Second Time's The Charm

by Reader06

Tobirama knew bringing back the dead was possible. He knew that anything was possible in the ninja world. That didn't mean, however, that he ever believed in reincarnation. But here he was, with a new family and a ragtag group of friends, in a village he barely recognized, facing the same demons as before. Would he ever find some peace and quiet?

36. Chapter 34

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Orange eyes narrowed at the reflection in the mirror.

Kanoko was standing in front of the large bathroom mirror in only pants and a few bandages around her chest. Eyebrows pointed down, and a frown prominent on her face, she glared at the bandaged area.

"I command you to stop growing."

The reincarnated Hokage grunted un-lady-like while pulling at the bandages, trying to tighten them against her chest, "I have a whole newfound respect for Toka…" Kanoko grumbled out, thinking of her long dead clan member, "How the hell do you fight, let alone move, with these atrocities?!"

Banging at the door turned Kanoko's attention from her frustrating female attributes, "What?!"

"Stop being such a girl and hurry up!" Shikamaru drawled through the door, "I need to use the bathroom!"

Kanoko gritted her teeth as she growled, "We have three bathrooms in this house! Use one of them!"

"Ugg… That's all the way down that hall…" He brother whined back.

"Oh for the love of…!" Kanoko fumbled with the bandages around her top half before cursing and giving up. Grabbing a baggy shirt, Kanoko pulled it over her head and turned back to the door.

Kanoko then swung the door open with an angry look on her face. Standing there with a dull look on his face was her brother – his fist raised as he was about to bang on the door again. He opened his mouth to speak, but Kanoko beat him to it with a sneer, "You're such a girl. Go piss in a bush next time, like a man."

And with that Kanoko pushed past her brother, her shoulder hitting his and making him run into the door frame as he tried to move into the bathroom.

Shikamaru hissed while rubbing his shoulder. Looking back at his sister, he thought, "What the hell crawled up her ass and died?"

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With a frown and scowl permanently fixed on her face, Kanoko walked down the streets of Konoha. Stomping down Konoha's streets was the more accurate statement. Everything had been getting on Kanoko's last nerve.

First, Tsunade, her lovely grandniece, finally contact Kanoko – after Kanoko spent days wandering around the hospital's halls. Tsunade then proceeded to tell her that Kanoko was hereby limited to D-ranked missions until she proved to the village that she could go on a simple mission without blowing herself up – which Kanoko thought was a grossly inaccurate statement. She had only tried to blow herself up once and she didn't even get hit by the blast! If they were going to punish her, they should at least afford her the respect by telling her what she did wrong – even though she already had a pretty good idea.

Kanoko wasn't unaware that she has been in the center of every major incident thus far and was acting very much unlike her peers in regards to her personality, knowledge and skills. If she was still Hokage, she would be suspicious too.

That, however, didn't make her mood any better after Tsunade laughed so hard she was in tears while handing Kanoko her first assignment.

It should be illegal for a couple to spawn five daughters, then hire shinobi to entertain them.

On the bright side, she did nearly giving her brother a heart attack when she used her jutsu to teleport back to their room after the mission, looking like some kind of clown/bride hybrid. It brought back a very traumatic memory of a birthday party surprise involving a clown gone bad and caused him to run into the door with a loud smack as he attempted to escape Kanoko's deformed look.

Her mood continued to worsen with each D-ranked mission while her brother and teammates were selected to go on C-ranked missions on their own.

And then, while stuck on a particularly shitty (sewer duty) D-ranked mission, there was the breakout at the Leaf's maximum security prison. The fact that there was a breakout alone didn't upset Kanoko, so much as it worried her at the time. But after learning that the security was so lax two complete buffoons could pull back their bars and walk out whenever they were hungry…

People walking in the streets threw themselves out of the way as Kanoko approached – her deathly aura whipping around her.

"Thank kami we didn't have a real threat sitting in that shit hole." Kanoko thought, turning a hard right down an alley.

If her situation among the village wasn't irritating enough, her friends were doing everything in their power to send her to the looney bin.

Ino wouldn't leave her alone. Apparently Kanoko had become her new "project" after the whole "I would rather choke on my own kunai than fall in love" statement she made at the party.

Kanoko didn't know how much longer she would be able to avoid Ino and her newly acquired obsession to "girlify" her – Ino's words, not hers. Ino had recruited Sakura and Tenten – the traitors – and even poor, timid Hinata got dragged into this needless war.

And the girls weren't the only ones giving Kanoko problems.

Having been serious in her promise to Sasuke, Kanoko started working with him in the early mornings before mission assignments. In the beginning, it was quite refreshing for Kanoko to be working with someone that was as serious as her when it came to improving one's form, strength, technique, and chakra reserves. After testing all his abilities and limits, she started on endurance exercises. He wasn't happy at first, reminding her of Naruto and his need to learn more powerful jutsus as quick as possible, but she told Sasuke that due to his fighting style and Sharingan, he would need a much larger chakra reserve if he wanted to keep up with someone like Naruto. Especially since his chakra control wasn't all that amazing, but she would hold off on telling that last part for a bit.

Sasuke quickly listened to her, hating to lose to Naruto at anything, even if he grumbled quietly while doing so.

And just when Kanoko felt some of her stress leave her body, the Uchiha brat went and told Naruto about his morning trainings with Kanoko.

"Fucking infants." Kanoko thought, as she walked swiftly up the steps leading out of the merchant district.

Kanoko still couldn't hear all that well out of her left ear from Naruto's over the top, bipolar rant – which went on for hours.

Now she was stuck training the both of them in the morning, every morning. If that wasn't enough, Kanoko learned the hard way that those two were just not meant to get along. She was ultimately forced to train the two of them in separate locations, at the same time because they were both infants that didn't know how to share. She was a Nara! Her chakra wasn't sufficient enough to constantly spam the shadow clone jutsu! By 10am every day, she felt like pulling a Shikamaru and just lying in the middle road – without a care who or what runs over her.

Speaking of Shikamaru, the only times she saw him was in the morning when she stopped back at the house to change, after training two demon-children, and then at dinner – which no member of the Nara house missed willingly.

At first, she thought the absence of her brother was a good thing. It meant that he was either with his team training or out on a mission.

But then she started to miss the brat. It used to be, whenever neither of them were on missions, he would work his way through the village with his teammates, or at least Chouji, and cross paths with her several times a day. Now, she was the one that had to go out of her way to find him.

Only to find him training with his team or Asuma, which she wasn't sure how she felt about yet. A large part of her was proud. He was finally taking the initiative to get stronger – something thing she wholeheartedly supported.

A smaller part of her didn't want to see him get stronger. A tiny part of her, that she was desperately trying to ignore, wanted her brother to take the simpler, safer path of a shinobi. That he would become an academy instructor, an office worker in the logistics, planning or operation departments, or even become the head of one of those departments one day.

She didn't know how she would feel if he ever became a jounin, and Kanoko would henge into her old form and give her grandniece the third degree if Tsunade ever made Shikamaru an ANBU operative.

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To recap how Kanoko's last few weeks had gone: She had completed a total of forty – no shit, forty – D-ranked missions; was being tailed by a growing group of women with ill intentions; had her arms pulled in opposite directions by Sasuke and Naruto, as if they were two adolescent girls fighting for the only baby doll; and finally, turned into a worrywart of a sister over her brother and the fact that he growing up.

Oh, and there was the horrible pain in her abdomen that kept popping up - which she didn't have time to get checked out, but was trying her insane.

Needless to say, her nerves were fried.

And she had no one to talk to.

Her sensei was currently on her growing hit list – for actions she will not speak of, ever – and Kakashi knew this, which meant he was never around, and outside her father, Kakashi was the only individual she trusted enough to voice her concerns.

And then there was her father…

Kanoko stopped in her aggressive jaunt through the streets of Konoha and looked up at the impressive building before her: The Hokage's Tower. Somewhere inside this building was her father, who had decided to make every effort possible to avoid her.

Avoid her.

Shikaku clearly had no idea who he was dealing with. No one blows off Senju Tobirama and gets away with it. No one.

(Except for Kakashi, but that was due to the fact the she would have to become a missing-nin after murdering the son of a bitch if she saw him anytime in the near future)

Kanoko blew through the doors with purpose – pushing passed any shinobi that got in her way.

At first, Kanoko gave Shikaku his space. She knew that the mental and emotional wounds of a Yamanaka would take some time to heal, and Kanoko knew that her father wouldn't come to her with his struggles. She was the child in their relationship. He would need to lean on his wife and friends in order to get passed this. Kanoko understood and respected it.

And then became obvious he was doing neither. Inoichi and Chouza had been over several times to speak with Shikaku and he kept switching the topic on them – completely shutting them out. Kanoko didn't think too much of it at the time. Who was she to tell him how to grieve or process what he went through? She certainly had her own demons and secrets she wasn't sharing.

