Egad my summer definitely didn't go as planned. I barely managed to update any of my stories and only managed to figure out half of the songs for the Disney/Naruto video I was planning. Gah! Oh well.

Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light!

10. God must love stupid people; he made so many.

Sadly on the 11th of August Robin Williams died. He was a good man who made millions of people laugh. So to honor his memory this chapter's quote will be one of his and I'm adding several others to my profile. R.I.P. Robin Williams

You'll have bad times, but it'll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren't paying attention to. - Robin Williams.

"text" - English speech or Japanese speech in a flashback

"text" - Japanese speech

text - thoughts or flashbacks

Pairings (I figured I'd put these up in case anyone was wondering)

Neji/Tenten - engaged

Shikamaru/Temari

Naruto/Hinata

Kiba/OC

Sasuke/Sakura? - unsure if I'm going to have this pairing

Shikamaru arrived on the rooftop and saw Ayame kneeling there, fingers digging into the roof. As he approached he noticed her breathing was erratic and she was trembling. He moved to place his hand on her shoulder and, after a brief pause when a feeble sand shield rose automatically, made contact. Shikamaru knelt next to Ayame seeing that she was staring at a spot between her hands, her gaze distant.

"Hey Ayame," Shikamaru said gently trying to get her attention without surprising her to the point that she would try to hit him and to keep her from going more into shock.

Ayame jolted and looked over at him. "Shika- I- I-" she stuttered trying to form a coherent sentence but was unable to.

"He's dead and gone now," Shikamaru reassured Ayame as he pulled her into a hug. "He can't hurt you or anyone else again." He didn't blame her one bit for being so scared of Kakuzu not after what happened both during and as a result of their fight.

Shikamaru stood at the edge of the roof, his back to his teammates who were crying next to Asuma's body. "I still hate those damn cigarettes," he said his tears mixing with the rain pouring down. "I can still feel his… smoke in my eyes."

There was a soft thud and a slight splash behind Shikamaru. He turned and then stared in shock as Kotetsu gently turned Ayame over after she'd apparently collapsed. He ran forward and landed on his knees next to her head.

"Ino!" Shikamaru called frantically when he saw his surrogate sister's paler than normal face and the red tint to the water around her.

Ino and Choji looked over at Shikamaru's cry. As soon as Ino saw the situation she wiped her eyes and ran over. Kotetsu moved to the side so she could kneel next to their fallen comrade. She started medical ninjutsu and looked increasingly worried.

"It's not good," Ino admitted sadly. "I can only give her emergency first aid. We need to get her to the Leaf Hospital as soon as possible if she's to have a chance."

Shikamaru looked down at Ayame and brushed some hair out of her face. "Don't die on me," he whispered before thinking to himself, I can't lose you too.

"Let's go," Raido said gently lifting Ayame up. Choji picked up Asuma and they headed back to the Leaf as fast as they could.

Once back at the village they split up. Shikamaru, Izumo, and Kotetsu went to report to Lady Tsunade, while the others headed to the hospital.

"I see," Tsunade said her head down after their report was finished.

"Uh ma'am, what about Kurenai?" Kotetsu asked.

Tsunade took a deep breath before saying, "Notify everyone else regarding the funeral services. I will inform Kurenaimy-"

"No," Shikamaru interrupted. "I'll do it. I'd like to tell her myself. I have a message for her from Captain Asuma."

"Very well Shikamaru," Tsunade said. She pulled a scroll and a brush towards her.

"Notifying the Kazekage?" Izumo asked.

"Once I figure out how to tell him about Ayame," Tsunade said. "I'm going to need Shizune's report for it though." There was a knock on the door. "Come in."

Shizune ran into the room. "Lady Tsunade."

"How is she?" Tsunade asked. "I want a full report Shizune."

"Ayame is still in critical condition but we've managed to stabilize her," Shizune said. "There were a couple close calls where her heart stopped but we quickly got it beating again. However although her wounds are small, few no more than a centimeter wide, the problem is where they are located. One perforated her right lung causing it to partially collapse. We've put her on a ventilator for now and once we're sure she can breathe on her own we'll transfer her to an oxygen mask."

Shizune took a breath before continuing, "She was lucky not to suffer anything major to her heart, just a small tear to one of the outer muscles that we've already taken care of. Several arteries and veins were nicked and Ayame had lost just over three pints of blood before we got her hooked up to a transfusion."

Shikamaru stiffened at that because he knew that if Ayame had lost any more blood she would have died. That wasn't even taking into account the injuries to her heart and lung. A burning hatred for the two Akatsuki that he had just faced grew stronger.

"You wouldn't have been able to beat me in our shogi game," Shikamaru said trying to draw the two of them out of old memories.

"What?" Ayame asked. Her brain registered what the lazy Nara had said. She huffed. "I would have found a way."

"No. The only way you would've been able to win is if two moves ago you played your other option instead of the one you did." Ayame grumbled in irritation. "You like Kiba."

Ayame blushed hotly. "Yes," she admitted even though it was a statement not a question.

"Good," Shikamaru said. "So are you ready to head back in? I think Kakashi wants to go over tomorrow's plan before we go to sleep."

"Yeah," Ayame said taking a deep breath to steady herself. The poofed into the hallway outside their rooms and saw that everyone was gathered in Kakashi's room.

