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!

15. Degeneracy

Team Aeternum: From Heaven to Hell

Chapter 15: Degeneracy

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

"The bottomless needs of the corporate world, both justified and criminal, take priority unfortunately, and until those needs are somehow satisfied, our society will be in a constant state of degeneracy." –Unknown

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Character Descriptions:

Naruto: Dark skin tone, Eastern European accent, speaks broken English, smooth deep red-brown hair. Twin scars at each side of his chin, one large horizontal scar across his forehead. Eyes are now a shining yellow. Naruto is 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 give off due to the stressed wrinkles around them.

Shino: Dark skin tone, Eastern European accent, speaks broken English, straightened light brown hair, slightly scruffy facial hair well maintained, and shining yellow eyes. Shino is wearing a tired out black vest outfitted with used padded armor covering his chest. 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 glass cracked. One bang is free from the restraint on his hair in the form of a tattered black head wrap, letting a single band of hair hang over his right eye while the back of his hair rested on the back of his neck. The area around his eyes is covered with strained wrinkles brought upon by a youth raised in a lifetime of violence, paranoia, and grief. A thin scar travels from his right cheek to the right one, crossing the bridge of his nose.

Shikamaru: Dark skin tone, Eastern European accent, speaks broken English, his hair is now deep brown and let loose against his back, and his eyes are now a shining yellow. A clean semi-thick sheet of facial hair with a matching thin mustache now adorn his face, a long thing scar starting from above his left eyebrow runs down through it along with his left eye, eyelid, and cheek, cutting through the beard she gave him. A triad of jagged claw-like scars runs through his right cheek at an angle. Multiple scars run through his arms, the back of his hands are riddled with damaged skin. His eyes are in a constant glare of a battle tested veteran. Shikamaru is 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 wears 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 wears 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.

Chapter Start

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From their starting point right outside of Wave, the weather had been composed in a constant but light drizzle sprinkling from above. The winds were slow there and while the clouds were aplenty, they weren't intimidating by any chance as they promised only what they have already been showing.

That was about ten hours ago, however.

Sticking close to the shore that marked the border between Fire Country and Water Country, they had traveled northeast towards their destination, barely staying at the edge of the storm that seemed to be enveloping their country of origin. The farther they traveled north, the harsher the conditions were under the gale of nature. Now, in the deep shadow of twilight, things had changed.

The rain began to sting their faces as the sharp droplets were propelled by the angry gusts of winds tormenting the area. From above, electrical discharges threatened to strike at any moment, teasing the environment with quick flashes of violent sparks brewing in the dark clouds the trio was keeping an eye on.

Ten hours into their journey, Shino decided it would be best to rest for the night rather than to continue going in this type of weather. Shikamaru and Naruto followed his decision without argument, the sting of the elements were a very persuasive reason to follow the Aburame's order, after all. Receding into the heavy forestry to the left of the shore they were following, the trio sought refuge from the weather, no matter how small or ineffective it may be. Taking shelter underneath a particularly congested segment of large sturdy trees, the trio was still vulnerable to the remains of the weather, but was thankful that the foliage around them absorbed the brunt of it all. They leaned on the base of their own individual tree, taking a seat on the moistened ground in order to rest, glowing yellow eyes glued to the sky above, weary of a sudden electrical outburst headed their way.

The trio was just about exhausted physically from their almost nonstop sprint across the country to their destination. In the ten hours that they traveled, the trio had almost trekked three-hundred kilometers and their feet were feeling the agony of it all, especially due to the fact that their current footwear did not favor such activity. The work boots they were each using were heavy, didn't absorb any impact when they stepped on to the ground and didn't allow much room for comfort, but alas, it was part of their disguise and who were they to criticize the work of someone else? They would have to endure this mild inconvenience until the end of the mission, it would seem, unfortunately.

They might have made more progress to their destination if they hadn't had stopped several times throughout their trek to rifle the forest for edible fruits or herbs for energy. While they could use Naruto's minty stamina potions to get a tremendous boost in their overall energy, the crash that would come out of it would slow them down in the long run unless more were consumed to delay said crash. Knowing what the crash felt like and what it would mean in the long run, Shino wisely chose to forego the potions and decided on using the nearby forestry to provide for their hunger. After picking their fair share of berries, herbs, edible roots and nuts, the trio ate what they needed and continued their trek.

Thunder cackled above their resting forms.

Naruto opened one of the pouches that were attached to his pants and produced a handful of nuts that he managed to steal from more than a couple of squirrels several hours ago and began to pop several into his mouth as a snack. He offered some to his teammates, but they kindly refused to partake in his nut treats.

Sigh.

Naruto was the first to rest his eyes until the following morning, leaving Shino and Shikamaru to themselves for a brief moment. The Aburame and the Nara said nothing to one another during this moment of privacy as one was deep in thought and the other was scanning the surface of the map, judging the amount of time they would have left to reach the town of Komāsu before the deal went down. Luckily for them, Shino found that Komāsu – a small town but due to its location near the border of Frost it functioned as one of Kaminari's major trading towns as it not only connected resources to Kumogakure, but also to the country's capital across the country (and every small town in between) – was located just a little past Frost Country, the small nation would probably only take a couple days to cross if they don't run in to any trouble. Before they could reach Frost however, they needed to cross the Land of Hot Springs, but luckily for them, they were right alongside the border between the Land of Fire and the aforementioned nation. It should take less than a couple hours to enter its territory and maybe about two to days to cross the nation unto Frost, that is if they leisure about.

Satisfied with what he found, Shino neatly folded the map and placed it inside his pockets, only stopping to give Shikamaru a silent notification that he was going to rest and advised him to do the same. Once the altered form of Shino closed his eyes, Shikamaru was left alone with his thoughts on a certain someone, feelings and emotions matching the weather around him. Yellow eyes scanned the area around him, selfishly trying to find something else to think about – something that will take his thoughts and turn them into something else.

He wanted a way out.

"What are we…to one another…?"

He sighed in resignation. He couldn't just blow this off, could he?

He considered it.

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

…no, he remembered, he really couldn't ignore this.

Shikamaru closed his eyes for a second and thought back on all the lessons Jiraiya-sensei and Yugao-sensei had taught them throughout the years, what his mom and dad and Keima-otosan and Rei-okasan and Shibi-otosan would have to say about this kind of situation he was in. Yellow eyes were revealed to the small area around him one more time as he looked at his sleeping teammates, mind wondering if they had thought about this kind of world before…

…this "world" where it involved more than just them, their small tightly knitted group composed of their clans and families…?

Probably not…

Jiraiya-sensei and Yugao-sensei taught them their skills, what it meant to have a bond between comrades, pride for their village and a moral code that to this day they still stood upon. The trio considered them to be parental figures in addition to the ones they had from one another.

His mother and father raised him alone for the first couple of years of his life before Naruto and Shino became part of the family. It was then, after his friends were a member of his family that he finally began to realize that his parents were not only raising him, but also his friends, or rather, that was when he finally paid attention to what they were teaching. Yoshino-okasan and Shikaku-otosan taught them to be respectful, taught them manners, the understanding of subjects such as grammar and math, and later on, chakra control.

Shibi-otosan, originally only Shino's father, accepted him and Naruto as part of his close family after seeing how close they had gotten along with his only son. Shibi-otosan shared his wisdom and advice with them and in doing so, instilled a sense of what is right and what isn't, what should be done and what needs to be done and a way to distinguish between those two confusing terms. He was a fountain of knowledge that they relied on for a better part of their still young life and to this day continue to seek his input on things they weren't sure of.

Rei-okasan and Keima-otosan, the couple they had met when they were younger, the couple that not only ended up being Naruto's parents, but his and Shino's parents as well, taught them about, surprisingly, how to be strong, to never give up and to hold on to what you believe in and never let go. They supported them in whatever it was that they were learning. Rei-okasan showered them with love, tight embraces and understanding while Keima-otosan instilled his never-faltering sense of will into them with constant training and lessons passed down from his clan for generations.

Shikamaru looked at the ground he sat on, still silent in thought. He learned so much from all the parental figures he has had so far in his life and he doesn't doubt that he will continue to learn from them as time goes on, but… what was he supposed to do now?

The more he thought about it the more he realized that while he was being taught so much, he never took the time to think of the future, never taking the time to consider just what feelings, well, were. What did it mean to want anyway? To be wanted?

Was there something wrong with him? He knew what being happy was, he knew what being angry was, he knew what love was – he loved Naruto and Shino and Jiraiya and Yugao, his parents, both biological and extended – but other than that? He really, well, didn't.

What was the process to liking someone? Let alone, loving someone?

He didn't know what it meant to be truly sad, what it meant to mourn, what it meant to be truly angry, what it meant to be lost without a sign of help anywhere, for his giant family of parental figures were always there for him, always there for them, giving them advice, comfort, love and sympathy. There was a pressure inside his chest now and it hurt.

Yellow eyes blinked once, twice and a third time.

He was emotionally stunted, he realized, but that didn't do anything for the pressure building up inside his aching chest.

Was this what it felt like to be lost? To be confused?

Where he was at sitting down, the world – his mind – began to spin around him at an ungodly speed.

He tried to focus on one emotion at a time, as if to get his mind to slow down, as if to appease the gaping pressure built up in his chest.

Sadness…?

Had he ever been sad before? He shook his head; of course he has, how could he have never been sad before in his life? He felt sadness when Jiraiya-sensei had gone and left them and Yugao-sensei alone for what felt like a lifetime, he felt sadness – could it even be considered sadness? – when they had killed the first man of their ninja career, Gatō, he felt sadness every time he and his friends separated when they were younger… he sighed.

Those weren't examples of sadness, they couldn't be, not when they – not when he – recovered from them a day after those events occurred, right…? In every instance he was never alone, he felt what Naruto and Shino felt, and thus, they had each other to support one another, they had their families for comfort. Wasn't real sadness difficult to overcome?

He wasn't sad at the moment, though, right?

But now… what he felt, only he himself could feel, only he knew about the pressure inside his chest. He was alone this time.

He sighed, not knowing what to think anymore, but knew that he couldn't just push this away just like everything that had to do with anyone that didn't pertain to his small group. He paused at the realization.

When they had returned from the mission in Wave, once Hana had departed, did he even think about her after that? He recalled telling his mother about her, but that was about it. He thought the pressure in his chest would loosen up from that, he obviously didn't regard her as anything past an acquaintance, right?