However, Kanoko became concerned when it was clear that Shikaku was no longer sleeping in the same room as Yoshino. Either Yoshino kicked him out or he didn't want to deal with her – Kanoko wasn't sure. What she did know, however, was that all their arguments were over Shikaku pushing Yoshino away and not opening up.

But again, Shikaku is a grown man. Kanoko wasn't going to treat him like one of her kids, nor would he likely appreciate it from his daughter. A father never wants to seem weak in front of his children, especially his daughter.

The last of Kanoko's patience snapped in half when it finally became obvious to her that she was the only sane adult left in the household.

Flashback

The Nara family was sitting at the dinner table, eating slowly in silence. It had been like this since the Cloud/Sound mission. Kanoko was sitting next to her father, who hadn't looked at either her or her brother at all. Across from her was Shikamaru and next to him was their mother.

Taking a deep breath, Shikamaru had decided to break the silence. Struggling to get the correct words out, Shikamaru asked, "So… Yamanaka Asami…"

Yoshino tensed slightly, but gave her son her full attention, "Yeah Shikamaru? What do… what do you want to know about her?"

Shikamaru opened his mouth and then closed it. Looking over at Kanoko, he mentally asked her how he should proceed. She shrugged, not interested in helping this discussion along. She knew it wasn't going to end well.

Frowning at his sister, Shikamaru looked down at his plate, "Why was she so angry… I mean… what happened between the two of you?"

Yoshino sighed heavily and placed her hands on the table. She chewed the inside of her lip before closing her eyes to give herself strength. Turning back to her son, Yoshino spoke, "Back when we were young-"

"It's none of your business." Shikaku said suddenly.

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond.

Her brother wasn't as quiet. Frowning at his father, Shikamaru disagreed, "She tried to kill us. I think we're passed that point."

Shikaku was firm, still not looking at either of them, "And now she's dead. Discussion over."

Shikamaru didn't give up, "We don't know that. Kanoko said that Asami left her mind, not that she's dead. When she comes back, I'd like to know why Kanoko and I are in her cross hairs. It could be useful in forming a strategy to defeat her."

Kanoko nodded mentally to herself, praising her brother for approaching the discussing with logic rather whining or demanding he be told.

"Yamanaka Asami's body was recovered not long after our return." Shikaku responded plainly, keeping his tone even.

This caught Shikamaru's attention, "She's dead? How? Do we know who did it?"

Shikaku's tone tightened, "Leave it Shikamaru."

Shikamaru shook his head, leaning forward, "First, this woman goes through all the trouble of manipulating the Raikage, just to get to Kanoko, only to turn around and try to kill her for some kind of petty revenge. That just doesn't make sense. And why was the Sound there? What did they have to gain in all of this? If that's not enough, now we have an unknown player: Whoever killed Yamanaka Asami. We can't just leave this-"

Shikamaru was cut off when Shikaku's fist hit the table, hard, making everyone jump slightly, "I said enough!"

The room went silent as no one moved, not even to finish their dinner. They just sat there in silence, staring down at Shikaku's white fist and tiny cracks in the table beneath it.

Kanoko heard her brother swallow and knew what was coming next. Snapping her head up to her brother, she frowned and shook her head at him – telling him to stop.

Shikamaru frowned at her, catching her in a short contest of wills before turning his face back to his father, "No. While I don't know why, Kanoko was clearly the intended target. If Tsunade hadn't sent a group of us out to investigate, I think things wouldn't have ended like they did. What I mean by that is I don't think this was a revenge mission – at least, not in the way it was portrayed. I think it was always supposed to be a kidnapping, just not by the Cloud. But I don't know that for sure because I'm missing critical pieces of the puzzle, such as, Asami's supposed revenge."

One of Kanoko's eyebrows rose as high at it would go. She was shocked by her brother's theory. To be honest, while she knew more was going on then what was being portrayed, her brother's conclusion made a lot of sense.

Which greatly worried her. Someone, or a group of people, was after her.

But for what reason?

She had a few ideas lined up, but the real mystery was figuring out which one it was without letting any of her secrets slip.

Unfortunately, it was during this moment, when Kanoko was engrossed in a deep thought process, that her father chose to react poorly to Shikamaru's probing.

Slamming both of his hands on the table, making dishes chatter and food fly, Shikaku stood up and locked his hard eyes onto his son's form before drilling into him, "I said it wasn't your concern, Shikamaru, and I meant it! You're just a boy, you don't know anything, and you're only going to get yourself hurt if you stick your nose where it doesn't belong!"

Shikamaru just wouldn't give up, "But Kanoko-"

"You're not like your sister and you need to stop trying to convince yourself that you are!" Shikaku shouted, "Kanoko's been training for years while you, to this very day, go out of your way to avoid any sort of strenuous activity. I've never gotten on to you about your lack of drive because you are my son and I know eventually you will grow out of it, and become the man I know you can be, but that day is not today!"

Shikamaru stared wide eyed at his father – completely taken aback by his words and tone. The young Nara opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't get a sound out.

Shikaku stared down at his plate with an exhausted and lifeless look. With a heavy sigh, Shikaku spoke quietly, "I know after failing the both of you the way I did that I have no right to demand anything from you…"

Kanoko turned her head, watching her father push the chair in and turn around – walking towards the front of the house. Just as he was about to exit the room, he finished his sentence, "…As your father, I'm tell you to drop it."

And with that, Shikaku was gone.

End Flashback

That had been three weeks ago and Shikaku hadn't been home once.

For the last two of those three weeks, Kanoko had prodded her mother to do something about her husband. Yoshino simply shook her head sadly and told Kanoko that she was trying.

Kanoko eventually decided that if no one else was going to step up and knock some sense into Shikaku then she would.

Walking swiftly through the crowd, she honed in on the chakra signature that could only belong to her father. Swinging the doors open, Kanoko fixed her sharp orange eyes on the man standing in the middle of the room, talking to a couple shinobi she recognized: Kotetsu and Izumo.

"Out." Kanoko ordered firmly, her words meant for the two chunin while her eyes stayed locked on to her father's form.

Kotetsu opened his mouth, gaping at Kanoko. Izumo gave the girl a concerned looked as he spoke in a gentle tone, "Kanoko, I'm sorry, but we were in the middle of-"

"Out." Kanoko repeated, her eyes snapping to the two chunin – her blazing eyes turning slightly red.

The two quickly bolted out of the room, feeling the intensity of her chakra and not wanting to become a casualty of war – especially a war between two Naras.

The door slammed shut behind her and her father stared down at her with an expressionless look. The room turned silent. Neither Nara moved nor did their hard gaze at each other break. For several minutes, the two stared silently, assessing each other before making a move.

"Kanoko, I don't have time-" Shikaku started.

"Inoichi probably told you of the complex intricacies of their secret jutsus and how you weren't at fault. That there was nothing you could do." Kanoko started, interrupting her father, "Chouza probably pulled you in for a manly hug and let you know that everyone is here to support and care for you – no matter what. And Kaa-san likely yelled at you for pulling away from everyone, including your children, before letting you know that she would always be there for you even while you pushed her away."

Shikaku frowned at his daughter, "Kanoko. You know how much I care about you and Shikamaru, and I know we have a close relationship – the two of us – but I am still your father and you can't just barge into my office and-"

Kanoko ignored him, interrupting Shikaku again, "But I'm here to tell you that are you at fault for Shikamaru's injuries. You should have been stronger. You should have fought harder for your family."

Shikaku's eyes went wide before paling drastically. Taking a step back, he placed a hand on his desk behind him to keep him upright.

Kanoko continued to drill into him with an angry look and her arms crossed, "But that is not what has me infuriated. What upsets me is the way you are handling it: Like a child." Kanoko paused before continuing, "How old is Naruto? Twelve? Do you know how he is working through his angry and depression with himself for harming a teammate and friend? By training harder, learning more, and strengthening the bonds between him and those he cares for."

Kanoko's eyes narrowed, her face turning into a sneer, "What are you doing? Pushing away your friends and wife. Yelling at your son and avoiding me. You are putting all the blame on yourself and none of it on the circumstances. Don't get me wrong, you are to blame for your own weakness, but if you are serious about getting stronger for your village and family, you need to accurately assess the situation and not wallow in self-pity."

The young Nara closed her eyes, "Drowning in a pool of your own guilt and self-pity is both disgusting and disrespectful to every genin, chunin, and jounin you send out into battle. If you can't grow from your failures, you'll only weaken until you shatter, except you won't be the only one in pieces."

Shikaku stared at his daughter, his expression unreadable.

After several minutes of staring blankly at Kanoko, Shikaku silently moved around his desk and sat down. He began pulling out papers and making marks on them with his pen – as if Kanoko wasn't there or had even walked into the room.

