Author's Notes:Good news everyone! I should be able to get the next chapter out much much sooner. Why you ask? I recently lost my job. On the other hand I do have a particular set of skills that are in high demand atm. So hopefully that'll be fixed soon.

Anyways, you aren't here to hear about that. You're here to read, so here we go.

Chapter 25: What's a Jinchuriki?

Slam!

The Hokage and his advisors jumped into battle ready positions. The pipe fell from his mouth as he launched up and away from his desk. Danzo drew his cane sword and moved in front of his kage. Koharu slid into position between Danzo and the Hokage's desk, slamming her hands together to prepare for a genjutsu, while Homaru jumped in front of Danzo, covering the crippled man's weaker side.

The intruder made it two steps before the council realized who he was.

"Jiraiya?" the Hokage said, surprised.

The spy master slammed something onto desk. "What the…hell is this?"

"What are you talking about?" Danzo said, angrily sheathing his sword.

"I got this from a contact in Mist. This is exactly what we were trying to avoid!" he said pointing angrily at the bloody book he had startled them with.

"Is that a.." Danzo demanded, as Sarutobi grabbed the book and began flipping through it.

"A bingo book," Jiraiya said grimly.

The Hokage's eyes widened. "ANBU!" he called, and several ninja appeared and began to bow, but Sarutobi immediately ordered "Get Shikaku! I don't care how 'troublesome' his wife will be! I want him here five minutes ago!"

Danzo frowned and sat, addressing Jiraiya. "What is this you've discovered?"

Jiraiya didn't respond. He began to pace. "I've spent the last thirteen years trying to avoid this! I've been bribing people, tricking and killing them; and now that's all down the drain!"

Shikaku appeared, stifling a yawn, and shirtless. "What's going on?" he asked. The Hokage threw the book at him and he caught it. "This better be good. My wife is going to..." His eyes widened and he straightened. "Shit."

Danzo sat back in his chair. "For the sake of us all, could you read what's got you up in arms?"

Shikaku made a hand sign and the doors to the office closed. Jiraiya pulled out a scroll and slapped his hand on it. The ink on the paper flowed off and began to cover all the surfaces in the room. The two frowned at the smoke that gave away the location of seals meant for listening in. Danzo glanced at Sarutobi but his face betrayed nothing. He simply nodded at Shikaku to proceed.

"Naruto Uzumaki, the Many." Everyone was suddenly on edge, including the ANBU concealed in the room. Danzo leaned forward and placed his hands on his cane as Shikaku continued, "Low C-Rank threat, possibly high B-Rank, Naruto's abilities seem to consist mostly of his shadow clone technique. He is capable of producing large quantities of clones. He also has been seen using both water and fire techniques. Considering he is a shinobi of the Leaf, his primary element is most likely fire. He has blonde hair and blue eyes indicating the possibility of Yamanaka blood; though that is unlikely due to his last name. He has not displayed any sign of seal knowledge yet meaning Uzumaki may just be a tribute to the fallen clan. The most concerning fact is that he has three whisker-like marks on each cheek. This combined with his age - approximately thirteen - points to him most likely being the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed-Fox. His teammates are Hinata Hyuuga and Kiba Inzuka. His sensei is Kurenai Yuuhi, the 'Genjutsu Mistress'." Shikaku sighed and closed the book. "Seven thousand nine hundred twenty ryo bounty for his death, posted by Iwa."

"This is bad." Koharu said.

"They know more than they are letting on." Danzo said, and all eyes turned to him. "That's a low bounty for a possible Jinchuriki, but that number… seven hundred ninty two... that is the number of Stone shinobi and samurai the Fourth killed during the war. They are letting us know that they know the boys' father. They wouldn't have pointed out the blonde hair and blue eyes if it wasn't relevent. They know."

Jiraiya's frown deepened. "That's what I thought too. I ran here as soon as I got a hold of this copy."

"The question is, now what do we do?" Homura asked.

"What we don't do is run around in a panic, let alone across countries," Shikaku said glaring at Jiraiya.

The spymaster let out a humorless laugh. "Give me some credit! I left a shadow clone. It's probably still at the brothel! I left that location under cover. I burned three masks on my way here."

"Good," Shikaku said folding his hands together. The room was silent as the scarred jonin contemplated. After a few minutes he said, "We do nothing."

Jiraiya cocked his head. "Excuse me?"