His chest tightened up at the thought, of her, that night, everything. With heavy shoulders and an aching chest, Shikamaru closed his eyes and sighed.

"She's an interesting one, that Hana girl."

Shikamaru stayed quiet, cursing his luck now that it was talking again.

If the fox felt any malice coming from its host at that moment, it either didn't mention it or didn't care enough to notice as it simply followed up its previous statement with a new one.

"What is she, exactly?" The Kyuubi asked, its tone one of general curiosity. Before Shikamaru could reluctantly ask it to clarify, the fox continued. "She is definitely female, exactly the same as the others you know, but something is different about her, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, you do." It answered its own questioned before he even had a chance to think about it.

"What do you want?" Shikamaru asked mentally, his regular voice and vocabulary present rather than the altered one his physical form was using.

"I'm interested in her." It responded back after a moment of silence.

The sky rumbled with energy above him.

"Why?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Shikamaru sighed mentally. "How can you be interested in her without knowing why?"

"In case you didn't know, whatever you think about, I am forced to think about it also." The fox responded with an attitude. "What I don't understand is why you're so bothered by her mere mental image."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I am not bothered by her."

"Oh? Is that so?" Shikamaru heard the fox hum a flat tune as if it were "looking" for something. "Then can you please explain this…?"

Shikamaru winced as he was forced to remember a past memory that he had with the girl in question. It was of that night, where she was holding him by the arms as she looked at his empty eyes for confirmation that if it was okay to go on, not asking for permission, but just making sure that he was okay with continuing further. He was forced to remember details that he didn't notice at the time; her short panting breaths, the rise and fall of her chest that came with every lustful inhale and exhale of air, the way her eyes were narrowed in the most seductive way he had ever witnessed before, her slightly parted lips that slowly turned into a victorious naughty grin when she realized she had conquered him, how in her seated position her legs were needlessly open as he nearly took the entire space between them as if she were inviting – no, beckoning him to come even closer to where she was vulnerable.

"Your blood is pumping, your face is beet red, lips are dry, a…certain… area is getting excited and last but not least, your heart is pounding so hard against your chest it just might leave bruises…" The fox finished listing everything that the Nara was currently feeling, making him feel embarrassed about the whole thing. "And you say you aren't bothered by her?" The fox laughed teasingly.

"Anyone would be bothered if they have to relive a memory like that!" Shikamaru palmed his face as he tried to calm down.

"Why is it bothering you? That's what I want to know." It replied evenly. "It is obvious you want to mate with her and it is obvious she wants to do the same, so what's the problem?"

"D-Don't say it like that!" Shikamaru groaned.

"Am I wrong?"

"…"

"Am I wrong?" It repeated itself.

"…Yes." Shikamaru responded after a moment of thinking.

He heard the fox sigh. "You humans are so complex; it's infuriating, you know that?"

"What would you know about humans, fox? Haven't you only been sentient for almost a month?"

"It doesn't take a genius to know the difference between being a human and being an animal in nature, boy." The fox responded bitterly. Shikamaru prided himself with that jab he managed to land. "Something holds your kind back from your primal desires, your animalistic urges, and I, for one, can't see why on earth you as a species would ever do that."

Shikamaru looked at the sky, judging whether or not the weather would clear up somewhat based on the activity in the clouds above.

The answer was no.

"How the hell do you even know that? You talk as if you've studied human and animal nature your entire life, which I know you haven't, so can you please just shut the hell up?" Shikamaru was done speaking with the damn fox; his patience has all but dried up already.

There was no rebuttal for a good five minutes, giving him some peace of mind for a moment. He massaged the bridge of his nose with his fingers, feeling some stress disappear from his shoulders.

"…I know what you know." The fox responded after a while. "You were my first and only source of information when I first became 'sentient', I learned from simply observing you and your memories from within you and used those memories to bridge pieces together to make sense of the world. I know everything that you do at this point."

"…"

"…but I got greedy. I wanted to learn more, to understand the things you or someone else did and why you or someone else did the things you or they did. I saw a chance to learn more and took it…"

"…What did you do?" His eyes were strained as if he were awaiting a blow to physically knock him back.

"…I took your memories and made them my own; relived them all in the quest to understand this place you live in."

Shikamaru closed his eyes, calming himself before he panicked. He inhaled. "And what does that mean, fox? What does that mean for me?"

"I'm not done yet." The fox ignored his questions. "What I thought would have given me answers to this world only gave me even more questions with answers that were above my reach. I later realized that you humans were very different from nature somehow and it was due to that mentality of yours that I couldn't understand your memories, an obstruction, if you will."

"What did you do?" Shikamaru repeated, his tone wasn't as composed this time around.

"…I began to think and I figured if I could take your memories from your brain and make them my own, I thought maybe I could…" It hesitated.

Shikamaru paled. "What the fuck did you do?" He muttered slowly in that accent of his, brows furrowed in anticipation.

"I connected to your brain and I completely assimilated to the information that was there."

He went wide-eyed. "W-What –"

"I literally know everything you know, past and future. And that is where the problem I am in currently resides at."

"Problem?! Yeah, who the hell gave you permission to –"

"What does it mean to be 'sad'?"

The Nara paused, not able to register the question the fox asked him.

"What does it mean to," a pause, "…'feel'?"

"…W-What?"

"Ever since I connected with your brain, I've felt odd when it came to reliving your memories." It began. "I wasn't able to understand it at first until I began to delve deeper into what I think was your psyche and learned about these disturbances you humans are plagued with."

"My psyche…? Disturbances…? Do you mean 'emotions'?"

"Yes, exactly. These…emotions…what are they used for?"

Shikamaru had to stop right then and there. "What do you mean 'what are they used for'? Emotions aren't used."

"Of course they are. If not, what is the use of them?"

"Why are you asking me? Shouldn't you know?"

He heard it chuckle.

"I should, right? I know everything you do, right? I wonder why I don't know…" It teased.

Shikamaru let out a "Tsk!" escape his mouth before questioning the fox.

"I know what emotions are, fox."

"I'm sure you do."

"Why-"

"It would certainly explain why you're so bothered by her and have no idea why."

He twitched. "...what do you want?"

"I want you to settle this whole ordeal with that girl once and for all."

"Easier said than done, fox."

"Why? Mate with her when you get back and that'll be the end of it, wouldn't it?"

"Stop saying that!"

"But you DO want to mate with her, Shikamaru!"

"You don't know shit, fox!"

"Yes, yes I DO, Shikamaru! I know for a fact that you want to mate with her!"

"NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT THAT, DAMN YOU!"

"THEN WHAT'S LEFT, SHIKAMARU?"

Shikamaru clutched his head in agony.

"ARGH, FUCK YOU!"

"WHAT DON'T I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU DO, SHIKAMARU?!"

"FEELINGS! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND FEELINGS!"

He heard it growl in anger before calming down. Seconds passed before it responded.

"Then teach me. Teach me to understand what feelings are." The fox had indeed calmed down, but its tone remained harsh.

"Why do you want to know what feelings are?"

"So I can help you."

The response threw Shikamaru off guard.

"So I can help you sort out this ordeal that stems from that girl, not just for your benefit, but for mine as well."

"Your benefit?"

"I've already said this before, but I'll say it again; whatever goes across your mind I am forced to experience it as well. You've been thinking about her since you departed from the village yesterday, meaning I've been thinking about her as well. Do you honestly believe you are 'lost' right now?" It sighed. "Upon doing research on the word from what you know, I am easily more 'lost' than you will ever be."

"What do you mean?"

"Imagine my situation, Shikamaru. I've only been sentient for a short while, everything that I know comes from you – you are my source of information for everything. Now, I am forced to deal with memories and experiences that make no sense to me whatsoever due to not knowing what emotions are-"

Shikamaru cut it off there. "I know what emotions are, fox. I've said it before and I'll say it again-"

"You know what they are, but not what they mean, Shikamaru. I know the definition of what it means to be angry or upset, sad or happy, but I lack experience with them. How does it feel to feel emotions? There are things that could only be learned through experience, and there are things that only a human can have experience with, experience that beings in my situation will never have." It let out a halfhearted sigh. "Memories I've never had are within me, moments that I was never present for go through my mind with no pattern, never leaving me alone, always tormenting me to relive them. Everything…everything is so confusing, Shikamaru…"

Yellow eyes softened as the rain hit harder.

"Why do you humans cry and mourn if it hurts so much? Why do you humans get sad and endure a pain that you cannot physically tend to? What reason is there for that? It's torturous to go through that over and over, is it not?"

"…"

"You may know what emotions are, but I certainly do not, and it is beyond stressful to push down your entire lifespan's worth of memories and emotions without getting flooded by them all every day, all day." The fox spoke in a strained whisper. "Now, look at what is going on with you at this moment… you're confused, stressed and lost over this thing with that girl… can you imagine what I'M going through?!" The fox panicked. "When everything I know comes from you…what does it mean when you come across something you don't know, something you don't understand?! What does that mean for me when my only source of information has NOTHING I can use as reference?!"

"Hey…"

"…is this what it means to be scared, Shikamaru…?"

For a moment, Shikamaru thought of ignoring it all again, to try and ignore the panicking demon within him, to ignore everything around him that had nothing to do with his friends and family, to hopefully turn everything back to normal, to the way it used to be.

"…terrified…" There was no way he could do that now, now could he?

"What?"

"That's what it means to be terrified… what you're going through."

"…are you going to help me?"

Shikamaru inhaled and pressed his head against the base of the tree. "Yeah, I think I will. And in return, you'll help me."

There was silence for the first time in quite a bit.

"By helping you, I'll be helping myself, right?"

"Yeah, you could look at it like that if you want." Shikamaru sighed, his yellow eyes looked at the clouded sky rain down on him.

"I'll help any way I can."

Shikamaru had never pondered what it truly meant to feel emotions, nor had he ever expected to describe how they felt as he simply lived a life where feelings came and went without a single thought, but he was willing to try. If anything, to at least help him deal with the situation he was in at the moment with a member of the opposite sex, he'll try to explain what emotions were in hopes of reaching something he could grab onto and use.

"Let's start with… happiness."

He may be lost at the moment, but at least…

"I'm listening."

He wasn't alone.

