Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto or Young Justice. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and DC.

This is not the omake I was planning on making. Apologies :(

(Author notice at the end of chapter will explain things)

~Chapter 29~

Naruko was tired. Tired of all of the stress, tired of all the annoying fools that thought they could pull a wool over her eyes. She was just plum tired.

Presently, she was sitting in her office chair looking out her window. She seemed content with just looking outside but she knew she couldn't do that. There was a large pile of papers that needed to be signed on her desk behind her. Nadine, that sneaky woman had brought that pile in here looking very smug, like she knew something Naruko didn't. As it so happens something did happen that Naruko did not expect.

"You did what," the blonde screeched inaudibly at her secretary.

Nadine winced. "I signed you up for the adoption program."

Naruko could feel her eye twitching. "Why would you do that? You know I'm already taking care of one child already, and he's a teenager." Conner was actually almost 4 months old being a clone and all but that was beside the point.

"I know but I thought seeing as how you're so good with having a teenager around, and taking care of him I thought having a toddler would be kind of nice too...please don't cut my pay! I was pushed into doing it by the higher ups!"

"...The board told you to do it," Naruko asked making sure she heard the woman right.

Nadine nodded her head. "Yes, they didn't explain it to me right away, but the gist of it is that they were going to push for your promotion if you can manage to take care of another child."

"That makes sense but then it doesn't," Naruko deadpanned. "Why in the world would they choose me of all people? Out of everyone in this company why me?"

"Because you seem like the most responsible out of everyone here," Nadine smiled nervously at Naruko's scowl, "They've done psych tests on all of the employees and none have come out...okay. You seemed to have the most sense here." Besides me was left out into thin air.

Naruko sighed feeling a headache start to form, though she knew Kurama would get rid of it.

"Can't do headache's kit," Kurama snorted. Well, he is able to get rid of it, he just didn't feel like it.

"Ugh," Naruko groaned sinking back down into her seat. "Okay, alright, I'll do it. I just...need some time to talk to my son. I don't want to just spring this on him."

Nadine smiled as she nodded. "I understand. You can contact me after you tell him." She gave another nod of her head before taking her leave out through the door leaving Naruko alone once again.

"Geez," Naruko groaned again. What had she gotten herself into, again?

"So, you're gonna have another brat running around...man, I thought having one was enough," Kurama said irritably. He sounded like he had had enough of everything right now. For whatever reason Naruko had no clue. She was the one feeling stressed right now.

"Conner is not a brat, he's an adolescent." Four months...he was 4 months old and he was already acting like a normal angst filled teenager. Having another kid around that age that was actually the age they looked like sounded kind of nice. And she's wanted Conner to have a sibling for a while now.

Maybe adopting another kid won't be such a bad idea.

Later on Naruko had taken her time getting home. She made a few stops to distract herself from her job...her stressful job. Don't get her wrong she loved working for Nate & Co, but sometimes she just hated it. Her boss, the one who had hired her had hit on her, when she first started working there, subtly throwing comments about her appearance out there (some not so appropriate), and touching her. The other men she worked with thought of her as one of them, one whom deserved the respect she earned working with them, but that man...

"Calm yourself Naruko. You're not there, you're headed ho-" Naruko's words were interrupted at the sound of a large boom and glass windows breaking.

"You have got to be kidding me." Ahead of her was a large looking plant, that towered over the tallest buildings, wrecking everything as it waved violently back and forth. People were running towards her away from the giant killer plant screaming in fear and terror. Some looked pretty roughed up

Naruko's shoulder slumped as she sighed. "I spoke too soon."

"You just never seem to catch a break don't 'cha kit," Kurama chuckled gruffly looking quite amused by Naruko's irritated face.

"Urusai! Baka Kitsune!" Naruko huffed. She shook her head trying to reign in her calm before taking a look around. People were still running away in panic but it looked like another plant had emerged from the ground this time with a head attached to it.

Kami why?

"Guess I should get suited up." Making sure no one saw her Naruko rushed to the nearest alley way before harnessing chakra into her feet and racing up the building. She bolted across the buildings as fast as she could making her way to the nearest zeta, which was near her favorite ramen shop. He really didn't have to but Batman had indulged her with the idea to put it there.

"I seem to remember you begging for that zeta to be put there kit."

