Author's Notes: Yet another chapter finally completed! Hoozah!... Ahem… Anyway, please read, enjoy, and all that good stuff.

Chapter 10 – The Not-So-Calm Before The Storm

"Rastroth always was an arrogant fool," Loralt commented as he watched the young half-demon rip apart the aforementioned efreet. "But at least he was useful as an enforcer. Did we really have to throw him away like that?"

His master turned to him behind their magic veil and stated, "I did not throw him away. He acted as our shield." He turned back to watch through the trees as the other ninja carried Naruto and his woman back inside the house. "If he had not had an enemy to focus his rage upon, he would have been able to track us through this hasty veil. And then he would have fought… and he would have died. He needs time to adjust to his new state of being; only then will he present me with the challenge I have so long sought."

Loralt sighed at his leader's little speech. "Of course, Master Ifrit…"

"How long has he been like this?" Hananoki asked with concern, staring down at her boyfriend.

Tenten answered, "Almost twenty-four hours now… Only a couple of hours longer than you." She shook her head. "I still can't believe Naruto's…"

The hazelnut-eyed girl trailed off at the end, but Hananoki felt that she could safely assume what Tenten was referring to; after all, Hananoki may have already known about Naruto being a half-demon, but Kakashi (in response to a questioning Gai) was the first to mention that Naruto's demonic half was courtesy of the Kyuubi. I can't imagine why he wouldn't want to mention it to a ninja of Konoha, of all places… she thought as she gently placed a hand on the crimson-eyed warrior's forehead. "His fever's gone, at least."

Nodding, Tenten commented, "Gisei said that he couldn't do anything about it because there was nothing physically wrong with him… Do you think it had something to do with the awakening of his demonic side?"

Hananoki tried to ask Contero what he thought, but failed to get a response; she'd forgotten that he was still resting. Through Tenten, Exuro had explained that Contero had utilized his power without channeling it through Hananoki's mind first, and that using as much power as he had in that way had left him drained, and that he would be 'resting' for a day or two. So instead of conferring with the knowledgeable spirit, the ocean-eyed girl merely stated, "That would be my best guess."

"Sorry to disturb you both," apologized a voice behind the two girls.

As they turned around, Gisei told them, "Kakashi and Gai ask that you both come to the prisoners' room. The younger one has woken up."

Together the three walked to the bedroom where they had tied up the two missing-nin that had been working for Gato. When they entered, they found Kakashi in the midst of an interrogation.

"That's not how this works. See: you can't heal Zabuza. We can. And we will… if you give us the information we want," Kakashi was saying. "Tell us about Gato's hideout, Haku, and we'll fix up your master."

The surprisingly-young boy Haku answered, "I cannot give you that kind of information without Zabuza-sama's consent; he was the one who took the job, not me. I'm sure if you would just heal him enough so that he could wake up—not all the way to fighting condition, and keeping us both tied to these beds—he would be quite willing to part with this knowledge, considering how Gato decided to… 'release' us."

"If you are so sure about that," Gai chimed in, "then why don't you just tell us, boy? Get it over with so we can heal up Zabuza."

"I've already told you why," Haku said.

Hananoki and Tenten, by this time, were standing off to the side with Gisei, Neji, and Rock Lee, not quite sure how they were supposed to help. Going back and forth, Haku and the Jonins kept arguing for another ten minutes before Hananoki decided that a maybe a show of strength might help get the boy to talk.

Then Naruto walked in, and the entire room seemed to freeze.

Immediately, Hananoki noticed the way he moved: that subtle, bestial grace with which he seemed to perform every motion was far more pronounced than it had ever been, giving him the air of a hungry predator looking for its next victim. She also noticed that he had forgone his jacket (probably because it had a hole in it now) and the gray T-shirt, and had put on a tight-fitting, black tanktop (adorned with the letters 'ACDC', the first two separated from the other two by a lightning bolt) over muscles that had somehow become even more defined than before.

And more than that, he now carried with him a nearly palpable aura of power.

Without a word to his comrades, the crimson-eyed warrior stalked up to the bed that Haku had been tied to and looked the boy right in the eyes. "I'd suggest you tell the nice, powerful, fully-armed Jonins what they'd like to know," Naruto said quietly to the ice-wielder. It looked as if Haku was about to refuse yet again…

Suddenly, Hananoki's breath was driven from her lungs, her muscles locked up, and the very air seemed to press down upon her as a completely instinctual, primal terror exploded within her. She needed to move, needed to run, to get the hell out of there, but her body just wouldn't respond, and…

Just as spontaneously as it had come, the overwhelming fear vanished, and her legs nearly buckled in relief. When she returned her gaze to Naruto and Haku, she found the crimson-eyed warrior standing just as he had been before, as if nothing had happened; the ice-wielder, on the other hand, was laying there with eyes wide and glazed over, suffering a fit of sporadic shakes. As the fits died down, and Haku's eyes finally began to focus back on reality, Naruto asked, in exactly the same tone as before, "Are you quite sure you don't want to cooperate?"

