Anime/Manga » Ranma » Raiju font: B s : A A A
Author: Trugeta
Fiction Rated: T - English - Adventure/General - Reviews: 229 - Published: 02-15-07 - Updated: 10-08-07 id:3395834

Chapter 2

Rain was softly falling from a grey sky and dripped from her bangs onto her face, but one Ranma Saotome did not care in the least as she followed the one-eyed man that had painfully bumped into her not three minutes ago through the mazes of the still unnamed Ninja town.

Taking searching looks at her surroundings during their run, as she had been trained to do ab initio, gave her even more food for thought. This strange town was an odd and fascinating mixture of elements only found in the feudal era and technology that seemed to be comparable to what they had had available at home in her versions of Tokyo and greater Japan. An odd mix for sure, but seeing that the elements blended seamlessly, a functioning mix nonetheless.

They had passed several heavily armed, high-powered ninja that screamed 'danger' to her senses on their way to whatever their destination was, yet the normal townsfolk didn't seem to be bothered in the least to coexist with these living weapons. Gauging from the civilian's reactions it seemed to be as normal as breathing to them to live in a village where heavily armed Shinobi juggled with weapons left, right and centre.

Her admittedly brief survey of those ninja she had passed on her run told her that this particular brand of ninja was very different from the ninja in her dimension; the armament, equipment and power levels made Sasuke, Kuno's pet ninja, a joke in comparison. Not even Konatsu, whom she had come to know as a very talented and deadly kunoichi came even close. Their threat level was very, very high, and if she had to label them she'd dub them warrior ninja.

The internal energies of these shinobi surrounding her were particularly intriguing, for the ki of these warrior ninja seemed a bit off, as if they were using a version different to hers, something that was operating on a higher bandwidth. Her best comparison was that the ki as she knew and used and theirs were 'sending' on different frequencies, kind of like the channels on a satellite receiver, or even a radio with its AM and FM frequencies. It was a crude and lacking analogy, but at present really the best way to describe it.

She'd love to see what this other ki could do as opposed to her own, but it seemed she'd have to wait for a demonstration seeing that they had apparently reached their destination.

-.-

Ranma followed the one-eyed ninja without being prompted into what she recognised as a hospital. Those white colour schemes and the thick smell of antiseptics she'd recognise any day. It was apparently quite common to turn up here with torn clothes, though, for none of the passing nurses and patients threw her a second glance.

The martial artist turned hanyou suppressed an amused snort, yet her amusement changed into irritation when no one seemed to take notice of them. It seemed that each and every nurse had disappeared from the vicinity, Ranma noticed upon a brief survey of the reception area.

The one-eyed ninja who had planted himself in front of the counter seemed to be just as irritated, gauging from his body language, and barked a sharp command for a member of the staff to 'move their asses before he'd Sharingan said same-self asses' a few minutes later, and Ranma wasn't surprised to hear a hint of anger in his voice. Here was an injured ninja in barely stable condition, and no one seemed to care. It wasn't just odd, but almost bordered on denial of assistance.

Upon hearing the blonde youth groan Ranma turned her head to see the young man open his eyes, which revealed intent cerulean blue orbs that took in their surroundings at a moment's notice. Those eyes were very similar to how her own had been not long ago, and they were without a doubt as expressive and unguarded as her own had once been, clearly showing their discomfort.

"Kakashi-sensei, couldn't... you've brought me to baa-chan... to get me fixed up? Ya know they... hate me here," he muttered in a low voice that indicated speaking was hard for him, yet Ranma was surprised to notice that he was sounding a bit stronger than minutes ago.

The redhead wisely kept her distance and positioned herself in a way that kept her out of the blonde's line of sight in hopes he'd let something slip, and turned her attention towards the one-eyed man who she now knew to be the blonde's sensei Kakashi in expectance of an answer, the look in the man's visible eye not escaping her.

It told anyone who could read people that the assessment was right on the dot. "Naruto," the man finally said, "there might be complications due to the Chidori wound that neither Tsunade-sama nor your, err, tenant are able to reverse. Thus its safer to have them do a check-up."

Ranma—who was curious as hell to find out just what this 'Chidori' was that it could cause such damage—noticed right away that Kakashi's statement was a load of bull. She snorted mentally and watched the young man's body tensing, communicating that he shared her opinion. "Tsk, the baka fox... won't let me die so... easily, Kakashi-sensei. Is something... wrong?" he then queried, seeing the uncomfortable look in his sensei's visible eye.

"We're not exactly alone, Naruto, so you might want to chose your words carefully," Kakashi warned, a serious look in his visible eye.

Naruto tensed and craned his neck to catch a glimpse of Ranma, but the appearance of a white-clothed young woman whom Ranma took for a nurse interrupted his attempts. The redhead followed the men'sexample and surveyed the nurse more closely. She was an attractive brunette with a nice enough body, about thirty years old at Ranma's estimation, but the expression on the woman's face was anything but attractive. The scowl she was wearing and the hate-filled look she was giving Naruto spoke of deep loathing that seemed to be out of place on such an angelic face, and Ranma couldn't imagine that Naruto had done something so despicable to deserve such hate.

Her right brow nearly climbed into her hairline when she heard the silent muttering of the nurse, "Had to interrupt my break, my first break after this shitload of work, and what for? For the damned demon brat. Couldn't he have died and done all of us favour?"

Ranma noticed from Naruto's body language that the blonde had heard the comment, as had Kakashi, but the latter pretended he hadn't heard the deprecatory comment. A frown tried to make its way on her face due to the hateful words and the loathing tone the nurse had spoken in, but the redhead clamped down on the irritation she was feeling and managed to keep her expression neutral.

Kakashi Hatake's demeanour had turned to collected professionalism as well as he regarded the woman behind the counter, him shifting Naruto's weight the only indication that he was annoyed. "Mind telling me why this took so long, nurse," he squinted his visible eye to read her ID-tag, "Yamanako? My student has lost a lot of blood and is in barely stable condition."

"I'm sorry, Hatake-san, but we had a literal rush of patients to treat," the nurse replied fake-innocently. "And they were real ninja in contrast to the demon," she added so quietly that she surmised no one would hear.

But they did, and Ranma saw Naruto's head droop even lower. A pang of sympathy flooded through her and she was about to utter a string of harsh words to put that bitch of a nurse in her place, but Kakashi speaking up prevented her from giving the woman a piece of her mind.

"I'll mention your lack of professional decorum later when I give my report to the Hokage, nurse," he said without emotion. "Now prepare a room," he added almost lazily at seeing that he had gotten her complete attention.

The cowed nurse nodded fearfully and hurried away after saying, "Follow me."

Ranma and Kakashi—the latter still carrying Naruto due to the fact that the younger man had meanwhile passed out from exhaustion and blood loss—did, and finally ended up in front of a door that likely led into a sickroom. Nurse Yamanako pushed the door open and motioned for Kakashi to follow, and the Sharingan user complied, depositing the unconscious Naruto on the bed she had indicated, that being a rather derelict looking bed next to a window.

Ranma's eyes narrowed as she evaluated the room, and her left brow rose into the hairline as she came to the conclusion that this particular sickroom seemed to be reserved for the hopeless cases, as was evidenced by the equipment and the rattling breaths of two barely recognisable human figures that occupied the other beds.

A glance at the one-eyed ninja told the redhead Kakashi had realised the same, and his posture as well as the look in his visible eye communicated he was far from happy. "Any reason you led us to a death room, nurse Yamanako?" he queried in an unamused tone.

The nurse met his gaze with an innocent, obviously well-practised look, "The other sickrooms are all in use, Hatake-san," she replied in a tone that matched her look, "And even a death room's more than the demon brat deserves," she added in a whisper, once again certain her company wouldn't hear it.

Yet they did again, and Ranma's curiosity only grew. This Naruto was a fascinating enigma, and if Raiju had loved one thing it was to unravel intricate puzzles, a character trait that had carried over. Her thoughts were interrupted by the stressed sounding voice of the nurse. "If that is all, I have other patients to tend to. A doctor will be in as soon as possible," she said and turned to leave, not waiting for a reply.

"I'll believe it when I see it," Ranma commented dryly and walked to the left bedside, her gaze fixed on the unconscious Naruto.

Kakashi took a deep breath and mirrored her actions, positioning himself across from the redhead, and then exhaled slowly, his visible eye fixating Ranma, "You're right on the dot, Miss..."

"Saotome," Ranma provided neutrally, her face schooled into an equally neutral mask. "Is there a reason he's treated so badly?"

"There is," Kakashi replied lazily. "It's a Konoha state secret, so I can't tell you."

The redhead nodded, filing away the 'Konoha' reference for later review. "I figured it had nothing to do with him. Despite the time we interacted having admittedly been brief, he didn't strike me as someone who'd deserve that much hate."

Kakashi couldn't do more than nod, for loud footsteps echoed from the outside and moments later the door was literally torn off its hinges. The newcomer turned out to be a short, buxom blonde with a strange mark on her forehead, as Ranma noted with interest. The woman's light brown eyes glinted with worry as she hurried past Sharingan user and redhead, not sparing them more than a fleeting glance. Kakashi stepped aside and took up position beside Ranma to give the woman the space she needed, and having reached Naruto's bed she immediately began a visual inspection of Naruto's body, her face a concentrated mask.

"What have you gotten yourself into now, brat?" she sighed in a tone that revealed both worry and affection, and softly stroked his right cheek with the back of the fingers of her right hand before a completely serious expression settled on her face.

The woman removed her hand and few seconds later the tip of her right index finger started to glow green, prompting Ranma to raise a scarlet brow in barely veiled curiosity. Still sporting the curious mix of worry and concentration the as of yet unnamed woman trailed her glowing finger carefully along the seams of Naruto's jumpsuit, practically scissoring it off as she went.

About two minutes later the blonde woman had dissected the front of the admittedly ugly jumpsuit—which didn't deserve any better than being scissored not just in Ranma's opinion—leaving Naruto bare-chested. The redhead let her eyes travel over the well-toned body of the spiky-haired blonde, intent on discerning the extent of the injuries he had suffered, her yellow eyes narrowing when she gazed upon the gaping wound that marred the left side of his torso right where the left lung was located. Whoever had done this, he or she had wanted to kill.

Switching her yellow gaze to the fellow woman, Ranma noticed the deepening of the worry-lines on the woman's forehead, her own eyes narrowing as she cocked her ears for anything the older woman might say. She didn't have to wait long, for at the same time she had begun to examine the wound closely the woman shook her head in resignation, "For the wound to be healing this slowly it must have been one helova hit. Electric injury... A stab-like wound... The pattern of injury suggests... Kakashi!" she yelled, whirling around with righteous fury in her eyes, "This looks like a Chidori wound!"

Kakashi cringed, his demeanour conveying he didn't want to give the answer he was about to give. "Your observation is correct, Tsunade-sama," he replied after a few seconds. "It appears Sasuke used the Chidori in an attempt to rid himself of Naruto."

He exhaled deeply, "I should have realised things would go down the drain when Naruto and Sasuke fought on the roof of this very building. Che, I guess being a genius doesn't stop one from suffering from occasional bouts of utter stupidity," he muttered.

Tsunade's glare had softened considerably during Kakashi's self-depreciation, "It sure seems so," she readily agreed, shaking her head in irritation, "but you couldn't have known that things would turn out this way.

"However, you'd do well to remember the lesson you have learned today and learn from it so that a repeat won't happen, ever," she added utterly serious, causing the Sharingan user to nod equally seriously.

"Understood, Hokage-sama," he replied solemnly.

His answer prompted the woman to turn her head back to Naruto with the mutter, "I sure as hell hope so," she said, and green energy flowed from her left hand moments later, the verdant chakra seeping into the slowly closing, albeit still gaping wound.

Ranma watched the proceedings curiously, her mind going a mile a minute as she considered just what she could do with a technique like this as it would bolster her arsenal of techniques in regards of healing, which would be especially helpful should she ever suffer a wound that her formidable healing abilities would take too long to heal.

The gleam in her eyes only grew in intensity as she watched the wound shrink as the flesh literally knit itself together, and the redhead allowed herself a small smile at seeing that Naruto's face sported a much more relaxed expression. The woman she had come to know as Tsunade circled her hand over the wound repeatedly even after all traces of the injury were gone, presumably to heal any lingering deeper layered injury, Ranma mused.

