Location: CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia

Date: March 28th, 2015

-x-

The faint hum of the vibrating florescent lights that were lined up one after another on the ceiling could be heard in the nearly vacant waiting room, giving a strange sense of comfort in the otherwise quiet s.p.a.ce. The creak that came from Jessica Drew s.h.i.+fting in her chair cut through that hum like a knife, the receptionist looking up from her computer to see what all the commotion was about.

Clearing her throat, Jessica gave a slight nod that was ignored, the receptionist swerving her attention back to her task. Sighing to herself, Jessica fought the urge to pull out her phone to pa.s.s the time, knowing that being on her phone in such a place was frowned upon. It wasn't long before a new wave of silence hung in the air, the room's stifling climate making time move at a crawl.

Finally, the silence was interrupted for a second time by the sharp ringing of the reception desk's telephone. Quickly swiping the phone off its dock, the receptionist needlessly nodded to what the person on the other side was saying as she muttered into the mouthpiece.

Placing the phone back down she looked up as she said, "You can go in now, Agent Drew."

Jessica looked from the receptionist to the door right across from her, a golden plaque showcasing a t.i.tle and name, "Deputy Director of the CIA, Benjamin Hunt."

Getting up, she flattened out her black two-b.u.t.ton business jacket, "Thank you." She said curtly, her English accent prominent.

Walking forward, Jessica reached out and grasped the bra.s.s door k.n.o.b, the old wooden door squeaking open as she stepped into the large office. Expensively furnished, she took in the smell of old pine as she looked at the two other occupants in the room. Standing just to her right was the a.s.sociate Deputy Director, Ethan Vargas. With his back ramrod straight, he stood nearly a foot taller than her, his basic black business pressed and pristine. His black hair was cropped short, with specks of grey loitered throughout.

"Take a seat." Vargas ordered, opening one of the files in his hands as he did.

Doing as her superior asked, she took a seat in front of the simple computer desk in front of her. Looking over at the man sitting across from her, she observed that he was a few decades older than Vargas, his white hair having long turned into a deep widow's peak. His wrinkled brow furrowed in thought, he simply stared her as he waited for his subordinate to begin.

Clearing his throat to get Jessica's attention, Vargas began to read from the file, "Agent Jessica Drew, born 19 October 1983 to Doctors Jonathon and Miriam Drew. Graduated from Oxford at age 20, you joined the Royal Navy. Immediately after graduation where you were deployed into the Iraq War. Your mission history there caught the attention of s.h.i.+ELD's Secretary, Alexander Pierce. Graduating at the top of your cla.s.s as a s.h.i.+ELD trainee, you quickly began to move through s.h.i.+ELD's ranks as a part of the special task force dubbed SPEAR. After the agency's disbandment a year ago, you were transferred over to Langley, working within the Special Activities Division."

Jessica could only sit and listen as Vargas read off her file. As he finished, she asked, "Am I being a.s.signed a new mission, sir?"

Vargas ignored her question, snapping the file shut as he said, "Your work in Budapest was quite remarkable. Your handler, Markus, was very impressed with your abilities."

"Thank you, sir." Jessica replied calmly.

Folding his arms behind his back he asked, "What was it they called you over at s.h.i.+ELD, again?"

Fighting the urge to sigh, she answered, "Arachne." s.h.i.+fting her body so that she could face Vargas, she asked, "Is there an a.s.signment for me, sir?"

"Yes, a long-term a.s.signment, in fact." Vargas answered, now looking to Deputy Director Hunt.

Folding his hands over his desk, Hunt spoke softly, "What can you tell me about the alien known as Naruto Uzumaki?"

Jessica blinked, "Well, not much to be honest."

"You worked with him during your time in s.h.i.+ELD, did you not?" The Deputy Director asked.

"I had only worked with him on a single mission, other than that I only knew him in pa.s.sing." Jessica admitted.

"Tell me what you can then." Vargas offered, though his tone of voice came off as an order.

Fighting the urge to s.h.i.+ft in her chair, Jessica allowed herself a moment of thought before speaking, "If I could use one word, powerful. On our only mission we had together, my report detailed my belief that he was a walking weapon of ma.s.s destruction and espionage wrapped up into one tight bundle. He could slip into anywhere appearing as anyone, obliterate anything in his path, and act as his own mobile army. I gathered all of that in the two weeks I was a.s.signed to work with him."

Hunt nodded slowly, "Yes, we've gathered that ourselves. Is there anything you can say about his…behavior?"

"Are you asking me if he's dangerous?" She asked.

"We already know for a fact that he is dangerous. It would be stupid of us not to." Vargas answered.

"What are you asking of me then?"

Hunt's sharp look held back Vargas's snappish answer, the older man reigning himself in before he said, "I think we can all agree that his actions are veryperplexing. He arrived here seven years ago, where he is quickly requited into s.h.i.+ELD. Sponsored by them, Uzumaki helped in the destruction of several Hydra bases of operation, most notably their Weapons Research facility in Sankt Georgen." Sighing to himself he continued, "However, it quickly became apparent that his main focus was returning to his home, wherever that might be. In his search, he inadvertently found himself involved in the Symkarian Revolt, killing off every head conspirator on the revolution's side, and helped in the crippling of the organization AIM, who was unbeknownst to anyone else escalating the situation. The body count he left behind that day was ma.s.sive to say the least."

"I'm sorry sir, but how is any of that perplexing behavior? He ended a conflict that would've cost thousands of more lives." Jessica asked.

"It's perplexing because the United States had invested interest in the Symkarian Revolt." Vargas answered.

Jessica blinked, "You…wanted the revolution to succeed?"

Hunt nodded, "And Uzumaki turned that plan on its head."

"Do you think that Uzumaki did it on purpose? Do you honestly think that he would interfere with our interests?" She asked in exasperation. Seeing their shared look, she continued, "Why? What would he possibly gain from that?"

"Why would he destroy an encampment of African militants in and outside the border of Wakanda?" Hunt asked back, "Wakanda is completely isolated from the world. However, from what we can discern something rather disastrous occurred, and the country decided to involve themselves with Uzumaki in a bid to fix it. What that event was, who else was involved, any other bits of information really, is a total mystery."

Vargas stepped in, opening the files back up as he pulled out a few sets of photographs, "Here he is in Manhattan, with a private investigator by the name of Jessica Jones." Slapping down the photo, he waited as Jessica picked it up to see Uzumaki walking down Manhattan's streets with an attractive woman. Pulling out the next photo, Vargas continued, "Only four hours later, these were taken. Halfway across the world."

Taking the second photo, Jessica raised an eyebrow at what looked like a meteor made of lava and lightning falling from the sky, "Where was this taken?"

"Ethiopia." Hunt answered.