The young missing-nin stared in shock and horror at Naruto for almost a full minute. Then Haku turned his head with visible effort to look at his wounded master; finally, he settled his wide-eyed, terrified gaze on Kakashi and said, "I…I'll…tell you…just…please heal Zabuza-sama… after…"

It took a moment for Hananoki to register what had just happened; Naruto had utilized his 'ki', his killing intent, and had actually focused it on Haku. If what her and the other Leaf ninja had been affected with was little more than a side-effect, an unavoidable leaking of power that had flowed out from the focal point…

Hananoki shuddered at the mere thought of the horror that Haku must have experienced.

"Of course…" Kakashi told him distractedly as he watched Naruto stalk back out of the room. The one-eyed Jonin turned and looked at Hananoki with a raised eyebrow.

Taking the cue from her sensei, the ocean-eyed girl hurried out the door to speak with the crimson-eyed warrior.

The scythe effortlessly took the head from the creature, the cranium rolling away as the rest of the corpse dropped limply into a senseless heap.

Sighing, Malak twirled the black-shafted, silver-bladed scythe around until it had shifted back into its cane form. Then he considered the corpse of the slain demon; a pile of brown, greasy feathers and blackened claws, the head shaped exactly like an owl's, save for the red, insect-like eyes. He shook his head at the waste.

Good information is getting harder and harder to come by, the eccentric man considered. He turned and walked away from the summoning circle he'd painted in his rather large basement as the demon's carcass disintegrated, as was the way with creatures from the Demon Realm killed in the Mortal Plane, rethinking his position on the subject. Perhaps the old bird was a source of good information after all…

That was, of course, if you could call news about the second coming of Mundus 'good' in any sense of the word.

Becoming more disturbed as he thought about it, Malak decided that the fact that one of his most cultured, reliable informants had been turned into a rabid, nonsensical zealot was in absolutely no way 'good'.

The golden-eyed man shook his head, clearing such disconcerting thoughts from his mind as he grabbed his duster and bowler hat. After all, he had no time for such petty things as 'being moderately frightened'. Now his plans would have to be moved up a notch or three … and that meant only one thing; one thing that made Malak smirk in anticipation…

There's work to be done!

"I think that went well, all things considered," Raiden thought out loud as Hinata puked her guts out a couple yards away from him, having run over to a group of bushes as soon as they'd landed.

Ino shot the amethyst-eyed ninja a slightly-fatigued, dirty look from where she was kneeling, rubbing Hinata's back.

Raiden looked indignant. "What?" he questioned. "I said, 'all things considered'. Personally, I'm still surprised we managed to avoid splattering into that small mountain… or that particularly large tree… or that flock of sparrows… or…"

Now it was Ino who looked indignant (adding a nice, red blush to the look). "It was my first time! And it all happened so quickly…" As Raiden's mouth slowly curled up at the ends, Ino threw in, "And I swear: If you say, 'that's what she said', I'm going to castrate you. Slowly. Very slowly."

Raising his hands in a conciliatory gesture, Raiden backed off the subject… albeit with a rather large grin on his face. "So this is Wave Country," he said instead, looking around at the woods that surrounded the road, as well as the little lake off to the side. "Something about it reminds me of home…"

"Hm…" Ino seemed to consider the statement for a moment, looking around herself. "Really? All the greens and browns seem pretty foreign to me."

The amethyst-eyed ninja responded, "Yeah, those different shades can really throw a person off at first," and pulled out his storage scroll to seal the magic carpet. As he did so, something about the forest caught his attention. "Ino," he said seriously. "Listen."

She gave him a strange look for a moment, and then did as Raiden had said. After a few seconds, she said, "I don't hear anything…" Her eyes widened in realization. Ino really didn't hear anything. That would never happen in the middle of a road surrounded by forest and those that inhabited it.

Finally recovering, Hinata brought herself to her feet with a little help from Ino, and then stood under her own power. Without being asked to do so, she activated her Byakugan and the young Hyuuga's white eyes widened immediately. Hinata pulled Ino with her as she ran to Raiden's side, shouting, "We're surrounded!"

Then the demons attacked.

"Naruto?" said Hananoki as she walked into the bedroom. She had barely taken two steps when her boyfriend, having managed to cross the whole room without a sound, wrapped her in a tight, warm embrace and kissed her fiercely.

Allowing herself to put aside the actual reason she had come looking for Naruto in the first place, Hananoki kissed him back just as passionately. After a minute they finally parted, and the crimson-eyed warrior laid his head down on her shoulder, holding her close and savoring her presence. "I thought I was going to lose you," Naruto told Hananoki quietly.

The ocean-eyed girl tightened her arms around the crimson-eyed warrior and said softly, "I'm okay, Naruto. I'm right here with you." She moved a hand and gently lifted Naruto's head so that she could gaze into his dawn-colored eyes, asking, "The others told me what happened… what you did. Are you alright?" Hananoki was aware of how much Naruto hated his own demonic heritage, and—while she had spoken with him, telling her boyfriend that it didn't matter that he was half-demon or not—she wasn't sure how well Naruto would handle awakening his full demon side.