"...And your point being," Naruko said looking bemused. There was minimal begging on her part...okay maybe a little, but she wanted the zeta to be somewhere she knew she could find it. The only viable detail she missed out on that day was the small smile on Batman's face after it was approved of.

Mount Justice...

Seijirou, Kaname and Kiyo stood off to the side of the combat circle as they watched Kaldur and Robin spar. The former was staring at their spar with interest while the latter two just stared. A few comments were thrown back and forth as the spar slowly came to an end.

"I see those two are still with us," Kaname whispered to his siblings as he gave the two den mothers present a look of annoyance.

Kiyo hummed in agreement. "We weren't here for that but I find it kind of-"

"Stifling," Seijirou finished looking pensive. Since the incident with the Red's he's been pretty much roving over how and why they had shown up here. Was there something he was missing?

The sound of the zeta going off brought everyone who was presents attention to it. Out of it came Conner and Megan walking together with Wolf right behind them. From the looks of it they seem to be coming back from a date or something of the like.

Robin and Kaldur walked over towards the siblings as they stared at the couple looking amused. "You know they're a couple right," Robin whispered loud enough for the four to hear.

"I believe I knew before they did," Kaldur smiled.

Kaname smirked moving his hands to his hips. "Man, and here I thought I was the first to find out they were toge- ow!" He winced a little as his sister elbowed is arm.

"Shut it Kana-baka," Kiyo hissed pointing her free right hand out behind her. Wally and Artemis were walking out from the corridor opposite of the entrance looking slightly less agitated at one another than they usually were.

Seijirou flinched a little shifting his eyes away from them. He felt kind of annoyed when he saw those two walking out, together. The mood had lightened between them since that mission in India with the collared animals. Something had happened to cause that change. He couldn't put his finger on it but the way they interacted with one another was kind of unnerving to say the least.

Unbeknownst to him Seijirou was being watched by Robin whom noticed the change in his demeanor. The young hero frowned a little before moving his gaze over to Wally and Artemis. It was like something had clicked in his brain when he realized what was wrong with Seijirou. A smirk stretched across his face.

"Do we tell them," Robin asked.

Kaldur shook his head. "It is not our place." If Conner and Megan wanted to tell everyone they were a couple then that was their decision.

"So if Zatarra is still our baby-sitter of the week then why is he still here," Wally asked pointing over towards Captain Marvel who was eating. "And why is he eating my snacks?!"

Kaname leaned over to the red head and whispered. "You shouldn't have left them un-attended." He chuckled stepping back to avoid an elbow jab to his stomach from Wally who scowled back at him.

Recognize Batman 02

"Computer National News," Batman ordered looking up as a screen appeared in front of everyone. On the screen was none other than Cat Grant standing in front of what looked like a street with pieces of rubble scattered about.

"The initial attack was short lived, but Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve. And despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice League there seems to be no end in sight." Live footage of League members was shown on the screen switching between each individual battling it out with the giant plant. The sight of A.I and Majesty sliding down a falling building made the three Kasagawa siblings frown with worry. Another clip was shown of Angel and an array of her clones punching and kicking their way through the live plants, evading falling debris in the process.

"Should we get out there," Robin asked his mentor looking eager to join the fight. He wasn't the only one.

Batman turned away from the screen to stare at the team. "No. The League will soon have the situation under control, that's not why I'm here. According to your intel Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus' Blockbuster formula to Kobra."

"Who combined it with Bane's Venom to create Kobra-Venom," Wally added.

"Which the Brain used to create his animal army," Robin continued.

Superboy gave Wolf a pat on his snout as he spoke. "And upgrade Wolf."

"The Brain also used inhibitor collars, like the ones at Belle Revve Penitentiary," M'gann informed.

Artemis looked pensive as she asked, "Batman, is it possible that the plant thingy's are on Kobra -Venom too?"

"Plant thingy's," Kaname mouthed. There was a smack to the back of his head from Kiyo making him shut his mouth.

"That sounds likely," Seijirou answered moving a hand to his chin in thought. "Did you look into what the plants were made of?"

"Yes.I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis," Batman said as he waved his hand out in front of him bringing out a small screen. "The vines cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra-Venom variant."

Kaldur nodded. "These can not be coincidences."

