Author's notes: That's it. I'm making no more promises on update. The only one I will make is that I will finish this. And after I finish this, I will only do one-shots. I just can't trust myself to have a update schedule.

This chapter has fewer words than usual, but I think we'll all agree it was way past time for an update. Anyway, on with it.

Chapter 7: Happy Ending?

He sensed it as soon as it surfaced. The rage, the bloodlust, the menacing chakra... and just now, the smell of blood. All of it came from the same direction. He took a look at his opponent.

Zabuza was now trapped by his dogs, with one arm disabled. It would be impossible for him to escape them quietly. He stopped his Raikiri, silently cursing the waste of his chakra, and turned to Meirin, still staying near Tazuna.

“I need to check on Naruto right now. If he moves, don’t hesitate to finish him.” Kakashi said, before going to find his student.

Zabuza decided to not move. If he even tried to shake off the dogs, the girl would be on him in an instant.

He silently wondered what was so important that would make Kakashi consider him less important than what he was checking. Then again, maybe the copy-ninja was right. He too sensed the abnormal chakra and the killing intent in the air. He knew Haku and knew that it wasn’t him projecting this. From this, he could also draw another conclusion.

Haku got killed.

“Damn it… What the heck am I supposed to do now?” He wondered, thinking to himself.

It didn’t take long for Kakashi to arrive at the scene. What he saw, however, made him pause and wonder what the hell happened just before.

The masked boy was dead. The amount of blood around made that clear. But Naruto, sitting on the corpse with his hands still changed into claws, was still ripping him even more, like an enraged animal. Kakashi snapped out of his shock.

“Naruto!” He shouted. He hoped Naruto could still listen in that state.

And he was right. Naruto stopped, surprised by the call. He turned to Kakashi, shock evident on his face as if he had just waked up. His fingers were turning back to normal and the red eyes were slowly returning to the blue Kakashi was so used to.

However, it didn’t take long for Naruto to notice the corpse. Silently, he looked back and forth between the wounds and his hands, both colored by the same blood. Strangely, the mask was still in place. Naruto wondered, still dazed, just what kind of face was behind it.

Kakashi silently watched Naruto. He really didn’t think he could have said something useful anyway.

But when he noticed that Naruto’s hands were moving towards the mask, he didn’t stay in place. The last thing Naruto needed was to see the visage of someone he had just… slaughtered. Unfortunately for him, he had started to move too late, since Naruto had removed the mask before he could reach him.

To his misfortune, he saw Naruto’s eyes widen in recognition. The visage wasn’t one that died in peace either. The eyes and the mouth were open, as if he was uttering a silent scream.

Kakashi felt the fox’s chakra surfacing again. Flashes of blue and red appeared around Naruto.

“This is not good. I have no idea how he met him and what happened, but Naruto didn’t expect to see him. His mind is starting to snap.”

Before Naruto could even utter a single word, Kakashi moved again and hit a pressure point, knocking out Naruto. It wasn’t the time and place to take care of that problem. He would just deal with it later.

He moved Naruto away from the masked nin’s corpse and left him there for now. Doing so, he also noticed the mist was starting to clear up.

“Either it was that boy who was holding the mist or Zabuza decided it was useless now. It isn’t important now anyway.”

Zabuza was still at the same place he left him. China (Kakashi didn’t know where did that nickname came from nor where Naruto learned it, but he had to admit it fitted her) was still with Tazuna, watching Zabuza in case of any sudden movement like he has asked. Searching a little, he also found Sakura, next to an unmoving Sasuke. Judging by her expression, Sasuke was dead and she also felt Naruto’s killing intent, even if it wasn’t directed at her.

“Sasuke is dead, Sakura is in a state of shock and Naruto almost went crazy back there, all because we fought a high-ranked missing-nin and his accomplice, who we weren’t even supposed to fight on a supposed C-ranked mission… Can this get any worse?”

Then he noticed a crowd who wasn’t here before. They must have arrived while everyone else had been distracted by Naruto. Judging by the number of weapons and the small man in a suit leading them who had to be Gato, they weren’t here to help them out.

“Great job, Kakashi. You just HAD to think that and attract more trouble, didn’t you?” He thought, silently cursing himself.

