Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto or Senran Kagura!

"We've waited long enough. I'll give your team one week." Holding up a single finger, the mountainous form of Dōgen spoke to a lone shinobi.

"Are we retrieving the scroll...?" Homura hid her conflicted emotions well. She found it odd how Dōgen was seated at Reo's desk. He certainly wasn't the one who was in charge of the school, yet he sat there like he owned it. She hasn't seen Reo in some time actually.

"That is the main objective. Your team can choose the method behind obtaining it, that doesn't matter to me." There was something sinister stirring behind his eyes. "Please ensure that Naruto-kun chooses the correct side. I know he's been spending more time with those silly girls."

Biting her tongue, as to not question how he knew about that, Homura simply nodded.

"You're all incredibly skilled shinobi, I'd hate to lose any of you so soon." She knew his smile contained a hidden meaning, but she was no fool. Asking for clarification would get her nowhere.

Bowing, Homura waited to be dismissed. A stern "leave" was all she needed before spinning on her heel and exiting the darkened room.

Stepping into one of the large hallways of Hebijo, Homura turned her head to the individuals who were waiting outside.

"So... what's our mission, Homura-chan?" Haruka questioned, standing near Hikage. Nowadays, those two were a lot closer.

"We have one week until we are sent to obtain the scroll from Hanzo Academy." Homura began to walk alongside her group.

"Oh my, that doesn't leave us with much time to prepare." Yomi tilted her head in Homura's direction.

"We'll be fine." Hikage shrugged carelessly, not at all worried about fighting other shinobi.

"I don't know..." Mirai frowned while looking down at her feet, her self-confidence was still not very high. A soft hand patted her on the head, causing her to shyly peek up to see Haruka's smile.

"You have nothing to worry about. Don't forget, my darling is going to be there too. Nobody will hurt you." Haruka reassured her teammate.

"That's the problem." Homura grumbled with a frustrated expression. "You don't think he'll... do anything stupid right?" She aimed that question towards the whole team, but she expected the best answer from Hikage or Haruka.

"No." Hikage's one worded response didn't exactly reassure Homura.

"I mean he did go out for ramen with this 'Katsuragi' again." Haruka watched Hikage from the corner of her eye, wanting a good reaction. "Maybe he'll leave Hebi-chan behind and take this new girl instead."

"And he wouldn't leave you?" Hikage wasted no time in firing back.

"Of course not!" Haruka winked at her teammate. "I give him plenty of reasons not to."

"Whore."

"Only for Naruto-kun."

Yomi jumped into action of playing peacemaker with the two bickering girls. Mirai looked torn at picking a side to help.

Homura simply watched from the sidelines now. This was supposed to be the elite team of Hebijo who were set on taking down good shinobi. From their interactions alone... outsiders wouldn't even be able to tell.

'I hope you make the right choice, bastard.'

"That's wrong! You've chosen wrong, Naru-kun!" Katsuragi stuck her tongue out at the boy in front of her. "I am the winner, again."

Naruto glared at the piece of paper in front of him. Somehow she kept beating him at 'tic-tac-toe' and he was convinced she was cheating. There was no way he was losing in such a childish game.

"She's not cheating, you just make dumb decisions." Yagyū overlooked the paper with disinterest.

"Kicking me under the table doesn't count as cheating?" Naruto accused the blonde girl across from him.

"Nope! It doesn't stop you from using a pencil, and they were just love taps... or love kicks." Her cheery grin was almost infectious.

"Naruto-kun, you can have a cookie. Maybe it'll make you feel better. You lost multiple times after all..." Hibari shyly offered him a treat. The younger girl was still somewhat nervous around him, but she was improving.

Naruto glanced at the snack before him. His episode with Kurama's chakra left the girl shaken, and she hasn't recovered fully. That entire messy situation continued to bother him, and Kiriya couldn't give him a clear answer on where the intel came from.

"Supposedly a trustworthy source." Was Kiriya's explanation.

'It's a bunch of bullshit.' Naruto's eyes darkened. Supposedly... sure.

"Naruto-kun?" Hibari asked him nervously, easily noticing his intense stare on the cookie.

Closing his eyes to clear his thoughts, Naruto gently took the cookie from her hand and gave her a smile.

