Jiraiya was relatively certain that if the Great God-on-Earth actually cared to find him, he would. Therefore, he felt no guilt whatsoever when sneaking into the Village.

Many things were just as he remembered them. Some things weren't. There were things here that he was once fond of that hadn't been seen in quite a while, but such thoughts were depressing, so he focused on the one thing that was still here, and, if any of the Gods truly were good, would always be here; the ladies.

While he had perused everything female from Angel to Vampire to Deviant to Mummy, there was just no beating the women of the Village Hidden in Legends, mortal or Scion. Scions with Appearance Knacks, well, now that was just unfair.

While on some technical level he was certain that 'Legends' referred to the exploits and adventures the Scions of days past had achieved, he personally thought that it was better used referring to the legendarily beautiful women that appeared here. Honestly, it was something far more worthy of praise; which brought more joy to the world, a spear entering a chest or a completely different kind of spear entering a bit lower?

Having experienced both far more than most ever would, he knew which one he would rather have more of. Which was why he was so disappointed when several Demigods surrounded him and informed him that the Great God-on-Earth would like to see him, at least one of them with a spear aimed at his chest like he stood a chance. Once again, I experience the firmer snd lose the latter. The things I do to remain loyal to the Village.

--

Danzo had quite graciously decided that now was a good time to 'randomly' check in on his old friend Hiruzen, at the exact moment that Hiruzen got a brief break in his duties, wouldn't you know? How kind of him, Hiruzen internally snorted.

Absolutely certain that this had nothing to do with the man figuring out that Jiraiya was back and hoping to use said wayward student of Hiruzen's account on his progress in the search for Tsunade in order to bring up the question of the Deva Clan's headship again, or at least not ready to provoke an unnecessary fight about it right now, Hiruzen chose to let his old companion stay, even when Jiraiya was 'unexpectedly' brought in.

"So, Jiraiya, I see that you have hastily returned on presumably important business. I take it that you have very valuable news."

Jiraiya "Tishtrya" Yazata smiled awkwardly. "Well, I can safely report that if the women I've seen were any indication, the Village has not slacked at all in its mastery of Appearance Knacks. Now you have an outsider's perspective of the readiness of the Village."

As he continued to smile, Hiruzen merely placed a finger against his forehead. "Jiraiya, I tolerate your behavior as what would otherwise be classified as 'Rogue' on the basis of your important spy-work for the Village. Have you actually been doing that work?"

Danzo snorted beside him. That, more than the Great God-on-Earth's admonishment, convinced the wayward Yazata boy to take on a much more serious tone.

"I can't prove that he founded it, but Orochimaru is definitely involved in the Village Hidden in Sacrifice. It seems to be a recruiting pool for Supernatural Men who've been kicked out of their own Villages, and I don't mean Rogues, or at least not normal ones. Lasombra, Tzimiche, Nephilim, Bone-Court Kue-Jin, and yes, the Aztlanti who chose him over the Village way back when. People who have been categorically removed from the place the mortals want them to stay. It's also got a lot of Mutants who didn't want to live in the Land of Rot anymore, and honestly, who could blame them for wanting to escape that hellhole? Anyway, I still can't tell if Orochimaru himself founded it as assumed, or he just joined it out of convenience, as it's not like the life of a Rogue is easy even for one like him, but he's definitely a figure of influence."

Danzo tapped his cane. "If we can tell where he is, then we should give them an ultimatum; hand over Orochimaru to see justice or Legends will go to war. A minor Village harboring a criminal of such a caliber can't be allowed to stand."

Hiruzen's hands clasped together in frustration. "I don't suppose you've figured out what deals they've been making with the other Villages? I don't want a war right now."