"Any direct actions will show them that they are right. So, we do nothing. Instead, we step up our patrols - a normal response to having a member of our village put in the bingo book - and we keep putting Naruto on missions. And, of course, we most definitely don't let him know of this."

Elsewhere, in the Land of Cliffs…

"I'm in the bingo book! I'm a badass!"

"Damn it, Naruto! Let me see!"

"He will need to be trained correctly," Koharu stated. "He's currently an incomplete weapon."

"He's still a kid," Jiraiya said hotly.

Danzo narrowed his eyes at him. "That kind of thought is why you were given your mission in the first place."

"Jiraiya is right," Sarutobi said. "We don't want to force Naruto to grow up too quickly. That can break a ninja."

"He's a solider. He'll adapt."

Sarutobi frowned. "I'm not willing to risk compromising someone like Naruto. He's got too much power in him to allow him to break. We've spent too long carefully guiding his emotional development to risk it now."

Danzo leaned back. "Then how do you suggest make him mature faster?"

Jiraiya folded his arms. "Give him to me."

Koharu shook her head. "Let's just hand over the possible son of the Fourth Hokage to Jiraiya, his father's teacher. Isn't it obvious what would that say?"

"The Inuzuka are taking the boy in. Send him on a few C-Rank missions with them. It'll give him plenty of experience."

Jiraiya slammed his hand down. "I want to train him."

"Jirai-"

"Don't give me that crap! I've wanted him, but I agreed with you before. There were things only I could do to keep our home safe! But he's my godson damn it!" Sarutobi held up a hand to stop his student mid-rant, but Jiraiya ignored it. "We wanted to keep him out of sight on the larger stage as long as possible, but he's already on it! So give him to me and then at least I can protect him!"

Shikaku sighed. "He's got a point."

Sarutobi shook his head. "Not yet, we'll have to see how it goes with having Naruto work with a few members of the Inuzuka clan first. If things progress, then we'll let you have him. Is that alright by you Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya slowly nodded. "Fine, but if anything happens..."

"You'll be the first to know," Sarutobi said, nodding. He leaned back and chewed on his pipe. "In the meantime, we have to act on the threat of Iwa… Shikaku, I think Naruto's pranks have gone on long enough. Inform the ANBU the next time Naruto manages to pull a prank off, they have to get the D-Rank to clean it up."

"Well, that just spells trouble. That'll get them in gear."

Sarutobi nodded. "Just don't let them know that Naruto is practicing a genjutsu technique. We'll save that for if we find out there is an attack coming soon."

Shikaku nodded and yawned.

"Koharu, Homura, we know of three Iwa spies, correct?"

"Yes sir," they answered.

"Good. Kill two of them and move their watchers to the third." Again nods were his only response. He turned toward Danzo. "Make sure ROOT is ready."

"They are."

"Excellent. Dismissed." Jiraiya sighed and lifted his hand off the scroll and the ink on the surfaces of the room dissipated. As everyone began to leave the room the Hokage turned to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, a moment please, I have something for you to look at."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at the seal that was slid across the desk to him. He lifted it up and began looking it over. "This seal work is atrocious, but it is very strong. Who's work?"

Sarutobi smiled. "Naruto's."

In the Land of Cliffs, Naruto continued to read through the bingo book. "Hey look! Sensei is in here too!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kiba tried reading over Naruto's shoulders. "What's it say?"

"'Kurenai Yuuhi, the Genjutsu Mistress'." Naruto chuckled. "Kinda a boring title."

The Mist ninja shrugged. "The titles aren't meant to be threatening or scary. They're meant to be some sort of memory trick to know what someone is known for. Like yours, 'the Many', it makes it easier to remember that you use a lot of clones."

Naruto frowned. "I guess that makes sense. Still, I wish mine was more badass."

The Mist ninja that had twisting his head around earlier grunted. "Take it, kid, it's better than mine. I'm known as 'the Flexible.'"

The Kohona ninja stared at him. Kiba regarded Naruto with amazement. "Dude, you got an awesome name."

Naruto shrugged and went back to reading. "'High B-Rank threat. Kurenai's chakra nature is yin related, as she mostly uses genjutsu. She does have a high affinity for fire jutsu as well. Her chakra reserves are low however, due to the nature of her techniques. Her skill with genjutsu has gotten her a great amount of recognition in Kohona and allowed her to apprentice a member of the Kurama clan. With the decline of the Uchiha clan, she is most likely the greatest genjutsu user in Kohona. Current students are Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga, and Kiba Inuzuka. One hundred fifty thousand ryo bounty for live capture, ninety thousand for death, posted by Iwa."

