Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Between Deception and Truth ❯ Discussions ( Chapter 16 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Lord Archive 
Ai meets with her temporary teammates while Jiro and Hinata must decide what to do.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Martial Arts / Hentai / Drama | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 02.10.2009 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.1K | Visits: 779 | Status: Completed
Ai meets with her temporary teammates while Jiro and Hinata must decide what to do.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Martial Arts / Hentai / Drama | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 02.10.2009 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.1K | Visits: 779 | Status: Completed
Between Deception and Truth
Chapter 15 - Discussions
By: Lord Archive
Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, all rights reserved. I'm only borrowing them.
----------------------
Ai grumbled as she made her way to the Hokage's office, already not in the best of moods. She had earlier tried to talk to Hinata and Jiro about the possibility of splitting them up, but that had blown up in her face. Even Hinata had yelled at her. Ai didn't see a reason for her spouse to risk fighting an insane jounin. Jiro wouldn't listen to reason while Hinata went on a triad going as far as yelling, 'You don't know what it's like to be fake!' As if she didn't know what it was like to be 'false,' to be a 'fake.' She had lived months as multiple shadows, all as a girl who was no longer alive.
If the argument hadn't woken up Shinobu, Ai would likely still be fighting with her spouse.
The young mother's attitude did not improve as she walked into the office and saw the teacher that had stopped her two days ago, standing before the leader of the village. "Hey, Grandma. What's she doing here?"
Tsunade smiled a little at the teacher's apparent shock from Ai's greeting. "Misashi Hotoko is the jounin leader of the current Team Seven." She then turned her gaze to the attractive woman. "Misashi, this is Yamada Ai."
Hotoko alternated between looking at the girl and the Hokage, possibly wondering if there really was the implied family relation. "She's using an alias?"
"Ai's situation is not something I will discuss," Tsunade told her flatly.
"And I'm supposed to entrust two of my students to her?" Hotoko growled.
"I would entrust my life and all of Konoha to her," Tsunade returned harshly.
"She will need to be tested," Hotoko demanded.
"That goes without saying. Your genin need to know that she will have their back." Tsunade smirked. "Ai should sneak attack your team as they wait for you to show up."
Hotoko had a small smile that Ai didn't trust.
----------------------
"How are we going to do this?" Jiro questioned.
Hinata didn't reply as Shinobu suckled on the bottle she was holding. While the baby had resisted being fed this way at the hospital, she accepted it easily from the shadow girl.
Jiro paced around the room. "Ai doesn't understand our situation. Being stuck like this is like I'm married to Hanabi. Having someone watch my every move and thought."
"In some ways we are very alike; while in others, we are very different," Hinata almost whispered.
Jiro scowled. "You have no idea how the threat of you marrying Negi to 'improve' the bloodline no longer being an option makes me happy."
"I wouldn't have liked it either," Hinata replied quietly.
"But you would have lived with it," Jiro muttered. "Now at least Negi has love."
"Will I have mine?" Hinata wondered.
"We do not know the full extent of the advanced Kage Bunshin." Jiro looked away. "We can assume that we will still be bonded to each other. Otherwise, only that rouge personality would need to be a prisoner, not all of them. However, it may be possible for Ai and Naruto to separate."
"Ai isn't a separate personality," Hinata reluctantly pointed out.
"True, but she is a separate body. It might work," Jiro returned.
"And what about Kyuubi?" Hinata added.
Jiro's frown deepened. "That's why we need to find out more first. We can't take any risks of Kyuubi escaping."
"What if we can't get Ai to agree to let us go?" Hinata fretted.
"Then we'll have to go while she's taking the Chuunin exam," Jiro stated firmly.
Hinata bowed her head, her gaze on the child in her arms. "What about Shinobu? She's only been fed by Ai and myself."
"We'll figure something out," Jiro promised.
----------------------
"Where is Misashi-sensei? She's never late," muttered a young teenage girl as she tucked some stray black hair behind her ear. Her simple black shirt and pants suggested a stealth specialty.
A muscular boy folded his arms and did not mind his wild brown hair dipping into his eyes. "I don't see why we still need her, Yoshie. After all I'm a chuunin."
"Only by dumb luck, Hitochi," spat another boy, his clothes almost completely covered by bandoleers filled with throwing weapons.
"Shut it, Katsuhara," Hitochi growled.
A new voice cut the argument short. "Let's see if the students are better than the teacher."
