I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

I am sorry to say, fellow readers, that after this, there will be only 3 more chapters until the end of "For the Future, I Wish to Change the Past". It has really been a great story to write and I honestly love reading all your comments and hearing your reactions to the unintentional comedy bits. 

I hope you enjoy the next 3 chapters of this story before it ends.

"So, who is this mysterious person that Yagura met up with?" Naruto asked curiously as he jumped from tree bough to tree bough.

Utakata stared ahead. ". . . An old friend of ours."

"Of "ours"?" Naruto asked, wiggling his eyebrows. "Do I detect. . . an old childhood romance?"

Utakata smirked. "I think Mei's always had a thing for Yagura."

Naruto choked and nearly fell off his branch. "Mei?! As in Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage?!"

"You know her?"

"Know her? I should hope so, she's the future Fifth Mizukage, Utakata!"

Utakata sweatdropped. "Well excuse me if I don't remember anything from the future, Mr Uzuchiha."

"You are excused," Naruto said simply. "Anyway. . . YAGURA AND MEI?! REALLY?!"

"Yes, Yagura and Mei, and yes, really."

"Wait till Ke hears about this!" the blonde jinchuuriki cackled. "Mei won't ever hear the end of this from us! Oh wait, she doesn't have her future memories. . . dammit!"

"Okay calm down, you little drama baby," Utakata rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, Bubbly Sourpuss."

"Hey!"

"Save it, consider this as payback. Anyway, three questions. How did they meet, does Yagura also have a thing for Mei, and how did you find out?"

Utakata pursed his lips. "Not "find out" exactly. . . more like eavesdropped."

Naruto sweatdropped. "I never took you to be the eavesdropping type, Utakata."

"Believe me, I think you're the one rubbing off on me. Anyway, after I got back from quick shower since Yagura spat coffee all over me, I went to the office to make sure Yagura wasn't throwing his paperwork out the window - yes that's happened before and that's why I have to supervise him - and I heard voices."

Naruto looked intrigued. "I'm listening."

{Flashback no jutsu! }

"Stupid, dense, idiotic brat," Yagura muttered under his breath, glaring at the brown-stained papers in front of him. "He made me get the paperwork all wet and frustrated me so much I wanted to kill him."

A knock on the door made him glance up in slight annoyance. "Who is it?"

"It's me."

Yagura's eyes widened, standing up so abruptly his chair toppled over. He hadn't heard that voice in months. Or was it years? 

His train of thought was cut off when the door hesitantly creaked open and a fairly tall, redheaded woman shyly stepped in.

"Mei. . ."

"Hey Yagura," Mei said softly, looking rather nervous. "How have you been?"

Yagura just gaped, eyes wide. "What the actual Farquaad are you doing here?" he said at last.

Mei giggled, but a little hurt shone in her eyes. "Farquaad? And why can't I be here, Yagura?"

"Because it's too damn confusing and yes, "Farquaad". Don't ask, both Fuu and Naruto have been rubbing off on me even though I really don't appreciate it," Yagura scowled, crossing his arms.

Mei smiled slightly. "How is me being here so confusing?"

Yagura leaned against his desk and scrubbed his face in annoyance. "Look, Mei, it's not that I don't like you being here, but things are just so complicated since my friend just released me from being controlled and I'm trying to get my village back on it's feet on the road to recovery and UTAKATA GET YOUR BUBBLY SOURPUSS ASS IN HERE!" he screamed in aggravation.

"Okay, two things," Utakata said flatly as he opened the door with a blank expression on his face. "Firstly, how did you know I was eavesdropping? And secondly, I thought we were out of the "Bubbly Sourpuss" phase."

"Bubbly. . . Sourpuss phase?" Mei repeated, looking confused.

"Like seriously, what the hell man? Oh, and hey Mei," Utakata glanced quickly at his second childhood friend before frowning at Yagura.

"I knew you were there because 1., there's Fuu and Naruto and you know how they are. And 2., a jinchuuriki always knows when there's another jinchuuriki around, so speaking of which, Fuu get in here and stop hanging upside down on my roof," Yagura said flatly.

There was a giggle before a green-haired, amber-eyed, fairly tanned girl flew into the room. "Hey Yagu-kun, whatcha doin'?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Can't I drop in every once in a while to see how my friend is doing?"

"Ugh, fine. I hope you don't plan to stay long, though, because I'm very busy."

"I don't. . . just enough to ask you something."

"Oh yeah?"

Utakata watched as Mei bit her lip the moment Fuu came in, and a plan started formulating into his mind as he reached a very interesting conclusion.

