Disclaimer: Naruto is pretty much over, save for the movie and whatever Kishimoto does this year.

Author Note: 700+ Follows, and ~600 Favorites. I'm halfway to my goal, and it's all thanks to you guys. I know I don't update as much as I used to, but I want everyone to know how grateful I am for everyone that has stuck with this story so far. With that said, let's start the first filler arc! (...yay…)

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Last Time: Orochimaru escaped yet again, while Kimimaro was narrowly defeated by Naruto and his own disease. Sasuke had his meeting with the Hokage, and Tobirama returned to the afterlife.

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It was a quiet group that walked back into Konoha, the re-death of Tobirama and the escape of Orochimaru were the leading factors. Even Tsunade and Shizune were quiet, in spite of having not been in Konoha since before the Kyuubi attack. The first destination of the group was the Hokage office, though Naruto had pushed for them to go to the hospital first. The first person to greet them at the door was Shikamaru, Hiruzen being busy with paperwork.

"Hey, Naruto. I see your mission was accomplished, though the lack of a Nidaime among your group is troublesome. Oh, and welcome back to the village, everybody." The last part of the greeting seemed tacked on, his mind wandering. It was soon clear why, when he sat down next to the Hokage and began working on another stack of papers. Before Naruto could comment on the insanity of Shikamaru willingly doing paperwork, Hiruzen looked up and began speaking.

"I'm glad you've returned, Tsunade. With the way things are going right now, we'll need your expertise. First thing's first, I want you to heal Jounin Yuuhi. Afterwards, make your way to the head of the hospital's office. You will be replacing him effective immediately. Naruto, follow her. I think your sensei will appreciate seeing a friendly face when she wakes up." Naruto followed the two kunoichi out of the tower, beyond excited to see his secret girlfriend again.

"Shikamaru, why don't you take a break, there are things I need to discuss with Jiraiya." The new Chunin shrugged and stood up, giving a short bow to the two remaining in the room before going to find his team. "I got the message Jiraiya, and I must say I was rather shocked. Are you certain of your decision?"

The Gama-Sennin smiled at his sensei, before setting his jaw into a firm expression. "Yes, it's something I should have done a long time ago, and I regret it to this day." The aged legend sighed, relieved. He put more tobacco into his pipe, giving a sidelong glance at the man he had practically raised.

"It's about time…"

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Naruto had never been a particularly big fan of the hospital, even though he hadn't spent much time there. It was the smell, that acrid, sterile stench that made him dislike it. This was the first time he would be excited to be inside the building. He followed Tsunade, Shizune having broken off to visit the director's office. A slight shiver ran down his spine as they entered Kurenai's room, freezing him in place just past the doorway. It was obvious that her sleep/coma was troubled, her face scrunching in phantom pains and whimpers managing to struggle through her system.

"Everyone's become an amateur since I left, I swear. Shizune or I could heal this in like, twenty seconds flat. You guys really needed me here pretty damn badly, huh?" Naruto didn't respond, leading the living legend to shake her head. There was no way that these two were as close as usual between sensei and student, though that didn't mean that anything was going on. In this case, she found it likely, but elected to simply begin treating Kurenai. Naruto waited with bated breath, anxious to see if Tsunade could really cure his sensei so easily.

A stressful fifteen seconds later, Kurenai stopped her pained whimpers and flinches. She had yet to open her eyes, simply breathing easily and resting for the first time in days. "She should wake up in a few minutes, let me know how she's doing when you leave." Tsunade walked right by Naruto, he didn't even notice as he walked to sit down next to Kurenai's bed. Now that the nightmares, or aftershocks from the technique had cleared, she looked peaceful.

"I'm sorry, Sensei. I tried to get him back for this, but I wasn't strong enough. No, even worse, I lost control. If… if something like this happens again, I don't know what I'll do. Kure-" A hand rose from the bed and covered Naruto's mouth, sliding away to leave a single finger in its place. He blinked, looking down to see a weak smile on Kurenai's face, her eyes open. He looked straight into them, the ocean of his eyes crashing into the crimson fire of hers. The finger was removed, and Naruto began leaning down. Caught in the moment, he barely realized he was moving until he felt her breath on his lips.

He leaned forward the final inch, tenderly massaging her lips with his own. He pulled away and opened his eyes, blushing all the while. Kurenai was similarly stricken, though for slightly different reasons. "I'm so glad to be back, and able to see you. It was so hard to focus after I found out what happened." Kurenai sat up slowly, her body stiff from lying down for so long. She began trying to talk, but wound up coughing instead. Naruto quickly gave her a drink from his canteen.

