Foundations

World #665 — Warring Era

Uchiha Sarada ran.

What felt like hours ago, she had been in this somewhat futuristic world, along with Sakura and the very group of people her mother had specifically told Sarada not to get involved with.

Next, she was running away from furious Inuzuka bloodhounds.

Sakura would make sure to keep her alive and well, she was sure — well Sarada hoped so, in spite of the fact that she herself had been the one to insist on being left mostly alone today.

How else would she learn…?

Besides… Sakura, for all her reservations about coming here again… also thought this was good practice.

"Better to practice in this sort of safe environment, really." Sakura had said. "Maybe you're right."

Which part of this felt safe, Sarada wasn't sure. Some of the dogs looked as though they could tear a grown man apart, limb from limb. She only activated her Sharingan sporadically, in order to save up on chakra.

The Inuzuka matriarch was a sharp-toothed, sun-tanned, ferocious-and-very-sharp-clawed woman of about forty years. Something that looked more like a wild creature, when she was hunting with her pack of animalistic men, or perhaps they were just man-like beasts. She wore something that Sarada almost hoped was animal leather.

"Run, little pig, run!" The yokai-like beast of a woman had howled, before letting Sarada get ahead of them. "The chase only makes the reward more delicious!"

Sarada had been terrified, on her first day here.

Now… she felt more angry than anything.

This sort of person was among the ones that had been invited to found Konoha…?

She barked, she howled, she growled.

Sarada had Inuzuka friends, and they were nothing like the monsters at her heels. What kind of fucked up time period was this, exactly…?

That was Inuzuka Oinu, one of Konoha's former — or soon-to-become, rather — great heroes…?

That beast of a woman looked as though she could tear a man apart using her talons. As though she could bite through layers of armor and leave nothing but red pulp behind.

They tracked her by scent, Sarada knew it. With how much she had been sweating, it was going to be hard to hide, too.

And they were slowly drawing closer.

Sarada gritted her teeth. Drastic problems required equally drastic solutions.

It was a particularly tentative one, but the best one she had on hand.

Sarada bit her thumb and ran through hand seals that were slowly becoming familiar. Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Ram.

"Summoning Technique: Kunio!"

A small, smelly slug appeared in her hand, grasped firmly.

"You called for me, Hashirama?" It asked. Then it did the slug equivalent to blinking. "Who are you…? M'lady…? A new summoner?"

"Yes!" She breathed out. She had met him in another world, in truth. Sakura had bent the summoning rules a little. "Skunk haze, now please!"

"You grace me with your presence, and I am not worthy—"

"Please!"

The skunk-slug grumbled something but did as he was told.

A horrible stench soon permeated the entire area, forcing tears out of Sarada's eyes. 'By the gods,' she thought, trying not to puke the rabbit she had skinned for breakfast.

'One more.'

"Shadow Clone Technique." She muttered, sending Boruto a silent thanks. Not like he would hear her, across universes. Her doppelganger appeared in a puff of smoke, and tears sprang to her eyes as well. "Hop on." She said to the slug.

The clone and Kunio left running.

'Just one more...' Sarada begged her body.

Boar. Dragon. Rat. Tiger.

"Konoha Style: Hiding in the Leaves Technique."

Neither of the jutsu had not been invented here yet, she was certain of it. Sarada seemingly melted into a pile of leaves, summoning more of them to cover her.

Her clone was already far off into the distance.

Sarada heard thundering footsteps, drawing close.

Thump. Thump.

She wished her heart, which felt just as loud, still. Her eyes were open, red with the Sharingan, and she palmed a kunai firmly. Her hand twitched a bit.

Sarada waited.

And waited.

Thump. Thump.

Sarada took a long breath and held it.

The Inuzuka hounds were right next to her, now. The haze made them whine.

No sound. She needed to make no sound.

She heard the hag's disgusted growls as they entered the worst part of the skunk-slug's haze.

"This clever little bitch." Oinu barked out. "Not bad, not bad at all."

"Where do we—"

"Are you as dumb as you look, Takeru?!" She growled. "Ahead, where we can hear her tender little feet! Faster! Faster, you curs! Don't let perfectly good meat spoil!"

They lunged, thundered… leaped past her.

Sarada waited. And she waited, until the only sound left was her thundering heart, her aching lungs.

There was a hand upon her shoulder.

