The village seems quite busy today. I reach a certain point of tolerance where the main street which I walk up becomes so congested it's difficult to navigate through, and so to avoid dealing with it, I climb up the closest building and begin leaping roof to roof to where I sense Naruto's chakra. It's worrisome that even from here, I can sense how troubled he is. And when I arrive to our meeting point, that sensation of mine matches the concerned expression on his face. I pause, just at the edge of the roof to watch him.

I'd thought about it. I'd really thought about it, telling Naruto about Kuroko, I mean. I'd thought long and hard, all night long, and the deliberations were so bothersome that it kept me up all night. Already previously exhausted from the day prior, I'd resorted to using my chakra to keep me standing upright and energized for the day. In the very end, I'd decided against telling him for one very specific reason: what if Naruto doesn't remember her?

I mean, think about it. Kuroko had permissive access from the Yamada Clan to use their techniques. That included the regression one, which turned her young again, and the one that deals with memories. Who's to say that she never altered Naruto's memories as a child? Clearly, she spent time with him when he was a child, but based on his demeanor, and him never mentioning such a person, I really think it's likely she stole his memories away from him. Maybe... that would've made it easier on him if she'd had to leave him behind. I can understand that. Having no parents for so long would make it harder to lose one more family member.

Even though I'd been so resolute on deciding not to say anything, watching him sit all alone, I have no trouble picturing Kuroko beside him, the both of them smiling together. Oh, there's nothing more that I'd want than that.

My one fist clenched, determined, I take several steps backward before running far over the edge of the roof, hoping to land at least a little close to Naruto in order to spook him out of his funk. To my disappointment, when I land a good ten feet away from him, it turned out not to have worked.

"I saw you when you first arrived, y'know," he tells me, an awkward, cocky smirk on his face. "Nice try, though."

"Oh, I totally scared you," I say, stalking toward him, annoyed. "You've just become a good actor." I look around before sitting beside him. "I guess Sakura and Sai aren't here yet."

"Nah, not yet," he says. I turn on my Scope quickly.

"It looks like they'll be here soon," I say. "They're just a couple of blocks away."

At the very least, I can nonchalantly question him about her.

"Say," I start off shakily. "Have you ever... heard of someone named Kuroko?"

Hand on his chin, Naruto squints. "Hm... Kuroko, Kuroko... I, uh, don't think so. Who's that?"

I grimace. Why didn't I think he might ask that?!

"Uh, w-well, I was reading something a long time ago and I came across the name," I quickly say. "An... old book. A-Actually, they had the same last name as you, Naruto."

Okay, well, this wasn't technically a complete lie. I did find a book with the name Kuroko Uzumaki in it, but this was after I'd met her in Naruto's memories. I'd done some genealogy research on her. She'd been born in the First Hokage's era, married the Second Hokage, and even made some major contributions to the Hidden Leaf during its first few decades since it'd been founded.

"Eh? Really? I don't know anyone like that, but do you still have that book?" he asks.

"Uh, yeah, somewhere at home, I think..." That's only because I haven't had time to return it to the library since it's essentially been non-stop missioning since we first returned here, I think tiredly. "By the way... you looked sad when I saw you before. What's on your mind?"

"Oh, that," he says. He looks down at his hand again. "I guess I'd had a weird dream before... I still feel weird about it, but I dunno what to make of it." Naruto hesitates. "When we'd fought Sasuke... he showed up inside me and stopped the Nine-Tails."

"He... what?" I say, incredulous.

"I don't know how he did it," Naruto breathes, "and I can't help but to keep thinking about it. Man, talk about annoying!"

I sigh. "I know what you mean," I say. "My mother's locked away in some seal, and she said it would be a bit longer before she'd be able to try getting out, but I don't know what that means. Do I have to do something? She didn't really make that clear and it's been stressing me out..." I groan. Naruto groans, too.

"Kari! Naruto!" Sakura had finally turned the corner, waving our way, and with Sai in tow.

"Huh? Sai's with you, too?" Naruto says. I roll my eyes in his direction.

"I literally just said that, you know," I grumble. He laughs sheepishly.

"My bad, my bad..."

Sakura chuckles. "Yeah; I bumped into him at the library," she says, and they both stop just before us.

"And here I was gonna try and sweettalk Kari into treating us to lunch!" Naruto says, hands behind his head. I whip my head at him, further annoyed.

"Oh, and you thought sweettalking me would've been the proper route to get free food?" I snap.

"It was one of the routes," he says lowly.

"Naruto... Sakura... Kari..." We all turn to Sai, who scratches his chin. "... could you guys include me in the conversation, too?"

The three of us share a look of confusion before turning back to Sai.

"O-Oh, well, I read in a book... about how to open up to other people right away... and it said to call people by their first names only, and to use nicknames or terms of endearment. It said if I did that there would be a sense of friendliness and we'd be able to get along right away."

Sai's genuine smile that comes next catches me off-guard. That's so sweet.

"Oh, so you're concerned about stuff like that, huh?" Naruto muses, grinning.

"So that's what you were doing in the library," Sakura realizes out loud.

"Yeah," Sai says.

"I'm sorry if you thought we were ignoring you or something, Sai," I say, standing up. "I promise, we wouldn't do that; you're our friend and teammate now."

His smile widens. "Also... I was thinking about nicknames and terms of endearment for you guys," he says, "but I couldn't really come up with anything good... so I'll just call you guys by just your first names for now."

"You don't gotta think about stuff like that," Naruto says. "It just happens naturally!"

"For nicknames or terms of endearment, you should just say that person's character trait," Sakura recommends. "For example, if you're talking about Naruto... "Idiot Naruto"! Or "moron Naruto"! Or something."

"Sakura, that was too far, y'know?" Naruto whines.

"I'm glad you didn't bother to use me as an example there," I say, still laughing.

"Hey, I still could, you know," Sakura says with a giggle.

"T-Thanks, but I'm good; first names work fine with me..."

"Fine, fine; suit yourself!" When we look back to Sai, we find him scanning Sakura from bottom to top. "Y-You don't have to stare like that, you know..."

Sai suddenly gasps, before a soft smile appears on his face.

"Thank you," he says. "I think I've got the hang of it now... Ugly."

... I-It was as if the entire world stopped spinning, the air disappeared from the earth, and the world went cold and dark. The sensation following Sai's words were akin to having a heart attack while taking a massive dump. Before things could become all too violent, I leap behind Sakura to restrain her from behind, and with Naruto taking the brunt of things from the front, we are just barely able to hold her back.

"Sai, you really took things too far with that one!" Naruto says.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sai asks, completely unaware of what he'd just done, ignorantly and innocently watching the scene unfold in front of him. Sakura, in all her rage, swings her elbow back just a little too far and nails me in the chin.

"S-Sakuwa, puwease," I beg, now sporting a fat lip.

-

"I see—you're the new team member. Sai, was it? Nice to meet you."

Compared to the state we'd left him in almost a week ago, Kakashi-sensei looks a lot better. I'd been worried about the effect his Sharingan would have on him because of how much chakra he'd used for it, but according to the nurse I'd pulled aside before we'd entered his room, it would appear that my helping to replenish some of it before we'd returned really helped him out. I'd sighed a breath of relief at that.

"Right," Sai says, wincing as he rubs his left cheek. Grumbling, Naruto rubs his right; I hold a bag of ice against my now-numb mouth.

"Sakura— come here a second," Kakashi-sensei waves her over. Smiling, she approaches his bedside. I can't hear what he whispers to her, but it's easy to tell by the look in his one open eye and the way his eyebrows are furrowed close together that he has an obvious concern about his view. And, also...

"N-No, nothing happened at all!" Sakura assures him, dismissing his concern with her own wave of a hand. "We're all getting along fine!"

"Oh, I see. Alright, then." I shoot Sakura a look of disdain when she'd turned back to us, resulting in a nervous laugh. Although I wouldn't have reacted the same way she had, I can definitely understand her rage. Poor Sai—I suppose it can't exactly be helped.

"A-Anyway..." I clear my throat. "Naruto, Sakura..."

From beside me, Naruto nods. "Kakashi-sensei, about our previous mission..."

"I heard about everything from Yamato," our Sensei says. "About Sasuke, too."

I sigh. I figured as much. Captain Yamato would have had to have briefed him, anyway.

"We don't have time," Naruto starts. "At this rate, he'll be..." He looks down. "But I can't bring Sasuke back with the power I have now. He's gotten too powerful."

"Well then, you just have to get more powerful, right?" Kakashi-sensei says, his nose stuck back inside his book. "

"But... the speed of Sasuke's development was extraordinary, even in my eyes," Sakura says. "When I asked Lady Tsunade, she'd said there's a possibility they're using Forbidden Jutsu and perhaps drugs in his training... And, they've got Kabuto with them, so... There's probably no way to find out, in a book like this, how people who conduct experiments on humans think..."

"Then we just have to rapidly get more powerful," Kakashi-sensei flips to the next page.

"After what we just saw," I say, rubbing the back of my neck, anxious, "is it even possible to get on that level so quickly? We have a pretty tight deadline before it's game over..."

"Did you really think I was just lying here not thinking about anything?" he asks. I blink. "I thought about that the whole time. And... I figured it out. However, this approach is suited for Naruto... or rather, I should say it's an approach that only Naruto can do. In that training, in a sense, you might just exceed me, Naruto."

"I'll... exceed you, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asks, looking as surprised as I feel.

"That's right. I'll be with you the whole time on this training. And, it will be a different type of training." I frown. "We're going to create a Ninjutsu of ultimate strength just for you. In other words, you're going to learn a new Ninjutsu that will exceed the Rasengan. However, getting to that power will require an enormous amount of time and effort. You can't get strong instantly after just a few days like a hero of some book. And it's completely different from being carefully taught and learning a Jutsu like the Rasengan that has already been created."

"An enormous amount of time?" Naruto repeats. "But I just said we don't have time! Sasuke will be—""What I'm saying is, I figured out a couple of ways to do it in a shorter amount of time."

"How, then?" But before our sensei can properly answer, the door to his room slides open.

"How're you doing, Kakashi?"
"Asuma-sensei, you could at least knock!"
"Hello!"

In from the hallway enters Shikamaru, Ino, Chōji, and their Sensei, Asuma. Now that I'm looking at him, I'd realized I might've only spoken to him once or twice in the entire time I'd been a member of this village. And I also realize... how similar his eyes are to the Third Hokage. I suppose it's become a habit of mine, looking into someone's eyes. Minako once told me that a person's true intentions always show through the eyes, good or bad—they'll be there. Asuma-sensei has very kind eyes.

"Naruto, Sakura, Kari," Shikamaru says, "your mission already over?" His eyes flit past us, and land on Sai, and as I'd expected, his contempt for him from the other day has lingered. "You're that guy from before."

"Hello," Sai says.

"B-Before anyone can overreact," I say, and quickly throw my hands up, entering the "peace-keeping mode" I'd grown accustomed to having to use, "let me explain that."

And so, I do. It does take a moment to quell Shikamaru's annoyance – he's never been one to really hide that trait of his – but once it does, Chōji chuckles, and digs into his bag of potato chips.

"Oh, so that's what was going on," he says. "I buy that."