The third picture was an aerial photograph, showcasing what looked like a ma.s.sive brawl between several dozen Naruto Uzumakis and an imposing force of militiamen, "After the event, a satellite picked up the ensuing fight. Not long after we managed to pick it up though, we were hacked by an unknown source, preventing us from seeing anymore of the skirmish."

"So, you a.s.sume that he has aligned himself with Wakanda?" Jessica asked, "And how exactly is that a bad thing? Wakanda is the definition of a neutral party."

"Uzumaki is the descendent of the atomic bomb in the sense that whoever has him under their control holds all the cards. They transcend the world superpowers." Hunt spoke, "As we speak, Director Norris is meeting with the White House to discuss the eventual meeting with Naruto Uzumaki, who is currently being sponsored by Tony Stark and Captain Steve Rogers. They believe that we need to keep an eye on him, until we can convince him that siding with the United States is in his best interests."

Realization dawning on her, Jessica sat forward in her chair as she asked, "And you want me to watch him, don't you?"

Deputy Director Hunt nodded, "From what Stark has told us, Uzumaki is forming his own team similar to the Avengers. Stark a.s.sures us his intentions are good, though he refuses to outright say why the man is forming a team of his own rather than working with the Avengers to begin with. Our intention is for you to act as our liaison within the group, using your abilities as a way to convince him allow you to join."

"Sir, you overestimate my abilities-" She began, only to be cut off by Hunt.

"Your superiors within s.h.i.+ELD claimed that you were one of their top agents. The only thing that kept you out of the Avengers Initiative was your own refusal to join." Hunt spoke softly, "However, unlike Director Fury, I'm not giving you much of an option. You are to take this a.s.signment, understood?"

Jessica fought every instinct she had to show her distaste for the situation, instead keeping a straight face as she said, "Yes sir, I understand."

"Good."

-x-

T'Challa grunted as he was thrown onto his back, the sound of his skin smacking against the practice matt echoing through the room. Flipping himself onto his hands and knees, he reached out and grabbed Naruto's knee. Pulling back and tripping up the blonde, he tackled the downed man, attempting to grapple himself into a proper choke hold. That proved practically impossible, as Naruto easily kept himself out of T'Challa's grip with almost c.o.c.ky swatting.

A cough interrupted their wrestling match, the two looking up to see Okoye staring down at them with a raised eyebrow, "My prince, Nakia wishes to speak with you." She said promptly.

Grunting, the prince of Wakanda threw the blonde off of him, "Tell her I'll be there in a moment." He muttered, getting up as he wiped away the sweat that had begun to drip down his brow.

Scowling, Okoye said, "I am your general, my prince. Not your messenger."

Naruto chuckled at the prince's look of annoyance. Looking over at the general he said, "Don't take his s.h.i.+tty mood personally, he's just mad that he was losing is all."

"I wasn't losing Uzumaki." T'Challa shot back, "I'm still convinced you are breaking our agreement."

"Hey, when I agreed to not use my powers if you agreed to not use your fancy metal gadgets, I meant it. I don't break promises." Naruto said with a scowl of his own. Pulling on the s.h.i.+rt the royal family had loaned him, Naruto straightened the dark blue fabric.

Pulling on his own royal purple s.h.i.+rt, T'Challa spoke, "Perhaps we should duel with swords then?"

"So we can find you cut to bits?" Okoye asked, "No, no I think this is enough."

"You don't believe in my ability, General?" The prince asked defensively.

Okoye shook her head, "It's not that I don't trust your ability, but rather that I don't trust him." She finished with her eyes drilling into Naruto's skull.

"Okoye." T'Challa drawled out, "Uzumaki is an honored guest here by order of my father, your king. And, if he is to stay here he is to at least be made useful."

Naruto gave a lazy wave, "Uh, right here guys." He said, not appreciating the two of them talking as though he weren't present.

He was ignored however, "Your father neglects to remember how dangerous he is." Okoye stated.

"And you neglect to remember that he saved my sister." T'Challa shot back.

"And you neglect to remember what he did to me." Okoye returned, "He defiled my mind, looked into memories that didn't belong to him!"

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, clearly offended, "I didn't defile anything! I kept out of your memories, I only looked for information on Wakanda. If your offended-"

"I don't get offended." Okoye said harshly, getting nose to nose with the blonde, "I am the greatest warrior in Wakanda, Black Panther or no. What I am is someone who respects privacy. Both for myself and my country. Clearly you don't respect either of those things." With that, Okoye stalked off in a huff.

The room now quiet, T'Challa looked to the dumbfounded blonde, "I don't think you'll find a friend in her, Uzumaki."

Sighing, Naruto looked to the prince with a smile, "And what about you?"

T'Challa gave a small smile in return, "I'm usually not one for friends, Uzumaki." Patting him on the shoulder, the prince began to walk away, "I'll be seeing you then."

Smiling after the man, Naruto asked, "How about comrade then? Companion maybe?"

"I was thinking of something more like a jester." T'Challa called back as he turned the corner, ending the conversation much to the blonde's annoyance.

-x-

Naruto looked down at the bustling city, the blonde perched over a railing within the main palace. Smiling fondly, he watched as the citizens of Wakanda went about their daily routine, all of them one hundred percent oblivious to the goings on of the outside world.

Not bothering to look behind him, Naruto called out, "You can come out now."

Peeking out from behind the corner a several feet away, Shuri cursed to herself. Knowing there was no point in hiding any longer, the girl slowly stepped out into the open. Hesitantly, she began to walk towards the imposing blonde-haired man, clutching the bundle in her hand tightly.

Swallowing the saliva that had begun to gather in her throat, she asked, "Do you know who I am?"

Turning around, the s.h.i.+n.o.bi answered, "Of course I do. You're the princess. Shuri, right?"

Shuri nodded, "And you're the man that saved me." She declared.

"That's right."

The princess s.h.i.+fted on her feet for a moment, "You're not human…are you?" The princess asked.

Naruto blinked, "What makes you say that?"

"I saw the footage, what you did when you and my brother came for me. What you did…there's no way you are human." Shuri said softly.

"What am I then?" He asked, both joking and curious of her answer.

Shuri hesitated for a moment, "Something of a worldly angel, I suppose."

Naruto's smile grew a little bigger, "Your father told me you were smart."

The girl blinked, "My father talked to you about me?"

"We've talked a lot in the few days I've stayed here, you came up a few times." Naruto revealed, "He's a very proud father."

Shuri, without realizing it, had walked over onto the balcony, the girl standing right next to the blonde-haired man. Silently, she enjoyed the view of several hundred lively Wakandans going about the daily routine.

Giving the man a side glance, the girl asked, "Why areyou still here?"

"Does my presence here offend you?" He asked, "Your general, Okoye, doesn't seem to want me here. Not that I can blame her."

"No!" Shuri blurted out. Calming herself as she mentally cursed her outburst, she said, "No, no it doesn't. I'm just curious is all."

His gaze hovering over the people of Wakanda, Naruto answered, "I guess you could say I like your home, this city."

