Naruto - Into the Unknown - Discontinued

by Fire and Lightning

This is the first story I ever wrote, and it will no longer be updated as there is a re-write of the story on my profile titled "Juorney to the Unknown"

Author's Note: I do not own Naruto. This story will not be updated any more as there's no point to continuing it. This story is the first thing I ever wrote, and it was written a long, long time ago. You can find the re-write version in the other stories on my profile.

For those of you brave enough, enjoy the read. For others who quit reading….I don't blame you.

Anyway, without further distractions, my first ever written story.

INTO THE UNKNOWN

CHAPTER ONE

OFF TO A BAD START

After returning from a mission that occupied their last three months Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno headed towards the hospital. Naruto had been injured badly and Sakura feared for his life. While the squad leader Kakashi Hatake headed for the Hokage building to give the report of the mission to Lady Tsunade (Hokage). When Kakashi reached the Hokage's office he knocked and was told to enter. Tsunade asked how the mission went and was given a sad look through Kakashi's only visible eye and reported

"Ma-am the Mission went well, but Naruto was injured badly; even the nine tailed fox is having trouble healing his wounds. He could be in the hospital for at least the next four months." Tsunade gave Kakashi a strange look and asked "How bad are his wounds?"

Kakashi stared her in the eye and said "Words can not describe the pain he is going through right now." He walked over to a window beside Tsunade and said "His face has burns and slashes almost on every inch of his face. His spine was split apart and you can literally see inside his chest. Not only was it hard and painful for him but, Sakura was just as hurt as he was when we found him laying motionless on the ground." Tsunade looked at Kakashi with a blank face and asked "That bad? Damn those Akasukie!" Tsunade stood out of her chair and went to Kakashi's side and stared out the window towards the hospital and stated "If I had known this was going to happen I wouldn't have sent him on that mission. This is no time for him to be in this kind of state of health. This village, no the entire Land of the Fire needs him we don't have the strength in number nor skill for him to be like this." She looked over at Kakashi who seemed like he was thinking of something else. "Lady Hokage" he asked "What do you think Sakura could be going through? Ever since he returned to the Hidden Leaf Village their friendship has become stronger. I don't know what Jiraiya taught him, but he defiantly became stronger. He summoned 400 Shadow Clones and has perfectly mastered the Rasengan." Tsunade looked at Kakashi in shock and awe when he said that. She replied "H-h-he mastered the R-Rasengan!? Not even the fourth Hokage could master that jutsu. "Squirmy little brat" she thought. She looked up at Kakashi again and told him "Go to the hospital and tell Sakura I'll be there in a little while." Kakashi started walking towards the door saying "I'm on it" and he closed the door behind him. Tsunade sat down in her seat again and sighed, then thought to herself "What could have happened on that mission!?"

At the hospital Sakura was sitting beside Naruto's bed rubbing his forehead. She had tears running down her cheeks as she stared at her friend/Teammate and thought to herself. "Why is he always like this on a mission? He and Kakashi Sensei are always the ones that return with major injuries. I always return with hardly even a scratch." She looked up at the ceiling of the room and started to cry. "After two years of training under Lady Tsunade, I'm still the weakling of the squad and I can only do the small things for Naruto". Sakura looked down at the ground and cried until she felt like she had run out of tears. She heard the sound of Naruto's voice. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Naruto who seemed to be having a dream or trying to wake up. All she could make out from his small distant voice was "Sak-Sa- Sakur". Hearing these words come out of his mouth she knew he was trying to talk to her. She put her hand on his shoulder trying to tell him she was there for him. She stared at his face and noticed his eye lids were moving. "Is he trying to open his eyes?" Sakura thought to herself. She just sat there next to him and what seemed like eternity to her, he opened his eyes just barely enough so she could see his bright blue eyes and faintly said "Sak-ur-a" then went back into heavy sleep. Sakura again let tears escape her eyes as she whispered his name.

Nearly five minutes later she heard a knock on the door. Sakura answered with a loud whisper "come in" not leaving Naruto's side. The door opened and Sakura's friend/rival Ino Yamanaka entered the room asking how Naruto was doing and taking a seat beside Sakura. Sakura told Ino about his wounds and Ino's eyes widened; she carefully took Naruto's blanket off showing his lower abdomen. Ino had the urge to cry/puke and run at the same time. She turned to Sakura with a very worried look and asked "H-h-how did this happen?" then looked back at Naruto. Sakura told her what she knew in a soft voice while not even looking at Ino, but never taking her eyes of Naruto's face. Ino jaw dropped and stated to herself "Naruto got in a fight with another Akasukie member?!" Just as Ino was about to say something the door opened, Ino looked to see Tsunade and Shizune had entered the room. Sakura turned to face her mentor/teacher taking her eyes off Naruto for the first time since they got back. Tsunade stepped into the room saying "Sakura, Ino I need you to leave so we can commence surgery." While eight other nurses stepped into the room walking towards Naruto's bed. Sakura took one last look at Naruto before nodding and walked out the door with a few tears leaving her eyes. Ino followed close but was stopped by Tsunade who put her right arm in front of her. Ino looked at Tsunade with a confused look. Tsunade looked at her with a sad and worried look and said "Ino I want you gather all you're friends and hang out with Sakura for the next eight hours." Tsunade smiled "It'll help the time pass for her." Ino nodded and ran out the door after Sakura. Tsunade turned to the other nurses and said very loudly "Alright let's get started!"

Ino caught up with Sakura in the street just outside the hospital and noticed Sakura's cheeks were dark red. Ino realized she could bust out in tears any second. Ino started trying to calm her down putting her hands on Sakura's shoulders and said in a soft friendly voice "Sakura what say we get the gang together and hang out for a while? It'll help pass the time, after about nine hours you can head back to Naruto's side at the hospital." Sakura looked at Ino and smiled while wiping a few tears from her eyes and said. "I-I w-would like t-that." Sakura still had a few bumps of emotion in her voice. Ino closed her eyes and smiled back and said "Great I'll go get my squad to pass word around and meet at. Hmm, what say Ichiraku Ramen just for Naruto's sake?" Ino could see Sakura was breaking down a little bit. Sakura looked into Ino's eyes and saw kindness and worry. Sakura nodded slowly and said softly "That sounds ok I guess." Ino frowned as she saw Sakura was going nowhere fast in cheering up. Ino gave Sakura a warm smile and pulled her into a tight embracing hug, a hug Sakura needed so badly right now. Sakura widened her eyes at Ino's fast embrace, but she didn't resist. Sakura needed a friendly hug from a good friend, now more than ever. Ino gently pushed Sakura out of her shoulder so she could look in her eyes. Ino smiled and said "Well I guess I'll see you in an hour or so at Ichiraku Ramen" then gave her friend another hug and whispered in her ear 'he'll be alright Sakura, he'll come around, I mean it is Naruto after all, and he doesn't give up that easily." Sakura let a few tears of happiness run from her eyes from Ino's kind and friendly words, then nodded her head and said "thanks Ino, that means a lot to me." Ino smiled with her eyes closed and waved farewell then walked in the other direction to start looking for their friends.

While Ino was passing the word around to all their friends Sakura walked to her house. She didn't feel so well in her stomach knowing her very best and closest friend was on the edge of death. She didn't feel like eating but she told Ino she'd come to Ichiraku to hang out. She couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes, her vision was getting blurry and she slammed her shoulder into a corner of a building she happened to be walking by. "OW" she yelled, she looked down at the ground to let the tears fall from her eyes. She leaned her head against the wall of the building and cried silently into her arm. She felt a drop on her arm and quickly realized it wasn't a tear; she looked at the sky and saw a thunder storm was moving in. She looked off into the distance to see several flashes of lightning and heard an eruption of thunder after the flashes. She held her hand out to feel the sprinkles were falling faster and harder, she wiped the tears from her eyes and started to run for her house.

When Sakura reached her house the rain was falling as if the heavens were crying with her. She pulled her house key out of her medical bag and unlocked her front door. When she entered the house she was greeted by her mom who seemingly just teleported in front of her out of nowhere, tackled her to the ground and hugged her. Her mom had tears in her eyes screaming " OH SAKURA WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE YOUR MOTHER A HEART ATTACK!? OR MAKE ME THINK SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED TO YOU!? FROM NOW ON YOU COME STRAIGHT HOME AFTER A MISSION!" Sakura was scrambling to get away from her mother's arms, gasping for air and blurted out as loud as she could "MOM, NEED, AIR!" her mom loosened her grip on her "Oh sorry Sakura dear, but I missed you a lot" Sakura's mom stated. "But nevertheless what kept you so long? You had me worried! You weren't hanging around that Naruto kid were you?" with a mad/worried/furious look on her face. Sakura's eyes widened angrily and she yelled "SO WHAT IF I WAS!? YOU DON'T SEE HIM FOR THE PERSON HE TRULY IS! ALL YOU THINK IS HE IS A MONSTER" Sakura's mom looked at Sakura with a mad look and slapped Sakura's face. Sakura couldn't believe what just happened; her mother just slapped her face for the first time ever. Sakura's mom raised her voice as she said "I don't care who you think that thing is!" Sakura shot a death glare at her mom and thought to herself "THING!" "Sakura" her mom continued "you try to protect him like he's one of us…humans, you try to protect him like he's family or a good friend and…" Sakura grabbed a glass vase off the table she was standing by and threw it as hard as she could at her mother. Sakura's mom ducked and the vase barely missed her head by a mere millimeter and shattered against the wall behind her. Sakura looked at her frightened mom and raised her voice saying "you're such an idiot! You have no idea what he went through as a child, what he's still going through this very exact day." Sakura could feel tears forming in her eyes again as she continued. "You people think you're so special for treating an innocent boy like that! What the freaking HELL did he ever do to you?! You people blame Naruto for having the demon of the nine tails sealed away inside of him?! What idiots! The only demons around here are people like you who take pride in crushing an innocent kid. You, you, AAARGH! You think that it was my strength and intelligence that got me back home safely after every Goddamn god forsaken mission we went on?! NO IT WASN'T! You want to know why I'm still here today?! It's that boy that you IDIOTS keep calling a demon! It's not Naruto who's the demon here! It's you, Naruto has saved my life more times than I can count, and this is how you repay him?! As your daughter I'd expect more from my only mother! If he's not considered family to you, you can count me out as well!" Sakura's mom couldn't believe the force behind her daughter's words. Threatening to leave the Haruno clan was hard for her to take. She watched as Sakura disappeared up the stairs into her room slamming the door so hard the pictures in the hall fell to the ground. Sakura's mom listened carefully as she heard a faint weeping sound from the upstairs part of the house.

Forty-five minutes had passed since Sakura's "little" chat with her mom and the storm had mostly cleared. It was still sprinkling a little but nothing like it was. The streets had puddles all along the sides of the buildings, Sakura giggled to herself as she saw younger kids splashing around in the puddles starting mud fights with their friends. For the first time Sakura really smiled since she and Kakashi found Naruto lying motionless on the ground after the fight on their last mission. She closed her eyes as a cool welcoming breeze blew her hair to the side. She smiled as the cool fresh air blew across her face. The leaves that blew in the wind tickled her ears as they blew by. She smiled and let out a sigh of relaxation trying her hardest to get her mind off Naruto in the hospital. She looked to the east to see the dark blue clouds of the storm that had passed over a short while ago. She couldn't believe how at peace she felt; the air after a storm alone helped her get Naruto off her mind. She continued walking for the ramen stand where she was supposed to meet everyone. As she approached the ramen stand she was greeted by her friends. Ino, Kiba, Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji, Rock Lee and many others. Every one gave her a welcome back hand shake and pat on the back, even the Ichiraku owner greeted her. He asked Sakura how Naruto was doing and where he was. Sakura's eyes widened she felt the pain she felt earlier creep back to her stomach then to her heart. She looked at the owner with watery eyes and said with emotion taking hold of her voice "h-he's in the hospital under intensive care, in a life threatening situation, I…I…I WAS USLESS AGAIN!" She cried before slamming her head on the counter, making it crack. The owner of the restaurant gave a sad and worried look to Sakura; he paused for a second then smiled and said "Aw don't worry yourself so hard, if the Hokage is working on him it'll all be good." He talked to her a little bit then sat some ramen in front of her. Sakura looked up at the owner with a curious face to see he was smiling with a big grin on his face "Everyone's food is on the house, for our good friend Naruto." Instantly, everyone started shouting and cheering sending echoes through the air. Sakura couldn't help but smile and think to herself "maybe, just maybe, everyone doesn't hate that reckless idiot ninja." Sakura asked the owner how he knew Naruto so well. The owner replied "well other than coming here every meal for every day of the week, he's, well, an interesting guy." The owner turned around to make more ramen as he continued "I used to hate him but ever since that Iruka guy brought him here on that day nearly five years ago, I've grown quit fond of him." The owner turned around to look at Sakura and said "Why every time he comes in he always has to tell me about his mission or training or what ever is going on that day." Sakura couldn't help but smile as she thought "Wow he made an impact on a few people after all." Sakura blushed as the owner finished his story of Naruto. Ino noticed she was a little red on the cheek "Hey Sakura" Ino said with a slight tease to her voice "you're not blushing over there are you? Your cheeks look awfully red." Sakura's eyes widened and she jerked her head towards Ino "What?! No way, why would you think that?" Sakura was waving her hands in front of her face. Ino gave her a strange smile then turned to eat her Ramen. She put her chopsticks in the ramen taking out a curl of noodles. When she put the ramen in her mouth her eyes widened and she thought to herself "no wonder Naruto always comes here." Sakura still wasn't hungry enough to finish her own bowl of ramen; she only took a few bites then scooted the bowl away. The ramen owner smiled as he took the bowl away asking "not really feeling like eating today?" Sakura shook her head slowly. The owner put a hand on her shoulder. Sakura rolled her eyes to look at the man's face. He patted her shoulder softly, saying "don't worry, Naruto will be fine. I don't blame you for not eating, in fact I'd eat the same amount, if not less even, if my closest friend was in his state." He smiled even bigger "you'll see him again." Sakura smiled as the owner walked away emptying her bowl of ramen into a Togo box. He turned and handed it to Sakura. Sakura smiled as she said "thanks, but I don't really eat that much ramen, you'd be better off throwing it away." The owner smiled as he said "if you don't want it, take it to Naruto, he'll eat it." Sakura laughed a little as she said "isn't that the truth, all right I'll take it to him, he'll probably be hungry when he wakes up." Sakura took the box of ramen then put it in her bag. Sakura looked back at the owner and asked "are you sure you want all that to be on the house? I mean that was a lot of ramen you fixed." The owner turned to Sakura with a smile and said "yeah, it's no problem; any friend of Naruto's is a friend of mine." Sakura smiled sweetly at the man and said 'thank you very much for the food." The man nodded with a smile. Sakura felt a hand slap her back playfully. She turned to see Kiba taking out his wallet. "Kiba?" Sakura asked. Kiba looked at Sakura and smirked as he said "you know, with you being Naruto's best and closest friend, I don't see it right that you be paying for our food. I mean we should be paying for yours." Sakura blinked as Kiba handed her the money she needed. Sakura frowned and pushed his hands away. Kiba looked at Sakura with a confused face and asked "Sakura, you ok?" Sakura nodded and smiled at Kiba before saying "I appreciate what your trying to do, but I'll pay for my own, thanks though" Kiba smiled and said "NAH let me pay for your meal, you don't need to pay for your food, and you've had enough trouble to deal with already for one day." Sakura smiled at Kiba before saying "alright Kiba if you insist, you can pay for my meal." "HEY" the ramen stand owner shouted "I said all your food is on the house, don't take out your wallets, I don't want your money today." Every one looked shocked, but nodded regardless.

A few minutes later everyone gave Sakura a hand shake and said welcome back one more time before taking their leave. Sakura turned to see Ino talking to Hinata and walked over to join them. When she reached them Hinata looked at her and asked shyly "S-S-Sakura, d-do y-you mind c-coming with u-us on a s-shopping t-trip?" Sakura thought for a moment then said "I don't know, I don't really feel so good right now, and I kind of want to rest for a while." She felt an arm go around her neck. She turned to see Ino with a smile on her face. Ino looked at Sakura and said "AH, come on forehead, you're coming with us for some girl time." With that being said Sakura nodded and asked "so, what are we shopping for?" Ino smiled at Sakura and said "we're not shopping for anything; we're just helping pass the time for you." Ino turned to Sakura and said "I know it's a hard time Sakura and you just want to rest, but Lady Tsunade gave me orders to hang out with you until they finish surgery on Naruto." Sakura paused for a moment as she thought to herself "Tsunade gave her orders to do this? That was actually kind of nice." Sakura nodded in agreement and the three girls skipped off towards the market area of the Hidden Leaf Village.

The girls spent hours going from one shop to the next; doing their best to get Naruto off Sakura's mind. They brought her clothes and other things to try on. Sakura was having a fun time with her friends; she couldn't say she completely forgot about Naruto's state of health. Though the more she tried to forget about it, the more it came back. Sakura spent at least four hours trying on summer clothes trying to prepare for the late spring and hottest months of the year. She tried swim suits, half shirts, short shorts, shoes and sandals. Even for being a girl thing, she was getting tired. When she came out of the changing room she was wearing her ordinary clothes. She looked at Ino and Hinata and asked "hey, do you guys want to take a break? I'm getting kind of thirsty." The other two girls looked at each other then nodded at Sakura with a smile on their faces. Ino looked at Sakura and asked "where do you want to go?" Ino then gave a tease to her voice "forehead girl." Sakura laughed a little and answered with her own comeback "well Ino pig" Ino rolled her eyes as Sakura continued "I was thinking of ice cream or maybe a shake or soda." Hinata smiled and said shyly "t-that's a g-good I-idea S-Sakura." Sakura smiled at Hinata and said "you know Hinata, you don't have to be so shy around me, we're good friends so don't be so shy, ok." Hinata smiled at Sakura and said "I-I'll t-try S-Sakura" Sakura smiled then looked at Ino and asked "so how does that sound Ino? Sound good? Or do you want something different?" Ino shook her head and said "I don't care, as long as we get to sit down, my feet are killing me." Sakura nodded and said "alright smoothie it is then my treat." Ino started waving her hands in front of Sakura saying as she bopped Sakura's head "uh, hello, Earth to Sakura, it's my mission to make you have a good time today. I'm buying." Sakura looked at Ino saying "yea but…" Ino covered her mouth saying "No, no buts! I'm paying for your food and that's that!" Sakura looked at her watch saying "hmm, its 4:35 right now and Naruto should be out at eight right?" Ino poked Sakura in the stomach lightly making her bust out a laugh. Sakura looked at Ino with an angry/playful glare saying "you know I hate it when you do that." Ino smiled saying "I know, that's what I'll do to you the more you think of him. It's my job to keep him off your mind for the next three and a half hours." Sakura smiled and said "ok no thinking of Naruto until eight thirty, got it." Ino smiled at Sakura and poked her again. Sakura jumped back covering her stomach with a giggle "w-what was that for?" she asked. Ino laughed a little and said "that was just for fun, sorry I couldn't resist." Sakura laughed a little and they walked for the nearest ice cream place. When they reached the doors to the clothing store and opened them. Heat rushed into their faces. Ino closed the door quickly and put her back against it and slid down saying "phew, it's HOT!" Sakura laughed and said "well, we could go swimming or something, but I want a drink first." Hinata nodded in agreement saying "I-I a-agree-S-Sakura, w-we s-should f-find s-something to d-drink I-Im t-thirsty t-too." Sakura looked at Hinata and said "well what are we standing here for? Let's get out of here." Hinata and Ino nodded and they walked out the door. Ino dropped her arms as she stepped out side and asked "MAN! How hot is it?! This isn't mid-spring weather." Sakura pulled a thermostat from her bag and said "The thermostat says its one hundred and two degrees out here." Ino wiped some sweat off her forehead and looked at the other girls and said "well come on, let's get inside somewhere! This heat is murder." Sakura nodded and they started walking off.

It took the three girls thirty minutes to find a restaurant that served ice cream and shakes. Ino ordered a small vanilla, Hinata ordered a strawberry shake and Sakura had a medium chocolate shake. Sakura thought it best not to sit by Ino since Naruto was starting to get back to her mind. Ino watched Sakura's actions closely but she didn't feel like poking her again, instead she brought up a conversation. "So Sakura" Ino asked "how good of a friend would you consider Naruto?" Sakura looked at Ino with a smile and said "I thought you weren't going to let me think about him." Ino nodded saying "true, very true I did say that, but curiosity got the best of me." Sakura giggled and put her chin in her right hand palm to think. "Hmm" Sakura thought for a moment then looked at Ino and said "well it's not a hard decision. He's my best friend who never asks for anything in return, I guess you could call him my hero if you wanted." Ino smiled and teased "Ooh, is Sakura getting a crush on the village idiot?" Sakura shook her head saying "no, no, no, no nothing like that. Though I do admit I owe him at least one of those dates he's always asking me on." Hinata turned red catching Sakura's attention "Hinata? Are you ok?" Sakura asked. Hinata widened her eyes and said "y-yes S-Sakura I-I'm fine." Sakura let out a small smile and said "alright Hinata, I know what you're hiding." Hinata blushed and said "I-I have n-no I-idea w-what y-you're talking a-about S-Sakura." Sakura smiled and gave Hinata a playful nudge on the arm saying "Aw don't be scared to show your feelings, I'm sure Naruto likes you plenty enough." Hinata blushed now knowing her secret was out. Sakura turned to look out the window and thought to herself "though you'll have to go through me first if you want to have him for yourself." Sakura blushed realizing what she just thought. She turned to face Ino and said "well, Ino, why do you ask? Come to think of it you haven't hung out with Naruto in a long time." Ino looked at Sakura with a blank face and said "you're right Sakura I haven't hung out with him much, I'll try and fix that when he gets out of the hospital." Sakura smiled and nodded then finished her shake. "Hey Hinata" Sakura asked. Hinata looked at Sakura saying "y-yes S-Sakura" "would you mind throwing my cup away? You're right by the trash can." Hinata smiled and said "S-sure S-Sakura w-why not." Sakura smiled and said "thanks Hinata." Hinata looked at Sakura and said "no p-problem Sakura." When Hinata returned to the table Sakura looked at her and asked "hey Hinata you want to go to the pool later? Or would now be a good time?" Hinata looked at Sakura and replied "S-sure S-Sakura I-I'd love to. Let me just run by my house and get a swimsuit." Sakura nodded then paused for a moment "well actually hang on a second." Sakura said. Hinata and Ino looked at Sakura before Ino asked "what's wrong Sakura? The pool actually sounds good right now." Sakura nodded saying "yea I know, it's just, it's just, what if Lady Tsunade needs me immediately for something, or if something goes wrong with the surger…" Sakura slapped herself and thought "YOU IDIOT! NOTHING'S GOING TO GO WRONG WITH THE SURGERY! DON'T THINK THINGS LIKE THAT!" Ino looked at Sakura with sad eyes. She looked at Sakura and said "Sakura, the more you try to get that off your mind, the more it'll fight back. I see that Naruto is your best friend, but try to get him off your mind as much as possible. I know it's hard, but in two and a half hours you'll be by his side again." Sakura smiled at Ino and said "thanks Ino, but I think I'm going to avoid the pool for a while, when Tsunade sends someone to find me I want to be ready to go that second." Ino and Hinata nodded. Hinata then asked "S-so w-what d-do y-you want t-to do S-Sakura?" Sakura looked at Hinata with a smile and said "let's get a gift for Naruto when he wakes up." Ino stood from her chair "Yea, that's a good idea Sakura; he deserves a present after all doesn't he?" Sakura nodded, then she looked down at the table. Ino saw tears drops falling on the table "Sakura, what's wrong?" Ino asked. Sakura still looking at the table letting the tears out of her eyes and said "I-It's just, after all our years of friendship; I've never done anything for Naruto. I've only healed him when he was injured or wounded. Never before have I shown him a thing that said thank you on it, or have I ever said thank you to him." Ino smiled and raised Sakura out of her chair and said "well, what on earth are we doing here? Let's go." Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes. Sakura smiled and said "I know exactly what gift to get him." "And what would that be Sakura?" Ino asked. Sakura looked at Ino and smirked "you'll see." Then the three girls separated their ways heading towards their own gift shops.

Thirty minutes had passed since Sakura was with her friends. She entered a jewelry store and walked towards the counter and was greeted by a man near her age. "How can I help you today miss?" The man asked cheerfully. Sakura pulled out a necklace from her bag and showed it to the man and said "I was hoping you could fix a necklace that my friend broke a couple days ago." The man smiled as he took the necklace out of Sakura's hand "well let's have a look." The man said. The man studied the necklace for a minute then looked at Sakura and said with a sad voice "Sorry ma-am, but this is just too badly damaged, it's out of my skill." Sakura looked at the ground then gave the man a smile saying "well, thanks anyway." The man nodded as he took out a piece of paper and started writing a note "you're Sakura Haruno right?" the man asked. Sakura widened her eyes in surprise that he knew her name. Sakura nodded while saying "y-yes, h-how did you know my name.?" Sakura asked. The man looked at her and said "I heard a girl named Sakura got into it with her mom earlier today, and I heard she had pink hair, and to tell you the truth, no offense intended but you're the first girl I've seen with that being a natural color, kind of odd." He handed Sakura the note and asked "does it run in the family? Or are you just the white dog mixed with the blacks? Or, well I guess it'd be pink dog huh?" Sakura laughed a little and answered "no, I can't really tell you what happened, I was the first to have pink hair in the family." She looked at the note and asked "so, what's this note for?" The man smiled and said "I have a friend a couple blocks away who knows jewelry better than I do. If you've got a problem, she can fix it." Sakura smiled and said "thanks, are you new to this part of the village? I haven't seen you here before." The man nodded and said "actually I'm new to the entire village." "Really" Sakura said "what land do you come from?" she asked. The man smiled and said "I'm from the Land of Snow" Sakura widened her eyes and replied "WOW! The Land of Snow? I bet it's pretty hot down here compared to up there." Sakura giggled. "OH MY GOD IT'S BURNING." The man shouted playfully. Sakura laughed and said "yea that figures." The man held his hand out and said "I'm Vasari Napata (Napta)." Sakura shook his hand saying "Sakura Haruno." They both laughed. "Hey wait a minute" Vasari said "I'm just curious." Sakura looked at him with a smile and asked "about what?" "I heard that this guy Naruto, or something sorry if I didn't get the name right, is on your squad right." Sakura looked at the ground sadly. Vasari noticed this and asked softly "was he your friend? I heard he was hurt badly." Sakura just nodded slowly. Vasari smiled and asked "Sakura, mind if I take that note back for a minute?" Sakura looked at him, then gave him the note. "What do you need it for?" Sakura asked. Vasari answered "Well my friend who you're fixing to go see often takes prices way down for people in a hard time like you are right now. She lost her best friend who was out on a mission at the time, so she didn't get to say goodbye, I think they were thinking of getting into a relationship so it hit her pretty hard." Sakura smiled and said "thank you, it means a lot to me. How old are you anyway? Seventeen? Sixteen?" Vasari smiled and said "I'm eighteen, my birthday was yesterday." Sakura smiled and said "well happy late birthday then." Vasari smiled and said "thanks, though you didn't have to." Sakura smiled and said "NAH, you deserve it from me, you're very nice." Vasari smiled saying "you could say that, I'm pretty easy to get along with, so, friends?" Vasari asked. Sakura smiled shaking his hand saying "friends, we should hang out sometime, though it'll have to wait till Naruto gets out of the hospital." Vasari nodded and said "I understand that, so is Naruto a good guy? Or is he kind of a jerk." Sakura smiled and said "he's a good guy, he's like you a little, easy to get along with, kind, sweet." Sakura blushed a little and looked at the ground. Vasari smiled and asked "so, is he your boyfriend? Or just a best friend?" Sakura looked up at Vasari and said "He's just a good friend, though I do admit, he has grown on me a little." Vasari smiled and said "well I hope he gets to be enough for you." Sakura laughed saying "wow, you weren't kidding, you are friendly." Vasari laughed and said "yeah, being a jerk doesn't fit well with me, I can have my moment though." Sakura giggled saying "can't we all." Sakura looked at her watch and her eyes widened, she looked back up at Vasari and said "I'm sorry but I have to go, it's almost time for the surgery on Naruto to be done." Vasari nodded saying "it was nice meeting you Sakura, I hope to see you again." Sakura smiled and shook his hand again and said "yeah, same here." Sakura then ran out the door to the other jewelry store.

Two minutes later Sakura found the other jewelry store. She saw the lady who worked there was closing shop, but decided to ask anyway. Sakura walked up to the lady saying "excuse me miss, but can I ask a favor?" The other woman looked at Sakura with a smile and said in a friendly tone of voice "I'm sorry ma-am but I'm closed for today." Sakura nodded and said 'yes, I can see that, but I really need your help." The other woman looked at Sakura, then nodded and unlocked the door. She then looked at Sakura and said "why don't we take this inside." Sakura smiled saying "thank you." The other woman nodded. When Sakura entered the building the lady pointed towards a table and said "please, sit down and make yourself at home." Sakura nodded with a smile and walked to the table. She watched as the woman disappeared into the back room. Sakura sat at the table patiently admiring the collection of rings and other jewelry types under the glass counter at the other side of the room. She turned her head to see the woman coming back into the room with a smile asking "so what can I help you with?" Sakura pulled the necklace out of her bag saying "well, you see, a friend of mine got hurt recently and is in surgery at the hospital as we speak, and well, this was a precious item to him that he never took off. Even when he slept at night." Sakura then showed the note Vasari had given her to the woman. The woman took the note out of Sakura's hand saying "so Vasari sent you did he?" Sakura nodded saying "yes ma-am, he said that the necklace was out of his repair skill, so he sent me to find you." The woman smiled "ah Vasari" the woman said sweetly "you are always so kind to people in need." The woman looked up at Sakura and asked "did he send you here just for that reason? Or was there another reason?" Sakura started to shake as she said "w-well h-he d-did say t-that y-you g-give a l-lower price to p-people g-going t-through a h-hard time." Sakura was afraid of saying that as many shop owners get mad when people ask for discounts. The woman looked at Sakura and said "did he now? Oh, such a kind young man." Sakura looked at the woman and asked "s-so y-you're n-not m-mad f-for m-me a-asking a d-discount?" The woman looked at Sakura with a soft laugh and said "no dear, at least not when people are having a hard time, like you're having now." Sakura let out a sigh of relief and smiled saying "thank you." The woman smiled and took the necklace away from Sakura's hand saying "not a problem." She studied the necklace for a moment then looked at Sakura and said "this is no problem at all, come back in a few weeks and it'll be ready." Sakura nodded with a smile and asked "so how much is this going to cost?" "It's free." The woman replied. Sakura shot her eyes open and thought "T-this has got to be a dream, I never get this kind of luck." Sakura shook her head to clear her thoughts and asked "y-your j-just joking r-right? Surely you're asking around five hundred?" The woman laughed saying "nope, you can go home right now and not worry about it, but trust me, I know what you're getting at." Sakura was dumbstruck at the woman's kindness, but Sakura nodded with a smile none-the-less. The woman then got up and led Sakura to the door. She waved farewell and closed the door behind Sakura. Sakura raised an eyebrow thinking "what was she in such a hurry for? Oh well." Sakura looked at her clock and saw there was only thirty minutes left until the surgery was supposed to be finished. She felt her stomach growl. Sakura giggled and said "so you decide you want something, now, huh?" Sakura didn't think it would be a bad idea to eat, the food at the hospital wasn't the greatest, in fact it had made some of the patients sick in the past. She decided to eat a small meal since she planned on staying with Naruto pretty late and didn't want to get sick on the hospital food. She nodded to herself and ran for her favorite fast-food restaurant.

When she arrived at the restaurant there was a short line of four people in front of her which relieved her, she didn't have a lot of time. After nearly five minutes of waiting it was her turn to order "I'll have a small rice and water please." "Coming right up." After two minutes of waiting Sakura's meal came. Sakura claimed a table and started eating. It took her about two minutes to finish her meal. As she was leaving she saw Kakashi leaning against the wall to the building reading a book. Sakura walked over "Kakashi-sensei?" she asked "what are you doing here?" Kakashi put his book away and smiled through his mask at Sakura and said "Sakura, Lady Tsunade told me to find you and deliver the news of Naruto." Sakura's stomach nearly leapt out of her mouth. Kakashi continued "Lady Tsunade has finished the surgery and." Sakura shot a glare at Kakashi yelling in her head "WILL YOU JUST TELL ME ALREADY!" "He's going to be alright, the surgery was a success and Lady Tsunade requests you come immediately." Sakura's face lit up, she could feel tears of happiness running through her eyes, she started jumping up and down in joy that her friend would be ok. She looked at Kakashi and asked excitedly "Is he awake?! Can I talk to him?!" Kakashi shook his head sadly and said "Tsunade, is only able to keep him awake for a short while, by the time we get to the hospital, he'll probably be closing his eyes." "WELL WHAT ARE WE DOING SITTING HERE THEN?!" Sakura yelled as she grabbed Kakashi's arm and ran as fast as she could, dragging Kakashi literally along the ground. Sakura was crying with tears of happiness yelling in her mind "HE'S GOING TO BE ALRIGHT, YES, YES, YES I KNEW HE'D PULL THROUGH, NEVER DOUBTED IT FOR A SECOND!"

After fifteen minuets of running they finally reached the hospital. A nurse was waiting by the door waiting for them "Sakura Haruno?" the nurse asked. Sakura nodded and the nurse started walking off "you're supposed to come with me" she said. Sakura and the nurse started running down the halls. Every step seemed an eternity to Sakura. Finally they reached the room "264" the nurse opened the door saying "he's in here." Sakura entered the room slowly to see Lady Tsunade sitting in a chair by Naruto's bed. Tsunade turned and smiled at Sakura saying "come in Sakura. He's about to go back to sleep." Sakura nodded and slowly walked to Naruto's bed and taking the extra chair and stared at Naruto's face and saw him opening his eyes slowly. Sakura was relieved and had a major urge to hug him but knew she couldn't. Naruto looked around the room with a wondrous face. He turned to see Sakura smiling at him from a chair next to his bed. He wanted to smile but didn't have the energy to smile let alone talk. Sakura took a long glance into his eyes and saw pain/sorrow/guilt and tears. Before he started closing them again. Sakura smiled and pulled his eyes shut slowly and softly rubbed his face saying in a quiet whisper with her lips by his hear "good night, see you later."

This was the last time Sakura saw his eyes for six weeks.

During the course of the long wait for Naruto to open his eyes Sakura was very busy with medical care of patients. She worked on mostly travelers that had an accident or sick children. She enjoyed her job knowing she was making the difference between life and death. She worked on a pattern of sick one day and on the next wounded or injured. A majority of Sakura's patients were children around ten and under. Usually the children had a high fever or a bad cough, sometimes a nose that wouldn't stop running. It sometimes hurt her to take a child to her operating room when a child was scared to leave their mothers or fathers that happened to be with them that day. However, she quickly calmed them down by asking their name, age and giving them candy at the end of their treatment. Sometimes, on a rare occasion, she would be brought into the emergency room for reasons that recommended all hands on deck for surgery of a seriously injured person. Or to the reason of a woman giving birth to a newborn. Though Sakura enjoyed her job it was tiring and sometimes heartbreaking as she was the one who often had to tell family members or friends that a loved one wasn't going to make it. She never thought badly of the people who would yell at her for informing them their family member or friend was going to die as it was just the nature of the job and human reaction, and she'd probably do the same if she were receiving the bad news. Her other job was taking care of injured kids who had an accident, whether it be they fell out of a tree and broke their leg, or if they scraped their knee and tore their skin off of their body.

Sakura often worked none-stop on patients since she was the second best medical ninja of the Hidden Leaf. She would usually get an average of about five hours of sleep, a majority of that in Naruto's room. Since she never really stayed at home much for the past three weeks, she often spent her sleeping hours in an empty hospital room, or in the lobby. However, now that her best friend was asleep for the past three weeks, she often slept in a recliner by Naruto's bed. She didn't really allow any other nurse to check on him, unless she knew them well enough. She knew how people treated him and some of the nurses weren't any exception. Though from time to time a nurse would wake Sakura up when she was sleeping and ask if she needed anything.

Three weeks have passed

The next weeks that Naruto had been asleep didn't go by fast enough for Sakura. It had been so stressful she even forgot what week it was. She raised eye brows every time a nurse went into Naruto's room with a big smile and came out with a disappointed look on their faces. Sakura didn't even take the time to think of what was going on, all she cared about at the moment was getting a little bit of sleep but she kept thinking "Lady Tsunade would have my head if I fell asleep" She was off in a daze, when one of the hospital nurses came up behind her and tapped her shoulder lightly. Sakura jumped through the roof when she felt the finger tap the back of her shoulder. She looked back at the nurse saying "God! what are you trying to do give me a heart attack?" The nurse smiled and said "I'm sorry, but Lady Tsunade sent me to find you, she sent this letter to you." Sakura took the letter from the nurse's hand and opened it. She read the letter and froze in shock at what the letter said and thought to herself "S-she wants me to go home for a few hours and sleep?" Sakura looked at the clock on the wall 1:36 P.M. I guess I might as well. She put the letter in her medical bag and started down the hall. She stopped by Naruto's room to see how he was doing. She opened the door to see her friend still asleep on the hospital bed. She smiled as she thought to herself "six weeks this guy has been asleep." She walked into the room taking her seat beside him. She smiled when she saw the smile on his face and thought "oh Naruto, you know how to drive me to my limits don't you?" she giggled as she heard him talking faintly in his sleep, his voice sounded dry and dehydrated, but she couldn't do anything about it. Bet he'll be hungry and thirsty when he wakes up" she smiled at her friend who was lying on the bed with a peaceful face. Sakura kept staring at him and softly said "wake up soon Naruto. Every things almost ready" she rubbed her hand across his cheek then walked for the door. She closed the door to his room with a smile on her face. As she walked down the hall for the main entrance she thought to herself "Naruto, if you ever do anything like this again, I'll pummel you to the ground for making me worry so much. I'm not going to lose you too" When she reached the main entrance she signed out and headed for her house.

Ino saw Sakura walking down the road and waved. Sakura returned the wave with a smile and ran over to Ino. Ino asked how Naruto was doing Sakura paused for a moment and said "he's doing better, though he still hasn't opened his eyes." Ino looked worried for Sakura, she knew her friendship with Naruto had grown but she never knew how much. Sakura looked at Ino and asked "is everything ready?" Ino nodded and said "we'll have them in his room when he wakes up. What did you get him Sakura?" Sakura looked at the ground for a moment then looked back at Ino 'If I told, where'd the suspense be?" Ino nodded and said "you have a point Sakura." Sakura let out a big yawn and said "s-sorry Ino, but I need some rest, I've been working day and night at the hospital and Tsunade is giving me the rest of the day off." Ino nodded with a smile and said "all right Sakura, I'll see you later then." Sakura nodded and Ino waved farewell and took off towards the market district. Sakura walked the rest of the way home and went straight to her room and collapsed on her bed and fell directly asleep not even bothering to take off her boots or armored vest she wore under her clothes.

Sakura woke to the sound of wind blowing in her room. She got out of bed and walked to her balcony door "I could have sworn this was closed before" she thought to herself as she closed the door. She heard a noise from the hallway right behind her door. She was beginning to get a little jumpy. She was home alone with all the doors and windows locked and her mom was out of town. She grabbed a knife (Kunai Knife) (practically a small dagger) and walked to her door quietly. When she got to her door she let out a quiet sigh and jerked the door open expecting someone to be there, but there wasn't. She explored the rest of her house and noticed there was nothing out of the ordinary. Every thing was the same as she remembered except for the open door on her balcony. "Ach must be my imagination, or Ino's playing a trick on me making me feel un-easy about being home alone." She took one last look around the house and headed back to her room. She made sure everything was locked and double checked all the locks to her house. "No one's getting in here without me knowing." She thought to herself and went back to bed keeping the Kunai under her pillow.

She awoke the next day and looked at her alarm clock when her eyes widened "2:25 IN THE AFTER NOON! HOW LONG DID I SLEEP?!" She jumped out of bed quickly brushed her teeth and headed out the door fixing her hair on the way to the hospital. "Oh man oh man oh man" she thought as she ran down the street "I was supposed to be there by 12:00 P.M and I'm two hours late! Tsunade is going to mop the floor with me" Fifteen minutes later she arrived at the hospital and dreaded walking through the door. Sakura looked around the lobby and let out an "EEP!" as she saw Tsunade standing at the sign in desk. Tsunade was too focused on the hospital patient's report to see Sakura had just walked through the door and paid no attention that her student who was three hours late had arrived. Sakura slowly walked up to Tsunade and apologized for being late. Tsunade took her eyes off the papers she was reading and said with a small laugh "Sakura you weren't even supposed to be here today." Sakura's eyes widened and asked "I-I'm not? This isn't my usual day off Lady Tsunade." Tsunade looked back at her again and said "you're right it's not your day off. I guess you didn't get the other letter." "What other letter?" Sakura asked. Tsunade kept looking at her and smiled "I sent a letter saying you should take the day off. But I'm glad you're here anyway" Tsunade turned and gave Sakura a follow me wave then started off down one of the halls. Sakura looked confused but followed regardless. Neither of them said a word when they were walking down the hall ways. Tsunade led her to the elevator and pressed the number three on the list "That's where" Sakura thought and watched the numbers two and three light up on the number list of the elevator. The doors opened and Tsunade turned to the left walking to the room number (264) and opened it. Sakura's eyes widened at the sight of all the gifts and ribbons squads seven through twelve had set up for Naruto's welcome back party. Sakura went into the room counted the presents, balloons and ribbons then looked at Naruto. She sat down in her favorite chair by his bed. He was twitching a bit but the slashes on his face were gone and all his bones had healed. Sakura lowered the blanket over Naruto, revealing a faint scar of the major of his wound on his upper abdomen. Sakura couldn't help but smile and let tears of happiness fall from her eyes and flow down her cheeks. Tsunade walked up to stand beside Sakura and said "Any time now Sakura, any second, minute or day Naruto should wake up" Sakura looked up at Tsunade and asked "H-how long would you say at the most ma-am?" Tsunade looked at Naruto then back to Sakura and smiled while saying "I'd say maybe four, five maybe six days at latest" Sakura looked back down at Naruto's face and let out a big smile. Tsunade looked at Sakura and said "well I have to go" and started towards the door then turned to face Sakura saying "don't stay here too long, you'll need to be well rested for the welcome back party in a few days. Sakura turned around to Tsunade and said "yea, alright I'll just stay a few more minutes" Tsunade looked at Naruto and did the unexpected by saying "That boy has more guts, more courage than anyone I've ever met. His skill with that jutsu, the Rasengan, is definitely better than the fourth Hokage. And the only thing keeping him alive is his sheer willpower and one life long dream, to be Hokage." Tsunade then turned her eyes to Sakura and continued "Sakura you were lucky to have gotten him as your team mate, though at times you may think otherwise, he's more powerful than you think." Sakura's eyes were wide as dinner plates as she thought to herself "I-I've n-never heard Tsunade talk that way about someone before, Only Naruto has that high respect from the top ranking ninja of the Hidden Leaf." Tsunade smiled then said "I practically consider him as my son" then walked off. Sakura raised an eyebrow and pinched herself "I have to be dreaming" she thought, but the pinch hurt "Ouch! Ok well then again maybe it wasn't a dream." After ten minuets of sitting by Naruto, Sakura whispered good-bye in his ear while rubbing his cheek and went out the door and headed home.

