Let's see if I still remember this story...

"So... your name is Hikigaya Komachi-chan, right?"

"Yes..."

Naruto could not blame Yui for not saying anything else after that. What had transpired earlier at the road cross had made things a little bit too heavy too carry, and this conversation was one of those things. If he had brought a book with him, he would have used it as an escape... but something was telling him that none of his club mates would appreciate it if he did that.

Yukino was more or less in the same tangent as Naruto. She could do without the heavy atmosphere, but at the same time, her mind was racing somewhere else. She gave the boy sitting beside her subtle glances; she made sure not to get found out, as she knew that the blonde was really keen.

He risked his life to save Komachi. If his timing was a little bit off, things could have gotten messy... both figuratively and literally. She shook her head, derailing herself from that particular track of thoughts. But if there was one question that lingered... it was why.

Why risk his life?

It would have not been his fault if Komachi was... okay, she really need to stop thinking along those lines.

"A-Ano..."

All three teenagers turned their focus to the youngest among them. As expected, the middle schooler looked and felt uneasy. She had just experienced a close encounter with death, after all.

"T-Thank you for saving me... Onii-san." She bowed her head from where she was sitting, facing the general direction of the resident blonde. "If you didn't..."

Before she could finish what she was about to say, the male's voice cut her speech. "Don't think about it. The more you think about it, the more you'll recall the event." He stared at her with listless yes, his tone similar to boredom. "It won't do you any good." He paused.

"But... you're welcome."

Watching the interaction, Yui smiled, though subtly.

"A-Anyway, Komachi-chan, t-those girls were bullying you, right?"

Whatever heavy atmosphere that had been lifted up to the ceiling, descended back again, making things as uncomfortable as it was a minute ago. Visibly, the youngest female averted eye contact from her seniors. She made all the available gestures for a person who wanted nothing more but to avoid the topic. But unfortunately for her, two of the three older teens were too keen to let go.

"It's... complicated." Despite the amount of breath she took in, it was all that she could say. Her eyes turned downcast, refusing to look anywhere above the forty five degree angle she had cast.

"..." A pair of cloudy blue eyes could only watch in silence.

"It's been like this ever since I knew it... hahaha." Hollow laughter. "And, yeah."

"Have you talked about this to your teachers?" The Yukinoshita princess did not waste any time barraging her set of questions. "If you report this to your homeroom teacher, he or she will have to bring it up to the PTA."

Yukino was expecting hesitant nods or something of similar gesture. She was not, however, expecting empty laughter to come out of the young girl's lips.

"The teachers? PTA? What will they do?" A heavy sigh escaped the girl's lips. "You know, at first, she was really convincing. She told me that she'd talk to the other girls about it. But, the next day, the exact same thing happened again; on the same classroom, at the same time, done by the same people to the same me."

It was obvious from the way she emphasized some of the words she said that she this was not something she brought nor wished upon herself. She opened her mouth again,

"At some point, I got tired of trying to 'tell' the teachers. Because every time they hear I ratted them out to the teachers, things get worse." The words died quickly in her mouth. "It... It was useless. I got sick of trying to tell the teachers more than the stuffs they made me do."

Silence followed soon after Komachi finished talking. The timing was perfect, as a waitress arrived to place their orders on the table. She set down a cup of steaming green tea in front of Yukino, a cold glass of chocolate milk in front of Yui, a mug of hot coffee in front of Naruto and a glass of orange juice in front of Komachi.

The only boy in the group grabbed the drink he ordered, wasting no time to take small sips of the bitter liquid. Out of everyone at the table, his expression was the only neutral one; as in he was not showing any at all. It might be due to him being a person who was easily bored, but he also had no idea on what to say.

This was a situation new to him, after all, it had only been a year and a half ever since he entered this 'high school life' business... excluding the part where he was actually working together with a mysterious organization desperate on trying to ruin his previous employer...

"So, Komachi-chan... what are you going to do after this?"

As they engage in their conversation, the waitress that came with their drinks earlier returned with a tray filled with three doughnuts of their choice. A plate filled with strawberry icing and sprinkles doughnut was placed in front of Yui, Yukino had a matcha filling doughnut filled place placed in front of her, Naruto had a simple but respectable plate of sugar glazed doughnut placed in front of him and Komachi got her plate full of Oreo and cream filling doughnut.

"Huh, obviously..." The middle schooler with the weird hair trailed off, her hand idly reaching to grab one of the Oreo flavored doughnut in front of her. "I'm going home. My curfew's up in just an hour."

"T-This early!?" Yui blinked, the strawberry sprinkled doughnut she was about to chomp was halfway to her mouth. "Not even mama is this strict with me..."

Unknown to Yui, Yukino did not miss the way Komachi's shoulders slump at the mention of 'mama'. Quietly reaching for her treat, the black haired princess nibbled with the elegance of one.

Meanwhile, the blonde dipped his sugar glazed treat into his drink, earning a look of pure disappointment from the black haired girl sitting beside him, before eventually consuming it in one gulp.

"Y-Yeah... anyway, as for tomorrow..." the girl took longer to answer this time. "I guess I'll just call in sick." She shrugged her small shoulders. "I don't really wanna see their faces after what happened today."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Regardless of what he said about his lack of experience in school problems (a.k.a: bullying), he was a little bit impressed at how well Komachi was taking this. Though... that could either mean she was used to all the things she went through or she really, really had a plan worked out somehow, someway.

"...under normal circumstances, I would have said something against both." This quip came from none other than the resident Yukinoshita herself. She put down her cup back on the table, setting down as she was about to resume her speech. "But seeing as what transpired today... I'm sure my moral standards could look the other way. And I'm sure that those... girls are at least smart enough to keep quiet if they know what's best for them themselves."

Just the sheer haughtiness radiating from her voice and demeanor as she said those words made Komachi laugh. This drew out confused looks from the three high school students, who were looking at the laughing girl with their own respective, questioning looks.

"...ahahaha... haaaah..." after one lengthy period of laughing, Komachi took in a deep breath of air. "Honestly... it's been a long time ever since I laughed like that."

