Criticism is a big YES! If you have a problem with the story (such as descriptions because I know mine suck) or spot a grammatical/storyline error, please say so!

OO WOW. I cannot believe how much praise I got! It made me really, really happy so I thank you all! :3 I got so many reviews on the first (and short) chapter; thank you very much!

I'm really, really contented that you all enjoy my story and give me advice. It really makes my day (then again, so does a lot of other things xP). But, I don't think you would want me babbling on and on about how thankful I am.

So, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

(Sorry, it's kind of late. D:)

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"Speech"

'Thought'

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The Enemy of Your Enemy is Your Friend – Chapter Two: The Decision

"You really shouldn't make a fuss… how troublesome…" an exasperated Fox brunet said tiredly. His ears and tail drooped quite low, showing his weariness and displeasure. He wore a forest green vest and dark clothing underneath. His black hair was tied up in a fuzzy ponytail, which looked a lot like a pineapple's stem. He was leaning against a wall, his hands stuffed neatly into his pockets.

Sasuke paid no attention to the Fox and continued to turn away from the Wolf that tried to wash his face with a wet rag. There was absolutely no way he was going to let this mangy mutt (though, that was really untrue; he was actually very tidy-looking) wash his face with that!

"Come on… this is the fifth time today that you've done this…" the Wolf mumbled, sighing and setting the rag back inside the bowl of lukewarm water. His black hair was tied into a limp ponytail as he wore a loose, white shirt and pants; a black article of clothing was worn over them. "Shikamaru? 'You mind helping me?"

The lazy Fox shrugged; "Naruto ordered you to clean him, not me. I just happened to tag along."

The Wolf sarcastically drawled out, "Thanks; that helps a lot."

Shikamaru shrugged again; "No problem, Neji."

Neji turned back to Sasuke, only to be met with a hard glare. He sighed before wondering what he should do. The bedridden Wolf had only been here for a day and already made quite a few enemies. He vaguely asked himself if the other Wolf realized that he would need Naruto's Pack's help in order to survive.

Sasuke looked away from the two, deciding to stare angrily at the wooden wall instead. Stupid Naruto; stupid fucking deal; stupid, stupid, stupid! He was expected to "be respectful to the appropriate people; have a decent amount reliability, be attentive to others, and pull that stick out of your ass" as Naruto put it. He didn't give a shit at what he had to do; he just knew that he had to try. And what "try" meant to Sasuke was completely ignore any attempts that the pitiful Pack members made an effort to do. It didn't matter if they were trying to help him – he didn't want anyone to fucking touching him!!!

He immediately cringed when a rough wetness touched his cheek. Sasuke twisted his head and snapped at the hand that dare tried to touch him. He growled lowly, a warning to both Neji and Shikamaru. His eyes seemed to have a small red fire dance in them for half a second before disappearing just as quickly; Shikamaru sure didn't miss it.

With a worn out sigh, Shikamaru stood up from where he was and said, "Come on, Neji; there's no point in cleaning him if you can't. Let's just go tell Naruto that he isn't cooperating; better yet, we'll tell Naruto he isn't trying to. He wouldn't want a useless Wolf that doesn't accept help when it's offered to him; I doubt anyone would." He proceeded to walk through the curtains of the door and then waited for Neji to catch up.

Sasuke froze as he heard Shikamaru speak those words. 'You can stay in my Pack until your wounds heal…Deal?...Just try and it'll be enough…' The deal rang inside his head like an aggravating alarm clock. He… he would end up kicked out again if he didn't try. If… if they told Naruto that he didn't try… that would mean…

"W-wait!" he called out to the two, Neji almost leaving with the water bowl. He caught both of their attention but for some reason, he could feel Shikamaru smirking in triumph. "I'll… I'll sit still," he told them, with some trouble.

Neji looked towards Shikamaru and inquired, "Do I go back and clean him or…?"

