Tragically beautiful fanart done by czappastar on deviantART. 

BEFORE YOU READ PLEASE READ THIS WARNING: I created two different endings for this story. One of them is realistic and the other is a fluffy-cuddlyone. This chapter is the last chapter that is canon for both endings. The next chapter will be the realistic ending, and the final chapter will be the fluffy-cuddly one. So at the end of this chapter, pick your poison.

The realistic ending will carry on with the war (along with the Obito / Madara confrontation) while the fluffy ending skips straight to the epilogue.

This will go for all of the chapters:

Disclaimer: I, Darkpetal16, do not own Naruto.

Warning(s): Angst, character death, violence, gore, extreme fluff, tragedy

Beta:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Interlude – Omniscient - 19

"His name is Obito," she said quietly.

Ino gave the grave an unimpressed look. "This is where you sneak off to, like, every other day?"

"I think it's sweet," Tenten offered.

Nao blushed in sheepish embarrassment under her sister's scrutinizing gaze.

He watched her from his perch in the tree, as she gestured to the grave to her friends. He made sure to keep his chakra suppressed, so none of them could sense him. He made sure to keep his mask on right, and he held his staff tightly between his legs and arms. He rested his chin on top of his knee and continued to stare at them.

The girls were teasing her now, but she just kept smiling at them and chirping on about Obito.

That was the girl that had saved him.

Him.

The Mizukage.

Ex-Mizukage, Yagura thought absently. She had saved him without knowing his identity, or even caring. Despite knowing he was her enemy (was being the operative term), she still wanted to be close to him.

He could, he supposed, have told her than none of those rumors about him were true. That he wasn't an actual bloodthirsty, sadistic, malicious killer than those rumors painted. He could say that the Sharingan-user made him do all those horrible things to his villagers, and to his enemies.

He could.

He didn't.

She didn't care.

Or maybe she did, but she just didn't show it. When he had brought it up, that one time so long ago, she just stated that the past didn't define a person—what they did from when they met her and then on, was how she would judge a person.

He told her she was an idiot.

She just ducked her head, her cheeks turning rosy, and accepted the criticism.

That made him more irritated at her naiveté and he hit her over the head. Lightly, of course. Not enough to really hurt her, but enough to get his irritation across. He wasn't used to dealing with people like her.

Well, he wasn't used to dealing with friends period.

But, she wasn't quite a friend, either. She wasn't just a student, or comrade, or friend. She was something else entirely, and Yagura didn't quite know what. Not that he cared to find out. He had a feeling finding out would only cause unnecessary tension between the two, and he liked what they had going.

Ino pouted. "This grave looks cleaner than my room."

Nao beamed. "Thank you. I try to take care of it, for him. This one, and Rin's grave."

He wasn't even sure why he followed her. He just saw her walking through the streets with her friends beside her, and before he knew it, he was moving towards her, his hand reaching out to touch the top of her head.

He still remembered her hand on his head. At times, it felt like he could still feel it resting atop of him, comforting him. When he was Kame, and he had been ensnared by those dreams, it was her murmurs and her hand on top of his head, that brought him out of it. He didn't fall back asleep for a long time, but he faked sleeping within five minutes after her promising to stay by his side.

She didn't leave him, like he expected her to. Instead, she stayed right where she was.

Her hand on top of his head, and her voice talking quietly about unimportant things.

"Th-Thank you for indulging us, Nao-chan," Hinata said, bowing slightly.

Nao beamed at the girl. "I was happy to. I really admire Obito, so I'm glad I could tell you guys about him."

Ino gave her sister another odd look. "You admire the strangest things, Nao. When are you ever going to actually like a guy? You know, by the time I was your age..."

Tenten groaned and playfully shoved Ino. "Leave Nao-chan alone. Not every girl has to be a fangirl, you know. Just be glad she's obsessed over this—" Nao objected at the word obsessed, but Tenten pretended not to hear her. "—and not some loser, or psychotic maniac."

"I guess so," Ino said dubiously.

Yagura stood up from his perch, stretching. He reached up a hand and brushed back some of his more stubborn bangs.

Why did I even follow her in the first place? I was supposed to meet Ibiki and Anko for another debriefing, now Anko will never shut up about me being late, he thought, feeling mildly annoyed at himself. His eyes rested on the youngest girl of the group, as she started to defend her claim that no, she was not obsessed with Obito or the dead.

He reached up a hand and rested it on top of his head, recalling the feeling of her hand on top of his head.

He closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh, dropping his hand and turning away.

Whatever.

.

. .

. ..

"War," Itachi breathed, his eyes closing as he relaxed in his hospital bed. It had been a few days since Kakashi and the others had left for the Summit. Within that time, Konoha had swiftly been rebuilt – and most of it was finished, actually, a huge thanks to Naruto's clones. When Kakashi had returned, he called together another meeting.

The morning after the meeting, Papa told Ino and myself what had happened.

Tobi had declared war on all the nations. All the bijū he had collected, against all of us. Papa told me this war was to prevent anymore bijū from falling into his hands. He said that Naruto and Yagura would be going away.

I felt my heart constrict every time I thought of that little tidbit.

Thankfully, that very morning, Tsunade woke up from her coma and resumed control.

Itachi placed a gentle hand on the top of my hands. I hadn't realized my gaze had lowered down to the hands in my lap until all of a sudden, I saw his hand over mine. "... Are you okay?"

Slowly, I raised my gaze to meet his. "I just... I'm just worried..."

Itachi gave me a small, knowing smile. "I understand, but your eyes convey something a bit more. You're worried for your family and friends, but also...?"

I flushed. "I don't know if I should be glad that you know me so well, or annoyed that you know me so well."

