Disclaimer: I do not own naruto, or any of the other sources i'll be drawing upon, all I own is my wonderful OC's, Enjoy!

"We should have killed them", My Mirrored apprentice spoke once more for the fifth time since we departed from Tadahiro and his son in the desert.

"No, my genocidal companion, we shouldn't. I can't read the scroll, and since I have neither the time nor a bases for which to start with letting him decode it is a far smarter course of action". I finished with a turn of the page, the Grimoire taking me to the next section I wished to learn. It was a strange discovery, but by simply think of a subject I wished to know, a single turn of the page was all it took to find it. Of course I had attempted to use the Grimoire to read the scroll, but it seems that future me is a idiot considering the "Guide to reading the impossible", was in fact impossible to read. Go figure.

"I still think your showing them far to much in terms of trust, what if they try to turn you in?" Mirror continued to argue, much to my annoyance.

"Then note only will the microphone I placed in their belongings detect there betrayal, but also kill everyone within a thirty foot radius", I explained for the sixth time now.

"Bah!", Seven exclaimed with a cross of her arms. "So, you learn anything good yet?", Mirror asked with a sideways glance.

"Anything good she asks", I muttered humorously, "Lets see here, I started off with "Quantum Robotics and You", then I moved through "How To Divide By Zero for the Dimensionaly Inept", and now i'm currently exploring "The Beginners Guide To Weaponizing Time". But to answer your question… kinda. I'm gonna have to properly sit down with this thing to really understand any of it". I answered my apprentice with another turn of the leathery page.

"Well, I hope your capable of putting it down when the time comes". She Whispered back to me mysteriously.

"Yes yes, i'm aware we have a guest up ahead". I said as I shut the Grimoire before stashing inside my cloak, my hands now resting on my weaponry.

"Shall I Circle around?" Mirror asked causally.

"Yes, but don't engage until I do. Considering I see only one, chances are this isn't an ambush". I reasoned out as Mirror drew her sickle and chain.

"Or there a fool".

"Or there a fool" I answered back neutrally as my companion suddenly jumped into the nearest tree top. It took only five minutes to reach my would be ambusher, who at this point had about five or so of my thopter units circle him in an attempt to cover every angle while the rest of my little swarm covered the rest of the are in an attempt to spot any other individuals.

"Well hello there Mr. Shinobi killer". The now identified Cloud nin sarcastically called out from a overhanging tree branch. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the greeting though, or more specifically that he bothered to greet me to begin with. I've had no dealings with there kind after all, so to see one here at all was almost shocking. Almost.

"Hm, And to whom do I oh the pleasure?" I greeted back far more casually. The Cloud nin, outfitted with the standard Cloud uniform also had a face mask, his headband partially covered by wavy black hair.

"Doesn't matter, now does it? No, what matters is that for some reason my village, the Hidden Cloud, wants to hire you for a job". He said with an an obvious sneer. Which I ignored in order to digest this new information.

"The Cloud has a job. For me? Now isn't this an interesting development…" I contemplated, holding up one of my hands to my chin an in obvious state of contemplation.

"Personally, I can't fathom why'd they ever hire such a pathetic worm to do something so simple, but orders are orders aren't they?" He finished with a shrug.

"Testy aren't we? Well, why don't you hand over the information I need in order to actually think about it before we continue on, eh?" I asked him as casually as I could. He didn't seem to like that apparently.

"You think you're quite the hot shot, don't yeah? You don't look like to much to me in all honesty. Maybe I should just kill you after all, you've got quite the bounty last time I checked-", his sudden contemplation was cut of from the overwhelming killing intent leaking into the air. The shinobi quickly turned to his left and there she was, little miss massacre was simply sitting on the tree branch like one would a swing, her legs kicking back and forth as she stared at the now sweating shinobi, a sweet and childlike smile adorning her face.

"Now I can kill him, right master?". She asked as I released an annoyed sigh.

