Eroninja

"I had no idea that you had already expanded your influence outside the village," a naked Yakumo said as she sat in an equally naked Naruto's lap while holding his specialized Bingo Book. They were sitting in his brown chair staring out the window as the sun rose over the village. Naruto had been tracing his finger over his lover's back absentmindedly as she looked through the book seeing who had a red X through their pictures and who didn't. When she had come to hers, she had smiled at him as she drew the X over her picture as well.

Leaning forward, he looked at whose photograph she was on and saw it was Temari's. "Yeah, but just barely," he said leaning back in the chair. He explained the how's and why's of the kunoichi he had charmed outside of Konoha before drifting off into silence again.

Yakumo frowned before grinding her ass into Naruto's lap. It did the trick causing him to focus on her again as she said, "I think I should be upset that I'm sitting in your lap naked and it seems you'd rather be a million miles away."

"Sorry," Naruto said giving a half-smile, "I don't mean to be spacing out on you. It's just I'm having a hard time figuring out what I should do."

"About what?" Yakumo asked leaning back as she rested the open book face down on the arm rest.

Naruto remained silent for several moments before replying, "It's the tension growing between the shinobi in the training force. Things seem to be reaching a boiling point, but I'm not sure what can be done to stop it. According to Tsunade things are getting worse not better even with those who start fights being transferred and I don't know how to fix the problem. As I see it is the villages have been at each other's throats for so long that even those who have never actually met a shinobi from another village would still harbor hatred for them."

Yakumo nodded, knowing the truth of what Naruto was saying. She had never met a shinobi of Iwa, but had harbored anger at the country since a shinobi from there had been behind her uncle's injury. "Healing such hatred is going to be difficult."

"Yeah," the blond said seriously, "I've been wondering if healing such irrational hatred is even possible. I have something in the works to give me some insight, but it may be a while before it bears fruit. Yet that isn't going to help us in the here and now." Naruto rested his head against his hand as his elbow sat on the armrest. Blowing out a breath nosily he said, "I suppose instead of just sitting here thinking about the problem my best course of action would be to go do something about."

"Like what?"

"I don't know," the blond admitted, "but I'll come up with something." Advertisements

Yakumo smiled sweetly and leaned her head against his shoulder kissed his cheek before whispering, "I know you will." Sitting up straighter in his lap she picked the book back up and asked, "Who are you going after next?"

Naruto did a one shoulder shrug as he answered by saying, "To be honest, I don't know that either. I haven't really actively targeted anyone for my ambition in months. Not since Shiho."

"What about me?" Yakumo asked, "I'm a valuable asset for your goal."

Naruto kissed her shoulder before saying, "That was never in doubt. But, you seduced me remember. The truth is now that our influence in Konoha is secured, the real hard part is next and I don't know where to begin. Except for a few women I've met in my various missions outside of the village. I don't really have any real connections to rely on."

Yakumo flipped to the entry after Matsuri in the Bingo Book to the first unmarked kunoichi and asked, "Why not start with seducing a woman in a village we already have close ties too." Flipping the book around, she showed him the entry for an attractive kunoichi with blue eyes. She had dark hair that was barely visible beneath the turban she was wearing whose cloth sides also covered some of the purple markings on her cheeks.

Naruto stared at the picture for a moment before shaking his head slightly as he said, "She's the perfect example of what's going wrong in the Training Force." Yakumo flipped the book around to read what Naruto meant, but he saved her the trouble as he explained, "Maki, is one of Joseki's hardliners." Yakumo looked at him in confusion so he added, "He's Suna's version of Danzou." He chuckled as her face scrunched up in distaste before continuing, "I met her once, although I was henged as Temari's date during a dinner attended by the Suna Council. She doesn't seem to be completely closed minded yet. But, according to Temari, Joseki wouldn't be grooming her as his replacement if he didn't believe she would follow in his footsteps."

"Doesn't that make it all the more reason for you to try and open her eyes?"

"I hear what you're saying, but she's not likely going to want to spend much time with a Konoha-nin. I said she didn't seem completely closed minded when I challenged Joseki, but that was because I was henged. It's extremely likely that if I wasn't, I could have said the same thing and she wouldn't have been nearly so receptive." His eyes looked past Yakumo out on the village as he said gravely, "The reason for that is because we are responsible for the death of her team and sensei. It was during the Sound Invasion."

"Naruto, we were attacked by Sand and Sound. I mean..."

Naruto smiled sadly and cupped her cheek while placing his thumb against her lips. Yakumo leaned into his hand placing hers on top as she closed her eyes to feel the warmth coming off him. "That's the crux of the problem that we face I'm afraid. We believe we are justified and perhaps we were. But Sand feels they were just as right to attack us since the trade practices we had with them were bankrupting them. In the end, who was right and who was wrong doesn't matter, as it is the living that will continue to carry the memories of the dearly departed. That means even if we are allies now, we will have no problem killing each other later to avenge those losses. Unfortunately I don't have the answer to this yet so I guess the best thing I can do is to help Temari try and limit the instigators success in using those old wrongs to stir up trouble."

The sound of keys being used on Naruto's door drew both of their attention, but neither panicked since they could feel the person on the other side of the door was Ayame. Upon stepping into the room she placed some mail on his table and smiled at the two of them, but gave a mock glare as she said, "I take it your sleeping around on your girlfriend is why you didn't come by the restaurant for dinner last night."

"Sorry," Naruto said with a smile, "we would have ordered some delivery...but I doubt you would have been able to walk back to the shop to close down after we were done."

Ayame's smile turned sultry as she approached the pair. She pulled the shirt she was wearing over her head as she moved around to the front of the chair they were sitting in and held her hand out to Yakumo who took it as she said, "I'm Ayame. It's nice to meet you."

Yakumo smiled finding the scene more than a little unbelievable which only grew more so as the waitress kneeled on the floor between her and her lover's legs as she replied to what Naruto had said, "Let's see if your concern was warranted." She lowered her face towards both Naruto and Yakumo's groins where she gave a slight lick to Naruto's cock before taking his soft appendage into her mouth.

Yakumo watched mesmerized as Ayame actions brought Naruto's cock back to life. When it was standing stiff and proud, the Ramen waitress's eyes stared up at the two sitting before her and Yakumo gasped at the look on the woman's face. Naruto groaned, causing Yakumo to look back at him. She saw a look of pure bliss on the blond's face and looked back at Ayame. Getting wet from the display, she couldn't take her eyes off what was going on. Ayame let Naruto's dick pop out of her mouth and Yakumo jumped when it flew back slapping her pussy.

