Hello, everyone! I'm back for round two! This is the sequel to "Cause and Effect," which I promised at the end of the story. If you notice, up at the top of the page it says "Action/Adventure/Drama," and it doesn't say "Romance." That is because, while this one actually has a couple of relationships in it, they are not a central focus. This is just the prologue; don't worry, my chapters will be roughly the same length as the ones in "Cause and Effect."

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, the original Naruto plot, or Naruto's orange jumpsuit...which is a shame, because orange looks really good on me.

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Naruto was sure no one would have guessed she'd pick espionage as her specialty, but she did. It was a perfect field for her; she didn't like killing people, and she was a stealth expert (come on; how many other eleven-year-olds would be able to hide from chuunin and jounin after a prank, wearing bright orange?).

She didn't have to kill people, usually, because that would ruin her missions. Her specialty was blending in, and she was damn good.

And it was gratifying, really, to come back after a three-month mission with crucial information, having never been caught…like now.

"Jounin Uzumaki Naruto reporting, 1400 hours; mission: success."

Minato-sensei looked up from his desk and caught her eyes. He nodded. "Details?"

"It was as we suspected; target A had no conscious connection. Targets B through E planned the assassination, hired missing-nin, and set them upon Kimura Daitaro. Kimura-san's guards made quick work of the missing-nin, and target A is now being held safely by Water Country Protection.

As to the secondary mission, I learned that all product trades are down a quarter percent already. There is no apparent cause, but I suspect some movement in the background; it wouldn't surprise me if someone in the shadows is looking to monopolize the market." She handed over a stack of papers. "Pages one through four are the separate mission reports; pages five through eleven are numbers and all the information I was able to get during that three-month time period."

He skimmed through the pages, frowning, before sighing. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, don't eat ramen from Water Country. It sucks."

Well, that got a chuckle, at least. "All right, you're dismissed."

"Thanks!"

She rushed out of the room, shutting the door carefully, waited ten seconds, and then opened it again. "Now I'm not doing some stupid report, so I can ask…what's up?"

He gave her a wary look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, how's it going for you, being Hokage and all that?"

He sat back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. "You know…it's not something for the faint of heart. Every day, I send people out to their potential deaths. People look to me for guidance, and if I don't know what to do, I have to make the best decision for the whole village. Still," he continued with a slight smile, "it's probably one of the most rewarding missions I've ever had. This village has so much potential; I'm honored to be the leader of these people."

"…So, that means you're good, right?"

"Yes, that means I'm good."

Naruto stood in silence for a moment, before asking a bit nervously, "So…do you remember my friend Gaara? The one in Suna?"

"Yes," he replied, face impassive.

"Um…so, did you get hold of them? How did it go? Is he safe?"

Minato-sensei sighed. "It's complicated, you know. As the Hokage, I represent Konohagakure, as a whole. And because of that, I need to be diplomatic at all times; otherwise, I could bring about conflict, or even start a war. We've just recovered from that cold war with Iwa; many of our resources were drained. We can't afford conflict with Wind Country, and I did talk to the Kazekage…but I couldn't ask outright, and he didn't admit to any plans. I'm sorry, Naruto…but it looks like this is one battle you can't even fight."

"…Oh."

Naruto refused to let herself feel worthless again. Self-pity did no good for anyone, and there were more people to save. She plastered a smile on her face. "Well, then, I'll just have to help him when I meet him!"

Minato-sensei nodded. "I'm sure you'll be able to."

"Thanks," she said sincerely.

He smiled a bit. "You should go see Kushina and Rin; they've been worried about you."

"But it wasn't even a hard mission!"

"But it was a long one," he reminded pointedly. "Besides, Kushina has some news for you, which I am not allowed to tell."

She grinned. "Or what?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know."

"Well, okay. I'll go see them. I have to take a bath anyway; I stink like Water Country borders and forest fire."

"I actually noticed. Take care."

"Hey, that's not nice, old man! And I always take care."

"I'm not old. Now go!"

"I'm going, I'm going," she replied, smiling bigger now. She exited the office with her pack, heading toward her apartment. She'd go to the hot springs, and stay there until she was all wrinkly and gross.

Her apartment was unlocked, so she knew that someone was inside; it wasn't surprising, since she'd asked everyone to look after her plants until she got back.

She hadn't been expecting both Rin and Kushina-neechan to be waiting there, directing semi-frightening grins at her.

"Whoa, guys, what's this," she asked, backing up toward the wall and edging toward her futon. "What're you doing here?"

"Kakashi spotted you entering the village," Kushina-neechan said. "So we hurried over. See, it's come to our attention that-"

"No, that wasn't me," she protested, waving her hands in front of her chest. "I swear! Somebody must've copied my style!"

Rin frowned. "Uh…what are you talking about?"

Oh…so they weren't coming after her for the Hokage Mountain? That was good…because for once, it hadn't been her. Who would do the same prank twice? That just wasn't cool. Still…whoever that had been had done a pretty good job. Too bad she'd been on her way out; she didn't have time to admire it properly.

"I…uh…never mind, it's not important."

"Are you talking about the Hokage Mountain incident," Kushina-neechan asked suspiciously. "Because we were sure we had that figured out. Unless there's something you want to tell us…?"

"Who was it," Naruto asked, intrigued despite the danger she still sensed radiating off her two 'guests.'

"It was little Arisu Anju."