Walking down the street Sakura was a bit worried about staying home alone after what happened last night. She had a thousand thoughts running through her head "What if there is someone in my house waiting for me and he wants to hurt me." While other thoughts were saying "you're such a cry baby, you just didn't check all your locks in the house that's all." Sakura was having this argument with herself when she saw Ino walking down the street. "Now there's an idea" she thought to herself then started yelling "INO! HEY INO!" Ino turned around to see Sakura running at her and said with a smile "Hey Sakura what's up?" Sakura replied "Oh nothing much, I just visited Naruto at the hospital and was walking home and was wondering if you'd like to stay the night over at my place." Ino had a confused look on her face and asked "Why do you sound like you're scared or something?" Sakura let out a sigh and said "well, last night when I was sleeping, I woke to the sound of a breeze coming through my balcony door. I thought I had it closed and locked but I woke to it being open. I grabbed a few Kunai and went looking around the house, I didn't find any thing out of the ordinary, but the whole time I felt like…like there was something or some one watching me or was in the house with me." Ino gasped and asked "are you sure you weren't just overreacting? This sounds pretty serious Sakura." Sakura nodded and said "I'm positive I closed that balcony door, but what creeps me out is that…that feeling. The way the air felt, it wasn't like a human being was watching me. It was more like, a…a demon or something. Whatever it is or was, it's not friendly. And I swear to God I could feel negative energy coming from my basement." Ino was now shaking in horror and asked "n-negative e-energy? L-like supernatural stuff?" Sakura nodded slowly and said "I don't know what it was, but I swear that when I was sleeping I heard a voice whisper my name. I don't know what it was, it didn't sound demonic, or supernatural, it sounded human, but, I looked all over my room to see everything was normal, I had double checked all the doors and windows, and I locked the door to my room. I don't know, but I'm not staying in that house one more night alone." Ino shook her head to clear her thoughts and said with a scared voice. "S-sure Sakura I-I'll stay the night, but don't think for a second we're staying the night there alone, we need to have at least five people there." Sakura nodded saying "yeah, I totally agree, but who will we invite? Naruto's out of the question being still unconscious, so that leaves the strongest of us out." Ino nodded and said "agreed, I do have a few in mind that'll help, but no promises on the second one." Sakura nodded and asked "who would they be? Shikamaru and Choji?" Ino nodded with a smile and said "yep, they're the ones, but Choji isn't real big on this stuff, so no promises of him coming." Sakura laughed a little and said "yeah, Naruto's like that too when it comes to this stuff. I'm used to this happening in movies, not real life though, so I can't really say I'm looking forward to going home tonight." Ino nodded saying "I don't blame you, but we've got to see what's causing this, not that I really want to know." Sakura nodded and said "all right, let's try and get at least those two boys to come, but if they don't, it's you and me in that house alone, with, something else from the supernatural, that wasn't positive energy I was feeling, that was negative, and it seemed like it was coming from the basement too." Ino looked at Sakura with a scared look and asked "w-wait a minute, you want just us two girls staying in that house tonight if the boys don't come?! Sakura w-what if it's a rapist or a-a murderer?" Sakura shook her head saying "if it were a rapist, I-I probably wouldn't be talking to you right now. Let alone, if it were a murderer. Look, I know it's hard to swallow, but we aren't dealing with the living here, we're dealing with the dead, or demons." Ino's head was spinning in circles from the sudden confession that her friend's house is haunted. Ino looked at Sakura and said "o-o-ok I'll go and get Shikamaru and see if I can fined Choji, but you'll have to tell them what's going on." Sakura nodded and said "yea I know, but slowly, inch by inch, the more people we have in that house tonight the better." Ino nodded in agreement and said "ok, I'll meet you back at your place in a few hours, four at the latest." Sakura nodded and said "four hours, got it." Ino looked at Sakura and said "I'm going to find Shikamaru now so be there, I'm not going inside that house alone." Sakura nodded "alright you go find him and we'll rendezvous in front of my house." Ino nodded and asked "ok, so what are you going to do?" Sakura smiled at Ino and said "I need to stop by Naruto's place for a minute so I'll be there for the most part." Ino was curious as to why she was going to that rundown place but didn't bother to ask. Ino smiled and said "all right I'm off." Sakura nodded and they went their separate ways.

It didn't take Ino long to find Shikamaru. She found him in his favorite spot to cloud gaze. Shikamaru heard some one coming and turned his head "Hey Ino, What's up?" Ino replied "Oh nothing, but I need to ask you a small favor" "And what's that?" Shikamaru asked. Ino replied "Well, you see, Sakura had a problem at her house last night. She found her balcony door open about three hours after she fell asleep and she was sure she locked every door and window. She went to look around the house but found nothing out of the ordinary, but she felt like someone was in there with, her like they weren't human and wanted to hurt her. She said it felt like, negative energy." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow "isn't her mom home most of the day? I don't really feel comfy about staying in a house that had a negative energy in it." Ino shook and replied "Her moms out of town on a trip or something and won't be back for a couple of weeks, but please stay with us. We need to get to the bottom of this, and yes I'm sure she's not pulling our leg. Her voice wasn't joking around, it was serious and scared." Shikamaru let out a sigh and said "girls can be such a drag some times. Ok, but I get to invite another guy so I won't get stuck doing girly things or get pulled into a girly conversation." Ino smiled and said "we need to get Choji; I know he's not real big on this stuff, but we need him to at least stay the night. Though we'll probably be up most of the night on our guard." Shikamaru paused for a second then said "what about inviting Kiba? He doesn't show fear at all most of the time." Ino raised her eye brow and said "You know Akamaru (Akamaru is Kiba's pet dog) will have to stay outside right?" Shikamaru lowered his head down "oh yea, Ok then how bout Shino?" Ino shivered and said "Shino!? That guy gives me the creeps, so does that Hyuga boy." Shikamaru nodded and said "well that makes four, though I'd like to have at least one more guy there, Chouji will keep me from talking about something girly. If you know what I mean, that is." Ino replied "Yea, I understand perfectly, but I think all Sakura really talks about now is Naruto. You wouldn't have a problem talking about him now would you?" Shikamaru shook his head and said "No not for a little bit but if that was the conversation for hours, then maybe I'd get a little sick of it." Shikamaru let out a big sigh then turned back to Ino "You go tell Sakura that I'll come along after I find Choji in a couple of hours." Ino nodded her head and went in the direction of Sakura's house. Shikamaru headed towards the market and thought to him self "if Choji isn't in a restaurant stuffing his face he may as well be dead or not even exist."

Meanwhile Sakura had arrived at Naruto's place and was in total disgust at how he lived here. Pipes were falling from the ceiling dripping water on his wooden floor, there were huge holes in the wall as if he had been sparring against someone in his home. Clothes were scattered all over the floor and tables. Sakura thought to herself "after all the missions we've done he should have enough money to buy a new home, this is ridiculous." Sakura continued to look around for clues as to what music he liked or his favorite T.V show. Sakura wandered into his living room and noticed an old dusty T.V She tried turning it on, but the switch was jammed. She looked behind the T.V to see the cords were cut. "I knew he wasn't real big on T.V but this thing doesn't even belong in a junk yard." She thought to herself. She continued looking around his house and went into the kitchen and what she saw made her eyes widen and smile. There were plants growing along the bar and flowers were growing out of pots. She walked up to some of the flowers and smelled them thinking "I didn't know Naruto did garden work, but these are some of the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen in my life." She went into his bedroom finding more plants and a ton of posters. She went up to one poster that had team seven on it. Sakura giggled at a poster that had Sakuke Uchiha on it. She thought of a memory that made her fall on his bed laughing "I remember this day" she thought

Flashback

Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi were on a D rank mission (a mission that has to do with helping farmers or finding lost pets or even-baby sitting) and Naruto came up with the idea to see what was behind Kakashi's mask he's always wearing. At the time it seemed like a good idea to have some fun with their sensei. They came up with the plan to ambush him. The boys would hold him down while Sakura took off the mask.

While they were painting the fence they were watching Kakashi very closely and waiting for the moment to strike. Kakashi looked over at them thinking "what are they doing? I don't like the way their staring at me. Come to think of it where'd Naruto go?" Just as he thought that. He felt someone jump on his back forcing him to the ground. Kakashi looked back "WHAT THE!?" "NOW GUYS!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke and Sakura were on their way as Naruto held down, Kakashi though struggling to keep him down. Just when he was about to lose Kakashi Sasuke arrived and held down his right arm while Naruto holding the left. Sakura was standing over Kakashi with a big grin "Well Kakashi sansei I think it's about time we see what's under that mask of yours." Kakashi's eyes widened "OH NO!" Just as Sakura was about to get the mask Kakashi turned into a white puffy cloud of smoke. "WHAT THE!?" The three kids yelled. When the smoke cleared a small log was laying where Kakashi was. All their eyes went wide "a Substitution jutsu!" Sakura said angrily. Then out of nowhere Naruto and Sasuke were thrown through the air in the direction of a muddy cow pen. Naruto hollering WHOOOOOOOOO! Landing face first into what he hoped was mud but was horribly mistaken when he caught a whiff of himself. When he turned to look for Sasuke his face was turning red and steam was blowing out of his ears when he saw where Sasuke had landed. Sasuke was lying in a relaxed state in a hay patch fast asleep. Naruto yelled angrily back at his sensei "OH YEA SURE, YOU THROW SASUKE IN A HAY STACK BUT YOU THROW ME TNTO A PILE OF COW CRAP!" Kakashi smiled at Naruto and replied "ANY TIME" then turning back to Sakura and asked "now where was I?" Naruto was cleaning himself off when he heard Sakura scream. He looked up as if his own daughter was screaming and started running off "SAKURA!" When he got to where Kakashi and Sakura were, his face melted off his head. Kakashi had Sakura pinned down tickling her sides. Sakura saw Naruto just standing and forced out in laughter "NARUTO DON'T JUST STAND THERE HELP ME! HAHAHA" Naruto charged at Kakashi with a fist ready. Kakashi disappeared off Sakura turning into a log again causing Naruto to trip and fall face first into an ant din. Sakura stared at Naruto who was motionless for a moment and started to reach over to him. Just as Sakura's hand reached Naruto's back he shot sky high "YYYYEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW" and started running around and dived into a pond getting the ants off his face, He turned to face Sakura who was trying to hold in a burst of laughter seeing the bites all over Naruto's face.

End flashback

Sakura had tears running down her face from laughing so hard and was lying on her back on Naruto's bed. When she laid her head on the pillow it felt like she slammed her head on concrete "OW! What in the world does he have behind this his pillow!?" She grabbed the pillow and threw it against the wall seeing there wasn't anything behind it the pillow was hard as a rock. When the pillow connected with the wall it made a giant hole in the wall and the walls started to give in. Sakura screamed as she saw the walls beginning to bend her way "AAAAIIIIIEEEE" she screamed, scrambling to catch the wall. Just before it snapped in half she caught it "phew! That was close" she thought. But her troubles weren't over yet. She heard a loud clanking noise as if a pipe had broken. She looked up at the ceiling above her seeing that water was flooding the upstairs of his apartment. She started to run for the door but before she even had a chance to move the water from the upper floor crashed down on her leaving her soaked. Her eyes widened as she saw that the entire second floor was on the first floor. "Great" Sakura thought "He went through six weeks of sleep, had those major injuries and now he doesn't have a house to live in." She sat down on the bed with a pain rushing through the inside of her body and wanted to cry for what had just happened. She heard a loud scraping sound. She looked up to see a bathtub sliding down towards the room she was in. "Great" she thought "just when I think it can't get worse, it does." Gravity was pulling harder on the tub and it fell through the floor Sakura was on. The rest of the entire floor was beginning to give in. Sakura sweat dropped "Sigh, When will this day end?" The floor gave in completely crashing to the basement of Naruto's house. Sakura crawled up the collapsed floor with a few scratches and bruises but nothing major. When she got onto a flat piece of floor she stood up and turned to see the disaster she had caused in Naruto's house. "I'm going to have to buy him a new place to live now." She then turned and walked out the door.

Shikamaru had wandered the streets of the market area for thirty minutes now and still no sign of Choji. He wandered from restaurant to restaurant seeking out his teammate. "Come on Choji, ya got to be around here some where." Shikamaru thought to himself. He wandered around for a few hours until he found Choji at Ichiraku Ramen. "Choji what are you doing here? You usually eat clear at the other side of town" Shikamaru asked. Choji looked at Shikamaru with a smile and said "I'm just eating here having a moment to myself thinking of the party when Naruto wakes up." Shikamaru smiled and said "yea it's going to be one heck of a party; I'll give you that much, especially for Sakura, Ino says she never stops thinking of him, but as his best friend what would you expect?" Choji shook his head and said "I wasn't thinking of that. I was thinking of the food."." Shikamaru grinned as he thought of a joke to tell Choji. He looked at Choji and said "remember Choji you have to wait until Naruto wakes up before you can start eating. Try to leave a little food for Naruto to take home all right." Chouji turned red as he looked at Shikamaru and yelled "YOU CALLING ME FAT SHIKAMARU!? HUH!?" Shikamaru waved his hands in front of his face "calm down Choji I was joking!" calmed down and said "yea I know Shikamaru, that was a pretty slick move you just pulled. I wasn't expecting it at all. So what are you doing here?" Shikamaru replied "I've come to ask a favor of you." Choji smiled and said "sure Shikamaru what do you need?" Shikamaru replied "well you see Ino came and told me Sakura wanted all three of us to stay the night at her house." Choji gave a confused look and asked "why?" Shikamaru replied "that's what I thought until Ino told me Sakura had a break in. She said she didn't find anything but she could feel the presence of someone or something there." Chojis eyes widened and jumped back yelling "GEEZ SHIKAMARU YOU KNOW HOW I HATE THAT KIND OF STUFF. WHY DID YOU HAVE TO SAY "OR SOMETHING"? Now I don't feel easy about going into that house either." Shikamaru ran up and slapped Choji across the face. There was a moment of silence. Choji rubbed his cheek and said "thank you Shikamaru I, needed that." "Don't mention it" Shikamaru replied "so are you in or out? Don't leave me to be the only boy there." Choji smiled "sure I'll come" The two boys started walking towards Sakuras house. They were walking past a trash can and Choji elbowed Shikamaru off balance. Shikamaru yelled "WWWHHHOOO." Landing face first in the trash can. He raised his head out of the trash can and yelled "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!?" Choji turned around and held in the laughter "that was for slapping me. Now we're even right?" Shikamaru took a banana peeling off of his head and smiled "yea I guess so. Let's make a stop by my place so I can change clothes." Choji held his nose "I think that would be a good idea". Trying his best not to laugh "You're not gong to impress Ino smelling like that" Shikamaru went red with steam coming out of his ears and nose. He grabbed a Kunai and asked Choji if he wanted a hair cut. Choji turned white and ran the other way. Shikamaru chased after him yelling "YOU LOOK LIKE A GIRL CHOJI I THINK WE NEED TO FIX THAT BEFORE YOU END UP GETTING A BOYFRIEND!"

After about three hours every one met at Sakura's house as planned. Everyone, especially Sakura, was a little on edge. Sakura unlocked the door and told every one to get ready to breach the second she opened the door. She counted down with her fingers three, two, one Sakura slammed the door open and everyone stormed in the house with kunai in hand back to back. "No one here" Sakura said with a sigh of relief. The four of them split into two groups and went around the house. They checked every closet, every room and every inch of the house. Shikamaru went into the attic, while Ino stayed on the ground below to make sure he didn't go into a trap. Sakura went on top of the roof and made sure there wasn't anything up there. Choji checked the basement and finally after forty-five minutes of searching they returned to the living room. "Find anything?" Sakura asked. The other three shook their heads "no, I didn't find anything" said Shikamaru. Ino nodded "yea I didn't find anything either Sakura." Sakura looked at Choji "find anything?" She asked Choji shook his head "no, I didn't find anything at all, but the whole time I felt the presence of someone watching me, or negative energy, what ever it was I didn't like it.. I looked every where and I didn't find anything." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and said "well let's go down there and see if we can find some thing." Choji shook his head and said "I don't know what good it'll do, I had the lights turned on and every thing." Sakura looked at Choji and asked "you're sure it wasn't your imagination?" Choji nodded saying "I don't have the kind of brain for that stuff." Ino slowly walked towards the basement door and shakily opened it. She headed down followed by her friends. Sakura flipped on the lights and took a long look around. Shikamaru walked slowly into the middle of the room and said "I don't see anything but I know I feel something in this room, watching me right now." Sakura looked back at Choji and said "you stay here to guard the door, that's the only way out of this room." Choji gave her a nod and headed up the stair case and stood in the door way. Ino went over by Shikamaru and a chill went down her spine, she paused for a second and said "this is creepy I don't like being here" Shikamaru nodded his head and replied "yea me neither" Sakura went to another side of the room and stopped dead in her tracks at what she found. SHIKAMARU, INO, CHOJI COME HERE!" Sakura yelled. The three other ninja ran to Sakura's side and stopped in their tracks. "W- WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Shikamaru yelled eyes wide in fear of what he saw .They all had the urge to run, but felt like they were paralyzed from the waist down. Sakura and Ino were letting tears of fear fall from their eyes. The boys couldn't move they were all scared and unable to control their own thoughts from what they were seeing. A corpse was chained to the wall with blood satins on the floor and several cuts and slashes were all over the dead body. Ino looked at Choji in fear and said shakily "p-please t-tell m-me t-t-this w-was h-here when you were down here" Choji shook his head saying "I'll be telling you a lie if I do" Sakura moved closer and looked at the wall behind the corpse and noticed a symbol on the wall. It was three stars mixed together and four hands holding human skulls, and a face that would give the devil nightmares. Sakura looked back at Shikamaru and asked "h-have y-you e-ever s-s-seen this symbol o-or thing b-before!?" Shikamaru shook his head and replied "I-I've seen pictures about something similar to this in a book a long time ago, but never thought I'd actually see it in person." Sakura looked back at the symbol and asked shakily "W-What on earth is this?" It's the symbol of Necromancy Sakura" a voice replied from behind them. The four ninja turned to see Tsunade staring at them. Ino had a scared look on her face "N-N-Necromancy? L-Like witchcraft?" she asked. Tsunade looked at Ino and nodded saying "Exactly" she walked in closer to the dead corpse saying "apparently someone wanted to put a curse on Sakura, but they weren't able to pull it off." Sakura looked at Tsunade and asked with her voice disappearing from her lungs "w-why would someone want to put a curse on me? I haven't hurt anyone or threatened anyone." Tsunade looked at Sakura and said. "That doesn't have to do with anything. These people, these things commit evil just for their pleasure. They kill, torture and devour innocent people, just for fun." Sakura and the rest had a face that words could not describe. Tsunade looked at Sakura then put a kunai knife into the middle of the symbol and twisted it. The wall fell to dust and the corpse fell too the floor, then disappeared, along with any evidence it had been there. Tsunade let out a sigh then turned to the four teenagers who were in shock at what had just happened. Tsunade looked at Sakura and said "you were lucky. If that summoning had been completed, there's no way of telling what could have happened to you. But you should be safe now." Tsunade turned to the other three ninja who were still in shock. "I'm making it a mission for you three to stay the night here with Sakura, make sure that if it comes back you come find me immediately!" She then turned around and walked up the stairs. Shikamaru looked at Sakura and said with a shaky voice "what do you want to do? I personally don't want to spend another second in this house, but it's your call." Sakura turned around to look at Shikamaru with a nod and said with a rush in her voice "let's go out for a while and come back later." They all nodded and headed for the stairs. Thoughts were running through Sakura's head. "First Naruto's badly wounded and won't wake up for six weeks and only a few days are left, then I destroy Naruto's house and now this stuff is going on. What the hell is happening?!" When they reached the door and walked outside, Sakura looked at the ground and saw the shadow of a person. She looked up to the roof of the house across the street to find no one there then looked back at the ground to see the shadow was gone as well. Ino looked at Sakura and asked "Sakura? You ok?" Sakura looked at Ino and said "yea I –I think I'm fine." She started down the steps and walked down the street. "Something definitely isn't right here" Ino thought to herself. The four ninja still had the nagging feeling that someone was watching them, but they didn't feel the presence of it wanting to hurt them. Sakura stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the same shadow that she saw earlier. Ino bumped into Sakura's back and asked "Hey Sakura, what's the hold up?" Sakura looked up at all the buildings along the right of the street and said "We're being followed" Ino, Shikamaru and Choji were all in agreement with each other Shikamaru told Sakura to keep moving. Sakura nodded and continued down the street. They were all watching the street and buildings now, expecting something to grab them and pull them into an alleyway. Sakura pointed to a building that said (Video Rental) and said "come on, let's try and lose him in there." The other three nodded and they all ran for the video store". Sakura looked around the building and saw another exit sign. Sakura turned to the others and asked "thinking what I'm thinking?" The other three nodded and made their way to the back of the store. When they reached the other door Sakura opened it slowly and carefully, studying the alleyway behind the door. "Coast is clear" Sakura said. The others got weapons ready and prepared for a fight if needed. Sakura turned to the other three and said "were going to have to sprint down that alley as fast as our bodies will allow." The other three ninja nodded and prepared themselves. Sakura looked out the door again and studied the alley. She thought to herself "ok, the next street is a couple hundred yards away, and as our obstacle course, trashcans are tipped over on their sides, there is a large pile of bricks in the middle of the path and the alleyway is extremely dark." Sakura smiled as she thought 'that's not so bad.' Sakura turned to the others and explained the path. Ino's face melted as she said "OOOH, I hate dark alleyways" Shikamaru looked at Ino and said "don't worry about it, you'll be fine" Ino smiled and Sakura looked at them and said "on my mark, we run for the street." Every one nodded, Sakura turned back and looked out the door and said "on my mark, five, four, three, two, ONE. Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji stormed out of the video store and ran as fast as they could for the street. They jumped over trashcans and other obstacles. Shikamaru looked back and could see a black figure standing on the roof of the video store watching them run away. He widened his eyes as he thought "This guy's not going to be easy to shake off" Shikamaru watched the figure very closely. He widened his eyes as the figure vanished into thin air. Shikamaru's eyes went wide "WHAT THE! He just disappeared by not moving a muscle in his body! Things just keep getting weirder around here." After what seemed like an eternity of running the four ninja made it to the street. They all stopped and gasped for air. Sakura looked at Shikamaru who had all the color running from his face. She put a hand on his shoulder and asked while panting heavily. "Hey Shikamaru, you alright? You look as though you saw a ghost." Shikamaru looked back at Sakura, breathing heavily and replied "I don't know, I was watching behind us and I could see the figure of someone on top of the video store, and without moving a muscle he just, disappeared. I don't know who it was, but he looked like he meant business. I don't know who it was, but he's not ninja of any kilned, no ninja, not even Orochimaru would be that creepy. "Ino looked at Shikamaru and asked "are we living in a nightmare right now? When will this madness end?! Choji looked at Ino and said "I don't know, but I wish it would end right now." They all agreed and decided to go tell Lady Tsunade of about what's going on and if she knew a way to stop it.

They were nearly to the Hokage building when Shizune came running their way yelling "SAKURA! HEY SAKURA WAIT UP! Sakura and the other three teens turned to see Shizune running at them with a big smile on her face. When Shizune got close enough to talk Sakura asked "What's going on Shizune?" Shizune replied excitedly "IT'S NARUTO, THE NURSES TOLD LADY TSUNADE HE'S ABOUT TO WAKE UP. She's on her way to the hospital now, along with Kakashi Jiraiya, team Kurenai and team Gai are on their way. You have don't have a lot time of before he wakes up. Sakura, Ino Shikamaru and Choji nodded and took off towards the hospital. Thoughts were running through Sakura's head "He's waking up, he's waking up! After six weeks, he's finally opening his eyes again!" Ino came up beside Sakura and said "I can't wait to see what you got him" Sakura looked back at Ino with a smile and said "you'll be jealous" Ino smiled and said "knowing you, I probably will be" Sakura smiled even bigger "I'm not your number one rival for no reason you know." Ino let out a small laugh and said "this is true."

CHAPTER TWO

WAKE UP CALL

Sakura, Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi, Jiraiya, teams Asuma, Kurenai and Gai were all in Naruto's hospital room along with several nurses. Every second seemed like a day to Sakura. She had waited so long for him to open his eyes and the day was, finally here. Every one stood as still and quiet as statues, Sakura stared at her friends closed eyes and thought to herself "I want to be the first thing he sees." Five minutes had passed and Sakura's heart was pumping like crazy from the suspense. "Wake up, wake up, wake up." Sakura thought too herself. "Its been so long, finally he's coming back." Sakura didn't blink, nudge, or talk at all. She was losing control over her breathing. The room was silent as another minute went by. Jiraiya let out a sigh of sadness and quietly said to himself "my student's not waking up any time soon, I guess we better leave." He started for the door, but stopped when he saw Sakura's evil gaze. His eyes turned to small marbles and walked back to where he had been. Sakura looked at him with an evil smirk on her face. She then turned her attention back to Naruto's eyes. Sakura began to cry and tears started to run down her cheeks and she buried her face into Naruto's chest as ten minutes went by. People started to leave with sad looks on their faces, but were stopped dead in their tracks as a loud groan came from the bed. Everyone spun around and Sakura raised her head off Naruto's chest as he started moving around sloppily on the bed. Everyone returned to their places and waited in suspense for him to open his eyes. After another two long minutes Naruto's eyes started twitching. Everyone gathered in close. Sakura started to smile as she saw Naruto's eye lids open slowly. The room erupted into cheers and applause as Naruto opened his eyes all the way, revealing his dark blue ocean like eyes. He stared into the two green Sapphires looking back at him and stuttered to say "Sa-k-ura" "NARUTO!" Sakura screamed with cheer in her voice. She gave her friend the biggest hug he would ever receive by anyone. Naruto lay motionless on the bed trying to move but was too weak. Sakura put her hand on his chest and said softly "easy, don't push yourself, get used to your body again" Naruto looked from Sakura to the other people in the room. He wanted to smile badly but didn't have the energy to smile let alone talk. After five, minutes Naruto felt he had the strength to sit up. He tried to sit up but couldn't do it on his own. Sakura and Tsunade grabbed him and slowly pulled him up. When he was sitting up, he let out a few groans and sighs, Sakura looked him in the eye "can you talk?" Naruto opened his mouth but couldn't say anything. Sakura smiled and said "all right that's perfectly fine for now" Naruto rolled his eyes over at her and tried saying something again but could only make a whisper as if an ant talking to a giant. Sakura leaned her ear against Naruto's mouth and heard the word "water" Sakura pointed at Shikamaru and said with urge in her voice "get him some water! He can't talk because his mouth is so dehydrated." Shikamaru nodded and got a cup of water and returned to give it to Sakura. Shikamaru handed Sakura the cup saying "here" Sakura took the cup with a smile and said "thanks," then helped Naruto swallow the water. Sakura had a worried look in her eye as Naruto drank the water out of the plastic cup. She took the cup out of his hand and gave it back to Shikamaru saying "he needs more, bring at least two more cups and we'll see how he does. Shikamaru nodded and looked at Ino and asked 'Ino, you mind giving me a hand?" Ino nodded and grabbed two cups while Shikamaru grabbed another and walked to the sink. Ino returned with the cups giving them too Sakura. Sakura grabbed one and sat it on the floor while helping Naruto drink the other. Naruto finished the cup in less than fifteen seconds, which surprised Sakura that Naruto didn't choke by drinking so fast. She took the cup away and gave him the other. She held his back steady with one hand and held the cup with the other. He finished the cup, again in under fifteen seconds. Sakura took the last cup out of Shikamaru's hand and helped Naruto drink the last cup of water. Naruto finished the cup of water with an "UGH" and said as loud as he could "hospital water tastes like… sewer water" the room laughed a little and people started to come up and greet him and welcome him back. Sakura patted him softly on the back as the others greeted him. Sakura smiled as Naruto's voice started coming out. She couldn't help but smile as she thought "Naruto's voice is getting better by the minute, within the hour he should be back to his old self, or at least his voice that is." After twenty minutes Naruto's voice came mostly back to normal he still had a few problems. He mostly sounded like someone does when their voice changes from childhood to adulthood. Naruto started moving his arms a little, getting some feeling back into his body. He tried to stretch his arms out but exhausted himself in doing so. He collapsed on his back and a pain rushed through his spine. He let a few tears flow as he said "Man, sleeping for six or seven weeks straight is not good on your back I'm telling you" Sakura giggled and punched him on the arm playfully saying 'welcome back." She giggled as she finished "idiot." Naruto sweat dropped and said "AHH come on Sakura give me a break will ya?" Sakura laughed and said "alright, but just for a day though." Kakashi sweat dropped as he thought "Sakura? Liking Naruto? No way, not in a million years." Kiba came up saying "hey Naruto what's up? Bout time you woke up, you were giving us quite a scare." then handed him the gifts from team eight. Naruto had a bright light in his eyes as he thought "this is the first time I've ever gotten something wrapped, can't wait to open it". Kiba smiled as Naruto ripped the wrapping off the box then tore the tape off and opened it. He pulled out a suet that was made of chains. "Uh, Kiba" Naruto asked "what is this?" Kiba smiled and said "it's Chainmail armor suet. You should try it on next time you get the chance." Naruto smiled and said "thanks Kiba" Kiba slapped his back saying "don't mention it, this stuff will protect you from most blade type weapons. It will even protect against the power of a shark bite." Naruto looked in shock and asked "are you sure? This armor doesn't look that strong to me." Kiba smirked and said "all right lets put it to the test then if you don't believe me, put your arm in this hole here." Naruto put his arm through the arm hole. "Ok, now what?" Naruto asked. Kiba turned to Akamaru and yelled "SICK HIM BOY!" Naruto's eyes went wide "WHAAAT!?" he yelled. Akamaru jumped on Naruto biting down on the arm with the force twice of a Great Dane. Naruto was forced on his back screaming for his life "AAAGGHH!" he paused for a moment seeing Akamaru was biting as hard as he could. Naruto smiled and said "w-wow, I guess that stuff is pretty strong, that didn't hurt all!" Kiba smiled and smirked "see I told you" he looked at Akamaru "alright that's enough!" Akamaru let go of Naruto and jumped back to Kiba's side. Everyone let out a sigh of relief especially Sakura who was now lying on the ground from flipping her chair backwards when Akamaru attacked. She gave Kiba a nasty look when she got up and broke a clipboard over his head. And yelled "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?! NEXT TIME GIVE US A WARNING BEFORE YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" Kiba sweat dropped and thought to himself "Apparently saying lets give it a test, wasn't a good enough of a warning for her." Jiraiya came up beside Naruto and asked "how you feeling kid?" Naruto looked at Jiraiya and excitedly said "Purvey sage!" Jiraiya turned white and yelled "DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO STOP CALLING ME THAAAAT!" Naruto smiled "Yea whatever purvey sage." Tsunade came up beside Naruto giving him another gift. Naruto smiled and took the gift out of her hand "thanks" Tsunade smiled and said "it belonged to the first Hokage" Naruto looked at Tsunade with eyes of unbelief and asked "I-I-is th-this the f-first Hokage's head band?!" Tsunade nodded and went back to her standing area. It took a good hour and a half to go through every ones gifts. Ino had gotten him a new outfit and stated "how do you like this? Better than that orange jumpsuit that you always wear huh?" Naruto smiled and said "thanks Ino I'll wear it for a while, until I out grow it or it gets out of style or something." Ino smiled. Shikamaru came up and handed him two gifts "one's from me the other is from Ichiraku" Naruto opened the first gift and smiled "Thanks Shikamaru, I didn't know you knew my favorite band, who told you?" Shikamaru smiled as he replied "I saw you pick out a CD at the music store a while back, so I figured you liked that band. I didn't get you an album you had already did I?" Naruto shook his head "nope you got me a second album of Disturbed." Shikamaru smiled and said "normally I wouldn't listen to this kind of music, but for you I'll make a special exception." Shikamaru took the CD out of Naruto's hands and walked over to the other side of the room. Naruto opened the Ichiraku gift and his eyes widened in amazement "w-wow, that old man must have missed me a lot for giving me this." Sakura looked over at Naruto and asked "what is it?" Naruto looked back at Sakura and said with a wondrous face "Fifty days of, ramen on the house." Sakura smiled then looked back at Shikamaru who was putting in the CD "hey Shikamaru' Sakura called "don't turn that up too loud!" Shikamaru looked back at Sakura and said "don't worry; I'm not going to blare it." Shikamaru put the CD into the stereo and asked Naruto which track to put it on throwing Naruto the case. Naruto looked at the back and thought to himself "I don't know any of these songs." He looked back at Shikamaru and said "put it on track….um…Five" Shikamaru nodded and put the CD on track five. The room erupted as the stereo started playing the song "Prayer"

Another dream that'll never come true just to complement your sorrow

Another life I've taken from you a gift to add to your pain and suffering

Another truth you can never believe has crippled you completely

All the cries you're beginning to hear. Trapped in your mind and the sound is deafening

Let me enlighten you

This is the way I pray

Living just isn't hard enough

Burn me alive inside

Living my life's not hard enough

Take everything away

Another nightmare about to come true will manifest tomorrow

Another love I've taken from you, lost in time on the edge of suffering

Another taste of the evil I breed will level you completely

Bring to life everything that you fear, live in the dark and the word is threatening.

Let me enlighten you

This is the way I pray

Living just isn't hard enough

Burn me alive inside

Living my life's not hard enough

Take everything away

Return to me, Return to me, Return to me, turn to me

Leave me no one

Turn to me, return to me, return to me, turn to me

CAST ASIDE

Return to me, Return to me, return to me, turn to me

Leave me no one

Turn to me, return to me, return to me

You've made me turn away

Living just isn't hard enough

Burn me alive inside

Living my life's not hard enough

They take everything from you

Living just isn't hard enough

Burn me alive inside

Living my life's not hard enough

Take everything away.

(Song, Prayer)

(Artist. Disturbed)

Some felt disgust while others thought they found themselves a new band to listen to. Tsunade didn't know what to think of the song she just heard "hmm that was, well, interesting to say the least, I guess." Shikamaru nodded "not bad I'll give it a three star rating" Sakura had a confused look "I don't listen to that stuff usually, but this song was ok, I guess. It wasn't bad either, I don't know, but Naruto likes it that's all that matters now." Naruto started to climb out of his bed and nearly collapsed on the floor. Sakura gasped and quickly grabbed the back of his collar before he landed face first on the ground. "Be careful! You just woke up nearly an hour and a half ago. Don't push your self" Naruto looked up at Sakura with a smirk and said "I'll be fine, Sakura, don't worry bout me." Sakura put one of his arms around her neck and helped him walk around the room so he could get some feeling back in his legs. Sakura walked him around the room a couple times then led him back to the bed and sat him down. "Here, I think that's enough for a while, but we need to work at walking a little more in a while." Sakura said. Naruto smiled "sure thing Sakura" Kakashi came up next to Sakura and said "well are we gonna start the party? Or are we goanna sit and stare at Naruto all day?" Every one nodded except for Gai who sent every one through the roof by yelling "LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED! Huh?" Gai turned his head to see Kakashi had picked him up off the ground by the back of the jacket and said "just for ear sake I think it would probably be best to do this." Gai looked at Kakashi and asked "do what?" Kakashi smiled through his mask and yelled. "Oh, JUST THIS!" Kakashi booted Gai out the window then turned to Tsunade and said "I think that wraps up one, AHEM, problem" Tsunade nodded then yelled "WELL WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?! LETS GET THIS THING GOING!" Music started playing and people took their eyes off Naruto and started engaging in conversation with one another. Naruto looked in shock then turned to Sakura who was still sitting beside him and asked "is this all for me waking up? Hey, come to think of it everyone but you brought me a gift. What's the deal Sakura?" Sakura turned with a smiled and said "it's at my house; we'll go by and pick it up later when you go home, and yes. This is all just for you." Naruto smiled then lay on his back on the bed and said "if this is what's gong to happen when I get knocked out cold, I should do it more often." Sakura looked at Naruto with a scared look and asked "y-your kidding right!?" Naruto closed one eye and focused the other on Sakura and said while laughing "yea I'm kidding; you know how painful it was when my spine was split in two? It didn't feel good and let's leave it at that." Sakura smiled and said with a sigh of relief "good, you had me worried there for a minute." She looked into his eye and could tell he wanted to move around. She smiled and asked "ready to go for another walk?" Naruto opened his other eye and grinned saying "sure, let's go" Sakura put his arm around her neck and helped him off the bed. Naruto looked at her eyes and noticed something was wrong "Sakura?" he asked "are you ok? You look like you're worried about something." Sakura looked at Naruto and said with a smile "don't worry about it; I'm just tired from all the work I've done in the past six weeks." Naruto just nodded. Sakura was thinking about how to tell him she destroyed his house, let alone the fact she was being followed by someone and how would she tell him of the Necromancy altar they found in her basement? Sakura led Naruto around the room and gave him a chance to engage in a few conversations with his friends. After a few minutes she led him to the bed again as his weight was getting heavier and he sounded like he was out of breath from walking around so much. "Are you alright Naruto?" Sakura asked as she lowered him onto the bed. Naruto replied with a smile "Yea I'm fine Sakura" he frowned then said" you know Sakura I don't want to be a burden to you. If you want you can just leave me here for the night and go home and rest." Sakura smiled back at Naruto and said "don't be silly." Giving him a nudge on the arm "I handled six weeks, I'm pretty sure I can handle another day." Naruto gave Sakura a nod and said "help me up; I want to try and walk on my own for a minute." Sakura nodded with a smile and grabbing his wrist and pulling him out of the bed putting his arm around her neck again. Then started leading him to the nearest wall. When they reached the wall Sakura brought his arm over her head and let go saying "Ok Naruto start walking" Naruto nodded and put his right arm against the wall for stability and balance and started walking around the room. Sakura followed closely behind incase he needed her for something or if he fell down. After five trips around the room Naruto felt he had the strength to wander around the room. He started heading for the snack table clumsily wobbling left to right. He eventually reached the table and took a rice ball out of its package and devoured it in two bites. Sakura smiled at what he just did and decided to join him at the table. She walked up and leaned her back against the table resting her arms flat on its surface. She looked at him with a smile "So Naruto" Sakura said "how'd you like to stay at my house tonight? In a different room of course." Naruto turned to face Sakura to see she was being serious. His face was blank but said "Uh sure, Sakura, I've never been invited to another house before, why so suddenly?" Sakura felt heartbroken that he was never invited to a sleep over or party. She smiled at being the first one to invite him over and said "Oh just for fun, Ino's squad is coming over for the night too." Naruto had a big smile on his face and asked "what will we be doing?" Sakura replied "Oh, hmm, I don't know to tell you the truth. We'll think of something though." Naruto smiled then paused for a minute. Sakura frowned and asked "what's wrong? Don't you want to come?" Naruto nodded saying "yes I would like to come but." 'But what?" Sakura asked. "I thought your mom didn't like me too much." Naruto said. Sakura's voice went into an aggravated sound and she rolled her eyes as she said. "Oh her, she's out of town for a while, so don't worry about it." Naruto looked back up at Sakura and smiled and said "Ok as soon as the party's over lets go to your place then." Sakura sighed in relief as she thought to herself "good I got him to stay the night at my place for the night, now I need to come up with a plan to keep him away from his house." She paused for a minute, then thought "Or maybe I should come straight out and tell him" Sakura let out a sigh then turned to Naruto and said "Naruto, I need to talk to you out in the hall." Naruto looked at Sakura with a weird look and thought to himself "ok what's going on? First she invites me to stay the night at her house, now she's asking to talk with me privately? What's she hiding?" Naruto nodded and followed Sakura out the door way. In the hallway Sakura turned to Naruto with tears in her eyes. Naruto was really wondering what was going on. "Naruto" Sakura said in a voice bumpy with emotion "I-I did something really bad, I-I-I invited you over to my house because I literally trashed your house!" Sakura fell against the wall and hid her face and cried. Naruto was frozen in time "s-she destroyed m-my house?!" Naruto thought to himself. He felt rage and anger but when he looked down at Sakura, he could see she felt bad enough about it already. Sakura looked at Naruto who was smiling like he was about to laugh. Sakura wiped a tear from her eye and asked "Na-Naruto how can you be laughing?! I destroyed your home, and I don't know how to repay you!" Then all of a sudden Naruto burst out into laughter saying "y-you don't understand Sakura, you did me a favor ha-ha-ha!" Sakura's eyes widened and thought to herself "I-I did him a favor? He doesn't have a place to live, and he's saying I did him a favor? I don't get what he's getting at." She looked at Naruto's face and asked "h-how did I do you a favor? You don't have any place to live now!" She immediately hugged around Naruto's right leg and said softly "I'm so sorry." Naruto got a grip of himself and said "don't sweat it Sakura, I was going to do it any ways. I mean, didn't you see how rundown that place was? I just wanted to save up enough to buy a small apartment, and then work my way up from there." Sakura stood up and faced Naruto and asked "s-so you're not mad?" Naruto giggled and said "of course not Sakura, I only need a thousand more dollars then I'll be good to go." Sakura smiled and said in a happy voice "alright, until you get a thousand more dollars in your pocket you can stay at my house." Naruto shook his head saying "I don't want to cause a war between you and your mom, so I'll just sleep in the par..." Naruto was cut off when Sakura put her index finger on his mouth and said in an aggravated tone of voice "You're not sleeping in the park or anywhere else! You're sleeping at my house in the guest room, got it?!" Naruto nodded being to afraid to shake his head left and right by the tone of her voice. Sakura nodded her head saying "good, shall we get back into the party?" Naruto nodded and they walked side by side back into the room. When they entered Sakura's favorite song was playing. Naruto looked at Sakura nudging her on the arm and asked "well what are you waiting for?" Sakura looked at Naruto and asked "w-what do you mean?" Naruto smiled and said "I know you're a good dancer, so hit the dance floor." Sakura blushed and said "ok, but you're dancing to it too." Naruto's eyes went wide and he thought to himself "me and my big mouth," He blushed as Sakura grabbed his hands and pulled him to the dance area. Every one started watching as Naruto and Sakura stepped in to the small clearing that had been made. Kiba restarted the song so they would have a fresh start at the song. Naruto looked into Sakura's eyes and said "you know, truthfully I'm not a very good dancer, I'll probably mess you up." Sakura giggled as she said "don't worry about it. We're among friends here, so it's not a big deal. Besides, it'll be nice of you getting in my way for a change and not the vice versa."

(Sorry I suck at describing these things, so you'll have to use your imagination to their movements. I'm working on it though. And this dance is not supposed to be romantic or anything like that. Just try and imagine your best girl friend welcoming you back from a similar situation. Or vice versa.)

I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your innovations
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Oh, oh, oh

I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inner visions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inner visions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins.

The rest is still unwritten

The rest is still unwritten

The rest is still unwritten

(Song. Unwritten)

(Artist. Natasha Bedingfield)

The room erupted into applause and cheers from the spectators. Sakura smiled at Naruto and said with a blush on her face "I-I didn't know you were such a good dancer." Naruto went pink as he said "I-I didn't know either, that was as much a surprise for me as it was for you." Tsunade came up to Sakura and Naruto and said "well Naruto, it looks like you've made a decent recovery already" while thinking to herself "thanks to the healing power of the nine tailed fox demon, Naruto can take the worst punishment imaginable to a human and be back on his feet the day he wakes up." Naruto smiled at Tsunade and said "yea, thanks to the nine tailed fox I'm almost as good as new." Tsunade smiled and said "glad to hear it, I'm going to keep you off missions for a couple weeks and give you enough time to recover your wounds." Naruto nodded as well as Sakura. Sakura turned to Naruto saying "oh yea there was something else I needed to tell you." Naruto looked at Sakura and asked "what's that" Sakura replied "I don't know how to put this exactly but I think I'm being followed by something." Naruto looked worried and said with a defensive voice "has this thing or person tried to hurt you?" Sakura shook her head and said "I think it would be best if squad eight and I told you at the same time." Naruto looked confused but he nodded nonetheless. Sakura then gave him a smile and said "well, I'm going to go talk with the girls.' She got a playful look in her eye and said "don't do anything stupid, I'd hate to have to beat you the day you wake up." Naruto looked down at the floor and replied "aw man Sakura, that hurt." Sakura slapped his arm playfully saying "oh Naruto, I wouldn't do that to you." Naruto rolled his eyes to look at Sakura and murmured to himself "yea, that's a lie." Sakura looked at Naruto with an angry face and said in an angry voice "HUH, you say something?" Naruto waved his hands in front of his face "n-no Sakura ha-ha-ha, what hakes you say that?"