"You're telling me," Kaname said tilting his head. "It's like connect the dots. Each villain you guys have come across have had some dealings with either Venom or Kobra. Once the dots are connected, wham! There's the big picture."

"In a way yeah," Kiyo rolled her eyes. "Unrelated criminals have been working with each other across the globe.

Batman nodded in regards to Kiyo's words. "Exactly. It's now clear our enemies have formed some kind of secret society of super villains. The attack on Metropolis is only the beginning."

Robin hummed in agreement tapping his fingers across the holo key board in front of him. "You got that right. Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Paris, Star City, Taipei, Seattle-" He was cut off in his listing when the large screen began to fizz out.

Kaname blinked. "What the..."

"Dude," Wally said turning his eyes over to Robin in confusion.

Robin frowned typing furiously on the keyboard. "I-Its not me! Someone's cutting into the satellite signal. All satellite signals!"

"Gah, not that guy," Kiyo muttered in disgust as she stared at who appeared on the screen. It was the Joker looking as smug and creepy as ever. He knocked his knuckled against the screen before moving back.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we interrupt you regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you this, important announcement." The Joker turned the camera away from him showing more of the criminals. "To bring you the Injustice League." The camera closed in on the person standing in front,Vertigo.

"We are responsible for the attacks on your cities. If you wish to save them a ransom of ten billion American dollars is required. The delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit, but the longer your governments wait-" The camera was moved back over to Joker.

"The more we get to have our...jollies. Hahahahahaha." The live feed cut off leaving the room in silence.

"...Okay, anybody else freaked out, cause I am," Kaname's voice echoed through the cave as he could feel his eye twitching, from what, he couldn't really decipher it at the moment.

Batman narrowed his eyes behind his cowl as he pressed a finger to his ear. "Roger that Aquaman. The U.N will use the ransom as a fall back, but it won't come to that."

Robin sighed as he began typing on the keyboard again. The live feed was rewound back to where all the villains were standing next to one another. Red boxes were suddenly around each of their faces as Robin named each one. "Count Vertigo, the Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Atom, Wotan, seven heavy hitters, probably nearly behind everything and every one we've faced."

"There's your secret society."

Artemis huffed as she crossed her arms. "Not so secret anymore."

"Perhaps after India they realized we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer," Kaldur surmised.

Wally let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, well that was their mistake. I say we go kick some plant creature butt."

Seijirou rolled his eyes. "As if," he thought ignoring the stare that was on his back.

Batman shook his head. "The Justice League will handle the plants. I have a different job for this team."

Wally's shoulders slumped. "Aw man-ow!" He glared at Artemis who surprisingly shook her head and pointed her finger at Seijirou. The Asian male scowled at him before turning his attention back to Batman.

"With the plants attacking so many different locations simultaneously there must be a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it." A few eyes widened when they realized what Batman meant.

Zatarra walked over to Batman looking somewhat opposed to this mission. "You realize what you're asking them to do?"

"They're ready."

"Ready? Ready for what-ow!" Wally glared over at Seijirou this time who pointed his finger at Artemis. "Will you cut that-"

"Hello Wally, if the big guns are fighting plants then who do you think we'll be fighting?"

Wally scowled at her as he rubbed his arm. "I don't know, I guess we'll-" He was cut off by a finger pointing past him at the screen. He turned his eyes towards the screen. "Ooooh."

Seijjirou rolled his eyes. "Moron." Kiyo and Kaname chuckled at his backhanded insult.

Zatarra sighed glancing at Batman. "Well, I trust that you are correct."

"I trust you can locate the enemy?"

"Wotan's involvement suggests sorcery is part of how the plants are controlled. Robin if you could provide a holo-map." Robin nodded his fingers flying across the keyboard again bringing out a large holo-globe. "I will search for signs of sorceress activity." Zatarra stretched out his arms, his palms lifted up towards the map. "Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros! There, that is where you will find the Injustice League central control system." There was a blinking red dot near the bottom of the North America.

"Coordinates locked, the Louisiana Bayou."

Kaldur nodded at Robin. "We are on our way." He gave another nod to the team as they left to get suited up.

Captain Marvel attempted to follow after them but Batman calling out to him stopped him in his tracks. "Captain Marvel, for this plan to succeed the entire Justice League must be seen fighting the plant creatures. You, Zatarra and I are needed elsewhere."