Danzo glared at his old companion. "Hiruzen, no one wants war, but if you let the minor Villages do as they please solely out of fear…"

Before he could continue his diatribe, Jiraiya popped up. "They had a meeting with the Hem-Netjer-Tepi. I can't figure out what it was about, but Hekau and Sacrifice are apparently on good terms. Also, get this. Sacrifice has managed to speak with Hanzo of all people. Figuring out about what is about as difficult as figuring out what's been going on in the Land of Webs in general, but somehow they've got the Deviants to open up to them."

Danzo gritted his teeth and did not continue. The political situation was just as clear to him as the others; since Hiruzen had cut off their mutual defense treaty with the Angels over the Nephilim purges (Danzo still couldn't decide if that was useless sentimentality, skilled Public Relations, or an excellent way to cut off a useless dependency), the Mummies were really their only significant allies at this point, and it was already tenuous at best.

The Land of Webs was centrally located to where the Land of Blood could easily move troops through if they wished, and there was no reason to think the Vampires wouldn't exploit a war between Legends and Hekau, especially if Conspiracies was in on it, to settle old grudges from the last wars.

And that was ignoring how shockingly brutal the Deviants had proved the last time Scions had fought them; there was a reason it was the battle against Hanzo that made Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru household names.

If this new Village really had agreements with both the Village Hidden in Hekau and the Village Hidden in Conspiracies, then an all-out war would be far too risky without some skilled political maneuvering beforehand. Maybe the Cowboys would be open to an alliance? Perhaps the Kue-jin would let them settle some matters? Oh well, they couldn't act immediately.

For now, they would have to keep an eye on this Village, and also figure out what Hekau was up to. Maybe the Great God-on-Earth should try to schedule a meeting with the Hem-Netjer-Tepi, earlier than their intended one during the Final Rank Exam, but then the Mummy leader could just use the fact that they were meeting soon anyways to delay things if he wished.

"If I may," Jiraiya continued, "you'll hear about this soon anyways, so it's hard to pretend that it's some sort of hard-hitting gossip, but the Village Hidden in Torments has had another coup."

"So Yagura will get even more paranoid," Danzo responded,"that hardly seems like worthwhile information."

"If it were another failure, yes, but I have reason to think that this one actually stands a chance. If rumors hold, then most of the governing bodies have finally had enough; this new woman could actually pull it off, and sounds like someone we could work with."

Hiruzen scratched his chin. "Perhaps, if she pulls it off. We'll keep an eye on the situation."

Noticing that Jiraiya had not brought up a very significant matter that he was always supposed to when giving these reports, but also not wanting to give Danzo any more ammunition, he was going to dismiss the wayward Yazata boy until Danzo interjected.

"And has Tsunade's quest to find out why the Hindu Gods abandoned the Village born fruit?"

His tone didn't betray any hints of his thoughts on the 'quest,' but all three of them knew that it was nonsense Hiruzen had cooked up so he didn't have to declare the girl Rogue.

"Well," Jiraiya awkwardly muttered, "she has tried the theory of looking into matters where, uh, Fate, uh, has a particular sway, and as we all know, Fate really works in areas where chance is more prevalent than direct human choice, so…"

"She's wasting all her time at casinos, isn't she?" Danzo didn't let him get away with it.

Rather than give Jiraiya the time he clearly needed to come up with a dishonest way around that obvious truth, he merely smiled and said, "well, you can inform her that since she left the Village, Parvati has had a daughter named Kurenai and Sarasvati has borne a son that I have taken into my personal care. While they still won't produce any children within the Clan, and they're still the least prolific of the Pantheons, even less so than the Yankees, the sudden concern that the Deva aren't producing Scions anymore turned out to be premature."

His smile grew wider. "Of course, if she still wants to remain outside the Village while drinking and gambling her otherwise would-be-immortal life away, then her years of service are enough that we could arrange something of the sort, as long as she stepped down as Clan Head of Deva…".

Hiruzen sighed. "Danzo, as you yourself have noted, there barely is a Clan Deva anymore. Why should we expend so much time taking out the member doing what she feels is right to save it?"