Sarada whirled around with a mighty roar of fury, thrusting her trusty kunai through.

She went through and slammed head first into a tree.

"Whoa." She heard a voice laugh, through the haze permeating her mind.

Sarada grumbled and tried to shake herself free from the confusion.

"Sakura." She muttered. "Why… now?"

"And here I was about to congratulate you on a job well-done." Sakura sighed.

"…Really?" Sarada asked wearily.

"Well, yeah." Sakura nodded. "Not so many people would have managed to run away from an Inuzuka hunting squad. Sure, you had the advantage of knowing how they work and all, but… Good job. Except for the stabbing without checking. That's bad form."

"…Yeah, sorry."

"It's okay." Sakura smiled. "Let's go on, then…?"

There were footsteps again.

Sarada closed her eyes. Of course her hearing would pick up on this.

"Not so fast." Inuzuka Oinu growled, slamming a razor-sharp nail into a tree. She stalked closer.

Sarada felt the same instinctive fear rise up, as she stared in these beady, flat eyes. They were a predator's eyes.

"Lesson's over, already." Sakura frowned. "Go away, Kiba's mom." She shooed her away.

Oinu didn't move.

"Such a big mouth on you, whore." She smiled. "I will enjoy tearing it apart!"

"Phrasing…? Ah, no. Doesn't work."

Oinu jumped in the next beat. Sakura's dagger shot up, preventing the wolf-woman's claws from reaching her face.

"Suit yourself."

Sakura twisted into Oinu's guard, slamming her foot into her chin. She was grinning, too. Sarada knew she was underestimating them, or not taking this seriously... as she always did.

Then Sarada was forced to jump to the side as heavy jaws slammed shut right next to her head. It caught her hair and she screeched as she cut it off messily.

She rolled down in the dirt, throwing a fistful of shuriken in less-elaborate patterns than she would have liked. One of the dogs was peppered by the ones she still managed to hide in the shadows. She would have left bad, too, if the beast hadn't looked so damn rabid.

Then something slammed against the side of her head. It was a heavy paw. Sarada pulled back just a hair too slowly and caught herself with her wrists, wincing. She glared up.

"Sharing-on." Sarada called. 'Turn against the others.' She ordered.

The hound bit his human (supposedly) partner's hand with a furious howl. Sarada pulled a dagger out and threw herself forward with an equally terrible scream. She fought like a hellcat, twisting and spinning, always just avoiding the men's sharp claws, the hound's gleaming yellow fangs.

She thought she could see some sort of rhythm to it, as though there was a beat to a battle.

Something that had always been there, but only now could she see.

If it weren't so damn dangerous, perhaps, she could even see some fun in it.

She made a throwing motion. Her dagger flew through the air, with unerring precision.

One of the Inuzuka men jumped away to avoid it. But she had counted on that. It struck the one right behind him in the middle of his forehead. The former one roared.

Sarada weaved through one-handed seals, keeping a kunai in her other hand. She crossed the muddy pit with a quick dash, and released her jutsu with a fury.

"Fire Release: Eruption!"

The man who had followed after her likely regretted his decision, as the mud pit became a fire pit. The flames rose and did more than lick at him. He fell through them, crawling.

Sarada's eyes were hard as she watched the man suffocate on his breath.

'Like hell, I'm not going to die here.'

Sarada was breathing hard, and she was forced to push past her limits.

She heard a terrible noise and was forced to look away.

Time stopped.

Oinu's fangs bit through Sakura's throat. Blood erupted.

Sarada screeched.

Then before she even realized she was moving, she was throwing herself forward at the woman, eyes spinning. Sakura fell, eyes wide in dismayed surprise.

Sarada saw Oinu drop her, saw the surprise in the woman's expression at her newfound burst of speed, saw the talon-like nails elongate as her hand tightened. She saw the gleaming red drool on her sharp mouth.

Oinu caught the weapon easily. With a twisting motion, she threw Sarada to the ground. Hard. Really hard.

The wind was knocked out of her lungs and she saw stars.

Oinu's mouth opened wide, yellowed teeth and saliva gleaming in the dark—

Then her head exploded, covering Sarada in the ruined remnants of what it had previously held.

Sarada just stared, silently.

Then she stabbed down at the corpse with a kunai that felt much too blunt for this particular purpose. She screeched.

"Die die die diediedie!"

A terrible sound left her throat.