"Thanks Hibari-chan. Don't give Katsu-chan any though, she ate so much ramen for lunch that she'll blow up if she eats anything else." His comment left Katsuragi stunned.

"H-Hey! Are you saying I'm getting fat?! Just because I can eat more than you, doesn't mean I'm gaining weight!" She jumped onto the table quickly and crouched to get closer to him. Her position was completely unladylike. Having a girls panties in his direct line of sight was normal at this point.

"My lips are sealed." Naruto added fuel to the fire.

Across the room and pretending to read a textbook, Ikaruga studied Naruto. His playful nature and words completely contradicted how he was on their last big mission. The power, the abilities, everything. She's never heard of a shinobi like him.

'I still don't have any answers... Kiriya-sensei seemed just as surprised when I mentioned it to him.'

"Katsuragi! You just got spit all over my cookie!"

"Good! Don't call me fat!"

Ikaruga wasn't sure how he could even be a shinobi sometimes. Outside of combat, he seemed too genuine, too caring, and carefree.

The shinobi room door opened and Asuka strolled in to witness the scene of Katsuragi wrestling a disgusted Naruto on the floor.

"Is this training?" The granddaughter of Hanzo was rightfully confused.

"It's idiotic." Yagyū remained glued to Hibari's side as her two teammates continued to playfully fight.

"It looks fun." Hibari's smile radiated purity, making Yagyū avert her eyes in embarrassment.

"Naruto-kun! Katsu-nee! I'll join you!" Asuka jumped right into the pair and tumbled on the floor.

Ikaruga pinched the bridge of her nose when both girls unintentionally suffocated Naruto with their breasts.

They were supposed to be a team that could reach an elite status and take out evil shinobi. The scene playing out before her completely contradicted that statement.

'I suppose we have plenty of time in the future to be ruthless shinobi.'

Ikaruga left behind her textbook and joined her bickering teammates.

Later that same night, Naruto returned to his silent Hebijo team. Their shinobi room almost seemed tense, and Suzune stood by the door, watching him like a hawk.

"Yo...?" Naruto searched the faces of every girl, each looked like they wanted to speak up, but Homura beat them all to it.

"We are attacking Hanzo Academy in one week." She blurted it out quickly, wanting to hear his response. After a moment of silence, he sighed deeply.

"So it's finally happening... huh?" Naruto couldn't say he was surprised. There was no doubt that this was in Dōgen's plans from the start.

"I've been briefed fully. Through the reports you've given on the shinobi, and our own intel, it's enough to send your team in." Suzune's tone was strictly professional.

"The main goal is some stupid scroll right?" Naruto's question made Suzune raise an eyebrow.

"A very important and powerful scroll. It could aid Hebijo and our shinobi greatly." She really wasn't sure about letting something like that get into Dōgen's hands. Regardless, it was out of her control for the time being.

"And the shinobi of Hanzo Academy..." Naruto faced his squads teacher. "What about them?"

"If they prove to be a threat, they need to be eliminated. There will no doubt be witnesses, but you can take some out." Suzune relayed the information in Homura's place, the girl didn't seem keen on speaking up right now.

"I'm not killing them." Naruto told her, his tone leaving little room for argument. Suzune frowned while looking over each Hebijo shinobi. The thought of taking out good shinobi didn't seem to affect the girls, but Naruto was different. He was sent there to spy on them, and although his reports were lacking, he became too close with his targets. It was a mistake, one that couldn't be rectified this late into the mission. He'd simply have to deal with it.

"If they attack your team with the intent to kill, what will you do? Would you sacrifice these girls for them?" Suzune didn't enjoy the look on Naruto's face, but she had to make him understand.

"Never." Naruto responded with no hesitation. "I'll protect them until the day I die." His conviction truly shocked Homura. Hikage and Haruka stared lovingly at the boy, while Yomi and Mirai felt safe in his presence. "But I... promised to protect the other girls too..." He admitted to them sheepishly. The room became silent again, and Hikage's eyes turned dull.

'Of course he did.' She loved him more than anything, though he was too-

"You're such a softy, darling." Haruka shook her head with a smile. She somehow finished Hikage's thoughts for her.