Recognize Angel 08

The three males turned their attention to the zeta watching as a lone blonde female, covered in something green, walked out of it looking upset.

"Gah, kami I hate those plant things," Angel hissed in disgust as she furiously wiped away the plant ooze from her suit.

Batman's lips quirked a half inch as he watched the woman stand a foot away from them. "Glad you're here...Have you found anything on what was discussed?"

Angel's eyes narrowed. "Yes. It seems like this attack was more than just a distraction. This 'Injustice Society' may just be a ploy for something bigger. I find it hard to believe that some of these villains would want to work with each other."

Captain Marvel and Zatarra stared wide eyed at the blonde in shock. "Wait, what? What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that there may possibly be a bigger player in this game. Haven't you noticed that some of the other A-list villains have been under the radar lately," Angel asked them. Look underneath the underneath Kakashi always told her.

"That seems more likely," Batman muttered. "It's only a theory but for now let's focus on the matter at hand. Angel, you'll rendezvous with the team before we arrive."

Angel smirked. "Got it." She gave him a two finger salute.

Seattle, Washington

Nate & CO Office building

Nadine sat at her desk staring, well, more like scowling at her computer screen. Her fingers nimbly flew across the keyboard as she tried so desperately to finish her work for the day. Aside from her work she also had to send in the adoption papers to the local orphanage, to tell them that everything was ready. Honestly, she had been worried that her boss would say no to her request., and it wasn't like it was really business related. Yes, the adoption had nothing to do with the executives. It was all her doing.

"She'll be safer in Miss Uzumaki's hands," Nadine muttered. The kid would have been sent away to some strange place, raised in a dangerous environment, never to see the light of day again. She wasn't about to let that happen, that's why she took the child and ran. She didn't want the kid to end up like her.

"I'm just hoping that they haven't followed me." Nadine groaned as the thought of being caught crossed her mind. There was only so much she could do to keep away from her past, but her recent act of good might have pulled her back into it. Her eyes shifted down from her lit computer screen to her right wrist. Hidden underneath a crap ton of makeup was a mark, a mark she herself had placed on her skin showing her loyalty to a group she'd abandoned long ago.

Ring! Ring! Nadine gasped in shock at the sudden noise coming from her phone. She had been so distracted that she hadn't noticed that it had been ringing for quite awhile. She moved her hand over to the small stand on her left to pick up her phone. She swiped the answer button to the side and raised the phone up to her ear.

"Hello."

"..."

Nadine furrowed her brow at the silence coming from the other line. She answered again. "Hello?"

"..." Still no answer.

"Okay, listen if you're not going to answer then-"

"I would advise you not continue with that threat, Miss Nadine."

At the sound of the deep yet rough voice on the other line Nadine froze, her facial expression changing into one of fear and surprise. No, it couldn't be who she thinks it is...could it?

"I'm surprised, I would have expected something a little more, daring, but that wasn't really you now was it Nadine," the voice said sounding very pleased from the tone in their voice.

Nadine swallowed. She could feel a cold sweat running down her back as she opened her mouth to speak. "H-How did you get this number? It's on a private line!"

"Oh child, in our line of work we have ways of finding our lost sheep."

Hackers, Nadine thought, tightening her grip on her phone. "Cut to the chase. What is it that you want?"

"Now, now, you don't have to rush. Why don't we have a reasonable chat? Like old times, hmm?"

"Enough with the games! Tell me what it is that you want!"

"Impatient are we? Well , I guess I can tell you. You see, you stole something precious from one of my subordinates. A baby? Her mother and father weren't happy about that one bit. They were ranting and raving endlessly about how they were going to tear their daughters kidnapper to shreds."

Nadine said nothing. She knew the baby's parents would find out their daughter was missing eventually. It was only a matter of time.

"...I know what would have happened if she stayed with you people. I didn't want that, so I saved her. You can't slight me for saving a 11 month old baby from being an assassin!"

"...Miss Nadine, we will be speaking again, sooner than you might think." The call ended leaving the receiver to beep.

Nadine shook in fear. "It's only a matter of time-" Her hands shook furiously atop her keyboard.

"They'll be coming for me soon." Sooner than she wanted them too. A sigh escaped past her lips, a sigh of anxiety and fear. There really was no escape from ones past.