{xxOxx}

About a hundred feet away, hidden amongst the more condensed foliage of the forest, three pairs of eyes were on lookout, keeping watch over the altered trio from a distance. Chōji and Ino were on the ground, tall grass covered them while Sakura watched from above, a large tree branch made her vantage point where she could see their targets well. They had been tailing the trio from afar, taking the forest as part of their route to remain better concealed from any backward glances their targets may have given out.

Ten hours into following their targets (whom Ino and Chōji still had their doubts on whether or not they were their intended targets), Sakura, Ino and Chōji had to rely on soldier pills to keep their energy up as they trekked across the country in less than favorable weather. Needless to say, they were more than grateful when their targets decided to rest for the night, as placing too much of a dependency on soldier pills will put stress on their body's condition.

"Oi, Ino." Chōji tilted his head towards his blonde teammate next to him.

"Yeah?" Ino answered, keeping her eyes glued where their targets were. In the darkness that the forest brought, it would be hard to keep track of a single target, let alone a target about a hundred feet away, but, not all targets have glowing yellow eyes that stick out like the moon itself regardless of the distance like they did.

"What are we doing here?" Chōji whispered with a small tinge of annoyance in his tone.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Gee, Chōji, the top philosophers throughout time have never been able to answer that question, and while I'm flattered that you take me to be as smart as one of the greatest minds-"

"Ino…"

"-out there, I really can't say why we're here on this plane of existence, but-"

Having been fed up with her stupid remark, Chōji slid his hand over to her side and pinched any skin he could touch – hard.

Had it not been for her self-control and the storm above them, Ino would have probably yelped in pain, possibly giving their position away as well. She contained her pain into a faint whine with a bite of lips.

"Smartass." Chōji muttered. "Can you please answer my question like a normal person?"

Ino rubbed her side before grunting. "That really hurt, y'know?" She sighed, but seeing as how she had it coming, she resigned her frustration and rubbed her side some more. "Well, Sakura believes that these yellow eyed thugs are our wonderful, beloved comrades in some sort of disguise, Chōji."

"Yeah, okay, don't make me pinch you again; why are we here just on Sakura's assumption that these guys are who we're supposed to be looking after?" Chōji sighed, moving some of the tall grass around him in the process.

Sakura kept her eyes on the glowing yellow orbs that shined in the darkness, simultaneously keeping her attention to her targets and her teammates' conversation down below. Her eyes never wavered.

"Heh, why don't you ask her that instead of me?"

"Probably because I'm not an idiot, Ino. Sorry for not following your example."

Ino let out a small genuine laugh, causing Chōji to smile a bit in response.

Things were quiet amongst them for a while except for the ever-present pitter-patter of the rain coming down on their position. The weather and the extensive amount of energy they had used while in stealthy pursuit of the disguised trio finally began to weigh down on them, meaning a good rest was not necessarily needed, but would be greatly appreciated. Ino groaned quietly, as if she were trying to shake off the exhaustion she was feeling while Chōji tried to sneak a yawn by covering his mouth, both trying to avoid catching their pink haired teammate's attention.

Sakura settled on to the tree branch she was on, leaning her back against the base of the tree for comfort. Her eyes never left her targets' position, even as she spoke out to her teammates down below.

"You two can try to get some rest if you want, I'll stay up and keep an eye on them." Her tone was half-hearted, not really caring whether or not they heard her.

But of course they did. Ino and Chōji glanced at one another before confirming her words.

"Are you sure, Sakura?" Chōji asked out of courtesy as he looked up at her position above them.

Sakura didn't respond, but instead simply folded her crossed her arms and laid them above her stomach to get comfortable. Chōji frowned in disappointment.

"Oi, Ino, what should we-" He began but stopped when he turned around to face Ino's sleeping form at the base of the tree, a small snore came from her. "Seriously?" Chōji sighed, gave Sakura one last glance and reluctantly decided to turn in as well.

Emerald eyes blinked once, twice and again once she felt that her teammates had dozed off below her. She breathed in, held it, and breathed out; her confidence did not waver.

{xxOxx}

When morning came several hours later, Sakura blinked before deliberately letting herself fall from the tree branch she had spent the night on before gently landing on the ground in front of her still sleeping teammates. The action woke them up, and in their drowsy stupor they began to question her for the interruption, but before they could finish their questions, she interrupted them with a wave of a finger against her lips.

"Hush, they're moving out and so are we, let's go." The pinkette stated slowly before walking forward, passing the tree Ino and Chōji used to sleep against. Chōji rubbed his eyes once he was on his feet, stretched, and followed her while Ino muttered before doing the same.

Luckily for them, the weather had calmed down during the night, only leaving a heavy drizzle instead of the hard-hitting downpour that held their company the day before. The winds were still pretty strong, unfortunately.

They walked through the forest, allowing their targets to get a good distance away to remain unseen. They walked for several minutes in silence before breaking out into a full sprint once they felt that their targets had gone far away enough. Chōji frowned at the direction they were going as he recalled the Fire Country's geography and after a while of thinking on it he realized where exactly they were going.

"Hold on." Chōji called out, making Sakura and Ino stop in their tracks.

"What's wrong?" Ino asked. Sakura stayed quiet.

"If we're this far out it means we're approaching the Fire/Hot Springs border; these guys are leaving the country, Sakura." He crossed his arms while Ino gave her a weird look.

Sakura turned her head slightly, but kept her back to them. "What are you saying?"

Chōji sighed. "This is getting out of hand, Sakura. I don't think we're supposed to leave the country – I don't even think we can – especially over three thugs that you're convinced are Naruto, Shino and Shikamaru." He shook his head. "I've had my doubts about whether or not they're who we think they are, I don't know how you know, but…"

"Yeah?"

He winced. "…are we really going to leave the country based on an assumption, Sakura?"

"You've followed my assumption this far, haven't you?" Sakura replied coolly. Ino gave him a nervous glance.

"Sakura… I don't think we should leave the country." He repeated.

Sakura nodded slowly, sighed and turned around to face him. Her eyes were disappointed. When she raised her right hand, he flinched, but he was surprised when her hand went up to her left shoulder to undo her tied headband she attached it to. She held it out to him.

"W-What are you doing?" Chōji and Ino looked at her headband and then at her.

"If you're not coming with me, then hold on to it until I get back; it'll be less problematic if I don't have it with me." She waved it up and down to get their attention. "I don't know what you're going to tell the Hokage, but I trust you won't let him brand me as a traitor." She sighed.

'This bitch…' Chōji and Ino thought simultaneously.

"Sakura." Chōji shook his head.

"I would have preferred my teammates to come along with me, but if you feel that you can't, then go ahead; I won't hold it against you." She walked forward and held out her headband, her emerald eyes met his the entire time.

He wavered.

She didn't.

When he looked away, Sakura simply turned around, hid her headband on her person and continued the way they were going before. "They're going to get farther ahead than would be preferable, let's go."

Chōji gritted his teeth and let go of a breath he wasn't aware he was holding. Ino looked at him and offered a supportive pat on the shoulder, but had little effect. When they removed their headbands from their left shoulders and them amongst their person, they bit their lips and followed the villain they called their teammate.

{xxOxx}

The trio paused when they reached a wide river that bled into the ocean near the shore they were sticking close to. It was close to two hours since they resumed their trek from their resting spot when they came across the large river that stood in their way and while the river itself hardly posed as a deterrent, it did mark that they were indeed close to their first destination. Just to make sure, Shino pulled out his map from before and double checked their progress from Wave up into this point and concluded that if they were to continue forward across the river they'd reach Hot Springs territory in maybe an hour and then its capital, Heisui, in about three, barring any interruptions.

"We are close," Shino began in his slow accent. "we cross river and we enter Hot Springs soon after." He pointed forward. "We go to capital and take carriage to village near Frost, that is the plan." Naruto and Shikamaru nodded in confirmation. "Let us go then."

As they walked across the river's surface, the trio noted the change in topography in front of them; the forest was beginning to thin out little by little while small hills and short stretches of plains began to fill the gaps in between the foliage. The storm had calmed down significantly, and while it was still drizzling heavily, the large imposing clouds from above weren't as dark as the day before, but they still held on meaning that the storm wasn't just over yet.

Hot Springs was an interesting country, not only because it was located between not just two, but three different countries (Fire, Frost and Lightning) and as such, it's military – once grand – has almost been completely disbanded since it established neutrality towards its neighboring countries. With no military to defend its borders, Hot Springs regularly paid good money for protection from either of its various neighbors when it came to any crimes within its territory, and while it may seem bad that they have little military strength, they made up for it by being extremely well off financially as they were a tourist attraction for a huge amount of civilians in the various countries around it. As for what draws people to the Land of Hot Springs, well, your guess is as good as mine.

Knowing full well that security was lax, the trio had no difficulty sneaking in to the country from its southern border with Fire, making their way north to its capital, Heisui, with no interruption par the small rivers that were in the way. Once they reached one of the main roads that connected the capital with the rest of its nation, the trio stuck by it and continued their trek to their destination, Naruto and Shikamaru kept an eye on the twin rivers that surrounded the road. Several kilometers in the distance the trio could easily spot the capital – if the large, nearly skyscraper-level buildings that shot upwards were any indication of its status – and that in itself made the trio subconsciously hasten their pace to reach it.

Large fancy columns made of fine wood marked the entrance to the bustling city-capital of Heisui, where nothing was still for a single moment as tourists, vendors, citizens and the like roamed throughout the marketplace that welcomed all those who wished to enter. Despite the trailing drizzle that came from above, the city's inhabitants didn't seem to mind as there was a warm, almost humid atmosphere present at all times in due part of the tremendous amount of hot springs that their capital surrounded. The city itself, from what the map showed, half-circled the tremendous collection of hot springs that sprawled throughout the land about one hundred kilometers across.

Once the trio entered the city-capital by passing said wooden columns, they gathered the attention of most – if not all – of the present population doing their daily routine by the marketplace. Visitors were not rare – far from it as most visitors were simply tourists taking a break from the hum of their average days – and many of the people of Heisui learned to be accepting of others that enter through their widely prized wooden columns, but appearances matter here just as much as they would anywhere else. So, when three men dressed as…undesirables… show up in the heavily trafficked marketplace with piercing glares, scars and unsettling, unnatural yellow eyes, well, people tend to take notice.

