There is no excuse. I was busy and stressed, then I was moving, then I was on vacation, then I was lazy, then I was looking for a new job. Those are all explanations, but feeble excuses at best. In return, I hope this chapter is at least worth half the wait you all have endured for it – if indeed anyone came back to read this at all. If you did, leaving a review would really help to get my spirits up again, as writing this alternated between being kind of fun and feeling like work. I miss the excitement I used to get out of writing this, and knowing there are still people out there enjoying it despite my long absence might help to recapture some of that.

In any case, I've always said I'd finish this story whether it took me a year or a decade, and while the latter is starting to look like a conservative estimate, I intend to hold true on that promise. This story WILL be completed, no matter how long it takes.

Unless I die. In that case, you're kind of SOL.

O-O-O-O-O-O

SHINOBI WARS: Episode X – The Summoning

"I can't believe you said that!" Ino guffawed at the conclusion of Naruto's retelling of a rather memorable mission in which he'd been caught by Sakura in a somewhat compromising position with a village girl in a mixed bath. He insisted it was completely innocent.

"It was the first thing that came to my mind!" Naruto defended himself. Though truth be told, while he could laugh about it now, even talking about that incident brought back a phantom pain to the back of his head.

"Usually I'll say Sakura's too hard on you, but that time you definitely deserved it," Ino grinned.

"Yeah, I really did," he chuckled, rubbing the spot on his head whence the long-vanished throb was emanating. The two of them were in disguise as civilians and were travelling along the road ahead of Kakashi and Neji. They were supposed to be putting on an air of casual merriment as they moved from one village to the next, ostensibly just looking for a place to have fun. It was exceedingly easy to pull off, as to the surprise of them both, Ino and Naruto got on exceptionally well together.

The first village had been an exercise in simplicity. After only three days of surveillance they had determined it to be free of enemy operatives and established a worthy safe house. The second village had only taken five days. They were on their way to the third and their travelling friends ruse was becoming less of a ruse and more a basic reality.

"So how did you get her to forgive you for that one?" Ino asked after their laughter had died down.

"Well, once she found out that Rumiko was actually just trying to find her dog and the innkeeper had spilled oil on the rocks, she felt bad about getting mad and hitting me. I guess she figured me making dumb comments was a fair trade and let it go."

Ino shook her head. "That girl really needs to learn to stop jumping to conclusions. You'd think as a ninja she'd have mastered that by now."

"Hahaha. Maybe. Though that only ever seems to happen when she thinks I've done something stupid or perverted."

"Really?" Ino paused to consider that. "Hmmm. There's a psychoanalysis to be made here, but damned if I know what it is."

"Psycho-what?"

"Analysis. You know, figuring out what's going on in Sakura's head based on her actions."

"Oh," Naruto replied. There was a long silence. Then, "But I thought your clan was all about mind stuff."

"We specialize in jutsu that can manipulate or control someone's mind, not understand it," she explained. "That's more Shikamaru's thing."

"You think I should ask him?"

Ino grinned. "Not unless you like hearing him complain. To be completely honest, he's not likely to care, and it'll bother him that you couldn't figure it out for youself."

Naruto nodded and hummed in agreement. He was silent for a moment, contemplating, then shook his head in defeat and continued walking.

"You're probably right," he said. "Sakura's something I've got to figure out for myself or it doesn't mean anything, right?"

Ino could not recall having said any such thing, but she agreed with him nonetheless and told him so.

"How long is it supposed to be to this village, anyway?" He asked a few seconds later. "I'm getting really hungry." As if to emphasize the point, his stomach chose just that moment to gurgle loudly and he put his hands over it. Ino couldn't help but laugh.

"I swear you can do that on command," she said. "And I'm not sure, but I think it should only be…" she trailed off and looked ahead. Could that be…?

"What is it?" Naruto asked. She made sure to answer him in a way that would still sound casual but with enough change that he would know to take her seriously.

"Keep walking, but look ahead to that bridge. Don't stare." He made a quick glance hidden within a contented deep breath of fresh air, then turned back to her. She could see in his eyes he'd seen it too.

"Is that a person standing there?"

"Either that, or a really bad place to put a statue."

"They're waiting for us, you think?" he asked, still putting one foot in front of the other as if absolutely nothing was wrong. She did the same.

"Probably. But even if they aren't, we're going to meet up with them in a few minutes anyway, and it would look really suspicious if we turned away now. There isn't another crossing around here for miles."

"Should we play it cool, do you think?" he asked. This surprised her somewhat.

"Why are you asking me? You're the jounin here."

He shrugged. "I don't know. You work with Shikamaru a lot, so you're probably a lot smarter than me when it comes to strategy and stuff." Ino forced herself to remain in control, which was difficult as she wasn't even sure what emotion she was suppressing in reaction to that comment.

"Don't sell yourself short," she told him. "I've seen you pull of some crazy plans. I'll never forget how you outsmarted Neji in our first chuunin exam, and Shikamaru and Sakura are both always trying to convince everyone you're smarter than people give you credit for. Though I never thought they were including you in that, too."

"Really? They said that?" he asked. "Most of the time I just make it up as I go." The way his face lit up like a kid at a surprise party was really just too cute. But that would have to wait.

"I think we're getting off-topic," she said, lowering her eyelids. "And we're still walking." She gestured lightly to the figure in the distance, now discernible as a woman, or if a man then one with hair long enough to drift in the breeze.

"Right," Naruto nodded, his features all business again. "So let's play it cool and see what happens. It might be nothing. And if it's a trap, we can handle it." Ino wasn't sure if she should be nervous or reassured at how confident he sounded.

Closing in on the bridge, they could see that their mysterious encounter was indeed a woman, with violet-colored hair that went about halfway down her back. Her body type was roughly the same as Ino's, perhaps a little slimmer, a little shorter, and with slightly smaller breasts. A teenager then, most likely. She was wearing an orange vest that was long enough to double as a skirt, thick brown boots, and lavender stockings that ran all the way up to mid-thigh. The most distinguishing aspect of her appearance – at least to Ino – was a white band she wore in a similar fashion to Sakura's old ribbon, only this girl wore it on top of her bangs instead of behind them.

There was also a katana at her hip. And her hand was on the hilt.

O-O-O-O-O-O

Konan was nervous – an emotion she hadn't truly felt in over a decade. And the reason was another emotion she hadn't seen in a very long time: Pein was angry. Very, very angry.

"As soon as Kisame and Itachi arrive we will begin," he declared, barely containing his fury. He looked around at the other members of Akatsuki, and though none of them were physically present, even they seemed to be shuddering in apprehension over what this meeting was going to entail for them. Just then, the two aforementioned shinobi flickered into being among them.

"Sorry we're late," Kisame announced with a bow. "It took longer than usual to find a secure location."

"Ninja from every country and village are swarming all over the place," Kakuzu grumbled. "It's making our tasks exceedingly difficult."

"Is that your excuse for failure, Kakuzu?" Pein asked coldly, shifting his gaze toward to the former Waterfall ninja. "Too many ants swarming about? I should think the confusion would make things easier, not harder." Kakuzu was smart enough not to respond.

"This is why I have called you here," Pein continued. "Evidently you all are not as capable as I had thought. Hidan's failure to capture the Two-Tails, and Noriki's subsequent failure to correct his mistake have set us back a great deal." The young Cloud kunoichi shrank away at the rebuke. Surely, it was not as grand an entrance into the organization as the girl had hoped. At least she had managed to obtain the ring from Orochimaru as instructed.