"I'm fine," he said easily… and to her slight surprise (and pride), Hananoki could tell that he meant that. Naruto reached out and closed the door behind his girlfriend, then, releasing her from his grip, walked over to the bed. Picking up his ruined jacket, he finished undoing the harness that held Force Edge and proceeded to attach the makeshift sheath around his tanktop. As he did so, Hananoki sat on the bed next to where he was standing and said, "The way you spoke about your demonic heritage… I wasn't sure how well you'd take it."

Taking a few moments to finish strapping on the harness and consider his answer, Naruto finally responded, "I once asked Dante how he could bear to use his power when he hated its source so much. He told me: 'It doesn't matter where my power comes from. What matters is how I use it." The crimson-eyed warrior turned and stared out the room's window, giving Hananoki a view of his profile as he stated, his voice boldly confident and grimly determined, "I feel stronger, faster, healthier, and more alive than I've ever been before. My well of demonic power has opened to a new, seemingly limitless depth…" Crimson eyes narrowed, "And I'm going to harness every ounce of it. And I'm going to end this. For Tazuna and his family. For all the people slaughtered by these monsters. For the rest of Wave Country… And because they tried to kill you. I'm going to destroy them."

Hananoki stared up at the demon-hunter in a mixture of awe, pride, and love. She wanted to say something to him, to tell him that she would be right there with him when the time came, but before the ocean-eyed girl could open her mouth, Naruto's ears twitched and his nostrils flared.

The crimson-eyed warrior snorted and muttered, "You want a demonstration, do you?" Turning around and stalking out of the room, he added, "Then let the show begin."

The large, bug-sack-like demon leapt at the pale-eyed Hyuuga girl, but the creature moved far too slowly to catch the lithe Hinata; the monster's arm-blade swept diagonally at her, but she merely leaned to the side, hit the demon's flank with a chakra-throwing palm-strike, and then finished the creature with a similar strike to its chest. Turning, Hinata's foot lashed out and struck another of the bug-bags square in its ugly, little head, sending the creature crashing into two of its companions, its blade-arm actually managing to cut one of the other demons down.

Thankful for the brief chance to breathe, Hinata tried to take a moment to assess the situation of her friends, but was suddenly assaulted by one of the lizard-like demon. Swinging its claws in a brutal attempt to rip her face off, the creature drove the pale-eyed girl back across the battlefield to the edge of the lake. Hinata tried to fend off the monster, but every time she risked a counterattack the lizard-demon either blocked the strike with its small shield or swiped a sharp claw at the offending hand, forcing Hinata to disengage lest her arm get torn to shreds.

As she reached the water's edge, she took a gamble and ran backwards, utilizing the water-walking technique she'd learned a month or two ago; the young Hyuuga hoped that the lizard-thing would be reluctant to follow her into the lake.

And she was very quickly disappointed.

Lunging through the air, the creature closed the distance in a mere second. Hinata had attempted to prepare a water-element jutsu, but was too slow.

The demon drove her underwater, slashing at its victim the whole way down.

Ino rushed towards the lake, intent on helping Hinata as the young Hyuuga backpedaled away from one of the lizard-like demons. She had to skid to a stop, though, as one of the giant-spider creatures got in her way. It swiped a sickle-bladed arm at the crystal-eyed girl, who jumped back just in time to avoid the strike.

As she landed, Ino flicked both of her wrists at the spider-demon, causing her two steel fans to eject a mini-gale of wind blades. The small storm blew into the monster, cutting it a hundred different times; and although none of the wounds were very serious the demon screamed in rage and flung itself at the young, blonde girl.

Just as Ino had wanted.

She focused completely on the sharpened, steel fan in her left hand, and—when the demon had reached the apex of its leap—swung the bladed weapon straight up. A single, thin blade of wind lashed out at the spider-creature… and cleft the demon perfectly in half. But just as Ino allowed herself to think that she'd won, a large number of miniature bugs burst from the opened halves of the demon's corpse and fell upon the unprepared ninja.

Some of the creatures latched onto the fan in her upraised, left hand; and devoured the steel of the weapon almost instantly. Instinctively, the crystal-eyed girl dropped her second fan while the rest of the disgusting maggots landed atop her. The insects chewed through clothing and skin with equal ease, and Ino screamed in agony. For a few moments, she attempted to tear the monsters from her flesh, but every time she did, the creature took another chunk of flesh with it. It didn't take long before Ino collapsed, the combination of blood loss, fatigue from the earlier flight, and pure pain proving too much for her.

As the tiny demons tore through her skin and made their way to muscle, Ino had a mere moment to wonder if this was really how she was going to die before a sudden rush of power flowed through her. Just as quickly as it had come, the power burst from her body in a violent gust of wind that flung the insects from her and cut them down at the same time.

All the while, her wounds closed, her vitality returned with more force than she'd thought possible, and she leapt to her feet to gaze in awe at the emerald-green aura of power now encompassing her body…

And then the lake erupted into a tower of water and ice.

Although she flailed and struggled against the lizard-demon, its demonic strength proved far too much for the pale-eyed girl. After tearing open her stomach and sending a pulse of searing agony through the body of the young Hyuuga, the monster took ahold of her arms and brought its powerful jaw to bear.