"Chill out, Sarada." Sakura called, standing up from where she had dropped. The illusion dispelled, and so did her terrible wound.

Sarada continued to stab the corpse.

Sakura stared at her.

"Yeah… Sorry." Sakura winced. "I was hoping this would trigger your Mangekyō, or something. I really tried to sell it, too."

Sarada showed her teeth in a terrible snarl. Or maybe it was a smile.

"…Is it enough yet…?" Sakura asked hopefully. "Do you get why they made the villages…?"

"No."

Sakura sighed. "Guess we didn't find Tsunade yet anyway. Also, you should really go and talk with Ino or Kazumi—"

"Did you go to therapy yet?" Sarada snapped.

"…No." Sakura said with a startled laugh. "Good one, my apprentice, good one."

She ruffled her hair.

"We need to get the blood out of this, don't we…?"

"…I guess."

Senju Butsuma, forty-third head of the Senju clan, was dead.

And Hashirama was to lead.

It had been a few weeks already, but he apparently couldn't get used to the notion yet. As soon as their father's body was laid to rest, the in-fighting began. Already, there were voices rising, whispering that Hashirama wasn't fit to lead the clan. That such an optimistic, idealistic, foolish young man would lead them to their doom…

Which meant that it was up to Tobirama to make sure that everything went smoothly.

Oh, Hashirama would not necessarily approve, but he could be too soft, in spite of his still growing, already monstrous strength.

'I see you.' Tobirama thought, eying their distant cousin, Matsumura.

Some of these people had hungry looks in their eyes, and he thought they really weren't so different from their late father. The Senju clan stood together, when it came to battle. But it didn't mean that things were perfect otherwise, far from it.

There were bastards everywhere. One didn't have to find the Uchiha clan to stumble upon one.

Niwamura had enough skeletons in his closet to know better, and still he hesitated at nothing that might bring the Senju a little bit more prestige, a little more wealth. He was an opportunist of the worst sort, because he wasn't tempered by experience. Or perhaps he had simply learned the wrong lessons from it.

Sakitsume had lived under the tyranny of her own terrible father for too long. She saw shadows in the shadows… and trusted no one but her younger brother, Ototsume. She was a cunning tactician and a good manipulator, as well. If she ever came to believe that Hashirama might be a problem… Well, she would make it a personal one.

Matsumura… was a clever one. Handsome, too, which might sound like nothing to one who didn't know how gullible people could truly be. He would undermine Hashirama for as long as he breathed. And he would make it look like he had nothing but good intentions. He was well-liked, and if the role of clan head just so happened to land in his lap, well… he would take it with the dignity he always said was the Senju clan's own.

Bastards, all of them.

Including himself, Tobirama knew.

Hashirama was his last surviving brother. The only one besides Tōka who remembered Itama and Kawarama.

And Tobirama knew deep down that if it came to it… if it really came to a conflict of interest between his brother and these snakes… Well he would do what was needed. Even if it drove a wedge between himself and Hashirama.

He would not kill them, of course, for they were family.

But there were plenty of other ways to deal with interior threats.

Uchiha Tajima died fighting against the woman called the Scourge of the Plains.

It seemed as impossible as it went. Tajima was— had been just as strong as Madara was.

Izuna didn't know how to feel about the issue. Their father… might have been a bit of a bastard, at times, but he was still their father.

Madara seemed equally as confused.

And usually, when Madara was confused, it meant that he sulked.

And he had been sulking for days, now.

Considering he was now the clan head — at least until he managed to offend enough people… it meant that they couldn't afford anything like it now.

In any case, Izuna himself would have to sulk later.

Because Madara was their best chance at getting out of this mess alive.

But that was only a valid option if Izuna could keep his brother away from that thrice-damned Senju and his big words. What kind of idiot thought that a battlefield was a good place to persuade anyone to join hands…?

Senju Hashirama, apparently.

He was dumb, but he was strong. Gods, he was strong. Even more so than this white-haired asshole who seemed to loom in his shadow. And that was saying a lot, because Tobirama was a real problem.

Nothing seemed to be too low, to that guy. Sabotage, corpse-hunting, poisoning were only the beginning. How far would he go… Izuna didn't know yet. And he wasn't entirely sure he wished to know.

Some days, Izuna feared that he might actually die facing that fucker.

But then again, perhaps it would serve as a nice wake-up call to Madara, not to trust these tree-hugging fools.