--

Danzo's smile was strained, but it didn't vanish. "Even if she were truly trying to save it, I'd like you to know that this isn't merely a power grab on my part. Perhaps you should simply dissolve the Clan, make the Deva children like the Yankee children. By Vishnu, you could decree the formation of the Yankee Clan in its stead. I simply don't see a value in keeping a woman who has effectively abandoned the Village in such a lofty position."

This…seemed to genuinely surprise the two of them. Jiraiya had always thought Danzo spent all his time gunning for either Deva Clan Head or Great God-on-Earth, so to hear him advocate for eliminating one of those positions entirely while not making a clear play for the other... what are you playing at?

The fact that Jiraiya somewhat agreed with the man (why didn't the Yankee Scions have their own Clan while all the other surviving pantheons did?) didn't sit well with him; as far as Jiraiya was concerned, praise from Danzo on any position was reason to reconsider the position.

Danzo continued.

"After all, with the tireless work you do for the Middle World when you're fully capable of ascending, I can't imagine that keeping track of one wayward Clan Head is a valuable use of your time."

The reminder of the fact that Guide Sarutobi could ascend seemed to imply that this was a play for Great God-on-Earth, but what was his angle? Jiraiya's inability to figure it out infuriated him.

"You're advice shall be taken under consideration," Sarutobi responded through gritted teeth.

"I hope you do," Danzo responded, standing up and leaning on his walking stick. "I truly hope you do."

As he stepped out of the room, both current occupants feeling like they had just lost something even if they couldn't rightly say what it was, the Great God-on-Earth turned to glare at his former student.

"You know, had you or Tsunade remained in the Village instead of pursuing every hedonistic demand your bodies commanded, I could have used you to put his maneuvering to a halt a long time ago. I could have even given one of you this damned position and been done with it, knowing that the Village was in good hands."

"Well, while there are plenty of places I'd love to put my good hands, this place just-"

"Do not give me the 'bad memories' spiel. I have more memories of this place than you do, many of them horrific."

Jiraiya sighed.

"Well, my Guide, you're the son of the God of Workers. I'm the son of the God of Lost Causes. Our parents left us to our fates, and this is how we meet them."

While Hiruzen didn't find that remotely convincing, muttering under his breath that their fathers were the God of Farmers and Rain, respectively, he decided to drop the matter and move on to others.

"Have you finally abandoned that prophecy of yours?"

He held up his hand before Jiraiya could protest. "Don't give me the same argument about the validity of prophecies in general that we've had over and over again. Fine, if you're going to be stubborn, have you found a new potential student?"

"No one's shown any of Minato or Nagato's promise, and since this lovely Village that I owe my loyalty and devotion decided to take both from me…"

Hiruzen had heard this too many times to even so much as wince at the accusation. Had Jiraiya not gotten it into his head why adopting two Deviants and a potential Scion who had no actual proof about being a Scion outside of some obscure Yazata prophecies at a time when the Deviants had just agreed to a peace treaty that ultimately amounted to 'let us live in the Village Hidden in Conspiracies and never speak to us again' during a then as-yet unresolved war was a bad idea by now, then he never would.

Minato had chosen to make his own sacrifices, something that really disappointed Hiruzen when Jiraiya seemed to fail to understand it.

"His son is here," was instead the Great God-on-Earth's response.

Mentioning any of Jiraiya's lust-fueled mishaps or technically abandoning the Village would never get him to feel any genuine guilt. Sheepishness, possibly, but he didn't truly feel any of it was wrong.

This reminder, however, of the son he was ambiguously meant to care for when the parents lost their lives…that sent something right to his core. Something he forgot that he still could feel.

"Is the kid not a Hero yet? Doesn't he already have a Guide?"

"Yes, he's under Kakashi Aesir's mentorship."

Kakashi. Another reminder if everything I've lost.

"I never liked that kid."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat back and took a hit from his pipe. "Kakashi has two students who made it to the finals of the Rank Exams. It would be really helpful for him if one of them had someone else to aid in their training."

