Chapter 35: Iwa Chunin Exams Arc: Six

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Sensei's eyes are cold and hard, and the very air around him is oppressive, but he clamps back on his displeasure as he approaches us. "Itachi-kun?" He asks as he gently cups Itachi's face, and looks him in the eye. "We're going to go and see a medic now, alright?"

Carefully, Itachi nods. His eyes slip shut. "Thank you, Sensei."

Sensei picks him up, careful of his extensive injuries, and walks. A dead hush has fallen over the stadium now, and Toku and I trail behind without a second thought.

"Hana," Toku asks. "What's going on?" Wouldn't I like to know?

"I think Sensei's snapped." I whisper. "And it isn't the bad sort of snapped." Sensei's students are his children to him. It doesn't matter if we have parents, he's our father in his head.

I'm not sure what we did to deserve such love.

We make it to the entrance of the medical tent before Sensei addresses the fact that the Hokage and his personal guard will be descending on the tent in a moment. "No words from either of you." His eyes are dark and serious.

We nod. "We'll be quiet, Sensei."

He frowns. "Be silent." He turns back to the tent, and Toku wordlessly lifts the flap so that Sensei could carry Itachi through without jostling him. We stand outside, a strange little gathering- a boy, a girl, and three overgrown wolf dogs. "Get out!" He roars at the medics inside, and they flee with bad grace. What did Sensei do to them?

"What is going on here?" The Tsuchikage's storming ahead, Deidara and Kitsuchi-san at his side, and the Hokage with his personal guard lags behind, caught by the crowd that does not part for them. I make very sure that I do not meet anyone's eyes. If I do, perhaps they'll lift the truth from my mind.

Toku squeezes my shoulder, and the gesture is comforting, so I wrap an arm around his middle as well. He's had a growth spurt recently? I could lean my head against his shoulder without bending down.

"I'm sure the children will explain." Kitsuchi-san suggests, looking at us with amused eyes. "They are the Uchiha Heir's teammates after all."

My mouth flattens into a hard line, and Toku's arm around my shoulders tightens. We exchange a glance even as the Tsuchikage glares at us expectantly. But we, we are mute as Sensei ordered. You want any information from us, and you'll have to pry it from our cold bodies. From beside me, Ichi growls, his hackles rising.

Ni and San are a beat behind him.

"Are you ignoring a direct order?" The Tsuchikage steps forwards, and I see Deidara glancing between his teacher and me with increasingly desperate frequency. Oh hell no.

"We are not your soldiers." Toku snaps. "We are shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato." His grip on my shoulder is hard enough to bruise now, but I don't care.

The pain keeps me steady because Kami. We are talking back to a Kage.

"We do not answer to you." The words tumble from my mouth more easily than I expected.

The Tsuchikage's face has fallen back on a murderous expression. "Kitsuchi-"

"You will pardon my countrymen, I hope." The Sandaime comments from behind him.

A shrill scream rips through the tent. "HANA!" It is Itachi's voice. I feel blood drain from my face. What's going on in there? No. Don't think about it. If there are people I can trust right now, it is my team.

Sensei's voice, low, and indistinct answers him. There's a spike of chakra and then there are no more screams, just broken sobs. Sensei's still talking, indistinct sounds that may have been a lullaby float outwards towards us.

"You want to get away with not telling me what is going on?" The Tsuchikage crosses his arms over his chest, and glares up at the Sandaime. "I let you come with no limitations didn't I? I let your brats inside my village, didn't I?"

The Hokage merely exhales another puff of smoke. "We have violated no treaties, Onoki." And suddenly he is not an old man with a hat and a pipe anymore. He's the God of Shinobi, The Professor. "Itachi-kun's just had an adverse reaction to genjutsu." From besides the Tsuchikage, Deidara whimpers and crumples to the ground. "That's all, Onoki."

And Toku and I are caught in a battle of gods. The killing intent in the air is so thick it feels like we're breathing water. "Careful now." A voice murmurs next to my ear, and another hand is over Toku's. "Don't collapse." The pressure in the air lessens considerably. Positive intent? Sensei's not out of the tent yet.