Hinata opened her mouth in a silent scream as the creature bit into the joint of her neck and shoulder, sure that she would either drown in the lake water, or in her own blood.

To her great surprise, when she was physically unable to keep herself from gasping in agony, she found that the breath came just easily as it would have above water.

And—supposedly since she wasn't yet baffled enough—the water around her… 'stirred', and suddenly the lizard-demon was completely frozen in ice.

The lake stirred again, and a strange power flowed from it into Hinata's torn body, giving her the strength to pull herself from the frozen monster's grip, and then rapidly healing her wounds afterwards.

'Greetings, young one,' said a gentle, motherly voice within the pale-eyed girl's mind. An image of a large, long dragon (A/N: think Oriental style) covered in glacier-white scales with veins of sky-blue running in between the scales and into eyes of the same color flashed through her head, and Hinata wondered what the hell was going on.

The voice spoke again, 'I apologize for the suddenness of my appearance, young Hinata, but I found it rather necessary; you were in mortal danger, after all.'

It took her a moment to realize the implications of what the entity had said, but Hinata finally thought, You're the source of that power! Um… thank you… uh….

'Call me Amnis, child,' the voice told the young Hyuuga. 'I realize you may wish for an explanation, but I'd like to ask you to wait until we've wiped out the rest of these demonic scum.' Cold, calm power flowed through Hinata once more as Amnis added, 'Mine is the power of winter and water; follow my instructions, and together we shall rid you and your friends of these pests.'

Paying rapt attention, Hinata reached out to the lake's water and began bending it to her will. A pale, blue aura surrounded the young Hyuuga as she lifted the entirety of the liquid up in a screaming torrent. She rose with it, and suddenly found herself looking through the cold pillar down upon a small horde of demons, Ino off to the side, bringing herself to her feet as Raiden—his eyes glowing, amethyst electricity dancing across the blades of his butterfly swords—fought with a deadly grace and speed that Hinata had never seen him utilize before. Trapped in the very middle of the gathered monsters, the young ninja not only fended off those that came too close, but actually slaughtered a good number of them.

'Your friend is quite powerful, but I see no reason we cannot contribute to the victory,' Amnis commented with the mental equivalent of a grin. With Amnis' instruction, Hinata began systematically taking small strands from the pillar of water, freezing them into sharpened ice-spears, and then hurling them at demons with nigh-perfect accuracy (thanks to her Byakugan).

The sudden rain of icicles caused death and confusion among the demonic ranks, and Raiden, although he seemed to be just as baffled (even more so when he looked up and saw that Hinata was the orchestrator of the raining death), immediately capitalized of the situation by putting both of his blades in one hand, sheathing them into a single scabbard on his right hip, and grabbing ahold of Alastor's hilt. Violet lighting now surged across his demonic katana he cried out, "Glimpse of Oblivion!"

The amethyst-eyed ninja's entire body became a blur as he ran straight through the demonic horde, short, sharp flashes of silver and amethyst appearing around anything and everything in his path. When it ended, Raiden was standing next to Ino, fluidly re-sheathing Alastor. An instant later, all of the demons between where he'd been a moment before and his new position, spurted blood and ichor, collapsed, then dissolved into nothingness.

Not to be left out, Ino (an emerald aura now surrounding her) gathered power into her last steel-fan, and began waving it around at the remaining demons. The strokes of her weapon manipulated the air around the monsters, stunning, stumbling, and cutting the monsters, sometimes killing them outright, but mostly making them easier targets for Hinata's hail of spears.

After a few moments of her more gentle manipulation of the creatures, Ino decided to finish the battle herself: taking her fan in both hands, she held the weapon aloft—above her head—for a moment, and then swung down with as much force the emerald-glowing-eyed girl could muster. The resulting gale formed with a few emerald strands of light that sliced through the remaining demons like tissue paper.

The battle finished, Hinata let the water carry her and gently set her upon the ground near her friends before returning to the lake.

'Well, that was fun!' Procella exclaimed within Ino's mind. The crystal-eyed girl couldn't help but sigh at the entity's exuberance, although she wasn't exactly surprised; when it (or more appropriately, 'she', judging by the voice) had first spoken to the young blonde, Ino had found herself imagining a small, gray-furred flying squirrel, with veins of emerald-green light running around its skin, and originating from its similarly-colored eyes. Squirrels had always seemed to be very excitable…

Watching as Hinata approached, Ino noticed that her friend was bathed in a sky-blue aura that emitted a power similar to what she had been utilizing with Procella. "So… I take it you've got a voice in your head too?"

Her usually-pale eyes now shining blue, the young Hyuuga merely nodded in response, apparently still just as surprised about the turn of events as Ino felt. Then, eyeing the object in Ino's hand, Hinata asked, "I don't suppose your new friend could explain what happened to your fan, could it?"

Blinking, the young blonde examined her steel-fan… and found it had been changed rather drastically. The nine, iron-grey spokes were now shaped like a hawk's feathers and shined a bright silver; the seals that Raiden and Kakashi had helped her imbue upon the weapon now lined in emerald; and the wooden circle that was used to grip the weapon was now a light-green color, the kanji for 'gale' carved into it on both sides.