A few hours later Sakura, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino and Naruto walked back to Sakura's place. Shikamaru and Choji had both of Naruto's arms around their necks though Naruto felt he could walk on his own but Sakura didn't let him. When they reached Sakura's house she unlocked the door and told Shikamaru and Choji to sit Naruto down on the couch. Naruto looked around Sakura's living room and said "you have a nice place Sakura!" Sakura smiled and said "thank you, glad you like it." Sakura went off to the kitchen; Ino followed her and asked "when do you feel you'll be ready to tell him about what we found?" Sakura paused for a moment then looked back at Naruto then looked back at Ino and said "I'll tell him in a couple minutes." Ino had a worried look on her face and asked "are you sure you want to stay here tonight? I still have the creeps from what we found." What did you find?" a voice asked from behind. Ino and Sakura turned around to see Naruto leaning against the wall. Sakura sighed and looked at Ino and said "I guess now's as good a time as any." Ino nodded and looked at Naruto and said "Naruto go sit down on the couch we'll be in there in a minute." Naruto nodded and walked back to the living room. "What ever it was, they don't seem to open too talking about it." He thought to himself limping back into the room. After five minutes of waiting Ino, Sakura and the other two boys came into the living room. Sakura sat next to Naruto and said "ok Naruto, here it is" Sakura let out a sigh and continued "this morning we found something in the basement of this house. It had the symbol of Necromancy in other words, witchcraft." Naruto stared at Sakura and asked "N-Necromancy?" Sakura nodded Choji started talking and said "when I went down into the basement the first time, I found nothing, but when all four of us went down there, we found the dead corpse." Naruto's eyes went wide and asked in a shaky voice 'y-you found a dead body in the b-basement." Everyone nodded. Shikamaru was next to talk "shortly after we found the corpse Lady Tsunade found us and she said something about it wanting to put a curse on Sakura. She then broke the symbol so to speak, she stuck a Kunai into the middle of the symbol and it disappeared." Ino shook her head and said "after the symbol vanished she told us to go find something to keep our minds off it." "And we've been followed by someone ever since." Shikamaru interrupted. Naruto was shocked to hear this and he asked "but no one was hurt right!?" The other four shook their heads "no, no one was hurt Naruto" Sakura said. Naruto took a sigh of relief and said "well, enough of that what say we do something to get that off our minds." Every one nodded "what would you like to do Naruto?" Sakura asked. "I don't know, what do you guys want to do?" Naruto asked. Before anyone responded Naruto felt someone dragging him off the couch onto the floor. He turned his head around and yelled "CHOJI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" "Pulling a prank" Choji replied. Naruto was now on the floor and was about to get up when he saw Shikamaru dive on top of Choji and said in a playful tone "Ok Choji if you're gonna play rough on someone just out of the hospital lets see how you like this!" Shikamaru pulled Choji to the center of the living room and started a wrestling match. Shikamaru had Choji pinned down with a head lock. Shikamaru looked at Ino and asked "what are you two doing just sitting there? Have some fun like Naruto said, free your heads of what's going on." Sakura and Ino looked at each other and nodded then gave Shikamaru a nasty look. The two girls jumped on Shikamaru and Choji pinning them down with their arms, holding the boys arms down. Shikamaru yelled for Naruto to help. Naruto got up and pulled Sakura off of Shikamaru while Shikamaru got Ino off of Choji which started an all out free-for-all wrestling match. Naruto got Sakura pinned down and acted like he was going to tickle her stomach. Ino looked at Sakura and yelled playfully "HANG ON SAKURA I'M COMING" then tackled Naruto off of Sakura. Ino had Naruto in a firm headlock rubbing his head with her fist. Then she was pulled off by some one grabbing her feet, she turned to see Choji and Shikamaru. Shikamaru held her down as Chojie started rolling tape around her arms and legs. Before Ino knew what happened she was a worm made out of tape only her neck and head were out from her cocoon of tape. Ino was laughing her head off trying to get free of the tape but couldn't. Meanwhile Sakura and Naruto had their own problems. Sakura lunged at Naruto but Naruto was able to dodge it sending Sakura into a chair flipping it over, Sakura got back up and gave Naruto a "you're so dead" play look. Naruto took off running with Sakura right on his trail and gaining. Naruto took a sharp turn into the basement making Sakura lose balance and slip into the living room. The other two boys stopped what they were doing to Ino and gave Sakura a nasty look. Naruto heard a scream followed by a ton of laughing. "That sounded like Sakura" Naruto thought. Naruto ran from his hiding place up the stairs and fell to the ground dying of laughter at what he saw. Sakura and Ino were hanging upside down from the ceiling by their feet in ropes and their hands tied behind their backs. While Shikamaru and Choji were teasing the girls by waving their favorite candy in front of them just millimeters out of reach of their mouths. Shikamaru saw Naruto and asked "hey Naruto where you been? You missed the good part." Naruto walked up to Shikamaru still chuckling and said "Sorry but I was kind of hiding from Sakura." He busted out in laughter and said "I wish you could have seen her nail the chair in the other room HA-HA, it was priceless" Sakura had to laugh a little at that. Naruto came up in front of Sakura saying "well, well, well whose on the end of the line now Sakura?" Naruto gave Sakura a small push making her swing back and forward. Sakura had a mad look on her face and said angrily "NAARRUUTOO! Just wait until I get out of this!"

After twenty minutes of teasing and joking the boys cut the ropes catching the girls before they landed on their heads. Even though they were the girls couldn't help but laugh. They decided it was time to do something else other than wrestling. Naruto came up with an idea and said "why don't we play hide and seek?" Every one looked at him "Aren't we a little old to play that Naruto?" Sakura asked. Naruto just shook his head and said "Nah, you're just scared of embarrassing your self. You should be more open minded to this, besides I embarrass myself everyday." Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji all looked at each other and shrugged. Sakura turned back to Naruto and said "I guess, it actually sounds kind of fun really." Naruto smiled and said "alright so who's going to be seeker first?" The five looked at each other 'we'll draw straws!" Sakura pointed out. Every one nodded and Sakura went to get the straws. Sakura got five straws out of a bag and cut one of them shorter than the others. She walked back into the living room saying "all right, come get your straws!" Naruto picked first and got a long one "YES" he shouted. Shikamaru pulled out the next straw all he did was smile as he pulled one out the same length of Naruto's straw. Ino pulled next and frowned "AH MAN!" she yelled. "Why do I have to be the first seeker?" Naruto looked at Ino and told her to lean in the corner, close her eyes and count to a hundred. Ino walked over to the corner and started counting while the others split. Naruto went into the basement followed by Sakura. Naruto looked around trying to see a good place to hide. He smiled as he saw some boxes stacked on top of each other "perfect" he whispered. Sakura looked over at him and whispered "hey, I was thinking of going there." Naruto looked back at Sakura and said "there's plenty of room for both of us over here." Sakura walked over saying "you mean hide together!? I don't think so" "89, 90, 91" Ino shouted. Sakura grabbed Naruto and threw him into the box saying "it'll have to do!"98, 99, and 100 READY OR NOT HERE I COME." Ino wasn't too bashful about where to look. It didn't take her long to find Choji hiding behind the clothes in the master closet. Shikamaru was hiding in the attic but was having trouble with his allergies. He had to move somewhere else but got caught by Ino in the hallway. "Now all I need is Naruto and Sakura" Ino thought to herself "where could they be? The only room I haven't checked yet is the basement" Ino opened the door to the basement and turned on the lights. Sakura and Naruto had fallen asleep inside the same box and didn't realize Ino had come into the basement. Sakura woke to breathing "N-Naruto I-is that y-you breathing on my shoulder?" Sakura asked. Naruto didn't wake but Sakura noticed Naruto was facing the other way which would have made it impossible for it to be his breath on her shoulder. She went into shock and slowly turned her head to the right to see who was breathing on her. "What the, no one's there, but I can feel breathing on m…" She heard a whisper say her name from the air. "AAAAGGGHHH" Sakura screamed waking Naruto and causing Ino to remove the boxes stacked on top of theirs. Sakura was in a state of fear and had tears in her eyes. Naruto put his hands on her shoulders "SAKURA SNAP OUT OF IT! SAKURA"! Sakura didn't even blink nudge or say a word even with Naruto shaking her. Sakura what's wrong?!" Ino asked but Sakura just sat there staring into space. Naruto put his arms around Sakura's back and behind her knees and picked her up carrying her to her bedroom with Ino following closely. "What happened Naruto?" Ino asked. Naruto shook his head "I don't know, probably just a bad nightmare." Ino looked at Naruto and thought 'I don't know what that was but I know enough to know that was no nightmare." Ino opened the door to Sakura's room and felt a shiver go through her spine "I don't like the chill in this room" Naruto nodded and said "yea I know what you mean." Naruto walked to Sakura's bed and laid her down "I think you might be right Ino" Naruto said. "She didn't have a nightmare. There is something else at work here." Ino looked confused and asked "h-how did you know I thought that stuff? I said that in my head not out loud." Naruto stood up and turned to Ino saying "I could see it in your eyes Ino." Naruto took a step away from the bed but felt a hand grab his pant leg. He turned to see a scared look on Sakura's face "Don't leave me Naruto!" Sakura said with fear obviously gripping her voice. "I don't want to be in this room alone." Naruto smiled and sat next to Sakura putting his arm around her shoulders saying "I can't stay in the same room with you Sakura." He looked up at Ino and asked "will you stay in here with her? She seems pretty scared." Ino nodded and told Sakura she'd stay with her, Sakura nodded. Naruto stood up and stretched while saying with a yawn "well I think I'm going to hit the sack." The two girls nodded While Ino climbed into the other half of the bed. Naruto walked for the door and turned off the light and closed the door. "Night girls" both of them replied with a smile "good night Naruto". While the girls were in their room sleeping, the boys decided to stay up a little longer. While getting their places ready for the night Shikamaru asked Naruto "so what was the deal with Sakura? Just a bad dream?" Naruto shook his head saying "I very highly doubt it was a dream that got her so scared." Naruto looked up the staircase and continued "when I was in her room, I could feel something, something that felt like it wanted to hurt someone or something." Naruto and Shikamaru turned to see Choji frozen in time with wide eyes and a scared look on his face, let alone the color had run from his face. Naruto and Shikamaru turned to each other then back at Choji then busted out laughing. Shikamaru launched himself backwards into a chair "HA-HA-HA Choji, you should see the look on your face, it's priceless HA-HA-HA" Naruto fell on his back and was rolling around on the floor "HA-HA-HA Choji you look like you've seen a ghost or something HA-HA-HA" Shikamaru walked up and put his hand on Chojis shoulder "don't worry about it man. Tsunade broke the curse so we'll be fine." Choji shook his head wildly as if trying to get a grip of himself then said "yea you're right Shikamaru, there's nothing to worry about." Shikamaru nodded "that's right, now get some shut eye."

It was now 2:38 in the morning and Ino woke to the sound of Sakura talking in her sleep "No don't go- something's, here" Ino heard thuds coming from the hallway

THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD. The thudding stopped right outside the door. Ino had a mad look on her face "those boys are asking for it now, it's two in the morning" she thought and was about to get out of bed when the door slammed open. Ino screamed making Sakura wake up "what is it Ino!?" Ino covered Sakura's mouth as the thudding came into the room. Sakura's heart was pounding inside her chest. Ino was looking all over the place trying to find the prankster but they were the only ones inside the room. Sakura and Ino felt more pressure on the bed as if someone was in it with them. Suddenly Ino was thrown across the room and slammed into a wall and was knocked out cold. Sakura looked in horror at what just happened to her friend. She felt pressure on the bed again and was suddenly dragged out of the bed across the room "AAAAGGGHHH, STOP, STOP I DON'T WANT TO DIE I DON'T WANNA DIE YET!" Sakura screamed. Sakura caught the door jamb to her room and was being shaken loose. All three boys jumped out of their places and ran up the stairs to find Sakura being dragged to one of the back rooms by nothing. Naruto grabbed one of Sakura's arms while Shikamaru grabbed the other and started pulling. Choji went and checked on Ino. Finally after three minutes of fighting, Sakura's body finally hit the ground. Sakura was crying while Naruto comforted her holding her tight wrapping his arms and legs around her. Sakura buried her face into Naruto's chest and let the tears flow. Naruto had tears coming down his face as he thought "first I lose Sasuke and that was hard enough. I'm not going to lose Sakura too." Shikamaru who had a big look of fear on his face and thought to himself "W-What the hell was that?! I thought Tsunade broke the curse when she destroyed the symbol." The lights started flickering and doors started slamming shut and open. Naruto, Choji and Shikamaru got ready for another battle with something from the supernatural. After five minutes of the lights going off and on every thing just stopped. The lights went off and the doors stopped slamming. The three boys let out a sigh of relief but it wasn't over. A loud bang and one of the most horrifying screams the boys had ever heard came from the living room. Then they herd the sound of someone running up the stairs THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD. The open bedroom door slammed shut and the scream from the living room was now in the same room as the five teens. A figure appeared in the shadows. It had horns, fangs, claws as long as the human arm, arms the length of a 6-11 human male and the body of a spider. It's eyes glowed bright yellow and blood was dripping from its mouth. It gave a death stare to the three boys who were passing out from the gaze. First to fall was Shikamaru then Choji, Naruto was the only one left standing and was on the brink of closing his eyes when he heard the glass from the window break and a figure go after the spider demon. Naruto could only see the demon get a blade in the chest then disappear and the shadowy figure running over to them, then he passed out.

Naruto woke to the shaking of his body "Naruto, wake up you're having a nightmare!" Naruto turned to see Sakura with a worried look on her face. "What the" Naruto whispered, he looked around and asked "are we still in the box?" Sakura smiled with relief and said "of course we are, were else would we be?" Naruto was about to say something but Sakura covered his mouth with her hand "quiet Ino could come down here any second!" Just as she finished saying that she heard the lights come on. "Sakura, Naruto where are you?" Ino walked down the stairs "Naruto, Sakura you can come out now. I caught Shikamaru and Choji and this is the only room I haven't checked so you guys can come out now." Sakura shot out of the box "YES!" Ino smiled and looked around "where is Naruto?" Sakura looked down "get up here the games already over!" Naruto stood up and waved at Ino. Ino smirked "so you guys were hiding together? What did I miss?" Sakuras face went red "WE WEREN'T DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT YOU PERVERT!" Ino smiled and walked off saying "well I'm tired of playing hide and seek, let's watch a movie." Sakura and Naruto nodded. "What movie are we going to watch? Naruto asked. Sakura turned to Naruto with a smirk and said "Paranormal activity, just to give Chouji a hard time." Naruto nodded and headed into the living room where Shikamaru and Choji were talking about where they were hiding. Shikamaru looked at Naruto and asked "where were you guys? Ino found me like thirty minutes ago." "We were hiding in the boxes in the basement" Sakura said. "Yea they were hiding in the same box, in the dark no less." Ino said with a big grin. Shikamaru smirked and replied "you get way too far into these things Ino." Naruto and Sakura gave Ino a nod "fine be that way.' Ino pouted and walked over to the couch. Naruto tapped Sakura on the shoulder, Sakura turned to face Naruto and asked "what is it?" "Where is the bathroom? I need some private time." Sakura nodded and said "it's up stairs second door on the left." Naruto nodded and took off up the stairs. Sakura remembered something and hollered after Naruto "NARUTO WATCH YOUR STEP, I PUT A MOUSE TR…" (SNAP) 'YEEEEOOOW!" Sakura and the others burst out into laughter as they heard Naruto weeping "A LITTLE SLOW ON THE WARNING SAKURA" Sakura looked back up the stairs and yelled back "WELL AT LEAST I TRIED DIDN'T I!?" Sakura turned to Ino and asked "ready to watch the movie?" Ino nodded and walked over to the tapes grabbing the cover to paranormal activity. When Choji saw the cover his face turned white and he asked "d-do we really have to watch a movie?! Can't we just watch a cartoon or something." Ino looked at him with a smile "you don't have to watch it, Choji you can go sleep in the other bedroom if you want." Without saying a word Choji was gone and had the door closed to the room. Ino sweat dropped as she thought "I knew he wasn't big on this stuff but wow" Ino put the tape in and Sakura turned off the lights.

Even though Sakura and Ino had seen the ending ten thousand times it still freaked them out a little. Sakura heard a crash which made her and Ino jump. Sakura looked to her right to see Naruto wasn't sitting beside her anymore. She looked up to see Naruto hanging from the ceiling fan and Shikamaru stuck to the wall with his fingernails half way dug in to the wall. The girls looked at each other then at the boys again and laughed like they had never laughed before. Sakura looked up at Naruto and waved for him to come down. She frowned when she didn't get a response from her friend who was obviously not going to move without some comfort and friendly words saying it was just a movie. She looked at Ino with a worried face and said "you know maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." Ino laughed as she said 'are you kidding? This is priceless. The strongest ninja in the Leaf Village reacting like this to a horror movie, hysterical." Sakura nodded but still had the worried look. She looked at Ino and said "I don't think they're coming down unless we talk to them, I'll get Naruto, you get Shikamaru." Ino nodded and stood up then walked to Shikamaru putting a hand on his shoulder. Sakura stood on a chair and patted Naruto's shoulder trying to calm him down. Sakura felt bad that she put Naruto through that movie. She knew how he was with this kind of stuff, but she figured he could have handled a movie at least. She grabbed Naruto wrapping her arms around his waist and pulled a little. She soon came to realize what she did was the un-smart way to get him down. Naruto lost his grip and fell face first on the hard wood floor. "NARUTO!" Sakura screamed with fear and worry in her voice. She jumped out of the chair landing on her knees, and then flipped Naruto on his back to see blood coming from his mouth and nose. She gasped, and then ran for her bathroom to get her first aid kit. Ino looked at Naruto with worry and thought to herself "man, this kid can't get a break. First he's out for six weeks, Sakura crawling all over him, rocketing to the ceiling after a horror film, and now a bloody nose and a bloody mouth." Sakura returned with a few bandages and disinfection. She looked at Naruto's face and said "ok, this is going to sting like hell. Are you ready?" Naruto nodded and Sakura started poring the disinfection on his cuts. Naruto tried to wipe the medicine off of his cuts, but Sakura caught his hands each time. She put bandages over his cuts and let out a sigh of relief. She looked at Naruto with a smile and asked "feel better?" Naruto smiled and nodded as he thought "yea, but you didn't kiss the injuries on me, major disappointment." He cried to himself. Sakura then turned her attention to see Shikamaru had gotten off the wall, but still had wide eyes. He shook his head then looked at the girls and said "don't ever make me watch that again!" Ino and Sakura looked at each other and giggled. Sakura turned her attention back to Naruto and noticed there was something wrong in his eye. "Naruto" Sakura asked "are you ok? You look disappointed or something." Naruto snapped his eyes open then looked at Sakura with a grin of embarrassment and said "n-no S-Sakura, nothing's wrong." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. Sakura looked confused but nodded none the less. Sakura smiled saying "we should get to bed." She looked at the clock and said "it's past two A.M." Everyone nodded and took their places for the night. Shikamaru claimed the couch while Ino claimed the recliner. Naruto with a still rather disappointed face claimed a spot on the floor. Sakura was readying her place, but when she saw Naruto's face, she felt a pain rush through her. She hated seeing him like this, she had a worried face as she thought to herself "I don't like this, there has got to be something bothering him. Maybe it was just the movie and he's not really big on falling asleep tonight." She smiled as Naruto fell asleep. He felt a sudden shift on the blanket. He turned to see two emerald green eyes staring him in the face "S-S-Sakura?" he asked as a blush ran across his face. Sakura smiled as she laid her head down on the pillow she brought and said "what? You think it's weird that I sleep by you tonight?" Sakura widened her eyes as she realized what she just said. She blushed and turned her head away saying "now don't get any ideas, I didn't mean it like that." Naruto chuckled as he said "I wasn't thinking of that at first, but when you brought it up..." Sakura rolled over and hit him in the arm hard yet playfully and said "pervert! Y-y-you" she let out a sigh saying "god, it's impossible to stay mad at you." Naruto chuckled as he said "I know, that is what you love about me. Sakura smiled then turned around and looked at the clock and thought "two thirty, I didn't know it was that late." She looked at the others and said "ok let's get some sleep." Everyone nodded and laid down for the night.

A few hours later Sakura woke in the night to the taste of a dry mouth. She quietly stood up being careful not to wake Naruto or the others and tippy toed into the kitchen. She got a glass out of one of the cabinets and turned on the sink. As she was drinking she saw a figure outside of the window. She studied it for a second then widened her eyes. She stepped back with fear taking hold of her body. She started sweating as the figure stared at her through the window, not even blinking. She had the urgency to scream, but when she opened her mouth nothing came out. She thought she knew fear, but this, this was new, it was true fear and she didn't like it. She watched as the figure started walking towards the window. She tried to scream and again nothing came out. The figure was now just outside the window staring at her. She shook her head to try and wake up. She looked at the window again and the figure was gone. Sakura fell into a chair behind her and she let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding. She finished her glass keeping an eye on the kitchen window just in case that thing came back. She finished her glass and walked into the living room to see a sight that troubled her. Naruto was rolling all over the floor with a look of fear on his face. He was sweating and looked like he was about to cry. She bent down and put her hand on his face hoping he would wake up, but he didn't. Naruto started jerking his head around and kicking his legs as if he were trying to get away from something. Sakura shook him a little trying to get him out of the state of fear he was in, still he wouldn't wake. Sakura was starting to get worried, Naruto was usually a light sleeper, but tonight was different. Sakura started shaking him harder and whispered in his ear "wake up, please wake up." Seemingly her wish was granted… in a way, Naruto stopped turning and his face returned to normal which meant to Sakura, the nightmare was over. She widened her eyes as Naruto plopped an arm around her as she lay back down. She turned around with the tendency to launch him, but she realized he was still sleeping. She blushed at the position they were in but went to sleep not really thinking too much about it, it was an accident after all.

A few hours later Sakura woke to an empty living room and a bunch of folded up sheets. She sat up and yawned asking herself "how late is it?" while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She looked up at the clock and shrugged saying "11:30. That's ok I don't have to work today anyway." Sakura walked into the kitchen deciding to eat an early lunch. She heard water running from the bathroom "now who could that be?" She asked herself. She walked up the stairs and walked to the closed bathroom door. "Someone's taking a shower in my house? Probably Naruto. I did say he could stay here until he gets enough money to buy his apartment." Sakura headed back down stairs to put the sheets and blankets back in the cabinets where they belonged. She piled them on top of each other then carried them up-stairs to put them back where they belong. As she was heading back down-stairs she heard the water turned off and Sakura finished her way back down-stairs. "What is Naruto going to be wearing?" She thought to herself. "I destroyed his house, and there is no way he went to his house and got back here already," Sakura took a seat at the kitchen table and waited for Naruto to come down. She heard the door open and foot steps coming down the stairs. She noticed Naruto was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, but Sakura didn't really care, all her clothes were too small for him, or way to girly for him to even think about wearing. Naruto made his way into the kitchen and sat across from Sakura. Sakura looked at Naruto and asked "when did everybody leave Naruto?" Naruto looked back at Sakura and replied "early this morning, around seven or so." Sakura nodded and let out another yawn. Naruto made a glass of milk for Sakura and for himself. "What's on the agenda for today Sakura?" Naruto asked. Sakura shrugged "I don't know, I might go for a walk or a swim today but I mostly want to relax." Naruto nodded and said "I'm going to go and walk around for a little while, just to get the full feeling back in my body." Sakura nodded and said "well I'm going to take a shower and head out when I'm done. You want to come?' Naruto shrugged and replied "sure, why not?" Sakura smiled and finished her glass then sat it down on the table. Naruto picked it up and rinsed it out in the sink and put the glasses in the dishwasher. Sakura blinked and said "y-you didn't have to do that Naruto, I was going to do the same to you." Naruto turned to face Sakura and smiled and said "I was bored anyways and decided to be nice and try to make you feel at ease." Sakura smiled and headed to the shower. She stopped and turned back to Naruto and said "Naruto don't go anywhere I still have to give you your gift." Naruto looked at Sakura and replied "all right." Sakura went into her room and pulled out some clothes and Naruto's gift. She went into the bathroom taking all the clothes and Naruto's present with her. Naruto went into the living room and started doing pushups, sit-ups and crunches.

Half an hour later Sakura came down the stairs and saw Naruto working out. She saw his biceps and abs getting more and more toned. She watched Naruto from behind the corner for a while listening to him count his sit-ups "5,000, 5,001 5,002" Naruto noticed Sakura standing in the hallway. Naruto chuckled as he said "Sakura, I know you're there." Sakura gasped and stepped out from her hiding spot and said nervously "I-uh-I wasn't watching you." Sakura's cheeks were turning pink. Naruto smirked saying "yea-yea, I don't mind it any way." Sakura walked up to Naruto and handed him a box, Naruto smiled and asked "is this the gift from you to me?" Sakura nodded and Naruto started ripping apart the wrapping and tore the box apart, Naruto's face beamed with a smile as he asked "S-S-S-Sakura where'd you get this?! I thought it was destroyed forever!" (It was the first hokages necklace worth three gold mines and the mountains on top of them.) Sakura smiled and replied "while you were lying on the ground I picked up all the pieces and put them into my weapons bag. When Tsunade was doing surgery on you I took it to the jewelry repair shop and had it re-done." Sakura looked at the ground with a face of disappointment and continued "It doesn't possess the power it did before, I'm sorry." Naruto put his hand on Sakura's shoulder that was looking at the ground and said "you have nothing to be sorry about; it wasn't your fault that the necklace got shattered, it was mine." Sakura looked up at Naruto and said defensibly "NO! It wasn't your fault either, it was that damned Akasukie member who did all that damage to you." Naruto nodded and Sakura sat there on the couch with Naruto in an awkward silence until Naruto broke the silence and asked "ready to head out?' Sakura looked at Naruto with a small smile and replied 'yea" Naruto helped Sakura up and they headed out the door.

A few hours later Naruto and Sakura stopped at a snack bar and ordered some ice cream. Then went into a shade building with open walls and few people inside. Naruto felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned around to see Rock Lee standing in front of him with a CD. "Hey bushy brow, what's up?" Naruto asked "you left this at the hospital last night Naruto" Lee replied. Handing the CD and continued "I went by your house last night to find no one was home, so I decided I'd hang on to it for you." Naruto nodded taking the CD away from Lee and said "yea I didn't go straight home last night" Naruto lied, trying not to hurt Sakura more than she already was. Lee smiled at Sakura and asked "today's your day off isn't it Sakura?" Sakura turned to Lee and nodded with a smile saying "yea it is, why? Did you have something planned?" Lee nodded and replied "I'm throwing a pool party at my place, if you guys want to come." Sakura and Naruto looked at each other and shrugged then turned to Lee "yea sure, why not" they said at the same time. Laughing a little Lee nodded saying "ok, be there around say uh-Five, five thirty? Will that work for you guys? Sakura and Naruto nodded and said "we'll be there." Lee brought his fist down hard and fast as if he was yelling "YES" inside his mind. Lee turned to walk off and paused "hey Naruto." Naruto looked at Lee and asked "yea, what?" Lee turned to Naruto asking "do you think you could bring the CD? I had the urge to blare it at my house last night, but I never opened the case." Naruto smiled and replied "sure bushy brow, I'll bring whatever I find." Lee smiled then said "Ok, I must be going now, Gai sensei is waiting for me." Naruto and Sakura nodded and Lee took off. Sakura turned to Naruto and asked "you want to go to your place and see if we can find any of your clothes?" Naruto nodded and finished his ice cream. Sakura finished hers in a big bite, but at the cost of a major brain freeze. Sakura put her hand up to her head "Ah-ah-ow" Naruto chuckled as he said "wow Sakura, that's something I would do." Sakura fake laughed and said playfully "ha-ha shut up!" and they headed off too Naruto's house

At the Hokage building Tsunade was in a conversation with a visitor. Tsunade had her usual gaze set on her village guest. "So you come from the Land of the Unknown?" Tsunade asked. A quiet aggressive voice answered back "yes, I am one of the seventeen." Tsunade's eyes widened as she asked with fear in her voice "y-you're one of the Seventeen!?" Tsunade went into thoughts "aren't they the top assassins in the entire world!? I've heard most of them aren't even fully human, if at all." Tsunade raised her head and asked "what ranking are you in the seventeen?" the assassin replied "That's not any of your concern; I am here to request reinforcements for the Land of the Unknown." Tsunade widened her eyes and asked with a voice in awe "w-who's attacking the Land of the Unknown? From what I've heard they have the strongest military." The assassin stood from his bow saying "yes it's true, we do have the strongest military. However, they are all mortal. Only the seventeen assassins who are the immortal brotherhood of this land. We are either half demon or trapped between realms of the living and the dead." Tsunade's eyes widened into fear and yet at the same time awe. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the assassin say "I hear there is a boy in this village who has a demon sealed inside of him. Is this true?" Tsunade looked up at the assassin and thought "Naruto". The assassin broke her thoughts again as he said "either way, time is running out for the Land of the Unknown." He walked over to a window and studied the scenery and the village then turned to Tsunade and said with an ever deeper voice "and time is running out for this continent as well. The Black army of the Necromancers and the demonic army from Hell its self will be ready to mobilize and attack the Land of the Unknown in four years time. So far we have recruited an army over forty million strong, but compared to the armies of Nengushail (Nen-gu-shail) and his undead army of over sixty million we are nothing. We need at least a hundred million more recruits to be able to at least pose a threat, and three hundred million to have a chance of hope." He walked to the other side of the room and gave Tsunade a warning saying "If the Land of the Unknown can not stop this threat, no one will." Tsunade let out a sigh and said with a scared voice "so you're saying if we lose this battle, every one will die?!" The assassin kept staring out the window and answered "if we can not stop Nengushail, he will bring the world into darkness and feed off the innocent, right down to the last infant." The assassin turned to look at Tsunade and said 'in order to stop him we need to mobilize quickly. The armies of Nengushail are preparing their invasion forces as we speak. I was sent here to find heroes, that's what I intend to bring back." He gave Tsunade a death glance which knocked her into fear and said "you have four days to assign the four most powerful ninja you have in this village." Then the assassin vanished into a shadow and disappeared from the room. Shizune looked at Tsunade and asked "y-you're not thinking of sending Naruto on this are you? I mean he just got out of the hospital last night." Tsunade leaned back in her chair and let out a heavy sigh and said "I don't know what to do. If what that assassin just told me is true, I won't have another choice." Shizune sighed then said "I've heard that their military training is twenty times harder than ours, and we have the best military on this continent. Do you think they will be all right?" Tsunade looked up at Shizune and asked "who-who will be all right?" Shizune looked down at Tsunade and said "Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi of course." Tsunade looked back down in thought then looked up saying "even with the Akasukie mobilizing, all this happens, Naruto will not be able to handle the walk there, and it's a forty day trip once you get out to sea." Shizune looked at Tsunade and asked "do you think the stories are true about this place? I've heard that mystical creatures live on this large island surrounded by mist and fog. I wonder how big that place is. I've seen pictures of the place in a book several years back, before Naruto and Jaraiya found us back when Naruto was learning the Rasengan. Nearly three years ago, I thought it was just a kids book at the time, but now it looks like such a place does exists." Tsunade nodded and replied "it's twice the size of this continent, if not more. Only two books exist in the world that describe the place and one has been turned to ash and the other has only been seen by two people for the past two hundred years. This book is ancient and holds the secrets of the land, but is locked by a magical spell that prevents anyone from reading it; you must be born of a certain blood line to open it, but that line ended several hundred years ago." Shizune had the look of a thousand questions on her face but remained silent. Tsunade continued "if I send Naruto, this village will suffer the attack from the Akasukie and fall in ruin, but if I don't send Naruto the world will surly fall to its knees and all life will be dominated." Shizune looked at Tsunade and said with worry in her voice "that assassin guy said Nengushail has an army that grows by twenty thousand a day, and within the next four years, the mortal armies will be out numbered and all human life will be extinguished and devoured by this demon who has twice the power of Satan." Tsunade looked at Shizune and said with an urgent voice "I want you to go to Sakura's house in the morning and tell her to meet me at the gate of the village. See where that assassin went off too in the mean time, tell him I won't be able to send four, but he'll get at least two of our best ninja in the village!" Shizune nodded and ran out the door to find the assassin.

Naruto and Sakura had reached Naruto's house and Sakura didn't feel at ease. She had thoughts running through her head "OOH, I know he said he was going to get rid of it once he moved out, but I still feel terrible that this happened." Naruto opened the door to his old house and stopped dead in his tracks. "S-Sakura y-you real-you weren't joking when you said you destroyed my house. Sakura had a tear run down her face "I'm sorry Naruto! I was trying to get a clue to what TV show or music you liked so I came here." Sakura's voice was bumpy with emotion. She seemed to be trying to hold back tears but was losing the battle. Naruto turned with a smile on his face and said "NAH, don't sweat it, like I said I was going to move out anyways." Then he turned around and started walking. "BE CAREFUL NARUTO!" Sakura yelled out "THIS FLOOR ISN'T ENTIRELY STAB…" (CRASH) The floor had given into Naruto's weight and collapsed. Sakura rushed to the hole that Naruto fell through and asked with a worried voice "NARUTO ARE YOU OK?!" Naruto was lying on a basket of cloths with his arms folded behind his head. Naruto opened one eye and said "OH man, I'm glad I decided to do laundry the day before we left. That could've been bad!" Sakura laughed a little and jumped down the hole to the basement floor. Naruto pulled some shorts out of the basket then turned to Sakura and said "found my swimming trunks!" as he stretched them out with a big grin on his face. Naruto and Sakura stared at each other for a moment in silence, then they both burst out into laughter. Naruto fell flat on his back while Sakura leaned against the wall losing feeling in her legs. Sakura looked at Naruto and said "M-maybe-maybe that hole helped you out a little" then collapsed on the floor still laughing. Naruto got a grip of him self and looked around the basement "wow, even the bathtub huh?" Sakura stopped laughing as Naruto stood up and started looking around for belongings. Naruto went over to an area where part of the wall laid on the floor. He started sweeping some of the derbies off of it then tried to pick it up. He tried with all his might then gave up and looked at Sakura and asked "can you give me a hand Sakura?" Sakura nodded and walked over beside Naruto and put her hands under the wall. She looked at Naruto and said "ok on the count of three lift the wall." Naruto nodded. Sakura counted up "one, two, and THREE!" Naruto and Sakura lifted the wall and while Sakura held the wall above her head Naruto scattered things around looking for belongings and treasures. "Find anything Naruto?" Sakura asked as Naruto climbed out from under the wall. Naruto shook his head while he replied 'nothing of importance" Naruto walked to another collapsed wall but was able to move it on his own. Naruto kicked the debris off the floor clearing an area where he saw the edge of a photo. He cleared the small pieces of wood and wall from the picture and smiled and said "at least this didn't get ripped too badly." Sakura walked over beside Naruto asking "what is it?" Naruto turned to show her the picture. All Sakura could do was smile as she thought to herself "I forgot that this picture means more to Naruto than anything in the world." It was the photo of team seven back when they graduated from the academy." Sakura took the photo from Naruto's hand and looked at it "this sure brings back memories, doesn't it Naruto?" Sakura asked. Naruto nodded and turned back to digging things out while saying 'that photo is what keeps me going with that promise I made you three years ago." Sakura looked from the picture to Naruto and asked "this is the only thing that keeps you going?" Sakura sat down against the wall and asked "is there anything other than that as to why you hang on to this picture Naruto?" Naruto froze for a moment and turned to Sakura with a sad face and said "that's the closest thing I had to a family my whole life. I considered Sasuke as a brother, Kakashi, as my father and you as my sister." Naruto had tears flowing from his eyes as he continued "now with Sasuke gone it seems as though you're breaking from me too." Sakura stared at Naruto in wonder "why would he think that I'd leave him? We've always looked out for each other and protected each other. Why would he think that I'm leaving him too?" Sakura stood up and walked over to Naruto and kneeled beside him and said in a soft voice "Naruto, why do you think that I'd leave you after all we've been through?" She sat by Naruto and said "I wont leave you, I consider you as my brother; I stay by your side when you get hurt badly, and I look after you while you look after me. Our friendship is one of the strongest on the planet. I do admit I still have feelings for Sasuke but I'm not that crazy about him anymore." She took a photo out of her bag and showed it to Naruto and pointed at team Asuma "Ino, Shikamaru and Choji they consider you a relative to their own families." She moved her finger over to Tsunade "Tsunade considers you to be her son; she said it herself in the hospital a few days ago. You brought her here to the Hidden Leaf Village to be named the fifth Hokage." She moved her finger over to team Gai "Lee respects you as a rival and a friend same as Neji and Tenten." She moved her finger to team Kurenai "Hinata has always liked you, ever since our days at the academy. Kiba used to hate you but is now defiantly one of your closest friends and Shino well-he-he-umm, never mind." She moved her finger over to Kakashi and Jiraiya. They consider you as their top student, Jiraiya taught you the Rasengan which is a jutsu not even the fourth Hokage mastered, you on the other hand made the Rasengan with a shadow clone. The forth Hokage didn't even get the rotation to form." Sakura then pointed at her on the picture "and I consider you as my little brother." She looked at Naruto who was looking at her with tears flowing down his cheeks staring her in the eye. She put her arm around Naruto and gave him a hug "I'm not going to leave you, don't ever think that!" She started tearing "thanks Naruto, now I'm getting emotional." Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes and replied "no problem Sakura."

A few hours have passed, Naruto and Sakura were getting ready for Lee's pool party. While Sakura was in the bathroom getting changed Naruto was in the guest bed room putting on his swim trunks. After he put them on he sat on the bed, and waited for Sakura to come out. Five minutes passed, Naruto was lying on the bed when he heard the door to the bathroom open. He sat up and ran into the hall way to meet Sakura. When he turned the corner he stopped dead in his tracks. His jaw hit the ground, his tongue rolled out of his mouth and his eyes zoomed out of his head. Sakura was standing in the hall way in a bright pink two piece bikini. She turned to see Naruto's ridiculous look on his face "uh-Naruto?" She asked. Naruto's only response was "GAH-GAH-GAH" Sakura smirked then turned and headed to her room. Naruto was still in his dream land when he felt a slap go across his face. He came back to reality and was rubbing his cheek. Sakura had returned from her room with a shirt that ended below her belly-button and a short skirt that went a quarter of the way down her thighs with sandals on her feet. "Ready to go?" she asked. Naruto nodded and they headed out the door. Naruto was carrying the towels and CDs that Lee requested while Sakura carried some snacks they were asked to bring earlier. Sakura looked at Naruto and asked "how long do you want to stay at the party Naruto?" Naruto shrugged and answered "I don't know, we'll have to see what's happening with everyone first." Sakura nodded and looked at her watch "It is 5:45 right now and Lee's house is right around the corner here. We might be the first ones there." There was a loud crash from the alley, Naruto and Sakura turned to the alley and waited for a minute. A cat came running from the alleyway running between Sakura and Naruto. "What do you think got in to him?' Naruto asked Sakura was about to answer but heard a crash on the ground. She looked down to see Naruto shaking a fist, then she looked back up to see a dog barking up a tree. Sakura laughed and thought "it all makes sense now; the cat was running from the dog which equals the dog hitting Naruto in the back of the knee and making him flip backwards. Yep makes total sense now." She felt a poke to her side which made her laugh a little 'w-what N-Naruto?" pushing his finger away. Naruto replied "are we going to stand here all day or go to the party?" Sakura smirked "well that was the original plan, but if you insist we ca..." Naruto grabbed Sakura's arm and ran for Lee's house. When they reached Lee's house, they knocked on the door and waited, No answer. They knocked again but heard weeping from behind the door. Sakura put her ear to the door and listened. She looked at Naruto "someone's crying in there, it sounds like Lee." Naruto slammed the door open to see Lee covered in blood and a dead corpse in front of him. Sakura and Naruto rushed over to him "LEE!" they both called out at the same time. Lee looked up at the two who were treating his wounds. Sakura gave him a worried look and asked "Lee what happened?" She looked over at the corpse and said in a voice of fear "tha-that thing, it's not human!" Naruto went over too it and kicked it in the head. "What the hell is this thing?" he kicked it again, the corpse made a horrifying groan which made Lee's hair stand on end. The corpse was pushing its self up showing the front side of its body. Sakura had the urge to puke while Naruto got a kunai ready. The corpse was standing on both of its legs. Lee, Sakura and Naruto were getting ready to fight when they heard a window smash open. The three looked in the direction of the window to see a black figure running head-on at the living dead corpse. The figure was moving too fast for anyone to see who it was. Before Naruto could do anything, the figure tackled the corpse going through a window and jumping up the sides of the building carrying the corpse. Naruto and Sakura ran over to the smashed window and looked at the roof of the next house. They saw a ball shaped figure coming back at them. Sakura and Naruto watched in disgust as the head of the corpse hit the concrete of the alleyway with a sickening thud. Sakura turned back to Lee who was holding his leg and groaning in pain. She ran over to him "Lee tell me what happened!" Lee gave Sakura a look of sadness then looked back down at the ground and started talking. "I was having supper with my parents, getting ready for the party. We heard the front door slam open and my dad went to see who it was. I heard him scream in fear and pain at the same time, and then his body went flying through the wall." Lee looked over at a pool of blood and said "my mother was dragged into the alley and, I don't even want to know what happened to her." Lee started crying, still talking "I saw a hooded man in a black cloak with a symbol of some kind of magic, but I don't know what kind. Ever since then my leg has been pouring out blood and I didn't get hurt at all." Sakura looked down at Lee's leg and ripped the pant leg open. Her eyes widened "w-what the, that symbol, that's what was down in my basement a few nights ago." Naruto looked at Lee's leg then asked Sakura "w-what is that symbol Sakura?!" Sakura looked over at Naruto and replied "Tsunade said it was the symbol of Necromancy, the dark magic that brings the dead back to life." Naruto's legs were shaking "b-b-b-bringing the d-d-dead back to life?!" Sakura sweat dropped and thought to herself "he can handle demons, but when it comes to ghosts or the undead, he's a coward.' She smirked "wow Naruto even after all that trouble with the priestess from the Land of Tea, I figured you'd be over that by now."

CHAPTER THREE

FRIEND OR FOE

Sakura and Naruto took Lee to the hospital and called for Lady Tsunade. After twenty minutes of waiting, Tsunade opened the door to find Naruto and Sakura sitting beside Lee. Tsunade walked over behind Sakura and asked "so what's wrong with him?' Sakura stood up and walked over to Lee's left leg and opened the pant leg. Tsunade's eyes widened "is-is that the same symbol that was down in your basement Sakura?" Sakura nodded and told Tsunade about what happened at Lee's house. Tsunade nodded and replied 'very well, Sakura, Naruto I need you to go home and get some rest, I'm sorry but I can't give you the next two weeks off duty!" Naruto and Sakura looked at Tsunade in shock and yelled "HUH?!" Tsunade bowed her head saying "I'll explain everything tomorrow morning. Meet me at the village gate at 7:30 tomorrow morning, and tell Kakashi not to be late! This is important." Sakura and Naruto nodded and walked out the door. Naruto looked back at the hospital room and turned to face Sakura and asked "what's eating her today?" Sakura shook her head and replied "I don't know, but it must be something big." Naruto nodded as they continued down the hospital.

Later on that evening Ino came by Sakura's house and asked if she'd like to come out with her squad. Sakura told Ino to wait at the door while she went to grab a couple things. Ino stood at the door way and listened as Sakura talked to someone in the house "Ino wants to know if we want to go out with her squad to eat." Ino heard a familiar voice "sure, where are we eating?" Sakura replied "I have no idea." Ino heard foot steps coming her way, Sakura came back outside then turned back to the house "WE'LL BE OUTSIDE" she got the reply "OK, BE THERE IN A MINUTE." Sakura turned to Ino who had a curious face "who's in there Sakura?" Ino asked. Sakura smiled and replied "Naruto came over for a while; he ended up staying longer than he intentioned." Ino replied "OHH, ok". A few minutes passed and Naruto came out the door in the suit Ino got him for the party. Ino smiled "wow! Naruto you look pretty good in dark blue." Sakura just nodded in agreement. Naruto blushed a little and stuttered to say "t-thanks Ino." Ino smiled and said "well, shall we be off?" Naruto and Sakura nodded and they headed off. Naruto walked up beside Ino and asked "so where we going Ino?" Ino turned to Naruto and replied with a smile "we're going to Arabia barbeque" Naruto and Sakura chuckled at each other "we should have known, that's chouji's favorite place to eat." Sakura said. Naruto nodded and replied "yea I wonder if we'll have anything to eat, you know what kind of appetite he has."