"This alone would be cause enough for concern, but there is also the matter of Zetsu misplacing the Seven-Tails." That had been a shock. Zetsu was the only member of Akatsuki aside from Konan herself allowed to operate independently, and they usually used him for reconnaissance purposes, but even he had his assignment. When he'd reported the girl from Waterfall captured, they'd assumed that would be the end of it. Not so, apparently. Like Kakuzu, Hidan and Noriki before him, Zetsu wisely did not attempt to say anything in his defense.

"It would seem I placed too much faith in all of you. Thus far, only Kisame and Sasori have managed to complete their assignments, and we cannot carry out our plans with only the Four and Six-Tails in our possession. Therefore, we shall restructure our plans. Konan, you will accompany Hidan and Kakuzu to track down the Seven Tails. Noriki will travel with Sasori and Deidara to Sunagakure to apprehend the Kazekage, who is currently under very little guard. As this is an obvious trap, I leave it to you to decide how to proceed, but failure is unacceptable." All five ninja nodded and were dismissed. She would leave to join her group as soon as the meeting was concluded. Pein then turned to the only two not yet to be addressed – the only ones powerful enough to be truly relied upon, it seemed. "Itachi, I am reassigning you to the Three-Tails. It is currently without a host and thus should be subdued by your Sharingan with relative ease. Afterwards I have other tasks for you and Kisame."

"Understood," Itachi replied. "And what of the Nine-Tails?"

"Kakuzu's sources place him headed North. Zetsu, can you confirm this?"

"The last I saw of him, yes," Zetsu said.

"Very well." Pein turned to her now. "Konan, you will deal with the Nine-Tails jinchuuriki after reacquiring the Seven-Tails."

"Understood," she said. Her original assignment had been the Eight-Tails, as he had been deemed the most powerful and thus the most dangerous, but clearly Pein had other plans for that one now.

"Let us hope that we are not delayed any further," Pein declared. "You are all dismissed." The others finally flickered away and Konan was left alone with Pein. For the first time since hearing of the Seven-Tails' escape, she relaxed. That hadn't gone nearly as bad as she'd thought.

"I'm counting on you, Konan," he said to her in quiet tones he never used when others were present. "Above all else, make sure Hidan doesn't waste time with those rituals of his. That was a large part of what allowed the Two-Tails to escape."

"And the Kyuubi?" she asked. Being given that assignment was not as shocking as Itachi losing it.

"Itachi says he's been trained by Jiraiya himself, and Kisame was quite impressed with his combat abilities."

"Jiraiya?" she asked, shocked. She hadn't been expecting that. "And Kisame was impressed? Is there anything else I should know?"

"He may be in the company of the Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi. Your companions should be able to deal with him, but all the same, use caution."

"I will. It's time I go, then." She bowed to the man her only living friend had become and exited the chamber, preparing to meet up with a pair of immortal psychopaths. Keeping the two of them in line was likely to be as challenging as capturing her target.

O-O-O-O-O-O

Sango hobbled along the hallway of the holding cells. The building wasn't a prison so much as it was a place to keep people the village didn't yet know what to do with. Her feet were still sore despite expert healing and walking was still a chore, but it was getting better every day. The tray of food she carried wasn't even shaking today, as it had every other time she'd come here. Eight times in the two and a half weeks they'd been back in the village.

She didn't know why she came. The sight of the man from the Hidden Mist still made her skin crawl, and certainly there were others who could bring him his food, but for whatever reason she felt compelled. Even with everything else he'd undoubtedly done during his tenure with her enemies, Shirotani Ichigo had saved her and her siblings' lives – twice, in fact. She had trouble reconciling that with the idea of him being one of the infamous Seven Swordsman. And so she came. Words were exchanged, Sango would grow irritated, and inevitably storm off, only to return in another couple of days when her uneasiness would overcome her again.

She nodded to the two guards on duty outside his door. They returned the gesture, used to her visits by now. She waited for them to draw their weapons as a standard precaution before she rapped on the door and slid open the panel that would allow her to slide the tray of food inside. In addition to being given comfortable quarters, he certainly wasn't eating like any prisoner Sango ever heard of. And if that irked her, she still knew it wouldn't be right to simply throw him away after what he'd done for them.

The inner panel slid open, and Shirotani's face appeared as he reached for his meal. He caught sight of her and grinned, giving her a view of those disturbing, pointed teeth.

"Was wondering when I'd be seeing you again," he remarked, and Sango frowned. So she was that predictable now, was she? Well, wouldn't it serve him right if she just turned and walked away without a word?

But of course she couldn't do that. It would just mean she'd be coming back even sooner the next time.

"You don't have to act so smug about it," she snarled. He knew perfectly well she had no more idea than anyone else why she kept returning. This despite what she said next. "I've already told you that I can be grateful to you for saving my family, even if you're my enemy underneath it all."

"Are you still on that?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "If I was your enemy, I could've killed you or just let you die a dozen times by now. And in case you forgot, I saved your life, too." Her eyes involuntarily flicked to the shoulder he'd been stabbed in when jumping in the path of an attack that had been meant for her heart. It was a quick look, but he noticed and smirked again. That was too much, and Sango scoffed. Feelings of discomfit be damned, she didn't have to put up with this. She turned to leave, but before she could slide the panel shut, Shirotani called from his cell. "Wait! Just tell me how my sister's doing!"

She turned toward him again, and all the superior smugness of before had left his eyes, to be replaced with concern and something like desperation. Sighing deeply, she relented and stayed.

"She's fine," Sango told him plainly. "Just like she was the last time you asked. She's staying on our family compound like I said, and my little sister Yuri acts like they've been best friends forever."

"That's good," Shirotani said, visibly relaxing. He wore a real smile now, not the mocking one from before. "Any word from your Koorikage yet?"

Here Sango hesitated. She knew he was asking about whether or not Ringo would be allowed to join the village's ninja academy – a decision which had actually been made a week ago (yes, on a provisional basis), but which Sango had thus far been reluctant to share with their "guest". The Koorikage himself had given her clearance to divulge the information if she saw fit, but she still wasn't sure if it was prudent and had sidestepped the question during her last two visits.

"He says…" she paused, chewing her lip. What harm would it do, really? And the Koorikage had given the okay, after all. "He says she can enroll, but that she'll still be watched."

"Really?" Shirotani asked, looking like a bolt of lightning had just shot through him. "That's great! I mean, I figured if he said anything, it would be that they'd want to watch her for another six months or something before letting her in."

"They are still watching her," Sango reminded him.

"Yeah, I know," he waved her off. "But that only makes sense. I didn't expect him to actually let her into the academy this soon. Will you thank him for me?"

"What?" Sango asked, taken aback. "Since when do I do favors for you?"

"Well I'd do it myself, but it might cause a bit of a panic," he said wryly, gesturing to the door of his cell, and Sango had the uncomfortable feeling that he was alluding to how easily he could escape if he wanted to.

"You should be careful, talking like that," she warned him. "It would be easy to move you to a more…high-security building, and you probably wouldn't eat as well there, either."

"Fair enough," he laughed. "But you will, won't you? Not for me if you don't want, but for my sister? She'll be able to have a normal life, even if I never leave this room again."

"As normal as life gets for a shinobi, anyway." Sango remarked, then froze as she realized she had actually just cracked a joke. By the look on his face, Shirotani noticed it, too. It was definitely time to go. "But yeah, I'll tell him." She turned and started walking away, completely forgetting to slide closed the panel on his door.