The new Team Seven looked at the burly man wrapped from head to toe in black that was suddenly before them. Without word or signal, Hitochi launched a flurry of punches and kicks while Katsuhara jumped back. Dodging a powerful swing, Hitochi took an extra step aside, letting his teammate use the opening. Dozens of kunai were launched.
Not having the time to dodge the projectiles, the burly man raised a hand. He briefly formed a Rasengan, yet let it be incomplete and flare away. The chakra lashed out, sending the incoming weapons wildly away from him. He turned his attention back to Hitochi, but froze when the girl screamed.
Yoshie laid on the ground, clutching at her face. A kunai had struck her right eye.
"Oh, shit!" The burly man disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Ai rushed to the girl's side. "Hold on! Someone get Tsunade-baachan!"
Ai felt slender arms wrap around her, putting her into a chokehold. She didn't have a moment to protest before Hitochi charged her; his foot went through the fallen girl as his fist slammed into Ai's face.
"Genjutsu," Ai spat, though she was a bit impressed with the trick pulled on her. She twisted with impossible strength, dragging the girl holding her around and causing Hitochi's second swing to strike Yoshie in the back of the head.
Ai broke away and called out, "Kage Bunshin!" Five more copies of the girl appeared. She grinned. "Let's do this two on one."
"Let's not!" Katsuhara returned. Several dozen kunai flew through the air at the shadow clones and Ai. To his surprise, the blades were all dodged and deflected, rather that just passing through what he thought were illusions.
"You'll have to do better than that!" one of the shadows shot at him.
Hitochi immediately ran at the one who made the comment. His powerful blows were able to disrupt the clone, despite her blocking his attack. That left the young chuunin confused. However he did not have long to think about his failed assault as two of Ai's clones attacked him from behind.
Katsuhara was not in any better position as he found himself face-to-face with his own pair of enemies. This was not a good situation for him as he preferred to keep his distance from battle.
"You know, I could end this at any time," the real Ai commented, leaning against a tree and glancing at her image that was rubbing the back of her head.
The image stiffened. "What are you talking about?"
"At one time your little trick would've gotten me." Ai smirked. "If a clone was hit hard enough to be hurt on the back of the head, the shadow would be gone. And I wouldn't be bothered by such a soft hit."
The image faded to reveal Yoshie. "How are you not rubbing your face? Hitochi is a brute."
Ai grinned. "I've had a lot worse hits. Not to mention childbirth redefined pain for me."
Yoshie blinked. "You're a mom?"
Ai nodded. "It's part of the reason why I haven't passed the test yet."
Yoshie nodded. "Hotoko-sensei warned us we'd have a new member so Katsuhara and I could pass the test."
"That was a dirty trick you pulled," Ai almost growled.
Yoshie shrugged. "I had to know if you were to be our new partner or a real threat."
Glancing back into the battle, Ai could see that while Katsuhara had managed to take one clone down, the other one he was fighting had him pinned to the ground. Hitochi continued to fight wildly against the two clones facing him, the shadows easily evading his strikes.
"This is getting tedious," one of the clones commented, ducking under a wild haymaker.
"I don't know, he's stupid enough to fall for it," the other shadow derided, side-stepping a follow-up punch.
"I'll kill all you bitches!" Hitochi promised. He stepped forward, landing what seemed to be a solid hit, but the resulting cloud of smoke revealed a tree stump.
"One-thousand-years-of-pain!" the shadow called out. Two fingers launched up into Hitochi's ass.
Ai and the clones stared as the boy didn't move at all. "How...?"
Katsuhara threw off the girl on top of him. "Hey! That ass is mine!"
The offending clone suddenly found three kunai in her back before she dispersed into smoke.
Yoshie smirked. "You know how three man teams sometimes have romance issues. Well, I'm the odd one out in the team."
Ai sweated nervously. "Okay... Well, it's time to finish this." Her hand flashed out, chopping at the other girl's neck. Yoshie looked stunned before collapsing to the ground, making Ai scowl. "Definitely have to finish this."
The boys looked stun as Ai suddenly cried out, chakra flaring around her to disrupt any and all genjutsu that would be clouding her eyes. Before they could react the girl kicked up a rock, caught it and then hurled it with an insane speed. There was a meaty 'thwack' near a tree and Yoshie suddenly appeared and fell to the ground.
Ai smirked. She regretted hurting the girl, but there was no way for her win if Yoshie continued to make her see things in the wrong places. "That's one down. Who's next?"
Hitochi roared as he rushed forward, arms raised to strike. Ai deflected the clumsy, yet powerful blow with her left arm and slammed her right fist into his stomach. The larger boy only staggered back a step before trying another powerful swing, but that too was deflected and countered. "You bitch!"
