AN: This took a while.

After a night with Kushina, hours just spent airing out all of her worries, voicing the fears that had grown in her during her time in the Shadow Realm, Jade felt a lot better.

Even if she would still worry, question just how much of her had changed during that mission gone wrong, she didn't need to be afraid.

Kushina had helped her through it. She would be heading back to the Hidden Sand to continue her mission soon enough courtesy of Minato but only after a morning spent with Naruto. The ten-year-old had been ecstatic to see her when he woke up and the three were having breakfast right now.

Jade had elected to step out after promising Naruto she would walk him to the Academy later.

Right now, she needed a moment alone.

"I really wish I could blame you for all this." The mask that bore more than a passing resemblance to Tarakudo was something she rarely talked to. Even in a world as weird as this one, talking to things never boded well. "But this isn't your fault. You're still sealed away in my world." Red eyes still glared at the mask held in her hands. "But you were the one who left that book laying around for anyone to find."

Saying it had been 'laying around' was a stretch.

An ancient temple deep in the mountains, powerful guardians hewed from stone to keep trespassers out, the dark magic the book excluded drawing equally as dark monsters from beyond her world to guard it, and too many magical defenses to list had made it rather difficult to even get a glimpse of, let alone grab it.

She had gotten to it thanks to no small help from Section 13's gadgets and Tohru spending too many sleepless nights to count researching vague legends and ancient magic to get her ready. She had no idea if one of the many protective talismans he had handed her had been the deciding factor in her not being torn apart when things went haywire or her previous exposure to not only Shadow Magic but the Shadowkhan as well. Her leading theories were it was either one of those two or simply blind luck.

It was still a toss-up to her.

"Things would be a lot easier if you just had left the world alone, you know that?" She almost wanted to throw the mask away but that would be pointless.

She had done that exact thing the first time it had shown up and it had no problem coming back. No matter how far she threw it, how deep she buried it, it would always be by her side in the blink of an eye.

"And now I think I'm really crazy…" Talking to a mask she knew couldn't talk back wasn't as great of a help as she thought it would be. With a sigh, she hooked the mask to her side and dropped into the shadows that stretched to engulf her.

She appeared back in the hallway like she had never left the house.

Kushina knew she had left for a minute and Minato probably did too but Naruto likely had no idea.

"Hey there kid." Jade ruffled Naruto's blonde hair when she caught him coming out the kitchen. "Ready to go?"

"Almost!" Naruto was almost vibrating from excitement. "Did I tell you I get to show one of Dad's super cool kunai in class today?"

"You do?" Jade smiled down at him. "I'm sure all those other kids are going to be super excited." She privately hoped Naruto never asked Minato to teach him how to use them. Catching the ten-year-old with near boundless energy was difficult enough without him having the ability to teleport to who knows where whenever he felt like it. That would be an absolute nightmare (and no small amount of karma for all the shenanigans she got up to as a kid with Uncle Jackie). "Anything else you want to show them?"

"Mom said I can't have you show everybody how cool you are." Naruto frowned as he spoke, pleading blue eyes looking up at Jade.

"No way kid. If your Mom already said no, then that means no from me too." Red eyes briefly glanced back to Minato as he walked into the hall next. "Anything I should know?"

"Naruto's just going to have some fun today." Minato smiled as Naruto's excitement returned, the blonde running up to his father and throwing his arms around him.

"Thanks Dad. This is going to be awesome!" It was hard to say which of their smiles was brighter, Naruto's more than enough to light up the room but it looked like Minato's was enough to light up the whole world.

"Just you thinking I'm that cool is awesome to me Naruto." Minato returned the hug before he patted Naruto on the back. "Have fun today. I'm going to take your Mom back to her mission but I'll definitely be back in time for the big surprise we planned."

"See you there Dad!"

Jade couldn't drop the smile from her face as she saw the two break away from the hug, Naruto turning to her with his smile still just as bright.

"Ready to go Jade-chan?"

"You bet." She snapped her fingers and, with a pinch of Shadow Magic, the door opened for the two of them. She also grabbed his bag and threw it over her shoulder. "Hey! Why don't you tell me all about that awesome book you and your Dad were reading when I came back?"

"Uncle Jiraiya's book is awesome! I can't wait to read all the others he wrote!"

She had never been so thankful that she was walking ahead of him. There was no way Naruto saw how quickly her smile fell in place of a look of outright horror.

"You gave him what!"

"He's a growing boy Kushina!"

"Oh you are dead! And stop hiding behind my husband!"

"Maybe hold off on reading ALL of them."

"Why? The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi is awesome!"

"Well…because…Jiraiya's still working on finishing the last book! You don't want to read them all and not know how it ends, right?"

"…I guess."

"Trust me on this kid."

Minato waited for the two to be well on their way before he turned to Kushina.

The smile she had worn after spending time with Naruto had slipped away.

"Ready?"

"Not at all." The Kunoichi could only sigh. "I wish I could just stay but…" She walked forward and took her husband's hand in her own. "I can't leave Gaara with no one who understands him."

"Is his seal-"

"There's no danger in it breaking but…I can hardly imagine what he's been going through all these years with that monster whispering in his head." She tightened her hold on Minato's hand, blue eyes meeting violet. "I've done all I can to give him some peace but this mission can't last much longer even if he needs so much more help."

"I'm sure you've done more for him than you think. He's doing better now and that's all that matters." Minato squeezed her hand back, tried to offer her a smile of reassurance.

"I hope you're right." She closed her eyes, centered herself. "Let's go."

Without another word, the two vanished from their home.

Jade barely halted in her step when she felt Kushina leave the village.

Even if she was gone now, she could go to her if she needed to.

AN: Things may become more consistent. May.

Review/PM if you want.

Peace.