Off to the side, Raiden lightheartedly quipped, "I love not knowing what's going on…" When Ino turned to stick her tongue out at him, she found that the amethyst-eyed ninja had his back turned to her and Hinata, his gaze on the clouds above them.

"Um, Raiden?" spoke Hinata. "Is something wrong?"

The young half-angel coughed into one of his hands and merely muttered in response, "Dammit, she'd kill me for even thinking about glancing…"

Ino and Hinata blinked uncomprehendingly, before realizing that, for some reason, it seemed a little breezier than it had before the skirmish with the demons. The pair of girls looked down at their clothes… or rather, what was left of them. To their dismay, they found that the attacks they'd suffered at the claws and teeth of the monsters had torn up quite a bit of their shirts; enough to reveal a good portion of their upper torsos. Once they had grasped that reality, the girls swiftly wrapped their arms around their breasts, and blushed for all they were worth.

"I think I'm going to let you both, ah… take a break," Raiden commented, still without looking at them (mercifully). "I'll go up the road a bit and let you both have some quiet time to relax, or stretch, or change clothes, or something like that."

With that, the thoroughly embarrassed boy left the thoroughly embarrassed girls to themselves.

Naruto stepped out of the safety of Tazuna's home, and was greeted by the sight of two packs of assaults surrounding a furiataurus.

"Another one?" Hananoki exclaimed from behind him.

A fighting grin growing on his face, the crimson-eyed warrior drew Force Edge… and shoved it halfway into the ground. "Good. I've been out for a while; could use a nice little warm-up."

One of the twenty assaults apparently lost its patience and charged Naruto, its shielded arm raised as if daring the young demon-hunter to attack.

Naruto was happy to oblige.

Stepping forward and twisting his hips, the crimson-eyed warrior slammed his right fist into the assault's upraised shield; the blow snapped the arm in two, carried the demon's claw right into its own face, and still had enough force left over to crush the creature's skull into paste. The headless body flew limply back towards its companions and dissolved.

The ensuing silence was broken after a few moments by the roar of the furiataurus and the rush of the nineteen remaining assaults.

Seven of the lizard-demons lunged at Naruto at once, intent on devouring the uppity demon-hunter. The crimson-eyed warrior responded by moving to the side too fast to be followed even by the predators' eyes and shouting, "Kick Thirteen!" Demonic energy gathered tight around his feet, Naruto lashed out at the nearest assault's kneecap, obliderating the appendage; the next kick hit the back of its head, shattering its skull. His follow-up straight side-kick was deflected (not blocked) with a shield-arm, but Naruto merely used the momentum to launch a spin-kick that crashed into the demon's ribs and sent it flying.

The next assault that came at the crimson-eyed warrior, was met by a staggering thrust kick to its shielded arm, and a skull-breaking front-snap-kick to the jaw. Another demon tried to attack from under the monster that was now sailing into the air and was rewarded by getting its spine crushed by an axe-kick. Naruto then kicked the shattered corpse at the other three assaults; while two of them dashed off to the sides, the third leapt nimbly over the projectile, heading straight for the demon-hunter. Deciding that he would like to prove that he too was nimble, Naruto took a step and flipped forward, curling his left leg while keeping his right extended; the outstretched foot crunched right into the airborne creature's face and flung it in the opposite direction.

As the crimson-eyed warrior executed his killer stunt, he noticed that the last two assaults of the little group were charging at him from both sides. So as Naruto was about to land, the demon-hunter caught himself on his hands and flung his legs around in a circle (lifting his hands when necessary), catching both assaults' legs and sweeping them out from under the monsters. Coming full circle, Naruto slid onto his back and thrust his feet up just as the two demons were passing over him; the strikes caught both assaults in the chest and demolished their rib cages, along with their hearts. The creatures dissolved into nothingness even as they flew into the atmosphere.

Leaping to his feet, Naruto was just in time to see the other twelve assaults rushing for him, eager for their try at the demon-hunter. Alright then, no time for anything too fancy, the crimson-eyed warrior told himself.

Without even bothering to gather any demonic chakra, Naruto methodically wiped out the rest of the lizard-demons by relying fully upon the supernatural strength and speed that had awakened with his Devil Trigger. A rib-breaking kick; a skull-shattering uppercut; an organ-crushing punch; the crimson-eyed warrior swept aside the mid-level demons as one would an annoying fly until all that was left was the furiataurus.

The high-level demon let out a challenging roar and brought its oversized warhammer down upon the demon-hunter…

A shockwave of pure force bore a small crater into the ground when Naruto stopped the blow with his outstretched hand. The crimson-eyed warrior ripped the weapon from the grip of the stunned furiataurus, took ahold of the handle with both hands, and proceeded to smash the demon into pieces with its own hammer.

Tossing aside the now-dissolving weapon, Naruto turned around and walked back towards the house. He ignored the stares from most of the ninjas that had gathered around Hananoki in favor of Kakashi's.

