Haku shifted back, making sure never to keep off the ground for too long. Naruto had superiority in the air, so she kept her footwork light but grounded. It was a dance, in her mind at least. The nature of her sparring partner's ability meant that she was forced to chain her movements into one seamless flow to avoid being hit.

For once though, the incentive wasn't to avoid their sharp points. In fact, Naruto had actually blunted the tips of his weapons so all she would receive was the occasional bruise.

She hadn't even known he could do that.

It wasn't the only thing wrong with the training session. Naruto lacked his usual intensity. The chains moved slower, almost languidly. Far from his normal attitude, he didn't seem all that intent on pushing her. She was breezing through this exercise and he had barely ramped up the difficulty. In hindsight, it should have been a warning sign that she was noticing something off from her lack of injuries.

It was that mission yesterday. Ever since he came back he seemed different. By virtue of his dislike of socialising, he often appeared thoughtful. Now though, she could actually tell that he was deep in thought about something; troubled even. She drifted back, like a leaf in the wind, and allowed a lazy flick of the chain to skim the front of her kimono. Naruto barely even seemed to notice.

She began to subtly shift her positioning, ghosting forward in wide arcs that allowed her to continue dodging the lacklustre swipes. She pivoted her foot, allowing the ground to take a blow aimed for her chest without losing ground. Then, suddenly, she was in front of him.

"Is something wrong?"

It was a credit to how far he had come that, when startled, Naruto simply took a step back instead of – as his teammates enjoyed putting it – going full hedgehog. He blinked, as if only realising they were still training, before glancing over at where Haku should have been.

"You shouldn't have been able to get this close to me."

The girl shrugged. "You seemed distracted."

The blond seemed ready to argue, before thinking better of it and giving a half-hearted shrug of his own.

"I don't know. I suppose I was."

Haku descended gracefully to the ground, patting the spot next to her. "Something I could help with?"

He hesitated for a second before flopping down next to her, his chains catching him at the last moment and laying him down gently. "Maybe." He seemed to chew on that thought for a moment before nodding. "I want you to teach me how to heal."

Haku blinked. "That's not a decision to make lightly."

Naruto scowled right back at her. "Do I look like I make any decision lightly?"

His indignation ebbed away in the face of her soft smile.

"I didn't mean it that way," she placated. "I'm merely curious about the sudden shift in priorities." For the last few months it had been nothing but getting stronger, faster, better able to kill. The sudden one-eighty seemed completely out of left field.

"There's no shift," he shot back tersely, but again he deflated when she continued to smile magnanimously. "I just…" He frowned, looking down at his hand. A chain snaked out of his shoulder and coiled around the limb, the tip pointing back at him like an expectant snake. She hadn't seen him do that in quite some time, a remnant of his more theatrical days. "I feel like I'm only good for killing."

"That's never bothered you before." She wasn't normally this blunt, but she knew nothing less would actually drag answers out of the stubborn teen. She was well used to his mannerisms after many such discussions late at night. Rarely were they so introspective though.

"No… it didn't," he admitted, almost reluctantly. "It's just, recently…" He paused, clearly struggling with how to continue.

Haku lay a hand on his knee, noting that he only tensed for a moment. "Something happened on your mission."

He nodded. "Somebody died that… I didn't want to."

"A client?"

He chuckled humourlessly, shaking his head. "An enemy, actually." He released a drawn-out breath and leaned back, propping himself up with his hands to look up at the sky. "I always used to think that fights were made sweeter by the life-or-death, that high-wire act between you and your opponent. I never realised the thrill that comes just from the exertion of it, from seeing your opponent counter you and… really force you to struggle for the win."

His smile was almost fond. "She taught me that, the first time. This time I wanted to repay the favour, but…" he glanced back down, his hand curling into a fist around the chain "…I went too far. I didn't want to actually kill her, I think…"

The frown returned, and Haku felt something strange tighten in her chest as she heard him talk about this mystery woman.

"I suppose that's just stupid. She was an enemy, she had to die. I guess I just wanted to draw it out for as long as I could." The smile came back, but this time it was hollow. "I never thought I could be too good at killing."

