Speech

Thought

Inner Sakura

Wow..unless I miscounted, looks like Inner will be taking over.

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"Well, someone's in a good mood today!" Haku chuckled as she watched Kasumi leave the house. The girl was damn near skipping.

The redhead smirked, "You don't know the half of it Let's just say Naruto is VERY good with his hands."

"What do you.." Her eyes widened, "Kasumi! I thought you said he wanted to wait!"

"He does. He meant doing...you know..." She looked around to be sure no one was near before leaning in to whisper.

Haku's eyebrows quickly shot up, before blushing furiously, "He...actually did that??"

Kasumi nodded, "I was in heaven.." She purred, "Forgot the last time I had an orgasm like that." Noticing the slightly jealous look her friend was giving her, she grinned and added, "I'm planning to return the favor before we go back to Konoha." She leaned closer and purred in the other girl's ear, "If you're a good girl..maybe you can help. I know how you feel about him, after all."

Haku could do little more than blush even brighter, a slight trickle of blood running from her nose at the thought of what that might imply.

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"I can't believe you!" I.S. snapped at her other half, "That bastard just snaps his fingers and you're rolling over like a damn pet!"

"Shut up!" Sakura hissed, "He just wanted my help yesterday, that's all. It proves he's starting to love me!"

"RAH! You dumb bimbo! All he cares about is himself! He didn't even thank you after you told him! Why can't you go after someone more pleasant...like Naruto? At least HE'S not all 'the-world-owes-me' or crap like that! Not to mention that body..." I.S. let out a lecherous purr

Sakura's expression went sour, "That baka!? That's revolting! Sasuke-Kun is the only man for me, and don't you forget it!"

I.S. growled, "If only I could get outta here..." She ranted before Sakura cut her off, "I hope that prick turns out to be the biggest fairy in Fire Country!"

As she tried to put her 'other self's words out of her head. the pink-haired girl noticed a certain blonde sitting in a lotus position, eyes closed and looking like he was almost asleep. At first she didn't think much of it, at least until he spoke up.

"You do know it's rude to stare, don't you?" He commented, ignoring her scowl.

"What are you doing anyway?" She demanded, halfway hoping it'd give her an excuse to take her ire out on him.

"It's not really any of your business, but I'm running a diagnostic on myself. I like to be sure everything's running smoothly once in a while." He opened his eyes and suppressed a grin at her recoil; images flickered across his eyes like a computer screen. They were small, but pictures of organs, limbs, and bones could be seen showing up, followed by what looked like technical read-outs, although she couldn't make out what it all said.

"What the hell are you??" She said, the demanding tone fainter, but still there.

Naruto couldn't help but grin as the scan finished and he got to his feet. Little did he know that grin was turning I.S. on a little.

"Me? I'm just Naruto." He replied, heading off to train and ignoring Sakura's annoyed screech.

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The following days proved to be rather uneventful. After finally getting tree climbing down, Kakashi made the attempt to have Sasuke and Sakura learn water walking, but that idea was met by resistance; Sasuke who demanded he be taught some offensive techniques, and Sakura who was quick to agree with the Uchiha, as well as unwilling to get her hair or clothes wet.

Then there was Inari. For some reason, Naruto and Haku found his constant declarations of them dying annoying. Even after Tsunami told them about his 'father's death at the hands of Gato and his thugs, it was still hard to feel sorry for the boy. It came to a head, though, one night while they were all eating dinner. Naruto finally had enough.

"Look kid, Gato's nothing but an asshole with a bunch of two-bit thugs and a lotta money. I seriously doubt he's gonna last long against us; so why don't you do us all a favor and give this 'your gonna die' junk a rest, all right?" He muttered before turning back to his meal.

Inari snapped, "You think it's all fun and games?! You idiots don't even know what 'suffering' means! You Konoha ninjas are all probably pampered and spoiled back home!" Before he could continue, a hand shot out and clamped down on his nose, squeezing it between two knuckles.

"Let me ask you something." Naruto said. His tone was calm, but Kasumi, Haku, and Zabuza could tell he was ticked off at the kid. He flicked the metal of his arm, "You know exactly what happened to my real right arm? I had just turned eight and had finally gotten a chance to enroll in the academy. However, a couple of people saw fit to keep that from happening. Two ANBU grabbed me before I could enroll in my first class. The bastards dragged me off and used me as a punching bag before one decided to end it. If another shinobi hadn't come up, I would have lost a lot more than just my arm." He let go, watching the kind hold his now sore nose, "Kid, damn near my entire town hates me for an event that happened on the day I was born. I've had people kick me out of stores, throw stuff and attack me simply for being alive, but do you see me going around acting sorry for myself and expecting pity from everyone? Your dad was willing to put his own life on the line to protect this place and everyone here; you, however, are doing a piss-poor job of appreciating it."

When he finished, Inari looked red with rage before running upstairs.

"Baka! Now look what you did! Go and apologize!" Sakura ordered. The blonde ignored her and headed outsite.

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Gato gave the trio before him an appraising look, all three were Kumo shinobi, "So you're the guys the Raikage sent, huh? How do I know you were worth the wait?"

"Mind your tongue. You should be honored we even bothered to come." One said arrogantly. The man dressed and held himself as if he was more of a nobleman than a ninja. His gaze seemed to hold everything he looked at in contempt

"Get over yourself, Ikigowa! You pompous jackoff!" A second growled. This one was shorter than the first, but was visibly more built, "You should be minding your OWN, unless you want Raikage-Sama to tear it out when we get back."

The third snorted; a woman who looked to be around her early twenties. Unlike the other two, she looked liked she was ready to kill them both the second she got a chance.

Ikigowa quickly made a hebi seal, causing her to cry out in pain, "Know your place, two-tails!"

"My name's Yugito, you miserable shit!" She growled, only to scream in pain again.

The second kumo-nin ignored then, "What's the job?" He asked looking at Gato.

"I want you to kill a group of ninja that are trespassing in Wave, as well as that turncoat Zabuza and his friend."

"The Demon of the Hidden Mist, huh? Sounds like fun. Anything else we should know?"

"One of my men said one of them bears a resemblance to the late Fourth Hokage." Gato smirked as he watched the two male shinobi's expressions darken.

"Not the real thing, but it'll do." Ikigowa sneered.

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As you can see, this was mainly a filler. Next chapter'll be the bridge battle.