Ch. 23

It had been a month since team seven passed and since the Hokage had gotten the warning from Shadow. After two weeks spent drafting counter-invasion plans and working out logistics for the operation, Moriko and Jiraiya had been throwing themselves head-first into the creation of seals while Hiruzen had gone back to the running of the village.

After two weeks of nonstop work, this morning Jiraiya had kicked her out of the sealing rooms, telling her to take a break before he holed back up in the rooms himself and she sighed tiredly. True she had been using around a hundred clones to work over the issue and true her head was swimming with sealing patterns more than thoughts but she didn't really need a break, right? Right?

She blinked as she looked around, not sure where she had ended up before she shrugged. Spotting the nice forest, the deer, and three separate people napping she figured this was just the place she needed to be.

...

Ryusuke Nara cracked open a pale green eye as his shoulder was shaken by small hands. Like any typical Nara, he wore his hair the customary way if a bit longer, and the customary uniform, but unlike the rest of the clan he was a good head taller then the rest. His skin was also a bit tanner then the rest, red markings lining the underside of his eyes like red eyeliner that extended a bit past the corner of his eyes, a trait from his father who was from Kumo.

Ryusuke found the clan heir Shikamaru looking down on him clearly concerned. He opened the other pale green eye, knowing the child would rather be joining him in a nap than be troublesome, so if Shikamaru came to get him it was important. If not he would have gone back to sleep, having spent the night running Anbu patrol in the village.

"What's up gaki?" he asked with a yawn as the boy straightened up.

"My classmate's older sister is passed out on our lawn," he muttered looking concerned as his older cousin sat up abruptly following Shikamaru's line of sight. The man's eyes widened in surprise at the sight.

The young woman had startling red hair and pale skin, unlike his light mocha skin tone. She was curled on her side and sleeping the sleep of the dead with soft high snores. Her hands and her shirt were covered in splotches with ink and there appeared to be some in her hair which was a complete bird's nest. He debated for a moment before he pat Shikamaru on the head. The deer weren't reacting adversely to the intruder.

"I think she's just really tired. Go get your mom gaki, and she'll be able to contact Shikaku-sama. I'll keep an eye on her," he said and the new genin scampered off to do as he was told for once.

Ryusuke sighed as he noticed the woman's skin starting to pinken in the direct sunlight. Knowing that waking a sleeping ninja could be a hazardous experience he thought over a few ideas before settling on one. If she was well trained this should work.

He carefully flared his chakra as if he was going to cast a jutsu and she was on her feet instantly, eyes half-lidded as they locked on him, their coloration startling. Making sure to keep his posture relaxed and nonthreatening he pointed to the shady spot next to him.

"Yo, you were getting a sunburn. You should sleep over here where it's shady," he said. Still clearly asleep she nodded, saying something in gibberish as she walked forward. He made a sound of surprise when she moved his arm away from his body to use as a pillow as she curled up into his side, flinging an arm over his chest and a leg over his own as she body hugged him, starting to snore again. His light mocha skin flushed red as he tried to keep his body's reactions under control. He could feel soft breasts pressed into his side and the weight and warmth of her body was comforting. God, he was so tired from last night but he needed to stay awake till Shikaku got here. He needed to… he was so warm and comfortable… Without thinking about it he found himself relaxing as the rhythmic sound of her soft snores filled his left ear and before he knew it he was asleep once more.

Shikaku shook his head as Shikamaru gawked at the two people sleeping under a tree near his front yard. A couple deer were grazing near the pair as a fawn went over to inspect the pair. A teal eye peaked open to regard the fawn as it tried to find a spot to curl up with the pair, used to sleeping with the napping Nara man. When the redhead rolled slightly on her back the yearling took advantage of the space between the two bodies and laid down. Using one arm, the redhead shifted the tiny deer onto the sleeping man's chest, an arm curled around the deer to keep it in place before she drifted off once more, the man's snoring barely changing timbre as the fawn laid it's head down. The mother briefly inspected the sleeping trio before returning to grazing.