He finally seemed to remember Haku was there, looking back up and wiping the emotion from his features. "I want to know how to fix what I break."

The gaze he met was filled with sadness though. "I'm sorry Naruto, but you'll never be a medic." Before he could say anything, she held a hand up. It was an unusually forward gesture for her. "This isn't something you can just train for. It's not a question of control, or effort, or determination." She laid a hand on his leg again. This time he was already tense. "You're a Jinchuuriki. Your Chakra is simply toxic to other people."

Any argument died on Naruto's tongue. He looked lost for a moment, as if struggling to articulate a point. He glanced away, then back at Haku with an indecipherable expression. Finally, he just sighed, turning his gaze back up to the sky.

Haku wasn't sure she had ever heard Naruto sigh.

"I should have paid more attention to the first aid training in ANBU," he joked tiredly.

Haku joined him in a weak smile. "I'd be more than happy to help you with the more physical side of things."

"But I'll never be able to properly heal, like you or Tsunade?"

She shook her head, and he sighed again. She determined that she didn't like the sound when it came from him.

"So, all I'm good at is killing." His mouth twisted, as if he had tasted something particularly sour. "At least it plays to my strengths."

"I didn't say that either," Haku said quietly, earning a bemused expression from the blond.

"What else am I good for?" He motioned with his hand and the chain unfurled, the dulled tip sharpening to a wicked edge.

Haku looked at it fondly, shifting closer to the teen and reaching out to it. It swayed in the air a moment before coiling up her arm. It squeezed, and she knew it had enough power to snap her arm like a twig. But it didn't, the Chakra construct simply rested against her skin, smooth like metal, but warm.

"You… don't want to be a healer," she stated softly, still looking at the chain with a slight smile. "Healers, while they have good intentions, are people that were too late. We take in the injured and fix them. Wouldn't it be better if they were never hurt at all? Medics don't have that power…" she looked up and caught his eye. It was the most intense expression he had ever seen from her "…but you do."

She stroked the chain and watched it uncoil from her arm. "You're strong Naruto, but strength doesn't only have to be used selfishly. When you destroy an enemy, you also protect your allies. When you take a threat out of the world, you've prevented harm to somebody else."

"Seems like that would be a matter of perspective," he said, frowning. "My enemy is somebody else's ally."

She shrugged; he was almost surprised by the callous action. "We don't live in a perfect world." She mirrored his humourless smile from earlier. "In fact, we live in a very broken world, full of broken people trying to make uneven pieces fit. Zabuza-sama used to tell me that we're shinobi; it's a job like any other, just instead of building houses, or catching fish, we kill people. I never used to understand him, always feeling like such a job shouldn't have to exist."

Her smile saddened. "But just because I believe a job shouldn't exist, doesn't mean others will. As long as they exist…" she shifted closer again, until their legs were touching and she was as close to him as she could be without pressing herself against his side "…the world also needs people like you."

"I think the world would disagree with you. Most people think we need less killers."

She shrugged again, and he could actually feel it from how close she was. "There's a whole village of people over there that probably think the same way. People that tolerate the ninja because they allow them to live easy lives. They don't think for a second how many people had to die to ensure them that life, how many people you've had to kill."

"I've never given a thought to them when I kill. I did it for the fun."

"But you want to change."

It wasn't a question, and Naruto could only nod slowly.

"Then it doesn't have to be for them. Or anyone else. It could be for one person, or a place, or an idea. If you let your killing mean something, then it isn't slaughter. It's protection."

He still seemed troubled, but it had lessened slightly; enough that he was able to smile sardonically.

"I'm a bad influence on you, aren't I?"

The smile she gave him as she leaned in those last few inches could only be described as cheeky.

"The worst."

Later, he would wonder why he didn't even think about leaning back as she moved to kiss him. In that moment though, all he could think about was the feeling of her lips. It was a clumsy, stilted thing, and it took him a moment to reciprocate. They were both inexperienced, and it showed when she flinched from his teeth knocking hers. But she didn't draw back, maintaining the intimate contact for another few seconds before drawing back with a smile.