"Not yet Seven, I need the mission details first". I told her as I continued staring into the shinobis wide eyes.

"T-tomorrow! Near the Borders of the leaf a squad of Cloud shinobi are gathering for a mission, and t-the village wants you in on it apparently". He stammered out after the killing intent lessened somewhat.

"And the mission would be…?" I asked somewhat impatient now.

"T-they d-didn't say…" He told me with wide eyes, as if the lack of information would lead to his demise.

"Well, if that's the case then-"

"WAIT!" He yelled out suddenly, his body shaking all over as the killing intent suddenly increased.

"They promised a p-payment of a hundred-thousand if you succeed!" He forced out as the killing intent suddenly cut off.

"I'm sorry, did you just say a hundred-thousand?", I asked in partial shock.

"Y-yeah!", he said with some confidence, "They said that should be all you needed to hear until you rendezvoused with the team". He finished while taking a step away from my apprentice, a look of contemplation crossing her features which unsurprisingly matched my own.

"Well they were fucking right on that, tell whoever you report to that i'm in". I told him with am enthusiastic nod. He didn't stay around of course, instead he took that as a sign to high tale it out of there at near subsonic speed, though not before leaving behind a scroll which my little helper so generously threw at my face.

"You should have let me kill him". Mirror told me with a smile as I read through the scroll, which contained the more specific coordinates that I desired. And that was all it contained. "Stupid paranoid pieces of filth-".

"I'm not having this conversation again Seven. Now, I need you to return to base and check up on our resident Uchiha". I commanded my frowning apprentice as I began to check through all my gear for the coming mission.

"But I wanna come to!" She cried out in indignation.

"And I want the Uchiha alive and not dead due to starvation. We've already been gone long enough as it is. Besides, I thought you'd be happy to see him again". I told her with a slight teasing tone.

"Yeah, I suppose your right". She said with a dreamy expression.

"..."

"..."

"I'll be going now", I told her as I began cutting my way through the forest towards the intended destination, leaving my snickering apprentice to her own device's.

"I swear, i'm never going to understand you, Oh apprentice mine". I remarked as I began making the now lonesome journey towards Konohagakure's border. "What would the Cloud want with Konohagakure this time? I can't really remember a time when Kumogakure sent a team into the leaf. And if there offering a hundred-thousand for the missions completion, then it's nothing small either." I thought as I traveled, though when nothing came to mind I resolved to simply wait and see.

Line

"So let me get this straight", I told the three Cloud shinobi, who were unremarkable in every way possible, in front of me. Two of which seemed extremely annoyed with my presence with the last being openly annoyed instead. "You want me to secure a path out of Kumogakure borders… for reasons you can't tell me", I told them in my most baffled tone possible.

"Would you quit your whining already? I know they said you would be younger than expected, but I didn't realize the so called "Shinobi Killer" was nothing more than a blubbering cry baby". The Openly annoying one cried out. The sigh of resignation I let was tinted with but a hair of killing intent, though if the shinobi in front of me noticed, all it did was reinforce their own reality of me.

"Can you at least tell me what it is you'll be transporting? Because depending on how fast we can move, I will need to change the nature of my traps accordingly". I told the imbeciles I had recently rendezvous with. And by imbeciles, I meant morons. Not only did these guys seem like they had just received their promotions to Jonin yesterday, but for some reason they felt that I didn't need to know the nature of the mission in the least, only that I was here to play bodyguard and either shake off or kill any who would attempt to pursue us. To the border at least, after that I was to just apparently fuck off and receive my payment another time.

"*Sigh*, a hostage alright? Now would you shut up already and get to work so we can get this thing started already?" One of the other shinobi spoke up, becoming openly annoying ninja number two for me.

"Oh yeah sure, let me just get started on securing a couple miles worth of road already". I sarcastically replied as I began taking scrolls out and removing mines of all sorts. Thankfully for my sanity the ninjas also took this as an opportunity to leave and do whatever the fuck it was that they were ordered to do.