"The Shadows always do away with traitors," she muttered glumly peering down at her covered wrist once more.

Naruko sighed heavily as she landed on the roof of her condominium. Her mask dangling from her neck. She'd had a long day. Those stupid plants held on far longer than she anticipated. At least she was able to distract them long enough for the team to get things done. She had been tempted to jump into the fray and help them out; beat down the bad guys for them...but she knew that would only set them off. The team was meant to be an independent group, trying their hardest to stray away from their mentors, go off on their own, and they will get there. Naruko knew this to be true since she oversaw the teams progress on a regular. Those kids, they were growing in more ways than one.

"Forgive me while I vomit," Kurama gagged.

"Oh shut it fuzzball. You care about those kids just as much as I do, and you can't deny it." She heard no reply, so she took it as a win for her.

As she stepped foot onto the steps of the condominium she paused. Something felt off. Naruko had felt this feelings once before, the feeling of someones presence lurking around. It wasn't the first time this has happened either. Many of her friends/family have visited, but there have been other times where someone, an intruder would approach her home-stay, either trying to steal of do something else entirely.

Taking a few more steps up she fished out one of her kunai preparing to attack. She crouched low as she closed in on the person. With her breathing slowed she lightly tread over the hard wooden floor, and with quick movement she sped forward, kunai raised to stab the trespasser. What she didn't account for was that said stranger was neither an intruder or someone sent to kill her, it was a baby.

"Eh," Naruko blinked, staring down at the swaddled sleeping baby that laid on the welcome mat in front of her door. She lowered her weapon quickly placing it back in her weapons pouch. Quietly she knelt down next to the slumbering babe slowly easing away some of the blanket wrapped around it. Peering inside the cloth she saw a small yellow envelope with her name written on the front. "The handwriting looks familiar," she said staring down at her name written in cursive. The way her name was laid out on the paper and the curled lines reminded her of one person, someone she saw on a regular.

"Now's not the time to be thinking about that. You should bring the kid inside."

Naruko furrowed her brow, staring back down at the baby. "I guess I should, then I can read whatever this is." She pocketed the letter first before wrapping her arms around the baby. Whilst trying not to drop her new load she took out her keys and unlocked her door, stepping inside and shutting the door behind her. Naruko walked over to her love-seat trying her hardest not to wake her little guest. "Alright lets see who you are." She released one hand from her holding the baby to remove the blanket before setting it down next to her. She gasped. "Oh my gosh." The baby, now identified as a girl, had short black hair and very obvious Asian features if the eyes weren't anything to go by. Her little onesie was red but what shocked her about was the plain as day symbol on the front.

"The League of Assassins? Why was a Shadows baby outside my door," Naruko questioned staring down at the little girl.

"The bigger question here is who left her at your door step."

"Maybe the letter will explain things." Moving the child to the crook of her right arm, she rummaged through her pouch for the yellow envelope. With one hand she opened it taking the contents out to read.

Dear Miss Naruko Uzumaki...

New York

Kasagawa Household

"This is ridiculous" Aini growled balling her hands into fists on the table in front of her.

Daichi shook his head tiredly taking a small swig of his tea. "It is but is there really anything we can do." He turned his head away from his angered wide, to look at the other person sitting next to him. "Was there anything else in the letter that she gave you, anything that we can decipher?"

"...No, there was nothing. If there was I would have found it," Naruko sighed into her mug. " I knew the whole adopting bit was off but I didn't know that it would lead to her disappearing." She had half a mind to blurt out that she felt a residual amount of...something coming from the babies carrier, but if she mentioned it then Aini would go on a war path.

"Look, we can't exactly help if we don't know the exact where abouts of your secretary. Heck, all we know about her is that she's your secretary."

Aini rolled her eyes at her husband. "I think I know more than you hun. Anyway, have you tried getting in contact with Bruce, to see whether or not he can help you with this."

Naruko shook her head. "No, I haven't really been keeping in contact with him lately. Both his company and the League have him busy. I mean, we've all been busy, and..." Her mind drifted back to what happened only a few days ago, with Hal. His arrival at her office was unexpected and totally out of her comfort zone. She had been in her element and the man had thrown her off her game. She was flattered, but to show up in his hero apparel...she didn't know what to think. Ugh, when the heck did she become the sensible one?