“What a joke... You call yourself a demon and this is all you can do against them?” Gato said, mocking Zabuza who was still held by the nin-dogs.

“You… what are you doing here?” Zabuza asked.

“You see, I never intended to pay you. And since you failed the first time you fought them, I decided to wait until you fought them again to act. That way, no matter who won, they would be tired after the fight and I would simply need to finish off whichever side lived. Rather simple, wouldn’t you say?” Gato answered, laughing, before continuing.

“Too bad that boy is already dead… I had to repay him for nearly breaking my arm. But I see his body… Whoever killed him was more of a demon than you could ever be!”

“You little… Hm?”

Before he could go on, several poofs signaled the departure of the dogs, freeing Zabuza. The newly freed ninja turned to Kakashi, who just shrugged.

“It’s not like you’re going to attack Tazuna at this point, right?” Kakashi simply explained.

Zabuza said nothing. With his working arm, he grabbed his sword and let the edge rests on the ground, waiting. Meirin joined them, readying herself to fight. Kakashi moved to his side, a kunai in one hand and evaluated the situation.

“Well, this is a problem... We’re only three against this large group.”

“Wait, you’re telling us that someone with a thousand jutsus have no way to fight against a group of thugs?” Zabuza asked.

“With the Sharingan, the Raikiri I wasted and the summoning, I don’t have enough left for a big jutsu. What about you, oh Demon of the Mist?”

“Well, I do have enough chakra left, but since someone so conveniently disabled one of my arm…”

“Would you two just stop whining already?” Meirin intervened, frustrated. “I’m still at one hundred percent, in case you forgot. Right now, I don’t care how you’re going to fight, but I just want to know who gets to kill the little bastard.”

Such a declaration didn’t go unnoticed by said little bastard. Trembling in rage, he pointed forward with his cane.

“That’s it! Kill them all! The one who gets that girl will get a bonus!”

The thugs enthusiastically started to move, eager to get the bonus.

“Tazuna, please move back. I’m not sure if we can hold them all.” Kakashi said.

The bridge builder nodded and ran to where Sakura was.

“I’ll take Gato if you don’t mind. He will learn why it doesn’t pay to double-cross me.” Zabuza announced, lifting his sword. Meirin nodded.

“Alright. I’ll create an opening for you, so stay back a little.”

With that, she rushed forward. The thugs in front who saw her grinned and lifted their weapons, happy to see the bonus running to them. However, just before the girl was in range, she stopped. She placed her forearm in front of her and leaped forward, a rainbow-colored light enveloping the limb. Anyone in her path was knocked over, unable to block her attack. When she stopped, she was in the middle of the group, exactly where she planned to be. Surprised, the thugs stared for a second or two before realizing that she moved inside the group and that they surrounded her. They moved to cut her down, but it was already too late.

With a card in hand, she declared her next attack.

“Extreme Color ‘Colorful Light Chaotic Dance’”

She started to spin. A rainbow-colored whirlwind enveloped her as she was spinning, cutting anyone in range. Those just inside the range got lucky and only suffered minor cuts, but the ones right next to her weren’t as lucky as they were cut to pieces, with no chance to survive.

Soon after, the attack stopped. There was blood everywhere just around her. The thugs were now hesitant to move, wary of the crimson-haired girl.

It didn’t last long. Cries of pain from the front reminded them that she wasn’t alone. Zabuza moved forward with ease, cutting anyone who tried to stop him. Kakashi stayed at the front to stop anyone who would try to kill Tazuna or his genins, using kunais and his taijutsu.

Zabuza didn’t take long to get past the small army, his back covered by Meirin. Gato, fearing for his life, tried to run but it was futile. Not only Zabuza was faster than him, but there was nowhere to run once he reached the end of the bridge. He could only stare as Zabuza cleaved him in two, with a diagonal slash starting from his left shoulder. Both parts of him fell into the waters below.

The deed done, both Zabuza and Meirin fought their way back to the front, where Kakashi’s exhausted state was starting to get to him. Most of the thugs discussed out loud what to do now that Gato was dead.

It wasn’t turning out to their favor, however. As strong as she was, the sheer number of thugs caused some of them to get lucky, but light, hits on Meirin. Kakashi and Zabuza weren’t much better, having started to fight them in a far from favorable state. The thugs appeared to be in favor of just finishing them and pillaging what was left of the village.