Ayame began to use her hand to tease the tip of Naruto's cock as she began to suck on his balls. Moving upward she ran her tongue along the underside of his cock until she reached the tip. She swirled her tongue around it again and then smiled up at the two before her. She next surprised both of them by moving his dick to the side and then lowered her mouth to Yakumo's cunt.

The Kurama gasped as Ayame's tongue began licking her lower lips causing her to moan. Something that Naruto did also as the Ichiraku began to stroke his cock even faster. Naruto and Yakumo looked at each other and smiled before kissing heatedly. Naruto brought his hands up to Yakumo's chest and began to fondle her tits. The Kurama clan head and Jinchuriki's moans grew louder as they kissed when Ayame increased the pace of her oral ministrations and stroking.

The two broke apart when Ayame suddenly stopped and stood. She gripped Yakumo's hands pulling her to her feet and gave her a kiss allowing the clan leader to taste herself on the waitress's lips. They separated, but their tongues were still connected by a thin trail of saliva as they held each other. They both turned their heads to stare at Naruto lustily and then each held out a hand to their lover who took them. Getting pulled to his feet, he was pulled to the bed where Yakumo backed onto it. She stopped though when Ayame grabbed her ankle and then the waitress once more lowered her mouth to Yakumo's snatch, who then began moaning as a result of the tongue probing inside her.

Ayame soon began to join her when Naruto stepped behind the bent over waitress. He rubbed his cock against her entrance before slowly feeding her cunt with it. Naruto gripped her hips as he began to pump his man shaft into his lover. His powerful thrusts continuously increased and lessened the pressure that Ayame would exert on Yakumo's muff as the waitress ate the clan leader out.

Yakumo moaned and leaned up to stare down her body as the waitress stimulated her drenched cunt. The brown-haired kunoichi wannabe began to fondle her tit with one hand while the other found its way down her body to get tangled in Ayame's brown locks as well. Yakumo's hips began to move little by little at first. But soon they began gyrating widely as she began to rub her pussy against Ayame's mouth as Yakumo tried to aid the waitress in making her cum.

Naruto's watched the action before him as he continued to pump away inside Ayame. He tightened his grip on her hips in order to slow Ayame's backwards thrusts to meet his. He chuckled as she tried to protest but couldn't pull her mouth from Yakumo's honeypot due to the woman's grip on her hair. He buried his dick fully inside her and then slowly pulled out. He took the moment to enjoy the way that Ayame's pussy gripped his cock trying to prevent its egress from within her. His return stroke was just as slow and it became more difficult to hold Ayame as she struggled against his grip. He pulled back once more slowly, but slammed forward causing Ayame to moan loudly as he once more began pumping quickly.

Yakumo suddenly shouted as she came coating Ayame's face with her juices. She sagged and her grip loosened allowing Ayame to pull loose. She quickly straightened and turned to kiss Naruto. The two swapped spit and delighted in the taste of Yakumo. "Mmmmm," Ayame purred when the kiss ended as much from the taste as the dick moving inside her.

Naruto groaned as her cunt tightened around him and he then pushed Ayame forward until she climbed atop of the bed. She squatted on the bed with her feet on the mattress and Naruto moved his hands to Ayame's breasts as she reached behind him to grip the back of his head. Naruto groped one breast as he began to roll and tweak the other. "O-oh...so good..." she moaned tilting her head back again to seal her lips to Naruto's.

Yakumo's glassy eyed stare cleared as her focus shifted from the ceiling to the connected lovers. She was greeted to a great view of Ayame's cunt as it was plowed by Naruto's dick. She weakly rolled over and turned around to face the two. She then crawled forward and began to lick where the two lovers were connected. Both groaned as Yakumo's tongue began to run over the rutting pair's combined genitalia. Yakumo placed her hands on Ayame's knees as she pressed her face deeper against where the two lovers were joined. Ayame moaned into Naruto's mouth which turned into a scream as Yakumo's clamped over her clit.

Naruto grunted in his effort to stave off his orgasm as Ayame's pussy began to clamp down around his manhood in an effort to get him to release his seed. In the end he decided to give in so blasted Ayame's insides in his thick white cream. He pulled out causing Yakumo to remove her mouth from Ayame's snatch and she received a spurt of his goo across her face for good measure. She moved to the side as Ayame fell forward onto the bed as she sighed in contentment.

Naruto groaned as Yakumo took the opportunity to clamp her mouth around his sensitive head. She swirled her tongue around the tip causing him to close his eyes at the sensations coursing through him. He looked down after a moment and saw that Ayame had rolled over to stare up at him. Seeing a hungry look still in her eyes, he wondered if he was the one that would be having trouble attending to his duties later.

*****

Naruto settled into his chair with his mail that Ayame had brought up for him. He spared a look to see Ayame and Yakumo sleeping contently as they held each other looking sweaty and satisfied. He was amused that in the end he was right as Ayame would not be opening her ramen stand that morning. His gaze shifted to Yakumo and not for the first time he was glad he had sent the henged clone to impersonate her the night before. Directing his attention back to his mail, he tossed the bills and the junk mail until he saw one that caught his attention due to the handwriting on the envelope. Opening it he read:

Hey Apprentice, long time, no see. I trust things are going well for you, right? Tsunade didn't say anything in our last missive, but I got the feeling something was bothering her. You did talk to her about your concerns, didn't you? I hope I'm worrying about nothing. Well I suppose it doesn't matter. I'm sure eventually she'll kick your ass to show you the truth.

Naruto chuckled as he thought of the more pleasant ways in which his lovers had showed him how his concerns were unfounded. Diving back into the letter he read,

My trip has proven far more rewarding then I first anticipated. Unfortunately thus far I've only flushed out a few minor characters for my book. Still I believe I've gotten enough done to schedule an appointment with the banker. I'm sure we'll have quite a productive meeting.

On a more personal note though, check the seal at the end of this for a scroll I think you'll like. I'm sure you'll come up with a productive use for the technique you'll find.

Naruto could swear he heard his teacher's perverted laugh that he most likely let out due to the few splotches of blood that appeared on the letter as if dotting Jiraiya's final sentence. He activated the seal and a scroll appeared falling into his lap. Opening it, he read the title of the technique which was the Transparent Escape Technique. Diving into the scroll he figured he knew what he would be working on later.

*****

Karin signed in with the chunin on duty at the main gate flanked by her genin bodyguards. She smiled as she stepped into the village and a kind voice said, "How's it going fellow Uzumaki?"

She heard Moegi make a small squeak as she tried to hide behind the red-head. Naruto noticed and tried to look behind Karin, but the young kunoichi said, "Don't look at me, Boss."

