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!

14. Rust

Team Aeternum: From Heaven to Hell

Chapter 14: Rust

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

"To give our back on our morals, ideals, and what we hold dear, is the first step in which the foundation of our upbringing begins to rust." –Unknown

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Chapter Start

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The disconsolate weather had not cleared from the night before, keeping the village under a constant bombardment of heavy rain with sudden electrical discharges occupying the sky above. Those who dared to brave the weather were all huddled around their bulky clothing as they hurried from destination to destination, umbrella on hand. The lesser stands that would sell fruits, books, and accessories were forced to stay closed, large tarps covering their wooden frames from the harsh embrace of nature's less-than comfortable appearance today, while the larger, more well-off vendors saw little customers and considered whether or not they should close for the day.

Many a villager and ninja alike could be seen gazing out of their homes' windows, each wondering when the storm would die down and twice as many hoping that an electrical blackout would not occur today.

In this kind of environment we find our wayward protagonists assembling their gear in their own individual home – par Shikamaru, as he, once again, slept in their purchased property due in part of his still bitter mother – as they made sure they weren't forgetting anything important. The weather did little to bring down their excitement for the upcoming mission, as it would, technically, be the first real mission they would undertake for the Gatō Corporation under the new man on command.

Naruto looked at his replenished inventory stored inside his room, over four-hundred potions and more than several thousand teleportation tags were made in the two days they were given to replenish their gear, an impressive feat, the blonde admitted. The multi-colored vials reflected what was around them; himself, the walls, ceiling, the ceiling fan, the rain coming down hard from the view of the window next to them, and then, finally, the door to his room opening to reveal Haku behind him. His reflection on a red vial smiled; on a green vial she did the same.

"Some weather we got going on, huh?" The blonde began to pick up the vials and placed them one by one on specialized mats holding a different seal. The vials were sucked in, one by one into the seals, hidden from view.

"It is rather calming." Naruto picked up the green vial that had her reflection, the action scaled the reflection from her to the ceiling then to him. His reflection raised an eyebrow.

"That's a weird way to look at it." The vial went into a seal. She was next to him then, watching the seal absorb the vial.

A tilt of the head. "I do not understand." She grabbed a blue vial and examined it.

He was happy to oblige. "Most people would think this weather was an omen, bad things to come, y'know?"

She shook her head. "I do not."

"It's not every day that we get a storm like this." He tried to explain. "Before yesterday the weather was nice, now not so much. If it came out of nowhere, it's a sign of bad things to come, 'cause a storm is usually bad, yeah?"

The tick-tock of the wall clock was overshadowed by the more prominent symphony of the storm outside.

"Weather like this makes us appreciate what we had before. Just like how a sunny day doesn't last forever, weather like this will too go away soon." The girl's reflection looked distant, deep in thought.

Naruto stayed silent.

"Zabuza-sama told me that long ago... I find it calming, that this storm, will eventually pass and we will have what we once had before."

"Haku…"

The blue vial went along with the rest of its type, a tender hand letting it go.

There was a knock on the doorframe of his room, causing them to turn and face the origin of the noise. Rei was at the door, her slender figure half hidden behind the wall where his door was. She smiled at them.

"Are you almost done, Naru-kun?" She asked.

"Yeah, almost." Naruto nodded. "Just gotta finish this then I'll go and meet up with the guys before we leave."

Haku observed the mother and son with a curious eye.

Rei entered the room, before gently hugging the blonde, her head nuzzled against his. Thunder roared in the background for a moment.

"Please…be safe."

Rei was composed, but her face was stricken with concern, eyes shut, slightly furrowed brows, the like.

"I will, okaasan, believe me." Naruto smiled under his mother's embrace, returning it full force.

She sighed. "It isn't fair; you shouldn't leave now, not when the weather is this bad – can't you just wait-"

"You know I can't." He smiled. "I'll be fine, I promise."

Haku saw Rei tense up for a moment before the mother nodded; each bob of her head released some of the tension she had. Her eyes stayed glued to the window that presented the outside condition, they closed when a flash of lightning lit up the sky. Haku looked outside from the rain stained glass of the window, trying to keep in mind the words that Zabuza had told her, how the storms they faced together were easily greater than this one. She remembered being calm even though violent winds cut her skin, debris crashed against her body, and water threatened to drown them just from the sheer amount of it all.

Now, however, she was safe from this little storm, in shelter – a home – where she could stay dry. And yet…

"I'll be fine." A boom of thunder shook the house that kept them safe. Haku flinched involuntarily.

A slow panic began to grow from within, every second it grew bigger without pause. Rei's eyes reflected the flash of lightning visible from the window, the rain pouring from above, and sure enough, Haku's eyes did the same.

Haku began to understand now. It didn't mean a thing if she was safe under this shelter…in this…home…

Naruto separated from his mother's embrace, both giving each other supportive smiles, one forced while the other calm. Thunder boomed once again.

It meant nothing if she was safe under this shelter, in this home… Because…

Naruto quickly finished storing the potions into their appropriate seal before taking a last look around the room.

Because…

Naruto said something she couldn't register and pulled her in for a hug, her expression mirroring that of Rei's.

It meant nothing if she was safe under this shelter, in this home, because…

…she was going to be safe from this storm, and…he wasn't.

When he parted from her, her heart throbbed.

The blonde opened the front door, the sky lit up with a flash of lightning. He turned around to face them and smiled.

"I'll be fine." He repeated once more before leaving the house, the largest explosion of thunder the village has seen that day echoing the resounding sound of the door closing behind him. His words did nothing to appease their turmoil.

Both women stared at the door for an eternity.

Haku understood then, how a storm could be seen as an omen…and how strange it was to look at it as calming.

{xxOxx}

Shino had a content grin on his usual stoic face as he eyed his new and improved inventory spread out across his room. His kikaichū buzzed from within, picking up on his faint excitement as he thought of the possibilities his new gear brought to the table. The conversation he had with Shikamaru two days ago came to mind, where the question was if he wanted to go all out with his explosives. He did.

He really did.

Not like there isn't anything wrong with that, right?

Right.

It is only natural to try and showcase the best of your abilities, Shino would say to defend himself when his team would question the use of his full ordinance. He scoffed. He was far from being an explosion loving, on the edge, hair triggered psychopath; he knew the limitations his fascination with explosives had, and he understood that not everything could be solved with a well-placed fragmentation explosive tag. Was he bothered by these assumptions that his teammates made about him?

No, not really. Just as much as he knew the limitations of what he honed, he also knew that these feelings, these…urges… that he had every now and then were not exactly "normal" but more around the lines of worrisome. He craved to see an explosion occur – by his hands or other – he wanted to see something collapse, he wanted to see flames, he wanted to see anything akin to destruction to get that special kind of feeling that he could only get when he did what he loved to do.

It went beyond the usual symptoms of a pyromaniac, however. The work and effort he put into his craft only elevated the rush he received when it was expended, the scorched earth, crumbled walls, and toppled over remnants of what once stood all added to his satisfaction.

But then again…

Shino looked out his window at the storm raging outside, where the lightning filled the sky before resounding explosions of thunder reverberated onto the surface with tremendous force.

…there was a beauty and rush that only nature could provide.

Shino could contain his tendencies though, that much was certain, and with that out of the way, he began to carefully place each individual item of his arsenal in its corresponding seal array for storage. With the amount of heat he was packing, leveling a town would be a piece of cake. That is, if the need ever came up.

Once he was all set and ready to go, the Aburame heir left his room, traveled the distance between his room and the main living room, almost missing the woman sleeping in his family's couch.

Almost.

Without turning back, Shino mechanically backpedaled until he was next to the couch where she laid. A couch cushion was covering her face, but the revealing mesh body outfit + tan overcoat combo that attracted his eyes for a split second could only belong to one certain kunoichi. A slight snoring could be heard from underneath the cushion, the strong smell of alcohol reached Shino a second later.

"Mitarashi-san…" Shino softly called out to the sleeping woman. He didn't get a response. "Mitarashi-san." He tried again. She shifted slightly, but seemed to still be asleep. He repeated her name a third time, shaking her propped up knee slowly.

Her leg fell to the side, giving her form an almost…inviting…feel towards it considering her open legs and ample chest movements that occurred with every inhale/exhale. If Shino were any less of a man, he might have gotten a reaction to the sight, but being the gentlemen that he is – and probably due to the fact that he's had plenty of run ins with this certain woman – he simply scoffed before sending a small wave of his kikaichū to target her stomach, where he knew she was vulnerable.

His bugs ever so slowly traveled the length of her legs before moving up her thighs. He saw her shudder from the feeling, before downright jumping up from the sofa and doing a spastic dance to try and get his bugs off of her stomach. He caught the sight of her breasts as she jumped around, and nodded mentally.

"Gah! S-Stupid gaki don't you know you're supposed to try and live a little?!" Anko Mitarashi, the woman who had been occupying the couch, muttered bitterly as she scattered his bugs onto the floor. "I'll crush your goddamn insects if you do that again!"

Shino shrugged. "You said the same thing the last time, Mitarashi-san." He let the bugs scamper around the floor beneath her.

"That a challenge, gaki?" Anko raised her foot, as if ready to stomp on something.

"Be my guest." Shino called her bluff.

Anko brought her foot down but stopped just before she crushed a good amount of them.

"Well?" Shino rolled his shoulders.

Anko groaned. "Smartass." She let her foot down slowly, letting his kikaichū move around her foot before it stepped on them.

Shino called his bugs back, smug that she didn't do anything. "Certainly early for your monthly visit, Mitarashi-san."

Anko crossed her arms. "I'll have you know I didn't plan on waking up here, gaki."