Naruto smiled. "Our teacher is a badass!"

Kiba moved to grab the book. "Let me see!"

Naruto yanked it out of reach. "No way! I'm not done!"

Kiba dove at Naruto forcing him to drop the book. "Damn it man! Lemme read!"

"Bite me, dog breath!" Naruto retorted, before screaming. "Ow! You weren't actually supposed to bite me!"

The two began to fight; Naruto was trying to get his arm out of Kiba's mouth, and Kiba was trying to pound Naruto into submission. The fight was quickly broken by a quiet voice. "What's a Jinchuriki?"

Kiba slowly got up, and turned toward Hinata. "It's…" he trailed off as he followed Hinata's gaze. The shy girl was looking at Naruto, and only him.

Naruto grimaced and looked around. "Uh..."

The Mist ninja shifted to face each other, the movement getting everyone's attention. The three ninja made subtle movements with their hands and their heads, holding a complete conversation without saying a word. As one they turned to face the group, with the leader stepping forward. "Hinata, a Jinchuriki is someone who has had some form of a demon sealed within them. Bjuu, the tailed beasts, like the Kyuubi that attacked your village more than ten years ago, cannot be killed like you or I. They die, but they will reform. They don't have physical bodies, they are just forms of chakra, and chakra doesn't just die. So, to get rid of one, you have to contain it. You have to seal it… into a human."

"Naruto," a guard called out, "the Daimyo would like to see you now."

Naruto glanced at Hinata, and then bolted toward the door.

Kiba glared at the hunter ninja. The leader rubbed the back of his head. "Secrets like that… tend to get out."

Kiba just growled softly.

Kurenai chewed on her lip as she watched the door. She was waiting for her students to come through. She didn't want to leave them with the Mist ninja, but the Daimyo wasn't going to allow her to see her students until he had interrogated each of them.

Naruto had come through after her, somewhat in a daze. She had to touch him to grab his attention when he walked past her. What he told her was horrifying. She was in the bingo book. Naruto was in the bingo book. Those two things were bad enough - as now they were targets - but not only that, now Hinata was going to ask questions about Naruto being a Jinchuriki!

Kurenai knelt down in front of Naruto. "Naruto, are you scared about Hinata knowing about… that?"

Naruto quietly nodded. "Yeah, what if she hates me like everyone else?'

"Not everyone hates you," Kurenai pointed out. "Iruka and I don't."

Naruto looked away. "You both did at first. You both started with blaming me for the Fox."

Kurenai winced. Off to a bad start here… "True, but once we got to know you, we both apologized, right?"

"I suppose so."

"Hinata has never known about the Fox, and she already knows you quite well. Kiba knew you quite well before he knew about the Fox too, right? That didn't go too bad, right?"

Naruto folded in on himself. Logically, he knew exactly what she was saying. Emotionally though, he was still worried. "I guess not..."

Kurenai sighed, before shaking her head. "Naruto, if I know Hinata at all, I don't think you need to worry. In fact, I would have thought she would have been the first person you'd tell, not Kiba."

Naruto turned and looked up hopefully at her. "Really? Why?"

Because she practically worships the ground you walk on? Kurenai smiled and ran her hand over his hair. "Call it a woman's intuition."

Naruto grumbled and tried fixing his hair, which was pointless, it was always a mess. "That's not a real thing."

"Oh trust me, it is. It saved my life many a time."

"No way!" Naruto said folding his arms.

"Yes way," Kurenai said smiling, imagining Naruto as a little brother for a bit. She laughed before ruffling his hair more and standing back up. "Why don't you go and get back to the room. You still have lots of studying to do. I don't think the Mist ninja will try anything with all eyes on us."

Naruto nodded. "Okay! Later sensei!"

Kurenai smiled as she watched the boy run off. The more she thought about it, the more she found herself almost wanting to thank the Mist ninja. It was better for Hinata to find out sooner rather than later. The more they shared with each other, the tighter-knit they'd be. Keeping Hinata out of the loop was alienating the girl - which wasn't helping Hinata's confidence - and letting her in would only draw her closer.

