she kept on her person and flicked her wrist once, launching several pins towards the leaves.

The faint noise of wood getting poked could barely be heard as each pin hit the nearby tree, multiple leaves penetrated against the tree by the pins.

'Far too old…' Yoshino smirked proudly before realizing that far too many eyes were on her at the moment. Members of her clan and members of the Aburame clan watched her display and chatted with one another, impressed by her skill. The mother blushed in embarrassment before scratching her flustered cheeks.

When she calmed down, Yoshino appreciated the scenery before her as both clans interacted with one another.

'All thanks to them…' Yoshino sighed. She missed them terribly; her stubborn son, the polite yet understated sense of humor of Shino and the uplifting beat that came with Naruto. Yoshino smiled slightly as she was not the only who felt their absence.

The trio held a certain atmosphere wherever they went, or, at least, that's what a majority of both clans believe. Once the trio had left the village for their mission, both clans could definitely feel that they were missing; especially the different sets of girls that would come knocking on her door every morning to ask where the trio was – those girls had it very bad for the trio, apparently.

'Since when had they been so popular, anyway?' Yoshino held back a chuckle. The girls were kind and very pretty, but Kami help them if they want to get the boys' attention away from one another. Those three were as dense as stone, unfortunately for those after their hearts.

Before Yoshino could ponder on whether or not she should play matchmaker, she was cut off as she heard some excited chatter. Turning her attention towards the commotion, Yoshino experienced a mixture of happiness and relief spread through her body when she saw the very familiar set of heads coming her way.

They were back…

The trio greeted the surrounding clans' members in response to the warm welcome they received.

Yoshino leaned on the wooden railing of the house's porch as she waited for her set of boys to get closer. After such a long time, she'll be able to hear her son's voice again. She hoped for a warm "I missed you." Or even a "Hey mom, I'm back!" She couldn't wait!

"Wow, you look so old." Shikamaru smiled as he greeted his mother, failing to notice the large twitch over her left eye.

Yoshino raised her arm and slapped him around comically, crying out: "Shika-kun, you baka! Baka! Baka!" Shino and Naruto choked at the scene before Yoshino pulled her son into a tight embrace.

"I missed you too…" She then opened her arms wider and scooped the other two into her embrace as well. "I missed you all!" She squeezed tightly.

"L-Likewise…" Shino and Naruto managed to choke out before dispelling into smoke.

"A-Ah, clones?" Yoshino stammered out at the empty air.

Her son shook his head. "You killed them, woman. After all these years… you finally did it." Shikamaru's tone was dry and stale. "You just couldn't handle the thought of someone stealing your only son… so you killed them." Shikamaru walked past his exasperated mother and headed towards their house. He opened the door, entered, waited for a moment and closed the door.

…

…

He opened the door.

"Do you want to hear how my mission went or not?"

Yoshino could only sigh.

xxOxx

Death is a mysterious entity in the lives of mortals who intend to understand it. Everyone is bound to it; no exceptions and its grasp can throttle you at any moment and any place. Constriction and asphyxiation are deemed some of the less painful (debatable by the circumstances given) causes of death out there, but that did nothing to change the fact that dying was freaking terrifying.

Naruto was given a grim reminder of the consequences of letting your guard down.

"Wh-Why…?" The blonde choked out as his life was squeezed out of him. He was supposed to be safe! He was home! He was…lied to. His arms and legs went limp.

'Is… Is this really the end...?' He went pale.

"Don't you think he's had enough, Rei-chan?" Keima laughed as his son passed out.

When Naruto, Shikamaru and Shino had shown up at the blonde's home; they were met with an S-ranked glomp from Rei, dispelling the clones immediately leaving Naruto to suffer at the love alone.

"B-But I missed him so much!" Rei, tears in her eyes, cried out as she tightened her vice-like death grip even more.

"So did I, but why do I get the feeling that he's in greater danger here than on the mission he just came back from?" He pointed at their son, now limp and blue from the lack of air.

"Gah! Naruto-kun!" Rei released her son.

When Naruto came to several minutes later, he was met with his father trying to calm down his wife. With a smile, Naruto got up off the ground and approached his parents.

"There's something I need to tell you two."

Keima turned to face his son. "Is it about why you, Shikamaru and Shino are wearing a plain white shirt? What happened to the clothing we gave you before you left?" Rei looked up at her son, barely registering her son's clothing.

"Oh, I was…" Naruto paused; wondering if he should be blunt about it towards them or if he should sugarcoat it. "…riddled with enough senbon that I could pass as a porcupine wrestling a pincushion."

He sugarcoated it.

"Are you okay?!"

"…what's up with that description, Naruto?"

His parents asked simultaneously, one with worry and the other with amusement. Rei ran up to her son and lifted his shirt inspect him of any injuries, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

"I-I'm fine…!" Naruto grumbled before he patted his mother on the head dismissively.

"Did this happen in a fight?" She asked; her tone was distant, probing for the outcome of said fight.

"Let's go inside, I'll let you guys in on what happened, alright?"

His parents nodded and followed Naruto inside.

Several Hours Later…

Several hours passed as Naruto told his parents in somewhat vivid detail – leaving out some key moments for obvious reasons – the events that he and his friends went through. His retelling was somewhat biased when it came towards Shikamaru's and Shino's moments with Hana and Tenten, mostly because the only information he received from those moments came directly from his friends themselves.

Rei put her hands against her reddened cheeks during those parts and sighed whimsically at the end.

'Aww, young love!' Rei gushed mentally at her son's retelling of Shikamaru's and Shino's conflict/interaction with the opposite sex.

'Wow, they are definitely whipped, huh?' Keima could only sigh sympathetically.

Naruto purposely left Haku out of most of his retelling, partly due to embarrassment and partly due to the introduction she was going to give his parents soon.

He hoped they would act appropriately.

"So, what happened with that Haku girl, Naruto-kun?" Rei asked shortly after he finished the grittier details of the mission.

The blonde smiled nervously, placing the glass of water he grabbed earlier on top the table where they sat.

"A-About that…"

There was a knock on the door.

Naruto broke into a cold sweat when his mother got off the chair she sat on and answered the door. The blonde stared at the glass of water with enough attention that the water began to boil.

"Oh, hello. Who might you be?" Naruto heard his mother ask whoever was at the door.

"…"

"I couldn't catch that, can you say it louder?"

"H…H-Haku… My name is Haku. I am Naruto-kun's friend." Naruto could slightly hear Haku's soft tone.

Rei stayed quiet for a few seconds. "Ah, of course!" Where are my manners, please come on in!"

Keima raised an eyebrow at his son before the two females joined them.

"Hey, Haku. How'd everything go with the old man?" The blonde asked, ignoring his mother's questioning glance.

"You did not exaggerate, Naruto-kun. He was very understanding – surprisingly so." Haku replied, doing the same as Naruto by ignoring the parents in the room. Haku and Naruto exchanged glances, having a silent conversation between one another.

"Naruto, what's going on?" Keima asked before his wife could.

"…This is Haku; the one I was telling you guys about." Naruto referred to the recap he gave them.

Haku waited as she placed her weight on the balls of her feet to evade when Naruto would undoubtedly drop the bomb that she's the one that –

"I helped her find herbs to help heal her friend and she's also the one I spent the festival with back in Wave."

Eh?

Haku was surprised at Naruto's sense of decency this time around. Maybe he became aware of the distress he brought her the last time –

"She also almost killed me by making senbon rain down on me in a one-sided fight on the bridge."

Haku was in mid-aerial roll when Rei's hand shot outwards and grabbed the girl's arm. Rei's grip was tight on Haku's arm, but her expression was blank. The roll Haku tried to pull off left her at an uncomfortable position when she was grabbed; her arm was being twisted, forcing her to go on one knee to get lax relief.

Naruto calmly closed his eyes. "She lost her only family member the day of the fight and has nowhere to go. Zabuza told me to take care of her – to help her reach a dream she can strive for – before he died. Haku was my friend before she was an enemy, so could she stay here with us? Please?" The blonde pleaded solemnly because he knew his words were not very convincing.

Rei's expression softened but her grip on Haku's arm didn't. "Naruto-kun, I'm sorry, but…"

"I don't have a problem with it." Keima answered softly, surprising them.

"Really?" Naruto and Rei asked simultaneously. Keima pointed at himself then at Rei.

"Our situation was worse when we first met, remember? We were from rival clans who hated one another." He chuckled.

"T-That's different, Keima!" Rei scolded her husband.

"You tried to kill me more times than I could count." He remarked. "And look where we are now." He moved to her side, hugging her from behind. The action made Rei let go of Haku. "I like to think that you kind of like me a little bit now, Rei-chan." He grinned at her angry, blushed face.