"You certainly are accustomed to doing so, however. Seeing as you had no previous reaction as to when you awoke." Shino tilted his head.

"This is the only place where a guy wouldn't take advantage of a sleeping beauty such as me, y'know. Kinda obvious where I was."

Shino nodded. "Ah, so you have awoken in places such as those." He placed the base of his fist against his open palm. "Father might find that amusing."

Her right eye twitched. "Oi, when you say it like that you make me sound like some sort of slut!"

Sunglasses met pupil-less eyes for a moment and a half.

"Well…"

"I'll kill you, you brat!" Anko narrowed her eyes and made a pose as if ready to pounce.

"My, my, so early and already so spirited." Shibi appreared from the hallway. "Good morning, son, Anko-san."

Anko froze and slowly went back into her neutral standing position, an embarrassed blush adorned on her face.

"Good morning, father."

"G-Good morning." Anko muttered, eyes facing the floor.

"Son, I thought you would have known by now that waking the sleeping is very rude." Shibi raised a curious brow at his son, who in turn simply shrugged.

"I was curious as to why she was here, father. I apologize." Shino tilted his head in her direction.

"Shouldn't you be apologizing to me, gaki?" Anko questioned the teen.

Shino looked at his father, who did nothing for a few seconds before nodding.

"I apologize, Mitarashi-san."

She looked unimpressed. He didn't care.

"Now that you are awake, might I ask as to why you were outside our clan walls in the middle of the night wailing obscenities in a drunken stupor?" Shibi turned his attention to the woman in the room.

"Come again?" Anko looked confused. "I did what now?"

"I do not see as to why I should repeat myself." Shibi responded, his tone bemused.

Shino raised an eyebrow before turning to face her. He too, waited for a response.

"H-How the hell should I know?! I was drunk, right? I don't know half the things I do when I'm plastered!"

"That's concerning." Shino responded with faux interest.

"You wanna fight, punk?!" Anko raised a fist towards Shino. Shino rolled his eyes.

"Back to the subject on hand…" Shibi interrupted their 'fight'. "You are lucky I was able to hear you through the storm you were stuck in."

Anko scoffed. "As if I could be that loud."

Both Aburame men stayed silent for a moment.

"Well…"

Anko nearly popped a blood vessel. "Y-You…"

Before Anko could begin her rant on tactless Aburame men, Shibi interrupted her by handing her the cup of coffee he had on hand. Anko took it after a second, eyebrows still furrowed.

"For the hangover." Shibi explained once she took it.

"Whatever." She muttered under her breath before lightly she partook of the hot drink.

The Aburame men pretended not to notice her surprised reaction at the taste of their specialized homebrew. She didn't know that she was grateful for that. Shibi turned his attention to his son.

"Are you about ready to leave, son?" Anko, still slowly drinking from the cup of coffee she held, looked at Shibi with curious eyes before turning them towards Shino. The scarf wearing teen shifted his weight from foot to foot, before answering.

"I was on my way out just now, father."

Anko put the cup on standby for the moment. "You're leaving, gaki? Where to?" She tilted her head.

"Mission." He replied neutrally before adding, "I will be going to Wave."

"That a mission from us, or…?"Anko had heard that a trade route with the port town had been established recently, other than that; their village had little contact with them.

"The mission stems from the area." He replied.

Anko raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Since when were genin allowed to take missions for others that aren't part of the village?"

"Our employer must be very influential, I suppose." Shino shrugged.

"I see." Shibi nodded slowly, curious as well but he let it go. "Be safe, my son."

Shino nodded. "I will, father." He turned to leave but stopped halfway before looking back. "Farewell, Mitarashi-san. Please refrain from causing my father any more problems." He smirked beneath his scarf.

"No promises." She smirked as well. "Don't get killed out there, gaki."

Shino nodded before exiting his home and entering the storm outside.

Anko and Shibi stayed silent for a moment as they listened to the storm rage outside.

"He'll be fine." Anko pitched in.

"I know." Shibi responded before walking away from the living room, going deeper into the household.

Anko stayed silent for a moment before following him, empty cup on hand.

{xxOxx}

Shikamaru woke to the sound of thunder rattling the main building where he slept, eyes opened slowly, groggy from the night before. He was happy to note that the roof didn't allow for a single drop of water to leak down, else he'd he having some troubles. Thankfully, he was dry and safe in this place, but for the outside, he couldn't say the same. Picking himself up off the floor with a groan, he stretched and yawned before he got himself cleaned and ready for the day ahead.

Once he was dressed – a simple grey windbreaker outfit – Shikamaru attached his ninja wire holsters to his waist and took one last look around before he left.

Upon opening the door he was met with a resounding slap, courtesy of Mother Nature herself in the form of strong winds and cold rain. He winced for a second before shrugging it off to keep moving forward. The winds howled, the sky crackled with energy and the stone pathway stood firm against the pitter-patter of heavy rain that struck it. Visibility was poor, but Shikamaru knew the path well enough without the need to see it, at least, that's what he told himself as he almost tripped on something that "didn't belong" there. Once he managed to make it to the other side of the gate that made for the entrance to their property, Shikamaru struggled for a moment when he tried to lock it back into place; the rain made the metal bracket hard to hold onto, let alone snapping it into place with the locking mechanism.

The bracket secured itself with an audible snap once he got the locking mechanism in place after a moment of trial and error. Satisfied with his success, Shikamaru stood up straight and turned to face the path he would be taking to meet up with the Naruto and Shino.

"Shikamaru."

His eyes widened for a moment as he heard his name get called out to his right. When he turned to face where the voice came from, he found himself looking at one Hana Inuzuka. She was dressed for the weather, even up to an umbrella, but it was closed and unused as the weather would more than likely tear the fabric before it could keep her dry.

He suddenly felt the pit in his stomach that he has been ignoring begin to manifest. He was just about ready to try and forget what happened, but it seemed as if luck was against him these past couple of days.

"H-Hana." He tried to acknowledge her presence same as she did but stammered. Her form was highlighted thanks to the white backdrop generated from the sheer amount of rain that fell around them; he saw the edges of her lips twitch before they made a relieved smile. Seems she wasn't the only one who was bothered by what happened that fated night.

The rain almost seemed to mute everything around them. They could hear one another perfectly fine, down to even the gentle sounds of their breaths leaving their bodies. A white canvas surrounded them, the rain was what set them apart.

"…about what happened…" She began, hands holding on to the closed umbrella, eyes locked on to his. She was carefully treading on thin ice; they both knew that was how this subject was going to be, and if they were going to get out of it okay, he needed to meet her halfway.

Even if he really didn't want to.

He nodded before placing his weight on both feet, showing that he'll stay and listen. The sky lit up above them.

"What…" He saw her swallow. "What are we…to one another…?" Her question was low, but it hit hard.

Friends, he wanted to say immediately, but wasn't able to. He had to think about it, their standing with one another. He never considered her a "friend", at least, he's never called her that before, but he knew from their past experiences together that they certainly had every quality to be considered friends. Then again, when a relationship begins the way theirs did, terms such as "acquaintance" or "friend" were replaced with "bitch" and "asshole" right off the bat, made things rather awkward when it came to try and describe their relationship with one another now.

"I… I don't know…" He responded, voice but a confused quiver. He didn't hate her, that much was for certain. She had earned his respect, that too, was true from the way she managed to put up with him the way she did and the way how she... fought against his every word.

"I don't think I ever knew what we were…" She voiced his thoughts exactly. Thunder boomed from above.

He felt uncomfortable. "…how about friends?" He asked despite knowing the answer, but his question was needed to be addressed, it was needed to be shut down.

And so she did.

"Friends don't do what we… what we almost did, Shikamaru." She obviously rehearsed these lines, he thought with a grimace. The fact that she came up to him and was having this conversation with him meant that she acknowledged their friendship and either wanted to save what they had before or maybe take it a bit further, either way, she was just as confused as he was. They both needed an answer, or vindication to maybe save what they had – that is, if they wanted to save what they had before or take it further. He needed time to actually think, just as much as she did. What exactly did he want, anyway?

What did she want?

…

He didn't know.

…

And she didn't either.

If time is what they needed, then he would be happy to oblige.

"Maybe it was the alcohol." He almost stammered.

"The…alcohol…" She repeated, a tiny smile formed on her lips.

The elements seemed to oppose the lie as the wind grew more violent, the water sharpened as it hit their skin and the black clouds above roared.

"Y-Yeah, I was obviously not thinking straight, right? I was hungover, after all."

She nodded. "I had my fair share of drinks, too, now that I think about it." She smiled in relief slightly.

He forced a small smile as well. "It wasn't our fault, it was the…" She looked downcast.

"…alcohol's." They both finished the sentence together, each one slightly disappointed with the excuse, for reasons they couldn't truly understand.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. "This might be bad, huh?" She barely heard him.

"Yeah…"

They looked at one another, now they were worried. Their excuse failed to make sense in their minds. He wouldn't have let anyone do what she did to him that night – even if the mark was giving him strange sensations when being touched, she had stopped and had asked him if she could continue, that he could remember and he remembered not fighting it after that – and he was sure she wouldn't do that with anyone she didn't…like.

They both blushed, her harder than him, as they came to the same conclusion.

It boiled down to him at that moment, but it was still dependent on both of them. It might have been the heat of the moment for all they knew, that these feelings she had were nothing but over inflated constructs that manifested due to their hormones, that what he felt was simply a strange side-effect caused by someone coming into contact with the mark he knew nothing about.

Then why were their hearts pounding against their chests…?

The rain trailed down her bangs and onto her face, seemingly soothing the blush away as she composed herself. He looked up at the sky.