"- didn't do that on purpose I swear!" Yagura squeaked as Fuu glowered dangerously at him.

"Oh, did you make the mistake of telling Fuu about spitting coffee all over Naruto?" Utakata asked in a very lazy tone.

Yagura looked at him like he was crazy. "How did you know, you weren't even listening!"

"A magician never tells his secrets," Utakata winked. "Now if you excuse me, I have to fetch someone very important to you."

Yagura's eye twitched. "Important to me?! "

"Toodles," Utakata smirked as he finger-saluted his Mizukage and rode out swiftly on a bubble.

{Flashback no jutsu - KAI! } 

"Man, you are evil! " Naruto grinned.

"I tried to keep Mei in a little suspense. Obviously not a lot, since I'm not very good at it, but I'm sure you can do a better job," Utakata smiled, obviously enjoying himself thoroughly.

"You are one devious jinchuuriki," Naruto grinned. "Utakata, you are now my partner-in-crime against Yagura, ya hear?"

"I gladly accept the role," Utakata smiled. "Now, what do you suggest?"

"First, let's play a prank on them," Naruto grinned devilishly. "What's the one colour Yagura hates the most?"

Utakata looked confused before it dawned on him. "You wouldn't."

But he was smiling, and Naruto was too.

"Try me."

《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》 

Yagura growled as he viciously signed paper after paper. He was not having a good week. First Mei surprises him with a visit and he accidentally makes a complete jerk of himself, then he starts arguing with Fuu in front of Mei which might've given off the wrong impression, and now he was being taken down by paperwork!

"I really hate this job," he muttered to himself.

There was hesitant knocking and Yagura nearly fell off his chair. For the second time in this month, this woman was back again. She didn't even tell him what she wanted last time!

'Okay, calm down Yagura, don't blow up in her face. She is just a childhood friend, and she has the right to be treated as such. Now you are just going to be signing papers efficiently and CALMLY while admitting her in WITHOUT any trace of frustration or annoyance in your voice,' Yagura told himself.

"Come in," he said in a monotone as he slowed his signing pace to a steady, non-suspicious one.

Once again, the redheaded woman stepped in. "Hi Yagura, are you busy?"

'What do you THINK, woman?! ' Yagura yelled internally. Instead, he set aside his pen and smiled slightly at her. "I can spare a few minutes."

Mei smiled in something like relief. "Thanks. I was just wondering -"

Fortunately for Mei who was halfway between the doorway and the desk, and unfortunately for Yagura, who was still seated at the desk, Naruto's and Utakata's "little" prank just "happened" to go off just then.

Yagura's eye twitched as he kept a calm look on his face while slowly exploding on the inside. 

Mei blinked and fought desperately to keep a giggle from spilling. Yagura looked so ticked, his eyebrow twitching violently as he sat there with his hands folded in front of him with that pissed, strained smile.

"There's only one idiot who uses colour as bright as this," Yagura said lowly as the corner of his mouth twitched in aggravation.

"NARUTOOO!" Yagura roared, out of his seat and by the window in a blur, glaring murderously down at the laughing duo below his window.

"Hey bro! Sorry, couldn't help it," Naruto grinned, finger-saluting him before bursting into laughter again, Utakata chuckling beside him.

"Utakata!" Yagura whined. "Why did you let him do that?"

Utakata smirked. "Payback for when you spit your coffee all over me."

"F you," Yagura griped. "AND YOU GOT MY PAPERWORK COVERED AS WELL YOU DUMBASSES! AS IN, THE ONES I ACTUALLY DID!"

"Well sucks to be you then!" Naruto called up.

"Both of you, up here right now! " Yagura ordered, opening the window to the full extent so both of them could climb in.

Utakata and Naruto shrugged before they both floated up in the bubble and jumped in.

"Bro," Naruto snickered, "I thought your eyes made you stand out a lot before but man you're standing out even more now!"

Yagura shook in fury. "I'm covered in pink, Naruto! Hot pink! Bright, fluorescent pink paint! It's not funny! Why ever did you make paint bombs this hideous colour?"

"Because your eyes are inspiring," Utakata smirked. "Any other colour wouldn't have worked since your eyes would stand out, and we couldn't say you got covered head-to-toe. But this colour perfectly matches your eyes."

"That isn't helpful, Utakata," Yagura gritted out, arms crossed and foot tapping the floor impatiently.

"Hey, at least it's not red, right?" Naruto shrugged.

Yagura grimaced. "Thank Kami for that. I have such bad experience with redheads. . . not including you!" he added quickly, swivelling around for a moment to point at Mei before turning back to glare at his fellow jinchuuriki.

