-1Disclaimer; don't own Naruto

I totally did not realize I had one last chapter to post for this arc. My bad.

Epilogue

The leaves had changed color and the wind had a hint of a chill to it. Sometimes it amazed Kurenai how quickly fall could strike. The children raced around the yard on their lunch break, jackets on but not zipped up.

She smiled at the pond, now completed though the flowers were now dying. Every thing had been completed to the children, and Katsu's expectations. The bench she was sitting on was made from wood and faced the pond and the hotel, now renovated and cleaned up.

The children had been more then delighted to spend a week sleeping on the floor with Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma in the small house while Katsu had the hotel completely revamped and fixed up as opposed to just jury-rigged together. Everything from new plumbing to new paint had been applied.

She frowned as a wave of dizziness hit her before it went away. These spells were far more common the later she was getting into her pregnancy. She had a feeling she would not be feeling well in the next couple of hours, but took confidence that the children would be under Gai's wing next as Taijutsu lessons were next on the schedule and that was Gai's specialty.

Not a lot had happened with Shikamaru's group, other then their arrival at the sanctuary Meiyo had mentioned. Strangely enough Katsu's jutsu didn't work there and they assumed the place had been warded from such spying. Alara and Katsu had both agreed to try and check up on them once a week until they left Sanctuary and came back onto the radar.

Kenari and Yashero had apparently found a place to hole up for the winter and their runners had either been called to the small fort they had taken over, or to the cave to guard the portal. Kenari's falcons continued to act as messengers, keeping the channels open. Akatsuki had agreed that to try and take Meiyo in the winter was foolish so it would seem everyone was going to settle down and wait the snow out.

Kurenai had expected Itachi and Kisame to have returned to Konoha but both of them were apparently still with Kenari and Yashero. She had hoped they would have returned. The children had managed to escape from the two members of Akatsuki the first time due to luck and having been underestimated.

Katsu had made sure that everyone under his care was outfitted for winter so she had no worries about anyone catching the flu because they were not taken care of. That was one big relief off of her chest.

"Enjoying the day?" Asuma asked her as he joined her.

"Hai." She agreed.

That had to be the biggest and best gift Katsu had giving her as reward for her obedience over the last month. Kakashi, Asuma, and Gai had free range of the property, meaning they could escape the horror of being locked into the house and help her deal with the hooligans.

They sat in peaceful silence, watching the children play their game of tag. She allowed a hint of a smile to touch her face when she noticed Kiri had turned off her byakugan once Asuma had joined her. Clearly Kiri was taking her job to monitor Kurenai's chakra flows very seriously.

She felt dizzy again and knew she wasn't going to make it until Katsu got home later that day, when he usually spared some of his chakra to bolster her reserves. The spells got worse even though she was fully unsealed now. She had never had a chance to fully regain her chakra and the child continued to draw large amounts from her every day.

"Are you feeling alright?" Asuma asked concerned.

"Iie. I am getting dizzy." She admitted, leaning against him for support.

"You should lay down." He ordered, worry evident in his voice.

"Iie. I need to get to the hospital. Watch the kids for me okay?" She asked as she forced herself unsteadily to her feet.

"Sure."

"Kento-kun, Kiri-chan." She called.

Kento and Kiri rushed to her side, having already been drilled by Katsu in what to do in this situation. Kiri immediately reactivated her byakugan to act as a warning system and to make sure she would be okay. Kurenai allowed the two children to lead her to the hospital, the world getting dizzier by the second. Kiri offered words of encouragement while Kento led and cleared the way, Inuki barking from her place on his head.

She could no longer see straight, the world was spinning at an alarming rate, and had to rely on Kiri to show her the way and lead her. Eventually it got so bad she couldn't walk straight and Kiri got her to sit on a bench while Kento ran ahead with Inuki. Her condition was too bad for her to safely keep going.

Kiri had gotten astonishingly good at ready chakra flows, though she still couldn't manipulate them like her older cousins could. It was usually Kiri who knew when these dizzy spells would hit before they hit and could get help before Kurenai started to feel like hell. Inuki was getting pretty good at detecting them to.

Someone picked her up and carried her, who she wasn't sure. She felt sick and was glad she hadn't eating yet or whoever was carrying her would have been wearing it. Her world went black at one point; no doubt whoever was carrying her had put her to sleep.

When Kurenai woke up again, it was in her bed at home with Kento and Kiri looking over her. Inuki was lying on the blankets looking up at her with sad eyes. Both Kento and Kiri had puffy read eyes that showed they had been crying.

"What happened?" She asked groggily.