"Inuzuka Oinu has been killed." Uchiha Jun'ichirō informed the guests at the table.

Izuna almost spat his tea.

"What the fuck?" He growled.

Madara gave him a weary, admonishing look. This is fine among the two of us, not at a clan meeting, he seemed to say. Izuna didn't drop his eyes — he never did, really.

"We barely made them our offer." Izuna slammed his fist on the table.

His cousin, Urara glared at him. Izuna glared back.

"Such matters rarely come at an appropriate time." She said. "I thought you would know this, by now."

"How did it happen?" Madara asked evenly.

"She was killed, along with two of her men." Miharu said. "Several of them escaped, but they have no recollection of the event, past going on a hunt."

Izuna's lips pursed in disgust. Why did they have to ally with these beasts, again…? Just because the Senju were recruiting, too…?

Bullshit.

"Who is to be the next Head?" Madara asked.

"We do not know yet." Miharu shook his head. "Kumaoka and Manjiro are the most likely candidates, still."

Madara nodded slowly. "Then perhaps it is a blessing in disguise. Either of them are more… reasonable than Oinu could ever be."

"What is the point of courting an alliance with these dogs without her reputation…?" Kozuki asked. She shook her head. "I say they're more trouble than they are worth."

Privately, Izuna agreed.

"We should use the opportunity to weaken them." She continued. "And perhaps then, they will understand the true value of our… solutions."

Madara frowned a bit. Izuna knew it to be hesitation, but his brother could not afford to show any of that.

He moved the discussion to something else.

"What of the Yamanaka, then…?"

Shigekuni snorted a sharp, mocking laugh. Something that Izuna knew he wouldn't have dared to do had Tajima still been alive. He clenched his fists, and Madara noticed, which made him stomp down on his own anger.

"We shouldn't go anywhere near these psychic monsters." Hanasuke growled. "Reading minds… possessing bodies…? Digging into brains?! They will have us all psychotic before the year ends!"

And he wasn't entirely wrong, either.

There were terrible rumors floating around, about what they did to allies, enemies alike. It was hard to say how much of it was true, of course, as myth and reality tended to blend much too easily, once fear was involved.

Their clan head was supposedly the worst of them. A thin, gaunt man with eyes so pale no one could tell with certainty whether he was blind or not. Someone who would have fit in with the Hyūga easily, were it not for the equally pale blond hair.

Unlike their previous leader, who tended to kill their enemies by hanging, as was their grimy tradition… Yamanaka Mukurō preferred to leave them alive.

It was not a mercy.

"Bah." Shigekuni muttered. "It was a fool's dream." He pointedly didn't say whose. "There is no way to convince the Yamanaka to join our cause without persuading the Sarutobi first. And we all know where their sympathies lie, as much as they pretend to be neutral."

With the Senju.

Madara nodded. "…Then perhaps we should get rid of the Sarutobi first. We can pin the blame on the Shimura."

Izuna nodded, too. Unpleasant, certainly, but very much needed, too. Because as much as the monkeys had crafted their reputation of non-involvement, some of these recent Shimura attacks had had someone's stink all over it.

No one could prove whether Sarutobi Jinsuke was responsible yet, but Izuna knew that time would prove them right. He had never trusted that bearded gorilla anyway, nor his honeyed words.

Someone whimpered, at the table. That was his twice-removed cousin, Uchiha Sarada. Izuna could barely remember anything about her, in truth. She was very unremarkable. Wait, why was a teenager sitting at the clan meeting, again…? Izuna frowned, before shrugging. Why did that even bother him…? It didn't matter. Nothing to see here.

"While we're at it… There is some strange talk going around." Urara said.

"What sort…?" Madara asked, if only to confirm.

"Senju Hashirama is courting the Nara clan." She said.

Madara closed his eyes. That… could mean a lot of things.

As far as things went, the Nara were not much better than the Yamanaka. No Uchiha enjoyed the dark, just as they had a healthy dislike for water. It was in their blood.

The Nara tended to be users of both. Plenty of them were brilliant, and some of them were as harsh as they were hungry. An even smaller minority were entirely ruthless, summoning shadows where they were not supposed to reach. Men and women would die in the middle of the night, with nothing but ligature marks around their throats, or blood flowing from their ears.

Izuna sometimes thought that they were better alone than with allies such as these. And he was likely not alone in thinking so.