I can breath again. I turn my head a fraction away from the Tsuchikage. It is blasphemous and it feels horrifying when he's still overriding so many of my survival instincts. Kakashi? ANBU Hound has his other hand on Toku's shoulder.

"Fine. Have it your way, Hiruzen." The Tsuchikage throws up his hands, and most of the tension bleeds out of the air. He stomps off, Kitsuchi-san and the still unconscious Deidara in tow. I gasp, and then Toku's coughing, choking on nothing but normal air.

The Sandaime turns to us, a mild smile on his lips as if there'd not nearly been war right then and there, the battlefield set between two of the most powerful men in the world. Perhaps it didn't matter when you're one of those men. "Are you two alright?"

Sensei steps out of the tent, Itachi still held protectively in his arms. His face is ashen, bloodless, but there's nothing else to show that he's been affected by the killing intent washing the area. "Would you not hurt my student more than he's already been hurt?" He snaps at the Hokage.

Sensei's never been particularly respectful of the Hokage, but this is excessive even for him.

"Ensui." The Sandaime says, and the air is tight again. "Do not forget yourself."

Sensei's chakra is a homing beacon, and his intent is not to kill. The overwhelming force of his positive intent surpasses even the amount that Kakashi had been projecting earlier. It's safe. It's safe.

"I have never forgotten myself, Hokage-sama." He grits. "Itachi had an incredibly bad reaction to the hell viewing technique, given that he'd just had to kill his teammates not a month ago. And then you subjected him to an excessive amount of killing intent. It is a literal miracle that he isn't dead." That's more your work than Kami's Sensei.

The Hokage sighs. "Was I supposed to let Onoki inside the tent?"

Sensei snorts and walks back towards the medical tent. "There were at least seven different ways to diffuse the situation that I thought of in half a minute." He glances back at the Hokage with a wry smile. "But I admit, you saw only soldiers on the line today, and what you did is perfectly acceptable if you consider my students soldiers."

"So what did you see on the line today, Ensui?" The Hokage looks tired, desperately tired, and brokenly old, his pipe hanging listlessly from his lips.

"My children." Sensei slaps ANBU Hound's hands away from us, and pulls Toku and I into the tent as well. "I saw my children on the line."

Sensei carefully sets Itachi down in a bed, and that's when he turns to the sink and crumples against it, coughing, a hand over his chest. "Sensei?" I ask, as I attempt to approach him.

"I'm." He gasps for a moment, and coughs wetly. "Fine. Hana-chan." Blood splatters into the sink.

"You aren't fine, Sensei." Toku walks over to set a hand on Sensei's arm. "Hana, go watch Ita-kun." He turns pleading eyes towards me as he rubs Sensei's back. "I'll watch Sensei."

Sensei attempts to glare at him weakly, but Toku's got his face set in that mulish expression that declares that he's taking no prisoners, so Sensei should just listen to him, or be razed to the ground.

I walk over to sit next to Itachi. There's still dried blood on his face, so I take a wet cloth and begin wiping it off. He's breathing shallowly, and slowly, his face so pale it might be rice paper. The lines on his face is worse at this angle, covered with blood and I want so badly to cry.

I can't cry. Itachi. Why didn't you say anything? Itachi, why am I so important to you?

We're friends, but I hadn't thought I was important enough for him. The Mangekyo awakening in Itachi was Shisui's right. It was proof of their brotherhood. I am...not the same. Ita-kun. I will change your destiny. You won't have to kill anyone you love, not ever again.

The blood's gone from his face now, and I set the cloth down on the edge of the basin and pick up his hand instead. It is cold to the touch, and I attempt to warm it properly. I will change this world. You will not be dealt the same hand twice.

"Be careful, Sensei." Toku helps Sensei to the bed next to Itachi's. "What was that?"

"Hmmm?" Sensei's not up to his normal drawl, but it certainly isn't an answer.

I set Itachi's hand down. I couldn't warm it even slightly. "I think what Toku means." I say to begin. "Is why were you coughing?"

It takes a long time for Sensei to respond. "Chakra exhaustion. The advanced kind."

