A/N Bleh, I didn't really like this chapter- for those familiar with the episode Blind Bandit and don't want to read a re-hashed version, skip down to the note at the end.

=3=

"Hey, Naruto, are you almost done in there?" Katara asked as she knocked on the stone barrier between changing rooms.

"I'm not coming out, I feel ridiculous." Naruto said stubbornly from behind curtain.

"Oh, just come out." She ordered. "It can't be that bad."

"Says you." He huffed before the curtain opened and the blond stepped out, wearing a pair of light brown, tied bottom trousers and a slightly darker sleeveless shirt common to the Earth Kingdom. "Where the hell am I supposed to hide my weapons in this?"

"I'm sure you'll manage something." She remarked somewhat sourly as she looked him over. "Something is off, but I can't quiet put my finger on it."

"I can!" Sokka piped up, walking over and setting an hand in Naruto's shaggy golden hair. "We've been all over the world, and I can honestly say- nobody is this blond."

"You're right, Naruto, we're going to need to dye your hair if you want to blend in." Katara agreed with a sharp nod.

"You do remember that I was wearing Kill-Me-Now orange when we first me, right?" Naruto asked, arching a sun-kissed brow curiously at her. "Blending in was never really something I cared too much about."

"I like his hair, it's just so cheery to look at." Aang spoke up, Momo nodded on his shoulders and chattered slightly.

"Yeah, I'm with the Avatar on this one." The blond proclaimed, moving to Aang's side. "I like my hair just the way it is."

"You're making yourself a target dumbass, blond hair is too rare here- you'll be too easily remembered." The Kyuubi spoke in his head, Naruto sighed and hung his head.

"What's wrong?" Aang asked.

"Bah, it's three to two, I have to change my hair color." Naruto grumbled before straightening up. "Well, lets just get these clothes paid for and I'll change it later."

"Right, you do know you're not supposed to make so much sense when you sound crazy- right?" Sokka asked as Katara went to pay for the clothes. "Seriously, where to you get three to two, there are only four of us- unless you're counting Momo."

"Yes Sokka, the flying lemur told me to change my hair color." The wayward ninja deadpanned.

"AH- wait, you're making fun of me aren't you?" Sokka asked bitterly.

"Yep, you make it too easy." He said, baring his fang-like canines with his grin.

"Come on you two, let's go." Katara said, motioning for them to follow.

"Yeah yeah, we're coming." Her brother sighed as they followed.

"You guys go ahead without me, I'll catch up to you in a few minutes." Naruto said as they walked down the earthen street, slipping down one of the alleys and disappearing.

"What was that about?" Sokka asked quietly after the blond was gone, pausing when something caught his eye.

"How should I know?" Katara shrugged, looking back when she got now response to see that her brother was no longer behind her and was instead standing in a shop looking at a well-made green and gold bag- she let out a sigh before walking over to her brother. "What's going on?" She asked as he inspected the bag.

"Well, I'm thinking about buying this bag." He stated obviously, rubbing his chin contemplatively as Aang dropped took a seat on the ground- knowing that they would probably be there for a while.

"Well, an extra bag might come in handy." She said amicably.

"Yes, it would." He agreed with a nod. "But it is pretty expensive.

"How much have I missed?" Naruto asked quietly as he took a seat by Aang.

"Not much, Sokka is shopping again." The monk sighed, shaking his head as he kept his eyes closed.

"It's pricey, but I really do like it." Sokka stated after a quiet moment.

"Then you should get it." Katara said, trying to be reasonable with her brother. "You deserve something nice.

"I do, don't I?" He asked cheerfully before shifting slightly and frowning. "But, no. It's too expensive, I shouldn't."

"Alright, then don't." She sighed, walking away with Aang and Naruto following her and Momo chittering on her shoulder.

Sokka sighed and followed momentarily before zipping back to the store and smiling happily. "You know what, I'm going to get it."

"Psst. Hey, you kids like Earthbending?" A somewhat shabby man asked, putting his arm around Aang and drawing him closer as he held up some flyers. "You like throwing rocks? Then check out Master Yu's Earthbending academy." He grinned and handed the young monk a flyer before walking away.

"Look, there's a coupon on the back, the first lesson is free!" Aand said excitedly as he turned the flyer over to reveal the smiling likeness of the fox-faced man who was presumably Master Yu.

"Who knows, this Master Yu could be the Earthbending teacher you've been looking for." Katara put in as Sokka came back over, clutching his new bag to his chest.

"Sounds like a gimmick to me, but who am I to judge?" Naruto spoke up, getting a strange look from Sokka. "What?"

"Who are you?" The water tribe boy.

"I was blond five minutes ago." He stated, pushing a handful of long black hair back to show his bright blue eyes. "I figured I may as well change my hair completely while I was at it."

"Naruto? But how did..." Sokka paused for a moment before nodding knowingly. "Right, the transformation thing, I had almost forgotten about that."

"Different technique, similar result." He nodded. "Only this isn't an illusion and won't get dispelled if I'm hit too hard."

"You have really got to teach me how to do this stuff." Sokka said as they started again. "So, where are we going?"

"Master Yu's Earthbending academy." Katara answered as she and Aang led the way.

"Nice hair." The Water Tribe boy remarked as the and Naruto walked along together. "I think I liked you as a blond better though, you were easier to recognize."

"That's why I had to change it." Naruto said with a small smirk. "I liked it better blond too, it made me feel special."

~*~*~

Sokka, Katara and Naruto watched quietly as Aang stood in a line with three younger children wearing the uniform standard of Master Yu's academy students while a bored look plied across his face. The once blond shinobi scratched the back of his head and sighed while the monk dug into one of his ears with his little finger, before glancing to the other students on his side of the courtyard and straightening up when he noticed they were standing at attention. Three sets of blue eyes settled on the students across from the young Avatar before one pair shifted down to the rocks at their feet, the fox container had the distinct feeling this would not end well for his bald friend.::

"Take your stances." The long bearded master you ordered as he strode between his pupils, shifting his eyes slightly as all the children save for Aang slid into a firm stance, stopping and turning around after he passed the last student. "Now, strike as if you're punching through your opponents head!" He exclaimed with a dramatic expression as he fell into a similar stance to his students and punched out.

Aangs eyes widened drastically as realization of why only half the gathered students had stones in front of them, Sokka and Katara shared a worried look as the student opposing Aang drove his foot to the ground and the rock took to the air. Naruto winced slightly when the stone connected with his friends chest, sending him flying back into a large urn fill with sand. The shinobi sighed and shook his head when Master Yu walked over to the buried monk and smiled down at him.

"So, are you ready to commit to more lessons?" The lanky man asked cheerfully. "If you pay for the whole year in advance I'll bump you up to the next belt!"

"That, hurt to watch." Naruto remarked as he walked over, pulling the downed monk out of the dirt by the front of his shirt as Sokka nodded in agreement. "You okay Aang?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He nodded, brushing himself off as he followed his compatriots out of the academy and knocking sand out of his ears. "I don't think he's the one though."

"I think the boulder is going to win back the belt at Earth Rumble Six." One of Master Yu's students said as he passed through the entrance with his friend.

"He's going to have to fight his way though the best Earthbenders in the world to even get a shot at the Champ." His friend pointed out, getting a grin from Aang when he overheard.