Itachi's smile widened a bit more. "Ever since I returned to Konoha, you have been a good friend and have been there for me. It seems only natural that I could recognize when a dear friend is trouble."

"Thank you," I said, sincerely meaning it. Then I took a deep breath and sighed. "I just... I just don't like the thought of not being able to be with them. They're going to be... well, they're what Tobi is after. I just... I just feel like... like I should be with them. A-And besides... Yagura-sensei and I are trained to fight together. It feels wrong to go into such a huge battle without him..."

"I understand," Itachi said sympathetically. "I suppose I'm a bit luckier in that regard. Sasuke and I will be guarding the Feudal Lords. I won't be allowed near the front lines so soon, due to my condition, and I was able to convince Tsunade to keep Sasuke with me."

"Will you be defending the Lords entirely?" I questioned, a sudden nagging feeling wiggling in the back of my mind. Without warning, the words escaped my mouth before I could even process them, "If you see Black Zetsu, use Amaterasu on him and make sure he is completely eliminated."

We both paused at the suddenness of my statement. My lips tugged down into a frown, as I tried to scrounge up any reasoning for it.

"... I suppose that will be your intuition speaking?" Itachi inquired lightly.

"... It just slipped out," I confessed. "... Are you?"

"I will eliminate Zetsu, should I see him," Itachi promised me. "And no, not exclusively. I would imagine that should any one squad desperately need our assistance, or if another task needs to be done, Sasuke and I will attend to it."

"I see. I'm glad you two won't be on the front lines so easily, though."

Itachi's brow furrowed. "I suppose. Although, now I'm worried about you being on the front lines."

I gave a little laugh at that. "I'll be fine."

The door to the room opened up, and Yagura stepped in. I abruptly stood up from my chair, my eyes widening in surprise when I realized he wasn't wearing his mask. "Yagura?! What are you doing?"

Yagura waved his hands dismissively at my surprise, walking into the room and towards us. "The Kage know I'm alive – hence why I'll be staying with Naruto – and so do the Akatsuki. There's no point in hiding my identity now."

"O-Oh, right," I mumbled, feeling mildly embarrassed that I hadn't drawn to that conclusion myself. Yagura rolled his eyes and placed a hand on top of my head. My cheeks warmed even further, partially from embarrassment, and partially from contentedness at the gesture. Itachi's eyes took a thoughtful light to them, as he looked in between the two of us.

Yagura retracted his hands, his eyes roaming across the room and resting on Itachi. "Hello, Itachi. Feeling better?"

"Much, thank you."

"I must thank you for protecting Nao during the attack," Yagura said softly. "Perhaps after this war, I can properly make it up to you, but for now, I must keep this short. I'm afraid I'm going to have to steal her away. Nao, say your goodbyes."

Confusion flickered across my face. "Goodbyes? What's going on?"

"You're coming with me," Yagura instructed.

My eyes widened, as both Itachi and I stared in surprise at him. "What do you mean?"

Yagura smirked at me. "I told you: you're coming with me. We'll leave with Naruto and the others for the island."

"So she won't be on the frontlines?" Itachi asked.

"Not unless we are," Yagura said simply.

"But... how? Why? I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything, I'm really happy about this, but – "

Yagura snorted. "I convinced Tsunade it would be best to keep you with us. You're to help keep Naruto under control, as well as be our line of defense."

"O-Oh," was all I managed. Then a bright, soft smile formed across my lips, and I moved a bit closer to Yagura. "Thank you."

Yagura pointedly looked away, his cheeks tinted red, and he folded his arms across his chest. "Whatever. Just hurry up and say your goodbyes. You have an hour before we leave."

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

I sat in the grass, my legs tucked underneath me, as I stared at a picture of team seven in our Genin days. I had to make several clones in order to say goodbye to everyone, and pack everything, on time. It wouldn't be too much longer until Yagura came to collect me, and we left.

My fingers brushed across the faces in the picture, and my stomach clenched.

Ever since I had left the hospital to say... to say my... goodbyes... I had this sense of foreboding. This sense of dread... that... that goodbye wasn't just a word. That perhaps... perhaps...

... perhaps it was a finality.

I knew, rationally, that it was just my over-worried imagination. We were preparing for a major life-and-death situation; a real the world is counting on us scenario. Ever still, I could not shake the feeling.

What if someone I cared about... really did die? What if... what if I lost someone...? What if my goodbye to someone... really was just that? A goodbye?

I squeezed the picture in my hands, before folding it and putting it in my Jōnin front flack. I was in uniform. Yagura had given me a new hitai-ate that simply read shinobi on it. I wore it around my neck, where I used to wear my goggles.

Obito's goggles.

Obito's goggles now rested beside the bluebells I had brought to the memorial stone. They were cracked from where Obito had stepped on them. I picked them up with gentle fingers, feeling my heart clench as I thought of the wounded man.

A thought whispered in the back of my mind that I should just discard them. That I should just leave them; they were broken and gone and there wasn't anything I could do to fix them. They would only hinder my vision.

"I'm not giving up that easily," I whispered.

My hands tightened around them, and then I pulled them over my head. I adjusted them, so they rested on the top of my head, the cracked plastic gleaming in the sunlight.

Even if they were damaged; even if they were unamendable; even if I should just discard them... I wouldn't.

They deserved better.

And who knows? Maybe... maybe they weren't such a hopeless cause? Who was I to abandon them...? Besides... those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.

"Maa, more bluebells?"

I glanced up and smiled at Kakashi. "Sensei! What are you doing here?"

Kakashi gestured to the stone. "Saying my goodbyes, of course."

My nose crinkled at that word. "Goodbyes, goodbyes, goodbyes. I'm starting to hate that word."

"It doesn't make it any less true," Kakashi said, moving a bit closer and standing next to me. I stood up, as well, still holding the bouquet of flowers. "This is war, Nao. Not everyone will return."