He needed time to find out what he felt.

She needed time to make sure what she felt was real.

"How did this happen…?" Hana whispered, but Shikamaru heard.

He wondered the same thing.

They looked at one another.

"I have a mission…"

She nodded. "I know." He didn't have to think too hard on how she knew.

"…when I get back…"

"…we'll talk it through?"

The storm didn't let up.

"…Yeah…we will."

A solemn smile.

"Come find me when you come back, okay?"

A nod.

A nod.

"I'll be waiting."

They both turned around, the sky waging war against itself.

Through the chaos, Shikamaru just barely caught two words floating through the air.

"Be safe."

Hana walked away slowly, but stopped when she heard a very faint reply.

"I will."

They smiled.

{xxOxx}

The trio met at the gates, their teachers unable to attend their departure due to the Hokage calling a meeting with them the night before scheduled for this morning. With their previous outfits destroyed, the trio wore simple clothing – the same as Shikamaru's windbreaker outfit, but Naruto's was colored white and orange while Shino's was a deep olive green – with the plan to purchase more appropriate attire once they figured out what their mission was.

Shikamaru and Naruto looked at Shino and awaited his call. The Aburame nodded at both of them.

"Let us go."

With those three words, the trio set out with a sprint.

{xxOxx}

From a distance, atop a rooftop of a building overlooking the main gates of the village, three pairs of eyes saw their targets take off in a sprint, their forms a silhouette from the electrical storm behind them. They stood up from their kneeled position.

"They don't waste time, do they?" One of them said, platinum blonde hair waving with the strong wind around them.

"Guess not." Another one shrugged, his masculine voice went well with the storm.

"What's the plan?" The last one was asked.

"We tail them from a distance throughout their mission, remain anonymous and then report what we find to the Hokage." Pink hair adorned the last silhouette. "Ino, Chouji, let's get going."

"Right." They answered before jumping from the rooftop, thunder marking their descent.

{xxOxx}

An hour into their journey to Wave, the trio was still not able to completely escape the storm that loomed above; sure, they had escaped the harsh winds and splitting rain, but the remnants that lingered around the area were still present. The harsh rain from before was replaced with nothing but a heavy drizzle, the winds were cool and eerie while the booming thunder from above was replaced with faint crackling.

Naruto covered the right flank of their reverse-V sprinting formation, Shino leading them in the middle with Shikamaru covering the left flank to the opposite of the blonde. He looked at Shikamaru.

"What's the latest with the fox in you, Shikamaru? Has it talked with you recently?" The blonde asked as he wiped the excess water off of his face.

The Nara shook his head. "Nah, it hasn't said anything since it talked with the lot of us the other day. Not sure why."

"Well, have you tried talking to it?"

"Hell no!" Shikamaru spat out. "If it doesn't want to talk, then that's fine by me."

"Perhaps the last incident drained its energy?" Shino pitched in. "The…" He thought about it. "…Kyuubi inside of Naruto seemed to be weakened when it tried to communicate with us, after all." Shino tried not to call Naruto's Kyuubi the original, taking heed of Shikamaru's Kyuubi's displeasure of it being mentioned as such.

"Whatever it is, I hope it stays this way." Shikamaru shrugged. "I've got plenty to think about without a half-witted demon chiming in between sentences in my head."

"Like what?" His friends asked simultaneously.

"…Life, I guess." Shikamaru muttered.

"With a certain Inuzuka, perhaps?" Shino piped in.

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, you could say that." His tone was distant.

"Everything all right, Shika?" Naruto asked, curious as to what his friend was feeling.

"I'm trying to figure that out at the moment, actually." Shikamaru answered, his eyes on the floor in front of him.

Shino looked back at him. "Will this interfere with the upcoming mission, Shikamaru?"

Shino saw Shikamaru shake his head, focus returning to his eyes.

"No, don't worry. I'll be focused and ready."

Shino nodded. "Good." While he was curious and slightly concerned for what his friend was thinking about, they were about to embark on a mission – a mission under his control – and the Aburame needed to have his friends focused. Once the mission is over, he'll help Shikamaru with whatever he needs, but in the meantime, the mission took priority.

They traveled in silence for the rest of the trek to Wave, only speaking once to announce their arrival to the bridge two hours later. The trio looked at the large plaque that proudly proclaimed the bridge's name in large bold letters.

"'The Great Aeternum Bridge'…" Naruto muttered in amused awe. "Still hasn't set in that we have a bridge named after us, am I right?"

His friends agreed with him silently.

The weather around them had cleared considerably – the storm itself was surely raging but they were not within its range anymore – as only cool winds and heavy clouds surrounded the small shipping village.

Once they were within range, the trio tried to activate the teleportation seals they had previously placed around the town and were pleasantly surprised when they found themselves standing atop a rooftop in the center of town. From above, the trio was able to spectate the busy town below as the civilians hustled to and fro. The several weeks since they had been freed from Gatō Company's grasp have been good for the population of Wave, as the streets were now busy instead of desolate as opened stands of various goods lined the pavement from all sides. Morale seemed to be at an all-time high, despite the still-recovering economic structure of the village. With a trade route set with the trio's village and the multiple oceanic trade routes that the poor village used to own in their hands, the trio gave the village a year or two until it completely stabilized economically.

The trio smiled approvingly before they teleported to the building where their beloved employer was waiting. Had they waited several minutes more, the trio would have seen Sakura, Ino and Chōji land on the rooftop they were in.

"Oh, damn it." Ino cursed. "Where did they go now?"

"Those teleportation seals of theirs are going to be a big pain in the ass, I can already tell." Chōji sighed.

Sakura shook her head. "Guys, guys, this can be easily solved." She smiled before taking out a folded piece of paper. "All we have to do is ask the right people."

"You're working, Sakura?" Ino rolled her eyes.

She shrugged, smile on her lips. "You could say that."

"Who do we go to, then?" Chouji asked.

"You mean who do I go to, right?" Sakura corrected him. He nodded slowly, eyes rolling the whole time. "Some man by the name of Tazuna, self-proclaimed legendary bridge builder. Apparently, he has some friends from our local woodworks company who have a hot tip on the prices of, well, wood, going down for the next week and a half. They hope to spark some sort of deal with him."

"Are the prices good, by any chance?" Ino asked, arms crossed.

"Classified info, sorry." Sakura shrugged, a smug smile on her lips.

"I don't even care, never mind." Ino sighed. "Where can we find this Tazuna guy?"

"Follow little ol' me and find out." Sakura smiled before she jumped from the rooftop onto the street below, scaring some civilians in the process – some even recognized her.

"If she wasn't so well connected with everyone and everything I would say something." Ino shook her head with a sigh.

"She's terrifying because of that." Chōji pouted.

"Yeah, tell me about it." They jumped after her.

{xxOxx}

Gatō Company HQ – Wave Section

It was not a big surprise to the trio when they saw the building they had to previously sneak into come back full force when it came to security; actually, the security seemed to be even tighter this time around as the guards that patrolled the perimeter were maybe three times more aware than they used to be when Gatō was in charge. Upon further inspection, the trio would later find out, was that the various windows that lined the walls were all shielded with large metal bars perpendicular with one another.

As the trio approached the gate to enter the compound, a very large cart obviously meant for trade passed by them followed by two more of the same kind, large imposing guards in each one. The trio followed the carts' paths and was surprised to see them turn to the left down the road, away from the small shipping village. Seems as if Kaiza stayed true to his word and completely relinquished the hold his father had on the village, after all.

The trio approached the guards that were stationed at the gate and were asked what their business in the area was. When they told them that they were here on behalf of Kaiza's request, for a mission, the trio was subjected to a plethora of security questions that only they could answer – the answers and questions were discussed back when they first met Kaiza at the end of their meeting. The security detail was impressive, the trio thought collectively, as the guards let them in, an armed escort leading them in with another behind them. The guards that patrolled the catwalks that lined the walls kept an eye on them but did not move from the spot. They thanked their escorts when the doors opened for them, earning a gruff nod from the guards before they walked back to the main gate.

The building was filled with life from the inside as much as it was from the outside as busy workers roamed the crowded first floor, heavy machinery used to move the larger inventory while gruff workers with clipboards made sure everything was in order for the next shipment they would be doing. The receptionist – who looked strangely out of place in such an environment – took one look at them and politely told them the layout of the building on how to reach the third floor where Kaiza was waiting for them. The information, of course, was not needed, but appreciated by the trio and they voiced their thanks to the pretty lady, who in turn wished them a good day.

The trio walked the stairs to the second floor and found it to be what most "normal" law abiding companies would look like, white cubicles, accountants lining every work station with cluttered desks, calculators and spread sheets among the many items the trio could see. Coffee stained shirts, paper stacks carried by tired hands and motivation to get a raise all distinguished the workers from one another as they hurried from station to station, office to office. It looked surreal to the trio, as the last time they were in this floor it was when it was abandoned after Gatō had died. Now it looked as if it never happened, and the trio almost questioned as to whether it really did or not.

…of course, it did… their conscious told them after a pause.

They shook off the sickening feeling before they went up the stairs to the third and final floor, where much of its appearance resembled that of the previous floor. The trio walked down the hallways, turning when appropriate until they reached the office where their employer was waiting for them.

Knocking on the door this time around instead of just barging in, the trio waited for a response as to avoid what happened the last time they were in the office; Koi's shapely naked form still graced their dreams to this day, much to their bitter-sweet chagrin. They waited for a few seconds before they heard a muffled response:

"I'm coming!" The door knob jingled from their end as the person behind the door twisted it from the opposite end. When it opened, the trio was met with the very same woman that appeared in their dreams.

Luckily(?), she was clothed this time.