Unfortunately, Yui and Yukino could not share her smile.

With a smile that was leaning on the... mischievous side of the scale, Komachi looked at the three teens right on the eyes, especially her blonde savior.

"You know, not even the world's funniest joke could rival the sheer laughter fuel I'm getting when I recall their terrified expression." She took a sip of her orange juice to water down her throat and moisten her lips.

"The way their faces transformed when they realized that they just committed murder – but spoiler alert, I didn't die – was sooooo funny I'm sure that I'll still be laughing about it when I reach home, take a bath and when I'm on my bed before sleep. Heck, I think that I'm going to dedicate the entirety of tomorrow just so that I can laugh about it all to myself! You know, I bet that they won't even dare to come near me after what happened today! Which kind'a sucks because I really, really want to see their faces when they remembered what they almost did to me today."

As the young girl went on, both teens sunk into a moment of silence; silence which was way heavier and more uncomfortable than the one before.

"Man, I bet they'll be so scared!" She was raising her voice. Unknown only to her. "Think about how much leverage I have against them. I'll have them do cleaning duties for a week straight! Like what they made me do for the whoooooole month last time! Or! Or maybe, I can have them do my homework for me! God knows they love making me do theirs for them! Or, even better..."

She took one deep breath.

"They can line up near the crossroad three minutes away from here and let me push them off while a semi truck is driving through the lane they're falling on!"

"Man! This is the happiest day of my life! Who would've thought that a near death experience could give this much happiness, huh? Huh?! HUH?!"

At that point, everyone present inside the establishment had their head turned towards their table. People stopped chattering, their focus aimed intently on the young girl who was now risen up from her seat, with something glistening at the corner of her eyes.

The three teenagers sitting on the same seat as the girl could not do anything but watch.

"I... don't..." her voice finally broke after all that screaming. "I... don't want... I never..."

She could not finish what she was saying.

"Cry." Yui smiled, rubbing the younger girl's back softly in circular motions. "It's okay... cry."

Unable to hold herself back any longer, she let go of her tears right there in Yui's arms.

As she cried her tears out, the people's attention on them began to fade. The figured it was just your typical typical family drama or something similar, which was not the case. In Yui's arms, she cried, muffled by the pink haired girl's blazer.

The other two teens watching the scene were witnessing with different expressions. Yukino allowed herself a small smile, one that she rarely ever made; while Naruto was staring blankly like someone deep in thought. After a while, around five minutes or so, the crying stopped; and Komachi was in speaking conditions again.

"T-Thank you... Onee-san..." murmured the girl, sniffing into the tissue that was nearby for her to use.

"It's fine." Yui smiled, feeling nothing but genuine happiness. "Ah, by the way, we haven't introduced ourselves have we?" she asked aloud. "Well, I'm Yuigahama Yui and these are my club mates."

"Hello." the black haired beauty started. "I am Yukinoshita Yukino. I'm the club president of our humble club. Please to meet you, Komachi-san." She may sound and look all prim and proper, but Komachi could sense kindness from her.

Finally, all turned to the last member of the service club.

"I'm... Naruto, no last name." he stopped there. But to his confusion, they were still staring at him. So, he continued. "And I'm... not from... Japan?"

All three females blinked, before giggling in unison, much to the boy's further confusion.

"Ufufufu...! Something tells me that you're not very good at talking to people, Naruto-oniisan."

At Komachi's spot on remark, he could only shrug his shoulders.

His reaction served only to intensify their giggling even further. He figured that there was no way of him finding out even should he ask them. So, he did the only thing he could.

Drink his coffee, while thinking that it was not his business anyway.

Afterwards, they reported to the police station as instructed to them by the paramedics that they contacted earlier. Each of them went through separate questioning by the officers but that went quicker than expected. Of course, as per their customs, Komachi's parents were immediately called. The three teenagers watched as Komachi's parents arrived with nothing but worry on their faces as they smother their daughter in questions.

But after the talk in the donut joint earlier this evening, they were a little bit skeptical.

Thankfully, they were all let go easily; seeing as one of the street's CCTV surveillance camera caught the clip of the event from start to finish. Komachi's parents asked whether they could have the clip, seeing as it could be use as evidence in court, but that was a story for another time. Now outside, the three Soubu students were about to leave, until...

"Oh, hey, if it isn't you."

The three turned to see two police officers dressed in similar attire, but of different age range, approach them. The one who called out to them was the oldest among the two, he also had a smile on his face. The younger officer was waving his hand, a more casual grin was on his face.

From the way Naruto's face perked up upon seeing the two, it was confirmed that he knew them. "Ah, it's Kashima-san and..." he trailed off, not able to recall the name of the older officer.

"Ah, can't believe I didn't tell you my name." The man laughed. "Name's Dojima, and I see that my junior's at least memorable. It's the only thing memorable about him, apparently."

"S-Senpai!" the younger officer whined, something that looked unnatural for someone his age. "You're making me look bad in front of the kids..."

"Bah, as if you're not one yer'self, Kashima..." Dojima's junior got even more upset at the remark. "Anyway, what are you kids doing at the station? Something to report?"

"It's about an accident, officer." Yui stepped forward, making her presence recognized. "Well, it would've been an accident if Naruto hadn't interrupt..." she let it trail off with small laughter.

Dojima hummed, eyeing the girl. "I see... so he stopped an accident, eh? It's his second time doing this, miss, don't you know?" Then, his eyes widened in realization. "Wait a second... you're that girl whose puppy he saved from about a year ago!"

Yui laughed uneasily. "Y-Yeah... it's nice to meet you again, officer."

"So, what did he save this time? Another dog? Or is it a cat now?"

"It wasn't an animal this time, officer." The two officers turned to look at the girl who just entered the conversation. One would notice that Kashima's eyes were lingering southwards when looking at the girl... "It was a girl, a middle school student. Thankfully, Naruto-kun managed to save her, suffering only with light injuries."