"…I love you, you idiot…" Rei mumbled out, slightly hurt when her husband brought that part of her past up. Rei sighed and leaned back on her husband's chest. "I'm not sorry for what I did, let me be clear about that, but I will allow you to stay here only because it's two against one at the moment. I… I will try to get along with you but only if you do the same."

Keima hugged her tighter. "That's as close to an apology that'll you get, Haku-chan." Keima laughed initially but groaned when Rei elbowed him in the stomach.

Haku bowed. "T-Thank you for accepting me, I will try not to be a bother."

Rei nodded. "Very well, we'll go set up a room for you. Come, Keima." She shrugged him off and walked deeper into the house.

"Yes, princess!" Keima laughed and followed her, leaving Naruto and Haku alone.

They stayed quiet for a moment.

"So, are you going to be recognized as a ninja or is there some kind of test you have to take?" Naruto asked as he pulled out the chair next to him for her to take.

Haku removed the strap across her waist that kept that sword attached to her and placed the sword against the kitchen counter before sitting down.

"I was not able to join the ninja workforce due to my status as a former enemy, unfortunately." Haku smiled softly. "I will be under surveillance for quite some time before I can apply again."

"What? That's bullshit!" Naruto frowned. "Let's go talk to the old man, maybe I can convince him -"

"It is fine, Naruto-kun." Haku interrupted him. "It's understandable, I would say. I have been fighting for so long, but never with a sword like this." She explained. "To do Zabuza-sama's honor justice, I plan on becoming as good a sword user as he was." She paused. "And when the time comes, I'll fight alongside you, Naruto-kun."

He smiled at the thought. "That'll be amazing!" He brought his fist towards her and kept it there. "To making that thought into a reality, let's keep getting better and stronger!"

Haku had seen this before; Naruto, Shikamaru and Shino had done it once during the trip from Wave. She nodded and slowly bumped fists with the blonde.

'Why… Why do I feel cheated…?' Haku thought awkwardly, but didn't know why.

Meanwhile, Rei had been spying on them and nearly slapped herself at her son's stupidity. She walked away, unknowingly looking forward to see how this will develop.

'Go, Haku-chan, go!'

xxOxx

[Multiple Perspective]

He was tired, he realized. Yet, when the sun had set and the moon rose to watch the night sky, his eyes refused to close.

He was in his bed, facing the ceiling above his room, wanting to rest but unable to reach it. He was safe at home – he was home, right? – but in his mind there was something that didn't belong – something that made him restless. Back in… Wave, he didn't have this problem, not like this, anyway.

It bothered him –whatever "it" was – to no end that it, no, they, refused to be forgotten. After a couple of seconds – or was it hours? – of thinking, he realized what was different from when he first let left the village to when he came back.

During the mission, he had…

He slowly rolled out of his bed, got on his feet and walked towards the desk in his room before his hands awkwardly searched for the handle of one of the drawers in the dark, but eventually found what he was looking for.

The spine was solid but slightly aged, the cover somewhat strained and the pages slightly folded at the edges from past carelessness when holding it in beforehand.

They… They didn't want to be forgotten and the least he could do was give them that, right?

Maybe…

Grabbing a pencil from the desk's surface, he sat down and placed the notebook against the desk and began to work. His room was then filled with the sound of pencil marks being made against paper.

He didn't need a reference for this work of the gone was permanently etched into his memory.

He was stressed, but as he worked ever so carefully, he could feel the stress going away.

He leaned back on the chair, looked out the window towards the moon and inhaled.

Thinking back on the mission…

It was going to be a very long night for him.

xxOxx

Following Morning

When the sun greeted the sky, Naruto paused from his work and closed the notebook in his hands, rose to his feet and popped his joints in the process. He yawned, but he could feel the stress he had building on his back began to decrease. The blonde walked over to the door, paused and looked back at the notebook. With a nod, he exited his room.

After a quick shower, he put on a black T-shirt and left his home and headed to the retail section of the village to the north of his home. It was fairly early in the morning when Naruto stepped out of his home; if the nearly empty streets were any indication of the fact. When he reached a four way intersection between two streets, Naruto was a little more than surprised to find Shikamaru on the sidewalk to his left and Shino on the sidewalk to his right.

They paused, eyeing one another for a second or two before they met up with the blonde and walked forward without speaking a word. By the time the trio reached their destination, the streets had filled with civilians and ninja alike, the shop didn't have many customers, thankfully. The trio walked out holding three individual sketch pads and multiple tools to put into use with what they purchased.

Shikamaru had picked out a warm brown shirt while Shino had his regular scarf on with a dark olive shirt.

"You guys ready?" Naruto asked as they made their way to the clearing where they trained.

"I guess so." Shikamaru yawned while Shino nodded.

"How did your parents react to Haku?" Shikamaru asked to make conversation.

"As well as you would expect, I guess." Naruto shrugged. "My mom will get used to her soon."

"And Keima? How did he react?" Shino asked, carefully avoiding a lone girl standing still in front of a shop.

"I think he liked her." Naruto shrugged. "Something about how she reminded him of mom when they were younger." He paused. "Did… Did you guys tell them…?"

The question rang in the air and was met with silence.

That was the only answer they could give.

As the trio walked, the buildings were steadily decreasing in size as they left the center of the village. When they reached the massive red gates that led to the outside of the village, they couldn't help but think back before their first mission started several weeks ago.

They gripped the bags where the sketchpads were tighter.

xxOxx

They came across their teachers waiting for them in their regular training spot; Jiraiya leaned on the lone tree in the clearing while Yugao rested underneath him – her crutches were in his hands.

Yugao waved as they approached. "It feels good being back here."

"We weren't gone for that long, sensei." Naruto deadpanned as they placed their purchased art supplies at the base of the tree next to Yugao.

"With you three gone, there wasn't much of a reason to come here, you know?" Yugao stated before she took Jiraiya's hand to help her on to her feet.

"Let's get started, shall we?" Jiraiya, slightly impatiently, got the session started. He pointed at Shino. "You mentioned that the Kyuubi was weakened by the seal dividing amongst you threem why did you say that?"

"We talked to it." Their response was synchronized.

"When we passed out," Shikamaru began. "we were thrown into Naruto's
"mindscape" – whatever that is – and after walking around for who knows how long, we eventually came face to face with a smaller version of the Kyuubi itself."

"Smaller?" Jiraiya asked curiously.

"It was about ten feet tall and only had three tails." Shino clarified.

Jiraiya stayed quiet for a moment. "What did it say?"

"It said that your seal fused with the seal that imprisoned it within me, and split its chakra by force." Naruto answered, constantly tapping the area where the seals were its hands. "Keeping us alive really drained it out, too, apparently. Hell, having us in the "mindscape" was too much for it to handle for too long." Naruto continued.

"It wants to talk to us again, too." Shikamaru chipped in. "Saying that it knew answers to the questions we have."

"Like what?" Yugao asked, interested in the topic.

"Well, first of all, there are two more versions of itself inside of Shikamaru and Shino…" Naruto pointed at them. "…and they don't have any safety measures like I do, but they haven't come out yet. Why is that?"

Jiraiya looked puzzled.

"As it stands, the Kyuubi inside of Naruto cannot do much on its own; perhaps it is best that we assume that the same applies to the replicas inside of me and Shino?" Shikamaru put a hand on his chin as he thought. "But for how long?" He trailed off.

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya crossed his arms.

Shikamaru did the same. "The Kyuubi stated that its power may have already formed into separate versions of itself. Who's to say that they aren't gathering chakra to escape?" The realization brought the team a great sense of discomfort.

"How long would that take? Jiraiya?" Yugao asked, worry seeping into her tone.

"I… I don't know." He answered after a pause.

"That is why it wishes for us to speak to it. We are uncertain of this possibility and only it knows the answer or a solution." Shino interjected.

"And how do we do that? From what you three said, the Kyuubi could barely sustain having you in Naruto's mindscapes."

"We could loosen the seal that contains it within me." Naruto spoke up after thinking about it for a moment. Before everyone could yell at him for his idea, he followed it up with another. "Or, we could loosen the seal that binds our chakra pools together."

"…"

Naruto took the silence as a go ahead to keep talking. "Beneath the primers of our seal, sensei, you attached high ranked suppressors that were meant to keep the Kyuubi's chakra out, correct?" Jiraiya looked surprised but nodded. "I always wondered what they were for…" Naruto thought back when he used to study the seal that was placed on him all those years ago. "…I guess I know why now…Anyways, those suppressors are making it extremely difficult for the Kyuubi to have a connection with its lost power. If we are able to loosen the suppressors from the seal, the Kyuubi's chakra would be able to go with the flow of our combined chakra pools, allowing it to have some of its power back or at least, have a slight connection with its other versions."

The team looked uncertain. "Sensei, did you plan for this to happen?" Shino asked Jiraiya.

"My seal was not meant to combine with the Yondaime's seal; the suppressors were meant to keep the Kyuubi's chakra from spreading to you two, but even I couldn't see an outcome like this." Jiraiya explained, tightening the grip on his crossed arms some more.