"Whoa when the heck did she get here?" Naruto said blankly. "HANG ON A SECOND! YOU'RE HER! "

Mei looked confused. "Her. . .? And who are you?"

Naruto's eye twitched as he turned to Utakata, pointing viciously at her direction. "Utakata. . . her. . . me. . . how could she. . . save me!"

Utakata stared for a moment before Yagura snorted and Mei saw understanding expressions on their faces.

"Someone want to translate for me. . .?" Mei asked.

"Long story short, Naruto's just pissed because he saved your life or something like that and you don't remember him," Yagura answered.

"Okay you know what to hell with this. Utakata I'm getting the legion."

"Hey wait a minute!" Utakata began but was cut off when Naruto disappeared in a burst of golden flames.

"They're going to destroy this village, aren't they," Yagura said flatly as more of a statement than a question.

"Uh-huh," Utakata replied with just as much emotion. Meaning, zero.

"If we're lucky, he'll only bring Ke and Saki."

"If we're lucky. Which we usually aren't when it comes to them."

"Again, why did you bring him here?"

"I have no idea."

"You must've been out of your mind."

"For once, I agree with you."

"Utakata agreeing with me? The world must be ending!"

"Never mind, you're just as childish as ever."

"Hey!"

"You can't deny it."

"I can and I will!"

"What's the point? Everyone knows you're childish and immature."

"Am not!"

"I rest my case."

《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》 

"Saki! Ke! Guess what? Yagura's got an admirer~" Naruto sang mentally.

"Let me guess, you want us to go over to the Mist and help you set them up," Sakura smiled.

"You know me so well."

"Well. . . count us in! " Sasuke grinned. "Saki and I'll be there soon. We still got your seal on us. Oh and by the way, who's the admirer? "

Naruto smirked. "I would tell you, but I don't really feel like someone screaming in my head."

Sasuke pouted. "Fine. Saki, you ready? "

"One sec. . . yeah now I am. Naru, summon us? "

"Gotcha."

Naruto whipped out his seal notebook and started sketching in Sasuke's name into his Flying Thundergod Jutsu seal. He did the same to a second one, except with Sakura's name in it. Then he ripped out the pages and placed them on the floor and put his palms on top of the seal and started channelling chakra into it.

A few seconds later, Sasuke appeared in a crackle of lightning and Sakura in a whirlwind of sakura petals.

"Nice to see you again, Naru," Sakura greeted. "Now, who is the admirer you speak of?"

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you."

"Well, tell us," Sasuke urged. "I don't think it will be that unbelievable."

"Mei Terumi."

Silence. Naruto stared with slight nervousness at Sasuke and Sakura who had gone still. Like, stone statute kind of still, and that was what worried him. Sasuke was never this still, and neither was Sakura. It was scary.

"Repeat, Naru," Sakura said softly which scared him even more.

"M-Mei Terumi."

"As in, the Fifth Mizukage? " Sasuke asked lowly.

Naruto nodded and paled as he noticed Sasuke's fingers twitching with lightning sparks dancing around his fingertips as Sakura's hands curled into fists.

'Yagura, Mei, I pray for your safety,' Naruto thought.

"Huh? What for? " a confused voice asked back.

'Dammit Kurama! ' Naruto growled at his tenant. "What I mean is, two demons are coming for you and Mei."

"Crap, what kind of demons? "

"They come in the form of -"

"OH MY KAMI THEY'RE HERE! THEY'RE TACKLING MEI TO THE GROUND! I'M BEING TRAPPED AGAINST THE WALL! NARUTO WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY?! "

Naruto sweatdropped, noticing that the Uchiha and Haruno were no longer with him. "My siblings. . .? "

"THEN CALL THEM OFF ALREADY! "

"Hey, they're not dogs, you know. I can't tell them what to do because I have no ownership of them and will never be able to control them. Literally. Oh and by the way, what's Utakata doing? "

"Standing there with an evil smirk on his face and not helping," Yagura replied grouchily.

"Can't blame him, he must be kicking back with a bowl of popcorn. It's gotta be a wonderful skit," Naruto mused. 

"Yagura and Mei, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes drunk, then along comes Mei with a baby's carriage."

"UTAKATA YOU ARE NOT HELPING! " Yagura screamed.

Naruto nearly fell over laughing. "Oh my Kami, Utakata, you are LEGEN, wait for it. . . DARY! LEGENDARY! "

"NO HE IS NOT! NOW HELP ME THIS INSTANT OR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN, I WILL FIND YOU AND I WILL KILL YOU! "

"Movie reference. . ." Naruto commented.