"Why?"

"Because it reminds me of my home." He admitted.

Shuri tilted her head in curiosity, "Really?"

Naruto nodded, "It's kind of eerie really, how similar Wakanda is to Konoha. The people, the culture, it's all bringing a lot back for me." Sighing, he continued, "I hate this feeling, if I'm being honest."

"Why?" The princess wondered.

The ninja shrugged, "I don't know, it just reminds me of my childhood, more than anything else."

"Was it bad?" She asked.

Looking down at the young girl, Naruto said, "I'm not exactly proud of my childhood. I'm not proud of my fellow villagers either, or myself and how I handled my situation." Chuckling to himself, he muttered, "I was a bit of an a.s.shole as a kid, not that anyone else around me was much better."

"Well, you seem like a good person now." Shuri said, "You're like a knight, or something."

Naruto snorted in amus.e.m.e.nt, "A knight?"

Shuri huffed in offence, "Well, you saved me, didn't you? I'm a princess. When you save a princess, you become a knight. That's just common sense."

"So that makes me your knight then, huh?" Naruto asked with a knowing smile.

Turning to face away from the smirking blonde, Shuri muttered, "I never said anything like that."

Chuckling to himself, Naruto finally took notice of the bundle in her hands, "Whatcha got there?"

Swallowing down her embarra.s.sment, Shuri turned to face the much taller Naruto, "I'm not like any of those silly fairytale princesses or whatever. I don't like leaving a debt unsettled. So, here." Shoving the clothed bundle into the curious blonde's hands, she said, "This is my thanks to you."

Looking down at the mystery object in his hands, Naruto slowly unraveled the brown fabric wrapped around it, revealing a metallic cylinder that was a little over a foot long.

Lifting a curious eyebrow, Naruto asked, "What is it?"

"It's a vibranium spear, a modified version of the weapons used by the Dora Milaje, to be specific." Shuri answered, "Go on then, whip it out." She said encouragingly.

Ignoring how the girl decided to fraise that sentence, Naruto took a few steps back before slinging the cylinder with a sharp swing. Mid-swing, the sound of metal being unsheathed wrung throughout the balcony, followed by Naruto's appreciative, "Woah."

The weapon was clearly designed to resemble a naginata, though the staff and blade were straight rather than having a slight curve and it was missing any kind of guard. Around five feet long, the staff covered around two-fifths of the weapon, leaving the rest to the dangerously sharp single edged blade. Giving the weapon a testing swirl, Naruto felt a great amount of satisfaction at hearing the vibranium sing as it cut through the air.

"I named her Nakama." Shuri said, smiling at seeing that Naruto liked the gift, "Though, you can change it if you want."

"No, no it's perfect." Naruto said, smiling down at the girl softly. Retracting Nakama back to her base form, he channeled chakra into the storage seal at the palm of his hand, summoning one of his father's Hirais.h.i.+n Kunai. Flipping the weapon in his hand so he was holding the center blade, the blonde handed the weapon over to the girl.

"What is this?" Shuri asked, inspecting the strange looking knife in her hands, careful not to cut herself on the razor-sharp edges.

"This weapon once belonged to my father." Naruto told her, getting a surprised reaction from the young princess, "It has a special power that lets me travel to it instantly, no matter how far away from each other we may happen to be. Whether it be hours, countries, or planets away. All you have to do is stab it into something, and I'll know you want to summon me." Grabbing her hands, he guided them so that they were holding the kunai correctly.

Shuri looked away from the man, avoiding eye contact as his hands touched hers, "You're kinda ruining the whole repaying my debt thing, you know that right?"

Naruto chuckled, "No, I don't think so. Back in the day, my father would hand these out to the people he wanted to protect. Both as a way to get to them quickly, and to give them a sense of security in knowing that he was always watching out for them. So, consider this a symbolic gesture of our friends.h.i.+p."

"Th-thank you." Shuri muttered out.

About to speak, Naruto was interrupted by the sound of someone's m.u.f.fled cough into their hand. Turning the two were surprised to find Queen Romanda standing in the balcony door frame in all her glory. Standing in a luxurious black gown, her neck and torso covered by elegant neckpiece, she was the definition of royalty. For once, she had let her hair down, showing off her snow-white hair.

Taking several graceful steps forward, she calmly said, "Shuri, your father wishes to speak with you."

Shuri nodded, "Okay, Mama." Giving Naruto and his gift to her one last look, she gave him a parting nod before walking pa.s.sed her mother back into the grand halls of the Golden Palace.

Romanda kept her eyes on Naruto the entire time, eyeing him with scrutiny as her daughter left the two of them alone. Finally, she said, "My daughter has taken quite a liking to you, Uzumaki."

Naruto tried to give his most carefree smile, "You can call me Naruto, if you want."

"No, no I think Uzumaki will do for now." The queen said back, "I never did get to say thank you for what you did for my family, what with all the funerals and all."

The blonde immediately knew what she was talking about, referencing the many funerals that had taken place at the beginning of his visit. Naruto had declined to attend, feeling very out of place in what he knew would be a somber event. The only reason he'd stayed at all was because King T'Chaka had invited him to stay within the palace as his guest. He knew not to refuse such an open invite, for fear of insulting the royal family, but it didn't help the awkward air that hung in the palace that first day.

Especially when members of the Jabari Tribe had come to take the body of a man named M'Baba home. Apparently, his brother was the leader of the tribe, a man named M'Baku. It was needless to say that M'Baku had plenty to say to both T'Challa and the king, his angry yells echoing through the entire palace.

"There's no need to thank me." Naruto a.s.sured.

"If there's a need for it or not, I still do." Romanda returned, "You saved my daughter from a situation I helped put her in. If it weren't for you, her fate would've been laid to bare on my shoulders." Turning away, she finished, "You can except my thanks or you can ignore it. All the same, I am indebted to you."

Following after the now walking queen, Naruto said, "Well, I except your thanks." Hearing the fluttering of wings, he turned as he exited the balcony, a large one-eyed raven perched near where he'd been standing. It's single eye glowing a strange green, Naruto blinked at the strange animal before turning his attention back to the monarch.

Romanda nodded at the blonde's words, "Much like my daughter felt the need to reimburse her debt, I do as well. That is why I have convinced the council to allow my husband to a.s.sist you, in the very limited way he can."

Realizing they were heading towards the Council's Chambers, Naruto asked, "Really?"

The queen nodded, "My husband will explain."

The two then walked in silence, Romanda keeping her stoic gaze while Naruto looked at her inquisitively. Shruggling to himself, Naruto decided to follow after the elegant woman.

Walking through the large council chamber doors, the two were greeted by the king, his children, and a squad of Dora Milaje led by Okoye.

"Naruto, welcome!" King T'Chaka bellowed out, ignoring the look his wife gave him as she strolled over to his side.