"My name is Sai—please just call me by my first name," and he smiles. I note Ino whisper something to Sakura, who in turn, whispers something back.

Shikamaru walks up to Naruto and mentions something about helping out since he'd finished with the Chūnin Exams. "You guys both missed out on them again, huh?" he adds, a little louder so I'd hear it from Sai's other side.

"Yeah," Naruto answers quietly.

"Well, I guess that was the least of your problems, huh?"

"What're you doing here with the whole gang in town?" Kakashi-sensei asks Asuma-sensei. "This isn't a break room, you know."

"Oh, that's right." Asuma-sensei turns toward us. "You guys go on ahead to "Barbe-Q". You guys from Team Kakashi should go too if you want."

"Yay! Barbeque!" Chōji cheers.

"I second that!" Ino pipes.

"I need to talk to Kakashi alone about a few things," Asuma-sensei says. "The barbeque is on me."

"Hey, just a minute!" Naruto says, rushing up to Kakashi-sensei's other side. "What about the rest of the discussion about my training?!"

"Oh, you're right." Kakashi-sensei hums. "Well, we'll get to that later."

"Later?!" Naruto whines. "I'm really curious about it now!"

"Well, we can't start training while I'm still in the hospital, anyway," Kakashi-sensei says. "Don't be so impatient." Frustrated, but defeated, Naruto finally relents. "Oh, and Kari."

"Yes, sir?" I say.

"You come along, too, for the discussion," he tells me. "Naruto's training might require your help, too."

"Really?" I say, beaming.

"It'll go a lot faster with a battery around."

I deadpan at him. "... did you really have to call me something so simple...?"

-

"Ah, I'm starving!" From the head of the table, I reach over with my chopsticks and quickly yank three pieces of yakiniku from the grill. Giving them a quick, light breath, I stick one in my mouth that fills it up completely and try and bite through it, only to end up choking on the juices. From my left, Naruto laughs, and shoves my glass of water closer to me, but now that I've practically inhaled the meat, I pound at my chest with my fist to help release it. Thankfully, it comes back up, but now I'm out of breath and tired, on top of being hungry. "Mm," I whimper.

From around the corner of our room, Sakura finally reappears after momentarily disappearing.

"Where'd Shikamaru go?" she asks.

"He said he was going home because he has to get some horns for medicinal use with his dad," Chōji says, awhile wiping his drool away on the back of his hand."

"He always shows up for end-of-mission parties," Ino says, pulling a few pieces of the meat onto her own plate, "so this is a first for him," which she sets between her and Sai. I hide my amusement by sipping loudly on my water.

"All right! I'll eat Shikamaru's share!" Chōji announces.

"Chō-ji!" Ino suddenly shouts, emphasizing on each syllable in his name—now, I'm choking on my water. "We have to introduce ourselves to Sai before we eat."

"O-Oh, that's right," Chōji says, deflating. Suddenly, the only sound between us and the table is the sizzling of the yakiniku on the grill, and Chōji's barely audible whimpering at the end of the table.

"Hi," Sai finally says. I swallow nervously. If things go any such way as they did this morning, Asuma-sensei might end up paying for a lot more than just lunch. I find myself grimacing, an expression apparently shared with Naruto and Sakura.

"Uh, I'm Chōji Akimichi of the Akimichi Clan," Chōji says. He wipes his drool again. "Nice to meet you. Uh, you're Sai, right?"

"Nice to meet you... uh..." Internally, I begin to panic, and ready myself to tackle Sai if he can't clear the explosive wall before him. Externally, my eyes have widened so much at my two teammates that they might've popped out of my skull! "... fa—"

Naruto, with his lightning-quick reflexes, had leaned over the table fast enough to stop Sai from getting murdered by slapping a hand over his mouth. The poor kid—I know he doesn't know much about this stuff, but I just... I can't handle the second-hand anxiety I feel when he starts talking to new people.

"Sai!" I hear Naruto hiss-whisper. "'Fatty' is absolutely a taboo word in front of Chōji. Got it?!"

"... did he start to say something just now?" Chōji asks. Sakura laughs nervously for the second time today.

"No, nothing like that!" she says, grinning.

"I see!" Chōji returns to eating. My heart aches now.

"My name's Ino Yamanaka," Ino says, smiling at Sai from his right. "My family owns the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Nice to meet you!"

... and if we thought Sai giving Chōji and nickname was bad, Ino might just be fifty times more reactive and explosive. On a comparison scale against Sakura, I wonder who could truly deal the most damage. For my sake, I sincerely hope he's learned from that incident and Naruto's words of warning, because I don't think I could deal with another split lip.

"It's nice to meet you, beautiful."

... w-while this is all well and good for Sai and Ino, Sakura clearly has some... complaints over Sai's nickname. "Why do you have to say that when it's Ino?!"

"Sakura, calm down!" Naruto shouts. Naruto and I do our best to protect Sai from her wrath awhile protecting our faces, but with the dishware and utensils flying all around, Ino completely confused, and Chōji blissfully unconcerned in his devouring of the untouched meat around him, the room still manages to receive damages.

I-I suppose I shouldn't have jinxed it.

-

Morning comes quickly. Sen has, according to a note left in front of my bedroom door, left early to start his first day of work at the hospital. He'd additionally mentioned that Kakashi-sensei was going to be discharged today. And I'd been all ready to make us breakfast today, too. Before, I'd been a poor cook, only able to make the bare minimum for Naruto and myself three years ago. I'd asked many Yamada to teach me different cooking skills during my time in the Hidden Snow; I'd gotten tired of burning my eggs every day. I hadn't had a chance to cook anything since I'd returned; I was a little excited, too.

After the disaster that occurred yesterday afternoon at Barbe-Q, I'd left to go to the market to restock the kitchen. This whole time, Sen had been living off of eat out foods and using up his savings, which I'd told him off for doing since it was impractical. I don't think he's ever truly had to worry about using money or saving it, for that matter. Most things were done for him, made for him, taken care of for him. He's like me, how I was three years ago. It's kind of cute. But now, the fridge and the pantry are full of life once more. It'd taken a couple of trips from the market on the west side of the village to the front gates where my house stood off the hidden path, but it'd been no problem for my stamina. Compared to yesterday, I'd been a lot more energetic when I'd woken up.

The last thing to put away had been a bag of tomatoes. I find myself glaring at them as they dangle from their vine in my hands before I shove them into the fridge drawer. They were one of Sasuke's favourite things to eat. When we were in the hospital together, back during the Chūnin Exams, I'd always given him mine. In his current life, full of darkness... I wonder if he still eats them... and if he does, I wonder if they bring him any sort of joy. I think a lot back to the days we were all together, back to the relative normalcy we all experienced. Life was still difficult, but at least it was much kinder than it's been lately. Before the hospital incident, it'd been rare for Sasuke and I to speak outside of a mission, or even training. Something happened, something... clicked when Minako spilled the beans on my background. I guess me being a half-blood Uchiha might've done the trick; it created a common high ground shared between the two of us. We had something to discuss.

I... wasn't done talking about things. We barely scratched the surface, I bet. Especially now, after everything I've gained over the past three years, I want to talk to Sasuke more than ever. Of course, ultimately, I want Sasuke back with us, but a big part of me fears that it may prove impossible. Even if we succeed and get on Sasuke's level, Orochimaru is a whole other issue. He wants Sasuke's body no matter what. And we don't know what the rest of his arsenal might be; what tricks and secrets he's learned over the years; whose bodies and minds he has taken and destroyed all for the purpose of his insane research.

With a rush of heat and a feeling of anger rushing through me, I close the fridge, with a little more force than I'd meant to; the fruit bowl sitting on the top corner of it manages to teeter over the edge, and I'm just barely able to save it all from hitting the floor and killing my peaches. Moving as fast as do to catch them makes a spot in my spine start aching; I massage it, my arm twisted awkwardly behind my back to reach it, whilst on my way out the door, peach in-hand for my Sensei.

I'd always enjoyed the placement of this house. The constant breeze that passes through the clearing; the constant peace and silence, away from the hustle and bustle of the village; the ability to stop in as soon as a mission is over—it's been a privilege. Thanks to my parents and Makara and the Third Hokage, I never had to worry about being homeless when I came here. Sure, I've still got to pay a bill or two to keep the fridge running and the lights on, but everything else was taken care of before me coming here was even a forethought, which gets me to wondering, just what was in that letter Makara had me give to him in the beginning? And that little box—what was in there that I wasn't allowed to look in and see? Maybe I should've. Now that he's gone, should I even bother asking Lady Tsunade about it? Would it still even be in the drawer he threw it in after so long? To be frank, I definitely forgot about it myself... Maybe I'll ask today if it's appropriate timing...

-

"Good morning, Kakashi-sensei," I whisper through the doorway. I poke my head in, having slid it over enough to fit it inside, and find my Sensei sitting against the backboard of his bed, pillow stuck behind him, book in hand. I sigh at him and close the door behind me, minding the closed curtains surrounding the first bed of the room. From within, I hear snoring.

"Hello, Kari," he replies, lowering his book into his lap. I note the emptiness around him.

"I'm a little surprised I'm the first one to arrive today; Naruto was so enthusiastic about hearing of your grand training plan, I half-expected him to be camped out at your bedside." Sitting on the edge of his bed, I extend the peach to him. "I brought you this, in case you were hungry for something."

"Oh, thanks." He takes it. "And, about Naruto..." I follow the direction of his gaze to his left, confused otherwise, and suddenly get it. I stand up, stalk over to the closed curtains, and yank them all to the end of the track. Lo and behold, snuggling up to a long pillow, drool slipping out of his mouth like a waterfall, Naruto lies lost in a deep sleep in the first bed of Kakashi-sensei's room, wearing a set of pink heart pajamas.

"I don't believe him," I grumble. I shake my head. "Actually, I do believe him." I turn back to my Sensei. "I'm so sorry about him."

"Don't be," Kakashi-sensei says, waving me down. "I guess I'm used to it by now, although he could snore a little quieter."

I laugh. "When we were still in the Academy, Naruto and I would study together. A lot of the time it was at my house, since his apartment was so small, and we'd just end up eating right after we were done. But he would always pass out and his snores—" I groan. "Did you even sleep, Sensei?"

"I could've slept more," he says, shooting a still-sleeping Naruto a look. Once more, the door to Kakashi-sensei's room slides open, and inside steps Sakura, Lady Tsunade, and Sen, who instead of his civilian garb, he wears a more hospital-appropriate outfit: a white long sleeve, white slacks, and his black sandals in exchange for his geta. My brother has always been quite handsome, but I have to say, white makes him look beautiful. I snort internally.

"Good morning, Kakashi; Kari," Lady Tsunade greets us. "How're you feeling?"

"Good," he says.

"I'm glad to hear it," she says, before gesturing to my brother. "This is Sen— you'll be in his care regarding your discharge, as part of his first day duties."

Sen bows. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, sir," he says. "Kari spoke very highly of you while we were in the Hidden Snow."

"Ah, so you're the long-lost brother," Kakashi-sensei realizes, having looked between the two of us a couple of times.

"One of them," I correct.

"Brothers? You've ever only talked about Sen," Kakashi-sensei points out.

"It's Kyoharu, right?" Sakura pipes from Lady Tsunade's side.