"Such witty and original insults, bricks for fists," Ai quipped as she continued to out-maneuver the boy. "Don't know how you made chuunin." She whipped a kick for his face.
Hitochi caught it. "I may not have Uchiha eyes, but I have their learning curve." He continued to hold Ai's leg as he literally kicked her ass.
As the boy lowered his leg and got ready for another kick, Ai leapt up with her other foot and swung her leg around to kick him in the face. However, the boy did not let go and Ai's captured leg was wrenched in a painful direction, her hip threatening to dislocate as all her weight was now located at that joint. Her face ended up crashing into the dirt. Unable to do much else, she bit back the pain as she kicked backwards with all her might.
Katsuhara wasn't faring well against the pair of Ai's clone that had remained. Being a long-ranged fighter, he tried to keep his distance and remain on the offensive. However, he could only keep one clone at bay at a time, leaving the other one the ability to get in close. Once again the boy was pinned to the ground, unable to do anything more than watch Hitochi fight.
Hitochi grappled his body around Ai's captured leg and threatened to break it. "What do you have to say about this?"
"Kage Bunshin!" Ai called out.
Hitochi's grasp on the girl slacked as there were six clones surrounding him. "This is gonna to hurt."
"Kage Rendan!" the clones cried out.
Hitochi was launched into the air by four clones kicking him. When he met the apex of being airborne, two more clones latched onto him, pile driving him into the ground. Or so the clones thought.
The real Ai laid in the impact crater, moaning in pain. "This will teach me to underestimate a moron." Instead of using a log for his substitution technique, he had used her much as Kakashi had during the bell test. She should've known better than to do that particular move when he was already holding onto her.
Hitochi smirked viciously at the clones, who were looking confused at the injured girl and failing to pay proper attention to him. He charged into the mix, knocking one out before the girls could recover from their mistake.
Four of the other clones immediately moved to surround the boy, while the fifth pulled Ai out of the way.
"Who's next?" Hitochi boasted.
"You," one clone retorted, drawing one hand at a time from her left to the right charged with chakra while the other hand going right to left was not charged.
"Have..." the next clone said moving similarly. The other two clones added in turn, "...a nice... trip!"
Wind erupted as a tornado suddenly spawned around Hitochi. "What the fuck?!" the boy cursed before being lifted off his feet and was flung off dozens of meters away and into a tree.
Ai grumbled as she sat up, seeing the tornado briefly expanding out of control until it dispersed the clones and then broke apart. "Damn, that move still takes too much chakra for too little effect." She dispelled all her remaining clones.
Katsuhara frowned deeply as he stood up. "How are you not a chuunin? Hell, you could probably take a jounin."
"I have taken down jounin before," Ai stated confidently as Yoshie and Hitochi approached, both nursing minor injuries. "A long mission combined with starting a family kept me from taking it. I'm back now and I will pass the test this time."
----------------------
Tsunade rushed through her papers with the promise of sake when she was done. She found being drunk helped her think of a solution to Hinata's situation. She was not pleased when she heard a knock at her door. She did not want any delays. "Enter. This had better be good."
Jiro nervously stepped into the room. His demeanor reflecting his birth from Hinata. "I would like to speak with you about the advanced Kage Bunshin."
Tsunade sighed. "I'm afraid I've told you everything I know."
Jiro nodded. "I understand that. The issue is that while Hinata and I have agreed to meet with the exiled jounin, Ai is against it. She doesn't understand the situation I'm in with Hinata. She's like a sister, yet we share too much. Even if all it does is make the 'fake' harder to dispel, it would still give us more freedom."
Tsunade turned to look out her window. "You do know why Ai is against it, don't you?"
Jiro sagged. "I wish I did."
"You and Hinata are her family. Her real family. You are her husband and Hinata her wife. Ai has never had a family that she could remember. Naruto was orphaned when he was only months old. She is not going to let go of either of you without a fight," Tsunade explained.
Jiro frowned. "What can we do?"
Tsunade turned back around and gazed at the boy intently. "First and foremost, be honest with Ai. Second, make her understand that splitting from each other doesn't mean that one of you will be leaving her. And third, learning the technique doesn't mean you have to use it. There is much we don't know about the limitations and effects of the advanced Kage Bunshin."
Jiro nodded slowly. "There is one other issue. With Ai about to take the test, we will need someone to help watch after Shinobu while I go to learn the move."
Tsunade scowled. "You won't be able to go on the mission without Ai's agreeing to it."