And notice they did take, as those who were not prepared or unable to respond to such a sight simply froze and…stared at them, as if they were waiting for them to do something. And while their appearance was not enough to completely silence the collages of sound that the whole marketplace could provide, it certainly made a good effort in doing so as silence filled a respectable radius around the trio. Cautious eyes glanced at them from all sides, but none dared to make contact with the shining yellow orbs that the travelers held, slight whispering began at a fish stand to the trio's right and slowly but surely spread to the trader's station in front of them and then to the jewelry stand to their right before it began to grow ever so slightly until most of the people near the entrance silently conversed about their appearance. Some were obvious about their gossip while others tried to ignore them and continue their daily routine; some were good at giving secret glances while others would blatantly stare.

The body Shino was disguised in shifted awkwardly at all the attention; the action made those who were staring jerk their heads in the opposite direction. He had expected this – or at least, he had tried to expect a reaction similar to this one, but this was too much to simply ignore, all this…sudden isolation despite them being the spotlight felt…unnatural. He glanced at Shikamaru – the people to the right shuddered and turned away – and then turned to glance at Naruto – the vendors to the left shifted their gaze at somewhere else – and concluded that they were as unnerved as he was at the moment.

He shook his head mentally and tried to focus on the plan he had for coming here; he paused and then remembered: they were there to find a carriage station to travel on to the other side of the country where the nation's hidden village stood – and more importantly was where the border between Frost and Hot Springs lay nearby – as quickly as possible.

Yellow eyes scanned the immediate area, further unsettling the people in the nearby vicinity as the disguised Aburame looked for any building which might resemble something he could use. In front of the trio were two roads that were split from the center by a double-sided string of shops, restaurants, cafés, two story hotels and apartments, effectively flanking both sides of both roads as each opposite end held their own collection of shops, stands and vendors. Seeing as they had no choice but to do some searching for a travel station, the trio shrugged and finally made a move to go deeper into the city, but before they got far from their starting point, a portly man just barely capable of holding the large crates stacked in his hands came into view from their left hand side, his figure was shaking as he exited one of the more better off shops and waddled to the road.

The stacked crates in his hands shifted sporadically as he did his best to maintain balance amongst them by leaning his body back and forth, but by the looks of those that dared shift their eyes away from the trio to spectate the man, it was obvious that it would not be long before he and his crates would come crashing down. The man jerked forward almost as if he was in mid-fall, making those who spectated hitch their breaths in amusement, but ultimately did not fall, much to the public's disappointment.

The vendors and tourists sighed and returned their attention to the three thugs that had walked in to the marketplace, but were surprised to find that they had moved from their spot and were now trailing after the man. Only assuming the worst would come from the three degenerates roaming around the city, the people present began to mutter to one another, but none did anything to stop the potential danger that they saw. Their eyes were glued to whatever would happen next as the thugs had all but reached the portly man's immediate space from behind, and to make matters worse, it was at that moment where the man decided to trip up on his own feet, sending his body forward with the crates leading the way.

The man and his crates would have ended up on the floor if it had not been for one of the thugs – the one with light brown hair (Shino) – grabbing the back of the man's collar, preventing him from falling forward while the other two simply grabbed the crates before they crashed into the ground. The bystanders were prepared to intervene – that is, they waited for someone else to intervene first – once the harassment began.

"H-Hey!" The man cried out when he was pulled back to his feet from his collar, but when he saw just who did that, he froze in place. When he saw who the two thugs holding on to his crates, he began to sweat.

"Are you, injured?" The one with reddish hair (Naruto) asked the man with a strange accent as he got a better grip on the crate that he relieved from the man.

The man paled and shook his head before he muttered something that they couldn't quite hear. The dark skinned, brown haired one (Shikamaru) leaned forward and unintentionally glared at the man.

"Say that louder, would you?"

The man flinched. "C-Can I have those back, p-please?" Shino walked until he was next to his friends, where they each gave him a weird look – a mixture of confusion and apprehension.

"What," Naruto began, "these?" He lifted the crate to emphasize. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

The man nodded quickly, a nervous look across his face as he did so. "Y-Yes, can I have those back?" He paused. "Please?"

The three of them looked at one another before facing the man again. Shino took one of the two crates the man had in his position and shook his head. "No."

The bystanders fidgeted where they stood. The trio looked around, examining the reactions the people were having to them helping the man before them. Shikamaru felt someone's stare – and that immediately warned him that something was wrong; half the people present had been staring at them since they showed up, but now he felt a specific pair of eyes stalking his back, and whoever was responsible for such a presence did not dare hide it, but who? As the Nara looked around past the worried expression of the nearby men and women that occupied the sidewalks, stores and stands around him, his eyes stopped at a quaint café to his far right where, seated on a simple white chair, a woman was calmly examining the porcelain cup where her drink was in with a surreal amount of dedication.

The woman had long blonde hair, a darker shade of blonde than that of Naruto's natural hair color, but blonde nonetheless, and it parted slightly to the center, allowing her forehead protector to be seen – affiliation: Kumogakure. Her bangs did not get in the way of her face as they were tied back to form a very long ponytail that seemed to be taut with white bandages. She wore a short sleeved black and purple blouse with matching black pants, on her hands she wore a pair of black fingerless gloves and upon further inspection she wore a red belt around her waist. She also wore the standard ninja sandals and had her arms and legs wrapped tightly in bandages.

Shikamaru examined her and just before he was going to turn around, she blinked and met her eyes with his; she projected her presence with her eyes right then and there just as she had done before he was aware of her, almost as if saying "Bingo, you found me."

"Get away from her!" Shikamaru heard the fox warn him as he turned his attention back to the man in front of them. "Don't mess with her!"

"What's wrong?" He asked quickly. "Who is she?"

"Bad news." The fox stated before going quiet.

Shikamaru couldn't act out of turn as his character was not a ninja and therefor couldn't have sensed the immediate danger that the woman presented. He didn't react when she confirmed her position, and he hoped that was enough to live up to their image. He didn't know if his friends were aware of her, but for now it'll be best to not give her a reason to approach them.

The man looked about ready to run away until Naruto intervened. "These are heavy; too much for single man to carry, no?" He tilted his head.

He shook his head. "N-Not at all! I can do this on my own, so can you please give them back-"

"No." Shino repeated. "You fall and damage goods, what then?"

"D-Don't worry these are just full of old pocket books – n-nothing of importance in them!" He pleaded.

"Oh?" Naruto lifted the crate in his hands and shook it close to his head, hearing the metallic rattle that came from whatever was inside. "Does not sound like books to me."

"D-Don't shake it like that!" The man exclaimed, confirming the value the crates' content had.

Shino tilted his head to the direction the man was headed before. "You walk, we follow; less work for you, more efficient for everyone."

"T-This isn't necessary-" Shino's character glared at the man. "…o-okay, d-don't hurt me!"

"Hurt? We do nothing of the sort!" Shino's character seemed offended.

"S-Sorry!"

Shino sighed. "You walk-"

"Y-You follow, right?" The man cut in. Shino's character nodded. The man was sweating heavily as he was going to be escorted and possibly jumped. "T-This way, t-then…"

Shikamaru was by the man's left hand side while Naruto flanked the man from the right while Shino walked behind the man, effectively boxing him in between them. Before they could get very far, Shikamaru took a look at a window panel from a nearby boutique and from the faint reflection he saw the same café where the woman was, but this time, he cursed, it was empty.

The portly man silently cried for help as he led the trio to his home, bullets of sweat trailed his face and hit the ground rapidly. What was worse was that his fellow citizens did nothing to help him in his obvious time of need as all they gave him were nervous glances and worried waves of their hands. He glanced at the red head (Naruto) to his right and nearly jumped up when he saw yellow eyes staring back at him.

"Tell me, why were you, uh, how do you say…?" Naruto stuttered as he tried to say the word. When it came to him a second later, he snapped his fingers. "…moving! That's the word; moving all by your lonesome today?"

The man faced the ground. "T-The shop, it's getting renovated – heh, termites, can you believe it? All over the place, too. I needed to remove everything from the shop that I didn't want being covered in poison."

Naruto nodded. "So, these books, they… they are worth something, or…?" The man gulped.

"N-No, no, not really." He stuttered.

"Then why not throw them away?" Shikamaru responded from the left hand side of the man.

"I-I guess I got attached to them…?" He laughed nervously, hoping that will convince the trio.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "I…see." He coughed and the moment the man wasn't paying attention, Shikamaru tripped him over, causing the man and the crate to crash against the ground.

"Gah!" The man screamed as his body crushed the crate, spilling its twinkling contents on to the ground next to him. Jewels, watches of gold and silver, pendants, rings and necklaces were only some of the spilled contents on the ground.

"…these are, very strange "books" you got here, friend." Naruto stated as he eyed the jewelry before making eye contact with the man.

Before the man could cry and beg for mercy, he was offered a hand by each of the three thugs that accompanied him.

"Are you hurt? Get off the ground; it is dirty." Shino stated as he helped the man off the floor while Naruto and Shikamaru collected the spilled loot, making sure the man was watching as they placed everything they picked up into one of the crates that was still intact.

"You should not lie in future; very rude." Shikamaru half-scolded the man as they waited for him to continue walking to wherever their destination was.

The man (and just about everyone present) was obviously very confused by this turn of events, as he was genuinely helped to his feet. Once the trio had made sure he wasn't injured, they nodded at him.

"Where to?"

The man shook his head and nodded back. "R-Right, it's this way." The man coughed and motioned them to keep going in the same direction as before. The man was still nervous, but just a tiny bit less than before as he led the three of them to his home.

When they arrived at the man's home several minutes later, the trio were kindly – and nervously – asked if they could place the crates on the floor in the main room, to which they respectfully did as they were asked. The man walked them to the door.

"I-I'm very sorry, but I have to be honest, I thought you three were going to rob me blind; that's why I lied." He bowed.

"We are not thieves – just business men." Shino responded with a slight suggestive tone.

The man smiled softly. "I'm used to those types; hold on, let me get you something for your time." The man reached into his back pocket and retrieved his wallet.

The trio grinned.