"Did not notice that."

"Uh-huh. Anyways. . . have fun Yagura! Say, Utakata, would you like to help me out with something? It'll be fun~"

"What?! You can't leave me out of this! "

"Can and will. Bye! " Naruto said cheerfully and Kurama cut the link with Isobu just in time while leaving Saiken in.

"Yo."

Naruto gave a shriek and jumped up to the sky. He landed back and whirled around, glaring. "Geez Utakata!"

"Sorry, but that was fun. Anyway, what were you talking about before?"

Naruto grinned evilly. "As my beloved brother and sister occupy the attention of both Yagura and Mei, you and I will plan out the scene and finally put it into action. At the end of today, Yagura and Mei will officially be a couple," the blonde exclaimed, rubbing his hands together gleefully with a sly expression on his face. 

Then he stopped and added, "Hopefully. They'll at least have their first kiss. And if they don't do it voluntarily then I'll just shove their heads together for a full five minutes."

Utakata snorted a laugh. "Any ideas?"

"Well we could always use the tactic Ke and I used on Itachi and Izumi, but that wouldn't really work since they aren't apart and we don't know if they like each other for certain, so we are going to have to have them confess to each other by themselves without one of them being a completely dense, oblivious idiot like Itachi was," Naruto said thoughtfully.

"Uh-huh. So quick question: are you planning to interfere with their "first kiss" with another paint bomb? 'Cause if you are, Yagura will kill you with his staff," Utakata informed.

"Pssshhh, I'm not scared of his staff that has a flower on it," Naruto scoffed.

"Meaning, you are," Utakata stated in deadpan.

Naruto scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Weeeeelllllllllll. . . ahem, moving on."

Utakata smirked. He'd hit the nail on the head.

"So I think Saki is suggesting that we kidnap Mei and send Yagura into a frenzy and we drop clues to help him find her and then when he does boom, couple formed," Naruto stated.

Utakata sweatdropped. "Too many flaws. First, Mei will not be happy with that plan and probably wouldn't realize why we did it. Secondly, Yagura will be screaming and threatening to kill people OR he will send out shinobi to find her and possibly get the entire village involved."

"Oh, you're right. Bummer."

"You were actually planning to do that?!"

"Seemed fun."

"Oh Kami, you children. . ."

"Plan B. . . OH MY KAMI I HAVE A WONDERFUL IDEA!" Naruto suddenly screamed, making Utakata jump.

"What if, we got Ino over here to take over Mei with her Mind Transfer Jutsu and then we make Mei say something like, "I need your advice on something because you're my childhood friend and this decision is really life-changing" or some crap like that. And then we analyze Yagura's reaction -"

"Which is most likely going to be curious and confused."

"- and THEN when he meets up with the real Mei, she'll probably decide to break the ice by saying some sappy love crap."

"That's the weirdest plan you've ever thought of and there is no way in hell I'm going through with that," Utakata shot down.

"I'll have you know that is the LEAST weirdest plan I've ever thought of, and if you don't like it then what do YOU propose?!"

"Uh, my brain may not be as "wacko" as yours, but it can come up with a decent plan that might also satisfy your weird need for drama."

"I do not have a weird need for drama!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night. Anyway, I was thinking of a blind date," Utakata suggested.

Naruto stared at him. "A blind date." 

It was a statement and not a question.

"Yes, a blind date."

". . ."

"You know, when you send two people together on a date and they don't know the identity of the other until they meet?"

"Not doing it."

"What why?" Utakata spluttered. "You're not even considering it!"

"It's too boring," Naruto stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Utakata facepalmed. "And I suppose you think I'll go through with the whole "kidnap Mei and send Yagura into a love-driven-frenzy" plan? I don't think so! Which plan has a better success rate? It's drama or success! Think about this logically, Yagura! I mean Naruto, dammit!"

Naruto blinked. "Did you just call me "Yagura"?"

"It was a mistake, okay!"

"Okay. And I choose drama."

"THINK ABOUT THIS YOU MORON!" Utakata yelled. It was rare Utakata lost his temper but when it concerned the safety of his few friends, he would be counted on to blow a fuse. 

"Kidnapping Mei will not only make Yagura panic, but it will cause the village to be on high alert and the other villages to be suspected! Once, and if, Yagura realizes how he feels about Mei, he will start making ridiculous bargains and wild accusations in order to get her back!"

"Would I love to see that," Naruto grinned.