"Until next time!" came the call from behind her, followed by the guards sliding the panels shut. She grumbled under her breath, but couldn't really say anything since she knew he was right.

O-O-O-O-O-O

"Who are you?" the woman demanded. Her voice was higher pitched than Naruto would have thought, and he re-evaluated his estimation of her age. At first he'd thought she might be in her early twenties, but now he was thinking she was probably closer to his and Ino's age.

"Who are we?" Ino replied indignantly. 'Who are you? Are you going to rob us?" she looked pointedly at the girl's hand, still on her sword hilt.

"What?" the girl asked, then realized what Ino was looking at. She yanked her hand away from the sword as if it had burned her. "No! I thought you were part of my brother's gang, is all."

"What would you have done if we were?" Naruto asked, making sure to sound nervous.

"I'd have killed you, of course," the girl said matter-of-factly. "They do rob people like you, and I'm tired of it."

"There's a bandit gang out here?" Ino asked, looking around in fright. Naruto had to fight not to laugh at how convincing she was.

"Worse than bandits," the girl told them, a hard look on her face now. "My brother's a ronin samurai. There aren't many who could stand up to him and his thugs, especially now that ninja escorts are so hard to come by."

"How could you do anything, then?" Naruto asked. The girl simply smirked.

"My brother taught me everything he knew long before he started robbing people. I could take any one of his thugs, easy." She patted her sword affectionately with her left hand.

"Well I'm glad we ran into you and not him, then," Ino said.

"Where are you two going, anyway?" the girl asked. "It's dangerous to be walking unprotected these days. My brother's isn't the only gang out there."

"Well, we couldn't afford a ninja bodyguard, and there wasn't anyone else available," said Ino. "We figured we'd just have to take our chances."

"That's dumb," said the violet-haired ronin. "I can help protect you if you want, but I'd still need to be paid."

"I thought you wanted to fight your brother's gang," Naruto pointed out. He didn't really care one way or the other, though having a samurai bodyguard would serve to aid their disguise a great deal, he reasoned. Plus, the girl was pretty cute, and he wasn't above resorting to eye candy if he couldn't be with the person he wanted for however long this mission would last. He was a student of both Jiraiya and Kakashi, after all.

"Well yeah, but I was just going to let them come to me. If I have to follow you guys around it'll be a lot tougher, plus I may have to fight other bandits too."

"Fair enough," Naruto shrugged. He shared a glance with Ino and she shrugged too, and in his mind he heard her voice say, "Why not?"

"We don't have much money, like my girlfriend said, but we can pay for you to eat and have a room and stuff."

"I guess that's okay," the girl said. "It's about as good as I can expect, and it's better than I had a minute ago. I'm Miako, by the way." As she bowed, Naruto once again heard Ino's voice in his head. "Girlfriend?" And though her face remained visibly impassive, he could sense the raised eyebrow that was meant to accompany that comment.

"It sounded believable," he thought back, even as he was introducing himself to Miako as Natsu. He didn't even know if that was how Ino's jutsu worked, but his assumption proved correct a moment later.

"What's wrong with being your sister? Or your friend?" she asked, while simultaneously greeting their new bodyguard as Nami.

"We're too close in age to be brother and sister, unless we're twins. And anyway, what's wrong with being my girlfriend?" Miako had picked up a small knapsack from the railing of the bridge and the three of them were on their way.

"Nothing! Except that I'm already someone else's girlfriend."

"But you aren't. Well, Nami isn't."

"Oh, fine. I'm your girlfriend. But if we end up having to make out or something to keep up the ruse, I'm going to make every hit you ever got from Sakura feel like a mosquito bite."

"It'd be worth it," Naruto teased, and Ino was unable to hide her smirking grin. Miako noticed, however, and Ino was then forced to say she'd been thinking of a funny story, to which she related one of the misadventures Naruto had been sharing with her earlier. By the end of it, Miako was practically in stitches, and Naruto was caught between laughing at himself and sweating in embarrassment, even though Ino had left out the bit where the story was about him.

"So this brother of yours," Naruto said finally, changing the subject. "Why did he become a bandit?"

"It's not something he wanted to do," she answered, her expression sobering immediately. "Not originally, anyway. But it's hard being a ronin. Finding work is tough. Sometimes it can be weeks or even months between jobs. One time, we got an escort job for some merchant after five weeks of nothing. And when the job was over, the guy refused to pay us, so Kenshi held him at sword point and forced him to. He was so angry that he took all the merchant's money instead of just what we were owed. After that, he decided it was easier to take advantage of other people rather than letting them take advantage of him."

"That's awful," Ino said.

"Yeah, but it doesn't make what he's doing right," said Miako. "That one guy deserved it, but everyone else? He's become exactly the same kind of person that he used to protect people from. I couldn't stand it, so I left."

"How do you eat, then?" Naruto asked. "I mean, if it was hard for the two of you to find work, it must be harder for you by yourself, right?"

"Oh, that's easy," Miako grinned. "I just steal from other bandits. If I can't figure out who to give stuff back to, there's not much else I can do but use it myself. And when I do know who stuff belongs to, they're usually grateful enough to let me keep a little bit of it."

"Is that why you were waiting on that bridge, then?" Ino asked.

"Yeah," Miako nodded. "Thanks to my brother's training, his is the strongest gang around here, so most of the others have left. They travel this road a lot, since they feel like they own it. They pretty much do." Naruto and Ino exchanged glances again. Running into Miako could very well have been a great stroke of luck for them. If anyone attacked, she could hopefully fight them off without the two ninja having to blow their cover.

"It's lucky we ran into you, then," Ino said kindly.

"It really is," Miako agreed, though there was no arrogance or pride in her tone, merely stating the facts. "I don't think a day goes by that someone isn't robbed on this road these days. And it's lucky for me, too, since even if I don't run into any of them, I still get to eat tonight." She smiled brightly at this thought.

O-O-O-O-O-O

Konohamaru was practically dancing he was so anxious. Already Hanabi had asked if he needed to use the bathroom, and Iwashi-sensei had given up telling him to calm down, instead opting to chat with a few of his colleagues. They'd been told yesterday to report for their first C-rank mission at 8:00 on the button, and Konohamaru was so excited he'd arrived 45 minutes early. And despite that she'd met him on the way in, Hanabi seemed much more in control of herself as they waited for their final teammate.

"It's not as if she's late," Hanabi reminded him when he complained about Moegi's absence yet again. "It's still seven minutes until 8:00."

"So? We came early," Konohamaru countered.

"That's because I was raised to always be early, and because you're more excited about this than a five year-old at his birthday. Moegi never cared as much as either of us did about getting a C-rank mission."

"She didn't?" the young Sarutobi asked, stunned by this revelation. Not only had he not known this about Moegi, but he wasn't aware Hanabi knew much of anything about Moegi. They never really spent any time together outside missions or training that he saw.

Hanabi, for her part, just sighed and shook her head. It was with a pitying look in her eyes that she explained to him, "No. If you bothered to look past your own feelings for a change, you'd see she only really wants one because you do. If you want my opinion, I think she's nervous about it. She knows she's not as strong a shinobi as you or I are."

"Well that might be true, but she's still good!" Konohamaru defended his friend…from herself, he realized as soon as he said it. Weird. "Does she really worry about that? She never said anything to me."

Hanabi rolled her eyes. "Of course she didn't. She didn't want you to feel guilty over her insecurities. They're hers to deal with, after all."