--

The frustrating thing about putting things off was that the fact it made it harder to do it if it was emotionally difficult in the first place, as now the guilt and shame over having put it off was added to the emotional difficulty that already existed.

Jiraiya had thought that maybe, after traveling the world and doing a little spy work for the Village to make sure he didn't get declared Rogue, and also doing 'research' on the female form for, well, very important purposes, obviously, he might come back and keep the boy under his wing. Eventually. Maybe next month. Or next year. Or…he had put it off long enough that the time he put it off was added into the shame and guilt he already felt about seeing the boy.

Could the kid forgive him? Should the kid forgive him? Abandoning him all these years, to what he learned from the Great God-on-Earth was not an easy life? Did he have to know?

Learning that Naruto didn't actually know who his parents were for some reason, Jiraiya realized that he could present himself to the boy as some odd wandering hermit who simply happened to take an interest in his training. That would avoid a lot of issues. He knew it was cowardly, but he didn't think he could face Minato's son after everything that happened in any other way.

--

'Mortal Stroke' was a difficult technique for a Hero to master, though simple for a Demigod. It ensured the next successful strike against an opponent, no matter the actual mundane impact of the attack, would hurt the target so badly that they wouldn't naturally heal with mere time and rest.

Neji wasn't certain that his attack against Hinata wouldn't have done that anyway; he had struck quite powerfully into her torso while she was speeding toward him. He wasn't certain that her attack would have done any less; 'Storm Augmentation' was hardly a harmless Boon.

What he did know was that he was a Romane, she was an 'Ellinika.' A Roman and a Greek. And he had used what looked like excessive force to many outsiders.

He was very grateful when he learned that Hinata would recover with intense medical supervision, though, even aided by the Health Purview, she would have a permanent scar on her torso, but he was not grateful out of concern for her wellbeing but for what would happen if a Romane had killed or permanently maimed the heir to the Ellines of the Dodekatheon Clan. It would certainly not have gone well for him. It still might not, as he feared when the Clan Head summoned him.

Cautiously opening the door to Hiashi's office, Neji politely bowed to his superior and asked about the cause of his summons.

"I wanted to speak of your performance during the Rank Exam preliminaries."

Neji forced himself to hide his flinch.

"I hear congratulations are in order. It's always good to have a Clansman in the Final Exam, especially one whom I have heard as many good things about as you."

That…was not what he had expected. Assuming it to be some cheap trick to get him to let his guard down before the real punishment began, he braced himself for what came next…

"I have heard complaints of excessive brutality from the medics overseeing Hinata, and your Guide gave me a, shall we say, mixed review. Specifically, he stated that you performed admirably, and while all of your actions were in line with what would have been expected on a real battlefield, he didn't approve of your last technique."

Neji could already feel the itch of his brand. What punishment do they have in store for me this time?

"However, I think that the future heir to Clan Dodekatheon can handle herself, and does not need to be coddled by well-meaning busybodies. She entered that arena knowing full well that injury and even death were possible, just as she goes on missions knowing that same truth. Now, if she had actually faced death when you had another option for taking her out, this might very well be another story, but I don't see a serious attempt on her life here, just a quick act of aggression in a stressful situation. Though, I do wonder where you learned it."

Neji was so relieved that the Clan Head wasn't angry that he found himself completely caught off guard by his next tangent.

"Guide Gai does not share many instructors' belief about letting Heroes only attempt Hero-level techniques, and lets us learn the theoretical framework for many Demigod Boons that he can find the information for. He even let us go over the easiest techniques for the Industry Purview, even though of course none of us are capable of using it."

While he couldn't actually think of anything wrong he might have done, Neji couldn't help but feel nervous. Hiashi's question felt like a test. Instead of letting him know whether the boy passed or not, Hiashi simply rubbed his chin.