"And if we do loosen the suppressors? What then?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, the Kyuubi inside of Naruto, for one, will have a more steady allowance of its chakra back. Since we are not dealing with the original seal, there shouldn't be any danger of it escaping." Jiraiya began.

"What's the catch?" The Nara questioned the older man, but was answered by Naruto.

"The suppressors also act as a base for the seal itself. If we tamper with that, we will be sacrificing chakra control caused by an unstable connection with the primers above them. The seal should stay intact but gathering the chakra from the pool would be slightly more difficult." Naruto looked troubled.

Their level of chakra control was a bragging right for the trio and almost a necessity for their combined attacks. Losing even a single percent of their ability would become a major detriment to their skill.

"What if the Kyuubi is wrong? What if its other versions are not sentient?" Shino tried to salvage the purity of their chakra control.

"That's a scarier thought, Shino." Naruto replied, now worried. "If they aren't sentient, and all they do is grow and grow without control, they could be considered parasites. If they grow too rapidly without pause then they would outgrow their hosts and could…" He trailed off, but his words were not needed at that point.

"…Right. We don't have much of an option, now, do we?" Jiraiya sighed.

"How is this going to happen, Jiraiya?" Yugao asked, following the older man towards their students. Two clones appeared when Jiraiya stood in the middle of the trio.

"Do you three remember the day I first placed the seals on you?"

Before the trio could properly react at the similar scene, Jiraiya and his clones slammed their chakra coated hands onto the trio's stomachs, stunning them while simultaneously burning fingertip sized holes through their shirts. Jiraiya and his clones focused their chakra onto their fingers turned a dark purple color then jammed the same spot repeatedly with a suave expertise that can only come with years and years of mastery.

When the clones finished, they dispelled before the trio fell on their backs, unconscious.

Jiraiya wasn't able to crack a smile before Yugao slammed one of her crutches on the back of his head.

"Did that get it done?" Yugao asked, ignoring Jiraiya's pained whining. She crouched and checked on the boys.

"The suppressors on their seals have been slightly relaxed; hopefully that'll be enough."

"Hopefully?" Yugao turned to face Jiraiya.

xxOxx

Naruto's Mindscape

The first thing Naruto became aware of when he "woke up" was the extremely disgusting taste of what appeared to be sewage water in his mouth contaminating his taste buds.

The second thing he became aware of was that he was drowning.

The water's surface began to spread as hundreds of bubbles disrupted its usual stillness before Naruto surfaced, gasping for air.

"That's fucking nasty! Blegh!" Naruto spit in between gasps of air, trying to rid his mouth of the horrid taste. Trudging against the water, Naruto reached the nearest concrete pathway and pulled himself up. After shaking off the excess water, Naruto looked around in search of his friends.

"Where are they?" The blonde asked himself before calling out their names. "Oi, Shikamaru! Shino! Where are you?!" His words echoed against the concrete walls and metal pipes that composed the mindscape.

With no answers to his call, the blonde assumed they were elsewhere in this large maze and went about to find them. As he walked, Naruto found that the general ambiance of his mindscape felt far different than the last time he and his friends were here. It felt… Sturdy, if that makes any sense; as if the ground and walls held a significant weight to them. Did the seals' suppressors being loosened have anything to do with this?

Maybe.

After turning several corners, Naruto readily became more aware as to where he was headed. The seal in his stomach would grow "warm" the farther he walked, more than likely a method for him to be able to find the Kyuubi easier, no doubt.

Naruto traced the wet, mossy surface of the brick walls with a finger as he walked.

Where were Shikamaru and Shino?

xxOxx

The rustling of thousands of leaves and the sound of grass gently swaying with a soft breeze was what "woke" the unconscious Nara. Shikamaru sat up, dazed and confused as he looked at his surroundings.

A seemingly endless meadow of nothing but tall grass surrounded by a forest of hundreds of thousands of trees composed his whereabouts; a sea of grass with tsunami-sized waves of trees. In the far, far distance Shikamaru could swear he could hear the crash of a waterfall, but its location could not be pinpointed.

Standing on both feet, Shikamaru gently walked forward, the tips of the grass reached his midriff, slightly tickling the back of his hands as he walked. Above him was the "sky" – a black void with no stars, just darkness, yet from where he stood and where he could see, there was a light surrounding him to illuminate the area around him.

Walking wasn't getting him anywhere, he noted, as the trees seemed to stay at a set distance away. With a "Tsk." Shikamaru began to sprint forward but got nowhere close to escaping the grass meadow.

"Where are you, Naruto? Shino?" Shikamaru asked out loud, mostly to himself.

He didn't expect a reply.

"Hey."

The voice echoed, sending chills down Shikamaru's spine.

"Hey, hey." It repeated. "Tell me a joke." The voice boomed softly around him.

Shikamaru tensed up before increasing his running speed, dashing through the tall grass in panic.

"Where…" The voice sounded distant as he ran. "…are you going…?" The voice was next to Shikamaru's ear, causing him to jump to the side to dodge whatever was coming his way. Yet as he turned around, he saw nothing but the same ocean of grass that surrounded him.

"Show yourself!" Shikamaru ordered with his voice tense and nervous.

The grass around his body coiled downwards towards his legs before wrapping themselves around the Nara. From the waist down, Shikamaru was being constricted.

He gasped before tugging the grass snares on his waist in an attempt to break free, but proved to be a mistake as his hands were then ensnared as well.

"As you wish, but you have to tell me a joke afterwards." The voice spoke into his ear.

Shikamaru groaned as he tried one last time to break free before he was pulled down into the ground.

"NO!"

His scream echoed throughout the meadow for a second, before it dissipated back into silence.

Sweet, sweet mundane, empty silence.

xxOxx

The booming of thunder and water crashing onto itself rose Shino from his unconscious state. A storm in its purest essence surrounded the Aburame, who now stood upon a raging ocean.

Massive waves approached the downed Aburame, but did not crash into him, rather, he went through the wave altogether as if it weren't there in the first place. Obviously confused, Shino got on both of his feet and learned an odd tidbit. The raging ocean of crashing waves that made his standing point was straight; balanced, like the floor of his bedroom. Any wave that would normally disrupt his footing from below simply passed though him from beneath him.

Shino took more than several minutes to make sure that the towering waves of raging water would not cause him harm before he decided to walk forward. As far as he could see, nothing but a raging sea could be seen with a continuous, violent thunderstorm brewing in the pitch-black sky above. The water was clear, Shino realized as he looked down and was amazed – and slightly scared – to see millions of sea creatures below him. Even with no sun, the ocean floor could be seen perfectly, as if there was light from somewhere illuminating his field of vision. As he examined the ocean below him, Shino saw what looked to be a massive whirlpool at the bottom of the ocean floor, sucking in water into a dark abyss.

"Heyheyeheyheyheyheyhey!" Something ran past Shino at an incredible speed, parting a colossal wave into two before leaving a trail of distorted water behind.

Shino followed the trail of distorted water into the distance far away. Whatever caused the disruption on the ocean's surface was godly fast, nothing but a black jet-stream slicing the water is it moved.

Shino was able to see the jet-stream turn – a horrible, jagged turn that popped a wave due to the necessary force required to turn so suddenly – towards him, but was only barely able to get out of its way before it crashed into him.

"Heyyoumustbenew…" The voice raced by, getting quieter as it raced past the Aburame, but got louder as it suddenly turned around before approaching him again. "…andI'vebeenaloneforquitesometime…" It got far away again before turning back. "…Icanfinallyplayagame…"

Shino had to dodge multiple times as the creature kept running back and forth to continue its one-sided conversation.

"…howaboutweplaytag?" It asked as it ran off. It turned with extra force as it rocketed itself towards Shino, roaring on its way.

"I'M THE KYUUBI AND…" The creature appeared in front of Shino – a slimmer version of the fox inside of Naruto – and cocked a front leg back to perform a slash. "…TAG! YOU'RE IT!"

xxOxx

Naruto eventually found the massive iron bars that imprisoned the Kyuubi and was surprised to find the fox resting on its stomach, its tails – now significantly shorter – curled up near its rear end.

"Oi, Kyuubi!" The blonde called out a few ways away from the gate to be safe. It growled slightly in response. Naruto frowned before trying again. "OI, KYUUBI!" His yell made the fox open a single eye to inspect the noise.

"Oh, it's you." The fox grumbled before raising its head.

"Who else could it possibly be?" Naruto asked curiously, but he shook his head. "That isn't important right now! Where are Shikamaru and Shino?! I can't find them anywhere!"

"There's no need to scream, brat." The Kyuubi grumbled before it tried to raise its tails but found that it couldn't. It narrowed its eyes slightly at that, but put it aside. "Oh, so you actually did what I asked of you? This is much better." The fox tried to get on its paws but wasn't able to do so that easily. "I think."