"Y-Yeah. Actually, I'm surprised you remembered him," I add. Considering he'd only encountered Sakura – and Ino – that one time during the Chūnin Exams; if it were me, I might've forgotten it'd even happened. Although...

"Your younger brother is... a bit of an unforgettable person," Sakura says lowly. Wincing, I then let out an awkward laugh before turning to Kakashi-sensei.

"I'm sure that one day, he'll make some sort of inappropriate appearance," I say, "and then you'll realize, "oh, that's why Kari never talked about him"."

"She isn't wrong," Sen says. "Kyoharu is... a bit of a lost cause to the world." He clears his throat lightly. "May I make your final exam?"

"Go ahead," Kakashi-sensei says.

Sen checks numerous things: Kakashi-sensei's pulse, his heart rate, his oxygen level, his reflexes, his temperature. Thankfully, he hadn't been physically injured during the incident – I'd like to think, thanks to me – so a full physical examination isn't necessary. For good measure, however, since Sen isn't a Sensory Type like myself, I go ahead and confirm the replenishing of his natural chakra stores.

"Okay, then; looks like there's no problems," Tsunade says. "You're all set to leave today." My eye twitches toward the noise coming from behind us."

"By any chance, this isn't because you want me to hurry up and take that baggage with me, is it?" Kakashi-sensei asks. We all turn to grimace back at him.

"Well, there's that, too," Lady Tsunade mumbles.

"That Naruto," Sakura sighs. "He refuses to leave so he can be ready to start training at any moment..."

"Truthfully, I was going to start after kicking back," Kakashi-sensei says. "I mean, recuperating at home for a few days... but I've run out of books to read... So, I guess I'll just get right to the training."

"Thank goodness for that," I murmur, shooting a look of disdain toward his severely worn down Make Out Paradise novels. Sen chuckles lowly; I'd only complained to him about them enough.

"Rasen—!" Naruto's sudden shout of announcing a Jutsu startles me. Sakura, her jaw set, stalks over to him. "All right...! I win... You gotta treat me to a year's worth of Ichiraku Ramen, Kari..."

"E-Eh? Did I just get beat up in his dream?" I wonder aloud.

"Wake up, you dummy!" she shouts in his ear. And he does, clutching his long pillow like a life support as he flies upright in the bed. And clearly still half-asleep and totally forgetting about what yesterday's double fiasco resulted in, he turns to Sakura and speaks.

"Hey there, Ugly." I don't even wait for Sakura to react; I just jump right in.

"We're in a hospital!" I remind her urgently, standing between them and holding my arms out to block her wrath. "We're in a hospital!!"

-

Since returning to the village after having two extremely high stress missions back-to-back, I really think we've only had a good two days total to ourselves that didn't involve hearing bad news about a friend, or raring ourselves up to go and try to save a friend. Just two days where we didn't have to actively be Shinobi. I really enjoyed those days.

Now, I sit in the shade of a large tree in one of Konoha's many training grounds, eating a peach of my own, watching Naruto and Kakashi-sensei talk in the distance about his training. Our Sensei said he'd come up with a couple of ways to get Naruto through it, and that one of them involved the use of me. I can only imagine he'll want Naruto to conserve his chakra as much as possible. It's a smart idea; if he's to teach him a new, high-level technique in such a short span of time, it's ideal to use me, the battery that I am, to help out. I can only help with replenishing and exchanging my chakra, though. When it comes down to stamina, that'll be all Naruto.

In the meantime, while I wait for them to go through the explanation, I'd decided to recharge my Mystic Wick candle. It'd gotten pretty small since first using it back in the Hidden Sand. I'd even decided to challenge myself and make it bigger than before. The bigger it is, the longer the effect lasts, so... if anything big happens... I'll be prepared to help.

You know, it's such an obvious thing for me to realize, but ultimately, the only thing I really have going for me is my god-like chakra reserve and my ability to share it with others. I can't really claim any skin as a Sensory Shinobi since that ability isn't technically from my own origins nor is it original. So, what special techniques do I have? Shirin Kekkai barely even is a Jutsu – it's just me using my chakra as a shield. Does it, or can it, go any further than that? Naruto's about to make his own Jutsu; a powerful force of nature that I'm hoping no one, not even Sasuke, and not the Akatsuki, can contend with. Sakura has her near-superhuman strength and Lady Tsunade-level healing abilities. Naruto is a Jinchūriki with insane healing capabilities, and he has a unique technique that Master Jiraiya taught him. And I mean, Minako's no "Legendary Sannin", but she was still, apparently, in their class. I won't tell her this, but she's a pretty amazing Shinobi.

So, maybe it's time that I become more amazing, too. I need a unique offense, too. I can't strictly be defense; I've been playing that role for a long time now. I was taught Taijutsu for a reason – to protect myself and be strong. And now that there are other people in my life that matter, I can only assume that the underlying message from Makara's teachings is to use it to protect them. It's been so long since I've used it properly, I wonder if I'm out of practice? Maybe I should try sparring with someone to see... and even though I know he'd say "yes" because he's obviously a glutton for punishment, asking Naruto wouldn't be a challenging-enough opponent compared to Makara-sensei. I need someone on her level, at least. I'd ask Kakashi-sensei, but he just got out of the hospital... and also, he'd say no. I won't ask Sakura – if she got a hit on me, she might end up T-K-O-ing me before I could figure anything out...

Ooh, I can ask Lee or Neji! Lee once visited the Academy after Team Guys' class graduated. We ended up "dueling", as he'd called it, because he'd heard a rumor about the new kid being a Taijutsu prodigy – which compared to Lee, I'd always thought I'd been undeserving of the word – and it ended in a tie, only because class had ended, and we had to go back inside. I can only hope and imagine that he's much stronger than he was the last time I'd faced him. And I've never sparred with Neji, but I've heard amazing things about the Hyūga and their Gentle Fist techniques. And like being a member of the branch family actually means something—Neji's a prodigy among them. Their techniques utilize chakra, both in offense and defense. I'm curious what I could do by facing him.

If I can exchange chakra with someone and then effectively "inject" my own into someone; if I can take someone's chakra from them like I did with Kabuto—then is it possible to stop a mainly chakra-based Jutsu? That would be a game-changer if I invented a way to do that – nullify chakra-based or chakra-induced attacks. Could I use that same chakra and turn it into my own weapon?

Still though, it seems a lot like it could turn into more of a defensive type of Jutsu no matter how I look at it. I'm better than just being that, right? In the distance, I spot Naruto create a Shadow Clone to assist him in creating a Rasengan. Kakashi-sensei was right, though. Essentially, I am a battery. Need some chakra? I've got plenty—want mine? Here! Have some for your unnecessarily draining Ninjutsu. And I'll be right over here until you need more.

Naruto releases his Rasengan into the air, and a moment later, Kakashi-sensei slowly conjures up a Chidori, clearly showing Naruto the Change it has to go through to complete the whole picture.

"Then I'll be able to complete a new Jutsu in a flash if I add that change in Chakra Nature to my Rasengan!" Naruto cheers. From the shadows of the trees, I deadpan. I swear; wasn't it just twenty-four hours ago I showed him my burn scar from being so overconfident?

Kakashi-sensei finally waves me over to them. Abandoning my cozy spot under the tree, I quickly jog over, entering upon his explanation to Naruto about Chakra Natures.

"You currently don't have any," Kakashi-sensei notes aloud. "Moreover, we don't know what type of Chakra Nature you'd be good for. For example, how many can you currently use, Kari?"

"Four," I answer, before sighing. "I've been working on Earth Transformation for almost a year, now; it's not easy." I look to Naruto. "It's not always the case for someone to be able to use so many, but my chakra reserve gives me an unrealistic advantage."

"And sometimes, despite the amount of effort one puts into trying to achieve a Chakra Nature, it isn't always a definite thing to happen," Kakashi-sensei says, nodding his head and giving me a knowing glance. I cross my arms and pout.

"I know, I know, I know!"

He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a stack of thin papers. It's been a while since I'd seen these. Iruka-sensei had me try them back when I'd first entered the Academy. And by Kakashi-sensei handing me one, it looks like I'll be doing it again.

"In your case, Naruto, we'll use these to find out."

"H-How are you gonna do that?" Naruto asks. The paper between Kakashi-sensei's two fingers wrinkle toward the middle; mine becomes soggy and limps over in my hand.

"The paper gets wrinkled if it's a Lightning property," he explains. "It'll split if it's Wind; it'll burn if it's Fire; it'll crumble if it's Earth; and—""If it's Water, it'll limp over like a wet ramen noodle," I say. "Litmus paper is cool, buuuut, I'd like to remind you that that's something I can check, too, minus the supporting of the tree-killing industry." I snort. "For shame, Kakashi-sensei."

"Hey."

"Let's save the trees, and give me your hand," I say, chuckling. "Normally for the paper, you have to exert some of your chakra into it, but considering it's me... Just sit still and wait."

"Maybe we'll have you do the litmus paper, too, just in case," Kakashi-sensei says from behind me. I glance back at him, lips pursed.

"You're making the battery feel more useless, sir," I huff.

One thing I've discovered about my sensory talents is my ability to discern an enemy's Chakra Transformation. While this is a fairly recent discovery, it's still been pretty useful—against those who have Chakra Transformations. And, not all of them do. Some people have all of them, like Kakashi-sensei; some people have a few, like me; some have a couple, like Sasuke. And then there are people who just don't have Chakra Transformations—like Rock Lee, I suppose.

When I sense chakra, normally, it feels like static rushing through my veins toward my receptors; like the hum of some technology. But when I sense for Chakra Transformations, I get different responses, each of them different than the other. Fire will make me overheat; Water will make me cold; Earth will cause a strange pressure in my chest; Lightning will give me static shocks; and Wind tends to knock the wind out of me.

I stumble slightly, after receiving Naruto's chakra. I grin.

"You have the Wind Transformation," I confirm. I turn back to Kakashi-sensei again. "Want to bet on it, sir? You have a four-in-five chance of being wrong." Sending a look of exasperation my way, he hands Naruto a litmus paper. Moments later, I stand uncorrected when it splits in two. "I guess it's a good thing you didn't bet against me, huh? Please—continue with your lesson, Sensei."

You must miss the days where I seldom opened my trap and got all weepy whenever you performed a new Jutsu, I don't say aloud.

"With your Chakra Transformation being Wind, it can tear and cut through all sorts of things. It's chakra with outstanding battle strength."

"Ooh, I'm awesome, then!" Naruto cheers.

"Nope." Naruto deflates. "You've still only just figured out your property. Now at last, we've come to the training for learning the change in Chakra Nature for Wind. However, it will take an enormous amount of time to learn that technique. And so, I hit upon two ways to drastically reduce that time."

"Awesome!"

"And the first of which..." Out of the tree line and quite rapidly, a figure sprints toward us before coming to a clean stop just a few feet away.

"Captain Yamato!" Naruto and I chorus.

"Huh? B-But why?" Naruto asks.

"Kakashi asked me to help out with this training," Captain Yamato explains. "I'm sorry for interrupting you, Kakashi-senpai."

"It's no problem," Kakashi-sensei says, giving him a one-eyed smile. "And you see—""Hey!" Naruto then interrupts him once more. "What type of Change in Chakra Nature is your Wood Style, Captain Yamato?"