"Kabuto-san and Shizune-san came and Kabuto-san picked you up and brought you home. Then he did something that he said would make you feel better before leaving." Kento explained.

"Here, Kurenai-sensei. Kabuto-san said to drink this when you woke up." Kiri handed her a cup of tea that smelt like mint.

She took the cup from Kiri and drank it all down under the little girls direction. She had a feeling that whatever was bothering the two children had nothing to do with her ailment. They were use to that by now.

"Kurenai-sensei…" The hesitation in Kento's voice worried her.

"Hai, Kento-kun."

"Ano, we asked Kabuto-san if he had seen our parents, since you haven't been able to find anything out…" Kento trailed off.

Kurenai sat up, leaned against the wall, and looked at them. They both looked ready to cry. She had a feeling she already knew the answer, had suspected it all along. She had just wished she would have been the one to break it to them, but she knew Kabuto would have done it in a gentle way.

"And?" She prompted anyway.

Kiri and Kento burst into tears. She took them both into her arms and hugged them tightly, letting them cry on a shoulder each.

"Shh, shh. I am still here. I will take care of you." She whispered to them encouragingly, rubbing their backs to help try and sooth the pain they most surly were feeling.

"We will never see them again." Kiri sniffed between sobs.

"Never again." Kento agreed, tears streaming down his face. "Mother and Father are gone and no one will take care of me when this is over." Kento added.

"Shh, I am here. I will take care of you, don't worry." She cooed, though she wondered just how she was going to do that when she couldn't even take care of herself at the moment.

Kento dried his tears and looked up at her.

"Really?" He sniffed.

"Hai. I won't let anything happen to you. I will take care of you until you are ready to go out on your own." She promised.

The only members still alive of the Inuzuka clan that she knew of was Kiba and his older sister, at least from Konoha as she wasn't counting Tsume of Seika. As far as she knew Yashero had already killed the rest in rather horrible ways best left unmentioned in front of children.

"What about me?" Kiri sniffed.

Kiri had the entire Hyuuga clan to take care of her, or at least Neji, Hinata, Hanabi and Hiashi anyway as they were the only ones still confirmed alive. The Hyuuga clan looked after their own; regardless of position. Neji was proof of that, orphaned even younger then Kiri was.

"I will take care of you until your family returns." Kurenai promised. "And if they don't I will still take care of you."

She let the two children cry themselves to sleep. She had hoped that at least one parent would have gotten away, but fate wasn't being that nice to her. Kabuto would have had full records on the deceased, missing, and enslaved. If he said they were dead, then they were dead. She silently vowed to ask him about all of the children's parents. They had a right to know if their family was still alive and well.

Kurenai glanced at her clock and noticed it was nine thirty at night. She looked up as the door slid open and Katsu walked in, a look of worry on his face until he saw her. He was returning rather late.

"Kabuto-san said you had a dizzy spell."

"Hai, Katsu-sama. Kento-kun and Kiri-chan preformed admirably." She answered, letting her fingers run through both children's hair.

"They look exhausted." He commented, changing into a set of nightwear he hadn't worn in months.

"Kabuto-san informed them of the status of their parents today." She explained sadly.

"I see."

He joined her, shifting Kento more into the center to make room for him self. The bed was not big to begin with and with the addition of two children they all barely fit.

"You calmed them down?" He asked.

"Hai, Katsu-sama."

"Good."

Since Kento was between them he couldn't nestle up against her, but that didn't seem to bother him in the least. She shifted against the back wall and moved Kiri to the center next to Kento.

The little girl whimpered in her sleep and curled against her. Kurenai took Kiri in her grasp and she calmed down. Katsu did the same for Kento. Inuki found a nice niche in the bed and curled up there to sleep.

It would be a long time before Shikamaru could get to Konoha to rescue them, but at least she knew that she and the children would be well cared for until then. It was the others, such as Inoshi and Anko, she feared for.

Alara hadn't changed a bit and each day that ticked by showed less and less defiance out of Inoshi, though Kurenai was pleased to notice that the one time he had got to spend with his wife had produced unexpected results. Ino and Shikamaru would both be surprised to return and discover they had siblings on the way, and she had a feeling they would not be the only ones if what Shizune had told her was true.

With no missions and no pressing concerns, many of the imprisoned shinobi were making good use of the time they had with their mates. According to Shizune's reports, not too many women were pregnant with children from the invaders or too many of the invaders pregnant from relations with their prisoners.

There were twelve cases that had been reported, hers among them. At least four had been cases involving Yashero's men, all of whom had been punished by Akatsuki. She had no desire to see what remained of them once Akatsuki was done with them. Shizune had been sick so Kurenai could just imagine how bad it had been.