"Where are Shikamaru and Shino, fox?!" Naruto asked again, slightly irritated at being ignored.

The Kyuubi stood silently for a minute or two before it collapsed on the concrete floor, causing a massive boom to echo throughout the mindscape. "I don't know." It replied casually.

"What do you mean you don't know?! Aren't they here in my mindscape like last time?" The blonde looked unpleasantly surprised.

"Whatever you did to get my power circulating again must have fully awoken the rest of my chakra within your friends. They are probably in their own mindscape right now." The Kyuubi shrugged. "Seeing as how the mindscape lies between the seal that binds me to you and my chakra, I should be able to connect with theirs just as easily…" It began.

"And…?"

"I can't."

Naruto tried his best to keep his anger in check. "What…?"

"Although my power is circulating between you three more than before, the rest of my power doesn't wish to connect with me."

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked, slightly closer to the gate than before.

"It means the power within them is not tame, meaning they have no control over themselves." The Kyuubi closed its eyes.

"Are my friends in danger?!" The worried blonde grasped the iron bars of the gate. The fox slowly reached a claw outward and struck at the gate in front of Naruto, but did nothing.

"In your case, you are safe, but your friends do not have this luxury."

The answer petrified the blonde.

xxOxx

When Shikamaru opened his eyes, he realized the situation he was in.

Large vines of grass held his wrists and legs apart, suspending him in the air above the ground.

"So you finally woke up, eh?" The voice from before asked from below. Shikamaru looked down and saw a vastly different looking Kyuubi than the one Naruto had.

"Where's my joke?"

The Kyuubi below Shikamaru was longer – about eight feet tall, but about twenty feet long thanks to the thin tails that made up most of its impressive length. Its four limbs – front legs and hind legs – were buried into the ground, similar to the roots of a tree in the way they looked.

"Well?"

xxOxx

Shino expected to die instantly from the Kyuubi's attack, but as he opened his eyes, he found himself being very much alive. After checking himself over several times to make sure that he was in one piece, Shino turned around and nearly jumped in surprise to find the fox staring at him eye-to-eye.

This version of the Kyuubi was extremely thin and compact. At a small height of seven feet tall and about five feet long – its tails were basically stubs while its ears were short – this version looked rather young.

"Doyounotwanttoplay?"

xxOxx

"They'll probably be okay, though." The Kyuubi yawned.

Naruto fell on his back. "What's with that response?!"

"Do you not have any questions for me?" The Kyuubi asked lazily.

Naruto stayed on his back. "The portion of your power in them, can it escape?"

"No. The seal that bound me within you still applies to my power in your friends, but that is only due to the seal that combined your chakra pools. The seals fused together, giving your friends some resistance from my power's influence." The Kyuubi explained. "That is, if they even want to escape."

"What do you mean?"

"When my power was divided all those years ago, those two portions had begun to form into what I can only assume they are now, juvenile versions of me. They probably have no idea what they are or have no desire to escape yet."

"Juvenile?"

"Yes. For now, at least. Being the chakra constructs that they are – not whole, actually – they will continue to grow and grow by gathering and producing chakra until they become whole again."

"When you say "whole" do you mean…?"

"Yes. Essentially, if left alone, they will subconsciously gather more and more chakra until they return into my original form – nine-tails and all. I doubt it could happen, however. To gather that much chakra would take several decades without it being disrupted and the chances of that happening are slim to none." The Kyuubi yawned.

"Why?"

"Your friends are not covered to the full potential that you are. If the versions of me within them gather too much chakra, it will more than likely seep directly into their bodies; turning them into the altered form that saved your lives during the fight I intervened on."

Naruto swallowed. "Is there anything we can do to prevent that from happening?"

"Allowing me to connect with the rest of my power should help keep them in check and the only way to do that is by taming the rest of my power in them…"

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean when you say "taming"…?"

"Make it submit." The Kyuubi looked disinterested. "This is getting boring, I'll call you later, brat." With its words, the mindscape began to dissipate.

"Wai-Wait! I'm not done with my questions!" Naruto screamed as he began to corrode away.

"I won't be going anywhere, brat." Naruto could barely see the Kyuubi tapping the gate with a claw. "You know where to find me."

xxOxx

"A-Are you the Kyuubi that's inside of me?" Shikamaru stammered as the fox's tails caressed his face. They were soft.

"Am I? First time I hear of it." The Kyuubi tilted its head, its long ears swayed with the motion. "I guess you could say that I'm part of the Kyuubi, if you want to be rude about it." Shikamaru felt malice in its words. "But about that joke…"

Shikamaru scoffed, carefully avoiding the curious tails from entering his mouth. "Why do you want to hear a joke so badly? Do you even know what a joke is?"

The Kyuubi's tails froze in place around Shikamaru's face. "No. But I would like to find out."

Right off the bat, Shikamaru could tell that this version of the Kyuubi was not as well developed or mature as the version they met in Naruto's mindscape. This version's personality was that of a curios child – if a curious child was eight feet tall and twenty feet long with three equally as curious tails – and like most children, perhaps he could take advantage of its lack of intelligence?

"Only if you let me go." He demanded.

The vines only tightened. "And for you to run away and leave me alone in here again? Not happening. Kukuku…" Its laugh boomed throughout the forest they were in.

Maybe calling it a child was exaggerating.

"I don't know any jokes, unfortunately." Shikamaru tried to shrug. "Can you let me go now?"

The Kyuubi rolled its eyes. "I refuse to believe that." Its tails moved to Shikamaru's forehead and coiled back like a snake about to strike would. "You seem like a smart person, you have to have a joke or two in there. I'll find them!" Shikamaru paled as the tails sprung forward.

"WAIT!" Shikamaru could feel the tips of its tails looming over his forehead. His heart was pounding as he tried to remember one of Jiraiya-sensei's jokes.

"Oh? Have you thought of one?"

With a bright blush of embarrassment, Shikamaru looked at the Kyuubi and forced a nervous smile. He hoped this thing knew basic knowledge.

"H-How do you… How do you throw a party in space…?"

The Kyuubi arched an eyebrow in interest before smiling – could it even be called that? "I don't know, how do you throw a party in space?"

He wanted to die. He wanted to die so badly! "Y-Y-You planet (plan it)!" He did it; his life was on the line and that was the best thing he could come up with it. He was dead and he himself was the reason why.

He waited for death's sweet embrace, but relief did not come his way. When the embarrassed Nara opened his eyes, he found the Kyuubi's tails no longs close to him; rather, they were covering its mouth. The Kyuubi seemed to be trembling as well.

Shikamaru blanched when he realized that the Kyuubi was trying to hold back its laugh and it seemed to be having trouble doing so.

The grass that held him loosened up and dropped him to the ground in front of the fox. After several seconds, the Kyuubi shook its head and cleared its throat, trying to retain its composure.

"That was okay."

Shikamaru pointed an accusatory finger at the beast. "Don't even think about acting dignified now! You were about to break out laughing weren't you?!"

The Kyuubi looked charmingly confused. "You're an interesting human, you know that? What's your name?"

They were face to face – a human… and a demon.

"What's it to you, anyway?" Shikamaru retorted, arms crossed and eyes closed. He didn't notice its tails coiling back like before. "Why would my name matter - " The tails pierced his forehead, stopping him instantly.

"Hmm… Shikamaru Nara… That's your name, eh?" The fox nodded to itself as it found information on its host. "I'll make sure to bring you back here soon, so you can tell me more jokes!" The Kyuubi chuckled as it brought Shikamaru's unresponsive body closer to its face. "But in the meantime, let's be able to talk to one another, kukuku…" It removed its tails from Shikamaru's forehead except for a thin strand of its fur that stayed attached. Shikamaru's body hit the ground with a heavy thud.

xxOxx

The storm subsides when the Kyuubi stands still, Shino noted as the fox waited patiently in front of him. Shino had yet to answer its question.

"Doyounotwanttoplay?"

Shino stood still. "You recognize yourself as the Kyuubi, correct?"

It tilted its head. "Eh? IguessIdobutonlyaportionoftheoriginal."

"You know that you're just a fraction?" The Kyuubi wrinkled its nose at his words.

"Don'tsayitlikethat." Shino felt this topic should be avoided.

"Why do you speak like that?" Shino asked, hopefully getting the Kyuubi to speak in a calmer manner.

"Ican'thelpit. I'mtheKyuubi-that-has-thespeed. Tonsofenergy."

"Speed? What do you mean - "

"Enoughtalking, moreplaying! Tagyou'reit!" The Kyuubi grew tired of the conversation and flicked a finger on Shino's chest, flinging him back for a solid minute.

Shino recovered quickly, but was surprised at the lack of the pain the Kyuubi inflicted him with.