"I take it Haku finished talking?" At Kakashi's nod, the demon-hunter stated, "Today: we plan. Tomorrow: this ends."

"Well… that was fun," Malak muttered, wiping dust and ash from his clothes as a swirling red-and-orange portal closed behind him. "Why don't I take trips through the Demon Realm more often?"

"An intruder!" snarled a voice nearby.

The eccentric man quirked an eyebrow at the lizard-like demon that was surging across the room (knocking dishes and their contents from the long table as he did so), and casually presented the palm of his right hand.

A strange, white spear suddenly shot from Malak's sleeve and impaled the monster's shoulder, slamming it back across the room and pinning it to a wall.

"Assaults were always so very reckless," Malak casually stated.

Another occupant of the room replied, "Some things will never change, Malakevnicant."

"And some things," the desert-eyed man answered easily, "can't help but do just that."

Ifrit let out a basso chuckle as he stood from his seat and freed his minion from the wall. "True enough," he said.

Looking around the dining room, the eccentric man tried not to think about what the terrified woman and child were sitting at the table for. They were obviously prisoners… they obviously needed his help…

They obviously had nothing to do with what he had come to accomplish.

…Not for the moment, at any rate.

Ignoring the poor mother and son (and the fat man with the increasingly angry look on his face), Malak centered his gaze on Ifrit. "I would like to speak with you alone. My word of honor."

After considering it for a moment, the large elite-demon said, "Agreed," and led the desert-eyed man from the room. The two walked down the hallway for a minute in silence before Ifrit finally asked, "So what have you come here for? For some reason, I doubt it is to kill me."

"Not directly, no," Malak conceded. At his companion's raised eyebrow (and half-smile) the eccentric man elaborated, "There are people here in Wave that wish to challenge you; a few of which just arrived, ah… recently. There is merely one that you see as a challenge… What if I gave you a way or two to make sure that another will put up a significant fight as well?"

Ifrit scoffed at Malak (although the elite demon's increasingly excited grin betrayed his true feelings) and said, "You believe that they'll be able to defeat me working together?"

It was Malak's turn to scoff. "I believe they will present a significant challenge. Perhaps they will kill you. Perhaps not."

A silence ensued for a full minute. "You always did enjoy your secrets," the elite demon finally commented.

The eccentric man grinned and replied, "Some things will never change, Ifrit."

Chuckling yet again, Ifrit told the desert-eyed man, "Now about this potential challenger…"

It couldn't be, Tenten thought, staring down at the three figures walking towards Tazuna's house. But as the small group caught sight of her sitting on the roof, and the one in the middle smiled and waved, the young ninja's happiness overrode her sense of caution. Leaping from the roof, she called out, "Raiden!" and flung herself into her boyfriend's arms.

"Hey there, Ten-chan," Raiden whispered lovingly into her ear as he wrapped her in a protective embrace. "Glad to see you're doing well."

Tenten laughed and pulled back a little so that she could gaze into Raiden's eyes… and then she stopped. "Oh, Raiden…" she said quietly and concernedly, reaching up to touch the scar that now adorned his face. "What happened to you?"

His easy smile still in place (and still genuine) the amethyst-eyed ninja told her, "It's a long story full of adventure, romance, loss, stabbing, and demons… Mostly those last two. I'll fill you in later." Pointedly looking up at the trees on his right, Raiden added, "After all, I'm sure you and Naruto aren't the only ones that want to hear it."

Blinking and looking over to the side, Tenten watched the young demon-hunter drop silently from the trees and walk over to the little group as he asked, a grin on his face, "How the hell'd you guys get here?"

As Naruto and Raiden clapped arms together, Tenten watched something significant pass between the two best-friends; as if they were both coming to some unspoken understanding. After the moment passed, the amethyst-eyed ninja merely answered, "Malak."

The crimson-eyed warrior nodded as if that had explained everything, and then turned to greet Ino and Hinata. After giving Ino a hug and telling her it was good to see her, Hinata clamped Naruto in a fierce hug before the demon-hunter could even say anything. "I'm really glad you're okay," the young Hyuuga said, her face practically buried in the crimson-eyed warrior's chest.

Although he looked a little confused at the pale-eyed girl's intensity, Naruto hugged back and replied confidently, "It'll take more than a few demonic hit-squads to take me down." Tenten took notice that as he released Hinata from the hug, the young Hyuuga girl's hands seemed to linger a little longer than they should've.

Oh no… Tenten thought as she recognized the way Hinata was acting.

"Come on guys," Naruto said. "Let's go inside and exchange tales; we can start planning how we're going to stop these damned demons after we're done."

She was slightly comforted when Raiden took ahold of her hand and began walking with her, but Tenten couldn't help but pity Hinata's timing.

"You disobeyed the Hokage," the shadow heard Kakashi state sternly.

"He never gave me any actual orders. So no, I didn't. Besides, he said that he'd have sent more ninjas if he could figure out a way to get them across the sea in an ample amount of time. We just decided to take care of the work for him," came Raiden's reply.

Naruto chimed in with, "Come on, Kakashi. What matters right now is that he, Ino, and Hinata are here now, and they can be huge assets to us. Can't we worry about the how and why they came here after we're done having elite demons breathe down our necks?"