The deep breathing of the children and Katsu was soothing. There had been the odd night over the years she had dreamed of living in such a scenario, only the children had been hers and the man sharing her bed her husband.

Sleep came to her eventually. It was peaceful and deep. She had nothing to fear for herself, the children under her care, or her child. As much as she hated to admit it, Katsu would make sure no harm would come to either her or her child.

She was right. The joy of full flight was amazing. She screeched in pure joy and was answered by Kannon, in Talon's body. The air was crisp in the winter sky and the world was pure white and clean below her.

She had never seen so much snow before, nor experienced such cold weather, but Meiyo had been able to supply them with appropriate gear. On the up side of it being so cold at night, she had an excuse to cuddle up with Keiji.

She wasn't the only one taken advantage of the situation. Temari, Sakura and Hinata were also making full use of the cold weather, and if rumour was right, so was Tenten.

The ones suffering the most were Temari, Gaara, and Kankurou. It had been beyond amusing to see Gaara's first reaction to snow. He was convinced it was an enemy attack and had acted accordingly. It had taken weeks before Naruto let him live it down

Ino finished another loop of the valley, Kannon by her side. Now warmed up they both screeched out the code meaning they were ready before turning on the wing and heading out of the valley. Inuko, Inuka, and Akamaru's howls answered them, letting them both know the message had been received.

There had been no sign of Kenari and Yashero since the spotting of two of Kenari's hounds. This did not mean that they were dropping their guard. These patrols served several purposes.

The first was to practice working together. The second was to watch out for enemy units. The last was to provide meat for the table. If she thought landing had been a pain to learn, hunting had been rather painful and ended in failure more often then not.

Kannon had told her to expect failure, not even fully fledged hunters had high success rates.

Below her she could see the others spread out in a sweeping formation. Inuko, Inuka, and Akamaru in the lead with Kiba, Tsume, Neji, Zihna, Meiyo, in the second wave. The rest were spread out with Hanabi, Lee, Keiji, Genma and Hinata taking up the rear with Doku and Konohamaru. Chiyu and Sakura were in the middle.

A flash of movement caught her eye. She wheeled about and looked again. There, a rabbit was in a small clearing. She wheeled about twice to let Kannon know, then dove. Kannon watched from above, staying alert for danger.

It was thrilling to hunt this way. It was a rush that had quickly become addicting and she could see why Kannon had never giving up learning the mastery of this technique. The impact of her body with the rabbit, the feeling of power as she took it down with ease.

Above her Kannon gave off a cry of victory. Ino waited where she was, the snow now red beside her with the rabbits blood. Since she was not in her own body, she could not sense chakra easily. As a result she did not notice the other passing by her, though she knew instinctively that they were there.

"Good work Ino-chan." Keiji greeted her as he arrived with Genma. "Neji and Tenten, and Konohamaru and Hanabi have managed to bring down a few grouse too."

Ino chirped as she stepped away from her kill and fluttered up to land on Keiji's wrist. She still needed a launch and was unable to take off from the ground. Genma gathered the rabbit, of which every last bit would be put to use.

Among the refuges were skilled craftsmen who could make a million things out of that rabbits fur, and the bones were used to treat Talon and this bird Ino had named Wing.

Unlike Talon, wing was not one of Kenari's shinobi birds, though he did show that he was shinobi trained. Found caught in a trap and freed by Ino, he had decided to stay and was extremely spoiled.

Since Wing could not talk, nor write like Talon could, they had to rely on Talon to translate and they were sceptical of what Talon wrote. One thing was clear though, Talon had come to realize that he had no idea where he was, or where his mistress was, and had decided it was best to play along for now.

This didn't mean they let him fly free, it just meant he wasn't forced to wear the hood all the time and was actually left free to fly around their room and one of the large cages formally used for the pheasants. Wing was free to do as he wished and had yet to fail to come when Ino whistled for him.

Keiji launched her into the air and she chirped a thanks to him before making her way up next to Kannon and continued in their scouting. They brought down two more rabbits that day, spotted a small heard of deer, one creature that looked like a mule with antlers, and a pack of wolves.

Kageko, Shikamaru, Neji and Meiyo brought down four deer. The antlered mule, latter reveald to be a moose, provided a lot of meat, and the wolves were left alone. They had contemplated going after them for their fur, but they were not short on clothes or blankets so it was decided to leave them be.

Gaara was proven to be most valuable in that he was able to bring the kills in on his suna sleds so nothing was wasted; not even the guts which were used to feed the falcons, inu, and as fish bait in the two rivers. Some were used for other things but Ino tried no to think on it.