"I don't think that's what it was, Sensei." Normal chakra exhaustion lead to fainting spells, weakness, and an inability to judge distances properly due to impaired brain signals. Further chakra exhaustion lead to death. None of the symptoms are coughing up blood.

"Are you questioning my authority?" Sensei levels a half hearted glare at me. I cross my arms and glare right back at him. You will tell me what I want to know, Sensei. "Do you know what spiritual exhaustion is?"

Toku and I shake our heads no.

"Well," Sensei's hands slide into the thinking seal, he lays back on the pillows, and he begins. "There are two energies that make up chakra, physical and spiritual." He sighs. "The Nara techniques deal with the spiritual. Our first ancestor was said to control the night itself."

"What does this have to do with you coughing up blood?" Toku glances down at Itachi, who is still, not awake. "Or are you getting to that part?"

Sensei absently rubs his chest. "I was getting to it, yes, Toku-kun." His eyes are blank as he continues. "As I was saying before I was interrupted, the Nara techniques deal with the spiritual. During the third war, I developed the ability to split my shadow from myself, and take the shadows of other objects and redirect them." He split his own shadow? Away from his body? Doesn't that mean that Sensei wouldn't have a shadow? "It was an incredibly dangerous technique, of course, as the shadow is in essence the negative component of ourselves." Sensei continues without pausing to spare our feelings. "Today I pulled part of Itachi's shadow from him." Sensei raises an arm, and we could see that his own shadow is unnaturally dark. "Negative energy causes backlash when pulled away from the source."

"But what does that mean?" I ask. Somehow, I knew it wouldn't be good.

"It means that Itachi is alive and relatively sane right now, otherwise that genjustu would have broken his mind." Oh I don't doubt that, but Sensei-

"What does that do to you?" Toku points at Sensei's shadow, still abnormally dark and miserable. "It's already made you cough up blood, are you going to give it to something, put it back, do something to it..." Toku trails off. "Can you even give it back without breaking Ita-kun?"

Sensei closes his eyes. "I'll be fine." We are not convinced, but Sensei is clearly unwilling to tell us more.

"Hey! Let me down, un!" My eyes snap open. Deidara-kun? "I want to talk to Leafy, and you can't stop me, un!" There's the sound of a clatter and a crash and I climb to my feet, pins and needles shooting through my arms. "I'm the student of the Tsuchikage, un!"

I throw open the tent flap. There's ANBU Hound with his tanto unsheathed and pointed at a cowering Deidara...I see red.

"And what do you think you're doing, Hound-san?" I ask, my hands sliding towards my weapons pouch.

Hound inclines his-stupid, spiky, silver-head in my direction, but says not a word.

"He's just a child! Why are you pointing an unsheathed blade in his direction?" I screech at him and walk over to the still sniveling Deidara. "Deidara-kun? Are you alright?"

He buries his face in my shoulder. "Leafy." He mumbles. "He wouldn't let me in to talk to you, and you'll leave soon, un."

I glance over at Kakashi, but there is no reading that porcelain mask for his thoughts. I turn and tromp back into the tent with Deidara. "Well, now you're here, on the inside where everyone else is." I'm attempting to be cheerful, but Itachi's still not awake, Sensei's sleeping off whatever he'd done to his soul of all things, and Toku is nowhere to be found.

"Were you crying, Cousin Hana, un?" Deidara brushes his small fingers against my face. "Your eyes are red and puffy." Had I been crying in my sleep when I couldn't cry while awake?

"I don't know, Deidara-kun." I tell him as I set him down. "I was asleep, un."

He frowns at me and jerks his head towards Itachi. "Is it because of him?"

"He's a part of it." I thread my fingers through his sunny hair. "But we're not here to talk about Ita-kun, right?"

Deidara shakes his head. He reaches into the bag that he'd been carrying. "I wanted to show you my spiders, un." He thrusts his hands forwards. "I made three better ones for you, un." And there they are, three clay spiders sculpted with a child's clumsy hands.

"They're very cute, Dei-kun." I reach over to ruffle his hair, and smile for the first time in a long time. "I'm glad you made them better this time." I take them and hold them up to the light, admiring their perfect whiteness.