When they arrived at Arabia they noticed Shikamaru and Chouji had already taken their seats and were sitting across from each other talking. Ino, Sakura and Naruto walked over and joined them. Sakura and Naruto sat across from Shikamaru and Choji, Ino sat on the end of the table. They ordered their meals and started talking. They talked about the Necromancy in Sakura's house and what happened to Lee. Ino, Shikamaru and Choji widened their eyes. 'I-it got to Lee too?!" Ino asked in a worried tone of voice. Sakura nodded and replied 'the symbol was carved in a scar on his leg, covered in blood." The waitress came back and gave them their food and asked if they needed anything else. They shook their heads and said no. Sakura turned to Naruto "we shouldn't stay long, we have that mission tomorrow Naruto." Naruto nodded while his mouth was full of food. Ino looked at Sakura and asked "what? You guys are already going on a mission again? " Sakura nodded and looked at Ino and said "we were supposed to have a few weeks off but something came up. I didn't really agree with it, with Naruto just getting out of the hospital just the other day but Lady Tsunade didn't ask for my opinion." Ino nodded and said "well, be careful out there" she looked at Naruto and continued 'don't do anything stupid." Sakura and Naruto both nodded then, Ino started chuckling "like usual' Ino forced out from the chuckles. Naruto and Sakura gave her an angry look. Naruto finished his meal followed shortly by Sakura. Sakura looked over at Naruto and said "we'd better get going, Tsunade wanted us to be there at 7:30 tomorrow morning." Naruto looked over at Sakura and nodded and said "all right lets go" They stood up from their seats, said good bye to Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. While Sakura was saying good bye to Ino, Naruto paid for their meals and waved for Sakura.

While walking back too Sakura's house Naruto remembered they needed to tell Kakashi. He looked at Sakura and said "hey Sakura, you go on home, there's something I need to do." Sakura looked at Naruto with a confused face and asked 'are you sure? I can go with you if you want." Naruto gave her a smile and replied "nah, you just go home and get some sleep. I'm just going to go back to my house and get my weapons and equipment. I also need to tell Kakashi we're heading out tomorrow." Sakura nodded and headed off while Naruto went in a random direction..

Sakura went and hid behind a building and watched around the corner and thought to herself 'I didn't like the tone in his voice, something's not right here. He didn't even go in the direction to either his house or Kakashi's house." As she started walking she felt a hand grab her mouth and another grab her waist and started pulling her into an alley. Her eyes went wide as she saw five men pull out knives and started walking towards her. The man who was holding her pushed her into the wall of a building and turned her around then pushed her on the ground. He pulled out a knife and started unzipping her shirt. She was only able to let out a sequel before the man slapped her face telling her to shut up. Her zipper was almost fully unzipped when the man was sent flying through the air and slammed into the far building's wall. Sakura blinked at what just happened and saw the five other men watching the alley inch by inch with faces of fear. Then out of no where Kunai and Shuriken rained from the sky slashing their cheeks, arms and legs. A figure appeared behind one of them and sank a blade through his chest. The figure disappeared into the shadows of the alley then dragging another one into the darkness of the shadow by his feet with the man screaming for his life. The screaming was ended by a sick slashing sound and a cry of pain. The other three gang members started running but more Kunai and Shuriken came flying at them from the darkness. One of the gang members fell from a Shuriken digging deep into the back of his knee. He looked up to see his friend's heads sliding off their necks and the figure approaching him slowly pulling out a small dagger. The gangster cried for him to get back and started backing towards Sakura but the figure grabbed his foot and dragged him too the shadow. Sakura could still see what was going on from the moonlight on the alley wall. The figure stuck the dagger through the gangsters throat and cut his head off. Sakura was trembling with fear as thinking to her self "I-I hope he's here to defend me, if he's not I'm in trouble. He handled those six gangsters with such little ease and they weren't too small either." The figure stepped out of the shadows keeping his face hidden in the darkness of night. He looked at Sakura for a moment then started jumping up the walls, onto the roofs of the buildings. Sakura zipped her shirt back up and started running after him yelling "WAIT!" but when she got on top of the building her rescuer jumped on, she found nothing. She looked every where visible, but never found him.

A few hours later Naruto came back too Sakura's house and noticed her sitting on the porch looking at the stars deep in thought. Naruto walked over beside her and asked 'what's wrong Sakura?" Sakura sighed and replied 'nothing Naruto." Naruto shook his head while saying "Sakura I know you better than that. I can tell that something's wrong by the look in your eyes." Sakura bowed her head between her knees and said "when you left to go tell Kakashi, I was drug into an alley and six men tried to rape me." Naruto started gritting his teeth and his eyes were turning red and asked in an irritated tone. "Some people tried to rape you!? I'll see their heads on my wall." Sakura grabbed Naruto's arm and said "There is no need for that, they're already dead." Naruto returned to his normal self and asked. "Y-you killed them Sakura?" Sakura shook her head and replied "I was saved by someone else. I couldn't make out his face because he hid in the shadows of the alleyway and at the perfect angle from the moon." Naruto sat beside Sakura and asked "so who was he?" Sakura looked at Naruto and replied "I have no idea; I wish you could have seen him fight though. He used his surroundings perfectly and killed each one of those gangsters like they were nothing, and they were pretty good sized too. When he killed the last one he stepped out of the shadows to reveal he wore a dark green cloak, a black mask covering his face and I could make the outline of a hood in the dark. He wielded a bow with several arrows and two blades on each side of his waist. I couldn't make out his eye color." Naruto stood up and asked "so you didn't ask his name or anything?" Sakura shook her head and replied "before I had a chance to even thank him, he started jumping up the walls as if he was scared or something. He moved through the air so quietly that it was like he didn't even exist. When I gave pursuit to thank him I told him to stop but when I reached the top of the building he went to, he was gone, like he had completely disappeared." Naruto's eyes widened as he said 'I very highly doubt he was scared. Maybe he just thought it would be better if you didn't know him." Sakura let out a heavy sigh and said "yea maybe so, I wish I could have at least gotten his name though." Naruto smiled and replied "yea, it's a pain when something like that happens. Then again there is always the possibility he was scared to approach you, but someone like that would normally be able to at least say his name or something or maybe walk you home." Sakura sighed and said "well, we better get to sleep, its past 11:30." Naruto nodded and gave Sakura his hand to help her up. She smiled and took his hand and looked at the sky one last time in thought "thank you, who ever you were." Then walked inside with Naruto and closed the door.

The next morning Naruto woke to Sakura shaking him "Naruto wake up! We over slept. We have to go now!" Naruto dived out of bed putting his shirt on, grabbed Sakura's hand and ran out the door. They stopped in the kitchen shoving food and supplies in their bags. Sakura looked at Naruto and said "if you need more weapons there's some in that top cabinet." Naruto opened the cabinet door to fined Kunai knives, Shuriken and scrolls. He turned to Sakura and asked "kind of an odd place for weapons don't you think.?" Sakura giggled and started walking for the door. Naruto ran up beside her and opened the door for her. They started walking down the road "I wonder how Lee's doing?" Sakura asked. Naruto shook his head and replied "hope he's doing ok, that was pretty scary with what happened last night." Sakura nodded and said "Yea, but you weren't the one who almost got raped by a bunch of gangsters. I can still hear their screams but they got what they deserved." Naruto looked over at Sakura and said "I wonder where that guy is now. You know, the one that saved you?" Sakura shook her head and replied 'I don't know, but I hope we meet again." Naruto nodded while saying "I'd like to thank that guy, who ever he was. I'm sorry I couldn't have been there for you Sakura." Sakura smiled and said in a kind voice 'it's all right, that guy who ever he was definitely, had the urge to protect me. At least I'm safe right now, that's all that matters." Naruto grinned as he said "yea, I'm not going to lose you too, I'm not going to lose you like I lost Sasuke." Sakura nodded 'as long as we stay together on this mission we should be fine."

They finally reached the gate and saw Lady Tsunade looking out into the forest. She turned to see Naruto and Sakura running at her. When they reached Tsunade she had a mad look "bout time you two, you do realize you're ten minutes late?!" Sakura bowed "I'm sorry me-lady, my alarm clock didn't go off." Tsunade sighed "very well, where is Kakashi?" Naruto looked around "I told him to be here and it was of the upmost importance that he not be late." Just then a puff of smoke appeared behind them. Naruto and Sakura turned and yelled "YOU'RE LATE!" Kakashi rubbed his hand behind his head then pointed in a random direction "well you see a black cat crossed my path so I took the long way around." Naruto and Sakura looked at each other for a moment then looked back at Kakashi "YOU'VE ALREADY USED THAT EXCUSE YOU LIAR!" Tsunade sighed then looked at the three ninja "ALL RIGHT LISTEN UP!" The three ninja looked at Tsunade as she continued "The Land of the Unknown has requested recruits from every village in every nation around the world." Sakura Naruto and Kakashi looked surprised. Sakura thought to herself 'The Land of the Unknown? I thought that place was just a myth.' Naruto raised his hand "uh-question, what's the Land of the Unknown?" Tsunade let out a sigh then said "it doesn't surprise me you don't know about this place Naruto, very few people do." Naruto nodded 'yea-ok, but what is it?' Sakura turned to Naruto " you wouldn't believe us if we told you." Naruto smirked 'try me!' Tsunade looked up at Naruto "it is a land twice as big as this continent. Its shores are hidden by a thick fog that never goes away since that is where cool and warm water meet. That is all I know about this place." Naruto smiled "Ah-come on Grandma Tsunade, if that was supposed to be a scary story or something it needs work." Tsunade turned around and looked out at the forest and said in a serious tone "One of their messengers told me that the demon of Nengushail is building an army of demons and undead alike." She turned to face Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi and continued "Nengushail has twice the power of Satan, if not more. His army increases by twenty thousand by the day and is readying an attack on the world." She looked at Sakura and Naruto and continued "although the Akasukie will no doubt attack this village in the next few years, you will not be here when that happens." Naruto's eyes shot open as he yelled "WHAT?! WHY WOULDN'T WE BE HERE?! It's not like we'll be on this mission forever." Tsunade shook her head 'You're right. You won't be on this mission forever, truthfully I don't even expect you three to return alive from this mission." Sakura's, Naruto's and Kakashi's eyes all shot open "w-why don't you expect us to return Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked. Tsunade let out a heavy sigh as she said sadly "it's because you probably won't. This army that the unknown is calling for is going to be at least three hundred million people at the minimum." Sakura and Naruto's only thoughts were 'WHO!" Sakura finally got the strength to ask "who will be leading us there? We don't know the way there." Tsunade looked up wide eyes and said 'oh that's right I almost forgot, I'd like you to welcome your new teammate." A figure dropped out of the sky behind Tsunade and stared at Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi. The figure walked up beside Tsunade and didn't say a word at all. Naruto's eyes went wide as he yelled in disbelief "YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! HE'S OUR TEAMMATE!?" Tsunade nodded with a smile. 'Yep he's the one." Naruto's face turned red as he walked over to their new teammate. Naruto studied him for a minute then looked at Tsunade and said "you got to be kidding me, he looks like one big weak…" Naruto was launched skipping along the ground like a skipping rock on the surface of water before slamming into the wall of a building fifty yards away. Sakura and Kakashi watched in shock at the street clouded in dust. Sakura ran over to Naruto who was lying in a pile of bricks. Sakura put one of his arms around her shoulder and carried him over to Tsunade. When they reached Tsunade Sakura healed Naruto's wound while Tsunade watched. Sakura looked up at their new teammate and studied him for a minute. As she healed Naruto she thought to herself "He wears a dark green cloak and hood, he's wearing a black mask that covers his face. So far quiet unlike Naruto!' as she looked down at Naruto. She looked back at their robed teammate and continued thinking. He has a bow and several arrows, from the look of it I'd say maybe around a hundred or so. She looked at his waist 'two blades? He's surely not the one who, rescued me is he?" She continued looking at him "he wears black gloves with spikes on the knuckles. And his eyes and the bottom part of his forehead and top part of his nose bridge is the only skin he shows at all." She looked at his eyes "his eyes are dark blue and from the look in his eyes he means business." She continued looking at his eyes and saw blood thirst/death and the screams of a thousand people. She thought to herself "who is this guy? He hasn't even blinked once since we've met." She felt Naruto starting to get up. She looked down to see Naruto gritting his teeth pulling out a Kunai. He shot up out of Sakura's lap and charged at his teammate. The man in front of him vanished and Naruto stopped where he was. Naruto looked around trying to find his target. He felt a fist hit him in the stomach which made his eyes roll back in his head and went flying head first through a wall made of brick and into the building it supported. Sakura gave the man a dirty look but couldn't blame him as Naruto was the attacker. Tsunade looked down at Sakura and said "Sakura I'd like you to meet Night Blade." Sakura looked up at Tsunade with wide eyes and thought "Night Blade? Tha-That's an assassin name. She turned to see Naruto charging at him again and yelled "NARUTO! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Naruto came to a halt and looked at Sakura who had an irritated look on her face and walking towards him saying 'Naruto this guy is obviously out of your league and…" she was interrupted by Tsunade "He's one of the seventeen Naruto." Sakura's eyes widened in fear as Tsunade continued. "He's a highly skilled self trained assassin, his name is Night Blade." Sakura's blood went cold as she thought "no way, one of the Seventeen! Here?! I thought they were just a legend, apparently not." Naruto gave the assassin a dirty look and returned too Sakura's side. Tsunade approached Sakura and gave her an envelope and said "I want you and Naruto to read his file when you get the chance. He was generous enough to at least give us his background." Tsunades face suddenly went sad. "You may find his background… interesting to say the least." Sakura nodded at Tsunade and said "will do." Sakura turned back to Naruto who was having an intensive stare at their new teammate. Sakura elbowed Naruto saying "Hey Naruto cut it out! He took you out as if you were nothing and you're definitely one of the strongest ninja in the Leaf Village." Naruto didn't even bother to look at Sakura; he just kept staring at the robed man. Sakura was about to say something but was cut off by Naruto "HEY, YOU!" The assassin looked up at Naruto with a gaze that would send fear to the heart of Satan himself. Naruto, Tsunade, Sakura and Kakashi all took a few steps back in fear from the sudden change in his eyes. Naruto finally got a grip on himself and yelled "WHAT? IS THAT ALL YOU GOT!?" Every one looked at Naruto and Sakura rushed over to cover his mouth. When she reached him she let out in an angry tone of voice "Shut up you idiot! He's more than you can handle and…" Sakura felt the presence of something behind her. She and Naruto turned their heads to see Night Blade staring at them with a different appearance in his eyes. They had turned blood red and turned to the eyes of a snake and Sakura read them like an open book. They were filled with vast slaughter, murder and it seemed the hand of Satan was reaching to pull them into Hell its self. Sakura and Naruto lost feeling in their legs and collapsed on the ground shaking in fear at what they were staring at. Sakura looked at Naruto who seemed to be in a much worse state. As much as she didn't want to she looked back up at the assassin and yelled "WHAT DID YOU DO TO NARU…" She was cut off when her eyes met his. They were cold/dark and had the desire for blood spill written all over them. His gaze grew heavier on her and she felt a coma coming over her. She closed her eyes and found herself falling through a pitch black hole with a red surface at the bottom. She hit the bottom softly as if gravity didn't exist. She landed on her back and fell asleep.

Sakura woke to bright flashes and thunder. When she opened her eyes she could feel tears running from her eyes and down her cheeks. The sky had turned orange red with dark black clouds. Lightning and thunder seemed to go off non-stop. As she started to look around her she saw dead bodies of all her best friends lying in a circle around her. She looked at her surroundings to figure out where she was. She was facing a dead forest where the trees were burned and lifeless, not a leaf was in the forest. When she turned the other way she broke out into tears and started crying. The entire Hidden Leaf Village was in flames and bodies of the dead villagers and shinobi were lying all over the streets and building walls. She started running towards the Hokage building but was stopped by someone grabbing her leg making her fall down. She looked behind her to see the corpse Ino trying to pull her into the alleyway. Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs to see her friends lower jaw was missing and blood was pouring from open slashes and cuts all over her body. Sakura finally got the strength to kick the dead Ino away and ran down an alleyway across the street. As she was running she looked back to see the town villagers chasing after her at incredible speed. She started crying harder and ran as fast as she could down the alley. She took a sharp left turn nearly loosing her balance but caught herself on a building wall. She started running again as fast as she could again. The screams of the villagers was a horrifying sound to her ears and sent chills down her spine. She took a hard right turn supporting herself with a building wall. The screams of the villagers was getting closer but from a different angle. She looked in front of her to see another horde of villagers coming after her with knives and other weapons. She stopped and looked the other way as the other horde was approaching her from behind. She looked up at the walls to see more zombies coming at her, drooling saliva from their mouths. Sakura prepared herself for certain death thinking to herself "would they like some seasoning? Or just the original?" One of the villagers from one of the hordes was reaching out to her but then disappeared along with all the others. Sakura looked around confused. She looked up, down and all around to find no horde whatsoever. Sakura let out a sigh of heavy relief and leaned against the wall before falling to the ground. "What the hell was all that?!" she wondered. She heard footsteps coming from the alley way. She immediately turned her head to see what was coming. For the first time she smiled as she saw her best friend Naruto running at her yelling "SAKURA!" Sakura wiped a tear from her eyes and started running at him "NARUTO! I'M OVER HERE!" Sakura was waving at him as she ran to him. Sakura slowed as she saw the background and sky behind him turn pitch black. She came to a complete stop and looked behind her. The alleyway was getting longer, like it does in a horror film chase scene. She looked back towards where Naruto was "what the?! I could have sworn Naruto was right there." She took a few steps forward and nervously asked "N-N-Naruto? Where are you?" She stared into the darkness for a bit. A loud growling noise came from the dark part of the alley. Sakura was shaking in fear as the growls got closer "NARUTO STOP! YOU'RE SCARING ME!" Her eyes widened as several tentacle like arms came out of the darkness aiming for her. She jumped and dodged all the tentacles but they easily changed their course and headed up towards Sakura. Sakura got a kunai ready and prepared for a fight. As she was coming back down she slashed off four out of eight tentacles. Se heard a scream of pain from the darkness. The other four tentacles went back into the darkness and a figure walked out of the shadow. Sakura's smile came back "NARUTO!" She yelled. She started running at Naruto again. She was in touching distance of Naruto but screamed when she realized Naruto was not himself. Fangs were sticking out of his mouth and his eyes were blood red. His fingernails had turned to claws. Sakura ran in the other direction as fast as she could. She didn't dare look back at what was following her. She could hear a voice close behind her yelling "WHAT'S THE MATTER SAKURA? DON'T YOU WANNA PLAY?" Sakura screamed back "NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" She heard a very low pinched voice whisper in her ear. "Come on Sakura, it'll be fun." Sakura screamed "I DON'T CARE! LEAVE ME ALONE" Sakura's eyes were fixed in front of her and in the middle of what seemed a never ending alleyway. She heard a demonic laugh right behind her. Suddenly she couldn't move. She tried to run but every time she moved a pain shot through her leg forcing her to stop. She could feel claws run up her back as a voice from behind her laughed and said "time to feed!" Sakura's eyes widened as a hole was forming under her feet. She screamed at the top of her lungs as gravity forced her through the hole. Again she was falling through darkness and emptiness for the longest time. She landed on a table on her back and was strapped down to it by steel arm locks. She looked around to see where she was. She was in a room of nothing just blackness with a red light above the table. She heard the sound of knives scratching against each other to her right. When she looked over she saw Naruto with two long, razor sharp blades with sharp teeth along one side staring at her with the nastiest grin she had ever seen. She shook in fear as Naruto came closer and closer. His physical appearance was changing as he got about five meters away from her. Naruto reached Sakura's side and was having the last of his appearance change. He now had teeth the size of a human finger and as sharp as the sharpest blade. His fingers had turned to claws and he had the body of a monster. Sakura cried at the thought of what was about to happen. She felt a claw run up her shirt splitting it in two pieces. Sakura screamed in horror and pain as the demon sank its teeth into her stomach.

Sakura breathed heavily as sweat ran down her face. She felt someone grab her shoulder; she jerked her head over to see Kakashi with a worried eye. "What happened Sakura?" Sakura collapsed on the ground and looked at Night Blade with an angry eye and thought to herself "it was all a Gen jutsu!?" (Illusion). Sakura looked over at Naruto still shaking at the thought of what she just went through. "Why did he put me through that? What did I do to him? I can't even imagine what Naruto went through." She looked up at Night Blade again and yelled "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?! WHAT DID I DO TO YOU?!" Night Blade looked down as if he was going apologize, but he didn't say a word. Sakura continued giving him a dirty look until she heard Tsunade say "That's enough you two!" Sakura looked at Tsunade with a curious face and asked 'you expect us to go with him? He nearly killed Naruto!" Tsunade let out a sigh and said "he only did it out of self defense." She looked at Naruto and continued "if Naruto would learn to keep his mouth shut you wouldn't have gone through that." Naruto was about to say something but Sakura covered his mouth saying "shut up you idiot! Don't make us go through another gen jutsu! I don't know what you went through, but I went through enough!" Naruto gave Night Blade an angry eye. Sakura could tell this was going to be a long journey to the Unknown but they didn't have another choice. She looked at Naruto "I want you to apologize to him for what you just did." Naruto looked at Sakura and pulled away from his mouth away. Sakura gave Naruto an angry look and said "do it!" Naruto waved his hands of him "calm down Sakura, I'll apologize when he gets into a talking mood." Sakura looked at Night Blade "do you even talk? You've been pretty quiet ever since we met." Night Blade turned to look at Sakura and just stared at her, like he had never seen a girl before. "Night Blade?" Sakura asked in a curious of voice. Tsunade walked up beside Sakura and whispered in her ear "give him permission to speak." Sakura smiled a bit and thought "NOW it makes sense." Sakura nodded at Tsunade then turned to Night Blade and said "you have the permission to speak." Night Blade looked at Sakura and said "yes ma-am I can talk" Sakura liked his voice; it was deep/manly and firm. Sakura looked at Naruto and asked "is this a good talking mood for you to apologize?" Naruto's color ran from his face when his eyes met Sakura's. He replied "Uh, sure Sakura just, give me a moment with him." Naruto approached Night Blade slowly and cautiously hoping not to be sent into orbit this time. When Naruto reached Night Blade he asked in a jittery tone of voice "h-hey y-you want to take a s-short walk?' Night Blade didn't respond he just stood there like a statue. Night Blade smirked as he said "I know what you're trying to do Naruto, apology accepted." Naruto let out a smile and turned around to see Sakura smiling as well. Sakura walked up next to Naruto and said "so Night Blade, why are we the only ones you requested?" Night Blade looked at Sakura and said "I didn't request you.. He pointed at Tsunade and said "she's the one who requested you." Sakura and Naruto looked at Tsunade "why did you request us?" Sakura asked. Tsunade looked at Sakura with a smile "because, you're the strongest fighters of the Hidden Leaf." Naruto's eyes went wide as he asked "you're just sending us!? What about the other squads?" Tsunade looked at Naruto and replied "I can't send any others Naruto. If the Akasukie attack the Hidden Leaf with all four of the strongest squads gone, then we would definitely be wiped out." Naruto gritted his teeth in anger and annoyance but knew it was the truth. Night Blade looked out at the forest then turned to Tsunade and asked "so these Akasukie, are they powerful?" Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi and Tsunade looked at Night Blade with faces of a thousand questions. "Just asking" Night Blade said while shrugging. Tsunade shook her head to clear her thoughts "they're S rank criminals or missing ninja who are looking the Jinchuurikies to cause some sort of evil disaster in the world." Night Blade turned to the four ninja and asked "what the hell is a Jinchuuroki?' Sakura let out a sigh and replied "they're people like Naruto who have one of the tailed demons sealed away inside of them. Naruto here has the Nine tailed fox demon inside him." Night Blade looked at Naruto and thought "so, I'm not the only one?" Night Blade then looked at Sakura and Kakashi "well I think its best we be off. We have sixty eight days to reach the land of the Unknown before they start assigning people into the branches that will make up this military." He then started walking through the gate and Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi ran join his side and their mission began. Sakura and Naruto looked back at the village for their final good-bye and waved at Tsunade. Tsunade smiled and waved back and thought "good-bye Naruto, take care of him Sakura." As they disappeared over the hill Tsunade went into sadness as she thought "you three had better come back. Someday when I'm not around, this village will. I promise." Tsunade stood her ground, and watched as team seven disappeared behind a hill in the distance.

Naruto ran up beside Sakura and asked "so do you really think we won't see the village again for four years Sakura?" Sakura looked at Naruto with a smile and said "I honestly couldn't tell you Naruto." She looked back at the village then at Naruto again and continued "We'll return. we always do." Naruto smiled as he said "you have a point Sakura." Kakashi walked up beside Night Blade and asked "so if were going into a military, how many people are expected to join?" Night Blade didn't look at Kakashi but answered "from what I've been told, you can expect a minimum around seven hundred million." Kakashi froze on the spot as Night Blade continued up the hill. Kakashi put his book titled "Make out paradise" inside his bag and thought "s-seven hundred million!? Why are they building up such a large army?" Sakura stopped at Kakashi's side and asked "Kakashi-sensei, are you ok? Kakashi looked at Sakura "yea I'm-I'm fine." Sakura smiled and walked on Naruto following close behind. Naruto walked up beside Sakura again and said "this is going to change every thing about that promise I made you. Finding Sasuke will be impossible now." Night Blade stopped in front of them and asked "this Sasuke. Was he part of the Uchiha clan?" Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi all looked up immediately. "Did-did you meet him!?" Sakura asked. Night Blade looked back at Sakura and replied "yes I did." Immediately Naruto started shaking Night Blade asking "where?! Where was he? Orochimaru didn't take his body yet?" Night Blade pushed Naruto's hands off of him "He's gone Naruto! He tried to kill me and I killed him from self defense." Naruto fell too his knees and said while trying to hold back his tears "y-you killed m-my friend" Night Blade just stood there and closed his eyes "I'm sorry Naruto, but he was evil. He roamed around freely killing innocent people, who I took a vow to defend. Although I am one of the seventeen, I pledged to defend against innocent blood shed. While most of the other seventeen kill just for amusement. They're nothing but a bunch of cut thoughts." Naruto and Sakura looked at Night Blade not wanting to believe him but Sakura saw no lie in his eyes. Night Blade continued walking down the path while the other three stood paralyzed in the legs and a pain rushing through their chests. Sakura wanted to cry but saw that it would only bring more harm than good to Naruto who had made her a promise on his life.

Flashback

"Don't you worry one bit I'm going to bring Sasuke back, I promise that on my life Sakura."

"I haven't given up really, if I say I'm going to do it that means I will. Because… that's my way of the ninja, that's my nindo. My way of the ninja, and I don't EVER go back on my word"

You bet Iruka sensei, I'm still not backing down, I made a promise to Sakura that I intend to keep. I'll get stronger and bring Sasuke back! Believe it!

End flashback

Sakura had tears falling down her cheeks as she thought to herself "WHY!? WHY DID I MAKE NARUTO PROMISE ME HE'LL BRING SASUKE BACK TOO ME!? I'M A FOOL FOR MAKING NARUTO GO THRIUGH THAT! HE PUT HIS LIFE ON THE LINE! AND HERE I AM DOING NOTHING FOR HIM! NARUTO ALWAYS GETS THE MISSION DONE, EVEN IF IT NEARLY COSTS HIM HIS LIFE! YET HERE I AM RETURNING FROM EVERY STUPID MISSION WITH NOT EVEN SO MUCH AS A SCRATCH. THE VILLAGE HATES HIM AND HES SAVED THEIR LIVES MORE TIMES THAN I CAN COUNT! I promise this too you Naruto I will make it up too you if-if-if I have to kiss you, I'll do it!" Sakura let out a small giggle at what she just thought, but Naruto heard it. Naruto turned to Sakura with tears rolling down his face "H-HOW CAN YOU BE LAUGHING SAKURA!? SASUKE IS DEAD AND I COULDN'T BRING HIM BACK TO YOU! I FAILED IN THE PROMISE I MADE YOU! I FAILED MY BEST FRIEND!" Naruto's face turned red as he busted out into tears and started to cry. He started to run for the forest "NARUTO, WAIT!" Sakura yelled out at Naruto but he didn't stop. She started to chase after him but Kakashi grabbed her arm. She looked at Kakashi and asked "what are you doing? I need to talk too him!" Kakashi gave Sakura a sad look with his one eye and said "I know Sakura, but just give him some time alone. I think he's more upset with himself than anyone right now." Sakura looked over to see Night Blade walking over to her saying "I didn't mean to cause any pain to Naruto, I never expected you guys to be friends with him." Sakura had the urge to send him over the moon but realized he never knew who Sasuke was, or who Naruto was. She looked at Night Blade a little more, then let out a heavy sigh and said "don't worry bout it, Sasuke's death is hard on both of us but I can understand why you did it. You said you never harm innocent lives and Sasuke wasn't innocent. He ran off with that snake Orochimaru in search of more power and killed innocent people for training methods. I remember Naruto and I were on a mission and we heard cries coming from the forest in the distance. We came across an eight year old boy in the forest who had lost his mother to one of their attacks. He was so scared of any other people that when he saw me and Naruto he tried to run away into the forest. He wasn't to hard to follow, his crying gave us his location. Eventually he tired and fell against a tree and huddled inside the opening in the trunk of the tree. Naruto and I heard his sniffing inside the trunk.

(Flashback)

The little boy screamed in fear away from his mothers' body and ran for the dark mist of the forest. Naruto and Sakura nodded at each other and ran after him. It was starting to rain and it was getting harder to see with the low visibility. Sakura and Naruto were jumping from branch to branch in the trees right above the kid they were following. Sakura looked over at Naruto and whispered "What do you want to do? Take him back to the village and have Lady Tsunade watch over him?" Naruto looked back at Sakura and replied "that's what I was thinking of doing. Should we do that?" Sakura nodded then turned her attention to the young child again.

Finally after twenty minutes of running the boy tired from running and tripped in the mud. He pushed himself out of the puddle and found a hollow tree trunk with an opening at the bottom. He ran inside not thinking of the possibility of poisonous spiders or snakes or any other kind of harmful insects. He crawled inside and buried his head in his knees and began to cry again. Naruto and Sakura felt heart broken at what the kid was saying to himself "Mother why did you have to leave me alone? Daddy didn't like me or any of the other kids in the village. Daddy couldn't have cared less about me. All he ever wanted was money! He never cared for you or me or anyone else! As long as he got his money or whatever it was that stupid man wanted he was happy! Mother, if you can hear me, I promise I'll avenge you! I promise!" Sakura jumped down from the tree and looked through a tiny hole in the trunk of the tree to see the boy still crying. She waved for Naruto to come down. Naruto nodded and they went around the trunk on separate sides of the trunk and waited. Naruto waved at Sakura to prepare herself for a fight from this boy. Sakura nodded and got ready to jump but in doing so stepped on a stick causing it to snap. The boy's head shot up as he pulled a stick out of the ground asking "w-who's there?!... ANSWER ME!" The boy still had tears running down his face. Sakura peered her head around the corner and waved her hand. The boy gripped the stick tighter as he backed off a little asking "w-what do you want!? Did you come to kill me to?" Sakura shook her head "no I'm here to help you, my name's Sakura Haruno what's yours?" The boy firmed his grip and yelled "THAT'S NONE OF YOUR DARN BUISNESS" Sakura's eyes went small as she thought "wow, this kid must really had loved his mother." Sakura came a little closer too the boy "look, you don't need the stick, I'm not going to hurt you." Sakura reached for the stick but the boy dropped it on the ground and backed away from Sakura leaning as far back from her grip as he could while screaming in fear. "STAY AWAY! I DON'T WANT TO DIE YET!" Sakura covered the boys' mouth and told him to hush. Sakura tried to drag him out by the foot but he grabbed a stick and swatted her hand. Sakura yanked back "OW!" She looked over at Naruto who was trying his hardest not to laugh, but was failing with a very pink face. She smirked a little and said "ok Naruto if you think it's so funny why don't you give it a try." Naruto smirked "all right step aside, let me show you how it's done, I'm great with kids." As Naruto ducked into the tree trunk he reached out too the little boy saying "hi there, my names Naru…" (SLAP) The boy slapped his stick across Narutos face causing Naruto to scramble back out of the tree. Sakura watched as Naruto backed as far away from the kid as he could. Sakura couldn't help but let out a small laugh before immediately covering her mouth with her hand. She uncovered her mouth and said while laighing. "Yea, you're sure the kid magnet, Naruto." Naruto gritted his teeth a little and started walking to the tree again with an angry look on his face. Sakura noticed this and grabbed his arm and said softly "easy Naruto, he's just a scared kid, He doesn't even know where he is right now." Naruto looked at Sakura with terrible eyes, and then he calmed down saying "you're right Sakura, as usual, let's just get him back to the Leaf Village and see if someone will take him in, give him another shot at life." Sakura nodded and they both went in after the boy. "Grab his legs Naruto!" Sakura shouted as they entered the tree. Naruto grabbed his legs 'GOT HIM SAKURA!" Sakura smiled at the trembling child and said "this will only sting a second, relax." Sakura stuck a needle on the boy's arm and waited for him to fall asleep. The boy had the biggest look of fear Sakura or Naruto had ever seen in their lives and couldn't help but feel bad for the kid. His screams of fear were almost too much to take "AAAAGGGHHH, WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!? I NOT GOING TO LET IT END HERE! I SWORE TO MY MOTHER I'D AVENGE HER AND ALREADY I'M ABOUT TO DIE!" Sakura gave him a knock out shot which worked instantly. Sakura felt a pain rush through her chest as she thought to herself "poor kid, his family killed and now he's about to die from fear of two total strangers. Can't blame him for being scared at all." Sakura looked at Naruto saying "let's go, we need to get him back to the Leaf Village and have him looked over." Naruto nodded as he picked up the chilled and put him on his back. "Let's go Sakura!" Sakura nodded as she jumped to the nearest tree branch followed closely by Naruto heading back to the Leaf Village.

End flashback

Night Blade looked at Sakura and nodded asking "what became of that boy? Who was he?" Sakura looked back at Night Blade "He just disappeared. Never to be seen again. He never gave his name or his past.

Flash back (sigh… again)

Sakura followed him for a while seeing where he went. Some of the kids would come up to him asking if he was new in town or if he wanted to play a game or hang out, but he walked right past them, staring at the ground not saying a word. Some of the kids would look at each other asking "what's his problem," while others would send insults to him about his family. Some of them were even too much for Sakura to take. Yet he just gave them an evil stare and walked on. Eventually he wandered into an area of the village that no kid goes since some of the biggest bullies in town live there. I continued to follow him regardless and watched his every move. He walked by some of the meaner kids who watched as he took a left into the alley way. The kids smiled "hey check it out he went down the alley." While another said "come on, we got ourselves a piggy stuck in the mud HA-HA." They all went down the alley yelling "HEY HOLD IT RIGHT TERE!" Sakura followed them to the edge of the building and watched from there. One of the older kids cut the younger one off saying "hey kid, you're on our turf now, and we got a few rules." The younger boy just kept walking with the reply "get a life." The other kids looked in a some what state of shock "no one's ever done that before. I don't like it when I get ignored!" he turned and yelled "YOU'RE JUST IN A PISSY MOOD BECOUSE YOUR MOM MADE YOU DO THE DISHES! The younger kid stopped in his tracks and looked back with tears in his eyes. The bullies started circling him insulting him and pushing him around, yelling "HA-HA LOOK HE'S GOING TO CRY GUYS, HE'S JUST A BIG CRYBABY" they all laughed in his face as they pushed him around in the circle until the bigger of the kids pushed him into a puddle making him scrape his knees and elbows. He approached the younger kid saying "OK, KID, I want money, and I'm not seeing any, so what do you have to say for yourself!? The younger kid just sat there "ANSWER ME!" The older boy yelled. Still the bullied kid didn't say a word. "I've had enough of your games kid" the older kids started picking up sticks and rocks and started walking towards the younger boy. The bigger pulled out a knife and slashed the younger kid's leg from the skinned knee to his foot. "I'm not going to tell you again, give me your money, or we'll kill you!" Again the younger boy didn't say anything but started gritting his teeth. The younger boy looked up at the other kids with an evil look and said in a threatening voice "why the hell don't you get the goddamn HELL AWAY FROM ME!" He kicked the bigger kid off of him into a trash can and picked up a sharp stick and prepared to fight. He looked tat the others and said "If you guys were looking for a fight" the younger boy continued "YOU SURE AS HELL FOUND ONE!" He charged at the bigger kids without hesitation and without regret. He stabbed one of the kids in the stomach then kneeing him in the face before smashing the back of his head on the concrete of the alley way. As blood oozed out of the unconscious boy, he charged at another kid one three times his size. He hit the bigger kid in the leg with the stick making it snap in two then punched him in the gut before kneeing him in the nose then scraping his finger nails into his eyes and slapped a piece from the stick he was still holding across his face ripping it open. Sakura's jaw hit the ground watching him fight. The bullies had looks of fear across their faces; no one had ever put up a fight like this before. They started backing away as the younger kid started walking towards them again, picking up a rock and a trash can lid on the way, When he got into range, he chunked the rock at one of the kids faces getting a direct hit on the nose and charging into the group hitting them all in the face with the trash can lid. He punched one in the gut and smashed the lid across his jaw. All of the other kids that had rocks threw them at the younger boy only to have them blocked by the trash can lid. Some of them ran in fear of getting mauled by an eight year old while others stood their ground. The younger kid then pulled out a glass bottle shattering it against the wall and slung it at one of the other boy's legs, getting a perfect hit in the front of the thigh. He screamed in pain and fell to the ground trying to pull the glass bottle out of his leg asking his friends to help him up. The other four bullies chickened out running in the opposite direction, only to meet face to face with Sakura and around twenty other Leaf Village ninja. They were immediately arrested and taken into custody. Sakura and the other ninja watched as the fight continued on. The kid who had the bottle stuck in his leg was crawling as fast as possible in the other direction trying his best to escape his attacker. The younger boy grabbed his foot and flipped him on his back, stomping on the glass bottle that was stuck in the other boys' leg. The kid screamed in pain at the top of his lungs then passed out from the pain and loss of blood. The younger boy turned to face the one last kid who was three times bigger than he was and definitely stronger. The boy was so focused on defending himself that he didn't even notice the other ninja standing in the alleyway entrance. He walked down the alleyway to the last of the bullies, picking up a long sharp stick along the way. The other kid pulled out a knife and started walking towards the fight. They stopped and stared at each other before the younger boy threw seven darts at the other kid getting, four hits and missing three. The older kid yelled in pain as all the darts hit his abdomen and blood oozed through his white sleeveless shirt. The older kid ran hard at the younger one throwing a punch to the stomach another to his face. The younger boy rolled away from reach grabbing several pieces of glass lying on the ground. The older boy threw in a kick but the younger boy caught it and span around fast and hard launching the older kid into the brick alley wall. The older kid tried to push away from the wall but his face was slammed back into it by the other kid. The younger of the two boys pulled out a long piece of glass from his pocket "say good night you bastard!" shoving the glass through his chest and neck. As the other boy fell to the ground motionless the other boy collapsed only to see a pink haired girl and several men running over to him before pitch blackness took hold of him. Sakura ran up to the boy and started treating his injuries. "Is he ok!?" one of the medics asked. Sakura nodded and replied with a small smile "he's fine. He's just exhausted from that fight. He'll be fine in a couple days." The medic let out a sigh of relief and went to examine the boy with the bottle in his leg.

End flashback

Night Blade just nodded "I see. So after you took him to the hospital you came back in the morning telling Naruto about what he did, but you entered an empty hospital room." Sakura only nodded "I don't know what happened to him or where he went. No one even knew his name." Night Blade looked shocked in his eyes yet at the same time calm and steady. Sakura looked back out into the woods in the hopes of seeing an orange jumpsuit in the dark but no luck. Night Blade started walking into the forest saying "come on we better find him before night falls." Sakura nodded as she and Kakashi followed close.

Dusk was reaching its end and there was a full moon in the sky and a few stars were shining but the sunlight reflecting off the sky kept the rest from shining. Sakura watched Night Blade run up to the top of a nearby hill and looked to the west. She smiled before taking off after him and joining him on the hill. What she saw made her gasp and feel completely at ease. She was looking at the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen. The clouds were red and orange with a red atmosphere as if water and lava were meeting. The bottom of the sun was tearing into the earth and night approaching on the other side. Sakura let out a small sigh before taking a seat on the hill. "Almost makes you forget about what's going to happen in four or five years time doesn't it?" Sakura looked up at Night Blade with a curious face and asked "Hmm?" Night Blade only looked at her and said "you know what I mean Sakura. The war that will determine the fate of mankind." Sakura closed her eyes then looked out at the sunset, then asked "What chance do you think we have? I mean we're all mortal with flesh and blood, they're demons that have little fear and no life at all." Night Blade closed his eyes and nodded then looked at Sakura and said "you're right, the armies we're building are mortal, but the seventeen assassins are not human." Sakura looked at Night Blade with wide eyes and asked 'W-what do you mean they're not, human? I've heard you guys are people one should try and stay on the bright side of, but in-human isn't a kind word." Night Blade shook his head and said "I think it would be best if Naruto knew about it too." He stood up offering Sakura a hand and said "we better find him. The woods are no place fore someone to be alone at night on the roads, let alone in the wilderness." Sakura nodded with a smile and took Night Blade's hand careful not to cut her hand on the spikes of his knuckles. Night Blade faced Kakashi and Sakura saying "ok, I think it would be faster if we split up and looked on our own, instead of in a group. We will meet back here hopefully with Naruto in three hours." Sakura and Kakashi nodded then dispersed.

Kakashi looked to the west hopping from branch to branch not missing an inch above or below him. "Where could he have gone, I never would have guessed he still wanted Sasuke around after the way he treated them last time they saw him. It would seem Sakura has given up on Sasuke and has taken a liking to Naruto." Kakashi couldn't help up let out a small laugh and thought to himself "my little students are reaching maturity now" then he sweat dropped "now I feel old, darn that Naruto, oh well he should be happy, he always had the biggest crush on Sakura and now it's finally paying off." Kakashi continued walking on the forest floor but never found anything.

"NARUTO" Sakura yelled at the top of her lungs but never got a response. She started to cough thinking to herself "oh man, I really need to stop yelling, I can't continue on like this. I don't have the vocal chords of a rock star here." She walked through the woods with her hands out in front of her for guidance because of the poor visibility. She looked around nervously "this forest is creepy at night, I wish Kakashi or Night Blade would have come along." An owl let out a "HOOO" causing Sakura to spin around with a jump as the owl flew away. She laughed a little and said to herself "I'm way beside myself, now I'm getting scared of the wild life." She giggled a little before looking up at the sky to see the billions of stars in the night sky. She continued walking for a while before stumbling onto a pond. She decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to gather some water for a container. As she started swerving the container around in the water she heard several splashes. She looked up to see fish jumping out of the water catching low flying bugs over the surface of the water. She watched for a while counting the fish. She was so focused on counting the fish that she jumped, when a falcon came out of nowhere catching one of the fish in its talons. She let out a sigh and decided to move on. She stopped as she felt the splash of water hit the back of her leg. She turned and looked to see a bouncing rock skipping along the water. She thought to herself "is this where Naruto ran off to?" She gathered her container and walked down the bank being careful not to make a noise. She walked through the tall thick weeds along the bank of the pond almost tripping from holes in the ground which she came to realize were animal tracks. She pulled out a kunai from her bag and started cutting the thick vegetation on the bank. She tried her hardest to not make any noise as she saw a figure hidden in the shadows of a tree which she realized immediately was Naruto. She couldn't help but feel bad seeing his eyes filled with sadness and sorrow. He constantly threw rocks at the water making them bounce off the waters surface. Sakura got low hiding in the shadows of a nearby tree watching Naruto like a hawk. She wanted to see how bad he really felt, and soon got her answer. She gasped as Naruto brought out a kunai and held it too his throat saying "I couldn't bring my best friend back. I failed Sakura in the promise that I made her three years ago. The villagers of the Hidden Leaf still hate me for being the vessel of the nine tails; I guess this would be best." Sakura sprang from her hiding spot, screaming "DON'T DO IT NARUTO!" Sakura jumped on Naruto forcing the kunai out of his hand, throwing it into the water. She cried against his chest soaking his shirt in tears saying "give up on Sasuke Naruto, he wasn't worth holding onto the promise you made me three years ago, HE'S NOT WORTH IT!" Every one of Sakura's tears falling on Naruto's chest felt like a spear going through his heart. He hated seeing her like this. Every time a tear escaped her eyes, it was like a poison entered Naruto's blood veins. He wrapped his arms around Sakura holding her head beside his. And whispered 'Alright Sakura, if it means that much to you, I'll stop." Sakura brought her head up looking into Naruto's eyes, wiping the tears away. Sakura still had the bumps of cries in her voice saying "I lost Sasuke to Orochimaru; I'm not going to lose you too." Naruto brought her head back down to his shoulder. He whispered sadly "Be quiet Sakura, I hate seeing you like this. Every tear you cry on me, feels like I've been stabbed through the heart." Sakura did her best to stop the tears but couldn't stop the flow of them. Naruto's shirt was soaked from her tears which made Sakura feel even sadder. Sakura stood up pulling Naruto up with her saying "let's go back to the camp. Night Blade and Kakashi are looking for you." Naruto nodded clearing an opening through the weeds fore Sakura to walk through. She smiled and walked passed Naruto. Naruto walked beside Sakura "sorry I ran off like that Sakura, I don't know what came over me." Sakura stopped and looked at him "No I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you keep that promise you made me. Naruto you're my best friend I don't want to lose you too. Forget about the promise! Pretend you never made it to me!" Naruto stood frozen as he asked "w-what do you mean S-Sakura?" Sakura let out a sigh and replied "I mean just forget about the promise you made me. Remember when we found him in the hideout?" Naruto nodded as Sakura continued "he didn't care about you at all, he tried to kill you! Who does that to their best friend?" Naruto blinked as Sakura ran her hand down his cheek onto his neck. "We better get moving Naruto." Sakura said with her eyes closed happily. Naruto nodded with a smile and they continued on.