The Kyuubi bolted past Shino, leaving him behind. Shino muttered something about little kids and chased after the fox. "I still have questions that I need to ask!" Shino called out to the faster creature.

"Youneedtocatchmefirst!" The water boomed when the fox put extra force on its legs to rocket forward. The storm began to take place once again; massive waves began to form as did the thunderclouds above.

Shino knew that chasing after the fox would be pointless as its greater speed would leave him in the dust. "If I play this game, will you answer my questions?" Shino stopped as he asked the question.

"Sure!" The Kyuubi called out from the distance.

"Very well." Shino muttered before sitting down, arms and legs crossed.

The Kyuubi looked back and expected to see the human following him, but was surprised to find him sitting. It furrowed its brow. "Ithoughtyouwantedtoplay?" Using one of its claws as a brake system, the Kyuubi dug its claws on the water's surface, slowed down and changed directions immediately, reaching Shino in time whatsoever.

"Getupandplay!" The Kyuubi circled the Aburame, its speed increasing, causing whirlpools to form around Shino.

The Aburame muttered something under his breath.

"Eh? Whatdidyousay?"

"…"

"Areyoumakingfunofmyears?" The Kyuubi began to slow down before approaching the Aburame.

"…"

The fox leaned forward, his short, stubby ear towards Shino in an attempt to hear what he was murmuring.

Once the fox was close enough, Shino poked its face.

"Tag. You are it."

The Kyuubi slowly stepped back, obviously shocked at the underhanded trick that the human used against it.

"Now will you answer my questions?" Shino asked calmly now that he won.

The Kyuubi growled. "Youcheater! Thatisn'tfairatall!"

"But I won, did I not?"

"Cheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheatercheater! Idon'twanttoseeyouagain!" It raised one of its claws.

"Damn - " Shino was dunked through the floor and into the violent water below, where the strong currents began to tear his body into shreds.

xxOxx

"Fuck!"

"Shit!"

"Damn!"

The trio jerked upwards, surprising their teachers at the sudden cursing. The boys were covered in sweat.

"So… how'd it go?" Yugao asked casually as she placed the deck of cards she and Jiraiya were using to play with while their students were unconscious.

One explanation later…

"So the Kyuubi's power formed into separate versions of itself, after all?" Jiraiya recapped what they told him. "And the only way to prevent them from temporarily taking over is to "tame" them?" They nodded.

"That's troubling…" Yugao shuddered.

"They don't seem interested in escaping, though. So that gives us some extra time." Jiraiya sighed. "The Kyuubi inside of you two said that they will call you next time, right?" Jiraiya pointed at Naruto and Shikamaru. "And yours?" He asked Shino.

"I believe it hates me." Shino shrugged as a reply.

"Messing with the seals will only have negative side effects on your chakra control, which is something that none of us want to damage any further, right?" The team shook their heads collectively.

"So what do we do now?" Naruto asked as he and his friends rose to their feet.

"You three need to recover the chakra control you lost when I loosened the suppressors."

The trio paled. "You don't mean…" Shikamaru groaned.

"That's right! Your favorite: chakra control exercises!"

The trio whined collectively.

xxOxx

Several days later…

The trio yawned simultaneously as they patiently waited inside the Hokage's tower. The past couple of days had been tiring for the trio, as constant chakra control wasn't exactly the most interesting training they have had experience doing. So far, the only aspect of their lost chakra control that they could see was the time it took to cast a jutsu was longer than usual. That could not stand.

When they were younger, the trio had abused the shadow clone jutsu to amass chakra control experience in a short amount of time, now, however, the trio now knew their limits and was now confident in using the technique to its full potential. Thousands of clones were currently working on restoring their chakra control to where it once was – no, even better than it once was. Their days have been spent at the training field and progress was going well.

But for today, the originals had business to take care of. The secretary that handled business affairs smiled with amusement at the sight of the three teenagers sitting down on wooden chairs falling asleep. It was fairly early in the morning, too early for the youngsters, she thought.

When the trio's turn came up to have a meeting with the Hokage, they were met with a warm greeting from the man in charge himself.

"Isn't this a nice surprise? Good to see you, Shikamaru-kun, Shino-kun, and Naruto-kun. What brings you to my office this fine morning?" The Hokage greeted the trio from behind his desk. The trio smiled and bowed to their village leader.

"We're here on business, Hokage-sama." Shikamaru introduced their visit.

"Oh? That's rare for someone so young to come and visit me for business."

"We are actually here for two reasons. I hope that is fine by your standards, Hokage-same." Shino admitted, causing the old man to grin.

"Why, of course. How can I help you?"

"We're here to buy property." Naruto began.

The Hokage gave them a quizzical look. "Property…?" They nodded. "Well then…" He opened a drawer to his left hand-side and withdrew several dozen scrolls. "The property we have for sale is as follows…"

"Actually, we have an eye on a certain piece of property for sale…" Shikamaru kindly interrupted the Hokage,

"Do tell." Hiruzen placed a hand on his chin.

"We are looking to purchase the Kanoe family grounds from the village." Shino stated neutrally.

Hiruzen frowned.

The Kanoe family used to be one of the wealthiest civilian families the village has ever had the pleasure to house; not only for their wealth, but for the fact that they were one of the first civilians to make their home in the village when it first started out. For several generations, the Kanoe took part in civilian affairs and were a much respected family by all. That all changed when reports of suspicious behavior involving dark arts began to take place from neighbors nearby. When asked for permission to inspect their home, the Kanoe rejected the notion immediately and slammed the door on whoever stood before it.

No one could say for certain what happened to the Kanoe family as they suddenly disappeared, leaving their large property alone and empty. A rumor of the property being haunted is popular to this day with both the young and old.

With all the bad reputation the property has, you would think the price to purchase the property would be low, right?

Wrong.

The fact of the matter is, the property is as old as the village is, making it a landmark, per se. Landmarks and historical items – documents and buildings alike – are protected by several laws placed from the beginning; in short, demolition of the supposed haunted property was not allowed. That didn't mean the village couldn't sell it, however. Through several loopholes exploited amongst the laws, the property could be purchased so long as it is treated with respect.

Hiruzen gave them the benefit of the doubt and assumed they knew that tidbit already.

"I am sorry boys, but the price is pretty steep for that property." He apologized.

"How much?" Naruto asked immediately.

The old man sighed. "Fixed for the current economic standpoint, weighing in the historical significance behind the property and of course, restoration before selling…" The Hokage mentally crunched the numbers. "…the price of the Kanoe family grounds would be about six million ryō." He hoped that was enough to deter their young minds.

"We can handle the restoration, actually." Shikamaru explained.

"Five million ryō."

"There's that rumor about it being haunted…" Naruto winked.

"Four million ryō."

"Of course, the property has been vacant for almost fifty years… Who knows how the conditions of the buildings are…" Shino faked concern.

"Three million ryō."

"Favorite genin discount?" Naruto smiled.

"Two million, nine-hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine-hundred ninety-nine ryō."

"Seriously?" The trio sounded miffed.

"I hope you have a good reason for asking for the price, you three." Hiruzen warned.

"We're here to buy the property – "

"With what money, Naruto-kun? Or are you prepared to swindle me down to a lower price?"

"We have money, Hokage-sama." Shino assured the old man.

"Do you now?" They nodded. "Convince me."

The trio channeled chakra into their hands and hovered them over his desk. With a bright light, hundreds of thousands of paper bills began to pour neatly from the palms of their hands, stacking into organized piles that covered the desk completely. When the trio was finished, they put their hands in their pockets and began to scoop spare coin change and placed it gently on top the mountain of currency. Once their pockets were empty, the trio took out their personal wallets and emptied them out as well –

"E-Enough!" Hiruzen stared wide-eyed at the absurd amount of cash the trio literally brought to the table. "H-How did you - ?"

"Ah-ah-ah! Ninja secret!" Naruto wiggled his index finger back and forth.

'Damn that ninja/currency secrecy law!' Hiruzen cursed mentally.

"We also have this for you, Hokage-sama. Our second reason for this meeting." Shino retrieved an envelope from his pocket before standing on his feet to give it to the old man. Hiruzen eyed the envelope carefully and inhaled at the sight of the special seal used to close the envelope.

"We talked to Jiraiya before this and he said that it would benefit the village greatly if it were to accept." Naruto explained as the Hokage read the contents of the envelope

'A trading partnership between Gatō Company and Konohagakure? Under new management?' Hiruzen was a smart man; he had to be! He was the Hokage! An opportunity such as this seemed suspicious, especially the reservations for the trio in front of him – what had happened in that A-rank mission? So many questions to ask…

However, when Hiruzen saw the exchange rate in prices and products for allowing the company to trade at the village contain as many zeroes that it did, plus the expected gross income for his village exceeding what he ever hoped for, he would have to be an idiot to decline. The economy in the village was stable, but this deal could potentially boost them into a golden age in trade alone!