*BAM*

Kanoko palm slammed onto the top of her father's desk, right where he was writing, and making the desk crack under the pressure.

Shikaku stared at the hand stopping him from continuing his work with a dull expression. Finally, Shikaku sighed tiredly. With a voice lacking any emotion, he spoke, "I don't expect you to understand-"

"Do not speak to me about understanding." Kanoko told him, her tone sharp, "You don't think I don't blame myself for Shikamaru's injuries during the Suna Invasion? I should have been with him and my team when they pursued the Sand's Jinchuriki, but I was being selfish. That selfishness nearly cost me my brother. That patch of skin in the center of his chest, where Shikamaru blocked Gaara's Tailed Beast Bomb aimed at Naruto, every time I see it…" Kanoko turned her head and squeezed her eyes shut, as if in physical pain, "…I know it's there because of me."

Kanoko opened her eyes back up and leaned her face close to Shikaku's, "I know it hurts you – knowing it was your hands, your chakra, your techniques that landed Shikamaru and I in the hospital, but you can always tell yourself that you did everything you could to stop yourself from hurting us – that you were under the influence of a powerful jutsu."

Kanoko leaned back, "I don't get that luxury. I know that my actions resulted in Shikamaru nearly losing his life. So don't you dare compare your pain to mine. You couldn't even begin to understand all of my agony."

Shikaku stared wide eyed into his daughter's reddish orange eyes. They were so sharp. Her eyes looked both full of life and thick with death – something he had only seen in the eyes of shinobi older than him. Most shinobi, especially from the Leaf, had eyes full of life while others, like Kakashi, were thick with death and sorrow. It was a rare sight to see both life and death reflected in another's eyes.

Choking slightly on his breath, Shikaku tried to speak, "I-"

"I know you fought her. I saw it in the way you limited your chakra in the beginning and I saw it in the way you locked up your body at the end. I know, if you could have, you would have taken that kunai you were using to fight me off and slit your own throat, if it meant keeping your children safe." Kanoko leaned over the desk and placed a hand on her father's shoulder, "You think the battle is over with, that it ended with her at the northern border of the Land of Fire. It didn't. And right now, she's winning."

The loud sound of Shikaku's chair scratching against the wood floor as he stood suddenly, both hands on his desk to brace himself. Snapping his eyes to his daughter's own sharp ones, Shikaku spoke deep and loud, "Would you let me speak?! You're as bad as your mother…"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, but motioned for him to speak.

Shikaku waited, not wishing to be interrupted again before speaking, "…You're right. I didn't, or perhaps just refused to realize that I was only making things worse by getting lost in my guilt. I reverted back to a much younger, less experienced version of me. A version of me that let my fears, guilt, and blinding weakness get his friends hurt and other killed. I promised myself I would never be that person again and I would teach my children the same."

Shikaku gritted his teeth as he shut his eyes, "But you're also wrong. Feeling responsible for the horrible things that happen to your friends and family members is one thing, to be directly responsible for your own child's suffering is another."

Kanoko opened her mouth to speak but was silenced when she caught small drops of water hit Shikaku's desk, "You have no idea, what it feels like… to hold your little girl in your arms when she's first born… you were so small… just this little bundle. So fragile and helpless. It's in that moment that you know, that this little thing, your little girl, she needs you. You are her everything. You're the one that's going keeps her full, happy, safe, and loved…"

His body shook as he sucked in air, "To watch your children bleed is one thing… to watch as your own hands…" Shikaku choked on a whimper trying to escape. With a broken voice, Shikaku asked, "How can I ever even think to hold you again? … To pat you on the back as my chest fills with pride? … Hug you when you're sad? … Comfort you when you need support?"

Water streamed freely down his face, "How… how can a father… just do that to his own children…" His voice cracked as a sob escaped, "And think everything is ok?! That he could ever… that he would ever deserve…"

Shikaku jumped slightly when he felt small arms wrap around his waist from the side.

"You deserve our forgiveness because it is ours to give." Kanoko told her father quietly. The position was awkward, since she was still quite small in comparison to her father and the desk was in the way, but she was determined to get her point across. Tightening her hold, Kanoko continued, "Shikamaru and I know how much you love us. We know that no matter what, you and Kaa-san will never stop loving us. We know this because it's how we feel about the two of you: We will always love the both of you. Through each and every trial life puts us through, we will continue to fight for our family: The people we love unconditionally."

Kanoko looked up, "So listen to me when I tell you: We forgive you."

"You shouldn't." Shikaku responded, his tone low.

"That's not your decision to make." Kanoko told him with a frown before smirking suddenly, "You're a male Nara. What made you think you were allowed to make your own choices?"

The mixed noises of heavy breathing and a deep short laugh echoed in the room. Turning his body so he could pull Kanoko in, Shikaku pressed his daughter into his chest for a crushing hug, "You are your mother's daughter. I know you didn't get your strength and stubbornness from me."

Kanoko chuckled back, "No, I didn't."

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"But you gave me something better: A family."

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"Well… that doesn't bode well…" Kakashi sighed dramatically as he watched the chunin Kotetsu and Izumo run out of the Hokage's tower with a fearful look on their faces.

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It was a calm peaceful day in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. A lot of the buzz surrounding the Waterfall Village and the Cloud kidnapping had died down as new rumors and gossip flooded the streets of Konoha. Tsunade and the other leaders of the village had done a particularly good job of appeasing the other villages while spreading other interesting rumors around Konoha to get everyone's mind off the fragility of the Leaf's foreign relations.

Yukie Fujikaze, better known as Princess Gale, is a princess in real life? Morino Ibiki had a little brother and he looks and acts normal?! There is a man-beast-tiger thing running around?!

An Aburame laughed?!

Kakashi laughed to himself, "That last one is clearly a hoax." The one eyed ninja shook his head. Kakashi was currently leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, looking down at the village. He hadn't had much time to do anything these days, with all the missions he was assigned to.

Kakashi grimaced at the memory of Naruto yelling at him for never being around and training Team 7. In Kakashi's defense, he had barely had time to stand in front of the memorial stone and pay his respects to all of his fallen friends and family. Kanoko had been doing a great job of steering Sakura and Naruto in the right direction anyways.

When she wasn't stuck on several D-ranked missions.

The copy nin paled at the memory. If he thought Naruto was bad…

Kakashi had made the unfortunate mistake of thinking he would relax and have a little fun with his tightly wound student. After hearing that Tsunade had placed the young Nara on D-ranked duty for the unforeseeable future, Kakashi strolled into the Hokage's office to file a request for shinobi assistance – and he would pay whatever cost that was required to make sure his adorable little student was assigned.

The mission was simple enough.

Kakashi claimed he was severely injured after his last mission and needed a gofer to go and get things for him. Like his back scratcher which was just out of reach right when he had a life threatening itch. Seriously. He could have died.

When Kanoko showed up at his door with a dark scowl on her face and a promise of death, the copy nin quickly rethought his wisdom in this harmless prank.

But Kakashi knew that Kanoko had to complete all of her assigned D-ranked missions or her probation would be extended indefinitely.

And you know what they say, in for a penny, in for a pound

So, Kanoko spend a total of three hours running from his house, which was in the middle of nowhere, to the store, purchasing one item at a time for Kakashi, since he couldn't be bothered to remember everything in one go and list them all for Kanoko.

Then, he had Kanoko wash all of his laundry, watching her gag as she used her sword and sheath as chopsticks to pick up all the clothes, all while he wrote letters to his various friends.

After Kanoko had returned from washing all of his clothes, with a look of poorly concealed murderous intent, Kakashi sent his little student out to deliver all of his handcrafted messages.

Kakashi did regret not thinking that last one through very well.

He would have really liked to have seen the look on Kanoko's face when Gai dramatically and loudly turned her down after reading her love confession detailed in the letter she provided him – hearts around his name and everything.

Although, the look on her face when she teleported in front of him – he didn't like it when his late-sensei did it, he especially didn't like it when his student did it – was enough to regret the action in its entirety.

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And Kakashi had been in hiding ever since.

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Kakashi was now on the constant look out for his little demon of a student – people can tell him that Naruto is the demon in his team all they like, but everyone who knew Kanoko, knew better – which meant he was constantly watching over her and her little following whenever he was back in Konoha.

After a while, Kakashi started to bring popcorn and a small drink as he watched the growing entertainment he labeled as, "The Kanoko Chronicles".

Whether it be because of nearly losing Kanoko to the Cloud/Sound or just the way she is determined to act like a middle aged man, all of her classmates had been circling around her and demanding her attention.

Kakashi wondered briefly if he could find a way to market his student's struggles.