For some reason, both Kakashi-sensei and Captain Yamato make a face, and then our Sensei whispers something to him, further confusing me. Then very suddenly, Captain Yamato's making a hand seal.

"Earth Style: Rampart of Flowing Soil!"

All around us, the ground begins trembling. Beneath our feet, the earth shifts, and up goes Captain Yamato, rising higher and quicker into the air on a massive wall of earth, a strange vertical rectangle carved out of the middle of it. I screech out of surprise and cover my face with my arms to block the flying debris— and yeah, I'd felt him conjure up his chakra like he had, but I didn't expect this to come out from it! And then, from the very top of the wall, he makes another hand sign: "Water Style: Waterfall Basin Jutsu!" From beneath his feet, a massive amount of water comes flooding down toward us, instead spilling into the gaping hole where the earth had once been.

"A-A demonstration?" I realize, my heart still racing.

"I have two Chakra Natures," he calls down to us. "Earth and water!"

"Jōnin-class Ninja generally have two or more," Kakashi-sensei explains. "I've got Natures other than Lightning that I can use, and so does Kari."

"So then, Captain Yamato has three including the Wood Style?" Naruto says.

"No, that isn't how that works."

"Eh?" I frown.

"I can only use earth and water," Captain Yamato says. "There is no fundamental property known as "wood" to begin with."

"Then how do you do it?" Naruto asks.

"He does it simultaneously," Kakashi-sensei says. "He does the Change in Chakra Nature for earth and water at the same time and generates the new wood property."

"Earth with my right hand; water with my left hand..." He claps them together, and from his massive wall of earth on either side, new trees begin to sprout out.

"Amazing," I breathe.

"You said it," Naruto agrees, just as breathless.

"If you have two Chakra Natures, it's not that difficult to use each one independently," Captain Yamato tells us, "but when it comes to use two Chakra Natures at the same time, it's a different story."

"The power to generate a new Chakra Nature by using two Changes in Chakra Natures simultaneously is called a Kekkei Genkai," Kakashi-sensei says. "You've at least heard of that expression, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Naruto says.

"Haku and his family had one," I recall. "Theirs used Water and Wind—the Ice Style."

"It's a special Jutsu only those from a clan possessing the Kekkei Genkai can use. So, I couldn't copy it, even with my Sharingan."

"Then what about Shikamaru's Shadow Possession Jutsu or Chōji's Expansion Jutsu?" Naruto asks. "And what about Medical Ninjutsu and Genjutsu?"

"Hmm... an explanation of that stuff would take a while, and you'll just get confused if I tell you all at once," Kakashi-sensei tells him.

"Hey, Kakashi-senpai," Captain Yamato calls, "why don't you save the Yin and Yang of Change in Chakra Nature for another time?"

"Yin?" Naruto repeats. "And Yang? What's that?"

"That might be best," I mumble, already seeing the twisted road this was going to go down.

"Right. You wouldn't understand even if I told you now. Now, what were we talking about again...?"

"Oh..." Naruto thinks for a moment. "Something about how to totally cheat on training time...?"

"Reduce the time," Kakashi-sensei says, sounding pained. I stifle a laugh.

"Yeah, that. So, how do we do that?"

"Well... that'd be with Multiple Shadow Clones," Kakashi-sensei says.

"Huh?"

"As it so happens, it's all about Multiple Shadow Clones."

"What about them?"

"It's how we reduce the training time."

"Hm... I don't really get it..."

Kakashi-sensei sighs. "Okay, I'll explain now, so listen up."

Naruto salutes him. "Right! Please keep it as simple as possible!"

"Okay, okay. Listen up. As you know, the Shadow Clone Jutsu creates actual, physical copies of yourself, not just illusions as with a standard Clone Jutsu."

"Yeah, yeah, I know; of course, I know that..." I roll my eyes.

"It allows you to duplicate your real self many times over. I know this because I can make Shadow Clones, too, though not nearly as many as you can. But this Ninjutsu also imparts a unique effect on its user. And since you're always using it, I'm sure you've picked up on this—" the word "doubtful" comes to mind "—but anything experienced by the Shadow Clone is also experienced by the caster after the clone has returned to the caster's body."

Naruto squints. "I told you to keep it simple."

"I knew it," Kakashi-sensei mumbles. "Then, let's both try creating Shadow Clones. Oh, one should be enough." And they do. "Now let's split up into caster and Shadow Clones teams. The Shadow Clone team will hide in the woods over there."

"Come with me, Shadow Clone Naruto," Shadow Clone-Kakashi says.

"Okay!" And they leave. Meanwhile, Captain Yamato rejoins us.

"Hm, I probably would've just tried using an analogy or anecdote on him, but this'll probably do much better for his speed," I realize.

"My speed?" Naruto repeats. "What's that mean?"

"I-I-I only meant that t-time's a factor here! A-And my explanation might take longer than a demonstration."

"Oh, that makes sense..." I grimace toward Kakashi-sensei and Captain Yamato. "So, what are the Shadow Clones doing?"

"You'll find out soon," Kakashi-sensei says. I sense the Jutsu break a moment later, and Naruto chuckles. "What were they doing?"

"You have to treat me to Ichiraku Ramen, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cheers. "I beat you at rock-paper-scissors!"

"What're you doing, arbitrarily making promises like that?" Kakashi-sensei seems to say to himself. "So now you see, the Shadow Clones' experiences are accumulated within the original caster's body."

"I get it now," Naruto says. "I never realized it at all because I was just sort of using the Shadow Clones without really thinking about it."

"Normally, this Jutsu is used for scouting dangerous locations and gathering information by infiltrating an enemy hideout, you see."

"But even having figured that out, what does it have to do with reducing the training period?" Naruto asks.

"Basically, if you use a Shadow Clone and conduct the same training with two people, the experience will simply be doubled, right?"

"Right, right."

"To put it a different way, it also means, if you use two people, it'll take half the time it takes to train alone. And it'll take one-third the time if you use three. One-thousandth with a thousand, and so on."

"I see..."

"In other words, training that would take two days alone will take one day with two people. Even training that would take twenty years alone will take around a week with a thousand people."

"That's awesome! So we can do it that way!"

"You'll conduct the Change in Chakra Nature training you're going to do now, using the Multiple Shadow Clones at all times," Kakashi-sensei says.

"Right!" Naruto chuckles again. "Now I know why you're so strong, Kakashi-sensei! So, this is how you did your training, huh?"

"No—I've never even once trained using this approach."

"Huh? Why not?" he asks. "You can make Shadow Clones, too, can't you?"

"Yes, I can," he replies, "but I don't have nearly as much chakra as you do. And I can't sustain my Shadow Clones as long, either. And the only types of Jutsu suitable for me, since I don't have much chakra, are the ones requiring an even distribution of chakra."

"Really?" Naruto says, sounding surprised. "I have more chakra than you, Kakashi-sensei?"

"You've got around four times more than me," he corrects him.

"Actually, by doing a quick comparison-analysis between the two of you, I'd say six times might be more accurate," I further correct.

"Huh?! I've got that much?!" I nod. "I'm pretty awesome, aren't I?!"

"Though it'd be a lot more if it wasn't for the old ball-and-chain sealed up inside you," I say, scratching awkwardly at my neck. "Like... a hundred times, probably."

"That's why this is a training approach only you can do," Captain Yamato says. "But since it requires such a large amount of chakra, there's a possibility of rousing the Nine-Tails chakra. And so, I was summoned here in order to control the Nine-Tails chakra."

"And I'm assuming I was asked to help if anyone needed to recharge?" I say.

"Like a good little battery," Kakashi-sensei says, grinning through his mask. I bite down hard on my bottom lip to keep from opening my mouth. "All right! First you must train to strengthen your Chakra Nature."

"Right!" Kakashi-sensei bends over and picks a leaf out of the grass.

"Sandwich a leaf between your palms and cut it just with chakra," he instructs. "Keep it there until you do."

"All right; let's do this!"

"And, like I said before, you'll do this training with Shadow Clones at all times."

"And how many should I make?" Naruto asks.

"Well, if you take one person for one leaf..." And unsurprisingly, Kakashi-sensei points to the newly sprouted tree behind us.

"Tree-killer," I grumble.

Seeing it as no challenge at all, Naruto crosses his four fingers together, and within seconds, the entire clearing becomes full of hundreds of Naruto's, all of which quickly ransack the tree, stealing every last matured leaf on each of its branches until it was buck nude.

"Tree-killers."

-

Naruto has never been known to be able to gracefully control his chakra. It took him and Sasuke the longest to complete the tree-climbing exercise back in the Land of Waves; I heard it took a while for him to even be able to learn how to use the Rasengan. Although I'd had high hopes set for him upon his return from his training with Master Jiraiya, I'm a little surprised to see how difficult it seems for him to be able to slice through a leaf with some chakra. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but... did Master Jiraiya not cover this part during their leave...?

While Naruto and his Shadow Clones struggle, I took it upon myself to mentally review the earth scroll given to me by Makara-sensei. I know what seals it requires; I know how much chakra output needs to go into casting the Jutsu, itself, but for whatever godly reason, I just can't bring out of me.

"It's just a stupid wall, damn it," I curse at the ground.

"Maybe Earth Transformation techniques just aren't your thing," Kakashi-sensei says; I hadn't even noticed he'd been hovering behind me until now.

"They need to be my thing, Sensei," I say. "I've gotten the other four down; Earth Style should be so hard that I can't even create a tiny little dent in the earth without physically putting it there, myself! Look at this huge, beautiful wall Captain Yamato made! I can't even make an anthill and then there he goes ahead changes the whole damned landscape." I groan, loudly. "It's been a year, Kakashi-sensei. Everything else up until now has been bumps and bruises healed up; I've painstakingly built up an elemental arsenal that might rival yours someday, save for the fact I can't make a frickin' wall..."

Kakashi-sensei squats down next to me, a book in his hand, and I end up letting out a cacophony of unpleasant sounds when I realize it's another book from Master Jiraiya's series.

"You're too tense when you're doing it, for one," Kakashi-sensei sings, waving the book at me.

"Until a second ago, I wasn't," I say through my teeth.

"You're too uptight." I'm grateful when he tucks his book away. "You watched Yamato when he created that rampart, I'm assuming?"

"Of course, but it's his natural transformation," I reason. "Water is mine."

"Yet you still managed to achieve the Fire, Wind, and Lightning Releases, so why should this be any different?" he asks.

"I... It's..." A broken sigh escapes me. "It's my dad's Nature Transformation. I guess I've been... sentimental, lately."

"For a whole year?" Kakashi-sensei asks. I shrug, trying to appear embarrassedly obtuse.

"It... It started back in December, after my sixteenth birthday," I say, uncrossing my legs and leaning back into my hands against the ground. "The whole time I'd been with the other Yamada, right from the beginning, I just couldn't get used to the fact that there was some man walking around that looked like my father, sounded like him, and even had the same name as him. I tried avoiding him as much as I possibly could while I was there because it freaked me out that they decided to splice his chakra and create a copy of him before he died, because he died for my sake, and learning that he was somehow kind of alive ruined the possible memory of him, not that I have any.

