Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Koorikage ❯ The Shadows ( Chapter 7 )

Now that's more like it. Ask and you shall receive, it would seem. Thank you to all those who reviewed, and those who plan to after this chapter. Anyhoo, here we go once again with lucky chapter number seven. I don't know exactly why it's lucky, but it just is. Run with me on this.

 

This is another slow-paced chapter, but it focuses more on plot development rather than character development like the last one. For those of you who noticed, nothing really actually happened in the last chapter, and that's good. That's the way it was supposed to be.

 

I'll do my best to make sure this isn't just a boring recount of events, and that it's actually interesting to read. Straight plot advancement has always been my greatest weakness, since I tend to get too bland and objective. One of the reasons I've been fleshing out the characters is so I'll have some room to play on this one. (The other reason being that non-fleshed-out characters are boring and stupid.)

 

There's some foreshadowing in this one, but I won't tell you where or what it has to do with. If anyone actually guesses it, I'll be extremely surprised. I just felt like telling you so you'll go insane trying to figure out what it is.

 

Right then. Enough of that. Let's get cracking, shall we?

 

 

Chapter 7 - The Shadows

 

“I don't imagine Hyuuga Hiashi was too pleased about his heir being taken on a mission like this so far from the village,” Genma said to Tsunade shortly after they left. The Hokage turned to look at him, and then looked back to where the girl in question was following them along with Aoba and Shizune, oblivious to their conversation.

“You're absolutely right, he wasn't pleased,” she said. “But there's not much he can do about it. Sandaime may have pandered to the Hyuuga clan's wishes of not being sent far off in order to protect their byakugan, but I won't. They may or may not be the strongest clan in the village, but what use are they if we can't send them anywhere?”

“It's always been the branch family members that get sent away on missions, since their byakugan is sealed up when they die. It's one more thing they resent the head family for.”

“I won't deny that the clan has its internal problems,” Tsunade said. “But I'm not going to baby them. They'll get the same treatment and the same assignments as everyone else.”

“Hn.” Genma grinned slightly.

“At least Hiashi's lightened up a bit these past couple of years,” she sighed, mostly to herself. “He's even been training his nephew in techniques the head family has always kept to itself.”

“There's only one person to thank for that,” Genma remarked casually. The two of them looked back again to the other squad that was bringing up the rear behind them, where Naruto was chatting excitedly with Sakura as if they were on a trip to a festival as opposed to a foreign ninja village.

“He really is an incredible kid,” Tsunade mused, then turned her focus back to where she was going. Casually walking down the road in such a big group always made her uneasy. Genma once again only hummed in reply.

 

- - -

 

“So what was that kiss all about, Shikamaru?” Naruto asked that night when they stopped to rest. “Have you and Ino been getting friendly?” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Eh? Ino-san kissed you, Shikamaru-kun?” Hinata asked. Genma and Aoba were on watch, and Shizune was having a discussion with Tsunade, so she'd come over to talk with the other chuunin.

“Oh, enough already,” Shikamaru said, clearly annoyed - not that that was unusual.

“She just gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek, Hinata,” Sakura explained. “Naruto's just being annoying.” She didn't admit out loud that she had been shocked as well, though she was sure everyone knew she'd been.

“How come I never get a hug and a kiss when I leave on long, potentially dangerous missions, Sakura-chan?” Naruto pouted.

“Feh. Like anyone would ever do that for you,” she teased, sticking out her tongue.

“Sakura-san, that's not very nice…” Hinata interjected.

“Ah, don't worry about it, Hinata,” Naruto waved her off with a smile. “I know how Sakura-chan really feels about me.” He waggled his eyebrows again.

“What!” The pink-haired girl in question exclaimed in indignation. “And just what is that supposed to mean?”

“Anou…Sakura-san…” Hinata tried to calm her friend down and alert her to the fact that Naruto was doing his best to cover what surely would have been raucous laughter.

“Are you guys going to be acting like this for the whole mission?” Shikamaru asked irritably.

“Maybe,” Naruto replied smugly. “What would you do about it?”

Shikamaru just rolled his eyes and let out a deep sigh. Neji, who was leaning against a tree trunk and hadn't said a word since they'd stopped moving, could be heard expressing a similar exasperation.

“Ah, lighten up, Shikamaru,” Naruto said, slapping his friend on the back. “A ninja should know how to enjoy a break when he gets it, right?”

“We're hardly on a break, brat,” Tsunade called over. “We're on a very important mission, in case you've forgotten.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Naruto said, waving her off as well. “But we're not in any danger right now, and we're not going anywhere until tomorrow morning. That's close enough.”

Tsunade's eye twitched, and Sakura was sure she heard her new mentor growl. She laughed nervously. However the Hokage did not bother arguing with Naruto further; perhaps she saw it would be futile.

“Don't make her angry like that, idiot!” she hissed at her teammate under her breath.