Luckily for the trio, a bolt landed in front of the group of bandits, halting them just as they started to move again. Looking from where it came from, they saw a large group of villagers, Inari leading them. Most of them were armed with crossbows, the rest holding spears.

The bandits were now rethinking their decision. But when they saw Meirin’s savage grin on her face, the way Zabuza lifted his sword on his shoulder, ready for more and Kakashi narrowing his eyes at them, they started to flee.

The villagers cheered at their retreat. Kakashi sighed in relief, before checking on his genins. Sakura was completely different from her earlier state. The cause was Sasuke, who woke up from the state Haku put him in.

“Heh… I always knew Haku’s heart was too soft.” Zabuza said, knowing Haku had done it on purpose.

Kakashi nodded, relieved that he wasn’t going to have to report a casualty on his team for their first C-rank mission. Still, he couldn’t help but notice Sasuke looking back and forth at Haku’s corpse and Naruto. It seemed like things weren’t completely over with his team.

“So what are you going to do now?”

It was late. Naruto was still out, but Kakashi expected him to wake up anytime soon. Sakura and Sasuke were both asleep. The later was almost incapable of moving for now, the effect of suffering a temporary death. He wasn’t happy about it, but there was nothing he could do. Meirin was still up, wearing clothes lent by Tsunami and mending her own clothes.

Zabuza had his arm bandaged and had been gone for a while to bury Haku. It was the least he could have done for the boy who followed him for so long. He was waiting outside Tazuna’s house until Kakashi went up to him.

“To be honest, I don’t know. Now that Haku is dead, I doubt I can achieve my dream now. Speaking of which, there’s one thing I want to know before I leave.”

Kakashi just nodded. He had expected it.

“I’ve heard about them before here and there. I asked myself how did Haku lose and I didn’t really get it until Gato compared me to that blonde kid. He’s one of those, isn’t it? I never expected to meet one in my life.”

“Kindly keep that knowledge to yourself, by the way. We don’t want to attract trouble because of his status.

“Yeah yeah, sure.” With that, Zabuza turned and started to leave.

“You’re leaving already?

“I don’t really have a choice. Word will spread about what happened here today and I don’t want to be around when the hunters arrive. Farewell, Kakashi.”

“Farewell, Zabuza.”

And with that, Zabuza left.

Inside, Naruto started to move. He slowly got up, waking up as usual.

Then what had happened flashed in his mind and he barely resisted the urge to scream.

“Oh, you’re finally up? About time.”

Naruto turned his head to the voice. It was Meirin, who was almost finished with the repairs of her clothes.

“What… what happened after I…?”

“Gato showed up. He came with his own small army to kill everyone so he wouldn’t have to pay Zabuza. Pretty stupid move on his part since he’s dead now. There shouldn’t be anymore attacks on Tazuna now. And by the way, look who’s alive besides you.”

Naruto turned as told. Sure enough, Sasuke was there, sleeping. However, it didn’t seem to have a calming effect on him.

“So… That means that I… killed h-”

“Hey, if you want to talk about that, let’s go outside. We don’t want to wake the others up.” Meirin said, standing up and walking to the door.

Naruto reluctantly followed. Once outside, he kept following until Meirin turned to him, leaning on a pole.

“Now talk. What’s eating you?”

Naruto looked both offended and shocked, clearly now expecting her to ask about it this casually.

“You killed him. That’s it. Sure, it sucks that if we had sensed Gato earlier, he could still have been alive, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“I just didn’t kill him damnit!” Naruto shouted back, but not that loudly as to not wake up anyone. “I… I mauled him with my bare fingers! I… I wanted to hurt him! To rip him open! To take his heart out and crush it in my hand!”

Naruto took a moment to breathe and calm down.

“And now I learn I killed him for nothing? How am I supposed to s-.”

“Shut up.”

Naruto stopped. He waited for her to talk.

“Of course he did something to you. You thought he had killed your friend back then. And since you accessed the mean to make him pay back, I’m really not surprised you killed him.”

“But… But…”

“Is it wrong to want to make someone pay for killing someone close to you? I can tell you at least that it’s normal to feel that kind of rage. I can’t really tell you about how humans react when it happens to them, but I don’t know of any youkai who wouldn’t get revenge.”