About five minutes later the Hokage—Ranma still had no idea what this title meant, but strongly intended to find out as it presumably denoted someone important—had finished healing up Naruto and wiped away the sheen of sweat that had collected on her forehead, a small but satisfied smile showing at the corners of her mouth.

"He's stable now," she stated, looking at Kakashi, "and should be up and about after a good night's rest."

"That's good to hear, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied lazily, his visible eye curved in an upward U-shape that made for an interesting eye-smile.

The Hokage's gaze then travelled to Ranma, "And who might you be?" she queried without preamble and rather bluntly, a blonde brow arched in curiosity.

"Ranma Saotome, Hokage-sama," she replied formally, inwardly amused as she imagined the faces her family and acquaintances would make at hearing her show respect to anyone. "I accompanied Hatake-san to ensure Naruto-san's prompt arrival at the hospital after I caused a delay."

"Delay?," Tsunade asked, filing away the oddity that Ranma had used a respectful suffix while referring to Naruto for later review as she looked questioningly from Ranma to Kakashi.

"I literally ran into her upon reaching the village," Kakashi explained after chuckling dryly. "I had assumed she would jump clear, but I had miscalculated."

"You're a civilian then?" Tsunade queried, her tone making clear that she doubted this possibility.

"No," Ranma replied without a moment's hesitation, "but I'm not sure what your definition of me would be."

Tsunade swivelled her head to look at Kakashi, "She's not a civilian by a long shot. After I had lost my balance due to the impact," he gestured at Ranma. "Some of the villagers saw their chance and started beating on Naruto."

"Go on," Tsunade growled, her face visibly darkening.

"I was ready to intervene and would have done so, but any intervention courtesy of me was rendered unnecessary," Kakashi drawled, causing Tsunade to looked non-plussed. "Miss Saotome," he continued, nodding his head at Ranma, "prompted the mob to disperse in seconds.

"How?" he queried in Tsunade's stead, having anticipated the rather obvious next question. "By releasing killing intent of an impressive magnitude and the firm order to get lost," he concluded, dry humour obvious in his voice.

Tsunade's head slowly turned towards Ranma, and the brown eyes of the Hokage met the yellow eyes of the heiress of Raiju. "You- You did that for him? Why?" she queried, thankfulness warring with distrust.

If Ranma was surprised by the seemingly strange question she didn't show it. "Because he was in need of help, and I was able to render this help," she replied evenly, eyes and face completely neutral. "Besides, I must admit I enjoyed scaring the shit out of those peasants. What dishonourable coward kicks someone when they're literally down?"

A slow smile appeared on Tsunade's face upon hearing the righteous anger in the redhead's voice, her gaiety stemming from the fact that there were apparently still people in the world who were willing to do the right thing. "Thank you. I am Tsunade, Godaime Hokage of Konoha, the Hidden Village of the Leaf, and I thank you on behalf of Naruto Uzumaki for your intervention," she intoned, mumbling "Damn, have to shorten that damned title, it's a frickin' mouthful," before holding out her hand, which a smiling Ranma took, giving it a firm shake.

"I am Ranma Saotome, Heiress to the Saotome School of the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū and Heiress of Raiju. And I agree, titles are a pain in the ass and should be generally avoided like the plague," she remarked, smiling jovially.

Tsunade and Kakashi had both cocked a respective brow, "Martial Arts?", "Raiju?"

-.-

With Naruto stable and 'only' in need of a good nights rest, Tsunade suggested the conversation be adjourned to the office reserved for her in the hospital, that being an offer Ranma took her up on all too gladly, especially seeing that it included the promise of food, and almost as important, new clothes.

A short walk through the mazes of the hospital later the trio had reached an unassuming office door which the Hokage unlocked, motioning for Ranma and Kakashi to get in. Kakashi, being already familiar with this office offside the Hokage's main office, walked in first and made a beeline for the comfortable looking navy blue two-piece couch, plopping down into it with a sigh.

Ranma entered the office at a more measured pace, her gaze scanning the interior of the office for hints that'd allow an inference on the personality of its owner.

Bookshelves lined the wall to her immediate right, their contents almost entirely of the medical variety, suggesting that Tsunade was well-read, but little of personal or sentimental value that would have allowed inferences lay about.

The Heiress of Raiju let a measuring look run over the room as a whole as she scanned for peculiarities, finding none bar one that were obvious at first glance. The office was an ordinary rectangular shaped room about twenty square-metres with the walls held in the standard hospital white, a single door set in the wall to the immediate left leading to an, as of yet, unknown room.

The room itself was quite Spartan in its layout, only the wide variety of medical gadgets—some known to Ranma, some not—that littered the wooden desk alleviating what would otherwise have been a downright boring office.

Eyes alight with curiosity Ranma plopped down into the three-piece couch that stood about ten centimetres away from the door and opposite of the couch Kakashi had chosen, her brows climbing into the hairline due to the one-eyed ninja's nose being buried in a suspicious orange book which's contents apparently prompted him to giggle perversely every now and then.

Her head turned over to look at Tsunade who had just closed the door, and when the eyes of the two women met the Hokage mouthed, "Men and their perverted literature,", prompting Ranma, who had acquired more than enough experience in dealing with a certain perverted Grandmaster to nod in understanding.

Ranma's initial assessment was that this Tsunade, Hokage of Konoha, could become someone she could respect, and her watchful eyes remained on the older woman as she claimed the comfortable-looking office chair and plopped down into it. "Kakashi, as much as I allow you leeway where this smut is concerned due to your exceptional performance as a Jounin of Konoha, may I now kindly ask you to direct your attention to where it is needed?" Tsunade asked in a fake-sweet tone that suggested dire consequences would be enacted should the orange book not be pocketed immediately.

Kakashi audibly gulped, and with a "Yes, Hokage-sama," the book disappearing in one of the many pocketsof the Jounin flak-jacket he was wearing.

"Very good," Tsunade said, her eyes still retaining their rock-hard quality. "Now, before we begin I will ask my assistant Shizune to join us, and to mix business with pleasure, it'd be a good idea if she brought you some new clothes, wouldn't it?" she mused, giving Ranma's tattered remains of what once was her wardrobe a critical inspection.

"That'd be greatly appreciated," Ranma replied with an inclination of her head. "I fear the manner in which I arrived in this world did not agree with my clothes," she mused, chuckling lightly.

"Arrived… in this world?" Kakashi repeated incredulously, his inner laments about having to pocket his precious Icha Icha Paradise forgotten, Tsunade adding "Care to elaborate?" seconds thereafter.

"Yes. But how about clothes first, explanations later?" Ranma countered, a small smile playing in the corners of her mouth. "And not to impose, but what about the food you held out? I admit to being a bit hungry," she added with a wry smile, her statement being underlined by the soft yet audible grumbling of her stomach.

Tsunade and Kakashi both sported looks of amusement, "I admit to being hungry myself," the Hokage replied, and pressed a button on the intercom system standing on her desk, "Ayako, please see to it that eight Ramen deluxe and Sake in sufficient amount is delivered to my subsidiary office. Thanks," she said, closing the connection after Ayako's affirmative.

"Shizune," the Godaime continued after pressing the button for a second time, "I know I am interrupting your research time, but we had unusual happenings and I'd like you to join us in my subsidiary office. Who the 'we' is? Kakashi, me and a guest. Oh, and please see to it that you bring along a pair of slacks and a blouse for my guest, her clothing got… damaged during her arrival 'in this world'. Yes, you heard correctly. In this world. Her sizes? Well, she's taller than me, probably even a bit taller than you as well, on second thought, and,"

"As well-stacked as Hokage-sama," Kakashi muttered silently, flinching slightly under twin glares sent his way.

"Oh, that was nothing, Shizune. Just a pervert who doesn't know when to keep his tongue in check. Thanks," the Hokage concluded, closing the connection.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Ranma remarked with an inclination of her head.

"You're welcome. Heh, now that should have made Shizune-chan as curious as the metaphorical cat and should prompt her to join us in no time," Tsunade muttered with a look of glee on her face, "but I admit to being very curious myself," she added, looking at Ranma. "So, to start with a question that is inconsequential if Shizune does miss it, which village are you from?"

"Village? Oh, you mean which town I'm from?" Ranma queried after realisation had dawned on her just what Tsunade was getting at. "Well, I fear your assistant would miss out in that case, as I'm really not from around here, neither town nor village."

Tsunade was about to reply when the door was literally thrown open, revealing a panting raven-haired young woman a little bit shorter than her with black slacks and a red blouse draped over her left arm. "I got here as fast as I could, Tsunade-sama," the woman panted as she stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.

A shy smile played on her face as she waved at the assembled crowd, her gaze lingering on Kakashi for a few seconds before coming to rest on Ranma. "Hi. You must be the guest Tsunade-sama mentioned. I am Shizune," she said in a friendly manner, holding out her hand.

Ranma got up from her seat and shook the proffered hand, giving a gentle yet firm squeeze. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Ranma Saotome, and I'm indeed the guest Tsunade-sama mentioned. I assume these are for me?" she queried, pointing at the clothes.

"Oh! Yes," Shizune exclaimed, looking mildly embarrassed, "I'm afraid it was the best I could arrange for in the shortness of time."

"Not to worry," Ranma replied, smiling at her as she took the clothes, "I have worn far worse. Where can I get changed?"

"Right through the door to your right, it leads to the bathroom," Tsunade explained, and waved her hand. "Use it at your leisure."

"Thank you," the redhead answered back with a bow of her head and got to her feet, "I'll be right back," she added and walked to the door, disappearing into the bathroom.

-.-

Ranma had just closed the door behind her and switched the lights on when her sensitive hearing picked up on the conversation that was currently being held outside the door. She removed her clothes while listening carefully, littering the destroyed articles of clothing absently on the ground.

"Do you think she's a spy, Hokage-sama?" a male voice, obviously Kakashi, queried.

"If so her act of helping Naruto would have placed her in a favourable position seeing as it put her in my good graces," a feminine voice admitted, this voice belonging to the Hokage.

"She helped Naruto?" another feminine voice queried incredulously, which Ranma identified as Shizune's, the redhead's brows once more arching into her hairline due to the fact that she had just been presented with more evidence that being kind to Naruto was something abnormal.

"That she did," Kakashi answered, and gave a condensed version of what had occurred not twenty minutes ago.

"I'll be damned," Shizune muttered, obviously very surprised, "I really hope that she's no spy, it'd be really cruel to Naruto."

"Agreed," Kakashi opined, "But I have the strange feeling that she was telling the truth when she claimed to be 'not from around here'. Did you notice that she said 'arrived in this world'? That mightn't have been a mistake, but rather an important clue."

"Are you insinuating that she's from a different world, Kakashi-kun?" Shizune queried, her voice sounding incredulous yet intrigued.

"It is a possibility," Kakashi replied thoughtfully. "There's also the matter of her chakra. It 'feels' like nothing I have ever felt before, and when she released her killing intent it felt… akin to Naruto's when he uses his… special chakra."

"Are you sure?" Tsunade's voice demanded in an intent tone.

"Yes. It was very focussed and mightn't have been felt by many, but the similarities were definitely there," Kakashi replied.

"So what does it make her? A spy from another village or a demon in disguise?" Shizune muttered, sounding for all intents and purposes as if a migraine was heading her way.

"Why don't we ask her that?" Tsunade suggested.

Ranma smiled at the directness of the suggestion, and having finished putting on her new clothes she stepped outside. "Good suggestion, Hokage-sama," she remarked, noting the surprised expression of the others as she reclaimed her seat. "So I guess I should start at the beginning, eh?"

"That- That would be appreciated, Miss Saotome," the Hokage replied after having gathered her bearings.

"Call me Ranma. Well, you see, it all started when…"

-.-

Round about twenty minutes later Ranma had finished her tale. She had left nothing out except her curse—and that only due to the fact that she couldn't possibly prove it at the moment—and had even gone so far as to offer proof for her claims, succeeding at least in proving that she had come from a different dimension. An in-depth chakra scan performed by the medical experts Tsunade and Shizune had revealed that her chakra-signature had a different wavelength to it than the native chakra-signatures, and when she had brought out the power that had been granted to her as the Heiress of Raiju the trio had quickly believed her claim of being a half-demon as well.