"Ah, I see." Dojima's tone changed when he spoke to the black haired girl. She seriously reminded him of his department head. "That's great news then... reminds me of those road safety briefings that someone always complains about..."

At the older officer's not so subtle glance, Kashima recoiled. "S-Senpai! So not cool! You have to agree with me that those briefings are boring though, right?"

"They may be boring, I won't deny that, but if it means preventing something like what almost happened to that middle school girl from happening, I'd sit through it every damn morning. You should too, even if I have to drag your incompetent ass all the way from your girlfriend's apartment."

"S-Senpai..."

Sighing, Dojima turned back to the teenagers. "Well, we're glad that nothing serious happened. Let me tell you kids, it plain sucks for us to hear that something that could be easily avoided as-"

"She was pushed by the people that are bullying her." Yukino did not hesitate to bring out this new piece of fact.

Dojima's words stopped at his throat, his expression contorting to grim understanding. "...that... changes things." he muttered. "Have you spoke with the officers inside?"

"We went through questioning, and the girl's parents are inside along with the girl herself." This time, Naruto spoke out.

"Good. Good." Dojima sighed. "You know, I have a son in high school and a daughter who's still in middle school. I don't know what it is that you kids go through at school these days, but back at my days... we're more concerned about passing than things like bullying."

Things got quiet for a moment, but the sound coming from the streets were still enough indication for an early night.

"But anyway, glad that things turn out this way." Dojima flexed his neck. "From this point onwards, it's up to the parents whether or not they want to press charges... meaning that they'll have to notify the school about this incident."

Of course... he was just underlining the problems that people would have to face in the future. Naruto could just imagine what Komachi's school's faculty members would have to go through in order to convince Komachi's parents not to bring matters to court...

...which also meant that the parents of those girls involved in today's incident would also have to deal with the matters at court.

But what did he know? He's a soldier, not a politician. He was pretty sure he came out of a womb, not a rectum.

"We're just glad that Komachi-chan's safe." Yui said, smiling a little bit. "We just hope that she can deal with the aftermath at school, though." her smile faltered a little bit after saying that last part.

"Regardless, what happened could not be changed." Yukino imparted in a finalizing manner. "All we can do now is believe in the hands of those responsible for dealing with the matter. Justice will be processed accordingly in the hands of the judge."

Even the police officers present had to wince at the words heard.

"Well, Ojou-chan, they'll have to do their job; that's a given." Was all Dojima could say. "All that's left, even for enforcers like us, is to wait and see the outcome."

After the brief exchange, the two officers watched as the three teenagers disappear into the streets; their backs no longer visible. Dojima, especially, lingered his gaze a little longer, making sure that those three kids are away.

"Really, though, Senpai... that girl's unlike every other high school girl I've met." Kashima intoned, while scratching a particular part of his head underneath his cap.

"You can say that again." The senior officer sighed. "Kids these days are supposed to be different from the way we were back then... she reminds me too much of my late aunt, and that's what scares me."

"Huh." Kashima kept on scratching his head. "I don't know about your aunt, but I know for sure that she's some politician's daughter for sure."

"You can say that again, Kashima."

They parted ways moments after they left the police station. Yukino went with Yui, seeing as they were headed towards the same direction. He, on the other hand, walked home alone, passing through unfamiliar streets.

He rarely ever walk outside of his house, for the same reason why he rarely eat outside, but experiencing being in an unfamiliar area of the street had always been an exciting experience for him. He remembered his first time in Moscow, Russia.

It was exactly four months after they finished their business in the Middle East and they had been called by Headquarter to return back. Moscow was unlike everything he'd ever seen. Sure, there were tall buildings and all, but the urban experience was a whole new world he had just stepped into.

This coming from a boy who spent most of his early life in the desert and shabby shanty towns was acceptable. But then, he remembered that there would come times in the future when he would have to fight in that type of environment. Narrow alleys... wide roads... flat and even terrains... tall buildings... most of these were absent in the desert. For once, he had less covers when fighting in an open field of sand when compared to a city block filled with cars and tall apartments. But at the same time, his sense of direction would take a long time getting used if he were to fight in a densely populated urban area.

And, sure enough, it took him quite some time.

Ricochet... shrapnel... and things like impact were important issues to deal with in the field. His 'freedom' was severely limited when it came to fighting in an urban area. It felt like he was fighting with a pair of shades at night.

Or in Kakashi's words, his 'village boy senses' were too sensitive for him to work with in a narrow urban environment.

Walls were just too near for him, buildings too tall for him, sounds too loud for him and his over all awareness was in shambles. Which was why his master advised him to take walks through the streets whenever he had free time. It did not matter if he were to get lost, as long as he could get a grasp of where he was in, it was already enough.

That got him into the habit of venturing into places he had never been before. So, yeah, he got into taking long strolls for no reason or whatsoever. But lately, he had not had the luxury to take evening walks due to the position he was in. LeafCorp was a foe in the dark, but Parabellum was a friend with scopes fixed on him. Either way, he could not stand the idea of being watched by boogie men who were after him.

So, now, he was enjoying the walk as much as he could. He might not get another chance to take long walks like this one.

Bzzt Bzzt Bzzt...

His feet stopped the moment he felt vibrations coming from his pants' pocket. Calmly, he reached inside to pick up his phone. Unsurprisingly, it was an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Is this... Naruto...san?"

The bandaged blonde raised an eyebrow. The voice sounded familiar...

"This is Sunshine... Hinata, the agent you helped save just earlier this morning."

"...what is it?"

"A-Ano... do you have time? I would like to meet up with you."

Naruto looked up the sky. It was already dark and he did not want to risk having LeafCorp following him.

"I... really, really, need to talk to you. It's about... an assignment."

Well, there went his decision of going home.

"Sure. Where do you want to meet up?"

"Where are you, right now?"

He told her where he was generally at.

"Ah, I'm not far from there, actually... let's meet up at a cafe called Noire? I'll send you the location to your phone's GPS."

"Sure." He replied. "I'll see you later, then."

"Y-Yes... see you later, Naruto...kun."