"Excuse me, but where is this Earthbending tournament exactly?" Aang asked, moving quickly to catch the two.

"It's on the island of Nunya." The boy with the topknot said as he turned, smirking as he finished. "Nunyabusiness!" He and his friend both laughed before walking off.

"Oh, I've gotta remember that one." Sokka laughed as het and the others walked up to join Aang.

"I'll take care of this." Katara said softly to the bald boy as she set her hands on his shoulders before following the two Earthbenders down the street. "Hey strong-guys, wait up!"

"I've got to see this." Naruto smirk, disappearing in a flicker to follow Katara before both Sokka and Aand shared a questioning look and shrugged

"What was I thinking, I don't need a new bag! Why'd you let me by this?" Sokka questiong as he looked at his new bag before setting it on the ground and turning away bitterly, Momo chattered excitedly before jumping down from his shoulder and claiming the bag for his new bed.

"You ready to find an Earthbending teacher?" Katara asked as she ran back over followed by a snickering disguised Naruto. "Because we're going to Earth Rumble Six!"

"How'd you get them to tell you?" Aang asked, glancing between his two friends as Naruto gave a toothy smirk.

"Oh, a girl has her ways." She answered innocently as Naruto chortled again.

"What'd she do?' Sokka asked, glancing to the young shinobi.

"She used the charms all strong women posses to gently persuade the information she wanted out of them." He snickered, glancing back to the side street were both boys had been encased in ice and frozen to the opposing walls so their heads were shoved together uncomfortable.

"Whatever." Sokka sighed before turning around.

"Charms all strong women posses?" Katara repeated in a questioning tone, glancing over to the former-blond as they followed behind Aang, Sokka and Momo.

"Baa-chan would have put them through the walls." He pointed out with an innocent shrug. "Ino-chan and Sakura-chan probably would have broken at least a couple bones."

"The women of your world sound terrifying." She muttered.

"They can be, I think Hinata-chan would probably be the scariest of all if she had a bit more confidence." He stated, getting a questioning look from his feminine companion. "Her family has a style of fighting called Jyuuken, it can be used to completely cut off a person's chakra and paralyze them with just a few light taps. It is scary as hell to be on the receiving end of."

"Sounds like she's related to Ty Lee." Katara said while repressing a slight shudder. "She just tapped my arms a couple times with her knuckles and completely blocked off my chi so I couldn't bend at all for a couple hours after. I've never felt so helpless."

"If this Ty Lee has pure white eyes, they probably are related." He said with a a humorless smirk.

*~*~*

Naruto sighed as they walked toward a small mountain on the outskirts of Goalin after sundown, he had spent several hours finding creative places to store his weapons inside his new clothing without it being too obvious that he was arms- silently he cursed letting himself be talked into getting sleeveless shirts, the abominations were part of what had forced him to be so creative so he could still have fast access to his hidden weapons. When the others questioned him about being so heavily armed he remarked that it was always best to be heavily armed because 'you never know what will happen'. As they entered the stony arena, the fox-boy sighed and wondered if he had somehow dropped into an Iwa convention as he looked around, the only thing that seemed out of place for the notion were the massive stone circles with the small central squares that reminded him of the coins Katara said was their world's currency.::

"Hey, front row seats!" Aang exclaimed as they made there way along the stone benches, Naruto grunted and sat down on the far right side. "I wonder why no one else is sitting here." Everyone flinched when a giant boulder landed where Naruto had been sitting.

"I guess that answers that question." Naruto swallowed, looking down at the others from his newest perch. "I have to say, that was an uncomfortably close call."

"If I didn't know you so well already, I would probably be sputtering like an idiot about how that should have crushed you." Sokka remarked as he looked up at the ninja.

"What can I say, I'm special." He retorted with a foxish grin as a burly man rose out of the ring on a pillar of rock.

"Welcome to Earth Rumble Six!" The man declared loudly as the rock beneath him sank back into the ring. "I am your host, Xin Fu!"

"This is just going to be a bunch of guys chucking rocks at each other isn't it?" Katara asked with a bored sigh as she examined her nails.

"That's what I paid for." Sokka stated with a large, happy and all around self-satisfied grin on his face.

"I just hope there are no more close calls, I like this spot." Naruto stated as he watched the raised platform with intrest.

"The rules are simple, just knock the other guy out of the ring and you win!" Xin Fu anounce to the cheering crowd before leaping onto the high platform beside naruto's boulder-seat as an even burlier man with a massive tattoo on his back entered the ring. "Round one! The Boulder versus the Big Bad HIPPO!"

"I wonder if he's related to Choji." Naruto quipped upon seeing the massive man on the opposing side of the stage.

"Listen up Hippo, you may be big, but you ain't bad!" The smaller man announced dramatically before grinning insanely. "The Boulder's going to win this in a landslide!"

"Hippo mad!" The larger competitor bellowed as be brought his food down hard enough to crack the floor beneath him, bracing himself as the Boulder launched several large rocks at him with a powerful thrust of his upper body- Naruto blinked in surprise when the massive man chewed through one of the smaller rocks and spit it out before he started jumping around and shaking the semi-isolated platform.

"Unbelievable ladies and gentlemen! The Hippo is rocking the Boulder!" Xin Fu cried out form his secluded perch as The Boulder struggled to maintain his footing on the rocking platform.

The dark skinned man stumbled to the edge of the stone rising and started to fall off before a slab of rock shot out so he could catch and balance himself before he tore it free and threw it at his distracted opponent who was urging the cheering crowd. Naruto watched in curious silence as the large stone sheet hit the Hippo in the back and broke apart, effectively pulling his attention back to the Boulder as he jumped away from the edge of the ring. He felt his jaw slacken slightly when a boulder rose from the ground with the man calling himself the Hippo was standing as the smaller man seemed to struggle with a simple martial form before he shoved his arms forward and sent his competitor crashing out of the ring.::

"The Boulder wins!" The announcer declared to the cheering crowd as the Boulder egged them on.

"So that was Earthbending." Naruto muttered to himself.

"How about the boulder? He's got some good moves." Katara pointed out quietly to the tattooed boy.

"I don't know." He responded hesitantly. "Bumi said I need to find a teacher who listens to the earth, he's just listening to his big muscles. What do you two think?" He asked, looking off to the side to see Sokka cheering wildly.

"That was impressive, but I'm not sure if I could take you seriously if you started talking in the Third person Baldy." Naruto remarked from atop his perch.

"Next match! The boulder versus Fire Nation Man!" Xin Fu bellowed as a hefty man in red trousers and burnt orange boots came marching across a bridge of earth waving a Fire Nation flag much to the displeasure of the crowd.

"Boo! Boo!" Sokka cried out with the rest of the crowd.

"Why did we bring him?" Naruto asked as he looked at the other two who just kind of shrugged.

"Please to rise for Fire Nation national anthem." The man ordered in a forced accent before starting to sing off key. "Fire Lord! My flame burns for thee!"

"Go back to the Fire Nation!" Sokka shouted over the boos, throwing a rock and nailing the now kneeling man in the head.

Naruto sighed and shook his head, flicking a pebble at the boy as Fire Nation Man was sunk into the earth by the Boulder before the muscular man raised a large pillar of earth out of the floor.