"Seriously though, these guys are some of the most incompetent shinobi I have ever ran into. They were easy to track down, none are specialized in anything, just simply being "good" from what I can tell, and considering there jobs seems to be an attempted kidnapping, I get the feeling that whoever order them doesn't really care if they succeed or not… wait, then why the fuck was I hired?" I thought with a jolt.

"It seems that either someones hoping that me being here will guarantee the mission… or I've made an enemy with the Cloud…". But in the end I released my pent up annoyance with a long sigh. A job was still a job, and in the end it was easy compared to the many others I've had in a long time. Unless the leaf sent someone competent after us, but with the way things were I was confident that anyone less than the fucking Hokage would never catch up in one piece. The mines would see to that.

It was three days into setting up the final touches that the three musketeers returned… and with the apparent hostage in toe. When they arrived at the designated meeting place, I swear I could feel my heart stop multiple times in quick succession. Not only was their Hostage A) Awake and conscience, but B) The only thing keeping her in check was a rope tied around her wrist behind her back. And that was it. The last thing that almost killed me on the spot was the girl in question. A genin, if we went by age. But that's not what had me; no, it was the long bright red hair that did it.

"Kushina Uzumaki". Her name like a swear in my head, it finally clicked as to what the fuck was going on… and I was now neck deep into it.

"Well shit", was my greeting. The shinobi only snickered at my response, though the girl in question seemed surprised by appearance she uttered not a word, instead she settled on looking as hopeless as possible.

"I'll take it our escape routes secured?" Annoying shinobi number one asked me.

"Yeah". I replied, still in a partial daze at what id gotten myself into. They said nothing after, instead choosing to move along the prepared path. I followed as well, electing not to inform them that leaving her both conscience and still partially free was a stupid idea. No, I had other things happening in my mind.

"Right, so if I remember properly this was the Incident that ends with Minato and Kushina hooking up after Minato picks up on Kushina's disappearance. Which means that i'll have to contend with Minato sometime before this is all over. Shit",I thought with a high level of annoyance. Not necessarily because he was strong, no as a genin he could be strong, but while on my turf a single misstep would be death. The problem lied in NOT killing him. I wasn't ready to divert yet, not anywhere close. I still needed time before I was willing to embrace the unknowns of time… which meant not only would I have to no kill Minato, but I would have to deliberately fail my mission. Damn it all!

Thankfully disarming the Mines was easy and subtle, as I was the only one who knew they were there after all. The only thing the Shinobi were aware of was that I had secured the route, not how I did it. Unfortunately, that was all I could do for the moment, as my current plan basically involved the easy steps of A) wait for my scouts to spot Minato, B) Make an excuse to leave which would be followed quickly by C), run away. While Kushina would be aware of my existence, that wouldn't really mean to much in the long run… hopefully.

Another bout of frustration was released as a mental sigh before I looked over at the future face of one of the scariest Ninja in existence. "Not much to say huh?" I asked the girl in some attempt at small talk as we continued the mindless march. She looked at me in surprise before quickly looking away.

"Now now, no need to be shy. In all honesty, i'm kinda surprised that that the Leafs jinchūriki was captured so easily… or at all for that matter". I lamented out loud, which resulted in the group of shinobi to suddenly halt and give me the strangest look possible.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Not annoying ninja three asked, though unknown to them the face Kushina was making was one of horror, like she couldn't believe I what she had heard… but why would she- Shit, she wasn't the jinchūriki yet was she? Or, if she was then it had only happened very recently. Oops.

"Never mind, thought she was someone different". I said as casually as I could. Thankfully, the three simply shook their head while whispering some not nice things about my sanity and work as a mercenary. I of course, ignored their pointless insults… just like I ignored the red hair Kushina dropped along the path, just like every other time beforehand as well.