"Why did you come to me and not Lady Tsunade?"

The question caught him off guard, his nose was still full of her scent. It was like the first hint of flowers after heavy snow. A moment later he caught up and smirked.

"I have my sensei."

The answer would have been meaningless to anybody else, but Haku knew what he meant. She stood, feeling oddly weightless, and waited for him to follow her up. The moment he did, she ducked in for another kiss, this one shorter, but less toothy.

"Thank you."

He collected himself much faster that time, waving her off with an absent chain. "Never thought I would ever hear you say that."

She shrugged. "Neither did I."

"How did you go from wanting to kill me, to this?"

"Like I said, I'm broken. And so are you. I guess our jagged edges just… fit."

He laughed at the absurd idea before a wicked gleam entered his eye. "Speaking of broken. It occurs to me that I wasn't paying too much attention just now. I wouldn't have been taking it easy on you, would I?"

Haku gulped, but at the same time, couldn't fight back the slight heat that rose in her cheeks. Yeah, she was as broken as they came. But she was beginning to think that wasn't the worst thing in the world.

Naruto grinned as he watched Haku walk out of the training ground with a well-hidden limp. Revelation about her feelings for him aside, he wasn't going to go easy on her. If anything, he would have to push her harder. He still wasn't completely sure how he felt about this. This kiss had been… enjoyable. Clearly, something in his body knew the situation better than his mind. Likewise, he couldn't deny that he had come to enjoy Haku's company.

Before his sensei, he hadn't thought he could confide in anybody. People were strangers to him, save for the glimmer of light that was the Hokage. But the old man ran a village and an army. He didn't have much time for a seven-year-old orphan, even if he was a Jinchuuriki. Haku though… maybe it had been the fact she had been completely at his mercy. He had nothing to fear from her, so he had accepted her more easily than anybody in his life.

Trust was a strange thing.

A chain slid from his arm to coil and twist in front of his eyes. Since he began sleeping alongside Haku he hadn't had a single flashback to his mother's life. He wasn't sure why, or what it meant, but he wanted it to continue. That slow, grinding loss of identity was one of his most pervasive fears. Haku was a bulwark. An admittedly attractive bulwark. He snorted, smiling bemusedly. He hadn't given a thought to the opposite sex his entire life, even with distractions like Nezumi and Anko, and suddenly he couldn't stop thinking about it.

Puberty was even stranger.

"Young love's a funny thing, ain't it?" Somebody mused to his left.

Naruto whirled on a dime, chains whipping out of his body to cover his blind spots. If the intruder thought they would get a quippy remark from him, they were sorely mistaken.

The intruder simply skipped out of range of his chains with a chuckle, giving Naruto time to give him a once-over. Obviously, the red clouds of the man's Akatsuki uniform caught his eye first, swiftly followed by the orange, spiralling mask that led into a single, darkened eye-hole on the right side. If possible, his body tensed even further.

"Ah, that's mean Naruto-kun! Attacking out of the blue like that."

"If you're here to kidnap me, you chose a bad place for it," Naruto snarled. This wasn't even one of the fringe training grounds. ANBU passed nearby here on their way back to the village all the time.

"Kidnap?" The man threw his hands up like Naruto had said something scandalous. "No way, uh uh. I'm not here to kidnap you, silly! I wanted to talk!"

The blond didn't relax for a second.

"And it's not like we're gonna be disturbed…" the man announced happily. "…'cause I killed everyone in the nearby training grounds." He said it like a child informing their parents he had just made them a present.

Definitely not one to relax around.

"And you are?" Naruto asked slowly, always better to have an idea of your opponent. Couldn't be too reckless with S-ranks. "You weren't on the list of potential Akatsuki members." Jiraiya didn't know all their members, but he had made some educated guesses. There weren't all that many high-level nuke-nins floating around.

"I'm Tobi. I'm new!" He replied, still with that happy tone. "I have to thank you actually. Leader-Sama only let me join because you killed Hidan-senpai. So, thanks for that!"