"You can't keep every promise you make in life, Naruto. Realistically, the Hanzo team will try to take out any threats to their school. Since you all are evil shinobi, they will try their hardest to kill or capture you. Whether you played nice with them or not, you're going to be betraying them." Suzune spoke only truths to the boy. She came from that side of shinobi, and for all the positives they preached, they could be just as cruel.

"You don't know them. They aren't like that." Naruto defended the Hanzo team, knowing the girls would never be vicious.

"And they don't truly know you. You haven't been with them for too long, they could be putting a facade up as well." Suzune made a fair point, and as much as Naruto wanted to refute it, he couldn't fault her for her line of thinking.

"Naruto, you have people that... love you here. Don't forget that." Suzune couldn't believe she was talking about the topic of love in an evil shinobi school. 'He really caused this...' Her words instantly caused the mood in the room to change.

"I-I do not love him! Don't just say shit like that!" Homura's face was tinted red, pointing an angry finger at Naruto. "He's a gigantic idiot, I don't know what Hikage and Haruka see in him. Nobody needs his weak ass protection anyway." Her wavering voice completely betrayed her statements.

Naruto began to laugh, further embarrassing Homura. The other girls joined soon after, laughing together for no real reason.

Suzune knew things wouldn't go smoothly. There was no conceivable way that Naruto would follow things fully.

'I'll let them have this moment though. I have a feeling things are about to get a lot harder for them.'

Rin's face cracked into a very small smile.

Nearing the end of the week, Katsuragi rocked back and forth on a swing with a concentrated expression.

She noticed Naruto acting strangely for the past few days now. She wasn't sure about his home life, or those other friends he mentioned, but something was bothering him.

'Was it something I said? He hasn't been texting me much...' Katsuragi chewed on her lip. She stood up at night thinking about her own actions towards Naruto. For years now, she was fully committed to just her shinobi lifestyle and occasionally indulging in her unsavory habit of groping girls. Meeting Naruto, it allowed her to experience something that she thought was a thing of the past.

Fun. Simple fun.

She enjoyed every second of joking around with him. Arguing, fighting, eating, it didn't really matter. After her parents left her, she put on a smile, laughed proudly, and acted tough. She was anything but that. Nobody knew how much she cried at night, thinking about her family and worrying about her future.

The attitude she displayed to the world was not entirely fake, though she exaggerated things. Grabbing other girls was a way for her to flip the mood in certain situations. It was a way to get laughter from some, or disdain from others. That wasn't to say she didn't enjoy the feeling of rubbing some soft... big...

'I'm getting off track here.' Shaking her head roughly, she focused back on Naruto. The only boy she ever felt like she could connect to.

"And here I was thinking I only liked girls." Chuckling to herself, she froze when she heard a snort come from behind her.

"So you don't?"

Turning her head almost robotically, Katsuragi faced Naruto with wide eyes.

"Should I let all the girls know that 'Katsuragi The Sexual Harasser' is no more?" Naruto grinned at her flushed cheeks.

"Shut up..." She muttered but couldn't keep her own smile from appearing. He was acting standoffish all week and hearing him like this made her happy.

Placing himself on the swing next to her, Naruto sat in silence. He didn't need Kurama's help to know something was bothering Katsuragi. He saw her sitting on the swings for some time, thinking hard for whatever reason.

"Naru-kun?" Katsuragi called him softly. "I know we just got ramen recently... but can we go again? Is that alright? If you're not hungry that's cool, I'm not really hungry either and um..." Naruto's snickering cut her off.

"I just realized that I know a lot of weird girls." He paid little attention to Katsuragi's curious "Huh?". He wouldn't elaborate on that topic. "I'd never deny ramen. You wanna ditch training today and grab some?" He held a fist out to the girl, an action that felt very familiar to him.

"You know it." Pounding her fist against his, she mirrored his grin perfectly.

"We better get out of here quickly. Ikaruga-chan's been looking for me and I really don't want to do math right now." Naruto pulled Katsuragi off the swing and the girl allowed it. She offered no resistance to his hand grasping her own.

"Come on, I'll lead the way." Naruto walked ahead, letting her stare at the back of his brightly colored hair.