"That man certainly has some…odd ideas. Many aren't comfortable teaching a child who is unlikely to be sent on assassination missions Boons meant explicitly for killing and maiming; it reminds them too much of the days when we sent children to war."

Neji kept his head bowed as he responded.

"Respectfully, sir, the War Purview is what my Birthright inclines me toward, and besides, is it not better to ensure we are ready should those days come again, rather than obsess over visual illusions that they might not?"

Hiashi merely nodded, his expression unreadable.

"Yes, I suppose so. Congratulations once more, and make Clan Dodekatheon proud with your performance next month. You are dismissed."

Neji was…very confused as to why this meeting had taken place in the first place, but was too grateful to have gotten out of it without being severely punished to question things.

--

Since Gai had been unable to remember the specifics of the Purview Boons he had taught his students from scrolls and theoretical work, they had unable to ascertain whether Neji had learned how to use Mortal Stroke from accessing Demigod-only areas without permission or as part of his normal training, which made some worried that he was progressing in a less-than-legal way.

Of course, to many in the Clan, the fact that a Romane was progressing faster than most of the Ellines of his generation should have been a less-than-legal way, so he wasn't certain how much good faith he wanted to provide these suspicions.

When checking, the boy hadn't been lying in a way Hiashi's Manipulation Knacks could pick up, and he had offered a pragmatic reason for learning such a Boon, one Hiashi himself agreed with, so that should shut those screeching birds up for a minute or two. He hoped. Sighing internally, he sent word to speak with Hinata.

--

Hinata, unbeknownst to her mortal caretaker, was already on her way to his office in order to report on her recovery when she bumped into a very confused-looking Neji, which prompted her to squeak like a mouse and freeze up in terror. Her wound flared up in pain, even without a physical reason for doing so at this moment, and she started breathing heavily, the same way she once would when having to speak in public.

He looked at her, started to glare, then controlled his expression and moved on professionally, ignoring her existence completely.

Hinata felt weird about it; on one hand, it was normal for her, and better than him still trying to hurt her. On the other hand…it didn't feel right to be ignored. For all the time she spent burrowed in herself, keeping away from others' attention, she also wanted to be acknowledged as a person. Just…not in a scary way. Was that too much to ask?

Apparently, as when she entered her mortal caretaker's office, he noticed her, and it terrified her.

"Hinata," he noted.

She bowed in response.

"First off, I wanted to know the status of your recovery."

That moderately surprised her, but then she realized that of course he would want to know when she would be ready to resume training and missions.

"They say that I am healing faster than expected, and should be back to normal soon. I will always have a scar in that area…" she felt very awkward about this next part, but her mortal caretaker ushered for her to continue, so she, after calming the pounding in her chest as best as she could, managed to mutter "I might need medical assistance to have children in the future."

He was very displeased by this bit of news, but neither admonished her nor brought up the possibilities this might have for her future in the Clan. Quite grateful for that, she barely noticed that his next statement was also atypically positive.

"I understand that you passed the first two portions of the Rank Exams on your first try. Most don't make it that far; you should be commended for that."

It took a bit for those words to sink in, being something that she so rarely heard from him. Was this…praise? Like a moron, she let warmth fill her body in joy before his next comment inevitably sent it crashing down.

"Of course, as representative of Clan Dodekatheon, we had hoped for you to surpass even that and make it to the Final Round."

Of course, she was of Clan Dodekatheon. Nothing less than perfection could be tolerated.

"Understood, father," she responded, hoping that she could go and rest now.

Anything to get away from that steely gaze, not cruel, just…disapproving. Honestly, she might have been able to handle it if it were cruel. Then she could spit back in defiance. Instead, she felt that he really did care about her, in his own way, and that he ultimately wanted her to improve…which meant that her inability to do so crushed him and he, whether intentionally or not, crushed her right back. It was the eternal song and dance that they had fallen into at some point in her life, and while maybe she hoped that it could be fixed…it wouldn't be today.

