43 Off to Afghanistan

-Clint's Homestead, Missouri-

-January 8, 2009, 1730h local-

"Foxy!" Lila shouted when she saw Naruto and Natasha walking towards their house. Naruto waved exaggeratedly towards Lila, ignoring Clint's sheepish demeanor and Laura's sputtering.

"Foxy? Isn't that a little inappropriate coming from an almost seven-year-old?" Natasha whispered towards Naruto.

"Nah. She only calls me that because I first came returned as a fox." Naruto answered with a grin.

"Of course you did." Natasha exasperatedly said.

When the pair got closer to the house, they can hear Laura at the tail end of her grilling Clint.

"You didn't tell me that's Foxy!?" Laura asked while pointing at Naruto. "Is that why You've been installing all those cameras!?" She continued

"Why are you getting mad at me!? Get mad at him!" Clint deflected towards Naruto. "I'm not the who's invading our house."

"No. No. No. You told me he's weird, and he can teleport, so don't push it towards him. We're talking about why you didn't tell me." Laura retorted.

Natasha couldn't help but laugh, hearing Laura's statement. Naruto's weirdness worked for him this time.

Naruto, on the other hand, can't accept Clint's description of him.

"Hey! I'm not weird! I'm eccentric." Naruto exclaimed when they were close to the Homestead's porch.

"That's the same thing." Clint retorted while rubbing his forehead.

Either way, the family welcomed their guest. Naruto immediately went up the stairs bringing Lila and Cooper with him while telling stories with a doll he got from somewhere. The 'adults,' however, went to the kitchen to catch up.

"What do you guys want for dinner?" Laura asked when they sat down on the dining table.

"You should probably just leave the ingredients on the counter. I'll ask Naruto to cook later." Natasha answered, slightly getting hungry just remembering Naruto's cooking.

Laura agreed instantly to Natasha's suggestion. Naruto's care package of ready to eat meals are to die for. She quickly got out most of her meats and produce.

"We're not going to be able to finish all that." Natasha stated the obvious.

"I'm going to let Naruto cook for at least two weeks' worth of meal. I'll ask Lila to do all the asking..." Laura replied, utterly unashamed. She continued preparing the ingredients so Naruto would have an easier time making the meals. When she sat back down, Natasha and Clint are looking at her weirdly. "What?" She asked in her 'Mom' voice.

"Nothing. Nothing." Clint and Natasha answered simultaneously.

"So, how are you? It's been three months since you last visited." Laura asked.

Clint took the hint and walked to the living room to give the ladies some semblance of privacy, but he sure as hell would eavesdrop.

"Everything's great. Naruto and I dealt with some problems last November, but what couple doesn't encounter any problems. Ours is just a little different." Natasha explained.

"That's good..." Laura replied sincerely. "How about the other thing? Have you talked to Naruto about that yet?" She asked vaguely.

Natasha released a sigh, understanding what Laura's question is about. Last time she visited, she asked a pretty loaded question.'How would you go about asking your partner to consider being in a polygamous relationship?'

She already anticipated that Jessica would worm her way into their life. There's no scenario with their arrangement where someone won't develop feelings outside the couple.

When Natasha started to develop a certain level of fondness for Jessica, and she can see the same was true for both Naruto and Jessica. The incident the night before Jessica's finals just secured her belief that it's something possible and should be explored.

Only two reasons are stopping her. One, Jessica might bolt if she tries to approach her about this. Jessica still has her anxiety about developing personal relationships, even though it's been somewhat tapered down through continuous exposure with Naruto.

The second thing was the whole immortality thing. If she accepts the partial immortality Naruto will give her, Jessica would be left alone. That can't be good to her psyche.

"No. Not yet. I'll probably turn Naruto to the idea first, though..." Natasha answered before standing up. "I'll check-in on Naruto so he could send a clone to prepare the food." She explained before walking away.

"A what!?" Laura yelled out. Natasha stopped on her tracks and looked back at Laura.