"You actually remember where it is? I thought you were horrible with directions." Katsuragi teased him.

"Clones. I actually had a bunch go out and map out the city in my free time. I got tired of getting lost and depending on..." Naruto became quiet while thinking about his Hebijo girls.

"Oh... okay." She wasn't sure why he became silent. "I was meaning to ask you more about those clones. Asuka-chan said you were able to use a bunch of them at once." Katsuragi was always interested in cool shinobi techniques, and Naruto's duplicates seemed amazing.

"Yup. Kurama says that if I go all out, I could make thousands." Naruto heard his partner grumble about 'arrogant brats' through their link.

"T-Thousands...?!" Katsuragi sputtered, her mouth open in shock. That wasn't human. Thousands of duplicates. Thousands of naked, sweaty, Naruto clones... 'Wait... who's Kurama?'

"Who's Kurama?" She felt the need to voice her question or it would eat away at her. She really wanted to know everything involving Naruto.

'My name is one of power and destruction. Stop giving it out freely to people.' Kurama growled lowly at Naruto.

'Sorry. I didn't realize who I was talking to for a second.' The Hanzo girls knew next to nothing about Kurama. Only Hikage and Haruka knew the whole truth... he had to tell the others soon.

"Kurama is my summon. The one who shared power with me on our last mission." Naruto reminded himself to limit the amount of information he revealed, he still had a mission, whether he wanted to complete it or not.

"Wow. Kurama must be super strong then."

"Yeah..."

Their conversation died there, neither wanting to discuss that night. The rest of the trip into town to acquire ramen was filled with silence. Katsuragi kept her gaze on their interlocked hands. 'He's a touchy person... I guess I'm the same.' She felt good to have something else in common with him.

"We are here." Naruto told her as the ramen bar came into view. "One day I want to own a ramen place of my own, ya know?" He revealed his hidden dream to her.

"Really? That would actually be great. Would you hire me?" She elbowed him playfully. "If you did, we'd probably never get any work done."

"We definitely wouldn't. We'd just eat all the ramen ourselves and make no money. Our business would be closed in a week." Naruto chuckled as he took a seat.

"True! We can have Ikaruga-chan work with us as our manager, she'd make sure we actually make a profit."

"You're right. Yagyū-chan could work alongside her, she's super serious all the time too." Naruto and Katsuragi sat side by side, waiting for their orders to be taken.

"Oh, oh! Asuka-chan and Hibari-chan would definitely be a part of our advertisement team. They have that cute look that would make people buy into whatever their selling." Katsuragi enjoyed the imaginary idea of owning a restaurant with Naruto. It was... nice.

"Wait... do you even know how to make ramen?" Naruto turned to her, blinking owlishly.

"I never tried." Katsuragi admitted pitifully. She could definitely learn though, she was pretty good in the kitchen. "What about you?"

"I've made my own once or twice, but I'm a master when it comes to instant ramen."

"Naru-kun... really?"

They laughed together until their orders were taken.

"Hey, what about we have one final contest?" Naruto asked Katsuragi, making her tilt her head in confusion.

"Are you throwing in the towel on being ramen king? I earned that title long ago."

Naruto's smile was a little more strained. This would be the last time they'd do this after all.

"Let's see if you can hold that title this time, Katsu-chan."

"You're on!"

Katsuragi really hoped that ramen dream would come true. They'd need something to do after retiring from their shinobi lifestyle. If Asuka's grandfather could do it, why couldn't they?

'I'm really excited to graduate with him...'

She loved being with Ikaruga, but she knew who she'd be taking missions with in the future.

The sunset was beautiful as the ramen duo walked the lit up streets. It was reminiscent of the first time they went to eat together, except this time they skipped training completely.

"It's this train station right? It's always so dead." Naruto carried the girl on his back again.

"Yeah, I don't exactly live in a populated area." Katsuragi pressed her cheek to his spiky hair.

"On the bright side, it's nice to have some privacy sometimes, right?" Naruto walked up onto the platform where she'd wait for the train.

"Sometimes it's nice. I told you before, you should totally come visit. We can train or watch a movie or..." She trailed off awkwardly.