Holding his tears back, Hiruzen stood from his seat, opened a hidden panel, retrieved the scroll that contained the deed to the Kanoe family grounds and placed it on gently atop the money pile on his desk.

"Take it."

"…Really…?"

"Take it. All of it."

"All… All of it, Hokage-sama…?"

He nodded.

"A-Are… wow… Are you sure?"

"Go. Leave this old man alone."

Quickly taking the deed of their new property and the money they had placed on the table, the trio ran out the tower, confusion and some fear were spread across their faces.

Hiruzen had never been happier signing paperwork.

xxOxx

Kanoe Family Grounds…

North of the main gates of Konoha, practically on the other side of the village itself was the property that the trio had… "Purchased."

Considering that the Kanoe family had gotten dibs on plenty of land the moment the village sprung up, their home was rather large – rivaling many of the major clan's grounds in terms of size – with far more land than actual buildings. The compound was composed of five buildings; the main house, two guest houses, a shrine temple, and a building that didn't resemble anything the trio had ever seen before but resembled a dojo in terms of size.

The buildings were spread far apart from one another; the main house was the farthest to the back away from the wooden gate that marked the entrance to the compound, the guest houses were parallel to one another from their position in the middle of the grounds, the shrine temple was on the farthest left corner of the property while the large dojo-like building was located on the right corner of the property away from everything else. Connecting the buildings were paths of stone that started at the entrance of the gate and branched out to the entrance of each individual building.

Time had taken its toll on the property, as extensive water damage coated the buildings along with the front gate, wild grass and weeds were running amok throughout the entire compound where the stone path was not present, and large moldy patches of dead leaves stained the stone path at every turn. The few trees that were present seemed healthy enough, however.

"Landmark my ass…" Naruto muttered as they entered the compound and inspected their new home.

"We're going to need wood…" Shikamaru marked a notebook, barely able to catch Naruto when the wooden steps leading into the main home snapped under his weight. "A lot of wood!"

The trio was not surprised when the door to the main building fell over when they slid it open to enter. "Screws, nuts and bolts…" Shikamaru listed the items on the notebook.

"This place doesn't have any electrical outlets!" Naruto grumbled as he inspected the heavily dust ridden rooms.

"Electrical engineering, plumbing system…"

As the trio continued to scour their new property, the list of items they needed only grew further and further, taking several pages of the notebook.

"This is going to be hell, isn't it?" Shikamaru, Shino and Naruto leaned on the gate outside and sighed.

"Well, no point in just lounging around. Let's go buy the supplies we need…" Naruto put his hands in his pockets and started walking towards the village center.

"…Right…" Shikamaru followed the blonde, Shino in tow.

xxOxx

One week later…

Inuzuka Clan Grounds…

"Did that really happen, Hana?"

"M-Mom, it doesn't – "

"Did that really happen?"

"Y-Yes, yes it did! But – "

"He took a kunai to the back because you weren't able to protect one of your own?"

"…"

A peaceful afternoon in the Inuzuka clan compound, right?

Tsume Inuzuka, the matriarch of the Inuzuka clan pinned her daughter down to the ground after hearing the news of what happened during the fight with Zabuza Momochi; where a young Nara jumped in the way of a kunai that was going to kill the youngest of Hana's triplets.

In the Inuzuka clan, losing one of your canines was the same as losing a family member – irreplaceable and unforgivable. So when the story was finally spilled by one of Hana's triplets to Tsume, about a guy from a different clan saved the life of an Inuzuka canine… you know the rest.

"What's his name? The Nara's name?" Tsume asked her pinned daughter.

"S-Shikamaru! His name is Shikamaru!"

Tsume paused. "Yoshino's brat? Well, how about that?" The matriarch smiled devilishly.

"Who – gah!" Hana groaned when her mother placed a hand on her face to use as leverage to stand up.

"When was the last time we had a party?!" Tsume called out to anyone of her clan members who could hear her.

"A week ago!" Was the reply.

"Then get the alcohol out and the meat ready 'cuz we're having another one, to~night!" Tsume declared with a shout, earning cheers from those present.

"Mom, there's no need for this!"

"Hana, you go find this Shikamaru guy and make sure he comes for the party; it's in his honor after all!" Tsume laughed heartily before spreading the word around to her clan.

Hana could only growl at her mother's actions and stubbornness.

"We haven't even talked since we got back…" Hana mumbled in distress.

She could have sworn they had at least become friends or… something… throughout the course of the mission – rough start aside – but it's been about two weeks since then and she hasn't heard a word from him since!

Then again, she herself didn't try very hard to find him either, but that doesn't excuse him!

Leaving her home alone – she scolded her triplets for snitching on her – Hana tried to remember where the Nara compound was.

She thought back on the mission often – very often, actually. The way she met the trio – the way she met him – the rough start, their fights and arguments, the festival… everything. Hana wasn't dumb, despite popular belief about the Inuzuka; she knew herself – who she was and what the feeling in her stomach growing the closer she got to the Nara compound. During the mission… she may have possibly gotten a teeny, tiny crush on the Nara.

Maybe.

He's a putrid excuse of a man, she told herself; a waste of oxygen, she lied to herself.

'He always disagrees with me! We always fight! He doesn't submit – I'll make him submit to me – and he's so damn stubborn!' Hana ranted mentally. 'So…why…?'

Oh, how she detested this feeling in her chest. She genuinely wanted to see him again, but at the same time she didn't.

Had he even thought about her at all since that day?

Ugh!

"Emotions are stupid…" She muttered.

Before she knew it, Hana found herself standing outside the Nara grounds. Could she just walk in?

Judging from the looks of it, there were plenty of Aburame intermingling with the Nara – had both clans always been so close? Hana must have looked pretty pathetic since she attracted the attention of a woman on the other side of the wooden gate.

"Can I help you, Inuzuka-san?"

Hana smiled properly at the pretty woman. "Yes, yes you can. I'm looking for Shikamaru Nara. Is he here?"

The woman snorted a cute laugh. "Eh? Shikamaru-kun? What would you need with him?"

Hana laughed alongside the woman.

"I'm just looking for him; I have something I need to discuss with him, is all." Hana fibbed slightly.

The woman smiled before placing a hand on her face to hide embarrassment. "What did that idiot do to such a pretty girl like you?"

Hana gushed at the compliment and the stab at the stubborn man. "Oh, thank you, Nara-san…"

"How he manages to catch the attention of so many pretty girls is beyond me." The woman giggled. Hana didn't.

"W-What was that last part… Nara-san…?"

"Anyways, that good-for-nothing heart breaker isn't here at the moment…" The woman looked sad despite her words.

'Heart…breaker…? Did Shikamaru have something with this woman…?'

"If you really want to find my jerk of a son, you can find him at the Kanoe family grounds…" Yoshino crossed her arms and pouted.

Hana couldn't help but feel some sort of relief. "…S-Son…?"

Yoshino nodded. "Shikamaru is my heartless, traitorous, and good for nothing, useless son. My name is Yoshino Nara; it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Hana-san."

Hana was surprised. "How did you know my name, Yoshino-san?"

"From my son, of course. He spoke of you fondly." The Nara matriarch smiled, one arm crossed across her chest and the other holding her cheek. "You must have been something else to leave such an impression on my son like that."

Hana felt happy at the praise. "Really? What did he say?"

"That you two fought a lot, mostly…" Yoshino recalled their conversation. "…how you have an anger problem, how troublesome you were…"

Hana's ego began to deflate. "…Right…"

"Still, I haven't seen him so animated when speaking about someone before, so I think he thinks high of you." Yoshino gave her a thumbs up. "I'm sure he'll be happy to see you again. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some errands to run. Ja ne!"

"O-Oh, right!" Hana waved goodbye, Yoshino's thumbs up still on her mind. She shook her head, her new destination on her mind: Kanoe family grounds.

xxOxx

Kanoe Family Grounds…

""Imouto power", Naruto?" Shikamaru asked as he dipped a large brush into a bucket of white paint.

"Yeah. You believe in it?" Naruto covered his part of the gate with white paint with a brush.

"What the hell even is that?" Shikamaru scoffed.

"The concept is nice." Shino added, confusing Shikamaru even more.

"You too, Shino? What's "imouto power"?"

"The idea that a little sister's strength will reach unbelievable heights if she loves her older brother enough. Simple stuff, Shika." Naruto explained.

"None of us have a little sister, so no, I can't speak for it and neither can you two."

"So you don't believe in it, then?"

"…I didn't say that, all I'm saying - "

"Yes or no?" Shino interrupted him.

"It… It would be nice…" Shikamaru agreed slowly.

"Yeah…" The trio sighed together as they almost finished repainting the front gate of their new property.

Restoring the place proved to be a much bigger challenge than the trio had previously expected. Books can only go so far; while the trio learned the basics and some advanced techniques from manuscripts, manuals, construction books and detailed schematics of houses by using clones, what was on paper and what was on hand were two vastly different things. Every home is different, especially those built before the time of the books used to detail construction.