I winced, my eyes trailing down. Kakashi placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it. "I know it's hard, but it's best to be prepared. And besides... I won't let anything happen to my comrades; I promise."

The dread that had knotted its way into my stomach eased a bit at his words. Kakashi then gave a playful chuckle, "Besides, call me superstitious, but I find that when you prepare for something, you normally don't need the preparations... whereas if you don't prepare for it..."

"... you do," I finished with a grin. "You're right. I'm just being silly."

Kakashi shook his head. "No. You're just yourself. This isa huge affair. You should take it seriously and don't discount how you feel. But, don't let it consume you. Just because saying goodbye is unpleasant... doesn't mean you should avoid it. You never know when you'll get the chance again."

"Yeah," I said softly. I looked down at the bluebells and I set them down before the stone. "... I'm... I'm going into this war with friends and family at my side... and I swear... I'll come out of it with them still at my side. All of them."

Then, I pointedly stretched up on my toes and kissed the spot where Obito's name was. "... Even if I have to drag them out kicking and screaming."

Kakashi chuckled. "Maa, maa, I don't think anyone will complain about coming home from the war."

I grinned cheekily. "I don't know, Yagura really likes fighting. He might complain that life will be just too boring for him."

"Hmph!"

We both turned around to see Yagura strolling across the grounds, a teasing glint in his eyes. "Too boring, huh? Then I guess I'll just have to find my entertainment elsewhere. Perhaps some new, more intense, training regimes for my favorite student?"

I nervously smiled. "... Um..."

"Are you ready to go?" Yagura asked.

I glanced back at Kakashi, then I returned my gaze towards him. "... Yeah. I think I am."

Yagura held out his hand to me. "Then follow me."

"Mn! I will."

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

I handed Shiori the last of the seals. "... There you go, Shiori."

Shiori's wings fluttered gently, bits of snow dust falling off it. ~I understand, Nao-sama. But... you will be careful, won't you? I don't want to have to deliver these.~

"I will," I promised, then I crawled out of the hammock.

We had departed from land not long after leaving Konoha. We were tasked with keeping the jinchūriki out of the war – to protect them from Tobi and the Akatsuki. Yagura, Yamato, Gai and myself were the only ones from Konoha who knew the truth of the mission on the ship. Naruto, unfortunately, did not. We were ordered by Tsunade to keep it that way (and with good reason, as we knew that if Naruto knew the truth... there was no way he'd be content on sitting on the sidelines). Instead, he merely believed he was going for training.

We had departed via ship, heading for a private island owned by Kumogakure. There, we would meet up with Killer Bee (the Hachibi jinchūriki) and some other Kumogakure shinobi. We were tasked with keeping all the jinchūriki there. The island moved throughout the ocean, never staying in one spot, so it was an ideal place to hide them.

The trip there was... interesting... to say the least (and extremely uncomfortable for Gai and myself. Gai because he was severely sea-sick and myself because of my... aversion... to the sea). But, nothing truly noteworthy happened.

"Nao?"

Shiori disappeared in a puff of smoke, and I glanced over to find Yagura. He stood beside my hammock, looking up at me and offering a small smile. "We've arrived at the island. Come along now."

I returned his smile with a bright one of my own, and I crawled out of my hammock. With Yagura right at my side, I climbed out of the ship and up onto the deck. Every time I came up on the deck, I tried my damndest not to look out at the waters. Instead, I had usually huddled close to either Yagura or Naruto.

A couple times, I full out clung onto their arms, trying to untangle the panicked knots that formed in my stomach. Neither of them complained, as they had both used my teleportation technique.

They knew my fear of the ocean.

Just as before, I stuck close to Yagura on the deck, ours arms brushing against each other with each step. Swallowing roughly, I tried to ignore the rising fear that came with seeingthe ocean.

Yagura placed his arm around me, facing me in the direction of the island. There was a heavy fog around us, but I could make out the bearings of the island. Large spikes jutted out from it, climbing high into the sky. It looked almost foreboding, but I could see its appeal as a fortress.

"How is that a paradise island?" Naruto demanded, looking aghast at the thing. "That stupid frog-sage said that the 'Octopus' was going to train me on an island – a 'paradise'! How is that a paradise?! It looks like something out of a damn horror movie."

I shuddered at the implications we were at sea... in a horror movie.

"Naruto," Yagura growled, "watch yourself."

Naruto pouted, then noticing my extremely uncomfortable expression, he winced. "Sorry, Nao. Didn't even think – "

"Obviously," Yagura cut in.

Naruto glared at Yagura, and the Sanbi jinchūriki just gave him a haughty look. It was then that the ship's captain, a Kumogakure shinobi by the name of Miji, walked out onto the deck. "It may not look like much, but it's not a bad place. And if you leave the animals alone, they'll leave you alone. Well... except for one."

"Except for one?" Yamato repeated, walking out onto the deck, as well.

"Who cares?" Naruto retorted. "We're here, so I can finally get some training done."

"Wh-Why do you want this octopus to train you, anyway? Why not Yagura?" I asked hesitantly.

"Because my training wouldn't work the same. Isobu, the Sanbi, is a reasonable bijū," Yagura explained. "I was able to come to a compromise with him. From what I understand, the Kyūbi cannot be reasoned with in the normal fashion. I wouldn't know any other way to forcibly control the bijū chakra."

Naruto sighed. "Stupid fluffball... Why can't he be nice like Isobu?"

Yagura's lips twitched in amusement. "Doesn't matter. We're here now, so – "

It was at that moment that a giant tentacle erupted from the ocean, rising high above us. Naruto looked positively thrilled. "Octopus-sensei! You've come for me!"

I, on the other hand, was trying not to hyperventilate.