Kurenai groaned. She did not want have to explain the rules on dating as ninja to Naruto and Hinata, but that was where that was where things were going to go. A boy who desperately wants attention and a girl who wanted to give him just that. If only Naruto could get over his crush on Sakura…

On second thought, scratch that, she didn't want to have to explain to Hinata. The poor girl would be so embarrassed. Explaining it to Naruto, however, would be hilarious; unless he hadn't had the 'talk' yet. She should probably check with Iruka. If Naruto hadn't had it yet, she'd make Iruka do it, or maybe Anko.

A few minutes later, the Mist leader came out. He waved to Kurenai and walked over. "Hey, I'm guessing this was more than you signed on for too." He rubbed the side of his neck sheepishly. "I'm sorry. We showed them the bingo book, but it didn't occur to us that your village would keep some of the things in it secret even to your own people."

"I want to see his entry," Kurenai stated. The man nodded and produced his book. She quickly found the entry in question and frowned. "I see..." she said.

"I'm guessing the suspicions are correct. He does have it."

Kurenai closed the book and moved to hand it over. "Are you going to confirm it?" she demanded.

He shook his head. "Hey, Iwa is the one with a bone to pick. Sure we could help them out, but that'll just piss off Kohona. We can't afford to antagonize either side at the moment. Nope, this is going to remain our little secret for now." He shrugged. "Or it most likely will, anyways. I'll hand it to our new Mizukage, but she probably won't go for it." He pointed at the book. "You know you're in there too, Genjutsu Mistress."

Kurenai frowned, she had forgotten about that. She looked herself up and frowned. "Looks like I need to increase my chakra capacity."

He shrugged. "Or learn some new skills. If I had to hunt you down, I'd just get in your way, stilling my chakra every few seconds." He started walking away, leaving her with the book. "I asked the Daimyo to process us first. The Inuzuka in there is righteously pissed at us, so I wanted to get out of your hair. Sorry again about revealing stuff."

Kurenai waited until he was gone, before sighing. She looked at the book in her hands. "I don't care what they say, when we get back, nice and easy D-Ranks for a month!" She groaned as she leaned back against the wall. "Nice and easy, there is no need to worry about state secrets or enemy ninja… and gods I'm sounding like Nara."

Naruto kicked a rock as he walked through the streets. He didn't want Hinata to know about the Furball, but now that cat - or rather the fox - had gotten out of the bag. He kicked the rock again as he passed it. His gut twisted like he had drank rotten milk. If Hinata wound up looking at him like all the villagers he didn't know what he'd do.

His train of thought was broken as he knocked over a teenage girl, spilling the contents of her basket. "Ah! Sorry!" he shouted. Immediately he started picking up the herbs and salves rolling over the ground. "Lemme help!"

"Oh, thank you," the girl said. "I apologize for getting in your way."

Naruto shook his head as he handed over several tubs of medicine. "It's my fault. I wasn't paying attention."

The girl smiled sweetly at him, and some part of his mind compared her to Sakura; and found Sakura lacking. This girl had a very pale complexion and long, dark hair that framed her face. She tilted her head and she studied him in return. "You look like you have much on your mind."

"Ah," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head, "yeah, I was thinking about my friend..."

The girl picked up some herbs before they were trampled. "Care to share?"

Naruto laughed. "Nah, it's okay."

"You sure?" she asked. "Sometimes you just need an ear to listen."

Naruto shook his head and picked up more of the scattered materials. After a few moments of silence, he spoke, "It's like this. I've kept a… secret… from a friend. I didn't want them to know, 'cause the might hate me for it. I'm scared that once they find out they'll hate me like everyone else."

The girl paused momentarily. Seeing Naruto's nervous look, she nodded before smiling at him. "We are all allowed our own secrets; even among the best of friends."

Naruto frowned. "The problem is," he said, putting the last of the items back in her basket, "someone sort of told her already, but I haven't talked to her about it yet."

The girl smiled wider. "Well, if you don't want to get in trouble with your girlfriend you should come clean."

Naruto felt his face get hot as he blushed. "She's not my girlfriend. She's just a friend."

The girl laughed. "My mistake," she said, tilting her head.

Naruto sighed. "I guess I should still just tell her, huh?"

"I think that she would want to hear from you rather than someone else, and, if she's a real friend, she'll understand why you were afraid."

"Thanks," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head again. "I feel better talking to you. I guess it's nice to get another girls' perspective."