Her smile was euphoric. "It's you guys!" She opened her arms wide before pulling them in for a huge hug. "I missed you all so, so, much!" Her sultry voice met their ears as she nuzzled her head against each of their cheeks one by one. Shino, who had knocked on the door and was in the middle of his friends at the time, had his face buried between Koi's breasts when she pulled them in for a hug.

A lesser man would have been completely fine dying right then and there from asphyxiation, letting go of life simply because it would not get any better than this.

Shino… Well, Shino had no qualms if he died.

Just saying.

Just pointing that out.

Anyway… Koi released them from her A-Ranked hug technique – it would have been S-Rank if she had been nude – and motioned them inside.

"Come quickly!" She said excitedly before she laughed a sultry laugh at her words. "We have lots to talk about!"

Giggling like an excited little girl at the prospect of seeing her friends for the first time in weeks, Koi skipped merrily from the entrance to the other end of the office where the large bed still strangely remained. The trio took a second – or two, or three – to look at her backside before following her, cursing their now-again woken manhood. She was dangerous, all right.

Kaiza wasn't sitting in the large desk where he should have been, the trio noticed. Maybe he was out?

Koi casually sat on the edge of the bed, a happy smile on her face that was excited. Her long legs parted for an extremely long second before they crossed, blocking any chance for the trio to eye a certain area. Even fully clothed, Koi was truly one of the toughest challengers the trio had ever come in contact with. She leaned back, her arms propping her up.

"It's been so long since the last time I've seen you guys!" She pouted. "How come you haven't visited me and Ayumi?" Her words rang in their ears, making them look around. Sure enough, the dark skinned woman they had met the same day as Kaiza and Koi was not present.

Naruto shook his head. "We're sorry, Koi-san, but we had some stuff we had to deal with back in our village."

His words seemingly had no effect on the blonde woman as she still carried her pout as she rolled her eyes. "And here I was, wishing you guys would come through that door every day for the past couple of weeks." Her mutter was adorable.

"Koi-san, you do know that we live far from here, correct?" Shino tried to do damage control.

"All of my previous friends would come visit me every day and they lived very far away." She frowned. They didn't miss when she said 'previous'.

She grinned suddenly, mischievous eyes half-closed. "At least I met you guys in my…heh, dreams."

The trio almost paled, but they kept their composure.

She raised an eyebrow at their lack of a reaction.

"Haven't you guys dreamt of me?" She sounded concerned.

They decided to lie with a shake of their heads.

"Really…?" She frowned. "That's weird…"

Shikamaru decided to change the subject. "Koi-san, do you know where Kaiza is?"

Koi didn't look satisfied with the response, but didn't pressure it. She turned around on the bed and began to move the huge bundle of blankets the trio somehow missed – with a woman like her was around, things were easy to miss, huh? – until she found what she was looking for.

"Kaiza-kun!" She dug her hands into the bundle before pulling an arm out. "Wake up~ we have visitors!"

They heard a groan.

"It's Naruto-kun, Shikamaru-kun and Shino-kun!" Koi specified, shaking his arm comically with every name she mentioned.

"So early again…?" He slurred before the bundle of blankets he was in began to shift until he was visible sitting down with a slouch. He yawned, smacked his lips several times before he gave his visitors a glance. "Mornin'."

Naruto gave a half wave. "Good morning…?" Shino and Shikamaru shrugged.

"You guys have to live a little, come a little late every now and then, y'know?" Kaiza yawned once again, waving his hand up and down slowly. He slicked his hair back once, letting it fall back down into place, before he blinked.

"Kaiza, we're here for the mission you assigned us." Shikamaru motioned to the matter of hand.

"It's not like you're here for a visit." Koi retorted, pout on her face. The trio winced.

"Of course you are." Kaiza rubbed his eyes before he got edged himself to the side of the bed before standing on his feet. The trio collectively winced and turned away from him.

They had a feeling that seeing him in the nude will be a common occurrence in their relationship with the company owner.

Such is life, unfortunately.

They didn't say anything to the man, knowing full well that their words would not reach him no matter how loud they got. Kaiza walked around the office until he reached his desk, pulled the large leather chair out, and made himself comfortable. The trio took it as a cue to sit down on the chairs in front of his desk.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" Kaiza offered. The trio nodded. "Let me tell you all a little story before we get down to the knitty-gritty, okay?" Kaiza leaned back on the chair until he was lazily facing the ceiling.

"Long ago before my father was a complete asshole, he used to have three…what's the right word…? Uh…" He snapped his fingers as he tried to think of the word.

"…friends?" Naruto pitched in after a moment.

Kaiza snapped his fingers and nodded. "There you go. He used to have three friends that helped get his empire that you see today the way it is. One was a chemist – able to make some of the finest shit that nobody has ever seen before; I'll get back to this one later – a slave trader – he helped, heh, "enlist" workers to help build necessary equipment, buildings, lands, you name it – and a weapons dealer – she went quiet a couple years back and I can't find her around anymore, anyways, her weapons were top notch and very valuable – real classy people, I tell ya." Kaiza closed his eyes.

"I grew up with these people until I was about five, I think. They helped raise me too in a way. Can you guess what happened to them?" He asked. His eyes opened and he glanced at the trio.

"Your father betrayed them and they all ran off?" Shino guessed. Kaiza grinned, but shook his head.

"Almost. All but one ran away; the slave trader I mentioned? My father had him at a headlock and he couldn't budge without losing everything. He's been in hiding since you guys introduced my father to the ground six feet under." Kaiza looked slightly troubled. He shook it off. "Back to the story…" He inhaled.

"Have you guys heard of the viral drug that's been combing the east from here?" The trio shook their heads; they were not aware of this. "Well there is and its addiction rate is off the roof – akin to some spiritual shit or something like that – and it is spreading slowly across the borders of Kaminari no Kuni (Land of Lightning) and Mizu no Kuni (Land of Water). The chemist I mentioned earlier? He's responsible for that." Kaiza leaned forward. "What do you expect I want you to do about that?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe put a stop to him?" Shikamaru shrugged sarcastically. Kaiza grinned.

"Cute." The corporate boss replied.

"I try." Shikamaru countered without missing a beat.

"About two or three days ago there was a drug meet that was supposed to go down near you guys' village between the local drug ring lords and – who else – the chemist I mentioned, but it was interrupted and ultimately destroyed – the entire bunker they used was lit up, burnt to the ground!" Kaiza informed them.

"So is the chemist dead?" Naruto asked, arms crossed as he listened.

Kaiza shook his head. "Nah, he was always crafty, real smart that guy is and not just with chemicals but with everything when it comes to the trade he's in. I think he had a bad feeling about the whole thing and sent someone in his place while he watched and waited from afar. That feeling he had saved his life." The trio waited for him to continue. He took the hint.

"Here's the problem; nobody knows who interrupted the deal 'cause they left no freaking survivors to tell the tale. Word around the underground forces is that the leaders in charge of the drug ring are blaming the chemist for the fall, as if he purposely betrayed them while he ran off with the goods and the money, you know?" Kaiza rubbed his hands together.

"How could he do that when he was never present for the meeting?" Shikamaru inquired.

Kaiza nodded. "That's the thing. He couldn't have been able to do that, but to the ones in charge of the drug ring that detail doesn't hold weight. They're after him and he knows that."

"What part do we have to play in this?" Shino finally spoke up after he repeated Kaiza's words in his head more than once. "Are we to protect him?"

Kaiza sighed once. "In a sense, yes, that is part of the mission that I'm about to give you three."

The trio waited for the eminent "But" to come along.

"But…" The trio sighed inwardly. "…that's going to be rather difficult seeing as he won't trust anyone one hundred feet around him or for the fact that he's not even around these parts anymore." Kaiza let the words roll out of his mouth like a poisoned poet.

"Where is he?" Naruto leaned forward on the desk.

"He was last seen headed east towards Kaminari (Land of Lightning) a day before the deal went sour over by your village." Shikamaru bristled at the information given.

"Aren't they looking for him over there?"

Kaiza nodded before he leaned back on the chair. "Oh yes, they are indeed looking for him, but if anyone can get in and out of a hostile environment it would be him."

"What reason would he have to go to such a risky location, Kaiza?" Shino raised an eyebrow.

"One last score, probably." Kaiza shrugged. "I have an agent stationed inside Kaminari (Land of Lightning) who has reported to me recently that a group of 'odd looking business men' have made themselves comfortable in the small trading town of Komāsu near Kumogakure (Village Hidden in Clouds) where he currently resides in. He may be setting up a drug deal with those men for a huge payoff before he decides to disappear out of view forever."

"Is money what drives him?" Shino tapped his fingers on the desk's surface. "Going to such lengths for a deal that could get him killed is nothing short but concerning, after all."

"He needs it." Kaiza sighed. "His family needs it after several incidents left them massively in debt and his business with my father only exacerbated the debt, ultimately leading him and his family to go into hiding from the company."

"This is getting interesting." Naruto nodded. "What do you need us to do?"

Kaiza raised two fingers. "There's two parts to this mission that I need you three to do for me. Get the chemist to come back to the company – you'll need this letter to convince him to do so." Kaiza slid a red envelope across the desk's surface. "And make sure the deal does not get disrupted – this is important for several reasons: if the chemist feels threatened he's gone – and I mean gone as if he never existed in the first place – and my agent is using the drug addiction spreading throughout the land as a front to dig himself a spot inside the town's council; we're hoping to get our corporation in on their trade routes to make some serious bank. With the addiction slowly spreading throughout the town, it'll be easier for my agent to firmly plant his spot amongst the council." He took a breath. The trio looked shocked.

"Simple, right?"