“Ah, she'll get over it,” Naruto said easily, placing his hands behind his head and leaning back against a tree. “Tsunade-baba's really a big softie, all bark and no bite. Unless you're someone like Orochimaru or something.”

The ease with which he said this shocked Sakura. It was as if Naruto and the Hokage were old friends since childhood or something. She knew they had a little bit of history, but apparently she didn't know how much.

“Naruto's probably the only one who doesn't have to be afraid of the Fifth,” Shikamaru drawled lazily. “She'll yell at him, but he just yells right back and she never really does anything to him.”

“Why is that, Naruto-kun?” Hinata asked curiously.

“Ah, we got through all our issues years ago, back when Ero-sennin and I went to track her down,” the blonde said with a wide grin. “I give her a hard time, but I like her.” He absently fingered the necklace he was wearing under his coat. “Don't tell her I said that, though,” he added, snickering.

“What happened on that trip, Naruto?” Sakura asked. “You never really told me anything about it, except that you met Orochimaru.”

“A lot of stuff,” Naruto answered seriously. “I learned the Rasengan, for one. That's when Tsunade-baba and I first met. I was having trouble with the final stage of it. She bet me I couldn't master it in a week, and when I did, she gave me this necklace and agreed to become Hokage.” He pulled said necklace out from under his coat and showed it to them. It was a beautiful green gem that Sakura could not name.

“Wow,” Sakura said, amazed. Not at the fact that he'd mastered such a difficult technique in a week, but that he'd managed to earn the Tsunade's respect so completely so quickly. There had to be more to it.

“Hokage-sama gave you that?” Hinata asked, clearly as amazed as Sakura was.

“Mm-hmm,” Naruto nodded proudly. “She told me to `become a good man.' I never take it off.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw her teacher turn back to her own conversation, as if her attention had been somewhere else briefly. Upon closer inspection, she saw that Tsunade was sporting a very contented smile.

 

-

 

“We're coming up on the Snow village!” Genma announced. It had only taken six and a half days - much less than expected - for them to arrive. It turned out that most of them grew weary of just strolling down the road, so the pace had been picked up considerably. And of course they'd taken to the trees out in open territory once they'd appeared again. All of this meant they were early. Hopefully the snow wouldn't mind.

“Let's go back down to the road, then,” Tsunade said. “If anyone was going to ambush us, they wouldn't do it this close to a shinobi village, unless it's the snow themselves. We're here as dignitaries, so we might as well look like it.”

A chorus of “hai” came next and nine shinobi moved like spurts of wind out of the trees and onto the only road into Yukigakure.

“You three recognize the terrain?” Tsunade asked, obviously addressing Naruto, Shikamaru and Neji.

“Yeah, it all looks pretty much the way it should,” Shikamaru answered.

“I am detecting nothing out of the ordinary,” Neji stated, Byakugan activated.

“Nor am I,” Hinata rang out seconds later, her Byakugan also activated.

“Good. Proceed as planned, then.”

The nine of them walked up the path in procession as if no one important was within their ranks. Tsunade was dressed in her normal attire and not the formal clothes of her office, so anyone observing would not immediately know who the highest profile target was, though it would be easy enough to ascertain simply through her reputation.

“Halt!” one of the sentries called out when the walked up to the gate. Shikamaru did not recognize him as one of the sentries from their last visit. “State your business.”

“We are ambassadors of the leaf here on official invitation,” Genma declared coolly.

“Prove it,” the guard said, even though they were all wearing leaf hitai-ate. Genma produced the invitation from his vest, and then the visitation visas that Neji's team had brought back with them.

“This all seems in order,” the guard said. Then he paused before looking back up and speaking again. “You're two days early.”

“The trip was faster than we thought,” Genma explained. “We didn't want to be late.”

“I suppose,” the guard said. “You are welcome in our village, but will be assigned a guard detail, simply for precaution.”

“Understood,” Genma said.

“Please wait here,” the guard said, leading them inside the gate so it could be closed again. “Your guards will arrive shortly.” Genma nodded politely and the sentry went back to his post.

“Security's tight,” Aoba noted. “On par with the chuunin exams.”

“It's to be expected,” Genma replied. “After all, the leaders of the five great shinobi countries will be here.”

Only a few moments later, two figures dropped out of the sky and landed on the path in front of them, which was particularly impressive since no visible message had been sent. They were familiar faces.

“You two?” Naruto asked abruptly. Standing before the leaf ninja were the Sabu twins with the ninja-to who had been guarding Arima's office the last time they'd been here.

“We requested the assignment specifically,” the girl said, smiling. “Please, allow me to introduce my brother, Sabu Saburo, and I am Sabu Yukiko.” She bowed, though her brother only nodded slightly when his name was spoken. The leaf ninja bowed in return.