Ranma's little demonstration in the, by then, heavily warded room—she had asked that something be done to mask the spike in power that would be caused by her, and Tsunade and Kakashi had complied easily—had had an interesting side effect as well. Bringing out her full power had apparently led to a cleansing and stabilisation of her ki-pathways, and once her power had settled down again her eyes had spontaneously shifted back to blue.

The food had arrived just a few minutes after Ranma had finished her tale in a literal paradigm of timing, and in between eating and drinking Ranma had also answered the occasional question pertaining to how life had been in her dimension. During it all it had become apparent to Ranma that her audience believed her story, and she thought she had also seen some sympathy for her fate in Tsunade's and Shizune's eyes because of what had happened to her prior to having been sent to this dimension.

As soon as Ranma had finished her Ramen and Sake, the redhead having tried the latter for the first time and having taken an instant liking to the alcoholic beverage, she subtly turned the tables and started to ask questions of her own. Between explanations given by each of the three Leaf nin she quickly learned that she had been stranded in a territory called Fire country, and that she was now enjoying the hospitality of Konoha, the Hidden Village of the Leaf.

The known world consisted of so called elemental countries, countries that had interwoven and complex connections to each other. Some were allies—such as Konoha and Suna—and some were borderline enemies—such as the Leaf and Iwa, Oto and Kumo—but the whole enmity seemed to have been solved by the implementation of the so called Chuunin exams.

Said Chuunin exams had been introduced as a way for the several Hidden villages to test themselves against each other through the strength and cunning of their fledgling warriors instead of going to war, but Tsunade admitted that this system had stopped working efficiently after an incident during the most recent Chuunin exams that had been hosted by Konoha, yet she didn't go into details pertaining to the incident.

Ranma, for the time being stranded in this dimension without an immediate way back, soaked up any and all information like a sponge. She learned from Kakashi about the different classes of ninja and what the ranks meant, as well as the different categories of jutsus that were used.

Kakashi demonstrated MizuBunshin no Jutsu as an example—seeing no harm in showing it to Ranma seeing that the jutsu originated from Kirigakure and wasn't deemed a secret—and the redhead's eyes widened at the idea of using hand seals to mould your internal energies in such a way that the result was an elemental technique, amongst things.

Her eyes virtually gleamed though as she thought about the uses of a cloning technique that was vastly superior to the Splitting Cat Hairs which was in principle nothing more than an illusionary technique designed to fool the senses, but her hopes were quickly replaced by more realistic considerations as she was reminded of the little problem that she was as of yet unable to use the type of energy needed to utilise a jutsu. 'Maybe they know of a solution,' Ranma mused to herself, keeping up her neutral façade, 'Well, asking has never hurt.'

"Kakashi-san, I noticed upon you performing the MizuBunshin no Jutsu that you are using a type of internal energy that is different to what I am using," she began, her brows furrowed in concentration. "I wonder if there'd be a way for me to learn how to utilise this energy."

The other three people in the room exchanged a look, "Different energy?" they chorused, and Tsunade leant forward in her chair, "Would you please demonstrate what kind of energy you are using?"

Instead of giving a verbal reply Ranma briefly concentrated and formed a ball of yellow ki in her palm, letting it grow to the size of a handball, "That would be this energy," the redhead elaborated calmly, looking from face to face as the ki continued to hover in her palm.

Tsunade, Kakashi and Shizune had without exception looks of intense concentration on their faces as they each tried to feel out the energy Ranma used, "That is definitely not chakra," Kakashi opined after a few moments, he being the first to comment, "It feels more like a part of chakra."

Ranma looked at Kakashi in confusion, "Just what is this 'chakra' you mentioned?"

"Chakra is a mixture of the energy present in every cell of the body and the spiritual energy gained from exercise and experience," Shizune answered, giving the text-book definition. "Once mixed, it can be channelled through the chakra circulatory system, which is to chakra as the regular circulatory system is to blood, to any of the 361 chakra points on the body. Through various methods, the most common of which is hand seals, the chakra can then be manipulated to create an effect that would not be possible otherwise, such as creating the MizuBunshin Kakashi-kun brought into being."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Tsunade commented with a nod.

"Thanks, Tsunade-sama. I learned from the best," Shizune replied with a slight smile.

"Suck-up," the Hokage retorted playfully, and focussed her attention fully on the red-haired inter-dimensional traveller.

Ranma felt all eyes on her as she ran the definition she had just heard through her mind, "I'll be damned," she muttered, her eyes slowly widening. "You really wanna tell me that by mixing chi and ki one can create chakra, which is the basis of the techniques you guys use? Just like that?" she queried incredulously.

"If you mean by 'chi' the life energy and by 'ki' the spiritual energy, then yes," Kakashi replied, his single visible eye curving in curiosity. "So what you are using is pure spiritual energy?"

"Yes," Ranma replied almost absently, her mind busy with considerations on how to mix those two energies, "and here I thought your 'ki' just transmitted on another frequency. Oh well.

"Hmm, if chakra is the result of mixing ki and chi, and I don't doubt your word on it," she said, looking from face to face, "then I might have a slight problem. I have a damn large well of ki."

"Oh dear, you're right, in that case it's hardly 'just like that', Ranma-san," Shizune spoke up. "If you have vastly more ki than chi it creates a serious imbalance in your system that'll make it hard to create and maintain a stable chakra flow."

"Yes," Tsunade agreed thoughtfully, "you'd have to alleviate the imbalances first before you could begin to mould chakra."

"Oh goodie," Ranma muttered with a sigh, her momentary exasperation however quickly replaced by grim determination. "Regardless, whatever it takes, I'll do it," she vowed seriously.

"Good," Tsunade commented, a speculative gleam shining in her eyes, "In order to reach this goal, and to have a safe haven in an admittedly dangerous world, would you be willing to join forces with Konoha?"

Ranma raised a scarlet brow at this unexpected offer, Kakashi and Shizune giving exclamations of surprise at the same time, strongly advising their leader to exhibit caution. "I agree with your subordinates," she finally replied, her face a mask of neutrality even as the other three shot her looks of surprise. "I, in your stead, would hardly make an offer of this kind to a complete stranger, regardless how good his or her story is. So what's the deal?" she queried, peering intently at Tsunade.

The Godaime Hokage quirked a small smile, "You said you're a hanyou, didn't you?" she queried, and continued upon Ranma's nod. "Doesn't that mean that you can't go back on your word of honour once given?"

"I don't know where you gathered this knowledge," Ranma said with slightly narrowed eyes set in a neutral face, "but your information is correct. A hanyou, much as a demon, can indeed not go back on his or her word of honour once given. The difficulty usually lies therein to get said word of honour in the first place," the redhead elaborated, her now yellow eyes guarded.

"I see," Tsunade mused, putting on her best poker face. "So, if you were willing to swear on your word of honour that you bear no harmful intentions to Konoha and its citizens and that you are not collaborating with those that mean Konoha and / or its citizens ill, I would be willing to make you a ninja of Konoha."

"Interesting," Ranma commented, purposely ignoring the face-vaults of Kakashi and Shizune as she fully concentrated on the negotiations that had just begun. "And my 'payment' for rendering my services, aside from having said 'safe haven' you mentioned, would be an instruction in how to use chakra, I presume?"

"That," Tsunade agreed with a nod, "and knowledge of jutsu were you to swear to never use Konoha jutsu against us."

"Hmm, I would like to include an exception clause for attacks from within," Ranma mused. "Take the attack on Naruto for example, what if the attackers had been one of your own ninja? Considering the facts that's not a possibility too far-fetched."

"It's more possible than you think," Kakashi muttered very quietly, yet Ranma heard him anyway and filed this tidbit of information away, intent on questioning the three ninja just why Naruto was treated so badly despite an ever-growing suspicion she harboured.

"I can easily agree to that," Tsunade mused with a nod. "As to your next question, why I'm doing that, I believe your story, there are too many proofs that depict you as not from this dimension. Your behaviour suggests you're honourable, plus I think you might be able to help Naruto get better control of his powers.

"Furthermore, you are stranded in a strange and dangerous world, and your martial arts—of which I suspect is something similar to hand-to-hand combat otherwise known as Taijutsu—is unlikely to help you any against B-rank or higher ranked jutsu, not to mention Genjutsu. You profit from our help, we profit from your help, considering what you're offering seeing that you are a hanyou," the Hokage finished.

The redhead nodded in understanding, "Much as Naruto," she said, giving off a shot into the blue.

"Much as Naruto," Tsunade began amicably, only to realise too late what she had said when she heard Shizune and Kakashi groan, her clapping both hands over her mouth coming too late.

The Hokage shook her head as she mentally berated herself for her slip of tongue and laced Ranma with a glare. "You sly little thing," she grumbled, "But as the saying goes, no use in crying over spilled milk."

Ranma had shrugged off the glare Tsunade had sent her way and was nodding in agreement with her sentiment. "True. There were more than enough hints for someone like me to stay ignorant for long. People calling Naruto 'demon', 'vile beast' and other epithets, the hate those peasants seem to hold him in, and then, finally, his unnaturally fast healing," she explained, all the while looking Tsunade in the eyes. "The question is, is he a jinchuuriki, or a hanyou? For a full demon he can't be, or I'd have felt it."

Tsunade's gaze strayed to Kakashi and Shizune, their faces silently communicating that the cat was out of the bag anyway, mostly due to Ranma putting together the clues herself. "What I'm telling you now is an S-class secret of Konoha, its revelation to anyone, be it directly or indirectly, is punishable by death. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Ranma replied solemnly, nodding once. "I swear on my honour to not reveal anything I am about to learn. So sayeth my unbreakable vow."

"A bit melodramatic," Tsunade commented with a small smile, causing snorts from her subordinates, "but it will more than do."

The Slug Sannin took a deep breath, "It all began fourteen years ago, on October the 10th..."

-.-

A good half an hour later Tsunade had finished her tale of the Kyuubi incident and Naruto's fate as the jinchuuriki for the mightiest demon to ever walk the Earth, chosen by the Fourth Hokage Arashi Kazama in a desperate—and ultimately successful—attempt to stop the mighty fox.

Ranma could certainly respect the previous Hokage's sacrifice and the good intentions behind his thoughts, yet she thought his dying wish a bit... naive. He couldn't really have expected the same people who had lost loved ones to the fox, the very same demon fox that had been sealed into Naruto, to treat him like a hero, could he?

Fear brought out the worst in humans, and fear coupled with irrational hate that could be aimed at an all too convenient target led without exception to disaster. And the disaster—at least for Naruto—had almost happened once to often, even involving the elite ninja known as ANBU as the perpetrators.

The redhead hadn't been surprised that there had been many attempts on Naruto's life from within Konoha's walls, and she inwardly wondered how the young blonde could ever have turned out the way Tsunade had described him, kind, caring and compassionate instead of having been turned into a cold, twisted and hateful killing machine by the relentless hate.

She had voiced her opinion of the 'peasants' very bluntly, calling them many—very colourful and creative— names due to their inability to see the human sacrifice for what he was, human, but had also admitted that it was human nature that made them react this way. Many of them had lost loved ones, and the jailor of the attacker who constantly reminded them of their loss was an outlet just too convenient.

But to attack a young boy just because he had been chosen to bear the cross of being the Kyuubi vessel was simply unforgivable, and Ranma hadn't been able to keep her ki in check when Kakashi had mentioned that Naruto had almost been killed on his third birthday, he having been part of the ANBU squad that had disbanded the lynch mob which had been a hairs breadth from killing the boy.

If Tsunade or the other two had been surprised by her volatile reaction and her blunt statements they didn't show it, but Ranma could see in their eyes that she had earned a bit more of their respect. It was a respect Ranma began to reciprocate, the redhead distinctly feeling that these three people were 'good guys', and with that good first impression the Leaf ninja had made the heiress of Raiju decide to take the Hokage up on her offer.

After the oaths had been given and the contracts drawn the talk descended down more savoury lines as stories were exchanged, the consumption of Sake decidedly serving to loosen tongues. Yet, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, this end however being a decidedly unpleasant one for Tsunade, what with her having to return to the main office to tackle one of the most dreaded task a Hokage has to face: paperwork.