"But then he comes to me in my room, and starts talking to me about him? And the whole time, all I could think of was, "are all of these Yamada men this imperceptive?" And it's true; I mean, so, so many of them are, my younger brother, included." Kakashi-sensei chuckles. "But then, he apologizes, and wants to teach me what my father never could, even when I was a child, because I'd been so sick."

"I'm... still waiting to hear the problem," Kakashi-sensei says.

"All of that was the problem," I huff. "My mother is still alive, but she is sealed away, and I don't know how to save her yet, but she's alive. But my father is dead, and he's not coming back to life anytime soon. So... I think I don't want to learn Earth Style Jutsu. I think. I want to be strong for everyone, so they can rely on me to help them fight; to protect them. But something is holding me back, a-and I think it's... all of that."

Kakashi-sensei hums. "Possibly," he says. "Or, it might possibly be because you don't have the Earth attribute."

"Or, maybe I just suck," I add, only half-joking. Beside me, Kakashi-sensei suddenly places his own hands into the signs required for a Mud Wall. "S-Sensei?"

"You've mastered four out of five elemental Natures," he says. "You created your own Yin-Style technique and a medical Ninjutsu. You're an accomplished Sensory Ninja. You have unlimited chakra. You're... a good cook," he says this dryly; if he wasn't my Sensei, I might've considered whacking him for it. "You're a good person. You're a good friend. But, you can't get a handle on some silly dirt techniques?" I sigh at him. "I guess you do suck."

I splutter at him in a string of unintelligible giggles.

"K-Kakashi-sensei—""Here," he says, sticking his elbow out to me. "Put your hand on my arm. Feel each of my chakra pathways open as my chakra travels through my body and into the ground in front of us— that's where we want the Jutsu to show up, right?" Stiffly, I nod, and I place my hand on his shoulder. "We've done the hand signs, we know what we want to do and where we want it to be, and now...?"

"We do it," I finish. Kakashi-sensei slams his hands on the ground before him.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall." Short but sweet, a simple four-foot wall appears to tower over us. This one, I'm surprised to see, has a head of a dog sticking out of it. I snort.

"It's cute, Sensei," I say, patting the head of the dirt dog. "Do you use this in battles, too? To intimidate your opponents."

"I do," he says indignantly.

"O-Oh."

"I'm sure your father would be proud to learn that his daughter could use the same Chakra Nature as him," Kakashi-sensei says. "And the other Taon probably would be, too." I sigh again. "And he might not be your father-father, but he's still your father. I can only imagine he might feel guilty for not being able to be the real thing; for not being able to be the one to sacrifice himself for you. It's okay to be mad about it – that the real thing isn't here with you."

"Sensei, you're going to make me cry," I say bluntly, looking up toward the sky and blinking to dry away the oncoming tears. I'm surprised when he pats my head.

"That's okay, too."

I'm grateful when he stands, missing the stray, delinquent, traitorous tear roll down my face, and walks toward where Captain Yamato sits, nine wooden fox-shaped posts jutting high up out of the ground, surrounding him in a circle, his palm outward-facing toward Naruto, all to keep the Nine-Tails under control.

"How's it going?" I hear him say. "Are you able to control the Nine-Tails chakra okay, Tenzo?"

Tenzo? I repeat in my thoughts, and then I remember—like Sai, he must've had different names, too.

"There are no problems so far," Captain Yamato replies. "And please call me Yamato, not Tenzo."

"Okay, okay." I catch my Sensei glance my way. I raise my hands in the air.

"Hey, I won't say a word," I promise.

"Yes!" I hear one of the Naruto's shout. It could be the original, but with them all condensed so closely to one another, it's a little difficult for me to tell. "It cut quite a bit!"

"YES!!" another cheers. Suddenly, a Naruto Shadow Clone runs out from his crowd and over to Kakashi-sensei.

"Say, I've got something I want to ask you, Kakashi-sensei," he says.

"What is it?"

"Is there anyone in the Leaf who has the Wind Nature?" I deadpan at him.

"You're going to ask the trick for it?" Kakashi-sensei assumes. "Well, you could say there's a person... he's probably playing Shogi right now."

Naruto runs off. In the meanwhile, I decide to give the Mud Wall one last go. After feeling through Kakashi-sensei how it should be done, I should be able to do it, if my feelings don't get in the way again. But if somehow, they do, I won't be so anguished about it. If I can't do "a silly dirt technique", I won't be as angry as I was. I won't be so angry at Taon, either. Well, hopefully. I'll try.

About fifteen minutes later, the Naruto Shadow Clones begin chattering; something about finally getting how to do it? The one that ran off must've found who Kakashi-sensei sent him off to look for and returned. And so, they set back to work, their new experience in mind.

I do, too. After forming the four hand signs required, I mimic the movements of chakra Kakashi-sensei had me sense before and have them move evenly between each chakra point. I suddenly feel a deep pressure in my arms and hands; something I'd never felt before, and like I said, each Nature has its own unique sensation to it for me, so me feeling this pressure and for the first time is a very good sign.

Confident in Kakashi-sensei's lesson, I slam my own hands into the ground.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!" I shout. And, uh, while it does work, it's not nearly half the size that my Sensei's was. I'm laughing now, loudly; all that build up for such a crappy result. Well, at least it'll serve as a decent backrest to watch Naruto. And I suppose in the meanwhile, I'll just continue building on my Mystic Wick candle; it's still at only the two-hour size...

"All right!" Kakashi-sensei says. "We'll have you go ahead and accumulate experience. Ruminate in your head on the training and break the Jutsu!"

"Right!" the Naruto's say. In a few seconds, they poof away, their leaves disappearing into the wind. Simultaneously, Captain Yamato releases the stabilizing Jutsu he'd been using on him, panting. Quickly, I push myself to my feet and jog over to him.

"Need some juice?" I say with a grin.

"It'd be appreciated," Captain Yamato sighs. "Thanks, Kari." Still smiling, I take his hand between both of mine and begin releasing my chakra to him. In the middle of the clearing, Naruto finally appears out of the smoke. I'm unsurprised to see him so tired and weak; something like this must come with a lot of mental fatigue, having to concentrate hundreds of times over and to have it all come back on you like it did to him... He must be exhausted.

But then suddenly, he's off and creating more Shadow Clones again. Captain Yamato panics, pulls his hand out of mine, and resumes the stabilizing Jutsu. I laugh apologetically.

"I guess you don't get a break yet," I say, and instead of his hand, I move behind him, sit down, and press my palms against his vest.

"With you guys?" he pants. "When do I ever?"

"Hey," I say objectively, "I'm the good one in the team; I pride myself in being the mediator. Pfft, "collateral"," I add with a scoff, referring to his comment back when we'd all first met. "I'm the good one. Oh, I even made friends with Sai. We bonded over Naruto's unconscious body."

"Uh, interesting choice of location," Captain Yamato says with a nervous laugh, "but I'm glad. It does look like Naruto and Sakura have started getting along with him, too."

"After everything so far, I'd really like to think so," I say. "Apparently, Naruto reminds Sai of his brother, so I suppose that's promising. It's actually quite sweet." I look around us, my eyes landing on the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. "Oh... it seems Sai's here. I wonder why he hasn't come to say hi yet."

The Naruto's start cheering again. They've cut their leaves!

"I did it! Am I awesome or what?!" one of them cheer. "At this rate, I'll master a new Jutsu just like that!"

"No," Kakashi-sensei says, "you're making fast progress because of this training approach. It's thanks to my brilliant idea."

"It's also thanks quite a bit to me, Kakashi-senpai," Captain Yamato mumbles tiredly. I press my hands more firmly against his back and offer even more of my chakra to him.

"This Jutsu must really be exhausting for you to use, huh?" I inquire gently.

"It takes a lot of concentration," he says, winded, "and a lot of chakra."

"I've increased the amount of chakra I'm transferring to you— if you can keep up the shell of the Jutsu, I can sustain it for you."

"Y-You can?" he breathes, incredulous. "Even though it's a Kekkei Genkai?"

"Mhm. As long as the castor has it cast, it doesn't entirely matter whether it's you or me keeping it going. I can mimic the chakra movement in someone while they cast their Jutsu and take over the chakra supplementing. All you would have to do is focus on casting it."

"R-Really...?" Naruto dismisses his Shadow Clones, grinning weakly toward us.

"I'm ready to get right to my next training," Naruto tells us. And I sense it before anything else – Naruto has fainted. Thankfully, Kakashi-sensei catches him in time. My stomach lurches.

"Better go to him," Captain Yamato tells me, a concerned smile etched over him. "I can wait."

"Yamato— let's take a short break while we're at it," Kakashi-sensei says.

"Understood," he calls back.

"T-Thank you, Captain," I say, and I abandon my place on the ground behind him and run to them.

Out of the tree line, Sai finally appears to us, and Sakura is with him; I hadn't even noticed. I place my hand against Naruto's face and measure his chakra. It is rather low, especially considering he's cast the Shadow Clone Jutsu a couple of times, now.

"Will Naruto be okay?" Sakura asks.

"With rest and some more chakra, yes," I say. "I'll replace it while he sleeps."

"Man, this kid's really something else," Kakashi-sensei says with a sigh.

"Um... Lady Tsunade sent me for you," Sakura tells us.

-

SEVERAL DAYS LATER

What an exhausting mission that was. In fact, it really seemed more like a journey—it did last a few days, after all. And just as soon as we get back from two other exhausting missions, we're sent on this one. My body still tingles from that last battle... absorbing and dispersing Tailed Beast chakra is not something I really ever wish to do again. For the sake of the mission; for the sake of Naruto and that Sora boy, of course, I would, I just... don't like how it felt. At either time, it only felt like pure sadness or pure rage, and it got me to wondering: Do all of the Tailed Beasts feel this way? I know they weren't willingly sealed away into their Jinchūriki, but they can't all be... this sad, can they?

"So selfish," I mutter, cradling my broken, casted and in-a-sling arm. Annoyingly so, it's the same arm belonging to the hand Sasuke broke before. And while for the most part, it'd been healed, my arm has been broken in two places, which now it'll take at least an extra week on top of the two weeks I'd been told to keep it in a cast for. Well, that's what happens when you try to be the hero: you get your arm broken, and a bunch of welts on your back from being scraped by pseudo-Tailed Beast nails.

Across the village from the window of the hospital, I can just barely see the top of the newly constructed building that had popped up after the events of the Twelve Guardian Ninja situation, still laid up with scaffolds. I guess they got destroyed at some point during yesterday's skirmish; it's nice to see that it's being re-built so quickly. I suppose the village getting a little beat up and banged up would be good for the industry.

I'd been separated from the rest of my team during our restoration. Sai and Naruto had gotten injured, too, and are in the room next to mine. I briefly activate my Scope: it would seem that Naruto is still asleep – I can tell if someone is conscious or not based on their chakra activity, and whether or not it spikes determines alertness or otherwise – and that Sai is awake. Sakura has also just arrived only a minute ago. I figure that rather than being alone with my thoughts, as at the moment, I have way too many, I should join them, but before I can limp out of the room, my door opens, and in walks my brother.

"You look..." I grimace at him. "... tired," I eventually settle on.