"Are you a retard?! That might start a. . . a. . . oh, I don't know, maybe the Fourth Great Shinobi War!" Utakata ranted.

Naruto froze. 'A war. . . the Fourth Great Shinobi War. . .'

Memories flashed through his mind of each and every death of each and every friend he grew up with until all that was left. . . was Team 7, excluding the sensei.

'That's right,' Naruto thought dully as he stared up at the ceiling of his mindscape. 'They all died. And I couldn't do anything about it. Saki and Ke were barely alive when I did the jutsu to send us back into time. I broke my promise when I said I'd keep them all alive. I. . . failed them. I failed them all.'

"No Naruto, no you didn't," a soft voice echoed in his mindscape.

Naruto blinked. 'Hinata? '

"You didn't fail us, Naruto." This time it was Ino who spoke. "If anything, we failed you."

"Troublesome Uzuchiha, thinking everything is your problem and yours alone," Shikamaru drawled.

"You don't have to do everything by yourself, you know," Hinata said gently. "If the burden is too heavy for your shoulders, give some to us. And if something is weighing on your mind, then talk to us."

"Yeah, I mean you revived our memories for a reason, didn't you? So we could all work together to protect the future? " Kiba asked.

Naruto remained quiet.

"Neji, tell him! " Lee cried, suddenly remembering that out of all of them - minus Sasuke - Naruto had impacted Neji the most.

Neji sighed quietly. "Remember what Kakashi taught you, what you taught me?"

Still, Naruto was quiet.

"Naruto, what did you once tell me when I asked why you were helping me after I was such a jerk to you during the Chuunin Exams? "

This time, Naruto responded.

"Many leaves, one tree."

"And when I asked what that meant, what did you say? "

"We're all different, but we're still connected." Naruto let a small smile shape the corners of his lips. "No one is alone."

"Not even you," the entire Leaf Legion chorused. Well, minus Sakura and Sasuke who were busy interrogating a certain Mizukage and his redheaded friend.

"We are all equal, no matter who was born first or what rank we hold. When it comes to friends, when it comes to working in a team, no one stands above another, and no one works alone. No one's future is defined by destiny," Naruto murmured.

"Exactly. We started this together and we will end this together. We aren't that easy to get rid of, you know," Tenten stated firmly.

"And neither an I, Kit," Kurama rumbled. 

Naruto finally smiled. "Arigato, minna. You too, Kurama."

"No problem, Naruto," Ino grinned.

"Why did you even contact me, anyway? "

"Sasuke contacted us and said that he could practically feel your depression and since he was too busy to check up on you, he asked us to," Hinata explained.

"I see. I'm going to have to thank him later."

"Yeah, he sounded really worried even though he wouldn't show it," Kiba smirked. "Anyway, we've got to get to our own devices now. So you go back out there and get your friends together like you got Itachi and Izumi. I expect a detailed report that is all about the scene from you, got that? "

"Yes sir," Naruto smiled.

"Oi, we can't have our Hokage calling his Head Tracker "sir" now, can we? " Kiba joked.

Naruto smiled. "See ya, Kiba."

"Bye Naruto."

"See you when you come back, Naru! "

"Good luck with the setting up planning, my youthful rival! If you need any help you can ask the ever-youthful Kakashi-sensei for his boo - OW! Tenten! "

"Do not mind Lee, Naruto. We will see you when you come back."

"Bye Naru! "

"Tch, troublesome Uzu - ouch! Troublesome woman."

"SHIKA! "

"See you, Naruto. "

《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》 

". . .ruto! NARUTO! NARUTO!!!"

The blonde blinked his big blue eyes and saw a very worried Utakata.

"Oh, hey Utakata. What's up?"

"Oh thank Kami!" Utakata cried and gave him an unexpected hug. "You spaced out for like, half an hour or something and your eyes were all dull and you literally looked like the dead! You scared me so bloody much!"

Naruto blinked. "Uh. . . sorry?"

"Don't ever f---ing do that again, you hear me?!" Utakata demanded, shaking Naruto slightly. "Never!"

"Okay okay!" Naruto yelped. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I won't do it again!"

Utakata stared at Naruto for a minute before releasing him reluctantly. "Okay, and I'm sorry for saying something that might've brought you down."

Naruto smiled. "Nice to know you worry."

Utakata glared. "Of course I worry, idiot! The Bijuu are basically siblings, right? Born from the Sage of Six Paths. So wouldn't that make all jinchuuriki family?"

Naruto paused to think about it. Utakata was right - the Bijuu were family and by extension, the jinchuuriki were too. Now it made sense as to why he felt so comfortable around them despite some of them being mere strangers, and the instant connection he felt between them.