Karin smiled as she now was quite positive that the young genin had a crush on her lover. Particularly due to how Moegi quickly turned away when Naruto didn't stop looking around Karin. Naruto knelt down and placed a comforting hand on the genin's shoulder that were shivering like she was on the verge of tears. "Hey," he said gently, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. You should have seen me after a few of my battles and besides Tsunade has already told me how your efforts protected my new family."

Moegi looked over her shoulder showing him some of the bruises her face still sported. She looked like she was about to say something but Udon said, "I didn't know you were related to our client. She even mentioned that the blood connection was all but none nonexistent."

Naruto looked at Udon before replying, "Don't the other clans consider all the members their family even the ones they aren't related to directly?

"Not that I'm aware of," Udon replied matter of factly as Moegi turned to face Naruto.

"Guess I'm glad I'm not a member of one of those then," Karin said amused.

Naruto gave Moegi a small nudge under her chin before standing again and saying, "You three better go speak to the Hokage, she's going to want your firsthand accounts of what happened."

"Boss," Konohamaru said before Naruto could leave with Karin. Naruto stopped to look back causing his friend and sometime student to say, "We need to get stronger."

Naruto nodded as he replied, "Then I'll see at the training grounds later."

Moegi and Konohamaru both smiled as they ran off followed by Udon whose emotions didn't ever seem to change. Karin kept her eyes on the third genin as he followed his teammates causing Naruto to ask, "What is it?"

"There's something about him that I don't trust," Karin replied turning to walk with Naruto as they headed into the village.

She expected him to quickly vouch for him so was surprised when he asked, "What do you mean?"

She didn't have her thoughts together having to change tracks since she expected to need to convince her lover. But she quickly gathered them saying, "It's just a few things didn't add up for me. When we were on our way to Wave he nearly spotted Haku. Tell her thanks for the help by the way." Naruto nodded so she continued, "Yet, when Vega almost ambushed us. He didn't seem to possess those same razor sharp skills. Then there was the fight... he wasn't unconscious after he collided with his teammate. A person who loses consciousness chakra ramps down like when a person shuts off the lights. His ramped down quickly but still not quickly enough. It's a subtle difference and I don't think most sensors would be able to tell the difference..."

"What are you suggesting?" Naruto asked the concern easy to hear in his voice.

Karin though didn't have a definitive answer simply replying, "I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking it. It could be that he just panicked in the face of a couple of stronger opponents I suppose."

She didn't give voice to the other one not wanting to make Naruto think the worse about someone he had grown up with and seemed to have spent quite a bit of time around. However she didn't need to as he said, "Or, he made a conscious decision to let you get murdered by those psychopaths."

Karin nodded. Naruto again surprised her by saying, "I'll keep an eye on him." He must have seen her stunned expression at his so quickly believing her as he chuckled before saying, "Why wouldn't I trust in a gut feeling you have?"

Karin smiled sweetly at him before changing the subject as she said, "Speaking of feelings. I've felt quite a few new signatures come on line as it were. Someone has been a busy boy which begs the question, when am I going to get some attention?"

"I'm afraid you're going to have to wait a little longer," Naruto said with some regret which intensified due to Karin's disappointed look. Quickly explaining he said, "I'm afraid I'm going to be leaving the village for some time as I've been assigned to the Training Force. I leave later this afternoon and I just made those plans with Konohamaru and his team which will eat up the last of my free time before I leave."

"Shit," Karin said upset but calmed as she guessed it couldn't be helped since she knew about the tension growing within the Training Force between the Suna and Konoha shinobi. Still, she didn't let him entirely off the hook as she said, "You better find time and I want the real deal, no clones." Naruto nodded so she said, "Well I trust lunch wouldn't be out of the question, would it? Let's go to Ichiraku."

"Ayame didn't open it today," Naruto said scratching his cheek and hoping Karin didn't ask why.

The red-head's eyes narrowed as she looked at him having a good idea as to why already. But she let it drop asking, "Then what do you suggest?"

Giving her a few restaurants they settled on one Hinata had told him about and was where her teacher used to take them after training. As they headed to the restaurant together Naruto hoped he could find a solution to the problem brewing in the prison and the tension in the Training Force quickly so he could focus more of his attention to his lovers.

*****

Ino blocked a punch that caused her to stagger to the side due to the power behind it even if Chouji wasn't trying to hurt her. But she used the momentum to aid her in flipping away as Shikamaru's shadow shot from the edge of the clearing to try and connect with hers. She threw a few blunted kunai at the spot in the woods it was extending from which caused the shadow to retreat as he needed to move to avoid getting hit.

She jumped into the air as Chouji's arms grew and tried to catch her between his giant hands. Her jump had her land against a tree trunk which she stuck to for a moment using chakra before leaping at the Akimichi as his limbs returned to normal size. She connected with a kick to his face which was followed by a second from her other leg as she spun in the air. Chouji staggered backwards from the underpowered blows, although he was surprised that even holding back Ino had become that strong. Shikamaru took the opportunity to send his shadow out again, but Ino was ready having pulled some smoke pellets as she landed and tossed them obscuring both she and Chouji in the smoke.

Targeting the Akimichi with a hand-sign unique to her clan she sent her chakra flying and could feel it as it connected. A moment later Chouji came charging out of the smoke but was caught by Shikamaru's shadow. The Nara upon appearing from the woods said, "Nice try Ino, but I know although your jutsu works by line of sight it isn't hampered by smoke or fog."

He waited for the smoke to clear as Chouji continued to struggle against his jutsu, and when it did enough to see inside the area it had covered. His eyes grew wide in surprise due to Ino's unconscious form not lying on the ground. Something Ino capitalized on as she climbed from Chouji's back which she had been clinging to using chakra and leapt from his shoulder towards Shikamaru who she tackled to the ground. Holding a blunted kunai to his throat she said, "You're dead."

She straightened as Chouji came charging towards them due to the Mind Body Disturbance Jutsu she had used on him which made him see allies as enemies. Ending the jutsu, he sagged to the ground and she tapped him with the kunai before saying, "You too."

She spun towards the sound of clapping and asked, "How was that Asuma-sensei?"

Asuma pulled the cigarette from his mouth flicking the ash from the end of it and said, "It's enough to convince me that at least one of you wasn't slacking off while I've been with the Training Force."

"Ah come on Asuma," Shikamaru said sitting up, "You're making it sound like we still work under you."