The conversation ended, and he had a new place to be in. It's one coffee joint after the other.

It was as normal as he thought it might be; the cafe. It was a small, yet humble establishment with a simple yet homey atmosphere. Soft, elevator-like music was playing in the audio system; giving even someone like him a sense of comfort. The bell chimed, indicating his entry. He drew the attention of the barista brewing coffee behind the bar and several customers seated near the door.

But, to his surprise, someone seated at the back of the room called out to him...

"O-Over here...!"

...in a weird combination of a shout and whisper.

He looked at his caller, and the first thing he noticed was the long, purplish hair as well as the distinguishable pale skin. He made his way towards the table, weaving through the aisle like a professional walker. Once he finally got there, he noticed his company's less than alright state.

"Hi...nata-san? You're still injured. Are you sure it's okay for you to be out here?" He asked as he took a seat across the girl.

Like Naruto's assumption, Hinata was not okay. She was covered in bandages. The brace around her neck made her look all the more critical, if the bandages on her facial area were not already enough. Signs of swelling, like bluish complexion, were also evident. Naruto was worried knowing that he had ran out of bandages in his emergency first aid kit.

"I-I'm alright..." she said, but then she noticed the state the boy was in. "W-What about you? W-Was that from this morning's...?" she was referring to the thing wrapped around his forehead.

"No." Naruto shook his head lightly. "It's from a minor accident, nothing too worry about." He paused. "You on the other hand..."

"Tsunade-sama said that I'm good to go as long as I passed some of her clinical tests. They tested my balance, hearing a-and everything else... and it turned out good." Naruto just noticed but, did she have a habit of looking at the ground when talking? "I-It's fine now, really..."

The blonde nodded.

"So, as for the reason why we're having this conversation...?"

"A-Ah, that's right."

As she fumbled with her bag, Naruto just noticed that she was wearing a high school uniform. He did not recognize which school the uniform was from, but he had seen several teenagers wearing it on the way back home. It had a lot of blue, unlike Soubu's stylish black. Too bad that she was not wearing her coat, otherwise he would have figured it out from the emblem.

"H-Here it is." She brought out a clear file holder, containing nothing but brown paper documents. "T-These are documents containing everything that we managed to get from our previous snoop operations on LeafCorp's activities in Japan. M-Mind you, they are at least three months old and are only to be treated as reference only..."

He picked up the file, placing it near his side of the table. He looked at Hinata straight into her pupil-less eyes. "Mind you, I know LeafCorp." He said. "I was their dog for the first half of my still ongoing life. So what makes you think that everything written in here will be news to me?"

Despite the pressure he was putting her under, and Hinata's own shy demeanor, the girl shook her head firmly. "I-I can assure you that everything written in that document is relevant information that you can utilize."

The look Naruto was giving her did not change. He was still waiting for an answer.

"W-Well, to quote what's written inside... LeafCorp have been attempting to sell military grade equipment to the Japanese Self Defense Force."

His blue eyes widened by several centimeters.

She saw the slight reaction he made, prompting her to continue. "It's b-bizzare, we know. But LeafCorp had conducted several negotiations with the Japanese defense minister and though p-prior attempts proved to be unsuccessful for them, the m-ministry might just reconsider future offers seeing as tension between Japan and a few neighboring countries are tense..."

At first, he was shocked. Surely Japan, a country which strictly restricts its own armed forces on using armed force when dealing with conflicts, would not buy weapons from a well known private contractor company that easily, would it? The military was not exempted from this rule, what more the law enforcement? All high stakes incidents in Japan had all been resolved by using non-lethal methods. Take in particular the hijacking of a bus that happened in 2000, or the Neomugicha Incident as it was locally known. The Special Assault Team that responded to the incident stormed the bus and managed to apprehend the hijacker alive.

And it had been that way ever since.

But then, he realized.

"...LeafCorp isn't offering to sell guns."

Hinata nodded. "Yes. We're talking about equipment like radars, advanced weapons system and upgrades for the SDF's planes." she said with a grim aftermath to her words. "What worries us are not the radars or the weapons systems. It's the hardware upgrades for the planes that got us worried."

Naruto's glance was taken as cue for her to elaborate her point further.

"The air force is currently in a position where they had to use most of the funding to fund the development of a new fighter jet. The current Mitsubishi F-15J fighters could not keep up with the technological advancement that foreign countries have been making on their aerial line up. A-And in the past, they tried to purchase several F-22s from the United States, but weren't able to purchase any. T-Though development is technically still on progress, it was concluded by the air force's board members that upgrading the current fighters would be much better rather than spending billions on the development of a new fighter jet."

"And it took them this long to realize, why?" Hinata could only shake her head. Naruto sighed, proceeding, "Anyway... these... F-15Js are based on the F-15 Eagle that the JASDF already owns, right?" he looked at Hinata with one eye, hinting her if there was anything wrong with his question.

"W-Well, yes, but if we're talking spec-wise, I-I'm not sure I'd be a very good person to discuss it with..."

Understandable. Hinata did not strike him as a person who was into aerial vehicles. "But isn't it weird to you? Why the F-22? Sure, it's a great jet, but there exists multiple cheaper but more reasonable replacements." He knew a few planes that came to mind.

"A-Ano... I'm not really sure..." Hinata averted her gaze. "I-It was just stated that the air force's R&D wanted a jet that was similar to the F-22 spec-wise..."

"That is still the problem, here, you see..." Naruto sighed. "Oh well, arguing about this would not get us anywhere. LeafCorp is going to sell upgrades for the air force's jets, we know that. Now tell me why is that a bad thing for Japan's military and why is your organization concerned about it."

"W-Well, it's Parabellum's objective to look into matters like this. W-When a well known defense contract company with enough manpower and resources to name itself a private military company started offering you a deal, wouldn't that make you suspicious?"

Okay, that was a good point.

"I don't know if S-Shikamaru-kun told you this b-but, social welfare and public safety are our prime objectives." Her confidence faltered when she saw Naruto making an expression of disbelief. "I-It is, we're just very focused on LeafCorp for the past few years or so because they are the only entity that could really expose Japan into danger."