The Fox nodded; "Yep, he should be sitting as still as a rock now. You won't have too much trouble now, right?" His gaze remained bored as he concluded, "Well, I'm going to leave; I better check what trouble Kiba's making now. See ya."

Neji inwardly snickered as he walked back inside. That was Shikamaru for you – trying to do everything the easiest way he could. He placed the bowl beside the bed and then pulled the sopping piece of cloth out of it.

Sasuke flinched as he witnessed Neji wring out the water from the worn out cloth. He assured himself that it would be worth it; that he wouldn't end up kicked out and be left to die in the wilderness again; which reminded him… Itachi… damn him!

Sasuke's fist clenched as Neji peered at him curiously. Well, either way, he had a tedious job to finish and he wanted it over with. Neji was quite surprised when Sasuke didn't react as the damp rag came in contact with his face. Hm, maybe Shikamaru made a bigger impact than he thought. In only a few minutes, Sasuke's face was completely cleaned and Neji was quite relieved. He wished the new Wolf would lighten up a little though; glaring at the wall in front of him would do nothing more than break down the poor shelter.

"Oi," he said, trying to catch Sasuke's attention. Unfortunately, he didn't. Neji shook his head drearily as he gathered his things and then stood up. Seriously, this guy needed an attitude adjustment. "I'm done, y'know. You should rest now, since there's nothing you can really do in your current state," Neji notified him before leaving. He looked back one last time, only to see that Sasuke hadn't moved at all. With another shake of his head, he walked through the curtains; what in the world did Naruto see in him?

---

Let hell freeze over, a monster storm strike, someone die, or something happen! Sasuke was bored the hell out of his mind. He had realized Neji had left right after he had snapped out of his trance and then quickly realized that he really didn't have anything to do in the time being. His legs were basically broken chopsticks he couldn't use, and he didn't really want to walk on his arms. So, he had decided to take a nap.

Five hours ago.

So, what the fucking hell was he supposed to do now? He was sitting up and lying around and turning over and whatever else he could do. He was bored, tired, and just wanted to hurry up and heal. He wanted to hurry up and kill the shit out of Itachi already so that it could be over with. Right now he was wasting time, healing his injuries while Itachi was getting stronger, stronger than him! It didn't help how his bastard-of-a-brother was already able to pulverize him into bits.

His fist clenched as he slammed his head against the wall. Sasuke flinched and then gingerly rubbed the backside of his head. Okay, he wouldn't do that next time; definitely not.

"Well, no wonder I heard some strange ruckus from here! You were hurting yourself! But that kind of deters away from your goal of full health, doesn't it?" An overly cheerful voice disrupted his silence and for once, Sasuke thought the silent boredom was better; by, say, a lot.

He glared at whoever dared to come in and was met with some strange person. His silver hair looked like a bristled paint brush working against gravity and wore almost the exact same clothing as Shikamaru, just with darker blue clothes underneath the green vest. It made Sasuke wonder if that was a uniform in this Pack. His Wolf ears were high and alert and his tail was swishing happily behind him; well, something seemed to have made him pleased. Plus, he was holding a tray of… was that food? Now that Sasuke thought about it, he was hungry.

"Yo," the silver-haired Wolf greeted before sitting on the bed. Sasuke noticed how he wore a slanted headband, covering his left eye. Come to think of it, didn't Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru wear something similar or exact to that? And what about that blue mask that covered his mouth?

Without consent, the older Wolf abruptly dropped the tray of food on top of Sasuke's lap, causing him to jump slightly. He glared harder at the man before looking over the contents: half a bowl of some kind of vegetable soup, a large piece of bread, and a ripe apple. Sasuke stared hard at the man before he sheepishly replied, "Sorry, we currently do not have any fresh meat. They haven't been in season lately…

"So, let me introduce myself! My name is Kakashi; Kakashi Hatake. And your name… your name's Sasuke, right?" Kakashi – as the man stated – seemed to smile beneath his mask, though Sasuke wasn't sure. His eyes sure looked like they were smiling though… "Now, Sasuke; I bet you're wondering what the ranks are here."