Before I could slip them into my pouch he climbs onto my lap and wraps his arms around my neck. "They'll explode too, if you say katsu and add chakra." He whispers. "You're my cousin, un." He believes it without me telling him? He laughs a little without looking up at my face. "I'm glad it's you, Cousin Hana."

I poke his cheek. "Why are you giving a foreign shinobi explosive weapons, Dei-kun?"

He pulls back and looks at me with those big blue-gray eyes, the perfect picture of childlike innocence. "M not giving any foreign shinobi anything, un." He leans in to whisper in my ear. "I'm giving Cousin Hana a present." He frowns. "Can't teach you how to make them, un." He mumbles. "But you're cousin, should know how." And his family loyalty is touching. He's only known me for a month or so, and he's saved both my life and Itachi's during the last exam.

Now, he's giving me the secrets of Iwa's Explosion Release. If word gets out it'll land him in Torture and Interrogation, and I don't think Iwa has compunctions about torturing a little boy.

I run a hand through his hair. "Remember that I like you, Dei-kun." I pull him close. "Don't ever tell anyone what you did today, un." You have to stay loyal to Iwa, Dei-kun. You can't go running off into the big blue, that's how they'll get you killed. "And never stop being nice."

He nods, and we break apart. "I'll never forget you, un." He whispers, and wraps my fingers tightly around his little misshapen spiders. "I love you, Cousin Hana." He flushes, and his eyes fill with tears. He takes one long look at me, traces a hand down the fangs on my cheeks and then the hitai-ate that I wear about my neck. Then he runs out of the tent.

I feel tears slide down my cheeks as I put his little spiders away. I'm sorry I can't help you more, Dei-kun.

Itachi wakes up the next morning. "Hana?" He whispers.

I'm by his bedside in an instant. "Ita-kun?"

His hands are no longer cold when he looks up at me. "I'm sorry, I killed you." He whispers. "I'm sorry."

"Wh-" Do outsiders even know what the Mangekyo is? "What happened out there, Ita-kun?" I can't ask him, can I? No one knows what the Mangekyo is.

Itachi turns his face away. "It's a clan secret, Hana-chan." That's-oh thank Kami I didn't ask him why me. "I'll tell you later." He promises.

But now the question is burning to pass my lips. Why me, Ita-kun? Aren't there other friends that you love more? I am not prideful enough to have believed before that I am his best friend. We are friends, born of long acquaintance and we lived and nearly died together, but I didn't know why he loved me more than everyone.

What is it about me, Ita-kun? What did I do, that canon Hana did not?

Toku pulls over a chair. "We have a problem."

Itachi blinks. "We do?" Idiot. We have so many problems that it's about to drown us. I shove the thought away. He's been out for a day and a half. He doesn't know half of what went down.

"What do you remember?" Toku asks, and props his head up with his hands.

"I was fighting...and then..." He trails off. "There was a...genjustu, I killed." He shudders. "I killed Hana again...and then my eyes started bleeding." Well that's an easy way to avoid the topic of Mangekyo. My eyes started bleeding. No reason, they just do that sometimes. "And Sensei?" Itachi focuses back on us. "What happened to Sensei?"

He sits up, and Toku and I both move to restrain him. "No, don't do that!" We say, simultaneously.

"Alright." Toku sits back down heavily after we persuade Itachi to lie back down. "We have many problems." He gestures towards the other hospital bed. "Not the least of which is whatever Sensei did, 'cause he's still not awake yet."

"Sensei?" Itachi sighs. "I was screaming...and he did something, and I felt more numbed." Is that what it feels like to have negative energy subtracted?

What then, does it feel like, to have negative energy gained? Unbidden, Sensei's shaking shoulders as he coughs returns to my memory. We do not deserve you, Sensei.

"According to Sensei-although what he said didn't make much sense at all-" Toku mutters the aside in a cross tone, and then continues. "He took your negative energy and added it to his shadow."

"What does that mean?" Itachi's eyebrows draw together as he tries to figure out what has happened.