"No! No, please!" The chubby man begged as the Boulder grinned down at him before jumping off his column and grabbing his ankles so that he hit the stage knees first- launching the man off the platform right at the rock where Naruto was sitting as Sokka howled wildly with pleasure.

"The Boulder knows how to put the hurt in the dirt!" Sokka screamed ecstatically at the Fire Nation Man as he laid face down in the remains of the boulder.

"If anyone asks, I don't know him." Naruto said bitterly from Katara's side, causing her too look over. "This sucks, I really liked that spot."

"You know, most people would probably be worried about nearly being crushed twice in one day." Katara pointed out softly as a badgermole cleaned the rubble off the main platform.

"Yeah, but I had plenty of time to get out of the way, so it's not that big of a deal." He agreed as the bell rang, signaling the start of the next round.

Three of the four front row spectators watched with quiet interest as the Boulder's next match started, ending as quickly as his previous matches and sending Sokka even deeper into his fanatical frenzy. The Boulder made quick work of his other tournament opponents as well, working most of the crowd to even greater heights of excitement with each person he defeated. Naruto could understand why, it was taking every bit of his self restraint not to join them in what he had mentally dubbed 'Boulder-mania'.::

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for." Xin Fu said after the Boulder's latest victory started to settle, letting the crowd quite a bit before he continued as a cloud of dust covered a rising platform. "The Boulder versus your champion..." He paused as the cloud settled to reveal a young girl wearing a simple green and white uniform and a long cape, holding up a large belt above her bun-styled hair. "The BLIND BANDIT!" The announcer's scream got the crowd going again in full force as chants of 'Bandit' as the two women beside you girl took the belt and cape from her before walking off stage.

"She can't really be blind, it's just part of her character right?" Katara asked suspiciously as the two twelve-year-olds looked closer.

"I think she is." Aang said softly when he saw her milky green eyes.

"I think she is... Going DOWN!" Sokka shouted as Momo peaked out of his bag, causing the Airbender to flinch away.

"She is blind." Naruto confirmed, tilting his head slightly to one side as the man dubbed the Boulder took a heavy step forward.

"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young, blind girl." The burly man announced slowly.

"Sounds to me like you're scare, Boulder!" The girl taunted, causing the man's face to contort in annoyance.

"The Boulder is over his conflicted feelings and now he's ready to bury you in a Rockalanche!" The boulder declared as he struck an intimidating pose.

"Whenever you're ready, the Pebble!" She said, pointing at him before throwing her head back and laughing.

"This will not end well." Naruto announced quietly as he shook his head, noticing the somewhat distant look in Aang's eyes.

Before he could ask what was bothering him, his attention was brought back to the arena when the Boulder took a step forward in preparation for an attack. The thin layer of sweat on his body was barely visible to Naruto's trained eyes, though it didn't seem to be from exertion- the man had yet to truly exert himself in his other fights and he'd been given a couple minutes to rest between them. Blue eyes shifted between the combatants and he noticed the Blind Bandit move a foot and bring her eyes up as the Boulder began to bring up his other leg in preparation to bring it down hard. The young girl's foot sank into the stone floor and sank in, sending a churning line of earth rumbling towards the attacking man- catching the heel of his foot and forcing him to fall into a painful but perfect split and let out a strange high-pitched moan of pain a moment before the Bandit performed a simple chopping motion to launch him out of the ring and into the wall with three blunt spikes of earth smirking as soon as Xin Fu started to speak up.

"Your winner and still the champion!" Xin Fu bellowed as the girl threw an arm up victoriously. "The Blind Bandit!"

"No!" Sokka whined at seeing his champion defeated in such a painful manner.

"How did she do that?" Katara whispered incredulously.

"She waited, and listened." Aang answered with a smile as he turned to her before looking to Naruto. "You knew she would win."

"I had a feeling." He conceded as the announcer jumped from his tower with a jingling green bag in his hand.

"To make things a little more interesting, I'm offering up this sack of gold pieces to anyone who can defeat the Blind Bandit!" Xin Fu declared loudly as he motioned toward the blind girl with an arm. "What? No one dares to face her?"

"I will!" Aang voiced mirthfully as he climbed the stairs into the ring.

"Go Aang! Avenge the Boulder!" Sokka shouted through cupped hands.

"Do people really want to see two little girls fighting out here?" The reigning champion taunted with a smirk.

"I don't really want to fight you, I want to talk to you." Aang explained, keeping his hands up by his head.

"Boo! No talking!" Sokka shouted, getting hit in the arm by his sister.

"Don't boo at him!" Katara scowled.

Immediately the bandit raise her arms up and shove a foot out toward the tattooed boy, sending a cloud of dust at him from which a large rock emerged. Aang was in the air immediately, letting the force of the emerging rock push him to safetly while using Arbending to keep himself gently suspended above the ground as he floated behind her. The girl scowled and turned around as soon as his toes scrapped the earthen floor.::

"Someone's a little light on his feet, what's your fighting name- the Fancy Dancer?" She sniped, glaring at him as she kept her arms held up in front of her as he grin sheepishly before being launched into the air by a rising column of earth. "Where'd you go?" She asked softly as he drifted behind her again.

"Please, wait!" Aang pleaded as he touched down again.

"There you are." She smirked, whipping around and raising a large boulder from the ground to hurl at him with a smooth motion, Aang left the ground of his own volition and spun around to build up power behind a blast of air that sent both her bolder and her out of the ring with a startled cry- much to the shock of the watching crowd.

"Please! Listen, I need an Earthbending teacher and I think it's supposed to be you." Aang said as he rand down the stairs following the fuming Earthbender as she stomped away.

"Whoever you are, just leave me alone." She ordered, opening a crude door in one of the walls before passing through and sealing it behind her before he could catch up.

"Wait!" He cried out a moment too late, walking back up to the ring after a moment of examining the once again solid wall- feeling a mountain of disappointment on his shoulders as Sokka claimed the belt and the money from the scowling Xin Fu after hugging him.

"Way to go champ." Sokka congratulated him, causing the younger boy to feel even worse.

~*~*~

"Are you sure you don't want to come back into the city with us?" Katara asked the next morning as the were getting ready.

"Yeah, it's about time for me to summon Gamakichi." Naruto said with a nod. "Besides, I want to stay blond for a while. Just come back and get me if you find anything out about this Blind Bandit."

"Sure thing." Aang said cheerfully as Momo flew off of his shoulder in favor of Naruto's unoccupied one. "Well, we'll see you soon."

"Yeah, hurry back!" The blond grinned as his three friends walked away before looking at the lemur on his shoulder. "You should probably give me some space Momo."

The flying primate chattered at him slightly before jumping over to Appa as Naruto began to gather the chakra he would need for the summoning again. A quick nip of his thumb drew the requisite blood out and Naruto performed the hand signs before slamming a palm into the ground. His grin was justified when he saw Gamakichi resting where his hand had been with a scroll across his back and something golden in his amphibious hands.::

"Yo! Naruto, took you long enough, I've been waiting for almost three hours for you." The toad croaked at him.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I didn't want to summon you too soon." The blond said, dropping down to sit in front of his tiny friend.

"Nice clothes, but you should probably change your hair color if you're going to adopt that look." Gamakichi said, appraising his summoner's new appearance. "Blond and brown don't mix all that well."

"I know, so what have you got for me?" He asked, shifting the subject easily.