Naruto inclined his head, "King T'Chaka, how are you?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I have some news for you, regarding your request." The ruler of Wakanda informed, leaning forward in his throne.

The ninja nodded along, recognizing that the king was referring to his request that Wakanda be a part of Infinity Watch, in any capacity, "Yeah, Queen Romanda mentioned the council had finally let up a bit." He said, ignoring the queen's indignant look.

"We've come to an agreement, yes." Eyeing his wife, T'Chaka smiled, "Romanda's argument was very inspiring."

Romanda ignored her husband, keeping a straight face as she said, "Get to it, dear."

"Of course, dear." Placated the King to his wife, "The council and I have come to an agreement concerning your request for a.s.sistance from Wakanda."

Naruto nodded along to the king, waiting patiently for the older man to get to it.

T'Chaka s.h.i.+fted in his seat, running his right hand through his beard, "I'm sorry to say that I can't allow Wakanda to invest any kind of military man power. I'm sure you can understand why. As far as my son joining your group's ranks, that's his decision, not mine."

All eyes turned to T'Challa, the stoic prince stepping forward, "I'll have to decline the offer. Despite what you've told me of these Infinity Gems-"

"Stones." Naruto corrected, though his interruption was ignored by the warrior prince.

"And as far as your group goes, the few of you there are, I can't pledge myself to something outside of Wakanda." The prince finished.

The blonde frowned at the man across from him, but shrugged none the less, "I understand."

The King of Wakanda cut in, "While my eldest is staunch in his refusal, my youngest has a proposal for you." T'Chaka looked to his daughter, who seemed to almost shrink into herself when all eyes turned over to her, "Go ahead Shuri."

"Right." Shuri mumbled, stepping forward like her brother had, "Well, the idea was that I'd join Infinity Watch, instead of my brother."

"Really?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow, surprised that the younger girl would want to join his band of merry men.

"Uh, yeah." Shuri said back, "Well, it wouldn't be fulltime."

"Oh, so you want to be a part-time Watcher then?" Naruto teased with a smile.

Shuri shook her head, "I'm offering my services to you and your crew, that includes funding, we can more than afford to bankroll you guys."

Both of Naruto's eyebrows were raised now, "So, if I make you a Quasi-Watcher, you'll give me tech and funding?"

Shuri scoffed a little, "I was thinking that I'd be your quartermaster, actually. I'd be based in Wakanda, but I'll be on call, if you need me." Shuri explained, her confidence showing the more she talked.

T'Chaka decided to cut in, "I think I should inform the both of you that I can't allow Shuri's extracurricular activities interfere with her duties to Wakanda."

Romanda spoke next, a proud smile on her face, "Shuri is to take over as Head of Wakanda's R&D."

Naruto eyed the princess for a moment before walking up to her at a slow pace, ignoring the aggressive stance many of the Dora Milaje made towards him, "This sounds great, awesome in fact. But it sounds like I'm the only one getting anything out of this. So, what's in it for you? I'm honestly down to haggle."

Shuri looked up at him in confusion, "What are you talking about? I don't want anything. I just want to be a part of your team. Why is that Magik woman on the team? What does she get out of it?"

The blonde smiled down at the bright young girl, "Touché." He extended his hand out, "Deal, welcome to Infinity Watch."

The girl smirked in victory, grabbing his hand to seal the deal. The hand shake over, she looked around at everyone around her as she said, "If I'm honest, I thought this moment would be a bit cooler with like fireworks or a parade or something."

The leader of Infinity Watch chuckled, "I'll work on it."

-x-

The Next Day

Location: New York City, New York

-x-

Naruto stumbled slightly as he Hirais.h.i.+ned into Illyana's apartment using the kunai he'd given her. The stumble was caused by Naruto's landing being right on top of a bottle, nearly tripping over himself before regaining his balance. Looking around to make sure no one spotted that slip up, he coughed as he collected himself.

Bending over, he picked up the bottle that nearly made him fall on his a.s.s. Recognizing it as a wine bottle, he read the label, "Brotherhood Cabernet Sauvignon?" Setting the bottle back down he looked around the apartment for Illyana. Taking notice of the now unkempt living room, he frowned at the empty pizza box and various other forms of garbage.

"Illyana?" Naruto called out, walking into the hallway, "Illyana, you home?"

Getting no response, he pulled out his cell phone and quickly selected her contact info. Pressing the phone to his ear. Several ring tones later, Illyana finally answered, though her voice was strangely m.u.f.fled, "What?" She blurted out over the phone.

"Hey, uh, I was just wondering where you were?" Naruto asked, "I'm back. From Wakanda I mean."

She was quiet for a few moments before answering, "I'm down by the pool."

Naruto blinked, "You have a pool?"

"Not in so many words." Illyana slurred.

The blonde ninja sighed, "I'm coming down."

Heading down to the apartment's lobby, Naruto spotted an employee hovering by the exit, waiving to him, Naruto asked, "Hey, can you tell me where the pool is?"

The employee gave Naruto a confused look, "Sir, we don't have a pool here."

"What? Really? Are you sure?" He asked, looking around.

Nodding, the man said, "I'm sure, sir."

"Oh." Naruto scratched his scalp, "Where's the nearest one then?"

"There's a hotel two blocks away, it has a pool I think. But it's only for people who have a room."

"Right, thanks." Naruto said with a solute. Walking out of the building, he began his trek towards the hotel pool. Walking pa.s.sed a fountain that was stationed in front of the apartment's forecourt garden, he blinked when he noticed that several people had stopped what they were doing to look at said fountain.

Deciding to bend under the will of peer pressure, Naruto looked to see what was so entertaining, only to catch himself gasping at who he saw lying in the shallow fountain water.

"Illyana?" He asked aloud, cutting through the crowd towards the woman. Looking around at the gathered crowd he sighed as he asked, "What are you doing?"

Illyana shrugged in the water as she brought a bottle of vodka to her lips, visibly wincing as she took a swig. Gulping it down, she slurred, "I told you, I'm at the pool."

Taking stock of the fact she was wearing a black two-piece bikini, he said, "This isn't a pool, Ana."

The woman paused at the name, scoffing as she mumbled, "Don't call me that."

Grunting, the blonde stepped over the hem of the fountain, flinching at the cold water as he waded over to the unmoving woman, "Come on, let's get you inside."

She groaned, "I'm not done yet."

"I know." Naruto said, pulling off his jacket and wrapping around the wet and scantily clad woman's shoulders, "But this isn't a pool, people are looking at you." He looked around at the crowd of people, some of the younger ones having pulled their phones out to record them.

Illyana blinked, "This isn't a pool?"

"No."

"Oh s.h.i.+t." She began to laugh, "That's hilarious."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle as well as he lifted her up to her feet, "Leave the bottle, you've had enough."

Looking down at the bottle in her hand, she gave its contents a quick look before saying, "It's nearly empty anyway."