She let out a huge sigh, but still smiled when she looked at him.

"Something wrong?"

"I'm a boy."

"Oh sorry! Uh… what's your name?"

The boy smiled and held out his hand. "Haku."

Kurenai jumped when the doors finally opened. Hinata shuffled out with Akamaru right at her feet. "Hinata!" she said, "are you okay?"

Hinata nodded. "Y-yes, I'm fine. Touchisha-sama was very patient, and Akamaru kept me company."

Kurenai nodded and smiled at the dog. "Thanks, Akamaru. I sent Kiba ahead already. If you want, you can go find him."

The dog barked happily and ran up to Kurenai, jumped on her leg to say goodbye, and ran out of the hall. Kurenai smiled at Hinata, who weakly smiled back. The shy girl fell into step next to her sensei and together they began to walk out. "So, anything you want to ask me?"

"Ummmm…." Hinata began looking nervously at her fingers. "What does it mean? That Naruto is possibly a Jinchuriki?"

Kurenai nodded. She had been expecting this question ever since Naruto had walked out over hour ago. "Well, I can tell you what a Jinchuriki is…" Kurenai began, and Hinata listened intently.

"A Jinchuriki is a sort of human sacrifice, a human cursed to live with a demon in their body. Usually with some type of seal; though I believe there have been instances where the demon gets trapped in their body via other means. Depending on the seal, the demons can be locked up so tightly that you'd never know they are in the human, or they could practically be ready to devour their human's mind at any time."

Hinata stifled a gasp and opened her mouth to ask a question.

Kurenai continued, avoiding answering that Naruto was indeed safe, since that'd be confirming to Hinata that Naruto was indeed a Jinchuriki himself and thereby breaking several laws. "Regardless of how well sealed they are, they are feared by those around them."

"W-why?" Hinata breathed out quietly.

"Because..." Kurenai paused, examining herself. She even stopped walking for a moment. "Because they're afraid. The demons they hold are so powerful they scar those who see them; mentally, if not physically. Do you know how long the Kyuubi's attack lasted?"

Hinata frowned. "I would have guessed from our lectures a day maybe?"

Kurenai shook her head. "It was less than fifteen minutes." Hinata's eyes widened. "In fifteen minutes, the Kyuubi appeared in the village, its tails waving through the air, uprooting trees, causing tornadoes, and destroying mountains… And, in fifteen minutes, it killed and wounded more than a quarter of our shinobi. Gods… It would have killed more - if it weren't for the fourth..." She shook her head, trying to remember that it was all in the past now. She gave Hinata a weak smile. "It's hard, for those who survive an attack. And knowing that it's just a person keeping demons like that from attacking again is terrifying. Even worse is knowing that there have only been a handful of people who have been 'perfect' containers. Not many can use the power of their demons and at the same time remain themselves. Some seals, the more they use the power, the more they become the demon. Others, the seal seems fine then one day…"

Hinata stared at her hands. "Sensei… how do you know all this? It wasn't covered in our academy?"

Because the Third told us what Naruto was before writing his law… the rest we found out on our own. "Research I did, after the attack."

"Oh," Hinata was quiet for a while, but once they began walking again Hinata looked up. "But they haven't done anything wrong yet. Have they?"

"Some haven't," Kurenai said, "others do horrible things at the urging of their demons."

Hinata started giggling.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow at her student. "What is so funny?"

Hinata stifled her giggling and took a deep breath. She smiled at her sensei. "The idea that the Nine-Tailed Fox was the one who told Naruto to paint the Hokage's monument." Kurenai opened her mouth to say she never said Naruto was a Jinchuriki. Before Hinata looked away. "I… I am a quiet person. I have trouble saying what I want to say to the people I wish to say it to, but I am not unobservant. I've always known there was something special about Naruto-kun," Hinata said as she began to blush. "I just..."

Kurenai waited, and when her student didn't continue she prodded. "Just what?"

"I just wish he had told me." She looked up at her sensei sadly. "He told Kiba, right?"

Kurenai nodded with a sigh. "Yes, after he saved us. He was scared. When he was wounded, he unleashed the power of the Fox. He killed someone under its power, and he grew worried that he was becoming it. Kiba set him straight."

Hinata smiled sadly. "I'm glad."

Kurenai ruffled her hair. "If you had followed maybe he'd have told you."

Hinata smoothed her hair back. "Maybe," she said, playing with one of her bangs.