"Didn't Clint tell you? Naruto could create clones to do stuff." Natasha said straightforwardly.

"Wow. You're a lucky girl." Laura commented with a pervy grin.

Clint is already regretting his choice to listen in to their conversation.

"Ew! No! He doesn't do that..." Natasha exclaimed with a shudder. "It's one thing to use it for doing chores, but it's just weird to use it in sex." She added before walking out the room, afraid of what Laura might say next.

Natasha walked towards Lila's open room door. She can hear the laughter coming from both Lila and Cooper, as well as Naruto's energetic storytelling. She hanged around outside the room, listening in on the group's playtime.

Natasha could imagine them having a family together. She doesn't know how the logistics of all that, but ever since she heard Naruto's plan for her, she can't get out of her mind of having a kid together with him. Sure, the kid would probably need a shit ton of therapy since his/her parents is a world-class spy and a god-like sociopathic ninja, but they would be safe and would have an unpredictable life.

"Hey, Nat!" Naruto's shout shook her out of her musing. "Are you all right? You seem out of it."

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted for you to send down a clone..." Natasha replied. "Laura wants you to cook a lot of food."

"Sure. No problem."

-Stark Mansion, Malibu, Los Angeles-

-February 11, 2009, 1000h local-

Naruto is casually walking towards the Mansion's front door. He could Hiraishin straight to his room, but sometimes taking it slow is good for the soul.

"Good morning, Sir. It's kind of you to use the front door today." JARVIS said through the speakers.

"Wow, Jarv! When did Tony finish the sarcasm update?" Naruto asked jokingly, but it looks like there's a real answer.

"Just three days ago, Sir..." JARVIS answered before the door opened. "The family is in the second-floor lounge with Colonel Rhodes." He informed.

"Thank you, Jarv!" Naruto shouted while walking inside the house.

Naruto headed straight to the lounge and saw Tony and Rhodey packing bags while Pepper entertains Morgan. They're going to Afghanistan tomorrow morning, so they decided it's better if Rhodey would just stay over today. Happy might be doing some errands, that might be why he's unavailable.

Their trip to Afghanistan is the whole reason why he visited today, though.

"Hi, Naruto!" Pepper, being the first one who saw him, greeted.

"Good to see you, Pepper!" Naruto greeted back before kneeling in front of her. "Hi, Morgan." He said with a wide smile.

"Ruto!" Morgan jumped from Pepper's arms and hugged Naruto.

"What? Are we chum meat?" Tony said behind them since Naruto didn't even greet them before focusing his attention on Morgan.

"Don't worry, man..." Naruto replied while giving Morgan back to Pepper. His expression changed to something more serious. "We have to talk..." He said before looking at Pepper. "You can join in. But there's no way that I want Morgan to be here for any of this."

Pepper heard the gravity of Naruto's words. She Morgan towards her room so she could entertain herself for awhile. JARVIS will alert them if something dangerous is about to happen to Morgan.

While Pepper's taking Morgan away, Naruto decided to set up the talk.

"Tony. Have you installed JARVIS's auto hacking system?" Naruto asked.

"Yup. Finished that one a year ago." Tony boasted.

"Can it go past Pentagon and DOD's firewalls?" Naruto continued.

"Where do you think I tested it?" Tony asked sarcastically.

"Ok. Where are you going with this?" Rhodey interjected, not liking where the conversations headed.

"Again. You're worrying too much. You should probably take a vacation..." Naruto offhandedly advised. "JARVIS. Pull up every military file you can find about Social Security Number 878-64-7437. Show it on the TV when I tell you too."

"Confirmation, sir." JARVIS asked. One of the safeguards Pepper insisted on placing JARVIS's hacking function is an explicit confirmation from Tony since, without it, Morgan may accidentally hack the Pentagon without anyone knowing. Especially now when she's learning about shapes and numbers.

"Go ahead, JARVIS..." Tony said, giving the signal.