Line

It happened quickly, far to quickly. One second there was nothing going on, and the next there was a sound to the right and above. It was slight, but I had heard it far to many times before to not know what it ment. And so, with nothing less than a second to spare I quickly and smoothly removed my revolver and fired. I was rewarded with a cry of pain, and a crash as the tree's occupant tumbled to the ground, the Cloud nin around me tuning to me in shock and alarm at at the sound; though, it became apparent what had happened a moment later as a figure propped itself against the tree. One hand holding his side as the other clenched a Kunai, his bright Blue eyes squinting in pain, his messy blond hair doing nothing to help the impression. I of course was having a much different reaction inside than outside.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! WHERE THE HELL DID HE COME FROM AND WHY THE FUCK DID I NOT SEE HIM COMING?! I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST SHOT MY ONLY WAY OUT OF THIS MESS I MEAN WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK-!"

"Just a little to slow kid". I told him as I cried in anguish inside.

"Now what the fuck am I supposed to do?"

"Kid?". He answered back with a pained smile as the Cloud shinobi readied their weapons. "You don't seem that much older than me, so isn't that a bit hypocritical?" He finished with a slight chuckle, as if the situation he was in wasn't dire at the moment.

"Stop talking with the enemy and kill him already would you?" Annoying ninja number three barked out to me.

"Well, I suppose this is were I just betray them and kill them now huh? Not really any other choice, I just hope I didn't change to much because of my involvement-".

"WAIT!" They cry of Kushina came suddenly to all, especially when she looked directly over to me. "Your a Mercenary right?" She asked quickly and almost desperately.

"Um… yeah?" I answered back, now very confused by the developing situation.

"Then-"

"Shut up would yeah?!" Annoying shinobi number one yelled has he slapped the girl hard enough to floor her, and yet still she looked right at me and continued.

"Then ill pay you double whatever you were offered to save me and Minato-san!" She cried out as the shinobi went to silence her.

*BANG*

Of course with a gaping hole in his head, he would never complete that action.

"Traitor!" Annoying ninja number two yelled as he rushed towards me.

*BOOM*

Only to find one of the now rearmed mines I had laid prior.

"Thank you Kushina, you have no idea of how much trouble you just saved me, now, where's that-"

My thoughts were interrupted by the clanging of metal behind me, which instantly tapered off into gurgling as I found the last Cloud nin behind me as well as Minato who just so happened to have his Kunai buried into the Shinobi's throat. A quick yank was all that was needed to allow the ninja to bleed out. Of course Minato turned towards me, wariness in his eyes as he sized me up and down.

"Two hundred thousand, Kushina Uzumaki, i'll expect my payment the next time we meet. I assume this is acceptable, Minato Namikaze?". The shinobi in question widened his eyes in disbelief, but instead of pestering me with attacks or question, he rushed over to a equally startled kushina, before quickly scooping her up bridal style and jumping away.

The sigh I released was a nice one, like when you complete something impressive and simple need to release all that held air inside. I turned away after, though as I walked past the shinobi minato had killed, I stopped for just a second, a second I used to study the corpse before me. I remembered a time when face's haunted me, when the lifeless eyes of the damned and dying looked up in fear or resignation. I remember when I felt… something. Either guilt or sickness or even annoyance. But now… now I can't remember when I stopped feeling altogether. And so I continued my way back home, the faces of those three already stricken from my mind. No one would remember them, and I cared not at all, for I had far more pressing issues at hand.

"This is why I don't work with others", I reminded myself angrily. "Which is why I hate it when they pay the most". I thought bitterly, already resigning myself to whatever missions would come ahead… but first it was time for a break… and some deception. I pulled out the Grimoire as I traveled, and opened it up to the section I needed the most.

"How To Augment The Living With Death…"

Line

(Omake) Faith In Madness; A Mad Engineer and Godless Crossover. (See End for more details).

The sun was shining bright today. Not a cloud could be seen from my little hill, a small section I found in one of the now abandoned training grounds, its previous occupants long gone from there harsh training that bordered on open warfare, not that that was anything new these days.