"That's not an octopus tentacle, Naruto," Miji said warningly. "That's a squid, and the one creature that won't leave you alone."

The rest of the squid leapt up from the water, revealing its slimy, disgusting, horrifying form. The ship rocked violently in waves, nearly tipping over several times. I really was hyperventilating at this point.

"No," I denied. "No. No. No. No. This is not happening. Just when we finally get here... no. Nope. Not happening. Uh-uh."

My brow furrowed as I opened up a black portal. "Everyone, get in. Now. I'm taking us to the island."

"But what if it's the octopus that's supposed to train me?" Naruto whined.

The look I gave him was enough to make him bow his head and docilely follow behind me in the portal.

Yamato quickly went back inside to grab a queasy Gai, while Miji ordered the rest of his men to follow him through the portal.

Thankfully, the island was very nearby, so I didn't need to exert myself and the teleportation lasted only a handful of seconds. Not enough time to actually walk through; it was just a quick jump through. Painless, almost, for once.

I had taken us onto one of the spikes. Miji peered out across the ocean. "That's a neat trick you have there."

I didn't reply, choosing to just focus on the island and not the ocean. I could hear something else erupting from the water, and Naruto gasped loudly. "It's an octopus! Look, it has eight tentacles."

"That's not just any old octopus," Miji said, grinning. "That's Killer Bee, and his bijū... Hachibi."

"Looks like he has complete control over his bijū – making a perfect beast transformation," Yagura commented, looking mildly impressed.

I refused to look back at the ocean. I didn't care if that was Senju Hashirama himself having a goddamn tea party with Uchiha Madara. I was not looking at that stupid ocean.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

We officially met Bee when he returned to land and we climbed down from the spikes. The island was fairly nice, after getting through the spikes. The trees were tall and the vegetation was almost tropical. The weather was decent, too.

Best of all, you couldn't see the ocean once you got past the spikes.

"Stop grinning, you look like an idiot," Yagura whispered to me.

"I swear I'm trying," I told him, still grinning. "I just... I'm just really glad to be on land again."

"You're such an idiot," Yagura grumbled, but there was no malice or bite in his words or tone. It was more affectionate, than anything.

Killer Bee was a tall young man with dark skin and pale blond hair pulled back. He wore a familiar sword on his back (Samehada?). "Fool ya fools, you guys didn't need to act so rash, I wouldn't have let you crash."

"We meant no offense," Yamato apologized.

Killer Bee waved his hands dismissively, and another Kumogakure shinobi landed beside him. "I'm Motoi and I'm in charge here. I'll take you all to your lodgings."

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

"You Konoha shinobi can use this entire floor," Motoi said. "There's plenty of rooms for all of you. The dining hall is downstairs, you can eat whenever you want."

"Well, then," Yagura said, "pick whatever rooms you'd like. We'll adjourn until tomorrow's meeting at seven. Nao, pick a room, drop your stuff off and follow me. We'll see if we can squeeze any more training in."

Naruto pouted. "Aww... I wanna train."

"Go find your octopus," Yagura muttered.

"Fine! I will and we'll have way more fun training than you guys ever will," Naruto declared. I suppressed my giggle, and Naruto gave me a wink before ruffling my hair and heading off. I randomly picked a room, and dropped off my stuff.

The hitai-ate that read shinobi was kept in my pocket for the mean time – it would do no good to allow Naruto question where I got it from. Instead, I wore my goggles around my neck per usual, although I still wore my Jōnin uniform.

After dropping off my things, I headed out of my room and met Yagura in the hallway. He tilted his head in greeting, and the two of us left for some private training.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

"So, so, so then I hugged 'em and then, and then, Killer Bee said he'd train me!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning brightly. We sat side by side on the roof, the sky a pretty dark blue as stars started to come out. We laid on his orange jacket, my own Jōnin flack being used as our pillow.

I looked over at my old friend and smiled warmly at him. "That's wonderful, Naruto, I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks! Ah, jeeze, I'm so hyped up I can't sleep. Thanks for agreeing to stay up with me," Naruto said, sitting up. He looked down at me, grinning so widely he had to shut his eyes. I beamed in return.

"'Course. That's what best friends are for," I said.

At that, Naruto's grin softened and he said in a quiet voice, "Ya know... I never really got, uh, ya know... thank ya..."

Confused, I frowned at my dear friend. "Thank me...? For what?"

Naruto laid back down beside me, knotting his fingers together and tucking them behind his head. "... Ya know... you were my first friend."

"And you were mine."

"Not a lotta people liked me, but then we became friends and all of a sudden... I mean... I'm just really happy."

"Me, too," I said. "Naruto, you're a wonderful friend. If it weren't for you... I doubt I'd have the confidence to do a lot of things. I doubt I would have been so motivated to... to become stronger. I admire you a lot, Naruto. You're more than my best friend: you're family."

Naruto's smile was getting bigger and brighter as I spoke. He was fidgeting happily, and his cheeks were rosy. "Ehehehe. I feel the same."

I sat up and poked his cheek. "We should probably at least try to get some sleep, though. If Bee's going to train you to control the Kyūbi, you'll need as much rest as you can get."

Naruto pouted. "But, but, I'm not tired."

I scooted back and pulled my legs in, then I lifted Naruto's head and rested it in my lap. I placed one hand over his eyes and with the other hand, I began to run my fingers through his hair. "Hush. Just relax."

"I'm not eight," Naruto protested, "this trick won't work on me, anymore!"

He was snoring within three minutes.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Naruto left with Yamato early in the morning. I was allowed to sleep in a bit. When the sun was fully up, peeking in through the curtains, I finally opened my eyes. With a yawn, I sat up in the bed and stretched. It felt a little odd to be sleeping in, especially knowing that a war was coming...