“But Haku… He… He never deserved to die…”

“Huh? But didn’t yo-“

“Meirin, I’ll take over from here.”

Both Naruto and Meirin turned to see Kakashi appearing. After a brief silence, Meirin just shrugged and left, leaving Kakashi to deal with Naruto. The older man turned to Naruto after she left.

“I suppose she had no way of knowing… But did you per chance meet that boy before the battle?”

Blue eyes looked in surprise at Kakashi.

“I’ve seen your face when you removed the mask. I wasn’t sure if it was because you were surprised by how young he looked or if you knew him, but you confirmed it for me just now.”

Naruto looked down, still silent.

“Naruto, tell me about him. What happened?”

Naruto sighed, before sitting down and looking at the water below him.

“I met him one morning in the forest, where I had fallen asleep. We talked and I helped him collect herbs that he needed. Thinking back, those must have been for Zabuza.” Naruto said, with a small laugh before continuing.

“He commented on my headband and I said I was training. When he told me I already seemed to be strong, I told him about my dream. She asked if I wanted to become stronger for someone and laughed after that. When I asked about it, he asked me if I had someone precious.”

Kakashi, by now, was sitting next to Naruto, listening.

“He had a sad look for a second, but then he told me that someone can become really strong if they protect someone precious. After thinking about it for a second, I realized he was right. He left after that, but told me he was a boy just before leaving. I was really surprised, since he had a prettier face than Sakura.” Naruto said, chuckling a little when he remembered his reaction.

“Wow, I didn’t thought you were that way, Naruto. I would never have guessed if you hadn’t told me.” Kakashi said with a smile.

“Hey! He had long hair and he was wearing a pink yukata! I bet even you would have been fooled!” Naruto complained, scowling at his teacher.

However, it didn’t last. After a few seconds, he was depressed again.

“Zabuza must have been really important to him… Haku really shouldn’t have died. But he’s dead because of me.”

Kakashi didn’t reply to that. He preferred to wait to see if Naruto had anything else to add.

“Kakashi-sensei… The world is big, right?” Naruto asked, out of nowhere. When his teacher nodded, he continued. “People like that… like Haku… There must be more like him everywhere, right? When I was dreaming about being a ninja before, I was thinking about saving princesses, defeating bad guys and becoming the strongest… I never thought about how the others might be people with dreams and with people to defend.”

“And that’s a reality you’ll have to live with.” Kakashi announced. “We don’t know how the future will turn out, but I can guarantee you that you will face people like that again.”

“Yeah…”

Silence followed. The only sounds were from the water and insects active in the night.

“So, do you feel better?” Kakashi asked, breaking silence.

“Yeah, mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“To be honest… There’s one thing that still scare me.”

“And that is?”

“You heard China and me talking, right?” At Kakashi’s nod, he continued. “I lost control back then. And I ended up killing someone who never deserved to die and certainly not like that. What if… What if it happens again? I don’t want to kill people like that.”

“Well… I suppose you’ll have to control your emotions. There’s not much we can do about it anyway.”

“Actually… There is something.”

Kakashi was surprised, but turned serious a moment later. Naruto knew better than anyone about how serious that matter was.

“Yukari-chan told me that it was a shinigami who sealed Kyuubi in me. So… Another shinigami should know what to do to make it better, right?”

“Are you telling me that…”

“Yeah. She already asked about it. But she told me that if I wanted to stop any future problem the fox maybe cause, that I had a price to pay.”

“What kind of price?”

“The problem is that Kyuubi’s chakra and my own are completely different. Because of that, they clash and I lose control as soon as I lose control of the fox’s chakra. The solution would be to change the nature of one of the two so that they don’t fight anymore. But she told me it’s almost impossible to completely change that, because we can’t change how we are born. So that leaves room for only one option. Changing half of the twos chakras.”

“Then… What’s the problem?” Kakashi asked.

To be honest, he was a little lost. And he was ready to bet Yukari had to explain to him more than once what Naruto just explained to him.

“If my chakra doesn’t block the fox’s chakra anymore and the two flow freely together… How will that affect my body?”

Now he got it.

“And what would that implies?”