Night Blade was back at the camp gathering wood for the fire and setting up shelters. The shelters were made of sticks which were strapped to the tree closest to them. Each one had a wind break at the end and an overhead roof to protect against rainfall. The bedding was in soft soil of the forest floor which would make it a relaxing place to sleep. Night Blade heard foot steps coming towards the camp. He turned to see Kakashi walking up to the camp reading his book (Make Out Paradise). Night Blade just looked at Kakashi and said "you know reading in the dark can damage your eyes Kakashi?" Kakashi nodded and replied "that's why I'm reading it with the Sharingan." Night Blade looked at the cover then looked at Kakashi and said "that's the kind of stuff a pervert reads." Kakashi sweat dropped, thinking to himself "not him too." Kakashi looked around the camp with a wide eye "what the, you know we have sleeping bags right?" Night Blade nodded though not looking at Kakashi saying "yes, but can a sleeping bag protect against getting a cold in a bad thunderstorm?" He stood and turned to face Kakashi and the second he did lightning and thunder erupted in the distance right behind Night Blade. Kakashis eyes went wide as he thought "that, was epic!" Night Blade disappeared into the blackness of the forest. Kakashi shouted out after him "HEY WHERE YOU GOING?" He got the reply "GETTING SOME FOOD, BE BACK IN A BIT." Kakashi nodded and took a seat, claiming one of the shelters. "I kind of like Night Blade" he thought to himself. He looked over to the right to see Sakura approaching the camp "hey, Sakura, did you find Naruto?" Sakura nodded as Naruto stepped out from behind a tree. Naruto and Sakura looked around the camp. "Cool" was the only thing he could say as he claimed a shelter, Sakura doing the same. Naruto threw his equipment bags down and unrolled his sleeping bag. Sakura did the same and threw herself on her sleeping area. She looked around before sitting up asking 'where did Night Blade go?" Kakashi replied "he went to get some food; he'll be back in a bit." They both nodded before coming closer to the fire. The three of them started talking about the weird things going on in the village.

They continued talking for nearly twenty minutes before they heard sticks breaking behind a tree. Night Blade stepped out from the shadow of the darkness making every one feel a little jumpy. Night Blade walked over too the fire carrying a basket of what looked to be full of berries and a deer over his shoulders. Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi drooled at the meal that was about to come. Naruto elbowed Sakura on the arm. Sakura looked at Naruto "what?" Naruto replied "we've got to try it again Sakura. We've got to take off the mask." Naruto and Sakura giggled a little but were heard by Kakashi. Kakashi turned to face Naruto and Sakura and asked "you're not thinking of doing that again are you?" Naruto and Sakura shook their heads waving their hands in front of their faces. "No Kakashi-sensei why would you think that ha-ha." Kakashi smiled behind his mask and went to sit down at his shelter area. Sakura turned to Naruto and whispered in his ear "so when do you want to strike? I'm ready when you are." Naruto nodded then looked at Sakura "hopefully it goes smoother than last time." Sakura laughed "yea it wasn't a good day for you was it?" she asked. Naruto smirked "yea well I'm not the one who got tickled to death as you recall." Sakura sweat dropped and thought to herself "he does have a point." She came back with a comeback to Naruto saying "I'm not the one who smelled like cow crap for the next two weeks though." Naruto paused for a moment "I-I-Y-H sigh you got me Sakura." Sakura let out another laugh "but anyway how do we get the mask off?" Naruto smirked "we'll have to do it soon, I'll hold him down while you take off the mask." Sakura nodded "so just like last time?" she asked. "Uh-huh" Naruto replied. Naruto turned to face Sakura "ok this is how we'll do it."

Meanwhile Night Blade was cleaning the deer and preparing to put it over the fire. He turned to see Naruto and Sakura laughing. "What are you two laughing at?" he asked curiously. To him it was a little strange for Naruto to be so happy. Sakura looked at Night Blade and said with a smile "oh nothing, just talking of past events." Night Blade nodded then threw the deer over the fire. He looked at the three ninja "it'll be ready soon." Sakura and Naruto nodded then went back to discussing their plans. Night Blade emptied his bag which drew Naruto and Sakura's attention.. "What are you doing?" Naruto asked. "cleaning my equipment" Night Blade replied. Naruto stood up and walked over behind Night Blade to see several swords and other blade weapons. "Naruto." Sakura called Naruto looked back at Sakura "yea, what is it?" he asked. Sakura waved for him to come back saying "Tsunade wanted us to go over the information he gave to us." Naruto nodded and sat down next to Sakura. Sakura pulled an envelope from her backpack tearing it open. She pulled out a flashlight from her bag as well and she read to herself.

After maybe around thirty minutes of reading Sakura put the paper back in the envelope. Naruto looked at her and asked "so what did you learn about him?" Sakura looked down at the ground with eyes filled of sorrow "Sakura?" Naruto asked. Sakura looked back up at Naruto and said "I'll tell you the good things first" Naruto nodded saying "continue"

Sakura smiled as she knew Naruto wouldn't believe her, not in a million years. "Well?" Said Naruto Sakura shook her head to clear her thoughts and said "As you know he is one of the seventeen assassins." Naruto nodded as Sakura continued "He has survived all of the world's harshest elements, with very little food and water." Naruto smiled and asked "really? Like what?" Sakura smirked before continuing "Get this. He survived the world's largest and hottest desert (The Vallierinasrie desert, three times the size of the Sahara and twice as hot as the Gobi) (Not an actual desert from any show or movie.) On only six apples and a half gallon of water." Naruto's eyes went wide "no way!" he said in disbelief. Sakura nodded and said "believe me I had a hard time believing it to be true as well." Sakura continued to tell him about Night Blade. "He is quite the opposite of you. It never said why but he has completely given up on friends. I'm not sure why though, I mean everything was readable except for this page." She showed Naruto the page that was completely covered in black ink. "That's weird" Naruto said. Sakura nodded her head "he told us everything but his past basically ." Naruto looked over at Night Blade and said "hey Night Blade" Night Blade looked at Naruto from over his shoulder "yea" "why did you put this entire page in black ink?" Naruto asked. Night Blade looked away saying "I'll tell you in the morning, I don't want to talk about it now." Naruto nodded. And looked back at Sakura "hey, Sakura" Sakura looked at Naruto "yea, what is it?" Naruto chuckled as he said "c'mon let's, you know." As he looked at Kakashi Sakura smirked and whispered "ok, give the signal." Naruto nodded and started the act with a stretch and yawned saying "I'm going to go for a walk, my legs are falling asleep and I'm bored doing nothing." He started walking off giving a small wave to Sakura. Sakura stood up saying "hey. Let me come, I need to get some more water any ways." Naruto nodded "sure Sakura, come on." Sakura and Naruto disappeared into the forest. Night Blade watched the whole thing "they're up to something, I thought Tsunade sent ninja on this mission, not a bunch of kids."

In the forest Naruto and Sakura took a long trip around the camp, far enough away that it didn't matter if they made a stick snap. Sakura walked up beside Naruto and said "don't get sent two hundred yards away again, I don't want to think will happen if that happens to you." Naruto turned and smiled at Sakura "aw, what's wrong? Is Sakura afraid to get tickled again? Ha-ha" Sakura gave Naruto an aggravated look "No! As a matter of fact I'm not." Naruto smirked "we'll see" Sakura smiled and replied "Indeed we shall."

Kakashi looked up from his book not knowing his students left and asked. "Night Blade, where did the other two go?" Night Blade looked at Kakashi and replied "they went to take a walk or something." Kakashi sweat dropped as he thought to himself "I guess asking old Kakashi to come along is a little to hard too do nowadays." Just at that moment Kakashi was forced on the ground "WHO,WHO!" Kakashi yelled "HELP ME OUT SAKURA!" Sakura came out of the woods saying with a large grin across her face. "Well Kakashi sensei shall we try this again?" Kakashi struggled to escape from Naruto's grasp but he made several clones to hold him down on the spot. "KEEP HIM THERE NARUTO!" Sakura yelled. Naruto smirked as he said "we're finally going to see what's under that mask of yours Kakashi sensei, and there isn't anything you can do to stop us. Kakashi smiled through his mask then disappeared completely. WHA! Naruto and Sakura yelled as their target disappeared. Night Blade was sitting by the deer watching the entire thing, thinking to himself "What, the, hell are they doing?!" Kakashi popped out of the ground grabbing Sakura's ankle and dragging her down into the ground where the ground was even with her neck. Kakashi stood in front of her "you didn't concentrate Sakura" Kakashi said with a smile behind his mask. Naruto charged at Kakashi only to be flipped on his back. Kakashi smiled again and said "you two certainly did take me by surprise though, I'll give you that much."

Night Blade finished sharpening his blade and walked past the three ninja holding it to a tree. "Night Blade" Sakura asked "what are you doing?" She got no response from Night Blade. Night Blades eyes changed in color again as he sliced the tree's bottom making the entire tree crash to the ground (this tree stood twenty stories above the ground and had a trunk as thick as tank armor). (CHUNK) Night Blade turned to face the three ninja whose jaws were on the ground. "What? You know that deer is probably ready by now." Naruto and Kakashi ran to the animal leaving Sakura in the hole. Sakura sweat dropped "HEY YOU JERKS, WHAT ABOUT ME!?" Sakura felt a hand grab her shoulder and with a great deal of force was pulled from the hole. She looked at Night Blade "thanks!" Night Blade nodded and waved for her to eat. Sakura walked over to the deer taking a seat by Naruto. "Jerk, you were going to wave that around in front of me weren't you?" Naruto laughed a little as he put some meat on his plate. "Ha-ha no Sakura I wasn't going to do that to you, but you have to admit it would have been funny ha-ha." Sakura giggled as she replied "yea I guess it would have been a little funny, but I would have pummeled you when I got out." Naruto nodded his head as he said "exactly." Sakura looked around the camp "hey Night Blade, are you going to eat?" Sakura asked. Night Blade shook his head as he started messing around with several bottles and pouring a liquid all over his arrows and blades. "No Sakura, I ate ten days ago, I'm fine." Naruto and Sakura's minds exploded. Naruto jumped out of his seat and yelled "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! You haven't eaten in ten days and you say you're fine!?" Sakura stood beside him and said with worry in her voice "yea, Naruto has a point, you should eat something." Night Blade shook his head "I only eat once every two months, it's a thing that I've taught myself. To go long periods of time without food. I'll admit it wasn't easy at first, but eventually my body got used to it and went along with the flow, though I have to drink water every six or eight days." Sakura, Naruto and Kakashis jaws fell to the ground. Sakura turned to Naruto and asked "you think you could go two months without food? I sure know I couldn't." Naruto shook his head "heck I'm lucky to go two hours with out eating something, let alone two whole months." "What about sleep?" Sakura asked Night Blade looked at Sakura and replied "no, I haven't slept since I was four years old." Sakura and Naruto already felt tired as a result of his answer. Sakura looked at Naruto and said "so he goes two months without food, six to eight days without water and years without sleep. Naruto I don't think he's human." "I'm not" Night Blade said as he stood to face Sakura "I'm mostly demon, though I'm as close to a human in the seventeen assassins that you can get." The three ninja looked at Night Blade with a speechless look. "Y-You're a demon?" Sakura asked, shaking in fear. Night Blade nodded and replied "in a way yes, I lost my entire family, friends and relatives alike, that is why I gave up on friends." "S-S-So if you're a demon then why are you teaming up on our side for the war?" Sakura asked. Night Blade smirked as he said "I'm not entirely demon though, I am still partially human and I have no desire of seeing this world in the shadow of the enemy's claws. I have no love for humans, but I don't want to see them go extinct" Sakura and Naruto felt a pain rush through them "He's just like Sasuke, isn't he Sakura?" Naruto asked with a tear falling down his face. Sakura let out a sigh "yes Naruto, he is very similar to Sasuke only Sasuke didn't have a demon inside him, no offense Naruto." "None taken" Naruto replied. Sakura looked at Night Blade and asked "so how did you end up like this? How did your clan get wiped out?" Night Blade looked at Sakura again and answered "My father made a deal with the devil. My father had the gift of foresight and saw the world would be torn apart by a demon with three times the power of Satan himself. He prayed to God to stop this doom from happening, but despite endless praying, his prayers were never answered. Every night for twenty years he prayed, but eventually gave he up on the Holy Spirit. Three weeks before my third birthday party he went into the woods of Lestalivark (Les-tal-ivark) and made a deal with Satan. The deal was that I'd survive as the only one left of my clan and become a skilled fighter, but Satan added to the deal that I'd be possessed by a demon of terrible power. The deal was made and in return for the gift that Satan promised my father, he and everyone I knew would suffer in Hell for all eternity." Night Blade turned his back away from Sakura and Naruto and continued "Then three weeks later bandits attacked my home killing everyone in sight, they killed everyone. Even innocent infants. I've never forgiven my father for what he did. But I'm coming to realize he did it for the greater good." Sakura walked towards him asking "so how did you end up in the brotherhood of the world's deadliest assassins? Was it the help of the demon inside you?" Night Blade turned to face Sakura and said "yes, he did have several things to do with it. During the attack on my home I ran for the woods. The flames could be seen for miles and miles it was as if the sun was crashing down on the Earth. I slept in the woods for the next three nights and returned to see my home in ruins. Ever since I've trained to be a night assassin. I've learned how to remain undetected by the ears of a wolf and by the eyes of a starving Falcon. I could be right next to you and you wouldn't know it." He vanished and a second later he whispered in Sakura's ear "isn't that right, Sakura?" Sakura felt as though time had stopped, his voice was mixed with that of a demon and his eyes were scarier than when he sent Sakura into the Illusion. Night Blade continued as the three ninja stood frozen in time as if they were paralyzed. He looked at Sakuras motionless face. "You know, you're pretty brave for someone who doesn't know what's going on in her own house Sakura, Haruno." Sakuras eyes widened "h-how did he know my last name!?" Night Blade continued his story "You see I've been watching you ever since you three returned from that recent mission that caused Naruto to black out, and I've noticed you don't have a clue about what's following you. Believe me, if you so much as had a glimpse of what is following you right now, hunting, preying and feeding off your fear, you couldn't even stand. He started whispering in her ear, his voice was getting more horrifying to Sakura's ears as Night Blade continued "you wanted to protect Naruto, I can see it in your eyes. You love him, you want him to be yours, and yet you continuously ignore his pleas for you to go on a date. Time's running out Sakura. Once this war starts, you and Naruto will have little chance of seeing each other." Sakura all of a sudden had tears running down her face. She didn't know what she felt for Naruto but was it really what he said it was? "Night Blade continued "it's your choice Sakura. Confess or live with regret for the rest of your life cursing yourself that you couldn't tell him what he means to you. Once we reach the Land of the Unknown you will only have a few weeks to spend together. You surely of all people surely know that he loves you and would give his life just to hear you say it. I've seen the ways you reject him, it's getting harder, isn't it?" Sakura nodded her head as she thought to herself "I do admit, it is getting harder to reject him, but, how can I tell him and when would be the best time?" Night Blade saw that she was breaking as he continued "in sixty-seven days the drafts will be called and people will be sent to the branches to begin basic training. If you can at least give him more than a sister to brother hug then you will be destined to see each other after basic training. But if you ignore his pleas any more than needed, he will die in your arms from the pain of the battle wounds and you would never have the chance to confess again. It's your choice Sakura; eventually he'll give up on you. I've seen it in his eyes, you're the only reason why he allows himself to live, you're the only one who matters to him. He gets stronger to impress you and yet you always turn him down." Sakura couldn't feel any thing in her legs; she was literally leaning on Night Blade's shoulder and crying on it. "Remember Sakura, you hold his future in the palm of your hands, confess and he lives. Remain as just a friend, and that boy DIES."

Sakura was hit with another Illusion and was sent back to the days of the old team seven.

Inside the Illusion

Sakura watched as a spirit as Naruto fought off Gaara and the sand demon (the one tail) Sakura saw herself pinned against the tree by Gaara's sand knocked unconscious. She watched in awe as Naruto summoned Gama the toad spirit to fight Gaara and the one tail. Sakura couldn't believe her eyes as Naruto fought harder than ever, before risking his own life to protect her. She could feel tears Naruto fought just to defend her and Sasuke from Gaara. He fought, putting his life on the line and risking the outbreak of the nine tails which would have doomed the fate of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Sakura was then thrown ahead of time where Naruto and Sasuke fought at the Valley of the End, where it all started. She saw Naruto take the Lightning Chidori through his left shoulder leaving the hole from front to back of his shoulder.

She was then sent to the gates of the village to where the mission started. She saw how blinded she was by Sasuke's looks and not able to see the kindness and warmth of Naruto's ocean blue eyes. Sakura realized Naruto truly did love her, but she just didn't know how to accept it.

She was then immediately sent to the day Naruto went into the four tails state. Even knowing it was in the past, it still hurt as if a blade was struck through her heart.

She was then sent back far in time before the days of the academy, how the entire village treated him. He was tossed out of clothing and food stores. Villagers would throw rocks at him while he just stood his ground crying. Every now and then a rock would make a hit to his face and he would be sent to the ground. Sakura cried as her spirit saw this; she wanted to grab him in her arms and comfort him and tell him it would be all right. She constantly yelled at him to run but it was pointless, being just a spirit in the back of Naruto's memories. She watched as Naruto wandered alleys with people following him in the shadows. She tried to catch a knife aimed for Naruto's back but it went straight through her hand. Her tears ran out of her eyes like a waterfall when she heard Naruto's scream of pain. She didn't dare look at what happened, but she had to. When her eyes met the motionless body of Naruto she held her hand to her chest from the pain she felt running to her heart. She cursed, cussed and sent every insult known to mankind to the villagers who stood there laughing, not lifting a finger to help him.

She was sent to the days of the academy and saw how people still treated him. She couldn't help but punch her own face sometimes for what not only the other students put him through, but herself as well. She cursed at herself for hitting Naruto in the back of the head when he didn't deserve it at all. She did everything a bully could have possibly done to a kid as well as the other kids. The only thoughts that rushed into Sakura's mind "FORGIVE ME NARUTO! I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO THIS TO YOU!" She screamed this over and over and over again.

She watched as Naruto sat on top of the fourths head staring at the sunset in deep thoughts. She listened carefully to what he was saying to himself, crying as he said his words. "Why do they hate me? What did I ever do to them!? My entire life is ruined by what's inside of me! The stupid Nine Tailed Fox! WHY CAN'T I LIVE A NORMAL LIFE! WHY DID I HAVE TO BE THE VESSEL OF THE NINE TAILS!? Every one hates me because of it! If they want me dead, then I'll grant their wish!" Sakura gasped in horror by what he was about to do. He pulled out a Kunai and held it to his throat and yelled "YOU'LL MISS ME HIDDEN LEAF VILLAGE, YOU'LL WISH I HAD'NT DONE THIS!" Sakura screamed out "NO! DON'T DO IT!" Just as Naruto was about to cut his throat the Third Hokage grabbed his arm and took the Kunai away. Sakura let out a sigh of relief and smiled as the Third wrapped his arm around Naruto, embracing him in a tight hug. Naruto just cried on his chest as the Third talked to him "Naruto, I know this is a tough time for you, but killing yourself is not the way to end the pain." Naruto opened his eyes and shot out of the Third's arms yelling "YEA, WELL THEN WHAT THE HELL IS? ALL MY LIFE I'VE BEEN TREATED LIKE DIRT! AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE! EVERY ONE HATES ME; THEY COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT ME!" "That isn't true Naruto…THAT ISN'T TRUE!" Sakura cried out. The Third once again grabbed Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder as Naruto stared at the ground crying. "Naruto" the Third continued "you may lose the faith in the village, but never in yourself. The fourth gave you a purpose in this life. He knew you'd be able to become a powerful Shinobi and would lead the future of this village to a bright future no matter what end." Naruto once again broke into tears "so what you're telling me is I'm nothing but a weapon to use against our enemies?" The third just shook his head "No Naruto you're not a weapon, you are a person who has his own dreams and hopes, and from what I've heard your dream is to be Hokage, am I right?" Naruto just nodded as he continued to let tears fall onto the ground. Sakura smiled and let a few tears of her own fall thinking "if it wasn't for the Third Hokage, Naruto would have been dead that day." She continued to watch the Third take Naruto into his arms once more. "I promise I'll make this up to you Naruto"" Sakura thought. She watched as the Third held Naruto, with the sunset in the distance.

End Illusion

Night Blade was still standing in front of her and whispered in her ear "now you see the pain he has been through, now you see what he put up with in his life. He was never accepted, yet you just continued to brush him off. If you don't tell him, he WILL give up on you." Sakura nodded and Night Blade lifted his hand and sent them back to reality.

"Ha-ha no I wasn't going to do that to you Sakura, though you have to admit it would have been pretty funny" Naruto said. Sakura widened her eyes "d-did Night Blade j-just reverse time!?" She thought to herself. She decided to play along and replied "yea, I guess it would have been a little funny at first, though I would have pummeled you the second I got out." "Exactly" Naruto said. Naruto looked over at Night Blade and shouted "hey Night Blade, you going to eat or what?" Night Blade waved his hand "No, I'm not really hungry anyway, help your self." Naruto just shrugged his shoulders and continued eating. Sakura did the same and put some meat and berries on her plate. She looked over at Naruto every now and then, but eventually Naruto caught on "what's she doing?" he asked himself.

After eating and talking to Sakura and Kakashi for a while Naruto decided to go to bed. He stood from his seat and started walking towards his tent "Night everybody." They all replied "good night Naruto, sleep well." Though Naruto noticed Night Blade left his weapons and decided to take a look. He picked one of the blades up and ran his finger up and down the blade. "NARUTO WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? GET AWAY FROM THERE!" Night Blade yelled before Naruto jumped to the sky. He turned to see Night Blade looking him dead in the eye "do you know that these are poisoned!?" Night Blade asked. Naruto just shook his head as Night Blade continued "the poison on these swords and arrows has killed elephants from your continent in less than five minutes. Imagine how fast it would have killed you! I'm the one who created the poison, and I can bet you ten million Unknown dollars that there is no cure for it." Sakura's eyes went wide "that poison killed an elephant in five minutes, I'm really curious too, what would happen to a human being." Naruto just nodded nervously and went to his bed. As did everybody else.

Sakura woke to being shaken and a whisper calling her name "Sakura, Sakura, SAKURA!" Sakura shot her eyes open to see a figure hidden in the shadows. She wiped her eyes getting some of the sand out of them, who's there?" she asked but the figure only continued "Sakura, Sakura, Sakura" before running into the forest." Sakura had an angry look on her face "Naruto, if this is one of your pranks, God had better love you for what I'll do to you… huh?" Naruto was sound asleep in one of the shelters that made the camp. Sakura then turned her attention to the whispering figure again asking "w-who are you?" but once again "Sakura, Sakura, Sakura" Sakura was starting to be getting a little freaked out now. She stood up and walked a little closer to the figure "What do you wan… AGH" She felt a hand grab her throat and was lifted off the ground and felt as if someone was carrying her. "AGH PUT ME DOWN!" Her wish was granted as the figure slammed her on her back into the forest ground. She was pinned down and helpless. She could see fangs and claws in the reflection of the moon. She groaned in pain as one of the claws ran through her stomach, arms and legs. Her clothes were ripped to shreds but there were still straps of clothing on her body. She saw what was about to happen as she saw more figures coming out of the shadows coming closer, each one growling hungrily. She prepared for the worst and screamed as loud as she could before teeth sank into her flesh.

Sakura woke up scared, sweaty and breathing heavily. She looked up to see Night Blade staring down at her "you need to come with me. Now." He said as he turned away. Sakura followed him into the forest. Night Blade stopped and looked at Sakura before pointing at a tree. "Stand next to that tree over there." Sakura nodded slowly and stood by the tree. Night Blade did a few hand signs and the tree grabbed Sakura arms and legs wrapping around them several times. Sakura's eyes went wide "w-what are you doing?" she asked nervously. Night Blade walked towards her "relax, I need to act quickly, I'll explain later." He started lifting Sakura's shirt which made her yell "YOU PERVERT! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!" Night Blade did the same hand sign again and another tree branch wrapped around her mouth. Night Blade just looked at Sakura's eyes and said "I need you to relax; if you don't then this will be more difficult than needed to be." Sakura closed her eyes and tried to remain calm. Night Blade put his left hand on Sakura's stomach and rubbed it a little which made Sakura move around a bit. Night Blade let out a sigh causing Sakura to open her eyes. Night Blade looked at her and uncovered her mouth and asked "how long have you been having Nightmares? Sakura replied "I don't know. Maybe ever since I found that shrine or what ever it was." Night Blade nodded and said "this is going to sting a little but trust me, it's worth it." Sakura looked scared in her eyes but nodded any ways. Night Blade put his fingers back on Sakuras stomach again causing her to jump around a little. Night Blade looked at Sakura with angry eyes and said "Damn it I'm not trying to tickle you! Just relax!" He then started sinking his fingers into her stomach causing her to moan in pain. "What are you doing?!" She asked through the pain. Night Blade responded "I'm saving your life" as he started pulling his hands back slowly. Sakura watched as he pulled the remaining pieces of his hands from her body. Her eyes widened as she saw a black cloud being sucked into his palm "w-what is that stuff?" Night Blade looked at Sakura than down at the black cloud he was absorbing into his own body. "It's Necromancer blood." Sakura's eyes went wide "s-so what does this m-mean?" Night Blade just continued to pull the cloud out and said "it means that this is what has been causing your nightmares. This is what allows the dark servants to follow you, though they're still looking for you now. I can sense their presence, they'll find you in two days, and trust me you don't want to meet them." "w-why's that?" Sakura asked. Night Blade finished absorbing the Necromancer blood and said "let's just say they'll scar your mind for life, which is exactly why I'm going to be the one fighting them." He released Sakura from the tree hold and said "see there, it wasn't so hard was it? If you weren't so sensitive, it would have been easier." Sakura's face turned pink and said "just don't tell the other two, they may use it as a way to get back at me." Night Blade sweat dropped, as he thought to himself "what kind of ninjas did Tsunade send with me?" Night Blade just nodded and led Sakura back to the camp. When they arrived Night Blade looked at Naruto and asked "has he had any nightmares?" Sakura looked at Naruto then at Night Blade "yes, ever since he stayed the night at my house, he has been having terrible nightmares. I can't imagine what they are. There are so many things that Naruto values, which makes him an easy target for this kind of stuff." Night Blade nodded "well in the morning I'll do the same with him I just did to you. There is no room for weakness in the Unknown military and this is one of your weaknesses. In three days we will begin training in the mornings. I want to see how strong you guys are." Sakura nodded and said "you won't be disappointed. Then went back to bed for the rest of the night.

CHAPTER FOUR

NIGHT BLADES DOMINANCE

Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi woke to the sound of screaming and cheering. When they reached the top of a hill that Night Blade was standing on, they saw an army coming their way. Naruto looked at Night Blade "what's going on?!" Night Blade replied "ready yourselves we're under attack!" Naruto nodded then yelled down to Sakura and Kakashi who were still coming "TAKE UP POSITIONS, WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" "W-WHAT!? How many hostiles?" Sakura yelled "around a thousand or so, bandits from the look of things." Sakura and Kakashi nodded and ran to the top of the hill standing by Night Blade's side. "Where do you want us?" Sakura asked. Night Blade just smirked "I want you to watch, these guys are mine." Sakura and Kakashi widened their eyes and said at the same time "what!? You're crazy! There are at least a thousand bandits coming our way!" Night Blade nodded "Exactly. An easy kill if I do say so myself." The Leaf ninja didn't get to say another word as Night Blade ran full speed at the militia drawing out two blades, one in each hand." Naruto came back and yelled "WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING!?" Sakura and Kakashi shook their heads "we don't know, he's just charging in without thought." Sakura said. Immediately the screams of pain came from the distance. The three ninja watched from the distance to see the fight already taking place.

Night Blade killed bandits left and right, front and behind. Ten bandits charged at Night Blade with war hammers and axes. Night Blade did a series of kicks to one of them before ending the final blow with a punch to the face, breaking the bandit's nose. Another bandit tried hitting him in the back of the head, but without looking Night Blade grabbed the bandit's fist and flung him over his shoulder, slamming him to the ground before sinking a blade through his gut. Another bandit charged at Night Blade with an axe swinging it like crazy. Night Blade grabbed the handle of the axe and used it to his advantage. With his strength the bandit threw Night Blade over his shoulder from the force of the swing. The bandit cried in pain as he felt a blade slice his back five times before running through his heart. Another bandit charged at Night Blade with a giant war hammer. When the bandit swung his weapon Night Blade jumped on to the handle before doing a back flip kicking the bandit in the jaw, sending him through four trees before slamming head first into a boulder. In less than ten minutes Night Blade had killed four hundred bandits single handedly. Bowmen shot arrows from the trees but Night Blade caught all of them between his fingers as if they were toys. "AWW, what's wrong? Scared to die?" Night Blade asked sarcastically. More bandits charged at Night Blade which made him smirk "you guys just don't know when to quit." He shouted charging through the front lines.

Naruto and the other two ninja watched in awe at Night Blade's speed and agility. He ran faster than Lee ever could dream of running. He dodged arrows like they were moving an inch a minute.

Twenty minutes passed and only ten bandits remained. The leader stationed on horse back took a knife to the chest and fell to the ground. While the other nine took blades and throwing knives to the heart. The leader tried to crawl away but was picked up by the throat. "Look into my eyes!" Night Blade said with red snake-like eyes and the demonic voice. The bandit caught fire and was burned to the bone. Night Blade smirked before stomping on the skull of the leader.

Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi were shaking in horror at what they had just witnessed. One man, no older than eighteen, killed an army of a thousand bandits. "W-w-what the h-heck did we j-just see?" asked Naruto but no answer came. "If this guy was an enemy of the Leaf, we'd all be wiped out in less than four hours." Thought Kakashi. As Night Blade walked past them he told Naruto to follow him. Naruto looked at Sakura who gave him a smile and nodded. Naruto nodded back and followed. Night Blade turned and looked at Sakura and Kakashi and said "Sakura, Kakashi I want you to look for any stragglers and bring them back to the camp, I need to ask some questions of them." They both nodded and headed down to the massacre below them. Night Blade then turned to Naruto "ok, Naruto stand by that tree." Naruto nodded and stood by the tree. "All right let's take a look."

Sakura and Kakashi wandered around the battle field which was enough to make both of them want to puke. Limbs were scattered all over the ground. Bodies lay in pools of blood, flies buzzing over the dead and the smell of death in the air. Even though being a medic ninja Sakura was taken away by the onslaught that she was walking through. Even Tsunade would have the urge to run to the bathroom sink or trashcan. Kakashi didn't show it, but he lost his appetite for almost every food known to him, as did Sakura.

Naruto collapsed on the ground panting and grabbing his stomach. "Man that hurt like a mother!" Night Blade let out a small laugh "and you would know this how?" Naruto stood up and asked "so t-that Necromancers blood, how did I get it? I wasn't inside Sakuras house when they found that Altar." Night Blade nodded "true, but you stayed the night at her house the next night, am I right?" Naruto nodded "yea, but what does that have to do with anything?" Night Blade explained "although you were not inside the house at the time they found the Altar, you hid in the basement where they found it during your little hide and seek game." Naruto nodded "uh-huh, yea, but still I don't get it." Night Blade let out a sigh "When you hid in the basement you fell asleep in your hiding place with Sakura right? You had a terrible nightmare which not only worried Sakura because you wouldn't wake up, but you also brought something into this world. With it being in Sakura's house, it's been following her ever since we left. Though it can't take physical form for another thirty six hours it still poses a danger to Sakura." Naruto looked at Night Blade in shock "w-what wants to hurt Sakura? And how do you know so much about what's going on?" Naruto asked. Night Blade shook his head "I'll tell you later on tonight when everyone's sitting at the fire." Naruto nodded as they both headed back to the camp site.

"SAKURA, did you find anything?" Kakashi yelled. Sakura yelled back "NOTHING OVER HERE." Kakashi waved "I HAVENT FOUND ANYTHING EITHER, LET'S HEAD BACK TO CAMP!" Sakura nodded and they both walked towards the camp.

When they arrived at the camp Sakura noticed Naruto grabbing his stomach as if something bit him. She walked over to him "Naruto, what's wrong?" Naruto looked up at Sakura "I-its noth…AHG" Sakura ran over to Naruto "tell me Naruto! What's wrong with you?" Naruto collapsed on the ground still holding his stomach crying out in pain "It's the nine tails!" Naruto spit out through the pain. Sakura gasped and immediately put him on his back and started healing his stomach. Naruto grabbed Sakura's hands "that won't do any good Sakura, the nine tails chakra was fused with the Necromane… AGH" "NARUTO!" Sakura screamed. Naruto tried to continue "the Necromancers blood must have fused with the nine tails Chakra, and with a portion of it missing I…AAAAGGGGHHH" Sakura looked at Kakashi and yelled "HE'S GOING INTO THE FOUR TAIL STATE! RUN! Kakashi Sakura and Night Blade ran in the other direction as fast as possible away from Naruto. When Sakura looked back a huge explosion shook the ground. Kakashi looked back with thoughts running through his head "So this is what Jaraiya went through." Sakura stopped in her tracks 'NIGHT BLADE WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Night Blade turned and said "you two just keep going, leave this to me." Sakura couldn't breathe, let alone move, as Night Blade headed back to where Naruto was. "Wait, there's nothing you can do right now, he'll have to fight this one off on his own!" Sakura cried out. Night Blade ignored her and started walking back towards the camp. Sakura tried to go in pursuit but Kakashi grabbed her arm and pulled her with him saying "trust me Sakura, you don't want to interfere with those two." Immediately another explosion went into the air forcing the two of them to stop dead in their tracks. They turned to see a giant cloud of flames rocket three miles into the air. Followed shortly by another and another, it soon dawned on Sakura, Naruto was in a battle. She looked at Kakashi with worried eyes "we need to go and see what's going on!" Kakashi nodded and made several shadow clones. While the real Kakashi raised his head band revealing the Sharingan in his right eye.

Night Blade ran at Naruto with the intention to kill, but every time he tried to sink a blade into Naruto's body, Naruto would grab his arm and throw him somewhere else. "Well, well, he's strong I'll give him that much, but not strong enough." Night Blade said as he ran at Naruto again.

Sakura and Kakashi climbed to the top of the tallest tree they could find and were devastated at what they saw. The entire forest was turned to a wasteland of nothing but fire and earth. Sakura couldn't hold back her tears and cried as she remembered this happened to Naruto recently.

Two huge explosions again shook the ground sending flames five miles in the air. Sakura watched as two figures fought like they really wanted each other dead. She soon realized that Night Blade was fighting Naruto still alive and not in his demonic form. "How strong is he!?" she thought to herself. Another explosion ended her thoughts as force from the wind knocked her out of the tree. Kakashi was sent flying by a log that hit him in the gut but Sakura didn't notice. She decided to get a closer look and started running towards the battle.

Night Blade blocked a punch from Naruto and immediately sent his knee towards Naruto's gut, only to have it blocked by Naruto's left hand. Night Blade then did a spinning kick at Naruto but Naruto dodged it. Night Blade did several backwards flips and cartwheels to get some range between him and Naruto to strategize his situation. "Hmm, I'm actually being blocked for once, this is getting interesting." Night Blade thought to himself. He smirked saying "well, well, well. I'm going to have to open my demon as well. Better be quick before Sakura and Kakashi get here."

Once again explosions filled the air but this time Sakura could feel the heat, even though she was four miles out. "Ooh Naruto, you better not die from this, because if you do I'll kill you for leaving me here alone! Come to think of it we don't have captain Yamato with us this time." Night Blade, I hope you have something planned. And also where'd Kakashi sensei go? I could have sworn he was right beside me." She thought.. She was knocked off her feet and sent rolling into a nearby tree from the force of another explosion. "Jeez, they're not messing around up there." (DUUUHHH! REALLY?! The reader figures this out like five minutes ago. And you're just now getting the hint *facepalm*)

Night Blade pulled out his bow and pulled four arrows onto the string. "I've got to make this count!" he thought to himself. He released the arrows to have three of them blocked but the fourth went straight to his stomach. The Nine tails chakra started disappearing and the physical form of the fox demon was fading, bringing back the real Naruto who had burns all over his body, he looked like he had a really bad sunburn, but it was worse.

Sakura ran out into the battle field to see everything was fine except for Naruto's injuries. Night Blade flung him over his shoulder and waved to Sakura "DON'T WORRY, HE'S FINE." Sakura didn't stop running though. She kept running until she was standing right in front of Naruto's face. Night Blade just closed his eyes which had a smile all over them "don't worry Sakura he'll be fine." Sakura didn't answer she just nodded before wiping her tears away. She looked at Night Blade and asked "d-do you mind setting him on the ground so I can heal him?" Night Blade nodded and set Naruto on the ground then looked back at Sakura "don't take too long." Then walked away. Sakura watched as he disappeared into the forest. As Sakura started her medical jutsus she practically had a water fall coming from her eyes, but she didn't know what to say to herself.

Night Blade wandered around the forest for a while "you don't have much time left Sakura, don't wait till the last second." Night Blade said in his thoughts. He stopped at the sound of groaning and listened for the direction it was coming from. He started walking again and stumbled upon Kakashi who was under a log. Night Blade let out a sigh of annoyance "are these guys really ninja? I could have sworn Tsunade said she would be sending her strongest. Not a bunch of circus clowns." Night Blade walked over and pushed the log off of Kakashi who had the Animie spiraling eyes. Night Blade put one of Kakashi's arms around his neck and dragged him to camp "UGN, what a pain, I go through all the trouble of traveling half way around the world, supposed to bring back heroes." He looked at Kakashi "and all I get are a bunch of clowns. Such a pain."

Sakura had healed most of Naruto's wounds and was staring at his face. She decided now as good a time as ever. She was about to reach down and kiss him but was stopped by Naruto's groaning. She completely forgot about what was going on and waited for Naruto to open his eyes. After a seemingly never ending eternity to Sakura, his eyes were open again. She let tears of happiness fall from her eyes. Naruto looked around with a confused look on his face. Then looked at Sakura "S-Sakura? Where am I?" Sakura smiled and replied "you're in the middle of the forest I don't know what happened but you just ran off from us, yelling at something." Now it's my turn to protect you from the truth she thought to herself. Naruto looked around "huh I-I don't remember any of that, oh well." Sakura just smiled as she sat beside him.

Night Blade had dragged Kakashi back to the camp site and sat across from him with an OH BROTHER look in his eyes. Night Blade decided to check that everyone had all their things and walked around the camp.

Sakura helped Naruto to his feet and put one of his arms around her back. He was heavy but it didn't matter she had Tsunade for her teacher who is the strongest person in the world for now. She infused more chakra into her arms making Naruto seem a lot lighter than he really was. Slowly, step by step, they headed back to the camp site. Naruto noticed tears falling from Sakuras eyes and said "ok Sakura, enough games." Sakura stopped walking and looked at Naruto "w-what do you mean?" She asked. Naruto smirked "oh come on, Sakura; just tell me, I know you're not crying because I went chasing after someone." Sakura widened her eyes as she thought to herself "I've got to think of something and fast!" "Sakura?" Naruto asked. Sakura gave him a smile "oh, it's probably my allergies, these kind of trees make my eyes water." Naruto looked at her for a while before finally shrugging "all right, if you say so." Sakura smiled back at him and continued walking. "Ok, now what's she really hiding? I've got to find out, she doesn't have allergies." Naruto thought to himself

Night Blade had put everything into a pile. Weapons, scrolls, food etc. were lying on the ground in organized piles. Night Blade was making a few potions from his alchemy set when Sakura and Naruto entered.

Sakura put Naruto on the ground to rest while she went to pack his sleeping bag and put his things back into his bags. Naruto noticed Night Blade making some kind of liquid. "Hey, Night Blade." Night Blade looked over his shoulder "yea, what is it?" "What are you making over there?" Night Blade threw a bottle at Naruto saying " I made some fatigue potions for you guys. We won't be stopping for any rest for the next six or eight days as we're slightly behind schedule for the ships." Naruto's eyes went wide "what? But I thought we still had forty-six days until they leave." Night Blade nodded "this is true, but I figured you'd want to spend some days at a beach or something like that. Naruto just nodded and lay down to close his eyes. He felt a hand catch his head; he looked to the right to see Sakura putting her backpack under his head as a pillow. He just smiled and closed his eyes again. "Good girl Sakura." Night Blade thought to himself. Sakura smiled as she saw Naruto sleeping peacefully for the first time. She walked over to Kakashi and checked on him. "He's fine Sakura." Night Blade said from behind. Sakura turned to Night Blade and asked "are you sure? He looks pretty beat up to me." Night Blade nodded "he just had the wind knocked out of him, he'll be fine." He turned back too his alchemy set and continued making more potions. Sakura watched him for a while then smiled "so you know how to make potions? I've always wanted to try." Night Blade looked at Sakura for a second then waved his head for her to sit next to him. Sakura sat next to him and listened as Night Blade said "ok, watch carefully, this can be kind of dangerous." Sakura nodded as she watched Night Blade put in a few plants which she didn't recognize but didn't ask any questions. "Ok, we'll create another restore fatigue potion." Night Blade pointed out. Sakura watched closely as he mashed and stirred the two plants together with a mortar and pestle. He added some water and continued stirring the two ingredients before emptying it into a bottle. Night Blade handed Sakura the bottle saying "try this" as he did. Sakura grabbed the bottle out of his hand and took a drink. Her eyes went wide at the taste. She couldn't stop drinking. When the bottle was empty she looked at Night Blade with a face of wonder. She smiled while asking "what were the two ingredients you put in with this liquid? That was really good. It tasted like apple juice and a little bit of orange juice." Night Blade smirked saying "they're only plants found in the Land of the Unknown, Athalas and villegriss." Sakura looked puzzled thinking to herself "wow, I've never heard of those two plants, I guess they really do only grow in the Unknown."

Night Blade stood up and threw Kakashi on his back. He looked at Sakura "I'll carry Kakashi, you carry Naruto." Sakura nodded and walked over to Naruto who was still in deep sleep and carefully put him over her back and grabbing her backpack he was using as a pillow. She did a final swoop of the area making sure nothing was forgotten. She thought to herself "ok I've sorted everything that was in the pile to Naruto's weapon bag to my bag. I've put the fire out, I've got Naruto, Night Blade has Kakashi, yea I think we're ready." She looked at Night Blade and started following him.