A felt a sudden surge of worry for my family and friends back in Konoha.

There was a knock on the door, and before I could respond, it opened up. Yagura poked his head in, his eyes resting on me. "I felt your chakra awaken. Good morning."

"Good morning," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. "How did you sleep?"

"Fairly well. Get dressed. We'll have some breakfast, then we'll continue our training."

Before I could respond, a sharp burn pierced through my left eye. I clutched at it, wincing. Immediately, Yagura was in front of me, grabbing my hand and tilting my head back to look into my eye. "... Eye pains again?"

"Y-Yeah," I managed, struggling to keep from wincing again.

Yagura's brow furrowed and he pursed his lips. He dropped his hand away from my chin, then rummaged through his pack. He pulled out a bottle of pills, and popped out a couple of them. "Here. It'll help with the pain."

I grabbed the pills and swallowed them dryly. "... Thank you."

"Don't mention it. I'm just glad we don't have to re-seal your Curse Mark again so soon."

I had to smile at that. "That would suck, considering I haven't even drawn up the next layer of seals for it."

"Don't procrastinate," Yagura scolded lightly. "Now get dressed. We have a big day ahead of us, just us two."

"R-Right," I said, ignoring the pleasant flutters in my stomach.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

I held the boxes of bento close to my chest as I entered the temple. Yagura was trailing behind, looking around at the temple with a thoughtful gaze. It was some time afternoon when we had decided to take a little break. We were currently bringing lunch to Killer Bee, Naruto, and Yamato.

It didn't take too long to find the entrance to where they were training. The door to the room opened after I knocked and we entered the room.

Naruto sat crisscross in the center of the room. Half of him was consumed by the Kyūbi – immediately causing me to tense, but Killer Bee's and Yagura's relaxed state kept me from voicing my worry – and half of him was in his Sage mode. Yamato was to the side of him, his right palm stretched out in preparation of subduing the Kyūbi should Naruto fail to control it. And Killer Bee stood in front of Naruto, his arms crossed over his chest.

Yamato and Killer Bee looked up as Yagura and I entered the room. I held up the bentos. "I brought lunch for everyone."

Killer Bee grinned. "Nice timing! I was getting low on energy for my rhyming."

"Thanks, Nao," Yamato said, smiling.

"Will Naruto be able to pause his training?" I inquired.

Killer Bee gave a hum. "Dunno, dunno, 'probably will when his chakra gets low."

"Then I'll just set his beside him," I said. Killer Bee moved forward and grabbed the top bento, while Yagura grabbed the one below it, and Yamato the one below that. I sat one of them beside Naruto, then sat down myself and opened my own box.

We ate in comfortable silence, and as we ate, Kyūbi's chakra slowly dwindled down. By the time we finished eating, the chakra was completely gone and Yamato relaxed his stance. A smile curled Naruto's lips and he opened his eyes. With glee, he raised his arms and shouted, "Alright!"

"How did it go?" I asked, just as Yamato asked, "What happened?"

Naruto looked surprised to find Yagura and me there, but it didn't last long. His smile stretched into a grin and he said, "A lot of good things happened."

He stretched out his right hand into a fist and bumped it with Killer Bee. Killer Bee said, "I see! I get it! Understood! Your expression now is looking good."

"What about the Kyūbi?" Yamato asked. "Did you get it under control?"

Naruto and Killer Bee ignored him, as the Hachibi jinchūriki said, "It's all good, especially when you used it in that situation, yo! ... Whoa, Naruto! Don't tell me that by that, you mean... You know what?"

"Yep!" Naruto said. "That's right, ya know!"

Oh, I said, realizing what was transpiring. They're communicating through their minds... through their chakra. Their chakra is connecting in their fist and Naruto and Killer Bee are somehow able to share memories through that contact. It's... it's not like the Yamanaka Clan's mind-reading technique... the way their chakra is moving... I wonder... if it's a jinchūriki thing.

"Then explain it in ways I can understand! How can anyone understand when you're using such vague wording – you're doing it on purpose," Yamato accused.

"Relax, Yamato," Naruto said, "I've got Kyūbi's chakra in a safe, separate place now."

"So it went well?" I inquired.

Naruto grinned at me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me in for a hug. "Ya bet it did. I'll tell you all about it tonight, yeah?"

I giggled, wrapping my own arm around him and squeezing him. "Good."

"I'll show ya," Naruto said, standing up, "when I use his chakra."

Suddenly golden light enveloped Naruto, and it was like he was encased in a golden fire. His clothes fluttered around like he was walking on a wind tunnel, and there were odd black designs on his chest and belly. What was really interesting was how his chakra felt. I was used to feeling his chakra as a large, cool thing – it reminded me vaguely of a lake in its enormity and depth. However, when he became enveloped in that warm fire, his chakra felt like... like...

... like home.

The wooden pillars that Yamato had constructed suddenly began to grow and grow, branches and leaves climbing out of them.

"Amazing," Yamato breathed.

"This form is overflowing with a combination of nature chakra and bijū chakra," Yagura observed. "It's on a whole other level."

"Mn," Naruto agreed, then stiffened. His eyes narrowed and he glared at the sword on Bee's back, Samehada. "And how long are you planning on hiding in there?"

All eyes turned towards Samehada, just as Hoshigaki Kisame erupted from the odd sword. He gave a feral grin. "It seems that you can sense hatred and feelings of evil. The limitations of Sensory-Types don't apply. Is that the power of a jinchūriki who has mastered the powers of the Kyūbi?"

"Kisame," Yagura growled, "what are you doing here?"

"Yo, Mizukage. Although, I suppose that's a bit outdated, isn't it? Keheh," Kisame chuckled.

"I thought we chopped your head off a ways back," Killer Bee growled. "How did you manage to escape?"