"I have no idea about what this is about, but hacking into the Pentagon and DOD is a pretty bad thing..." Rhodey let out, being the voice of reason. "Sure, Tony hacks their system on a daily basis, but that's just for fun."

"Seriously, Rhodey. You need to relax..." Naruto advised again while pulling out three folders behind him. "I already have the guys file right here. I just need corroborating data." He finished with a shrug.

Rhodey long figured out that Naruto could get you anything. For god's sake, he found a 1787 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, on a dare. But getting three copies of a personnel file, clearly marked top secret, is a whole new level of absurd.

He was about to scold Naruto for taking out secret files when Pepper returned.

"Great. Everybody's here..." Naruto announced. "Now. Have a seat..." The trio followed his instructions, already knowing that he won't continue unless they followed. "Let's start with an easy one. There's a massive security leak in your company." He informed Tony.

"What? Why would you say that?" Tony asked, not able to think about any security leaks they know of, that would warrant the use of the word massive.

"I have no idea how, but I know for a fact that someone in your company tipped a terrorist cell called the Ten Rings..." Rhodey instantly recognized the name. It's one of the fastest-growing terrorist group that broke off Al Qaeda. "I don't know who's that someone, though, but it must be someone high up since they're using your company's triple encryption protocol."

"Fuck. I thought we found all of them." Tony mumbled.

"Apparently not..." Naruto replied. "That's not the worst part. They're showing some weird activity, moving away from your testing site. I'll find out more in the next few days." He already found a lot of their bases, even their hidden ones, but he has no ideas which of those places those assholes will use.

"I'm not even going to question about how you know all about some obviously classified information, but what's got to do with the personnel file you have?" Rhodey asked.

"JARV, could you show the photo of the soldier I asked you to find?" Naruto requested.

"Of course, sir." JARVIS replied.

The television turned on, showing a headshot and full body shot of a soldier.

The soldier is a 5'11 caucasian with a large build. He has brown hair and dark brown eyes. Rhodey could identify the Marine insignia on his uniform.

"Francis David Castle, Sr. Frank Castle for short. He's a 28-year-old, first sergeant. Has a wife and two kids, a girl and a boy..." Naruto recounted while giving his three audiences a folder each. "Marine Force Recon. Sniper. One of the best around. I know only three guys that can beat his record." He finished.

When Tony heard the last part, he had to ask.

"Who's the three guys?" Tony asked.

"I'm glad you asked..." Naruto said with a grin. "Number three is the FBI Director himself, Seeley Booth. Former Army Ranger. Number two is the partner of my girlfriend. Can't really say his name, though..." He paused for dramatic effect. "Number one, of course, is yours truly." He finished with a bow.

"Bull shit. Booth is a legend. The guy killed someone 3.5 km away. No way someone could beat that." Rhodey retorted.

"Believe whatever you like." Naruto replied with a triumphant grin.

Pepper is having a small panic attack at the end of the couch. She just learned that there's a leak inside their company, and a terrorist organization is targeting her partner and boss.

"Can we move on to more important topics!? Like maybe canceling the demonstration in Afghanistan?" Pepper exclaimed.

"We can't do that. We'll lose a lot of our customers when we do that." Tony answered. He would not want to go there now but they wouldn't just lose that contract. Other deals hinge on it too.

"I'll call for some extra security. All on the down-low." Rhodey said while pulling out his phone.

"Don't tell anyone about this guy." Naruto said while pointing to the picture of Frank Castle.

"Why did you tell us about him, anyway?" Tony asked.

"Because he's coming with you..." Naruto replied. "I called in one of my favors. He'll join you at the airport. I would've asked an employee of mine to join you, but I sent him on some errand." He added.

Erik would've been a perfect candidate since he's an MIT candidate. He can move undercover as an assistant to Tony's, but he's currently in Somalia.

Naruto wanted for him to see what would happen if any conflict happens without proper protection given to the masses.