"You're welcome," he returned bemusedly. Banter, threats, even psychotic ranting like from Hidan, he would have expected those. This childish cordiality was just surreal.

"So polite! You're a good boy I think, like Tobi!"

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," the blond snarled, tensing to attack. Tobi had made no move to do anything so far, but that didn't mean wasn't doing something. A shinobi could do a lot out of sight. He, for instance, currently had three shadow clones hiding in the nearby trees. And Tako called him paranoid… really. No such thing for a shinobi.

"Hey now, you're not underestimating me, are you?" Tobi pouted, or so Naruto assumed from the tone. The mask made it difficult to tell. "That's rude you know!"

All three of Naruto's clones popped without warning, the memories revealing they were just as clueless as to the cause as he was. He took that as his cue to attack, sprinting forward.

Tobi immediately threw his arms in front of him. "Hey, woh! Wait a sec here!" He curled in on himself just as Naruto leapt into the air to bring a brutal axe-kick down on his…

…nothing. Naruto passed straight through the man and barely caught himself in time to hit the floor in a crouch and leap forward, in case Tobi countered.

The man did nothing of the sort though. He turned to face the blond's new position, patting himself down frantically.

"Woh, did you see that?" A moment later he stopped and put a thumb to his mask, wiggling his fingers mockingly. "Just kidding!" Naruto could practically feel the grin underneath that mask. "Pretty good for a newbie, huh?"

The teen pulsed his Chakra rapidly, only for nothing to change.

Tobi crossed his arms in front of his chest in an X, making a buzzer noise. "Nope, not a Genjutsu. Nice guess though!"

Naruto scowled at his irreverent demeanour, quickly using a chain to score a line across his arm, just to be sure. Unfortunately, nothing changed again. Still, there had to be a trick to it. People didn't just pass through other people. Only one way to check.

He moved forward again, more cautiously this time, with chains extended to completely cover his guard.

"Oh come on Naruto-kun, I just want to talk, yeah?"

The blond's eyes narrowed. "Don't worry, you'll still be able to talk."

Tobi bounced for a moment, even as the chains snapped forward, testing the man's guard. "Ah! That's so…. Wait a minute! That was a threat, wasn't it?"

The blond shrugged with a sardonic grin, coiling his chains back to strike. It was a telegraphed strike, but it was just the opening faint.

"Aww come on Naruto-kun, haven't we already established that's not gonna-"

He was cut off mid-sentence.

Naruto wasn't sure who was more surprised, him or Tobi. He had expected the man to dodge, or at least use his strange ability to avoid the chains. Instead he just… stood there, allowing them to pierce his stomach and right arm. He staggered, as if surprised by the turn of events, a drop of blood falling from the bottom of his mask.

"Wha-?"

He lurched forward when Naruto viciously pulled the chains, making sure they spun on their way out to maximise the damage. He nearly fell forward, but caught himself. He put his good hand to his stomach before looking at the blood staining his glove almost dreamily.

"Impo…ssible." He coughed, more blood leaking from under his mask as he glanced up at Naruto. The blond was too confused by the display to really make sense of what was going on. Was the man really so surprised that he could bleed? What kind of S-rank was this?

He never got an answer, as the man's form began to distort, swirling inwards around his eye. A moment later he was gone, as if sucked into a whirlpool of air. The clearing was oddly quiet in his absence, and Naruto could only glance about warily, wondering if this was an elaborate trick. When nothing happened for another two minutes he relaxed slightly and began to make for the village.

With that teleportation trick, it wasn't hard to figure out how he had infiltrated the village. But that wasn't the only question that had been raised from this encounter.

Naruto had warned the Hokage of the intrusion immediately. ANBU teams had been mobilised to make sure Tobi – although he doubted that was the man's real name – wasn't anywhere else in the village. They had found nothing, which Naruto had assumed would be the case, but it paid to be certain. Still, he was slightly disturbed by the encounter, especially in the way the man's childish demeanour had slipped right at the end, implying it was all some act.

But to what end?