"I understand that getting help from our old chum might complicate things, but I feel like this is a more personal matter better to be dealt with by the three of us," Daichi rubbed his hands over his clay tea cup. He sighed bringing the cup up to his lips for another sip. "Your secretary, Nadine, right? She was actually a secret operative for the League of Shadows, but with her better judgment decided to high tail it out of there bringing along one of their members 11 month old baby girl with her. Did I get all of it right?"

"Yeah, you got it right...I figured with the three of us we'd be able to find out where Nadine is and why she decided to sign my name all over some adoption papers."

Aini shrugged. "Who knows, maybe she saw you as a better candidate than most of the people you work with."

Naruko furrowed her brow. "You may be right. Nadine never said anything about other eligible people from work."

"Maybe it was never meant to be a regular adoption. Nadine had a plan in the works from the get go to hand this kid over to you. She wouldn't have chosen anyone else," Daichi hummed tapping his fingers against the table. "She saw you as 'safe' leaving this kid with you. Realizing that if she were caught before doing this she would have been killed."

"You have a point," Aini furrowed her brows, "But what bothers me though is why the Shadows decide now was a good time to come after her. Wouldn't they have already done it months ago?"

Naruko sighed. "No, because earlier this year she was working for me. She didn't look dangerous when I interviewed her for the job, nor did she turn on me. She was the best. Got her work done and everything. Did some of what I couldn't even do."

Daichi whistled. "She was that impressive?"

Naruko nodded her head. "She made all of the other employees look small. The work she put out on a daily was next to none. She was that good...and now." A sigh left her lips as she leaned back against her chair. "I just wish I knew what she was thinking."

"...Maybe we can find out for ourselves," Aini suggested a fleeting smirk crossing over her tanned face. "We can gather intel on Nadine. Find out what we need to know and if things go south we can beat the answers out of them."

"Wha?" Are you seriously suggesting we go to where the League of Assassins are and gather information about Nadine," Daichi blanched.

Aini rolled her eyes. "Of course that's what I'm suggesting. If we want to find her we have to start at the source; where she came from and where she was raised. What do you think Angie?"

Honestly, Naruko thought it was a crazy plan, and she did crazy on a daily, but...

Aini saw the look of skepticism and conflict on her blond friends face. She could tell Naruko was mentally debating whether they should go through with this idea. "Look hun, I know this is all hard to swallow for you. Finding out that the woman who served as your secretary for 10 months-"

"She worked with me for 12 actually," Naruko interjected solemnly.

Aini groaned rolling her eyes once again. "Okay, 12 months, but does that even really matter? The woman was your trusted stead, and she did a a darn good job of assisting you."

"...I am and I'll always hold what she's done for me near and dear to my heart." Naruko smiled. Nadine was also one of her closest friends too. "*sigh* Okay, we need to gather intel on Nadine so we can find her."

Daichi nodded. "Right. Where should we start?"

Aini placed a hand under her chin. "Hmm, well we know the Shadows like to sneak about when something important is going down; take out whomever they deem killable."

Naruko frowned grimly. "That is somewhat true. They did try to assassinate Luthor a while back." She still felt like the whole things was staged, like it was all planned out somehow.

"Maybe it was kit. You never know."

"...Why don't we send the team in to investigate the recent thefts made by the shadows," Daichi suggested.

Aini gaped at him. "What?! You want to send the team?!"

Daichi held up his hands in surrender. "Just hear me out. We know about the recent thefts right? And we also know that along with these thefts a string of murders have happened too. The Shadows may be spread out committing some of these acts but they aren't the only ones with the same job description."

Naruko hummed in thought scratching the side of her face. The only other ones she knew that fit were the-

"The Soaring Raiders? You want to go after them?! Are you insane," Aini scowled at her husband.

"I know it sounds crazy but they're our best bet right now in finding out what we need. There's a deeper connection between the two groups. That mission the three of us went on back before the League was formed, yeah, the Shadows were involved with that. Our gold old friend Morinaga set the whole thing up."

"...You've got to be kidding me," Naruko muttered in shock. "That man planned out a wide spread attack on your grandfathers company, mind you in different parts of Japan, with the Shadows working with him?" The grim look n Daichi's face was her answer. "Sonnuva...alright, so what do we do now?"