“Another will be joining us later for your guard detail,” Yukiko explained. “Unfortunately, he has yet to return from his latest mission. We did not expect you for two more days, though it is nice that you are here. As you no doubt must have guessed, you are the first to arrive.” She didn't stop smiling once through her whole speech, and Shikamaru idly wondered how long she'd rehearsed it. Obviously some of it had been improvised, such as the part about them being early. If she weren't a ninja, this girl would make a spectacular hostess.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Tsunade said cordially. It was strange to see her acting and speaking so formal, and through the corner of his eye Shikamaru saw Naruto fighting back his laughter.

“This way, please,” Yukiko said, gesturing toward the center of the village. She and her brother - who had yet to say a word - began to lead them into the village.

The village had a very inviting atmosphere to it. The buildings were all short - no higher than two stories - but were all intricately designed and constructed. There were no signs of any of the hastily built apartments that filled certain sections of Konoha and other villages, designed to be mass produced and therefore all but identical.

The architecture and materials used, in conjunction with the snowy surroundings and numerous icicles, gave the village the feel of a winter resort town. The streets were all cobblestone, and except for the main road that led out of town, none were any wider than the width of six people walking abreast.

In the center of town, buildings became slightly taller, up to five stories in some places. And then of course there was the administration tower right in the center, which loomed over everything in a majestic display of focus and authority. It was clearly the nexus of the whole village, and looked to be made from a combination of wood, stone and ice. One couldn't help but feel a sense of awe in gazing upon it.

Yukiko and Saburo led them to a tall (relatively speaking) building across the street from the administration tower on the north side - the main gate was on the southern end of town.

“You'll be staying here,” Yukiko informed them, “on the fifth floor. We hope the accommodations are to your liking.”

They were led up five flights of stairs and down a hallway, where on the left side Saburo opened a door for them and allowed them to enter. They found a large room with a kotatsu and three futon, connected via shoji to similar rooms on either side. A window with shades overlooked the village below.

“My sister and I will be staying across the hall, should you require anything,” Saburo declared formally. He possessed neither the charming presence nor the infectious smile of his twin. He didn't seem cold, just…neutral.

“Your third guard will want to meet you when he returns,” Yukiko said, “although he already knows three of you very well.” She smiled warmly, particularly at Naruto, which clearly agitated Sakura and made Hinata fidget, and then at Neji, which amused Shikamaru greatly.

“Is it Musuka?” Naruto asked excitedly.

Yukiko grinned even more brightly at him. “How did you guess?”

Naruto let out a whoop of delight.

“He's looking forward to seeing you all again,” Saburo said. “Especially you, Naruto-kun.” He offered the first taste of a real smile since he'd appeared to them on the street. But Shikamaru couldn't recall ever introducing his team to the twins, let alone being on a first name basis with them. Naruto didn't seem to mind.

“We'll leave now, and let you get settled in,” Yukiko said. “Remember, if there's anything you need, we're across the hall. And you have a couple of days before the other parties arrive, so if you wish to have a look around our village, don't hesitate to ask.” She bowed to them, as did her brother, and they left the room.

“They certainly seem hospitable,” Hinata said after the twins had left.

“They're falling all over themselves to accommodate us,” Tsunade said wryly. “It looks like that leader of theirs was serious about an alliance after all. Or they could be trying to set us off-guard for a trap.”

“Either way, we have some time before the festival starts,” Shizune said. “We should explore the village some. It would be a nice way to relax, and we can also familiarize ourselves with the layout.”

“Those guards are going to want to stick to us like glue,” Aoba said. “That means we'll have to travel in groups.”

“Well someone come with me, then,” Naruto said. “I need to go make friends with that ramen guy all over again.”

 

-

 

Neji was uneasy. The situation had not improved in the day they'd spent in the snow village; in fact, it seemed to be getting worse. He had a feeling it wouldn't be much longer before things came to a head. It would make sense to make a move before the other diplomats arrived, and that's what he was expecting. The only problem was, he had no idea how to counter such a move and was running increasingly short on time to work something out.

He couldn't count on Naruto or Shikamaru for help; they had both gone off with Musuka earlier that morning to inspect the security of the festival grounds where the events would be taking place in just two days' time (none of the leaf ninja as yet had any idea what these events were going to be). Hokage-sama and Shizune were in a meeting of some sort with the snow village leader, and Genma and Aoba had gone off with Sabu Saburo to inspect the village's perimeter security. The snow ninja didn't seem to mind their visitors wanting to double-check the security measures they'd placed.

That left Neji with Hinata-sama and Haruno Sakura back at their “temporary base of operations” with Sabu Yukiko. Neji had nothing but respect for both of his leaf companions, but he couldn't deny that they wouldn't be much help in this situation. Steeling himself, Neji came to a decision.

“How are the security measures coming?” he asked Sakura. The three of them had been rigging the room for most of the morning.

“They're almost finished,” the young woman with pink hair replied. “I'm glad, too. As soon as Naruto and Shikamaru get back, I want to get out of this room for a bit.”