"We don't know." I state. "He coughed up a bunch of blood afterwards, went to sleep and hasn't woken up since." Seeing the rising alarm on Itachi's face I rush to reassure him. "But he's not dying or in danger of dying it doesn't seem like. He's just asleep." Sensei's breathing is deep and slow, calm and relaxed. There were no tense muscles in his body. He is just...asleep. Not waking up.

"Hokage-sama?" Itachi asks at last. He doesn't believe us about Sensei. To be honest, we don't believe ourselves, so he's perfectly justified.

"Has not visited us since Sensei yelled at him." Toku promptly responds.

Itachi looks increasingly more alarmed with each new factoid.

Toku and I exchange a glance. "Maybe we shouldn't tell him any of this." I suggest.

Toku frowns. "But that would make him worry more, Hana-chan." But the deal is on. There are no more discussions regarding a possible international incident, or Sensei's condition.

We talk some more, catching Itachi up on various other details-he'd won the tournament, we knew nothing about promotions, and there'd been something or other going on yesterday, but who knows.

While we are talking, Sensei decides to wake up. "Ducklings?"

His throat rasps and I pour him a cup of water as Toku races over. "Sensei?"

Sensei's shadow is still darker than normal when he raises a hand to pat Toku on the shoulder, but it's fading, less miserably dark than before. What did Sensei do while he was sleeping?

Was he even sleeping?

"Stop looking so worried." Sensei mutters as he takes the water. "How's Itachi-kun?"

"I'm alright, Sensei." Itachi pushes himself out of bed and heads over to crowd with Toku and I around Sensei's bed instead. "Thank you, Sensei." He bows, wobbly and uncertain, so Toku and I support him. If this is the way that he shows how much he appreciates Sensei, we won't protest.

Sensei himself looks kind of awkward, a dark flush spreading up his neck. "Think nothing of it, Itachi-kun."

"It wasn't nothing though." We protest. "It was your soul."

Sensei glances around. "Don't go around spreading the fact that I used a kinjutsu like it's a daily occurrence, ducklings. The Vicious Hag would have my head if she heard about it before we got home." Kinjutsu? Sensei's-oh yeah. He played around with people's souls. I'm fairly certain that's a forbidden technique.

We very carefully choose a safe topic, such as who we believe will be promoted, the conclusion: none of us. The third exam had exploded. Literally and metaphorically. There's no way any of this would end well.

"Nara-san?" ANBU Bear pokes his head around the tent flap. "Now that you are out of your meditation, Hokage-sama wants Team Ensui to meet to discuss promotions." Oh. So Sensei wasn't sleeping.

We look at each other. "Well." Toku says at last. "That means that someone is going to be promoted. Good luck everyone."

We converge on Sensei as he attempts to get up by himself. Sensei protests, but we are insistent that he lean on at least one of us. Come now Sensei, you should know better by now.

We love you as much as you love us.

Sensei finally relents and uses my shoulder as a crutch as we hobble out of our makeshift shelter and towards the building where the Hokage has set up residence the past few days.

We get quite a few glances, but no one approaches as ANBU Bear leads the way.

Finally, we make it to the Hokage's office. Toku raps on the door, with an anxious glance at Sensei. "Come in." The Hokage sighs. "All of you."

We enter. "I hear you're promoting at least one of my students." Sensei drawls, but the effect is incomplete given that he's still leaning heavily against over my shoulder instead of standing by himself slouched with his hands in his pockets.

"It's good to see that you remain in the land of the living." The Hokage comments mildly before turning to us. "Inuzuka Hana."

I shift Sensei's hands to Toku's shoulders and glare at him until he accepts before I step forward. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"You once stood before me, this time last year. You were not promoted then, do you know why?" How could I forget, Hokage-sama?

"I made atrocious plans that would have gotten my teammates killed." I reply.

The Hokage's eyes widen, but he continues. "And this time, you put the lives of your teammates over promotion when you suggested that you forfeit to give Uchiha-kun a better chance against his next opponent." He steeples his hands in front of him on the desk. So, what's the verdict? "We should welcome our newest chunin." He picks a flak jacket off of the table. "Congratulations, Inuzuka-chan."