"N-No, it isn't!" Naruto shook his head. "We're not going to fucking intoxicate a town!" The look of disbelief the blonde had was horrified. Shino and Shikamaru shared the same looks as well.

Kaiza looked confused. "You three aren't going to do that." The trio looked at him expectantly. "The drugs are." Kaiza responded neutrally. The trio looked disgusted. "Your mission is to simply retrieve the chemist and give my agent enough time to settle inside the town, simple as that."

"At the cost of the town's health?" Naruto muttered with repulsion. "Kaiza, this is going to ruin people's lives!"

"A small price to pay." Kaiza replied with a nod of understanding.

"How could you say that?!" Naruto rose from his seat, a hand pointed outwards to the man. Shikamaru and Shino rose as well before they restrained Naruto by his shoulders.

"Calm down, Naruto." Shino tried to get him to sit down again.

"What did you expect, Naruto-kun?" Kaiza sighed. "I'm running a cutthroat business that has to deal with the criminal world in order to get ahead."

"Then wouldn't working for you make us criminals in the process?!" Naruto stopped struggling against his friends' grasps on his shoulders. "I don't like it!"

"We don't like it either, Naruto, but you need to calm down." Shikamaru assured his blonde friend that he wasn't alone in his sentiment.

Kaiza tilted his head, uncertainty lining his face. "You have to understand that these will be the types of missions you'll be undertaking for me, Naruto-kun, Shikamaru-kun, and Shino-kun." He let a small smile form on his features.

Naruto looked like he wanted to say something, but Kaiza beat him to it.

"But… I guess I have to understand that the reason I hired you guys in the first place was because you were different from the other ninja I've met before..." He paused for a second. "Yeah, yeah, I called you three heroes after what you did for Wave, right?" He nodded in remembrance. "Straight out of a fucking movie!" He quoted himself from when he first met them.

He stroked his chin in thought. "When I first called for you three it was to make a partnership with one another, you scratch my back and I scratch yours, you dig?" Naruto was interested where he was going with this.

Kaiza sighed. "A partnership needs compromise, right, father?" He muttered under his breath sadly. He looked up at them, closed his eyes and nodded. "Let's compromise, then."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked from his standing position.

"Do what I asked of you and after that…well, it's up to you three to decide on what happens to the drug dealers before the drug addiction spreads faster in the town."

"Do you mean…?"

Kaiza nodded. "Get the alchemist back to me and make sure my agent gets inside the council before the actual deal is finished and you get to choose what you want to do about it. If you want to squash it, go ahead, if you change your mind and want for it to continue then that's fine. I'll leave it up to you three."

Naruto sighed in relief and fell back on to the chair followed by his friends a moment later.

"Wouldn't that be bad for business, Kaiza?" Shikamaru asked once he was sure that Naruto would stay put. Kaiza looked confused at the question. "You're giving us a lot of freedom by letting us stop your drug dealers from –" He got interrupted.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. Who said anything about the drug deal being part of the corporation?" Kaiza raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you hear me when I said that the chemist is hiding from the company? Why would he try doing business with those that he's hiding from? Those drug dealers have no connection with the company; all I want is to get in the town's good side to allow trade between us so we can benefit from the extra business." The trio looked at him incredulously.

"Did I not mention that?"

"No!" Naruto rubbed his temple.

Kaiza shrugged. "Then I might as well mention it now." His palms felt the wooden surface of the desk. "In order to get close to the meet without alerting the chemist or the drug dealers you three need to go in disguise, get the drug leaders' trust and supervise the meet as roaming mercenaries looking for a job." Seeing as how Shikamaru looked ready to interrupt, Kaiza simply paused and let him voice his concern.

"Why do we need to go in disguise? It's not like the chemist or anyone over there knows who we are anyway, right?" The Nara asked with curiosity lining his words.

"That's precisely why you're going in disguise." Kaiza rolled his palm. "Trust me, the less people know of your identity, the better. You're not going to be doing charity work over there in Kaminari (Land of Lightning), you're going to be involved with some less-than socially acceptable activity, where your names will be remembered if things go sour. Let alone your affiliation with Konohagakure will immediately raise red flags from both Kaminari and Kumogakure – speaking freely, your village and Kumo don't actually get along very well, right? Infamy does not go away. Ever."

The trio took his word for it.

"So we just henge into a random disguise and try to get the dealers' trust?" Naruto, who now understood the reasoning behind a disguise, asked as he demonstrated the technique, turning into the guard who let them in earlier.

Kaiza clapped. "Impressive, but that isn't what I had in mind when I said by 'disguise', you know? Oi, Koi, wake up!" The man called out to the sleeping beauty on the bed. Koi had taken the opportunity to sleep once Kaiza and the trio began to talk about the mission. She stirred in her sleep.

Kaiza sighed. "Damn it, hold on you three." He muttered before he opened a drawer from his desk and rummaged through it. He smiled when he found what he was looking for: a stapler. "Oi, Koi~ wake..." He aimed. "…up!" The stapler went flying above the trio before it struck Koi right on the head. The stapler stumbled down the sheets she used to cover herself before it fell off the bed with a thud.

Five seconds of silence passed.

"…owwwww!" Koi whined as she rose from the bed, one hand on the spot where the office supply struck. She sniffled, large comical tears in her eyes to complete the look. If the trio wasn't so sure that she would have cried if they laughed, they would have, but they were sure so they stifled the urge with a cough. "K-Kaiza, that really, really, really hurt, jerk!"

"You shouldn't have fallen asleep then." Kaiza shrugged. "Now get over here, I was explaining to them what I meant when I said 'disguise'."

Koi rubbed her head one last time before smiling. "I get to use it, really? Finally?" She looked excited, so far as to skip across the office until she was by his side.

"Yes, finally. Just give me a sec." Kaiza turned his attention to the trio. "You're going to be using a disguise that can't be seen through or dispelled like a henge could be."

"So we're going to wear different clothing and dye our hair a different color?" Naruto suggested. Using clothing and dyed hair or wigs was not a rarity in the village when it came to some missions, as sometimes a henge could be easily seen through by experienced ninja or adversary. Henge has been common practice in espionage missions since way, way before the trio had been born, so much so that it has become predictable by a standard.

Trust no one.

Something like that, yeah.

Kaiza shook his head. "Not at all." He snapped his fingers at nothing in particular. "Not many people knew that my dad even had a son, and yet, I was always around nearby. Any guesses as to how that was possible?"

The trio didn't know what to say.

Kaiza looked at Koi and tilted his head once at Shino. Koi nodded before she brought her hands together and focused. After a second, her hands began to glow slightly before raising them above Kaiza.

"It's simple really…" Koi placed her hands on Kaiza's head as he spoke. "Body manipulation is the key." The trio nearly backed away as Kaiza's features began to contort for several seconds until he looked exactly like Shino. Every feature was spot on, from the eyes to the mouth to even the hair; it was a perfect duplicate of the Aburame heir. Kaiza smirked in Shino's form, unnerving the trio. Kaiza coughed, signaling Koi to turn him back to his regular form.

Once he was his usual beautiful self, Kaiza explained what just happened. "What you just saw was the reason my father introduced Koi to me when we were kids." Koi jumped up with a smile. "She has this nifty ability that allows her to change her or anyone else's body to her liking; body manipulation at its core. With her talent, your appearance and more gets changed without the liability of getting found out by cautious security checks."

"Yep! I've been covering Kaiza for as long as I can remember!" Koi gave a thumbs up.

"Is that a Kekkei Genkai, perhaps, Koi-san?" Shino eyed the girl with interest.

Koi and Kaiza tilted their heads simultaneously. "A what?" They asked together.

Shino shook his head. "Never mind."

"Ninjas are weird." Koi giggled to herself while Kaiza agreed with her.

"So she's going to change our bodies? Does it hurt?" The blonde member of the trio questioned his employer. Kaiza shook his head, a negative.

"Not really, just feels weird at first but then you get used to it after a while." His reply was uncertain. "Depends on what she changes, really."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes curiously. "Oh? What exactly has she changed for you, Kaiza?" Naruto and Shino nearly let a laugh out.

Kaiza looked unfazed. "Nothing, why?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure?" His eyes scanned what he could see. "And what about you, Koi-san? Have you…manipulated…any part of your body?"

They shook their heads together.

"Are you sure?" The Nara probed, doubting their claims. Koi took a step back, her arms cradling herself.

"How mean!" She said as if she was insulted. "I worked very hard for this body, Shikamaru-kun!"

"Yeah, and so did I." Kaiza frowned.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Just checking, just checking, don't bite my head off." Koi looked ready to do just that, but Kaiza didn't let her.

"All right, all right, enough chit-chat." He shook his hands. "You guys get up and stand over there…" Kaiza pointed to the wall in front of the bed. "…and Koi, give them the treatment."

The trio did as he said and got up from their chairs and lined up against the olive-green painted wall. Koi looked seriously in thought as she walked at a snail's pace towards them, hand stroking her chin as she schemed.

Halfway across the office Koi asked for input. "Hmm, Kaiza? How should I start?" She paused as she eyed them, the action of such a beauty like her inspecting them with curious eyes made the trio slightly uncomfortable.

"Make 'em look tough, I don't know. That's your decision, not mine." Kaiza was looking through several files from a cabinet nearby his desk.

"Hmm, tough, huh? What kind of tough, though?" She clicked her tongue repeatedly. "Mercenary, bandit, thug, veteran…? So many to choose from…" She tapped her chin. "And from where should they look like…? What about their clothes?"

"We have some clothing in the first floor, if you want to take a gander at it first. Ask the receptionist and she'll direct you where the clothes are." Kaiza offered as he was inspecting a financing sheet.