He scoffs at me. "I've been up for nearly thirty hours in total since helping with the wounded from yesterday's incident," Sen tells me, slowly approaching my bed. With a deep sigh, he collapses on the edge of it, and teeters downward toward my pillow. "I was supposed to leave at nine last night... but I had to stay... and my next shift begins in an hour. I can't bring myself to walk home and shower."

"I mean, that's a little gross, but I get it. Minako once kept me up for almost a week straight so I'd build up stamina-chakra resistance—I don't really get tired anymore compared to how tired I was after that."

"You swept for almost thwee days," he mumbles into my pillow. I slide over in my bed, and with my good arm, pull Sen toward the middle of it and cover him with my blanket, before hopping out and slipping my sandals on. "Where are you going...?"

"I was going to go next door to Sai and Naruto," I tell him. "I can wake you up in an hour?"

"Mm, yes, please," he says. I walk over to the window and pull the curtains shut. It's not even a moment later that he's snoring. I shake my head at him.

"No, I think it's a good thing you didn't want to become a proper Shinobi," I whisper, before settling into my wheelchair. "You wouldn't survive it."

As I leave the room, I make sure to turn the lights out and shut the door carefully behind me. Technically, I'm not supposed to be leaving my room because the wounds on my back have a really high chance of infection since they're chakra-induced – doctor's orders – but since I have the ability to remove chakra from people or objects, including injuries, I'm kind of the exception. So carefully and slowly, I wheel myself to the right down the hall, slide open the door to Sai and Naruto's room, and wheel myself inside.

"Hello, good morning," I say to Sai, who reads a book, and Sakura, who is slicing up some apples.

"Good morning," Sai says, flashing a small smile.

"Hi, Kari," Sakura greets. "How're you feeling?"

"Like someone who'd pet something they shouldn't have," I say, and I gesture to my back with my good hand. Closing the door behind me, I then wheel myself to the side of Sai's bed that isn't already occupied. "Naruto's still sleeping, huh...?"

"Yeah," Sakura says, pausing in slicing the apple in her hand. "For the most part, his injuries were healed, but..."

"The Nine-Tails' chakra really affected him," I finish. "I did as much as I could, but I guess being injured by it, myself, made it harder to focus."

"I know what you mean," Sakura says, and I catch her glance at her shoulder. "A-Anyway, would you like some apples? I brought a bunch with me today."

"I'd love some," I say, and she resumes cutting. I look to Sai. "You know... you look a little more injured than you did before I got in here," I note.

"That's because he tried to act cool and snuck out and got himself hurt even more before his injuries healed," Sakura says, glaring at the apple. Coincidentally, Sai and I both end up chuckling, although mine is definitely of the nervous variety.

"It says in this book that the bonds of friendship grow deeper if you rush to a friend who's in a jam," Sai explains, and he holds up a manga called "CHARSHU".

"While that's true, a jam and a battle are two different things," I reason lightly. "Discerning the two are very important, especially if it might result in you getting hurt?"

Sakura makes a noise. "You're so random these days," she says to him, before holding out the plate of apples she'd just cut. "Here." And instead of taking them, he stares at her. "What?"

"... it seems women who like you will feed you," Sai says. I deadpan. "Well, it's not like I'm testing you or anything." Sakura sighs.

"Look, you..."

"I... I can't eat anymore, Kari, I'm too full," Naruto suddenly mumbles, still sleeping, apparently. "But if you insist—" and he makes the open-mouthed "ahh" sound.

"I'm suddenly not hungry for apples, anymore," I say, lips pursed. "Sakura, if you would."

"Glad-ly!" And she shoves my apple into Naruto's open mouth. I sigh deeply, over the sounds of Naruto choking.

"Why the heck does he have to dream my name," I grumble – o-of course, I suppose it's a strange kind of flattery... but still...

"Yo!" The door slides open again, and Kakashi-sensei enters, eventually showing confusion Naruto's way.

Sai hums. "Sakura fed Naruto an apple, but Kari told her to do it... which means...?"

"Y-You're thinking way too hard about it," I say, exasperated.

"Oh, for crying out loud!!" Sakura cries. She squishes the third apple in her hand. "Why can't we have someone normal on our team?!"

"Uh... what happened?" Kakashi-sensei asks. I sigh again.

"Oh, you know... the usual." Naruto coughs loudly, and the apple goes flying across the room.

"W-What the heck," he mutters. "Oh, hey, guys."

"Hey," I say.

"I heard you guys showed off while I was gone?" Kakashi-sensei says.

"Where the heck were you, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asks.

"Oh, nowhere special," he replies. The door opens again, and Asuma-sensei enters.

"I knew you'd be here," he says. "Kakashi, got a minute? I want to talk to you... Oh, Naruto, Sai, Kari – here, a get-well gift!" I can't contain my laughter when he holds up a basket of varied colours of apples.

"Yikes!" Naruto cries out. "I-I've had enough apples..."

"Well, I'll leave them here, anyway," Asuma-sensei says, and he sets them down at the end of Sai's bed.

"Thank you, Asuma-sensei," I say. He lifts a hand and smiles, before both he and Kakashi-sensei both leave the room.

"Be right back."

I turn back to the others, my chest heavy and my mind full. I wonder what it was he had to talk to Kakashi-sensei about? They were just on a mission; I sensed them and Shikamaru, Ino and Chōji leave the village a few days ago. I bet it had something to do with—"What do you think you're doing?" I demand of Naruto, who's gotten to unwrapping his bandages.

"I don't have the time to be lying around here," he says. "I need to get back to my training."

"Did you ever think you might've been bandaged up for a reason?" I snap. "You're hurt, you dummy." He shakes his head, staring down at his now-unbandaged leg.

"I'm still too weak. That's why... that's exactly why... I have to get stronger to get power that won't hurt everyone. Power that will protect everyone. That's why I have to get stronger."

I groan. "Jeez..."

"Well, just hold your horses," Kakashi-sensei says, having suddenly reappeared in the room. I cover my heart, having been startled. "Right now, your training is to heal those wounds. And let me make this clear to you, in particular, Naruto... if you leave the hospital, what awaits is training so severe you'll wish you'd stayed in the hospital longer. So, be prepared for that."

Naruto pales. "R-Right... I-I understand..."

"Sakura," Kakashi-sensei says. "I've got something to take care of, so I leave the rest to you. Make sure you don't let him overdo things, and Kari—don't be afraid to sedate him if you need to."

I grin maliciously in Naruto's direction, who swallows. "Thank you, sir." Hopefully he'd been reminded of the time I'd done it when we were chasing after Sasuke.

"Bye, then." And he leaves. Sakura huffs.

"Well, isn't he slick."

-

Naruto's training resumes the next day. I'm still unable to use my right arm for anything physical, but I'm still able to assist in his training with anything chakra or sensory related, so at least that's good. My back still really, really hurts, but I'm all bandaged and stitched up, so I'm sure I'll be alright.

"Are you sure you're good to go?" Captain Yamato asks him.

"That was just blown out of proportion!" Naruto swears.

I roll my eyes. "Right, so you being injured and wanting to get back to training so quickly isn't a problem," I say. Naruto scoffs.

"N-No!"

"That's enough talking," Kakashi-sensei interrupts. "Let's continue the training... is what I'd like to say, but let's just confirm the basics."

"Forget about that!" Naruto says. "Let's hurry up and start the training for my new knockout Jutsu!" I exchange a look with our Sensei and our Captain. "The Super Ultra Deluxe Rasengan, or the Special Naruto Uzumaki Rasengan, or something like that."

"Let's go with "something like that"," I say. "Your name ideas need work!"

"Like Mystic Wick o-or White Yin-whatever sounds any better!"

"It does sound better!"

"I could crap something that sounds better than Mystic Wick!"

"Oh, what, like Mystic Sh—"

Captain Yamato groans loudly over us. "That's what we're doing Change in Chakra Nature training for, right? The five basic property types are Fire, Wind, Water, Lightning, and Earth. And in your case—""My Chakra Nature is Wind!"

"Then for the time being, shall we go with what we've done so far?" Kakashi-sensei suggests.

"Right!" Naruto crosses his fingers together. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

This time, instead of hundreds, Naruto maybe conjures up several dozen, all of which proceed to decimate the tree and strip it of its leaves again. In very minimal time, however, Naruto and his Shadow Clones make quick work of them, slicing them all in half.

"How about that, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto says, dismissing them again. Unsurprisingly, his chakra wavers, and once again, he's out like a light. Our Sensei is quick to be at his side again, catching him, and carrying him over to the tree.

"I knew this would happen," I say, and I sit next to him and take his hand in mine; I start transferring my chakra and turning it into his own. "His injuries and him using such a high-level Jutsu in such a high quantity... He's so impatient."

"The Shadow Clone method is usually used as an approach for increasing the effects of the training," Captain Yamato says.

"It's not necessarily for showing the results of the training," Kakashi-sensei adds. Naruto starts snoring. "Well, it is Naruto's style, though."

"If you two want to take a break or something, I'll be here with him, doing what a battery does best," I say, purposely glancing back at Kakashi-sensei with a hard expression.

"I guess you won't be forgetting about that anytime soon," he says, rubbing the back of his head.

"I've been called many other things – "Snow Brat" was a funny one – but I feel like "Battery" might just stick around a little longer. Anyway... I'd like to guess it'll be about a half hour to an hour before he wakes up, based on the strength of his chakra."

Kakashi-sensei sighs. "All right, then. We'll leave you to it."

"We'll come back in a half hour," Captain Yamato says. They both leave, walking toward the tree line. I sigh at Naruto and give his hand a gentle squeeze.

"I just wish you'd take better care of yourself," I whisper. It's very stressful seeing you like this all the time, always injured, always pushing yourself, always trying to be so independent... And I never know what you're thinking so I can never talk you out of it if it's a bad idea up until the last second..."

A sudden, invasive thought pops into my head. Naruto's asleep and it's just me and him here right now. I can't ask him for permission because he's unconscious... but it's not like he'll ever know about it...

The night Naruto and I sat on my roof and I accessed his memories, there were so many things I couldn't make sense of. And so much has happened in the past few weeks, it's like life is moving at hyper-speed with no sign of stopping, all things considering. But the red-haired woman and the masked man being in that early memory... and meeting Kuroko. Why was she in there? She wasn't a memory—she was interacting with me, almost like... my mother did when I first met her. Is she sealed inside him, too? Is that why she'd said she wasn't sure if she could ever protect him again?

I shake my head, trying hard just to focus on getting him back up to speed. My time approximation ends up being pretty accurate; thirty-five minutes later, Naruto stirs himself awake.

"Again... I..."

"You keep resting," Kakashi-sensei says. "Fatigue tends to build up when using the Multi Shadow Clones training approach. Let's start the training again after you've rested a little while."

I'm grateful when Naruto decides to lay back down. "What're we gonna do next?" he asks.

"Next? Well, that'd be..." And Kakashi-sensei turns around. "... to cut that waterfall."

"Put your hands on the waterfall and cut it by hammering it with your Wind Chakra," Captain Yamato explains further.

"Cut the waterfall?" Naruto repeats.

"For this training, you need to instantly create a change in Chakra Nature in a large amount of chakra, or else you won't be able to cut the waterfall. You'll more or less be able to use it in real battle if you can pass this stage of training."

