A/N: Hey! Please read this notice; its very important. I've only just now been able to repost this.

Can anyone see this?

Site crashed yesterday RIGHT AS I UPDATED THIS STORY and we only just got it back. The chapter basically became a ghost in the system that no one could read. None could access it. Just...gone. Absolutely butchered my desire to update for a bit there, and put me behind schedule as well.

The matter seems to be fixed for now, but the app is still down. Any bit of feedback really helps. Once again, every review helps feed the fire. It would mean a lot in these trying times... T_T

Happy Holidays, with said Hoiidays still messing up my updating schedule, go figure. So here we go. The fate of this story depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others. As ever, I own no quotes, references, themes, or memes. Not a wit or a one! They're tributes to legends far greater than I. I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.

Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story. Simple as that. There we are.

In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!

Someone pointed out a few flaws and other facts that I missed. Thanks for that~!

For instance, did you know Beth and Hannah are twins? I'd forgotten that!

Twins they were! *coughs into fist*

Away we go~!

"Monster! You don't belong here!"

"You're right. I don't. But neither do you."

"Wait, wait, WAIT-aaargh!"

"You thought I was a good guy. Boy Scout. Goody two shoes. Maybe you're right. But you'd be amazed what a guy like me can do given the right provocation. The right situation. The right...lets say leverage.

Case in point. You hurt those girls. You've incurred a debt.

And now...well...you owe a debt

...but before all that...

~Soon to be Seen.

Best Served Cold

"Beth?!"

"Hannah!"

Naruto couldn't he;p but wince as the twin sisters collided with one another, practically bowling each over in their haste for a reunion. Hannah reached Beth first of course - she was closer, faster, and far more eager too her. And that was that; everything dissolved into a babble of excited noise, a susurrous of sound he could scarcely make sense of:

"I thought you were-

"But you're-

"I know!"

Yup. That about summed it up. Then they started crying and clutching at one another and he just started feeling bad, ya know?

Still, he stood silently by, content to let them have their long awaited moment, feeling like he was some kinda voyeur seeing something he wasn't meant to. He'd done enough for now; far be it from him to get in the way of their happy reunion. Payback could -and probably would!- come later, but for now they deserved to be happy.

Didn't they?

With that in mind, he took a slow step backward, then another, followed by a third, content to sit by the fire and bask in their happy noises.

Gods, but he was so tired. He'd been running around all night dealing with this chaos.

He was tempted just to turn in for the night, but he didn't dare, if only for fear of what might happen while he slept. Wendigos were voracious creatures that he really didn't have a concrete way of dealing with; no matter how many times you killed them, they'd just come back, sooner or later. Fire helped, as did his reclusive friend, but at the end of the day the best you could do was beat them down and get them to buzz off.

Planting himself down on the log, he crossed both arms before his chest and heaved a hearty sigh.

Neither heard him, naturally; they were far too lost in their tears, in one another.

And that was fine, really! They deserved this after all they'd been through.

Didn't look like the girls would be stopping anytime soon, though. Not that he blamed them. He'd watch over them for a little while longer.

Until Dawn.

Yeah, that sounded right. He'd look after 'em until the sun rose, so he swore. Wendigos didn't come out during they day. They'd be safe, then. After that, if they wanted to be happy without him, so be it. They might even want to forget about this whole payback business and just move on with their lives.

Maybe they didn't need him anymore.

Maybe he'd done enough.

Maybe-

Hannah wasn't having it.

(.0.0.0.)

Hannah absolutely wasn't having it.

Holding Beth close, she cast her gaze about, looking for Naruto in the cave, suddenly afraid he might've left again when she wasn't looking. He'd already pulled that stunt once on her; she wouldn't put it past him to do it again when she wasn't looking. He wouldn't just run off on her, right...?

Ah, there he was.

Somehow she found his silhouette sitting by the fire, leaning against the wall.

He looked so satisfied, so tired, like he'd close his eyes and never open them again. That, or just vanish back into the drifts, never to be seen again.

The thought of him leaving filled her heart with fear.

Panic gripped it tight and squeezed.

"No!"

Naruto tilted his head, somewhat confused, and belatedly, she realized she'd shouted the word aloud.

"No...?" he rasped, a puzzled look crossing his whiskered cheeks as he squinted at her. "No what?"

"No, no!" She thrust a finger at him, taking courage in the cluster of words.

He tilted his head. "Seriously, what're you on about?"

"No, no, no!"

Releasing Beth, she stomped away from her sister over to savior, seized his right arm, dragged him up, frog-marched him over to the log nearest the fire, and sat him down. It spoke well to his confusion that he let her manhandle him at all; she knew he could've snapped her wrist like a twig if he wanted.

But he didn't.

Rather, he sighed, bemused, as though he were humoring. "You didn't have to do that, ya know. I was plenty warm-

Lies. She wouldn't hear them.