"Shika, go get your mother and tell her to bring the camera," murmured Shikaku as he grinned at the sight. Shikamaru muttered about troublesome old people and did as directed.

…

Moriko blinked groggily as she heard feminine coos of delight and felt something soft and wet nibbling on her nose. She frowned in confusion at the tiny fawn that continued to nibble her nose before nibbling her eyebrows. She smiled, still distracted by the fawn and not noticing the huge man she was laying on still or how he watched her, arm wrapped around her. There was another click of a camera as the clanswomen snapped another picture of the trio. The young woman shot them a puzzled smile as they tittered.

Ryusuke grinned at the sudden blush she sported as she realized she was draped over him. Moriko's blush increased as she realized the large man she was sleeping on was rather handsome with exotic features.

"Sorry, uh Nara-san," she murmured as she sat up, lifting the fawn into her arms as the clans women eagerly snapped more pictures at the picturesque scene. The fawn shifted but didn't protest. When Moriko took to her feet the deer seemed to regard her with interest before coming over to inspect her as she held the baby deer. She held still as they sniffed and tried to nibble her. After a moment they went back to grazing as the clan head and the other clan members shot each other surprised looks. The deer didn't normally nibble clothing or people and they didn't normally allow people to handle the fawns. Ryusuke gently shooed away a deer that was starting to chew a section of Moriko's hair before he rose to his feet. Moriko's eyes widened as he towered over the group, a good foot in height above her 5 foot 6 inches. He was also solidly built with a muscular build. He chuckled at her blushing and wide startled teal eyes. He plucked a leaf from her hair as he shooed away another deer trying to eat her hair again, while the troublesome Oba started eyeing him and the young woman with increasing interest.

"So, I see you finally got a break," said Shikaku to the young woman as he began shooing away the rest of the clan like Ryusuke kept having to shoo away the deer from her hair. Ryusuke stayed put, intrigued and wanting to know more. His clan head shot him a speculative look before letting him stay as the young woman gave a rueful laugh.

"Yeah, sensei kicked me out of the sealing rooms after another all-nighter, and I was pretty out of it. I'm not actually sure how I got here. I just remember looking around, seeing the forest, deer, and people asleep and decided it was the place I needed to be," she said with an embarrassed smile as Shikaku pursed his lips.

"How are things going?" he asked. The young woman began using Anbu sign to Ryusuke's mild surprise.

We've already got two of the new seal designs finished. All the ones for the hospital are already prepared.

Shikaku jolted in surprise, as Ryusuke kept his expression carefully neutral.

"The hospital's schedule was just pushed up two weeks ago," Shikaku said, startled. Moriko shrugged.

"The hospital needed over 40 specialized seals, and 3 custom seals made," Shikaku blurted using English. Moriko gave a sheepish laugh as she began absently petting the fawn that was resting against her chest.

"Well, you know how many shadow clones I can make, and the custom seals were easy compared to the other five seals the Hokage tasked us with. It's best to get the items that are easy to complete out of the way now so if others pop up in the future we aren't snowballed with even more work," she replied as Shikaku's expression became mildly disturbed. The genius was clearly thinking hard over something before he suddenly switched to French, signifying a higher clearance of security since specific languages were specific clearance levels. Lucky for Ryusuke, he had the clearance level for French.

"You and Jiraiya made over a thousand seals in two weeks?" Shikaku demanded. The young woman's expression smoothed as she regarded him for a moment. She pulled out a scroll and swiftly wrote on it as Ryusuke subtly snooped. She was writing on German on the paper, making Ryusuke's eyes widen slightly. That was the highest clearance in the village. After a moment a few replies littered the scroll and she nodded to herself before starting to speak in German.