"Now, I know that you insisted otherwise to the elders the last time we talked about this, but if you are really being held back because your Fate is that of a boy…".

Oh Gods, not this again.

While she was certain enough time had passed since Kurenai's test that she could tell the truth, she really didn't know how to, and in her awkward embarrassment just stammered a completely incoherent excuse about how she was late for washing her dog's tomato. Since she had neither a dog nor a tomato, this only confused Hiashi enough that she managed to leave in the distraction.

--

Ino had never felt so conflicted in her life. On one hand, she was glad when she heard the news that Choji had done well enough to be an acceptable alternate. If, for whatever reason, one of the scheduled participants in the Final Exams didn't show up, then Dosu would be their replacement, and Choji would if two happened to fail to appear. She truly did respect the fact that her bandmate had done well enough to have a chance.

She just also happened to be pissed beyond all belief that the same did not apply to Sakura and Ino. Especially for herself.

"What the Hel is with that?"

Shikamaru looked at her, like he both wanted to calm her down and tell her exactly why the two ties in the Exam were being treated differently, but he also realized that the fact he was definitely getting into the Final Round, without even depending on a substitution, meant that any patronizing words from him would only anger her further.

"I, for one, am even more annoyed," he instead noted. "This whole thing is such a drag, but dropping out and letting Choji take my place would result in, well, my mother is not someone to cross if you can help it. You, Ino, might be the one person I know even scarier than my mother, so I would gladly let you take my place if it were an opt-"

for some reason, he thought that was a more intelligent thing to say to her than simply requesting that she calm down, so the next several minutes of doing everything in his power to avoid her multiple slaps was a surprising turn of events as far as he was concerned. He did have the wit to not say out loud that she was only proving him right.

When that was finally settled, she decided to talk strategy.

"So, you're facing that Mummy girl, right? Do you have any strategies planned?"

He shrugged.

"I was thinking that I would wait until I'm at the point where it's 'come up with a plan or lose right here and now,' and then hope that the pressure helps me think of something."

Much to his shock, this prompted another round of attempted slapping.

--

Gai knew full well that, logically, he should be thinking about training Neji for the upcoming Finals. He also knew that he should be ensuring that Tenten's training wasn't neglected, and he could proudly note that he had thought to report his thoughts on his students' progress to Hiashi and get regular checkups on how Tenten was holding up after that meteor struck into her, but since he learned that she was going to recover and be perfectly fine in a week or so, he had instead chosen to focus on Lee.

While he shouldn't be playing favorites, Neji was skilled and only going to get more so on his own, what the kid needed was moral and philosophical guidance, and he was at a point where Gai's words went in one ear and out the other, while he had indulged Tenten's obsession with imitating the various famous female Scions of the past more than long enough, and she had finally reached the point where he could get her to understand that she needed to forge her own path and not obsess over copying others if she wanted to demonstrate the worth of Scion women, so he honestly felt that he had already overcome the most important hurdle with her. Plus, Lee was just different.

His divine parent rejected him, Osiris only adopted him out of pity and then left him without a Birthright, and he was always behind his peers even by the standards of an Outborn. Instead of giving up, he had always worked so hard…Gai couldn't stand to see that flame extinguished.

His Divine Father, John Henry, had apparently been looked down upon in the World-that-Was, for some strange reason involving his skin tone that Gai didn't really understand, but he worked hard, so hard that he could get a piece of the moon for his wife and befriend a rainbow (the parent, of sorts, of the one around his neck he got as a Birthright, in fact) and eventually proved that he could carve through a mountain faster than a machine specifically designed to surpass all men in doing just that, ultimately ascending from humanity to Yankee Folktale Figure, and close enough to God to produce Scions in the current age.

That kind of hard work was what Maito "John Henry" Gai aspired to, and he could see it in Lee. This boy could be great, if only their cruel world would give them a chance, and he didn't know what he'd do if that chance had been taken from him.