Asuma chuckled, but said, "Hey now. We might not still be Team Ten, but I can't have it said that I trained a couple of slackers. My reputation would be shot. It makes me glad I recommended you three to be a part of the next influx of new shinobi for the Training Force. I'll expect you at the Main Gate later this afternoon. Here are your marching orders." He handed the papers he pulled from his vest to Shikamaru and Chouji first. "You guys can head back to pack. I'd like a few moments to heap more praise on Ino."

The two boys of the former team ten gathered their things and left each complaining about the coming hardship closest to their heart. That being how troublesome the next few weeks would likely be, or a general lack of decent food expected. Asuma simply shook his head in amusement before closing with Ino as he said, "I meant what I said I'm impressed. To be able to not only fend off but beat those two was no small achievement."

"Thanks," Ino said beaming from the rare praise from her teacher, although she had to admit it was mostly due to her lack of effort in the past. They turned to follow in the wake of their departed teammates and she asked, "How's Kurenai-sensei doing?"

"She's pregnant and a little upset that for the most part she's going through it alone. But she understands the opportunity this Training Force presents for our child."

"What do you mean?"

Asuma lit another cigarette before saying, "Believe it or not your generation has had more positive experiences with the shinobi of Sand then all the others combined. Considering that we are talking about a period of something like the three years since the end of the Sound-Sand invasion that's pretty sad. That's why I'll be counting on you and the others to draw on those positive experiences because those looking to cause trouble have over a hundred years of hate and anger to fall back on. But it's my hope that a stronger bond will grow between our two villages as a result of this exercise so that my and Kurenai's child will only know Suna as our close friends and allies."

"Wow," Ino said growing a bright smile, "You're already sounding like a dad."

Asuma chuckled but said, "Well it's better to get an early start since in a couple of months the practice ends and the dad speeches will be real." Ino smiled at her teacher and promised to do her part to make his hope a reality.

*****

Nanabi jumped through a glass window and rolled to her feet as a fire jutsu hit against the side of the building moments later. She peeked outside to see that Zero, the inmate whose number was three zeros, was smirking at her as she brought her hand down. Nanabi was about to leap back out, but Zero needed to duck as a four bladed shuriken flew down from a roof and nearly decapitated her. The shuriken flew back up towards where if came and was caught by the oldest of the Taki Kunoichi Trio. She was flanked by her two teammates until the long dark-haired one leapt down to the ground to engage Zero in taijutsu with the other two acting as support.

Nanabi decided to take advantage of the situation to sneak off to complete the goal of the exercise which was to grab a flag guarded by a team comprised of the Chunin Guards of the prison. There were four teams currently targeting that flag although Nanabi didn't believe it needed to be that way. She imagined the prisoners could all gang upon the guards; however since the winner of these competitions often received certain perks the prisoners tended to stay within their cliques, especially since some of the prizes needed to be divvied up. Nanabi by herself composed one of the teams as did Zero.

She was about to head out the back to attack the guards, but upon opening the building's backdoor, needed to jump to the side as she came face to face with an open umbrella that a moment later shot out a stream of flame. She scrambled back to the room she had first entered the building in and leapt through the window she had flown through just as Shura of the Shinobazu entered the room. "There," he shouted pointing at her flying form.

"Leave it to me," one of his fellow Ninja Dropouts replied hefting the Drilling Arm mounted on his right hand. Charging forward, he ran through the wall his weapon cutting a hole for his teammates to use as well.

Nanabi cursed as she avoided some metal wires before they could wrap around her. Her gaze drifted to the feminine looking man who also served Shura as a lieutenant of the Shinobazu. Nanabi narrowed her eyes as the men spread out around her. Thinking over what she had learned about them. She knew that much like her new body, they had past experiences with Naruto. The group had been badly wounded in that encounter and when the local authorities had searched the area where the Konoha-nin had fought the Shinobazu they had found the men clinging to life. Shortly thereafter, they had been shipped to the Leaf Maximum Security Prison and been rolled into the impending rebellion.

Nanabi's focus was brought back to the present when she felt someone back into her. She sent a glare over her shoulder to see that much as she expected it was Zero. The woman returned the glare although the dark glasses she wore dampened the effect. Still seeing that they were surrounded Zero said, "Perhaps your ire is best reserved for those in front of you."

Nanabi looked forward but replied, "Considering it was your fire jutsu that sent me into that building I think you deserve some of it too."

Zero shrugged, but said, "If we're going to get out of this let's put that aside for the moment."

"I thought you weren't interested in an alliance."

"This is merely a temporary teaming up; it's not the same thing."

"Fine," Nanabi said charging forward to face the three Ninja Dropouts. Shura the leader brought his umbrella up and fired a stream of fire at her. Nanabi dropped into a crouch and pressed her hands to the ground. A dome of stone arouse around her. The flame hit harmlessly against it, but she knew her barrier would only slow her opponents down.

Outside the Shinobazu Toki said, "Leave it to me." Charging forward, he slammed his arm into the dome which couldn't withstand the diamond tips of his weapon. A hole opened which he charged through but all he found was a hole in the floor. "What," he was about to follow down it when she cut the chakra to her feet and fell from the top of the dome to smash down into him.

Grabbing his face, she smashed his face into the ground before leaping out of the hole that he had made and collapsed the dome behind her. She heard him swear before being buried beneath the rubble. She leapt to land on the center of the pile she had just created to avoid the wires of Monju from entangling her. Staring at the two remain members, she was calculating how best to handle them when she felt the need to avoid the shuriken thrown by the grey-haired kunoichi leading the Taki Trio. However before she moved Zero shunshined to her back and kicked up a piece of the pile of stone they were standing upon. She used it to block the shuriken which imbedded itself into the stone. Turning, she then threw the stone like a discus at Monju who erected a barrier of wire between him and it.

However using her ability to manipulate stone Nanabi caused it to spin faster and directed it through a gap in the metal wires catching the surprised Shinobazu in the face with it knocking him out. The two teammates of the grey-haired Taki kunoichi charged up the pile towards them, but Nanabi shifted her focus to them spinning to bar their path to Zero. Holding her hands out, she caused a wave to pass through the pile of stone causing it to topple over on them and trapping them under a pile of rock.

Shura took the opportunity to line the end of his umbrella up with the pair but Zero disappeared and quickly reappeared in front of him. She hit him in the jaw with a palm strike and then lifted her glasses as he staggered back. From her vantage point Nanabi couldn't see what happened next, but Shura's eyes widened before he simply collapsed. Her attention was pulled away as the grey-haired kunoichi leapt from a roof and pulled her sword to stab the human-Bijuu. Nanabi raised her hands above her head causing the stone pile to shift as rock tentacles appeared from within it. They caught the airborne woman, who glared at Nanabi, but she didn't do so long as one of the tentacles hit her in the head knocking her out.