It had been a good day. Kannon had already wheeled about and returned Inuko's howl to return to base with an affirmative cry. Ino was about to turn as well when she spotted something far on the horizon at the next mountain range across the large valley.

She called to Kannon, who wheeled about and joined her side. Something looking very much like a black cloud was massing and moving. She glanced at Kannon and both of them shouted out the message to observe to the west.

Below them, Meiyo, Neji, Shikamaru, Tsume, and Temari were standing on the tallest trees and looking in the commanded direction. Meiyo and Shikamaru were looking through spotting scopes. Humans didn't have the vision falcons did.

The call to return to base was giving again and both Ino and Kannon headed it. Those formally in the lead were now in the back and vice versa. Once the rivers and the wall came into sight, Ino released the Jutsu and woke up in their room, opening the window to let Kannon and Wing land.

Once the window was closed, Kannon released Talon and both humans treated their partners before running down to join Meiyo and the others.

"What was it?" Ino asked.

"A flock of crows." Kannon answered.

"How could you tell from that distance?" She asked.

"Experience." Kannon answered grimly. "Crows are the harbingers of chaos and a flock of that size is not natural."

"I though ravens were."

"A common misconception. In some cultures ravens bring the souls of the dead to the next world. Since Raven and Crows look so much alike people often confuse them. Crows are tricksters and thieves and not to be trusted. Much like a coyote." Kannon chuckled.

"Coyote?"

"A small relative of the wolf, but larger then a fox. Fox's, or Kitsune as you know them as though they are not Youkai, are the playful and are often associated with being tricksters to, but a fox won't stab you in the back while a coyote might and a crow most certainly well."

"What about wolves?"

"Honourable creatures, and allies of the ravens. I've seen them share kills and even play. We try to avoid killing wolves as they have never done us harm, not like coyotes. Coyotes will attack anything they see as weaker then themselves."

"You have a lot of strange creatures here." Ino commented.

Kannon laughed.

"Maybe to you, but some of the creatures you have described seem pretty strange to us. I mean, deer smaller then an inu? I would like to see that." Keiji commented as he joined them.

"What's the word?" Kannon asked.

"Meiyo has called a meeting and I have to attend. Here," Keiji handed them one of the grouse caught today, "this is for Talon and Wing."

The grouse was already de-feathers, the feathers would be used for pillows and blankets, but otherwise full.

"Arigato, they will appreciate it. Are we done for the day then?" Kannon asked.

"Hai. Might as well take this time to enjoy being free of Kageko-chan."

They shared a chuckle before returning to their room to offer Wing and Talon their evening meal. Normally Wing hunted for himself, but it was already dark and falcons didn't fly well at night.

"Does it always get this dark at five?" Ino asked.

"Hai, in the winter. In the summer it won't get dark until eleven at night and gets light at three in the morning."

"Amazing." She admitted.

Lights were coming on as lanterns were lit, making the place look like a field of stars caught in the trees. They feed both birds, lit their brazier to keep the room warm, Wing would make sure to keep it fuelled, then retreated to the cafeteria where Choji was in the middle of serving dinner with his distant cousin, Terea.

It was almost as if he had found his home here, spending morning to night cooking and experimenting with the new foods offered to him and the new spices lining in the cupboards.

The food was vastly different, but tasted good. Wheat was the staple instead of rice and that took some getting use to. They did have rice, but that was also different. Still, food was food and the company couldn't have been better.

"So we are agreed then?" Meiyo asked.

"Hai." Shikamaru agreed. "The distance is not far and such a strange occurrence should be investigated. Each of us will choose four others to accompany us and set out tomorrow morning."

"I will take, Keiji, Kageko, Nori, and Genkaku." She declared, having already known whom she was going to take.

"And I will take Temari, Kiba, Neji, and Genma." Shikamaru offered.

"Very well. Let's call it a night again. I understand Choji has been cooking again." She smiled.

"I can smell it from here and it is making my mouth water." Tsume chuckled.

They descended to the cafeteria, catching the back half of mealtime, meaning there was a lot of sitting places. Keiji joined Kannon and Ino, who had Wing by her side and was spoiling him again. Kannon also had Talon and was offering him treats as well.

"Well, the best way into anyone's hearts is through the stomach." Meiyo noted.

She gathered her plate and joined Gaara, who had long since gotten use to her joining him and didn't bother to look up at her in surprise anymore. He was huddled in three layers of cloths and still looked cold.

They ate in companionable silence, as they had for the last several weeks. And as expected, Naruto, Uzumaki, Tsume, Zihna, and Hinata broke the silence as they joined them at the table.