Tsunade's parting suggestion to meet up with a Jounin by the name of Gai Maito, the Taijutsu expert of the village, had met with Ranma's interest, yet she had raised a brow at Kakashi's reaction. Little had she known at this point in time just how justified and easily understandable his full-body shudder had been, yet a two hour sparring fest with countless yells about the 'spring time of youth' and youthfulness in general had wised her up the hard way. Exceptional Jounin and Taijutsu expert that he was, Gai Maito had quite obviously a few screws lose in the redhead's opinion.

-.-

A visit to Ichiraku's Ramen—the ramen tasting much better than anything the Amazons could ever hope to mobilise—nicely filled the black hole in her stomach that had come into being due to the intense spar, and Ranma felt almost bad that Shizune, who had offered to act as her guide after having watched and co-evaluated her fight with Gai, had offered to cover her four bowls of pork ramen.

Next time around, that she had promised Shizune, she'd buy lunch, and she'd cover the expenses from her very first Jounin salary. The redhead wasn't entirely satisfied with how she had been ranked by the 'committee' consisting of Gai, Kakashi and Shizune, but she could hardly refute their analysis.

Her Taijutsu easily exceeded Jounin level and was bordering on Kage level, her speed and strength as well as the tactics she had employed and the techniques she had shown had made her Jounin material as well, but logically her skills in the other fields such as Ninjutsu and Genjutsu were practically nonexistent due to her being unable to mould chakra as of yet. Which was the exact reason why she had been ranked Special Jounin.

During their amicable chat she learned from Shizune that Tsunade and she had practically lived on the road until a few months ago, and that it had been Naruto who had been instrumental in convincing Tsunade to become Konoha's fifth Hokage. Ranma smiled in spite of herself as they ate and chatted. The young jinchuuriki was indeed full of surprises, and she was looking forward to hearing more about him and his accomplishments.

-.-

Half an hour and four excellent pork plus three equally excellent miso ramens later, Ranma thought herself in the know when it came to Naruto. While she had known how badly he was treated by the villagers and some of the ninja it had been good to hear that he had accomplished so much despite the hate, scorn and rejection weighing him down, and she had smiled many a time during the stories Shizune told her.

Yet her good mood had evaporated like mist in the sunshine when she had been indulged in recent events, events that had culminated in the desertion of Sasuke Uchiha. What with her being a newly appointed Jounin Shizune had been able to indulge Ranma in the details pertaining to the mission that had caused Naruto's injuries, and the redhead had scowled when she had learned what had happened.

Granted, she had little to no knowledge of the details pertaining to the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke, but that the last—loyal—Uchiha had betrayed the village to join the S-Class criminal and missing nin of Konoha, Orochimaru, and had apparently tried to kill Naruto to ensure his escape spoke volumes.

Shizune had then proceeded to educate her about the Uchiha massacre and Itachi Uchiha's role in setting Sasuke's path as a shinobi hell bent on avenging the clan and killing him, and it had given her more clues, as had the Cursed Seal incident. Sasuke was out on a quest to gain the power he needed to kill his older brother, the behaviour he had exhibited making it apparent that he was willing to use just about anyone and anything as a stepping stone to gain said power.

The intricacies of and the dynamics within Team Seven, the Genin cell Naruto formed with Sasuke and a kunoichi named Sakura Haruno, had been just as interesting to Ranma. Shizune had relayed the team's history from its formation to the present, her effort to report objectively apparent, yet her objectiveness hadn't left out the downright obsessive love Sakura harboured for Sasuke. Things were complicated even more by the huge crush Naruto had on Sakura, and the icing on the cake was Naruto's promise to return Sasuke to Konoha. A promise he had neglected.

Ranma inwardly sighed, her thoughts returning to the present after having absently finished her eighth bowl of ramen. Naruto had led a very hard life being a jinchuuriki, and it was a miracle he hadn't gone medieval on the people of the village that had treated him worse than anyone could imagine. She knew from the memories of Raiju that ever so slowly trickled into her mind that while cruel and evil, not even demons would treat their young this badly. It was really astonishing and sad just what man was capable of.

Looking up from her empty bowl Ranma turned her head to gaze at the older woman. "How about we check up on him? What with him being little more than a 'demon' in the public's eyes I don't think anyone at the hospital will care if we visit him outside of the visiting hours," she suggested with a mild scowl on her face.

"I wish I could contest you there, but you hit the nail on the head," Shizune sighed, her face sad. "No one in the hospital aside from Tsunade-sama and me gives a damn."

"Then let's go," Ranma said, getting to her feet. "I'm curious what a certain vulpine can tell us about the fight he was involved in."

Shizune nodded and got to her feet herself, following the redhead's lead after waving a friendly good bye at Teuchi. The raven-haired woman stepped outside and fell into step beside Ranma. "I heard from Tsunade-sama they placed him in the death room."

"Yeah," Ranma confirmed, scowling fiercely. "That cow Yamanako claimed every other room was in use, but I managed to hear her real reasons thanks to my acute hearing."

"Let me guess," Shizune sighed, steering them into the hospital's direction, "because he's the demon reborn."

"Spot on," Ranma confirmed with a fierce scowl. "Stupid peasants, how can one be still so blinded by hate after almost one-and-a-half decade to not be able to see that Naruto isn't the Kyuubi?"

"Sadly, all but a scarce few see Naruto as the demon fox incarnate," she agreed with a deep, weary sigh. "Sometimes I ask myself if he'll ever be seen for who and what he is, a human being and a shinobi of the Leaf, not the fox. But because of his iron will and his determination to prove himself and his ability to pull the most surprising of stunts I like to think he'll eventually succeed."

Ranma inclined her head as she stepped into the alley she knew led to the hospital, "Let's hope so, Shizune-san," she mused, "let's hope so."

-.-

About five minutes later Ranma and Shizune had reached Naruto's room, the redhead turning to look at the older woman with an inquisitive look, her right hand pausing on the handle of the obviously repaired door. "Who aside from us would want to visit Naruto, and why is she yelling like that?"

Shizune frowned. "That can only be Sakura. I'd recognise her voice everywhere as she tends to get loud when she gets carried away," she commented.

"Carried away is an understatement, as is depicting that screeching as just loud," Ranma replied with a grimace while rubbing her aching ears. "So lets find out what's got Sakura Haruno so riled up, and why she is yelling that Naruto failed her," she added with a frown of her own and pushed the door open as silently as possible.

Ranma suppressed her ki-signature upon entering as per usual, and Shizune had to have done something similar as well, for neither teenager realised that they now had an audience.

The redhead took in the situation first after having closed the door silently behind Shizune, both women choosing to remain near the entrance so as not to be noticed. The injured young man was now the sole occupant of the room, as Ranma noticed, Tsunade obviously having pulled her weight as head healer and Hokage apparently having done its bit in convincing that spiteful nurse to move the hopeless cases into another room.

The 'conversation' between Naruto and the Haruno girl had obviously deteriorated into a one-sided shouting match which was evidenced by the absolutely furious expression on the face of the pink haired girl that had to be Sakura Haruno as she berated Naruto, and the hurt and sad expression on the blonde's face who had yet to say something aside from "I'm sorry," in his defence.

Their fired-up and subdued states respectively seemed to have created something akin to a tunnel vision that limited the focus solely on the other as well, for neither Naruto nor Sakura had taken notice of the elder shinobi yet, but neither Ranma nor Shizune were inclined to make their presence known. The situation had spiralled out of control anyway, now it remained to be seen if the remaining team-members of Team Seven would be able to get the conversation back on track.

The heiress of Raiju had her doubts as to that, though. Sakura kept on berating Naruto that he had neglected his promise and that he really was the loser everyone had always called him, and much to Ranma's surprise, the blonde shinobi only meekly replied that he would succeed next time instead of even trying to tell the girl off for attacking him over things she possibly could have no detailed knowledge of seeing as she hadn't been there to witness the fight.

The negative climax followed when the Haruno girl laced Naruto with a particularly venomous glare, followed by the loud yell that he had failed her because he hadn't brought Sasuke back, and that he was a useless dobe, nothing but a failure.

The glare as well as the verbal assault visibly tore chunks out of Naruto's soul, his eyes slowly losing the light with which they had always sparkled before. A dejected and ultimately hurt mutter of "Gomen, Sakura-chan," was testament to a broken heart, yet the pink haired young woman paid the obvious pain Naruto was in no heed as she was too deeply immersed in her own misery, tears running down her face freely, and without having even heard his attempt at an excuse she whirled around, facing the door. Sakura's bloodshot eyes widened slightly in surprise upon gazing upon the fellow Kunoichi, and upon bursting into even more tears she literally ran from the room, not looking back once.

Shizune laced Sakura with a look of deep disapproval that she kept up the whole three seconds Sakura needed to cross the room and reach the door, tears still streaking down her cheeks, but if Shizune's open disapproval was disconcerting to the Genin kunoichi it was virtually nothing on the glare Ranma's now once more yellow glowing orbs held.

The redhead kept up the glare even after Sakura had made her exit and even turned her head to glare at her back, and the mean part of her psyche whispered that this girl did not deserve Naruto's love nor friendship. Someone who treated their teammate and supposed friend like this after he had almost given his life to complete the mission to retrieve Sasuke—which was more than anyone could demand—was no friend at all, and, if Shizune could be believed, a downright blind fool to treat Naruto, who'd have done everything for her, like she had.

Once the Haruno girl had left Ranma's gaze softened, worry shining in her now blue eyes as she followed Shizune to Naruto's bed, the older woman casting a worried look at the blonde-haired youth who was lying in his bed looking as miserable as sin. Naruto's eyes were completely hidden by his unruly hair, but the sudden appearance of tear-tracks could neither be hidden nor missed. His body started to shake and it was obvious he was about as depressive as Ryoga at an all time low, Naruto's fists ever so slightly balling up until the knuckles had turned stark white.

"It's alright, nii-san, she didn't mean what she said, she's just blinded by grief and disappointment," Shizune spoke up.

Hopeless and sad blue eyes gazed up at the raven haired woman, brief surprise flashing in his eyes at seeing her.Naruto didnot even register Ranma's presence as he succumbed to depression, "Oneechan... I really am a failure, ain't I?" he queried in a dead voice, hot tears streaming down his face as he cried unashamedly, "Sakura-chan's right, I ain't nothing but a dobe, a fai-"

Naruto's self-depreciation was cut short by Shizune, who surprised the blonde by enveloping him in a soft, comforting hug. "I never want to hear these words out of you again, Naruto," she said softly, her intent tone piercing through Naruto's depression like a hot knife through butter. "Don't you ever think that you are a failure, for that's just not true. Who beat Gaara when no one else could? Who convinced Tsunade-sama to return to Konoha when everyone else had failed? You, Naruto. A failure could never have done that, so please get it through your thick skull, you are no failure," she added with heartfelt emotion.

"But the mission," Naruto began to protest, freeing himself from the hug to look Shizune in the eyes.

"You may have failed to accomplish the mission objective, but then again, wasn't the mission upgraded to almost S-rank status with the involvement of four Oto nins with Level Two Cursed Seals? Face it, you and Team Shikamaru survived overwhelming odds, nii-san. Shikamaru reported the four Oto nin you fought easily exceeded Jounin level due to their cursed seals, yet you prevailed," Shizune interrupted in that same caring tone. "I shuddered when Shikamaru described the effects the Cursed Seal Level Two had on its bearers, and I admit that I don't know if I'd have survived a fight against that bone user Kimimaro. Sasuke used the cursed seal as well in his fight against you, didn't he?"

"Yes," Naruto replied, having an idea what Shizune was getting it.

"And you survived anyway, despite him having the Sharingan and having been empowered by the Cursed Seal. A loser would surely have died being faced with these odds, nii-san," Shizune remarked softly yet surely.

"But the teme," Naruto tried again, yet was interrupted just the same.

"You may have failed to bring the Uchiha back, but no one can say you didn't give everything. Heck, you nearly gave your life! That's more than anyone could ask of you, nii-san, so please don't be so hard on yourself," she concluded softly, tears now flowing down her face as well.

Naruto found no words that could have refuted his adopted older sister's logic and just closed his mouth with a click. This reaction elicited a small smile from Shizune who wiped away the tears she had cried after having plopped down into the chair standing at Naruto's right bedside with a satisfied sigh, and Ranma absently wiped away a few tears as well, pretending that a lint had found a new home in her right eye, her gaze having softened due to the emotional scene.