"Frank here would act as an honorably discharged soldier who's working as your and primary maintenance officer for the Jericho as well as a main military consultant." Naruto informed them.

"You had this planned out, huh." Rhodey commented.

"Yup. I just hope Tony doesn't piss off Frank enough to kill him." Naruto added.

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Tony retorted.

"Sure. Sure." Naruto replied sarcastically before standing up. "Be careful on your trip. Don't forget to bring the paper I gave you..." He said to Tony before turning to Pepper. "I'll just stop by Morgan's room to say goodbye. Your birthday gift is on the table in the living room. You're going to love it." He finished before going out of the room.

"I really need to figure out how he does all those things." Tony murmured to himself.

"You should figure out why Naruto remembers my birthday, but not you." Pepper countered.

"I'm just going to leave you to discuss all that." Rhodey said in a quiet voice before making a tactical retreat.

-Natasha's Safehouse, New York-

-February 13, 2009, 0230h local-

Natasha woke up due to the feeling of someone watching her. That particular skill has been developed through the training in the Red Room. Spies need to be alert at all times, even during sleep.

She has no idea how Naruto doesn't have that trait considering his former profession, but it could also be a side effect of being immortal. He just doesn't have to think about being in danger since he's never really in danger.

Natasha slowly opened her eyes and saw Naruto sleeping at the center of the bed with Jessica at the opposite side of him, hugging his arm like a teddy bear. She turned her look to where she feels the direction of what's watching her coming from while simultaneously pulling out a knife from under her pillow. She saw a bald European woman wearing yellow monk robes and an African-American man wearing green and blue robes.

Without a second loss, she tossed the knives towards the duo, but sparking orange shields stopped the blades in its tracks.

Natasha groaned and slapped Naruto's chest, waking him up, which also caused Jessica to wake up.

"Some of your weird friends are visiting." Natasha deadpanned.

Jessica quickly got out of her drowsy state and pulled the blankets to cover herself. Naruto, on the other hand, sits on the opposite of the spectrum. He's still out of it, so Natasha tried something drastic.

"We have no more ramen." Natasha whispered to Naruto's ear. It had an immediate effect.

"What!?" Naruto shouted, jumping on top of the bed in a slight panic. He slowly took his surroundings and saw the weird people by the foot of the bed.

"Is this really the fox we are looking for?" The man asked, skepticism oozing out of him.

"Yes. I'm sure. I can't see his future." The woman replied.

"What the hell!? What are you doing here!?" Jessica exclaimed.

"I'm sorry for the intrusion, but we need to talk with your mate as soon as possible." The woman replied apologetically.

"Ugh... Just take him with you! We're trying to sleep." Jessica cried out while kicking Naruto towards them.

"Thank you for your consideration." The woman replied before she gestured for the man to get out of the room, followed by her. Naruto would've protested, but Jess's hard glare towards him made him think twice. He walked out of the room and closed the door.

Natasha took her pistol from the side table and got out of bed.

"I'll check what's going on." Natasha told Jess.

"Sure." Jessica replied, already half asleep. She still has class early in the morning, and no one would begrudge her of trying to sleep now.

Natasha followed Naruto out of the room and towards the living room. She saw the trio standing around. The man is eying Naruto warily. The woman is the representation of calm and serene, while Naruto is just plain bored.

"Now that everyone's here, I can start to introduce ourselves..." The woman said the moment she stepped inside the living room. "My student here is Master Karl Mordo. I'm simply called The Ancient One, the current Sorcerer Supreme. We're both Masters of the Mystic Arts..." Natasha couldn't help but groan internally. Of course, magic is real. Why wouldn't it? "And we're here to say my request to you, Yellow Fox."

Naruto understood the Ancient One's nickname for him, but he has no idea how she knew about him. He has found signs of legitimate mysticism and magic in this world, but he never found someone who practices it.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"Don't save Tony Stark from the Ten Rings. The fate of the Universe hinges on it."