Ignoring his remark, Hannah plonked herself down between his legs, essentially claiming his lap for herself, then wrestled his arms around her torso, forcing him to clasp his hands across her waist and hold onto her. From there, she leaned back into his chest with intent, tickling his chin with her hair and laid her hands atop his.

Beth gasped in the background, quietly scandalized. Let her be.

There. Lets see him escape now.

To be fair, he tried.

When Naruto attempted to rise, Hannah wasn't having that either; she ground herself against him ever so subtly causing him to stiffen, in more ways than one.

He didn't make another attempt after that.

Was he interested?

He was certainly attractive enough, and he had saved her from certain doom twice over already. If not for him, she would've been dead from exposure, or food in that monster's belly. Now that she had time to think, to breathe, to not panic and dwell on the other shame of the prank she had endured, she found herself thinking.

And in thinking, considering.

She didn't want to think about Mike and the others right now. Not Emily or Jessica or any of those bitches. She'd much rather think about something-someone!-else at the moment. Her body fit snugly against Naruto, like a glove really, leaving her feeling safe and warm within his arms. She found herself leaning deeper into him, breath hitching.

Screw holding her, she wanted his hands on her, or in her...

.

..

...gah! Damn girl, focus up!

Her eyes flitted to his behind her glasses and she gave him a -what she hoped! was- a stern scowl. "You're not allowed to leave, buster. Take responsibility for your actions."

He quirked a blond brow at her, utterly flummoxed by her behavior. "Who said anything about leaving?"

"Oh." The word failed to encompass how foolish she felt in that moment.

Shame flooded her face.

If he wasn't leaving then he'd never intended to...damnit. She'd made a fool of herself again, hadn't she? He probably didn't give a hoot about her; probably thought she was being clingy, like some needy girl, making him hold her like this. She always did this. Always, always, always. Reading things wrong, making mistakes...

When she tried to rise, Naruto yanked her back down. His chin came to rest over her shoulder. "Where do you think you're going? I'm comfy."

Firelight flickered over his face, momentarily casting that whiskered visage into shadow. It did nothing to hide his own flush.

He was just as bad at this, wasn't he? Maybe even worse. Somehow, that made her feel better.

Handsome blond bastard like this...how the heck didn't he have a girlfriend?

He looked lonely.

All this time up here on the mountain, with nobody to call his own.

We can fix that, a little voice crooned in her head, giggling nervously. It was her own.

Her eyes flitted up to his lips, so close, yet so far, tempting her.

His arms tightened around her waist, fingers digging in.

Invitation sent and accepted~!

Hannah tilted her head back and simultaneously moved closer, angling her neck to look up at him fully even as she forced herself to sit upright. He clearly wasn't going to make this first move and that...that was alright if she was being perfectly honest with herself; it gave her a chance to be brave, to pluck up her courage and not make an arse of herself for once in her life. She looped one arm around his shoulders and took ahold of a whiskered cheek with the other, steering his face down to hers.

Kiss me. Love me. Touch me. Make me feel like someone for once in my life.

Her mouth brushed his gently...

And then Beth coughed.

Hannah looked back to find her twin wringing her now-considerably-frayed beanie in both hands, terribly red in the face. "Who the heck is he?!" she cried. "What's going on here?! I'm so lost!"

Naruto coughed, the sound of which was muffled as Hannah buried her face in his jack, mortified.

Double damnit. She'd forgotten all about her.

They had to explain things to her sister then, not just the sparknotes version, but everything, and that ruined the mood; if only because it reminded her of their so-called friends. It made her think not of lust or love, but vengeance, and that cooled her raging desires for the time being, even with her leaning against Naruto.

By the end of it all, Beth was sat across from them, pale as the snow itself. "Oh god, what about Josh? We left him with them...

Hannah scoffed. "What about him?"

"Hannah!"

"Don't you Hannah me!" she snapped back. "I saw him when I ran; he was out cold on the couch; probably because he drank too much again!"

"He's still our brother!"

"Then why didn't he protect ME-

Naruto pinched her arm and glared her way. It centered her.

Hanna took a breath. In. Out. Innn. Ouuut.

"Fine." She muttered, huffing once. "Just...fine. We can bring him in on this, but that is IT." a finger jabbed out at her twin before she could protest. "Nobody else!"

Beth rocked back on the log. "In on what?"

"Payback." she all but spat the word. "They need to suffer. I want to tear them down the same way they tried to tear me down."

"Isn't that going a little far?"

"Is it?" she felt it wasn't fair enough. "I nearly died tonight. So did you you the look of it."

That, at least, seemed to get through to her. Beth looked away, wringing her beanie between her hands. "No shit, sherlock.