Again, a good point.

"Imagine if news about the Japanese military having involvement with a PMC like LeafCorp become the world's headline. Countries in the West will be in an uproar."

Naruto knew what Hinata meant. The U.S was very, very vocal at voicing their displeasure when they hear the word 'mercenaries'. Which was why LeafCorp considered their employees as 'operatives'. It made things easier when operating in the States.

"And, not to mention, the Chinese..." the blonde concluded sparingly.

"Don't get me started." Hinata sighed. "So... I-I'm sure that you've figured out that Parabellum is a part of the Japanese government way before I said anything to you on this v-very table, right?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What if I don't?" Of course he knew that.

"Then I would get arrested, punished and locked up for the rest of my life for revealing organization secrets."

"...let's just say that I had a hunch for a while." He paused. "Is that good enough?"

Hinata smiled flimsily. "T-That's good enough." She continued. "You see, our existence is not recognized by the government at all. If I got captured at this morning's incident... no one would lift a finger to rescue me; I-I'm sure that the reason they bothered to send a rescue team after me was because they were more concerned about the reports I have with me."

He recalled how desperate Tsunade was on saving Hinata's life when she fainted this morning.

"A-And... um... I want to say... thank you." she whispered out, bowing her body slightly. "I heard from Shikamaru-kun that y-you were the one who provided sniper fire for my escape. W-Without you... I would've been..."

Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This was the second time today he receive a 'thank you' for saving someone's life. He wouldn't lie that it felt good, but knowing how persistent Japanese people were when it comes to things like courtesy and manners... it was a little bit irritating.

"It's... no problem." He needed to make a point. "I've dealt with worse."

At his last remark, Hinata raised her head. "I-I'm sure... but you're still amazing to me... it felt like I had a guardian angel watching over me." she smiled. "I owe you a lot, N-Naruto-kun."

'Deja vu...' He mused inside his head, before saying, "You don't owe me anything." He tapped the brown paper file near him. "This is enough... for now at least."

Hinata smiled. Despite the bandages on her face, or the brace around her neck, she still looked beautiful.

After a cup of tea – more coffee in Naruto's case – they went their separate ways. As he watched Hinata's form disappearing into the night road, he could not help but wonder what made her involve herself into this whole mess? She struck him as a normal high school girl. Good looks and gave off the persona of someone who would do well in her studies, so, why on earth was she an agent for Parabellum?

Then again... if someone unexpected like Saika turned out to be an assassin, maybe seeing Hinata as who she turned out to be should not surprise him at all. It made him think, actually. He thought that he was one of the few rare cases of underage exposure to conspiracy conflicts, him being a child soldier and all that. Saika... Hinata... they were teenagers just about his age. Normal people would find it odd and downright repulsive for people his age to be involved in the things they were in... then again, he was not normal. Nothing about him was normal, at all.

The blonde shook his head, brushing the train of thoughts aside, leaving it there on the pavement he was walking on. It was officially nighttime already and he was supposed to be home three hours ago. Forget exposure, if LeafCorp did not get anything about him from the past three hours, he would be surprised.

"Hm?"

He momentarily stopped, letting his right foot end his advances. On the distance, near a building with a large banner that advertised tutoring of high school to pre-college lessons, he saw someone standing near the door wearing his school's uniform.

It was a female, tall and he felt a sense of deja vu when he laid eyes on her. He could not quite remember where he saw her, but if she was someone from his school, he might have spoken to her or at least seen her once.

She looked like she had just finished her lessons for the day and was about to go home. He did not know that cram-schools – if he used that term correct – dismissed their students this late. She was busy with her phone, before clasping it shut, and walking off; presumably towards the direction of her home.

Naruto shrugged. He did not recognize her. Oh well, what could he do?

After the small pause, he resumed his walk, heading towards the direction of his home.

Surprisingly, things had been quiet for the past two days. Parabellum had not received any threats from any suspicious individual or group and LeafCorp – aside from the boring interviews he had seen from the TV – had been silent about everything.

Of course, even the flimsiest of minds could figure out that the things mentioned above was not reassuring at all.

This meant that LeafCorp was planning, if they had not have anything carried out yet... he sure hoped that Parabellum would do something about themselves. He might not admit it, but he would not deny their usefulness and abilities. They were right to be suspicious of LeafCorp, because his previous employer was anything if not so. He had been given enough assignments to know that the agency – it was basically one – knew what it was doing. The brilliant minds behind the organization also helped making their plans executable and reasonable too, so there was that.

But from what he had observed, the organization was lacking when it came to combat.

Maybe he could do something about that?

Anyone observing him from outside his perspective might thought that he was thinking to himself, since he was looking self-immersed and all that. Well, they were not wrong. He had a habit of being completely rock-faced when it came to thinking. If he had anything to blame, he would blame it on sniper training.

Those flashbacks of having to stay still on the same spot for three days straight without any movement were not exactly pleasant. The fact that he had to take muscle relaxant drugs in order to prevent his body from unnecessarily moving when waiting to pop a hole on some to-be dictator did not help either, he was lucky enough he did not develop an addiction unlike some of his old co-workers.

Currently, he opted to enjoy his simple lunch of egg and ham sandwiches and a small carton of milk without people's prying eyes. Meaning he was eating on the roof.

No one come up here during lunch, despite what Japanese entertainment media – a.k.a manga and anime– would have to say. Even so, he should not be out here for too long. His enemy had eyes and they know how to use them.

He made a quick work of his sandwiches, munching on them with the speed of a marine recruit who was minutes away from being late for personal inspection. The carton of milk was downed in a matter of seconds, leaving behind nothing, not even a single drop of liquid cow essence.

He gathered the trash that had accumulated after his meal, packing them into one plastic bag for him to throw later. Standing up, he made his way for the door.

"Ugh."

"Kuh...!"

He grunted when the door abruptly swung open, hitting him square on the nose. It was so quick, not even his trained reflex could have prevented that, not to mention he was only inches away from the door itself.