“Well… Being a half-youkai means being stronger, sturdier and have a longer life. She said the rest would be determined once I change.”

“Then… What’s the problem? Nobody would mind being stronger and live a couple of more years.”

Naruto just shook his head with a half-hearted smile. Kakashi wondered what he got wrong. Being stronger wasn’t the problem. Naruto didn’t seem to dislike youkais either. So there was only one thing left.

“Longer than that… 5 years? Ten? Twenty?”

“More like a couple more centuries. Maybe even millennia.”

Kakashi blinked, but did nothing else. He didn’t think Naruto already knew what his statement implied.

“I’m surprised Naruto.”

“Eh? Why?”

“There are many who would kill for what you could have. Yet you hesitate.”

“Well… Even I can figure out everyone I know will die long before me. It’s just that… I don’t know if I’ll be able to support it. And I don’t see what’s so cool in living a life that long.”

“I can think of a few who would disagree…” Kakashi thought.

“So… What am I supposed to do? I don’t want to lose control, but I’m scared of the solution. Just… What should I do Kakashi-sensei? How would be the best?”

Kakashi couldn’t answer. Heck, what the hell was he supposed to say?

“Naruto, I can’t answer that. A choice like that is too heavy to let someone else tell you what’s best.”

“Why not? Just treat it like a mission and think of the best way to complete it.”

“And I told you I can’t. The most efficient solution isn’t always the best.”

Kakashi got up after that, not even waiting for Naruto’s reply. He already knew he had none and that this discussion was over.

“Go get some sleep. It’s late and the mission isn’t over yet, despite what happened today. Besides, it’s not like you have to decide right away.”

Kakashi walked away, returning inside the house. After a few seconds, Naruto followed him, not uttering a single word.

The next day went by fast. Team 7 and Meirin, minus Sasuke who needed to rest a few days to recover, went to the bridge. The people working there were more than the double of what they saw when they first got here. Naruto was far less cheerful than usual, but that was to be expected. At the very least, he was glad he could smile now and then.

However, Kakashi knew he would have to talk to the other two members of his team soon. He was sure that Sasuke wanted to ask him what the hell happened while he was out, in more details than what Sakura had told him. Sakura herself never stayed near Naruto when possible. The academy did prepare them to deal with death, but considering how Haku died, it wasn’t surprising to see her act like this. In the end, both Sasuke and Sakura’s reactions were understandable.

Understandable, yes, but he had to take care of it as soon as possible before they asked all the wrong question to Naruto. So when they returned to Tazuna’s house, he asked Sakura to come to Sasuke’s temporary room, one that gave him privacy and quietness while he rested. Kakashi only needed the privacy.

“Go ahead and talk, but don’t be too loud. What do you want to know?” Kakashi asked, turning to the two genins once he closed the door.

Sakura looked like she was about to speak, but backed down. Sasuke took this opportunity to talk.

“What the hell happened between Naruto and that boy?” he said, not even bothering to hide his interest on the matter.

“Straight to the point… No surprise here. But sadly for you, I can’t tell you.” Kakashi thought.

“You heard from Sakura what happened, right?”

Sasuke nodded, still waiting.

“Well, that’s probably the best answer you could get. I was fighting Zabuza, remember? I only saw Naruto after that boy died.”

Sasuke glared at him. Of course he knew that. From what Saukra had told him, about Naruto suddenly becoming enraged and stronger at the same time, he could deduce that Naruto somehow endured Haku’s attack long enough so that he could get a hold of his enemy and defeat him.

But even Sasuke was stumped when he tried to understand how Naruto could kill him with such… brutality. The wounds he saw looked horrible and he only saw them from afar.

Meanwhile, Kakashi decided to explain a little more, understanding what Sasuke really wanted to know.

“Honestly, I shouldn’t answer that. But since I don’t want you to bother Naruto with it, I’ll tell you a little. However, I don’t want you to ask Naruto about it after. He’ll tell you himself when he’ll want.”

The two genins nodded.

“Alright. I can’t tell you ‘how’, but I can tell you why. Sasuke, you remember taking that hit for Naruto, right?”

“I didn’t protect him! My body just moved by itself!” Sasuke said, angry and looking away. Kakashi had no trouble to see through his lie. Heck, even Sakura smiled at his reaction.