The girls, specifically Ino, were hovering around Kanoko at all times, trying to bait her into clothing and makeup stores. There was one store that made Kakashi blush and sent Kanoko running out with a look of complete and utter horror on her face.

And then there were the boys.

Kakashi wondered if Hiashi's father or mother was a professional stalker or something. Kakashi had thought he would only have to deal with the Hyuuga girl hovering around Team 7, watching intently as Naruto trained. Apparently the Hyuuga prodigy was also victim to this genetic defect. More times than not, Kakashi and Neji ran into each other as they continued to stalk – cautiously follow – Kanoko around the Leaf village.

The Inuzuka boy and the rest of team Gai tended to leave Kanoko alone for other pursuits, but even Chouji and Shino were often seen around Kanoko, either for a friendly chat or tips on training.

And then there was Sasuke and Naruto…

Kakashi sighed greatly as he watched Naruto chuckle at what he thought was another clever trick. The blonde quickly hid around the corner as Kanoko stepped out of the Hokage's tower, who paused in her step to shoot the wall, which was blocking her from seeing Naruto's laughing form, an annoyed look.

Naruto had taken Kanoko's willingness to help Sasuke as an act of war. He may have accepted Kanoko's reluctant offer to train him as well – after hours of yelling at her – but Kakashi knew Naruto would not let Kanoko's betrayal go unpunished.

The problem was Naruto had been pranking Kanoko since the two met, back in the academy. She knew all of his tricks at this point and was becoming an impressive sensor to boot. Every trap he had set up had failed spectacularly.

Naruto had even petitioned Tsunade to create a D-ranked mission so he could get Kanoko back. The Fifth Hokage responded with two words after turning Naruto down:

Hatake Kakashi.

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Kakashi felt a little sense of pride at that one.

Before remembering why he was hiding in the trees with his Sharingan wide open as he tried to sleep.

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Kakashi was pulled from his thoughts when he saw his student – the demon child, not the child with a demon inside – teleport behind Naruto with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

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"AHH!" Naruto screamed, jumping as Kanoko appeared behind him.

Kanoko glared at Naruto as he spun around before tripping over his own feet and falling to the ground with a hard thud. Kanoko looked down at her blonde team, "I grow tired of your immaturity."

Naruto returned his teammate's glare with one of his own. Brushing the dirt off of him, Naruto quickly rose to his feet, "And I'm growing tired of your, holier than thou, attitude!" Naruto proceeded to cross his arms and turn up his nose, "First you go and train duckbutt-"

"We've already had this conversation, Naruto…" Kanoko warned with narrow eyes.

"-then you completely ignore your team-" Naruto continued as if Kanoko hadn't spoken.

"Ignore you guys? How does that work?! I see you every morning! And Sakura and Ino won't leave me alone!"

"-go on a bunch of missions without us-"

"D-ranked. D-ranked missions. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"-and then you decide that Sasuke, Sakura and I aren't good enough for you and you decide to train Shikamaru in secret!" Naruto stuck out his bottom lip in a pout, "I know he's your brother and all and clan secrets, blah blah blah, but I thought I was like… an honorary Nara or something…" The blonde finished with in quiet tone.

Kanoko stared open mouthed at Naruto, "What?!"

Naruto shrunk a little and turned to the side, "Obviously I was wrong… you don't have to go make a big deal about it…"

Kanoko shook her head in a huff, "Stop. That's not what I meant. Kaa-san has all but formally adopted you. When was the last time you ate in your own home? Honestly. And Kaa-san even makes me buy supplies for your stupid ramen we eat all the time, and that noodle merchant is going to die a swift and painful death if he stares at my chest one more time…" Kanoko cut herself off with a small curse, "What I mean is, what are you talking about? What is this secret training with Shikamaru you think I'm doing?!"

Naruto grinned widely, forgetting his earlier irritation with Kanoko before flinching at her darkening gaze, "Uhh… When I was looking for you a couple weeks ago, I ran into Shikamaru. He was on the other side of your guy's compound. When I asked him what he was up to, he said he was on his way to train. I thought it was odd because I had just ran into Chouji who was celebrating with his Dad about something and asked Shikamaru if I could join. He said I couldn't because it was secret clan jutsus."

Kanoko nodded, processing the information, "And you assumed that included me."

Naruto shrugged, "Well duh." The blonde tilted his head and looked at Kanoko curiously, "You mean, you're not?" Naruto frowned, "Why would pops leave you out of clan training?"

Kanoko turned her head back to the Hokage's tower and narrowed her eyes, "He wouldn't. And that's the problem."

Naruto opened his mouth to question Kanoko more, but his teammate's cold eyes stopped him.

"Contact Kakashi-sensei." Kanoko told Naruto, "He's been avoiding me for reasons I refuse to disclose-" Kanoko started before getting interrupted by a smirking Naruto.

"That ship has sailed. The whole village knows about your confession to bushy-brow's sensei." Naruto's fox like grin grew, "You should have seen Neji when he was told of the news." He then shrugged, "But if you're going for duckbutt, he just shrugged and said he didn't mind. Something about random bouts of insanity running in the family already…"

Kanoko shut her eyes and growled low, "Anyways. Find Kakashi and tell him this one word: Rokumaru."

Naruto nodded, "Roku-maru?" He spoke, trying out the word.

Kanoko nodded, "Rokumaru. Just tell him, Rokumaru. Can you do that Naruto?"

Naruto gave Kanoko an annoyed look, "I'm not as dumb as everyone thinks I am. I can remember a stupid word!"

Kanoko sighed, "I know. Just, tell him quickly. I'm not sure how much time I'll have." Kanoko turned to the south, "He's somewhere in those trees, but he won't let me get close." Kanoko turned back to Naruto, "I'm relying on you Naruto. Please don't let me down."

Naruto grinned bright, giving Kanoko a thumbs up, "You can count on me!"

Kanoko smiled lightly back, "Thank you."

And with that, Kanoko disappeared in an instant.

Naruto turned towards the trees Kanoko pointed out and raced across the area.

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Kanoko's sharp eyes scanned the area before her. She was on the edge of the Nara forest, on the border of the Leaf Village. The area was deathly quiet and the grass at her feet barely moved. She was in a small clearing with incredibly tall trees encircling the flat patch of grass.

The former Hokage took a step forward, her eyes locked onto the small traditional house before her. Centered inside that house, she could feel the individual she was looking for. Kanoko stopped in her movements, her back stiffening and her heart racing, when she saw the front door swing open slowly.

Walking slowly out of the shadows was a man with sharp cheek bones, a deep black spiky ponytail, and long dark goatee with slivers of silver. He was covered in a typical male kimono, but Kanoko could see the impressions of armor plating beneath it.

The man's dark eyes locked onto Kanoko's tense form, "Well, well. I was wondering how long it would take for you to appear before me." The man smirked, "Your brother must not mean as much to you as you profess. It's been weeks."

Kanoko's teeth gritted as her chakra flared dangerous before she forced herself to breathe deeply and calmed herself down. Kanoko's orange eyes flared red as she narrowed her eyes, "I assumed Shikamaru would come to me with any difficulties he was facing." Kanoko's frown deepened, 'I appear to be wrong. Tou-san's words must have made a bigger impact than I first realized.'

Rokumaru stared at Kanoko with an emotionless look, "Young boys typically look for a father figure when their current one is absent, and my son is absent a lot."

"That gives you no right to fill that role for him." Kanoko slowly inched her hand closer to her scroll pouch, "Especially not from a man like you."

Rokumaru's expression did not change, "And what are you going to do about it?" The elder scoffed, his hand dipping into his kimono sleeve, "A small girl like you. Without her father to defend her. Without her village to trust her."

Kanoko clicked her teeth, "You… the Cloud, the Yamanaka… It was all a ploy to weaken me. To discredit me." Kanoko's eyes hardened, "All to get to Shikamaru."

Rokumaru raised an eyebrow, "You think I would go through that much effort, just to defeat a little girl such as yourself?"

The brunette slid her foot out slightly, in order to strengthen her stance, "After the last time we met?" Kanoko's hand slide slowly into her scroll pouch, "And the promise I made to you, if you ever laid a hand on my family?"

Rokumaru's eyes narrowed, "You mean my family." Bending his knees slightly as the wood porch beneath his feet cracked slightly at the intensity of his compressed chakra.

"No." Kanoko said slowly, her fingers wrapping tightly around her scroll, "I mean my family."

A heavy gust of wind cut through the air as metal clashed against metal. Kanoko floated in the air, her sword screeching as it scratched against Rokumaru's blade. Rokumaru gazed coldly at Kanoko above as he called upon the shadows at his feet to rip through Kanoko.

Kanoko pulled her open scroll through the air, "Release!"