"Well, the Hag wanted me to smack you on the head for making her worry so much- but I'm not quiet big enough for that so I'll skip it." He said, holding out the small golden object for Naruto, revealing it to be a watch. "Shizune sent this with so you'd be able to keep a regular schedule with your summonings, said it was set to Konoha standard time."

"Leave it to Nee-chan to think of the useful things." He grinned as he took the twenty-four hour analog watch with a smile.

"Yeah, she gives me the best treats." Gamakichi said with a nod before slipping the scroll of his back. "This if from Jiraiya, said he sealed some training scrolls at the bottom and he wanted me to tell you not to be a cheap bastard and get your own clothes- his words, not mine." The toad stated defensively as the blond took accepted the scroll.

"Yeah, that sounds like Ero-sennin. What about the others?" Naruto asked, remembering his last mission.

"They all survived, a couple of them had pretty close calls but they all lived thanks in part to those kids from the Sand showing up and saving them." The toad said with a nod. "That Gaara kid came to your funeral a couple days ago and actually started crying."

"Are you sure about that?" He asked, remembering what he knew about the unstable boy. "He really doesn't seem like the type to cry to me."

"Seems he really started to look up to you after your fight, changed his ways and all that." He responded with another nod. "He got seriously pissed when one of the more vocal villagers started bad mouthing you, picked the guy up by the ankle with his sand and walked over. 'Uzumaki Naruto was a greater man than scum like you can ever hope to be, if you ever insult him again- I will kill you!' The guy nearly pissed himself and ran away the second Gaara but him down."

"Now that sounds like Gaara." The blond stated at the mental imagery.

"A girl about your age with white eyes walked right up to him and hugged him after that too." Gamakichi reported. "That blond chick from the sand nearly fainted when she did it."

"Heh, of all the things to miss." Naruto sighed, reaching into one of his pockets before holding out a small blue crystal to the toad. "Here, I picked this up for you at Earth Rumble last night."

"Damn! This is good!" The toad declared as he ate it. "What is it?"

"Jennomite, rock candy." He answered with a grin.

"Well, that's everything, I guess I'll catch you later." Gamakichi said, releasing himself after Naruto gave him a nod.

"Alright Ero-sennin, let's see what you have to say." The blond said as he opened the scroll with a quick motion of his fingers and began to read the handwritten black script.

Naruto,

There are many things I want to say to you in this letter, but with only a limited amount of time to write everything I have to say and still find you proper training manuals it is best that I am brief in my writing. First and foremost on the list of things I want you to know is that I am truly proud of you. You are one of my shining pupils, possibly better than the Fourth himself. But don't let that go to your brat, you still have a lot to learn and I still have a lot to teach.

The smile that had been forming on Naruto's face vanished as he read the last part, he huffed and muttered something about stupid mood-killing old perverts under his breath before continuing to read his letter from home.

I suppose the time has come fore me to tell you about your heritage, I would have honestly preferred telling you this in person but circumstance seems to have worked against us in that regard. I'm sure you've wondered all your life about who your parents were, and you probably have a couple ideas about it yourself- I know you're smart even if you don't always use your head for thinking instead of breaking things with it. Truth be told, I knew your parents before you were born, you look a lot like them really. I wasn't supposed to tell you any of this until you either made chunin or turned sixteen, congratulations on your posthumous promotion kid- you're one of the lucky few who gets to live to enjoy being chunin after your funeral.

The spark of Naruto's curiosity ignited as he re-read that paragraph several times to make sure he had indeed understood what it said, he grinned once he had satisfactorily confirmed that it indeed said he was going to learn the greatest secret that had plagued him since he was young.

And now that I've run out of excuses (and sake) I guess it's time for you to know.

Naruto smirked when he noticed the tiny sake stains on the paper that confirmed Jiraiya had indeed been drinking when he wrote it.

Your mother was a beautiful woman from the former Whirlpool Country named Uzumaki Kushina, she's where you get a lot of your ninjutsu skills and personality from. You were given her name and family crest because your father had too many enemies for you to live safely with his name, big help that was I guess.

The blond felt his pride swell greatly with the knowledge of who his mother was.

I feel the need to remind you now that this scroll is important so you shouldn't destroy it after you read the next part.

His pride turned back to curiosity as soon as he read that line, he could only wonder why the pervert would write something like that. Slowly his eyes shifted to the next line and he began to read again.

Your father, as you may or may not have guessed, was Konoha's own legendary Yellow Flash Namikaze Minato- though you're probably more familiar with him by his other title, the Yondaime Hokage.

Naruto swallowed as he read that, all sense of pride and joy had flown out the window with those words. Of course he knew who the Fourth was, he was the man responsible for making him live in hell on earth. His hands trembled slightly as he remembered the night his greatest hero had fallen in his eyes- the night Mizuki had told him why he was hated. Learning that the fourth had chosen him for the sealing had been a horrible smear on the great man's golden image in his mind. Naruto had figured that he had been picked because he had the misfortune of being born that night- there were several other children born he knew, but consciously he had put it off as bad luck. Still Naruto shook himself off the thought and tried to focus on reading the letter instead of his personal thoughts.::

I really wish I was with you so I could tell you this face to face instead of through correspondence. I'm sorry to say, that it was your father who sealed him inside of you all those years ago because you were his only child. You're probably pretty pissed right now, you should go blow off some steam before you continue so you'll be able to focus

Momo looked up from his perch on Appa's head when he heard Naruto's scroll hit the ground, the blond was trembling visibly where he stood, seemingly unaware that he was no longer holding his letter. Both ten-pound lemur and ten-ton bison flinched away from the scream he let out a moment before his fist passed through the slender trunk of a pine. Neither animal could truly understand what he was saying, but his body language and actions spoke loudly enough. Minutes of screaming and destroying trees later Naruto's rampage finally started to slow, having just enough energy left for a spiraling ball of energy to chew through one last tree before he fell to his knees and glared at the sky.::

He barely seemed to register Momo's weight on his shoulder as he focused on the clouds while tears slipped out of his eyes. The little lemur's soft chatter finally broke through to his thoughts and he turned his head to see the little creature doing everything it could to comfort him. The blond managed a faint smile as the winged lemur hugged his head while chattering soothingly. A hand braced the small animal against him as he walked over to the six legged Sky Bison who lowed at him slightly before he dropped against one of the creature's trunk-like legs and settled into the soft fur.::

"I-I hate him. He's my father, and I hate him." Naruto whispered to the chattering lemur attatched to his head. "I understand why he did it, but he left me all alone and all I can think is that I hope Hell is hot enough for him."

"Hey! Naruto, we've found here!" Aang's voice called out before the boy came into sight. "We..." His voice faltered when he saw all the down trees and small craters littering the area. "Whoa, what happened?"

"That, yeah, that about sums up my thoughts." Sokka agreed as he looked around, noticing the unraveld scroll laying on the ground and moving toward it- blinking slightly when Naruto appeared in front of him with Momo still clinging to his head. "Is everything all right Naruto?"

"Yeah, I... just got some news I wasn't quiet ready for." He nodded, slipping the message scroll into his sash. "I guess I didn't take it too well, sorry about the damage."

"You did all this?" Aang asked, Naruto held up a healed but still bloody hand in answer. "Must have been some bad news."