Hinata-sama nodded her agreement, even if she'd never voice it. Neji managed a small smile; he wouldn't mind getting out of the room himself. Then he remembered the seriousness of the situation and got back to business.

“I'm going to go speak with our escort for a moment,” he announced, and strode across the room to the door. Neither girl commented on this and returned to their security preparations.

Neji entered the hall and saw Sabu Yukiko standing guard at the opposite door just like she was supposed to. She smiled when she saw him; he didn't think she'd be smiling after he finished speaking to her. He decided he'd best be as abrupt as possible. He walked over to her and got straight to the point.

“I'm not interested,” he said plainly, in a tone that left no room for argument.

“Excuse me?” she asked politely, a slightly puzzled expression on her face.

“I am not interested, nor do I foresee myself becoming interested anytime soon, so you would be best to direct your attentions elsewhere.”

She looked at him oddly for a moment, and then giggled slightly. “I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about,” she said simply, still smiling.

“I hope you do not expect me to believe that,” he said rather condescendingly. “Do you think I have not seen you watching me? That I have not noticed that you always make sure to assign yourself to whatever detail I happen to be in? That you never stop smiling as long as you think I can see you? That you stand in such a way that your chest is emphasized as much as possible in a ridiculous attempt to ensnare my attention?” He finished his accusations with a nasty sneer, but for some strange reason, she was not fazed at all. In fact, if anything, her smile was even bigger than it had been before.

“Well, it's working, isn't it?” she asked cheerily.

“What?” Neji was taken aback. That was not the reaction he'd been expecting. She was supposed to recoil in shame and back off, not keep going. Had he not been intimidating enough?

“Well obviously I have captured your attention, or we wouldn't be having this conversation,” she explained in the manner of someone spelling something out for a young child.

“That…” Neji's retort died in his throat and he froze up. That infuriating smile was still not shrinking.

“So,” she continued on, “if, after the festival, you're still `not interested,' come and talk to me before you leave, all right?” She winked at him. “But you should get back now. I can hardly concentrate on my mission while being distracted by a dashing leaf ninja, can I?”

For the first time in his entire life, Neji was left completely dumbstruck. He had no idea what on earth had just happened, or how she had turned the conversation around on him like that. She was obviously still operating under the outlandish delusion that there was some possibility between them, and anything he said to dissuade her only seemed to intensify the problem.

He managed to work his face into a scowl before he turned and left, so as to prevent the impression that she had “dismissed” him, which would of course be absurd. But as he opened the door back into the Konoha ninja suite, he could have sworn he heard her making some sort of giggling noise.

How nauseating.

 

-

 

That evening, they heard that the sand delegation had arrived and would be staying on the second floor. Shizune convinced Tsunade that she should go down to greet them, and so as her current apprentice, Sakura went along. Naruto also accompanied them, for no real discernable reason. Maybe it had something to do with his relationship with the Hokage. It was no secret that her friend and teammate was one of the only shinobi in the entire village who could get away with shouting at her sensei, or be picky about the missions he took on. However, except for the little bit he explained on the trip to Yukigakure, Sakura still had no idea why this was.

She wasn't complaining, though. Truth be told, she was just a little bit nervous about meeting with a foreign delegation like this, even if it was the sand. Having Naruto there would definitely make her feel better about it. She'd never tell him any of this, of course. Admitting such a thing would be quite contrary to her chosen ninja way.

The guard detail were three snow ninja whom Sakura had never met, but they accompanied the three leaf nin into the suite. Inside were only three people: the Kazekage, and his (her?) two escorts. The escorts were two people Sakura knew well.

“Temari! Kankuro!” Naruto exclaimed upon seeing their old acquaintances. Tsunade's eye twitched at the immediate loss of formality, but the sand siblings only smirked.

“Good to see you, brat,” Kankuro remarked. Behind him, Kazekage slowly stood. Even without looking at the object on his back, Sakura did not have to think hard to discern who it was.

“I am glad to find you well, Uzumaki Naruto,” Kazekage said. “And you, Hokage-sama.” He offered a small bow.

“Likewise, Kazekage-dono,” she offered a small bow in return. Then she removed her hat (which was a relief to Sakura, who never did get used to seeing her sensei in the ceremonial robes of her office), and said, “We might as well drop the formality, as my idiot protégé has already done it in.”

“As you wish,” Kazekage replied, and removed his hat as well.

“Gaara!” Naruto exclaimed with the same enthusiasm as before. “It's good to see you!”

Gaara gave - if it was even possible for him to do so - the smallest hint of a smile.

“When did they appoint you as the fifth Kazekage?” Tsunade asked conversationally.

“The decision was made last year,” Gaara answered in his usual monotone, though almost all traces of his old coldness were gone. “The village felt that not only would my strength be an asset in the position, but it would be the best way to control me as well.”

