"Um, Naruto?"

"Yes Shikamaru?"

"How did we end up like this again?" Shikamaru asked as they were dangling from the branches of trees. Naruto thought deeply.

"Uhh..."

Flashback

Naruto stopped by the Nara complex to say hi to Shikamaru when he discovered he was playing shogi with his dad. It ended up with Naruto playing against Shikamaru. After a good match that ended in Naruto's favor, Yoshino told Shikamaru that he needed to feed the deer. Of course our blonde hero offered to help, and of course the lazy boy took the offer. But then things got hairy when the entire herd dispersed into the surrounding forest.

"Naruto, can you tell me why it was a good idea to allow the deers to graze and open the pen without my permission?" Shikamaru asked with an annoyed tone as they walked in search of the deer.

"Hey, they looked cooped up and letting them out for some freedom was the best desicion. Besides, how else are they going to eat?" Naruto argued. A large tick mark was beginning to form on Shikamaru's forehead, and then he decided to use Iruka's Big Head Jutsu.

"That's what the bags of food were for! We put them into the dipsenser and it automatically feeds them every eight hours!" Shikamaru raised his fist above his head and brought it down onto Naruto's. "BAKA!" Naruto went straight into the ground, a large bump on his head. Shikamaru sighed and continued walking, with Naruto trailing behind, rubbing the lump. It was then the two boys stepped into the snares that lied in wait for animals and were yanked up to the treetops.

Flashback End

"Help! Anyone? There are two little boys caught in snare traps!" Naruto yelled out.

"Troublesome..." Shikamaru voiced as he suddenly saw somebody coming this way. From his perception. It was a young girl with waist length black hair with purple highlights. Beyond that, he could see no more until she got closer. So he started yelling.

"HEY!" Shikamaru screamed. The girl looked up and saw the flailing body of Naruto and the slightly rotating body of Shikamaru. "Please, get us down from here!"

The young girl did as she was asked and started climbing up the tree. When she got to Shikamaru, she opened his pouch of supplies and took out a kunai. She pulled his arm up so that he had a good grip on the branch and cut the rope. She did the same with Naruto and met the boys down at the bottom.

"Thank you so much!" Naruto said. Shika nodded as well. Now that the girl was in front of them, Shikamaru could now see her other features. She had alabaster skin and hazel eyes. She wore a white kimono with purple lining as well a purple sash wrapped around her waist. The girl looked to be about their age and was a bit taller than them too.

"Your welcome. You're lucky that I came along as I did, otherwise you would have been stuck up there for quite a while." She said with a loving smile.

"Yes, we would have. I'm Naruto Uzumaki and this is Shikamaru Nara." Naruto introduced. Shikamaru gave a slight bow to the girl.

"I'm Nanami, pleased to meet you." Nanami said.

"So, what are you doing out here?" Asked Naruto. Her smile turned to one of playfulness and responded.

"I could ask the same of you." The boys were going to continue the conversation, but a new voice cut into the air, calling out Nanami's name. They turned towards the voice

"I'm sorry, but father is calling for me. I hope that we meet again soon." Nanami said before disappearing in a spiral of leaves. That left the two boys back to the task of getting back to the compound and coming up with an explanation for losing the deer.

When the guys got home, they found Yoshino waiting for them. She looked irritated and was tapping her foot impatiently. The boys approached her with caution.

"Do you boys mind telling me where you went, and what happened to the deer?" She asked them. Naruto immediately stepped forward.

"I'm sorry Yoshino-san. It was my fault. It was because of me that the dear were lost. Please bestow any kind of punishment that you deem worthy upon me." Naruto pleaded. Yoshino looked at Naruto, and her frown turned into a warm smile.

"Well Naruto, it would seem that you have done nothing to be punished for. All of the deer are in the pens and are looking much better they have been all month." Yoshino said, then looked at her son. "If only Shikamaru would have thought to let the deer graze." Shikamaru's jaw had dropped and his eyes widened in disbelief. He hung his head in defeat and sighed. He just couldn't get a break. He walked into the compound with a grace only a Nara could have, all the while muttering troublesome. Yoshino shook her head and turned back to Naruto.

"I think it's time for you to go, Naruto. Have a nice afternoon." Naruto nodded and hurried off to find one of his other friends.