I step forward, and accept the jacket with shaking hands. I passed? "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"Hyuga Tokuma."

Toku steps forward and moves Sensei's hands back to my shoulders even as I step back mechanically. "Hokage-sama?" He asks.

"You did not make it to the final exam the last time you took the exams." The Hokage exhales a cloud of smoke. "You were blinded by the conflict between your teammates."

"There were no conflicts between us this time." Toku stands, tall and proud. "I do not complain about last time."

"And you express the true measure of a chunin with that statement." The Hokage hands him a flak jacket. Toku's hands are also trembling as he accepts. "Congratulations, Hyuga-kun."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

The Sandaime turns to Itachi. "Uchiha Itachi."

Itachi steps forward, his step unsteady. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"This is your first exam. You worked well with your teammates, and demonstrated considerable skill to make it to the final round of the third exam." The Hokage picks up his pipe and twirls it around his fingers. "While you did overexert yourself during the third exam, such a blunder can be remedied easily."

"Hokage-sama." Itachi looks down at his feet. "I do not believe I should be promoted."

"And that is why you ultimately demonstrate the qualities of a chunin." The Hokage counters. "You care deeply for your teammates, and while you let it rule you during your time under the genjutsu, you will not make the same mistake again." He picks up the last flak jacket. "Congratulations, Uchiha-kun."

Itachi takes the flak jacket and steps back to stand with us.

"Well," Sensei drawls, still leaning against me. "This is the first time an entire team has been promoted since the legendary Sannin." He casts a wry glance over us. "What should we call you three, my uncute minions?"

"We were cute just yesterday, Sensei." Itachi looks up at Sensei with mock pain in his eyes. "In fact, we were all cute until not ten minutes ago."

Toku leans forwards to whisper loudly at Itachi. "It's just because we got promoted. We're nearly at Sensei's level now, so he's really confused about us."

I don't lean forward, Sensei's still depending on me to keep him upright, but I do laugh. "Careful Sensei, we'll be the youngest promotions to Jonin in forever too, and then you won't be able to call us students anymore."

"Oh you bratty Sprout." Sensei sighs. "What am I supposed to do with you?"

"Wait." Toku seems to have suddenly come to an epiphany. "This means that we never have to take the chunin exams again."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "Indeed it does."

"Do you know what that means?" Toku looks at me very carefully. "It means that we never have to come near another chunin exams again."

Itachi huffs. "Yes, I do believe that's what it means to pass, Toku-kun."

"We never have to do this again!" Toku cheers and breaks into a dance around the room. "I never have to listen to another stupid proctor tell me about another stupid test that we might die in."

No...we don't.

Itachi must have come to the same realization, because he's laughing, and I'm laughing, and even Sensei's got a smile on his face though it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

Our journey home is with the Hokage's personal guard. Kakashi and ANBU Hound have been studiously avoiding me the entire way. Is he still angry at me because I yelled at him about Dei-kun?

The thought of Deidara has me touch my hip pouch again. His spiders were still there, the last proof of his love I had on my person besides our similar noses.

I'm not sorry. He shouldn't have drawn a live weapon on a child.

It's hypocritical. Kakashi had killed people himself at Deidara's age. I had killed my first person by Deidara's age. Deidara himself has probably killed someone given how volatile his kekkei genkai is.

But I still couldn't accept it. He's not a bad kid, and he wasn't endangering anyone about it. I'm not sorry.

"I'm home!" I announce as I drop my pack down at the doorway. There is no Kiba to greet me. I turn around a full circle, and then pad down the hallway. "Kiba-chan? Where are you?"

There's no reply, and only Kaa-san blearily pads out into the mid day sun. "Kiba's out, Hana-chan." She spies my new wardrobe addition, and grins. "You got promoted this time?"

I glance around. "Do you see any other daughters of yours around with a chunin flak jacket?"

I'm swept up into Kaa-san's arms a moment later. "I always knew you could do it, Little Nose."

We laugh and spin around in the hallway, happy, happy at last after such a long time. Kaa-san looks tired. Has she been losing sleep over the exams in Iwa?