I couldn't help the sigh that passed through me as I absorbed the tranquil atmosphere of the training ground. It was slightly funny when I thought about my situation, almost any other day i'd be out with Teru and the pups, or dragged around by Rin for hours on end. But neither was available, the former because the Inuzuka had locked down the compound do to a minor emergency no one was privy to, and the later because she and team Minato had to run a minor mission so Obito could pay his bills on time. Again.

Another sigh escaped, though more reminiscing of fondness than anything else. They'd grown on me, even if i'd rather die than admit it out loud. I gave out a long yawn as I began to stretch along the hills top, the grass around me reminding me if only a little bit of home… I quickly shook my head hard as memories begin to appear, or more specifically the painful ones of times long lost now. In all honesty I should be studying, and not lazing around. I still had so much to do, and no idea of ware the beginning truly was. And yet, as I lay there, trying to coax myself from the comfort of the earth, I was quickly alerted to a noise… next to me…

My head shot to the left, my mind running to the worst case scenario.

"Was someone there? And if so what did they want? Was this another attempt to capture me?" All these and more zipped through me as head twisted towards the noise, and a nanosecond later I found my culprit… laying on the same hill shy a few feet away from me.

"B-but how! I didn't hear, smell or, well anything!" I panicky thought as the figure continued to lay on the hill besides me… not moving… at all.

"You know it rude to stare right?" The figure whispered where they lay, the majority of their form covered by a dark green jacket covered in pockets while seemingly being made of rubber that went down to above their knees, with the only other feature visible being the combat boots most Ninja wore. As she, and that's who they appeared to be if the voice and body type was anything to go by, was staring straight into the sky with the jackets hood over her head, that's all I got from her. That, and a lack of hostility.

"S-sorry". I stuttered out as I quickly looked away, heat rising to my cheeks as I finished making a fool of myself. Apparently my fluster was amusing however, as the stranger begin to giggle to themselves.

"Forgive me", she said after the moment passed, "It's just that you don't find many willing to apologize when someone sneaks up on them". She said as I glared daggers at her form. She then stretched her arms out, much the same way I had moments earlier before turning on her side so that her body was pointed my way, her face now revealed to me. Which is what I would like to have stated. Except that the frame of her face was completely covered by brown hair cut into a sort of bob cut that just managed to hide anything noteworthy.

"So", the stranger said after I took what I could in, "what brings a little thing like you out here at this time of day?" She asked.

"I think I should be asking you that, don't you Shinobi have things to do that don't include bothering me?". It was a bit of a guess calling her a Shinobi, but considering that civilians don't come out here, her near perfect physique, and the fact that she openly admitted to sneaking up on me, it seemed logical to me. I was Unfortunately wrong, if the killing intent leaking into the air was anything to go by.

It was sudden, and disturbingly potent to the point of throwing my senses into shock for just a moment before it faded away as if it never existed to begin with. And the stranger hadn't even shifted a inch, not even a twitch.

"Don't ever call me a Shinobi again". It wasn't a suggestion, that much was obvious, so U complied with it in the form of a head bob that resembled a hummingbirds wing. The stranger then, to my shock, released to sad sigh before turning their body over so it now faced away, pulling up her legs in what Rin had dubbed, The fetal position. It apparently meant the position that a fetus makes in a womb, though why she spent three and a half hours explaining this I will never understand, just like those and every other hour of my life I spend with her…

Shaking my head in an attempt to get back on topic, I propped myself up in order to observe the stranger, who had me go through a mental drain in the span of thirty seconds.

"Please forgive me, I didn't mean to scare you. I just have a hard time dealing with some subjects, and you just found the most painful one". The stranger whispered out.

"Great, now what?" I thought as observed the stranger tighten their hold on themselves. It would probably be easy to leave all things considered, and yet looking at the girl before me…

"Um…" I tried forced out as the awkward stew continued to sit and rot. "Sorry about calling you a shin- uh! I mean-!"