Nanabi turned back to where Zero was half expecting a need to finish the fight they had started but instead found that the other kunoichi was nowhere to be seen. Guessing the woman was heading to the goal, she quickly headed to where the Chunin Guards were waiting for their ass kicking.

*****

Maki landed on a branch before leaping again to follow at the rear of a column of her fellow Suna-nin. Looking around, she could see the determined faces of her countrymen as they closed in on their goal. For a brief moment she wondered if her team had seen similar scenery before attacking Konoha and found it as beautiful as she did. Thinking of her team that had died in the attack on Konoha brought the usual anger and hatred boiling to the surface. Yet just as it reached its peak, she felt it begin to subside as the thoughts of a blond Konoha-nin entered them. More specifically his eyes, which shone with a kindness she found hard to describe.

She had found her thoughts turning to him more and more often lately due to an event that happened on his first night of joining the Training Force. She, like many of Joseki's hardliners, was tasked with stirring up the old hatreds in order to force Gaara to call them back home. She wasn't exactly sure why Joseki had given them such orders, but figured it was so that Suna would be well protected instead of wasting a good portion of its force on war-games.

She was one of the only members to have remained a part of the training force since her other hard-liners from the first group had been overzealous and had decided to directly confront the Konoha-nin with their grievances. Temari had quickly cracked down on them and sent them to Suna forcing the remaining members to be more subtle.

She caught sight of a genin roughly the same age as Gaara as they leapt through the woods. His name was Tomari and much like her, the boy had lost people important to him the night Suna had attacked Konoha. It had turned her stomach to aid her fellow Hardliners in riling the boy up by using his deceased father. Particularly since Temari had made it clear that any further fights between Suna and Konoha-nin would result in the offending Suna-nin being stripped of Shinobi status. But she had joined in with the snide remarks as they watched a group of Konoha-nin laughing around one of the many campfires of the main camp.

Finally with a final push from Maki herself, Tomari had stood shouting, "How about you bunch of cowards and murderers shut up and give the rest of us a break."

/]

[/"Oi, quit being so troublesome," a Nara by the name of Shikamaru had replied, "We..."

/]

[/"Who the hell are you calling a murderer?" An Inuzuka said standing angrily.

/]

[/"Hey Kiba don't," a Yamanaka kunoichi said trying to pull the Inuzuka to sit down on the log again.

/]

[/"No, Ino, I'm sick of all these glares from jerks like him. We didn't do anything wrong. They're just pissed that when they tried to stab us in the back we sent them packing with their tails tucked between there legs."

/]

[/Tomari took a step forward that Kiba was all too ready to match with the Suna-nin shouting, "Say that again you bastard." Before Kiba could respond the Suna-nin threw a punch which Kiba matched however instead of hitting each other their fists collide with Naruto's face, who had appeared blissfully ignorant of the situation walked between the two. He crashed to the floor the cup of instant ramen he had been happily eating spilling all over the ground. All the shinobi stood up suddenly preparing for the brawl that was about to take place. However all eyes shifted to Naruto as he suddenly grabbed Kiba shouting in his face, "Hey what's the big idea hitting me? You made me waste one of my precious cups of ramen."

/]

[/Kiba was a little taken aback and shouted, "Hey man you got in my way. That jerk hit you too."

/]

[/A few of the Leaf Shinobi began laughing at the display used to seeing Naruto and Kiba argue. Some of the tension bled from the group until Tomari said, "That's right I did."

/]

[/Naruto turned and calmly asked, "Why?"

/]

[/"What?" the Suna-nin replied confused.

/]

[/Jerking his thumb towards Kiba he said, "He admits it was an accident, but you make it sound like even if it was you don't care. So I want to know, why?

/]

[/"I don't need a reason," Tomari said angrily, "I can't wait until Gaara sees the truth about you bastards and we're fighting you again. Then I'll finally get to avenge my dad."

/]

[/Naruto nodded before replying, "So starting a fight with a Leaf-nin would have maybe gotten the ball rolling towards that then, huh?" Tomari didn't reply but stared at the blond in shock as he said, "Well if a meaningless fight would make you feel better, how about hitting someone who won't fight back." Waving the boy forward he said, "Come on, how about it? Hit me again." Naturally the Suna-nin didn't at least until Naruto said, "See I'm sure your dad wouldn't..."

/]

[/Tomari swung then clocking Naruto across the face as he shouted, "You don't get to talk about my dad you Konoha bastard."

/]

[/Kiba and a few of the other Konoha-nin were about to charge forward, but were stopped by the Nara who used his family's jutsu to link with their shadows. Maki could see the blond nod his head at the Nara before turning to face the genin that had struck him. He didn't say anything but just stared at the Suna-nin sadly which prompt him to strike Naruto again. Maki caught sight of the Yamanaka running off as Naruto once more straightened to take another punch. It didn't come though as suddenly Temari shouted, "What the hell is going on here?"

/]

[/The panic on Tomari's face was evident to see as he knew his career was over at least until Naruto said, "Nothing, just a small debate."

/]

[/He turned to face the blonde kunoichi whose face softened but eyes hardened as she saw the state of the shinobi face. "Naruto..." she said her voice a soft whisper.

/]

[/"Oh this," the blond said touching his swelling face, "I was just in such a hurry to eat after today's exercise I didn't even bother having my face healed from running into a tree when I was daydreaming about dinner. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

/]

[/Maki watched as Temari's eyes moved from Naruto's face to Tomari's hand which was still covered in the blond's blood. She surprised all those present when she said, "I suggest next time you remember that any inattention can be fatal, even during a training exercise."

/]

[/Naruto saluted saying, "Lessened learned." A warm smile appeared on her face before she left and both parties separated. She could see Kiba yelling at the blond about what a pussy he was, but regardless he simply smiled not rising to the bait. In the morning Maki had learned that an area set aside near the camp as a training field had been ravaged by Temari who had taken her frustrations out on it. As opposed to on her own people who seemed to desire a fight with Konoha the blonde was sure they would lose. At least that was what Maki believed at the time.

She came back to the present as the Suna commander of her group and another Hardliner gave the signal to stop. Landing on a branch, she could see the flag that they were sent to capture as well as the blond she had just been thinking about. "Shit," another Suna-nin said, a kunoichi named Yukata. She like many in her age group had a crush on Gaara, and was more than a little jealous now that he was with Sari. Still Maki was more than a little surprised at the outburst since she knew the girl was a professional.

"Be quiet," the male Suna commander in charge of the mission said angrily.