"But I'm her friend! And we're a team! If she feels like she's being left behind we should help her. And if you knew about this, you should have said something."

"I didn't realize I had to," said Hanabi. Then she paused for a moment. "But maybe I should have. Father warned me not to take my insight for granted. I sometimes forget that others can't pick up on the things we Hyuuga can."

"That's fair, I guess," Konohamaru conceded. "Grandpa used to say the same thing. 'Just because something comes easy to you doesn't mean it comes easy to everyone else.' Then he told me to have patience."

"A lesson that to this day doesn't seem to have sunk in," Hanabi teased, smirking.

Konohamaru was about to fire off a retort when Moegi appeared in a flash, a bit short of breath.

"I'm here!" she announced. "I'm not late, am I?"

"Right on time, Moegi," Iwashi-sensei announced calmly, striding back toward them from the conversation he'd been having with a few other jounin on the other side of the courtyard. "Let's go in, shall we?"

They entered the admin building, and were met by the familiar sight of the mission assignments board. Less usual was the Hokage's presence among them; she had been delegating this type of work for the last few weeks due to other responsibilities regarding the war. Understandably, Konohamaru felt. Seeing her there now served to jack his excitement up another notch. It was like their mission really was a big deal, even though it was only C-rank.

"Let's get started," the Hokage said as soon as they were all inside. She addressed their captain first. "Iwashi, I don't need to tell you what's at stake here. Only three genin teams have currently been cleared for this type of mission. I had some reservations about yours, seeing as they're rookies, but your reports and Iruka's recommendation makes them look like the best option we have at the moment, rookie or not. Konohamaru swelled with pride, and though he could tell Hanabi was trying to hold back any outward sign of the same, he could sense her standing up just a little straighter next to him. He spared a glance at Moegi, who still just looked nervous.

"Understood, Hokage-sama," Iwashi-sensei said. "I'd be worried about sending rookie genin on such a mission myself if it were anyone but these three. They can handle it, I've no doubt."

"That's good to hear," the Hokage smiled. "Now then, let's get to it." She reached down and pulled out a small package, holding it up for them to see. It was about the size of Konohamaru's foot. "This is a delivery of scented oils for the resort town up the river," she said, and Konohamaru felt himself deflate at once. All this for a delivery?

"Ordinarily, this would be a D-rank mission," Iruka-sensei put in. "As there's no sensitive information or cargo, and no human charges, the risk is minimal. However, the bounty placed on all Konoha ninja by the Tsuchikage has increased the threat. As we've already seen, genin teams are not immune and may even be considered easy pickings by the enemy and any bounty hunters in the area." That got Konohamaru's attention again. Maybe this wouldn't be boring after all.

"We can't allow ourselves to be intimidated," said a third administrator Konohamaru didn't recognize. "And what's more, we still need a source of income, what with our usual revenue streams all but dried up as we focus our assets on the war."

"And of course we need our genin teams to have field experience outside the village, so it's worth the risk," Tsunade-sama finished.

"What if we do meet up with enemies?" Hanabi asked suddenly. "Or bounty hunters?"

"You would be the one to see it, Hanabi-chan," the Hokage grinned. She pulled out three scrolls from beneath the desk. "That is when you'll use these."

O-O-O-O-O-O

Neji tapped his foot idly as he waited under a tree outside the latest village his teammates had entered. Kakashi leaned against it next to him and by all appearances could have been asleep, though Neji knew better. They were waiting for Naruto's clone to arrive to hear his report, and an explanation.

As if thinking of the blond had summoned him, Naruto appeared before them. "Hey," he said by way of greeting.

"You're late," Kakashi observed, and Neji rolled his eyes.

"No I'm not," Naruto scoffed, mimicking Neji's expression. "You say that every time, but even if you catch me once, it's not like it's going to make us even or something."

"Yes, well,' interjected Neji, knowing from experience that the two of them could go on for quite a while. "First things first. Who's that woman you're traveling with? A contact? A suspected enemy?"

"Ha! No. That's Miako-chan. She's our bodyguard now."

Whatever answer Neji had been expecting, it wasn't that. Nor, it seemed, had Kakashi. "Your what?" he asked.

"She's a ronin samurai," Naruto explained. "She says there's bandits all over this road, so we hired her to protect us."

"I see," said Kakashi, and Neji had to admire the simplistic brilliance of it. If they were attacked by bandits, this Mia would be able to fight them off, preserving their cover. And even if they weren't, having a bodyguard was a good way to not look like shinobi.

"Can we trust her?" Neji asked, just to be sure.

"Ino-chan says so, and she seems all right to me." Neji nodded. If a Yamanaka was comfortable with it, that was good enough for him for the time being.

"Any leads in the village?" Kakashi asked.

"Hard to say," was the response. "We're going to check out the warehouse district tomorrow. And there was an apartment above one of the shops in the square that looked kind of fishy. I figured I'd send in a clone to check it out."

"No need. Point out the building in question and I'll investigate while you focus on the warehouse district," Neji said. Naruto nodded, and a few more details were hashed out for the next day's plans before Naruto's clone vanished in a puff of smoke, off to repeat the briefing to Ino. Neji then turned to his senpai and expressed the concerns he'd been harboring for the past several days.

"It seems to be going too smoothly," he said.

"I agree, but it's too early to worry about that just yet. It could mean trouble, or it could just be luck. And it's possible our enemy is going about this the same way we are and haven't reached this far south." Neji knew that was a possibility, but also knew as well as Kakashi did that it wasn't the most likely. "Plan for the worst, but never dwell on it," the copy-ninja said after a long pause. It sounded like a quote.

O-O-O-O-O-O

Honda Kyonkichi was on tentative alert as he led his team into the Hidden Sand Village. Though not in danger of attack from their allies within, the entire plan depended on their ability to enter unseen by any enemy observers.

As one of the few jounin hailing from the Hidden Steam, it often fell to Kyonkichi to lead missions such as this, of a highly sensitive nature. The village leaders had all but leapt at the chance to be of assistance to their most powerful ally, and had agreed to send him almost before they even knew what they'd be sending him for.

It wasn't something he was looking forward to. If the enemy turned out to be who everyone suspected, he and his men were not in for an easy time of it. Still, they were better equipped to deal with that particular man more than most. The other possibility was that they would be facing someone else entirely, in which case they were in no better a position than anyone else would have been.

Spotting an abandoned storage building, he led his team in and set them to placing security seals around all entrances. It was only when the last of his subordinates reported in fifteen minutes later that he finally allowed himself to relax just a little bit.

"Everything is secure, sir." Haru, a chuunin like the other two members of his team, was nonetheless highly qualified and experienced. With so few jounin to spare, Kyon was pleased with the squad he now led.

"Good. Get some rest while you can. We're going to be busy here." Kyon bit his thumb and pressed it to the ground.

Kuchiyose no jutsu!

A small, orange cat wearing a dark vest appeared.

"What's up, boss?" the cat asked.

"Kino, we've arrived in Sunagakure. I need you to make your way to the Kazekage's office and let him know we're here. Only him, got it? And make sure nobody sees you."

"Hey, who are you talking to?" the cat named Kino asked, pretending to be offended. "Only way someone sees me is if I want them to; eye jutsu be damned. "

"Okay, okay, I know,' Kyon indulged his summon. "Just be careful, all right? We don't know if the enemy has infiltrated the village yet or not, so we need to assume they have."

