Naruto laid overtop his ruined bed, humming the same tune as before, while staring at a lone paper. On this paper inscribed various words and terms, most of which rhyming. He appeared to be working on a song.

"You took it as a man,
To make your master plan~" he sang in his breath, sitting up and bringing out a guitar, strumming the metal strings as he worked on making a tune. He wasn't quite sure if he liked the lyrics yet, but at least they sounded good. He scribbled something down swiftly before placing the pencil back to its previous spot behind his ear, sticking his tongue out as he began strumming the metal again, causing the, to vibrate and form sound.
"So now it's time to-" he was singing the next possible verse when he was cut off by the sound of knocking on his door,causing him to jerk up, his wings flexing and snapping outwards in surprise and his tails flaring for a moment, both of said parts glowing and vanishing the moment afterwards. He had been so deep in the zone, as he had taken to calling it, that he hadn't remembered they were out, nor had he noticed the other heartbeat that wasn't his own. The knocks repeated in their rhythm before Naruto sprang over to the door.
"Coming!" He called, placing a hand on the door and glancing through the small peephole, seeing Kakashi on the other side. He paused in his cheeriness, having not expected this new visitor. He didn't know what he had expected, but either way this had surprised him, causing him to detour for a few moments before unlocking the door and allowing his visitor entrance.

"Hey, Naruto, how've you been?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly, glancing to the side and seeing the guitar and the scrambled note sheets. He questioned silently as to what they were doing there, and how Naruto had afforded the instrument, but gave no sign of surprise or interest.

"Pretty good, just waiting for the end of the week." Naruto responded, glancing over towards the instrument he had burrowed. Kakashi moved last Naruto, taking a few steps inside.

"I didn't know you played." Kakashi said casually, eyeing the instrument closely but not lifting it nor touching it, merely leaning. He stood back up and turned calmly towards the blonde, who shrugged.

"My b-my friend's really good at it, he's been teaching me when we both have free time." Naruto answered, correcting his mistake mid-sentence, which did not go unnoticed by the silver haired ninja. Naruto glanced over towards the instrument again for the second time since the visit began.
"He let me borrow his, but I'm not really good at it, not compared to him." Naruto said, causing Kakashi to raise a brow. Naruto shrugged, not caring nor realizing his break of character.
"Honestly, I think I'm better at the drums, they're more fun to play." He stated simply

"I see" Kakashi responded, lifting up a piece of paper and eyeing its contents, but found the scribbled writing set upon it was nearly unreadable, for it was very messy chicken scratch.
"Naruto, I came over here today to remind you that our team planned a meeting over at that ramen stand you frequent so much. I was wondering why you were so late." Kakashi spoke in his calm drone of a voice. Naruto quirked a brow, but feigned an apologetic attitude, rubbing the back if his head sheepishly.

"Oh! Sorry!" He apologized, slightly uncertain. His eyes flickered over towards his calendar, but he caught no sign at he had written down any plans for the day. In fact, he hadn't seen nor spoken to the others on their team since the conclusion of the second exam. Had he been discluded from the decision of the gathering or had they merely forgotten to tell him of it?  Neither answer seemed positive in their reflection of his other teammates.
Kakashi looked at the blonde oddly before shrugging off what he missed have perceived as odd behavior in favor of looking at the door.

"Well then, let's go. The others are waiting." He ushered calmly.

-

Sasuke and Sakura sat alone at the restaurant, one of the individuals involved being overly pleased and overjoyed over the situation whilst the other seemed almost annoyed that his presence was required in the first place. Sakura moved closer, scraping her stool against the dirt floor of the ramen stand. She leaned closer, a suggestive smile overtop her features. Her expression changed quickly to surprise as she felt her locomotion shift, falling to the ground after having leaned too much on the stool.
With a small squeak of a squeal, she tumbled to the ground, hitting her head off of Sasuke's side and causing him to flinch. A small snort sounded before it could be helped, and Naruto began to laugh.

"Oh, oh my gød!" He laughed, holding his stomach and bending over as he shook from laughter. He straightened up, a sparkling look in his eyes.
"Sakura-chan, please teach me the ways of your unbounded grace!" He said in a tone of voice that sounded genuine, but he burst out laughing once the words had come out. Sakura glared at him, as did Sasuke, annoyed that the other person had the gal to laugh at someone else who was so prestigious by comparison.

"How dare you mock me, ME, YOUR BETTER!" She bellowed, lift not a hand up to swing at him. He dodged with ease, still snickering, not even opening his eyes to see her.

"Kinda hard not to, you prick." He stated in a bit more of a serious tone. Kakashi's one visible eye widened slightly at the language used but said nothing, for he was cut off before he could even begin.

"DON'T USE THAT LANGUAGE, YOU ILLITERATE!!" She hollered, the ground cracking like ice beneath her feet as she made her way towards him again. She failed once more.

"Two times already? Do you really want three strikes? Don't cha know that you're out on three strikes?" He asked in a coo. A look of perplexmxent mixed with the anger she had been showing, yet his words failed to cause her to back down.

"And what does that mean, Baka?!" She demanded, placing her hands on her undeveloped hips.

"Three hits and your out, didn't think I'd have to explain myself to someone like you." He told, noticing that Kakashi had gone to order their ramen.
"Tell me, Sakura, if you're sooo smart, why can't you figure it out for yourself? Do I have to spell it out for ya?" He asked mockingly.

"Naruto, that is no way to treat a lady!" The daughter of the ramen stand's owner interjected. Naruto forced his glare to soften, and he made a dramatic bow.