"The prognosis is not good," a doctor eventually told him. "There's some form of Titan Ichor in his bloodstream that weakens the Health Purview, and, well, a mortal wouldn't recover with mortal medicine from these wounds. If he didn't have Stamina Knacks, it would already be hopeless."

Gai grabbed the doctor's shoulders. "You said 'if.' That means that, because of his Stamina Knacks, he's going to fine, right?"

"It means that it's not completely hopeless."

The doctor forced Gai's hands off him, or rather pulled at them until the Master of Knacks got the hint and stopped gripping the poor man's shoulder, before continuing.

"The most likely scenario? We'll have to amputate the arm, and while I know that there are ways to do this with the weird biology of the Gods, the same system screwing up our attempts to heal him right now mean that it probably won't ever regrow, even with supernatural assistance."

Gai was too dumbfounded to respond.

"I don't think I have to tell you that the life of a one-armed Hero is not exactly the best one. Maybe he should consider finding some work in the mortal sections…" the doctor recognized the appearance on Gai's face as one who would refuse to hear it, so he chose to leave this revelation for when the man was in a better state of mind.

For now, Gai was simply invited to see Lee resting in a hospital bed, clearly still in pain, drowsily staring at him. "Guide Gai," he weakly noted. "Lee," Gai responded. "Guide Gai!" Lee shouted. "Lee!" Gai shouted in response.

There was no need for further words, as tears fell down both of their faces and Gai lamented that his student's body was too weak for a comforting hug.

--

Fuu was uncertain as to whether she should find her current situation tortuous or exciting. She was trapped, but that wasn't new. What was new was where she was trapped; the Village Hidden in Legends was both very different and surprisingly similar to the Village Hidden in Dreams.

People were still wary around her, but that was because her headband revealed her to be some sort of strange creature distinct from the half-gods that the mortals were used to and proud of, and had nothing to do with the thing that her parents had willingly given her up so that she could contain, becoming both protector and weapon, to be hated by the very beings she protected and fought for…anyway, the people here just saw a silly little Fae, which in turn allowed her to be a little silly.

She went into a restaurant, ordered meat lathered in syrup, and was exhilarated when the restaurant owners looked at her oddly before deciding that it must be a 'fairy thing' and making it for her.

It was, indeed a Fae thing, as the nature of how they were created meant that many Fae had childlike tendencies, in addition to the oddities of Glamour and Banality having complex impacts on what was actually healthy for them, but back home she would have to eat whatever her current caretaker wanted, as no restaurant would dare let someone 'like her' in without one, while here they only cared whether or not she had the money. Since her caretakers hadn't noticed when she grabbed their wallet and snuck out, she did indeed have the money.

So, enjoying the brief reprieve she got until they noticed, she dug into her improvised meal, savoring every bite, until she noticed that boy in the orange clothes that Crom didn't like. He seemed to notice her too, and was taken rather aback. Just like everyone back home, he was afraid of her…but then he saw where she was eating, and suddenly became indignant.

One of the restaurant owners saw him outside, and glared.

"Great, that shadowy monster that took my son from me is out there, again, and now he's officially working for the Village, so I don't know if I can even refuse him now."

"He took your son?"

That the Village Hidden in Legends would allow an apparent serial killer of children to walk about fascinated and disturbed her. Unless this man's son was the target of an assassination mission, which would be odd, but kind of cool, even if she had the sense not to say that out loud. This kid was a little assassin.

"You're from outside the Village, so I guess you don't know. He's the Titan Lord Mika-"

"We're not allowed to talk about it, you idiot!" His wife shouted at him once she was done glaring at Naruto even more angrily than her husband. "It's a Village secret."

She was able to figure it out from there, and it made her sick to her stomach.

"You know what, I think I'll take this to go."

As they went into the back to get her something to carry it in, she dropped a few maggots to sneak into their stores. Just a few. She was being petty, not angry today. Then, she brought it out straight to the boy in question and asked "hey, want some syrup-covered steak?"