"Gotcha, boss. Any other messages?"

"That's it. But he'll probably have some instructions for us, so hurry back when you get them."

"Roger!" The ninja cat vanished with a swish of his tail, and Kyon sat down to rest. He couldn't afford to sleep just yet, but getting off his feet would be a good start. He pulled out a ration bar and took a bite, wondering just how long he was going to be stuck here waiting for a man to try to kill him.

O-O-O-O-O-O

Ino lay awake late that night, unable to go to sleep. Really, this could not have happened at a worse time. Her emotions were still on a high from her farewell night with Shikamaru, and her hormones were just starting to feel his absence. What's more, she was realizing truly for the first time what a fun guy Naruto actually was. It certainly didn't make the situation any less awkward.

A shifting and a groan from her left told her that her bedmate wasn't having any easier a time of this than she was. Good. Served him right.

"You idiot," she grumbled, certain now that Miako was asleep in the next room. "This is all your fault, you know. You had to say we were dating, didn't you? You couldn't just say we were friends, or brother and sister, or literally anything else other than that we were sleeping together."

"I'm sorry!" he wailed. Well actually he whispered it, but his intent was clear. "I didn't think about this part!"

"Obviously," Ino said, rolling her eyes. "Well it's too late to do anything about it now; it would be too suspicious."

"At least it's you and not Sakura-chan," Naruto sighed. Ino suppressed a giggle. Now that would have been something to see. She remembered how tense Shikamaru had been the time they shared a bed on their mission to Amagakure, and Naruto was ten times as neurotic about that sort of thing as her boyfriend was. For that matter, she remembered her own feelings at that time – how she had been both terrified and exhilarated while remaining outwardly calm – and knew that Sakura would have been in much the same boat.

"Well, it probably would have been a lot more awkward, you're right about that," she obliged him. Then she grinned. "But I bet you both would have enjoyed it a lot more, too."

"Ino-chan!" he complained, but she knew that was his way of admitting she was right. When she had first begun teasing him about her best friend, he'd always become flustered and embarrassed. Now that he'd gotten used to it though, he tended to play along. It was fun.

"What, are you saying you wouldn't?" she prodded.

"Of course I would," he said. "But it would also be really awkward and I'd worry that she'd be uncomfortable."

"Oh, she would be," Ino affirmed, then nearly burst out laughing at the crestfallen look on his face. "But in a good way," she assured him. His face screwed up in puzzlement.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means she'd be feeling the same as you about it, minus the worrying about you not liking it."

"You really think so?" hope gleamed in his eyes. It was really rather adorable.

"Naruto, if Sakura were some random girl I barely knew I'd think so, and she's my best friend. Trust me, watching you two dance around each other is like reading one of Jiraiya's books without the dirty parts. There's even a pool going as to when you'll finally get together."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. Kiba started it last year. Everyone we graduated with is in on it, and a lot of the older shinobi as well."

"I…don't really know how I feel about that," said Naruto after a pause.

"I probably shouldn't have told you," she admitted. "And I know I shouldn't have told you about Sakura's feelings. That's really her business. But the two of you seriously need a push and I've just about given up on her."

"Maybe you shouldn't," Naruto said with a far-off look in his eye, as if he were remembering something. This intrigued Ino, who pounced on the potential for new developments.

"What? Why? Did she say something?" She failed miserably to contain her excitement, which clearly amused her blond friend.

"Didn't you just say it was her business?" he asked.

"Well, I mean..." she backpedaled, "If you already know how she feels, I feel a little less guilty telling you about it. But I still say you two need some nudging in the right direction."

Now he smirked. "Why? What do you have in the pool?"

"That…that's not important," she stammered.

"Uh-huh."

"Oh fine, if you must know, I wasn't allowed in. They said I was in too strong a position to influence the results, so they made me the judge."

"Well they got that part right, didn't they?" Naruto laughed. "What does Shikamaru have?"

"Wh…How dare you? I'd never do something like that! I'll have you know I take my job as relationship-betting judge very seriously." He was still looking at her skeptically, so she added, "Besides, I don't know what anybody has. They were all secret ballots. My job was to collect them and determine when a relationship starts, and only then do we look at the entries to see who came closest."

"If they're secret ballots, what if more than one person guessed the same?"

"Then they'd split the winnings. That probably won't happen, though. People were allowed to be specific, with things like 'Sakura will make the first move' or 'It'll happen on a mission', stuff like that. If two people guess the same time but somebody has more specifics correct, they win."

"But how will you know any of those things if you're not there?" Naruto asked. Ino gave him a pitying look.

"Naruto, please. Do you really think Sakura wouldn't tell me the very next day if something like the two of you getting together happened?"

"You mean like how you told her right away after you and Shikamaru –"

"I thought we weren't talking about that," she growled over him through gritted teeth.

"Fine, fine," he surrendered. "We really should get some sleep though, don't you think?"

Ino face-faulted. "The whole reason we're having this discussion in the first place is because neither one of us could sleep, remember?"

"Yeah, I know," he nodded. "But somehow it feels less weird now, you know?"

Ino blinked. He was right. Somehow the awkward tension had been lifted. She smiled and shook her head, then said, "I don't know how you do it." She was asleep within minutes.

She awoke the next morning to sunlight streaming in through the window, and Naruto gently shaking her shoulder.

"Nami-chan, wake up," he said. So Miako was in the room – or at least within earshot.

"Mm, what time is it?" She grumbled, making sure to put on an air of sleepiness. It wasn't difficult.

"Just after 7:00, Nami-san," Miako said, coming into the room. "Natsu-san said the two of you wanted to visit the warehouse district today, and I was hoping you could talk him out of it."

"Oh? Why?" she asked innocently.

"That's the part of town where people like my brother hang out. It's not a safe place to be walking around."

"That's why we have you, Miako-san," Naruto grinned brightly. It was bizarre; Ino didn't think she'd ever heard him talk to anyone so politely before. Miako, however, didn't share her fascination with Naruto's manners. Her face fell.

"I don't know if I'll be able to protect you if we're ambushed by a whole gang in their own headquarters," she said frankly.

"It's all right," Ino assured her. "We trust you. And besides, we need to visit that part of town; it's the whole reason we came here in the first place."

"Hey, now that's something," Miako said. "Why are you here? I'd thought you were on vacation or something, but old empty warehouses aren't exactly a tourist spot or a romantic getaway. I'd thought you were going to the next town to visit the spa or something."

Ino mastered the impulse to catch Naruto's eye instead swiftly answered, "We're looking for someone."

"Someone?" asked Miako.

"Yes. It's someone…very important to us. We…we've been trying not to draw attention to ourselves. That's why we were traveling alone, you see. We knew it was dangerous, but we didn't really have any other choice. But now that you're with us, Miako-san, I'm sure we'll find him."

"This person…do you know where he is? Or she is?"

"No," replied Naruto sadly. "This will be the fourth town we've checked, and with what you said about bandits, it's not looking good. But we can't give up."

"That's why you want to check the warehouse district, isn't it?" Miako guessed. "You think bandits have taken this person there."

This time Ino and Naruto very deliberately shared a look. Then they both nodded and Ino said, "That's right. We're sorry we didn't tell you, Miako-san. After all, you'd be putting your life on the line, too."

"If you don't want to come, we understand," Naruto added.

Miako pursed her lips for a moment and appeared to be thinking, then shook her head. "No, I'll come with you. Of course I will! I can't abandon you now and besides, I might get a chance to take out a few of those low-lives while we're at it. If I'm lucky, they'll be from my idiot brother's gang."