Naruto woke thirty to forty minutes later with a yawn and a few moans. He noticed that he was moving while not moving his legs and looked up to see a pink haired female carrying him on her back. Sakura rolled her eyes to see Naruto's face and smiled "good afternoon Naruto." She said still smiling. Naruto smiled back "hey Sakura." Night Blade and Sakura stopped moving and decided to let Naruto walk around a bit. He staggered around lazily almost tripping a few times, which Sakura took in as her entertainment after he bonked his head into a tree branch. Naruto turned to glare at Sakura who was clearly holding in laughter. Naruto's glare turned into an evil grin which Sakura noticed. "Alright Sakura if you think it's so funny come here I'll help you get that laughter out." Naruto said as he started to run towards Sakura. Sakura screamed and ran in the other direction keeping one eye ahead of her and the other on Naruto. She ran while laughing and shouted back at Naruto "YOU KNOW YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME" "OH WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT" Naruto yelled back. Sakura was in deep thought of herself 'ha-ha-ha-ha I've never done something like this before, it's actually kind of fu…" she stopped her thoughts as Naruto yelled out "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Sakura's eyes went wide "UHOH" she looked back to see seven Naruto's following her. She squeaked a little before taking a sharp right turn. "WHA!" Naruto yelled before turning to the right after her. "YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE SAKURA" Naruto yelled out playfully. Sakura turned around and stuck her tongue out at Naruto and yelled back "OH YEA, WELL WHAT DO YOU PLAN ON DOING IF YOU DO CATCH ME?" Naruto paused for a moment before replying "I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SO EVER." Sakura giggled at his response then turned around to see in front of her.

Ten minutes into the chase Sakura was breathing heavily, but Naruto wasn't breathing at all. "Wow, he's definitely in shape. I can't shake him, and I'm almost out of breath." Naruto started getting closer which caught Sakura's eye. She yelled out in a playful tone of voice "NO NARUTO, GET AWAY FROM ME!" Naruto just smirked at Sakura's demands. "AWW what's wrong Sakura. Don't you want to play?" Naruto said playfully. Sakura shook her head "NO, NARUTO, I DON'T!" she squealed again as she felt an arm go around her waist and pulled her to a stop. Sakura turned to look at Naruto panting heavily but at the same time laughing. "Ok Naruto you got me, let's head back." She started walking but Naruto grabbed her arm. Sakura screamed in laughter as Naruto slung her over his shoulder. "NARUTO, PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!" Sakura shouted Naruto just shook his head "nope, it's payback time." "What do you plan on doing to me?" Sakura asked as Naruto started walking. Naruto looked around for a minute, then a big evil grin appeared on his face "Naruto?" Sakura asked. Naruto started walking; Sakura looked over his shoulder to see a creek, her eyes widened as she thought "HE WOULDNT!" "She started struggling to get out of Naruto's grasp, but it was hopeless. Naruto was nearing the creek and his evil grin was still on his face, it got bigger as he got closer to the creek. "Naruto, I know what you're planning, put me down right now." Sakura said through her laughter. Naruto just shook his head "nope, time for you to take swimming lessons." Sakuras eyes went wide as she thought "CRAP he's really going to do it!" Sakura started squirming again yelling out playfully "NARUTO, PUT ME DOWN NOW!" but when she saw where she was her eyes widened and Naruto shrugged. With a playful voice he said "as you wish." Sakura's eyes went wide as she felt Narutos hand grab her stomach and threw her in the creek. When Sakura came up from the surface she noticed Naruto on the bank rolling on the ground laughing his head off. He stopped as he saw Sakura's ticked off look "NAARUUTOO YOU MESSED UP MY HAIR!" Sakura yelled as she approached him from the water. Naruto gulped and stood up and prepared himself to run. Sakura's hand was mere inches away when he ran full speed into the woods. Sakuras anger shot out "HEY! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!? GET BACK HERE!" In an angry yet playful voice. Then took off after Naruto.

Night Blade had a serious look in his eyes as he thought to himself "AAAGGGHH, THESE KIDS ARE ENOUGH TO DRIVE ME CRAZY, AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY." He looked at Kakashi who seemed to be enjoying the moment. Kakashi turned to look at him 'I hope you don't mind Naruto and Sakura's behavior, they've been good friends since they were twelve and Naruto just got back from a two and a half training trip. Sakura missed him greatly." Night Blade just nodded as Kakashi continued "When Sasuke left the village he was Sakura's only love and Naruto's best friend. He betrayed them and joined with Orochimaru completely blinded by the darkness. Not even Naruto could bring him back." Kakashi looked at the ground and continued "Naruto's had the biggest crush on Sakura ever since the day he met her, though Sasuke was the only one she could see. Despite his constant rejects and insults Sakura still loved him and tried to catch his eye when given the chance. Naruto on the other hand tried everything imaginable to impress Sakura but she'd just blow him off. Even the mastery of the Rasengan wasn't enough to impress her. She was so blinded by Sasuke she didn't even care for Naruto. Sure she had feelings for him, but nothing more than a friend. Even when Naruto was the one who protected her with his life and brought her back countless times, she still didn't have interest in him, kind of had to feel bad for the guy really." Night Blade just stared at Kakashi then looked back at the forest. Night Blade and Kakashi squinted their eyes as two clouds of dust came from the valley, which Night Blade soon realized the first one was Naruto, but where was Sakura? Night blade looked at the second cloud of dust to see a mad pink haired girl chasing after Naruto with flames coming from her eyes. Night Blade looked back at Kakashi and said sarcastically "yea, they're really good friends. Can't miss it." Kakashi let out a sigh and thought "Naruto, what did you do this time?"

"NARUTO! GET BACK HERE!" Sakura yelled out. Naruto looked back in awe at the speed she was catching up to him. "OH MAN, OH MAN, OH MAN! My time's up in this life. I knew the rubber snake was a bad idea." He looked back again to see Sakura almost right on top of him "EEP" he yelled out in fear. Naruto felt the force of her body lunging onto him "GOTCHA!" Sakura yelled out in an aggravated/ playful voice. Naruto was sent off his path as he and Sakura went rolling down the hill to the right. Sakura sent several play hits to Naruto who dodged them all before wrapping his hands around her stomach and getting behind her taking the impact from the ground at the bottom of the hill.

Kakashi watched with laughter in his eye as Night Blade watched with annoyance. Night Blade looked over at Kakashi "you know they'll probably be separated before basic training right?" Kakashi nodded as if he didn't care, Sakura vs. Naruto fights were always an entertainment to him, though Sakura normally won.

Sakura sent a slap to Naruto to only have it blocked by his elbow. Then Naruto countered, hitting her softly on the head. Sakura did the same but a little harder, her eyes went wide as she heard a crack in his chest as if she broke his ribcage, but smiled as he turned into a white cloud. Her eyes went wide as she felt a hand grab her ankle "NOT AGAIN!" she thought as Naruto pulled her down into the ground. Naruto jumped out of the ground behind her. She looked over her shoulder "THAT WAS A DIRTY TRICK NARUTO!" she forced out in laughter. Naruto just smiled down at her and kneeled down and looked into her eyes saying playfully "well Sakura look who has hit bottom now." Naruto got a leaf and tickled her face with it, which made Sakura sneeze. She sent a look at Naruto "when I get out of here, you're so dead."

Night Blade looked at Kakashi with a what the heck is wrong with you look in his eyes. Kakashi was rolling around on the ground laughing his head off. Night Blade looked back at Naruto and Sakura and decided to walk down to them.

Naruto was helping Sakura out of the hole. Sakura sent an innocent sweet smile at Naruto, Naruto closed his eyes and smiled back but got bopped on the head Naruto rubbed his head "OW!" Why'd you do that?" Sakura laughed as she said "I told you I'd get you back didn't I?" Naruto smiled and nodded. They turned to the sound of sticks breaking behind a tree. Night Blade came around with eyes that had a taste of annoyance in them. He looked at them and said "if you're through having fun, it's time to move again." Sakura and Naruto looked at each other and laughed a little "I think we may have over done it Sakura" Naruto said. Sakura just nodded from laughing a little too hard.

Naruto and Sakura were walking side by side laughing and talking to each other. To Naruto it was just one of Sakura's good days, to Kakashi it was one of his feeling old days. Kakashi let out a sigh as he thought "I really didn't expect any of this on the mission, I should've stayed at the village. These two are really making me feel older and older, though I have to say, good work Naruto, you have the girl you've always wanted right in the palm of your hands. All you have to do now is make a move. Kakashi pulled out one of his books and started reading to get the thought off his mind, and in doing so walked into a tree. Naruto and Sakura paused for a moment, they looked at Kakashi, then back at each other and fell to the ground laughing. Night Blade turned around to see the massacre he was having to deal with. He let out a sigh and leaned his back against a tree watching the other three.

After ten minutes of goofing around they came to their senses and could see Night Blade was getting pissed. "Who, who, who take it easy Night Blade.' Sakura said as she waved her hands in front her face. Naruto just stood frozen from the look in Night Blades eyes as well as Kakashi. Night Blades eyes had turned dark green and literally had green flames coming from his eyes. He gave the three a look that had death written all over it and said "when this war starts I don't know how you guys plan to survive. Maybe by making the enemy laugh themselves to death?" His eyes turned back to normal as did his voice as he continued "enjoy this while you can. Once your training starts, you'll beg for death during the first twelve months." He turned around and started walking again. The other three were still scared to move. Sakura and Naruto looked at each other still smiling from what happened to Kakashi a few minutes ago. Naruto stood up giving Sakura a hand. Sakura smiled and grabbed Naruto's hand and he pulled her to her feet. Kakashi snapped out of his gaze of Night Blade and stood on his feet. Naruto and Sakura started walking side by side engaging in conversations and laughter again. Kakashi let down a sweat drop and let out a sigh "I miss the old days when Sakura was crawling all over Sasuke and would send Naruto half way through the village when he talked to her. Oh well, this was bound to happen with maturity anyways…Sigh"

Naruto ran up beside Night Blade saying "hey Night Blade, you haven't told us what's supposed to be following us yet. Not that I'm really in that big a hurry or anything." Night Blade stopped and turned to face Naruto with Sakura walking up beside him. He nodded and started to talk. "I shouldn't have to tell you that the spirits that are following us right now are not of this earth." The other three nodded and he continued. "These spirits, these…things, are like a bad cold, you can run for years and years but they will never stop hunting you. Frankly, I'm amazed the Necromancers have even started the prophecy this early." "Prophecy?" Sakura asked. Night Blade nodded and continued. "Before a great war happens the necromancers of the Unknown will send a curse to one family of every town world wide. They don't choose random people either. They choose women as their sacrifices and not just any woman either. They hunt down one of the prettier females of the town, city or village whatever you live in." "S-so t-then they w-wanted me for a s-sacrifice?!" Sakura asked scaredly. Night Blade looked at her and nodded as he continued. "Yes, it's not a sacrifice that has a going and returning ticket. They kill you, feed your body to the evil spirits, and your spirit is used as a sex toy for the rest of eternity." Sakura's eyes went wide with fear, she hadn't felt this scared since Naruto and Sasuke started fighting. She snapped her head to look at Night Blade and asked "t-these spirits, are they just looking for me? Or are they looking for all of us?" Night Blade looked at her and said "they're after you and Naruto, but you won't be fighting them at all." Naruto looked at Night Blade "WHAT! Why won't we be fighting them? C'mon I can handle it." Night Blade shot a glare at Naruto and said "You won't be fighting them because you can't hurt them! As spirits from the Land of the Unknown, your weapons will do little good, and they are immune to jutsus and physical strength. You need demonic or silver weapons to kill them for good. Since I am ninety percent demon they don't stand a chance against me." Sakura thought for a moment "ninety percent demon? How does his human spirit remain inside his body? Then again his father did make that deal with Satan, but still. He wiped out an army of over a thousand bandits single handedly and not a scratch on him. That's got to be the power of the demon inside him." She looked up from her thoughts and asked. "So what do you want us to do? Run and hide? Or what?" Night Blade nodded. "Yes I will want you to run as fast as you can away from the battle. However, you keep running until you can't continue on any further." The other three nodded as Night Blade turned and started walking again. Sakura looked over to see Naruto gritting his teeth 'Naruto, are you ok?" she asked. Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts then looked at Sakura "y-yea I'm-I'm fine, I'm fine." He walked forward following Night Blade further down the road. Sakura stood in her spot watching Naruto with a worried look on her face. Kakashi walked up beside her and said "don't worry Sakura; I'm sure he'll be fine. It's probably just the fact that he's going to have to run away during this fight, that's never been his strong area." Sakura nodded though she didn't look at Kakashi. She just stared at Naruto while nodding. Kakashi smiled through his mask and walked on and Sakura followed.

Later the group found themselves traveling through a thick mist in a low valley of the forest. Sakura and Naruto were a little on edge but didn't show it. Kakashi was still reading his book even though it was difficult to see the words on the pages. Sakura looked around at the forest taking in her surroundings, or what she could anyway. The mist was so thick that she could only make out the outline of a few very close tree trunks no less than five meters away. She almost ran right into a tree by not paying attention to where she was going. She ran up to Night Blade and asked "you mind telling me WHY we went off the road? The road is there for a reason you know." Night Blade didn't answer all he said in response was "shh" Sakura raised an eyebrow as she thought "did he just tell me to shush!? I'll give him a thing to shush in five seconds!" Night Blade stopped dead in his tracks and turned around looking up at a tree "what the hell do you want Night Shadow!?" a voice that sent shivers down the other three's spines came through the fog saying "ugh, how did you know I was here?" As a figure jumped in front of them. Sakura was terrified of his appearance 'h-he looks j-just like Orochimaru!" Sakura hid behind Naruto and Night Blade as Night Blade and their "guest" talked. "Where have you been Night Blade!? I demand to know what you're doing with these pathetic humans! Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?" Night Shadow asked. Night Blade stood between Night Shadow and the three Leaf ninja. And said "What's it to you!" Night Shadow let out a sickening laugh and said "for being a mortal you sure have a sharp tongue ha-ha-ha, why don't you spill your gu… who is she!?" Night Blade looked at Sakura then back at Night Shadow and said "that's none of your damn business! I've seen what you do to women in your spare time, and I'm not impressed! Why would you do those things to an eleven year old girl!?" Night Shadow let out a laugh "HA, you make me sick Night Blade! The only good thing women are good for is to give birth, the rest of the time they're trash!" Naruto shot a death glare to Night Shadow "WHY YOU!" Night Blade put his arm in front and whispered into his ear "calm down, I have a plan for you to get some action, but you probably won't like it." Night Blade looked at Sakura and sent her a "trust me wink" Sakura noticed and nodded. Night Blade told the plan to Naruto; he didn't like it at first but eventually agreed to it. Night Blade looked back at Night Shadow and put the plan into motion saying. "You're right; women are just trash that don't know how to keep their mouths shut. So I guess if you want her, go ahead and take her." Sakura's eyes went wide with shock as she screamed "WHAT!" at Night Blade. Night Blade turned to face her giving her the same wink as before. Night Shadow charged at Sakura "just wait till tonight dear, you'll have the time of your life with me!" His laughter sent chills down her spine. His hand was nearly three inches or less from her throat when Night Blade punched Night Shadow with an impact that sent vibrations down the ninja's backs. Night Shadow was sent through four trees and three rocks and bounced on the ground like a pebble in a wind storm. Sakura blinked at the show of force Night Blade just put off. Naruto and Kajashi's eyes were larger than dinner plates and didn't dare move after what they just witnessed. Sakura watched in horror as Night Blades eyes changed to nothing but blackness. He pulled out his blades as the sick laughter came through the fog. Before she had a chance to do anything a tongue came through the fog and wrapped its self around Sakura's neck dragging her into the forest. Night Blade chased after her and grabbed the tongue and yanked on it with all his strength. Night Shadow came flying through the fog some seventy five miles an hour and Night Blade connected his fist with Night Shadow's face. Night Shadow was sent through trees, rocks and skipped along the ground like a rock on water. Night Blade ran after Night Shadow that no human could match and in thirty seconds Night Blade was standing over Night Shadows body. Night Blade put a dagger through every limb of his body saying. "you may be immortal, but let's see what happens when all of your limbs and your head are separated from each other." Night Shadow struggled to get free "LET ME GO YOU MONSTER!" Night Blade held his swords to Night Shadows neck "the only monster here is you. Think of it as payback from all those girls you raped and murdered." Night Blade began his work leaving Night Shadow screaming in pain.

A few minutes later Night Blade came back to the still stunned Leaf ninja's. He let out a sigh and clapped his hands. They all came out of their gazes and looked around trying to find Night Shadow. Sakura looked at Night Blade and asked "w-what h-happened to t-that o-other guy?" Night Blade looked at her and said "well, right now you could say he's gathering his pieces." Unclear by what he meant she nodded anyway. The other two stood up and walked over to Night Blade. Night Blade helped Sakura up and patted her on the back before moving on. She looked at Naruto and said "that was a scary plan you jerk." Naruto put his hand behind his head like he usually did when he was nervous and said "yea, sorry, I tried to convince him to think of something else but we were a little short on time. We didn't mean to scare you that much." Sakura smiled a little and nodded slowly. Then started walking side by side again.

Later that Night, Night blade put the other three ninja's through a training course for practice of the next night. The training just consisted of hiding in shadows and staying out of the moonlight. Nothing too hard, but definitely important. Sakura and Naruto leaned against a tree breathing heavily while Kakashi sat on the ground. Night Blade walked up beside them saying "ok, that's enough for a while, but that's pretty much what you'll do tomorrow night. Just running and remaining hidden in the darkness of night." Naruto looked up at Night Blade and asked "that's…it...nothing else?" Night Blade shook his head "nope, just running and hiding that's it." Sakura looked over to Night Blade and asked "that guy….who was he…?" Night Blade looked at Sakura "he was one of the Seventeen, he was the sixteenth ranking, but calling him an assassin would have been a big compliment. All he was, was a rapist. I can't tell you how many women the police found stripped of all clothing and inside a puddle of their own blood. He was a wanted criminal; well actually "was" is to strong a word." Sakura's eyes went wide "you mean he got away!?" Night Blade shook his head. "No he's immortal, and therefore cannot be killed, ever. I simply cut his limbs and head off and left the rest for the wildlife to decide." Sakura let out a sigh of relief "s-so I'm safe from him? As well as every other girl in the world?" Night Blade nodded and Sakura slid down on her back and said "that's a relief."

The next morning Night Blade put them through another training exercise just like the one last night. Night Blade watched as Sakura handled everything the way she should. He then watched Naruto who had a little bit of trouble every now and then but assured Night Blade it was just because it was so early in the morning and he didn't get a lot of sleep. When Sakura landed on the ground panting for air Night Blade looked at her. "Perfect work Sakura, you shouldn't have any trouble tonight." Sakura stood with a smile "thanks" she turned to the sound of sticks breaking and Naruto falling through the trees branches and limbs. Sakura giggled as he landed softly in a pile of bushes. Naruto let out a sigh of relief "I knew I wasn't going to make that jump, phew!" Sakura walked over and gave him a hand. He grabbed her hand and she pulled him up. Naruto gave her a quick smile and looked at Night Blade and said "so, with scratching the whole falling out of the tree part I did pretty good right?" Night Blade nodded "yes but Sakura got you beat." Sakura stuck her tongue out at Naruto and laughed a little. Naruto laughed along with her then sat down under the tree to catch his breath. Sakura joined him in the shade though she had recovered most of her air. She looked around and asked "where's Kakashi sensei? I could have sworn he was right behind me." Night blade looked around "God damn it, it's always him who's late." Just then a poof of white smoke appeared in front of them. When the smoke cleared Kakashi had his hand rubbing the back of his neck and said "sorry guys, I got kind of lost." Naruto and Sakura looked at each other then back to Kakashi "YEA RIGHT! YOU WERE JUST READING THAT BOOK OF YOURS WEREN'T YOU?!" Night Blade came over to Kakashi and said "if you don't get rid of that perverted book within the hour, consider it fire wood." Taking his warning as the only one he would get Kakashi put the book back in his bag. Naruto and Sakura were trying their best to hold in laughter at their sensei's fast reaction putting the book away, but couldn't hold it in. They both ended up laughing the hardest they had ever laughed. Naruto's ribs were starting to hurt and Sakura was kicking her legs in the air and rolling all over the ground. They paused for a moment to look at Kakashi's face; it had embarrassment written all over it, or what part of his face you could see anyway. Kakashi dropped his arms down at the sight of his students laughing their heads off at him. He tried to tune out their voices so he could think "hmm, if I can't read along the way, what can I do? I'm not the kind for engaging in conversations, though now that I think about it." He looked at Naruto and Sakura wiping their tears away and holding their sides from laughing so hard. "Now that I think about it" Kakashi continued "I was pretty good at pulling pranks back in my day, maybe that book was blinding me from fun times that lie ahead." He started chuckling quietly at the first prank that came into his head. "HEY ARE YOU GUYS COMING? OR ARE WE STAYING THERE AGAIN TONIGHT? C'MON LET'S GET A MOVE ON!" Kakashi turned to see Night Blade about a hundred yards away. "COMING" they all yelled and started running to catch up to Night Blade. Night Blade stood in his place and waited for the others to catch up. When they got within a few meters of him and started walking again. Sakura walked up beside Night Blade and asked "hey Night Blade, are you ok? You seem a little… um…pushy. Is every thing alright?" Night Blade looked at Sakura and said "yea I'm fine, it's just I'm not used to working in a group of people. I'm used to being by myself and alone in the wilderness for months at a time. Just not used to a bunch of teenagers chasing each other around and." He looked over at Kakashi and continued "well a…a pervert." Sakura held her hands over her mouth blocking as much laughter as she could. She thought to herself "for an assassin, Night Blade can pull a few funny moments here and there. I never would have imagined he would be like this." Naruto walked up beside Night Blade and said "no, you want to see a pervert, talk to purvey sage next time, the toad sage of this continent." Night Blade let out a small laugh "hmm, I already have, I pounded the living daylights out of him when I saw him exit the woman side of the hot springs in your village." Naruto bust out in laughter and said while laughing "h-how did y-you beat him? Ha-ha-ha-ha it's about time someone did that to him." Night Blade turned to face Naruto and said "well, I didn't totally beat him up, I saw him heading to the hot springs with a camera in his hands and I started to get a little suspicious. When I saw him go into the woman's part of the hot springs I heard several clicks and a few minutes later he came back out with a big grin on his face.

Flashback

Jiraiya entered the woman's side of the hot springs hiding in the tall grass. He had the biggest perverted grin on his face. He crawled military style through the grass to the mist of the hot springs. He stopped at the edge of the grass and took several pictures of (um….I'm not going into detail for the safety of younger readers. Older readers you know what I'm talking about.) Jiraiya had a perverted chuckle running through his voice as he crawled away from the hot springs. He exited the hot springs and got about six steps out the door when WHAM. Jiraiya was sent flying into the stone wall of the men's side of the hot springs. Jiraiya trembled as he yelled "I WASN'T PEEPING LADY TSUNADE HONESTLY!" He looked up to see Night Blade holding a sword less than a millimeter away from Jiraiya's throat and said in a deep demonic voice "you got some explaining to do, I don't give a damn who you are but you got some nerve going in there." To say the least, Night Blade's voice scared the hell out of Jiraiya but he countered anyway. "Who do you think you are tossing one of the three legendary sannin like a rag doll into a stone wall?" Night Blade's voice was turning even deeper and even more demonic and his eyes were turning from balls to slits and from dark blue to blood red as he said "I am Night Blade, the fifth ranking of the seventeen, and you've just entered my bingo book." Jiraiya's eyes went wide and he shot his head up to look at Night Blade "y-you're of the seventeen?! What on earth are you doing here?!" Night Blade put pressure from the blade cutting Jiraiya's neck a little and said with an even deeper demonic voice "I don't think I'd be worried about my presence here if I were you, haven't you noticed the blade digging into your neck?" Jiraiya shook his head in fear "NO! Please don't kill me, I-I'll never peep again I promise." Night blade grabbed hold of Jiraiya's throat and pushed him further into the wall "shut up! This will be the last time you're caught peeping!" Night Blade grabbed Jiraiya's shirt and threw him into the woman's pool area. Screams echoed behind the bushes and trees and five seconds later Jiraiya stormed out of the building running as fast as he could. BOOM, BOOM, BOOM Night Blade turned to see most of the women coming out of the springs wearing most of their clothing but their hair looked like they just got zapped from a shock or something. Night Blade watched as the women chased after Jiraiya angrily and with a thirst for blood.

End Flashback

"And that's pretty much how it happened." Night Blade said. Naruto was rolling on the ground laughing like he had never laughed before. Sakura was holding her stomach and had tears falling from her eyes from laughing so hard. Naruto sat up still chuckling a bit and said "yep, that sounds definitely like purvey sage HA-HA-HA." Sakura just nodded as she wasn't able to speak from her stomach hurting so hard. Night Blade chuckled slightly and said "I do have to say I was quite amused when that pervert got what he deserved." Sakura just nodded again wiping the tears away from her cheeks. Naruto tried to push himself off the ground but his arms didn't allow it, they felt like Jell-O from laughing so hard. He fell back to the ground and rolled on his back to see a hand from Kakashi. Naruto took Kakashi's hand and Kakashi pulled him up. Sakura couldn't take it any more; she had to sit down from her legs hurting so badly. She lost all feeling in her legs as she was half way down and fell right on her back. Naruto started chuckling and looked at Sakura saying "careful Sakura, don't let the ground get the best of you now." Sakura giggled then stuck her tongue out at Naruto, teasing him. He smiled as he thought "women can't live with them, can't live without them." Naruto gave Sakura a hand and pulled her up. She smiled at him then turned to start walking again, but she turned to run her head into a low tree branch. She backed up rubbing her head 'OW" she yelled. Naruto put his hand on her shoulder still chuckling and said "see what happens when you tease people" Sakura slapped him playfully across the face letting out a fake yet playful laugh "ha-ha shut up." Naruto nodded as she continued on down the road. Kakashi didn't like the sight at what had just happened. "Sigh…where are the two younger knuckle heads I've gotten so used to?" he thought to himself.

Later on in the afternoon Night Blade decided to make camp by a calm flowing river as the temperature was rising and the other three were looking worn out. Night Blade pulled out a thermometer asking himself "how hot is it anyways?" The thermometer read 115 degrees. He looked back at the others sitting in the shade under a tree and said "we'll make camp here tonight. It's one hundred and fifteen degrees in the sun. If you want, take a swim, relax and get rested up for tonight." The others nodded. Not even Naruto felt like continuing on in the heat. Sakura ran over to the creek and put her hands in the water "perfect" she thought to herself. She took off her over-shirt leaving her under armor on and took off her boots, then jumped into the water. Naruto closed his eyes and decided to get some shut eye. Kakashi started reading his perverted book again.

Naruto heard Sakura laughing in the distance; her voice was soothing to his ears. It was calm, gentle, friendly and was the exact thing he needed to fall asleep. When he was finally asleep Sakura grabbed her water holder and walked over to him. She couldn't help but smile at his face to come. She tippy toed over to Naruto and poured every ounce of water onto his head. Naruto shot up "WHO WHAT WHERE!" he looked around the camp to see Sakura walking back to the creek. "So she wants' to play like that huh?" As Sakura started filling her container she heard Kakashi's voice in the back ground "WATER STYLE WATER DRAGON!" Sakura looked up to see a giant dragon made from the creeks water heading right for her. She screamed and ran away but the waters tide was too fast. The water came crashing down on Sakura leaving her soaked. She looked up to see Naruto and Kakashi rolling on the ground laughing their heads off. She walked over to the two of them doing her best not to laugh. When she reached them they paused for a moment then looked at her face. She was bright pink and was about to blow up in laughter. The second the two boys started laughing again she laughed right along with them. Night Blade relaxed under a tree with a curious look in his eyes. "Impressive" he thought to himself. Sakura walked back to the water and Naruto followed. He laid his clothes in the sun to dry taking off his shirt and sandals. Sakura was dumb struck at his body, nothing but muscle and not one ounce of fat on him and on top of that he was very tan. Sakura couldn't get over the size of his biceps. They were the size of her head when not flexing. Naruto noticed Sakura looking at him and blushed a little. Sakura noticed and immediately turned her head the other way, having her own blush brought to her face. She heard running and turned to see Naruto running at her. She giggled a little as Naruto tripped from falling in a hole and went under the water. For a moment it was quiet, too quiet for Sakura's liking. She gasped at the thought of Naruto drowning from being stuck in the mud or got caught in a tangle of weeds and couldn't surface. She started feeling around "Naruto…Naruto…NARUTO!" just before she could call for Kakashi she felt a hand grab her ankle. She looked down and was pulled under the water then immediately shot back up over Naruto's shoulder. She glared at him and said "idiot! Were you trying to give me a heart attack?" Naruto laughed and said "aw come on Sakura this is the most fun we've had, ever, in all our years of being friends." Sakura laughed and said "oh, you want fun? I'll give you fun." She put all of her weight to her front making Naruto lose balance and fall on his back into the water. Sakura surfaced and looked around to find her friend. She heard a splash and turned to see Naruto running at her. She didn't have the time to counter attack which left her wide open to an attack. Naruto tackled her though protecting her in the fall so she wouldn't bang her head on a hidden rock under the water's surface. He rolled on his back with his arms around Sakuras belly. She got free of his hold and prepared for her own attack. She charged at Naruto with a playful glare at her teammate. She tackled him taking him, under the water but he reversed her attack. Again his arms were around her stomach; though this time he played around with her a little more. He slid his finger nails across her bare skin making Sakura bust out in laughter. He released her and she jumped away from him putting some distance between her and Naruto.

Kakashi watched the entire thing laughing quietly to himself. "Ah, to be young again" he thought to himself. His student's laughter felt like music to his ears. "Ah, those were the good days back then. No worries, no problems, just hanging out with friends and all that good stuff. Really good memories that will never end yet haunt me for the rest of my life." He continued watching Naruto and Sakura wrestle in the water and thought "and those two are no help at all." He suddenly felt a sharp sting and looked down to see he was sitting on top of a fire ant den. The sting on his leg got to be more than he could take and he jumped to his feet and started running around the camp site. Kakashi was running around in circles around the tree Night blade was leaning against. Night Blade watched Kakashi ran around him jumping up and down yelling "OOH, AHH, OOHH, OHH, AHH!" Night Blade grabbed Kakashi's jacket by the back collar, then threw him into the creek. Sakura and Naruto watched as Kakashi surfaced again. He looked at Night Blade and said "you know a real ninja, which I am, is able to handle problems like that on their own." Night Blade sweat dropped then leaned against his tree again and asked "oh really? Well does a true, AHEM, ninja run circles around the fifth most dangerous assassin in the world when ants are crawling up his leg?" Kakashi sweat dropped as he thought to himself "that wasn't supposed to be the comeback I had hoped fore." Sakura and Naruto fell in the water and laughed so hard that they felt like they might drown. Sakura got a grip on herself and got serious again. She ran towards Naruto and tackled him in the water. She caught him off his guard and she pushed him into the mud. Naruto stood on his feet then looked at Sakura with an "I'm so going to get you" look and charged at Sakura. Sakura prepared for a counter attack. As Naruto ran into her, she twisted her body and escaped his hands. She then kicked him playfully in the back and sent him further away. Naruto shot a playful look and glare at Sakura, a glare she knew too well. She widened her eyes as she thought "that glare, that's how he looks at me when he's going to." She gasped as she thought "NO! It's worse, he wouldn't do that!" She smiled and started backing up as Naruto started walking towards her. She laughed as she said "N-Naruto I-I k-know w-what y-you're t-thinking." Naruto smirked as he continued walking closer angling her the way he wanted "oh yea, what would that be?" Sakura was turning pink as the thoughts of what was about to happen came into her mind and replied "y-you k-know w-what I'm s-saying." Her eyes went wide as she felt her back hit a tree. Naruto walked closer saying "I really don't know what you're talking about Sakura.' He smirked as he got closer. Sakura slid to the ground and replied "yes you do, don't play dumb." She paused for a minute, then said playfully "you idiot." Naruto paused for a minute, then looked at Sakura with a sad face and yelled "OH IS THAT HOW YOU SEE ME, AS AN IDIOT?" Sakura's eyes went wide as he continued "Geez Sakura after all I've done for you, you call me an idiot." He turned around and said with his back turned to Sakura 'well, if I'm an idiot to you, I guess I'll just turn around and leave." He then started walking into the forest. Sakura shot to her feet and ran after Naruto yelling after him "NARUTO WAIT!"

Night blade looked at Kakashi and said 'you said something about them being best friends; I'm not really buying it, though I can see that they had you as their sensei through their younger days." Kakashi sweat dropped and waved his hands as he said "h-hey, I wasn't their teacher full time, Naruto went with Jaraiya while Sakura went with Tsunade." Night Blade smirked as he said "I wasn't talking about that, I was talking about maturity." Kakashi hung his head as he thought "so that's how he sees me huh...That hurts."

Sakura wandered from tree to tree "NARUTO" she yelled "oh, that idiot" she thought 'I always call him that, I never mean it though, I figured he knew that." She looked down at a puddle and stared at her reflection thinking to herself "maybe, maybe I'm the idiot. Night Blade showed me how Naruto was treated in his younger days and how he put his life on the line to protect me. I must be the fool here, I was so blinded by Sasuke that I couldn't see the light right in front of me." She knelt down and studied herself in the puddle as she continued thinking "How could I have been so blind? Sasuke never showed me respect, he never gave me a shoulder to cry on, he never wanted me, he just didn't care for me." She blushed as she thought "but Naruto on the other hand, he was there for me, he showed respect, he gave me smiles when I needed one, he worried for me." She giggled as she remembered "he hugged me once when I needed it, but I sent him flying through the air. It kind of saddened me though because he never tried again, not that I blame him." She laughed to herself as she thought "all this time the answer was right here in front of me. Sasuke doesn't deserve anyone, though Night Blade did say he killed him. Shame I couldn't do it myself, oh how I would have loved to tear his heart like he did mine and Naruto's. Though I do have to admit." She let out a giggle "I never expected Naruto to grow this large on me." She stood up saying "I don't really know what I feel, but Night Blade showed me the illusions of what would happen if I don't confess." She started walking laughing to herself 'me and Naruto, who'd a thought?'

Kakashi watched in awe as Night Blade cut down trees with trunks as hard as concrete with little to no problems. Kakashi sweat dropped as Night Blade approached him with a smirk saying "I do believe that was two hundred trees. Give me your wallet." Kakashi sighed as he thought to himself "OK, note to self, NEVER gamble with assassins, they cheat." Kakashi handed Night Blade his wallet. Night Blade took the money out and put it in his. Kakashi's eye widened as he saw the size of Night Blades wallet. Kakashi stomped on the ground as he yelled in his mind "OH COME ON! HOW MUCH MONEY DOES HE HAVE!? THERES GOT TO BE AT LEAST AROUND A HUNDRED THOUSAND IN THAT THING!" Night Blade handed Kakashi his empty wallet back to him saying "pleasure to gamble with you." Kakashi sweat dropped thinking to himself "I took down around fifty of those trees; he took down around two hundred. Blasted assassin, they ALWAYS get the cool stuff, assassins ALWAYS get the cooler moves and equipment… and the hotter girls nonetheless." Kakashi melted to the ground knowing Night Blade had him beat at every turn.

Sakura wandered around the forest praying she'd find Naruto, but luck wasn't on her side. She turned to the left after passing a tree; she heard a scream of pain from a voice that sounded too much like Naruto's. She ran in the direction the voice came from and stopped behind a tree. She heard another scream of pain; she looked out from behind the tree to see Naruto flying through the air at her. She ducked and Naruto missed her by a mere millimeter. She turned around to see Naruto had gone through two trees and had smashed head first into a boulder. She turned around to be face to face with a man who had snake eyes and around five cobras slithering around his body. Sakura shook in horror and asked in a shaky voice "w-who are you?" The man replied in a voice that some how made Sakura cry, it was evil. The man started walking towards her and said "aren't you going to run little girl? Or is that your friend over there and you're thinking of protecting him. Either way, I'll kill you both just for the fun of it." He paused for a second then continued "actually now that I think of it, for a human female you're actually kind of attracting, in a very weird way. I'll tell you what, I'll finish off that boy then I'll take you to my cave, let you live a little longer, have my share of fun, then I'll feed you too my pets." Sakura shook her head to clear her thoughts and yelled "I'LL NEVER GO ANY WHERE WITH A CREEP LIKE YOU!" The other man shook his head with a smile saying "fool, do you think I was asking" Sakura widened her eyes then pulled out a kunai and dropped into a defensive stance. The man smirked then ran at her yelling "YOU BETTER GET OUT OF THE WAY LITTLE GIRL!" Sakura stood her ground and prepared for the fight. The man's hand was about two centimeters away when he was launched to the right of Sakura. The impact sent the other man flying and sent vibrations down Sakura's back and even knocked some of the leaves off the tree branches. Sakura blinked and looked slowly to the left to see Night Blade with pitch black eyes. "N-N-N-N-Night B-B-Blade?" Sakura asked in a tone of voice which had fear crawling all over it. Night Blade looked at Sakura, She felt like she was falling through a void of darkness when he looked at her. "Sakura" Night Blade said with his voice in a very deep demonic voice. "Grab Naruto and get out of here!" Sakura nodded slowly. She turned around and ran to Naruto who was still out cold. She looked back at Night Blade and noticed he was holding a snake in his right hand. She watched in awe as the snake caught fire and it burned to the bone then fell on the ground. Night Blade stomped on the bones and reduced them to dust. Night Blade pulled out one of his swords and prepared for battle. He looked back at Sakura with different eyes, eyes that were black with two red slits in each one. He yelled "SAKURA! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? GET OUT OF HERE!" Sakura not wanting to hear his voice or see his eyes again nodded quickly and grabbed Naruto and took off running. As she was running she noticed a lot of blood running from Naruto's eyes. She gasped and was about to put Naruto down to check his injuries when a sudden wind ripped trees out of the ground, with even the roots and sent Sakura and Naruto flying in a random direction.

Night Blade looked at his enemy with a stare that could kill Satan where he stood. His eyes were turning blacker and his slits were turning even redder. His enemy smirked and threw a Black Mamba out of his arm sleeve. Night Blade caught the snake and set it to flames just by using his demon power. Night Blade charged at the man with full intention to kill. The other man sent two Cobras at him, which Night Blade cut to ribbons with his sword. The two enemies looked at each other before completely vanishing into thin air.

As Sakura was healing Naruto's wounds she noticed two holes on his neck. Her eyes widened as she realized exactly what they were, snake bites. She acted quickly and pulled her special medical kit out of her bag then started trying to extract the venom from his veins. She felt a sudden burst of heat and looked behind her. What she saw devastated her mind. Flames were rising to the sky as if the world was suddenly going to end. The temperature was getting hotter. What was once the degree of 115 suddenly jumped to 130. She watched in awe as the flames were rocketing towards the sky at an amazing rate. She picked Naruto up and moved on deciding she was in a bad position.

Night Blade sent a knee to his enemy's stomach sending him into the air. Night Blade jumped above him then elbowed him in the back of the neck sending his opponent to the ground fast and hard. Night Blade then vanished and reappeared on the ground just in time to send a lethal punch to the man's face. The man was sent flying crashing through several trees and rocks then bouncing off the ground as if it were a trampoline before slamming face first into the side of a cliff.

Sakura had found a good place to start extracting the snake poison from Naruto's neck. She was shaking. She knew how deadly and fatal a snake bite is, let alone the fact it being a bite from a Cobra. She cut a small x on the side of his neck and started sucking out the poison with small suction cups from her snake bite kit. She rolled her eyes worriedly to look at Naruto's face. Naruto started moving around and foam started flowing from his mouth. Sakura gasped as she thought to herself "the poison! It's, it's spreading to fast. I can't control the flow." She thought for a moment then got an idea. She took her over skirt off to use as a rag to put around Naruto's neck. "Sorry about this Naruto." She said as she wrapped her skirt around his neck. Tight enough it would slow the poison, yet loose enough he could breath.

Night Blade was almost done with his fight, his opponent didn't have much left, but Night Blade could still go on for days. Night Blade threw a knife at his enemy's throat only to have it blocked by his opponent's own sword. Night Blade drew his bow and readied four arrows. He released the arrows, and they flew at his opponent with a speed of seventy to eighty mph. One arrow got his opponent in the leg as another went through his throat.

Sakura had most of the poison out of Naruto's bite, but she couldn't get it all. She was in relief to know enough of the venom had been extracted so that Naruto wouldn't die, but the venom would make him sick for a while. She smiled as he started coughing, she put her hand on his forehead. Sakura nodded as she thought "well, I got most of the poison, the problem is those things are coming tonight." She put a thermometer into his mouth then pulled it out and checked it. She lowered her eyes sadly as she thought "I knew he'd be sick, but he has a fever of one hundred and twelve. No one can run feeling like that. Hell they shouldn't even be able to move." Sakura widened her eyes as Naruto coughed again. "He's already getting worse." Sakura thought to herself. "This isn't good. In this state he won't be able to do what Night Blade told us." Fear started to grab hold of her as she continued "and if he can't run tonight, then what happens when they arrive? " She looked at Naruto and noticed the foam had stopped forming in his mouth. She let out a sigh of relief then wiped the sweat off her forehead.

Night Blade approached his target and picked him up by the throat and asked in an evil voice "what are you doing here!? I thought I made it very clear that you stay in the Land of the Unknown." The other man let out a smirk and said "give me a break Night Blade, you may be the fifth ranking, but you're not so tough." Night Blade smirked; he sent fire down the other man's body burning him to the bone. "Think I'm so weak now?" Night Blade asked. The other man just looked at Night Blade with eyes of pain. Night Blade smirked then threw him down on the ground. "You really think you could beat me? Have you forgotten what or who I am?" Night Blade asked in a demonic voice. The other man smirked as he said "yea, well for being a demon you sure do a good job of attracting the dark servants." Night Blade let out an evil laugh as he said "you think that was me, the necromancers found that girl, and she has some of the best healing jutsus in the world. She will be a vital role in the medical core of the U.N. military. However, you I'm afraid won't be alive during the war." Night Blade lowered his sword down to the man's throat and said "it's over!" Before Night Blade could cut his target's throat, the man vanished into the earth. Night Blade sheathed his sword and started walking back to find Naruto and Sakura.