The Aburame had parasites that could control the behavior of their insect hosts. They had planted an "imperial scholar" in the Daimyo's court, and it was no wonder that some people were disappearing, once their usefulness had run out... and the parasite, eaten through their brain.

Some of the Nara had planned to remove Sarutobi Jinsuke from power and get his more loyal brother up on the clan head's seat.

The Hyūga enslaved their own... and if given the opportunity, would do the same with most of the world.

Hatake Chiharu was considering killing some of the Okawa clan's youngest and pinning the blame on the Inuzuka's dogs.

"...They are fucking terrible." Sarada declared, shaking her head in disbelief. "All of them."

The best of the clan heads they had visited under cover was likely Senju Hashirama, and it seemed as though he went through the world half-blind. Perhaps willingly.

"They are." Sakura nodded. "Shit sucks here, and that's likely why they built the villages. Also, I think next time, you should sneak in using your own means. Not my fancy eye-powers."

"Whatever." Sarada muttered. "Let's go find Auntie. I'm done for today."

"Don't you want to go visit the Akimichi next?" Sakura asked.

Sarada snorted. "And what… find out what exactly goes into their surprise meat…?"

Sakura laughed and patted her head fondly. "Oh, you."

Everyone knew it was miso-scallion butter.

She was adorable, this little killer of men. Almost enough to get Sakura to reconsider getting her tubes tied in the future.

Almost.

The Architect

World #7570 — Tokyo

Hanabi woke up when the sharp pinks, oranges and reds rose up in the sky and the growing murmur of the city began to be heard through their seals.

There were pigeons outside, birds she was not particularly familiar with, and had no particular interest in, either. Pigeons were just the urban scavengers of birds, to her. Not as terrible as seagulls, but bad enough.

She yawned and moved Karin's arm away gently. Ino was still drooling.

Sakura… was seemingly gone, and so was her little apprentice, Salad. Hanabi already felt like rubbing her temples.

Hanabi rose and figured that now was as good a time as ever to get out. She opened the door, stepped over Toad-Naruto and slipped onto the streets.

Hanabi hummed to herself as she walked into the receding morning fog.

It was a very lively place in the morning, too.

Compared to the neighborhood they had been in yesterday, the advertisement wasn't as omnipresent, far from it. There were smaller shops, and enough greenery for her not to feel too smothered.

'It must be a residential area,' she thought.

Her eyes flashed Mangekyō blue for a second, and she saw a passerby do a double take.

That confirmed it. Residential area, definitely. And gods, the sheer volume of people in these buildings. She bought an apple with some coins she had stolen from Gama the night before. Then she found a crowded area, sat down on a ledge to observe the people.

Their clothing choice was very different from back home. Hanabi watched them as they passed, sometimes in a hurry.

It… wasn't bad, though.

She pulled her trusty sketchbook out and began drawing.

World #01 — Umigakure.

"Out of the way!"

Naruto pulled Yoisen out of the way. Mostly because she was staring at the incoming thing.

A bicycle carrying the Uchiha brothers, Naruto and Sasuke, barrelled past them.

The young Naruto was the one driving, a white headband strapped around his forehead. He was giving a good effort, too. Sasuke, behind him, hung on to him tightly, shouting for him to go faster.

"You slowpoke! You call this trying?!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Naruto roared in answer. "You were barely faster when you drove—"

"If you don't hurry up, we're going to miss the auction!" Sasuke shouted. "And you better not have forgotten the money!"

"What money?! I thought you had it!"

"What?!"

"Great job, bastard!"

"Me?! It's on you, dumbass!" Sasuke roared.

"Let's find Shisui! He's bound to have some!"

"He doesn't even have a real job!"

Their voices faded in the distance.

Naruto stared. "…Where did these two get a bike, even…?"

"Are these children yours?" Yoisen asked.

Naruto squinted. "I really can't tell if you're joking."

She smiled easily. "Well, some of your shadows have been… busy."

Naruto winced. "…That's on them."

"Yes." She nodded.

"And no… they are kids Yugito picked up in some world." He shrugged. "Don't know who gave them access to here." He blinked. "Toru. Toru did."

Then again, maybe Sasuke had begged for it. It seemed likely, even.

Perhaps his emotions were showing on his face. Whatever it was, Yoisen was snickering. Snickering. When was the last time he had seen her do that…?