"Naruto-kun, I don't think I've ever been so happy to wake up. I know just about everything there is to know about genjutsu, but the technique he used on me… I've never seen anything like it. Even with my all my training, it felt so real." She wiped her eyes, gratefully allowing Naruto to hold her. She continued to relay the experience, her mind unable to bear the burden alone.

"It was like the technique I used on you during training, but a thousand times more real. At first, it was physical torture, stabbing pain all over. I didn't think it could get worse, but he found a way. I blinked, and I was in my home. I thought that it had just been a nightmare, but a knock on my door distracted me. When I opened it, so many people were there. Anko, Yugao, Kakashi, Gai, the Sandaime, Jiraiya, Hinata, Shino, and Haku. There were other faces, but I didn't recognize them."

A sinking feeling in Naruto's stomach took hold. He had a feeling that he could guess where the rest of the vision went. He continued to stroke her back, waiting for her to take another drink and continue. "Yugao spoke first, she was so angry. She said that I was under arrest, and that the whole mob had come to see justice done. Anko slapped me, before just walking away. I didn't get it, but then Gai, Kakashi, and Jiraiya came forward. They had found out about us, and everyone was disgusted. They said the same things to me that I did when I first realized, but it hurt so much more."

Naruto was trying as hard as possible to calm both Kurenai's breathing and his own. He knew what he wanted to do to Itachi since he read that letter, but it was just getting worse. He wouldn't lose control the next time they met, and he would make the best of his training with Jiraiya. He could tell that parts had been left out, but if Kurenai didn't want to share the rest of what happened, he wouldn't make her.

"I'm glad you were the first person I saw when I woke up. Do we have time to spend together today?" Naruto nodded his head, promising that they could spend more time together later. He would give her the privacy she would need to get cleaned and dressed, figuring he could stop to visit his dad before meeting back up with her. "Great, I'll go home and get ready. See you in a few hours, Naruto-kun."

"See you later, Kurenai-chan. I love you." Blushing once again, Naruto took a deep breath and calmed himself down. No need to make people suspicious about him leaving her room with his face on fire. Kurenai answered with the same, though the smile on her face disappeared as soon as he was out of the room.

'Do we really know what we're getting into? Are we going to be able to keep this a secret long enough for it to be tolerated? I… I need to talk to someone.' Kurenai scrunched her nose after that thought, deciding she should definitely take a shower before she spoke with anyone else.

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Naruto hadn't really wanted to leave Kurenai, but he knew she would need time to take a shower and prep herself. He was feeling pretty bad about how long it had been since he had spent much time with his dad, and figured that a couple hours while she got ready would be the perfect time to see him. "Dad! I'm back from the mission!" Those few words were enough to bring Gai running, though the massive dust trail coming from the direction of the nearest training ground showed he hadn't been lax while Naruto was gone. Then again, Gai was never lax.

"My Youthful son! I can barely believe my senses! How was traveling with Jiraiya and the Nidaime, did you manage to keep up with your training?" Naruto looked away as he was reminded about the Nidaime giving his second life just as he had his first, to protect those he loved. He hadn't spoken with Jiraiya about it, but he felt himself responsible for Orochimaru's escape. He forced a small smile, and turned back towards his father.

"Yeah, I did. Jiraiya even taught me a new technique, while the Nidaime just beat me up and called it training. I understand that he was telling the truth, but even holding most of his power back he decimated me." Rather than frown, or lecture, or try to convince Naruto that he was belittling himself, Gai acted with the same enthusiasm as always.

"Hahaha! You should be proud he thought it worthwhile to spar with you! Few in the history of the village have displayed the same type of power and dedication as Senju Tobirama. Only the Flames of Youth can guide someone on that path!" As was typical when Gai was in this kind of mood, his teeth audibly pinged and reflected the light from… behind him? The sun was at his back, and it wasn't late enough for street lights.

"I guess you're right, I just wish I hadn't screwed up so much on that mission. I barely managed to beat this weirdo with bone powers and transformative abilities, but Orochimaru stabbed me." Naruto was held back from immediately giving the rest of the details from his mission, as his father was looking back towards the gate Naruto left from. Probably trying to figure out if he could run fast enough to catch the traitor's trail.

"I'm alright, Tsunade helped me. Come on, let's go inside and I'll tell you everything that happened." Gai begrudgingly followed his adopted son inside their home, still glancing back in some vain hope of spotting the snake's base.

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"Anko, Yugao, I need your help. I know you both realize my feelings for Naruto, and before you say anything no. I haven't done anything… inappropriate with him. As much as I love him, he's not physically ready and I'm not mentally ready." The two kunoichi looked at Kurenai, one confused and one bored.