Sasuke loosened his glare a bit as he took a bite of the bread – wow, it was surprisingly soft – and replied, "No, not really…"

Kakashi, unfazed by the slightly negative response, reacted, "Well, I was instructed to explain to you the ranks of our Pack. So let's start this, shall we?

"Now, every Pack has an Alpha and Beta – you must know that. Here, we have them as well only we call them 'Hokage' and 'Sannin.' It's like a nickname for the occupants of the position. Right underneath them are the Jounin, in charge of the housing and care of the village. Below them are Chunnin, set to watch over the lowest rank, Genin. Now, of course, there must be some kind of Omega, correct? Well, Naruto's version of an Omega is simply an innocent villager than can live peacefully with the other ranked members. Now, do you have any questions?"

Just as Sasuke was about to ask something, Kakashi clapped his hands together and exclaimed, "Good! Now, are you done with your food yet?" Both of the Wolves looked over at the tray that held the empty bowl and plate. The apple was in Sasuke's hand.

Without warning, Kakashi snatched away the tray holding the empty dishes and nearly made Sasuke scream. He would've, without a doubt, if it wasn't for that troubling pride his family always carried. The brunet of the two glared fiercely at the maddening man as he brutally bit off a piece of the red apple; it looked like the apple had had an arm ripped off.

Kakashi's mood seemed to deteriorate a little and then complained, "Oi, oi; don't you ever stop glaring at everything? You'll scare away potential friends if you keep that up. Even I don't like you very much, and I've practically befriended everybody here within a few minutes." It seemed his words had no effect on the boy, seeing as he was still glaring at him and viciously killing the poor fruit; it seemed perfect and easy to imagine Sasuke as a giant monster attacking and destroying an innocent bystander. Kakashi couldn't help but wonder why Sasuke was so stuck up; he pondered about whether or not telling him that his pride would hurt himself more than help. But, he'd give Sasuke another chance; he hoped he made the right choice.

"Listen; you're basically going to sit in this bed for the next couple of days – or weeks – considering your injuries. It'd be better if you just let everyone help you; otherwise, it'll take forever for your wounds to heal by themselves… hey, are you even listening to me?" Unfortunately, Sasuke was being a stubborn mule again; right after he had heard "listen," he had virtually tuned out the wiser Wolf's words. Kakashi sighed – he mused how many times the others sighed because of Sasuke – before saying, "Well, it's your fault if you don't reach your goal. My work's done here." As he turned around, he felt something violently slam into his back and realized that it was the brutalized apple… well, what was left of it.

Sasuke inwardly sulked after he hurled the apple core at Kakashi. Who was he to talk to him like that? Sasuke didn't care. He was only here because of that damn Itachi! Sure; he had agreed willingly to stay here, but the circumstances were too… too… irritating! There was practically no way in heaven, hell, purgatory, or all of them mixed together that he would be able to abide the conditions. The next time Naruto came, Sasuke was going to tell him that; the blond Fox seemed considerate enough…

This sure wasn't going well, Kakashi thought. Naruto was going to have to come back and explain to Sasuke that the deal was permanent and no changes were allowed; after all, that was the way the rock named Naruto rolled. He mulled over between telling Sasuke about the minimum amount of people that knew about their agreement and keeping his mouth bolt shut; the hoary-haired Wolf decided to choose safe over sorry, knowing how… frightening Naruto was when he was angered.

The silver paintbrush strolled out of the door but not before leaving a tidbit for the smaller Wolf. "Just a little wise saying for you, Sasuke; 'a child who sleeps well, grows well.'" He instantly dodged the flying monster that was cannoned at him. Kakashi picked up the soft pillow and then secretly glared at Sasuke; he was going to take it the hard way, eh?

Seriously, Sasuke absolutely hated that guy. Who the hell would ever like that excuse of an adult? Sasuke sure wouldn't. Then, he realized that he had just recklessly thrown away the softest pillow he had ever been on. Curse himself and his temper! 'Fuck, now what am I going to sleep on?' he fumed. As if an answer from nearby, said pillow slammed right into his face.