"Not bad, just not something I was ready to hear." He sighed, shaking his head. "So, you were saying something about finding her?"

"Yeah, I had a vision back in the Swamp about that girl and her pet flying boar." The Airbender explained excitedly while nodding. "Well, it turns out that a flying boar is the symbol of the Bei Fong family here in Gaoling so we're going to go check them out and see if we can't find anything."

"Works for me." Naruto said with a grin, forming a few handseals and changing his hair back to the longer black he had used before. "Let's go!"

"Let me see your hand first Naruto." Katara instructed.

"It's nothing really Katara, I'm fine." He said, though he still extended his arm to keep from angering her.

"I'll be the judge of that." She stated, drawing water from her bag and surrounding both of their hands with it. "Wow, you really are fine, it's like you weren't even hurt at all."

"Heh, told you." He shrugged, pulling back his now blood-free hand.. "So, where are we going exactly?"

*~*~*

"That's the flying boar from my vision." Aang stated, pointing out the large mural painted above the front gate of the impressive compound the four were looking down on. "Come on."

"So let me get this straight, we're sneaking over the back wall of a highly guarded clan compound just to see if your mystical swamp vision was actually a vision and not your mind playing tricks on you." Naruto summarized as he easily followed the other three down the side of the cliff that help protect the Bei Fong estate.

"That pretty much sums it up." Sokka agree, having a little more trouble with his footing than Naruto. "Do you have any problems with that?"

"Not really, no." The younger boy said with a shake of his head.

"Do you two have to talk so much? You're going to get us caught." Katara scolded, throwing a quick glare back to them.

A mumbled apology was the last thing the two said as they continued down to their destination over the somewhat tricky back way. When they arrived at the far wall Aang leapt over the barrier with the aid of his Airbending and landed softly on the other side while Naruto helped Sokka and Katara onto the roof, waiting for them both to get across before getting a bit further back and jumping across unassisted. The quartet of intruders quickly made its way across the courtyard to cover before they could be seen by any patrolling guards, coming to a rest behind some bushes. A faint rumble was the only warning they got before they ground beneath their feet expanded and launched them in the air- Katara and Aang landed in some hedged while Naruto and Sokka hit the ground- though Naruto was able to stay on his feet thanks to his training, Sokka was not so lucky.::

"What are you doing here Twinkle-toes?" The girl known as the Blind Bandit demanded as she glared at him with her blind green eyes.

"How'd you know it was me?" Aang asked.

"Don't answer to 'Twinkle-toes, it's not manly!" Sokka said in a whiny tone.

"Says the guy with the purse and matching belt." Naruto quipped as the other's started to right themselves.

"It's not a purse, it's a bag!" The older boy protested, clutching the object in question to him defensively.

"How did you find me?" The young Earthbender demanded, ignoring the commentary.

"Well, a crazy king told me I had to find an Earthbender who listenst to the earth." Aang started to explain quickly. "And then I had a vision in a magic swamp and..."

"What Aang is trying to say is, he's the Avatar." Katara cut him off too keep him from sounding too insane. "And if he doesn't master Earthbending soon, he won't be able to defeat the Fire Lord."

"Not my problem." The girl declared as she stuck a hand in the Waterbender's face. "Now get out of here or I call the guards."

"Look, we all have to do our part to win this war." Sokka spoke up in a wizened tone. "And yours in to teach Aang Earthbending."

"Guards! Guards, help!" She cried out after the tanned boy was done, within moments Aang, Katara and Sokka were over the wall with Naruto nowhere in sight as the mansion guards came running.

"Toph, what happened?" One of the pair asked softly as he ran to her side as she faced on of the bushes.

"I thought I heard someone, I got scare." She said quietly, keeping her focus on the one bush.

"You know your father doesn't want you wandering around the grounds without supervision, Toph." The same guard chided her softly.

"Are you sure there's no one there?" She asked, suddenly looking somewhat confused.

"Yes Toph, it's just the three of us." He answered, taking her small hand in his larger one. "Come on, let's get you inside."

"Okay." She said, narrowing her eyes at the bush before she was led away.

"Aang, where's Naruto?" Sokka asked quietly as soon as the guards were gone.

"I don't know, he was with us when we were talking to that girl but he disappeared after she called for the guards." Aang asnwered quietly peering over the roof to see the boy in question preparing to jump the wall.

"What happened, where did you go?" Sokka asked as soon as the former-blond was on the roof next to them

"I didn't go anywhere, but I did discover something interesting." He said with a smirk. "She can see."

"What, I though you said she was blind?" Katara said questioningly.

"I can't explain it, but she has some way of seeing that is different from normal sight." He stated. "She was staring right at me the whole time she was talking with the guards."

"She was staring at the bush." Sokka protested.

"Yeah, that's what I had changed into." Naruto agreed with a nod.

"As fascinating as that is, it still doesn't help with convincing her to teach me Earthbending." Aang said somewhat sourly as he tapped his fingers against the ceramic tiles before breaking out into a grin.

~*~*~

Strong hands wrapped gently around a fragile glass teapot and lifted it into the air before the lid is pulled away and used to wave the delicately scented steam toward a now smiling man's face. Loa Bei Fong's smile lasts only a second before he takes a sip of the hot tea inside, enjoying the momentary beauty of its flavor on his tongue before he swallows. One ringed hand replaces the lid to keep the drink warm before the raven-haired man begins to lower it back to the serving tray and speak in a soft tone.

"I'm pleased to hear that Toph's private lessons are going well." The man serious looking man announced softly as he brought his hands to rest on his legs. "But I want to be sure she's not trying anything too dangerous."

"Absolutely not." The thin-faced Master Yu assured him, glancing over to Toph as she sat in the seat next to him. "I'm keeping her at the beginners level, basic forms and breathing exercised only."

"Very good." Loa nodded just before one of his servants entered the room with his hands together inside his robe and his head slightly down as a proper servant should.

"Excuse me sir, but you have a visitor." The servant announced as he bowed appropriately.

"Who thinks they are so important that they can just come to my home unannounced?" Lao demanded, straightening slightly at the announcement.

"Uh, the Avatar, Sir." He proclaimed softly much to Toph's shock and annoyance before backing out politely.

"I see. My apologies Master Yu, but we will have to finish this another time." The house-head said firmly as he looked at the Earthbending instructor. "Poppy, I'll let you handle dinner, I'll go greet out guest personally."

"Yes dear." His wife nodded as he stood and walked toward the entrance.

Little more than an hours time passed before eight people were seated at the tall dining table, Lao and Yu sat at the two ends while Aang, Katara and Sokka lined one side with Toph, Poppy and Naruto were seated across from them respectively. It took a good portion of the Earthbending instructor's restraint to keep from looking repulsed by Sokka's atrocious eating habits as he patiently ate his own food. The dark haired boy on his other side seemed to be having trouble holding back his laughter at the sight, but Yu had to give him credit for his seemingly effective efforts.

"Blow on it." Lao ordered as one of the servants put Toph's soup down for her. "It's too hot for her."

"Allow me." Aang offered politely, shifting his had toward Toph's food and flicking a miniature whirlwind over much to the enjoyment of the Bei Fong's who were quick to offer compliments for the trick, save for Toph who continued to stare blankly at the Avatar with unseeing eyes.