"I'll go do that." Koi nodded before she walked to the door. "Be right back." The door closed behind her.

The trio looked at one another before they sighed while they walked back to their chairs.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Koi is kinda of a perfectionist when it comes to these kinds of things, surprisingly." Kaiza flipped the pages one by one on the file he held as he continued to read.

"Sure sounds like it. She talked about mercenaries and bandits and where we should look like we're from, right? What's up with that?" Shikamaru asked to make conversation after several minutes of silence.

Kaiza closed the file and moved on to the next one. "Believe it or not, Koi had to do constant research and study of all the different types of bodies, character stereotypes, stances, accents, hairstyles, psychology, eye colors, you name it, if she wanted to stay with me. She also had to study geography, fashion depending on location and weather, and a metric ton of human anatomy to make sure she could cover me no matter where I would be." He clicked his tongue as he marked a certain segment of the document he was reading. "She's also the smartest person I know." He finished the moment the door opened to reveal Koi holding more than several items of clothing and an appropriate amount of footwear in her arms.

"I'm back!" She stated cheerfully before placing all the clothing on the bed. "Based on the clothing that I found, I think I found the style you guys are going to go in!"

"And what would that be?" Naruto asked as he eyed the clothing.

She placed a hand on her hip and raised her index finger with the other as she closed her eyes, giving her a smug look of a teacher about to begin lecture. "A mix between soldier-for-hire mercenaries and dirt poor, war stricken workers!" Her statement was spoken with such confidence that it gathered everyone's full attention.

"W-What –" The trio tried to ask her to repeat what she said, but didn't get enough time as she swiftly grabbed them and lined them up against the wall.

"Clothes off, please." She asked sincerely. They looked uncertain. "Don't make me beg, okay? 'cause I will." She winked. The trio undressed for her down to their briefs, a flushed warmth covered their faces.

"Good boys…heh… let's get started, shall we?" Koi said as sweetly as a venomous snake before she gently palmed Shikamaru's left cheek, causing the teen to freeze at the touch. "Don't move, let me handle this." Koi's eyes narrowed in concentration before her hand began to glow.

Shikamaru stifled a groan of disapproval as he felt a strange feeling course throughout his face. Koi shushed him softly as she worked, slowly tracing his cheek with the palm of her hand. Naruto and Shino kept an eye on Shikamaru and their eyes involuntarily widened as they saw an even sheet of black facial hair begin to grow across his face starting from a light shadow, to semi-thick stubble with a matching light mustache connecting to the rest. Koi looked at him several times, inspecting her work until she was satisfied with it, making sure the beard she gave him was even and not too long by removing any excess hair she might have given him.

"You look great." She nodded in approval. "I'll add some color when I'm done with the rest of your hair, now look at me." She pointed at her eyes for him to look at. He focused on her and didn't flinch when she placed a hand on the back of his head, pushing his ponytail down as she got a good grip on his hair. "Keep looking at me, okay?" He nodded.

Koi inhaled and focused once again; turning his hair a deep brown until his original hair was long gone. With her hand on his ponytail, she grabbed the band that held it together and pulled it out, letting his hair fall loosely against his back before she swayed the hair near the front, letting four long straight bangs cover part of his face. "Let me finish you off…" She bit her lip in concentration as she pulled back before tracing his eyebrows with a finger, changing their color so that it matched with his head of hair. She placed a palm on his newly acquired facial hair and lightly changed its pigmentation to a light brown but kept darker shades every other strand to keep it looking natural. Once she was satisfied with what she got, Koi nodded with a smile.

"Let's add some "experience" to your image, shall we?" Koi suggested as she eyed his smooth face with distaste for the image she wanted didn't involve it. "Some scars ought to fill your image up…" She placed her fingernail over his left eyebrow. She concentrated and placed pressure on his skin and traced downwards, forming a clean scar downwards, cutting through the eyebrow, eyelid and face until it reached about five inches below his eye, cutting through the facial hair cleanly. "Let's get a claw mark over here…" Koi muttered as she placed three fingernails on his right cheek and quickly slashed downwards at an angle, forming a triad of jagged scars to appear.

"You still look a little young, that's okay, but you're also going to be "war stricken" so let's add some necessary combat stress wrinkles around your eyes and forehead, and…" She focused on him some more. "…let's give you an angry glare for good measure." She hovered her hands over his eyes and worked her magic, giving the area around his eyes a battle hardened terrain and a perpetual vicious glare for a look that screamed "battle tested".

Koi shuddered with a smile. "Ooh, that's scary!" She laughed. "Let's give you the proper skin tone next…" She paused. "Just a tiny bit darker and you should be fine." She grasped his arms and made his entire skin tone go darker a shade or two in several seconds and added several long scars across the length of his arms and riddled the back of his hands with damaged skin. Koi took one look at the mark that glowed and hid it beneath a volley of scarred tissue, causing Shikamaru to wince at the feeling.

She took a step back and admired her work for a second. "Nobody is ever going to recognize you, Shikamaru-kun!" Shikamaru turned to his friends and waited for their reactions. What he got was Naruto's wide smile of disbelief and Shino's rare shake of his head when he tried to process something without smiling. "Your clothes are over in that pile, Shikamaru-kun. Make sure to keep your hair loose, okay?" Koi motioned to the bed for him to follow along.

With Shikamaru changing into his clothes, she moved on to the blonde, grasping his left arm before she traced its surface with her hands. "I'm going to maul your arm, is that fine, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto froze at the question. "W-What?! N-No-"

She nodded. "Okay, thank you, Naruto-kun." Koi placed both of her hands around his shoulder and grabbed on to it before she began to twist her hands violently, as if trying to make shape of his flesh into something else. Naruto groaned in pain as Koi continued to do the same down the entirety of his arm, and nearly yelled out in agony when she reached the mark halfway through. "This definitely needs to go, Naruto-kun." Koi stated as she worked on the mark. "Just a little more…" When she finished with the area where the mark was, Koi continued until she reached the tips of his fingers.

Naruto glanced at his arm and paled. "W-What did you do to it?!" His arm looked as if it had gone between two meat grinders operating at different intervals, shocking him when he saw it.

"I still need to add some minor details, hold on, hold on." Koi muttered softly before she placed the tips of her nails on his arm and patiently traced cuts and wounds across his arm. "This arm is going to be wrapped underneath medical gauze, but just in case the need comes for you to show the reason you have your arm covered you'll have this to fall back on, okay?" Koi explained as she eyed her work, adding the odd cut here and there.

"I-I guess so?" Naruto didn't know what to say against the woman's confidence.

"Next up is the hair, come here." Koi grabbed the back of his head and brought him in close. Koi focused her concentration on her hand against his head and changed Naruto's hair from his usual blonde spiky self to a deep red-brown amber bed of smooth relaxed hair that fell against his forehead before she did the same for his eyebrows. "Looks good." She nodded. "Let's get rid of those whisker marks and give you some twin scars here and…here." Koi traced the back of her hand tenderly against his whisker-like marks and cleared them from his features before adding a thin scar at each side of his chin, forming an "X" formation. The action made a blush appear on the blonde's face.

"Hold still, okay? I'm going to make sure you look like you've been through hell and back to seal the deal." Koi placed her palms over the areas around his eyes and concentrated on the look she wanted him to have. When she removed her hands, Naruto's eyes looked cold, tired, focused yet unfocused at the same time and distant – as if he was looking at something far off in a different time, a different realm. Naruto felt as if his eyes were how they usually were, as if nothing changed, but when he looked at his reflection from a framed picture's glass nearby, he knew that wasn't the case. He tried to open them further, but found that he couldn't – this was as open as they were going to get, not that his vision was affected by them or anything.

"You look so~ cool, Naruto-kun!" Koi swooned before giggling. "I just might fall for you!" Naruto didn't know if she was kidding and he didn't know if he minded if she did or not. He blushed either way.

After changing the (former) blonde's skin tone to one that was slightly lighter to Shikamaru's and adding one long horizontal scar across his forehead, Koi directed Naruto to his clothing before beginning with Shino.

"Last one up, Shino-kun! Let's get started with that hair of yours, shall we?" Koi gave the Aburame the 'come-hither' finger motion to beckon the young heir to her, in which he followed suit to her call. Same as the others, Koi placed her hand on the back of the teen's head and focused, turning Shino's hair into a light brown before it slowly smoothed out from its usual unruly self. His hair was long, but was hard to tell from beneath the hood he always wore and now that his hair was smooth, large bangs nearly covered his eyes from the front while it almost reached his shoulders from the back. Koi parted the bangs to the side away from his face, leaving only one large bang left behind over his right eye. After changing his eyebrows to match his hair, Koi placed a hand on his cheek.

"I'm going to give you a shadow, not too much, not too little…" Koi moved his head around so she could get a good look at the dimensions that made his face. "How about a five-thirty shadow…?" Shino's face began to darken slightly as a very thin sheet of facial hair began to grow evenly. "Hmm… Nah, let's try a six o' clock…" Koi shook her head in disagreement, allowing for the shadow to grow slightly thicker where it could be barely described as lightly scruffy.

"Handsome, handsome!" Koi approved. "Not that you weren't handsome to begin with or anything, but uh… uh…" She stammered. Shino raised an eyebrow, challenging her. "I-I mean…" She blushed and panicked by almost slamming her open hands over his eyes. "Your eyes! Let me work on your eyes now!" She laughed a little too loud to be considered natural. A moment later, Koi removed her hands off of his eyes and nodded. The area around his eyes was covered with strained wrinkles brought upon by a youth raised in a lifetime of violence, paranoia, and grief. His eyes themselves beckoned down on her, analyzing her, looking for an opening, a weakness he could exploit. She shuddered, one part in fear and another in excitement. She coughed nervously.