All he could do now was mull over what he had seen, after relaying it to Jiraiya of course. The man seemed just as troubled by it, not recognising anything of the limited description Naruto could give. He seemed thoughtful about the transportation technique he had used to escape, but said that he would need time to check something.

Still, Naruto wasn't the naturally thoughtful type, and soon found himself wandering the village, looking for a distraction. Training alone seemed unpalatable after the unexpected visitor, and Haku was busy now with her hospital work.

He felt his teammates before he spotted them, not even turning as Tako dropped to the street beside him. He was out of his ANBU uniform, which was a rare sight, instead wearing a strange green shirt of unfamiliar design and a similarly coloured hat.

"So?" He asked, a perverse giggle creeping into the question.

"So?" Naruto mirrored with a raised eyebrow as Saru alighted on his other side, looking far more dignified in his more traditional white gi and navy hakama. He could have easily passed for a Hyuuga; his eyes were even rather pale.

"I believe my colleague was trying to ask how things are progressing with young Haku," he stated, earning another giggle from the blond's left.

"We saw you two kiss!" Kuma announced, as he joined the group at the back. Naruto glanced back at the giant of a man in exasperation, taking in his yellow vest and red shorts. The man never truly grew out of his underground fighting days, despite the clothes looking ridiculously small on his enormous frame.

Perched on Kuma's shoulder, Nezumi, dressed loosely in a surprisingly feminine pink kimono top and dark thigh-high socks, gave him a thumbs-up. She also gave him a wink, but it looked strange on her otherwise neutral expression.

"Do you guys spy on me all the time?"

Tako grinned, looping an arm around the teen's shoulders. "Only when we're in the village kid." He then shot the blond an irritated expression, noting how he had to raise his arm to patronise him. "Damn, you're taller than me now."

"Hah!" Kuma barked boisterously. "Tako's the smallest again."

The small man would have retorted, if he didn't turn to find Nezumi smirking at him. He immediately deflated. "Not you too my sweet Nezumi-chan?" Even in his exaggerated despair he was able to dodge the shuriken she threw at him.

He recovered admirably, rounding on the now taller blond again. "So kid, how far d'ya get? The others wouldn't let me stay after you guys started snogging away. You'd let your old pal know all the juicy secrets, right? Was it good? Was she good?"

Naruto didn't bother looking at him, especially as it would have given away the slight hit of pink to his cheeks.

"We weren't snogging."

Tako's grin only grew. "I beg to differ kid, I got pictures." He had to move his hand back like a viper, lest his camera get speared through by a chain. "Ah ah ah, I bet a certain master of the literary erotica would pay handsomely for these."

Naruto fought down his embarrassment and adopted his best impersonation of Nezumi's icy stare. "Pictures of two underage teens kissing? What kind of books do you want him to write?"

Taking the accusation in stride – it wasn't as if he wasn't used to the abuse – Tako simply smirked in triumph.

"So, you admit it!"

This time Naruto joined Nezumi in trying to perforate him with shuriken.

Obito stumbled as he emerged from his Kamui dimension, ripping his mask off and throwing it across the room.

"Swirly!"

The strangely patterned zetsu rushed into the room, immediately fretting over the state of the Uchiha.

"Ah, young master! What have you done now?"

Obito simply growled, clutching at the wound in his stomach. He was less worried about his arm; the grafted flesh was more easily replaced and felt no pain.

"Shut up and heal me already."

Swirly sighed theatrically, his body opening up along its seams to admit the injured Uchiha. Obito climbed in, immediately sighing in relief when the zetsu closed over his wound, sealing it shut and starting the healing process.

"So, uh, what happened to you anyway?" The strange creature asked, head remaining unfurled yet having no difficulty speaking.

"Lucky shot," Obito snarled, wincing when the action irritated his wound.

"Must have been, to catch you outside your Kamui. Oh, hey, they damaged your stomach. That's the part that makes poop, right?"