“Hmph,” snorted Naruto. “That's a lousy reason to make someone a kage,” he said with contempt. “Deep down they did it because they know you're stronger than all of them.”

Gaara put on his small smile again, and Sakura wondered if he'd been consciously making an effort to do it more often.

“At the time, our village had been two years without a Kazekage, and order was slowly slipping away,” the medium of the Shukaku explained. “However, the reason I accepted the position was something else entirely.”

“What was that?” Naruto asked, evidently genuinely interested. Sakura was curious, too.

“It was because of you, Uzumaki Naruto,” the young kage spoke simply. “The strength you demonstrated the day we fought caused me to understand that my philosophy was flawed, and that it was you who was correct. I now fight in the hopes that I may protect those important to me as you do. As Kazekage I have been able to expand those important to me to include my entire village.”

“R…really?” Naruto asked. His eyes were the slightest bit watery, and if Sakura were completely honest with herself, she found the whole thing very moving as well.

“Indeed. I owe you my thanks, Uzumaki Naruto.”

“So do we,” Kankurou added in his trademark drawl. “He never used to talk this much. He actually seems like a normal guy now.” Sakura was sure that Kankurou would not have dared make such a comment only a few years ago.

The rest of the evening was spent reminiscing with the sand siblings. Sakura asked if only sending two guards was enough, but Temari assured her that between the three of them, no one would be touching the delegation from the sand. When they returned in the wee hours of the morning, it was to find Musuka standing guard across the hall, and everyone asleep save Genma inside their suite.

 

-

 

The next day, the delegations from Iwagakure, Kirigakure and Kumogakure arrived. The stone and the cloud ninja both brought along two squads as Konoha had done to escort their respective kage, but the Mizukage had an astounding three squads - twelve ninja - accompanying him. Either they'd had a threat made against them recently and weren't taking any chances, or were just being distrustful and paranoid. Or perhaps the only ninja they could spare for the mission were of lower skill level so they used numbers to compensate. The one among them who was clearly the highest ranking under Mizukage wore a large haori, hakama and had an enormous nodachi strapped across his back. The mist nin were housed on the fourth floor, the stone nin the third, and the cloud nin on the ground floor. Genma seemed to find this last part amusing, though no one other than Sakura, Neji and Shikamaru even got the joke, and they didn't think it was all that funny.

Cordial greetings were exchanged, and every time a kage arrived, all the others who were already there had to go and meet them. It was way too much hassle and ceremony as far as Naruto was concerned.

“What are we, businessmen or ninja?” he bellowed after the fourth and last of these meetings had been made and they were leaving the Tsuchikage's quarters. “What's with all the schmoozing and sweet-talking, anyway?”

“It's the easiest way to maintain peace,” Shizune explained to him patiently. “You don't make friends by being rude. Proper etiquette is in place to ensure no one is offended and thus no unnecessary conflicts are initiated.”

“And on top of that,” Genma added in an undertone, “if you're planning a surprise attack on another country, there's no better way to catch them off-guard than by being polite to them.”

“It's all a big waste of time, if you ask me,” Naruto continued unrelentingly. “No one ever says what they mean in conversations like that. And even the people you're talking to know you don't really mean it. It's just a lot of brownnosing.”

“Now you're getting it,” Tsunade said with a smirk. “You may have what it takes to be Hokage after all.” Shizune, Genma and Sakura laughed; Naruto didn't see what was so funny.

“Hokage-sama,” came a voice. Aoba had come out to meet them in the hallway. “We've received a message from the snow. The festival will begin tonight, but the presence of the five kage will not be required until sunset tomorrow. They request you to arrive one hour before that time to prepare. Otherwise, we are free to do as we wish until then.”

“Excellent,” Tsunade smiled. “I saw a nice-looking pachinko hall just down the street yesterday.” And she turned and walked away with Shizune running and calling after her.

“Someone else should go with her,” Genma said, and Naruto saw Sabu Saburo heading after her already. He didn't have anything else to do, so he decided to volunteer.

“I'll go,” he said.

“I'll go too,” Sakura piped up beside him.

“All right, but don't bother her unless it's an emergency,” Genma warned. “You know how she gets.” Naruto grinned widely.

“Make sure to tell that Saburo guy that as well,” Aoba added. Naruto saluted and Sakura gave a quick bow, and they were off.

 

-

 

“She knows we're following her, you know,” Sakura said to Naruto a while later as they tailed their charge through the streets of Yukigakure.

“Yeah, I know,” he answered simply.

“Then why are we worried so much about stealth?” she asked, for they'd been sneaking along after her as though she were an unwitting informant in a top secret covert operation.

“So nobody else knows that we are,” Naruto said.

“Oh, right,” she said, blushing. She suddenly seemed a bit flustered for some reason, and Naruto suddenly realized this was usually something Sakura just knew, being the by-the-book ninja that she was. In a rare stroke of brilliance that was sure to not be repeated for some time, he said exactly the right thing.