Naruto was walking in the ninja district, casually strolling about, ignoring the whispers around him. He did not care though, in fact the worse he had happen to him in the ninja district were murmers, no physical assault. As he turned the corner, he bumped into Fū. The orange-eyed transfer looked pleasantly surprised to see the boy who made first contact with her.

"Hey there Naruto-kun! What are you doing in the ninja district?" Fū asked.

"Oh, just browsing the shops. I gotta keep an eye out for future equipment references after all." Naruto responded. Naruto couldn't help but stare into her eyes. The pools of orange were dragging him in, as if trying to drown him in their beauty. Fū let out a small 'eep' as Naruto moved his face ever so close to her own.

"Am I ready for this? We've only just met! But he is very nice, and the only person here to treat me nicely. Maybe, if we had more time, I could grow to love him." Fū was suddenly brought back to the land of the living by a gasp coming from Naruto. She saw his gaze was turned away from her, inspecting something behind her. She whirled around, coming face to face with a mannequin that was dressed in armor that looked as though it was made by the hands of a master craftsman.

The armor covered the entire body in black. The shoulders, elbows, and knees were covered by onyx metal plates that overlapped each other, which also seemed to curve with the joint. Gauntlets covered the arm from the elbow down, coving each and every digit of the hands. On the waist was a belt with numerous pouches. The boots on the feet of the mannequin had spikes under them, as well as at the tip were the toes were. The head of the mannequin was covered by what looked like a samurai styled helmet made from the same metal. 1) The lower half of the face was covered by the same pitch black material that made up the parts of the armor not covered in metal. The name of the armor was the Fumetsu no kage. 2) All in all, the armor was about as badass as anything could get.

"Must... Have..." Naruto basically drooled at the sight. His gaze then drifted over to the price of the item and his eyes bulged out of their sockets. It was over 1,000,000,000¥!

"Kami-sama, why must you torture me like this!?" Naruto screamed into the sky as he started crying. 3) Fū turned to Naruto and gave a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun, maybe another day, just not today." Fū lightly put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto stopped bawling and turned to Fū. He felt a certain feeling in his stomach. The seal on his stomach was pulsing erratically as he go closer to Fū. The feeling was... undescribable. It felt pleasurable, but he also felt faint the closer he got. It was as if he wasn't controlling his body anymore. Naruto clasped his hand on her shoulder and leaned forward. Fū blushed as he got closer, and watched as he moved past her face. Her eyes widened as he whispered into her ear.

"We are the same..."

At an unmarked cavern...

"Father, I'm back!" Nanami called out. Soon, a figure merged from the shadows and out came an adult male that held similar characteristics to Nanami. But he had his differences too. Like his very pale skin, for example. Or the fact that his eyes were yellow with slitted pupils. He wore grey garbs and had a purple rope tied around his waist. The man smiled and embraced the girl.

"So Nanami, how was your walk?" Asked the man.

"It was great father! I even met some new friends!" Nanami exclaimed. The man's smile grew a bit more before another figure joined the fray. It was a younger male in medical ninja attire. He had silver hair and glasses with a circular framework. Nanami smiled at him.

"Nii-san!" Nanami greeted. She ran over and gave him a hug as well, which he happily returned.

"Nanami-chan, I need to speak with father alone. Can you please play with your other friends while we talk?" The male asked.

"Okay Nii-san. See you later!" Nanami said as she left the room. When she left, her father turned his attention to the other male in the room.

"What is it Kabuto?" The man asked. Kabuto pushed his glasses up a bit before speaking.

"I have news of a potential vessel by Kirigakure. His clan was wiped out and he is possibly the last one left. Would you like to take a look?" The pale man grinned.

"Of course, just let me put the final touches on my latest experiment and then we can go." He said. Kabuto bowed.

"As you wish, Orochimaru-sama."

And now you guys know that I am not dead. I've... mearly taken a break. But now that break is over, and I promise to you, my faithful readers, that I will try to update weekly, if not monthly. Also, from now on I will number things during chapters to put as author's notes, which will be eplained at the end of the chapter. And for those of you who have read my coop story, Genetic Enhancement, that will be updated tomorrow.

1. Think of Shredder's helmet from TMNT

2. The name means "Immortal Shadow"

3. Naruto, I will do this to you every now and then to make you seem more mortal then what you will become.

So with that, let the viewing commence!