Naruto instantly locked Gaara into conversation, just as Uzumaki invaded her. Meiyo couldn't help but to smile, and Gaara had a grin on his face as well. She swore she was going to get those two promoted into a new class of Shinobi. The class of 'entertainer and mood lightener.'

It was uncertain just how Uzumaki's were able to life even the darkest mood, but they sure seemed to have a knack of it. No matter what tomorrow would bring, Meiyo was sure that the mood would remain light as long as Naruto and Uzumaki was around. No one was able to stay gloom with them around.

He had been right about how troublesome Temari was going to be when winter came. He woke up every morning with Temari curled up under him, using him as a blanket as much as the real things.

The cold during the day didn't seem to bother her much. Unlike Gaara and Kankurou, she didn't need three layers of clothes. It was during the night she would freeze.

The braziers in the rooms kept them relatively warm, but they were lit only at night to conserve fuel. Right now everyone was nestled in their rooms and didn't leave unless they had to.

While somewhat sheltered in the trees, the howling blizzard going on outside was still windy and frigged. Right now it was only the two of them in the room, nestled together under the same blanket with a Go board before them.

Meiyo was an amazing player and they'd had fun playing two on two Go games, each person taking a turn to lay one stone on the board. It showed how well a team was able to work together and how deep their understanding went.

The games alternated who won, but the winner only ever squeaked by. His mind wasn't in the game at the moment, and by the looks of it, neither was Temari. Both had made big mistakes they would never have done on a regular day.

"I don't think your mind is in the game." Temari commented.

"Nor is yours." He returned.

She merely smiled up at him.

He removed the stones from the board and returned them to their respective containers. Temari reached over and pulled out a bottle of Champaign. Meiyo had offered it to them as a gift, though a gift for what he wasn't sure.

Shikamaru had never seen anything like it before, but it was good. A wine made from grapes instead of rice. Temari refilled the two glasses they had been using. Things certainly were peaceful here and it was easy to forget that things back home were not doing so well.

"When are we going to leave for the mountain range?" Temari asked.

"When the blizzard lets up." He answered.

"So we still have a few days then?" She asked with a grin that had his back to a wall almost instantly.

She turned about until she was sitting in his lap and facing him. His back was already to the wall so he could not escape.

"Temari…?"

She silenced him with a single finger on his lips.

"For once Shikamaru-kun, just shut that mind of yours down and follow instinct instead."

He was in trouble.

Temari replaced her finger on his mouth with her own. He was stunned at first, than slowly accepted the contact. He felt that strange heat ignite in his body again, the one that made his clothes seem too tight and hot.

"Temari."

"Shh. Just let it go." She whispered.

Her mouth assaulted his once again. He took her advice and gave in. He never knew what his first true kiss would be like, had never really thought about it, but this was certainty not what he had imagined. This was far greater. The image he had imagined was but a pale shadow compared to this.

He hugged her to him and shifted until she was laying on her back beneath him. She didn't protest and the strange sense of power he felt was addicting and pleasant. She didn't protest when he started to devise her of her clothes, nor did he protest when she returned the favour.

Just the feel of her skin against his, the play of her hands over his body sent his mind reeling. As pleasurable as that was, the play of her tongue over his skin sent shivers of delight through him.

He returned the acts hesitantly at first, growing in confidence as they continued. It took him a moment to notice that the pleasurable moaning he was hearing was coming from both him and Temari.

Of course they never took it that final step forward. He would not ruin her like that. Despite the fact his mind was most certainly not in full control at the moment, it retained enough of his body controls to stop him from going further. To do so would be dishonourable before they were properly engaged.

Temari was asleep by the time Meiyo came back, nestled against him. Meiyo collapsed in her bed, clearly exhausted and he didn't blame her. She had spent the last several hours fighting that blizzard to deliver food to everyone so they wouldn't have to leave the safety of their rooms. In weather this bad, only the four ANBU members and Jounin level shinobi were on patrol.

Tsume, Inuko, Inuka and Genkaku came in right behind her, brushing snow off of their cloaks and shivering in cold. Genkaku retreated to his bed at once, shivering with teeth chattering until he warmed up, with Inuka's help.

Tsume spared him a look with a slight smile that caused him to blush, but nothing was said. He shifted around until his back was facing them and Temari was pinned between him and the wall.

She muttered something in her sleep and tried to burrow under him. No doubt a draft of cold air from the opened door had chilled her. He sighed and accepted it as a new fact in his life. There was no escaping her now, not after that. Surprisingly, he felt no urge to sever this relationship.

Well that's the end of the fist arc. I still don't; like a lot of the middle arc and I am debating on trying to salvage it or just scrap it. I can't seem to get the creative juices flowing, even with the new arc kicking major ass.