Chapter One

Returning

The two guards looked up from their books as a small group of three people came up to the gates of the Leaf village. They knew, somehow, that these people were not a threat to them but there was something about them that told them they weren't normal, non-fighters. There were three people in all, two were walking along side a carriage while the third drove the carriage. The two of them, on the ground, walked over to the guards, one was wearing sunglasses. The one with the sunglasses spoke first. "This is the Hidden Leaf Village, is it not?"

"It is. How may we help you?"

"We need to speak to the head of your village," He spoke with a bit of an attitude. The two guards exchanged confused looks. He had black hair and worn a soldier like outfit with a belt and two katanas around his hips.

"You'll have to excuse him. He's lacking in manners," The second one smiled at them and was more pleasant. He had light brown hair and shining light green eyes, wearing the same outfit as the black haired guy, no swords. "We really need to speak with the head of your village. It is of great importance."

"Ok," The two guards exchanged looked before telling them where they could find Lady Tsunade.

The small group gathered a lot of attention as they made their way through the village. The one with the sunglasses sneered at the on lookers. "Pesky."

"Chill," The second one spoke.

"What is she thinking? Bring us to this place?"

"I think we both know why we're here," He smiled. "This is really a nice little village. I can't wait to see what kind of ninja they have."

"You're such a child,"

"And you're not enough of one,"

Knock, Knock.

"Yes?" Tsunade looked up as one of her ninja opened the door. "What is it?"

"Excuse me, milady. You have some visitors," The ninja opened the door to reveal two new people.

"You are Lady Tsunade?" The one with the black hair asked.

"Yes," Tsunade replied. He glanced over at Shizune.

"May we speak to you? In private?" He asked.

"Whatever you have to say..."

"Our king and queen wouldn't permit us to speak freely in front of ones who know not of our princess's heritage," He hissed.

"Wait. Aren't you...? I understand," Tsunade looked at Shizune. "Please, excuse yourself for a while, Shizune."

"Uh? Yes, milady," Shizune nodded then left.

"I see," Tsunade laced her fingers together after Shizune was gone and the door was closed. "So, where is she?"

"That is not your concer..." Both he and Tsunade glared at each other. The light brown haired guy raised his hand to silence his friend.

"Excuse him. He has...uh...issues with humans. My name is Talon and his is Blaze," Talon replied with a smile. "She ran off at our last rest stop. I have a feeling she's just fine where she is."

"Indeed," Tsunade smiled. "I have a feeling you didn't come to see me just to tell me that."

Talon smiled then tossed a sack of gold on her desk.

Kiba sighed. He was laying out in the middle of his yard looking up at the sky. Akamaru and Twilight, who had grown and was about half the size of Akamaru now, were practicing some ninja moves on their own as Kiba sulked. Hana stepped out of the house. She put her hands on her hips and frowned at her younger brother. "Why do you keep doing that to yourself? She's gone, Kiba. There's nothing you can do about that. Why don't you go train and get your mind off her?"

Kiba sighed.

"Ah! You're impossible!" Hana turned and went back inside. She closed the door and couldn't help but give a sympathetic look. Kiba, how long are you going to be like this. I know you miss her but...

Kiba sighed, again. It's been over a year. I miss you so much. I wonder what you're doing right now.

Twilight's ear's perked up and twitched. She sniffed the air then started barking. Akamaru looked at her. Kiba propped up on his elbows. "What is it, girl?"

Twilight continued to bark at him. "Go where?"

Twilight and Akamaru suddenly took off. "Hey! Where are you two going?"

Kiba grumbled and took after them. He continued to grumbled to himself as he made his way through the woods. His eyebrows raised when the wind shifted and light hint of vanilla entered his senses. "Huh? This is..."

Kiba picked up his pace. He kept getting smack with branches as he ran through the forest. He made it to the clearing where he found out about her true identity. His eyes widened and his heart raced as he saw the girl kneeling down. She was petting and getting kisses from Twilight and Akamaru. Kiba felt the world slow down as she stood up and turned to look at him. Her hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing cut off shorts, blue in color, and a short sleeve midriff, black, that looked like the tail had been ripped off instead of cut neatly.

"S...S-t-ar..." She smiled sweetly at him as he barely whispered her name. Kiba's feet felt heavy as he started to walk over to her. His feet began to work again as he ran over to her. He stopped just a foot away from her.

"Baby, will you look at yourself. You're such a mess," Star said as she reached up and began to brush the dirt off his face and clothes.