Jiro sagged, but gave no response.
------------------
Ai gazed at her sleepy daughter, yet continued to play with her. She tickled Shinobu, pulling her hand back each time the little girl tried to grab her fingers. She smiled at the happy noises her daughter made.
Hinata pouted at the scene. "Why don't you let Shinobu sleep?"
"Hasn't soiled her diaper yet," Ai replied simply. "If she went to sleep now, she'll be awake again in an hour."
"Oh..." Hinata looked away.
"Are you going to tell me what's on your mind, or are you going to make me guess?" Ai questioned, not taking her eyes off Shinobu.
"Ai..." Hinata whispered.
Ai's nose scrunched up. "Finally." She did not heed Shinobu's tears as she began to change the girl's diaper. After she finished with the task, tossing the soiled garment into the hamper to be cleaned later, she picked her daughter up, holding the baby to her chest to quiet her. When Shinobu finally quieted down, Ai placed her back in her crib, kissed her forehead and told her, "Goodnight, little one."
Hinata's fingers twitched as she watched the scene.
Ai walked over to the shadow girl. "Have you talked to Jiro?" With a nod in reply, she continued, "Have you come to an understanding?"
Hinata nodded again and found Ai's lips upon her own. Her eyes widened and she pushed the other girl away.
Ai's lips thinned from annoyance. "You still think you're betraying yourself?"
Hinata shook her head. "Henge into Naruto."
Ai shrugged. "Henge." With a puff of smoke she was now the boy of her birth.
Hinata began to reach out with a shaky hand. She hesitated for a second before grabbing the boy by his shirt and pulling him into a brief kiss. "I'm not into girls."
Naruto smirked. "I'll fix that eventually, but not tonight." He captured her lips with his own, his tongue invading her mouth, and his hand finding its way to her ass. She seemed to shake in excitement before she disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Naruto, being off balance, bashed his forehead into the wall.
A giggle from behind made Naruto smile. "At least someone thought that was funny. Get to sleep, Mommy is okay."
Leaving Shinobu's room, Naruto made her way to the living room where Jiro was.
"Didn't go well, huh?" Jiro commented.
Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Ai in his place. "You could say that."
"Why are you trying to get with Hinata?" Jiro asked with an odd tone to his voice.
Ai folded her arms. "Great, now you're being jealous."
Jiro scowled at her.
"Hinata doesn't feel like she's part of this family, and I wanted to 'welcome' her into it fully," Ai told him.
Jiro pouted in much the way Hinata had earlier. "And why haven't you tried to be with me?"
"I think Hinata should go first." Ai looked away. "I'm not sure I'm ready for... well... your 'best friend.' Besides, I can't afford to get pregnant right now."
Jiro hugged his beloved. "You don't have to go all the way to have 'fun.' Besides, I don't think Hinata is 'ready' for you."
"What if you use henge?" Ai questioned a touch seductively.
"Can you imagine what would happen if she lost control during the act?" Jiro pointed out.
Ai cringed. "Not a pleasant thought."
"If you want Hinata, we're going to have to learn the advance Kage Bunshin," Jiro added.
Ai pulled away from him. "And what's to say one of you won't stay?"
Jiro folded his arms. "The fact that all of the jounin's personalities have been exiled and not just the rouge ones. Hinata and I will still be bonded to each other, whether we like it or not." He then sighed. "Sharing you with Hinata isn't a problem with me. It's the lack of... well, privacy. Every action, every thought I have... she knows it. I want to be more than a shadow of her. I want to be my own person. And so does Hinata. We want to be as twins, and not as close as we are."
"And what of the risks?" Ai hissed.
"Kage Bunshin... Henge..." Hinata appeared next to Jiro. "We will face them. I can't stand this half-existence. Being around only on his will. He has thoughts that are alien to me, as I have wants he doesn't understand. Even making the shadow harder to dispel would help us."
"Not to mention that learning the move doesn't mean having to use it. And what if we find that you can use it to make two strong copies, one of Ai and one of Naruto?" Jiro added. "You'd be able to fight on a much higher level."
Ai frowned. "I'd rather not risk splitting my mind nor give Kyuubi a chance to break free. You don't have to do this."
"Yes, we do," Hinata told him firmly.
Jiro looked sadly at his beloved. "And I'm afraid there's nothing you can do to stop us. Just as there's nothing that would stop you from going after Sasuke as it's is something you must do for yourself. This is our personal mission we can't deny."
Ai whirled away and stomped off.
"She still doesn't want us to do it," Hinata moaned.
"But she finally understands that we have to do it," Jiro added.