"I simply switched out with a White Zetsu during our battle in the bubble. They're able to completely take form of another person's chakra and form. You killed it, while I hid in Samehada," Kisame explained, still partially merged with Samehada. "Anyway... three jinchūriki, a wood style user, and the one girl I'm not allowed to kill... I am in a serious predicament."

The girl he's not allowed to kill...? What...?

Kisame smirked, then stepped back and hit some sort of switch, crawling on the wall. The door to the room unlocked and opened, and without hesitation, Kisame sprang through. Too startled by his words, I was late in my reaction time.

Naruto, thankfully, was not. He flickered towards Kisame and slammed his fist into his back. Kisame wiggled out of Naruto's grasp and sprang from the room, but Yagura was fast behind him. Sadly, though, Naruto's foot had also dug into the room's wall when he punched Kisame. I leapt up beside him, grabbing his hand and pulling him out with all my strength.

We tumbled to the floor, Killer Bee and Yamato already gone to chase after Kisame. Naruto wrapped his arms around me, picking me up. "Come on, Nao! This way is faster."

"I can run on my own," I objected, feeling embarrassed.

"I know, but not this fast," Naruto said with a foxy grin.

We flickered so fast, my mind wasn't able to process our shifting environment. Everything blurred by and I had to resist the urge to gasp in surprise.

I never would have imagined Naruto.... No... anyone... being this fast.

We burst through the waterfall that hid the entrance to the temple, moving too fast to even properly get wet.

When we came out, Yagura and Gai were standing over an unconscious Kisame. "Idiot. As Mizukage, I've had training with all the swords and their masters. I know how to control Samehada. It won't ever turn against me, and I know all your weaknesses, you foolish, shark brat."

Naruto set me down, and I stood beside Yagura, looking worryingly over him. "Are you okay, Yagura-sensei?"

Yagura smirked. "I'm fine. Let's get him locked up and see what we can divulge..."

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Yamato created a wooden pillory for Kisame. He was on his knees, still unconscious, so his head drooped. We all stood around him. It seemed Motoi and Gai had come to visit us, and that was why they were outside the temple when Kisame had left.

Yagura held a wet scroll in his hands. He told us that it was standard for Kirigakure shinobi to swallow all important scrolls and then regurgitate them. It was to prevent enemies finding valued information on their corpses so easily. It didn't take long for Yagura to force Kisame to regurgitate the scroll (although I looked away for that portion, a little sick to my stomach at it).

"Gotta hand it to ya, Yagura," Naruto said, peering at the unconscious Kisame. "You really took him down and got the info."

"Despite being so small, you really made the big blue fall, yo," Killer Bee said.

"What did you just call me," Yagura hissed.

"U-Um," I said quickly, placing my hands on Yagura's shoulders, "w-we should focus on Kisame now, yes? N-Not each other."

Yagura still glowered darkly at Killer Bee, but pointedly turned away from him and focused his glower on Kisame.

"You're a Yamanaka clan member, are you not?" Motoi inquired, glancing at me. I nodded my head. "Then can you read his mind – extract information?"

I fidgeted nervously as all eyes turned on me. "W-Well, yes... I mean... I've had some training, and mind-walking is the best out of the basic clan abilities I can do... but I'm nowhere near as good as Papa or Nee-chan. I'm still, um..."

Naruto placed a hand on my shoulder, giving me a thumbs up. "No sweat, Nao. You got this."

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to," Yagura said, "we can find other ways to interrogate him."

"Not as quickly or efficiently," I sighed. "I'll... I'll try."

Still nervous, I approached the unconscious man. Hesitantly, I placed my hand on top of his head and allowed my chakra and my mind to flow through me and into him.

Blackness clouded my vision before I found myself immersed in a memory.

Not a memory I needed, though, so I moved past it. And the next one, and the next one, and the next one.

I couldn't focus on clear memories like Papa or Ino could. I could only flip through them briefly and get bits and pieces of them. A sound here. A picture there. I continued to flip through them until I finally stopped at one.

Kisame stood over a body. There was no sound to this memory – I wasn't skilled enough to pull up more than one sense of a memory. What caught my attention, though, was that Yagura stood a little ways from him in the shadows.

The two were talking. Thankfully, I could read their lips.

"Good work, Kisame," Yagura said softly, his eyes dancing with amusement, as he stared at the corpse. "I had a feeling he would let his guard down with his student... and I was right."

Kisame gripped his sword, preparing for battle, but Yagura didn't seem to mind. "He was collaborating with the enemy. From this moment on, you are the master of Samehada... and my subordinate."

Yagura stepped out of the shadows, and Kisame relaxed his stance, grinning mirthlessly. "That is, until you eliminate me, too... Yondaime Mizukage-sama."

"I can trust you because of who you are," Yagura said blandly, his expression blank. It was... unnerving. I peered at this memory of Yagura, feeling as though something was horribly wrong with it. That this Yagura... was not the Yagura that I knew. "You have executed dirty missions for the sake of the nation and the village. You've undertaken missions of betrayal. You are well aware that this world is full of lies and deceit."

"I knew that from the first moment I killed a comrade. Killing Kirigakure shinobi, despite being one myself... So what am I? Am I an enemy or an ally? What is my purpose? Where do I stand in this world? Where must I go? And where can I go to find inner calm? There is one thing that is clear to me... I am trapped in a false existence."

There, a shadow appeared from behind Yagura, and I recognized the form immediately.

Obito, although his hair was longer. He began to speak, then, though I could scarcely make out his lips in the darkness. The majority of his face was just blackness to me. "Then I shall release you from the pain of those falsehoods. I will create a place where you belong."

Kisame gripped Samehada again. "Who are you?"

"First, we'll start with this nation," Obito continued, nonplussed, "you have toiled to dispose of your comrades up until now. From now on, work with me as my comrade."