"Avatar Aang, it's an honor to have you visit us." Poppy said in a regal tone as the boy smile politely at her while Katara looked over at her brother as he continued stuffing his face.

"In your opinion, how much longer do you think the war will last?" Lao Bei Fong asked polite after taking a small bite of his food.

"I'd like to defeat the Fire Lord by the end of summer, but I can't do that without finding an Earthbending teacher first." He stated, looking intently at Toph who scowled at him slightly.

"Well, Master Yu is the finest teacher in the land." The regal man stated, motioning a hand to the Earthbender who was busy wiping his mouth of stray food bits at the end of the table with a silken napkin. "He's been teaching Toph since she was little."

"Then she must be a great Earthbender." The Avatar said pointedly as she smiled at her. "Probably good enough to teach someone else." He let out a yelp when something unseen by the others hit him in the leg, Naruto repressed a smirk and focused on eating at a measured pace while the blind Earthbender smiled delicately and took a bite of her own food.

"Toph is still learning the basics." Yu stated plainly as he looked at the tattooed boy.

"Yes, and sadly because of her blindness, I don't think she'll ever become an Earthbending master." Toph's father said quietly, causing Aang Katara and Sokka to exchange curious glances before Aang spoke up again.

"Oh, I'm sure she's better than you think she is." The grey-eyed boy said a moment before his face was shoved into his stew.

"Indeed, Lao-sama, the strongest people tend to be those who are most underestimated in my limited experience." Naruto spoke sagely as Aang moved the bowl from his face to the top of his head while scowling at the blind bender, accidentally dropping his chopstick when he saw Aang smirk before inhaling for dramatically for a sneeze. "Oops." The young man followed his chopstick under the table not a moment to soon, narrowly avoiding getting pasted by his food before sitting up and looking over at the Bei Fong women next to him who were now wearing their meal. "Oh my."

"What's your problem?!" Toph demanded as she stood up, discarding the bowl that had previously been stuck to her face.

"What's your problem?" The young Avatar shot back.

"Well then, shall we move to the living room for desert?" Poppy interrupted politely as she cleaned her face.

*~*~*

Aang ran his hand across Appas broad forehead as the massive bison peered in through the open window while Katara and Sokka lounged on the large green bed with Momo beside in his little green bag. Naruto sat firmly planted on the ceiling with his chakra as he picked up reading in Jiraiya's letter when he had left off when he had lost control of his temper, with some effort he managed to get past that part of the message and continue on to learn that Jiraiya had detailed another form of chakra control for him to learn in the letter before going on to explain the true nature of the Shadow Cloning technique, which was surprisingly more useful than Naruto had ever thought it could be- and who couldn't use an extra pair of hands or twelve around the house?::

"Goodnight buddy." Aang said to his bison as the creature lowed at him softly, the young man let out a shocked squawk before getting into an awkward fighting stance when he saw Toph standing in the doorway.

"Relax." The blind girl ordered before taking a shallow breath. "Look, I'm sorry about dinner- let's call a truce, okay?"

Aang stared at her for a moment before relaxing visibly.

"Alright." He said with a nod.

"Say, where's the other guy that was with you?" She asked, turning her head around the room slowly.

"Up there." Sokka stated blandly, pointing to the ceiling.

"What are you..." She started before Naruto dropped to the floor suddenly, causing her to flinch back. "Holy shit!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." Naruto said as he looked over his shoulder.

"How the heck did you do that?" Toph asked after recomposing herself.

"It's one of his little crazy ninja things." Sokka spoke up again. "You kind of get used to it after a while."

"Right, anyway, Twinkle-toes, I wanted to talk with you." She sighed. "Come take a walk with me."

"Okay." Aang said, patting Appa lightly one last time before following the pale-eyed girl.

"So, Naruto, are you ever going to tell us what that scroll says?" Sokka asked as the two preteens left.

"Maybe, when I trust you a little more and you know me a little better." He answered cryptically as he slipped past Appa through the window.

"Where are you going?" Katara asked. "You aren't following them are you?"

"What do you take me for, a two bit spy?" Naruto scoffed, causing her to lower her head slightly with shame. "Nah, I'm just going to do a little bit of the training Ero-sennin suggested in his letter, there's plenty of grass around here, so it's the perfect place."

"Right, well, don't make too much noise crazy ninja guy." Sokka yawned as he laid back on the mattress. "Man, this thing is really comfortable, it just sucks the life right out of you."

Naruto smirked slightly when he say Katara nod in agreement before he slipped fully outside, he smiled at one of the guards he passed who simply gave him a small nod of acknowledgment before continuing on his route. The shinobi's light footsteps could barely be heard as he crossed the pavement until he reached a peaceful spot with plenty of luxurious green grass. He took a deep breath as he remembered Jiraiya's description of the exercise and began to focus his chakra to the soles of his feet, moving one foot out onto the grass experimentally as his bodily energy flow out over the numerous blades. His concentration didn't waver as he focused on reinforcing the grass blades to support his weight like he did when walking on water before he tried to focus on making himself cling to the very tips of the plants as he had for tree climbing.::

He held his eyes closed and remained focused on the bipartisan task of strengthening the tiny shoots while sticking to them as he raised his other foot and touched it to the grass. A self-satisfied smirk found it's way to Naruto's face and he opened his eyes, immediately loosing the concentration he needed for the exercise and dropping to the two incest solid earth as the grass bent beneath him. Naruto sighed and stepped off the foliage just before a the second on-duty guard passed by him, he gave the passing man a small wave and got another nod in returned. His fingers came up to form a single seal as soon as the larger man had passed and soon he was joined by two copies of himself who immediately took up the exercise. A short minute into the training a dull thumping on the far side of the complex caught his ear, tapping one clone on the shoulder he sent it to check out whatever made the sound- he figured he may as well test the scouting potential of the technique while he had the opportunity to do so.::

The currently raven-haired boy closed his eyes and patiently waited for the clone to disperse itself and transfer the knowledge back to him. Crystalline eyes snapped wide open as soon the transfer happened and immediately he dispelled his second clone before rushing down the path, leapfrogging over the one guard's head effortlessly as he ran before the man could say anything Naruto turned back to face him and ordered him to go get Lao and Poppy before continuing toward the room he and the other's had been put up in. Katara let out a startled yelp when he suddenly popped in through the window.::

"Naruto, what's wrong?" She asked when she saw the look on his face.

"I think Aang and Toph have been taken." He swallowed to catch his breath before continuing. "I've sent on the othe guards to get her parents, follow me."

"How do you know all this?" Sokka asked as he tried to keep up while pulling his boots on.

"What's going on?" Lao demanded as the three children passed by him and the guard he was talking with.

"Toph and Aang have been taken, follow me." Naruto ordered without pausing, immediately husband and wife shared a concerned look and followed, struggling slightly to keep up with the boy's quick pace.

"Sir! Something's happened!" The other on-duty guard shouted as he approached the group. "Toph and the Avatar are missing, and there are two large gouges in the ground."

"Yes Baojia, I had heard something happened." Lao said firmly as the group continued following Naruto. "Which raises the question, how did you know something had happened Naruto Uzumaki?"

"I know because I heard a noise when I was at the far end of the complex, I checked it out and sent a guard to get you when I knew what had happened." Naruto answered as they came up on the abduction site.

"What noise, I didn't hear anything." Baojing said, giving the boy a suspicious glance.