"Yeah. . . you're right."

"So if you think I wouldn't worry about my little brother then you're stupid," Utakata said bluntly.

Naruto blinked. "Little. . . brother?"

Utakata rolled his eyes. "Family. You're younger than me, and also male. And there is now way in hell you're my son," he joked.

Naruto snorted. "Point taken."

To be honest, it did feel rather good to be called "little brother" from someone other than Itachi and Sasuke. Not that he would openly admit it, but he kind of liked the idea of having siblings that he hadn't known before.

"So what are we going to do? Kidnap or blind date?" Utakata asked, seeing the smile on the young boy's face.

The smile then shifted into a smirk. "Blind date, but this "date" will be really blind. Like, pitch-black blind."

Utakata cocked his head.

"Blindfold," Naruto supplied. "We will knock them out, and when they come to, they will be blindfolded and in a room by themselves. However, we will get Isobu to make Yagura's voice different without him noticing it, and Mei's voice will come differently to Yagura. So, both of them will think they are blindfolded and trapped in a room with a stranger."

"Not really a date, is it?"

"It's a combination of both of our ideas, so I don't see what the problem is."

"Touche. What happens next?"

The blonde's smirk grew wider, and Utakata himself grew one as he heard the details. He would enjoy this, oh yes he would.

"Let me contact Ke," Naruto smirked. "Psst! Ke! "

A few minutes later, Sasuke Uchiha was sporting a maniacal grin that was quite frankly scaring the sh-t out of Yagura. However the Mizukage had no time to think as a second later, he was greeted with black, just as his redheaded friend was.

《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》     

"Ugh. . . where the heck am I?" Yagura groaned as he tried to open his eyes. He wriggled and found out that he was tied down to a chair, most likely, with his arms bound around the back of the chair and feet tied to the legs of the chair. He was also blindfolded.

Instead of panicking, Yagura went over his options.

"Naruto? Utakata? Can anyone hear me? "

Yagura was greeted with silence, and so he deduced that the Bijuu Telepathy Link was either not working just then or he was in a room where chakra was prevented and signals of any kind were not to be sent out, not even telepathic messages.

Then, Yagura tried contacting his Bijuu.

'Isobu, are you there? '

Yet again, he was greeted with silence, and this time he really started to panic even though he tried not to show it in case there was someone watching him. As a last resort, he tried calling out with his voice.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

There was silence for a long minute before a female voice that he had never heard before replied.

"Yes."

"Oh thank Kami," Yagura smiled to himself. "Who are you?"

"I'd rather not say," the voice answered. "Just in case you're from another village or something. I don't recognize your voice and I can't even sense your chakra, so it's either you have so little it's undetectable or it's this room."

"It's probably this room," Yagura offered. "I mean, I have large chakra reserves and if you can't sense it then the room probably prevents any and every kind of chakra use."

"Yeah, probably."

There was a slightly awkward silence until the female spoke up.

"So how old are you?"

"Uh. . . late twenties?"

The female stifled a laugh. "You sound so unsure about that."

Yagura scoffed. "Most people mistake me for a teenager, or even a kid just because of my appearance. Honestly, it's annoying."

"That reminds me of one of my childhood friends."

"Oh really? What was her name?"

"His," the female corrected. "And I'd rather not give out his name since his status is very high, you know? If people knew I was his childhood friend they might use me against him and I'd rather not have that."

"You care about him a lot, don't you?" Yagura asked, smiling.

"More than I'd like to admit," the female answered with a smile to her voice.

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"Yes! She practically confessed!" a pink-haired, die-hard fangirl squealed quietly in the ears of her beloved brothers, who grinned at each other as the brown-haired jinchuuriki smirked at the new development.

The blonde brother's plan was going well, and if things kept going like they were right now, hopefully Number 3 would have someone to love openly and Number 6 and 9 would have something to mercilessly tease Number 3 about in the future.

The four of them were currently on the second level of the Mizukage's Office, watching the two converse. It was hilarious really, hearing their conversation as they debated whether or not they were from different villages and if the room prevented chakra or not. 

And yes, the room did prevent any sort of chakra, including a Bijuu's, because of Naruto's marvellous way with seals. 

Both Kiri nin.

Both tied to chairs.

Both in the Mizukage Office.

Both oblivious.

One in love with the other.

The other hopefully in love with the first.

What better way to spend the day?

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"Hey, mind giving me a code name or something that I can call you?" Yagura asked. "You can call me uh. . . Isobu."

"Isobu?" the woman giggled. "Okay, you can call me Lava."