-x-

Naruto grunted as he sat Illyana down on her couch. Picking up the pizza box that was sitting on the cus.h.i.+on, he threw it onto the coffee table as he lifted her legs up so she was lying down. s.h.i.+fting her on her side, he asked, "Do you have a small trashcan or something?"

Illyana nodded, lying on her back as she rested the back of her hand on her forehead, "In the bathroom, down the hall."

Grabbing her shoulder, he said, "Lay on your side, like this." Pulling forward, he made her lie on her side. Going off to get the trashcan, he came back to find her up on her feet, "What are you doing?"

Scratching her head, she said, "I was gonna get us something to drink. I swear I still had something over here."

"I think you drank it all." Naruto muttered, grabbing her gently he put her back on the couch in the same position as before.

"Why did you need my trashcan again?" Illyana drawled weakly.

Holding onto her shoulders, the ninja answered, "Because you're probably gonna need it after a while."

"Oh." She, though Naruto guessed that she didn't really get why.

The two sat in silence for several minutes, Naruto gently rubbing her shoulder as she seemed to be in her own world, staring off into the corner of the room. Deciding to break the quiet, Naruto asked, "Why are you doing this?"

His answer came in the form of a m.u.f.fled snore, causing his to sigh in annoyance. Moving the pillow in a way that her head wouldn't move in her sleep, Naruto got up and created a clone.

Looking to his copy, he said, "Go over to Jessica's apartment and tell the clone to pop. I'm sure she'll want to talk to me even though I'll know what happened, so stick around and answer any questions she has that we'd want to be answered."

The clone nodded, an annoyed look on his face, "You know you don't have to tell me that, right? I'm your clone, I know what you want me to do as soon as you make me, idiot."

His eye twitching, the original muttered, "Just do what your told before I pop you and have another Shadow Clone do it instead."

"You act like I'm scared of-"

POOF!

Naruto scoffed as he made another clone, said copy cutting off his creator before he could speak, "I know what you're about to say, and how about we skip it and I just go do what I was created for?"

The Shadow Clone didn't wait for an answer from the original, instead Hirais.h.i.+ning to Jessica's apartment in a slick yellow flash.

"Sage, I'm an a.s.shole."

-x-

"Jesus Christ!"

That was the first thing that the Naruto clone processed before ducking down to avoid the coffee cup that went flying where his head had once been.

Bringing his arms up in a defensive gesture, the clone shouted, "Hey, hey! What's the big deal?!"

Jessica huffed as she flung her hair out of her face, ignoring the other Naruto in the room who was looking at the situation with a large, amused smile, "You don't just appear in someone's home like that! One second you're not there, then you just…are! It's creepy as s.h.i.+t, you f.u.c.ker!"

"Sorry!" He apologized, now glaring at his brother clone, "What're you smirking at?"

"It's just fun to see her yelling at someone else for a change." The other clone admitted.

Jessica and the second clone both gave him a deadpan, "You're the same person." Jessica drawled.

"Still." The clone insisted with a shrug.

Sighing, the newer clone said, "The boss wanted me to tell you to pop."

The older of the two raised an eyebrow, "He had to send you to tell me that?"

"He knows that Jessica wanted to talk to me afterwards."

"Why didn't he just come himself?" Jessica asked.

The Shadow Clone shrugged, "He's got his hands full."

"Of course he does." She muttered, folding her arms under her chest.

The older copy gave the patented Naruto smile as he said, "Well, it's bee-" Only to cut off by a right hook from Jessica, quickly exploding in a cloud of smoke from the force of the punch.

The remaining Naruto clone raised an eyebrow, nodding appraisingly, "Wow, that was a reinforced clone. It's pretty impressive that you busted him with just a punch."

Jessica shook her hand, a red mark now running along her knuckles, "It felt like I was punching a wall, before I could punch through 'em."

As she said that, a ma.s.sive wave of memories came flooding in, the clone stumbling from the sudden intake, "Wow." He muttered as he steadied himself.

"What was that?" The private investigator asked.

The clone groaned a bit as a head ache began to pound along his skull, "Too many memories at once. I don't usually let clones last that long."

Jessica nodded along, "So, you know what we found out then? About that client?"

He shrugged, "It's there, but I think for right now it'd be better if you just told me about it. It'll help the memories settle quicker."

"Fine." She relented with a slight roll of her eyes. Walking over to her desk she pulled out a folder from one of the drawers. Flipping it open she began, "The clients name, you might remember, is Gloria Cartwright. Her husband, Jason, went missing several days ago. Mr. Cartwright worked as an on-call consultant for Confederated Global Investments. The last time Mrs. Cartwright saw her husband was when he left for work the morning he disappeared. According to Mrs. Cartwright, he's never without his phone due to the nature of his position, as he's on call 24/7. So, when he didn't come home later in the night, she called to see what was keeping him, only to get no answer. That being an immediate red flag for her, the client called several more times in worry, with still no answer. She later called the police to look into it, but they said unless she had a legitimate reason for filing a Missing Persons, there was nothing they could do."

"Sounds reasonable." The shadow clone observed.

"That's why I didn't want to take the job." Jessica admitted, guilt free, "Most of the time in a case like this the spouse is off f.u.c.king some dude."

"So what did she say when you went to talk to her?"

"Naruto and I," Stopping herself, she sighed, "I'm going to call the clone I was with Naruto, for simplicity's sake. G.o.d this is a mind f.u.c.k of a conversation."

"Yup." The clone chirped happily.

"Naruto and I showed up at her house and she told us about how she'd remembered that she'd installed a GPS tracker in her husband's car, without her husband knowing, of course."

"Why?"

"Back when she did it she thought he was cheating on her, so she put that tracker in his car to see where he went when he said he was out on business. Turned out she was just being paranoid. Anyway, we used the tracker and saw that his car was parked in a McDonald's parking lot in Manhattan and that it had been parked there since three in the morning. So, Naruto and I drove up to take a look. Pulling into the parking lot we saw that the driver's side window had been smashed in, the door was ajar, blood and gla.s.s was on the ground next to the car, and tire marks could be seen exiting the parking lot."

"Well s.h.i.+t."

"Yeah." Jessica muttered, pulling out her flask from her pocket to take a quick sip. Putting it back in place she said, "We called the police after that. After we talked with them, we tracked down where Mr. Cartwright had been earlier that day. While the police were focused on finding out what happened in the parking lot, Naruto and I decided to go through his entire GPS history from the beginning to see where he was, what he did, and for how long. First place was a bar, the bar we went to in fact."

The clone blinked, "Spooky."

"Coincidence is more like it." Jessica said, annoyed at the pointless interruption, "He was there for about twenty minutes before he drove off to a warehouse in Queens, where the car was parked for nearly three hours. After that he drove to a diner where we a.s.sume he ate for twenty minutes before departing for a neighborhood in Harlem. He was there for five hours."