"Look," Naruto clicked his tongue, "I get it. You're scarred, angry. Like her. Our scars can destroy us. Long after the physical wounds have healed, but if we survive them, they can transform us. They can give us the power to endure the strength to fight back. This?" he waved a finger between the two of them, commanding their attention, "That's what this is. Payback. Simple as that. They pranked you first, so naturally, you're well within your rights to get them back."

Hannah looked to him, beaming. "I knew you'd understand."

"Within reason," he warned.

"Please, I'm not going to kill them." Death is a mercy. "I just want them to squirm."

"Yeah, yeah, I know.

Beth raised a hesitant hand. "Fine, but how are we gonna get Josh all the way up here anyway.

"That's simple. I'd just need a picture of him.

Beth fished one out of her wallet. "Okay, I have one, but why-

A rush of snow, and Hannah found herself sitting by the fire, devoid of Naruto's warmth.

She clicked her tongue, clutching her jacket close with a huff. "I hate it when he does that...

"You're kinda messed up, sis."

"Gee, I wonder whose fault that is?!"

(.0.0.0.)

Everyone in the cabin was sound asleep.

They'd given up, you see; decided to search in the morning.

Cowards, the lot of them.

Some were guilty. Some were innocent, but the fact remained.

One of them had slept right through it all, sound asleep.

He'd been asleep for some time, as a matter of fact.

It was unto him that He paid a visit.

(.0.0.0.)

Retrieving Josh was easy.

Sneak into the house, sicc a Shadow Clone on him, and up the mountain he went.

He, however, felt no desire to leave so quickly. He stayed, lingering in the cabin, taking in his surroundings.

He wouldn't kill those within. That wasn't how he operated.

But then

A mad idea dawned.

He drew a kunai from his arm holster, followed by a storage scroll out his belt pouch. Unfurling it ever so carefully, he withdrew a brush and a pot of ink.

He was no Seal Master. It had to be said. His brief tenure up up here in the mountains had done little to improve that ability and to be frank, he possessed neither the skill nor any true blue aptitude for the stuff. Such was why he hadn't simply sealed the Wendigo spirits away; he didn't know how. He could alter the environment around him, manipulate a battlefield, create paper bombs, even alter people's perceptions for a brief time if he reeeaaally pushed his luck.

But locking a living soul-feral or otherwise-away in a container? Nope. Never worked. They broke free almost immediately. Often explosively as the sealing array failed.

And applying seals like those took time, hours even.

He wasn't like Dad; he couldn't slap his hand down and create something from nothing with a touch.

So no, he couldn't seal the beasties away, useful as it might've been.

Likewise, he couldn't kill Mike and the others. That would be breaking his code and moreover it would make Hannah and Beth upset.

However.

There was nothing wrong with...preparing a little early.

Humming under his breath, he made for the nearest wall and with a quick hop, walked up it into the rafters. From there he unfurled still more scrolls and began to apply the work within. It took awhile. He had to be careful and clever about it, then hide his work thereafter to make certain no one caught on.

But the deed was done before Dawn.

Picking the locks proved easy.

And he was in.

He hadn't a clue who was who -Hannah had provided him names, not faces and little description besides- so he gravitated towards those who felt most corrupt.

Naruto paused before a young man's bed. Decently fit fellow, and he radiated pride and arrogance.

This, then, must be Mike.

Kurama chucked in his ear. "To work, then?"

To work.

He'd even been so kind as to leave himself shirtless, too. Good. That made this easier. It would've been a pain to get this stuff through his clothes.

Looming over Mike like the shinigami itself, he set his brush to ink, stirred once, and went to work.

The Great Prank began.

A/N: And just like that, THE GAME BEGINS.

We're now taking suggestions for the vengeance to come. I have most of it sketched out already, but feedback is always appreciated~!

I do hope this entertained someone, somewhere, somehow. Again, this will be a short story. Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. Meaning folks don't like this, it won't be continued. If the story itself isn't popular/well-received...well, I won't be able to continue it. I'm working two jobs, holidays are here too, meaning I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.

So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.

So...in the immortal words of Atlas...

...Revieeeeew, Would You Kindly?

Only three previews here.

Can't spoil too much.

Sorry...T_T

(Preview)

Mike took one look in the mirror and screamed loudly.

Josh heard it and bit down on a satisfied smile.

Revenge was a dish best serve cold.

Oh, she was bleeding. Why hadn't she seen that?

He laid a hand on her and it healed

Feel better?

Tingly. Beth squirmed, where she sat, rubbing her thighs together.

Hannah saw her stare. "Don't you dare."

"What? I didn't do anything!"

"You were looking!"

"Of course I was looking, he's got his shirt off! Do you see those abs!"

"Well, they're my abs! I called dibs!"

Naruto slapped a hand to his forehead. "I'm standing right here...

They're dead? They can't be dead!

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

EDIT: Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are appreciated!

See you next time!

~Nz.