Sakura had carried Naruto back to the campsite and had put him under a shade tree. She put a wet rag on his forehead trying her best to lower his fever. She turned around as she felt the presence of someone else. Night Blade had returned to the camp with a serious look in his eyes. Sakura read them like an open book, only one thought came to her mind "GREAT! Night Blade's pissed." She watched as Night Blade punched a hole through the rock he was standing by. Sakura's eyes went wide as the rock shattered to pieces. Sakura stood up and walked over to Night Blade and asked "Night Blade? What's wrong?" Night Blade turned his head to look at Sakura, who froze in place from the look in his eyes. Night Blade replied with a demon voice "that guy that you just met a few minutes ago, the one I just fought, he's one of the Seventeen." Sakura's eyes widened as she stuttered asking "o-o-o-o-one of the Seventeen?" Night Blade nodded and said "yes, he's the sixth ranking, his name is Shadow Snake, and it seems as though he has taken a liking to you." Sakura stepped back in fear and asked "w-what do you mean t-taken a liking to me?" Night Blade stared at her with blood red eyes and replied "he wants to do the exact same thing as Night Shadow did. Rape and murder, only Shadow Snake feasts off his victims, nearly always female humans." Sakura felt fear and rage at the same time. She got a grip of herself and asked in a loud voice "why does everything rotate around women?! I mean are all of the Seventeen just a bunch of rapists and murderers?" Night Blade smirked as he said "well for one thing there are no females in the seventeen. And no, we're not all murderers and rapists. In fact there are four more like me, the tenth ranking, the second ranking, the fourth ranking, and the first ranking. And me of course. We all have taken the vow to defend against innocent bloodshed and meaningless murder." Sakura gave Night Blade a confused look and said "you know for an assassin brotherhood, you guys are a little…weird." Night Blade nodded and said "it's actually a major compliment to call us a brotherhood, but I'm not going to burden your human mind with it." Sakura sweat dropped as she thought "oh what, human minds can't handle this sort of stuff?" Night Blade looked past Sakura and saw Naruto had two holes on his neck. He looked back at Sakura and asked "have you done it?" Sakura gave a confused look, she turned to look at Naruto then looked back at Night Blade and shook her head. Night Blade let out a sigh as he said "Sakura, more than likely you won't be seeing Naruto for a long time once we reach the Land of the Unknown. You don't have a lot of time left." Sakura nodded slowly saying "I'll tell him, I just want to make the time right." Night Blade smirked then said "wait till the last minute? Well what's wrong with right now? Didn't he get a snake bite on his neck?' Sakura widened her eyes as she thought "he's right, that bite was from one of the deadliest snakes in the world." She paused for a moment then shook her head thinking "NO! I WON'T LOSE HIM TO THAT!" She turned around and started walking back to Naruto. She kneeled down beside him and rubbed his face. She was leaning in, her lips mere inches away from his, she was about to close the gap between her mouth and his. She jumped as she heard the sound of Kakashi's voice. She turned to see Kakashi stepping out from behind a tree. She widened her eyes as he asked with a confused look in his eye "Sakura? What are you doing?" Sakura was looking around trying to find an excuse "I-I…I uh…I was examining Naruto's wound, he has been bitten by a snake on the neck, but I think he's alright now. Though he still has a high fever which I'm having trouble keeping under control." Kakashi nodded then walked off. Sakura let out a sigh of relief and looked back towards Naruto and thought to herself with a smile on her face "one day Naruto, one day I'll grant your only wish." She took the rag off his head and put a fresh one over his forehead. She looked at the sky and her eyes widened "dusk already?" she thought to herself "this isn't good, what will Naruto do when those things arrive?" She saw Night Blade standing on one of the tree branches about ten stories above ground. "NIGHT BLADE!" Sakura yelled. Night Blade turned around and looked down at Sakura and replied "what is it?" Sakura looked back at Naruto in thought for a moment, then looked at Night Blade and yelled "I DON'T THINK YOUR PLANS ARE GOING TO WORK OUT AS PLANNED. NARUTO HAS A HIGH FEVER WHICH I'M HAVING TROUBLE KEEPING UNDER CONTROL, AND I DON'T HAVE ANY MEDICINE FOR HIM." Night Blade nodded and replied "I KNOW, THAT'S WHY YOU'LL BE CARRYING HIM." Sakura nodded then walked back to Naruto. She sat beside him and thought of their past years of friendship. She giggled as she remembered he would always be cheerful for her, even during times that were hard for him and good for her. He would always wear a smile on his face just for her. Sakura let out a sad sigh as she looked down at her teammate in thought "how could I have treated him like that? He was always caring for me, even during his hardest times. And all those dates he asked me on, they weren't dates, he just wanted to hang out for a while and talk about what's happening with each other and such. He never wanted an actual date; he just wanted someone to hang out with, which isn't really bad at all." Sakura was knocked out of her thoughts by the sound of Naruto coughing. She put her hand on his forehead "he's getting hotter" she thought to herself. She put another wet rag over his head again. Sakura frowned in sadness as she thought "this is the first time he has ever gotten sick. That snake venom must have been really deadly, not even the Nine tails is helping, poor guy." She let out a sigh of relief as she thought "well, better sick than dead, I couldn't live with myself if he was gone." She lay down beside her friend and studied his face for a few minutes. She smiled as he tossed and turned a little trying to get into a more comfy position. Then closed her eyes and let sleep take her.

A sudden strong wind woke Sakura and Kakashi out of their slumber. Sakura looked around the camp and saw it was night time. She shivered at the feel of a dark and mysterious energy. She widened her eyes as she thought "this feel, it was at my house." She looked at Night Blade who was watching the forest. "Night Blade" Sakura asked in a scared tone of voice. Night Blade drew both of his swords and looked at Sakura. Her eyes went wide as she saw his eyes were blood red with three black slits. Night Blade stared at her for a moment then turned back to the forest and said in a demonic voice "they're here, grab Naruto and get out of here!" Sakura nodded then walked over to Naruto and threw him over her back then took off running through the forest with Kakashi behind her.

Night Blade prepared himself for the fight. He dropped to a fighting stance as four figures dropped around him. He looked around "well come on! I don't have all night here! Make a move!" he thought to himself. One of the black figures ran at Night Blade with a claymore (a giant sword) in hand and swung it at Night Blade's neck. Night Blade caught the blade with his hand and snapped it in two, then kicked the creature in its face sending it crashing into a tree. Another figure ran at Night Blade with two short swords swinging like crazy at Night Blade's waist. Night Blade did several backwards cartwheels and other maneuvers to dodge the blows. Night Blade caught one of the swords in-between his boots and snapped it in two pieces. Night Blade then jumped up and punched the figure in the jaw and sent it spinning through two trees before slamming face first into a boulder.

Sakura gave Kakashi the signal to split up. He nodded then turned slightly to the right, disappearing into the blackness of the forest. Sakura stopped to rest and catch her breath. She lowered Naruto off her back and leaned him against the tree trunk and felt his forehead. She let out a sigh of relief as she thought "good, his fever is starting to cool down" she frowned as she continued her thoughts "though I'll probably be carrying him for the next day at least, and if tomorrow turns out to be as hot as today, his fever will rise again. We need to stop at a village or other town so I can get him some medicine." She widened her eyes as she heard a moan. She looked all over the forest and pulled out a kunai from her weapons bag and prepared herself to defend herself and Naruto. She watched the blackness of the forest keeping on her guard. The groan came again; Sakura widened her eyes as she thought "they're behind me!" Sakura turned around to face the other direction. "what the!" she thought to herself. "There's still no one out here, just me and Naruto." She heard the groan again "this time it's to my left." Sakura spun around in a defensive stance with her kunai in hand. Her eyes widened as she saw Naruto breathing heavily. She slapped herself as her inner self yelled "YOU IDIOT! IT WAS JUST NARUTO!" Sakura walked to Naruto's side and knelt down asking "are you ok Naruto?" all she got was a nod. She put her hand on his forehead again, her eyes went wide 'h-his temper! It's getting higher!" She leaned her ear close to his mouth as he was trying to say something. All she could make out was "water" Sakura brought her water holder out of her bag and put it to Naruto's mouth. She leaned him back gently with one hand while holding her jug in the other. She brought it back and looked at Naruto with worry and asked "how do you feel?" She rubbed his forehead and cheek, much to Naruto's liking. He gave her a weak smile and said in a low, exhausted voice "I-I'm f-fine S-Sakura d-don't w-w-worry about…" He started leaning to the right about to slip off the tree branch they were on. Sakura caught his collar and jerked him to her. She looked at her teammate who was passed out cold on her shoulder with worry in her eyes.

Kakashi had stopped behind one of the trees in the forest to catch his breath. He watched the distance in the background. He was breathing heavily as he thought "I don't think I've got anything to worry about. Night Blade said these things were only after Sakura and Naruto, so I think I'm home free."

Night Blade had killed all of the dark servants and was piling up the bodies near the bank of the stream. He had a disappointed look in his eyes as he thought to himself "these things were the dark servants? Just a bunch of push-over's."

Naruto had fallen completely asleep on Sakura's shoulder, though she didn't mind. She was glad he did. Sakura gently lay him down on his back as she took a spot beside him. She looked at his face for a moment "I'll get you better Naruto, I always do. I'm not going to let you die in my arms; you've done enough for me, now I need to do something for you." Sakura then fell asleep after those thoughts. She still couldn't get over the fact that she was going to go through with this. Sakura tried to picture her future with her blond friend. She giggled to herself as she pictured them having kids and him being the Hokage and her as the housewife. She brought her hand to her chin in thought. She looked at Naruto for a moment; a smile came across her face as she thought "that actually isn't bad." She giggled "me being the wife of the most powerful ninja in the world, two kids, living in the Hokage tower." She put her hands behind her head and gazed at the stars. She saw a shooting star go across the sky. Her eyes widened as she thought "A SHOOTING STAR! MAKE A WISH QUICK!" She closed her eyes and made the wish "please let Naruto survive the war, and become Hokage." She opened her eyes to see the stars again. She thought she could see the figure of her family to come in the night sky. She let out a tear of happiness and let sleep take hold of her.

Sakura woke early the next morning. She saw Naruto was gone, her eyes widened as she looked around trying to find him. "SAKURA!" a familiar voice called. She looked down to the ground to see Naruto by a creek washing his face. Sakura jumped down to join him at the water's edge. She ran up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. He turned and gave her the biggest friendly grin he could. She returned the smile and put one of her hands on his forehead asking "how do you feel? I wasn't expecting you to be able to move around this much." "Much better" Naruto replied "my head still hurts a little, but I think I can handle walking for a while." His face turned sad. "What's wrong?" Sakura asked. Naruto looked at the ground and answered "I-it's just that, I was having so much fun with you in the past, for once I actually felt like we were really friends." Sakura hit him playfully in the chest and asked "why wouldn't we be friends? We've been on the same squad for a long time Naruto. Of course I'm your friend, why wouldn't I be?" Naruto looked up at her with a smile and replied "uh... That came out wrong, I just figured after not being able to give you the promise of a lifetime, you would be kind of mad at me." Sakura gave him a sad look, she smirked as she said "didn't I tell you not to worry about that? I thought I made that clear the other night." Naruto smiled as he rubbed the back of his neck and said "yea you did, I just wasn't sure." Sakura remembering the events of yesterday looked as his neck and asked "those snake bites, they're gone." She looked into Naruto's eyes and asked in a curious voice "Naruto, why did you run away when I called you an idiot yesterday? I didn't really mean it, and I figured you knew that." Naruto busted out into laughter as he said "oh that. That was an act I put on, I was going to ambush you in the forest.' "And do what?' Sakura interrupted with a smirk. Naruto's eyes went small. He looked at Sakura who still had the smirk on her face. Naruto rubbed the back of his neck as he said "apparently I didn't give it a lot of thought. I wasn't going to hit you or anything. Maybe scare you or something like that, but I'd never dream of hitting you, honest." Sakura laughed as she said "I know you wouldn't hit me Naruto, but I'm glad you didn't jump out at me or throw me in a creek." Naruto raised an eyebrow and asked "what would be the point of that? We were already wet." Sakura nodded with a giggle and replied "this is true."

Kakashi had arrived at the camp after sleeping in the woods last night. Night Blade looked at him and asked "where are Naruto and Sakura?" Kakashi looked at Night Blade and answered "They should be here before too long. Sakura's pretty worried for Naruto's fever." Night Blade nodded and pointed at the pile of bodies and said "those are the dark servants that attacked us, if you want to take a look." Kakashi looked at the pile of bodies and walked over to them. "What's to examine?" he thought to himself. "There's no way to tell what they were, all their limbs are shattered or missing, their faces are busted in, and they've been burned." Night Blade walked up beside Kakashi asking "Hmm you think I may have gone a little over board?" Kakashi sweat dropped "over board? He went over yonder." Night Blade looked at Kakashi and said "I'm going to go find Naruto and Sakura; you stay here and guard the camp. I'll be gone for a while as I also need to find some plant ingredients to get rid of the poison in Naruto's body. Sakura said he wasn't in life threatening condition, but he won't be able to go very far without stopping and resting for a while." Night Blade started walking off as he continued "I'll be back in a few hours. If they return before I get back stay here, you guys aren't out of the woods yet." With that being said Night blade vanished into shadow, disappearing into the forest. A shiver went through Kakashi's spine "I wish he'd stop doing that, it gives me the creeps." He thought to himself.

Sakura and Naruto were walking back to camp, doing their usual laughing and talking. Sakura was enjoying his company. She knew they were best friends, but she never ever expected this. As they were walking down the bank Sakura noticed Naruto had another evil grin. Sakura gasped as she knew it too well and started running. Naruto gave chase but his head wouldn't let him. Sakura looked back to see Naruto had given up, she yelled at him with a tease in her voice "OH, IS NARUTO'S HEAD HURTING TOO BAD THAT HE CAN'T CHASE ME!?" Naruto looked at her and said in a playful tone "shut-up, come here I know something I can do." Sakura stuck her tongue out at him in a teasing manner. Naruto shot a playful glare at her and started walking towards her. Sakura stood her ground, waiting for Naruto to get close to her. When he got close enough he held out his hand to try and grab her. Sakura, however, didn't agree and took a big backwards step. She stuck her tongue out at him and teased him by waving at him. Naruto started walking again, Sakura walked backwards at the same pace as he walked forward. Naruto was starting to get ticked which Sakura saw very clear. Her eyes widened as she felt her back lean against a tree trunk. Naruto was now standing in-front of her with an evil grin on his face again. He grabbed her arm, making Sakura scream out in laughter as he threw her over his shoulder again. Sakura looked at his face to see that there was a different grin on his face. "Are you ok Naruto? I figured you were going to throw me in the water." Naruto nodded as he replied "I wouldn't be worried about me if I were you, Sakura." Sakura felt fingers going up and down her sides. She tried to get out of his grip but he was too strong "NA-NA-NARU-NARUTO STOP HAHAHA!" Naruto shook his head and said "you shouldn't have teased me like that, now you'll pay full price." He stopped her torture to let her catch her breath. While breathing heavily she asked "how long is this going to drag out?" Naruto bent down and put her on her feet and replied "about that long." Sakura giggled and punched him in the chest hard but playfully and asked "why is it always tickling? Never any other punishment?" Naruto chuckled as he replied "because I don't know what else to do. I'm not going to hit you; I'd feel terrible if I did. Plus I like your smile, and I love your laughter." Sakura went ten shades of pink as she thought "aw, that was sweet of him, I need to be nicer to him, if he does this to me just to see me smile and laugh, I should think of other things for him." She slapped him on the arm and said "ok but no more of the tickling, it's getting annoying, and I can handle you hitting me playfully, I know when to stop teasing you Naruto, don't ever think I mean these insults for real." Naruto nodded and Sakura started walking off. She turned to see Naruto still standing in the same place. "Naruto" she asked "are you ok? What's wrong?" Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts and replied while rubbing the back of his neck "n-nothing Sakura, I was just thinking that's all." Sakura nodded and motioned Naruto to walk beside her. Naruto nodded and walked up to Sakura. They started walking along the creek again engaging in conversations once more.

Night Blade searched all over the forest going from one plant to the next. He gathered ingredients non-stop from all the plants he knew, which was pretty much everything. After an hour and a half he ended up with a ton of Foxglove and several other things. Night Blade turned his head to the sound of sticks breaking close by. He waited to see what it was, just as he stood up Kakashi came running like crazy from behind a tree with dust coming from his feet. Night Blade turned to a roaring sound to see a Grizzly bear chasing after Kakashi. Night Blade sweat dropped as he thought "apparently he hasn't heard of putting a fire up while you're camping alone. Night Blade let out a sigh and watched as Kakashi ran circles around him, running full speed from the bear chasing him. Kakashi looked at Night Blade as he was running and yelled "FEEL FREE TO HELP ME ANY TIME NIGHT BLADE!" Night Blade just shook his head and replied "I don't know Kakashi. This is a pretty good bear." Kakashi jumped over a rock and over the bear and replied "I don't care, kill it or something, I'm not meant for fast food." Night Blade went back to gathering plants still talking to Kakashi "she seems to like you Kakashi, you don't want me to break the heart of an innocent female Grizzly do you?" Kakashi jumped onto a tree branch and went as high up the tree as he could. He looked back down at Night Blade and yelled "ARENT YOU GOING TO CLIMB UP HERE? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" Night Blade looked behind him to see the bear charging at him. He jumped over the bear and rolled along the ground kicking a rock to flip back on his feet. Kakashi sweat dropped as Night Blade threw two steaks in-front of the tree he was on. "Where did he get those steaks?" Kakashi thought to himself. He watched as Night Blade jumped on a rock and threw several more pieces of meat around the ground. "AH, a diversion, very clever Night Blade." Kakashi jumped back down to the ground and approached Night Blade saying "nice job, though one question. Where did you get those steaks?" Night Blade looked at Kakashi and said "uh… I wouldn't be here if I were you." "Why not?" Kakashi asked. He looked at the bear and said "she's distracted by the meat, so she's not posing any danger, what makes it not so safe to be down here?" Night Blade pointed behind Kakashi and said "that does." Kakashi turned around thinking to himself "oh it can't be that ba…" Kakashi widened his eyes at the sight of twenty more bears charging to their position. Kakashi jumped back to the tree he was on earlier and watched as the bears tried to climb up. He heard a buzzing above him. He looked up to see a wasp nest with wasps buzzing around him. He shrieked like a little girl then jumped to a higher tree level.

Sakura had Naruto pinned against a tree saying "Naruto I know you're hiding something from me, what is it?!" Naruto shook his head rapidly saying "it's nothing Sakura, why would I lie to you? You know I'd never hurt you, physically or emotionally." Sakura pushed him further into the tree trunk and said "I can see it in your eyes Naruto; you're hiding something from me. Just tell me what it is and I'll let you go, don't make me do something I don't want to do to you!" Naruto gave Sakura a sad look through his eyes and said "I-it's not that I don't want to tell you, I just don't know how to bring it out, it's complicated." Sakura loosened her grip and grabbed Naruto's hand and said "please Naruto, I'm your best friend, you can tell me anything, I promise I won't hit you, just tell me what's bothering you and we'll work it out, together." Naruto had tears running down his face as he looked at the ground. "See" Sakura said in a soft caring voice "I knew there was something wrong, tell me what it is." Naruto fell to the ground and buried his head between his knees and said in a voice bumpy with emotion "I-I-it's j-just, after this war, I'll have lost so much respect from the villagers back home in the Leaf Village. I'll never get to fulfill my dream to become Hokage." Sakura had a look of worry on her face as she knelt down beside him. Naruto shook his head as he continued "truthfully I don't even see the reason for going back; I was chasing a dream that would never come true. The villagers didn't like me; they never even cared for me." Sakura felt tears coming down her cheeks as he continued. "It never mattered what I did, I was never accepted, most kids are happy on their birthdays, they get presents, cake, a fun time with friends." He looked at Sakura with watery eyes and said "but for me, I was beaten, tortured, stabbed, every now and then hanging on to life by a mere thread, not to mention my house was always burned to the ground." Sakura's heart was nearly about to come through her mouth. She wrapped one of her arms around Naruto trying to comfort him. "It wasn't fair" Naruto continued "why was I so disrespected by everyone who saw me? Why couldn't I have lived a normal life like every other kid? I never knew why. I was beaten for no reason for years, having to take scraps out of trashcans and dumpsters." Sakura pulled him into a gentle hug and whispered softly in his ear "shh, it's all right, those days are over now. If no one else, I'm your friend, don't ever think otherwise. I'll be there when you need me in the future as I always have in the past. I won't let you be alone; I'll never leave your side as your best friend. Kakashi-sensei is your friend as well. He won't leave you either." She put her cheek on the side of his neck and continued "but if he does, I won't, I promise, you've done enough for me. It's my turn to help you. Believe me, you'll see. If we make it back to the Leaf one day, and you're still disrespected, I'll stand by your side." She gently pushed her friend away to see his eyes were watery with emotion, but not sadness. He pulled her into a hug which surprised Sakura at first but she reacted wrapping her arms around his back. She let tears of happiness flow when Naruto whispered in her ear "thank you Sakura. I know I can count on you." Sakura brought him closer as her inner self yelled "KISS HIM DAMMIT!" Sakura thought to herself "no, I've got something else planned." Sakura pulled away and wiped the tears from Naruto's eyes and said "you know, we should probably get going, Night Blade and Kakashi are probably waiting on us back at camp. Naruto nodded and they helped each other to their feet. Sakura leaned in for another hug catching Naruto off guard "S-S-Sa-Sakura?" Naruto asked in a nervous voice. Sakura leaned back and looked into his eyes and said "that's just a reminder, a reminder that I won't leave you." Too dumbstruck to do anything else, Naruto just nodded.

COME ON KAKASHI! THEY'RE GONE. LET'S GO!" Night Blade yelled from the forest floor. Kakashi looked at Night Blade with annoyance in his eye and thought to himself as he pulled thorns from his body. "Yea, easy, ow, for you to say, ow, you weren't chased by, owe, bears, ow, wasps and hornets, ow, jumping all over the place, ow, running through a thorn, ow, bush, ow and didn't get your head stuck, ow, in a bee hive, ow. AND you didn't get your clothes taken from an overgrown rabbit." Kakashi looked down to see the only piece of clothing he had left were his white boxers with red hearts on them and his face mask. "KAKASHI LET'S GO!" Kakashi looked down at Night Blade and yelled "I'LL COME DOWN WHEN YOU GET MY CLOTHES FROM THAT RABBIT!" Night Blade thought for a moment then looked back up at Kakashi and yelled "THATWASN'T A RABBIT! THAT WAS A KANGAROO GENIUS!" Kakashi looked down and replied "I'M NOT BUDGING TILL YOU GET MY CLOTHES!" Night Blade's eyes set fire as he yelled back "SO YOU WAN'T ME TO GO ON A SUICIDE MISSION, LOOKING FOR A KANGAROO THAT COULD BE ANYWHERE AND BRING YOU THOSE LAME EXCUSES OF CLOTHING?!" The only response he got was a nod. Night Blade stormed off thinking to himself "stupid Leaf ninja! I can take the kids, but this guy's about to drive me nuts, where did Jack go off too anyways?"

Naruto and Sakura arrived at the area they once called camp. The area had been devastated and their things were scattered all over the ground. "What happened here?" Sakura asked as she picked up torn scrolls and weapons scattered all over the place. "SAKURA!" Naruto yelled. Sakura ran over to where Naruto was standing to meet the remains of the dark servants. "Are these what Night Blade fought last night? He wasn't messing around during this fight." Naruto put his shirt over his nose and approached the remains and said "w-what are these things? Zombies? No their phantoms aren't they?" Sakura felt a shiver go through her spine as she said "I don't like being here Naruto, let's gather what we can and get out of here." Naruto nodded and turned around to start picking scrolls and weapons up. They turned to the sound of sticks snapping and the sound of murmuring "stupid kangaroo, where'd it go?" Night Blade stepped out from behind a tree to meet two confused teenagers. Sakura giggled and said "Night Blade, we don't have kangaroo in this part of the world, you must be confused." Night Blade shook his head and replied "no I know I saw a freaking kangaroo, it stole Kakashi's clothes and…" "IT WHAT?!" Sakura and Naruto yelled at the same time.

CHAPTER FIVE

THE VILLAGE

Gathering all they could from their destroyed campsite. Naruto was still having problems when he bent over to pick up something. Every time he came back up he'd feel dizzy, which wasn't something that happened to him often. Sakura had caught him three times before he crashed head first on the ground, after the third time she had told him to let her do the rest, but he refused to just sit around. Now Sakura was staying right behind him just in case it happened again.

Night Blade scouted the area looking for a village that they could use to bathe or get to a hot spring. Night Blade smirked as he thought to himself "Sakura sure isn't too picky about bathing after three days, though I guess being a ninja she's probably used to it. Still nonetheless, odd for a female." Night Blade could make out the out line of a city in the distance. He widened his eyes at what he saw. "A fair" he thought to himself "the boats aren't leaving for another twenty two days, and it's an eighteen day walk. Even at the pace we're going, we should make it in plenty of time. I'll let them hang around here for a while." Night blade started walking for the town gate to see what was going on at the fair.

Sakura shot a worried glance at Naruto and asked "N-Naruto, c-can I ask you s-something?" Naruto turned to look at Sakura with a curious face and said 'uh…sure I guess so, what's bothering you?" "Well" Sakura replied "it's just, it's just last night you had a really high fever, and I didn't think you were going to wake up for the next two days at least. But you seem fine to me, you still have snake venom in your body, did I miss something? You should be really sick right now…don't get me wrong I'm glad you're not, I'm just curious." Naruto laughed and replied "S-Sakura, you should know the Nine tails heals me really fast, no matter how sick I get, give me a night's rest and I'm good to go." Naruto turned around to start walking and bonked his head on a low tree branch. Sakura giggled as she thought to herself "maybe not one hundred percent but close enough." She looked up at Naruto again and said "well even so, I want to get you some medicine to get the rest of that snake venom out of your body." Naruto shook his head as he said "there's no reason to give it to me, the fox is healing me as we speak, and plus I hate the taste of medicine." Sakura smirked as she thought "so that's how he's going to play it huh? We can play that game." She thought for a moment, then looked at Naruto and said in a flirty voice "oh Narrutooo." The purr in her voice sent a shiver down his spine. He looked at Sakura and his jaw dropped. Sakura was lying on her back on a tree branch playing with the zipper to her shirt. She had taken her over skirt off to reveal her shorts that barely went a quarter of the way down her thighs. "Y-Y-Y-Y-YES S-S-S-Sakura" Naruto stuttered to say. She turned her body in a way that made him melt to the ground and batted her eyes at him saying "it would make me very happy if you took that medicine; you don't want to see me sad do you?" She started playing with the bottom of her shirt acting like she was going to pull it up. Naruto was at a loss for words, he tried to turn his head from his teammate, but his eyes were glued to her. Sakura smirked as she thought "men, such easy targets for us, all it takes is a little skin and their heads start spinning." Sakura started playing with the zipper to her shirt again as she said "will you take the medicine just for me?" Naruto once again melted to the ground from her voice. He stood back up with a nose bleed. He looked at Sakura who had lifted her shirt up half way hanging upside down from the branch, hanging from the back of her knees, her lips mere inches from his. Naruto was driven to his limit; he got another nose bleed, and then passed out. Sakura giggled as she jumped to the ground and put her clothes back to normal. She laughed as she thought "too bad Kakashi-sensei wasn't here; I would kill to see him pass out from a girl doing that." She looked down at Naruto and thought "but only I can do this to him, any other girl is off limits." She sat beside him and cleaned the blood from the bottom of his nose. She giggled as she thought "I need to do this in bikini, an orange one since that is Naruto's favorite color." She went back to picking up weapons and other things spread out among the camp.

Night Blade was returning to camp but stopped at the sound of a fight going on in the distance. He came out from behind a tree and froze at what he saw. Kakashi and the kangaroo were having an intensive staring contest. Kakashi was still in his white boxer shorts with hearts all over them. The kangaroo had somehow managed to put all his clothes on. Kakashi tried to grab the kangaroo but it punched him in the face. Kakashi jumped back then charged at the animal with a fist ready, the kangaroo turned around and tripped Kakashi with its tail. Kakashi tried to get back up but the kangaroo jumped on top of him four times then hopped off into the forest. Night Blade looked at Kakashi who was in the middle of a crater in the ground with spinning eyes. Night Blade let out a sigh of disbelief and started dragging Kakashi back to the camp site.

Naruto woke to two emerald green eyes staring back at him. He rolled his eyes all over the camp looking around. Most everything was cleaned up, except for a few kunai here and there. He sat up rubbing his head and looked at Sakura and asked "w-what happened Sakura? AH! My head hurts." Sakura giggled and said "you passed out; I was talking to you about taking medicine to get the rest of that snake venom out of your body, you got a nose bleed then you passed out." Naruto shook his head to clear his thoughts, he looked back at Sakura with curious eyes and said "I-I don't r-remember any of that. All I remember is you lying on a tree branch, relaxing or something." Sakura sweat dropped as she thought to herself "great, I go through all of that and he forgets. How many hints am I going to have to give him?" Sakura helped Naruto to his feet and gave him his equipment. Naruto smiled and took the bag out of her hands. A sharp pain went through his head, sharp enough to make his eyes water. He laid down, grabbing his head and moaned in pain. Sakura quickly put her hands on his head putting medical attention on it, she sent green chakra onto the area he was holding, but he pushed her hand away. Sakura widened her eyes at what he just did "NARUTO!" she yelled "what did you do that for? I was trying to help you." Naruto looked at her with sad eyes and said "this isn't something that you can heal Sakura, this is something my body has to do on its own." Sakura gave him a worried yet confused look and asked "w-what's wrong? Is it the Nine Tailed Fox?" Naruto rubbed his forehead as he answered "I can't really explain what it is." He looked at Sakura for a moment then looked at the ground and said "when I fought Sasuke three years ago, he sent the Chidori through my left shoulder, and when that happened, I, I felt another beast awaken inside of me." Sakura brought her hands up to cover her mouth as she thought "h-h-he's the v-vessel o-o-of t-t-two demons?! How could I have been so blind?" Tears started to form in her eyes as Naruto continued. "I don't know what it was; I felt it for a split second, then it was gone." He looked at Sakura and said "ever sense that fight, whenever I wake up after being passed out for at least ten minutes, the other force sends a pain through my body, I-I don't like it, it feels… it feels like it wants to hurt me." He put his hands on Sakura's shoulders and said "I kept this a secret because even the Nine Tailed Fox seemed to be afraid of it, I, I was scared that if they did surgery on me the other force would be set free, and harm those who were close to me. That's why I ran out of the hospital so much." Sakura wiped a tear from her eye then wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and whispered in his ear while crying. "W-Why didn't y-you tell m-me a-about this? I-I could h-have h-helped y-you, I-I w-would h-have h-helped you." she stroked her fingers through his hair as she thought "h-he w-wasn't t-trying t-to l-leave the hospital to train…he was hiding because he wanted to protect us." She buried her face on his neck and let her tears loose. Naruto gently pushed her back and stared her in the eyes and said "Sakura, stop crying, please, I never want to see another tear leave your eyes." Sakura nodded then pulled him to her; he was shocked, but he didn't resist. He figured she needed a shoulder to cry on. Besides he's wanted her to do this for a long time.

Night Blade was having trouble keeping Kakashi from going berserk on the wildlife. "KAKASHI IT'S AN ANIMAL! CONTROL YOURSELF!" Night Blade yelled. Kakashi still struggling to charge in the direction the kangaroo went. He looked little more than a five year old struggling to get free of his parents grasp in hopes of not getting swats. Kakashi readied his lightning blade and tried to run in the other direction. "I SAID KNOCK IT OFF!" Night Blade yelled as he hammered Kakashi into the ground. Kakashi had spiraling eyes as Night Blade held him down and hand cuffed him. "Let's see you use anymore of your lightning styles now." Night Blade said as he pulled Kakashi back up on his feet. Kakashi looked at his hand cuffs and asked "where did you get these Night Blade?" Night Blade froze for a second then spun around and said 'l-look, l-lets not go into detail." Kakashi had a confused look but shrugged it off.

"So t-this new thing inside of you, give me your best guess at what it is." Sakura said to Naruto. Naruto put his chin in his palm and thought for a moment. He shook his head and said "I honestly couldn't tell you Sakura. I know enough to know it's dangerous though." He looked at Sakura to see she was clearly scared, he put an arm around her back and said "if something happens to me, whether it be the Nine Tails or this newer thing, I want you to run. You're the only family I really have left except for Kakashi-sensei. I don't want to lose the person I view as a sister." Sakura nodded even though her neck refused to co-operate with her, she nodded. Naruto smiled as he said "good, but truthfully this newer demon probably won't fully awaken for a while now, if at all. Just in case though I want you to remain safe, regardless of what happens to me." Sakura's eyes were filling up with tears once again as she thought to herself "even with this new force, he's still more worried about me than himself. Why can't he worry about himself for once?!" Naruto stood up offering her a hand to grab. She took the hand and gave him a worried face; she looked at him and asked "w-why do you worry about me so much? I've done nothing but beat you you're entire life, and yet you still worry about me." Naruto gave her an honest face and replied "it's because you became one of my first friends, you were one of the first to give a light at the end of the dark tunnel I lived in all my younger days." Sakura widened her eyes and let a small smile form on her lips as he continued. "it's not just that I have to protect you Sakura." He smiled and a blush went across his face as he looked at the ground and said. "it's because I want to protect you." Sakura let tears of happiness run from her eyes and a smile appeared on her face as she asked "how far would you go, just to see me home safely?" Naruto gave her a serious look and replied"there isn't a limit to what I would do." The next thing Naruto knew Sakura had pulled him into the tightest hug he had ever received. He was completely taken off guard; his head was spinning in the stars. He shakily wrapped his hands around her, the scent of her hair made him smile. A scent of strawberries went into his nose. He enjoyed this moment, and prayed it would never end. Sakura squeezed him tighter and tighter to her, thinking to herself "I'm not letting you go! I'll never let you leave my arms. It doesn't matter if I have to cut them off! You're never leaving my arms, you've done enough for me and I promise you I'll make it up to you, I don't care what the cost is!" She buried her face in his shoulder and let her tears out of her eyes. "Well, well, look what we have here." A familiar voice said. Sakura spun around to see Night Blade and Kakashi had arrived at the camp. Kakashi was at a loss for words at what he had just seen. Naruto and Sakura had shades of red going across their faces. Sakura looked at Night Blade, all he did was nod. Sakura nodded back, she looked at Kakashi to see he had a weird look in his eye. "Kakashi-sensei?" She asked "are you ok?" Kakashi shook his head to clear his thoughts and said "y-yea S-Sakura I'm fine." Sakura smiled then looked at Night Blade and said "Night Blade there's something I want to ask you." Night Blade looked at Sakura and asked "what would that be?" "Well" Sakura continued "you said that there's a demon of immense power inside of you, what's the price you have to take in order to keep it under control? I mean usually there is a cycle in these sort of things right? Like a curse in a way." Night Blade nodded and replied "you could call it something of a curse, but I don't really think you would want to know." Sakura gave him a confused face and asked "what is it?" Night Blade shook his head as he said "you're not going to like it. Most of my enemies run in fear from it, and the people of the Unknown definitely don't like it." Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto all had faces of suspense to what the curse would be. Finally Naruto used up all of his patience and yelled "COME ON! TELL US WHAT IT IS ALREADY!" Night Blade smirked as he replied "I have to devour another human body as a sacrifice to the demon inside of me." The other three jumped as far away from him as possible and all asked at the same time "you mean cannibalism?!" Night Blade nodded as he said "afraid so, believe me I don't like it any more than you do, but it has to be done, though don't get me wrong, I never kill an innocent person. The person I devour is usually an enemy that I either hated, or put up a decent fight. So you guys don't have anything to worry about." The other three let out a sigh of relief as Sakura asked "s-so it's one of those things where you don't want or like to do it, but you have to do it right?" Night Blade nodded as he replied "exactly. Can we move onto a different subject? I don't really see the point of talking about my curse." The other three nodded in agreement. Night Blade looked around the camp, then looked back at the three ninja and said "Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi get the rest of your things and we'll move out. There is a town holding a carnival for the next few days. We'll stay there for a while, let you guys get washed up and have some fun, free your minds from what has been going on for a while." Naruto and Sakura jumped into the air yelling "OH BOY A CARNIVAL! WE HAVENT BEEN TO ONE OF THOSE IN YEARS!" Kakashi just smiled through his mask as Naruto and Sakura went into rival mode yelling playfully at each other "I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU WITH IN AN INCH OF YOUR LIFE AT THE SPARING STANDS" Sakura yelled. "OH YEA!?" Naruto replied "WELL I'LL MOP THE FLOOR WITH YOU AT BALLON DARTS AND TARGET PRACTICE.!" Sakura smirked as she yelled in come back "WELL I'M GOING TO ELECT YOU TO BE THE ONE WHO FALLS IN THE TANK AT THE DUNK TANK STAND!" Lightning shot out of their eyes at each other and locked half way in-between their faces. Night Blade laughed a little as he said "while you guys are out having fun I'll be out scouting around, keeping an eye on Shadow Snake. You guys shouldn't worry about him for now. He never goes into civilization areas, no matter how small; he doesn't like the lighting of the houses and streets." Night Blade looked at Sakura and said "Sakura, once you get there you and Naruto are to go directly to the medical store and get the medicine Naruto needs to get the rest of that snake venom out of his body. He may feel fine, but trust me, four more days and his blood level will drop. First to go will be his appetite for certain foods, then he won't sleep and eventually die from the lack of food and sleep. Shadow snake likes to play around with his prey; he doesn't kill instantly." Sakura had a confused look and asked "we've run into two of the Seventeen already, aren't they supposed to be in the Land of the Unknown or something?" Night Blade looked at Sakura with serious eyes and replied "they are here because they are my hated enemies. Night Shadow and Shadow snake and I have… an unpleasant history at best. We've always hated each other and they have made it their personal goal to kill me. I don't know what they're thinking, I'm stronger than both of them combined, Night Shadow won't be bothering us anytime soon, if at all, for a while. Shadow Snake isn't after you guys, he's after me and me alone. He used Naruto as a decoy to lure me in, he got a bigger bite than he could chew." Sakura nodded then looked at Naruto and said "we better get moving, I want to get that snake venom out of your body as fast as possible, and then I'll beat you to death in the sparing contests." Naruto shook his head as he said "that's no fair, I can't hit a girl, let alone my best friend." Sakura giggled as she said "I'll make the exception on this Naruto, I can take your weak childish hits." Naruto's face turned red and he yelled "WHAT DO YOU MEAN CHILDISH HITS!?" Sakura burst out into laughter as Naruto struggled to think of a comeback. "I…uh…I'll…I'll uh…oh I give up, it's pointless arguing with a girl." Sakura collapsed on the ground kicking her legs into the air laughing her head off and rolling on the ground. Naruto put his foot on her stomach trying to keep her still. She looked at him still giggling trying her hardest not to laugh at his face. Naruto bent down and said in a playful yet mean way "I'm still going to cream you in the balloon bust, you're not out of the water yet, Sakura." He started rocking his foot back and forth on Sakura's stomach making her laugh. She pushed his foot off of her and stood up, and hit his stomach playfully yet hard enough to make him bend over and cover it. "OW Sakura, you didn't have to hit me that hard." Sakura let out a small laugh as she said "oh come on I didn't hit you that hard, did I?" she looked at his eyes to see they were watering. He rubbed his stomach saying "yea, you really did…all of a sudden I don't feel so…" Naruto collapsed on the ground covering his stomach and coughed blood from his mouth. Sakura gasped as she knelt down and started healing his stomach area. Sakura looked at him with sorry eyes and said "I'm sorry Naruto I didn't think I really hit you that hard. I won't use chakra in my fists anymore, ok?" Naruto nodded still holding his stomach. Naruto's eyes started to change red, Night Blade studied them for a moment then pulled Sakura to her feet. She looked at him with a curious look as Night Blade kneeled down to Naruto's side. Night Blade put his right palm on Naruto's chest and closed his eyes. Thirty seconds later Night Blade stood up and turned to Sakura saying "Sakura, a word with you." Sakura had a scared look as she thought to herself "the way he said that, it didn't sound like he was too amused about something." Sakura followed Night Blade into the forest. When they got far enough for them to talk loud enough Night Blade turned to Sakura and asked in an urgent voice "did you know that there is another demon inside him?! Sakura he surely told you something, being his closest friend he trusts you with his life. Answer me with nothing but the pure truth, did tell you there is something else inside him?!" Sakura stood frozen for a minute, she shook her head to clear her thoughts and said "h-h-he did tell me a short while ago about it, but it didn't sound like he wanted to go too far into detail, I figured it was best to not push it. He seemed scared so I didn't urge him to continue." Night Blade threw one of his throwing knives straight through a boulder with rage in his eyes. He turned to face Sakura again and asked with an angry voice "do you know what happens to people that hold two demons?!" Sakura shook her head in fear, afraid to talk. Night Blade sent one of his fists through a tree trunk and said "well I'll tell you then. When someone is the vessel of two demons they turn evil slowly over time. You may think otherwise and truthfully I wouldn't blame you for defending your best friend." Sakura shook her head saying "you're saying he would turn…evil?! HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?! NARUTO IS THE NICEST PERSON IN THE WORLD, HE'S KIND, CARING AND DEFENSIVE TOWARDS THE PEOPLE HE CARES ABOUT!" "THAT'S NOT THE POINT SAKURA!" Night Blade interrupted making Sakura shut her mouth. "The point is that slowly over time his mind will be corrupted, he won't be able to think straight. He'll come to view you as an enemy and attempt to kill you. This other demon isn't too big on the human race, it won't stop trying to take over Naruto until he has him in his claws." Sakura fell to the ground shaking in horror thinking to herself "Sasuke, what have you done to Naruto? This is all my fault." She let tears fall from her eyes knowing she was mostly to blame for this happening. She put her head on the ground and thought to herself "I'm the one who sent him after you Sasuke, I'm the one who made him promise me he would bring you back, I'm the one who always beat him to death. WHY COULDN'T I HAVE SEEN IT BEFORE?!" Sakura looked up at Night Blade and asked with watery eyes "h-how d-do we s-save him?" Night Blade just shook his head and simply replied "I don't know" Sakura felt her heart stop, his word echoed through her head "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know" She punched the ground making a small crater where her fist hit the earth. Night Blade bent down and said "however, the course for this to happen will take twenty years at the least, to possibly never happening." Sakura looked at him with a neutral face as he continued "This means that the second demon won't be able to take control of him for a while, hopefully giving us enough time to get him out of this mess he's in." Sakura stood up dusting the dirt off of her clothes, then she looked at Night Blade and said "you sure know a lot about demons and stuff like that, I-I know you're ninety percent demonic and all, but still you are human aren't you? How do you know all this, this… CRAP going on in the world?" Night Blade turned his back to Sakura and said "that's not for you to worry about; in fact you may find the answer a little more disturbing than the cannibalism, which I hate." Sakura's mind blew, "w-worse t-than c-cannibalism?!" she thought to herself. "What on earth could be worse than that?" She looked up at Night Blade to see him walking away. She continued thinking "then again, he's probably been in other dimensions, or worse. What the hell are these assassins? Other than creepy would be a nice answer." Sakura stood up and ran back to the others. When she saw Naruto and Kakashi playing Rock, paper, scissors curiosity hit her. She looked around the camp to see Night Blade leaning against a tree with eyes of annoyance. She walked over to Night Blade and asked "what's all this about? You don't look too happy." Night Blade grabbed her arm and threw her over to Naruto and Kakashi, then dodged a boulder by jumping over it. A figure jumped out of the tree line with a sword readied and closing on him. Night Blade jumped into the air and kicked the figure in the throat, sending it crashing down to the ground. Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi ran over to where the figure crashed to the ground. "A mist ninja?!" Sakura said in a voice of surprise and fear. Naruto looked at Kakashi and asked "we're in the Land of Waves aren't we?" Kakashi drew a kunai and nodded his head. Sakura and Naruto stood back to back, watching each other's six, and turning in a circle keeping their eyes on the background of the forest. Sakura looked up to see Night Blade standing on top of a tree with his bow drawn. He released five arrows at the same time, Sakura's eyes widened as she thought "it takes a highly skilled marksman to do that, I wander how many arrows he can shoot at a time." She felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Naruto putting away his kunai. Sakura nodded and put away her weapons as well. Sakura looked up at the tree again to see Night Blade was gone. She looked around the camp in wonder "how does he do that?" she thought to herself. She turned around to see two blood red eyes with black slits staring at her. She screamed and fell to the ground. She heard laughing; breaking her shock, she turned to see Naruto and Kakashi rolling on the ground laughing. Night Blade pulled her to her feet then walked away. Sakura sweat dropped as she thought to herself "what no apologizing for scaring the heck out of me? He probably did that on purpose, would have been perfect for Halloween." Night Blade turned to face the three Leaf ninja and said "ok back to the original plan, you three stay in the village about five miles from here. I'm going to go look for Shadow Snake, the place you're staying in is the "Merchants' Inn". He looked at Sakura and said "Sakura you have your own room, it's just down the hall from Naruto and Kakashi." Sakura nodded and asked "what's my room number?" Night Blade threw her the key to her room and replied "it's 302." Sakura nodded and put the key in her medical bag. Night Blade looked at Kakashi and Naruto and said "your room number is 308, and yes it's a double bed." Night Blade threw one key to each of the boys; they caught the keys before putting them in their pockets. "So what are we supposed to be doing in this town?" Naruto asked. Night Blade looked at him and replied "it's simple, you go to the carnival, have some fun, take a bath if needed. We probably won't stop again except for the docks." Night Blade turned around and started walking as he continued with a tease in his voice "Oh and you may consider looking for a certain female friend. Who knows, she could be here." Naruto blushed and looked at the ground trying his hardest not to laugh. He shot his head back up and said "yea right, what girl would want me?" Night Blade turned around and replied "the answer might just be right in front of you." Then he vanished into the shadow of the forest, leaving a very confused look on Naruto. "The answer may just be right in front of me? What does that mean?" Naruto asked. He looked around saying "the only female here is Sakura, and she only sees me as a good friend." He looked at Sakura and asked "do you know what he meant Sakura? I'm really confused." Sakura shrugged as she replied "I honestly couldn't tell you Naruto, I have no idea what he meant." Naruto nodded then put his fist in the air and yelled "ALL RIGHT! TO THE CARNIVAL THEN!" He took off running leaving Sakura and Kakashi coughing in the dust. Naruto had kicked up. When the dust settled Sakura yelled out "HEY NARUTO SLOW DOWN! WAIT FOR US!" "NOT A CHANCE, I WANT A HOT DOG!" He yelled back.

