Yugao was a happy woman.

Being in the Special Forces you were honed to shut down your emotions, become a silent killing weapon and to obliterate anyone at the right snap of the fingers. A mission was your life let alone the only reason you lived. Some do it for the thrills of being on edge, some want to shut down and escape what they fear inside of them or the memories that have destroyed them.

For her it was a way of life ever since her lover died at the hands of the sand, to drown herself in missions and to shut down, but like so many times the ugly orange flanked her memories and brought her back to earth.

When she was falling into oblivion the chuckles cracked her cage. In the darkness he boldly walked into her bubble and single handedly popped it without even lifting a finger. It made her so mad that the boy could so easily get under her skin. It became a routine when he would explode the village in nonsense and tricks.

He would bail and scamper to nowhere, knowing she and the rest of the herd was hot on his foxy tail. It would be a couple of jounin first, but after an hour the ANBU would come in storming to handle the boy, but even they were being out matched.

It was like trying to catch a neon orange storm, ANBU would end up covered in tar and feathers, there cloths splattering with horrid colors that would stain for days to come. She was always the one to come close to catching the number one most surprising knuckle headed ninja in all of the leaf!

He would provoke them with toxic taunts and shameless gestures, being ANBU it wasn't all that scarring but it still haunted their dreams.

But a huge chunk of ANBU (more than what was needed) were stationed and in position at the top of the Hokage monument, their fingers twitchy and their hearts racing. In front of them, bathed in the morning sun was none other than there bane of existence, the one who put them through so much hell and back. The one who truly put the name ANBU to the test, and as much as they hated it, they couldn't get enough of him. So why was she happy? Easy...

Uzumaki of the ten thousand pranks was back.

He was taller, his clothing as bright and obvious more than the last, the black making the bright orange pop even more than it should. His head turned, the shit eat grin ever present on his face, the same one they all new and feared. His once childish eyes now a clear cut, sly and alert. If the ANBU new any better, this was soon to be one hell of a roller coaster ride.

But the woman in front was not worried in the lease, though her body too, was amped with unknown energy. She was proud to see him grow into such a fine young man, but she knew better than any he hadn't changed one bit. Yugao was truly a happy woman, and a smirk etched her face when he taunted them on the defiled monument, his voice reaching all of their ears, it was cocky, brash and crude, and they loved it.

"Long time no see, losers; still think you can catch your future Hokage?" As soon as he ran off the cliff, turning to give them all the finger, the game was on. Like a stampede the Special Forces dashed off, scaling and running against the wall to catch the sly fox.

It wasn't a village anymore, it was a full on battle ground, but a playground for the cocky boy. The grey suited killers flooded all around him, but with ease he swayed in and out of there grips, even getting in their faces. And when they got a fierce grip on him, he would hug them and explode into raunchy colored paint, splattering all over the pursuers, it was a gamble all in its self.

He did not hide; he did not blend in with the crowd, always in the open for all to see. Even as the sun went high in the sky they were still at it, there cloths now torn and ruined in too many things to count.

Yugao was hot on his heels, her feet ripping up the pavement as she sprung forth, her mind white hot with adrenaline as she blasted to the boy she could not touch. Soon the two were dancing in step, swerving around every corner. Even the other ANBU stopped to watch the two go into some odd dance; she would wrap her arms around the boy only to ooze out of her hold, his smirk ever present.

Before any of them realized, the moon was already upon them, and the fox had finally been cornered. A lot of their face masks had been smudged or even cracked from the force the boy unleashed to escape. There cloths torn showing a bit of skin here and there, the straps broke and their hair a mess, more than half of them were covered in dry paint and feathers.

Yugao wasn't in much better shape, but she walked up to the exhausted boy. "Naruto Uzumaki, give up, we have you surrounded." But he only chuckled, it wasn't a sly or mischief laugh, it was a calm, a happy one. Looking up he looked around at the mess he made, and loved every second of the sight.

The rowdy boy looked up, a content smile on his face for all of them to see, like he was thanking them. He slowly got up with wobbly knees, only to fall forward. He closed his eyes bracing for the impact only for them to pop open when he felt the warm comfort. But soon his electric blue eyes became heavy when he heard her soothing voice reach his ears, almost like a lullaby, it wasn't lacking emotion, far from it.

The boy clad in orange snuggled further in her hold and she held him tight, she wouldn't let him fall this time, even when more than half the ANBU were watching. No…no she wouldn't let him fall like he always used to do to hold her. He never did say why he went to her of all people in the village but she didn't mind never knowing, it was just time to repay the favor. Lifting up her mask, only showing her sharp nose and down she leaned down, giving a feather soft kiss in his wild gold locks. She could hear him hum, his body going limp from her melody's, only to smile when he popped out of existence.

How typical, to be chasing a clone the whole time, but the fun was done, and looking at the monument of the Hokage's it was spotless, the whole time they were too busy to look at the mess he made he cleaned it up right under their noses.

The night was upon them, and she waved to call off the troupes, it was time to call it a day.

Pulling down her mask and heading to her post she smirked.

"Took you long enough…"