“That Saburo guy reminded me. I wasn't even thinking about it.” He gave his trademark grin and scratched the back of his head, and it had the desired effect; Sakura felt less like an idiot for her lapse, though she alone knew the reason for that lapse and was still angry at herself for it.

The two of them had been following Tsunade for a good part of the day, and Saburo was not far off from them. They knew this was so he could keep an eye on them as well, though why he didn't just stay with them was a mystery. Neither Sakura nor Naruto was complaining, however, as the stoic twin could be a bit unsettling at times, and the two of them hadn't had much time to spend together of late, so they were enjoying it as best they could.

“I wish she'd go to some place besides the gambling halls,” Sakura bemoaned. “I'd really like to see more of the city.”

“After Obaba's done with whatever they want her to do at that festival, we'll have some time off finally and I'll take you around,” Naruto offered. “I know the place pretty well by now.”

Sakura took a second to gaze at Naruto before smiling and saying “Thank you, Naruto,” perhaps a little quieter than she usually would have. Naruto didn't seem to notice.

“I'll show you the house Shikamaru and I plotted in, and there's a great ramen stand that's almost as good as Ichiraku!” he told her excitedly. Sakura merely rolled her eyes, but kept smiling.

“Are you two on a date, or are you trailing your Hokage?” came an annoyed-sounding voice from behind them. They whirled around to see Sabu Saburo looking at them with narrowed eyes and his arms crossed.

Sakura seemed tongue-tied, but Naruto, apparently on his game this afternoon, shot back with atypical wit, “Can't it be both?”

Of the two reactions Naruto expected, only Saburo delivered. He became even more irritated than he already was, and his left eyebrow began twitching. Sakura, on the other hand, was still struck dumb, her eyes a little wider than normal. Why she didn't yell and hit him, he couldn't fathom, but he needed to move quickly in order to make his getaway from the irate snow ninja in front of him.

“There she goes, on the move again! Let's go, Sakura-chan!” he jumped to a nearby rooftop.

“R-right.” She followed him, leaving Saburo to curse after them.

For the rest of the afternoon, Sakura didn't talk much, but it didn't seem to dampen Naruto's spirits any. He kept telling her about interesting things he'd seen or people he'd met in his two and a half week stay in the snow village, to which she would respond with verbal yet uncharacteristically inarticulate replies. By the time they returned to prepare for the next evening's events, she was no longer even looking at him and sped off to join Hinata and Shizune almost immediately. Naruto would have found this most odd had he stopped to think about it, but as it was his mind was too preoccupied with the festival and spending an evening with Sakura off-duty. He wasn't sure which he was looking forward to the most.

 

-

 

The next day proved nowhere near as fun as a festival should be. All the ninja from the five invited countries were surveying the stage for the evening's whatever and inspecting security all over town. Leave it to a group of ninja to not trust anybody on anything.

Naruto and Shikamaru spent most of the day with Musuka, casing the town for anything at all that didn't look like it belonged. Sakura and Shizune were stuck with Tsunade, playing little more than the roles of handmaidens. Shizune was used to this by now, but it grated on Sakura's nerves.

Genma and Aoba were making a point of contacting every single one of the foreign ninja that they could and gathering as much information on each of them as possible. One can never be too prepared. Lastly, Hinata and Neji were inspecting every inch of the stage and the surrounding area for traps with their Byakugan. Yukiko was with them, much to Neji's endless aggravation. In addition to her ridiculous infatuation with him, her natural cheerfulness mixed perfectly with Hinata's natural gentleness and the two girls got on very well. Neji had never seen his cousin so talkative and sociable, and in all honesty hoped he never would again.

“So tell me more about Naruto-kun,” Yukiko was saying as they walked along the front of the stage. How Hinata could carry on such a lively conversation and still pay attention to what she was supposed to be doing was a mystery. “Musuka was really impressed by him for some reason, but he never really explained why.”

“Naruto-kun is…extraordinary,” Hinata said after slight hesitation. “He has a way about him that inspires others to do well, and he never seems to fail at anything he says he's going to do.”

“Really? That does sound impressive,” Yukiko did indeed sound intrigued. “So what, is he some kind of genius ninja descended from greatness?”

At this, Hinata actually giggled. Neji himself even managed a small smirk of amusement.

“Oh no,” Hinata said, coming down off her laughter. “Naruto-kun wasn't a very good student at all. In fact, he was last in our class at the academy.”

“Then how…” Yukiko appeared understandably confused. It was at this point that Neji remembered he was supposed to be searching for traps and not monitoring this annoying conversation. He got back to work, but still they talked and he couldn't help but hear.

“Naruto-kun's greatest strength is his will,” Hinata explained with a tone of greatest admiration. “He never gives up no matter what, and never stops at anything he tries until he succeeds. And he never takes back his words; if Naruto-kun says he's going to do something, then he'll do it.”