"Don't apologize, you can't be blamed for ignorance. How could you have ever know after all". The girl spoke with out with a small voice. But now my interest was picked. Only Shinobi should be able to pull off what she did in terms of stealth, and yet she wasn't one?

"So, if your not a- well, not one of them, then what are you…?" I asked back in an attempt to satiate my curiosity while trying to not sound rude.

"Oh, i'm just a simple Engineer". She said with a dull voice.

"And that is…?" I asked, the name sounding familiar for some reason.

"What, you've really never heard of an Engineer before? Well it's nothing to special, we just build and design and maintain stuff, usually buildings or machines". Ah, yes that explained my lack of knowledge on this matter. Technology was not my thing in the slightest.

"What about you?" The stranger asked me suddenly".

"Me? Um… civilian?" I answered the best I could, not really sure if Vessel or Shrine maiden where feasible answers. I received a snort as my answer.

"Oh sure, that's what the shinobi call you hm?" She answered back with an obvious mocking tone at the shinobi.

"You really don't like Ninja do you?" I suddenly asked her, though froze when everything went quiet.

"...Yeah, you could say that". She finally answered back to my relief. But once more my interest was piqued. I had never met someone in the leaf who openly declared disdain for the shinobi, it was… strange.

"You're probably wondering why i'd openly slander the Great Shinobi who valiantly protect our oh so wonderful nation, huh?" She asked me while once again laying the sarcasm on thick.

"Nope, not at all". I answered back far to quickly, and when the stranger rolled over to once again face me I got the distinct impression that her face was as blank as a mask.

"Alright maybe a little". I said with a smile. At least I wasn't lying this time, I was now genuinely curious. While i'd heard that the leaf was a far kinder village than the others (which I heard while inside said village so that really meant nothing), I knew one did not just disrespect it's shinobi populace. Especially without consequences. The stranger sighed before rolling onto her back, arms outstretched as if waiting to hug the sky itself.

"It's nothing to grand in all honesty", She said after a moment's pause, " I simply hate what they've become".

"What they've become?" I internally repeated, confusion evident all over my face most likely.

"And what does that mean exactly?" I asked back.

"In order to answer that, let me ask you this," she said while looking my way, "What are the Shinobi supposed to be?".

"Well that's obvious", I thought, "Shinobi are Soldiers". And yet, just as I was about to voice my answer I paused. The stranger was looking at me. And not just in a casual way, but in a way one studies a track to find their prey. And though I couldn't see this, Something told me that this wasn't an opinion she was looking for, but an answer with only one right one. Id either get it right and continue on my hunt, or fail and lose my only chance. So I continued my thinking. "What was a Shinobi supposed to be? Soldier seemed to hasty a response now that I thought about it, but then what?" It was, strangely enough, Obito who gave me my answer when his face forced its way to the forefront of not mind.

"Guardians", I said suddenly, "Shinobi are supposed to help and protect, no matter the cost", I continued. And though the messy curtain of hair the stranger had shielded most, even I saw the smile she wore. She then laid her head back on the earth in apparent satisfaction.

"Yes, guardians. That was what they were originally created for. To help protect the innocent and their homes. But now? Now there nothing more than killers who care not for the ones they protect". She told me bitterly.

"Well, I wouldn't say that's entirely true…" . While I agreed with the statement somewhat, it wouldn't be fair to lump in Obito, or Rin for that matter into that particular observation.

"Not yet". The stranger said ominously.

"And that means?" I asked back with a slight huff.

"Whoever your talking about has simply yet to understand their role in the village. But they will soon, and it will be either as a legendary killer, or a meat shield whose sole purpose is to die for someone else's "Greater Good". They replied back without any emotion. Of course I wanted to defend Obito, and Rin and- ok, not Kakashi. Kakashi fit the former statement a little to well already. And she knew without a doubt that Minato was already in there as well…

"If you really hate the Shinobi so much, then why are you in the village to begin with?" I asked in an attempt to steer the conversation somewhere else.