"What? But she's…like…nine years old, and her parents love Minato-sensei! Why would she…"

Kushina-neechan chuckled and Rin's eyes took on that same frightening glint they'd had previously. Naruto swallowed. "Uh…hey, now, whatever I did, let's talk about it first! We don't have to-"

"You smell," Rin pointed out. "Get your stuff. We're going to the springs, and we can talk about everything there."

It was with a heavy sense of foreboding that Naruto collected bath items, clothing changes (no matter what anyone said, orange was the best color, and she'd never give her jumpsuits up), and other odds and ends (like fresh kunai and a toothbrush). She didn't really like girls' weekends…but something told her that a girls' weekend was exactly what Kushina-neechan and Rin had planned, and she knew that like every other time, it would only end in embarrassment for her.

I'm just a line break…don't mind me!

"So," Naruto began, sinking into the steamy water and closing her eyes. Despite her fear of utter humiliation – she really didn't want to be 'playfully' tossed over the fence again by crazy redheaded sort-of relations –, she was glad she'd come. And hopefully, she could keep the conversation away from her earlier cross-dressing tendencies this time. Honestly, how old were those two…three…four…damn it. Everyone thought it was funny…even Naruto, sometimes.

"So, what is it you guys had to talk to me about?"

"Oh. That. Well, it's come to our attention that last time we wanted to do this, you asked for that mission. That wasn't very nice," Kushina-neechan replied.

"Hey," Naruto protested halfheartedly. The water really did feel nice. "I have to pay my bills somehow. Besides; who can blame me, after what happened before?"

"Naruto, you insisted you could still be mistaken for a boy. So I tossed you over the fence to show you that you do, in fact, look like a girl."

"Because I was naked, and they aren't blind!"

"Naruto."

"Hey, Kushina-neechan, I can prove it. Ask anyone in Wave Country; they'll all tell you I'm a nice, polite – if kind of girly – boy. And anyway, I was trying to explain why I'd be so good in the espionage field! I didn't ask to be thrown over the fence! You're lucky I'm a ninja, or I could've been seriously hurt!"

Rin chuckled quietly. Naruto glared. "And you," she continued. "It's not funny. So excuse me if I'm a little wary of taking weekends with you guys!"

She settled back against the edge of the spring again with a huff, folding her arms and closing her eyes again so she didn't have tosee the faces of the two women who were laughing at her. Just then, Kushina-neechan gasped softly and Naruto opened her eyes.

"Naruto, I can't believe I let this slip my mind! It's one of the most important reasons we decided to come here!"

She squinted through the steam. "What is it? Is everything okay?"

"What? Of course it is!" Though Naruto couldn't see Kushina-neechan's face, she could hear the excited smile. "Naruto…Minato and I…"

Suddenly, Naruto had a very bad feeling. She didn't like the way that statement was said; she didn't like the tone Kushina-neechan had used.

"I'm going to have a baby."

She willed herself to be calm, and not panic. She was rather proud of herself when she asked quietly, "When is your baby due?"

"Hmm…well, it's March, right? Unless she's late…the middle of November."

A bit of relief made its way into Naruto's system, but she was still worried. After all, she still hadn't figured out a way to…save her parents…and it had been pressing on her mind for some time now. "That's…that's great, Kushina-neechan," she answered, managing to put believable cheer into her voice. "I'm happy for you."

There was a short silence in which Naruto searched for a topic – any topic – that would steer the conversation away from the hardest thing she'd had to deal with in a while. Finally, inspiration hit.

"So…what's this about Anju?"

Rin laughed. "Oh, that…well, it seems that she has quite the crush on Uchiha Itachi," she explained.

"Um…isn't she like two years older than him? And what does that have to do with anything?"

"Like you can talk, Naruto," Rin said in a mock-admonishing tone. "I know about your little crush, and technically, you're a couple of years older than him."

Naruto colored in embarrassment and irritation. "I don't like anyone!"

"You don't have to hide it," she teased. "We all know that you and Obito-"

"Grah! Don't say such weird things! He's my best friend. I can't like him…it would be creepy."

Well, it wasn't like Rin had to know everything.

Besides; it wasn't like she liked him or anything. He was just…you know…the only guy she would go out with, if she had to. But she didn't have to, so it was a moot point.

"Then you're all set to marry his little cousin, then?"

"Kushina-neechan! That's a horrible thought! He's only seven!"

"Well…he'll be eight this year," she reasoned laughingly. "Besides; he's completely taken with you. I wouldn't be surprised if he gave you your 'engagement shuriken' any day now!"

She was just not going to think about that. Itachi was seven! And Sasuke's brother! And Obito's cousin! Yes, he was a cute kid, but in the way that a kitten was cute. Small, and very temperamental.

"You guys are horrible," she muttered. "Please don't encourage him. And anyway…you still haven't told me what he has to do with the Hokage Mountain."

"Well, he wasn't involved, obviously," Rin continued. "But Anju seems to think they'll get married one day. Of course, when he found out, he found her and told her, very seriously, that he was going to marry 'Naruto-neesan.' She was very sad. When she found a picture of you, she matched it to Hokage-sama's face on the mountain, and…well, you saw what it looked like when she was through with it."

She was torn between laughing and curling up in a ball, waiting for all this to pass over. Missions, she could handle. Fights, she could handle. But this? No way!

"You know," Kushina-neechan said conspiratorially, "it might discourage Itachi-kun if you asked out his cousin."

Naruto closed her eyes and wished, with all her heart, for a long, long mission. Preferably one which would take her away from Rin and Kushina-neechan until they forgot all this craziness!

Nobody had ever bothered to warn her to be careful what she wished for.