"You seem to have trust in me, but I still don't know who you are," Kisame said.

Obito's Sharingan whirled to life, and Kisame appeared taken back. "Those eyes... they gleam in the dark."

He relaxed, smirking. "I see... The one I thought was the Yondaime Mizukage... was actually you. To think you used the Sharingan to control Yagura... This world really is full of lies. You have the visual prowess to be able to control the Yondaime, who is also the jinchūriki of the Sanbi. Just who are you?"

Obito... I thought. You really did control Yagura, didn't you? It was your eyes that entrapped him in those nightmares, too terrified to move...?

"Uchiha... Madara," Obito lied.

Kisame's eyes widened in disbelief. "He's supposed to be dead. I don't believe you. Show yourself."

"Fine. You can decide whether or not to trust me," Obito said, slowly stepping into the light. I tensed, suddenly finding my throat tighten. I didn't want to see anymore – I didn't want any more confirmation that Obito was Tobi, yet I couldn't bring myself to look away. I was frozen where I stood, watching the scene unfold.

Just as Obito's face was about to be revealed in the light, I was yanked out of Kisame's mind with a painful force. I gasped and fell back on my bum, staring up in surprise at Kisame. I was back in the real world, and Kisame's mouth was spilling over with blood.

He bit his own tongue off.

"Nao," Naruto exclaimed.

"I-I'm fine," I said quickly, "Kisame – he – he bit off his own tongue to wake up. "

Kisame was struggling against the pillory, and we all stared at him in disbelief for a couple seconds. He was laughing, and then he broke free from it. The wood flew back and my arms went up to guard my face. When I lowered them, Kisame had clapped his hands together and water erupted from his mouth.

He became surrounded in a water prison. I moved in preparation to attack, standing up, but Yagura stopped me by placing a hand on my shoulder. "Don't bother. We aren't going to get any more information out of him... regardless."

"What do you mean?" I asked, but Yagura did not respond. Instead, he stared in apathy as sharks were summoned in Kisame's self-made water prison.

Shock radiated from inside me. "N-No... way..."

I watched, both horrified and in disbelief, as the sharks devoured the man named Hoshigaki Kisame.

"Suicide," Yagura muttered. "Just like a true Kirigakure ex-ANBU... Tt."

I stepped back, and Yagura squeezed my shoulder.

"Unbelievable," Naruto breathed, as the water fell apart into the grass. "He died so... so we, his enemies, wouldn't get intel. Even in the Akatsuki, there were those that put their comrades first..."

"Even if he was our foe, he died admirably," Gai said firmly. "He died for his cause. Hoshigaki Kisame... I'll never forget you."

Silence fell across the clearing.

Yagura's grip fell off me, and he glanced away. Coldness had settled over me, goosebumps rising. It still seemed wrong... this whole situation... Kisame suiciding... this whole thing unsettled me. It was as Gai and Naruto had said: he died for his comrade.

In Konoha, that would have made him a hero. He would have gotten his name carved on that stone, and I would have set a bouquet of bluebells for his grave.

I wonder if the next time I set those bluebells down... will I be thinking of him, too?

Gai moved over to the scroll that had been discarded. "... This is the scroll that has the information he collected. We might as well see what information he was after specifically."

"No – wait – don't open that – " Yagura shouted, just as Gai unrolled the scroll.

Water erupted from the scroll, slamming into me. The chakra intensive water wrapped around me, forming a sort of sphere.

Water Prison Jutsu. I struggled to move, to even see. The water was too heavy and too blurry to make out my surroundings. I heard someone shout out sharks, and vaguely I could make out sharks erupting from the scroll, each in a water prison.

The intel! They're carrying the intel! I have to get out...

A shark entered the prison I was in, and I kicked out at it. It launched itself at me, its jaws wide. My brow furrowed and I concentrated on the beast. My chakra wrapped around it, keeping it from moving. I began to push it out of the sphere, although it was harder than I anticipated due to the strength of the jutsu.

When the shark was finally out, I was nearly out of air, and just before I was about to use my kekkei genkai to drag myself out of the water, the prison burst.

I fell back on my knees, gasping for air and finding that the others were being freed, as well. Gai and Naruto wasted no time in taking off after the sharks that carried the intel. Yagura, meanwhile, was at my side, kneeling down while I spluttered and coughed.

"Are you okay?" Yagura demanded.

"F-Fine," I wheezed. "Thanks for getting me out."

"Don't mention it. Come on, we got to get that shark."

We didn't catch it.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

We resumed routine, despite the intel leak. Naruto continued his training in his new mode, and I continued training with Yagura. A couple more days had passed like that, until the first attack on the island happened.

I was with Naruto, Yamato and Yagura when it happened. Naruto was supposed to be studying the animals (as it was part of his 'mission'), and when the island started to shake, I was instructed to stay with Naruto while the rest checked it out.

Yamato was the only one that didn't return.

Yagura told me that he was taken captive, but still...

It made me wonder who else I was going to lose. I wasn't particularly close to Yamato, but I knew he was friends with Kakashi. It made... it made this war seem so much more real... Yagura tried to tell me that Yamato was probably still alive, but...

I didn't want to get my hopes up, just to have them crushed. Another few days of relative peace passed by, until we got word that the war had actually started.

On that day, Motoi interrupted our training session. "Nao-san? Yagura-sama?"

I was panting, leaning heavily on my knees, regrouping myself after the work out. Yagura, as usual, was completely unaffected. "Y-Yeah?"

"Naruto is attempting to escape the island. He hasn't figured out about the war, yet, but he sensed some odd chakra," Motoi said. "HQ told me to tell you to keep him here."