“Well, after your ‘death’, Naruto pretty much snapped back then. It activated something dormant within him and no, I’m not telling you what it is. And then… Well, you saw the result. I had to knock him out once he snapped out of it and was starting to realize what he did.”

“I see…” Sasuke said. In truth, he didn’t understand. How Naruto becoming enraged gave him power? A bloodline? But if it was so, Kakashi wouldn’t really have a reason to hide it.

“Whatever. It’s not that important.” Sasuke decided. If Naruto unlocked a hidden power like his Sharingan, then good for him.

Sakura, on her side, wondered why Kakashi wasn’t saying more. That rage, that murderous intent… It wasn’t natural by any mean.

“Sensei… Is Naruto alright now?” She asked, for the sake of it.

“Hmm? Well, he’s a little down, but that’s to be expected. Just give him some time.” Kakashi answered.

“Alright.”

“Hn.”

“Well, if that’s all, I’m going. Sasuke, you should rest now. I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to walk normally before the week’s end.”

Sasuke grumbled, but did as told. The sooner he could move normally again, the better. He hated feeling powerless.

Hinata was training at the team’s usual training spot. Shino and Kiba had already left earlier today. Kurenai had stayed to watch over her training, but had to leave after a while.

After one last hit on the training log, she sat down for a break. She only wanted to rest for ten minutes before resuming her training until it was time to go home.

A gap opened in front of Hinata, surprising her. She calmed down after recognizing the person that came out of it. Whenever she saw Naruto after graduating, he was hanging out with her. She had learned enough to know that she adopted Naruto in her family.

She was glad for him. Naruto was overlooked by so many… It was nice to see people were starting to see him for who he really was. If only the same thing could happen to her…

“Excuse me, but you are Hinata Hyuuga, correct?”

Hinata immediately snapped out of her thoughts. She had almost forgotten that someone was here.

“Ah, yes… Hmm, is there something wrong?” She answered with a low voice.

“You could say that. I am Yakumo Yukari, in case you hadn’t heard of me. I noticed that you had a certain interest in the one I adopted, judging by the time you spent looking at him.”

“E-eh?! Yo-You noticed me?”

Mentally, Hinata wanted to smack herself. She wanted to stop that habit from the Academy of watching him, but it was hard. Especially since she couldn’t help but feels better when she saw Naruto happy.

“Yes, I ‘noticed’, as you put it. And I wonder why you have so much interest in him.”

Yukari, sitting on a gap, floated near Hinata and leaned towards her, waiting for her answer. Hinata’s first reaction was to move back, but she found out right after that the training log was right behind her. With no way to retreat, Hinata had no choice but to answer.

“We-well… Naruto-kun is strong…”

“Strong? I’m glad you think that way, but he’s not the only one who is strong. Is that really your reason?” Yukari said, interrupting Hinata on purpose and sounding like she was disappointed at the last part. It had the desired effect as Hinata continued to speak, poking her fingers and looking down, as if embarrassed to say it.

“Na…Naruto-kun is strong because he doesn’t give up. He doesn’t stop when he fails to do something. He always tries and tries again until he succeeds.”

“Ooohhh… Now THAT is interesting.” Yukari said, moving back. Hinata sighed in relief as Yukari wasn’t so close to her now.

“But why is someone like you interested in him? Aren’t you from a strong and prestigious clan, from what I’ve heard? Aren’t you a proud member of that clan? Surely you must know people that are as strong and determined as Naruto-kun, right? Why someone as different and far from you?”

Hinata’s mood saddened at those words. Yukari didn’t feel to notice said.

“I… It’s not really like that. Naruto-kun is what I wish I was like…”

“You wish to be like him? Why do you have a wish like that? Indulge my curiosity if you don’t mind.”

Hinata was hesitant at first, but she started to talk. After all, she already told her this much. And she genuinely looked interested.

So she started to talk, encouraged by Yukari. She told her about her clan. She told her about her training in the clan house. She told her about how she couldn’t beat her younger sister. About how weak she was. About how, despite her training, she ended up failing the assignments given to her during missions with her team. About how she knew Naruto kept trying and eventually succeeded.