He dropped to his knees, them being the only things that prevented him from hitting the ground face-first.

"S-Shit... are you okay?"

It seemed that whoever pushed the door to his face was a female, judging by the voice... or it could be a very, very, feminine male.

One person came to mind.

The pain was stinging, but it was nothing foreign. He looked up, greeted face first to a pair of of womanly assets.

Okay, female confirmed.

"I'm fine." The pain was messing up with his accent. The words came out like it was spoken by a bleeding Russian who was trying to speak Japanese while he was bleeding.

He felt the girl's arm trying to help him stand and he was slightly surprised by her strength.

"There... shit, you're bleeding."

'No shit...' He could feel thick, warm liquid trickling down his nose. Two days straight of bleeding. Great. And he was not a merc anymore.

"Hol' up, lemme get some tissue for that..." the girl, who managed to get several piece of tissue paper from the pack confined inside her breast pocket, got a good look of the boy.

Her eyes widened and her body froze. She swore that her blood was like ice water.

Images of cold, tundra-like blue eyes flashed in her head. The sensation accompanied by those eyes was felt once again, when she finally recognized who the person before her was. Her legs shivered, she was struggling to stand straight.

To the boy, it looked like she was about to sneeze.

The girl, realizing that she was quivering like a grade schooler who was just about to enter the dentist, steeled herself; regaining her composure after the momentary slip of face.

"H-Here you go..." she said, offering the tissue she just plucked out to him. "A-An' you should go see the nurse if it's still bleeding..."

"Ah... thank you." He blinked, but his hand reached out to take the papers from her.

He recognized her. She was the same girl he saw yesterday; the one who was standing in front of the cram school institution.

"Hey..."

He peeked from behind a hand full of tissue. "Hm?"

"The roof is off limits, don't you know?"

He blinked. "No. I do not." He said. "It was always unlocked when I come here, so I assume that it was fine."

He saw her sigh. Was it disappointment? "They must've picked the locks again... well, now you know. I was actually here to see if any more of you guys are here without permission..." she trailed off. "What were you doing here, anyway?"

"Eating."

"...I see." What could she say? She had done that in the past. "But... don't you, like, have friends to eat wit'?"

"...I do, but, I needed to think for myself." His reply was subdued. "That's why I'm up here."

After hearing his reply, the girl could only mouth a silent 'Oh'.

"So... just get down from here, mm'kay?" the blue-silver haired girl said, scratching the back of her neck in an unladylike manner. "Else yer' getting me into trouble too."

"Alright."

After letting her lock the door to the roof, they went downstairs. He was sure to keep a memo about the roof being restricted... and the lock being weak for future reference.

"Now, are you sure 'yer fine?"

He raised a hand, holding the bloody tissue. "It's not bleeding anymore, as long as I don't touch it, it won't come out."

She nodded. "Good... but I still feel bad 'fer doing it t'you."

He shrugged. "It's fine... really."

"Sure, whatever you say then." He was pleased that she knew when not to be difficult. "You heading to class?" She asked.

"I guess?" He responded.

"Great. Tell the teacher that I'll be late. I... need to get some things to the faculty office."

He waited a few seconds to give his reply. "Sure." So she was his classmate?

"Thanks."

They parted ways.

When he was about to take the corner, he cut his advances to hide himself behind the wall. Technically, it was not hiding, since had no problem of being spotted if caught.

He could hear her footsteps returning back to the stairs, before ascending upstairs to the 'restricted' roof.

"...liar."

Without any more words other than that, he returned to class.

It was like lightning.

And by 'it' he meant the golden haired Adonis body slamming their school's judo club members down to the tatami mat floor.

"Ippon!"

A solid, perfect throw which caused an opponent to land on his back done with great control would score you one point. This was the second Ippon he had done in this match.

Not counting the countless others he did to the rest of the judo club members prior to this match.

The referee, their Physical Educations teacher, was overseeing the match with undivided focus and interest. His expression was akin to someone to was watching a professional judo tournament in the Olympics or somewhere similar. His teacher was intently observing the match, as if it was his sole purpose. His eyes were keen, they paid attention to the way each fighters grapple each other to land the successful throw displayed earlier by one of them.

To, Saika, however, he was looking at a one sided match.

Wait, scratch that, it seemed like that to everybody watching.

Saika knew how the blonde transfer student fought. He did, after all, got beat into literal black and blue by the guy himself. The way he fought was... brutal, to say the least. Grapples, scratches, hitting below the belt, targeting soft spots like eyes... all in all, the blonde fought like a true soldier.

Saika was taught to fight in that similar manner. To use every part of his body as a weapon to a point where he was never 'unarmed' and to strike where it mattered. So to people like Saika and Naruto, a judo fight would greatly limit their fighting potential. Judo especially. But what intrigued Saika was not the successful hip throws or the many Ippons the blonde had scored, but it was the blonde's technique.

When Naruto handed his ass to him back then inside the lockers room, he did not see any hint of a judo fighter fighting. All he saw was a man trained to fight to kill trying to apprehend him.

But now, the blonde was not showing any of that.

"Ippon!"

The crowd watching cheered. This was his third Ippon this round. Since time was an issue – everybody was needed to at least perform one judo kata – they had restricted the match to three consecutive throws, regardless of quality. Not all of them were wearing judogi, in fact, those who were wearing them were only judo club members.

The whiskered blonde, his face ridden with sweat from his one sided club-shaming feat, raised to full height after he had knocked down the judo team's captain on his back. He offered his hand to the captain, which he took. The gym teacher was extremely pleased to see this, Saika noted.

"Alright! We'll be having a ten minutes break! Since all the boys are done with their turn, now it's time for the girls!"

Most of the female populace whined as one, complaining about not wanting to do it. Saika tuned out their teacher's reprimand to the fairer gender, as he walked to the sidelines of the gymnasium to grab his water bottle.

On his way to retrieve his bottle, he could see judo club members – and the captain himself – approaching the tall blonde. Despite after having their bodies literally thrown to the ground by the blonde, they all had smiles on their face. Saika watched the scene, shaking his head. As he quenched his thirst by drinking from his bottle, he noticed a familiar shade of pink hair possessed by no one other than Yui blurring over to the blonde.