"Now what's this I hear about Kiba-chan being out?" Where would Kiba go anyway? He doesn't really leave the clan compound, the house or the kennels all that much unless he wants candy.

"Oh, he made a new friend." Kaa-san waves a hand airily in the direction of the Naka River. "He's out and about with that boy all the time now."

Kiba made a friend? Who? What?

"He did?" I blink. Kiba's a friendly kid, but he had a serious Nee-chan adoration problem. Most children did not sit still long enough listen to his grandiose descriptions of what I could and could do. (There's nothing Kiba thinks that I couldn't do, so that isn't a list.)

"Yeah." Kaa-san pushes me into the kitchen. "He comes over every day."

Oh that's even more strange. Kiba-chan gets bored rather easily.

"I'm home!" I hear two sets of small feet race down the hallway.

My little brother appears in the doorway. "Kiba-chan?" I ask, and hold out my arms. I've been away for so long.

"NEE-CHAN!" He takes a flying tackle leap towards me and we crash onto the floorboards. "You're back!" We roll around on the floor and towards another chair, but Kaa-san kicks it out of the way just in time.

"Yes! I am!" Oh I've missed you, Otouto. He makes it a personal mission to sit on my chest, and I let him do it, too elated to care. "Now tell me, who's this friend of yours?"

Kiba shrugs artlessly. "Oh. It's Sasuke." He points towards the kitchen door. "Hey, hey, Sasuke. Nee-chan got promoted!" He hollers as I turn to look at the boy in the doorway. Yup. That's indeed Itachi's foolish little brother.

Sasuke pads through the door, bows to Kaa-san. "Hello, Inuzuka-san." And walks towards Kiba, a small smile on his face. "Well, I'm sure Niisan got promoted too, so there."

Kiba laughs. "But we know Nee-chan got promoted first." They're actually being friendly. What. With that, he's pulling Sasuke down the hallway. "Come on, we have to go down to the kennels to see the new puppies."

Sasuke's dragged out the door and into the afternoon sunlight. "Sorry, Hana-san!" He calls over his shoulder as my brother tows him towards the kennels.

"No problem, Sasuke-chan." I call weakly back at him. Kiba and Sasuke? Friends? But the last time I checked, Kiba was still calling Sasuke 'Stupid Sasuke.' When did it change?

"You look like you missed the end of the world, Little Nose." Kaa-san offers me a hand and peels me off the floor. "Kiba has to grow up and make friends sometime."

"No." And I'm truly not upset that Kiba's made a friend. "It's just...he and Sasuke seem to have always hated each other's guts."

Kaa-san laughs, her smile fanged and glistening in the sunlight. "People change, Hana-chan."

Hmm. It seems they do.

A.N. I've had the Kiba and Sasuke are friends scene bouncing around in my head for a long time now. Not to mention, more Nara-sensei being protective/Papa Bear/ Awesome. He's one of my favorite characters to write to be honest. We said goodbye to Deidara, not permanently, but for quite a few more arcs. Hana has plenty to worry about inside Konoha for the time being. And still no Mangekyo explanations.

Well, can't have everything.

Thanks to rickrossed, WhiteFang001 (I agree. Itachi needs to emote a little more frequently. Hana doesn't even entirely realize that she's his best friend.), Missfroogy (Haha, well I don't think I could have spent two consecutive days writing fight scenes, it would be horrific to be honest, so everyone wins!), Alizay, (Dei is totally a sweetheart as a child. And Itachi is indeed suffering.), N1ghtdr34m3r (Not exactly what happened. But discoveries are around the corner.), Tatanka96 (Yeah, we see everything from Hana's perspective, so she's also confused because Itachi doesn't exactly emote much or often, but I'm glad you liked it!), XTakaX27 (Your review made me blush so hard. And yes, I do have a bit of dialogue/action tags problem. I've been trying to work on it, so getting feedback about how it reads is really important to me. Thank you!), May525, Manawasasa, and Sis for reviewing!

And for everyone who favorited and followed! All of you guys rock!

~Tavina.