------------------
Author's Notes:
Not sure what the focus of the next chapter will be: Ai's chuunin exam, Jiro's personal mission, or Inari's view of the story so far. I have plans for each, yet events will be happening at the same time but are completely separate stories.
Chapter 15 - Discussions
By: Lord Archive
Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, all rights reserved. I'm only borrowing them.
----------------------
Ai grumbled as she made her way to the Hokage's office, already not in the best of moods. She had earlier tried to talk to Hinata and Jiro about the possibility of splitting them up, but that had blown up in her face. Even Hinata had yelled at her. Ai didn't see a reason for her spouse to risk fighting an insane jounin. Jiro wouldn't listen to reason while Hinata went on a triad going as far as yelling, 'You don't know what it's like to be fake!' As if she didn't know what it was like to be 'false,' to be a 'fake.' She had lived months as multiple shadows, all as a girl who was no longer alive.
If the argument hadn't woken up Shinobu, Ai would likely still be fighting with her spouse.
The young mother's attitude did not improve as she walked into the office and saw the teacher that had stopped her two days ago, standing before the leader of the village. "Hey, Grandma. What's she doing here?"
Tsunade smiled a little at the teacher's apparent shock from Ai's greeting. "Misashi Hotoko is the jounin leader of the current Team Seven." She then turned her gaze to the attractive woman. "Misashi, this is Yamada Ai."
Hotoko alternated between looking at the girl and the Hokage, possibly wondering if there really was the implied family relation. "She's using an alias?"
"Ai's situation is not something I will discuss," Tsunade told her flatly.
"And I'm supposed to entrust two of my students to her?" Hotoko growled.
"I would entrust my life and all of Konoha to her," Tsunade returned harshly.
"She will need to be tested," Hotoko demanded.
"That goes without saying. Your genin need to know that she will have their back." Tsunade smirked. "Ai should sneak attack your team as they wait for you to show up."
Hotoko had a small smile that Ai didn't trust.
----------------------
"How are we going to do this?" Jiro questioned.
Hinata didn't reply as Shinobu suckled on the bottle she was holding. While the baby had resisted being fed this way at the hospital, she accepted it easily from the shadow girl.
Jiro paced around the room. "Ai doesn't understand our situation. Being stuck like this is like I'm married to Hanabi. Having someone watch my every move and thought."
"In some ways we are very alike; while in others, we are very different," Hinata almost whispered.
Jiro scowled. "You have no idea how the threat of you marrying Negi to 'improve' the bloodline no longer being an option makes me happy."
"I wouldn't have liked it either," Hinata replied quietly.
"But you would have lived with it," Jiro muttered. "Now at least Negi has love."
"Will I have mine?" Hinata wondered.
"We do not know the full extent of the advanced Kage Bunshin." Jiro looked away. "We can assume that we will still be bonded to each other. Otherwise, only that rouge personality would need to be a prisoner, not all of them. However, it may be possible for Ai and Naruto to separate."
"Ai isn't a separate personality," Hinata reluctantly pointed out.
"True, but she is a separate body. It might work," Jiro returned.
"And what about Kyuubi?" Hinata added.
Jiro's frown deepened. "That's why we need to find out more first. We can't take any risks of Kyuubi escaping."
"What if we can't get Ai to agree to let us go?" Hinata fretted.
"Then we'll have to go while she's taking the Chuunin exam," Jiro stated firmly.
Hinata bowed her head, her gaze on the child in her arms. "What about Shinobu? She's only been fed by Ai and myself."
"We'll figure something out," Jiro promised.
----------------------
"Where is Misashi-sensei? She's never late," muttered a young teenage girl as she tucked some stray black hair behind her ear. Her simple black shirt and pants suggested a stealth specialty.
A muscular boy folded his arms and did not mind his wild brown hair dipping into his eyes. "I don't see why we still need her, Yoshie. After all I'm a chuunin."
"Only by dumb luck, Hitochi," spat another boy, his clothes almost completely covered by bandoleers filled with throwing weapons.
"Shut it, Katsuhara," Hitochi growled.
A new voice cut the argument short. "Let's see if the students are better than the teacher."
The new Team Seven looked at the burly man wrapped from head to toe in black that was suddenly before them. Without word or signal, Hitochi launched a flurry of punches and kicks while Katsuhara jumped back. Dodging a powerful swing, Hitochi took an extra step aside, letting his teammate use the opening. Dozens of kunai were launched.