"Do you know why he was at that warehouse and neighborhood for so long?" The copy asked.

"I was getting to that." Jessica snipped, "We did some digging, the warehouse is owned by Confederated Global Investments, well it's owned by a subsidiary within a subsidiary of theirs anyway. So, it's pretty easy to a.s.sume that was his 'business call,' if one were to question why he'd go there. So there was nothing really all that fishy about that. The neighborhood on the other hand, well that was a whole other thing."

The memory of why came to the clone, causing his brow to furrow, "A family in that neighborhood had been brutally executed that same night, around the time his GPS said he was there."

"Exactly." Jessica said with a nod, "That isn't a coincidence."

Naruto shook his head, "So, the theory is that Mr. Cartwright is a murderer?"

"My original thought was that he was a serial killer using his job as an excuse to go out and do whatever it is that he does." Jessica reasoned, "But after some digging we found that the family he killed, the husband to be exact, was heavily connected to the New York drug ring."

"With you concluding that Mr. Cartwright was working for a faction of a New York crime syndicate and had been hired to kill that family." Naruto continued for her, the memories finally coming together.

"And that his disappearance was related to that hit." Jessica concluded, "A hitman getting justice."

Naruto nodded, "That is until you got the call from Gloria telling you that Mr. Cartwright had been found, the man killed in some kind of cultic ritual."

Jessica flipped through the folder, pulling out several pictures she'd taken. They were pictures of another set of pictures from the police department, "We went to the police, where they told us that Mr. Cartwright's case was similar to several other cases that had begun to spring up around New York in the past two years, him being the twelfth victim in that timeframe."

Sliding the pictures over to get a closer look, the clone frowned at the pictures that were captured. They were autopsy photos, each and every one of the victims having been burned to the point of being unrecognizable.

"Each of the men found were similar in almost every way. Male, young in age, blonde hair and blue eyes, and physically fit. Autopsies showed that some of the victims had been mutilated post mortem, three horizontal cuts on each cheek."

The clone felt himself getting nauseas, "Sage help me." He muttered, bringing his hand to his lips in thought.

"When the media dubbed these guys the Cult of Maelstrom last year, they left a note on their next victim calling themselves Heavenly Fire." Jessica informed softly, watching the now pale blonde in front of her carefully, "Other than that, they haven't given an official statement."

Swallowing the bile in his throat, the Shadow Clone gagged out, "Why would they do something like this?"

Jessica shrugged, "It's hard to tell with these kinds of things. It's impossible to know if they're doing it in honor or to spite you. Either way, they're fascinated by you."

"But why though?" He asked, "What have I done to deserve this kind of…I don't even know what to call this."

Frown in place, Jessica said, "You're more than just a regular person here, Naruto. If you'd just walk outside and stand around, you'd be swarmed by people wanting to know who and what you are. They don't know whether to call you a man, a messiah, or just a flat-out G.o.d. The news, after the Incident, was filled with speculation." Stepping around the desk so that she was close to the blonde clone, she continued, "And you wanna know why? Because you do all this crazy s.h.i.+t, like fly and walk on water, turn yourself into a being of fire, and all other kinds of things that should be make believe bull s.h.i.+t. You did all of this and leave it at that. You don't say who you are, what you're doing here. You just show up, do something insane, then disappear. So, of course people are going to make a.s.sumptions of what you are and what you represent. And out of all those theories, all of those a.s.sumptions, one or two of them is going to be f.u.c.king insane. Because that's just how this world works."

Naruto looked at the woman in awe, "What should I do then?"

"Just do what I do." She offered, "Deal with it when it pops up, then continue your stride."

The clone gave her an annoyed look, "That's…not exactly my style."

Jessica shrugged, "Your loss then." Taking another step closer, she said, "Tell the original that if he wants to drop by, don't just…whatever it is you call that thing you do, it's rude."

She didn't give the clone time to respond, throwing an upper cut into his abdomen and causing it to combust into a wispy cloud of smoke.

-x-

Naruto blinked as his Shadow Clones memories came flooding in, frowning at the news, "Heavenly Inferno." He muttered, rubbing his chin, Naruto scowled as he realized he needed a shave. Then again, he didn't like henging nonstop while on Earth. He pulled of a beard pretty well, maybe it was time to make it a permanent thing.

His train of thought was cut off by the sound of Illyana groaning next to him. In the short time she'd been asleep, he'd decided to heal away her intoxication, his chakra getting rid of the excess alcohol in her system. Enough to keep her from getting sick but stopping there to make sure she'd feel some of the hangover when she woke up. Gotta love the mulligan that is chakra.

Continuing her silent groaning, Illyana made to get up, only to wince when a headache came rus.h.i.+ng in. Blinking her eyes open, she spotted Naruto standing a few feet away from her.

"Naruto?" She muttered, looking around she asked, "What time is it?"

"Nearly four in the afternoon." Naruto answered.

"Can…can I get a gla.s.s of water? And a painkiller?" Illyana murmured.

The ninja nodded, "Sure."

As Naruto walked into the kitchen area, Illyana grunted as she slowly sat up in her seat, softly ma.s.saging her scalp she asked, "What…happened exactly? I think I blacked out."

Naruto voice echoed from the kitchen along with the sound of the faucet running and filling up a gla.s.s, "Oh, you definitely blacked out. When I found you, you had pretty much polished off a bottle of vodka by yourself."

"Found me?" She asked confusedly.

"You were out in front of the building, swimming." He answered, coming back into the room with a gla.s.s filled with water and a bottle of painkillers.

"There isn't a swimming pool in front of my building."

"Yup."

As realization crept in, Illyana finally took stock of what she was wearing. Blus.h.i.+ng, she pulled Naruto's jacket tighter around her frame, "Oh, G.o.d."

Naruto smiled weakly as he handed her the gla.s.s, "Yup."

Illyana brought the gla.s.s up to her lips, hiding the blush that had begun to build, "I can't believe…were there people there?"

"No." Naruto lied, deciding to show the girl some pity.

She sighed in relief at that, "Oh, thank G.o.d."

As she reached for the bottle of pills in his hand, Naruto pulled them back so they were out of her reach, "No, I think I'm going to hold onto these for a sec."

"Come on Naruto, please-"

"Why were you drinking yourself to death?" Naruto cut in, his voice in order to make her realize he was serious.

Illyana verbally stopped in her tracks, blinking in surprise at the question before turning her head in what Naruto a.s.sumed was shame, "I don't know."

"You know I have the ability to know when someone's lying, right?" As she continued to look away he continued, "But I don't need to turn it on when you're lying that badly. You're officially the second worst liar I know."

"Who's the first?"

Though he recognized the attempt to change the conversation, Naruto answered anyway, "A woman named Gamora."

The two sat in silence for a moment, before Illyana finally gave a heavy sigh. Looking Naruto in the eye, she whispered, "I think you know why."