"Lava? How creative," Yagura snorted.

"Hey, don't insult it, it's one of my two kekkei genkai! Plus I have red hair so I guess I thought it just fitted."

Yagura smiled. "One of my childhood friends has red hair, too."

"That's unusual. We are definitely from different villages, then. I'm the only redhead in my village," Lava stated.

"My friend is the only redhead in our village too," Yagura agreed.

For at least half an hour, the two made small talk as a means to pass the time, waiting for the inevitable moment where someone would barge in and either drag just one of them or both of them away.

And then, they came to a certain topic.

"Hey. . . have you ever thought about you know, developing feelings for someone?" Lava asked quietly.

Yagura pursed his lips. "Well, no. I never really thought about it."

"Oh. . ."

"But now that you mention it, I guess I did fall in love. . . albeit unconsciously."

"Really? With who?" Lava's voice was curious.

Yagura smiled softly as a certain woman flashed into his mind. "My childhood friend I told you about. And to be honest, I never even realized I was in love until you mentioned love just then."

"So it's not just me, huh?" Lava said quietly.

"You too?" Yagura asked.

"Yeah. I fell in love with my childhood friend who is of high status. Although I fell in love consciously and fought it every step of the way. You see, once my friend gained his high status, he turned cruel and I knew he wasn't the friend I grew up with. At that time, I was certain I didn't love him anymore."

"But that's not the whole story, is it?" Yagura asked gently.

"A year after he became. . . a person of high status, he suddenly reverted back to his normal self. When I heard the news, the first thought that ran through my head was, "He's come back to me." And that was when I realized. . . that I never actually stopped loving him. I guess the feelings just stopped growing as rapidly when he started changing."

"So you are. . . irrevocably in love with him?" Yagura teased.

"I-Isobu!" Lava spluttered in embarrassment. "I just told you how I fell in love with my childhood friend and now you tease me? That's not fair!"

"Life ain't fair, honey," Yagura said sassily. "I would know."

Lava snorted. "Now you tell me your story."

"Hmm. Well let's see. . . like you, I grew up with her but I never really thought about it her in a romantic way that much. Anyway a few years later, let's say I got promoted because I'd rather not share my current status with someone I can't see."

"Fair enough, go on."

"When I got promoted, a week afterwards a man showed up, claiming to be Madara Uchiha. Before I knew what was happening, he had me in his control, and I was forced to do his every command. Thankfully my. . . little brother, I guess, came by and broke me out of his control. After that, he and I went to retrieve my other childhood friend. After that, she came to visit me and I was so surprised I kind of acted like a jerk towards her."

"I'm sure she understood."

"Maybe. It was only that night that I realized I had missed her. Like, a lot. When I was in that Uchiha's control, because he barely ever let me out of my mindscape. I was just stuck there while my body reacted to his every whim, like a puppet on a string. It was maddening. And then she came along and new feelings washed over me and until you mentioned love then, I never realized what it was."

"That's so sweet," Lava said innocently.

"Not as sweet as your story," Yagura said. "You loved him even though he turned cruel, and you kept on loving him when he came back to you. Say, does he know you love him?"

"No. . ."

"Right. Then once I get you out of here - don't ask me how, I will find a way - I am going to escort you to this man and get him to listen to your confession."

"W-What makes you think I'll confess to him?" Lava squeaked.

Yagura laughed. "You can't live your life keeping a secret like this from your childhood friend, Lava."

"Fine, but you have to confess to your friend too!" Lava said adamantly.

"Sure," Yagura agreed in a surprisingly amiable manner. "Now to get out of here. . ."

"HA! TAKE THAT UTAKATA, I FOUND THEM FIRST! YAGURA WE HAVE COME TO RESCUE YOU MY DEAR JINCHUURIKI FRIEND!" Naruto screamed dramatically as he hopped down from the second level and sprinted towards his fellow jinchuuriki.

"Geez, that you Naruto? Took you long enough," Yagura griped. "Where were you? Why wasn't the Bijuu Telepathy Link working?"

"Answers come later, first lets get you out of these binds," the blonde Uzuchiha said airily.

Yagura growled lowly.

"Where the heck - oh Naruto, there you are!" Utakata called, keeping up the act as he hopped down from the second level just before Naruto took off the blindfold.

Naruto positioned himself to block Yagura's field of vision and busied himself with checking Yagura's head for any "injuries" while Utakata took the blindfold off a frozen-stiff Mei Terumi.

When the two finally got out of the field of vision, Yagura blinked at the stone-still redhead.

"Mei. . .?"