“That does sound like the kind of guy Musuka would like,” Yukiko said. “Is that how he got so good, then? Just lots of work?”

“Oh yes. And he makes others want to work hard as well. I was never a very good ninja, and always felt bad about myself when I was younger. But one time in an examination match, Naruto-kun cheered for me and I felt like I could become stronger. That I could succeed if I tried. It's a wonderful feeling.”

“It sounds like you have a thing for him,” Yukiko teased. Hinata's shyness finally made an appearance.

“Well…I mean…it's not that…I like Naruto-kun very much, but…what I mean is…”

“Relax, Hinata-san,” Yukiko finally said. “I was just teasing you. He sounds like he'd be really hard not to like. We could use a guy like that around here, you know. I can think of a couple of people who could use some motivation.”

“Hn,” Hinata smiled and nodded. “Naruto-kun can inspire anyone. Even Neji-niisan fought him once and - “

“We need to check around the back now,” Neji interrupted. He began to lead them around the stage, but his all-seeing eyes caught the snow kunoichi giving him a knowing look, and saw that she was determined to hear the rest of this story later. Neji's right eyebrow twitched involuntarily.

 

-

 

“Ah, finally, finally!” Naruto was saying as they stood in an area that could best be described as “backstage”. “They've been talking about this thing since we got here and we still don't even know what it's supposed to be! I can't wait for it to just be over with.”

“Aa,” Shikamaru agreed. “This whole trip has been much too troublesome.”

“I have a bad feeling all of a sudden,” Aoba said from where he was leaning against the wall.

“What is it?” Genma asked him.

“I don't know,” the other replied. “It's just a gut feeling that something isn't right.”

“Then something probably isn't,” Genma determined. “We should go investigate.”

“Is that a good idea?” Aoba asked. “Aside from Shizune-san, we're the only jounin on this mission.”

“They'll be fine, don't worry about it,” Genma assured him. “And if the worst happens, don't forget that Hokage-sama is here.”

“That's what I'm worried about,” Aoba said quietly. Nevertheless, he and Genma leapt off to check things out.

“What was that about?” Naruto asked no one in particular.

“You can never be too careful,” Sakura said. Shikamaru said nothing, but his eyebrows were furrowed in thought.

The rest of their group was scattered about. Hinata was standing farther toward the back of the wing with Yukiko, and Neji was standing right next to the entrance to the stage with Saburo and Musuka. And off to the side, they could see Tsunade and Shizune arguing about something. Naruto and Sakura rolled their eyes.

All of a sudden, a snow chuunin they'd never seen before appeared in the middle of their troupe and asked for their attention.

“Ahem. The ceremony will be commencing in approximately two minutes. At this time we would request all kage to head on to the stage. All escort ninja please remain behind the scenes.”

“We can't go out there?” Naruto blurted. “What's the point of having escorts, then?”

“The stage is small enough that you will be able to reach your kage should anything happen,” the chuunin said plainly. Naruto growled, but didn't say anything more. Tsunade managed to escape from Shizune and gave them all a grin as she walked out onto the stage where the other kage were gathering. The snow chuunin disappeared.

At this point, all the Konoha ninja had gathered as close to the stage as they could get without entering in order to see what was going on. They could see other groups of ninja at other points backstage doing the same. The five kage were all sitting in large chairs that had been provided for them with their village seals on them. At the front of the stage and to the left of all of them there was a podium, and a snow ninja was currently speaking.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he was saying, “tonight is the night we've been waiting for a long time.” He paused a moment while people watching cheered. “Our village has grown a great deal, to the point where we have doubled our strength in the last fifteen years.” Again, a pause for cheers. “Tonight we have invited the five kage of the five great shinobi nations to witness an event which we as the citizens of Yukigakure will remember for generations.” The crowd cheered again.

“Geez, they're really excited about this, aren't they?” Naruto commented.

“Shhh!” Sakura chided him.

“Every once in a while,” the snow ninja went on, “A genius is born whose talent and skill is unmatched by anyone in his generation. In Yukigakure we are fortunate enough to be a home for several of these exceptional shinobi, but there is one whose strength is on a level still higher. It is due in large part to his contributions and later his leadership that our village has grown to what it is today.” Here he took the longest pause yet, and even so people were still cheering when he started talking again. “And therefore, we gather here to honor our greatest leader, and the pride of our village, Arima Shuichi-sama!”

“He's really laying it on thick,” Neji said as Arima entered from behind the podium.

“I can't believe it,” Shikamaru said, sweatdropping. “They're really going to do it. I didn't think they had the ego.”

“Do what, Shikamaru-san?” Sakura asked.

“Wait and see,” he said, inclining his head back out at the podium.