"I'd... like that." Due to her position on his back, she couldn't see his dejected face. "Alright, time to get down." Tapping her thigh, the same way he'd do to the Hebijo girls, he signaled her to release him.

"Nah. Maybe I want to stay like this." Katsuragi pressed herself closer to him, her soft chest squishing against his back. "Getting a ride from a hunk, did I win the lottery?"

"No, but you did win the contest again." Naruto pouted childishly.

"You already know I'm the undisputed ramen king, Naru-kun." She patted him on the cheek. "Don't worry, you can be my queen. It would be perfect if you could turn into a girl or something."

"... Haha... that'd be crazy." Naruto choked on his saliva when he heard her mention that. He could turn into a girl. He absolutely feared her reaction.

Lights from the tracks and a distinctive screech alerted the shinobi. Katsuragi sighed dramatically before sliding off his body.

"Stupid train. Ruining my Naru-kun time..." In that moment, Naruto compared Katsuragi to Hikage and Haruka. The way she spoke to him was almost a strange mix of the two. Almost.

"Well, there's my train." Katsuragi put her hands on her hips and looked up at him.

"Have a safe trip home, okay?" Naruto watched her smile widen.

"Psh, as long as I got these, nobody could hurt me." Katsuragi pulled her skirt up slightly to reveal more of her thick thighs. Naruto deadpanned at her and shook his head.

"Of course." The train finally pulled up to its stop at the dead station.

"I'm off then. Thanks for the fun time Naru-kun, I'll text you while I'm bored on the train." Katsuragi cheekily saluted him. She wanted to hug him, but something held her back.

"Katsuragi." Naruto's tone dropped from its usual upbeat one. "I have to tell you something."

Searching his face, Katsuragi figured it was serious to warrant such an expression.

"Shoot. I don't have long though, the train and all." Ruffling her own long hair, she waited for him to speak.

"I..."

'Think clearly.' Kurama stopped him short of revealing anything.

"I'm really glad that I met you and the rest of the girls." His sincere statement made her light up.

"Hehe~" Katsuragi was sure she looked silly now. "I'm glad I met you too, you're an amazing person. I just hate when you run away and hide things." She wanted to slap a hand over her mouth when telling him that. Naruto appeared to be shocked for a second.

"... I did do that after our last mission and during the week. I'm sorry." That was the best apology he could give now.

"You can make it up to me with more dates." Katsuragi spun and ran to the train doors, leaving the bewildered boy behind.

"Huh...? Dates? You mean favors?" Naruto's confusion made her giggle.

"If that's what ya wanna call them." Waving, she waited for the doors to open. "See you next week!" Blowing him a teasing kiss, she disappeared onto the train.

Naruto stood and watched the train leave the station, Katsuragi's exaggerated waving continued until she lost sight of him.

"See you next week... Katsuragi."

A bright and early Monday morning greeted Katsuragi as the bouncy blonde arrived at Hanzo Academy. Jogging up to her team, who waited outside for her, she gave them a megawatt smile.

"Someone must be in a good mood." Ikaruga spoke when seeing her fellow third year.

"I am! I did a lot of thinking recently. I have some new plans for this year and the future!" Katsuragi pointed a finger at her team.

"That's great! I also have big plans!" Asuka told her with determination plastered on her face.

"Now I want to have big plans like them..." Hibari sulked next to Yagyū. The silver haired girl patted her on the back softly.

"You can. You just have to work extra hard, okay Hibari-chan?" Yagyū whispered to her fellow first year.

"Mhm!" Her noise of confrontation made Yagyū smile proudly.

"Having goals is nice and all, but don't forget to keep up with your school work and training. Katsuragi-san, you deemed it necessary to skip training with Naruto-san last week." Ikaruga channeled her inner class rep and chided the girl

"Come on! I finally made him give up on his pointless pursuit of being ramen king. I'd say it was worth skipping training just the one time." Katsuragi defended her actions.

"Where is Naruto-kun? He's usually never this late..." Asuka reached into her bag and checked her phone. No notifications from the boy telling them that he'd be late... that was weird.

"Maybe he got lost. He does that." Yagyū wasn't sure how someone could get lost so often in their school. He tended to wander the hallways aimlessly.