Naruto's eye's softened, "I want you to tell me."

Her sigh now agitated, she said, "It was my first. My first kill. In Wakanda."

Naruto kept quiet, knowing that the issue was boiling up to the breaking point.

"I…I know that I did the right thing. I mean, he nearly killed you. I keep replaying it in my head, and every time I can't see an alternate route where he didn't have to die and you'd be safe. It's not even the act of it. I thought that that would be the worst part, living with the fact that I had ended a person's existence, that his future was gone. But it doesn't. And that's what scares me." Illyana was rambling now, the emotions that had built up over the last few days now powering out, "Why doesn't it bother me, Naruto?" She pleaded, tears cascading down her cheeks.

Naruto scooted up close to her, sitting down right next to her as he said softly, "When I was a fourteen, I was on a trip with my master. He had taken me out of the village so that I could learn how to control the power inside of me and not hurt anyone while doing it. In order to make money and test my growing skills while away, the leader of my village would send us missions to complete once a month. On one mission, we'd bent sent to confront a group of enemy ninjas stationed just along our borders who had gotten too close to our side. When we got there, the ninjas we were supposed to kill had been attacked, killed by a missing ninja who had happened to cross paths with them. But…one of them was still alive, but he was barely clinging to life. He was in so much pain." Catching his breath, Naruto quickly collected himself before continuing, "My master ordered me to kill him, out of mercy. It was hard, but in the end I forced myself to do it. At first, I couldn't understand why he'd make me do such a thing, but afterwards he told me that it was to both show me how to be merciful and how to be ruthless, and that I needed both to be Hokage. That was my first real kill. Where I'd done it with my bare hands and watched the life leave their eyes."

"Was it hard?" Illyana asked.

Naruto shook his head, "Not as much as I thought it would. You always think that it will, that it'll stick with you forever. But it doesn't. You move on, because you have to. That's how we stay sane, I think." Smiling sadly, he muttered, "It's when someone you love dies that it sticks to you. Those never go away, ever."

"Then why do I feel this way?"

"Because you're a good person." Naruto answered, "You hold life in high regard, murder disgusts you. But you'll move pa.s.sed it, because you're strong."

Tears still spilling, Illyana hiccupped, "I'm not as strong as you think I am."

"Then I'll help you." Naruto insisted, "If you can't carry the burden, I'll take the leftover weight with a smile on my face. What're friends for?" Opening the bottle of painkillers, he reached out and opened her palm. Spilling a couple pills into her hand he said, "Take these, you'll feel better."

"Thank you." She whispered.

"No problem." Naruto soothed, running his thumb under her eyes to clear the tears away, "I got us a new member, by the way."

Enjoying the change in subject, Illyana asked, "Who, T'Challa?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, he straight up refused. It's his sister, Shuri."

"The one you saved?" Seeing his nod, she asked, "Why? What does she bring to the table?"

"She's offered to be our quartermaster. That means tech and funding and stuff." Naruto informed.

"Oh, well we definitely need stuff." Illyana admitted.

The man smirked, "That's what I was thinking."

Illyana smiled along. Having finally calmed down, she said, "Thank you, Naruto."

"No problem, Ana."

Flinching, Illyana forced a smile. The reaction leaving as quick as it came, she said, "I'm sorry, for earlier."

Naruto chuckled, "Just don't do it again, alright? Or if you do, invite me along so that you're not one of those weirdos that drinks alone."

Naruto began to remove his hand from her face, her tears now cleared, only for her own to shoot up and softly clasp on, keeping his hand in place. Blinking at the gesture, he looked the woman in the eyes, his question visible in his expression.

Illyana, her hand still holding his, fought to keep eye contact, refusing to break away. Leaning in slowly, she didn't stop until their noses were practically touching before hesitating, coming to a stop as she stared her into her reflection coming from Naruto bright blue eyes.

Pulling back, Naruto broke their stare as he pried his hand free. Coughing into his now free hand, Naruto muttered, "Sorry."

"No, no." Illyana replied, "I shouldn't, I mean…I'm sorry."

He chuckled again, though it lacked any real humor, "Well, let's both be sorry and call it even then."

"Naruto, I-"

Getting up, Naruto cut her off, "Do you…do you want to-"

"No!" Illyana interrupted, "Well, I mean…I don't really know."

Naruto s.h.i.+fted back and forth on his feet awkwardly, "I just…don't think it would be a good idea."

"I know." She agreed immediately.

"Then why-"

"I don't know." Illyana answering slowly this time, looking up at him, her eyes quivering.

Naruto hummed to himself, "I don't have the greatest experience with this kinda stuff. I never have been-"

He was cut off as Illyana rushed forward, dipping into him and planting her lips onto his. While the action was forceful, the kiss was soft. Naruto, taken aback, could only stand there as his friend press herself into him. Needing air, his lips parted out of instinct. Mistaking this as a sign that he wanted more, Illyana slipped her tongue in between their lips. Unable to fight it anymore as his eyes began to close, Naruto slowly reached up and grasped her hips, pulling her in even closer.

Pulling apart, the two huffed as they eyed each other up and down. Naruto quickly cut their break short, bringing his lips back onto hers, picking her up before pressing her down on the couch next to them. As their tongues began to wrestle, Naruto pulled off his jacket from her shoulders, leaving her in her bikini. Wanting to reciprocate, Illyana tugged at his s.h.i.+rt, pulling it up and over his head before throwing it away in a random direction. Running her hands up his abdomen, she felt a strange delight at feeling him s.h.i.+ver at her touch.

Running his hand up and down her leg, Naruto pulled back for a moment, the two breathing excessively due to lack of air.

Catching her breath, Illyana mumbled, "We…should stop, right?"

"Probably." Naruto shrugged.

The two seemed to think it over for a moment before continuing their previous action, only this time Naruto had placed his other hand along her waste, the hand slowly crawling up as their lips dance together.

-x-

"Should I go to him now?" Asked a feminine voice.

After some thought, a deep voice throttled out, "No, not yet. We can give him a little more time, we still have three years before she arrives after all."

"But wouldn't it be better to get it over with? It would be a weight lifted from your shoulders. Don't you want that, before you pa.s.s over?" The woman asked.

"My sins will stick with me no matter what, in life or death, my child." The elder answered.

"If you say so." She retorted weakly.

The second voice paused in thought, "Patience child, we will contact him soon enough."

"Of course, my king."

-x-

Naruto stirred, awaking to find himself in his mindscape. More specifically, the darkened corner of the seal harboring the presence of the mistress of death, or Freyja as she preferred. Spotting the small campfire sitting in the middle of an otherwise endless darkness, Naruto walked towards the light at a calm pace, taking his time to reach the homely campfire.

Spotting the woman sitting down in the same spot he'd left her, Naruto slowly sat down across from her, getting comfortable as he stared through the fire at the enchantingly beautiful woman.