Rokumaru hissed out a curse as a blinding light erupted from the scroll. The shadows dissipated from the burst of light giving Kanoko the opening she needed, "Water Style: Heavenly Weeping!" Kanoko spit sharp water senbon at Rokumaru.

The image of Rokumaru faded into black on impact.

"Shit!" Kanoko thought, twisting her body around to defend against the intense chakra aimed at her back. She doubled down on her curse when the thick black tendrils ripped through her.

Rokumaru's eyes narrowed when a log dropped in his granddaughter's place.

A reflection of light caught his eye. Shifting his eyes to his right, he stared expressionless at the cool metal against his neck.

"When did you mark me?" Rokumaru asked indifferently.

Kanoko's eyes narrowed at the shadow wrapped around her leg, preventing her from moving any farther, "The first time you laid your hands on me."

"I doubt that." Rokumaru responded with a scoff before using his shadow hold on Kanoko to toss her across the field.

Kanoko went flying and skidded across the grass, leaving a small wake in her path. Catching her footing, Kanoko crouched on the ground before snapping her eyes up. Even though Kanoko could move her body, she felt Rokumaru's chakra connected to her own. Looking down at the ground, she noticed the long black line connecting the two of them together.

The two Naras stared each other down, the air thickening from their dark chakra lashing out.

Rokumaru stared down at Kanoko, "What will you do now, little girl?"

Kanoko's grip tightened around her sword, but chose not to respond, "I can't let this man get his hands on Shikamaru, but my position in the village is already fragile. Killing him, if I even could with this weak body, would only give the elders reason to charge me with treason." Kanoko gritted her teeth as she cursed, "He has me out played..." Kanoko's eyes drifted back down to the shadow locking her in place, "…and out gunned."

Rokumaru gave Kanoko a cold, eyes half lidded look, "What did you hope to gain by this skirmish? Surely, you did not come here thinking that you would warn me off of your brother and I would listen to you with bated breath?"

Kanoko glared at the elder.

Rokumaru's cold expression slowly turned into a dark smirk, "Like I said, I've been expecting you for weeks." The elder Nara raised his hand.

Kanoko's eyes snapped around the area. From behind the trees emerged four cloaked shinobi. "Nara clan members." Kanoko thought, using her sensory skills to pick out their chakra signatures and clan origins.

"Your brother has made great progress under my tutelage." Rokumaru spoke in a deep voice. His eyes flashed as they locked onto Kanoko's reddish orange ones, "Years ahead of his father, when Shikaku was his age. And that is just after a few weeks."

Rokumaru motioned his shinobi to approach. Kanoko's eyes sharpened as they focused on the ninja closing in on her slowly.

"I may be unable to kill you now, but the same is true for you." Kanoko told Rokumaru in a deep tone of her own, "I may not believe in the myth surrounding the Nara clan, but you do." Kanoko gritted her teeth as Rokumaru's jutsu tethered her down while his underlings each grabbed an arm and pulled them behind her roughly.

Rokumaru smirked as he slowly approached his granddaughter, "You're right…" Once he was only a foot away, the Nara elder stared down at Kanoko before roughly grabbing her chin, "…but you are also wrong…"

Bringing his face down, Rokumaru stared directly into Kanoko reddening eyes, "My son… When he tells the story of the Maned Wolf, he leaves out an important part."

Kanoko glared harshly back at the man before her, "What makes you think I'd believe your words over that of my father's?"

Rokumaru chuckled deeply, "Because the truth of your pre-determined future is a much darker, sicker, and viler reality than any parent would ever want for his children. Especially for his precious daughter."

Rokumaru paused to watch Kanoko reaction before continuing, "You see, the gods the deer spoke to didn't just curse them with human bodies and the threat of the Maned Wolf's return. No… they set it up so the Maned Wolf's return was guaranteed."

"You think some tall tale and it's supposed curses are a concern for me?" Kanoko scowled, her teeth gritting at the pain of Rokumaru's tight grip on her chin.

"Even you will be unable to ignore this piece of the tale, as you call it." The elder spoke in a deep and haunting tone.

Kanoko's glare intensified as Rokumaru pulled her in closer and whispered in her ear.

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Red eyes widened.

Her pupils shrinking to pinpoints.

The air escaped her lungs as she forgot how to breathe, her whole body frozen in shock.

"You're lying." Kanoko spoke, trying her hardest to keep her voice from cracking.

Rokumaru released her chin and stood back up straight, "This brings me no pleasure and only serves to complicate my goals." Rokumaru's cold gaze locked onto the top of Kanoko's head, "Tell me, for what purpose would this fact serve me?"

Kanoko stared wide eyed at the ground before her. She didn't have an answer to the elder Nara's question and she had nothing to console herself with, to convince herself that Rokumaru was lying.

The biggest problem was how much it made sense.

And that was what scared her the most.

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"Water Style: Water Dragon!"

Rokumaru's head snapped up to see a large dragon made of water shoot down from above.

Kanoko ripped one of her arms from the ninja's grip as the water poured down on her, "Water Style: Water Shockwave!" Kanoko shouted, using the water from the dragon and whipping it around her violently.

Kakashi landed next to his student, his Sharingan snapping around the area and counting the enemies, "Friends of yours?" Kakashi asked in an indifferent tone.

Kanoko glared at her clansmen before speaking dully to her sensei, "Took you long enough."

Kakashi scratched his head sheepishly, "I mayhave thought you were sending Naruto after me as a clever way of getting your revenge…"

Kanoko scoffed, "As if I'd let anyone get my revenge, for me, after what you did."

Kakashi chuckled nervously, "…And then, once Naruto finally pinned me down, he forgot what he needed to tell me. He was so mad at himself he started beating his head against the wall in frustration. I stuck around because it seemed important…" Kakashi's eyes travelled from Kanoko to her grandfather across the way, "Glad I did."

"You and me both." Kanoko answered truthfully.

"Hatake Kakashi." Rokumaru spoke evenly, "You must be invited to come on the lands of the Nara clan."

Kakashi shrugged, "Didn't you hear? I got a personal invitation from the clan's heiress."

Rokumaru smirked slightly, "That's not quite the title Kanoko holds, but it's close enough." The elder turned and started walking away, "Until next time, dearest granddaughter."

Kanoko's hard gaze fixed on the elder Nara's back as he and his shinobi disappeared into the thick green of the trees.

The copy nin visibly relaxed next to her before pulling down his headband slowly, once he concluded that there were no other threats nearby. With a sigh of relief, Kakashi turned his head down to his student. He raised an eyebrow at her stiff form, "What was that?"

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Kanoko's gaze did not move from the spot Rokumaru once occupied, "A nightmare."

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"Training?" Naruto asked, his eyes focused on the scroll in front of him. Naruto was in his apartment, surrounded by the usual ramen cups and other discarded trash. This is where Naruto found himself most evenings: Sitting on his bed, hunched over the scroll Kanoko gave him which detailed his clan's history.

"That's right! You are now officially my apprentice." Jiraiya answered, standing on the rook outside of Naruto's window, "Within three years, I will make you a full-fledged ninja." Jiraiya finished with a smirk, his eyes closed and his arms crossed.

Naruto snapped his head towards Jiraiya to give him an irritated glare, "No."

The sannin blinked once before jumping in surprise, "What?! Why?!"

Naruto crossed his arms and turning his nose up, "All you do is chase women around, get drunk, break into bath houses, and spend my money!"

Jiraiya looked sheepish for a minute before crossing his arms and pouting, "Look kid, I'm Jiraiya the toad sage. Seal master of the Leaf! Do you know how many would kill to train with me?!"

The blonde just gave Jiraiya an unimpressed look, "Whatever! So you're this great ninja! Give me a break! All I've seen you do is summon toads and get beat up by civilian women!" Naruto swung his body around and scoffed at the white haired man, "Duckbutt is getting training from Kanoko! I can't risk training with you, only to have you ditch me over and over again, and then come back to find Sasuke ten times stronger!"

Jiraiya gave Naruto an annoyed look, "You're going to pass up the teachings from a sannin to learn from a twelve year old chunin?" Jiraiya started to pull at his hair, "Are you serious?!"

Naruto picked up the scroll he was holding and threw it in Jiraiya's face, "That twelve year old chunin at least respected me enough to teach me about my clan! How come you never mentioned my clan and how they are directly related to the reason why I have a giant fuzzball in my stomach?!"

The scroll smacked into Jiraiya's face, forcing him to take a step back. Grumbling slightly at Naruto's treatment of him, Jiraiya pulled the scroll off his face and started scanning the words, "...one of their most prominent natural abilities was their great life spans. This was due to another of their natural gifts: A significantly large chakra pool from birth…" Jiraiya snapped his eyes from the scroll to Naruto, "Where did you get this?!"

Naruto huffed and gave Jiraiya another annoyed look, "Kanoko. Duh."