'Bull's eye.' Kakashi inwardly cheered as he heard loud cursing from inside the shelter. Innocuous onlookers tried to peer questionably into the house but thought against it; anyone who would shamelessly retort out all those words would obviously kill them.

---

It was only a few hours when Kakashi had left and Sasuke sighed once more as he examined his hurt legs. The bandages were quite thick and Sasuke didn't know exactly where to tear off so he could only look at the tightly wound gauze around his legs. He could shift his limbs higher but only so by a few inches. Any higher and he would have gone suicidal.

He was trying to keep a straight face but no matter how many attempts he made, he always ended up frowning which marred his ever-so-perfect face. He drew unusual polygons and lines on the palm of his hand with his finger and one couldn't help but wonder what he was doing. If one could read his mind, they would have nightmares the rest of their life. Sasuke was planning different ways to torture and kill his brother. Poor psychics.

'Tie him up and… roast him over a bonfire!' He crossed that out mentally and physically on his hand as he stared at the slightly curled hand. What else could he do to Itachi that didn't include butchering him up and feeding the fishes, chopping his head off and using it as a pencil eraser, poisoning him through another animal, and etc…? Just as he was about to answer that, a terrifying grotesque shriek and face appeared in front of him, alarming him.

"GOOD DAY, YOUNG ONE!" the crazy Fox shrieked. Sasuke acted on instincts – he viciously punched the invader in the right eye. The green-clothed booger stood up with his arms crossed and nodded, with a light bruise forming, as if commending a good pupil. "You have reflexes like that of a wild cat! That is needed! I praise thee for such great talent! Of course, you will never be able to work up to my skills but do not worry! No one has accomplished that! Errm, well… maybe one person…"

Sasuke scanned over the very, very, very insane and bizarre man. He wore a tight puke-green jumpsuit, completely different from Naruto's more preferable bright orange suit. His black hair was shining too brightly, without even a streak of sunshine hitting it (which Sasuke felt like doing to the man); it was shaped like a fish bowl and Sasuke wondered if there was any dead fish in there – it looked… like that enough. Over the horrendous green clothing was the vest he had seen on the others. Fox ears and tail jutted out of him, like it didn't belong there.

Sasuke wondered if he had pissed his pants out of fear. His face was too frozen out of shock to glare at him and went involuntarily quiet (though, he wasn't sure what he would say to the green stranger even if he did talk to him).

"Anyways!" the green giant declared, though nothing was there to declare; "My name is Gai Maito! Any name will be heeded and tested worthy if 'Gai' itself is not used!" He flashed a wink to Sasuke, giving one of those overly-used "nice guy" poses and Sasuke couldn't help but blurt out, "What?"

Gai blinked bewilderedly but recovered from it quickly and repeated, "My name is Gai Maito! Any name will be heeded and tested worthy if 'Gai' itself–"

"I heard you the first time! I mean… what – why are you here?" Sasuke had resorted to using pointless and useless arm movements, pointing to every and anything that could further explain his question. He had a feeling Gai was one of those people who didn't understand things the first time it was said.

"Why, my child–" "I'm not your child!" "– I am here to instruct you the basic structure of this Pack's hierarchy!" Gai explained, with his rude loud voice and radiant teeth.

Sasuke was about to retort but then rewinded Gai's words. To "instruct the basic structure of this Pack's hierarchy"…? "Kakashi already told me about that," Sasuke notified the seemingly overconfident Fox.

Gai's composure fell back, stumbling over nothing and doing three reverse somersaults over the wooden floor before crashing with the wall connected to it; his body was in a peculiar angle with his legs dangling over his head as his face was plastered onto the just rolled on floor. Sasuke wondered if he was still alive until the booger rapidly crawled back to the bed; Sasuke's hairs stood on its own ends.

"My child!" "I thought I told you–" "What did you just say?"