"h.e.l.lo, beloved." She called out softly, smiling at the man she claimed to love, "You've been productive."

"Is that a joke, Freyja?" Naruto muttered.

"Not at all." Giving a teasing smile, Freyja asked, "It looked like you were enjoying yourself though."

Naruto sighed, "That…was a mistake."

Freyja tiled her head in curiosity, gathering her thoughts she asked, "Why?"

"It just, it just was." Naruto stuttered, "I can't explain why, it just didn't feel right to me."

"Do you really not care for Illyana?" She asked, though the question seemed rhetorical.

Naruto shook his head, "No, I do. She's important to me."

Freyja smiled, "Then why are you feeling this way?"

Scratching his head, he shook his head, "You tell me." He said jokingly.

"Okay." Freyja conceded much to Naruto's surprise. Getting up, she practically glided over to him. Resting her hand atop his head, she ran her fingers along his hair, "Your entire life, you've never really been able to let people go. Positive or negative, if someone left an impression, it stayed with you. That's how your friends.h.i.+ps were made. But, it's also been a major source of heart ache. Sasuke being the best example. Even after the bond between you was broken, you refused to let go."

"What're you saying?" Naruto breathed out, looking up at her as he tried to ignore the soothing feeling she gave him.

"I'm saying that a part of you still hasn't let go of what you and Natasha had. Even though you've severed it, that lonely child who grew up with no one to love refuses to let go of the one woman who's ever trulyloved you." Freyja explained, "But you need to realize that the feelings you have for Illyana could become something just as genuine. You need to let go, so that you can have that kind of love again. Do you understand?"

At that, the two stayed in strange but comfortable silence, one in thought the other out of curtesy. Clearing his throat, Naruto asked, "Why are you telling me this stuff? Don't you, you know, love me? Shouldn't you be upset that I feel this way?"

Freyja gave a small laugh, "I'm doing this because I love you. For the first time in my existence, I have the opportunity to put someone else's needs above my own. It's a liberating feeling."

"You've never loved anyone else before?" Asked a curious Naruto.

"Not before you." She admitted, Naruto seeing a flicker of he recognized as sadness in her eyes.

Naruto frowned, "I'm sorry."

Freyja looked at Naruto in confusion, "Why are you sorry?"

"Because…you had to have been lonely, and I know how that feels. And well, I'm sorry that you've lived like that until now." He offered.

His words caused Freyja to look away, "You don't need to apologize."

"Still." Naruto muttered. After some thought, he said, "I can't promise that I'll ever feel the same way you do."

Freyja frowned softly, "I know."

"But I can promise to be your friend."

Surprised, the embodiment of death looked towards the man she loved, looking him in the eye for confirmation. Her frown morphing into a small, but truly happy smile, she whispered, "I can except that, for now."

The two shared a smile as a bright light filled the area, swallowing Naruto whole.

-x-

Slowly, Naruto's eyes creaked open as he felt something next to him pressing hard into his shoulder. Lifting his head up slowly, he took a quick look around Illyana's bedroom, her sheets half hazardly thrown over them. s.h.i.+fting slowly, he looked over to see Illyana resting her head on his shoulder, her mouth open as she breathed softly. Smiling down at her, Naruto decided to keep still as much as possible, allowing her to sleep obliviously as he gazed at her unblemished features.

"What are you doing, Naruto?"

Naruto fought back the sigh from escaping his lips, "I'm just…going with it." He thought.

Kurama scowled, "Is that really the smartest thing to do?"

"I don't know."

"You're supposed to work with her, aren't you? What happens when this falls apart?" The Biju asked.

It was Naruto's turn to scowl, "What makes you automatically think something like that? Why can't this just happen?"

"I'm just looking out for you, partner."

Without thinking, Naruto spoke aloud, "I'm tired of being alone."

As Illyana stirred from the volume of his voice, Kurama muttered, "You never are."

Her eyes pealing open, Illyana yawned as she looked up. Seeming noticing she was practically laying on top of someone, Naruto felt her jolt slightly as she looked over at him. Several emotions swept across her face that Naruto immediately recognized. Surprise, recognition, and then regret.

"Hey." He said weakly.

"H-Hey." She said back, forcing herself up and off of him so with her hands as support, "What time is it?"

Looking over at the alarm clock stationed on her nightstand next to him, Naruto read, "Seven in the morning."

"It's morning?" When he nodded along, she muttered, "Jesus."

The two sat there, Illyana pulling up the blanket thrown around them to cover herself. Trying to fight off the uncomfortableness of their silence, Naruto asked, "Did you…like it? I mean, you know." Only to flinch at the stupid question.

"Yeah, I did."

"Oh." Naruto muttered awkwardly, "Good."

Illyana squirmed, "This was a mistake, right?"

Glancing over at her, Naruto shrugged, "I don't really know, to be honest."

"Yeah." She said slowly.

"What do you think?" He offered.

"I'm still trying to process that it happened, I think." She chuckled quietly.

Naruto laughed along, "I know what you mean.

Their laughter contagious, Illyana said, "We are so stupid."

"I mean, what were we thinking?" Naruto continued light heartedly.

"That's the problem, I don't think we were." She finished, using her hand to move her hair out of her face.

The laughter subsiding, a new silence came, this own more comfortable.

Leaning forward, Naruto scratched his bed ridden hair, "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure." Illyana answered, curious.

"I know that this was probably stupid. I know that we have a really cool thing going, and if you don't want to complicate it I understand. I just keep getting in my own head, trying to think up a reason for why this is wrong and stupid and why it just shouldn't happen. But no matter how many reasons I think of, I still don't really care. You know?" Pausing, Naruto said, "When I was a kid, I would throw around the label 'precious person' to anyone who didn't outright hate me. But after coming here, it got really hard to call anyone that. It still is."

Illyana sat there, listening to the blonde as he spoke his mind.

Looking her in the eye, he finished his thought, "But, I can with you."

Soaking in his words, Illyana placed her hand on his, "You're important to me too."

As Naruto began to smile, he was cut off by a soft, "But."

"But?"

Taking a shaky breath in as she squeezed his hand tighter, she continued, "But, I can't be the kind of person you want me to be. You're smart, and handsome, and brave, and sweet. But, you're also broken. Every time you look at me, I don't feel like you're looking at me. I feel like I'm a reflection or something, of somebody you knew. You do it without even meaning to. I know that you're going to look to me to fix you, and I know that I can't do that. I'm not capable of filling this hole you have."

Naruto looked down, a feeling he'd grown to understand came up from his stomach and into his throat, rejection. Nodding he said, "Okay."

As though trying to comfort him, her hand squeezed even tighter around his. And, strangely, it worked. If only a little, "That doesn't mean I don't want to be your friend, or your partner."

Smiling sadly, Naruto chuckled, "I meant what I said about you being precious to me. That kinda thing doesn't go away, so I'm told."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too."