As he saw this, he diverted his gaze somewhere else. Somewhere outside of the scene that was currently playing out at one part of the gym.

To be perfectly honest, Saika knew that Naruto knew about Yui's... feelings for him. But the jerk was not doing anything about it. He's calling him a jerk not because he knew that Naruto was ignoring Yui's feeling, but because the guy was a jerk for him, as simple as that. And he couldn't fault the jerk for not doing anything about it. He knew full well the kind of life they were living. Making contact with those around you would bring them nothing more than even more problems in the future when it was time for them to disappear.

At least that was the case with him. In his life living as a Russian-born Japanese citizen, he had attended four different schools, all of them which he had no single recollection about aside from important details like the school's name or the class he was in. People come and go. That was the case with him. From one place to the other, even after those efforts of keeping his phone's number, those people never made any contact with him.

He was not complaining, do not mistake him, he was just making a point.

It was no use anyway. Why should he bother trying to get to know people he would forget after a few years?

But, it all changed when he found out that Naruto was attending Soubu.

He made contacts. Changed his demeanor. Actively socialize with people, even to a point where he had several people he considered as close 'friends'. Of course, there was a point in all of this. Alibis.

He needed to prove to them that he was not a threat and that the boy known as Totsuka Saika was just an ordinary half Japanese student attending school at Soubu in class 2-F. Everything from his grades, his looks and his position as club president for the tennis club was all scripted by him.

...that and he enjoyed tennis as a hobby at one point.

It's all a farce. A fake. The existence known as Totsuka Saika was a fake.

Heck, Totsuka Saika was not even his real name.

It's-

"Nikolay."

Saika froze, his grip around the bottle he was holding in one hand nearly came undone.

"Heeeh... so he's a Russian tennis player, huh?"

"Yeah, his name is Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko. He was a former professional tennis player from Russia. If you're into tennis like me, you'd know who he is."

"For sure, you're in the tennis club after all."

The two boys, one of which was a tennis club member Saika recognized, walked past him. Saika did not turn around, but he let out a small gust of breath.

"That was awesome Naruto! I did not know you do judo!"

The center of everyone's – well not really – attention used the towel draped around his neck to wipe the sweat that had gathered around his facial area.

Naruto leaned backwards, stretching his neck along the motion. "Not officially. I... got interested in it for a while after watching several official matches on the television."

"So, you used to practice often, Naruto-kun?" Even the Prince of Soubu himself, Hayama Hayato, was intrigued by his fellow blonde's display of technique and competence at the earlier match.

"Sometimes." The whiskered blonde replied with a shrug.

Naruto tuned out the rest of the questions fired at him, his focus being entirely else. Though his eyes were not directed at the specific direction, he could feel Saika's stare all the way from where the Russian was standing. He could even tell that it was not a friendly one.

But nevermind that, the boy was smart enough to not do anything.

Everyone, after a few more laid back minutes of pestering the blonde foreigner, eventually disperesed to do their own thing. Yui was dragged by her friends away and he was left to his lonesome again.

In his time at school, Naruto noticed something.

Yui and her friends were like adhesive that glued him together with the rest of his peers. Without them, it was pretty much impossible for him to talk much less conduct an conversation with the others. There were exceptions, but he had observed that it was easier for others to approach him when people like Yui or her friends approached him first.

Being immersed in his thinking, his reaction to notice the phone vibrating inside his gym bag was delayed. Crouching down, the ex-merc reached inside to grab his phone.

The screen displayed the SMS icon, followed by a caller ID and the message itself.

From: Kage (Shikamaru)

It's time. Meet me at the usual place after school. As soon as possible.

Those three short sentences were important enough to have his eyebrows curled and lips straightened. Wordlessly, he turned the screen of his phone back off, placing it back inside his bag.

'Five more hours until school's over... wonder what they'll have for me.'

"Haruno, thank you for coming today."

"Maa, it's nothing mother dearest. I was not busy today anyways, things went quicker in university and the professors let me off earlier."

The Yukinoshita matriarch's skeptical gaze indicated that she was somewhat doubtful of her eldest daughter's claim. But Haruno could not blame her for giving her that look; their conversations tend to start off with either of them lying.

A prominent political figure the Yukinoshita's may be, the family knew when and how to keep themselves off prying eyes. The Yukinoshita residence, despite it being a large and lavish place, was not as overbearing or boisterous as the common upper class's place of living. Their so called 'mansion' was in fact an old office building remodeled to fit the family's needs.

Each floors have their respective uses and purposes. The main floor through the thirtieth floor was the family's privately owned corporation's headquarters while the remaining five were the family' private penthouse and mansion hybrid. It was still fancy, she assured you, but Haruno knew two or three important people in Japan with even more extravagant residence.

This, however, was not the place they grew up in; she along with her sister. Their original place was in Tokyo, a large house, more than enough to provide her and her sister with everything they need, and it felt more... homey than the one they have now. The family's main house now was located here in Chiba. They moved when Haruno was younger.

"Please, take a seat."

At her mother's beckon, Haruno occupied one of their penthouse's sofas. The simple – and Haruno used the word sarcastically – decorations of the room seemed to be doing an adequate job in replicating the home-like atmosphere that most living rooms have. But seeing as they were at the thirty something floor of a high rise building, certain aspects seemed to be hard to replicate.

But Haruno was not here to think about trifling matters such as those. Her mother called her here for one thing: business.

"I trust that you are up to date as to what have been happening lately?"

"Of course, mother." The oldest of the Yukinoshita sisters replied, her tone made to sound pleasing to her mother. "Father have been keeping me up with everything revolving his position in the diet."

A look of annoyance crossed the mother's face, but it was quickly dispersed with the composure that only Yukinoshita Yukine had. "I am not refering to your father's matters, Haruno. I am talking about our family's recent endeavor with our newest partner?"