The two kunoichi walked into their hotel room to find three Narutos sitting around the table. Two were studying the sealing books that they had brought with, and the other was doing a chakra control exercise by trying to keep a third book stuck to his fingertips.

Kurenai smiled. "Good to see you're studying."

The one practicing chakra control lost the book, which fell with a loud smack on the floor. The sudden noise made the others jump. One fell backwards and hit his head on the ground, dispelling. The other glared at the offending clone and smacked him over the head causing him to disappear before the remaining original turned to face Hinata and Kurenai. "Ah! You're back..." he said, turning suddenly sheepish. He scratched at the side of his head and glanced at the couches. "Umm… can we sit down?"

Kurenai nodded and sat down in one of the chairs, Naruto sat down in the love seat across from her. Kurenai smiled slightly and with a twitch of her fingers, motioned for Hinata to sit next to Naruto. The girl blushed, but took the order from her sensei.

Naruto shifted uncomfortably. "Hinata," he began, "ummm… back there, you asked what a Jinchuriki is." The girl nodded slowly and the boy looked away. "I am one. It means I have something sealed inside me. Remember what the teacher's said, about the Nine-Tailed-Fox?"

"The Fourth killed it," she said, "On your birthday."

Naruto blinked. "Uh, wow… yeah, that's right." Kurenai kept herself from laughing at the blonde. "How'd you know that?"

Hinata blushed and looked away. "I-It's your birthday."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Not even Kiba knew that bit." The girl just blushed harder which made Kurenai smile slightly. "Well, that makes this bit easier. Yeah, it was on my birthday. See, what they said is kind of a lie. The Fourth couldn't kill it, even he wasn't that strong. He did something else. He sealed it… into me." He placed a hand on his stomach where he knew the seal lay underneath. "I understand if you're afraid. That's… that's why I didn't tell you."

"Naruto," Hinata began.

"Hold on, please." Naruto said, looking up at her, begging her with his eyes, and the words died in her mouth. She nodded and let him continue. "I couldn't tell you. See, everyone in the village either hates me, or they used to hate me at some point. That or they don't even know, and even then, sometimes they still hate me. There's a law keeping people from telling others what I am. It's a capital offense, so people like you and Kiba aren't even supposed to know. I was scared that people would hate me, almost as scared as I was that I'd lose control some day and hurt someone."

Hinata's eyes widened. "Those nightmares you had."

Naruto nodded. "That was when I had just found out about the Fox. I found out from Mizuki, he had told me to try and scare me. If it weren't for Iruka, I don't know what I would have done."

Hinata reached out and touched Naruto's hand. Kurenai smiled at the action, because despite the sheer terror the shy girl felt, she still managed to grab the boys hand and give him a calming smile. She had drawn her hand back three times before deciding she should actually touch the boy. It took her two tries to place her hand on his without losing her nerve. Even then, her hand shook like a civilian in combat; the girl was trembling at the thought of the boy rejecting her, and he was scared she would reject him.

"You would have been fine," she said quietly. Naruto's head snapped around and he stared at her. She smiled. "I told you, whenever you fail, you always have had the strength to get back up. I-I've always known there was something special about you Naruto, and it's not the Fox." Naruto frowned as she continued. "It's not that that defines you, it's your kindness. The village has treated you horribly - and you have every right to hate them right back - but you don't. You forgive them, you want their love, and you want to be their kage." She suddenly realized she hadn't moved her hand off his and she took it back quickly. "This is just something to help you get there."

Naruto's mouth moved, but no sound came out. Kurenai hid her mouth behind her hand as she smiled at the two of them. Give me two more years, and I could turn this into a book that'd make that hack of a writer Jiraiya weep in jealousy! She frowned. I need to keep away from Anko, she's rubbing off on me…

"You mean that?" he said quietly.

"Every word."

Naruto couldn't help the smile growing on his face, and Hinata knew there couldn't be a more dazzling thing in the world.

Kurenai leaned forward, sensing the moment was done. "Naruto, where's Kiba? I sent him here with the bingo book. He wanted to study it to see what A-Rank and S-Rank shinobi are capable of."

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno. I walked through the market and talked with someone, but when I got back there was nobody here. It's been a while too, come to think of it."

Kurenai ran a hand through her hair and stared at the door. "I give him two hours then we go looking for him." She chewed her lip. Where'd he go?