"Work is work, and weather I hate it or not doesn't matter in the end. Only the results". She said with a long sigh.

"Well, when you put it like that…" I answered back cautiously. Not entirely sure of where to go from here.

"I'm actually from from a small town far from the borders of Amegakure". The stranger said just when the awkward was becoming a little to unbearable, even for me. Though this new information was intriguing, I didn't know that Konohagakure was accepting people from other nations yet.

"Hey, that's pretty cool right? What was it like there?" I asked with some intrigue. I had yet to visit the land of rain or any of its towns after all, and any information about anything could be useful later on… if I remembered it that is.

"I don't really remember it actually. Are town was a small one, but we had enough agriculture there that Amegakure usually stationed ninja there to help protect us from any threats. But then of course that stupid war broke out, and because Amegakure was at its center are normal protectors where sent elsewhere. And of course, that's when they decided to attack". The stranger told me with a sad, reminiscent tone. This of course was not what I had intended when I changed the subject. And yet, I couldn't find it in me to interrupt, only to listen.

"Bandits that is. Normally easy pickings for shinobi, but us? We were farmers and civilians. It was a one sided massacre. I still remember it. The fires, the screams the death". I took an involuntary breath, my mind wandering to my own scenes of chaos as this stanger spoke. "I was fortunately spared thanks to the intervention of my master, but as far as I know I was the only one". She then laughed out a biter laugh, one of pain and resentment. "I suppose that's when I started to hate shinobi... They had one job, but because of this damn village they couldn't even do that". She said with a shaky breath, before looking my way again.

"But I suppose my troubles are my own aren't they? Sorry for suddenly burdening you". The stranger said with another barely seen smile.

"Oh, don't worry about", I assured her, "It was an… interesting conversation?" I said, though I was unsure who the question was truly for.

"Yeah, i'm sure it was", she replied back sarcastically, though there was no venom in it. "Tell you what, i'm going to be here a couple more days before I head out, why don't we get together again while i'm here and I promise to be far more uplifting than before. I'll even through in a free dinner on my part". She finished. In all honesty I was extremely hesitant about accepting a strangers invitation to "Hang out", I didn't even know her name after all! That went out the window the moment a free dinner was announced of course.

"I'd like that", I responded happily. Free dinner aside, this girl was interesting, and I couldn't help but want to no more about her. Perhaps it was the personality shift? Everyone I had met in the leaf so far, while varying indeed all had that "The leaf and its people are the best" vibe, something I was only now realizing after meeting the only person in the entire village who would even contemplate saying something different.

I was startled back to reality when a hand entered in front of my face. The stranger, now standing before me and not on the ground like I thought she was seconds ago, was holding her hand out for me to take, which I did eventually.

"I didn't know an Engineer needed to be so… stealthy". I settled on as the girl, who I now only realized was only slightly taller than me, pulled me to my feet with surprising strength.

"You'd be surprised what one needs to be one. Now then my new friend, shall we meet tomorrow?" The stranger asked after I steadied myself with my trusty cane.

"Uh, sure I guess. Oh, and its Mira by the way". I responded, finally remembering to introduce myself at last. The Girl only widened her smile in response before...

"Seven, the names Seven". She replied as I opened my eyes further in astonishment. After all, who would ever name someone after a number?

Line

Well hello there people! Man, it's been what, three months and two days till a year where I didn't update this story? That's… a long time, and to those who love this story I apologize greatly, though I don't really have an excuse besides I just kinda got burned out and wanted to right something different… an itch I still have by the way. Which means I can't promise that it won't be a little while before the next update either, but at the same time it won't be another year, that I can promise. As for the Omake, I've been the Beta for a awesome story known as Godless, which you must check out if you want a cool take on Naruto… and for some understanding as to what the Omake entails. Other than that, it's simply business as usual. Let's see here… Other then that I think that's all folks! If you have a question, please either PM me, or review and I will get back to you as fast I can! Peace.