"What I tell you is an SS class secret, that the Hokage has given me permission to divulge. We suspect that there will be an attack forthcoming during the coming chunin exams. That is why the hospital's schedule has been pushed forward so much and why Jiraiya and I are working to get all tasks completed as soon as possible. With three of the seals we are creating or reverse engineering, we could shave down fatalities to 98% for the coming invasion, but to be successful, we need the hospital to be finished in time, it's why the Hokage has had you focusing all your energy strictly on this project," she said grimly as Ryusuke gaped at them from behind her back, Shikaku's eyes going wide in shock.

"But what about the village defense system or the civilians, or the-" Shikaku began in German before the young woman's hand clapped down of Shikaku's shoulder firmly.

"Shikaku. Hospital first. We already have everything else covered. You focus on the hospital," she said firmly as Shikaku's expression became bewildered.

"But-"

"There will be a fake incident staged for this week to explain why the civilians will be doing emergency drills. The village system is going to be greatly upgraded with seals since there are two seal master here full time, to explain why there is a sudden increase in security and it won't be implemented until the day of the invasion, leaving spies no time to relay the information. There is another incident staged in three weeks to explain why the shinobi force from chunin to Jonin are going to be doing extra training. When the hospital is finished, the civilians will be doing mandatory drills there to help in case of an emergency event since it is a new hospital with new policies. The hospital itself has been in the works for months, and the hokage is going to claim that some of the services we will offer in the future is medical care to explain why the hospital is going to be finished in time for the chunin exams so that the hospital can be properly advertised. In essence, we will be preparing the village for an invasion without giving away the fact that we are so the enemy isn't able to adjust their plans in time to account for that," She said firmly as Shikaku swallowed, clearly caught flat footed. After a moment he seemed to gather himself.

"Why wasn't I told about this till now," he demanded as Moriko sighed, dragging a hand through tangled hair, the fawn in her arm sleeping soundly.

"To be fair when we first received the intel, we didn't think about it, just started our planning sessions. By the time we thought about it, we decided that if the hospital was top priority, that keeping further distractions and stress out of the project would be more beneficial to you when completing this task. The only reason you are being told right now is that worrying and speculating about what might really be going on will only detract from your task. You just focus on keeping this project on task, and if any issues come up, you will let us know immediately. If it's supplies, I can get them. If it's labor needed, I have an army of clones. If there is an issue, we can most likely fix it with seals. If there are any issues, all I ask is that you let us know as soon as possible. You have your scroll to the Hokage?" she asked as Shikaku nodded. Moriko nodded before going digging in her pocket before pulling a scroll out.

"Here, you know how to activate it. This will be a direct line to me, if any issues come up let me or Jiraiya or the Hokage know," she said as Shikaku nodded, Ryusuke's mind reeling as he schooled his expression to something mildly interested but puzzled. Not many knew he was an Anbu Captain or his clearance level. Ryusuke had thought that Shikaku was at the highest level of clearance, but now he was starting to suspect there was an unspoken one above that that only had three people, the Hokage, Jiraiya and this young woman. What a surprising and interesting afternoon. Not what he suspected would happen when he took a nap today.

one week later

Ryusuke listened to the head of Anbu rant about their failure to catch a spy that had just escaped the village, his mind going back to the conversation between Shikaku and the mysterious woman with red hair. Just as she said there was a staged event, and the ninja forces were going to be getting whipped into shape for the coming invasion. When they were dismissed, he adjusted his wolf mask, the markings blue as he signed for his team to meet him at their training room.

"Can you believe Yami-sama? That spy had to be S class at least, no one could touch them," complained Boar as Ryusuke crossed his arms.

"Yami-sama is right, we've been slipping lately. But at the same time, our hard work should be rewarded. I am going to be speaking with the other team captains to see if we can't have our own competition to see which teams are the best. Hell, I'll even add a prize for the winners," said Ryusuke as his team jolted in surprise at his words. He would make sure Anbu was ready for this invasion, come hell or high water. He might even see if he could get Yami-sama to bring in one of the village's seal masters to give a briefing on seals since most people didn't know much about them being such an esoteric art form. His thoughts turned to the young woman once more.

AN: Mwahahaha a new player enters the game!