Obito ignored the creatures disturbing fascination with bodily ablutions and staggered over to his bed. The underground hideout he had transported himself to, more on instinct than any real plan, was spartan, but it had the essentials. He idly wondered how Madara had survived after growing used the luxuries afforded to the Uchiha clan head. But then, he wondered how and why Madara did a lot of things. It didn't matter now; the bastard was dead and Obito hoped he stayed that way.

He pulled his mind back to the present and scowled. He had called it a lucky shot, but it was nothing of the sort. His Kamui had been active, he knew it was, but that brat's chains had ignored it like it was nothing.

He hated the sight of them. It reminded him of a past he wanted to leave forgotten. Of his sensei's wife and the very similar chains she had used. Of course, Kushina would never have used them so violently…

"Oi Kakashi! Get me out of this stupid thing!" He shouted, trying not to be sick from the way the snare had him swaying about… upside down.

"Kakashi! I said let me down you bastard!" He struggled, only serving to tighten the thin loop of ninja wire around his ankle. He couldn't even cut it with a kunai. Damn Jounin getting all the best gear. Damn Kakashi for being such a damn prodigy that he got to be a damn Jounin so young and mess up Obito's damn life.

Damn.

"Now, I don't think that's proper language for a budding young Ninja," he heard, before the wire was suddenly severed, dropping him to the ground.

He had his wits about him enough at least to twist and land on his feet. Small mercies.

"A-Ah, Kushina-san. You see I was… well, I mean, I was just…"

He trailed off to the sound of her laughter and found himself grinning sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Not wanting to meet her eye with his cheeks almost as red as her hair, he was instead drawn to the softly glowing construct of Chakra emerging from her back. No doubt how she had released him.

"Woah, is that one of your Chakra chains?"

The woman glanced at her own technique as if uncertain what to think of it. "Oh, these? Mina-kun told you about that?"

He nodded happily. Minato-sensei was always talking about his fiancée when he got into a thoughtful mood. That, or wondering which absurd name he should give to his various techniques. Obito's sensei was a… unique, man.

"He told us all they were like, some super special Uzumaki family technique."

Kushina gained a healthy blush at that, regarding the chain at her side more fondly. "Well, I don't know about special…" she pursed her lips, putting a finger to them thoughtfully "…although, Mito-san did often say something like that." She seemed to dwell on that for a moment before shrugging irreverently. "To me, they're just another way I can protect my precious people!"

Obito grinned, remembering something else their sensei had told them. "And steal bowls of ramen, right?"

With her warm, motherly appearance, it was easy to forget that Kushina was a dangerous kunoichi in her own right. Obito was given a stark reminder as the woman crossed the distance between them so fast it was like she had used her fiancée's technique.

"What was that Obito-kun?" She warned in a dangerous tone, the ends of her hair beginning to split into nine distinct tails and sway ominously.

"Ah! Ah! Nothing, Kushina-san! Nothing!"

She bopped a fist on his head, the dangerous aura vanishing. It was replaced by a cheeky smirk as the woman stuck her tongue out at him.

"Thought so."

Obito shook his head of the memory. The past should stay in the past… until he could erase it altogether.

He sank onto the bed, feeling Swirly go to work repairing his body. Releasing a sigh, knowing that he was going to be here a while, he let his head loll back against the wall.

"Special huh? Still keeping secrets right to the end, huh sensei?"

He shook his head again, lest his mind wander too far down that path onto more… painful, topics.

Instead his eyes hardened, mind whirring into action as he planned how to deal with this. Sensei's son… no, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, was now too dangerous to leave alone. The Akatsuki still wasn't ready to move on all of the Jinchuuriki, and the Nine-Tails would have to be one of the last sealed... but that didn't mean they had to sit on their hands in the meantime.

He considered who to send. Sasori had been getting ancy, but he dismissed the idea as soon as it formed. They still hadn't found the puppeteer a new partner since Orochimaru's betrayal. Besides, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki had already displayed the ability to kill somebody as tenacious as Hidan. He couldn't trust Sasori's brand of 'immortality' to protect him any better.

No, there was no sense holding back the big guns on this one.

Time to pull Nagato out of his ivory tower.