"Nope, not anymore! He made a bunch of clones and had them explore the city!" Katsuragi hyped up the boys skills. "He said he could make like thousands of them. Imagine the possibilities." The perverted undertones made Asuka blush.

"That still doesn't explain why he would be-"

Ikaruga froze in place when a faint purple barrier was erected around the entire academy.

"A Shinobi Kekkai." Yagyū narrowed her uncovered eye, preparing herself for a fight.

"People are really attacking us here?" Katsuragi didn't even get her morning stretches in. "It's probably some losers looking for payback."

"Not exactly." The females voice made Asuka widen her eyes. She knew that voice!

Before the tense Hanzo group, five shadows dropped down from the high entrance of the academy.

"Who are you...?" Ikaruga searched their faces. She didn't recognize any of them. Although, the blonde one with the longest skirt was glaring at her with disgust.

"Long time no see, Jugs." The tan girl threw a smirk Asuka's way.

"Homura-chan?!" Asuka yelled, shocking her teammates. How did she know her?

"The one and only." Giving a cocky bow, Homura eyed the girls distastefully. "This is what he likes? What's wrong with that bastard? Tch, he has no taste."

"Homura."

"Homura-chan."

The green haired girl and the other blonde called the name out with an underlying threat in their tone.

"Y-Yeah... whatever." Homura coughed to regain her composure. She would not be embarrassed in front of some weak good shinobi. "Anyway! We are from Hebijo Academy, a school for evil shinobi. It's nice to meet you all." The Hanzo group knew she was being sarcastic, her cocky grin spoke volumes.

"What the hell do you all want?" Katsuragi kept glancing at the snake eyed shinobi. There was something about that girl that made her uneasy.

"Oh you know... just a certain scroll." Homura caught the way Ikaruga's eyes narrowed. "Great, so you do know about it." Crossing her arms, the Hanzo girls could practically feel the bloodlust in the air.

"There's no way we will give up anything to you." Ikaruga shot a look to her team and they wasted no time in transforming.

"Hahaha! That's so cute!" Homura laughed mockingly at their clothing.

"That outfit looks very expensive." The comment was directed at Ikaruga from the younger blonde and she felt unnerved from the hate filled gaze piercing her.

"Hmm... I don't know who's cuter. The pink haired one or our little Mirai-chan here." The oldest looking girl in their group studied Hibari.

"Haruka-san!" Mirai hid her face behind her hands, she refused to show these good shinobi her blushing face.

"What do you think, Hebi-chan?" Haruka bumped hips with her blank faced teammate.

"I really don't care."

"So cold. You're lucky I love you."

"Shut up."

Katsuragi felt her heart clench when hearing the name. 'Hebi-chan? No... it has to be a coincidence.' She couldn't jump to conclusions. She couldn't.

"Well if you're not going to just give it up peacefully..." Homura narrowed her eyes at Asuka. The girl looked personally offended that the nice girl who recovered her wallet would show up here as an enemy.

Before anyone could move, Homura started chuckling. "Oh, look who finally showed up."

The Hanzo girls followed her gaze and to their shock and elation, Naruto stood behind them. Clad in his Hanzo Academy uniform, he kept his gaze on the Hebijo girls exclusively. That mattered little to Katsuragi, she practically lit up at seeing him.

"Naru-kun!" She moved over to him and punched him on the arm. "You're just in time. These girls will stand no chance now." She was confident in their abilities, but Naruto being here guaranteed a win.

"Naruto-kun! I'm so happy to see you." Asuka mimicked Katsuragi's joy. "Can you believe that nice girl we met is an evil shinobi?!" She pointed at the smirking Homura.

"Naruto-san, please transform and let's finish this quickly." Ikaruga nodded respectfully at the stationary member of their team.

"Will we be alright, Yagyū-chan?" Hibari whispered to her friend.

"Yes. Remember his promise." Yagyū sent a small smile his way.

"Oh now this... this just makes me feel bad." Homura muttered, actually giving the Hanzo girls a look of pity. 'Sucks to be them.' She was on the receiving end of Naruto's ass beatings too many times.

"Naru-kun? You good?" Katsuragi looked up into blue eyes. Getting no response, she grabbed his hand.

"Naru-"

"Let him go."