{xxOxx}

After leaving the man's house with some more spending money, the trio walked the direction the man had offered when they asked where the nearest station was located and found it several minutes later to the south of the man's home. Shino took a look at the scheduled times for when the carriages are supposed to depart/return and sighed when he saw that they had just missed the previous carriage headed towards their destination by little less than seven minutes. The next scheduled departure for a carriage would be in two hours, apparently.

Apparently.

Seeing as they had time to waste in a city that couldn't help but be weary wherever they went, the trio couldn't really do much at the moment.

A stomach growl in their midst gave them an idea as to what they could do for the remaining time they had to wait, however.

While they were carrying the crates for the man, Naruto remembered seeing a small stool-and-bar restaurant on the way to the man's house and as such, the former blonde suggested checking out the small eatery. Since no other suggestion came up, Shikamaru and Shino went with Naruto's idea.

As they walked, Shikamaru used his peripheral vision to stealthily observe his surroundings without giving the notion that he was keeping an eye out for that woman from before. For someone – a human, nonetheless – able to get such a nervous reaction out of the demon was nothing less than unnerving, and to make matters worse, it was a woman who managed to do that.

Go figure, right?

Jokes aside, Shikamaru had failed to make contact with the fox after it had gone quiet when he made eye contact with the woman back then near the marketplace. The fox was usually chatty, but now that it stayed quiet after such a warning…who is that woman and…is she nearby?

"There is trouble nearby." Shikamaru muttered without looking elsewhere. Shino and Naruto didn't visibly react, waiting to hear what they need to know about the threat. "Ninja of Kumogakure, a woman with blonde hair. The fox, it warned me about her. To stay away from her."

"Is she near?" Naruto asked as they turned the corner, their destination still the same.

"It is safe to assume so." Shikamaru responded. "The fox has gone quiet since it warned me. For what reason, I do not know."

"What do we do?" The former blonde asked as he pointed to the small restaurant he had seen before.

"For now, we eat." Shino replied as he parted the short decorative curtains that stemmed from the roof of the place before taking the second stool to the left, Naruto to his right and Shikamaru to the right of the former blonde, effectively taking three out of the five stools at the bar restaurant.

"Ah, welcome to…" The owner – presumably so – began to greet his customers from behind the bar where the kitchen was, but stopped just as he saw who his clients were, or better yet, what they looked like. But, the older man recovered from his initial stutter and with a hospitality that could only be gained from decades of meeting different types of characters apologized. "My apologies, gentlemen, you caught me off guard with your eyes and all." He smiled. "What can I get for you?"

Naruto looked at the man and nodded. "What…what uh," He was really starting to get fed up by his character's lack of vocabulary "…do you…prefer?" He asked the man as best he could for what he would recommend.

"Not from around here are you?" The owner asked a question he already knew the answer to. "What do I recommend? Is that what you were asking for?"

Naruto's character rolled his eyes. "Yes, that."

"Well, people around these parts seem to like my kushikatsu, and you might also. Oh, that's skewered grilled meat, in case you didn't know."

Naruto nodded. "I will take that."

The owner nodded. "One order of kushikatsu." He wrote in a small pad of paper. "What about you two?"

"Same thing." Shino and Shikamaru answered simultaneously.

"O….kay, three. Three orders of kushikatsu…" He laughed, putting the paper pad away as he turned around to face the kitchen.

There was movement behind them, the noise of the small curtain's material being ruffled up against itself and finally a voice.

"I'll have what they're having, as well."

Their blood ran cold, but their characters refused to react to the woman's voice behind them, where they were sure their hearts ought to have been pounding at this moment but were surprised to find themselves taking this better than expected. When had they allowed the artificially created sub-personality to take over, anyway?

He laughed. "Four. Four orders of kushikatsu…"

The woman motioned her hands to the stool left of Shino. "Is this seat taken?" Her smile was as venomous as it was gorgeous – lips as red as a fresh wound.

Shino's character said nothing, but shook his head, answering her question.

"Oh, good." She sat down, got comfortable and leaned on the bar, her black eyes never leaving Shino's form, left arm above the right, right palm gracing wood while the left grazed the back of her right hand. "Do you mind if I sit here?" The curves of her lips looked ready to strike, a beautiful way to be slain.

His character looked passive, as if she were nothing but air to him and he had no difficulty making that known as he simply shrugged in response. If he wanted to get a reaction from her, he would have failed as she simply took the shrug in stride and sized him up with a glance.

They were nervous, but not the sub-personality that Koi had instilled into them, and while they weren't sure how they would act if they let the personalities take over, they didn't have much of a choice at the moment. This woman – the woman that Shikamaru had identified and warned them about – might have been stalking them, watching their every move; she was interested.

And who wouldn't be? The entire purpose of the disguise was to gather attention – to make these characters recognizable – they were an alibi for the trio to use if any questions about where they were sprang up. They gathered attention, all right, that's for certain, but they weren't supposed to gather this much this early! What was a ninja from Kumo doing in another country, anyway?

The sound of cooking could be heard from the kitchen, the hum of an old radio past its prime accompanied the sound of the meat being prepared. Yet despite the noise, silence seemed to cover the bar area.

"Your watch is cracked." The woman baited a conversation with him, pointing at one of the two watches he had on his left wrist. Shino's character said nothing but flicked his left wrist to the side, causing both wristwatches to recede underneath the light black jacket he was wearing, completely out of sight.

The woman raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Oh?" She let out a faint "hmm…" tapped the counter lightly and grinned her toxic grin. "Not much of a conversationalist, are you?" She asked playfully. "I know you can talk though," She began. "I heard you order several minutes ago."

Had she been that close? Where was she hiding at? How much did she hear?

The woman traced small circles on the wooden surface. "I saw what you three did earlier with that man." They could hear her amusement. "That was real nice of you – to help him out even after knowing what he was carrying. I'm curious to know what others would have done if they were in your position – would they do the same or run off with the jewelry?"

Her question lingered for some time, almost as if she was actually asking them.

"I think I'd run, but I don't know – probably depends if I knew someone was watching me at the moment, or at least, if I knew someone that was capable of stopping me was watching." Her grin was small but piercing. They didn't pay attention to her, but she knew that.

"So, why did you three do what you did?" Her nails tapped the wood five times in a row in quick succession. "I'm pretty sure you three didn't notice me – or at least saw me as a threat – and you didn't run off with it, I wonder why…?" She contemplated why with a curious look to the one next to her.

"Or are you three just heroes in disguise…?"

Their hearts froze. Did she know? How did she know? How did she find out? Who is she?

"…but that's just me profiling, I guess. Half the spectators thought you were going to rob him blind right then and there, and frankly, so did I, but I guess it's good that you didn't or we wouldn't be able to become friends, right?" The woman had the gall to place a hand on Shino's shoulder, causing him to tense at the touch. She smiled in surprised at his accusatory reaction.

Shino's character gave her a look, silently telling her to stop bothering him. Shino cursed mentally – giving any sort of hint that someone was getting on your nerves would only encourage the aggressor! Her smile died down but was reincarnated as a smug smirk.

She was about to begin with a retort, but was interrupted by the cook/owner of the small establishment. "Sorry for the wait, I grouped all the orders together since… well, since they were the exact same thing." He laughed. "Enjoy." He placed each plate in front of each of his customers before receding back into the kitchen to clean his work station, completely unaware of the hidden tension.

With the mood broken, the woman's retort had died in her mouth, but her smile lived on. She picked up one of the skewered meats, expertly juggled it through her fingers and brought it up to face where she then smelled the grilled food.

"It smells good…" She let out a contemplative 'hmm' before bringing it down to her mouth. "…but what about the taste…?" Her pseudo-sadistic grin grew into a mischievous smirk, showing her pearly whites before she took the first piece of meat between them and slowly eased it off the wooden skewer and took it in. The trio before her didn't dare move.

"Heh, it tastes pretty good too…" She stated seconds later with a smile. "But…" She had a quirky look on her face as she thought. "…I think I prefer fish over meat any day. What about you three?"

Their characters ignored the woman as they were halfway done with their first skewer, and once again, the woman took their silence as a grain of sand.

"You three are great listeners, you know that?" She chuckled softly to her own hidden joke. After several minutes of uncomfortable (to the trio) silence, the woman traced the wooden top of the bar with one of her nails and sighed for the sake of doing so. She stood up from her seat – they had to suppress the urge to tense up at the action – and moved her left hand to her back pants pocket and retrieved a brown wallet.

"It was great talking to you three," She began with the same smile she had when she first came into the bar before placing several notes on the wooden surface of the bar next to her plate, "but I need to get going, unfortunately. Maybe we'll meet again," She stood behind the small curtains that decorated the outside of the restaurant before finally adding "…and I hope we will." The trio had stopped eating when the woman had gotten up, and now, they didn't even feel the need to eat anymore – their appetite now gone.

They sat perfectly still for several seconds, letting the low hum of the broken radio fill the silent gap. A second before they were ready to relax, she walked back in.

"Forgot these, heh." She picked up her remaining meat skewers from her plate before turning back. "Bye-bye!" She left.

The trio sat still, ignoring the half-finished meat skewer in their hands and instead eyed the design of the wooden bar top as if it were the most interesting piece of furniture they had ever seen. This woman was going to be trouble, they knew. Just how exactly, well, only time would be able to tell.

{xxOxx}

The weather hadn't improved, she found herself noting as she trekked the streets of Konohagakure, braving the violent weather for reasons she didn't really understand. Life at home has been…heh, troublesome… for the past couple of days for her, her mother's teasing and her clan's "knowing" looks did nothing but make it hard for her to keep a headache at bay.

And then there was her brother. Oh, Kami, then there was her brother.

With an aching head, she considered starting an apartment fund to one day free herself from the annoying, never ending, shackles of her clan's/family's sudden interest in her love life. But that was a pipe dream at best as leaving home never really appealed to her – or the rest of her clan, really. Still, it was something nice to think about; the silence an apartment can bring, no teasing mother, no suggestive looks from her clan members playfully accusing her of something, and no overprotective, room-barging, intimate-moment-annihilating, privacy disregarding younger brother to deal with – it would be just her and her dogs all alone in silence…

But she couldn't just leave home for all of those reasons right…?

…all those… fairly compelling reasons….right…?

…how much was a decent apartment here in the village, anyway?

She might check, but just for the sake of knowing. Not that she was interested. Really. She wasn't.