"I really don't see what you need our help for, I've already given you all the advice I can, and Yugao only goes for people that are slightly older and insanely talented. Even if they are sticks in the mud." Kurenai just ignored Anko's outburst, knowing that her friend was just trying to lighten the mood, either that or she was insanely bored.

"I'm not looking for dating advice, it's just… do you remember the first time I tried to be a sensei. That poor girl from the Kurama clan, Yakumo? I feel like having feelings for Naruto will make me fail the rest of the team as a sensei for a second time. I know that last time I was a Chunin, and training her was supposed to help me for when I tried to take on a full team, but I couldn't even train her alone. Now, I'm afraid of focusing too much on Naruto and losing my other students in the process."

The two other women looked at each other, silently deciding just what to say to their friend. Anko wanted to just tell Kurenai that she would be a great sensei anyway, but something was holding her back. "You already know what the responsible thing to do is, and that's ignore your feelings and train them equally. Failing that, you'll have to tell your team that you are unfit to be their sensei, and tell them that they will be given a new one by the Hokage." Kurenai and Anko both looked towards Yugao, whose face was completely blank of expression now.

The ANBU trick was easy to recognize, and they could tell she was only doing that to keep from wearing a face of sadness for Kurenai. "I just don't know, and I don't want to be stuck in a situation where I have to make that choice. It would be just as bad if I tried to ignore Naruto and ended up not giving him the training he needs. I know that he's going to start learning from Jiraiya soon, but there's no way he'll be around enough for Naruto to get a regular experience."

Anko spoke up again, voicing something she knew was bothering both of them. "Kurenai, where did this all come from? What put Yakumo back on your mind, especially now. You've been happy and successful so far, hell, one of your students even made Chunin first try." The crimson-eyed beauty sighed, fearing that she would have to answer this eventually.

"When I was struck with Itachi's technique, he tortured me, forced all of my greatest fears from the depths of my mind. Somehow, he could see them, steal my most tragic memories and make me see the worst possible consequences. What my feelings for Naruto might lead to, what my failure to help Yakumo might mean, what the amazing confidence I had in my team might lead them to do… It was all of my worst nightmares at once, accompanied by flaming blades in my skin." Kurenai had begun paleing as she described her experience in detail, both of her friends shuddering at the idea of that kind of torture.

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It was one of the few times the guards would let her out, allowing her to enjoy the one hobby she had left. She knew that none of them cared for her, and that she wouldn't have deserved it even if they did. Her brush flicked across the surface of her painting, creating black smoke and ruddy orange flames on her representation of a certain apartment complex. All she would have to do is focus, and keep pouring herself into this work. She knew that one day it would work, just like it had before.

A smirk cut its way across her face as she saw light and smoke bloom in the village, as she covered her new masterpiece with one she hadn't let the guards see earlier. No reason to let them know she was breaking free, at least not until her strength returned in full. Soon enough, she would finally show the village that they were right. She was someone to be feared.

The smile on the young teen's face flickered, morphing into a look of panic for a brief few seconds before the cruel look was reestablished. The dark smile grew the slightest amount. Soon, only one side of Yakumo would be in control, and the dark-side was confident that she would be it.

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Naruto rubbed his eyes, before letting out a curse. He had been walking to Kurenai's apartment to hang out, when he had watched one of the walls spontaneously combust. Being a shinobi, he knew that there were ways for that to happen, and none of them boded well. Quickly forming the one hand seal for the jutsu best for this situation, he sounded a shout. "Suiton: Mizurappa!"

Just as his water technique was about to smother the flames on the building, it instead crashed into the wall and blew out a chunk of the building. The fire was gone, and no evidence it had ever happened remained. "Naruto! Why did you attack my house?!" He turned to see Kurenai and her friends, staring at him in shock and confusion.

"Kurenai-sensei… I'm not sure. I was walking over to see you, and I saw your house on fire! When I tried to put it out, it just faded away like a genjutsu. I've never seen one that was so real though, not since the first time you hit me with the Hellview." Doubt crossed the faces of both of Kurenai's friends, while the woman herself just paled.

"Naruto, change of plans. Go get the rest of your teammates, we're having a team meeting immediately. I'm sorry, but this isn't something that can wait." She turned away from him immediately, heading towards the Hokage Tower. Yugao and Anko followed her, the three ignoring Naruto as he tried to question what was going on.

Endnote: I want anyone that thinks they can make a better title to send it to me, whether in a PM or Review. If I find more than one new title that I like a lot, there will be a poll to choose the new name. Also, the reworked chapters will be released before anything new for this story. Finally, I've decided to change minimum chapter length to 3,000 words. I'll do my best to release regularly again from now on.