After having given the two a few minutes of privacy to get their emotions under control, Ranma stopped suppressing her ki and stepped out of the metaphorical shadows she had enshrouded herself in and walked up to Naruto's bed. "Shizune-san is right, Uzumaki-san. You survived a tough battle that would have killed lesser shinobi, and your survival enables you to fight another day, better prepared than before," the redhead said into the silence that had ensued after Shizune had set Naruto straight, causing the jinchuuriki's head to snap to the left.

"Huh? Who're you?" he queried suspiciously after quickly and inconspicuously—at least he thought so—drying his tears.

"Ranma Saotome, Special Jounin, hanyou and Konoha's newest resident," the redhead replied with a small smile, letting her eyes flash yellow.

"H-Hanyou?" Naruto repeated disbelievingly, his eyes at first wide as saucers until they narrowed in suspicion. "Yeah, as if. You probably have some Kekkei Genkai that turns your eyes yellow. Have ya come ta taunt the 'demon'? For failing again?" he spat, glaring.

"Naruto! Get a grip on yourself," Shizune chided, looking surprised and somewhat scandalised.

"It's okay, Shizune-san," Ranma replied, waving it off. "I'd be irritable as hell too if shit like that had happened to me.

"No, Uzumaki-san," she continued, looking back at Naruto and noting that his hostile facade seemed to give way to cautious curiosity, "I'm not here to make fun of you. I came to see how you are."

"Why?" Naruto interrupted, eyes still narrowed.

"It could just be that she wanted to visit the young man whose life she defended from a mob of angry villagers," Shizune spoke up, causing Naruto to gaze at Ranma in disbelief.

"W-What?" he queried intelligently, the expression on his face almost comical.

"I realised that those peasants wanted to kill you while you were unconscious, and I just had to step in," Ranma replied, her eyes glowing a vivid yellow a she practically spat the word 'peasants'. "How much more dishonourable can you get, trying to kill one of your own ninja, someone who constantly puts his very life on the line for his village?" she growled, gathering steam.

"But," Naruto tried to interrupt, his sad gaze telling already what he wanted to say.

"What does it matter that you're the jailor of the Kyuubi No Kitsune?" Ranma demanded, now blue eyes boring into another set of blue eyes, "What should it matter?"

"Y-You know?" Naruto asked, his voice thick with a mixture of shock, fear and hope.

"Yes, she knows, Naruto," Shizune said gently, breaking her silence. "And Ranma-san told the truth, she is a hanyou. She has proven it to Tsunade-sama, Kakashi-kun and me."

"Really?" the blonde queried, his eyes going wide as he looked from Shizune to Ranma. "Which demon didcha hold, how didcha fuse 'n' how strong are you?" he asked excitedly, momentarily forgetting his depression.

Ranma chuckled, "Slow down there, hotshot, or your mouth might catch fire.

"Well," the redhead mused, placing her right index finger at her chin, "my demon was called Raiju, and she was the seven-tailed Lady of the Demons."

"Cool," Naruto breathed, yet his mind stumbled over an indisputable fact Iruka had drilled into his head. "Hey! Ain't Kaku the seven-tails?" he asked, the suspicion returning to his eyes.

"Relax, nii-san," Shizune soothed with a small smile playing in the corners of her mouth. "I understand your sensitivity pertaining to anything that might create hopes in you only to have them be shattered to hurt you, but Ranma-san has proven her story. In fact, our newest addition to Konoha's ranks isn't even from this dimension," she concluded, raven eyes glinting with amusement.

"WHAT?" came Naruto's befuddled—and completely expected—reply, and this time Ranma did laugh.

-.-

A full twenty minutes later Ranma had given her story yet again, the redhead having noticed throughout telling her tale that Naruto was indeed exactly the way he had been described. She had seen the empathy in his eyes when she had described the neko-ken and its effects, the insanely tough training she had lived through, and the insanity that had been her life in Nerima.

The blonde haired youth had asked many a question during and after the telling of Ranma's life-story, and the redhead had made an effort to answer each and every question as honest and truthful as possible, until finally she had been able to direct the discussion back to the topic that was still troubling Naruto, namely the betrayals he had suffered at the hands of his teammates and supposed friends.

Having answered the question if jutsus existed in her dimension—the answer being "Not to my knowledge,"—Ranma decided to address the reason for Naruto's depression, even if said detrimental state of mind was at present held at bay due to her being a distracting factor. "Naruto, can you tell me why you didn't use MizuBunshin no Jutsu to sneak up on Sakura Haruno and knock her out for a short while? I mean, come on, if it had been my pops or one of my acquaintances harping on me like she did I'd have given them a ticket to Morpheus realm," she exclaimed, crossing her arms under her chest.

Naruto sat up in his bed, staring at Ranma downright scandalised, "I-I couldn't have done that. Not to Sakura-chan," he whispered, his head drooping down again, unruly blonde hair once more hiding his sad blue eyes.

"And why not? She yelled at you that you had failed, failed her at what? Having the decency to die because you didn't bring her precious 'Sasuke-kun' back?" she demanded, making mocking air quotes as she used Sakura's term of endearment for the Uchiha. "Shizune told me a lot about your team, the rough start you had, your accomplishments, the dynamics of your team, everything. I'm in the know, Naruto-san."

"That she is indeed, nii-san," Shizune confirmed. "Ranma-san knows everything, and you should listen to her as I am in complete agreement with her. Sakura Haruno isn't good for you, her episode today made that clear as crystal. She was good for you as long as she drove you to compete with Sasuke, as it made you more determined to get stronger and better so that you could win her from the Uchiha, but can you honestly say that she has even this tiniest bit of love, " she held her right thumb and index finger a centimetre apart, "for you after her episode just now? Think about it, nii-san. I have to see myself out, work's awaiting, unfortunately," she concluded, gave a visibly abstracted Naruto a hug and said her good byes to Ranma, who nodded back.

The redhead plopped down into the chair that Shizune had occupied once the other woman had left, her blue eyes peering intently at the jinchuuriki. "I have a simple question for you, Naruto. Do you feel up to answer it honestly and truthful?"

Naruto shook his head and himself back to reality. "Sorry, what didcha just say?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he gazed back at Ranma with unguarded eyes.

The newest addition to Konoha's ranks smiled in spite of herself and repeated the question patiently, the blonde's answer consisting of a nod. "Good. Naruto-san, I want you to call on your memories of your time with Sakura Haruno. Did she ever, even a single time, praise you for something you accomplished? Did she ever show you compassion or kindness even once?"

"She was often kind to me, Saotome-san," Naruto replied with a grin, "especially when-"

"Let me guess, when she asked you to bring back Sasuke. It's no use to turn a blind eye to it, Naruto, her knight in shining armour, aka Sasuke Uchiha, left the fair princess standing in the rain," Ranma stated, barely refraining from rolling her eyes. "And you were useful to her because she knew you'd do anything for her. You were a tool to her, not a potential love interest.

"This is evidenced by how she treated you not an hour ago. A friend and potential lover wouldn't have done that, Naruto, as sad as I am to say that," Ranma concluded, inwardly sighing due to Naruto's expression that had gotten progressively more downtrodden.

"Ya raise some very good points, Saotome-san," Naruto admitted with a deep sigh. "I'll really have to think things over, 'cause a lot of what I knew to be true or at least thought so has been called inta question."

"Undoubtedly," Ranma replied with a sympathetic smile, "And you may ask yourself at one point why someone who should be a teammate and friend used you like she did. Do you wanna hear my opinion?"

"Sure, why not? Can't make it any worse," Naruto snorted with a hint of dry humour in his voice.

"Oi! I'm hurt!" Ranma exclaimed, holding her left hand over her heart while pretending to have been struck by a mortal blow, yet she became completely serious a few seconds later. "Well, it's my opinion that Sakura used you because she knew how determined you can get."

"How determined I can get? Whatcha mean by that?" Naruto demanded, a brow raised in irritation.

Ranma chuckled, "Oh, nothing, it's just that Shizune-san told me some interesting stories that described your... 'thick-headedness', I think she called it. Personally, I found that one story about the bet Tsunade-sama and you made the most interesting. One word: Rasengan," she elaborated upon seeing his curious look. "And while we're at it, did Sakura ever praise you for mastering the Rasengan? Or for your defeat of Gaara?

"Methinks not," she answered her own question upon being met with silence from Naruto's end. "And if you're honest with yourself, she was neither kind nor compassionate to you during your entire time on Team Seven, even the girl who serves at Ichiraku's-"

"Ayame-chan?" Naruto supplied with a raised brow.

Ranma snapped her fingers and nodded, "That's the one. She overheard our conversation while we ate and confirmed that she knew from first hand experience as well as from her friends that Sakura treated you, and I quote, 'worse than shit'. She also commented that you deserved better, and that she hoped you'd one day come to your senses."

"Ayame-chan said that?" he asked, incredulity filling his voice.

"Yes, she did. After hearing all of this, Naruto, you should ask you this question: is Sakura the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with? Think long and hard on your answer, Naruto-san, for whatever you decide, it will greatly influence your path.

"I have to take my leave now, beauty sleep and all that," Ranma said with a mocking smile.

"Girls," Naruto muttered with a shake of his head. "Anyway, I really gotta think 'bout whatcha said, for yer words rang true, much as I hate ta admit it. Come back tomorrow? I liked our talk, Saotome-san."

"Me too, and I'd like that as well. Glad that I gave you food for thought, and before I forget, call me Ranma without these boring honorific's. Hasta manana," the redhead said with a wave and saw herself out, a smirk growing on her face as the blonde uttered a confused "Huh, what'd she say?"

The grin on Ranma's face only grew. Oh, it'd be fun to mess with people's heads around here.

-.-

Naruto lay flat on his back in his oh so comfortable bed and stared unseeingly at the ceiling, a deeply thoughtful expression on his face as he contemplated Ranma's words. Those who knew him would likely have thought the end of the world was drawing near, for the happy-go-lucky blonde had never been one to stay serious for long, but for better or worse, the Sasuke retrieval mission with everything that had happened during and after it had had a deep impact on him.

Ranma and Shizune had certainly done a good job in urging him to review his convictions. The red-haired hanyou, a downright newbie what with her being Konoha's newest citizen and Special Jounin, had been quite blunt in giving him her honest—and due to her newbie status certainly uninfluenced—opinion on the situation after having been given the full story by Shizune. The raven-haired woman, whom he regarded as an older sister, was without doubt the most objective and truthful persons one could find, and he couldn't deny that Ranma's words had rung true.

His nee-san had surprised him, though. He'd never have expected that she had just never voiced her disapproval of Sakura due to the fact that his attempts to win his pink-haired teammate's affections had been good for his growth, not in a million years. Her telling him that she disapproved of his attempts to make Sakura like him had been approximately as high on his list of likely things to happen as Earth declaring war on the Moon. Yet she had voiced her doubts now and had urged him to re-evaluate his efforts, and that had stopped him cold.

But as much as Shizune's unexpected behaviour had thrown him for a loop, Ranma's arguments really had hit home. Would a real friend and someone you thought would someday be your lover treat you the way she had? Would someone who had feelings for you call you a failure and an idiot, and that rather loudly at that, despite the fact that she knew exactly how much he loathed being called either?

He struggled day after day to prove himself to a village that hated his guts, travailed to show them that he existed and that he would force them to recognise him oneday, yet she, whose opinion really mattered to him, had hurt him in that really cutting way. Granted, she had obviously been deeply saddened and in a right state because he hadn't brought Sasuke back with him, but then again, wouldn't someone who liked you have kept their tongue in check?

But that was the problem, wasn't it? He had seemingly been so blinded by his crush on Sakura that he hadn't noticed that she didn't reciprocate his feelings, or even gave a damn about his feelings. At all. She had always taken the teme's side regardless if he had been in the right or not, and hadn't she yelled countless times that she didn't like him, that he was annoying and useless?

He had always dismissed her hitting him up till now for the sole reason that her blows hadn't really hurt and that she was at least touching him when she slapped him, but it seemed he had been an idiot to believe that her violence towards him had been her way of expressing affection.

A deep frown marred Naruto's features as he dwelled on what Shizune and Ranma had said. They had been utterly convinced that Sakura didn't like him, and as hard as he tried, he couldn't refute their arguments. There hadn't been one instance where she had been nice to him or had recognised his accomplishments, not a single one, he saw that now.