--

Naruto remembered the last time he had tried to eat something at that particular restaurant, and the…rather unpleasant experience of the owners not just saying no but throwing several things at him. That was actually an uncommon experience for him, in spite of the Village's overall hate. They normally just stared at him angrily and refused to let him participate in anything.

Regardless, he had no intention of stopping there, but then he saw that strange Fae girl that Mikaboshi hated for some reason, well, actually he suspected that the reason was because she was like him, which was why it was so weird to see her of all people eating there of all places.

Even so, he would have gone on merely giving it a little bit of thought until she ran out and offered him the most bizarre lunch he had ever seen. It was probably even less healthy than his normal diet of ramen and easy-cook meals, and considering how much Sakura had freaked out when she learned how much of those he ate he figured that was saying something.

Still, he did kind of wonder what those two's food was like now that he got an opportunity, and syrup-covered steak? A younger him would have loved that!

So he went off to an impromptu picnic with this strange girl, enjoying an even stranger meal for a while before she eventually spoke up.

"So, I understand that you've got one of them inside you too."

"Yeah," Naruto responded, not sure what else to say. "Does your Village, well, treat you, um, how should I put this…"

"Like a monster?" She interrupted his blabbering. "Yeah, mostly. I have Crom Cruach inside me, the spirit of Winter, and there is nothing Fae hate more than Winter."

"What's wrong with winter? Sometimes it snows, and you can go sledding and stuff."

"Yeah, I know, and Fae being Fae you'd think we'd love that, but there's some cosmological stuff involving the end of the world and an old feud with the Tuatha da Danaan, it's a complicated mess way above my head. Not that not understanding it helps at all."

Naruto nodded in understanding to that last part, at least.

"I didn't even know about it until recently, though everyone who hated me for it did."

Fuu looked at him in shock. "Really? I was told about it when I could barely walk. My parents gave me up to make me a Gatekeeper."

"Is that what we're called?"

She looked at him in even more shock, which prompted him to clarify, "my parents died when I was a child, I think to the thing inside me when it was briefly free, but I don't know anything about them. No one told me about it, in fact I think there was a law to keep people who didn't already know from knowing, but, as I said, it didn't do anything for the ones who already hated me. They seemed to figure it out just fine."

There was no small amount of bitterness to his tone. She seemed to empathize.

"So, do you hate the Village?"

That shocked Naruto. He had never actually thought about it before. With everything the Village had put him through, he could see how he might have come to hate it, and his years of over-the-top pranks and being a general pain in the ass to the community at large certainly weren't done out of love, but ultimately, no, he didn't think that he'd ever hated the Village. He just…wanted them to stop hating him.

When he told her as much, she pulled her legs up to where she was sitting and wrapped her arms around them.

"I think I hate Dreams. After all this time, even if they stopped hating me, I don't know if I could forgive them. I did nothing to them, I don't know if Crom even did anything to anyone who's still alive, but still, from my early childhood…why shouldn't I hate them?"

"I don't know what your Village is like, but here, well, I've met friends. People who genuinely do like me for me. I can't hate them, and, by extension, I can't hate the Village that made them."

She snorted. "I can't say the same, and I have to say that from anyone else that would sound like absurd idealism, but I heard what the owners of that restaurant said about you, and I know that you're like me. Maybe there's something to that."

She got up, stretching. "Well, my caretakers have probably noticed that I took their money and ran off by now, so I should go, but it was…nice, speaking to someone who understands."

As she walked off, Naruto thought about what she had said, and then looked around the Village. He knew that he didn't hate it now, but could he have hated it, if he had kept going the way he was going, if Iruka hadn't opened up to him in a way that none of his other teachers did, if the Great Kunitsokami had been a less patient man and the type to see him as a weapon rather than a person? The fact that he couldn't dismiss the idea as ridiculous bothered him. Oh well, I have a fight to train for. Now, where is Kakashi? I'm going to need his help.