"D-Don't stare so much, Shino-kun…" She looked coy. Shino smirked for a moment but composed himself a second later before she grabbed ahold of him. "Or better yet, stare at me some more~!" She leaned in and at that moment Shino became pudding in her hands. Koi laughed a sultry laugh and changed Shino's skin tone to be slightly darker than Shikamaru's before the Aburame would get too finicky from the close contact. She placed a fingernail on his right cheek and ever so slowly traced it to his left one, going over the bridge of his nose until she reached her mark below his left eye, a scar formed behind her finger as she did so. Shino's mark on his left arm was hidden from view with a quick hover of her hand, and with that done, Koi let Shino dress himself with the clothes she picked out for him.

The woman didn't have time to sit down, however, as Shikamaru had already finished clothing himself and was waiting for her input. He stood in front of her, arms spread out as if to say, "How's this?"

Shikamaru was now wearing a brown leather jacket, tattered sleeves gave it an old feel to it, but was still durable. Underneath the jacket, a thin vest of green body armor could be seen covering the black mesh shirt beneath it. On his lower half, Shikamaru was wearing a worn out pair of blue denim pants, a black leather belt around his waistline, and a pair of old work boots that have seen plenty of use, adorned his feet. Around his neck he wore a black bandana that could be quickly moved to cover half his face if a situation called for it, and finally, atop his head, he wore a black head rag that covered the top part of his hair, but let several bangs stick out in front while the back of his hair was loose against the back of his neck. As an aesthetic, he wore a broken wristwatch on his right hand. He looked rugged and weary, something she was aiming for when thinking about their disguise.

She nodded in approval, and moved on to the waiting former-blonde.

Naruto was now wearing an unzipped, black sleeveless jacket with a body fitting white t-shirt, exposing his right arm as the left one was expertly wrapped with medical gauze down to the his fingertips, letting him move, flex and close his arm and hand with no difficulty. For his lower body, Naruto wore a tattered pair of dark green camo combat pants outfitted with multiple pockets and pouches along each pant leg, and as for his feet, a brown pair of old working boots were tightly laced on. The former blonde looked tired, bitter and distant thanks to the aura his new eyes gave off and while he still looked young compared to the other two, he looked older than he really was.

"How is this, Koi-san?" Naruto asked as he turned for her.

"Yes, yes, you're looking very good!" Koi clapped her hands.

Shino finished changing into his clothing and looked at the woman for her input. Covering his chest, Shino wore a tired out black vest outfitted with used padded armor. His arms were covered up to his wrist with a thin black jacket riddled with cuts underneath the armored vest while his lower half was composed of a pair of faded black denim pants and an exhausted pair of black work boots. Underneath the left sleeve of his jacket, he wore two wristwatches on his arm, both functioning but one had its screen cracked. One bang was free from the restraint on his hair in the form of a tattered black head wrap, letting the single band of hair hang over his right eye while the back of his hair rested on the back of his neck. Shino stood in the middle of his two friends, each one of them helped add to their disguise as a band of mercenaries that Koi whipped up. They weren't dressed as flourishing as most professional mercenaries were, but they were meant to look poor, tattered and scarred both physically and perhaps slightly mentally.

Koi whistled. "Oh, you three are looking…" She licked her lips. "…exquisite…" She inhaled, clenched her hands and controlled herself before continuing. "Now for the hard part."

"What is it? Aren't we done? Nobody will be able to recognize us here or there, right?" Naruto questioned with rapid fire precision.

Koi nodded. "Well, yeah, but that isn't what you guys want." She replied before explaining. "Nobody will be able to recognizing youhere, but these personas need to be able to be remembered over there after the mission is over. With these one of a kind characters being known in that country, it will take any suspicion off of you three if at any point Kumogakure or Kaminari decide to talk to your village about a trio roaming in their land doing highly illegal actions. Your village leader must be suspicious about your dealing with Kaiza, right? We'll create your alibi in case they wish to communicate with us while your disguises take the heat off of you, understand?" The trio looked surprised at her explanation. They saw Kaiza nod behind her as he read a file.

"Then how do we do that? How do we stick out?" Shikamaru asked after a moment of thinking.

Koi smiled before she raised two fingers. "Two things; your voices – and that include your dialects, accents, way of speaking, etc. – and your eye color."

"Our voices? You can change those too?" The former blonde asked in surprise.

Koi jumped once. "Yep! All I need is a clear view of your neck and your head! Who's first?" She smiled despite their worried looks. The trio looked at each other and volunteered one another simultaneously. They argued for a second before Koi grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his jacket and pulled him in closely; grabbing him by the throat with one hand and placing her other one on top his amber head of hair. Naruto struggled against her grasp for a moment before she scolded him for doing so.

"Stop stirring, Naruto-kun. This'll be over in a moment, so please calm down." Koi focused. "This is delicate work and I can't afford to screw up on this, Naruto-kun." Both of her hands began to glow a light yellow as did her eyes when she worked. Naruto stiffened, his eyes opened wide as he stifled a groan from enduring whatever she was doing to him. Several long, painful seconds passed before Koi finally finished with the former blonde, releasing him from her grasp.

Naruto rubbed his throat for several seconds before he coughed. "W-What did Koi-san…?" He froze. Gone was his usual voice, and in its stead was a deep, slow voice with an accent he had never heard before. He tried to speak out, but he couldn't form the words in his head; he wanted to say 'What did you do to my voice, Koi-san?' but instead, all that came out was a choppy mess:

"What did you…do to voice?" Naruto stammered, had he forgotten how to speak? What the hell? "I… cannot speak good!" He grasped at his mouth as if that had anything to do with how he talked.

Koi held her hands out, as if to calm him. "Whoa there, Naruto-kun. Relax, it's just the dialect I gave you." She smiled. "I think it fits rather well; the pidgin adds to your character, don't you think?"

"What accent is that…?" Shikamaru asked for the former blonde's and his curiosity's sake. Shino looked interested.

Koi shrugged casually. "Eastern European."

Naruto furrowed his brows in confusion, giving the former blonde an angry looked based on his eyes. "What…?"

"Not important, but it sounds great, right? Real dark, right?" Koi smiled as she shrugged the question away.

"This… this feels…" He paused as he tried to find the right word, but had difficulty with it.

"Weird?" Shino suggested.

"Strange?" Shikamaru pitched in.

Naruto stood in silence before he nodded slowly. "Yes…that." His words were heavy as he calmed down.

"You're settling into your character already, that's great!" Koi smiled. "I instilled a secondary personality to match your character, so if something happens during the mission and you don't know how to react to it, just do what your character would do." They gave her a confused glance. "Try it now, Naruto-kun. What would he do right now?"

Naruto breathed in and cleared his mind. A second later he found himself leaning against the wall behind him, arms crossed and eyes focused at the floor. He glanced at his friends and Koi and nodded slowly before looking back at the floor. He found it natural to do so, but felt that he could easily break out of "character" if he needed to.

Shino and Shikamaru couldn't back out of doing so anymore now that their friend went through with it. They sucked it up and let Koi do the same to them as she did to Naruto. When she was done moments later, Shino and Shikamaru understood what it was like for their friend as they couldn't accurately describe the strange feeling they had when they wanted to talk. The words were… the words weren't in their vocabulary, but at the same time they were. Their speech was choppy as a default, perpetually leaving them scrambling for words they already knew but weren't able to say. After practicing some sentences to get a sense of their range – which was very short, coincidentally – the trio turned to face Koi and stammered.

"What… What now?" Shino asked slowly, his voice now deep and rough from the accent.

Koi grinned. "Your eyes." She pointed at hers with two fingers. "And then we're done."

"Let us, get it over with, yeah?" Naruto managed to pull off a sentence with only a pause in between.

{xxOxx}

"They've been in there for a while, if they're really in there, that is." Ino Yamanaka, the blonde beauty of the trio tailing the trio, sighed as she leaned against a tree about two hundred yards across the large imposing building their targets were supposedly at. The large bang that lay flat against the right side of her face hid her relaxed features, she wasn't bored or tired, just neutral about the whole situation.

Chōji shared her sentiment, but thought nothing of it from his prone position. "What if they left before we even got here?" He sighed as he unequipped the binoculars he held. 'Sakura took her sweet time, after all.' The plump Akimichi thought silently, knowing full well how much power the pinkette had.

Sakura sat above them atop a tree branch, legs gently swinging back and forth. She looked at the entrance of the building through the lens of her binoculars with a small smile on her lips. She was humming a certain tune that the other two couldn't decipher, but they didn't question it.

"They're still here, don't worry." She replied, taking a pause from her humming to take their doubts into consideration.

"Oh? How do you know, Sakura?" Ino feigned interest but held no malice in her words.

"I just do!" She replied cheerfully, swinging her legs at a slightly faster pace.

Ino and Chōji wanted to sigh, but they suppressed the urge. Their teammate was truly terrifying – information network or not, she had this all-knowing attitude with a split personality between sweet angel and a mafia boss straight out of a movie. No doubt it, she held power, but hasn't threatened to hold it over her teammate's heads, which made her even scarier. She was genuinely nice, they found out when they asked her what happens to those that don't report to her on time or accurately.

"I don't do anything. I just hope they don't do that again." Her sweet innocent reply was laced with poison since she slightly stressed the first "I" – why get her hands dirty when she (potentially) had someone else to that for her, right? Her team has only ever seen her truly angry once, and that one time was enough for them to give her some space whenever she was near. Chōji and Ino, along with most of the team, felt pressure when they spoke to the information broker as a simple mistake or slip of the tongue could land you under her thumb for your entire life.