Stiffling her giggle, Haruno nodded. "Ah, silly me, of course that was what I meant." A look of displeasure was reflected upon her mother's face. "In all seriousness mother, I only know what father told me."

"Not a lot... which means."

"Yes."

Haruno loved her father. He was someone who had provided her and her sister with everything they needed and wanted. But she shared a certing degree of... displeasure at her father's complacency.

The martriarch shook her head. "Regardless, I will take it upon myself to tell you."

Haruno inched slightly closer to the edge of her seat.

"Our family is about enter a grand stage in its long standing career." started the woman. "LeafCorp, a foreign shipping and logistics company, has offered us a huge bargain."

The corner of Haruno's lips wilted slightly.

"They have expressed an interest in setting up branches of their... secondary services in Japan. Our part, as the Yukinoshita Conglomerate, is to provide them our building services for their future projects. In return, we will have access to their assets."

What her mother had just said was just the bottom line. And Haruno had heard of even more interesting deals.

"These assets are not limited to buildings, or even shares. We are talking freighter ships, logistic convoys, manpower and maybe even certain creative aspects. At the same time... for every project they made us build, they will provide us with all the funds necessary to ensure that it is built. Aside from the architech work and building itself, we are not required to do anything else."

Haruno noticed something. Her own smile was slipping. Instead, it was her mother who was smiling now.

Trust her when she said that she rarely saw her mother smiling outside of formalities or events to entertain guests. In their private time like this, her mother had never smiled before, not even after successful trade deals or anything similar. But today, the woman known as the Chiba's Doberman, was smiling as if she had just heard an amusing story.

It was something like a once in a lifetime experience, hence why she would bury the sight in her memories until her death.

"That's... great news. For us."

"Indeed, for us." And just like that, the smile was gone. "I may have only known Namikaze-san, the acting director for LeafCorp in Japan, but something tells met hat he is not a fool. Surely, he and his organization intends to receive something out of this."

"Yes, of course." Naturally. "But what do you think it might be, mother? The offers he gave you are unlike anything the company has ever received before."

"It's a little too early to be suspicious of someone, dear." Yukine dug out the suspicion that Haruno was heavily implying. "During the brief meeting at their headquarter, I was told that LeafCorp intend to set up a firm foothold in the Japanese economy. In doing so, they'll require places to conduct their operations, hence why they have offered us this deal. We will do every future projects they have in mind and in return, we have access to the things I've mentioned."

The kimono clad oriental woman raised one of her eyebrows slowly.

"And if I am not mistaken... the eldest of the Uchiha siblings is currently employed by LeafCorp, is he not?"

"Y-Yes... did Mikoto-san told you about it?" Her nervousness was showing. She needed to calm down; put her mask on. Not that it would do much knowing her mother.

"Indeed." The woman of the family confirmed, nodding her head slightly. "The matter entered our conversation the last time we had a get-together."

'Then that means I entered their conversations too...' thought Haruno, while internally screeching out in frustration.

"Speaking of which..." the eldest daughter winced for jinxing herself. "How are you and their eldest son, hm? I've heard from Shigure that you two were having a get together sometime this week?"

"We did." replied Haruno, a perfectly smile to match her mother's stoic front. "But it was just to catch up. Last I heard, he was quite busy with work. I wonder... what is it that LeafCorp does anyway?"

Her mother straightened her back, taking a moment to fix her position before answering her daughter's question. "I've heard rumors about them. On paper, they are private contractors. They provide security services to people like us and companies around the world. But... some report them to be something akin to a private military or something similar."

"Surely, this is a concern for you right, mother?"

"It was, for a while." Yukine paused, before elaborating what she meant. "I've read through every government reports that I could gather about LeafCorp. They followed the government's regulations and whatever services they are offering here have been approved by the diet."

Her mother tilted her head in a way that showed her confidence in her decision and words.

"I see no reason to doubt them."

Haruno did not know what else to say. It's not like she could derail her mother from whatever corporate-fueled train tracks her mother had jumped on now. And, just like Itachi, she couldn't do anything. There was never a real decision for her to make. Everything had always been set in stone by her mother.

"Although, that does not mean that I trust them either."

Seemingly, from within the sleeves of her kimono, she pulled out a small rectangular tablet device. The Yukinoshita matriarch placed the device on her desk, causing Haruno to shift her attention.

"Earlier this morning, an accident occurred in their major storage warehouse compound." Haruno stepped forward, allowing herself a clearer look of what was it that her mother wanted her to see.

Gas Explosion Causes Alarm Throughout The Neighborhood!

"A gas explosion." Haruno summarized the headline of the article she was reading. "This morning..." She returned the tablet back on the desk, returning her sight to her mother. "So a technical accident?" she asked.

"Namikaze-san, LeafCorp's representative here in Japan, issued that it was just that earlier this evening." The seemingly cold woman informed clinically. "We are to understand our partner better before making huge and impactful decisions."

'So basically, three strikes then out, huh?' Haruno mused quietly in her head. Haruno's smile returned. For once, her air of confidence and mystery managed to naturally form in the presence of her mother.

"You are familiar with the eldest Uchiha heir, Haruno." Her mother began, words unfiltered and raw. Ruthless raw. "Get to know him and see if he's as gentlemanly as his mother said he is."

Like a broken record, Haruno can only say, "Will do, mother."

...like always.

Huzzah.

A surprise update from me. /sarcastic

Well, anyway, got something to say here so it'll mean a lot if you people read this.

While this... slump is still isn't over yet, you all know that I still, often, sometimes, release new stories or one shots and things like that. This update is special because I recently got back into this type of writing. I have my roots in writing this kind of fictions, but that's beside the point.

Just wanna tell you folks that I might just release chapters for this series more often in the future. So... that's something to look up to, I guess?

Writing, lately, hasn't been on my mind or heart since I've been very focused on my studies and jobs. Of course I do have free time, but writing's just not a part of them anymore. It feels nice to be able to release this chapter. It gives me a sense of satisfaction even if I'm the one writing this myself.

Well, let's just hope that my flame burns long enough.