The Wolf stopped mid-sentence of his angry reply as humungous bug eyes stared expectantly at him. It made him feel uneasy to no end and so he answered slowly, "Kakashi. Told. Me. About. The. Hierarchy. Already."

Those bug eyes stayed there for a few moments longer (which were extremely uncomfortable to Sasuke) before the craziest dude Sasuke had ever seen disappeared out of the shelter, leaving behind a thick trail of dust and smoke. Sasuke coughed as he tried to wave it away with his hand and cringed when he heard the loud declaration of "DAMN YOU, KAKASHI!"

Sasuke looked at his palm again and wrote with his index finger, 'Give that guy to the Akatsuki.'

That was the best plan possible.

---

A growing old male Wolf walked towards a certain shelter. His hair and sideburn-connected-beard looked almost blue as he strolled along the path. He wore what all the other Jounin and some Chunnin wore – the pocketful green vest and blue paired clothes underneath. His headband was worn on his forehead, showing that he wasn't just an ordinary Omega. He had a white stick hanging out of his mouth and he disposed of it, crushing it into the ground with his foot, as he reached his destination.

He entered the house with a smile and immediately felt an intense negative aura emitting from the farthest corner in the room. Well, there was his first analysis of the boy. He scanned the room, hoping that the object of attention wasn't him anymore, before sighing in defeat and then ever-so-cautiously walking up to Sasuke.

He put his smile on again – and felt the significant increase in negativity – as he greeted, "Hello, Sasuke; I am Asuma Sarutobi. It's a… pleasure to meet you." Of course, the last statement was nearly a complete lie since he was trying to ignore the young Wolf's hostility.

What was he supposed to explain to him again…? Oh right, he had to explain the jobs each rank did here. Asuma wished he had an easier, less stressful job…

"Well, I hope you'll cooperate with me for the short time I'm going to be here. I have to give details to you about the jobs of each rank of the Pack, since you're going to be standing and walking sooner or later." Asuma waited for the younger Wolf to show signs of support but Sasuke's face never faltered. He sighed before bothering to explain to the naïve Wolf.

Asuma decided to start with the basics. "Kakashi must've already told you about the ranks, right? Well, each rank has a specific job. We'll start from the lowest to the top, all right?" He waited for Sasuke to at least nod but the younger brunet merely continued glaring at him, wanting him out of his sight.

Asuma cleared his throat before further explaining, "The Genin are to help others like them try and earn a higher status, at least a Chunnin. Said Chunnin normally watch over the Genin, supervising their conditions and such; though, some can help the Jounin in looking over the Pack. The village consists of…" He stopped and then eyed the boy, hoping he was listening. Sasuke seemed to be listening, considering his alert ears but Asuma was doubtful… but he wanted this over as quickly as possible so he continued, "The village consists of shelters like these" – he smacked the wooden wall next to him a few times – "and basically the Pack members. Naruto only comes here every… two or three weeks."

The information on Naruto seemed to be an alarm clock to Sasuke and he instantly asked, "Why, why?"

Albeit surprised, Asuma answered, "Well, I'll tell you that when I'm at Hokage." He knew the male was impatient but he'd have to learn. Who knew what rank Naruto was planning on making him? Hopefully not as high as a Jounin… "Jounin look over the condition of the village, repairing cracks and creaks and the overall welfare. Sannin… I'm not so sure about; they haven't been here in a while. However, Hokage" – Sasuke's eyes seemed more attentive, Asuma noticed – "has to protect both the village and residents in it."

"Why doesn't he stay in the Pack then?" Sasuke interrupted.

"Well… there is two halves of this Pack – this is Konoha and the other is Roots. Roots is high up in the mountains while Konoha is down in the grasslands; Roots is near one of the most important water banks in this entire plain and so it could be easy to die from loss of water. Naruto has to spend his time supervising Roots so that Konoha can stay healthy and happy." Asuma wasn't supposed to tell Sasuke that but knew that he would have to learn it sooner or later; better now than never, he supposed.