The girl nicknamed Hebi-chan called out to Katsuragi.

"Excuse me? Why should I listen to you? Naru-kun here is my hunk. Stay over there and I'll deal with those big titties in a second." Katsuragi stuck her tongue out at the Hebijo shinobi.

"I like her. Don't you agree, Hikage-chan?"

"Haruka. Thin ice."

"Oh my."

Naruto slipped his hand out of Katsuragi's, much to his Hanzo teammates confusion.

Walking directly up to Homura, they fully expected the strong third year to punch the girl, which Katsuragi wouldn't have minded.

"Good morning, fox bastard." The way Homura looked at him with familiarity didn't sit well with any of the Hanzo girls.

"You really had to do it like this?" He spoke for the first time with disappointment.

"That's the mission." Homura shrugged, she would rather fight than be subtle.

Naruto sighed and faced the Hanzo girls one more time.

"Naru-kun? What's up...?" Katsuragi felt her stomach turn, she almost felt sick. The way he looked at them wasn't right. It felt wrong. It felt fake.

"Darling, you really are making quite the scene." Haruka's sly smile and words only amplified Katsuragi's nausea.

"Naru, get it over with." Hikage's emotionless voice was tinged with affection when she said his name. Katsuragi felt her mouth become dry.

"Naru-nii..."

"Naruto-san..."

The other two addressing him like that was the final nail in the coffin. Each Hanzo girl was drawing their own conclusions now.

"Naruto-san... no... you..." Ikaruga was the first to break out of her stupor.

"How could you?" Yagyū whispered angrily. Despite her usual attitude, being betrayed by someone she was beginning to trust hurt her.

"This is a joke, right? Naruto, you're joking." Katsuragi moved closer to him, ignoring Ikaruga's shout to move away. "You always make jokes, but now isn't the best time for one."

"Katsuragi. Do you know the location of the scroll?" Naruto questioned her, each Hebijo girl stepped closer to him.

"Stop playing around Naruto. Seriously, we can handle them. They aren't controlling you, are they?" Katsuragi's teammates words fell on deaf ears, she continued to stare at him. Asuka looked heartbroken as she watched. Meanwhile, Hibari felt fear creep up on her. How could they possibly fight him?

"Control? Oh sweetie..." Haruka's words were filled with cruel amusement. "Naruto-kun, playing with a girls heart is not nice." She felt an icy glare coming from Hikage for the comment.

"Naruto... I think this is your worst joke yet!" Katsuragi's smile was riddled with pain.

"It's not a joke." Naruto didn't want to look her in the eyes any longer. For a boy who craved friendship in two lifetimes, it was too much for him.

"We talked about our ramen restaurant, right?! I even came up with names! We could wear these cool uniforms and I drew up this banner design, I suck at drawing though, and..." Katsuragi's voice cracked.

"Enough! He is with them, he's an evil shinobi." Ikaruga never expected to say those awful words. "We have to protect our school, please Katsuragi-san."

"Naruto?" Katsuragi knew her shinobi emotional training was failing her. Her personal training too.

Naruto remained quiet, he simply pulled a special scroll out of his pocket.

One transformation later, there were blades pointed at her throat. Katsuragi felt like she truly didn't deserve to have friendships or relationships. Her parents, her friends... everyone would leave her eventually.

'Was everything a lie...?'

A/N - Short chapter, I know. I lost my phone recently that had pretty much everything planned out with this story so that sucked big time! Other than that, it's been one year! Holy shit, but thanks to whoever is still here waiting for this story to end lmao. Spoiler - It won't for some time.

While this one was short, I have another 'shinobi heart' chapter already written, and I plan to start writing the next chapter asap.

I know some people dropped the story because the updates are so slow (compared to last summer) but cmonnnn... I'm never plannin on abandoning this. This was my first story, my baby. No matter if people feel its cliché, actual trash, or anything in between, I love it. And as long as even one person keeps reading, I'll keep posting.

Also, there's more people translating my story into Spanish now. Apparently there's even one on wattpad, so that's a thing. Luckily, this guy asked for permission... after the fact but whatever I don't own anything here, so it doesn't really matter. The first time got me salty though, I admit it lmao.

Thanks for sticking around :)