Getting a hold of her emotions, Yukata said, "Sorry sir. It's just you didn't see him during that training mission a few days ago. He and that teammate of his were able to turn the tide on us even after everyone but the two of them had been eliminated."

Maki had heard a similar rumor since she hadn't been a part of the exercise either as it was one of the first times Suna and Konoha-nin had worked together and she doubted Temari wanted people close to Joseki to be a part of it. However, she had dismissed the rumor since although it had been a multi-day simulation it had ended the same night the blond had allowed his face to be nearly caved in. Having a hard time believing that a chunin and genin could take out a vastly numerical superior force she had decided to believe the event she had witnessed. Still seeing the look in her fellow kunoichi's eyes she had a hard time not believing the rumors now.

However the shinobi in charge was unfazed as he said, "Hm, that wimp. I doubt it. Hell his team left him behind because he would be useless in the assault they are most likely staging." He looked around at his men before zeroing in on Tomari as he said, "How about it kid. Want a chance to kick his ass again?"

"Um, sure..." he replied although he appeared to be lost in thought.

Taking that to mean the kid might be concerned about the rumors the commander said, "Relax. I'll send a force to flank him and if it looks like he has a spine after all we'll crush him with our numbers."

"Okay," Tomari replied sounding no more enthused. He dropped down to the ground and approached the sitting blond.

"Hey," Naruto said brightly as he stood up to begin stretching his legs, "Looks like I'm going to be seeing some action after all. I was kind of worried I'd miss out since Shikamaru left only me behind."

Tomari glared at the blond before saying, "That was stupid of you to say. You just gave away the fact that you are alone. You could have at least pretended to have people waiting in ambush in order to force us to approach you cautiously."

"I guess you have a point," Naruto admitted his good cheer undiminished, "But if you have even a half decent sensor in your group you could have confirmed that without your commander sending you out to trigger a trap."

Maki sent a look towards the commander to see him grimace at the blond reading his intentions. She watched his face grow grimmer as the blond continued, "You shouldn't look so surprised since it's a common tactic. Although it would be foolish on our part if we sprung a trap on one shinobi." Maki felt her own apprehension grow when the blond turned to look over his shoulder behind him and upon facing Tomari again say, "By the way I hope you aren't relying on the group moving to flank me. They aren't going to be much help." To punctuate his point the squad the commander had sent around to get behind Naruto fell from the trees but didn't hit the floor as they were suspended by their feet and tied up like a cocoon. Naruto gave the kid a smile before saying, "I hope this doesn't generate any more bad feelings between us. Please remember we're just two shinobi doing our duty."

Before Tomari could respond Naruto moved and buried his fist in the genin's stomach, who gasped before he collapsed.

"Fuck," the Suna commander said before ordering, "Attack!" Over twenty Suna-nin leapt from the canopy of trees facing the blond, but several were hit by blunted kunai thrown from the trees behind Naruto forcing the ones "killed" to lie on the ground and play dead. Maki noted that the commander was one of them. Those that made it to the ground responded in kind and threw a volley of their own. Naruto grabbed Tomari and used him as a shield to avoid the ones aimed at him. Most however were aimed at the trees behind him and the unseen force of enemies. A few poofs of smoke gave Maki an idea of what they faced which was confirmed when a bunch of clones leapt from the leaves. They ran past Naruto who joined their ranks after setting Tomari down.

Maki reached behind her to touch the roll of cloth strapped to her back. She channeled her chakra into it and then pointed at a Naruto closing with her. To her surprise just as he was about to be caught he made another clone which he tossed towards the cloth. "Boss you bastard," the clone shouted just as her jutsu began to wrap around the protesting clone.

"Damn it," she cursed trying to finish wrapping the clone before the real Naruto reached her. It didn't appear she would in time but as Naruto jumped towards her. He was kicked away by a petite kunoichi with green-hair which sported orange bangs that framed her face. "Pakura," Maki said surprised as the kunoichi landed in front of her.

She didn't respond which didn't surprise Maki since the kunoichi tended to keep to herself, something that suited most Suna-nin just fine. The kunoichi charged Naruto wordlessly her brown-pupiless eyes locked in on her target. She kicked at Naruto but he blocked her attack and responded with a punch which Pakura grabbed and used to flip him over her shoulder.

A clone grabbed her from behind allowing Naruto to roll to his feet and he was forced away as Maki sent a tendril of cloth after him. Pakura in a soft voiced asked the Naruto holding her, "Are you a clone?"

"Yeah," it replied tightening its grip when she went slack.

"Good," the kunoichi replied as a small ball of fire appeared around her which hit the clone in the back causing it to mummify before dispelling. Charging after what she assumed was the real Naruto, she nimbly leapt among the clones easily dispelling them with kunai. Maki was about to back her up but she was hit by a burst of water that knocked her off her feet. Looking at what had drenched her; she saw two toads, one yellow and the other red. She was about to send her cloth to bind them but due to it being wet it moved far less accurately then she wished. The toads leapt away clearing the way for a squad of Naruto to charge at her and due to her compromised jutsu she quickly fell to their combined might.

Now playing dead as well, she watched Naruto and Pakura fight. The kunoichi was going all out even using her scorch release although Maki imagined it was severely underpowered. Still, she knew being hit by one would have him screaming for water so she imagined it was no surprise he was so hellbent on avoiding them. Pakura lost the match though when the two toads appeared again having refilled and squirted her in midair. She landed roughly on the ground, but before she could recover was sent airborne again by a technique Naruto called out as he performed it saying, "Uzumaki Barrage."

The clones kicked Pakura in the air and another leapt off of a fellow clones shoulders after her. At the apex of their flight the clone kicked Pakura down towards the ground into the waiting arms of Naruto who caught the small kunoichi easily. No one was more surprised at her gentle landing then Pakura who blushed as the handsome blond asked her, "Are you alright?"

Pushing out of his arms, she landed on her feet saying, "Fine. I'm dead, it looks like we lose."

Frowning at her clipped way of speaking as well as the way she kept her back to him. Naruto was about to ask her why she appeared so nervous around him but was interrupted when Tomari shouted, "So that night was about you mocking me?"

Naruto turned towards the youth as did the other "dead" Suna-nin, who now that the battle was over were going to head back to camp for news on how their side had performed. Shrugging his shoulders he said, "I thought it was about your father."

"That's not what I mean. You could have demolished me. So why let me hit you, to prove how weak I am?"

"Hardly," Naruto replied, "I let you hit me so you wouldn't hit someone else. I didn't hit you back because it's my hope that I can one day call you an ally and friend."

"Why?"

Naruto smiled as he said, "Because Gaara's my friend and beating up his shinobi would make him angry. Not to mention if a Suna-nin might one day end up watching my back I certainly don't want it to be one I pissed off by starting a fight with."