No one mentioned the drawing room incident when Shikamaru and Ayame joined them for which she was grateful. She could tell that Sasuke had been brought up to speed though. "Alright," Kakashi said getting straight to the point. "The train leaves at exactly eleven o'clock. Naruto I want you to stick with Harry and Ayame find a different compartment and observe the students. The rest of us will patrol the corridors."

"How are we getting to the train?" Nejiasked.

"I spoke with Moody and he said that the kids are being split into three groups each with an adult while he takes the luggage. The station isn't that far away so we're walking. Neji you and Naruto will accompany Lupin's group, Sasuke and Sakura will go with Mr. Weasley's group, Ayame because of your sand defense you'll be accompanying Harry who's going with Mrs. Weasley and Tonks. Kiba and Akamaru will go with you."

"Which means you and I will be helping with the luggage," Shikamaru said happy that he didn't have the troublesome task of watching the students on the way to the train. Kakashi nodded.

The next morning was absolute chaos, at least to the ninja who preferred some semblance of order. Even Naruto, who was the least organized of the eight of them, would have his stuff packed and by the door if he knew he was going on a long term mission more than an hour or two ahead of time. If the wizards had done so, the morning would have gone a lot smoother without unnecessary problems such as the Weasley matriarch's yelling and the twins' bright idea of floating their trunks where if it hadn't been for Sasuke's quick actions they would have knocked their sister down two flights of stairs. Of course this action helped turn Ginny into one of Sasuke's numerous fangirls to his immense annoyance.

Kiba and Ayame headed out ahead of Mrs. Weasley and Harry both to escape the hubbub and to scout the area for any potential threats. "That was insane," Ayame said rubbing her temples.

"You were on the same team as Naruto so shouldn't you be used to insanity?" Kiba wondered grinning.

"Different kind of insanity," Ayamesaid. "Less running around like a chicken with its head cut off." Kiba chuckled at that.

Akamaru barked letting his master and the young woman he felt his master should ask out already that their charge was on the move. The two ninja were a little surprised to see the black dog that was a transformed Sirius but from what they've learned about his personality he wasn't one to handle being shut up for a long period of time. This was more than likely due to his unfair imprisonment, seriously hadn't the wizards heard of lawful trials and interrogations? The fact that Grimmauld Place was his hated childhood home also contributed.

"Well time to get going," Ayame said cracking her neck.

"Yep," Kiba said taking her hand in his.

"Kiba-?" Ayame wondered trailing off, a pink tinge to her cheeks.

"Kakashi-sensei had said to be inconspicuous."

They walked a few yards behind Mrs. Weasley, Harry, and an elderly Tonks. Ayame tried to focus more on her surroundings but her thoughts kept drifting to the feeling of Kiba's hand in hers and their interlocked fingers. The smile on her face wasn't a fabrication for her and Kiba's guise of a young couple out walking their dog, nor just from watching Sirius snapping at pigeons and chasing his tail. What she didn't see was Mrs. Weasley had looked back at the two guards and smiled knowingly at them.

Once the group was at the entrance to the platform, Ayame and Kiba let go of the other's hand. It was time to be professional and drop their act. One by one they went through the barrier, a guard going first and last. A wizard named Lee complimented Harry and Kiba on their dogs while the group was waiting for their companions. Mrs. Weasley was worried about the others making it on time but Kiba and Ayame were only worried about the luggage because of Kakashi's chronic lateness. They didn't appreciate the insinuation that they couldn't get the students to the train on time though.

It only took ten minutes for everyone to arrive, Naruto looking uneasy since Neji had probably threatened him again with what would happen should he hurt ever Hinata, and the luggage to be unloaded. "I'll be reporting Sturgis to Dumbledore," said Moody. "This is the second time he's not turned up in a week. Getting as unreliable as Mundungus."

"Well look after yourselves," Lupin said as he shook hands with all the students. He reached Harry last and gave him a clap on the shoulder. "You too, Harry. Be careful."

"Yeah, keep your head down and your eyes peeled," Moody said, shaking Harry's hand too. "Listen to the ninja. They know what they're doing. Over 25 years ago I fought alongside a shinobi named Akihiro whose Gold Dust attacks couldn't be matched by the Death Eaters and a rogue ninja we were fighting. And don't forget, all of you – be careful what you put in writing. If in doubt, don't put it in a letter at all."

Kakashi gestured for Ayame to board the train and find a seat. She had been staring at Moody debating about asking him about the ninja he had fought with because there was only one shinobi named Akihiro that she knew of who used Gold Dust in his jutsu and that was her father. Now was not the time though so Ayame nodded to Kakashi and boarded the train as a warning whistle sounded.

"Quick, quick," said Mrs. Weasley distractedly hugging her children, Harry and Hermione with Harry getting hugged twice. "Write… Be good… If you've forgotten anything we'll send it on… Onto the train now, hurry."

If Kakashi were anyone else he would have groaned exasperatedly when Sirius put his front paws on Harry's shoulders and the Weasley matriarch scolded him using his real name. He smiled under his mask when he saw Naruto asking the Potter boy if he could sit with them since they were the only people he knew and he wasn't supposed to sit with Fred and George. Harry had hesitated but like several people before him he found himself unable to refuse the knuckleheaded ninja.

One last thing before I get to work on the next chapter, should the ninja hold a Taijutsu class for the wizards and should the magic users be able to use chakra for tree climbing and water walking? Thanks.