Bring the Hammer Down

15

The trip back to Konoha was spent in silence, uncomfortable, grating, noisy silence. The kind of silence that can kill someone by suffocating them with its perpetual weight. No one was having fun.

Sakura kept throwing glances between Naruto, who was carrying a sleeping TenTen in his arms, and his newly acquired wings that ruffled every now and then. The girl part of her wanted to see if they were as fluffy as they looked. The medic part wanted to examine them to see how they worked.

Kakashi was trying to keep up his cool façade while throwing looks toward his blonde student. He hadn't believed Naruto any of the times he'd told them that he was Kami's warrior. In fact, he'd pretty much laughed behind the boy's back. But people don't just sprout angel wings out of thin air. There isn't a kekkai genkai for that.

He'd settled, instead, for giggling into his porn book. Trying to figure out the mystery was a bother and besides, he'd be there for the debriefing.

Tsunade's curiosity finally got the better of her and she called a halt so that she could examine TenTen again. They were just a two hours walk from Konoha by now and she really wanted to examine both of the teens. As Naruto sat down with TenTen in his lap, she observed his wings spread out slightly to adjust to the ground. Those new appendages fascinated her.

Naruto sat on the ground cross-legged with TenTen in his lap and gently shook her awake. The bun haired girl's eyes fluttered open and she smiled when she saw his face.

"Hey you."

"Hey. How long was I out?"

"A little over an hour and a half. Tsunade wants to check and make sure you're ok."

TenTen nodded and then noticed the wings again. She gasped and jumped to her feet, touched them tenderly and ran her hands down the length of them.

"They're real. I thought I imagined them."

Naruto chuckled and groaned when she stroked the feathers.

"Nope, they're real all right."

"They're so...soft and fluffy."

"...I am not soft and fluffy."

She grinned at him and rubbed her cheek against his back, near to where the wings connected and let them caress her.

"No, but these are."

A loud throat clearing noise brought the two back to reality and they turned to find Tsunade with her arms crossed under her ample chest while Sakura and Kakashi looked on amused. TenTen blushed and hid behind one of the wings while Naruto grumbled something unintelligible. She didn't like being seen as a soft kunoichi.

"Now that the two lovebirds are still, we can examine you and make sure you're all right. Sakura, tend to TenTen."

Both girls huffed at this but begrudgingly followed her orders. TenTen sat still as Sakura ran her hands over her body with a diagnostic jutsu. Tsunade was doing the same to Naruto, but they were having a hushed conversation as well.

"What is with your eyes and these wings? Your eyes haven't changed back yet."

"I don't know. It just happened. They won't go away. Usually Sanosuke shows up to explain what happened and tell me what to do, but he hasn't yet."

"He's probably waiting to get you alone. Now, tell me what happened."

"What do you mean?"

"These wings. They're connected to your nervous system already. That shouldn't be possible. You can feel when they're touched. I saw you shiver when I rubbed them. They've integrated with you like you were born with them."