Jiraiya's eyes shifted from the scroll to Naruto and back to the scroll, "Abilities… Notable members… Typical chakra natures… Preferred fighting style…" Jiraiya paled suddenly, "T-t-the characteristics of an Uzumaki seal?!" Jiraiya couldn't believe what he was reading, "Where the hell did the Nara get this from?! My first thought is that she made all this shit up, but some of it's true!"

Jiraiya shot a quick and unsure look at Naruto, "There's no way I can give this back to him. Not with what information is in this scroll! Who knows where he'll leave it, letting just anyone learn its secrets!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "What?"

Jiraiya sweat-dropped, "Uhhh… Nothing. Just… Curious." Jiraiya looked at the scroll again, "But if I don't give it back then there goes any chance I have of convincing him to leave with me… Naruto can't stay in the village, or in one place for long, while the Akatsuki are this active."

Tossing the scroll back to Naruto, beating himself up while doing so, Jiraiya sighed and spoke, "Look kid… You're concerned your teammate…" Jiraiya stopped to think, 'Who is a freak of nature.' And then continued, "…is going to teach the Uchiha kid jutsus that will make him stronger than you, right?"

Naruto stared at Jiraiya suspiciously, but nodded slowly.

Jiraiya smirked, "Then the solution is simple! We just take your teammate with us! She won't be able to train with your rival anything if she's traveling the world with us!" Jiraiya finished by snapping his fingers and looking quite pleased with himself, 'And I'll be able to interrogate this girl away from her overprotective father, clinically insane sensei, and take-over-the-world diabolical grandfather. It's a win-win!'

Naruto thought about the toad sage's proposal, tilting his head back and forth with his eyes closed before shaking his head, "There's no way you'll be able to convince Kanoko to join us in a two to three year camping trip. She hates your guts."

Jiraiya's jaw dropped, "What? Why?!" Jiraiya's eyes narrowed at Naruto suspiciously, "Unless you've been spreading untrue facts about me, any kid would be overjoyed to learn from the great Toad Sage Jiraiya!" Jiraiya finished with a hearty laugh and confident grin.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, pointing a finger at Jiraiya, "Don't go blaming me for your pervy ways! Don't you remember your peeping act in Suna?! Or the time you ditched her?! Or when she verbally sucker punched you in the gut for not training me properly?!"

Jiraiya paled slightly, "That's right…" Jiraiya shook his head quickly and took on a thoughtful look, 'I'll have to find some way of convincing her…' Jiraiya's gaze moved back onto Naruto, who was intently reading the scroll Kanoko gave him, 'Or convince her to convince Naruto to leave with me.'

Jiraiya sighed, 'These kids are proving to be too much work. What happened to the good old days when my name alone would be met with awe and aspiration?'

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Kanoko walked slowly through the door of her home. Her eyes showing how tired she was as she stumbled into the kitchen.

"Oh! Kanoko honey!"

Kanoko turned her head to see Yoshino approach her, "Yes Kaa-san?"

Yoshino grinned wide at her daughter, "Guess who showed up here and took your mother out to lunch?"

Shikamaru groaned from behind Yoshino, "Just walk away while you still have a chance." He told his sister, "I'm going out to find Ino so she can scrub the mental images from my brain…"

Kanoko's hand snapped out and gripped her brother's wrist tightly. Shikamaru jumped slightly and look over at his sister, whose own gaze was turned away.

"Stay."

Shikamaru gave Kanoko a curious look, "Huh?"

Kanoko didn't answer right away. After a moment, she pulled her hand from his wrist and walked away, "Never mind."

Shikamaru watched his sister walk away, 'She's really been acting odd lately…' The young Nara turned towards the front door. He had promised Naruto that he would help with the party he was putting on with Chouji to celebrate the anniversary of their graduation day, 'Maybe Sakura will know…'

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"Kanoko!"

Said preteen turned around tiredly, "Sorry Kaa-san. What were you going to tell me earlier?" Kanoko asked politely.

Yoshino looked down at her daughter with concerned eyes, "Honey, you look exhausted. Why don't you go to bed early?"

Kanoko sighed, "Naruto and Chouji are holding this party to celebrate the day we graduated. If I don't show up, everyone's going to be gunning for me the next few days." Kanoko paused to mumbled, "More than they already do…"

Yoshino blinked in surprise, "It's been year already?"

Kanoko nodded, "Surprisingly." Kanoko started to massage her shoulders, "I'm not sure if this year went by fast or went on and on, but either way, it's been an eventful year. That's for sure."

Yoshino nodded solemnly before suddenly grinning at her daughter.

Kanoko scooted away from her mother, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

The Nara monarch placed her hands on her hips and smirked wickedly, "It is my job as your mother to make sure you look your best for such an important party!"

The former Hokage paled, "I don't really think that's necessary…"

Yoshino spun around from gathering up her things to narrow her eyes on her daughter, "What was that?" She asked dangerously.

Kanoko sighed, "Nothing…"

"Good." Her mother told her in a cheerful voice before grabbing Kanoko and pulling her out the door, "I've been meaning to take you bra shopping for quite a while now anyways."

*POOF*

"NARA KANOKO! YOU GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE, RIGHT NOW!"

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"Ugggg… this is such a drag…." Shikamaru whined out, collapsing in a chair, "Why are we doing so much work anyways, it's just a dinner…"

Ino wagged her finger in her teammate's face, "It's more than just a dinner! It's our way of congratulating each other and celebrating the fact that we're all still here and happy!"

Chouji nodded, while helping Naruto place the food on the table. The party was located in a diner the Akimichi clan owned. It was a small place, but they had a large room in the back for special parties, like the one the rookie nine would be having in a few hours.

Chouji grinned at the work the four of them completed, "It looks great guys!"

Naruto grinned, nodding with the plump boy, "I can't wait! Everyone's going to love it!"

Ino walked over and patted the boys on the back, "This was a great idea guys!" Ino looked at the two of them with a real grin, "You two are really stepping up in the world, you know that. You're not the losers you once were."

Naruto gave Ino a deflated look, "Thanks Ino. I'm not sure if I should feel complimented or insulted."

Shikamaru groaned lazily from his spot on the chair, "Just take it as both and move on. Women are born troublesome. Best not to fight them and instead, just give in."

Ino placed her hands on her hips and huffed at her lazy teammate, "How does Kanoko even put up with you?!" Ino pulled at her hair, "How do I put up with you?!"

Shikamaru shrugged and turned to Naruto and Chouji, "So how much longer until everyone shows up?"

Chouji shrugged back, "A few hours, right?"

Naruto nodded before looking around, "Sooo… What do we do now?"

Ino frowned at the boys, "Well, I'm heading out. I'm going to need every minute of those three hours to get ready!"

And with that, Ino was out the door.

"Three hours? Just to get dressed?" Naruto exclaimed before muttering, "And I thought Sakura-chan took forever…"

Chouji turned to Shikamaru while munching on his chips, "Cloud watching?"

Shikamaru groaned low as he pulled his body forward and got up slowly, "Yeah…" He responded lethargically.

Naruto blinked as the last two members of Team Ten walked out. "Hey! What about me?!" Naruto shouted to an empty room.

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Kanoko glared at the colored garbs in front of her, wondering if she could create a jutsu that set things ablaze with her mind alone.

"Kanoko! Stop looking like a hoodlum!" Yoshino chastised her daughter while holding up a dress, "Now go try this on!"

Kanoko grunted, but snatched the dress out of her mother's hand and stomped into the changing room.

"Do you need help with your new bra?" Yoshino shouted, making Kanoko go beet red.

"KAA-SAN!" Kanoko exclaimed, 'This is so humiliating!'

Yoshino smirked evilly, "I was just asking…"

Kanoko glared at the wall, knowing better than to glare at her mother, and mumbled, "Why do I have to wear such a frilly thing anyways… What's wrong with bandages and a sports bra?"

Yoshino smirked, "They push up your boobs and makes you look cuter."

Kanoko went white.

"You'll understand when you get older." Yoshino shrugged as she started to look for a place to sit.

The young Nara turned green as her eyes scanned the area for a place to puke, "I'm going to be sick again…"

Yoshino sat down and started turning the pages in a magazine she picked up, "Hurry up! We are going to the salon after this!"

*THUD*

"What?!" Kanoko called out while rubbed the top of her head where she knocked it into the light, "What the hell are we going to do there?!"

Yoshino smirked, her eyes still focused on the magazine, "I have an old friend that is going to work on your hair and makeup." Yoshino's grin grew, "My daughter's going to be the most beautiful girl at this party! That'll teach my good for nothing son and husband to miss one of my dinners!"

Kanoko groaned quietly as she smacked her head against the wall, "I had to be born as a fucking girl… Didn't I…"

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Sakura turned around while gazing at herself in her mirror.