She told all, feeling a need to just talk about everything. When she was finished, she felt a little better. Talking about your problems really was a good way to solve it.

She wondered how Yukari would react. Perhaps she would understand. Perhaps she could help her. Perhaps she could –her mind dared to hope- help her with Naruto.

What she really wasn’t waiting for was to hear Yukari laughing. Laughing quite loudly, as if she just heard the funniest thing ever.

“We’re hoooome!” A voice shouted, catching the attention of anyone within earshot.

Indeed, Team 7, plus Meirin, had just returned to Konoha. After passing the gates, Kakashi turned to the group.

“Alright, you’re free to go since I need to go make my report.” Kakashi said, before leaving.

Sasuke simply started to walk back home, with Sakura following him. Meirin turned to Naruto.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Well, Remilia will probably want to know how it went, so I should follow you back to the Scarlet Devil Mansion.” Naruto answered.

Both of them went to Naruto’s apartment to use the gap there. Since Yukari was sleeping (Ran made sure that Naruto knew it was NOT a good idea to wake her up) and Chen and Ran weren’t here, they went directly to Remilia’s mansion.

When they arrived, they noticed that the mistress of the mansion hadn’t bothered to place anyone at the gate. They simply went inside. One of the fairy-maid greeted them and lead them towards were the mistress was waiting.

On the way, someone passed by them that caught Naruto’s attention. She had long purple hair and wore pajama-like clothing. She was also reading a book while walking and probably wouldn’t have noticed them if Meirin hadn’t greeted her.

“Hello, Patchouli-sama.”

The girl, Patchouli, looked up and finally saw them.

”Oh, you’re finally back. Too bad... I was enjoying the peace.”

Of course, this reaction surprised Meirin.

“Eh? Peace? But we didn’t saw anybody at the gate. Didn’t Marisa take advantage of that to come in more often?”

“Actually…”

A good book and a good tea. That was a combination good enough for Patchouli to think it was a good day.

Unfortunately, that black and white witch was due to come any time now. It has been a while since her last raid and she knew she would come today. In fact, it was now the time for it to begin now.

Patchouli had her battle book next to her and Koakuma was already making sure the most important books were protected. And she waited.

And waited.

She was still waiting.

Inwardly, Patchouli frowned. Was there a mistake in her calculations? She was so sure that the thieving rat would come today.

A knock at the library door interrupted her thoughts. She turned as the door opened, showing that it was one of the maids who was here.

“Patchouli-sama, you have a visitor.”

Before she could start wondering who would visit her, Marisa already entered the room. The maid bowed and left, closing the door.

“Hi Patchouli.” Marisa said. Strangely, it didn’t sound like her. In fact, she looked down.

“Hello Marisa. May I ask since when you use the door to come here?”

The ordinary witch just sat at the same table Patchouli was, still looking far too calm for Patchouli.

“Well, I did want to get some books, but when I arrived, I didn’t see China at her gate. Where is she anyway?”

Patchouli was curious, but she didn’t let it show on her. She merely answered the question.

“Remilia sent her for a job. It may take some weeks before she returns.”

Marisa actually looked surprised, finally seeming to turn back to her usual self.

“What!? For real? What am I supposed to do now?”

“I fail to see how that would stop you. In fact, wouldn’t it be beneficial for you that there is currently no gatekeeper?”

“But… But... If I can’t even announce myself, what’s the point?”

Patchouli was now confused.

“You mean… Your reason for blasting the gate and her is the same as ringing a doorbell?”

“Well, yeah… But what’s the point of blasting just a gate? And now because of that, I don’t even feel like borrowing books like usual. What am I supposed to do now?”

Patchouli frowned at ‘borrowing’, but let it go. It wasn’t like Marisa would call it anything else. But at least, it seemed her books were safe.

“Well, you can read here, provided that you put the books back in place after you’re done.”

“Yeah… I think I’ll do that. Thanks.” Marisa said, before going to get something to read.

“And she came every now and then. I must say I enjoyed having those conversations. Anyway, I’m sure Marisa will be happy to see you again at least…”

Meirin wasn’t fully listening to her. She was too busy being swallowed up by despair.

Patchouli left and they continued to walk. Naruto didn’t have any idea of what to say to cheer her up, so he (wisely) kept his mouth shut.