Not having the time to dodge the projectiles, the burly man raised a hand. He briefly formed a Rasengan, yet let it be incomplete and flare away. The chakra lashed out, sending the incoming weapons wildly away from him. He turned his attention back to Hitochi, but froze when the girl screamed.
Yoshie laid on the ground, clutching at her face. A kunai had struck her right eye.
"Oh, shit!" The burly man disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Ai rushed to the girl's side. "Hold on! Someone get Tsunade-baachan!"
Ai felt slender arms wrap around her, putting her into a chokehold. She didn't have a moment to protest before Hitochi charged her; his foot went through the fallen girl as his fist slammed into Ai's face.
"Genjutsu," Ai spat, though she was a bit impressed with the trick pulled on her. She twisted with impossible strength, dragging the girl holding her around and causing Hitochi's second swing to strike Yoshie in the back of the head.
Ai broke away and called out, "Kage Bunshin!" Five more copies of the girl appeared. She grinned. "Let's do this two on one."
"Let's not!" Katsuhara returned. Several dozen kunai flew through the air at the shadow clones and Ai. To his surprise, the blades were all dodged and deflected, rather that just passing through what he thought were illusions.
"You'll have to do better than that!" one of the shadows shot at him.
Hitochi immediately ran at the one who made the comment. His powerful blows were able to disrupt the clone, despite her blocking his attack. That left the young chuunin confused. However he did not have long to think about his failed assault as two of Ai's clones attacked him from behind.
Katsuhara was not in any better position as he found himself face-to-face with his own pair of enemies. This was not a good situation for him as he preferred to keep his distance from battle.
"You know, I could end this at any time," the real Ai commented, leaning against a tree and glancing at her image that was rubbing the back of her head.
The image stiffened. "What are you talking about?"
"At one time your little trick would've gotten me." Ai smirked. "If a clone was hit hard enough to be hurt on the back of the head, the shadow would be gone. And I wouldn't be bothered by such a soft hit."
The image faded to reveal Yoshie. "How are you not rubbing your face? Hitochi is a brute."
Ai grinned. "I've had a lot worse hits. Not to mention childbirth redefined pain for me."
Yoshie blinked. "You're a mom?"
Ai nodded. "It's part of the reason why I haven't passed the test yet."
Yoshie nodded. "Hotoko-sensei warned us we'd have a new member so Katsuhara and I could pass the test."
"That was a dirty trick you pulled," Ai almost growled.
Yoshie shrugged. "I had to know if you were to be our new partner or a real threat."
Glancing back into the battle, Ai could see that while Katsuhara had managed to take one clone down, the other one he was fighting had him pinned to the ground. Hitochi continued to fight wildly against the two clones facing him, the shadows easily evading his strikes.
"This is getting tedious," one of the clones commented, ducking under a wild haymaker.
"I don't know, he's stupid enough to fall for it," the other shadow derided, side-stepping a follow-up punch.
"I'll kill all you bitches!" Hitochi promised. He stepped forward, landing what seemed to be a solid hit, but the resulting cloud of smoke revealed a tree stump.
"One-thousand-years-of-pain!" the shadow called out. Two fingers launched up into Hitochi's ass.
Ai and the clones stared as the boy didn't move at all. "How...?"
Katsuhara threw off the girl on top of him. "Hey! That ass is mine!"
The offending clone suddenly found three kunai in her back before she dispersed into smoke.
Yoshie smirked. "You know how three man teams sometimes have romance issues. Well, I'm the odd one out in the team."
Ai sweated nervously. "Okay... Well, it's time to finish this." Her hand flashed out, chopping at the other girl's neck. Yoshie looked stunned before collapsing to the ground, making Ai scowl. "Definitely have to finish this."
The boys looked stun as Ai suddenly cried out, chakra flaring around her to disrupt any and all genjutsu that would be clouding her eyes. Before they could react the girl kicked up a rock, caught it and then hurled it with an insane speed. There was a meaty 'thwack' near a tree and Yoshie suddenly appeared and fell to the ground.
Ai smirked. She regretted hurting the girl, but there was no way for her win if Yoshie continued to make her see things in the wrong places. "That's one down. Who's next?"
Hitochi roared as he rushed forward, arms raised to strike. Ai deflected the clumsy, yet powerful blow with her left arm and slammed her right fist into his stomach. The larger boy only staggered back a step before trying another powerful swing, but that too was deflected and countered. "You bitch!"
"Such witty and original insults, bricks for fists," Ai quipped as she continued to out-maneuver the boy. "Don't know how you made chuunin." She whipped a kick for his face.