"Right. I'll go talk to him," I sighed.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

I entered the temple, walking past the wards that kept Naruto from sensing things outside of the temple. There were several shinobi guarding it, and Naruto stood before them, glowering. Shibi, leading the squad, said, "Go back to your training room, Naruto."

"I'm here. I'll talk to him," I said, brushing past the group.

"Nao, what's going on?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto," I said, "you need to go back to training. You know how important it is for you to gain complete mastery over the Kyūbi. You won't be able to defeat the Akatsuki otherwise."

"I sensed something weird out there, Nao," Naruto argued. "Why can't I just take a look?"

Yagura walked beside, his arms folded over his chest. "... There's an unidentifiable creature out there, Naruto. We can't have you ruining our chances of learning about it. Go back to training."

"I sensed the Kyūbi's chakra," Naruto protested.

"The creature has some of the Kyūbi's chakra. That's why we need you in here, so you don't rile it up anymore when it senses you have it, too," Yagura lied smoothly.

Naruto shook his head, his eyes closing for a brief moment and then re-opening them into Sage Mode. "... Then just let me have a look."

Yagura and I didn't even raise our hands when Naruto barreled past us (although the other shinobi attempted to stop him) and sprang out of the temple.

"Why didn't you stop him?" I asked, turning to look at Yagura.

Yagura shrugged. "Oops."

"You could have stopped him."

"So could you."

"... I refuse to lie to him. What's your excuse?"

"It was too much effort to keep him here. This way is just easier."

I smiled teasingly at him. "Liar. You didn't like keeping secrets from him, either!"

Yagura huffed and stormed past me, marching out of the temple. I figured there was another reason Yagura let him pass – Yagura wasn't the type to purposely disobey orders without at least a few good reasons.

I followed behind him, and we found Naruto standing outside. His entire body was straight and stiff, and his eyes were wide. "... Everyone's chakra... it's..."

"War," I said quietly.

"What? Why is this happening? What's going on?"

"It was our mission to keep you out of the war," I said. "The Kage thought it best if the bijū remained out of Tobi's grasp. I'm sorry, Naruto."

"You gave up our mission that easily?" Yagura asked, turning to face me with a raised eyebrow.

"I can't lie to him," I defended weakly. "While yes, I think it's best if he stays here and out of harms way, I can't... I can't lie to him so boldly."

Yagura sighed. "Where did I go wrong with you? Can't even tell a good lie to a friend..."

"Well excuse me," I muttered petulantly.

"Nao..." Naruto trailed off, looking lost. "... explain... please?"

"Nao," Shibi, the leader of the guard squad for Naruto said sharply. Although Naruto knocked a fair few unconscious to barrel through, he hadn't gotten them all. "It will be a direct violation of the order HQ gave if you do that."

I winced. "... He already knows about the war by now. Our mission is a failure. I'll explain everything, Naruto."

"Our mission is to keep him here," Shibi said.

"Your mission is to keep him here," Yagura agreed. "Our mission is to protect the bijū. If that means leaving the island, and ending the war ourselves..."

My eyes widened in realization. "That's why you let Naruto past. You just want to go to the front lines, Yagura!"

Yagura appeared mildly guilty. "... I don't like sitting around and waiting."

"Well, neither do I!" Naruto growled. "So can someone explain what the hell is going on here?"

Taking a deep breath, I quickly explained what I could. By the end of it, Naruto was glowering something fierce. "I can't believe Obaa-chan let them do that. Keep me here? Bullshit. I'm needed out there. I'm not about to sit on my ass while my friends are fighting and dying for me."

"I couldn't agree more," Yagura agreed. "But, it takes more than just the Sanbi to bust out of here..."

"Then we'll just have to work together," Naruto said. "Nao, can you teleport us?"

"... Actually... no," I said slowly, wincing. "Mostly because they have a seal erected around the island, so..."

"Then we'll have to break through with force," Naruto said.

"Probably," Yagura said. "Naruto, do you sense which direction the war is in?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied. "Let's go."

I just know I'm going to get in so much trouble for this, I thought, watching the two hot-blooded jinchūriki take off.

... But... that's okay.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Killer Bee had assisted us in breaking out of the barrier, as well. The second the four of us were out, I then said, "Um... actually... there's something I need to tell you guys. It's... it's about my teleportation technique."

Yagura glanced at me sharply. "... What about it?"

I let out a slow breath. "Do you... do you remember when I told you about my powers?"

"Powers?" Naruto asked, looking over at us.

"Yeah," I said. I looked over at Bee, debating if it was okay to say it in front of him. Deciding that it was, I elaborated, "My ability... my kekkai genkai... isn't exactly normal for the Yamanaka Clan. My... I... developed differently. Not the first time in the clan, but not common, you see. And... and because I developed differently, I developed more than one ability. However... the second one has a catch. It can only last so long."

Bee gave a hum. "So wait, what you're sayin' ay, is that it might be gone by the end of the day?"

"I'm saying I can only use it once... maybe two more times," I said quietly. "I just... I just thought I'd give you a warning."

Yagura eyed me for a couple moments before he shrugged. "Alright. Does anyone else know about this, Nao?"

"Yeah. I told Nee-chan and Papa before I left because I couldn't find Kakashi-sensei," I admitted. "So those three should know."

"Then I won't ask you to teleport us," Naruto said. "Let's not waste what few chances you have left using it. Who knows when we'll really need it."

"Naruto's right," Yagura said. "For now, we'll just have to run to the war."

"Yeah, okay."

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

STOP! STOP~ Stop.

Read for warning(s):

As I stated at the top of the chapter, I created two endings. Up to this point is canon in both endings. The next chapter will be the realistic ending (and the original ending I had planned for this story). If you do not want to read that ending, skip to the last chapter and just read the fluffy happy ending.

Warning you now, the realistic ending isn't super-duper happy.