O-O-O-O-O-O

The sun was just peeking over the tops of the buildings in the village square when Naruto, Ino and Miako strode through it. In lieu of a proper breakfast they opted on some grilled squid that they could eat while they walked. Well, Ino and Miako opted for it. Naruto had to be talked into it when he'd spotted a ramen stand next door.

"We don't have time, Natsu-kun," Ino had said sweetly, while discretely giving him a look telling him to keep his head in the game. And so he sighed as he bit into his second squid, dreaming of the ramen that got away.

"Natusu-san seems upset," Miako observed. "Do you think we should have gotten ramen after all?"

Naruto perked up for a moment, but Ino just laughed. "He's always like that," the blonde kunoichi said. "He'd eat ramen three meals a day every day of his life if he could. He'll be fine."

Naruto grumbled, but Miako giggled at his displeasure and they kept walking. The warehouse district was coming into view. The ones nearest the rest of the village had lots of foot traffic going in and out, and they were clearly still in use. However, Naruto could see a ways down the road and noticed that the buildings in the distance were not so well taken care of, and there was hardly a soul in sight. Obviously the area of town that held the abandoned warehouses was avoided by the general population. A perfect hideout for bandits. Or, Naruto reminded himself, enemy ninja.

The closer they came to the dilapidated structures, the more agitated Miako became. First she stopped laughing, then she stopped smiling altogether. By the time they'd passed out of the area where other people still ventured, she was gritting her teeth and gripping her sword hilt with knuckles turned white.

"Wh-what should we do?" Ino asked with excellently nervous airs.

"If there are bandits here," Miako began, "and I'd bet my sword there are, we're safer confronting them out on the street rather than in one of the buildings. The trick is getting them to come out." She was eying the windows and doors as if any one of them could spew forth an army of brigands ready to take them down.

Naruto sensed it just as Ino did. She brushed the back of his hand and they made eye contact quickly enough that the preoccupied Miako didn't notice. In the buildings to the left and right, already on their way out, hopefully no more than Miako could handle on her own. Because on the roof…

"How about we just come out on our own, Miako-chan?" a large, bald man sneered as he led a band of four armed men out of the right building. He had a vertical scar on the left side of his face, from his brow down to his chin and going right over his eye. He carried a spiked cudgel, of all things, and a nasty grin. From the building opposite, four more men appeared, one of them carrying a bow and quiver. Unless Miako could throw her sword like a boomerang, Naruto didn't see how they were going to get out of this one with their cover intact.

"Eek!" Ino squealed as soon as the men appeared, clinging on to him for all the world like a frightened girlfriend would.

"Naruto, the roof…"

"I know, but unless they make a move…"

"What do you want, Tano?" Miako snarled at the bald man, interrupting their mental conversation.

"What do you think, you little bitch? I want your friends' money, and I want you dead. It's just my lucky day that I can have both at once. Kenshi'll love it."

"You think my brother will be happy if you kill me?" Miako scoffed. "Go ahead and try; see how that works out for you."

"Oh he'll be sad," the man named Tano said. "But you see, I tried everything to get you to come to your senses and rejoin us, but there was no reasoning with you. You went berserk and tried to kill my men; I had no choice. Kenshi will understand."

"You bastard. Come try me. I'll kill you in one stroke."

"Not if I break your sword, I bet," Tano countered, holding up his cudgel. Naruto could see now that the spikes were not only meant for offense, but they were curved to catch an incoming blade as well. "But I don't think it will come to that," the banded leader continued. "I'll just have Bura shoot you and that'll be that." He gave a signal to his archer, who nocked an arrow.

"Natsu-san, Nami-san, get behind me," Miako ordered, right hand still firm on her sword hilt.

"Miako-san…" Naruto began, not sure what he was going to say, but fast coming to the conclusion that he and Ino would have to break cover if they wanted their friend to live. The swordswoman, however, gave him a stern look and said, "Trust me." So he did.

Hardly had the two shinobi moved behind their bodyguard when the tell-tale twang of a bowstring rang out through the alley. Then something remarkable happened. Naruto heard a swooshing sound, and Miako jerked as if about to move, but nothing appeared to happen. That is, until a moment later when two halves of an arrow shaft whizzed by harmlessly on either side of her and fell limply to the street. Miako's draw was so fast that even his shinobi reflexes could not follow it. Ino shrieked again and passed out in his arms. Well, at least that was one problem taken care of. Now if only Miako could kick these guys' asses as easily as she cut that arrow, they'd be in business.

"I really hope that wasn't your whole plan," Miako taunted Tano with mock sweetness.

Tano bared his teeth, but rather than wasted time with a retort, he simply yelled, "Kill them!" and six of his men charged toward Miako, while the archer drew another arrow. Naruto was slowly carrying Ino back and to the side while he watched. Miako remained perfectly still until the first thug was nearly upon her, at which time she uncoiled like a spring. The first attacker fell at once and the two halves of his body fell apart upon hitting the ground in a splash of blood, by which time Miako had already parried the strike of a second foe and taken off the head of a third.

"If this is the best Kenshi can do, he's lost his knack for training," the ronin quipped as she cut down two more men and offhandedly swiped another arrow out of the air. The two men remaining seemed to have a slightly higher level of skill, as Miako had simply been blocking their strikes up until this point, but now she could focus her attention solely on them.

"Kill her, you idiots!" Tano howled. "It's just one woman!" The two men split apart with their swords held out, preparing to take her from both sides. The second they were positioned on opposite sides, they both struck.

Miako spun and managed to parry one attack while dodging the other, the result being she merely swapped which side of her each man was standing on. This time she took the initiative and lashed out at the man on her dominant side, forcing him to block. The other tried to seize the opportunity to cut her from behind, but a blind parry from Miako knocked him off-balance. She swung at the man in front again, knocking his sword away and breaking through his defense.

Another twang. Miako slashed through the opening in front of her, slitting the man's throat, and then jerked her sword back at an odd tilt, deflecting the arrow at the precise angle needed to send it into the other man's neck, ending the fight. Now it was only Tano and Bura the archer, who was looking a bit sick at essentially shooting one of his cohorts.

"Well?" Miako asked, wiping her sword clean and replacing it in its sheath with a casual flourish. "Care to try your luck, Tano?"

"You horrid bitch," the bald thug seethed. "You killed my men. I'll gut you!"

With the hand not holding his cudgel, he drew a long, double-edged straight dagger and began stalking toward Miako. Naruto had to resist shaking his head in disbelief; that was the absolute worst way he could have approached an opponent like her.

"When I get done with you, I won't even have to worry about what to tell Kenshi, because there'll be no way to identify you. I'm going to cut off every last one of your – "

He was cut off as he was…well, cut off. Miako was already cleaning her sword again when the two pieces of Tano hit the ground.

"Gods, I thought he'd never shut up," she said, and turned her eye on Bura the archer, who had clearly been hoping she'd forgotten about him.

"Miako-san, please," he said, even as she took a step toward him. "I'll go. You don't have to kill me. Please." He was drawing an arrow and backstepping at the same time, though his hands were shaking so much he was having trouble nocking it.

"Wish I could," Miako shrugged as she walked. "But you'll just go running back to my brother and keep on doing what you've been doing. You made your choice when you became a bandit. Now deal with it."