His reality slowly came crashing down around his ears, and a lone tear trickled down his cheek. Moments later more tears followed as he finally accepted what everyone had always told him. Sakura, of whom he had always thought as his world, did not love him, would likely never even like him.

He had been a fool not to see it sooner, for it had been obvious to anyone but him. Her proclamations of love for the teme which he had dismissed as nothing more than a schoolgirl's crush had obviously been more than that, and at this point he didn't care if it was obsession or real love, for fact was that it left her blind and deaf for his advances, and likely always would.

Naruto realised with a sigh that it would be useless and doomed right from the start to even try and win her heart, that glare from hell and her accusations had made that as clear as daylight. He wiped away the tears, an even deeper sigh escaping him as he realised that he really had been a dobe. He had been a first class idiot for not realising sooner that Sakura was too superficial due to her obsession with Sasuke to even want to really get to know him, too blinded by her love for the teme to perceive him as anything but a nuisance that distracted her from reaching her goals.

Ranma had been right, even though he had given the promise, it had been Sakura's unusual niceness that had convinced him to shoot off like a rocket in his attempt to drag the teme back to Konoha. And what had it brought him, what had it brought Team Shikamaru?

Chouji and Neji, who weren't blessed with his astounding healing factor, were still in emergency surgery according to Shizune-nee-san, and all that because of two, no, three selfish teenagers. Konoha's want to keep the Sharingan be damned, it had been their fault these near fatalities had happened, it had been due to their own selfish agendas and not due to the Hokage's orders to retrieve the selfish bastard.

Sasuke had been selfish in his want to obtain the power he so dearly desired, Sakura had been selfish in her desire to get her beloved 'Sasuke-kun' back regardless of the cost, and he himself had been selfish because he had thought fulfilling his promise would make Sakura so grateful she'd finally proclaim her undying love for him.

Naruto came to the startling realisation that something of that kind wouldn't even have happened in case of his success, for why on earth should Sakura have flung her arms around his neck and proclaimed her undying love for him when she had the teme back to fawn over?

He had indeed been nothing more than a tool to her, a tool that had been intended to ensure her fairy-tale world of the knight in shining armour Sasuke Uchiha and the fair maiden Sakura Haruno would come true. Yet the tool had failed, and in consequence it had been dropped and discarded as was the fate of all useless tools.

A growl that expressed his feelings of anger and betrayal escaped him, and without paying heed to his injuries—which had healed up anyway—Naruto staggered to his feet, his at first uncertain steps gaining progressively more certainty as he walked towards the sink across the room. Switching the cold water faucet on he cupped his hands under the water standpipe and splashed his face, his tears mingling with the cooling water.

He slowly raised his head and stared into the mirror, water dribbling off his face. A hard look appeared on his visage, and Naruto rubbed his eyes with an angry expression. He really had been a dobe, an idiot blind to the fact that his supposed friend Sasuke would do anything to gain the power he wanted, including using him as a way to gain the ultimate level of the Sharingan the teme had mentioned. He had been a dobe for not realising sooner that Sakura would never reciprocate his feelings, and indifference, anger and disappointment filled up the place his enormous crush on Sakura had formerly taken up. Both Sasuke and Sakura had used him in their own respective ways, one to gain power, the other to ensure her fairy-tale world would come to pass, and it had very nearly cost his life and that of his comrades and friends.

"Never again," he whispered, eyes hardening until they were two chips of ice, "Never again will I allow myself to be used by others so that they can fulfil their selfish desires. I will do everything in my power to protect my precious people, but never will I be played for a fool again. Ever," Naruto vowed, his teeth barred in a snarl.

A grim smile appeared on his face. Uttering those words had felt good. Opening up his eyes to reality as he had just done was hard, and the shift in his perceptions created a truly surreal feeling, but after an evening filled with one epiphany after the other he had the distinct feeling that things had become much clearer, as if a screen of fog that had clouded his mind up till now had dissolved. It was a strange, yet decidedly welcome feeling.

'It is high time you got your priorities straight, brat,' a malevolent voice boomed from inside his mind, it flabbergasting Naruto so much that he couldn't form a coherent reply, allowing the voice to continue. 'That pink-haired wench was a bad choice from the start; weak, untalented, foul-tempered and unwilling to put an effort into getting stronger.'

'Ky-Kyuubi?' Naruto queried in a wavering mental voice, wide blue eyes gazing uncertainly at his reflection as if afraid the reflection's eyes would turn crimson and gain vulpine characteristics any moment.

'No, cupid,' the demon fox retorted sarcastically. 'Ofcourse it's me, stupid fleshbag.'

'What the hell are you doing in my head, fox?' Naruto queried a bit more forcefully now that he had overcome his initial shock, his hands gripping the edge of the sink hard.

'Filling the emptiness that is your skull cavity. There's so much room in here I could make a fortune with renting it out to other demons in need of a host,' the nine-tails retorted sarcastically.

'Har har, bloody funny, fox. What I meant, how come you can talk to me?' Naruto asked, his mental voice sounding distinctly annoyed, but also holding a miniscule amount of worry.

'It should be pretty much obvious, brat, but it seems being descended from monkeys just gave you an inferior mind,' Kyuubi snorted. 'Be that as it may, our connection experienced an 'upgrade', one could say, after you drew out so much of my chakra during your fight with the monkey called Sasuke,' the fox elaborated, having summarily ignored his vessel's protests due to the insult.

'Oh. So does that mean the connection is both ways?' the blonde wanted to know as he dried his face off, turned around and walked back to his bed, plopping down into the chair Ranma had sat in not ten minutes ago.

'Yes,' the fox answered, 'I can talk to you and vice versa. I also perceive what you hear and see, at least from time to time. It just so happens that fortune smiled down upon me this last hour as I was able to listen in on your conversations with the pink-haired wench and the other vixens.'

'W-What?' Naruto asked, inhaling sharply, 'Is the Seal weakening?'

'As much as I wish it was, it is not, or I'd have already devoured you,' the fox grumbled in a disgruntled tone. 'Anyway, your so called fight with the red eyed monkey was thoroughly disappointing,' the nine-tails remarked, his tone angry and chiding.

'Huh?' was the only reply that came to Naruto's mind.

'You used nearly half a tail's worth of my power, and were beaten despite that. If it weren't for my healing you, you would be dead, fleshbag,' Kyuubi snarled. 'And I'd have perished alongside you. Bah, my vessel is weak and pathetic!

'Oi! Am not!' Naruto protested with a pout, glaring angrily into the mirror.

'Oh, you are not, hmm? Then let us list your shortcomings, little apeling,' Kyuubi growled in a sinister tone that made it obvious he'd take great pleasure in giving his 'expert opinion'. Your skills, your knowledge of tactics, your strength, almost everything about you is pitiful, monkey. You're as slow as a snail to boot, couldn't even hit me with your so called Rasengan, and you know what, five jutsu? Your chances to beat the red-eyed monkey, which I know is something you greatly desire, are almost zero without drawing on my power. And that isn't pathetic

Naruto glared at his reflection and would have loved nothing more in this moment than to shatter the mirror, but the sad truth was that the nine-tails was right. Sasuke would have beaten him easily hadn't he drawn on the foxes chakra, and still had come out on top despite him using the Kyuubi's power. Be that due to the fact that he hadn't had it in him at that point in time to deliver the killing blow to the one he thought of as his best friend or just because he had been too weak, the fact remained that he had lost despite the power he had received from the fox.

'No witty comeback, brat? Good. For that means you have finally realised that you have shortcomings. A great many at that. Now it is time you did something about it. It is delectable that you seem to have outgrown the phase where you tried to impress that annoying pink-haired wench, now you can and will lay all your focus on getting stronger.' Kyuubi concluded.

'And what does the wise and mighty Kyuubi-sama suggest?' Naruto asked sarcastically, feeling more than a bit peeved due to Kyuubi's insults.

'Simple. Ask the big-breasted healer for scrolls on jutsu and nag the lazy monkey that's your sensei, he might feel guilty about the situation,' here Kyuubi cackled gleefully. 'Oh, and you should ask the big-breasted, red-haired vixen for lessons in unarmed combat. Asking her is far less disturbing than the weirdly-clothed, eye-brow freak of a fleshbag.'

'Ohh yeah,' Naruto agreed with a shudder, 'Tsunade-baa-chan, check, Kakashi-sensei, check, Ranma, check,' he listed, ticking off each candidate mentally.

'Asking the vixen Ranma is also important due to another factor, brat. She is a hanyou, just as she said, even if neither she nor her demon are native to this dimension,' Kyuubi said. 'She might know things of interest: techniques, fighting styles, the works. Learn whatever she can teach you, for I can feel that this vixen is powerful. I also believe there's more to her than she lets on, but I can't lay my paw on what.'

'Thanks, fox,' Naruto replied absently and relaxed in his chair. 'That's one worry less. Baa-chan said it already, but your confirmation makes it fact.'

'Why would you trust my word, brat?' Kyuubi inquired, giving the mental equivalent of a raised brow.

'It's simple. You'd never confirm someone as a demon or hanyou if they weren't 'cause it would be beneath you,' Naruto replied in the breast-tone of assuredness.

'You are way too naive for your own good, fleshbag, but in this case you are for once correct. Ask the vixen, get to know everything you can about her, then we will talk again. You can reach me by putting yourself in a state of meditation with the seal as focus. Now I need my rest,' the nine-tails said, and fell silent.

Naruto shook his head and stared off into space. Kyuubi, even though infamous for being a murderous and merciless demon, had just given him advice on how to improve as a ninja. The world was strange.

Shaking himself out of his musings the jinchuuriki regarded his bed with a scoff, a sigh escaping him. That was yet another thing that'd have to be changed, he mused as he climbed into bed. The times when he had allowed virtually everyone to push him around as they liked and had endured it with an idiotic smile were over. He would make those peasants, as Ranma had so aptly called them, recognise him, one way or the other.

His smile turning slightly darker Naruto closed his eyes and made himself as comfortable as possible in the junk reject of a bed, dozing off within minutes as the exhaustion the last thirty-six hours had brought caught up with him.

-.-

After what seemed like five minutes but were three hours in reality Naruto felt someone shaking him on the shoulder, the disquieter's intent apparently being to retrieve him from the land of nod. Making a protesting noise the blonde batted the offending hand away, muttered "Fuck off, stupid villagers!" and cuddled deeper into the cushions.

Ranma, who had been summoned to Naruto's sick room by Tsunade, opened the door to the scene of an obviously annoyed Hokage trying to arouse an equally obviously deeply asleep Naruto from his slumber. Smirking slightly the redhead ventured to the bathroom, and retrieved, after some rummaging, a bucket which she then filled with cold water.

Stepping back into the sick room Ranma cleared her throat, causing the Hokage to cease her futile attempts to rouse Naruto from his slumber, a malicious gleam appearing in her eyes as she understood Ranma's plan. A smirk adorned her face as the Hokage nodded her approval, "I should have thought of that myself," Tsunade remarked with a chuckle.

"I have a lot of experience with being woken in this particular way," Ranma replied as she made her way to Naruto's bed, positioning herself to the blonde's left, "My useless father used to wake me that way or by throwing me into an adjacent pond."

While Tsunade sweat-dropped at the explanation Ranma brought the bucket to bear, and emptied its contents in one fell swoop, "Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead," she exclaimed, smirking down at the sputtering and now wide awake blonde.

"Whatcha do that for!" Naruto protested, wiping away the excess water that had hit his face, "Why'd ya go 'round wakin' me in the dead of the night 'n' with a bucket fulla freezin' water ta boot?" he ranted, turning a smouldering glare on the redhead.

"She did it because I ordered her to," commented Tsunade from Naruto's immediate right, causing the indignant jinchuuriki to turn his head toward his 'baa-chan', "and I chose to have you woken up in this particular way seeing that you showed no inclination to wake up of your own volition anytime soon. And seeing that we have important matters to discuss I deemed your sleep less important," she concluded seriously, the fact that not a hint of good-natured mockery was audible in her voice alerting the spiky-haired blonde to the fact that Tsunade wasn't joking.

"I see, baa-chan," he nodded, ignoring her protest to stop calling her that as he turned his head to look at Ranma,."Sorry for yellin' atcha."