Hitochi caught it. "I may not have Uchiha eyes, but I have their learning curve." He continued to hold Ai's leg as he literally kicked her ass.
As the boy lowered his leg and got ready for another kick, Ai leapt up with her other foot and swung her leg around to kick him in the face. However, the boy did not let go and Ai's captured leg was wrenched in a painful direction, her hip threatening to dislocate as all her weight was now located at that joint. Her face ended up crashing into the dirt. Unable to do much else, she bit back the pain as she kicked backwards with all her might.
Katsuhara wasn't faring well against the pair of Ai's clone that had remained. Being a long-ranged fighter, he tried to keep his distance and remain on the offensive. However, he could only keep one clone at bay at a time, leaving the other one the ability to get in close. Once again the boy was pinned to the ground, unable to do anything more than watch Hitochi fight.
Hitochi grappled his body around Ai's captured leg and threatened to break it. "What do you have to say about this?"
"Kage Bunshin!" Ai called out.
Hitochi's grasp on the girl slacked as there were six clones surrounding him. "This is gonna to hurt."
"Kage Rendan!" the clones cried out.
Hitochi was launched into the air by four clones kicking him. When he met the apex of being airborne, two more clones latched onto him, pile driving him into the ground. Or so the clones thought.
The real Ai laid in the impact crater, moaning in pain. "This will teach me to underestimate a moron." Instead of using a log for his substitution technique, he had used her much as Kakashi had during the bell test. She should've known better than to do that particular move when he was already holding onto her.
Hitochi smirked viciously at the clones, who were looking confused at the injured girl and failing to pay proper attention to him. He charged into the mix, knocking one out before the girls could recover from their mistake.
Four of the other clones immediately moved to surround the boy, while the fifth pulled Ai out of the way.
"Who's next?" Hitochi boasted.
"You," one clone retorted, drawing one hand at a time from her left to the right charged with chakra while the other hand going right to left was not charged.
"Have..." the next clone said moving similarly. The other two clones added in turn, "...a nice... trip!"
Wind erupted as a tornado suddenly spawned around Hitochi. "What the fuck?!" the boy cursed before being lifted off his feet and was flung off dozens of meters away and into a tree.
Ai grumbled as she sat up, seeing the tornado briefly expanding out of control until it dispersed the clones and then broke apart. "Damn, that move still takes too much chakra for too little effect." She dispelled all her remaining clones.
Katsuhara frowned deeply as he stood up. "How are you not a chuunin? Hell, you could probably take a jounin."
"I have taken down jounin before," Ai stated confidently as Yoshie and Hitochi approached, both nursing minor injuries. "A long mission combined with starting a family kept me from taking it. I'm back now and I will pass the test this time."
----------------------
Tsunade rushed through her papers with the promise of sake when she was done. She found being drunk helped her think of a solution to Hinata's situation. She was not pleased when she heard a knock at her door. She did not want any delays. "Enter. This had better be good."
Jiro nervously stepped into the room. His demeanor reflecting his birth from Hinata. "I would like to speak with you about the advanced Kage Bunshin."
Tsunade sighed. "I'm afraid I've told you everything I know."
Jiro nodded. "I understand that. The issue is that while Hinata and I have agreed to meet with the exiled jounin, Ai is against it. She doesn't understand the situation I'm in with Hinata. She's like a sister, yet we share too much. Even if all it does is make the 'fake' harder to dispel, it would still give us more freedom."
Tsunade turned to look out her window. "You do know why Ai is against it, don't you?"
Jiro sagged. "I wish I did."
"You and Hinata are her family. Her real family. You are her husband and Hinata her wife. Ai has never had a family that she could remember. Naruto was orphaned when he was only months old. She is not going to let go of either of you without a fight," Tsunade explained.
Jiro frowned. "What can we do?"
Tsunade turned back around and gazed at the boy intently. "First and foremost, be honest with Ai. Second, make her understand that splitting from each other doesn't mean that one of you will be leaving her. And third, learning the technique doesn't mean you have to use it. There is much we don't know about the limitations and effects of the advanced Kage Bunshin."
Jiro nodded slowly. "There is one other issue. With Ai about to take the test, we will need someone to help watch after Shinobu while I go to learn the move."
Tsunade scowled. "You won't be able to go on the mission without Ai's agreeing to it."
Jiro sagged, but gave no response.
------------------
Ai gazed at her sleepy daughter, yet continued to play with her. She tickled Shinobu, pulling her hand back each time the little girl tried to grab her fingers. She smiled at the happy noises her daughter made.