"My apologies, oh great one. Please, bestow upon me your vast knowledge of you egomaniacal ways!" He called back in a sarcastic tone. He had lost all respect for her when she had fed him poison, and there was no redemption from his wrath. Honestly, he felt that these people, the ones behind that stand, were nothing but mockeries of the ones he had known, the ones that had brought him from the streets and filled his stomach with warm substance, the ones he had loved like family.
When he had frost come here, he had assumed these people to be just as they had been in his first world. He had been wrong. He hadn't noticed it at first, the pain, he was far to accustomed to it to have noticed the small burn that had begun in his stomach. It wasn't until he had gotten home after consuming the meal did he truly realize what was happening, what chemical reaction whatever they had put into his food was doing with his stomach acid.
Blood showed through his mouth and stool for the rest of the evening as his own stomach acid chewed through his tissue, guts and organs and viscera ruined and spewing from his throats and the hole that had formed through his guts.
That was when he stopped giving people the benefit of a doubt, he no longer assumed others to hold his best interest at heart.
The girl glared at him in annoyance, the pair sharing a silent duel for several long moments before being broken up.

"Sweety, please go and turn the stove off." Ichiraku requested, causing the girl to break the ongoing stare to turn to the elder.

"Of course." She replied, turning away and moving over towards the said stove. Naruto smirked triumphantly, amused to have won. He knew they wouldn't dare try and poison him while within the company of others, their food could be mixed and that was an event that no one wanted on their hands. That stain would never befall upon the Ichiraku name so long as it could be helped.

"Arigatomas"

-

Naruto sat once again overtop the pathetic excuses for blankets, the sheets so thin and worn down by time and prolonged use. The stains, red and brown and colorless, went ignored rather than unnoticed as the work over the song continued. He only had a few days left before something interesting happened, after all. He blinked suddenly, as though an alarm had gone off to alert him of a pre-decided time quickly approaching.
Setting the papers and guitar aside and placing all of them into one of his seals, he thought over what he would do next. He grabbed the mask, which he had gotten repainted by a talented mask maker Nightingale had introduced him to. It no longer resembled a konohan mask but that if a true spirit. He grabbed the katana and slid it onto his back, the holster pressing lightly against his wings.
The window blew the curtains inwards as a breeze persisted. For a moment, they blew outwards as a figure went through, their body a blur of motion.

-

Tayuya grumbled slightly as she followed the leading member of their group, annoyed over a reason their unlocked could only assume to be over the plans they had set. He was a slight distance away and his aura was concealed flawlessly, yet he still felt the need to conceal the sounds any one person would make, his breathing being hushed in a way that made it almost silent.
He had plans for this group, they would help him with his plans whether they liked it or not. He had already gambled so much on these alliances, he had to make it work.
He followed them as they journeyed around the town, they seemed to be scouting the area and making observations. One portion of the group split off from the rest, heading to an unknown destination. The clone puffed into existence and sped off after them, following and watching them.
Another hour of this endless following and watching until the opportunity to make his next move finally revealed itself. One of the group's members had dispersed, separating from the group with the intention of placing some seals, likely a barrier. This caused Naruto to quirk a brow, for he had already watched them prepare a similar seal elsewhere.
He allowed himself to drop down to the ground, alerting the other person of his presence. She jerked, spinning towards his direction, taking out a kunai and moving to an attack stance.

"Who are you" she demanded briskly, one free hand moving towards the float she had fastened to her side. Naruto looked at her, his eyes glowing within the dark.

"I have a proposal for you, one that I don't think you can refuse."

-

Sasuke turned his head as the front door of his house was knocked upon, the loud raps against wood resonating throughout the halls of the surrounding rooms.

"Who in their right mind would come here at this time?" Sasuke asked in his low murmur. The journey to the door was short lived, his feet moving in strides across the planks. The door opened on smooth hinges, revealing the lone figure on the other side. Well, alone wasn't the correct term for it, but it was the closest any other could come to explain what stood before him. It looked like a normal person on first glance, yet this was proved false upon further inspection. His head was projecting slightly too far forwards and down from where it should be, and a second head was turned into a unnatural angle, not facing the onlooker.

"Is he the one, Ukon?" One head asked the other. The second head twisted in its place to view the raven before confirming or denying the question.

"Yes, he is the one." The addressed head confirmed. Sasuke stared at them, a look of confusion having overtaken his features. He neither allowed them entry nor closed the door, merely remaining stationed in his spot within the doorway's frame.

"Sasuke Uchiha-" the first head began, his voice clear and confident.
"We have come on behalf of Orochimaru-sama, we would like for you to come with us."

-

Tayuya blinked, bewildered, at what had been said.

"Really? You really want to betray your village?" She asked in a mocking tone.

"Yes and no; they betrayed me, I'm just paying them back the favor." He replied, his voice purposefully lower than normal so as to prevent her from recognizing his voice.

"You're sure about this?" She asked, not believing the person before her.

"Positive." He replied. She sighed, thinking of what she would have to do next

"For all I know, you're lying to-"

"If I had any intention of stopping you, I would have done so already." The masked figure cut in, interrupting her.
"Besides, you'll need all the help you can get if you want to pull this off." He continued. Silence blossomed and stabilized, birds chirping above them from the trees and below them on the ground, a few woodland creatures moving about. One of such creatures pounced upon another, a small scale battle ensuing between predator and prey. The figure turned away, disappointed.
"Such a shame. Well, I guess we can't work together after all." He breathed. Tayuya's head snapped upwards at this news, a feeling of foreboding filling her chest.
"Just remember that any barrier you put up can be taken down. Whether you let me in or not, I'll get in, and I don't care who gets in my way." There was a threat beneath his words, something dangerous and to be feared, yet formality still remained as well, odd, cold, formality. His body blurred around the edges, his form being overtaken with shadows, and the space he had once stood became bare of his presence, his method of leaving shrouded in mystery.