"'S okay. I'd have reacted the same, and often have in the past," Ranma replied, waving his apology off with a slight smile. "Now what off these 'serious issues' you summoned me for, Tsunade-sama? I admit to being as curious as Naruto," the redhead stated, looking at her new employer curiously.

Naruto, who had turned his head to look at Tsunade just as curiously, nodded, "You betcha I'm curious!" he exclaimed, sitting up in his bed.

Tsunade smiled in spite of herself and steepled her fingers, the short-lived smile being replaced by a look of utter seriousness, "Important information has been made available to me, information that pertains to you, Naruto," she said, a soft sigh escaping her as she fixed the blonde with a worried look.

"Me?" Naruto queried incredulously.

"Can't be anything good," Ranma muttered darkly at the same time.

"Right on the dot, Ranma-san," the Hokage agreed, nodding once, her expression getting even more serious. "Naruto, one of my best spies, Jiraiya-"

"Ero-sennin? Being your best spy?" Naruto interrupted incredulously, "Yeah, in spying on women, maybe."

"Ero-sennin? Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Ranma mumbled.

"Naaaruuuto!" Tsunade had exclaimed at the same time, shooting the blonde Genin a fierce glare that shut him up.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Tsunade shot the jinchuuriki a pointed look that was met with a sheepish grin that caused the Hokage's features to soften, "Jiraiya reliably informed me that an organisation called Akatsuki is out to capture you, Naruto. He has gleaned that they have shut down their operations for the next two to three years to accomplish whatever secondary objectives they have, and this lull will give us time for some much needed preparations."

"Preparations? What for?" Naruto queried curiously, foregoing to even ask who- or what this Akatsuki was due to the fact that preparations could mean training.

Tsunade sighed, "You'll of course remember two of their number, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki? And the trouble they gave you?" she asked, waiting for Naruto's nod, "Now consider that a whole organisation comprising solely of S-class ninja is after your hide. Wouldn't you agree that preparations are in order?" she asked gravely.

Naruto, all thoughts of training driven from his head for the time being, nodded solemnly while scowling darkly, vividly remembering the encounter with the elder Uchiha and the shark-like Kisame Hoshigaki which he had survived by a hair's breadth. To have even more S-class ninja out to get him was, all bravado aside, a tad unsettling.

"Akatsuki?" Ranma queried, raising a scarlet brow, "Who or what are they?"

"According to Jiraiya a very dangerous organisation consisting of nine S-class missing nin including their leader. Their goals are as of yet largely unknown, but we know that they are as dangerous as they come, and that they're out to capture all jinchuuriki," Tsunade elaborated, her look a mixture of anger and worry.

"How strong are we talking here when we say S-Class ninja? Kakashi-san gave me a crash-course in regards of ninja ranks, as you know, but he mentioned that there are also ranks within ranks. Am I right to assume that we are talking S-class as in the uppermost region?" Ranma queried, her own expression neutral.

"We are indeed," Tsunade affirmed with a grave nod. "I would be hard pressed to take on and beat one of their teams. Yes, teams," she affirmed at seeing their looks, "Jiraiya noted that they always travel in teams of two, and the nin I mentioned, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki seem to have the mission to capture Naruto."

"Just great," Naruto moaned, "another emo Uchiha after my ass. This is so not my year. I wish-"

"If wishes were wings, all creatures would fly, Naruto," Ranma spoke up. "There's just no use in crying over spilled milk. Throw yourself into training and get the strength you need to beat them. I'll help you."

"Really?" Naruto queried hopefully and leant forward, excitement shining in his eyes.

"Yep," the redhead replied reassuringly, a slight grin appearing on her face due to Naruto's eagerness.

"Yeah, yeah, more to that later," Tsunade interrupted with a small smile. "To get back on track, a pervert Jiraiya may be, just as you said, Naruto, but he has a very good and efficient spy network, and if he says Akatsuki want to capture the jinchuuriki to get their claws into the Bijuu I'm inclined to trust his information. Which is why we'll now get down to the reason why I chose to summon you, Ranma, and why we woke you up oh so rudely, brat," the Hokage said, ruffling Naruto's hair affectionately, a smile appearing on her face due to the embarrassed and indignant look he shot her.

"With an organisation as dangerous as Akatsuki after you, Naruto, I feel it necessary that we step up your training greatly," Tsunade stated and leant back in her chair, a small smile appearing on her face at Naruto's reaction, which consisted of a loud "Yes!" and him pumping his fist in the air. "Your knowledge of jutsu, Kage Bunshin, Kuchiyose no Jutsu and Rasengan aside, is not very impressive, to put it mildly, nor is your proficiency at Taijutsu and Genjutsu, so we will rectify this."

"Hey! I ain't that bad! I almost kicked Sasuke-teme's ass!" Naruto protested with a pout.

Tsunade and Ranma shared a smile at his attitude, the Hokage raising a brow as she turned her head back to look at the other blonde. "Only because you used Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto, don't try to deny it. Yet you need to get to a level where you won't need to rely on the fox to decide a fight in your favour, and get there you will. I have arranged for you to meet your new sensei in," she regarded her watch, "round about one hour."

"Awesome! Who is it? What cool jutsu will he or she teach me? When do we start?" Naruto enthused, spitting forth questions at a speed that'd have made most machine guns envious.

"Whoa, slow down there, Naruto," Tsunade placated, moving both hands in a calm down gesture. "You know your sensei already, he was the one to teach you the Rasengan and Kuchiyose no Jutsu after all."

"Ero-sennin?" Naruto practically yelled and nearly fell out of his bed in surprise, eyes going wide.

"Yes, Jiraiya. And I strongly advise you not to take on his more… unsavoury characteristics," Tsunade warned in a fake-sweet tone that caused Naruto's hair to stand on end.

"U-Understood, baa-chan," he finally said with a gulp, "Heh, I just hope the pervert's gonna teach more than he peeps," he added in a quiet mutter.

Ranma, who had remained silent during the dialogue, shook her head in dismay, "So this Ero-sennin is likely as bad as the old freak. Just great. I get sent into a different dimension, but they have an old freak as well. Whoopee-dee-doo," she muttered quietly. "Ahem," she cleared her throat, causing Naruto and Tsunade to look at her, "If you plan on giving Naruto some special training courtesy of this Jiraiya-san I can't help but ask myself what exactly my part is in this," she mused, a delicate scarlet brow raised.

"Actually, I want you to accompany Naruto and Jiraiya. Yes, accompany, as in away from Konoha," Tsunade confirmed upon seeing Naruto's incredulous look.

"Why do I hafta leave Konoha, baa-chan? I wanna see how Neji and Chouji are doing, catch up with Gaara, Temari 'n' their make-up wearing bro," Naruto complained in a slightly whining tone.

Tsunade sighed, and it was obvious to everyone that she was trying hard to keep her emotions in check, "It's because of the council, Naruto. As long as you stay in Konoha they have their ways of monitoring your progress. You know as well as I do that most members of our 'esteemed village council' do not want you to gain strength at all. These old fools would rather,"

"See me dead, baa-chan," Naruto supplied with a deep sigh.

"Yes," Tsunade confirmed sadly, her sadness giving way to an urgent look, "And that's why you can't gain strength here. The council has its spies, and I wouldn't be too surprised if they tried something underhanded."

"Like banning him from the village, per chance? Or outlawing him? How about just executing him to get it over with?" Ranma snorted sarcastically, her eyes glowing a vicious yellow.

"I wouldn't put it past them. Actually, I'm expecting some fallout from the failed Uchiha retrieval mission. Wouldn't surprise me if they tried to place the blame squarely on Naruto's shoulders," the Hokage admitted with a sigh, and started massaging her temples.

"Feh. Isn't it a village council's purpose to serve the well-being of the citizens it represents, including our resident jinchuuriki here? But let me guess, they're too blinded by hate and the pain of loss to really want to get to know Naruto. Who knows, getting to know the vessel might prove that he is not the monster they so hate. And we can't have that now, can we?" the redhead commented with a sneer.

"Dead on, Saotome-san. But not all members of the council hate Naruto," the Hokage allowed, "It's just that a lot of them don't give a damn. And why should they where a seemingly destitute and unimportant 'street rat' is concerned?"

"Story of my life," Naruto sighed, breaking his silence after having listened to the two women, "But it all made a lot more sense after I had learned about the bastard fox. Not easier, mindcha, but it was good to get ta know why I was hated. 'T was frustrating all the same ta be blamed for the fox's actions, and made me realise just how narrow-minded 'em villagers are. But I swear I'll make 'em recognise me, one way or another," he concluded with angry determination.

"And I'll help ya," Ranma virtually growled out, "'Em villagers deserve a nice wake-up call or ten," she added in an angry mutter.

Naruto raised a brow due to what Ranma had silently muttered, filed it away and grinned slightly, "Thanks. That means a lot."

"You're welcome," the redhead replied, matching his grin.

Tsunade shook her head in bemusement, "If you're quite finished with your bonding, I'd like to describe some of the mission details. Ranma-san, your presence on this training trip serves two purposes: A)," she ticked off her left thumb, "You will improve Naruto's Taijutsu, which shouldn't be a problem after what I heard from Gai—Kami, the man kept on praising your youthfulness until I gave him a three day reconnaissance mission to shut him up—, and B)," she ticked off her left index finger, "you being on the team will keep Jiraiya in line.

"You have my express permission to discipline him as needed, and trust me, he will need to be disciplined. Genius spy and incredibly competent fighter that he is, he is also a pervert who always tries to compile new research material for the smut he writes," the Hokage groused.

"Trust me, Hokage-sama, I have experience in dealing with perverts," Ranma retorted with an evil gleam shining in her now yellow eyes.

Tsunade nodded thoughtfully, "Maybe you will succeed where I failed, though I have my doubts. Jiraiya is incorrigible, but stranger things have happened. Anyway, this is a long-term mission, as you already presumed, Ranma-san, and I estimate its duration to be around two to three years. It will be filed as an S-class mission due to the many unknowns such as possible enemy encounters and the likes. Do you want to accept this mission?"

Ranma sat up straight in her chair and gazed at the Hokage, steepling her fingers as she began to speak. "First off, I'd probably die of sheer boredom were I to stick around for too long. Nothing against the place, but a village where peasants treat one of the ninja protecting them like shit just because this very same ninja happens to have the demon that attacked their village fourteen years ago stuck in his belly ain't too appealing to me."

Tsunade nodded, barely managing to suppress the urge to hug the living daylights out of the other woman for causing a brilliant smile to bloom on Naruto's face courtesy of her statement. "Go on," she said, nodding lightly.

"Then there's the fact that I'm a hanyou, a newbie at that, I admit, but I am learning new things about the new me and my powers every day. It's more than likely that I could teach Naruto more than just Taijutsu, as you call it," Ranma mused, noticing Naruto's interested gaze.

"Finally, I see this as chance to help a fellow jinchuuriki—even if I ain't one any longer—get the hang of his powers as well as to learn new techniques myself. I admit to being a bit anxious to get the hang of converting my ki and chi into chakra. While quite powerful in their own right, my ki techniques are likely no match for the extreme variety and power of chakra-based techniques.

"So, to cut a long story short, yes, I do accept the mission despite the many risks and unknowns," the redhead concluded, gazing steadily at Tsunade.

"Noted, Saotome-san. Special Jounin Ranma Saotome, you and Genin Naruto Uzumaki are to meet up with Sannin Jiraiya at the East Gate at 12 a.m. to take up your mission," the Godaime Hokage stated in her most serious tone, getting up from her chair.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," and "Yeah, baa-chan," were Ranma's and Naruto's respective replies as they got up themselves.

"Hah, I can't wait to see Jiraiya's face when he sees you, Saotome-san. I bet he'll give me all the reason to practise my good ole pervert orbiter," Tsunade remarked in a jovial tone, her comment making Ranma sweat-drop. "In fact, I will find the old pervert and drag him into the nearest bar to get him into the right mood for the mission," she mused out loud, an evil gleam appearing in her eyes. "Taa-taa, until later."

Ranma and Naruto exchanged a look as the Hokage departed. "Well, let's tackle it," the redhead exclaimed, a more mature version of her trademark cocky grin showing on her face.

Naruto's answering foxy grin was just as cocky, "Yeah, we'll show 'em all just how awesome we are!" he exclaimed.