"I…I…" he fired an arrow, which she swatted away. He fumbled for another one. "Please!" Naruto almost felt bad for the guy, but he knew that if the situation were reversed, the bandit wouldn't think twice. He couldn't stand people who were willing to kill others but backed down the second their own life was on the line. And so he said nothing and watched Miako swat a second arrow away.

"It'll be quick," she promised. "I'm not like you and your friends who enjoy this kind of thing." He'd nocked another arrow just as she stepped into melee range. He made to draw, but she reached up with her left hand and took hold of bow and arrow both. Naruto heard the arrow shaft snap as she tightened her grip, and she twisted the bow out of his grip and tossed it aside. He was going for the knife in his belt when her blade took him.

"It looked like you enjoyed that a little, Miako-san," Naruto couldn't help saying. She had toyed with the guy more than was strictly necessary.

Miako smiled a shrugged. "You're probably right and I usually don't, but I grant myself a little leeway when it comes to people who try to murder me."

"Fair enough, I guess. Thanks, by the way. That was amazing." He didn't even have to be in character to say that; it really had been.

"Don't mention it. Is Nami-san okay?" She jerked her head at Ino, still lying unconscious in his arms. As if on cue, a yell rang out from the roof above.

"Die, bitch!" A man whose state of dress didn't quite match the others had leapt off the roof at Miako, holding what appeared to be a kunai. Naruto quirked his eyebrow; that was an interesting way of handling it.

Of course the man fell to either side of Miako, who had to clean her sword yet again. Coincidentally, Ino chose that exact moment to wake up.

"Got 'em," she whispered.

O-O-O-O-O-O

Konohamaru was a pile of nerves. His heart was pounding harder than it had the time he drank two full pots of extra strong tea. His stomach was clenched into knots that would take a week to undo, and he was pretty sure he'd ground at least to millimeters off his teeth. He longed to clutch the scroll concealed in his vest pocket, but knew he couldn't risk drawing any attention to it. As a result he couldn't find anything to do with his hands, so every forty seconds or so he'd reach into his kunai pouch just to fiddle with them before clenching his fist, taking a deep breath and starting all over again.

His teammates were having a hard time as well. Hanabi was better at not showing it, but he could tell she was wound up by the way she kept activating her byakugan every couple of minutes. Also, a thin sheen of sweat was accumulating on her brow.

Moegi was practically a wreck. She was visibly more tense than Konohamaru, and she was so pale she looked ill. Konohamaru knew that Iwashi-sensei would look after them if anything happened, but all the same he knew he'd have to protect his friend. He caught Hanabi's eye when he knew she could see him – she had her byakugan up – and jerked his head slightly in Moegi's direction. He then looked pointedly at Hanabi and then down at himself. She nodded almost imperceptibly; message received.

Then things happened suddenly, as catastrophes tend to do. Hanabi yelled, "Look out!", Iwashi vanished, a smoke bomb exploded at his feet, and a man with a triangular blade mounted on his forearm dashed right for Moegi.

The smoke spread too fast for him to see what happened to his teammate, but he heard her give a yelp that cut off short. Fearing the worst but with no time to dwell on it, he drew a kunai and prepared to defend himself.

Less than a second later the smoke was blown away, and Konohamaru looked to see Hanabi performing her kaiten. It was a good thing too, because along with the smoke a giant shuriken was blown off course that would have taken his head off. Also, he noticed, Iwashi had intercepted the man attacking Moegi, apparently having performed a kawarimi with his own student.

"Move!" Hanabi shouted at him, and leapt away. He obeyed without thinking, and jumped clear as well. In the air, he saw a metal ball with three small claws flying toward him. It was attached to a chain. With pinpoint precision, he managed to deflect it with his kunai. Had he been off by even a centimeter, the claws could have disarmed him, or he could have been caught in the chain.

"Your scrolls!" Iwashi cried, still fending off the man with a blade on his arm. Cursing himself, Konohamaru whipped the scroll out of his vest and unfurled it on the ground. He had no idea what it did, but had been given explicit instructions on what to do with it. There was a large seal upon which he placed his hands, channeled chakra into and cried, "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

As soon as he'd said it, Aburame Shino appeared in front of him. Not a moment too soon either, because they clawed ball was coming back.

"Help your teammates and get clear," Shino ordered him and parried the ball and chain. Deciding he would process just what the hell was going on later, he looked over to where Hanabi was barely managing to keep a kunoichi off her. She hadn't been able to draw her scroll yet. Iwashi was now battling two opponents, and he had no idea where Moegi was.

Not allowing himself to hesitate, he dashed toward Hanabi. He knew that even Iwashi couldn't hold out forever if his opponents were jounin, and the only way to help would be Hanabi's scroll, which presumably had another leaf jounin hidden in it, however that worked. He threw a kunai and two shuriken at the enemy kunoichi, who swatted them away and continued attacking Hanabi. He was about to get desperate and charge her in a melee attack when Yuuhi Kurenai came flying in out of nowhere. In a flash she was between Hanabi and the enemy ninja and Konohamaru learned where she came from moments later when Moegi appeared next to him.

"Is Hanabi-chan okay?" she asked, gasping for breath.

"I think so," he answered. "We should go help her." Indeed Hanabi appeared quite dazed now that her life was not in immediate danger. She'd fallen back on her rear and was just now starting to recover even as he and Moegi reached her.

"Don't let the last girl use her scroll!" Cried the man fighting Shino. "They're summoning jounin! It's a trap!"

Immediately one of the ninja fighting Iwashi broke away and went straight for Hanabi, who was not yet steady on her feet.
"Get her!" Konohamaru yelled to Moegi, then placed himself in the enemy's path. Sending up a silent prayer, he formed the seal for the first special technique anyone had ever taught him. Oiroke no jutsu!

The naked woman he became distracted the enemy for a split second – long enough for Moegi to get Hanabi clear. Together they grouped up to face off against their opponent together.

"What the hell was that?" Hanabi asked as she whipped the scroll out of her pocket.

"A technique Naruto-niichan taught me a long time ago."

Hanabi was preparing to unfurl the scroll when that clawed ball on a chain whipped in again and snatched it away, hurling it into the trees off the side of the road.

"Of course he had to throw it to that side!" Moegi griped. "He couldn't throw it to the other side where it's just a big open field!"

"It's all right, I saw where it went!" Hanabi said. "Can you two cover me until I get it."

"Count on us," Konohamaru said. Moegi just nodded firmly. Hanabi dashed toward the trees and the two of them created three clones apiece and followed her. It wouldn't fool anybody for more than a second or two, but they'd already proven that could be enough.

Unfortunately, their enemy had already gotten ahead of them and dropped down in front of Hanabi, poised to strike. Moegi performed a jutsu that fired a small electric bolt at the enemy ninja, even as his axe cut through the log Hanabi had switched with. When Moegi's bolt hit, the man's image just sort of faded away and some kind of instinct told Konohamaru to duck, which he just managed to do under the axe that swung down from behind him. He stabbed upward with a kunai but the man was already gone. The clawed ball was swinging down at him again and rather than block it or dodge he reached out with his left hand and grabbed it. The claws cut into his flesh a little but it wasn't deep.

The man with the chain was quick to adapt however, and yanked hard, jerking Konohamaru into the air. He could not see Moegi, Hanabi or the man with the axe, but he did see an opportunity. As he flew through the air, before his pilot could do anything else with him, he reached down and looped the chain over itself about a foot from the ball and jammed a kunai in it, thus throwing off the weight. He let go with his other hand and continued on his arc toward the forest even as the chain flopped awkwardly downward. He had no doubt its wielder would correct this problem momentarily, but he had created an opening for Shino, who was quick to exploit it.