"You look fine honey."

Sakura looked up to see her mother standing in the doorway with a grin on her face. Sakura pouted, "Ino's going to be pulling all the stops to look better than me and get Sasuke's attention…" Sakura crossed her arms and pouted, "I'm not letting her win!"

Mebuki laughed at her daughter, "If you don't leave now, you'll have more to worry than your appearance!"

Sakura blinked before turning around to look at the clock on her bed side table. Her emerald eyes went wide, "What?! Oh no! I'm going to be late!"

Mebuki just continued to laugh at her daughter as Sakura jumped out the window.

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Shikamaru stared tiredly at the people entering the room. He was all the way in the corner with his hands in his pockets and leaning against the back of the chair he was sitting on. He yawned as he saw Sakura enter looking a bit ruffled, as if she ran here.

He watched as she scanned the room and deflated when she couldn't find Sasuke.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, racing over to the pinkette. Blushing slightly, Naruto scratched his cheek nervously, "You look nice."

Sakura blinked at Naruto and turned ever so slightly pink before her attention was caught by the other blonde she knew.

"Well, well. If it isn't Billboard-Brow. Don't you know that dress is sooo last year?" Ino mocked Sakura, her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

Sakura growled before yelling, "We're practically wearing the same thing!"

Sakura was wearing a pale pink sundress with red decorative buttons down the front. The dress was held up by spaghetti straps and the front was shaped like a heart. Ino, in turn, was in a similar dress, but this one was a deep purple color with thicker straps and no buttons.

Ino growled, "No way! Can't you see that my dress is made of a silk material!"

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Shikamaru turned his attention from the screaming girls to the newcomers. Sasuke had slipped in while the girls were arguing and had found himself a safe, dark corner to hide in, with Kiba trailing behind him.

Kiba grinned at Shikamaru, "Hey man! I didn't expect you to be here before me!" Akamaru bark cheerfully from the top of Kiba's head.

Shikamaru shrugged, "Chouji dragged me in."

Kiba nodded and looked around. Whistling at the scene he turned back to Shikamaru, "That's right, Chouji and Naruto put this on…" The Inuzuka's attention moved over to the blonde and brunette, "Chouji! Naruto! This is awesome guys!"

Naruto grinned as Chouji chuckled, "Thanks Kiba! How's Akamaru?"

Kiba grinned, looking up at his buddy, "Chasing tail and rolling in the dirt whenever he can! "

Naruto laughed, "Sounds just like you!"

Kiba grinned back, "Haha! Yep!"

"You haven't said hi to me yet."

"GYAH!" Naruto screamed, jumping behind Chouji. Naruto peeked over his classmate and glared at the person, "Shino! Why do you keep doing that?!"

Shino smirked behind his collar, "Because it's fun."

Kiba and Chouji laughed at Naruto's annoyance. "He's right!" Kiba agreed, throwing an arm around Shino, "Where have you been buddy?!"

Shino shrugged Kiba off of him, "I have been busy on missions. What about you guys?"

Naruto cut in with a wide grin, talking about all the great missions he's been on since the last time they all met up.

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Shikamaru sighed, "Where's Kanoko?" He thought it was odd that he sister was going to be the last to arrive. Even Hinata, followed in by Team Gai, had arrived at were now surrounding Naruto and Chouji, 'She did look really tired…' Shikamaru turned his gaze to Sasuke, who had been found by Sakura and Ino and looked like he was a hair of away from committing murder, 'Neither Sasuke or Naruto look all that tired…'

Shikamaru sighed, "I'll ask her if she ever shows up."

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"Kakashi! My eternal rival!" Gai yelled out loudly when Kakashi tried to slip in discretely, "I challenge you-"

"Oh no you don't!" Iruka called out to the two jounin, "This is Naruto's anniversary of the day he became a ninja! I'm not letting the two of you ruin it by causing a scene!"

"You tell them Iruka!" Tsunade shouted with a laugh, "Now where's the sake?!"

Shizune sighed at her Hokage's antics. Torune came up behind her and patted her on the shoulder. Giving her a small smile, he asked, "Why don't we get something to eat? I don't think either of us have had anything since breakfast."

Shizune grinned back and let Torune guide her to the appetizers.

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"How's it going, kid?"

Shikamaru looked up at the person speaking to him, "Oh, Asuma." Shikamaru moved his eyes to the person next to him, "And Kurenai-sensei. How are you guys?"

Kurenai smiled at Shikamaru, "Good." Moving her crimson eyes over the room she spoke again, "Looks like everyone's here."

Shikamaru nodded, 'Yeah. All but one.'

"Actually, there's still two people missing."

Shikamaru looked up and was surprised at who he saw.

"Shikaku-san!" Asuma greeted him with a slight bow, "How are you?"

Shikaku nodded to the two jounin before looking down at his son with an apologetic look, "I'm doing better now. Thank you for asking."

Shikamaru smiled back at his father, glad that he was around. He had missed challenging his old man to shogi and the Nara household wasn't the same without him around. He knew that his father would talk to him later, but right now, he was happy to have him here.

Kurenai cut off Shikamaru's thoughts with a question, "Now that you mention it… Where is your wife and daughter?"

Shikaku shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine." The Nara clan head chuckled low, "Even after all these years, I've never been able to quite anticipate what Yoshino will do or say next."

Kurenai giggled, "Don't worry. It's a guy thing."

Asuma looked at Kurenai slightly annoyed and mumbled, "What do you mean by that?"

Kurenai just giggled more in response.

"Well I'll be damned…" Shikaku said suddenly.

Shikamaru, Kurenai and Asuma looked up to see Shikaku grinning widely ahead with a proud look on his face. Shikamaru quickly jerked his head towards the door. His small eyes went wide at the site, "Oh shit…"

Standing in the doorway, looking for an appropriate item to slit her own throat, was his sister. She was wearing a simple white dress that ended just below her knees and a pair of white flats to match. Her hair was down and had a slight curl to it. The part that had Shikamaru the most shocked was the make up on her face. She wore a small amount of black eyeliner and her whole face had a little color to it - highlighting all of her features.

She was beautiful.

Shikamaru was across the room at a pace very few had ever seen him move.

Standing in front of his sister, he gave her an annoyed look before spinning around with his arms crossed. His half-lidded eyes scanned the room, 'I dare one of you to get close. See what happens.'

Naruto was the first to approach with a shocked look on his face, "Woah! Kanoko! You look like a girl!"

Sakura raced over to whack Naruto on the back of the head, "Of course she looks like a girl! SHE IS ONE!"

Naruto whined over the growing bump on his head.

Ino was standing off to the side, giving Kanoko an uneasy look.

Kanoko sighed, "What?" She asked impatiently. Kanoko just wanted to leave and get out of this ridiculous costume as quickly as possible.

Ino hummed in thought, "I'm not sure how to feel. I'm proud that you are finally acting more like a girl, but don't like the fact that you're almost as pretty as me…"

"I'd say prettier…" Neji muttered off to the side.

Hinata whacked him lightly on the shoulder with a frown, "Neji!"

Ino glared at the long haired Hyuuga, "Why you!"

Kanoko looked over to Chouji, "Can we get this thing started?"

Shikamaru nodded to his friend, agreeing with his sister. He wanted out of here. Now.

Chouji laughed at the Nara siblings and called for everyone to gather around, "Naruto! You're up."

Naruto grinned, jump up and onto the table, "One year ago, we all took the exam to become a genin. For most of you, it was your first time." Naruto chuckled sheepishly, "For me, it was my third."

"And you still didn't pass!" Kiba barked out with a grin.

"Hey! I'm the one telling the story here!" Naruto shouted back with a pout before grinning again, "As dog breath said, I still did pass! I couldn't get that one jutsu down – the clone jutsu. Now look at me, using it to defeat the best of the best!"

Everyone laughed while Neji crossed his arms with a huff.

Naruto looked over at Iruka, "But I would have never been able to do without Iruka-sensei believing in me! You're the best Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka blushed as everyone turned to him and clapped while the genin thanked him for putting up with them and teaching them.

"But after we graduated, we learned that we still weren't genin! Can you believe it?!" Naruto shouted, pouting slightly at the memory.

Chouji grinned, "I remember the look on Shikamaru's and Ino's faces when Asuma-sensei told us that only a third make it to genin! I thought for sure a bug was going to fly into their open mouths!" Chouji laughed harder at the memory.

"Thanks a lot Chouji." Ino mumbled at her teammate.

Naruto continued, "Team 7 had to go through, what Kakashi-sensei had dubbed, survival training. Ugg… man... he actually told us not to eat breakfast and then forced us to chase him around for some stupid bells, the jerk!"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head while trying to ignore the stares at him.