Naruto gasps. "Kakashi-sensei! If I do this, it means I learned my first change in Chakra Nature, right?" He nods. "All right! I'm getting better!" Naruto leaps to his feet and heads off toward the waterfall. "Break's over! Let's get right back to training!"

"Well, that lasted longer than I'd expected," I say, standing up to join the others.

"Kari?" Kakashi-sensei says. I sigh.

"He's more or less good to go, but I just wish he'd wait to heal a little better. His chakra's all good and topped up for you; I defer to your good judgements."

And so, we follow after Naruto, who stands near the edge of the water, eager. With my hand on his shoulder, I offer my chakra, and Captain Yamato forms his hand signs.

"Wood Style Jutsu!"

One of the trees that'd been hanging out of the giant earth wall suddenly grows to a massive size, a secondary trunk growing out from it. It extends around the waterfall, the new end of it becoming a whole new tree that plants itself in the wall again.

"That will be your training area. But hold on," Kakashi-sensei says, stopping Naruto in his tracks.

"What's up?"

"You'll need Yamato's chakra control at all times during this training. And, if you start running empty, you'll take a break, and Kari will bring back your chakra. I'm counting on you two," he adds to us.

"Got it," I say.

"Okay," and Captain Yamato takes a seat. Again, I offer a kick start: the first time he'd used this Jutsu, I'd noticed not just what a mass amount of chakra it took to conjure up, but how much stamina it stole from him. The past few years, for me, I'd focused on building up my stamina to match my huge amount of chakra. I don't get tired from it anymore.

Simultaneously, nine wooden fox-faced posts rise from the ground upon Captain Yamato forming his hand signs. The moment he displays his palm toward Naruto, the candle wicks on their head ignite.

"I'm ready to go, Naruto," he says. Naruto nods, and proceeds to pull off... m-most of his clothing, leaving just his pants and shoes on. I walk over to him, holding up my hand to him, trying to keep my focus on the task at hand.

"You've got this," I say. "Need a boost?" Naruto grins, and presses his hand into mine. I hold up two fingers, tucked tight together, and he crosses them with his own two, from our free hands.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

He ends up creating ten of them, and like synchronized swimmers, they all leap onto the branch Captain Yamato created for them. Almost immediately, they begin, talking amongst each other – er, themselves? – to coordinate their training efforts.

"As to be expected, this is probably going to take a while," Captain Yamato says. Kakashi-sensei already has his book pulled out by the time I return to them.

"Well, be patient," he says.

-

We are. Of course, something like this takes time. So far, it's just been a little over a day – I've already had to force Naruto into taking a break, and then, actually sleeping throughout the night – more so for Captain Yamato's sake than anything else, poor guy – and it's unfortunate, but he's made very minimal progress. He can barely manage to make a dip in the waterfall, let alone halt its flow completely.

After topping up Captain's Yamato's chakra one last time, I'd disappeared to pick us all up some bento. Even though our Sensei's done nothing but read this entire time, he has to be here in case Naruto has questions. And Captain Yamato had to be here, too, for obvious reasons, which ended up making me "errand girl" on top of a rechargeable battery.

I don't really mind all that much, though. It'd taken me nearly all day, but I finally got that Mud Wall reaching over two feet now. I still have a lot of feelings about using Earth Releases, but at the very least, I know that I am able.

In my spare time, I'd even managed to visit Sen – or, I guess say "hi". He'd just been meeting with Hinata when I'd caught up to them. Something about going to grab lunch before he started his next shifts. And you know, I've never seen him with bags and dark circles under his eyes before, but I guess he gets them bad. This initiation of Lady Tsunade's... I wonder if she's trying to run him ragged so he'll back down and join a Shinobi team. But I don't think he would. Despite how tired he's supposedly been, he really is enjoying being able to help people. He never got to show off back in the Hidden Snow since the Yamada never really did anything worth healing or mending, but me being his patient since I hurt myself a good seventy percent of the time, well, it helped build on his strengths.

When we'd first met, the first impression wasn't a good one. I found it very strange how fond he was of me, the kinds of words he would use – all that "beloved" nonsense – and how familiar he tried to be. He was holding back that whole time; there were things he couldn't tell me yet, not until the time was right. And at the time, there were so many secrets I needed answers to, and I'd automatically condemned him for being one of the people to be keeping them. But after spending these past few years with him and Kyoharu, it's shined a completely different light on him.

Kyoharu... eh, not so much. At least he kept things appropriate when we'd first met. Now, he's sneaking girls from the village into the compound, doing really inappropriate things with them. I-It's still a lot to digest. It worries me to think that it might one day be possible for him to want to come live here, just like Sen. He'd need to be on an extremely short leash, especially when the place is run by Lady Tsunade – oh, she'd annihilate him. And he's not a very strong boy – from what he's let on to me, he has very little interest in Shinobi teachings. He'd die with one hit, I'm sure.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto calls. From my place next to Captain Yamato, in his circle of stabilization, my casted hand on his back, supporting his chakra, the other going between feeding myself my bento, and forcing him to eat his, I look up toward Naruto's training area. "Don't you think I need more Shadow Clones?!"

"You can't cut the waterfall unless you perform the Change in Chakra Nature on a large amount of Wind Chakra! The chakra for each clone will disperse if there are too many of them! And we can barely line up ten clones with the width of that waterfall!"

Naruto and his Shadow Clones start shouting at them same time for him to teach them some kind of trick.

Kakashi-sensei sighs.

"Your chakra!" I shout up at him.

"Huh?"

"As soon as you start bringing it together, you let it go! You're too impatient! Give it time to strengthen; to manifest as something stronger!"

"But if we don't hurry, all this training won't be of any use in a real battle!"

"If you don't take your time to learn, you're going to die in a real battle!"

"But—""Listen," Kakashi-sensei interrupts us. I shove a scoop of rice into both mine and Captain Yamato's mouth, annoyed, and he chokes. "Change in Chakra Nature training normally takes several years. Under normal conditions, it can take even six months to cut a leaf. You completed that in only a few hours. It's like Kari said—you don't need to be so impatient."

"You're progressing several times fast than we expected," Captain Yamato adds, having just swallowed his rice.

"It even took a genius like Sasuke several days to master the Lightning Change in Chakra Nature when I taught him the Chidori," Kakashi-sensei says.

Naruto's expression hardens. "I have to catch up with Sasuke."

"Good grief." Kakashi-sensei enters Captain Yamato's circle, and kneels down next to him, calling him "Tenzo" again before whispering something in his ear.

"Understood," he grumbles. Incidentally, I receive a wary glance from him.

"Hey, I promised," I say, raising my empty hand defensively. I study their faces once they both look at me. I sigh. "And I take it you're gonna indulge in him again. Okay. Take what you need, Captain Yamato."

And he does. Suddenly, and very scarily, water bursts out from the top of the wall, from end to end. Simultaneously, Captain Yamato extends the length of his branch, now matching the length of the extended waterfall. Naruto and his Shadow Clones brace themselves, their sturdy ground now becoming momentarily unsteady. Finally, it all settles and comes together.

"Wow," I breathe. "I've already said this before, but you really are amazing, Captain Yamato." His appreciative chuckles come out harsh and laboured – see? You can have the chakra and the talent, but chakra stamina is equally as important.

"That was a little tough on you, huh?" Kakashi-sensei says, grinning apologetically.

"N-No! Not at all!" And Captain Yamato keels over, hacking. "N-Not in the least!" I pat his back.

"There, there; good job, sir..."

"How's that, Naruto?" Kakashi-sensei calls to him. "Now you've got nothing to gripe about, right?!"

"Yeah! Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

-

Naturally, I'm worried. How could I not be! Having conjured up so many Shadow Clones on top of trying to complete such a high-intensity, high-pressure task? Especially when his main drive behind it all is Sasuke—he's not gonna relent any time soon, and I fear that it might just slow him down. I have so much faith in Naruto, but sometimes he worries me so badly that my concern starts to blind me from it. And this is faith I've had for him since the first night we met at Ichiraku Ramen.

I'm on high alert right now. The minute his chakra drops below fifty percent, that's it! Break time!!

-

Night comes quickly, and still with no luck. I've brought some things from home: some blankets, ingredients for dinner, and I'd even brought a change in clothing, because there's no way to sleep comfortably with shoulder guards. I also stopped by Naruto's apartment to bring him a change of clothing, his toothbrush, and a couple of towels, since he'd worn his pants while training; they were soaked by the time night came. Captain Yamato desperately needed to rest. His chakra is topped up, but he's wiped.

Tonight, I make pot chicken. That's just a whole chicken, in a pot, with a bunch of veggies. The chicken flakes away from the bone, and all the seasonings and vegetables make such a filling, hearty meal. I'd felt bad for asking after everything, but there really wasn't any other option – I had Captain Yamato make me a tree for some firewood for the fire before he'd went to rest. It'll take an hour more or so on the chicken, anyway.

"You're cooking," Kakashi-sensei says from behind me; I can see his shadow, thanks to the reflection of the pot and the light of the fire. "And it smells... good?"

"It's the least I could do," I say, albeit absentmindedly.

"The least?" he repeats. "You've been non-stop all day; I half-expected you to come back with more take out. Aren't you tired?"

"N... Not really," I admit, after giving myself a moment to feel whether I am or not. "I'm kind of used to a hectic lifestyle now... I don't really sleep all that long and deeply anymore unless it's been a rough day." I turn and look up at him. "I'm making pot chicken—I-I hope that's okay. I remembered you liked eggplant, so I added it in for you. A-And there's some miso flavouring, too, o-over there..."

"Kari," my Sensei sings, sounding like he's about to say something obvious. "You're stammering. You haven't done that for a while, and you only do it when something's on your mind."

"I-I do not," I fend, my voice cracking. I open the pot and stir the liquid and vegetables around aggressively. "Nothing's on my mind..."

"Are you still thinking about your father?" he asks, dropping onto the blanket next to the fire, his book still in hand.

"No, I-I think I'm past that for the most part. Really, m-maybe I am just tired." I don't have to be looking at Kakashi-sensei to know that that one eyebrow of his is raised at me. I groan. "Sometimes I miss the days when you didn't like us enough to pry," I mumble.

"Well, now you're not giving me much of a choice," he says. "I'm invested."

"... we've all got tragic backstories and pasts," I murmur. I put the lid back on the pot. "Mine just so happens to be creeping into my present and my future."

"Then it's my job to pry," he says. "As much as I don't like you."

"Ha-ha," I say dryly. "You knew... my parents, Kakashi-sensei. My mother... what was she like? In your honest opinion. Your first impression. I know how good you are at giving those out."

He chuckles. Surprisingly, he puts his book away.

"Mara... Well... she was intense. Considering your grandmother raised her, she became just as great a force to be reckoned with. She was always active, rarely sat still... but she was, um, kind of a snob."

"A snob," I repeat with a snort, knowing full well she can hear exactly what he's saying from within me.

"She threw her status around a lot, using it to get what she wanted, but it was never for her own sake," he says. "The Third Shinobi War left behind a lot of orphans; she'd used her position as the daughter of a matriarch to get what she needed for them."

"Did you know her personally?" I ask.

"You could say that," he answers. "She was close friends with my Sensei and his wife, growing up. They and Taon, too." Almost absentmindedly, Kakashi-sensei rubs the top of his head. "On top of being a snob, she was a bit of a brat, too."