Tomari stood and still holding his stomach where Naruto had hit him said, "But you're so strong. Why take crap from anybody?"

Naruto was about to respond when a green flare shot into the sky. Recognizing it as the sign that the training exercise was over he began walking back to camp. Passing Tomari he answered, "Because having power doesn't make one strong. Having something to protect does, and using that strength to hurt those that disagree with me would only demean the reason I train to grow stronger."

Maki watched the blond walk away and not for the first time found herself asking what it was about him that she found so familiar.

*****

Kiyomi was in her library with a pile of books already discarded on the table she sat next to. Closing her latest one in frustration, she was about to search through the library again when Yoruichi entered. Holding a bag as she said, "Here's the books you asked for?"

"Thank you," Kiyomi said taking the bag and quickly pulled a book from it to begin reading. When her fellow Bijuu made no move to leave she asked, "Is everything alright? You are not still feeling the effects of producing a chakra wave are you?"

Hearing a hint of concern, Yoruichi snapped, "What are you playing at now?"

Kiyomi looked up from the book and replied, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, first you seemed like you were over what happened when we abandoned you. But then you got what you wanted from me and quickly showed me you had no intention of forgetting. Now here you are pretending to be concerned about me so just tell me what you want. Hell, if it's for Naruto, I'll probably still do it. I'm just tired of feeling like you're buttering me up for something."

Kiyomi looked away before standing and heading to a window. She looked out on the village and closed her eyes to get a sense of her lover. Smiling at his comforting presence she turned away to face her fellow Bijuu before saying, "I can't blame you for feeling that way. The truth though is I'm not trying to manipulate you." Indicating the books she said, "I wouldn't need to. All this is research in order to free our fellow Bijuu."

Yoruichi looked at Kiyomi skeptically before saying, "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Naruto," the nine-tailed Bijuu answered. "He's forgiven me for more transgressions then I care to count. He has always managed to look pass how I wronged him to the woman I became. My latest screw-up being just another example. And yet, I couldn't do the same for you and the others for a wrong committed in our youth. For that I am sorry and I do forgive you."

Yoruichi stared at Kiyomi who gave her a soft smile which stemmed from the nervousness she felt. She held her arms open slightly and Yoruichi shot forward wrapping the red-head in a hug. She cried gently against Kiyomi's shoulder who whispered, "I have missed you too... sister." She felt her own eyes grow moist as her acknowledging a familial bond between them caused her fellow Bijuu to cry even harder. Holding her close she wondered how best to free the rest of her family. Including the only other bound jinchuriki she could confirm, Gyuki, without starting a war with Kumogakure.

*****

Komachi watched as Danzou stood over the Leaf Prison and observed as a masked man left followed by two Anbu. Once they were clear of the prison the masked man revealed his face showing a handsome noble who almost like a sleepwalker began returning to his home. He would awake to find himself in bed with a false set of memories about how he had spent the day. One of the Anbu followed him home making sure he got there as the other broke off to join Danzou. The Anbu didn't bow or kneel instead as he removed his mask said, "I admit I'm impressed. Still it does little to calm me about your chances of becoming Hokage in light of your failure to defeat that trading bill."

Danzou scowled at Joseki before replying, "A small matter. If anything, should that bill prove as positive as Tsunade and her ilk claim it will make us far more capable of preparing for the coming war. Besides you were equally incapable of preventing its passing by your Shinobi Council."

Joseki frowned admitting, "True, it was far more popular then I would have liked, but considering the scraps you left us with before you can hardly blame Suna for passing it."

"Don't complain, the right to choose who gets what is the right reserved solely for the victor in any conflict." Joseki was about to angrily retort but Danzou stopped him by saying, "Forgive me. The set back in the Clan Council was more frustrating then I care to admit."

Joseki accepted the apology for what it was before saying, "Still you can't believe that little experiment you have going on in there is going to be enough to deliver you Konoha. That Curse Ma..."

"That is but the most obvious experiment," Danzou said cutting of the Suna Elder, "We have only just begun the next phase of it. Whether it succeeds or fails is irrelevant however. If it works I will simply take my rightful place as Hokage. Should it fail though, the chaos it causes will force people to question Tsunade's effectiveness as Hokage. In that case the time frame may be a little longer but the end result is the same, especially should she fall during the revolt."

"Something I imagine you will take steps to insure," Joseki said crossing his arms in thought as he admitted Danzou's plan had potential. "Tell me, how did you manage to hypnotize the entire prison into believing that noble was you?"

A small half-smile appeared on his face as Danzou replied, "You can't expect me to tell you all of my secrets."

"I suppose not," Joseki said after studying his lifetime adversary and current ally for a moment, "but your trick likely doesn't fool the cameras, so how do you plan to account for them? Not to mention the Warden certainly believes he's in league with you."

"True, but the same trick will have an interesting effect should he be interrogated upon this plan's failure. He'll think he's giving me up but in actuality it will be that noble. He has a few ties to the One King movement that has sprung up in a few countries ever since the Twelve Ninja Guardians split over the matter of who rules Fire Country years ago."

"And those cameras will prove the story to be true. You are one manipulative bastard," Joeski said impressed by Danzou's forethought.

"Now, all that remains is forcing your Kazekage to recall his shinobi so that when I'm ready the prisoners will be able to approach Konoha undetected."

Joseki cleared his throat in discomfiture as he said, "It's proving more difficult than expected. Ever since that nine-tailed brat has shown up he's been defusing the situations my men are creating. What's worse is his fellow Leaf-nin are following his example."

Danzou sighed before saying, "The jinchuriki has been a pain in my side since just after his birth. However, he has finally made himself of some use."

"What are you getting at?"

"Simple, by setting himself up as an example he has also set himself up as a symbol. A symbol can easily become a martyr under the right circumstances."

Joseki caught on quickly and somewhat shocked said, "Are you proposing I have the boy killed?"

"Precisely," Danzou said turning to his ally, "The boy who so badly wanted to improve relations with Suna suddenly cut down by one of those shinobi. It's a tale that will have our two villages at each other's throats. Gaara and Tsunade will try to stop it of course, but it'll be a devastating blow to both of them as well."

"I'm not willing to sacrifice one of my men to see this done though," Joseki said quickly.

"Then don't," Danzou replied with a shrug, "The mere hint that it was a Suna-nin will be enough. You just need to get one of your people close to him so that suspicion can fall on that person. Naturally if they see the opportunity they should take it though."

"And how do I know you won't betray whoever I assign this task too?"