The young Wolf seemed to be deep in thought now, most likely pondering about how a Pack could have two halves. Asuma sighed quietly and then notified Sasuke, "Well, that's all I have to say. Someone'll come by to give you your dinner, all right?" He ambled back to the entrance and took a quick back-glance at the seemingly thoughtful Wolf. Asuma sighed; 'I can't really say he deserves a good review, considering what I know about him.'

---

It was nightfall now, a few hours after Asuma had visited Sasuke. He was currently residing in another shelter, his forehead perched upon his folded hands. He heard the gentle tap of a teacup being placed down and he looked up into gentle chocolate eyes. "Thank you, Iruka," he said, before taking a careful sip.

The Fox brunet smiled gently at Asuma before turning to glare at the man in front of the Wolf. "Kakashi, it'd be nice if you were polite like Asuma for once," he scolded the silver-haired Wolf. Kakashi waved it off, saying, "You know you wouldn't love me for something I'm not." He winced when a light slap connected with his scalp and rubbed the slightly abused spot as the nose-scarred Chunnin strolled back to the sink.

The perimeter of the nearby entrance burst down and a sun fraud appeared behind it. It hopped on in inside and was soon to be revealed to be Gai. But before he could shout a declaration to the world, Iruka warned, "The door is pushing the line, Gai; don't go and wake up the rest of the village."

Of course, Gai obeyed but did send a side-glare to Kakashi as he sat next to said man. (Iruka was very scary and dangerous when he was mad and wielding a kitchen knife at the same time.) Someone else seemed to arrive through the wider opening, albeit more appropriable and quietly.

"Sorry, I'm late," Kurenai apologized, her pitch black curls lying across her shoulders. She wore a red sleeve over her right arm which trailed into ribbon-like clothing. Her thighs and forearms were covered with what appeared to be gray bandages.

"No worries; Gai was late too," Kakashi assured her, waving that insolent hand again.

"No shouting in this household, Gai," Iruka warned as he began to wash dirty dishes.

Gai sat back down as he had stood up, prepared to challenge Kakashi.

Kurenai sat down beside Asuma and a… pause seemed to hover over the group. Only the sound of running water and clanking dishes was heard; after approximately seven minutes were wasted, Kurenai decided to start the conversation. "Well, considering no one else is talking… I think that the newcomer Sasuke… is a little unapproachable. He doesn't like people, even though it's obvious he needs help… in many ways."

Asuma nodded his head in agreement, like he was waiting for her to say something; "He was very intolerable of my presence in the room and I doubt that he listened to a word I said."

"I think my words went through one ear and out the other," Kakashi added; "He basically ignored me and gave me the devil's eye the entire time. He even went as far as to eat his food… violently."

It was one of those rare times where Gai was actually serious. "He is not very open-minded and is quite… 'independent' you could say. Though, I think the more fitting word would be 'overconfident'…" As the green beast nodded his head in confirmation, the others thought, 'You're overconfident as well.'

Kakashi cleared his throat as he continued, "He isn't a very… patient person and doesn't take advice from most likely anyone. I suspect it is pride that is in the way."

A neutral silence fell over all of them briefly before Asuma sighed and finally said, "Shikamaru, come inside already."

The ingenious Fox slowly entered the wooden building, his hands in his pockets as he asked, "And?"

Kakashi sighed as he questioned Shikamaru, "How'd you find out?"

Shikamaru shrugged; "I hit a few buttons here and there; tried out a few formulas; Sasuke's as easy to read as a Genin-level book; it didn't take long to figure it out and all."

"So, how'd you figure out about this discussion?" Kurenai queried, a delicate eyebrow rising ever-so-slightly.

"Intuition."

"Right," Kakashi remarked, quite sarcastic; "So, do you have any comments on our recent recruitment?"

Shikamaru nodded and then answered, "He's very gullible and naïve, his pride hurts him most, he focuses on one thing and that one thing only, throws away what everyone says, and has a very unique power in him that could corrupt him."