"There were only two bells and he told us that only those with a bell would pass." Naruto started up again, "So the three of us took off in separate directions, trying to get a bell from Kakashi-sensei before our other teammates did."

Naruto turned and grinned at Kanoko, "Kanoko was the one that help Sakura and I when we were in over our heads, but we refused to work with her, thinking she was tricking us. Kanoko was stubborn though, and boy did she knock some sense into us!" Naruto stopped to giggle, "Right before slicing Kakashi's priced book in half."

Shikaku barked out a laugh, "I always wondered why Kanoko came home that day, burnt to a crisp."

Kakashi looked ashamed this time, "I greatly apologize Shikaku-san, for my deplorable behavior."

Kanoko crossed her arms and grumbled, "Oh, so he'll apologize to Shikaku, but not me – his actual victim."

"That was the day we learned a lot about being a real ninja. Kakashi-sensei, after frying Kanoko several times with his Chidori, taught us that a ninja who breaks the rules is scum, but a ninja who abandons their friends is worse than scum!"

Naruto looked down with a smile, "Kanoko called it the Will of Fire at the time. I didn't really think about it too much after that. I was more concerned with getting stronger and learning more jutsu." Naruto turned to face his friends, "But, no matter what challenge was put in front of us, the Chunin Exams or the Cloud kidnapping one of our own, we - all of us - have always been there for one and another – giving everything we got without any strings attached. That's when I knew what Kanoko and Kakashi-sensei, and even the old man Hokage, were talking about when they said a shinobi's greatest strength is their Will of Fire."

Naruto got quiet, "I always wanted a family…" His grin widened as he closed his eyes, "and I like to think I have one now. One big, ugly, bipolar family!"

"You idiot! You had to go and make me cry, didn't you?!" Kiba yelled out, rubbing his face with his sleeve.

"I AM ALSO MOVED TO TEARS BY YOUR YOUTHFUL SPEECH!" Lee shouted as well.

The adults laughed at their kids' antics.

Hinata smile at Naruto, "W-we're happy to be a part of your family, Naruto-kun."

Naruto blinked then grinned at Hinata before pulling her into a hug, "Thanks Hinata!"

Neji's eyes bulged out, "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF LADY HINATA!"

The other genin laughed as they dog piled on top of a, now passed out, Hinata, a screaming Naruto, and an angry Neji.

Kanoko turned to her brother and motioned over to the growing dog pile of their peers, "Aren't you going to join them?"

Shikamaru laughed and grinned, "Why not?" And with that, he pulled his sister with him into the giant mess of twelve year olds fighting for the top of the stack.

"Damn it Shikamaru!" Kanoko cursed as she fell into the pile with her laughing brother.

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Her hair floated in the wind as she stared out at the large expanse of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It was well into the night. The air was wet and cold, and the moon was large and bright.

Kanoko stared expressionless at the scene before her. She remembered the first time she stood on the mountain side above the stone faces. Trees as far as the eye could see. It was crazy to believe that one day this land, stained with blood, tore by war, and burned in anger, would bloom into the beautiful village it was now.

"Why am I not surprised to find you here?" A deep voice spoke from behind her.

Kanoko didn't turn around, having felt his chakra signature approach from a mile away, "Are you here for the view, Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya walked up next to her. He crossed his arms as he looked down at the village with a content smile, "I forgot how great of a view this spot was… especially at night."

The former Hokage nodded slightly.

Minutes of silence passed before Jiraiya turned his head and spoke, "You know, I was planning on tricking you or blackmailing you, but being back up here… It reminds me of my old sensei." Jiraiya smirked and closed his eyes, "Always preaching about the Will of Fire and nurturing the next generation…"

"He was great man." Kanoko cut in, with a proud tone in her voice, "Your sensei understood what so few in his time could even comprehend. He may have tripped and stumbled along the way, but his heart was always fueled by this village, by its people, and by the children that would make this place into something even more beautiful than what you see before you now."

Jiraiya frowned, "You make it sound like you knew the Third Hokage intimately."

Kanoko didn't respond.

The sannin sighed heavily before turning back to the glistering town below, "There is a group of shinobi whose end goal still eludes me."

The young Nara didn't respond or even lead Jiraiya to believe she was listening.

"But their short term goals have me concerned." Jiraiya spoke again, looking down at Kanoko, "Do you remember the missing-nin, an Uchiha, who attacked your sensei?"

Kanoko's eyes slowly drifted to meet Jiraiya's, "Uchiha Itachi."

Jiraiya nodded, "He and his partner are a part of a group called the Akatsuki. As I said, we don't know the true intent of this group… To unbalance the already fragile great ninja villages? To become a great ninja village of their own making? Or perhaps they are just rogues looking to do what they want, when they want…"

Kanoko interrupted him, "Why are you telling me this?" The brunette's expressionless gaze locked on to Jiraiya's, "I have given you no reason to trust me, and I am but a child. You already stated that you were intending to trick or blackmail me – neither of which would have worked, by the way – into doing what you wished. Why reveal your hand when the betting hasn't even begun?"

Jiraiya blinked before laughing loudly and deeply, "A gambling reference huh? Something Tsunade would appreciate, no doubt." The toad sage looked back out at the village as the wind picked up again and blew his long mane behind him, "I'm not sure. Perhaps is the scenery, perhaps it is my old mind clinging onto a moment in time long ago, perhaps I've finally lost my mind…"

Kanoko grunted, as if to imply that he had lost his mind a long time ago.

Jiraiya's eye twitched slightly, "What I'm trying to say, is that I'm willing to extend you an olive branch if you're willing to do the same with me."

The former Hokage took a step forward, approaching the edge. Looking down, Kanoko saw the tops of the Hokage stone heads. Her eyes traveled from the Fourth Hokage's head to pause on the Third's before skipping to the First's, "Tell me. This group, is their interest in Naruto due to his heritage or the tailed beast inside him?"

Jiraiya blinked in shock, "His heritage?"

"The Uzumaki legacy." Kanoko answered plainly.

Jiraiya relaxed, "Oh. No." The sannin paused before continuing, "It's the nine tailed fox they're after."

Kanoko nodded, her eyes closing to feel the cold wind blow against it.

Jiraiya started up again when Kanoko did not speak, "Naruto needs to get stronger. I promised I would train him, but I can't do that here in Konoha. There are things I must do and it isn't safe for Naruto to stay in the same spot for long, until he is strong enough to defend himself."

"This is his home. This is where his friends are. This is where his family lies." Kanoko told Jiraiya, "Do you not trust us to defend him with our lives?"

Jiraiya sighed, "That's what has me and Tsunade worried. You can't honestly tell me if an army stormed the Leaf Village that Naruto would not offer himself up to say his home and his newly created family?"

Kanoko responded with silence. Opening her eyes to gaze at her own stone head, she spoke quietly, "What are you asking of me?"

"Just like you said, this is Naruto's home. He doesn't want to leave it, even to get stronger and get closer to his dream of becoming Hokage." Jiraiya smiled lightly at the thought before continuing, "But he trusts you. He listens to you. If you can convince him, or better yet, come with us-"

Kanoko snorted loudly and sent Jiraiya an annoyed look, "You honestly think I would ever join you on a journey after the last time."

Jiraiya sweatdropped and laughed nervously, "I may have acted a little… Well, you know…"

Kanoko closed her eyes and scowled.

The toad sage groaned, "Come on! It was just one time!"

The Nara girl continued to grumble under her breath.

Silence filled the area once again as Kanoko's gaze lifted to the village once more. The cold air blew pass her, making her long dark hair drift lightly behind her.

Jiraiya sighed again, "If you won't join us, at least convince-"

"I will persuade Naruto to join you on your game of hide and seek around the Land of Fire." Kanoko spoke suddenly, "On one condition."

Jiraiya looked down at Kanoko with his arms crossed. He was silent, weighing the odds and the possible obligations Jiraiya would be forced to complete, before telling himself that there was nothing he would not do to keep his godson safe.

"What is your demand?" The sannin asked with a serious tone.

Kanoko stared out into the village, her eyes settling on one area in particular. Breathing evenly, Kanoko spoke.

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"Take Nara Shikamaru on as a student and bring him with you and Naruto on your three year journey."

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"Why?" Jiraiya asked, blinking in shock.

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Kanoko's arms fell limp at her side as she gazed lifelessly at the stone head created in the image of her first body, "For the same reason you are taking Naruto from his home."

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"I'm not strong enough."

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"Yet."

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Author's Note:

Yeah! I'm back on schedule!

Maybe!

I fought with this chapter a few times and made several, several grammar errors, so thank you to FREELANCEBUM for not dying of annoyance over my constant use of hyphens and compound words! :D

Also, the part with Yoshino was inspired by AnimeLover229! Don't worry ssj3gohan007, your scene is coming next!

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