He put his arms around her shoulders and held her tight as tears steamed down his face. His grip got tighter as he spoke to her, in a whisper. "Star...Y-You're back... You came back..."

"Uh...Kiba?" Star was a bit surprised at his actions. She thought he would jump around screaming and cheering that she was back. Her expression lighted as she realized how much he was hurting without her there. She brought her arms up and wrapped them around his waist, clinging to the back of his jacket as tears of her own found their way out. "Kiba."

"I've missed you so much," Kiba pulled away from her. He cupped her face in his hands and captured her lips with his. Star slid her arms around his neck and kissed him back as he placed his arms around her waist. He proceeded to show her how much he missed her as he deepened their kiss.

The two teens returned to the house about an hour later. Waiting there was Kiba's mom, sister and Star's bodyguards, one of them with a ticked off look on his face. Kiba looked at Star when she let go of his hand and the air around her changed. Blaze crossed his arms at the young girl in his charge. "You are in so much trouble, young lady!"

"Hn," Kiba narrowed his eyebrows at him.

"What were you thinking? Running off from us like that?" Blaze demanded.

"Don't you speak to her like that!" Kiba hissed. "Who are you to talk to her like that?"

"Stay out of this, human!" Blaze snapped. Kiba clenched his fists and took a step forward, only to get an arm crossed over his chest.

"Enough!" Star had raised her arm to stop him. "Both of you!"

"Star?" Kiba asked.

"Blaze, we are visitors in this village! I expect you to treat everyone here with respect! Do not shame our kingdom!"

"Yes, ma'am," Blaze nodded and back down. Talon snickered and Kiba smirked.

"And you!" Star turned to Kiba. He immediately stiffened. Kiba then realized that Star had shifted into princess mode. "These two have permission to treat me as they see fit. They have been my personal bodyguards since before I was born. I expect you to treat them with respect as well."

"Yes, ma'am," Kiba said then pouted.

"Why don't you all come in and have some tea and you can tell us what your mission is." Tsume said as she lead then all inside.

"Mission?" Kiba questioned but Star didn't answer.

Star sat staring at the table as her two bodyguards sat at her sides, Kiba sat, unhappily, across from Star while Tsume sat at the head of the table and Hana pour them all tea before sitting down by her brother. Kiba frowned harder as he looked at Star's bodyguards. Looks like he wasn't going to be able to be with her this time. He forced back a smile with he felt Star's shoeless foot slip under his pant leg and rub against his ankle. She flashed him a quick smile before looking back down at the table.

"Thank you, Miss Hana," Talon smiled when she filled his cup.

"Sure," Hana returned the smile then sat down. "So? What about this mission?"

Talon and Blaze exchanged looks before looking at their princess. She took a deep breath then told them. "Lancer...has escaped from our prisons."

"What?" Kiba's eyes widened.

"We have reasons to believe that he is going to continue his plans of taking over the Kingdom of Crystal Time. We're going after him," Talon explained.

"What?" Kiba slammed his hands on the table as he shot to his feet, knocking his chair over. "Why are you going after him? He's come close to killing you twice already! Do you really want to find out if third times the charm?"

"Kiba," Star raised her eyes and looked at him. "It's my duty to stop him. It was my fault he got the crystal bell in the first place."

"That's a bunch of crap! You have soldiers to take care of that kind of thing!" Kiba snapped. "Let them do it!"

"Do not raise your voice at her like that!" Blaze stood and met Kiba's glare with one of his own. "It is the princess's duty to protect her kingdom!"

"He's going after the Crystal Time kingdom, not hers! Why should she have to risk her life for them?" Kiba demanded.

"Kiba, if Lancer is able to gain the power in the Kingdom of Crystal Time he'll use that power to destroy our kingdom," Talon replied calmly. "When a magic item falls into our kingdom, like the crystal bell did, it become the princess's duty to return it to its homeland. This is a mission that Star has to see through to the end...even if it does kill her."

"No! That's a bunch of crap!" Star clenched her fists as Kiba screamed then stormed out of the house, with Akamaru following.

"Star?" Tsume asked.

"Excuse me," Star said as she stood up.

"Princess?" Talon asked. She looked at him. He nodded. She turned back around and headed out the door, with Twilight at her heels. Blaze stood up to follow after her. Talon grabbed his arm and pulled him back down to his chair. "Before you say it...DON'T! You know she has to do this."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it. Besides, we have rules," Blaze crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"So, you know about their relationship?" Tsume asked.