The redhead snapped out of her trance and immediately started blushing furiously as Yagura's cheeks also coloured up. They had practically confessed to each other and told them the story of how they came to love the other! This was too embarrassing.

Yagura was about to bury his head in his hands in shame when he realized he was still tied to the chair. He then looked at his surroundings and his eye started twitching violently when he saw he was behind his desk in the Mizukage's Office.

"Naruto, Utakata," he growled, "what is the meaning of this?"

"Hmm?" Naruto hummed cheerfully as he undid Yagura's legs. "Oh, we just knocked you out, tied you to this chair, blindfolded you and got the both of you to catch up, you see!"

"That's not all of it, is it," Yagura ground out through gritted teeth.

"Haha you got us," Naruto grinned. 

"Yeah, we were just setting you guys up," Utakata said in an amused tone as he released Mei's wrists.

"Finally," Mei sighed as she rubbed her slightly chafed wrists.

"Sorry about that," Utakata apologized, patting her on the head. "Now let me check you just in case Sasuke started getting sadistic. . ."

Mei paled slightly and let Utakata check her while Naruto unbound Yagura's wrists.

"Now that you practically confessed to each other," Naruto said cheerfully, ignoring the overripe-tomato-coloured faces at that sentence, "all you need is a kiss to make it official!"

Before the words even registered in their minds, Naruto flung Yagura behind him just as Utakata pulled Mei up and sent a gentle push her way, not enough to be rough but enough to make her meet Yagura halfway.

When I say meet, I mean lips meeting lips.

"Mission Accomplished," Naruto grinned as he watched the frozen duo stare at each other, frozen stiff the moment they. . . connected.

Yagura glared at the two males and broke it off, to Mei's slight disappointment and slight relief.

"What the actual hell you two?!" he cried, outraged.

"Well you guys do look cute together," Sakura remarked as she and Sasuke jumped down from the second level to stand beside their blonde brother.

Mei coloured up instantly and Sakura cooed at the cuteness.

"Plus, you guys obviously have feelings for each other, so it's not gonna be some drama cliche of unrequited love," Sasuke commented indifferently as he silently assessed both of them with his onyx eyes.

"H-How the heck did you know?!" Yagura cried as his cheeks flushed bright red.

"Oh come on, for everyone in this room except for you and Mei, it's general knowledge!" Utakata exclaimed.

"General Knowledge," Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura saluted.

"What the heck?" Utakata asked dumbly.

"Sorry," Sasuke snickered. 

"It's just a thing that we started doing. . . a private joke," Naruto offered with a smile on his face.

"Great, okay now that's cleared up and your little "scheme" is over, can you please hustle out?"

"Why?" Naruto pouted. "I wanna see you and Mei get together!"

Yagura scowled, a blush creeping up his face but at a slower pace than Mei, whose face once again resembled Sasuke's favourite food in a blink of an eye for the thousandth time that day. 

"You want to, not need to. Mei and I will sort this out later, and I need you to go so I can get this office cleaned," the Fourth Mizukage said, looking pointedly at the ceiling, desk, floor and walls.

"What in the name of Hades' fluffy unicorn pyjamas happened here?" Sasuke asked incredulously. "Everything's pink! No offence, Sakura."

"None taken," Sakura said airily at the same time Naruto deadpanned, "No duh Sherlock."

"Oh, you wanna know what happened? This is what happened: someone bombed this office with a bright, horrendous colour. No offence, Sakura. And because of said prankster, it's gonna be a major cleanup," Yagura sighed.

"Major Cleanup," Team 7 yet again mock-saluted in perfect synchronisation. 

"Kami-dammit Team 7!" Utakata shouted at the same time Mei sighed, "Please stop that." and Yagura groaned, "I hate you!"

"Sorry, we can't help it. Once we start it, it's surprisingly hard to stop," Sakura informed them, giggling uncontrollably.

"Just. . . stop annoying us!" Yagura folded his arms in annoyance as he glared with his bright magenta eyes at them.

"I think that's the general idea. . ." Mei sighed again.

"General Idea," Team 7, Utakata and Yagura all saluted and then looked at each other in amusement or horror.

"We're going to be saying this all the time now, aren't we?" Yagura said in slight horror.

"Yeah," Utakata groaned as he buried his face in his hands.

"This is all your fault, Team 7!"

And there you have it. Yagura and Mei got together, there was a brief Leaf Legion bonding time, jinchuuriki family moments, some annoying Team 7 quirks and HIMYM ("How I Met Your Mother") references.

Hope you enjoyed!

Ja ne~