Not that she would do that, right?

Right?

They shuddered at the thought.

"We got movement." Sakura stated quickly as she overlooked the entrance of the building. Chōji equipped his binoculars quickly while Ino sluggishly brought hers up to her eyes.

"That… that is not them…" Ino shrugged as she took one look at the three scarred men that exited the building. She placed her binoculars away to her side.

"Yeah, that isn't them." Chōji sighed as he unequipped his binoculars, putting them down on the ground before him. "I think we did miss them."

Sakura let a "tsk" escape her lips twice before she shook her head slowly; her eyes were still glued to her binoculars. "This has to be them." Sakura stated with confidence.

"A disguise then?" Ino doubted her, but kept that to herself. She took another glance with the binoculars, watching the three scarred men standing by the front entrance. Ino's eyes widened just a tiny bit when she saw a woman with ridiculously long blonde hair, hug them all simultaneously. "Her boobs are…" She swallowed. "…d-decent."

"Y-Yeah…she has a nice figure." Chōji agreed with his blonde teammate.

Sakura's grip on the binoculars tightened just slightly at the sight. "The one on the right…" Chōji and Ino focused on the men she was hugging; the one on the right, the one with the deep brown hair, was struggling against the blonde beauty's embrace, but paused momentarily to get a quick glance at her chest every other second. "…that's Shikamaru-kun." There was a slight lift to her smile.

"How do you know?" Chōji asked before mentally slapping himself a second later.

"I just do!" Her tone wasn't as cheerful as before. "He was always interested in…that particular area of the female body." She pouted for a second before smiling once again.

"So you have nothing to worry about, right?" Ino almost blurted out, but, thank Kami, she managed to stop herself. Sakura was scary enough as it were when she was happy, can you imagine how she would be if she were to be insulted in an area she's self-conscious about? That would be considered suicide – both socially and otherwise… Ino couldn't help but smile sadistically as she compared her breasts with Sakura.

Poor girl.

Sakura scowled for a second before she unequipped the binoculars, not wanting to see that woman captivate the heavily disguised trio any farther. She cleared her throat. "How long is that hug going to last, anyway?"

"As long as it needs to." Chōji chuckled as he continued to look through the binoculars.

Ino chuckled. "Not going to lie…" She began as she equipped her binoculars again to get another look. "…I'm a little envious of them right now."

"Glad I'm not the only one." Chōji agreed.

The pressure that was emitted from Sakura's fist could make and break diamonds on how tight it was being held. Ino and Chōji shared a mental high-five before quickly – and wisely – changing the subject.

"A-Anyway, are you absolutely sure that they are them?" Ino focused on the guys in the woman's embrace. "Henge don't usually have this much detail put into them without completely draining the person's chakra reserves. And their hands are heavily callused like a farmer's hands would be. These can't be them; these are completely different people – you can only change so much with a henge."

Sakura picked up the binoculars and weighed whether or not to look once again. After a moment, she sighed and equipped them. "Urk…!" She groaned when she saw it again. "Y-Yeah, that's Shikamaru, all right. Look at his right eye twitch like the son of a…" She gripped her hand on the binoculars. "The one in the middle is Shino – his hair now is the same length as it would be originally if he were to straighten it, same thing with Naruto on the left. I don't know how they did it, but that's them all right."

"If you say so, Sakura." Chōji shrugged in half-agreement with his teammate. "Now we just have to follow them, right?"

"Yes, we're going to continue to trail them – oh, finally it ended." Sakura sighed with appreciation once the woman had let the trio go. "We'll give them a head start and track them down."

"We're not the best at tracking, Sakura. What if we lose them?" Ino looked up at her teammate.

Sakura kept her eyes on their targets. "We're the best choice for this, though." The girl clicked her teeth. "Kiba would break cover and attack Shikamaru the first chance he'd get and Hinata wouldn't be able to keep up with them for too long if they go on another sprint to their destination."

Chōji and Ino couldn't help but agree with their pink haired teammate.

"What about Sasuke? He's good at tracking, better than us at least." Chōji asked as he got off of the floor.

"Today is his cool off day, remember? Kami knows he needs it." Ino answered with a frown. Chōji and Sakura agreed.

Poor guy.

"They're on the move." Sakura watched as the trio left with a sprint, crossing the gate with a single leap. The way they were moving… Sakura widened her eyes before throwing herself back off of the branch, landing on the ground before going prone. Ino and Chōji didn't know what was going on, but they did the same immediately. A second later, their targets (?) dashed past them from above, stepping on the branch that Sakura was on a moment earlier. Had they been seen?

"That was too close." Sakura muttered as she burrowed her fingers into the dirt. "Let's wait here for a moment before we follow them, sound good?"

Ino sighed as she now had to remove the dirt off of her hair. "Yeah, sounds good, I guess."

"No complaints here." Chōji began to draw little shapes in to the dirt.

"Then it's settled." Sakura sighed. "We wait."

And so they did.

{xxOxx}

The trio stood at the entrance of Wave before they pulled out a large detailed map and nodded after a moment of looking at it, rain drizzled upon but did no damage against the laminated tool of navigation.

"We go north from here, stay close to water and avoid village." Shino stated slowly, still getting accustomed to his new voice and vocabulary. The fastest way to reach Lighting would be to follow the shore that outlined the southeast portion of Fire Country until they reach Hot Springs, the small country next to the even smaller Frost Country; from there they should reach Lightning – about a week and a half of traveling for the trio.

Kaiza had explained to them that the meet between the chemist and the dealers was going to be in two weeks, giving them enough time to reach their destination and gain the dealers' trust.

"Before we go, let me set up equipment on clothing." Naruto muttered as he revealed more than a handful of seals, each one assigned with a different color for one another. White was for Naruto, grey was for Shikamaru and a dark green was for Shino, each seal holding their respective gear. After applying the seals to their clothing, he applied his seals that contained his potions and poisons on their sleeves.

"What about, teleport seal?" Shikamaru stammered as he tried to recall the word.

"Not yet, need to conserve them, yes?" Although Naruto had more than several thousand teleportation seals in his possession, the former blonde knew that he shouldn't use them so carelessly; his seal was one of a kind and he wanted to keep it that way before prying eyes of a talented ninja would find the seal and attempt to replicate it. There was no threat of that happening in Wave, he knew that, so he used them there with ease there.

The body-altered trio looked up at the heavily clouded sky before sprinting north. Their destination set in their minds.

"Move out."

---

Chapter End – "Drugs, Rust and Restoration" Arc I Begins

---

There it is, chapter 14!

A new mission for the trio, a new arc, and a new (temporary) persona for our protagonists! This is the beginning of a new non-cannon arc dedicated to, you guessed it, the trio's involvement with the drug deal. I want this arc to leave a mark on the world they live in, where their decisions will have consequences on characters and future chapters. As such, expect more non-cannon arcs to intertwine with one another as more characters will get introduced.

This story is going to be long, I realized as I went through the timeline I wanted for this story. Probably along the lines of an epic, considering I keep everything I wanted to be in the story.

When will the Chūnin exams take place, you may ask? Sooner than you think, actually. Have patience with me and enjoy the story until and after we get there, please.

Kami and Maou will begin making an appearance again after this mission, involving both realms into the story even more. I realize now that I introduced them way too soon in the story, but alas I must work with it. The trio still needs to go through some stuff before we get there though.

Don't worry about the trio's new appearance; I'll make sure to add their description before the chapters start during this arc. About their accents and if you want to have an idea on how they sound like, take a gander at Russian/Eastern European voice acting or at this video based on my favorite video game protagonist Niko Bellic:

GTA 4 - Mission #84 - That Special Someone by GTA Series Videos. Start at 3:15 for the dialogue and the glorious voice.

Tell me what you thought of this chapter! I could have made this chapter longer, but I thought it would be a pain to try and figure out a suitable ending point for it, so I decided to end it here where it is nice and workable.

Did you like this chapter? Was it too long? Too short, even? Let me know with a review! I love reading what you think of my story and am addicted to reading an email every time I receive one for the story.

Also! This fic is going to be using Deviantart's own xShadowRebirthx's Elemental Nations Geographical/Political Map. Give it a look over and give some support to the artist!

Speaking of reviews, let me answer those from the last chapter!

[buterflypuss] That chapter was the first one I ever made like that, one that was based around the environment just as much as it was based on the characters themselves, so I'm sorry if it was confusing. I'll get better doing chapters like that, I swear! I hope you enjoyed it, though! Thank you for the review!

[Miroku Kensei] The Shika/Saku feeling that was in the chapter was purposely made strong as, I think, made it more compelling to read. As for the gas, well, it will all get explained in due time.

[shadow gumball of death] Hahaha, thank you for your review. I'm glad you liked it!

[Twisted Ambitions] I'm very, very, very, glad you liked the interactions between Shikamaru and Sakura. Expect more of these kind of things in the future, but don't lose hope with Hana! Thanks for your review!

[Reader] There's one thing a RedGhillie loves more than stroking his beard, and that is without a doubt, receiving a huge review like yours. I'm seriously overjoyed that you liked the chapter as much as say you did. As for Shikamaru, well, we'll see where the women in his life take him, yes? You pretty much nailed Shino's character right on the head with that description of him wanting a fight with a strong woman and I hope you noticed that in this chapter as well. Thank you, as always, for the monstrous review that gets my writing muse all hyped up!

[Reader aka Sun Samurai] Welcome to the life of a profile owner! I'm glad you're enjoying this version of Sakura 'cause there's going to be a ton of her from now on!

Thank you for reading, and as always, have a good day.

-TheRedGhillie