She didn't know where she was headed, she just wanted to be…free. Free from her family, free from the social responsibilities that came from bearing her family's name, free from the stereotypes – that, unfortunately, were more often than not true in some cases – that came with saying the name: Inuzuka. Well, at this very moment she was what she wanted to be – alone to herself and her thoughts, ultimately free to think about whatever it was that she wanted to think about.

The streets were empty, similar to how they have been for the past two days and three nights, with the skies dark from the storm that had creeped over them out of nowhere. It was ugly, destructive weather not fit enough for the usually mild climate orientated village that she lived in, and yet, she left the safety of her home to this cesspit of chaos for peace of mind. If only the Inuzuka were born with a sense of irony would she have laughed at her less-than stellar thought process, but since she didn't enjoy the word irony, she thought of this as a good idea.

She thought of him, then. She thought of what he would think about what she was doing, and let a small but unsure smile grace her lips when she decided that he would have thought of it as a stupid thing to do. The dark green raincoat she was wearing absorbed the brunt of the weather, keeping most of her dry, the pitter-patter of the rain colliding with the material resounded around her. She wondered how he was doing, part of her hoping he followed her advice and was staying safe while another part of her wondered if he was thinking about her in any way.

That other part contributed to the fuzzy feeling she would have whenever she wondered if she was in his thoughts even half the amount that he was in hers – and even now, walking during a cold storm, passing closed shops and empty parks, she felt warm at the thought. She wasn't blind to her emotions, her feelings – her heart's or her body's – so she felt it was appropriate to actually admit to herself that she definitely had a certain feeling for the guy that was constantly running circles around her head.

Thunder roared above her.

It wasn't love, no, it couldn't be, she knew. What she had for him wasn't to that level – and just maybe, given an opportunity and enough time, she just might add an anxious "yet" after that word – but it was certainly something affectionate past a simple crush and down the road of liking him for who he was. Reaching this point was not easy for her, no… during the past couple of days she would think about him and their joint history that was short but rather extraordinary in her opinion, she fought with herself plenty of times too as her pride got caught in the notion that he of all people might have actually captured a piece of her heart and was now holding it captive, much to her chagrin. She soon rid herself of those childlike thoughts, however. Despite what her pride told her, if he had gone and taken a piece of her heart, well, it felt nice in a way, too and wasn't necessarily a bad thing completely.

She is a girl, after all.

And if he had taken a piece of her heart, it might have not been a one-sided deal, she thought with an almost smug smile. She might have done the same, claiming a piece of his heart as her own somewhere along the way – the conversation they had the day before may have guaranteed that possibility with the way it ended; he would have flat out rejected her right then and there if that had not been the case, right?

The fuzzy feeling came back…

She was so very vulnerable at the moment, she thought with a nervous but ultimately happy smile. She was vulnerable and it was risky, she knew that. If something didn't go the way she thinks she would like for it to go, she would get hurt…very much so…but she was willing to take that chance because, as crazy as it sounds, she…enjoyed feeling this type of vulnerable…more than likely due to the possibilities that could stem from everything going the "right" way from allowing herself to be vulnerable.

It didn't make sense, it is extremely risky, it could hurt, but… she didn't know.

She turned a corner past a covered up stand.

There had been others before him, sure, I mean, how couldn't there be? She was pretty, according to those who had expressed interest in her and she didn't consider herself ugly either, she was young, and she's had a couple relationships beforehand where she felt similar to how she felt now, but in the end, her relationships didn't last very long – only stemming several dates and a heated night or two of play, but that was fine for her during those moments as she didn't want anything long-term, as for this particular moment though, well, she didn't know honestly.

If one were to squint hard enough, they would be able to tell the lightest shade of a blush on her face as she thought of the dream she had during the night a day before she met Shikamaru as he was leaving the village…where she dreamed of him once more, of that night, but this time, this dream did not end with her younger brother barging in, rather…it continued without interruption, going further and further… until one of her moans had woken up from her slumber, panting, covered in sweat and, for lack of a better word, horny as all hell.

After…finishing herself off… she admitted quietly that there might be a physical attraction that she had for him, or at least, enough of an attraction to get her going the way the dream had set her off.

She shook her head in heavy embarrassment a second later as she stepped over a large puddle of water. About a minute after her self-induced climax, when she was still breathing heavily, panting in relief with what she assumed was an extremely pleased lewd face aimed at the ceiling above, her mother barged in unannounced with an eyebrow raised before saying the most humiliating statement she would ever hear from anyone:

"That's my girl! Startin' off the day with the second best thing possible!"

How embarrassing!

She wanted to do nothing but to curl up and die it was so humiliating!

It was that same day where her family/clan began their teasing, driving her mad with their embarrassing looks, comments and snickering whenever she was near. Her mom was the worst one of them all as she not only offered her "advice" on how to woo the Nara heir, but also offered her "naughty unmentionables" to seal the deal!

Kami help her.

Her brother – oh, her sweet, adorable, pain in the ass brother - what a cute kid he used to be. Emphasis on "used to be".

Where had she gone wrong with him?

Did she not shower with him enough times when they were younger?

Maybe she didn't let him sleep with her enough in the past?

He seemed really happy when she did those things with him…

She didn't understand how he could have turned into such an annoying brat… but then again, he's always acted this way whenever she was with a guy, now that she thought about it. Maybe he was the reason why her relationships were always so short?

Maybe…

She stopped at her flickering reflection in the large puddle's surface at her feet. The puddle was too large for her to step over, and just about covered the entire street, she noted as she scanned the puddle's length across the street to the left. Her eyes found the only spot on the street that wasn't completely flooded – the sidewalk – before she glanced at the fence that lay next to it and widened her eyes at the sight.

It was the Nara compound – where she had met his mother the first time, the day of that night. How far has she walked, anyway?

…how did she even get here?

She didn't know, but that didn't matter as she simply needed to backtrack a couple of feet where the street wasn't completely flooded, cross it, and walk past the clan grounds; it's not like she had any business with anyone currently in there, right?

So, with her plan set in her mind, she nodded and… immediately turned left, crossed the flooded street, and before she knew it, she had already jumped the fence and was in the Nara's territory. She was well aware of what she was doing, but as to why, she didn't really know. If memory serves her right, Shikaku Nara, father of Shikamaru, husband to Yoshino, and the Nara clan's leader, has been on a mission for the past several weeks, leaving the matriarch alone during this time.

With her son and husband out on potentially dangerous missions, Yoshino must be feeling very lonely or vulnerable. That was just an assumption, though.

The compound was eerie in the low light and rain, empty and dark. The multiple homes nearby had their lights on, showing that despite the atmosphere outside, there was life within.

Maybe she was being too forward by doing this, she doubted her actions, but her footing stayed strong as she made her way to the clan head household, the large house was at the back of the compound, where homes of that significance usually were. At the first step of their porch, she stopped and thought if the matriarch would mind such an unexpected visit during this weather.

At the second step, she wondered if the woman would be angry with her – after all, word spreads fast in this village, and as embarrassing as it was to admit, she was sure that the story of that night had just about gone throughout the entire village in the span of a couple days, and with each retelling more and more exaggerated details had begun to "spice up" the story. She's heard the latest version so far and would have laughed at how ridiculous it was if she hadn't already been trying to hunt down whoever it was that said that the Nara heir had sex with her in public for the world to watch!

At the third and final step, she decided she needed to set things straight with the Nara matriarch – damn the consequences!

She raised a hand to knock on the door, but before her hand made contact with the wooden entrance, it opened.

"Oh, my apologies."

She looked at the owner of the voice and almost took a step back out of courtesy.

"I was not expecting someone at the door, not during this weather at least." The young woman offered her hand. "My name is Emiko Aburame, such a pleasure to finally meet you…" The woman trailed off respectfully.

She took the offer to introduce herself before taking her hand. "H-Hana, Hana Inuzuka." The woman named Emiko was a beauty – long, black hair and black eyes were a stark contrast to her flawless pale white skin, her figure was slim but it had all the right curves in all the right places and the grey ornate kimono she wore accentuated that fact. Her face was alluring, with almond shaped eyes, small but curvy lips and a small refined nose truly made her more akin to that of a doll – a real life doll. Hana wondered if taking her hand as a greeting would be appropriate over a bow, but since Emiko was the one to offer her hand, Hana had little say in it.

There came a voice from inside the home. "Emi-chan? Is everything alright?" Hana could hear footsteps coming closer to the door. "Did you reconsider staying here until the weather…" Yoshino's voice died down when she who was at the door. "…calms down…?"

Hana smiled nervously. "H-Hello, Yoshino-san." She greeted the matriarch politely.

Yoshino's features were far too neutral to be neutral. Hana almost missed the way the Nara's eyes darkened. "Inuzuka-san." She greeted back coldly.

Emiko eyed the exchange with an amused smile before interjecting. "I was just on my way out, but it appears that the storm outside has not subsided yet, unfortunately."

Yoshino's features softened. "Then, please stay longer, Emi-chan. Nobody should be out in this weather…"

Hana winced at the comment. Yoshino was mad after all.

"Would I not be a bother by doing so?" Her question was meek.

"No, never!" Yoshino shook her head. "Please, stay. For my sake, at least."

Emiko smiled softly. "If you insist, then I will gratefully accept." The beauty bowed in appreciation. "Thank you, Yoshino-okaasan." Hana raised an eyebrow.

Yoshino took a step back before a smile began to grow wider and wider. "Emiko-chan… You haven't called me that in years!" The Nara matriarch could hardly contain her excitement and took the Aburame woman into her grasp with a massive hug. Emiko looked troubled as if she were out of her element but didn't look upset.

Hana cleared her throat, trying to remind the other two women that she was still there. She saw Emiko smile at her from Yoshino's grasp – her smile was hard to decipher, but it seemed innocent – while the Nara matriarch regarded her with slight animosity with a half-hearted glare.

"Do you need something, Inuzuka-san?" Yoshino's tone could have frozen air.

The Inuzuka didn't appreciate the tone, especially since she was here to clear the air about what happened. She contemplated leaving once she saw that Yoshino was not as alone as she had previously thought, but before she could think of what her next move would be, the Aburame intervened once again.

"You poor thing, out here in the storm like this." She frowned with sympathy. "We should let her in, Yoshino-okaasan." Hana resisted a frown as she was unsure as to whether or not the Aburame was talking down to her. She was different from the other Aburame she's met before, Hana noted, as this one had warmth to her tone instead of the neutral air that the others had.