"Because with a conviction the matter will be resolved, but if the monster that killed our jinchuriki is never caught, the anger and hatred between our villages will never heal. No matter how hard Tsunade and Gaara try."

Joseki nodded and before leaving said, "I'll see what I can arrange."

Danzou stared at the prison feeling on the verge of a momentous moment in his life. However aware of how it was at such moments that things often went wrong he spoke to the Anbu behind him ordering, "Komachi, Towa, take turns keeping tabs of whoever Joseki assigns to assassinate the jinchuriki. If they bungle the task ensure that all parties are silenced." Both Root Anbu nodded shunshining to begin their task. Danzou smiled since even if his soldiers killed whoever Joseki assigned to murder Naruto the elder wouldn't be able to complain since it would simply be him cleaning up a mess that could implicate the Suna Elder. His mirth also had to do with the fact that Joseki had shown him a weakness since his inability to sacrifice his pawns was why Danzou would never fear facing him.

*****

Maki calmed her breathing as she stood outside Ichiraku. She had been tasked with getting close to the jinchuriki in order to kill him. Sadly it had been a task almost too easy to complete. The getting close to him portion that was. The young man didn't seem capable of turning away anyone who seemed to have even a passing interest in speaking to him. Naturally though, considering what the second half of her mission was she was more than a little nervous at her task, easily remembering how he had bested an entire team of her fellow shinobi. She tried to ignore the disgust she felt as well, but kept telling herself it was for the best since the more Suna came to rely on Konoha the more likely it would be unprepared when Konoha eventually turned on it.

Entering the ramen stand she heard the woman that ran it say, "Naruto if you eat any more I won't have anything to feed my customers."

"But Ayame, it's been so long since I've had your ramen," the blond replied childishly causing both the waitress and Suna kunoichi to smile.

Maki caught herself and trying to remain calm said, "You really do only eat ramen."

Naruto spun on his stool and with a cheerful greeting said, "Maki, have you come to have the best ramen in the world?"

"Well you talked it up so much I figured I needed to try it while on leave," the Suna kunoichi said taking a seat next to him.

Naruto nodded and spun towards his lover saying, "Put it on my tab Ayame."

A pang of guilt hit Maki as she tried to say, "I couldn't accept that Naruto. I'll pay."

"Don't be silly," the jinchuriki replied amused, "This way on the off chance your taste buds don't work I won't feel bad if you don't like it."

Maki shook her head saying, "Thank you," with an air of grace before accepting the bowl from Ayame.

The blond then turned to the waitress saying, "I'll have another."

Holding up the pot the waitress said, "Sorry, all out?"

"What!" Naruto said sounding like a starving man.

Ayame giggled before saying, "I didn't know you were getting some leave from the Training Force. I didn't have enough time to prepare for a visit from you."

Naruto crossed his arms saying, "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Honestly," Ayame said amused, "I'm beginning to wonder what it is you came to see, me or the ramen."

Naruto chuckled at her joke but was surprised when Maki slide closer to him saying, "You can share this bowl with me. Honestly it's more than I could hope to eat."

"Really thanks," Naruto replied grabbing a fresh pair of chopsticks as he dug into the bowl.

Maki watched Ayame carefully having already heard that she was dating the blond. Making sure to press as much of her body against him as possible, she was surprised when Ayame didn't seem to grow jealous. She was pleased though since with what she had planned a jealous girlfriend could ruin any chance suspicion fell on her after her task was done. Guessing that wouldn't be a problem as the waitress smiled at her. The Suna-nin prepared to eat some more of the delicious ramen and was shocked to see almost half of it was gone. Trying to muscle her chopsticks past the blond's she had a hard time not laughing as despite offering her the bowl she had to battle for every bit that she ate.

*****

Nanabi stepped into the women's shower and wasn't surprised it was occupied. The other occupant spotted her, but ignored her presence as she washed her long dark-hair. Nanabi sighed as she turned on the water which felt good on some of her bruises. She sent a small glare at the other woman present since she was the reason for a good many of them. As expected Zero didn't react so she settled for lathering her skin up with soap.

Nanabi let her mind wander to the day's training and as before both she and Zero had been the last two people standing. They had battled at the goal which ended in a draw when the time ran out and neither woman had gained an advantage. Therefore Akame had awarded them both the prize which had been private use of the shower without the other women present.

Nanabi winced as she touched a sensitive portion of her skin where Zero had landed a shot to her ribs and was surprised at herself when she said, "I don't want you as an enemy."

Zero paused in washing her hair to reply, "If it happens it happens."

She was about to resume till Nanabi replied, "Then let's try to prevent it from happening. My goal is to get out of this prison alive and without being used by anyone."

Zero stared at her before saying, "A strange goal especially considering you already know you are being used."

Nanabi nodded also counting Kyuubi in her opinion on her current situation, but countered as she said, "That doesn't mean I plan for that to be how things remain."

Zero finished with her hair before turning off the water. Walking past her fellow prisoner she said, "I'll keep that in mind. What's your name?"

Nanabi paused before replying, "Sorry, my name has meaning to me. I'm not prepared to share it."

Zero let out a short humorless laugh before saying, "How ironic your goal means nothing and you give it away freely while your name holds value."

"I..."

Zero continued on past the Bijuu but stopped as she said, "In the interest of fairness my name is Mikoto. But I can't tell you my own goal as it is what I attribute value to." Advertisements

Not understanding the Bijuu asked, "Why does your name have no value?"

"It belongs to a dead woman," Mikoto replied before stepping out of the shower. Nanabi watched her leave and noticed the scar where a sword had been stabbed into her back and possibly her heart considering how unemotional the woman seemed to be.

*****

Maki felt as if she was on fire as she made out with the blond. After leaving Ichiraku, Maki had asked for Naruto to show her around. He had been all too glad to comply and Maki hated to admit it she found herself truly liking the blond. She wasn't too surprised by that as she had noticed how some of the kunoichi he was around seemed to be rather taken with him. That coupled with Ayame's lack of reaction had made her come to believe he had a special arrangement with his girlfriend. She supposed that was one reason why there hadn't been any drama when he had selected the waitress from all the women she had learned he had dated recently. There wouldn't be anything to fight over if they all agreed to share. Of course, Maki found that hard to believe and figured she was just trying to stem the guilt she felt for seducing the kind girl's boyfriend. Although considering how she planned to end the night she knew there were worse things to feel bad about.

Strangely though, Maki believed she wouldn't have even needed the aphrodisiac that she had slipped into the ramen before offering it to Naruto. Being under its sway as well was just another way for her to carry out her mission without feeling anything more than she needed to. At the moment that was lust.