Naruto let his shoulders drop. "Well… Let's get you settled, then."

"I still do not know if that is needed." She said quietly. "I am likely not going to spend that much time living here, and it would deprive someone else of—"

"Nonsense." Naruto laughed, dropping a hand on her shoulder and squeezing gently.

"…Ah. If you… say so."

"But if that bothers you, there's plenty of room around Taiji lake — that's where we live. It's more or less private, although there's Orochimaru's spire looming in the background."

She didn't hesitate for long.

"That… seems like it would be nice."

…

There were no signs of any sort in Umi, which some newcomers considered something of an oversight.

When asked about it, there was no shortage of people who'd just shrug and say along the lines of "everybody knows where everything is," or "there's like nine islands, just take the time to remember their names, man," or "ask Haru, she knows everyone."

Naruto told her that they had settled on the easternmost island, mostly for simplicity's sake. Also, because Karin liked the lake.

She followed him as he still went through the trouble of going there on foot. Well, flying over the water first. Then crossing a forest with massive trees and leafy vines; loud animals. Then a beautiful green valley.

And then they were on a cliff overlooking the lake.

"…That spire is menacing." Yoisen admitted.

"Told you." He nodded sagely.

"And there was no real need for you to go the long way, I have been here before."

"Yes, I know." Naruto said evenly. "Karin does remember what she thought was a strange nightmare."

Yoisen looked away. Naruto laughed and waved it away.

"Toru and Akemi live up there." He said, pointing at a small house higher up. "He's been living on an island for a while now, but he's still kinda… complicated when it comes to water. Oh, Hanabi used to live with him before."

"Unmarried and living together in sin…?" Yoisen shook her head. "Shameful."

She still made sure he knew she was joking. She had been somewhat… old-fashioned in the past but well, things like trying her best to court a sinful man and his multiple partners had possibly forced her hand a bit.

Naruto chuckled. "Not like this. They're good friends."

"…Are they?" Yoisen frowned. "I think I saw her try to set him on fire, once."

"…You came on a bad day. Or they were joking around — Hanabi enjoys irony, and setting an arsonist on fire… Yeah. Probably that."

"I see." She nodded, but didn't quite get it, honestly.

"The big house is ours."

Yoisen stiffened and gave him a conflicted look. She licked her lips.

"But — Ino? — Is it truly wise?"

"Oh." Naruto laughed sheepishly. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I meant my wives and I live there."

"...Ah. I see."

"You're free to pick up any spot you like and build there."

"Truly?" She asked.

Naruto laughed. "Who's going to give you shit for it…? Besides that Shadow who gave himself another name, anyway."

"Hotaru?"

"No, the one I left in charge of Umi as well as the highest up the hierarchy."

"Ah." She nodded with some distaste. "A bureaucrat, of course."

"He's a bit sour." Naruto shrugged. "But I would be, too."

Yoisen scanned her surroundings.

"Very well, I shall… pick a place?" She half-asked, half-said. "I will see you later."

Naruto blinked. "You don't want me to help?"

She shook her head with a slight smile. "I've kept you away from your family long enough."

He smiled, too. "That's… Well, alright, then. Ask for Orochimaru — if he's back. Maybe Anko, instead. That is, if you need to send a message across. I'll show you the Den later."

Yoisen gave him a puzzled look.

Naruto pulled her into a short one-armed embrace and she stiffened, eyes going wide.

"See you later, then. Yoisen." He grinned, before disappearing.

She stood there, unmoving.

Naruto returned to Tokyo.

There were people who screamed when reality broke apart and a man emerged from the hole.

Ino just rubbed her temples and made them forget about it. Sakura could say whatever she wanted about the mind arts, but Ino's way at least had the advantage of being subtler than Sakura's. Which tended to leave people feeling a bit off if they tried hard to remember this thing they simply couldn't fully comprehend.

(It also meant she had a lot of cleaning up to do, in some cases.)

Yugito wordlessly handed him the baby, and she was still yawning.

Naruto was, too.

He ordered himself more coffee — someone had already gotten him some, but it simply wasn't enough.

"…Are you okay, man?" Toru asked.

"Of course." Naruto nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"You've just… chugged your latte as though your life depended on it." Karin pointed out.

Naruto nodded slowly. "…What's a latte? I thought I ordered coffee." He said, glaring at his cup. Yūshirō tried to imitate him, as he sometimes did, now.