Yoshino didn't bother to hide her discontent with the idea, and Hana knew if the Aburame wasn't around, she would have done so with much more intensity and a few choice words, all of them unpleasant. Instead, the mother's frown, with all the potential it had, softened when she glanced at Emiko, but hardened slightly when she took a look at Hana.

"I don't know…"

"She obviously came here to talk to you, okaasan. In this weather, too." Emiko pushed once more.

Yoshino frowned once again before giving her back to the open door. "Fine." And with that, the Nara matriarch walked inside her home, apparently giving Hana permission to stay.

Emiko turned to Hana and smiled softly. "She sure is stubborn, Inuzuka-san, but we have made progress I can assure you that." She reached a hand out and took one of Hana's before gently tugging her to the house to get her out of the rain.

"H-Hold on, what did you mean by that?" Hana stood her ground, causing Emiko's efforts to die down. "What 'progress' are you talking about?"

The Aburame had her lips slightly apart at the question, but they soon came in together to form a small grin. "Progress to forgive Shikamaru-kun and yourself, of course."

Hana tilted her head slightly in suspicion. "Who are you?"

"A friend," She paused momentarily, "and an enemy." Her smile was the same, but her eyes weren't.

"W-What?"

"We should refrain from keeping Yoshino-okaasan waiting for any longer." Emiko looked Hana in the eyes. "This may be your only chance, Inuzuka-san. Make it count." Emiko grabbed Hana's right hand and led her in to the Nara household, closing the door behind them.

The door then opened once again as Hana had removed her green raincoat and simply plopped it to the porch outside to the side of the door.

The wind picked up outside.

Hana followed Emiko as they went deeper into the house, and as she did, she took a look at the simple yet stylish décor of the house. She liked the way it looked, clean and proper but still kept a relaxed atmosphere unlike where she lived – the chaos that was her home was the polar opposite of this. She'll have to remember this style when she's out not looking for apartments.

Emiko made a right turn with Hana in tow, entering the small living room where Yoshino was currently in, sitting on a small mat before a short table. The woman had her arms crossed and an unhappy expression on her face – like a child, Hana thought for a brief second.

"Sit here, Inuzuka-san." Emiko gestured to the mat that was directly across Yoshino's figure. Hana nodded slowly and awkwardly sat down in front of the Nara matriarch.

"I will go get us some tea." Emiko stated before making her way to what Hana assumed was the kitchen in the next room. "If you would excuse me."

The thought of them being alone was more than enough to unnerve Hana and, by taking a closer look, Yoshino seemed slightly nervous behind her cold attitude.

"Emi-chan, I don't…" Yoshino began, but stopped when the Aburame waved her off.

"We talked about this, Yoshino-okaasan. Do your best." Emiko stressed the word that made Yoshino happy in hopes of getting through to her before leaving the room. Yoshino sighed before taking a look at Hana.

Their eyes met and at the same time both women wondered if they had done the right thing. Seconds passed in absolute silence as they sized each other up, wondering who will crack first. Yoshino was a wall that Hana had to get through and Hana had determination to clear the air between what happened. After a minute or two of intense staring, it was Hana who cracked first, letting the smug mother give the first hit.

"I thought you would have been different from the other Inuzuka I've met before, you know." Yoshino started. "I thought nothing of it when you came looking for him that day – oh, how mistaken I was to believe that."

Hana shook her head. "It wasn't like that, Yoshino-san-"

"Oh? Then how was it?" Yoshino glared. "Why should I believe all the rumors – rumors that the entire village is spewing back and forth, mind you – when I can simply ask the source, right?"

"Yoshino-san-" Hana tried to cut in.

"How was the sex with my son, Inuzuka?"

Two hands slammed on to the small table before nails began to dig into them. "We didn't! We did not have sex!" Hana, now blushing furiously at the accusation, yelled at the matriarch. "P-Please, believe me when I say nothing happened between us!"

Yoshino took the outburst in stride. "And why should I believe you?"

Hana, her blush turning a deeper shade of red, sat back down and raked the surface of the table with her nails. She turned away from the matriarch. "D-Do you want the truth, Yoshino-san?"

A monstrous amount of pressure gathered at Hana's shoulders. The source replied: "I want nothing but that, Inuzuka. Out with it."

Hana took a deep breath. "I-If we did have s-sex, you wouldn't have seen him that night," she gulped, "or for much of the n-next day, Y-Yoshino-san." Hana couldn't face the surprised mother. "I-I wouldn't have let him leave…" She coughed, trying to calm the raging blush that nearly consumed her entire face. "T-That's the truth…"

Yoshino was shocked, eyes wide and mouth left open from the confession. She wasn't able to form words, let alone a sentence. Her anger was replaced temporarily.

Hana breathed in and out. "I want you to trust me, Yoshino-san… s-so I will tell you nothing but the truth at this point, if you'd have me do so."

A moment of silence passed as Yoshino tried to collect herself from the confession. When she recovered, she tried to frown, but the small blush she had on her cheeks took the effect that she was angry away.

"D-Do you honestly think telling me that…that filth will make things better, Inuzuka?"

Hana nodded. "It helped me come to…terms, with it…"

Yoshino scoffed before sighing. "It's a start." Hana looked up at the matriarch and found her eyes making contact with hers. "I want to know what happened exactly."

"Of that night?" Hana asked to make sure.

"Yes. Of…that night."

Hana took a breath. "Where to begin…?" She wondered out loud until she knew where to start. "I know; my mother decided to throw a party – a thank-you party – for Shikamaru after she found out that he took a…" she paused at this moment. "…after, after he took a kunai to the back for one of my canines during the mission in Wave…" Hana took a look at Yoshino and found her to be calm, waiting for her to continue. So he at least told her about that, Hana figured.

"And that's when I came to try and find him…" Hana continued telling her about what happened during that fateful day; the way he drank with her mother, what they talked about and then what happened after he drank some of their exclusive heavy firewater – the chaos he was in thanks to the totally inebriated Inuzuka clan head and her fellow people, how he lost his shirt and where his shoes ended up (Hana still had them, she made sure to bring that fact up to the matriarch) and her reason as to why she didn't just let Naruto and Shino take him with them. Yoshino raised an eyebrow at – well, to all of the things Hana said – that last part. Shino and Naruto wouldn't just leave him behind, right?

Hana could only shrug before continuing.

Yoshino listened intently at the Inuzuka's words when she said that she let him be on her bed with her, the only thing separating them were the covers. She saw Hana hesitate when she began describing their conversations they had in the bed when Shikamaru woke up.

…

"…and the more I touched the mark in his arm, the more he would…react. His breath became h-heavy and…" Hana, blush back in full force, described the events of that night in vivid detail, but she was not blushing alone as Yoshino was blushing about twice as hard and even Emiko – who had come back with tea and snacks about halfway through her story – couldn't help but tinge pink at the cheeks.

"…our lips were close, so close, but before anymore could happen, my brother barges in…and… you know what comes next…"

Hana palmed her face in embarrassment. "…so there you go… nothing happened between us, Yoshino-san…"

Yoshino kept her frown before she sighed in what appeared to be long-needed relief. "I never cared about that." Her face relaxed in relief for the first time in what looked like a long time. "I'm just glad he didn't make a big mistake." Emiko looked disturbed for a moment before going back to normal.

Hana could feel herself deflate at the comment. "'A big mistake', huh?"

Yoshino and Emiko looked at Hana.

"I don't think that's fair." Hana muttered.

"Hana-san?" Yoshino – now apparently calling her by her name as if the cold attitude she had towards her beforehand meant nothing since she learned nothing had happened between her and Shikamaru – couldn't quite hear what the Inuzuka had said. Hana held back an irritated growl.

"So it would have been a 'big mistake' if something would have happened between me and Shikamaru?" Hana questioned her with a tilt of the head.

Yoshino gave an unsure grin before letting out a short chuckle. "Well, of course it would have. Isn't it obvious?" Emiko raised an eyebrow in realization.

Hana scoffed. "And why is that, Nara-san?" She was getting mad. So she wasn't good enough for the Nara? Or was it her clan name that made them immediately incompatible? And why was Emiko holding back a laugh?!

"Hana-san, what's wrong?" Yoshino looked genuinely surprised.

"So you suddenly start calling me by my name now that you know nothing happened between me and your son? Why would it be considered a 'big mistake' if we would have had sex?" Hana could feel her clan's blood begin to boil as she was too angry to react to what she was saying.

Yoshino blinked – was she missing something here? "I'll apologize for how I acted before, Hana-san, but nothing would have resulted from that except for regret and problems in the future."

Hana's nails threatened to carve into the table. "And why is that, huh? Because of me or because of my clan?!" Hana growled slightly.

Yoshino then realized what the Inuzuka was talking about. The mother couldn't help but smile happily before laughing softly. Hana felt outraged at Yoshino's laugh, carving into the wood with her nails.

"So, what? I'm not good enough then?! Not good enough for your son or for your clan's standards?!" Hana felt so disgusted when Yoshino laughed harder and Emiko finally let out a small laugh. "Don't laugh!"

"N-No, Hana!" Yoshino coughed as she tried to stop herself from laughing but failed. "I'm glad nothing happened between you two…" She laughed and needed air. "…because he was drunk!"

Hana visibly flinched back at her words.

Yoshino was wiping tears off of her eyes before continuing. "The… The only reason I was mad…was because I thought Shikamaru did something with you when he wasn't thinking straight!"

Hana fell back on the mat, eyes wide open with a furious blush manifesting on her face at Yoshino's words. "W-W-W-What?"

Yoshino exhaled once she caught her bearings before smiling at her. "…That, and there was also the chance you might have taken advantage of my son when he was drunk out of his mind…" She chuckled again.

"I-I wouldn't d-do that!" If Hana could turn any redder she would have to seek medical attention immediately.

"Nothing good ever happens when love is made under the influence, Hana-san." Yoshino flashed Maternal Advice #18 at the enflamed Inuzuka. "I was worried you two had jumped into something your hearts and minds weren't ready for. Well, as it turns out, something that Shikamaru's heart and mind wasn't ready for, anyway." Yoshino winked with a tease.

Somebody call a paramedic, because Hana needs one! "W-W-Wait!"