The four mulled over Shikamaru's observations as said Fox pulled over a wooden chair to the table and snatched Kakashi's unused cup of cooling tea.

"Hey… I was going to drink that," Kakashi told him, pointing to the stolen cup; Shikamaru paid no attention to the unneeded bit of information.

After a while, Kurenai commented, "What Shikamaru says is true. When I gave him his dinner and tried convincing him into a chat, he simply turned away to eat the food. It was like I wasn't there in the room, although it was obvious. He didn't even acknowledge me when I left the room with the empty platter. The power… I'm not sure what you mean by that Shikamaru but I'll take your word for it."

"You have to see it in order to know," Shikamaru notified the older female, taking another sip of the stolen tea.

The discussion seemed to be a one-way trip, looking a bit grim.

Gai stated, "It seems that Sasuke is too big a deal for simply us. Even us few powerful Jounin" – Shikamaru cleared his throat loudly – "and intellectual Chunnin know that. He can cause trouble for the Pack if he doesn't change his ways."

Asuma sighed, for him and everyone else in the room, for they knew what this meant. A pregnant hush hung over the room and Iruka found the voice to break it. He turned away from the nearly done dishes and spoke, "It looks like… we're going to need Naruto."

Another piece of stillness coated the household again. The simple and quiet mutter of "bullshit" from anonymous was the only sound besides silence that was heard. Iruka sighed; this was the only decision and it wasn't a very nice one.

"I'm afraid it's the only choice," Iruka spoke again, reading everyone's mind.

The room seemed to carry an awkward atmosphere as everyone tried to think through what other possibilities there could be, that could be taken instead.

Kakashi rubbed his temples as he finally admitted, "We all know Iruka is right; we can't deny the truth. The newbie's too big of a deal for us. Someone's going to have to go and bring Naruto back to Konoha."

"But that could take weeks!" Gai slammed the coffee table before them, the volume of his voice nearing a yell. He sheepishly sat back down when he felt Iruka glare warningly at him.

Kurenai nodded wearily and responded, "It takes almost one week to reach Roots, not to mention how dangerous it could be if someone saw us going. We could be risking everyone's lives by this single choice."

"This is so troublesome…" Shikamaru bit out tiredly as he sat down the cup.

Asuma stared at the table, his lips pursed slightly above his folded hands. "Naruto is expecting a report in a week and if we don't decide today… if we don't decide that Naruto has to come back… we'll be risking everyone's lives. It's either Sasuke or another enemy that's going to damage our Pack… which one is the bigger threat?"

Asuma's wise words floated inside everyone's mind and everyone mulled over it. Though, Shikamaru had no problem deciding. "Bring Naruto back. There's no other choice. Not even the entire Pack combined has the same effect Naruto can have on somebody. We could have someone reliable up there to replace Naruto for the time being, but I wouldn't recommend that. We're not that stupid of an animal to let a threat go on for long. We either do it now or never."

Only a few moments passed by before everyone agreed. Naruto was going to come down from the mountains to fix the problem.

If only it could be that simple.

---

Hooray! I finished my chapter! 8D That took forever… ._.; I apologize if everything goes a bit too quickly, is confusing, or whatever else the problem is. You could leave it in a review so I won't make the same mistake again. Hinting…? Maybe. ;)

So, I apologize for taking… how long has it been? Three weeks? I think so. I'm sorry for taking such a long period of time on a single chapter! Dx I actually have a few unfinished one-shots stocked inside my computers that I tried to finish in that time period but never had the time to actually do so… I'm confident they'll be up someday though! :D

Again, another attempt at humor. ._.; I'm not entirely sure I was funny but it's the thought that counts, right? :X

So, leave a review? Please? It'll make my chapter seem like it was worth the wait. Dx

[PS – I made a sketch (fanart if you will) for the first chapter of this! x3 It'd make me happy if you check it out! It's in my profile!]

– Choices out –