“It seemed only right to perform this ceremony in the presence of the five kage,” the speaker explained. “For as a show of our strength, we now declare that our leader, Arima-sama, and all of his successors from this day forth, will be known by the title of “Koorikage.” The reaction from the crowd was immediate. An eruption of shouts and applause blasted from every direction. The reactions of the delegates were uproarious too, though perhaps for a different reason. Konoha's ninja were no exception.

“Koorikage?!” Naruto exclaimed.

“Can…can they do that?” Sakura asked. Shikamaru sweatdropped again.

“It would seem we were brought here to witness an ego trip,” Neji observed.

“Hey, don't say that,” Yukiko said from next to them. Six heads swung to the left. They'd been so engrossed that they hadn't even realized she and her brother were standing there. Not a good thing. “Arima-sama really is a great leader, and an incredible shinobi,” she said. “The reason you were all brought here was so that it could be official. We want the other kage to recognize him as one of them.”

“What if they don't?” Sakura asked.

“Only one of them need do so,” Saburo explained. They all looked back out on stage again, where the five kage were doing their best to cover up their own shock at this revelation. Naruto didn't want to say anything, but he wasn't so sure even one of them would go for this. He would, of course, if he were Hokage. The snow village really was strong, and Arima really was a great ninja. Why shouldn't he get to be a kage? Just because he wasn't born in one of the five greater countries? That certainly wasn't fair.

“We now turn to the five kage gathered here,” the speaker said once the noise had died down. “As we wish to be as diplomatic as possible, we ask that you recognize Arima-sama and his new title in order for it to be official. Will any of you do so?”

There was a brief moment of tension when it didn't look like any of them were going to do anything, and then, to everyone's great surprise, Gaara stood up.

“I, Godaime Kazekage of the Sand, will recognize Arima Shuichi as the Shodaime Koorikage of the Snow,” he declared.

“All right, Gaara!” Naruto shouted. Sakura told him to shut up, but she needn't have bothered. There was too much muttering going on for anyone to have heard him.

Now there was a break once again in which Gaara stood alone and the other kage were looking at him, and back and forth amongst themselves. What was going to happen now? Would one be enough, like Saburo had claimed?

“I, Godaime Hokage of the Leaf, will recognize the Shodaime Koorikage of the Snow,” Tsunade said, and she too stood. Now, instead of mutterings, the deafening cheers had returned. Yukiko was smiling, and even her twin looked like he had a grin on his face. It was two kage up so far. The other three still seemed to be considering the situation, until the Raikage stood up as well. Although it looked as if he was doing it somewhat reluctantly.

“The Rokudaime Raikage of the Cloud also acknowledges the Shodaime Koorikage,” he stated, though the tone of his voice clearly gave the message that he wasn't happy about it. The Tsuchikage stood a few moments later, and at last only the Mizukage remained. Over a minute passed, and it looked like he was going to hold out, until he too resignedly stood, though he only nodded curtly and said nothing.

The announcer was starting to speak again, when without warning, Genma and Aoba returned, out of breath and looking quite harried.

“What is it?” Neji asked quickly.

“We have to get the Hokage out of here now!” Aoba declared. That snapped them all to attention.

“What? Why?” Shizune was shocked.

“The Sound are here!” Aoba said.

And then the stage exploded.

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

 

Good lord. Well, it took a while, but it's finally finished. I started on this almost immediately after the last one went up, as you can probably tell from the opening comments up there. =P But unfortunately, the summer is the time of year when I have the least amount of free time, even though one would think it would be the other way around. Add to that the fact that when I got back to school it was to the busiest and most erratic schedule I've ever had in all my four years of college, and I really haven't had the opportunity to work on this much. And for once, I actually knew what I wanted to write and writer's block wasn't a problem at all!

 

So anyway, one more chapter in this one, and then the sequel comes up. I believe I mentioned this before, but this story is part one of a trilogy that I've planned. The second part will easily be the longest, and the third part will most likely be the shortest. But I'm getting head of myself. The foreshadowing I was talking about did happen a tiny bit, but the part I was thinking of has actually been moved to the next chapter, so you can look for it again. Of course I say this as though I didn't have foreshadowing in every other paragraph for about twenty different things. Haha. But this is the most obscure shit ever and if anyone actually guessing where I'm going with it I'll be really impressed.

 

As always, thanks to the prereading skills of SJR, you are not want for semicolons. Give him a hand.

 

One last thing before I ask for reviews again. A friend of mine and I are currently working on a website which will contain - among other things - a webcomic written by me. As it stands now, it will also be drawn by me, but I suck at drawing. So this is just a bit of an invitation to anyone who likes my writing style for whatever reason and would like to be a part of it. And who can draw. That part's important. If you're interested, send me an email, letting me know how much time you could devote to such a thing and a few samples of your art. My email is of course in my author profile, and I'm also available at Illjwamh at yahoo dot com.

 

So yeah, reviews. I love `em. Send `em in. And rip this bitch apart if you feel it's necessary, but I would ask that you do so constructively. ^_^