Hinata pouted at the scene. "Why don't you let Shinobu sleep?"
"Hasn't soiled her diaper yet," Ai replied simply. "If she went to sleep now, she'll be awake again in an hour."
"Oh..." Hinata looked away.
"Are you going to tell me what's on your mind, or are you going to make me guess?" Ai questioned, not taking her eyes off Shinobu.
"Ai..." Hinata whispered.
Ai's nose scrunched up. "Finally." She did not heed Shinobu's tears as she began to change the girl's diaper. After she finished with the task, tossing the soiled garment into the hamper to be cleaned later, she picked her daughter up, holding the baby to her chest to quiet her. When Shinobu finally quieted down, Ai placed her back in her crib, kissed her forehead and told her, "Goodnight, little one."
Hinata's fingers twitched as she watched the scene.
Ai walked over to the shadow girl. "Have you talked to Jiro?" With a nod in reply, she continued, "Have you come to an understanding?"
Hinata nodded again and found Ai's lips upon her own. Her eyes widened and she pushed the other girl away.
Ai's lips thinned from annoyance. "You still think you're betraying yourself?"
Hinata shook her head. "Henge into Naruto."
Ai shrugged. "Henge." With a puff of smoke she was now the boy of her birth.
Hinata began to reach out with a shaky hand. She hesitated for a second before grabbing the boy by his shirt and pulling him into a brief kiss. "I'm not into girls."
Naruto smirked. "I'll fix that eventually, but not tonight." He captured her lips with his own, his tongue invading her mouth, and his hand finding its way to her ass. She seemed to shake in excitement before she disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Naruto, being off balance, bashed his forehead into the wall.
A giggle from behind made Naruto smile. "At least someone thought that was funny. Get to sleep, Mommy is okay."
Leaving Shinobu's room, Naruto made her way to the living room where Jiro was.
"Didn't go well, huh?" Jiro commented.
Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Ai in his place. "You could say that."
"Why are you trying to get with Hinata?" Jiro asked with an odd tone to his voice.
Ai folded her arms. "Great, now you're being jealous."
Jiro scowled at her.
"Hinata doesn't feel like she's part of this family, and I wanted to 'welcome' her into it fully," Ai told him.
Jiro pouted in much the way Hinata had earlier. "And why haven't you tried to be with me?"
"I think Hinata should go first." Ai looked away. "I'm not sure I'm ready for... well... your 'best friend.' Besides, I can't afford to get pregnant right now."
Jiro hugged his beloved. "You don't have to go all the way to have 'fun.' Besides, I don't think Hinata is 'ready' for you."
"What if you use henge?" Ai questioned a touch seductively.
"Can you imagine what would happen if she lost control during the act?" Jiro pointed out.
Ai cringed. "Not a pleasant thought."
"If you want Hinata, we're going to have to learn the advance Kage Bunshin," Jiro added.
Ai pulled away from him. "And what's to say one of you won't stay?"
Jiro folded his arms. "The fact that all of the jounin's personalities have been exiled and not just the rouge ones. Hinata and I will still be bonded to each other, whether we like it or not." He then sighed. "Sharing you with Hinata isn't a problem with me. It's the lack of... well, privacy. Every action, every thought I have... she knows it. I want to be more than a shadow of her. I want to be my own person. And so does Hinata. We want to be as twins, and not as close as we are."
"And what of the risks?" Ai hissed.
"Kage Bunshin... Henge..." Hinata appeared next to Jiro. "We will face them. I can't stand this half-existence. Being around only on his will. He has thoughts that are alien to me, as I have wants he doesn't understand. Even making the shadow harder to dispel would help us."
"Not to mention that learning the move doesn't mean having to use it. And what if we find that you can use it to make two strong copies, one of Ai and one of Naruto?" Jiro added. "You'd be able to fight on a much higher level."
Ai frowned. "I'd rather not risk splitting my mind nor give Kyuubi a chance to break free. You don't have to do this."
"Yes, we do," Hinata told him firmly.
Jiro looked sadly at his beloved. "And I'm afraid there's nothing you can do to stop us. Just as there's nothing that would stop you from going after Sasuke as it's is something you must do for yourself. This is our personal mission we can't deny."
Ai whirled away and stomped off.
"She still doesn't want us to do it," Hinata moaned.
"But she finally understands that we have to do it," Jiro added.
------------------
Author's Notes:
Not sure what the focus of the next chapter will be: Ai's chuunin exam, Jiro's personal mission, or Inari's view of the story so far. I have plans for each, yet events will be happening at the same time but are completely separate stories.