"It was a rapid thumping sound, I heard it because my hearing is far above average." He stated as Sokka walked over and picked up a knife that held a scroll to the ground.

"Whoever took Aang and Toph left his." The Water Tribe warrior said, shifting the knife so Katara could take the scroll.

"If you want to see your daughter again, bring five hundred gold pieces to the Arena." The waterbender read. "It's signed Xin Fu and the Boulder.

"I can't believe it." Sokka said somberly, lifting the scroll from his sisters hands before his eyes lit up. "I have the Boulder's autograph!"

"I can't decide where it's his intelligence or his stupidity that comes in waves." Naruto remarked dryly as Katara's eye twitched at her brother's antics. "Even I didn't act that stupid back home."

"Master Yu, I need you to help me get my daughter back." Lao pleaded with the Earthbender, prompting Katara and Naruto to turn to him.

"We're going with you." The dark-haired maided stated firmly as the Bei Fong Matriach kneeled between the two gouged in the grass.

"Poor Toph, she must be so scared." The woman whispered as she gripped her hands.

~*~*~

"You think you're so tough, why don't you come up here so I can smack that grin of your face!" Toph shouted down at Xinfu from her suspended cage.

"I'm not smiling." The muscular man informed her with an irate growl.

"Yeah, she's about as scared as a rabid badger with a bee sting." Naruto stated when he saw the girl suspended above the stadium floor.

"Toph!" Lao cried out when he saw her as well.

"Here's your money, now let them go." Sokka ordered as he dropped the bag of coins in front of Yu who promptly sent it over to Xin Fu with Earthbending.

"Let her down." The man ordered with a tight wave of his arm after checking out the bag to make sure it was really gold, within moments her cage was lowered and the Boulder released her to her father's custody.

"What about Aang?" Katara asked tensely as Lao led his Daughter away.

"I think the Fire Nation will pay a heft price for the Avatar." Xin Fu announced as he unrolled the wanted poster in his hand with Aang's pictured on it. "Now, get out of my ring!"

Katara and Sokka momentarily moved to arm themselves until the Earthbenders from the previous night's competition revealed their presence though various dramatic entrances. Naruto shifted his blue eyed gaze up to Aang as he hung helplessly in his cage.::

"Go, I'll be okay." The young monk said comfortingly to his friends ad he waved them away with a gesture.

"Come on." Naruto said, glancing at the bald monk and winking quickly as he pulled the other two away. "We can't take all of them like this."

"Right." Katara said, moving away from Aang with one quick look back before following after Toph with her brother.

"So you're big bad Earthbenders, huh?" Naruto asked as the seven men started to walk away with Aang's cage being easily carried by the Hippo.

"You want to make something of it punk?" Xin Fu growled at him.

"Nope, I'm just distracting you while the big guy gets attacked." He stated, smirking when two clones of the former blond burst out of the ground and drove their feet into the Hippo's massive stomach as hard as they could.

"GUT CHECK!" The twin replications shouted as the man stumbled back.

"That looks heavy, let me help you!" A fourth Naruto grinned , slapping his to the surface of the cell and using a combination of chakra and momentum to free it from the heavyset fighter.

"What the hell?!" Xin Fu bellowed as a final Naruto burst from the stadium floor to catch the falling casket on his back, grunting with effort as he stabilized himself with the aid of chakra before he started running toward the opposite side of the stadium.

"It's called a snatch and grab, dumbass!" The unoccupied Naruto taunted, receiving a rock spike to the gut that dispelled him in a puff of smoke.

"Stop him!" The fight announcer shouted.

"Naruto? What's going on?" Aang asked after finally recovering from being jostled about.

"Can't talk, cage heavy, running for life." He grunted as the last of his clones was destroyed a moment before a wall of earth erupted between him and the Earthbenders he was escaping a small smirk made it's way to his face as he looked over to see Katara and Sokka standing behind a battle ready Toph "About time, this damn thing is heavy!"

"Excuse me, what's going on?" Aang asked in a confused tone. "I can't see anything!"

"Brace yourself, I'm dropping you." Naruto warned, dropping the cage the same instant the rock wall was brought down by the other Earthbenders.

One of Naruto's hidden kunai was in hand the moment he saw the earth controling fighter's charging at him, something wrapped around his ankle to keep him from charging. His blue eyes shifted to where Toph was, easily allowing him to see the trail of disturbed earth that led right to her while she held Katara and Sokka back with her arms. The earthen floor released him with a shift of the blind girl's foot after she declared that the Earthbender's were hers and his weapon was hidden away again before anyone could blink.::

The dark-haired shinobi watched curiously as Toph slammed one foot to the ring and began to raise her trembling arms before bringing them tight to her chest and driving other foot into the floor. Naruto could only grin madly when he saw the wave of dust and rubble expand over the rectangular platform, the power of the blast was enough to stop and scatter the charging men to keep them from working together. Naruto closed his eyes and focused on his hearing to get a sense was going on in the clound.::

"Hit is harder!" Aang's voice caught his attention as Sokka tried to break through part of the cage.

"I'm trying!" Sokka shot back, continuing to hit it with a rock as Naruto walked over with his hands raised.

"Move." He ordered Katara who was busy trying to pry the bottome open, his hands were working in unison to form an unstable ball of visible energy.

"What are you going to do?" Katara asked, moving away as the ball took an almost perfect spherical shape.

"Rasengan." He stated,driving the partially finished ball into the bottom of the cage and watching as his chakra carved a spiral pattern deep into the metal- slicing through the lock at the bottome and freeing the Airbender who was immediately on his feet ready for a fight. "Relax Aang, everything is being handled."

Sokka and Katara pointed to the now visible section in the middle of the ring where the Boulder and the Hippo were now standing while making intimidating noises as Toph stepped onto the large circular stone in the middle. A battle cry from above brought attention to the masked Earthbender with wild hair swinging at Toph's back while the other two stepped up to the small circle. A few small movements on Toph's part set the massive disc into motion, lining the Boulder and the Hippo up so that the masked bender slammed into both of them instead. Two sharp motions from her arms sent the dog piled men crashing back down to join the other three she had already defeated just as they were starting to get back up.::

"I never knew, your daughter is amazing!" Naruto heard Master Yu exclaim quietly to Toph's father in the stand before she cleared out the dust cloud.

Naruto took a seat on Aang's former prison when he saw Xin Fu standing at the far side of the platform, idly he wondered how much people would have to see Toph's virtual massacre of masculine pride as Xin Fu cracked the joints in his neck by shifting his head slightly before falling into a fighting stance. Abandoning all teachings of culture and proper lady-like behavior, Toph turned her head off to the side and spat loudly to clear some of the dust from her mouth and sneered at the muscular man focusing on her. In the stands, Lao looked like he was about to die of a heart attack when he saw his little girl fall into her battle form before she started circling the central disc in sync with Xin Fu.::

All the on lookers were shocked to at least some degree at the speed which Xin Fu attacked, sending eight boulders of varying sizes straight for the blind girl. As he watched this fight, Naruto didn't bother restraining his cheering as Toph brought up to triangular sheets of earth to defend herself from the onslaught. A quick pushing motion on Toph's part turned her defense into an offense, though a small display of agility allowed Xin Fu to dodge to the side and shove his hand into the earth to dislodge a stone. Toph's face remained impassive as she shifted out of the rock's path before driving her hand into the ground and sending the stunned announcer crashing into the stands.::

"Well, that was fun to watch." Naruto said with a grin as he walked over the blind girl while Yu made a comment about Toph being the greatest Earthbend he'd ever seen. "But you got a little dirt on you."