The redhead chuckled inwardly, remembering all too well that she had been just as boastful and full of herself as well not too long ago, "That we will," she replied nevertheless, "but before we do that see that you get some new clothes. It just wouldn't do for the future Hokage of Konoha to go on a mission with tattered clothes that show off your polka-dotted boxers, would it?" she added mock-reproachfully, and walked towards the door. "I'll wait outside the hospital. Ja ne," she concluded, seeing herself out, leaving a perplexed Naruto behind.

"Polka-dotted? I don't have polka-dot- wait a sec... AAAGH! She saw my boxers!"

Having just closed the door behind her one Ranma Saotome whistled a merry tune as she walked down the corridor, now, after her fusion with Raiju finally understanding just why Nabiki had so loved to tease her. It was just too much fun to tease unsuspecting people.

-.-

Ten minutes to twelve a fully clothed Naruto and a still mirthful Ranma were standing at the designated meeting point in amicable silence. The younger teen had given the Saotome youth a comprehensive tour of the village in the thirty something minutes they'd had on their hands, Ranma not having had the heart to tell the enthusiastic youth that Shizune had already given her a tour of Konoha. Yet the time had been well invested, seeing as they had learned a lot about each other.

Both had hit it off rather well after the somewhat rough startand had fallen into an easy camaraderie, and though Ranma had made it painfully obvious that she was not interested in being more than comrades and eventually friends—which she had done to be on the safe side—there was something between them that made them like each other, Naruto having compared it to the relationship he and Gaara shared. Only time would tell if they would actually develop a relationship in which one could trust the other with his or her life, respectively, but the essentials for a friendship were definitely there.

-.-

Expelling a bored sigh Ranma looked at her watch, the chronometer telling her that it was ten past twelve. The redhead shook her head in silent amusement; Tsunade must have succeeded in getting this perverted Toad Sannin into the mood if their lateness was any indicator, she mused, and relaxed against the wall behind her. Experience and fusing with Raiju had taught her the virtue of patience, but Naruto seemed to be an entirely different story seeing as the young jinchuuriki seemed to have a bee in his bonnet. That, or he was just that hyper.

Picking up a sound that she identified as someone or something approaching prompted Ranma to gaze at the dark alley to her immediate right, her cat-like eyes having no trouble in penetrating the darkness that reigned in Konoha's streets. Her eyes lit up as she spied two figures emerging from one of the streets, one being the Hokage, the other a tall, white-haired man with very spiky hair who bore a striking resemblance to one of the American Indians she had once seen on TV.

The tall man wore a dark grey gi with a dark red vest over it as well as the helmet with the kanji for 'oil' Naruto had told her about. A large scroll Ranma knew to be the summoning contract for frogs was strapped horizontally on his back, and the redhead was really looking forward to eventually see how Jiraiya and the boss toad Gamabunta worked together to create Katon: Gamayu Endan. According to Tsunade it was a sight to behold, and insanely destructive to boot.

"About time you show up, Ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled, shooting the older man a glare.

"Calm down, gaki," Jiraiya exclaimed, waving his hands in dismissal. "We would have gotten here sooner if-

"Do my eyes betray me?" he interrupted himself in mid-sentence and came to a full stop, his head turning from Naruto to Ranma impossibly fast. "This young lady is as well stacked as you, mune-chan!" he exclaimed, looking from the blonde Hokage to the red-haired Special Jounin.

A spike in killer intent originating from both Tsunade and Ranma told the Toad Sannin that his choice of words had been a tad unwise, and the now pale-faced man turned his head in slow motion towards the nearest source of killing intent.

"JIRAIYA NO HENTAI!" Tsunade yelled, the vein throbbing on her forehead as well as the red aura surrounding her testament to her anger.

Ranma's own aura faded out of existence at the display, and the redhead whistled lowly, "That power output of hers would be enough to provide the greater part of Tokyo with power for the better part of a year, " she muttered, her eyes lighting up in malevolent glee. "Heh, my honour is in capable hands."

A smirking Ranma and a dismayed Naruto, who could only shake his head at his sensei's antics, watched as Tsunade's fist collided with the Sannin's chin.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" Jiraiya yelled out as he was catapulted into the sky by Tsunade's monstrous punch, the Sannin quickly disappearing from view until the night sky seemed to have swallowed him.

Ranma was suitably impressed by the power behind the Hokage's blow, inwardly cackling with glee at all the things she'd be able to do with this chakra-based technique. Naruto however had gone an unhealthy shade of pale at Tsunade's display of monstrous strength, a strength, that was awe-inspiring and frightening, depending on if you were on the receiving end of it or not.

The blonde Hokage mouthed "Five," and slowly began to count down, and Ranma, having had much experience with what she had dubbed 'Air Akane travel' in her dimension, smiled. Naruto whereas looked on in bewilderment at the countdown the Slug Sannin was currently conducting, but he caught on as well as the screams and curses the descending Jiraiya shouted made it plainly obvious that the laws of gravity worked as advertised and were pulling the unfortunate Toad Sannin back towards terra firma and that Tsunade was counting the seconds until impact would commence.

The resounding boom with which the perverted Sannin finally impacted shook the Earth and dust from the crater Jiraiya had unwittingly produced was kicked up several metres into the air, yet the townsfolk of Konoha gave no indication that they had heard anything and remained blissfully asleep. Ranma, being an expert at crash-landings like the one Jiraiya had involuntarily performed, gave the Hokage a respectful nod which Tsunade acknowledged with a smile. That had to have hurt, if the moans and curses coming from the crater were any indication.

Tsunade showed a huge amount of self-control in Ranma's opinion as she didn't slip into a gloating fest, opting to focus her attention on Naruto instead. "Let this be a reminder of what happens to perverts, gaki. Don't let this pervert corrupt you, or you'll share his fate," the Hokage whispered into his ear in such a sickly sweet voice Ranma had to stop herself from erupting in full-blown laughter.

This little example of applied psychological warfare had the desired effect, making a wide-eyed Naruto shiver with dread as he imagined himself in Jiraiya's stead. A second later he nodded his head so vigorously it was a miracle it didn't separate from his shoulders.

Looking up into Tsunade's face after swearing up and down that the pervert wouldn't get his claws into him, Naruto couldn't help but notice the worry shining in her brown eyes, though, and it touched him. Giving her his trademark foxy grin the blonde literally exuded confidence and cheerfulness, which had the intended effect of soothing his baa-chan's nerves, "Better be ready for me baa-chan, when I return I'll take over as Hokage so fast your head will spin!" he exclaimed, causing Tsunade to smile in return.

"Alright baka gaki, enough with the sentimentalities, let's go!" Jiraiya yelled as he walked out of the crater, surprisingly sporting not a single scratch.

Tsunade laced her fellow Sannin with a glare that stopped him cold. "Jiraiya, I warn you one last time, corrupt Naruto and I will make sure that you will never be able to perform any of the things your perverted imagination comes up with for this smut you write in real life. Do you understand?" she queried in a voice that was as cold as frozen nitrogen.

"Y-Yeah, got it, mun-" the sweating Sannin began.

"Don't. Finish. This. Sentence.," Tsunade growled irritably, massaging her temples, "as it would force me into losing my temper on you again before I have briefed you completely."

Jiraiya's sweating increased to a level where he was sweating bullets, "T-There's more?"

Tsunade smirked at Ranma—who smirked back—before drilling a rock-hard gaze into Jiraiya. "You bet your perverted ass there is. This," she waved her hand at Ranma, who favoured Jiraiya with a look that made him shudder, "is our newest Special Jounin, Ranma Saotome."

"Pleased to meet you," Ranma said neutrally, the look in her once more yellow eyes belying however that she would put up with his antics just as much as Tsunade.

"It would be far healthier for you not to run off your mouth again, Jiraiya," Tsunade spoke up, causing the other Sannin to close his mouth with a click. "Anyway, to cut a long story short, Miss Saotome will accompany you on the training trip, and she has my full backing to… correct any behavioural anomalies that may occur on your part."

"What?" Jiraiya exclaimed indignantly and rather loudly, "This was planned as a two man trip from the start, and you know it, Tsunade!"

"Plans change, Jiraiya, you know that as well as I do. And due to exceptional circumstances the plans for your training trip were changed by me," Tsunade retorted, her tone brooking no argument, "Miss Saotome can tell you the exact details on the way, so let's just say that her unique nature makes her more than qualified to teach Naruto."

The Gama Sennin glared at his former teammate. "And what makes her so special that she has to slow us down?" he demanded.

"Maybe the fact that I am a former jinchuuriki and now a hanyou," Ranma remarked coldly from her position to Naruto's left, only to disappear and reappear in front of Jiraiya. "Or the fact that I am a Taijutsu expert," she glared, her yellow eyes flashing dangerously.

"So much for slow, Ero-sennin," Naruto snickered from the sidelines.

Tsunade looked amused as well as she extracted a scroll from her gi. "This details your mission, and I expect you to follow the orders to a T. A lot is riding on the outcome of your training trip, and trust me when I say that Miss Saotome's participation is mandatory," she said, looking completely serious as she proffered the scroll to the Toad Sannin.

Jiraiya took the scroll with a neutral look, his face lighting up though as he eyed up Ranma. "Well, it could have been worse. At least she's easy on the eyes-"

"JIRAIYA!" Tsunade yelled indignantly and prepared herself to give him a repeat performance of her pervert orbiter, which prompted the perverted Sannin to grab Naruto's left arm and make a run for it, taking to the trees.

Ranma glanced over at the Hokage and shrugged, one powerful leap taking her to the trees as well, 'Why do I have the feeling that I'm in for one wild ride?'

to be continued

© 2007 by Trugeta.

v. 1.1: fixed some mistakes like my usage of 'Genin exams' where it should have been 'Chuunin exams' and 'Special Chuunin' where it should have been 'Special Jounin'.

Disclaimer: see Chapter 1.

Some quick notes:

- over seventeen thousand words for the set-up for the story in Chapter 1. Yeah, I know some of it was clichéd, but clichéd just means it has been done before (maybe better, maybe not, I ain't the one to judge), yet the majority seems to have enjoyed Chapter 1 in spite of the clichés. A mixed bag of responses I got, yeah, but seeing that the bulk was positive I decided to carry on. Heh, now that I've decided to write more I'm gonna have much fun with this story, and I couldn't care less if I use some clichés along the way.

- I deviated from canon during the scene between Naruto and Sakura, I know. Why? Well, it's my belief that things would have had the potential to turn a lot uglier without Shizune being present, and seeing that she had been tied up with showing Ranma the village and such in this AU it did. This also serves the notion of disabusing Naruto of the thought of a relationship with Sakura. Let's face it, pre-time-skip Sakura was a (insert appropriate word here).

- Ranma taking up a job as Special Jounin... I know that happened awfully fast, but I gave my reasons for that. And why shouldn't s/he use his/her martial arts/Taijutsu prowess to earn some money for a change?

- Ki vs. Chakra... As obvious from the chapter, I changed my tune. I found the definition Shizune recited on wiki, and will work with that. Ki and Chi—often denominated as being one and the same, but not so here—constitute the basic elements of chakra, at least if my interpretation is correct. Feel free to correct me on this.

- Updates: will be infrequent and in-between. Those who know of my familial situation know why, add to that that I have been chosen as the successor of a colleague, and it comes as no surprise that I have accepted the position. Result: even less time allocated to writing.
Now add to that that I estimate the average chapter length of a Raiju chapter to be at 14 to 20k words, and you know why I take my sweet time. And no, with what I have planned they won't come shorter, plus I won't settle for anything less than delivering quality chapters.

- the Q&A section: due to my having even less time I'll unfortunately have to discontinue the service of answering every single question. I just can't compile a Q&A section during the two hours a day I spend commuting, as this time is already allocated to writing. Doing so would lead to even more infrequent updates.
Hence the quick notes section I implemented as a test, and it seems to be well received. In it I'll answer questions that pertain to knowledge I'm content to reveal, as well post topics—I think might be—of interest.

- the pairing... nothing in particular at the moment, but it might just be that our favourite jinchuuriki will end up with more than one girl. Sakura's definitely out, I'm unsure about Ino and Hinata, the rest is fair game. Thoughts on that, my dear readers?

Thanks to my prereader JohnnyG for services rendered.

Thank you for reading, and a loud shout of thanks to everyone who left a review for last chapter.




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