For example, making a dent in a wall that needed to be replaced nearly toppled the ceiling above them had it not been for a chain of clones acting as a support beam. Then came the electrical engineering… burned fingers, several near cave-ins, and a flock of rats later, the trio suffered greatly but managed to wire the entire complex – all that awaits is for the village itself to supply power to their new home. Plumbing was next.

Joy.

As the trio painted the front gate, more than a handful of clones were remodeling the main house – mostly the rotten floor and the various doors inside.

"I need more paint." Naruto stated to nobody in particular. When neither one of his friends answered, Naruto sighed.

Shikamaru was currently in charge of painting the sign that portrayed the name of the property and his position was rather strange. Using the back of his legs to anchor him to the top of the arch-like wooden construct that the sign hung on, Shikamaru was dangling upside down in order to paint the underside of the sign with better reach.

It was in this position and their previous conversation where Hana came into ear-shot.

'…Imouto power…?' Hana bit her tongue to stop herself from questioning their subject of conversation. She coughed to catch their attention.

The trio turned – Shikamaru looked up(?) at the ground – and noticed her standing by the gate.

"Hana-senpai! How – uh, how long have you been there for?" Naruto greeted the girl with a nervous and slightly embarrassed grin.

She lied. "I just got here, actually. Why are you guys here? D-rank mission?" Hana tilted her head towards the gate.

Shikamaru continued to paint. "Shino finally got the courage to confess his ever-growing love for me and popped the question couple of days after we got back from Wave. I, of course, said yes, but the main problem was family; they didn't particularly like our union so Shino went and bought the place so we can love each other in peace and tranquility away from judgmental eyes." Even upside down, Shikamaru shrugged. "Naruto is going to live here with us as our boy-toy sex slave – agh!" Hana had heard enough before throwing a rock, smashing it against Shikamaru's skull. The blow to the head made Shikamaru's legs to go lax, causing him to fall from where he was onto the ground with a heavy thud. His face seemed completely disinterested, however.

"You shouldn't joke about things like that." Hana looked down on Shikamaru, scolding him.

"What joke?" The trio asked simultaneously, seriously confused by what she said.

Hana felt a blood vessel pop in the back of her head but ignored it.

"So what brings you here, Inuzuka?" Shikamaru asked from the ground.

"I came to find you, Nara." Hana answered after a while.

"Me? How come?"

Naruto and Shino continued to paint but kept an ear on the conversation.

"My clan was looking for a reason to party, I guess, and they chose you for it. Since you saved one of my pups at the bridge they spilled the information a couple hours ago and now there's a party."

Shikamaru got on his feet, a look of surprise on his face. "A party in my name? Wow!" He chuckled. "Is it that big of a deal?"

"No, not really. Just an excuse for my clan to get piss-drunk, eat meat and fool around."

"Fool around?"

"Meat?"

"Piss-drunk?"

The trio repeated after her, their tones curious.

Hana couldn't help but smirk at their interested expression.

"Ara, ara, it's pretty fun. You guys up for it?" She pointed at Shino and Naruto.

"Would we be a bother?" Shino asked as he put the bucket of paint in his hands down on the ground.

"Hell no! Just go and have fun – that's what a party is all about, right?"

The trio looked at one another and nodded. "Sure!"

"Great! Cause the party starts in an hour. Let's get going."

"An hour?! Can't we change our clothes first?" Shikamaru furrowed a brow.

Hana laughed. "We're Inuzuka, it'd be fine if you show up naked, you know."

"Can we?" Naruto asked immediately.

"No!" The rest responded immediately.

xxOxx

Inuzuka Compound…

As the group neared Hana's home, commotion could be heard – dogs barking, cheering and shouting. The sun was close to setting when they finally entered Inuzuka territory – where they were met with joyful greetings.

The trio waved awkwardly to the Inuzuka nearby before a woman they didn't know approached them.

"There you are, Hana. Been waitin' on you." The woman smiled before turning to the trio. "And you must be Shikamaru." The woman placed a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder and pulled him in close. "You and I are gonna spend some time together!"

"H-Hold on…!"

"M-Mom, calm down!"

"Eh? What's the problem~? Got a girlfriend?"

"What?"

"Then there's no problem, right? Follow me, Shika-chan!" Tsume wrapped an arm around Shikamaru's waist and pulled him in before leading him deeper into the compound.

"M-Mom! What are you – ugh!" Hana groaned, cheeks flushed with anger. She took a step forward to follow them before she backtracked. "Uh… Y-You guys go mingle with my clan. You'll have fun – I'm going to stop my mother from molesting Nara!" Hana rushed off impatiently.

Naruto and Shino looked at one another before shrugging.

"Where could the food be, I wonder?" Shino looked around.

"By "fooling around", Hana-senpai meant like fighting, right? Where would that be?" Naruto split off from Shino's location.

Party Time!

"How's Yoshino-chan, Shika – I can call you Shika, right? – how is she doin', anyways?" Tsume asked the Nara she held on to.

Shikamaru was stiff as a board due to the close contact but was slowly getting relaxing into it. He really needed to interact with the opposite sex more often, he noted with embarrassment.

"A-Ah, you know my mother, Inuzuka-san?" Shikamaru asked in return. "She's fine, just nags a lot nowadays."

Tsume grinned. "Call me "Tsume", Shika. Yeah, I know her; went on a couple of missions with her back in the day." She crossed her fingers. "We're pretty close, y'know. Doesn't she talk about me?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "N-No, she doesn't."

Tsume frowned. "Yeah, that figures." She grinned again. "Do you drink?"

He did. A nasty habit he picked up from Jiraiya when began to take them out for some light drinking sessions – some sake out in the moonlight – a couple years ago after Yugao left for the day. Shikamaru didn't particularly fancy the taste of alcohol, but he enjoyed the warmth it brought him. Prior to the mission in Wave, Shikamaru had been sober for at least three months, but then that night with Kaiza and company changed that. He's not worried.

He could go for a drink, though.

…

He's not worried.

"A little."

Tsume closed in on the Nara's face and sniffed him. "I smell a lie~, hehehe… and paint?" Tsume gave him a confused look. "You got the smell of a drinker, I can tell. Tsk, tsk, tsk, you're not even of age, Shika. What would Yoshino-chan think?"

Shikamaru gave her a look. "…"

"Just joking! Lighten up, Shika; let's go get you a drink!" Tsume led the way to where the main house was at; a large spacious building in the back of the compound. Inside and out were Inuzuka drinking, eating and running around. Going through the main doors, Tsume led Shikamaru to a large dining hall area complete with large wooden tables and stationed cooking pits with meat just ready to be taken. On the very back of the dining hall where they were headed was what appeared to be a bar.

Being forced to take the seat next to her, Shikamaru wasn't able to escape Tsume's close proximity. Hana soon joined them, taking the free seat next to Shikamaru.

"Choose your poison, Shika." Tsume smiled as she gestured towards the large collection of bottles in front of them.

"Trying to get me drunk, Tsume-san?" Shikamaru chuckled, impressed by the vast selection in front of him. Half of these he had never even heard of until this very moment. "Why don't you pick, Inuzuka?" Shikamaru turned to face Hana.

"Ha! Don't bother asking that milk drinker, Shika! Hana can't handle alcohol worth a damn!" Tsume laughed, very much to Hana's displeasure.

"Eh? You can't? Didn't you want me to invite you the next time we go out and about?" Shikamaru asked in surprise as he turned away from the matriarch to face Hana.

'You remembered.'

"She's exaggerating. I can hold my own!" Hana growled before picking a bottle off the shelf and placed it on the counter.

"Ara, ara! That's quite strong, Hana. You sure you can handle it?" Tsume teased her daughter.

Shikamaru could recognize the bottle that Hana had chosen as the same one that Jiraiya would regularly drink from. Shikamaru considered that sake to be tame; weak, even.

"Cut it out, will you?" Hana sighed before she grabbed three saucer-shaped cups and poured the drink on each one.

"Down the hatch." Tsume announced before she downed the drink in a single go. Hana followed her mother's example and downed the drink, groaning slightly from the burn that traveled up her throat. Jiraiya had taught Shikamaru to drink like those around him, less he look like a fool in front of others. Raising the cup, Shikamaru downed the sake.

He felt nothing.

"Strong, eh?" Tsume asked expectantly. "Just so you know, our sake is prepared differently – made stronger to really fuck you up in a flash." She explained. "So? How did it feel?"

Shikamaru felt as if he needed to agree, despite his disappointed feelings. "I'll say." He faked a shudder before refilling his cup. He downed it immediately and felt…nothing.

'The hell?'

"Feisty one, eh? You are your mother's son after all." Tsume was impressed and followed Shikamaru's footsteps and poured herself another drink.