The shadow flitted across the hallway and overheard Tenten, Hananoki, and Ino discussing something, but they were too quiet to hear very well. For a moment the shadow wondered where Hinata was, but it quickly decided that she was probably with that group, but not speaking.

Certainly not one to waste words, thought the shadow.

After slithering down the stair, through the living room, out the door, and into the woods, Malak released his grip on the spell and rose smoothly from the shadow he'd bound himself to. The grin that adorned his face probably wasn't going to fade anytime soon; after all, the three other ninjas had arrived and Ino and Hinata had met their elemental companions! And from the fact that he'd been able to feel Raiden's aura through the door while bound within a shadow, the eccentric man deduced that the amethyst-eyed ninja was adjusting to his power quite rapidly… which was most important of all.

One last little trial, my friend, Malak thought. One last test to help you break the rest of that barrier. And then you will be ready to face what is coming alongside your companions.

Beginning his trek through the woods to find a suitable location to cast a spell, the eccentric man was caught off guard by a familiar presence. He prodded at the familiar chakra with his senses to make sure he was right.

Malak, putting aside his mission for the moment, headed towards the source of the chakra.

Why can't I be stronger? Hinata lamented as she sat huddled against the tree, her tear-streaked face buried in the arms wrapped around her legs.

If she had only had the courage to act on her feelings sooner, maybe she wouldn't have had to listen to Hananoki tell her that Naruto and the ocean-eyed girl had become an item. Why can't I be brave?

Just as the tears threatened to well up again, a voice right in front of Hinata stated, "Now this is just ridiculous."

The young Hyuuga was surprised to find herself staring into Malak's golden eyes when she looked up. "We simply must stop meeting like this," the eccentric man told her, his arms resting upon his knees, his face serious and concerned despite his words. It was then that she realized that the two of them had indeed met in an extremely similar situation, and Hinata shook her head and let out a small, self-deprecating chuckle.

Then her new spirit companion intervened with her thoughts, 'Did this man accompany you and your friends here?' Hinata was caught slightly off guard by the suspicion evident in Amnis' tone.

But the question had certainly sparked the pale-eyed girls' own curiosity; after all, the last she had seen of Malak was when he had sent her, Raiden, and Ino off on their flight.

"How did you get here, Malak? You didn't have another carpet, did you?" Hinata asked.

Malak scoffed. "Even if I had a second carpet, I don't have the wind chakra to propel it. No, I got here by my own means." He raised a hand to forestall the young Hyuuga's next, obvious question and told her, "I have techniques and magic that allow me to travel great distances in short amounts of time, but they are all either made for only myself or are far too dangerous to allow you—or any of your friends, for that matter—to utilize."

Hinata considered the answer for a moment, and while she could still feel Amnis' strange and unexplained skepticism the pale-eyed girl trusted Malak and trusted his judgment. She nodded at the eccentric man to tell him that if he said his powers were too dangerous to have used on them, then the young Hyuuga thought they were too dangerous as well.

Smiling his thanks, Malak asked his own question, "Now, Hinata, may I inquire as to why you are out here all by yourself? From what I've observed, the others are all in or around that fine little house over there."

Unable to hold herself back when she was staring into eyes that gleamed with gold, Hinata recalled to Malak what had transpired earlier…

Flashback

Ino dragged the other three girls into a separate bedroom while Kakashi 'had a discussion' with Raiden that Naruto had invited himself to. When the four where by themselves, Ino began their meeting without preamble, "Our Hinata here," she wrapped an arm around the pale-eyed girl, "has a serious crush on a guy. And we are going to help her take action."

While Tenten took on a strange, rather concerned look, Hananoki squealed with delight and asked, "Who is it? How long have you liked him? Is he cute?"

"Well…" the shy Hyuuga said, "It's… it's actually… um… Naruto."

Hananoki seemed to freeze in place for a minute as Tenten took in a deep breath. Her smile having vanished, Hananoki looked very sheepish and unsure, and she looked to the hazelnut-eyed girl as if for support. Tenten merely nodded.

"Uh… um… I… ah…" the ocean-eyed girl stumbled with her words for a few moments before finally taking a breath, looking Hinata straight in the eyes and blurting out, "I'm with Naruto now."

Uncomprehending, Hinata blinked at Hananoki, thinking that perhaps the ocean-eyed girl didn't mean what the pale-eyed Hyuuga thought she meant. But Hananoki kept looking Hinata in the eyes, unwavering, and Hinata could see the silent apology in the young ninja's ocean-blue eyes.

The pale-eyed girl suddenly felt completely deflated. "Oh," is all that Hinata said as she moved for the door.

"Hinata…"

"It's fine," Hinata said, cutting Hananoki off. "I think I just need to take a walk." She left without another word.

Flashback End

"So Naruto has a girlfriend now…" Malak muttered, shaking his head. "They grow up so fast… But I must say, while I'm sure Hananoki is a fine young girl, he certainly lost a great chance at a most excellent woman when he chose her."