Daichi smiled grimly as he opened his mouth to answer. "Research a little more. We can't just send the team in without knowing what it is we're up against first."

Aini bobbed her head in agreement. "Yes, exactly. No sending the kids in without properly knowing what they're getting themselves into." Daichi and Naruko rolled their eyes at her. She was so obvious.

The three continued their discussion making sure to lay out any and all contingencies just in case something went wrong. It wasn't until they were finished that Yukine burst through the kitchen entrance with a panicked look on his face, with sweat dripping down his face...and dirt?

"Yuki sweetie what's wrong," Aini asked getting up from her seat to check her son over. Immediately she noticed the scratch on his left cheek with blood leaking from the wound. "Why are you bleeding? What happened?"

Yukine gulped trying his hardest not to look at his mother. "I-I...Kami, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Daichi furrowed his brows with concern washing over his face. "What's wrong son?"

"...Kiyo and the baby are gone!"

Crash! "What?!" Naruko stood up from the table abruptly, the glass she was drinking from now on the floor shattered to pieces, and her eyes wide with horror. "What do you mean they're gone?!"

Yukine shivered at the sound of her voice. "I had just gotten home a few minutes ago. I was gonna check on Kiyo and the baby since Kaname, Seijirou and the twins are out, but I was held up by a little...trouble."

"What do you mean by trouble," Aini asked keeping a tight hold on her sons arm.

"...Kami, help me," Yukine whispered under his breath before speaking again. "I was attacked by ninja, but they weren't just any old group of ninja. They were from the League of Shadows." Yukine moved his free hand to his pocket. He pulled out a piece of black cloth that seemed to be rigid at the ends. "I-I..heard Kiyo screaming and struggling! T-The baby was crying too...it was too much. I swear I used my powers! I did...but."

Daichi let out a shaky sigh moving one his hands to rub his face. "Y-You're alright son. We don't blame you...let me see that cloth please." Yukine immediately complied with his fathers request handing over the piece of fabric. Daichi took it within his hand looking it over, turning it over to study the symbol embedded on it. "...We might have to send the team in, sooner than we want to."

Aini bit her lip trying to prevent herself from screaming. All she could do is nod her head.

"...Yeah," Naruko whispered solemnly. She clenched her hands into fists on the table hearing it groan weakly against her strength. "I think we should call Bruce too."

Daichi nodded though reluctantly. "Yeah. Not looking forward to what he'll say to us though."

Naruko couldn't have agreed more with that. "We'll tell him tonight, but we'll get the team ready tomorrow."

"Why tomorrow though? Won't it be too late," Yukine asked looking very much worse for ware.

"It will be, but we can't just rush in without a plan." And Naruko knew it'd be a matter of time before more of 'them' showed up. She sighed moving her gaze to the cloth in Daichi's hand. That very emblem made her angry. If the Shadows wanted a fight so bad, then they were going to get one.

Mark her words.

Hello peeps. So I'd like to apologize for the long wait. I have...been dealing with some things these past two years, and these past few months were the kicker. I can't exactly say what has been going on but know that I am indeed alive.

Truthfully, I actually had a good chunk of this chapter done for a while but didn't bother to continue. I've had a small case of depression. I really didn't feel like writing anything and honestly I wanted to quit. But the more I continued to read over my stuff and see the progress I made I gained a small bit of confidence in what I was doing. I want you all to know that as my readers I appreciate the love and support you all have given me since the start of this story. I won't quit but sadly I won't be updating a lot either. I'm at that stage in my life where I need to find myself. I'm a little ways over 21 so I can't dilly dally anymore. I might possibly update another one of my stories but not immediately after this one. It's still too soon. In regards to the next chapter coming out...we'll see. I haven't started it at all and I actually have a whole new story in the works that I have been working on. It's a Batman fic and no he has no OC love interest. It isn't a crossover either. I'm not spoiling anything. The story is still in the workings. I'd like to at least have 5 to 7 chapters written and edited before uploading them.

Again I'd like to say that I'm sorry I've been gone. I've just had too much going on. I'm still in college but I'm actually almost done, for good. My career path is right around the corner and when that time comes I might not be up here anymore. Sorry to say it won't last forever.

Glad to be back, for now at least.

~Anime hotty lover. 18