Eventually, they arrived. The maid knocked on the door and opened the door for them when Remilia said they could enter. It was the same room as last time. The vampire was drinking some tea. Naruto noticed Sakuya wasn’t around.

“Come, don’t remain standing here. You can sit down.” Remilia said, barely glancing at him. “You can return to your duties Meirin.”

Meirin bowed and left while Naruto sat on the sofa in front of Remilia.

“I trust she didn’t disappoint you?” Remilia asked, after putting down her cup.

“Errr, no. In fact, she really helped out.”

“Good. I trust that you have what you promised in exchange?”

“Of course, I always keep my promises.”

Naruto took out the picture he took with him before arriving here. He handed it to Remilia, who only glanced at it briefly to confirm it was indeed that picture before setting it on fire.

“That is a good trait to have. However, you should make sure next time to not promise things that could… put your health in danger.

Before Naruto could even ask what she meant, someone knocked on the door before entering. It was Sakuya.

“She is here, Remilia-sama.”

Someone else entered the room. She looked like Remilia, but they were some notable differences. She had blonde hair and wore red clothes. She also had a big metal wand with her. However, the most obvious difference was the wings, which looked like they were made of metal and had prism shards attached to them.

“Please let me introduce her to you. This is Flandre, my little sister.”

“Hello!” Said Flandre, in a bright and cherry voice. She immediately turned to her sister afterwards. “Sis, why did you ask Sakuya to bring me here?”

“Well, I made this game I intended to play alone at first, but then I thought you would love to participate in it too.”

Some alarm bells ringed inside Naruto, but he didn’t move, since he had no idea what was it about.

The poor fool.

“Currently, all the doors to outside and the windows are locked, with the exception of the main entrance.”

“Oh! Is that some kind of race with a goal then?” Flandre asked, excited.

Naruto was now worried.

“You see, a certain person managed to make me look like a fool a god time ago. However, he had something against me that forced me to not take revenge.”

“What?! Who did that to sis? Can I eat him?” Flandre asked, now sounding angry.

“She still holds a grudge about that?!”

Naruto was almost tempted to run away right now. Besides, that girl actually looked serious when she asked if she could eat him.

Oh crap, she was a vampire too if she was her sister, right? She was serious.

“Today, he abandoned that advantage. But instead of just dealing with him, I had this idea. And I also thought it was a good occasion to have some fun together as sisters.”

“Thank you sis!! So, what is the game?”

“Well, that person must try to get outside by passing the main door. Our goal is to take him down before then.

“Oh, that sounds fun! Who is the target?”

Remilia would then have identified the target as Naruto, but he already did it himself by immediately starting to run away at the words ‘take him down’.

Flandre immediately ran out of the room and started to chase after him while Remilia simply walked out of the room before following her sister. Sakuya simply watched them go.

Since Naruto didn’t know the mansion at all, it wasn’t long before the screams and a demented laugh started to be heard.

“Take that! Taboo ‘Lävatein’!!“

“Ahhh!! Okay, that’s it! Ninja Sign ‘Kage Bunshin no Jutsu’!”

“Look Flandre! He made more targets for you.”

Obviously, Naruto’s hope that it could somehow delay them failed miserably, if the gleeful laugh was of any indication.

Sakuya just walked after them, using the same path they used and assigning maids to immediately start repairing the damages.

After a while, she saw Patchouli, who was looking in the direction the target, her mistress and her mistress’s sister must have taken.

“Was that Remilia and Flandre? They looked like they were having fun.”

“Yes, they were. It’s so nice to see them having family-bonding activities.”

“Sis! It’s not fair! He doesn’t want to stay still!”

“Ahhh! HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT!”

“Now now, Flandre. A game wouldn’t be fun if it was too easy, right? Critical ‘Heart Break’!”

“You’re gonna pay! I definitely swear I won’t forget this! I- Oh crap!”

“Taboo ‘Four of a Kind’!”

End of Chapter.

Author's notes: To be honest, there are some parts I'm not really satisfied with. However, like I said, it's been too long since last update.

Let's tease you with the next chapter: What happened between Hinata and Yukari afterwards? What will Naruto decide?

Anyway, you know the drill: Review for comments if you want to. PMs for mistakes spotted.