"There has been nothing that the princess has been able to hide from us. We've known her since before she was born. We knew how she felt about your son the second we first saw them together," Talon replied.

Star found Kiba at the training ground. He was standing still, fist clenched as tight as they could be, his nails digging into his skin. Akamaru was several feet away from his master when Star walked up to him. She patted Akamaru and Twilight. "Excuse us. I need to be alone with him for a while."

Both dogs whined but left the area and the teens to themselves. Kiba's body stiffened as Star reached for his hands. She forced him to open them and held her hands to his. She didn't care about the blood. Kiba felt her power engulfing their hands as she placed them on his chest and pressed herself against his back. He felt the nail holes on his palms closing up. A light smile appeared on his lips. Star's power had grown since the last time they saw each other. "I almost lost you twice. So...why? Why do you have to risk your life again?"

"Why do you risk yours?" Kiba flinched. He never thought of that. He's always been around ninjas and was one himself. Risks were just part of his life and his village's life. He never really thought of a princess risking her life for her people. He just thought they sat around and ordered other people to do the risky stuff. Boy was he wrong.

"I guess...we're more alike than I thought," Kiba tightened his hands around hers.

"Kiba, I'm not going on this mission alone. You and the others are going with me,"

"What?" Kiba loosened his grip on her and turned around. She smiled at him.

"That's why I'm here. My parents agreed to let me hire you and the others to help us stop Lancer and get the crystal bell back where it belongs,"

"Why? If he's a fairy then why hire ninjas?"

"Well, the main reason is because we believe that he has formed some kind of gang to help him take over the Kingdom of Crystal Time. When we fought last year I knew that I had seriously injured him as he did to me, however, he does have amazing healing abilities but he didn't come after me right away,"

"He was gathering forces," Kiba said in a hush voice.

"Fairies may have magic but that doesn't necessarily mean we can defend ourselves against ninjas. We have to be careful and take necessary precautions," Star explained. "And since you already know about my powers and such, who better to ask then you and the others?"

"I understand. But asking the others to come along? Isn't that a risk? Won't they find out about your powers?"

"Yes," Star nodded. "And that doesn't matter. More than just my kingdom and the Crystal kingdom are in danger here. If Lancer gains power from both kingdoms the whole world is in danger."

"But your not suppose to reveal who you are to anyone. You already revealed that to me and got sick. You're not going to do that again are you?" Star took his face in her hands and kissed him.

"Don't worry, love. I'll only get sick if I actually tell them what I am. Nothing will happen if they figure it out on their own, just like Lady Tsunade, Inoichi, Chouji and Shikamaru did,"

"I forgot about them knowing," Kiba mumbled as he pulled Star into his arms. He stroked her hair and became intoxicated from her scent. "And what's the other reason for coming here?"

"Do you really have to ask me that?" Star asked. Kiba looked down at her. His eyes sparkled as he leaned down to capture her lips again. Star ran her hands over his chest before snaking them around his neck. Kiba's arms slid down to her waist as he intensified the kiss farther than he has ever before. Star pulled away from him. "Easy now, boy. Don't get carried away."

"Sorry. I've just missed you so much. I want you. I want to be with you," Kiba replied as he placed several light kisses on her lips.

"I've missed you too," Star said as he kissed her again. "But if you want to have a long life you better not give me a Kiba Junior before we're married."

"K-Kiba Junior?" Kiba turned beat red and released her from his hold. Star busted up laughing. "T-That's not funny!"

"What's the matter, Kiba? I thought you wanted me?" Star said as she continued to laugh and wipe a tear away.

"Well, yes...no...I mean...well...," Star laughed harder as Kiba stumbled over his words. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"What? You don't love me?"

"NO! I MEAN YES! I mean...AH!" Kiba plopped down on the ground and pouted. "You!"

Star recovered from her laughter and walked over to him. She sat down and looked at him. "I'm sorry. Come on, forgive me?"

"How could you say such a thing?"

"You mean, you never thought of me like that?" Kiba deepened a shade of red. Star giggled. "Why so embarrassed? It's only natural to think like that when you have feelings for someone."

"M-Maybe," Kiba looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "But...we can't really be together...can me? Relationships outside your home are forbidden, are they not?"

Star nodded sadly. Kiba looked down at the ground. "Kiba?"

He turned his eyes back to her. She leaned in close to him. "We're not on my island."

Star kissed him. He kissed her back and put his arm around her waist as she leaned over his lap.