Yoshino gave her a motherly smile full of warmth. "Hana-san… I don't care for who my son ends up with – family names or reputations be damned – so long as he is happy with who he is with." The mother's eyes softened.

Hana's blush significantly grew in intensity but calmed down. "R-Really?"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt if they got along with me, but his happiness is what matters." Yoshino smiled. "It probably goes without saying, but please, I want to hear it from you, Hana-san: do you like my son?"

Emiko glanced at Hana.

Hana blushed again and turned away from the matriarch. "Y-Yes, I do." Yoshino covered her happy smile, making the Inuzuka smile sheepishly.

Emiko suddenly stood up and grabbed the tray from which she brought the tea kettle and cups. "We need more tea, it appears." Yoshino sighed when she saw the young Aburame woman leave the room.

"Oh, Emi-chan…"

Hana decided it was best to ask the identity of the Aburame now that she had the chance. "What's wrong, Yoshino-san?" Hana also wanted to change the topic from her confession.

Yoshino let out a 'tsk' before adding: "It must be hard to be hearing this, is all."

Hana tilted her head. "What do you mean? Who is she?"

"Emiko Aburame, she's one of Shino's cousins and an old friend of Naruto, Shikamaru and Shino and…" Yoshino sighed. "…she was also supposed to be Shikamaru's bride to help unite the bond between both clans."

"B-Bride…?" "A friend…and an enemy."

"It was suggested by the Aburame elders when the boys were eleven as a way for both clans to form a permanent bond…"

"An a-arranged marriage?" Hana looked surprised.

"That's right." Yoshino sighed once again.

"When the boys first met at the age of five, they quickly got along well with members of the opposite clan and vice versa. Six years later, the Aburame and our clan had become close thanks to Shikamaru-kun's friendship with Shino and Naruto, and, as a way to commemorate the bonds that were formed between both clans, the Aburame suggested a marriage between our boy and one Emiko Aburame." Yoshino explained.

"My husband and I were not fond of arranged marriages, but we agreed under one condition: both of them had to agree after they spent at least five years together. That way, only their feelings towards one another would decide if they were to wed."

"Five years…? So, they had to decide when Shikamaru was…"

"Sixteen, yes. Last year, to be precise." Yoshino added.

Hana felt something. "And what happened?"

Yoshino palmed her hand. "They were really close when they were young – all four of them; Shikamaru never had one-on-one moments with her, but they all treated her like they would treat each other so they never let her feel left out. She was terribly shy and clung to him like a lifeline for the first three years that they were together…" Yoshino laughed at the memory.

Hana definitely felt something.

"…but there was an issue that needed Emiko's attention away from the village for the final two years that they needed to spend together; we understood and said so long as she stays in contact with him by letter it'll be fine and the time spent away would count, and she was gone for almost three years, but she kept true to the promise and wrote to him every week."

"…And what did he do?"

"He wrote back, of course. At first he did it without being told to do so, but as time went on and he was training with Naruto and Shino, he stopped writing as often as he used to and I thought it was because he was too busy with his team, but that wasn't the case…" Yoshino grimaced.

"What do you mean?" Hana asked.

"Shikamaru… Well, he – no, not just him; Shikamaru, Naruto and Shino always had this… flaw, I guess you could call it that, where they only really care about each other and their close families. They have 'tunnel vision' essentially, where they leave everything that isn't directly relevant to their lives and they "block" them." Yoshino shook her head.

"Why?"

"We don't know." Yoshino shrugged. "Maybe because they're too focused on their team, but then again, they've never once mentioned where they want to go with their career as ninja… It's concerning…"

Hana nodded slowly. "What happened between her and Shikamaru?"

"Since she was gone for so long, he…" The mother stammered. "he…"

"Forgot about her?" Hana suggested.

Yoshino shook her head. "No, not to that extent, but any progress that they had made…"

Hana's eyes hardened.

"…is gone now."

Hana could feel sympathy for the girl and something else. "…and an enemy."

"Emiko came back about a month ago, but she was still busy with some…issues from the incident that took her away those years ago. She came to visit me two days ago, but Shikamaru wasn't exactly living here since you know…I was mad at him about the whole thing… She changed a lot since I last saw her."

"You don't say…" Hana muttered. Yoshino sighed with a smile.

"Let's talk about you now, Hana."

The girl recoiled slightly. "W-Wait, why?"

Yoshino leaned in on the table. "I want to know about the girl that just confessed to me that she had feelings for my son, is all." She winked.

Hana couldn't help but blush. "Y-Yoshino-san, please…"

"How does he feel about you, Hana?" Yoshino tapped her hand on the table in excitement. "Have you told him?"

"N-No, I haven't. A-And I'm not sure how he feels about me – we were supposed to be thinking about this whole thing while he's on his mission, but I t-think I've already made up my mind…" Hana could only blush when Yoshino almost squealed in happiness.

"He agreed to think about it?" Her excitement was contagious.

"Y-Yeah?"

The older woman smiled with in surprise. "I can't believe it…"

"Yoshino-san?"

"I don't know if you know this, but my son – and his friends, actually – is extremely…dense. Like, unimaginably dense when it comes to emotions." Yoshino explained with explicit hand gestures.

"You don't say…"

"I'm not sure how they ended up like that, but if what you said was true and he is thinking about you, then…" Yoshino began, getting Hana's attention. "I think you may have a good chance, Hana!" Hana couldn't hide her smile.

"R-Really?"

Outside the room, standing behind the doorframe that led into the kitchen stood Emiko, her back to the wall, listening to every word of their conversation, tea tray shaking in her hands.

A frown formed before it died immediately after.

"Here's the tea…"

{xxOxx}

"Here we are, gentlemen: Hot Springs' Hidden Village!" The old man in charge of the carriage between Hot Springs' capital and its Hidden Village stated out loud from the front of the station wagon, alerting the three rough-looking youths sitting behind him.

The trip from the capital to the village had taken about five hours, and after the two hour waiting time this story's main characters had to wait through beforehand, it was now dusk. The trio had spent all two hours at the small eating establishment after the dangerous woman had gone and left them alone. Half expecting her to be waiting outside the bar, the trio were nervous as they stepped out, but luckily for them, she was nowhere to be found. They hoped this chance encounter with the woman would be their last, but deep down they knew that was a slim chance.

"If you three are planning on spending the night here, may I recommend the Healing Waters hotel? It comes with its own hot springs bath and the nightly fees are more than manageable for all the service you get. Also, my daughter runs the place, so I hope you would consider the hotel for your resting spot!" He laughed an old laugh before giving them directions to the hotel and after the trio paid him – generously, I might add – they nodded and entered the large colorful village.

Bright fluorescent lights lit up the atmosphere between the light rains that had spread farther into the countryside, each one advertising their own businesses, restaurants, hotels and so on. It was a nice pretty place, most certainly a civilian hotspot rather than one for a military. Their eyes resembled the bright yellow lights atop the posts that lined the streets every fifty feet apart.

They were closer to Frost Country, their next destination, but for tonight, they needed to rest, they needed to shower, they needed to wash their civilian clothes. And maybe eat, too.

Following the man's instructions to find the hotel, the trio turned right past the large multi-fluorescent building with a couple dozen neon signs and couldn't miss the large sign that endorsed their target location right beneath it.

The reception room was mostly empty when the trio stepped in, probably due to the time and/or the weather, but regardless of the reason the trio was instantly regarded with a warm greeting from the pretty receptionist.

"Welcome to the Healing Waters Hotel and Spa!" The receptionist smiled. "Care to spend the night here, gentlemen?"

The trio was genuinely surprised – if this was the carriage owner's daughter, his family must be very hospitable to not give them the stink-eye based on their appearance.

Shino nodded, but said nothing.

"Excellent!" The receptionist stated before adding: "Room for three?" The trio before her nodded simultaneously. "How long will you be staying for?"

Shino raised a finger. "One night."

"O-Oh, okay!" The receptionist, clearly put off by the accent, recovered after a momentary pause. "Room for three, one night: here's the flat rate!" The receptionist slid a paper with the cost of the night – it was fair, the trio had to agree.

Shino reached for his wallet.

The trio entered their room and immediately took off their boots and winced at how sore their feet felt. The smell was something else entirely.

If they heard the receptionist correctly, there was a free laundromat they could use at the end of the hallway – something that they would like to take advantage of to rid the moist, sweaty filth that was deep inside the materials of their clothing.

Screw the weather.

Taking off their clothing and wrapping a towel around their bare waists to cover their nudity, the trio checked each other out, laughed, and made their way to the laundromat to deposit their dirty clothing. To kill the time while their clothes were getting washed, the trio decided the best course of action would be to visit the in-hotel hot spring near the back of the establishment.

Upon entering the male-only section of the hot springs bath house, the trio was met with a very pleasant, warm steam that graced their skin. They began to feel rejuvenated already.

They entered the hot water one foot at a time before resting their bodies up to their neck with their backs to the edge of the pool. They inhaled and sighed in relaxation as they settled in to the water. Their eyes closed.

"The water feels nice, right?"

"Yes." The trio responded to the question.

Their eyes opened. Oh, no.

"Funny meeting you three here."

The trio looked in front of them and almost paled when they saw her again. How did they miss her?!

"My name is Yugito Nii, and I think we'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on." Her arms were spread out, lying atop the edge of the pool.

Her smile could be seen through the steam.

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Chapter End

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Whoo, two months late, but here's the chapter! I sincerely apologize for the long wait but I had an extremely busy schedule with school and two awesome games (Evolve and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate) taking up all my time.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed typing it all! If you did, or didn't, tell me why with a review! Not only does it keep me going, but it helps me as an author! Was it too long? Not long enough? A certain part you would like for me to focus on next chapter? You know what to do!

Tune in next time for some conflict! Drama! Humor! Etc!

Time to respond to some reviews!

[shadow gumball of death] I'm glad you liked the chapter! As for your two questions: Yes. He will at some point learn about his birth parents and yes he will learn the rasengan in the near future.

[Guardian of the Inheritance] Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!

[Reader aka Sun Samurai] Thank you so much for your review! Everything you pointed out guarantees to me that you're actually reading my story and it is a great feeling! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[buterflypuss] Thank you! And as you can maybe see in this chapter, she doesn't know for sure that is them.

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

-TheRedGhillie