"So do you." She said flatly, waving an Arm toward him and hitting him in the chest with a stream of loosened dirt that knocked him flat. "That's for the badger comment."

"Ow." The blond grumbled, shaking off the earthen coating and reaching back behind him to move the kunai blade that had dug into his thigh. "I have really got to find a better place for those."

*~*~*

A ten minute ride on Appa filled with an uncomfortable silence brought the six people back to the Bei Fong estate. After their arrival Toph was immediately scooped up by her crying mother, much to her protesting. Aang and the others were led into the reception room and seated on the a practically crafted stone bench while Lao and Poppy took their place on the wide raised thrown on the other side. Toph stood in the middle of the room by herself, her head tilted slightly down- so she had her focus on her feet rather than out of any sense of shame as she took a breath to explain herself.::

"Dad, I know it's hard for you to see me this way," Toph started to speak slowly. "But the obedient little helpless blind girl that you think I am just isn't me. I love fighting! I love being an Earthbender, and I'm really, really good at it. I know I've kept my life secret from you, but you were keeping me secret from the whole world." She paused to catch her breath as Aang and the other's watched on quietly. "You did it to keep me safe, I know, but I'm twelve years old and I've never had a real friend. So now that you see who I really am, I hope it doesn't change the way you feel about me."

"Of course it doesn't change the way I feel about you, Toph." Lao said in a soft, fatherly voice. "It's made me realize something."

"It has?" Toph asked, looking up hopefully.

"Yes, I've let you have far too much freedom." He said sternly. "From now on you will be cared for and guarded twenty-four hours a day.

"Stubborn fool." Naruto whispered too quietly for anyone to hear under his breath.

"But dad!" Toph started to protest.

"We are doing this for your own good, Toph." Poppy cut her off softly as Lao stood up and turned to the guards.

"Please escort the Avatar and his friends out." He said, as he pointed toward the exit. "They are no longer welcome here."

"I'm sorry, Toph." Aang apologized as the four of them were led out.

"I'm sorry too." She said as tears started to slip from her eyes before he was led completely out of the room. "Goodbye, Aang."

"This way." Baojia said, setting a hand on Naruto's shoulder and earning himself a glare.

"You should remove that hand before I do." The disguised blond warned quietly, smirking when the guard tightened his grip slightly- the larger man let out a sharp yipping noise as Naruto pinched a pressure point and began leading him around. "I warned you once. Touch me again without my permission, and I'm keeping the hand."

"Naruto, don't bully the guards." Aang chided him softly.

"Sorry, Baojia-san." Naruto apologized softly to the guard as they were led out of the gate. "I know you were just doing your job."

"Yeah, I really wish you could teach me how you did that thought." The muscled man said as he rubbed his aching appendage. "I probably wouldn't need to hit anyone ever again."

"Look into acupuncture." He advised over his shoulder before the gate closed behind him before following the others up the main path to the small flat where Aang used his small whistle to summon the great sky bison.

"Hey, Naruto, you said that thing you used to break Aang out was a rasengan right?" Sokka asked as they checked through their belongings.

"Kind of." He answered, releasing the transformation on his hair and returning to his usual blond self. "Why?"

"Well with the way you described it, I thought it would do more damage." He said with a shrug.

"It wasn't completely formed, I stopped at the second stage." Naruto responded, looking up at the boy in the saddle. "Toss me my pouch, would you?"

"What do you mean, second stage?" Sokka asked as he complied with the blond's request, watching as he stared to remove the hidden weapons from his person.

"The rasengan has three stages, I figured that Aang is kind of fond of his legs- so I stopped at the power stage." He said, as Katara walked over to Aang who was looking down at the Bei Fong home from the edge of the cliff.

"Don't worry Aang, we'll find you a teacher." She said, smiling at him softly. "There are plenty of amazing Earthbenders out there."

"Not like her." Aang sighed, walking over and taking his place on Appa.

"Wait!" A feminine voice cried out as Toph came barreling out of the bushes wearing her Blind Bandit uniform.

"Toph! What are you doing here?" Aang asked happily at the sight of the blind girl.

"My dad changed his mind." She lied with a smile. "He said I was free to travel the world."

"Well, we should get out of here," Sokka said after a quick glance to his sister. "Before your dad changes his mind again."

"Good idea." Toph agreed with a nod.

"You're going to be a great Earthbending teacher, Toph" Aang said happily.

"Speaking of which," She said with a foxy grin. "I want to show you something."

"Okay." The trusting boy said, jumping down from his perch and getting launched into the nearest tree by a large rock as soon as he touched the ground.

"Now we're even." She said, extending her hand where she had heard Sokka speak from as the Airbender fell to the ground. "I'll take the belt back."

"Here." Sokka said, tossing her the belt with a disappointed sigh and hitting her in the head with it.

"Ow!" She yelped from the ground.

"Sorry." The fighter apologized.

"Well, I guess this means you're part of the gang now." Naruto said, dropping to the ground and lifting Toph to her feet. "So, welcome aboard."

"Damn, you're nearly as light on your feet as Twinkle-toes is." She snorted.

"Yeah, well, it's part of my job." He stated before grasping the back of her shirt tightly. "Hang on, I'll give you a lift."

"What are you..." Her words cut off into a shout of surprise as Naruto jumped back into the saddle with her in tow. "Don't ever do that again!" She shouted, punching him in the arm as soon as she recovered from the experience.

"Sorry." The blond apologized.

A/N 2: Meh, I really don't like this chapter at all, I'll probably re-write it in the future when I've got a better version in mind. It's the longest chapter so far, but I hate it- the way it was written makes me feel so unclean, I think my Muse is bathing herself with Comet and a wire brush to get the feeling off. For those of you who skipped it, and I really don't blame you, this basically runs through the events of the episode The Blind Bandit with just a few little quips on Naruto's part- then only 'modified' parts I somewhat like are Naruto's near crushing scenes in the Earth Rumble and the Dinner scene where he 'accidentally' drops his chopsticks and avoids getting covered with dinner by going after them- I just love the pseudo-innocent 'Oh my' line. Let's see, I completely skipped the part where Aanga and the other's go back to the Earthbending academy in favor of having Naruto summon Gamakichi to get his letter from Jiraiya and he learns who his father was- big shocker there (cue eye roll). Naruto flips his lid and does a little redecoration of the forest, there's a little Momo comfort scene that I thought was kind of cute. And the rest pretty much follows the episode. *shudders slightly* I feel so dirty after this chapter, what I hate most about it is that it's a necessary chapter and I liked the episode. Anyway, the next chapter will be better *gets out a sharp stick and starts poking this chapter with it* and I'll try to get this steaming heap of (guess what word goes here) re-written so that it's better. My apologies to those who hate this chapter as much as I do. I'm going to go borrow the Comet from my muse and wash my brain out before I start the next chapter.

PS- Now you know why I knocked Naruto out before the whole Avatar Day fiasco and had him k. all the way through.

*Walks off to go find the industrial strength cleaners*