"Really?" I say, laughing.

"Like I said, she was raised by your grandmother – I'm rather surprised you didn't turn out like them as much," he adds. "You're a lot more like Taon."

"Really," I say again, accidentally a little less enthusiastically.

"The Taon I always saw worried constantly; he was a very anxious guy. He followed Mara around like a puppy because he was scared that she'd somehow get hurt. Not that he was really all reliable in that sense – he was rather... inexperienced, compared to her."

I deadpan. "... really... you can just call him "weak", Sensei," I murmur.

"Well, in the general sense of the word, he was. He was a Medical-nin like Sen. Honestly... he was a bit like Sakura and you were when we all first became a team."

"Say no more; the picture's been painted." I groan. "He was that bad, huh?"

"Your mother was a jack of all trades, too," he says. "Taijutsu; Ninjutsu with three of the Chakra Natures; strong Genjutsu because she didn't have the Sharingan. She had a bow she made arrows of chakra for."

"Chakra arrows?" I repeat, now excited. "I'm not that great with weapons, but that sounds so cool that it makes me want to be."

Kakashi-sensei chuckles. "She's really coming back, then?"

I nod, grinning. "Really soon," I promise. "Somehow, the seal will break, and she'll be free. I'm not sure how it's going to go down or what's going to be required, but yeah. She's coming back." This whole time, I'd decided against not telling him. "I'm just glad that, this whole time, she hasn't been completely alone."

"How's that?" he inquires, looking confused. I snigger.

"She's been able to see and hear everything going on outside of me the whole time." Kakashi-sensei freezes, stalling almost like a computer would.

"S... Sorry, Mara." As he stands up and walks away, I try to smother my laughter to avoid waking Captain Yamato, but a lot of it slips out.

After we all eat, Naruto ends up entering a mood—turned away from us, not sleeping but not interested in doing anything else but train, I can feel his agitation, and believe me; it's starting to become contagious.

"Your training is going well," Kakashi-sensei tells him, standing over him. "Now, it's only a matter of time." Visibly frustrated, Naruto leaps up to his feet.

"If it's just a matter of time, then you should let me train non-stop!" he argues.

"I know you're tough, but..." And he glances over at Captain Yamato. I grimace at him and his sallow face and dark eye circles.

"I-I'm ready to go... anytime," he whispers. He coughs. "I'm okay...!"

Naruto flinches away from him. "C-Captain Yamato, you're scaring me."

"And this is why we're all resting," I say firmly at him.

And day breaks even faster than night did. As soon as Captain Yamato woke up and claimed to be ready again – this time, a little more believably than it was eight hours ago – Naruto and his Shadow Clones got to work. I truly do feel for Captain Yamato – I just wish I could do something for his fatigue and not just his chakra.

Somewhere behind us, by the treeline, I think, I can sense Sakura's and Sai's chakra. I kind of wish they'd come in more to stay and chat for a bit. We've been so busy here that I haven't seen them since we left the hospital. They end up leaving shortly after, but something remains. I quickly glance behind me from Captain Yamato's side, and notice a basket sitting on the tree trunk I'd left after cutting the tree up for firewood.

"Naruto!" Kakashi-sensei yells up to him from the edge of the waterfall. "Undo the Shadow Clone Jutsu and go over the results of your current training. Accumulate your experience."

"Right!" And they all disappear. Now, I'm just waiting for another ball to drop.

"So? Can you feel it?"

Naruto looks down into his hands. "I've still got a-ways to go," he says. And, expectedly, he collapses onto his knees. I sigh. Kakashi-sensei joins him up on the wooden branch; I hadn't even noticed that he'd grabbed the basket. I wonder what's in it.

"Captain Yamato," I say.

"Yes, Kari?"

"I... I'm sorry to pry, but I was curious about a couple of things since we started the training. O-Obviously you don't have to answer if you don't want to, o-or you're uncomfortable, or if it's a secret, but... it's about your names, and your Wood Release."

"Oh," he says, sounding a little surprised.

"'Tenzo'... is that your true name?" I ask. "I only assume that you go by 'Yamato' for the sake of this assignment, but if Kakashi-sensei is calling you 'Tenzo' instead of 'Yamato'. I already promised I wouldn't say a thing, so I'm sorry for my nosiness, sir."

"You don't really have to apologize, Kari; you'd overheard and became curious. But yeah, the name I generally go by is Tenzo. For certain assignments, I choose different codenames."

"Even one like this?" I ask. "Does it ever get confusing...? Like, does someone ever say "Yamato" and it doesn't register because you're not used to it, or...?"

He chuckles. "I guess it's become a habit to recognize that that's my name for now," he says, "so when you guys call me "Captain Yamato", it isn't hard to remember that that's me."

"And then, I'm only assuming considering you have a codename, that you're from the Anbu, right?" I frown when he doesn't immediately say anything. "Sorry, again, sir – it's hard for me to not say what's on my mind sometimes..."

"What was that other question you had," he says, changing that particular subject, "about my Wood Release?"

"Ah, w-well, this one might be considered prying, now that I think about it, but... the only person who's ever been known to have the Wood Release was the First Hokage," I say. "Are you... related to him? Is it... a genetic thing?"

"Well... it's not something I often talk about," he says. "No, I'm not related to the First Hokage, nor is it genetics per se..."

"... was it a coincidental thing? Or... an experimental thing...?"

"Yes," is all he says. I want to ask, "Yes to which?" but I don't want to dig any deeper when it isn't my place.

"I'm good at keeping secrets, you know," I say. "You don't have to tell me about that stuff, of course, but I just mean in general. I give good advice for a teenager."

"You do seem rather mature in comparison to others your age," he says. I look up to Naruto, who's currently gagging and hacking over whatever he'd just eaten from Sakura's basket. Must've been a food pill, I think.

"I'd been raised by an old lady, so I suppose it's to be expected," I murmur.

"... I'll keep it in mind if I ever need to get something off my chest," he says. My eyes widen and my lips part in a big smile. Success!

-

Several days have now gone by. Mm... maybe seven in total? I might've lost count after the first couple of days. Today, instead of something heavy or take out for lunch, I've made fruit drinks from scratch. The shops had a great sale on for melons and berries, and I'd bought a lot of greens to stick in with them, and so, fruit drinks! I've been thinking of something catchy to call them instead of just fruit drinks, but I've had no luck so far.

Upon my return, I pass off a drink to Kakashi-sensei, who I know will eventually drink it when we're all unable to see his top-secret face. He calls to Naruto, insisting that he takes a break. Naturally, he refuses. Especially since he really is so close. Now, he can keep the cut going almost halfway through the waterfall.

Grinning, I set down mine and Captain Yamato's drinks and take a running leap up along the wall until I reach the wooden branch. All of Naruto's Shadow Clones start greeting me as I walk by on my way to the real Naruto, and then they start complaining that they're not the ones to be able to drink what I've made.

"If you all drink it, it won't get absorbed by the real thing, and he'll pass out," I say. "Do you want that to happen?" And they all start grumbling. I huff at them. Upon reaching the real Naruto, who continues to train, I tap his shoulder. He glances back at me, surprised. "Break time," I insist.

He sighs. "Kari—"

"Just drink the juice!" I say, forcing it into his hands. He frowns into the cup.

"It's green," he notes.

"It's called spinach," I say. "It's actually good for you?" Noting his hesitance, I sigh at him. "I promise it doesn't taste like anything – it's mostly melon, anyway. It's good, I promise. And, it's actually edible compared to Sakura's food pills... Please drink it."

"Okay, okay," he grumbles, thankfully finally relenting. He starts chugging, before stopping abruptly. "Oh, this actually tastes good."

"Glad you think so," I say tersely. He quickly drinks the rest, and hands me back the cup. "How are you feeling? Are you still doing okay with your chakra? You've got lots left, but the more you use it up along with no breaks, you'll get tired more quickly."

"I think I'm okay for now," he says. "I'm so close to getting it – you saw it, right?"

I nod, grinning. "You should see it from a distance!" I say. "All of you doing it at the same time along this huge waterfall – it's strangely beautiful."

Naruto chuckles, smirking. "Oh, I was wondering – you can use the Wind Chakra Nature too, right?" I nod again. "You think you'd be able to do this?"

"Of course, I can," I say with a small laugh. "This is all I did for three years – my chakra control has to be perfect or I couldn't do things like this," and I gesture to him and to Captain Yamato down below. "I needed to have a purpose for something that ruined my life, and so I get to support my friends."

Stepping in place of Naruto along the waterfall, I place my hand up against the flat of it and evenly disperse my chakra into it. In my single spot, I force a constant hole to appear through the water.

"Damn it!" Naruto curses. I laugh again and set down the cup next to me. I grab Naruto's arm and pull him toward the waterfall.

"It's okay," I promise. "You really are almost there. Being able to do something like this... it took me almost a year. It's only been a week. Just – pace yourself. Breathe with each effort; it makes it feel less forced and more natural of a motion. Pay attention to how this feels, okay?" Nodding, I keep my hold on his wrist and put my hand back up against the water. Matching the movement with each arm, I send the pulse of chakra into the water again, and at the same time, send the chakra through to each of his chakra points.

"Oh," he says. "I kinda get it a little better when you do that. Uh, one more time?"

"Sure." I do. "You're trying too move too fast; you're causing your chakra to "panic", in a sense. Calm your nerves, and your chakra will be calm." Something inside of me goes off, sending a nervous rush of heat down my back. I bend down and grab my cup. "Just remember to breathe, Naruto! You've got this!"

After I'd jumped down, I return my cup to the basket I'd carried it in and go to Kakashi-sensei.

"There's a lot of movement within the village right now," I tell him.

"Good or bad?" he asks me.

"I can pick out a few of the chakras – Asuma-sensei, Shikamaru, Chōji, Ino, a-and I think Izumo and Kotetsu, as well. I think something's happened if they're suddenly leaving like this."

"I think you might be right," he says. "We'll have to standby and wait and see if they need us. Naruto's training takes precedence until then."

"Right."

-

One more day is all it takes! Naruto and his Shadow Clones have completely stemmed the water from falling into the ravine below.

"This training isn't something else, isn't it?" Captain Yamato breathes, awed.

"No, it's not just because of this training approach," Kakashi-sensei says. "Sasuke has something to do with it, too."

"We cut the waterfall!"
"We really cut it!!"

After celebrating with his Shadow Clones, Naruto dismisses them, and Captain Yamato wheezes.

"There, there, sir; there, there," and I start replenishing his chakra again.

"Well done," Kakashi-sensei calls to him. "Now we can start development of your new original Jutsu."

I sigh up at him. "Kakashi-sensei, he's going to faint again," I say.

"Er, right." He quickly makes it up to him, just as he collapses on the branch.

Pride is never a strong enough word to describe how I feel about Naruto's successes. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and it still even took me almost three years to get where I am, and I'm nowhere near my highest potential. It's like I told Naruto – it took me almost an entire year to learn to do what he's done in eight days.

Pride... is too weak a word to describe how I feel about Naruto Uzumaki.

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Hi, again! I made a quick infographic explaining Kari's Mystic Wick Jutsu. It might be a little straightforward, but I just want to cover the bases. Here you go!

updated 10.11.2020