Before Konohamaru even made contact with the tree he was hurtling toward, the leaf jounin had exploded in a flurry of bugs. The enemy ninja was attempting to undo Konohamaru's sabotage when a barrage of senbon descended on him from seemingly every direction. He managed to dodge or block most of them, but a few hit home. Konohamaru made contact with the tree and was about to spring back to help Shino when the leaf jounin appeared below him and held up a hand.

"Hold," he said. "There is no need. This man is already defeated."

"How do you figure that?" the enemy sneered, drawing up his now functional chain. "A few senbon? I suppose they were poisoned. Bad luck for you I happen to be the one shinobi in the entire Hidden Ash village who's completely immune to poison. It doesn't even matter what secret mixture you used. It won't have any effect on me at all."

"It is fortunate I didn't use poison, then," Shino said. The Ash ninja looked slightly taken aback, but still unconcerned. Then Shino continued. "On the end of each of those senbon was a tiny egg pouch. Each one contained hundreds of eggs for a parasitic bug that feeds on human organs. Particularly the heart. As the eggs were injected directly into your bloodstream and hatched immediately afterward, I estimate you have approximately seventeen seconds to live."

"WHAT?" the Ash ninja was definitely concerned now.

"I was unable to penetrate your defenses until Konohamaru here provided me with an opportunity." He gestured up into the tree. "I commend your skill with that weapon." Sadly, even the best of us can be defeated by something as small as a snag in a chain."

No sooner had he said this than the Ash ninja fell to his knees, clutching at his chest. He gasped and coughed, and Konohamaru could see blood dripping from his eyes, nose and mouth. Whether the man died right then or in another eight seconds as Shino predicted, he did not find out. A scream from the forest reminded him that his two teammates were still in there.

Shino dashed into the woods, and Konohamaru bolted to the ground to follow him. He paused at the defeated ninja's chain, deciding on impulse to take it with him. It had served the other man well after all, and Konohamaru needed a way to fight from a distance.

He picked it up and pulled both ends to him, only to discover that the weapon was, in fact, a kusarigama. That explained a lot. He grasped the hilt of the kama in his right hand and took hold of the chain in his left, and ran after Shino toward his team.

When he arrived, hell had broken loose. Shattered stones and tree trunks were everywhere. Bugs were flying all over the place and he could not see Shino. Worst of all was Moegi, lying in a pool of blood with Shizune – apparently summoned from Hanabi's scroll – working frantically over her. Hanabi was unconscious by one of the broken rocks, and a trickle of blood ran down her forehead, but he could see her chest rising and falling.

"You won't get us all so easily!" The Ash ninja with the axe bellowed. Konohamaru could only see him for seconds at a time as he bounced around trying to kill Shino. He looked down at the clawed ball dangling out of his left hand. He had no idea how to use this weapon, but it was better than nothing. He'd only get one shot at this. He took cover in a bush and began twirling it to throw. He waited until the enemy was within range and had taken another leap, then let fly.

Miraculously, the clawed ball wrapped itself around the enemy's ankle, stopping him short in his leap and slamming him to the ground. In the fraction of a second it took for him to recover, Kurenai landed on him and drove a kunai into the back of his neck.

Konohamaru retracted the chain immediately and readied himself for another assault, but there was silence. Kurenai looked over at him and said, "He was the last of them." Shino appeared next to her then, and they discussed something briefly before the Aburame vanished once more.

"That was a nice move with the kusarigama," Kurenai told him kindly as he made his way over to her, somewhat in a haze. His mind was telling him that if Moegi was dead, Shizune wouldn't still be trying to save her, but it was also telling him that human beings probably didn't have much more blood than what he was seeing around his friend.

Kurenai then turned to the other jounin kunoichi in the new clearing and asked, "Will she make it, Shizune?"

"I can't say for certain," was the answer that jabbed a knife through Konohamaru's gut. "I've stopped the bleeding and closed the wound, but she's lost a lot of blood and there was significant internal damage. I need to get her back to Konoha as quickly as possible."

"Shino or I can do that," Kurenai said. "You're still needed here. Iwashi needs help too. Shino's bringing him now. And Hanabi-chan looks like she took a hit as well."

"She hit her head on that rock," Shizune explained, still keeping her focus on Moegi. "I doubt there was any serious damage done, but she likely has a concussion. We need to wake her up."

"I'll do it," Konohamaru volunteered, grateful for something he could do to help at last. He sped over to his other fallen teammate and crouched down next to her. Aside from the bruise on her cheek, the cut on her forehead, and the lump that was undoubtedly forming on the back of her skull she seemed all right. Thank all that was holy for that.

"Hanabi-chan," he called softly, shaking her gently. "Hanabi-chan wake up." She moaned slightly but did not rouse, so he put a little more force into his voice. "Hanabi-chan, you have to wake up. You have a concussion. Wake up, dammit. Wake up!" He was almost shouting by the end, but Hanabi's eyelids fluttered open and she slowly managed to focus in on him.

"Konohamaru?" she murmured. Then she gasped in panic. "Moegi!" She tried to jerk upright, but he held her down, lest she pass out again. "Konohamaru! It's Moegi! I think she's…she's…" tears came to the young Hyuuga's eyes and Konohamaru noticed that his own were a bit wet also.

"She's not dead," he told her as calmly as he could. "Not yet, anyway. Shizune-sensei said she might make it if we can get her back to Konoha."

"Oh thank heaven," Hanabi wailed. "It was my fault. I was too slow summoning Shizune-sensei and Moegi tried to protect me. I thought he'd cut her in half!" She was sobbing almost uncontrollably now, and it was a bit unsettling but also a relief, to know that Hanabi could feel such emotions like anyone else. She always seemed so distant that he'd begun to wonder if she was just cold. But seeing her now, a complete wreck, his heart went out to her.

"Shh," he soothed, trying to calm her down. "It'll be all right. Shizune-sensei is awesome, and once we get her back home, the Hokage will save her for sure." Hanabi nodded but cried on, and somehow he found himself holding her to comfort her. Of course he also had to periodically make sure she wasn't going back to sleep. It was strange; worrying about Hanabi was the only thing keeping him from losing it about Moegi like she was.

He looked down at the kusarigami that still sat on the ground next to them. He'd set it down to wake her. He was going to keep that weapon, and train with it every day until it was as natural to him as his arms. And he was going to get Naruto to teach him the kage-bunshin and rasengan like he promised. Konohamaru was going to do everything in his power and beyond to make sure that no one ever hurt his girls again.

O-O-O-O-O-O

O-O-O-O-O-O

O-O-O-O-O-O

You know that scene in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix where Tonks, Moody, Kingsley and Lupin appear out of white smoke to save the day in the Department of Mysteries? For those of you who do, the swelling music that plays there is what I imagined in my head when Shino, Kurenai and Shizune emerge from the summoning scrolls.

As far as what the hell Ino was doing and the whole bit with the roof, you can probably figure it out, but it will be (briefly) clarified in the next chapter just in case, so don't worry about that.

And lastly, for those of you who don't know, a kusarigama is a weighted metal ball on a chain attached to a kama (a small, hand-held scythe). You've probably seen them before even if you didn't know what they were called.

That's it. Review if the notion strikes you. And know that every single one is extraordinarily appreciated.