Blushing at the eccentric man's compliment, Hinata confided, "It's just… Maybe if I had been braver, I wouldn't have held back for so long… for too long…"

"Maybe if my experiments with turning mustard gas into ketchup hadn't gone so horribly wrong, I wouldn't have had the chance to spend my vacation in the tropics fighting off a horde of zombies. But I'd hardly waste my time complaining about it," Malak interrupted. After a moment of slightly awkward silence, he added, "As a matter of fact, I'm fairly certain I had more fun with the zombie killing than the actual relaxing portion of the trip anyway." Standing and beginning to pace, the eccentric man went on, "So think of this not as a setback; think of this as an opportunity! Now that you know Naruto is out of reach, focus on searching for another, instead of gaining Naruto's attention! I can assure you, Hinata, that a girl like you will have no trouble finding men willing to be with you. All that's left is to find one that you want to be with."

He stopped suddenly and looked at the sky, then thumped the palm of his hand against his forehead. "I'm very sorry, Hinata," he said, looking at the young Hyuuga and performing his signature bow, "But I'm afraid I've spent a little too much time here as it is; I have tasks requiring my attention that I have been ignoring."

Hinata sprung up as Malak turned to leave and said, "Wait! But… what about the others? Have you been to see them yet?"

Turning his head her way, the golden-eyed man told Hinata, "No, and please don't reveal my presence here to the others. I will be keeping tabs on both the demons and you all, but I will not intervene unless it is necessary."

With a smirk and a wave, Malak walked off into the forest, saying, "I wouldn't want to steal the spotlight, after all."

"Man, I love stealing the spotlight," Dante commented as the terrified villagers behind him dropped their pitchforks and sickles and scurried into their homes, trusting the stranger who said he was there on behalf of Konoha to protect them.

The demon-hunter examined the twenty, blue, dog-sized, fly-like demons that were buzzing rapidly towards the village with the five green mantises that stood as tall as a human lurching on behind the flies. "Huh," Dante expertly examined, "Strange to see beezlebubs out in the open like this. Something must be forcing them out… But what?"

Unfortunately, Dante didn't have time to ponder the question further, as the fly-demons had finally entered his pistols' range. The stream of demonic-chakra bullets from Ebony and Ivory tore through the first six monstrosities at the same time as Dante began to charge at the oncoming group of annoying, buzzing, little demons.

The son of Sparda flipped gracefully into the air and landed upon one of the confused, blue beezlebubs, smashing the creature with a satisfying 'squish'. Then Ebony and Ivory both appeared in front of a demon on either side of their wielder and proceeded to blow the demons' brains out. Their task accomplished, the twin pistols disappeared into the demon-hunter's large, red coat… but before the surrounding beezlebubs could even begin to register that their prey was unarmed, Rebellion swung from Dante's back in a wide circle and cut down another eight of the fly-like demons.

Once the other three monsters noticed that their comrades had all been demolished in a matter of seconds, they each began to turn and flee, but the professional demon-hunter wasn't about to let his prey escape that easily. With a cry of, "Round Trip!" Dante sent his large claymore twirling horizontally through the air; the spinning, energy-charged blade spun around like a boomerang and cut down the remaining blue beezlebubs… as well as one of the large, green mantises that had begun devouring one of the fallen demons.

Rebellion returned obediently to its wielder's grasp, and Dante immediately put it back to work; he charged his weapon with blood-red, demonic power and shot towards another of the feasting creatures while shouting out, "Stinger!" The power and momentum behind it drove Rebellion deep into the carapace of the green beezlebub and immediately released the stored demonic energy upon impact, blowing apart the demon in an explosion of dark ichor and gore.

Completely unfazed by the fact that he was now covered in demonic goop, Dante turned to face the other three charging demons. He flipped his sword upside-down in his grip and brought it up behind him. After charging the blade with more of his power, the demon-hunter called out, "Overdrive!" and swept Rebellion in three separate arcs, launching three crescents of blood-red energy at the oncoming monsters. Before they knew what was happening, the each of the demons had been cleaved in half.

After sheathing Rebellion, Dante began wiping off the demonic blood and ichor that hadn't already finished dissolving. He was just about to get the last of it when a voice yelled behind him, "What have you done?"

Turning, the professional demon-hunter turned to find a short, round man with stubby, brown hair, and a dirty, disheveled, mahogany suit. "You've killed my pets! How dare you interfere with my fun?" the little man exclaimed.

"Quite easily, as a matter of fact," Dante replied.

The strange man turned red in the face and screamed, "You will pay for this! Noctpteran will make you pay for this!" Then he disappeared in a swirl of what seemed to be spores of some type.

Staring at the spot that Noctpteran had occupied, Dante heaved a heavy sigh. "This was supposed to be so simple…" he lamented. "Find roaming band of demons. Slaughter roaming band of demons. Return to Konoha. Profit. Now I've gotta track an actually high-level demon. What a pain…"

As he began his trek out of the village to search for Noctpteran's lair, Dante idly wondered if Naruto was back from his simple escort mission yet.

Author's Notes: Four elemental spirits, a half-angel, and a half-demon. Now things can start getting interesting… Please review if you feel like it.