"I didn't expect you to be a strong drinker, Nara." Hana commented before doing the same.

"Me… neither." He gave a short laugh. 'I nearly got wasted at with Kaiza's drinks, so why don't I feel anything?'

"Don't get cocky, Shika. This stuff is still pretty weak compared to the rest of our stock." Tsume slapped Shikamaru on the back. "Hana did choose this one, after all."

"Hey! We're not having a competition, just a nice drink." Hana argued.

'So this stuff is pretty weak? I don't believe it…' Shikamaru eyed the bottle once more. He was positive that this was the same shit that Jiraiya would drink, but his held impact – not the crap Shikamaru was drinking now. He shook his head.

"I've been meaning to ask, Tsume-san, but what is the point of all of this? This party?"

"What's the point of anything?" Tsume countered with hidden wisdom. "We enjoy the time we have on this big ol' world of ours, I guess, but you genuinely did something for us to be grateful for."

'Yeah?" Shikamaru asked with interest.

"You, someone from outside our clan, saved one of our canines and got hurt in doing so…" She poured another drink. "…are you an idiot, by any chance?" Her question made him laugh slightly.

"Yeah, probably." He took the cup from her hand and downed it.

Still nothing.

"Then what made you do it?" Tsume asked, her eyes narrowed over her stolen drink.

"I don't know. My body just moved, I guess." Shikamaru shrugged, thinking about her question and his answer. Why did he do it?

"Oh? So you didn't do it to score some points with my daughter?" Tsume asked with a wiggle of her eyebrow.

Hana choked on her drink that she was about to down. Shikamaru didn't answer, blinked, and grabbed the bottle once more.

"How's Kiba doing, anyway? Shikamaru asked as he filled his saucer.

Tsume quickly stole his drink and downed it, exhaling proudly afterward. "Hm? My kid? He's doin' fine; hell of an anger problem with that one. He complains too much. Akamaru is huge as shit, eats more than Hana's canines do combined. He's out on a mission with that Hinata girl and Sasuke kid with Asuma." She tapped her cup, telling him she wanted a refill. "Some search and destroy gig outside the borders of the village." Shikamaru refilled her cup.

"And the others? What about Ino, Sakura and Chouji?"

"Hell if I know. All I do know is that Kakashi and Kurenai take care of those who aren't missions." Tsume picked up the drink, but wrinkled her nose and set it down. Shikamaru picked it up and downed it.

Still nothing…

"So that "super team" is still going on, eh?" Shikamaru set the bottle down and tapped his fingers on the bar counter.

The super team consisted of the Rookie 6 – Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Chouji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyūga and Kiba Inuzuka with Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yūhi and Asuma Sarutobi as the team's leaders. The combination of two potential teams into one came from the ideas of "promoting morale" and to "solidify teamwork" between students and teachers alike. Based on the missions, the teams were separated and sent accordingly to better match the situation.

The teachers themselves were widely known for various reasons: Kakashi taught them ninjutsu, Asuma dealt with taijutsu and Kurenai managed chakra control and genjutsu. Together, they taught their students in a balanced manner, giving them a well-rounded but advanced skill in ability. Those six were strong – for a good reason.

Shikamaru, Naruto and Shino understood why the super team had been formed. Being taught by a member of the Sannin gave the trio tremendous potential to reach massive heights, but…

With every power comes the need for a counter to be made and that was what the super team was all about. The last time a group of high power came into effect, one betrayed the village and the other left, neither of them to ever return.

Shikamaru could only imagine what they felt towards them.

"Isn't there anything stronger than this?" Shikamaru pushed the bottle to the side.

"Stronger? This ain't doing anything for you?" Hana asked incredulously, slightly buzzed.

"While I agree, I think that's enough for tonight, Shika. Don't want to get your mom angry if she found out about this." Tsume shrugged.

"That's disappointing; I thought the Inuzuka always packed something heavy." Shikamaru shrugged. "Was it all talk?"

"Oi! Watch what you say, punk!" Tsume narrowed her eyes at the insult. "We pack some serious shit here so don't go run your mouth off like that!"

"Yeah, Nara! Learn your place!" Hana shook her head, empty saucer on hand.

"Then back it up, Tsume. Give me a real drink."

"Why you - ! Only people that want a drink that badly are those that have something to forget, what's your excuse?" Tsume eyed the boy and found his gaze to be slightly troubling.

"I was promised a good drink, is all." Shikamaru rolled his shoulders. Hana gave him a glance and then met her mother's. She didn't like what she saw in her eyes; plotting, conniving, interested.

"Want a drink, do you? Oh, you'll get a drink all right." Tsume stood up and snapped her fingers, grabbing the attention of those around. "Shika here, the reason why we're holding this shindig, wants a good time; a good drink!" There were several "oohs" from the Inuzuka nearby. Naruto and Shino, who were sitting at a nearby table stood up and eyed their friend with a surprised glance, questioning him.

"Not again…" They muttered.

"Bring out the Mutt's Piss!" Tsume exclaimed, causing more than several cheers and jeers to come pouring out from the Inuzuka nearby.

Hana warned Shikamaru. "Don't do this Nara, you'll regret it." He disregarded her.

After a moment, several Inuzuka men arrived, holding a bright red bottle and more than several dozen glasses meant for the drink.

"Come with me, Shika." Tsume ordered before making her way towards the center of the dining hall. "This…" She held up the bottle. "…is the Mutt's Piss; the hardest, strongest, alcohol exclusive to the Inuzuka clan that you'll find in the Land of Fire and beyond. You won't find a better regret than this anywhere."

"The "Mutt's Piss"? Why is it called that?" Shikamaru asked, curious of the name. "Anything I should be concerned with in the ingredients?"

"Idiot." Tsume scolded the Nara. "One sip of this and it'll burn twice as hot as our dog's marking technique."

"As is the rule, I'll drink it with you – shot per shot until you pass out. This is an all or nothing drink – no turning back."

"You seem confident, Tsume. Should I really be this worried over a drink?"

"That cockiness is going to get you killed one day, y'know?" Shikamaru shrugged.

"Maybe. All I want is a drink."

"Little fucker… Let's start then, big shot."

Opening the bottle, the room was filled with an overwhelming fragrance. Half of those in the room shuddered at the smell. With an experienced wrist, Tsume began to pour shot after shot of the foul drink in a row. When Tsume filled ten glasses she stopped and diving them equally.

Five for her.

Five for him.

"You ready?"

'Ready to forget.' He nodded, grabbed a glass and made eye contact with Tsume. "Ready."

Naruto and Shino kept their eyes on Shikamaru and sighed.

Shikamaru and Tsume raised their shot-glasses.

"Down the hatch."

xxOxx

"I should really let you regret this… but I won't."

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Chapter End

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Sorry for the extremely late update, but in turn, here's a huge chapter for you!

Tests, midterms and getting ill really put a dent on my work time, so I do apologize.

Several topics I want to address:

1st topic: I addressed the trio's balance in terms of power – the Kyuubi being in them took some of the chakra control away while adding several quirks. So not only was the Kyuubi divided, so was its attributes. I hinted at it during their time in their mindscape. What do you guys think?

2nd topic: Now that the trio has a place of their own, a base of operations, if you will; this opens up several scenarios that I can work with. "Kanoe" comes from the anime "Tasuga Otome X Amnesia" about Yuuko Kanoe, the spirit of a girl who died and now roams a school. It's pretty good, give it a watch.

3rd topic: The super team… Right. Originally, the concept of a counter team towards the trio was going to be Team Gai, but that changed when I thought of the remaining Rookie 6. I like that idea, though. Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Chouji, Hinata and Kiba trained to specifically stop the trio if they go rogue is pretty cool. With that being said, three teachers – Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai – training them together means they will be very capable on the field. What I have planned for the super team is for them to have negative emotions towards the trio due to their upbringing – the super team was pushed to their limits every day to keep up with the trio, trying to live up to the expectations of their three teachers is extremely difficult and for what? Just to be a counter for three dropouts?

4th topic: In terms of gender – or lack off – for the split Kyuubi. I realize that a majority of you preferred a genderless Kyuubi, while some wanted a male and only two-three wanted a female. Now I would like to say that while a majority chose for genderless, halfway through writing this chapter I had an epiphany and decided to go with what my gut said. So after eating, I decided to do all three – one male, one female and one genderless. The reason behind this decision came with the split attributes that resulted from the Kyuubi being divided.

A major thank you to all of you who voted! I really appreciate the input!

Please review!

Have any input? Want to see something that you'll like to see? Want an omake to be made in regards to a certain something that happened – or didn't happen – in the story? Let me know with a review or P.M! I have fun writing this and would like you guys to enjoy reading it too!

Reviews justify the time I spent on the chapter, so please be generous!

Thank you so much for reading, and as always, have a good day!

-TheRedGhillie