Toru squinted.

"…It's coffee, but with milk." Karin explained.

"…I'm kinda sleepy." Naruto admitted.

"You…?" Toru blinked. "You never—"

"I still need some sleep." Naruto grumbled.

Gama heard the words. He nudged him with his elbow. "Didn't get much last night, eh…?"

Naruto ignored him. Gama nudged harder and still got no reaction.

Gama frowned and turned toward Ino. "Doesn't it bother you…? Knowing where he was and who he was doing—"

She rolled her eyes, just as Naruto did. "I trust my husband."

Gama made a face. "Weren't you… pissed just yesterday night?"

"At her, of course." Ino shrugged. "I don't trust her."

"…Ah." Gama said wisely, but he didn't really get it, obviously.

"There's no reason for you to be pissed at her either." Naruto shrugged.

"…Are you defending her, now?" Ino asked pleasantly.

"No." He laughed. "Just that she did nothing wrong."

"Yoisen did nothing wrong." Hanabi mimicked and Ino laughed.

Naruto frowned. "I don't talk like this."

"See?" Hanabi asked sweetly. "It's less funny when it's your turn."

He rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "Wow. I see that sleeping at Gama's really got all of you in a good mood."

"How do you even know…?" Gama asked fearfully. "And don't worry, man, nothing happened—"

"Someone drew dicks on your face." Naruto pointed out and Toru smiled evenly. "And also, from your rumpled clothes, I'd say you slept on the floor. Possibly a muddy one."

Gama cursed and began rubbing at his face.

"Careful." Karin said. "The whiskers might come off."

"They won't." Gama growled.

The coffee shop's door opened again.

"Ah, Nacchan." Toru waved at him.

Gama sighed. The surly teenager slowly came toward them. Not without throwing Gama a hateful look that would have made the young Sasuke pale with envy.

"When are you guys leaving…?" He asked promptly.

"Sit down." Toru offered.

"Why should I…?"

"You're drawing too much attention."

"Me?" Nacchan hissed. "Not the woman with hair the color of bright blood… the two without pupils… the pirate… the demonic cat... the blond giant with purple eyes or this piece of shit with whisker marks?!"

"Hey, now." Karin said, feeling offended on the Bijū's behalf. "Matatabi looks like a normal cat to them."

Yugito said nothing about the matter. Matatabi continued to nap. Some people still got a strange feeling of doom when they stared at the seemingly normal cat.

"I have whiskers, too." Naruto frowned. "But I'm glad you don't lump me with him. Also, sit down. Gama was just leaving."

Gama scowled. "No I'm not."

Nacchan stared at Naruto. "Have you fixed… everything yet?"

"Not yet." Naruto shook his head. "Soon, though. Then we're leaving."

Nacchan let out a relieved sigh.

"Although…" Naruto continued. "There is something."

Nacchan's face fell again.

"Hey, now." Ino tried. "Perhaps we should give him some time, before…"

Karin gave Naruto a pointed look. Naruto pursed his lips. He looked toward Hanabi for support, but she wasn't paying any attention to the discussion. Yugito just gave him a mocking smile, too.

Toru would just do the opposite of what Naruto wanted, likely.

'Where is Sakura when you need her…?'

Naruto looked at Nacchan's piteous expression and sighed. "Alright, later. Once everything is fixed, then."

Nacchan just nodded wearily.

"Hey, look… Nacchan." Toru began. "I figured I'd give you a quick rundown of how things work back home, because it might make things—"

"We said later." Ino said.

Toru tried something different. "…Can I show you a different world, Nacchan? Maybe you could help us some with figuring a few things out, because Gama has been fucking useless."

"Hey." Gama scowled.

"Gama." Ino said.

"What…?" He blinked and suddenly realized he had wanted to go out for some fresh air. Yes, outside sounded nice. "See you later, then?"

No one answered him.

Gama's departure seemed to pull Nacchan out of the metaphorical hole he was crawling in again.

"…I'm not leaving with you." Nacchan just said. "I don't want to die."

"That's fair." Karin stated, before Toru could try to bend words.

Toru… scratched his chin.

"Well, let me show you one of my favorites, then. It will help with bridging the gap." He said. "An uplifting story, one that never fails to cheer me up."

"Not this again." Hanabi groaned.

Toru's Sharingan whirled and told Nacchan a story.