Walking through the town streets was heaven for Sakura and Naruto. The smell of freshly cooked food, the carnival rides and games in the background, and an ugly ticket booth. "TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR AN ALL DAY PASS? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Naruto yelled. Sakura laughed as she said "calm down Naruto, Night Blade already bought our tickets, though we should pay him back sometime." She looked at Kakashi to see he was obviously dreading something. "Kakashi-sensei?' Sakura asked "are you ok?" Kakashi just shook his head and replied "uh-uh." He pulled his wallet out and turned it upside down. Sakura and Naruto watched as a moth came flying out of his wallet. "What happened to all your money Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura and Naruto asked at the same time. All they got in response was the chirping of crickets. Their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a growling stomach. Sakura and Kakashi looked at Naruto who had an embarrassed look on his face. Sakura giggled as she asked "h-hungry Naruto?" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and replied "yea I didn't get a chance to eat much the other night, but I'm fine don't worry bout me, yep everything's good" (GROWL) Sakura and Kakashi launched themselves back into a building, falling to the ground, loosing feeling in their legs. Sakura looked up to see Naruto leaning on a table with an angry face tapping his fingers on the table. Sakura stood up, still chuckling and walked over to Naruto and grabbed his collar. She pulled him to his feet and said with laughter still in her voice "c-come on, w-we'll take y-you to g-get something ha-ha." Naruto tried to keep a constant face but failed, he returned a smile to Sakura, who did the same and started walking ahead. Naruto ran past her yelling "LAST ONE THERE IS BUYING!" Sakura's eyes widened and she gave pursuit yelling back "OH NO YOU DON'T, I'M NOT PAYING FOR YOU!"

Naruto and Sakura were side by side running down the street with competitive grins of their faces and sending playful glares at each other. The restaurant they were planning on going to popped into the distance. The two teens picked up speed and tore the street apart as their speed increased. When they reached the doors a major tug-o-war took place for the door. Naruto grabbed the handle, but Sakura pulled him off of it and threw him back into the street. She reached for the handle but was tackled to the ground by Naruto. She pushed him off her and they both darted for the door, unaware that they sent an old man flying into space. When Naruto got his foot in, Sakura yanked on his ear hard enough so she could drag him around. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow" Naruto said as Sakura dragged him to the street to reset their race. Sakura let go and ran for the door once more. Naruto tackled her from behind and tickled her sides long enough so that she would have trouble breathing and getting back up. Naruto darted for the door again but Sakura grabbed his foot causing him to fall face first in the dirt. Sakura ran over him but Naruto stuck his arm out, making her fall to the ground. Naruto and Sakura shot glares to each other and ran for the door again. This time Sakura opened the door and stepped in, but Naruto ran in under her arms. They shoved their hands in each others faces and yelled at the same time "I'M FIRST!" Naruto looked at Sakura while breathing heavily and said with a tease to his voice "I win again Sakura." "Give it up" Sakura replied "I had to look back to see you. My toe was at least a quarter of an inch ahead." Naruto stood up with a grin and said "well, I guess it's a tie then." Sakura laughed a little as she asked "well, if it was a tie, who pays?" Naruto smiled at her and said "we split the bill, I pay half and you pay the other." Sakura nodded and replied "fair enough." Naruto then claimed a table and Sakura sat across from him. Sakura looked out the window and said "I'll bet that's a fun carnival, look at all the lights and games." Naruto nodded and replied "yea I know, I'm ready for some arcade action, not to mention creaming you at the balloon bust game." Sakura shot a competitive glare at him and said "Oh yea, just wait for the three legged race. I'm so going to mop the floor with you." Naruto stood out of his chair and leaned in close to Sakura's face and said "well what if I nominate you for being the target in the dunk tank?" Sakura shrugged as she made her comeback "I don't care, you've thrown me into two creeks, I think I can handle a tank." Naruto grinned as he said "or I could make you go up on stage and sing and dance, maybe pole danc…" Sakura sent him flying through the room making him crash into the wall on the other side of the room. Her face was dark red with anger and her eyes burned with fire. She stomped her way over to the lifeless body of Naruto and picked him up by the collar and started shaking him rapidly yelling. "YOU LITTLE PERVERT! HOW DARE YOU THINK ABOUT ME DOING THAT! I WAS EVEN THINKING OF BEING NICE TO YOU TONIGHT AND LET YOU TAKE ME OUT ON A DATE! BUT YOU BLEW IT NOW BUDDY, YOU'RE GOING TO WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN, starting right now." Sakura formed her right hand into a fist and prepared her attack. She stopped when she saw Naruto wasn't trying to get away from her. "Aren't you going to run Naruto?" Sakura asked. 'What's the point?" Naruto replied. 'Every time this happens you never let it go until you hit me and break a few of my ribs. Sometimes I wander if it's best to try and keep my head and run, or to risk my life and stay near you. I just want this to get over with." Sakura blinked and lowered her fist and let go of Naruto's collar. She pulled him up then bopped him on the head. "Ok, Naruto, I'm done." Naruto looked confused and asked "what was that? I figured on having a misplaced joint and several broken bones, and all you do is bop my head?" Sakura giggled as she replied "It's because you didn't run away, or try to, and I know you didn't really mean the whole pole dancing thing, I know you well enough, you wouldn't ask me to do that, right?" Naruto shook his head and replied "nope, I'd never force you to do something you didn't want to do, unless of course it might be necessary or something like that, but never anything like pole dancing! We're too young to go into that kind of club anyways." Sakura laughed as she went back to her seat and sat down. Naruto sat across from her with a grin and asked "so you thought about going on a date huh? Funny I wasn't planning on asking you or anything. Normally I'm joking around anyways." Sakura looked at him and replied "well, you see the thing is, I've never really said thank you or did anything for you in return for bringing my sorry butt back from every mission. So I figured this would be a good time. Besides I've come to realize you just want to hang out for a while, which is fine with me. I always thought when you wanted me to go on a date with you, you wanted to start a relationship. But now I see you just want to hang out with a friend and that's all, I can handle that. There's nothing wrong with that kind of "date", Naruto." She smiled at him and continued "you should have just asked if you wanted to hang out or something in the past, I would have come, sorry for looking at it the wrong way." She lowered her head on the desk. Naruto had a confused and red face at the same time. He rubbed the back of his head and said "well, Sakura, you certainly catch on pretty fast. You're right, I never asked you out on an actual date, and frankly I'm glad I never did." Sakura yanked her face up to look at him and asked "what's that supposed to mean? Don't you think I'm pretty?" Naruto nodded as he replied "yes, Sakura, you are very pretty, it's an insult to call you that." Sakura blushed ten shades of red as he continued "but you could have anyone you wanted. The chances of you picking me are pretty slim at best. That's why I wanted to be able to get to know you as much as possible before you start spending all your time with your boyfriend." Sakura lowered her face as she thought to herself "good, he hasn't caught on yet, just a little longer then I'll start making bigger moves to where any guy would get a nose bleed and faint." She looked up and said with a smile "well, really there isn't a guy I'm really looking for right now, I enjoy being single." The waitress came and they ordered their food.

Kakashi wandered around the book store running like a kid after ponies down the isles. He had a stack of twenty books in his hands before he skipped off to one of the tables to read the entire stack of books he had selected. When he sat down and opened his first book a female voice came over the speakers "attention shoppers, the store will close in five minutes." Kakashi's mind blew as he looked at the clock. "IT'S ONLY TWO THIRTY!" He yelled to himself.

Sakura and Naruto had finished their meals and split the bill of twenty five. Sakura looked at Naruto and said "you know, Night Blade said we should get you that medicine immediately when we got here. I would like to get that out of the way and get that venom out of you as fast as possible." Naruto nodded and opened the door for Sakura to go through. Sakura giggled as she said "wow Naruto I didn't really expect the term of 'gentlemen' to be in your book, apparently I missed a page." Naruto shot an angry glare at her and tried to make his own comeback. He thought for a few seconds, then hung his head in defeat making Sakura laugh. Naruto gave a look at Sakura and smirked "oh I'll give you something to laugh about! Come here!" Sakura widened her eyes as Naruto lunged at her. She side stepped causing Naruto to ram face first into a pole behind her. Naruto fell to the ground and watched the birds fly around him. He shook his head to clear his daze and looked at Sakura. Sakura gulped and ran the other way, Naruto gave chase after his pink haired friend.

Kakashi wandered the streets looking for something to do. He had read all of his books and he couldn't buy anything as he had lost his money in a gamble with Night Blade. He sighed as he looked at his watch and thought "it's only three o'clock, and the carnival doesn't start till six, what can I do for some fun around here?" His thoughts were interrupted as he saw Naruto and Sakura enter the drug store. "Maybe they would help me, I just need to borrow at least fifty. I may as well ask them, they'll surely let me barrow at least twenty."

"NO!" Sakura yelled as she put the venom medicine in a glass before handing it to Naruto. "WHAT?!" Kakashi yelled surprised at her reaction. "WHY NOT?" he asked in a whiny voice. Sakura put her finger to her chin and said "oh, well I don't know, there's just the fact you owe me…" She pulled a note book out of her medical bag and flipped through the pages. She stopped on one page and continued "it's just the fact that you owe me three thousand seven hundred." She flipped the page over "and you owe Naruto five thousand three hundred." Kakashi sweat dropped and thought to himself "she really carries that around? Man I've got some serious debt to catch up on." Sakura handed Naruto the glass of medicine. He pouted and turned his head and said "forget it Sakura, I'm not drinking that…what ever it is. Is that even a liquid?" Sakura growled at him and stomped on his foot. Naruto opened his mouth to yell, but Sakura emptied the glass into his mouth. When he swallowed Naruto's eyes turned to spirals and he melted to the ground. Sakura widened her eyes as she thought "oh come on Naruto, this stuff can't be that bad." She put a drop in another glass and drank her taste tester. Her hair went crazy and her eyes turned to spirals, she spat it out and put her mouth under the sink and rushed water through it. She looked down at Naruto in thought "poor guy, he had to drink half a glass of this stuff, maybe it would have been better to leave the venom in there. This stuff is terrible, what are the ingredients?!" She turned the bottle around, she widened her eyes at the first thing she saw "cow manure" Sakura screamed and ran for the bathroom feeling a major need to vomit.

A few hours later the three found themselves walking down the streets of the carnival. It was six thirty in the evening and the game stalls and some rides were open. They split up, Kakashi going to the left towards the mirror house and Naruto and Sakura going towards the game stands to the right. Sakura stopped as a large object in the distance caught her eye. She pulled Naruto to her side and pointed to the background yelling excitedly. "LOOK THEY HAVE A FERRIS WHEEL! I've always wanted to go on one." She looked at Naruto who had a smile on his face looking at the gigantic wheel in the distance. He looked at her and said "the games can wait, let's go on that first, I bet they have a good view." Sakura nodded and they ran for the giant ride.

"Hey buddy" a nearby person said "you may think of laying off the fast food for a while." Then walked off laughing. Kakashi looked into his mirror to see a giant image of himself. "So this is what I'd look like if I was fat huh?" He thought to himself. He stepped back and forth between two mirrors saying "skinny, fat, skinny fat, skinny, WHAT THE?!" The third mirror showed he had a female body with deep very clear curves. He stared at himself for a minute, then put on a pose and said "hmm, not bad." "HEY BUDDY!" A voice yelled out from behind Kakashi making him jump. He spun around to see a line of kids and parents waiting their turns to go. "Are you almost done?" A man asked. Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and said in an embarrassed tone of voice. "Uh…yeah sorry bout that." He took off running in a random direction.

Sakura and Naruto had arrived at their first ride of the night. Since they had three night passes they didn't have to pay to get on the ride. They sat across from each other in one of the buckets and waited for the ride to start. "Hope you're not scared of heights Naruto." Sakura said with a tease to her voice. Naruto gave her a thumbs up and replied "you kidding? I can handle anything."

Sakura rolled her eyes as she said "you know, when you said you could handle anything, I thought heights wouldn't have bothered you any." She looked at Naruto who had attached himself to the pole that was in the middle of their bucket. Naruto watched as Sakura started searching in her bag for something. His eyes went small as he saw her pull a camera out of her bag. "Now, now Sakura. You don't need to take a picture of me hugging a pole." "SMILE" Sakura yelled with a voice of laughter. "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO SAKURA DON'T" Naruto yelled. (Click, click, click, click) Sakura lowered the camera to see a very red Naruto. She giggled as she said "oh come on Naruto, you may not like it now but trust me, we'll be laughing about this in a few years. I won't show them to anyone, I promise." Naruto nodded and sat next to Sakura and said "you better not, or I'll…I'll…uh…I'll…OH NEVER MIND!" Sakura laughed and put her camera away."

Kakashi had apparently become the attraction of single women. He was running full speed away from a flock of fan girls who had watched him play against several people and won a lot of money out of their wallets. He slipped into an alleyway but saw it was a dead end. He did a quick 180 degree spin to see the large group of women was closing in on him. "LET'S KISS HIM!" one of the girls screamed. The others screamed as well and charged at Kakashi. Kakashi backed as far away as he could before he yelled for his life.

"Did you hear something?" Naruto asked looking at Sakura. "Sakura nodded and said "I did, but I'm going to pretend I didn't." She looked at Naruto and let a smile creep onto her face. She turned around completely to face him and asked "s-so I-is there a-a certain g-girl you like N-Naruto?" Naruto looked at Sakura with a blank face and replied "well that was totally random." Sakura giggled and said "yea I know, but I was just thinking. Nearly eight weeks ago when you were having surgery, Hinata said she likes you, like in a romance kind of way. D-do you like her in that way?" Naruto shrugged and replied "no, not really, I don't have anything against her, but she's just, I don't know, weird isn't really enough. I like her as a friend, but nothing more." Sakura nodded and replied "oh, I see. Well truthfully I've seen her and Kiba hanging around each other quite a bit, though I doubt it's anything romantic." She smiled at Naruto as she continued "it's probably something more of like you and me, good friends, but nothing romantic." Naruto nodded and replied "yea that's got to be it. Truthfully the way things are now, I don't really see any of us getting into a relationship anytime soon." Sakura blinked in surprise at what he said and asked "why's that? I personally think they look good together." Naruto nodded and replied 'well that's not the case. The Hyuga clan has a strict rule where no one out side of the blood line may become a relative. Even if I were to become Hokage it wouldn't be an easy thing to change as that has been their rule for the past several years. Hinata and Neji were destined to be husband and wife, there's no changing it." Sakura scooted over to Naruto's side and said "yea but during the Chunin exams you said you would change the way of the Hyuga clan, or did I just misunderstand?' Naruto shook his head and said "no, you understood perfectly, but how old were we back then? Eleven? Twelve? And now we're sixteen right. I have to let things take their course; I was an immature amateur back then, all I ever did blab about was Hokage this Hokage that. I admit I still do, but I have a feeling after this war I'll be different, I won't be myself." He looked at Sakura and said "you probably won't be the same either, I may not be a medic, but I know it's a tough job, if your patient dies then you're the one who has to tell his or her family and friends. You get yelled at; every now and then maybe you have an object thrown at you. But what do you expect, it's human nature, but sometimes, you're too late before you even start your operation." Sakura nodded and said "yea it is a tough job, but I enjoy it, though you're right it is hard on emotion at certain points, but still I'm saving lives and that's all that matters." Naruto nodded in response. "But anyway" Sakura continued "why do you not see anyone pairing up in the future? I mean Lee and Tenten make a good couple. Kiba and Hinata or Neji and Hinata is pretty good. Jaraiya and Tsunade would be perfect. Shino is another story though. So that leaves you and me." Naruto nodded saying "yea but you'd never take me, as stated earlier. You're pretty enough to have anything you want. I'll probably remain single through the course of my life." "What makes you say that Naruto?" Sakura asked. Naruto looked at her and said "well, you loved Sasuke and I promised I'd bring him back no matter what. And well, after the fight I made the vow to bring him back not only for you but for the both of us." Sakura grabbed her chest as he continued. "I never really expected to have anyone, I'll admit I had a crush on you earlier on, but I guess maturity finally took hold of me." Sakura's eyes sparkled as she asked excitedly "y-you have a crush on me?!" Naruto gave her a blank face and replied "did". Sakura hung her head down in thought "that really hurts, though what else could I have expected with the way I treated him." Naruto leaned his back against the wall of the bucket they were in and folded his arms behind his head and said "I don't know, maybe I'm better off alone. I mean, I never knew my parents, I don't know hardly anything about kids or telling them right from wrong and I don't know anything of being in a family. It's just one of those things I'll never know I guess." Sakura patted his head and said "oh don't worry, you'll find someone, I'm sure of it." As her inner self yelled "YEA AND THAT SOMEBODY'S GOING TO BE ME, SO STAY AWAY FROM ANY OTHER GIRLS OR I'LL SEND YOU STRAIGHT TO MARS!" The ride stopped and they climbed out. Naruto looked around, then looked at Sakura and asked "how does some candy sound before we start our rivalry for the night?" Sakura smiled and replied "sounds fine by me, I'm kind of hungry anyway." Naruto nodded and started walking in a random direction. Sakura looked confused and yelled after him "NARUTO! WHERE ARE YOU GOING? THE CANDY STANDS ARE OVER HERE." Naruto looked back with a smile and replied "I saw a better selection in this direction, and I think I saw more games and stuff this way too." Sakura looked down the other path, then back at Naruto and nodded.

As they were walking around the carnival streets they saw Kakashi running like a madman away from something. "What's gotten into him?" Naruto asked. The ground started rumbling, then out of nowhere thirty to forty women came into sight chasing after him with their eyes turned to hearts. Naruto and Sakura let out a sigh of disbelief and went on their way to the candy stands.

While Naruto and Sakura sat at one of the tables in a nearby building eating their candy. A loud explosion erupted in the distance. Sakura looked at Naruto with a serious face and said "That was no firework; I know this for a fact." Naruto nodded and they looked out side of the building to see flocks of people running in terror from something. Naruto got out of his chair and ran to the entrance of the building. He looked off into the distance to see fire rising to the sky. Sakura yelled to Naruto "WHAT'S GOING ON? WHAT WAS THAT?" Naruto looked at Sakura and replied "it's Night… GOOD GOD!" The sky turned dark orange as another explosion took to the sky. Sakura watched as Naruto stood in the entrance frozen in terror. She was about to get out of her chair. The building across the street from Naruto exploded, sending Naruto flying through the air and slamming into the far wall. Sakura ran to Naruto and wrapped one of his arms around her neck seeing he was out cold. She left the building through its back exit carrying Naruto close to her side. As she ran across the street of what was once a peaceful carnival had instantly turned to the aftermath of a battlefield. A building ahead of them blew up in flames, tears escaped her eyes as she heard the screams of pain coming from people trapped inside it. She ran down another street to see the bodies of several people lying motionless on the ground. She closed her eyes as two more buildings exploded into ash and debris. She saw a figure run across the street ahead of her. She backed off and ran the other way. When the gate to the town appeared in sight Sakura sighed in relief. A terrible hissing sound came from behind her, followed by the sound of blades clashing together. She turned around to see two figures inside of one of the burning buildings. One vanished, followed by the other. Sakura looked up and widened her eyes as one of the figures was falling towards her with a sword in its hand. The other figure appeared beside it and punched the other sending it flying through the air. The other figure disappeared into thin air and disappeared from existence. "What the hell is going on?!" Sakura thought to herself. She ran for the gates again seeing that it was about to catch fire. As she ran through the street, she heard the hissing sound again. It was right behind her. She turned her head to see a figure reaching its hand out to grab her. She watched as another figure appeared between them and sank a blade through the other figure's throat, then vanished. When Sakura reached the gates to the village she turned around to see two figures staring at each other before disappearing. She decided she had seen enough and decided to leave. When she reached the top of a hill she looked back and saw the two figures again, but now she could make one of them out. She widened her eyes as she thought to herself "I've only seen one guy with a bow around this village, and we've been here all day, Night Blade, what are you doing?!" She looked at the other figure and it hit her. "Those eyes!" she studied the figure a little more, then grabbed Naruto defensibly and pulled him close to her. An angry thought ran through her mind "Shadow Snake! What the hell is he doing here?!"

NIGHT BLADE

V.S.

SHADOW SNAKE

DEMON V.S. SHADOW

Sakura watched in awe as the black figures of Night Blade and Shadow Snake delivered a series of blows to each other. The figure of Shadow Snake charged at Night Blade, throwing a cobra out of his sleeve. Night Blade caught the snake and set it on fire, reducing it to ash.

Shadow Snake pulled a sword from his back, while Night Blade drew one of the blades on his waist.

They both vanished into thin air, causing Sakura to gasp in surprise. She looked up to see Night Blade and Shadow Snake falling from the sky while swinging their blades at each other with full intention to kill. Meters away from the ground they vanished again.

Sakura jerked her head to the right to see Shadow Snake running at her with a half burned off face. Night Blade appeared out of nowhere and kicked Shadow Snake in the face sending him through the air.

With Night Blade right beside her, Sakura could feel the amount of energy that was being produced by Night Blade. She looked down to see the grass around him was dying. She didn't like the feeling of demonic energy, but she knew Night Blade was defending her.

Night Blade turned his head to look at her. When Sakura's eyes met his, she was forced to look the other direction. His eyes were blood red with three black slits in them. She looked up as she saw Night Blade disappear.

Sakura looked at Naruto and noticed his shirt was turning darker. She ripped his shirt apart to reveal a deep wound on the right side of his chest. Sakura put her hands on the wound and started healing it.

As she was healing Naruto, she heard the clanging of blades nearby. She turned her head to watch Night Blade deliver a series of kicks and punches to Shadow Snake before ripping an arm out of its socket with his bare hands.

Sakura had a major urge to puke, but her body wouldn't allow her to move. The feeling of fear is Sakura's body was as if she were staring at Satan himself. Tears were forced from Sakura's eyes as Night Blade cut his sword through Shadow Snake's waist. Even though she wanted him to die, Shadow Snake's immortality made it difficult for Night Blade to end the fight. She continued watching as Night Blade ran towards Shadow Snake.

Shadow Snake tried to punch Night Blade in the throat, but Night Blade caught his fist and kneed Shadow Snake in the stomach. Shadow Snake was forced away from Night Blade and slid along the ground…barley keeping his balance.

Shadow Snake spit venom from his mouth aimed for Night Blade's eyes. Night Blade blocked the venom with his sword, and then vanished behind Shadow Snake, elbowing him in the back. Shadow Snake was sent crashing through the building in front of him, and two candy stands.

As he was standing up, Night Blade grabbed his throat and held him in the air. Night Blade then threw him through the air and shot a fire ball from his hand, nailing Shadow Snake in the face.

Sakura had a major urge to cheer for Night Blade but figured she would do more harm than good. She didn't want to cause a problem; she kept her mouth shut and returned her attention to Naruto's chest wound. The wound was mostly healed, except for a faint scar on his chest muscle. Sakura put a bandage over the scar, and then returned her attention to the fight. She ducked as a figure flew over her head and crashed through the forest. She looked the other way to see Night Blade jumping over her.

Night Blade put his hands on the ground and started whispering "Jeemenzoriondep…Jeemenzoriondep…JEEMENZORIONDEP!" Night Blade through his hands in the air as lightning started raining down on the forest, causing fire to rise above the tree lines.

Sakura grabbed Naruto and started running the other way. She looked back and thought to herself "that jutsu, I wonder what it was. I've never seen any kind of jutsu like that before, the amount of force behind the lightning strikes…unbelievable." Just as she stopped to look at the devastation behind her, Sakura was thrown through the air by a sudden bust of wind. Sakura was slammed into a tree, and nearly lost consciousness while Naruto slammed face first into a boulder.

Sakura shook her head to clear her daze, as she stood up; she felt a major pain rush through her leg. She looked down to see her leg had been twisted in a way it wasn't supposed to be. She slowly put her hands on her leg and started healing her leg.

As she looked up, she saw a figure flying at her. She ducked and noticed Shadow Snake was missing half his face as he flew over her head. She heard a demonic voice say something in an unknown language behind her.

She turned to face Night Blade missing his robe, but wearing a skin tight black shirt. Sakura drooled over his body structure; he didn't have a muscular body like Naruto. Instead he had the body of a pure athlete. She could make out the outlines of a six-pack on his stomach, his arms were big, but nothing compared to Naruto's.

Sakura blushed as she thought to herself "WOW! Night Blade has the perfect body, not even Sasuke could match this body structure."

"DUH YOU IDIOT!" Sakura's inner self yelled. "He's an assassin! That's all they do is work out, train and run. There is a big difference between a ninja and an assassin."

Sakura was forced out of her daydreaming as she felt heat to her left. She turned to see a fire storm come out of Shadow Snake's mouth. She closed her eyes tight as it made direct contact with Night Blade.

"NIGHT BLADE!" Sakura screamed as she stood up. She started to run to him, nearly tripping as she stepped in a hole. She stopped as lightning shot from the smoke, slicing straight through trees and boulders as if they were jelly.

Shadow Snake jumped over two of the lightning strikes, but the third sliced right through his gut, slicing him in half.

As the smoke cleared, Sakura could see Night Blade didn't take any damage from the fire blast at all, almost as if he wasn't there when the fire hit. Sakura widened her eyes in awe as lightning rotated around Night Blade's body like a tornado, with a strong defensive wind picking up small rocks at his feet.

Sakura couldn't help but blush, yet shake in fear at the power being displayed to her. Pure demonic, yet defensive of the innocence around him.

Night Blade sent another lightning strike at a recuperating Shadow Snake, scoring a direct hit between his eyes. Shadow Snake sent an angry look to Night Blade as his split body turned into two Cobras.

Feeling the hatred amongst the two assassins, Sakura decided it best to flee away from the fight. As she turned to her right she felt something slithering up her leg. She looked down to see she was surrounded by snakes, none of which she could recognize as a known species. She shook her leg around causing the snake on her leg to be forced off. Out of the corner of her eye Sakura could see something running her direction. As she looked to the right she saw Shadow Snake with a fist ready.

As she dropped into a defensive stance, fire and lightning suddenly surrounded her, killing the snakes and forcing Shadow Snake back. She watched as one of Night Blade's swords suddenly turned to fire and the other turned to lightning.

Night Blade threw his Fire sword to the left, sticking it in a tree, and then threw the Lightning sword to a tree to his right. Night Blade then started talking in the language Sakura couldn't understand again. "MUMBARA, SCENDIRECT!" Night Blade yelled.

Sakura watched in awe as fire shot from one sword and lightning from the other, and then met halfway in between the swords.

"FLAMING LIGHTNING DANCE!" Night Blade yelled as a fire ball covered in electricity made direct contact with Shadow Snake, followed by a bright flash that forced Sakura to cover her eyes.

After the brightness died, Sakura lowered her arms to see the destruction around her. She fell to her knees seeing the entire area had been vaporized.

She slowly turned her head to the left to see Night Blade standing beside her with his arms crossed and weapons sheathed. "Teach you to piss me off." Night Blade said as lightning rotated around his body.

Sakura stood up and walked to Night Blade asking "I-is it over?"

Night Blade looked at Sakura and replied "not even close."

Sakura felt fear rising through her body again as she thought "after all of that, Shadow Snake's still alive?! What does it take to kill him?!"

Night Blade looked around, then looked at Sakura and asked "where are Naruto and Kakashi?"

Sakura widened her eyes as she yelled "NARUTO!" then started running to the last place she remembered seeing him.

Sakura looked around to find Naruto, but couldn't find any trace of him.

"OHH" Sakura thought to herself. "This is not good. He was right here last time I saw him and now he's gone."

Suddenly she heard a low whimpering sound from a nearby ditch. She followed the sound and soon discovered Naruto lying under a bunch of logs and rocks.

Sakura immediately ran down to him and started trying to get the debris off of him.

When she had all of the debris off of Naruto, she saw a sight that troubled her. Blood was coming out from every opening on his face. She soon realized it wasn't normal blood either. It was darker, heavier and when she touched it, it burned her skin.

"What the hell?" Sakura thought to herself. "What is this? I've never seen anything like this. I never read about this either. I wonder if Tsunade knew about this. I can't remember seeing this. Is it the Nine Tails?"

When she tried to heal Naruto, the blood ate her chakra away. Leaving a very pissed off Sakura. She added double the chakra to heal him, but again her chakra was eaten.

Sakura punched the ground as she yelled "DAMN IT! Why won't you go away?!"

Suddenly Night Blade stepped up from behind her saying "That's actually something you want Sakura."

Sakura turned to Night Blade and asked "w-what? How is this something I'd want? He's hurt and I can't do anything for him." She started to form tears in her eyes as she continued. "Do you know how hard this is on me?! All I've ever done is treat him like dirt and hurt him on the inside! This isn't something I could want! Naruto has suffered more than I ever thought he did! And I'm one of the idiots who caused him more pain. I never knew he loved me! A while ago he told me for once he felt like we were friends. Which I could see very clearly…he thought I never really accepted him as a friend."

Her voice turned soft as she looked back at Naruto and continued. "If I had known how much pain I alone was causing him…I would have stopped. I was such a fool for running after Sasuke in our younger days. I was so blinded by darkness and fangirlism that I couldn't see the truth to what love really is. That person has to care for you just as much as you do for him. Which in Naruto's case…it would be a "her" and I'm that "her." It pains me to see him sad or lonely. When I was sad he cheered me up. He always gave me a shoulder to cry on when I needed it. He gave me sun on the cloudy days. He gave me moonlight when the darkness sank in around me. And all I've ever done is heal him and tell him to keep training. He's gone past his limit for me…and I don't even know what my limit is."

Night Blade nodded and said "you could find out what your limit is right now. If he has done all that for you…don't you think you owe him at least one little thank you? Sometimes…the smallest things have the biggest impact on people. You'd be surprised how far a simple little "thank you" could go for him. I may not know a lot about women or have any interest in them, but I know that sometimes all a guy wants is a simple "thank you" from the one they love."

Sakura nodded and replied "but I've already said thank you. What do I do now?"

Night Blade turned away and said "You continue on to the next step. Spend time with him, buy him a few things, and let him take you on a date…a REAL date Sakura. Not a "hang out with a friend date." Take him out for a while, and when you feel the time is right. Make your first move."

"And how would you know so much about dating Night Blade?" Sakura asked in a curious voice.

Night Blade smirked and said "I'm an assassin. I know all about emotion. Though like I said, I'm not into women."

"You're gay…?" Sakura asked in a quiet voice.

Night Blade's eyes suddenly turned green. There was a hint of disgust in his voice as he said "don't be ridiculous! I just don't have an interest in females! Though if I had to pick either one of the sex…I'd take the female in a heartbeat!

Sakura nodded and turned her attention back to Naruto. She softly rubbed his cheek and asked "how is this something I would want? He's bleeding and I can't stop it. Why can't I get hurt? Just once and spare Naruto pain he doesn't deserve? If anyone…I deserve to be hurt."

She looked at Night Blade and asked "how is this something I want? This is blood…isn't it?"

Night Blade nodded as he said "yes, it is blood. However, that is the blood of "Favrocion." It hasn't been seen for over two thousand years. Your friend may be the next "Drahouseioshen."

Sakura's head instantly filled with thousands of questions. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and said "w-wait a minute. W-what is a "Favrocion?" and what the heck is a "Drahouseioshen?" You're gonna have to speak in my language, not your own."

Night Blade let out a sigh, then said "The blood of "Favrocion" is passed down once every two thousand years or more. Once its bearer matures enough, his or her blood will start to turn darker in color, and denser in weight. This blood is only handed down by the heavens, and belongs to people only the heavens deem worthy to wield it. It is a powerful weapon and should be used for good only. For every demon or evil spirit the bearer kills, a full year is added to his or her life time. It also reduces the aging speed of the body, thus makes it take longer to rankle. Normally the blood enters its vessel when it's at the age of twenty or older. However, for some reason…it has entered Naruto at the age of seventeen. He must be strong indeed."

"Is there more too it than that?" Sakura asked in pure amazement.

Night Blade nodded and replied "there is a total of sixty books that describe this blood. These books will tell you everything you'd want to know about it."

Sakura was at a loss for words. She had so much to ask, but didn't know where to start. She looked down at Naruto once more and saw his face forming into a small smile. Sakura let her own smile grow on her face, then rested Naruto's head on her lap.

She stared at his face while thinking to herself "maybe there's a plan for you after all Naruto. I bet you'll become one of the most powerful warriors in history. In fact…I think that's the least you deserve. You deserve so much more than what you have. You deserve a family, a wife who loves you for who you are. Friends you can always trust." She rested her forehead on his and whispered softly "And I'm willing to provide them too you. All you have to do is ask."

Night Blade smirked and said "I think you know what to do now Sakura." Then vanished into thin air.

Sakura didn't pay any attention, she just continued to look at Naruto's face and whispered softly. You've been so kind to me…even when I caused you the hardest pain. You always where there for me…even when I wasn't there for you. You always gave me smiles, you always checked on me, you ALWAYS looked after me. I think I've waited long enough to tell you this, I just wish you could hear me now. After all this time…I've finally decided the one I love….that's you. I choose you Naruto. I choose you over everything I hold dear to me. You've gone over your limit for me, and you're still pushing yourself to earn my love. The only thing you have to do now…is keep perusing that dream of yours for me, and I'll grant it.

She leaned down and kissed his forehead and slid her lips down to his.

When she sat up, she felt sudden warmth in her stomach. Which to her meant she did the right thing.

"Now all I have to do is tell him when he wakes up. But I want the scenery to be perfect. I want to give him the best I can. I've only given him my 25%. Now I'm going to give him my 200%. I don't care what I have to do to prove that my heart belongs to him. If he wants me to prove it, I will."

Night Blade walked around the ruins of what was once the carnival. "It got this intense?' He asked himself as he stared at the skeletal remains of the villagers. He turned his head and saw the remains of a child which he assumed was no older than four at the time. He clinched his fist and thought angrily to himself "Shadow Snake! I'll make you pay for this! I don't mind the adults. But an innocent child who never got to grow up! I'll make you pay!"

Suddenly he heard a soft weeping noise coming from one of the buildings. He stood up and walked over to s fallen pile of rubble of debris and started lifting boards from the pile. After he uncovered the final board. He spotted a little girl with cuts and bruises all over her arms and legs. Her clothes had been torn and her eyes were struck with fear. She looked at Night Blade with big watery eyes which got to Night Blade a little. He reached out to the little girl and said "come with me. They'll be back soon."

The girl nodded and tried to stand up. But when she took her first step, she fell to the ground fast and hard. Cutting her elbows open.

Night Blade examined her legs and saw her right leg was twisted 135 degrees around. He reached out and gently picked her up. He noticed the girl still had fear in her eyes, but couldn't blame her. She had just experienced a full out battle with two members of the most dangerous assassin brotherhood on the planet.

As Night Blade carried the girl through the village, he noticed tears falling from her eyes. He looked at her, then looked at the devastation around him. Her tore a strip of his robe off and tied it around her eyes. Then he put the girl on his shoulders and carried her piggy-back style.

Suddenly he heard the girl ask in a low voice "w-where are you taking me?"

"To a medic" he replied. "You're in pretty bad shape, and you don't need to hang around here."

W-where's my mother?" The girl asked in a voice filled with fear.

Night Blade stopped and thought of a way to tell the girl that her mother wasn't around any more. He shook his head and continued walking.

Sakura smiled as Naruto started to slowly open his eyes. "How do you feel Naruto? You were out for a pretty good amount of time."

Naruto looked at her and let out a yawn before saying "much better. Though I do feel a little light headed. Not to mention…I feel…different. I don't feel myself so to say."

Sakura smiled at him and replied "you're probably just tired form sleeping for the past half hour. I'm sure you'll be back to your old self in no time."

"I hope so" Naruto replied. "I feel like…I've been bleeding, but I don't see any signs of injury on my body. Unless you already healed them."

Sakura shook her head as she replied "No…I haven't healed you much at all. I think the Nine Tails must have had something to do with that."

"Possibly" Naruto replied. He looked around, then looked back at Sakura and asked "Where's Kakashi sensei?"

Just then, Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and climbed up the remains of a burnt tree. "STUPID NATURE!" He yelled out.

Sakura and Naruto sweat dropped as they asked themselves "more kangaroos?"

Suddenly a pack of drooling wolves started circling around the tree. Kakashi pulled out a piece of meat from his pocket and waved in front of the wolves saying "Hahahahahaha! Look here dogs, I got your meat! So what you gonna do now?

Suddenly an Eagle grabbed the piece of meat out of Kakashi's hands and flew off. He looked down to see the wolves watching the Eagle fly off. He widened his eyes as they turned their attention back to him with very pissed looks in their eyes.

Kakashi started taunting them in several different ways, making the wolves even madder. "HA!" He yelled at the wolves. "Dogs can't climb trees. So I'm all safe and cozy up here." He lied down and closed his eyes, while at the same time taunting the wolves. Suddenly, there was a loud cracking sound. Kakashi looked down to see the tree was falling apart, and splitting in two. His eyes widened as the tree split apart and he floated in mid-air for a moment with big white circular eyes and started flapping his arms, trying to fly.

When he crashed to the ground, he saw the wolves closing in on him with drool flooding from their mouths. He looked over to see Sakura and Naruto betting money on what they thought would happen to him. "Well they're no help at all." He thought to himself. His eyes widened as one of the wolves jumped at him. Kakashi dodged it and ran off in a random direction, followed closely by the wolves.

Sakura and Naruto let out sighs of disbelief. Sakura smiled at Naruto and said "You missed quite a battle between Night Blade and Shadow Snake Naruto." She looked around and continued saying "Remember how this area was a thick forest? Now look at it. It's a waist land. Hardly any trees remain, and the ones that do are either on fire or pitch black from the burns. I don't even have a clue how we survived that fight…but"

Naruto looked at her and asked "But what?"

Sakura shook her head as she continued "I don't know Naruto. That fight…it kind of…showed me something. Something that may have to do with this war...or the Seventeen."

"What do you mean Sakura?" Naruto asked in a confused voice. "You're kinda losing me on this."

Sakura turned her attention back to Naruto and said "Well look around Naruto. Have you ever seen a jutsu that could take out the landscape this much? Sure maybe make a large crater or something to that regard. But to completely annihilate an entire forest…is just beyond our comprehension. I think we may be in for more than we can handle with this one Naruto. Every time Night Blade hit Shadow Snake I could feel the impact go down my spine! And you can clearly see those two weren't fooling around. The fighting and hatred between those two is so intense that Night Blade literally pulled out Shadow Snakes right arm with his bare hands. I don't know about you…but I think I'm going to avoid getting on Night Blade's nerves from now on."

"You're kidding!" Naruto whispered in a voice of shock and awe. "He yanked out Shadow Snake's arm…just with his hands?!"

Sakura nodded and said "Yes. The entire village is destroyed too. I don't think anyone survived, but I think Night Blade went to go check it out."

Naruto nodded and stood on his feet while saying "come on Sakura. We should go and search for survivors too. They'll need your help." He blushed as he continued "I always knew you'd be helpful to me and to others."

Sakura suddenly had an urge to bring his lips to hers, but decided it wasn't the right time yet.

"You really mean that Naruto?" She asked as she looked in his eyes for any sign of a lie or fib.

Naruto chuckled as he replied "Of course I do Sakura! Have I ever told you something I didn't mean?"

Sakura blushed as a smile slowly crept on her face. Still looking into his eyes, she could find no sign of lies or fibs anywhere in those ocean blue eyes of his. Eyes that she was trying so hard to not get lost in…yet trying desperately trying to find her own path in them.

"I really need to draw a map of those eyes." She thought to herself.

Suddenly, Night Blade appeared in front of the two. He sat the girl down on the ground while saying "She's been hurt badly. So far, she's the only survivor of the village. She doesn't have much time left. She passed out from blood loss while I was carrying her over here. Sakura, try your hardest to keep her asleep. She's in a state of shock now, and doesn't need to be seeing the devastation of this area. She told me that village was her home, so it looks like we've got a passenger for the road."

Sakura nodded and walked over to the girl and started healing her wounds. She looked up at Night Blade and asked "what are you going to do? Are you going back to the village?"

Night Blade shook his head as he replied "No, after you're done healing her wrap a cloth or bandana around her eyes and take her to the nearest town." He paused for a moment, then continued saying 'Actually, the docks aren't that far away. The U.N Naval fleet should be arriving in about four days. The city they'll be docking at is about a three day's journey from this exact location. As ninjas I'm assuming you could probably make half the distance today am I right?"

Naruto and Sakura both smirked at the same time. Naruto gave Night Blade the "Nice guy" pose with thumbs up saying "you kidding? That's a piece of cake for me. I'll have her there in no time."

Sakura nodded in response and asked "And what are you going to do in the meantime?"

Night Blade shook his head as he replied "well first things first. Somebody's gonna have to get Kakashi's sorry ass away from that pack of wolves."

Suddenly out of nowhere Kakashi ran behind Night Blade kicking dust and dirt into the air behind his feet. About five seconds later the wolves ran past.

"See what I mean?" Night Blade asked as he turned around to watch Kakashi run circles around a tree stump.

"Then what?" Naruto asked.

Night Blade turned to look at Naruto and replied "Then I've got some unfinished business with Shadow Snake."

Naruto and Sakura nodded and turned their attention too the girl.

Night Blade turned his attention to Kakashi and the wolves and let out a sigh. Then started walking towards Kakashi and grabbed him by the jacket and hit each one of the wolves in the nose as hard as he could, sending them sliding backwards with a whine. Night Blade noticed the wolves gathering in for the attack and stared into their eyes. His eyes changed from blue to yellow with green slits, forcing the wolves to back out of the fight and run away.

Night Blade rolled his eyes to Kakashi, then threw him over to Sakura and Naruto. "I'll be back soon. Though once you have her healed, take her to the city. She'll need a new family. I'm going to go look for Shadow Snake and give him his…"fair fight."

Naruto and Sakura nodded, and then turned their attention back to the girl once more. Then Night Blade vanished into thin air.

Naruto looked at Sakura and asked "How well will you be able to heal her? She looks pretty beaten up."

Sakura rolled her eyes to look at Naruto and replied "They're not that bad. She's got a broken leg, and several scrapes and bruises. I'll have this healed in no time."

"SEE!" Naruto yelled excitedly "You are important to us! You'll be saving lives on down the line. Plus on top of that, you've got the face of a medic."

Sakura blushed as she asked "W-what's that supposed to mean?'

Naruto's smile got bigger as he replied "You're so pretty. I can see that our injured will be happy to see you…they may start to thank the demons for putting them in that state of injury."

Sakura's blush got deeper and redder as she asked "Y-you really think I'm that pretty?"

Naruto nodded as he replied "If their wounds don't kill them, they'll be blinded by white sparkling teeth, staring into beautiful green emerald eyes…and looking at one of the most beautiful girls on the planet by far." Then he thought to himself "lucky bastards."

Suddenly Naruto was tackled to the ground by Sakura who was squeezing the air out of him. "I take it you liked that Sakura?' Naruto said as a blush ran across his face.

Sakura squeezed him harder as she said "Yes I did Naruto! I'm so happy you said that! For a while I was starting to doubt my own looks and start calling myself ugly and not worthy of getting a boyfriend. You've told me three times now that I'm not just pretty…but so much more!" Again Sakura had an urge to put her lips on his. However, she once again forced her body away from him and turned her attention back to the girl. "I'm so happy you told me that Naruto" Sakura continued "It means a lot to me."

Naruto chuckled as he replied "Sure thing Sakura! I'd do it again too."

"I wish you would." Sakura thought to herself. She looked at Naruto and said "I've got something for you in a couple of nights Naruto. I think you'll like it."

Naruto nodded in response. He looked around trying to find Kakashi, but he was gone. Naruto looked at Sakura and asked "Did you see where Kakashi went off to?"

Sakura looked around while thinking to herself "Man, Night Blade is gonna be pissed if he went off again." She looked at Naruto and said "You should go find him. Night Blade wont be happy if he comes back and Kakashi's not with us. I'll stay here with the girl and finish my medical treatments on her. Then when you get back-regardless if you have Kakashi or not, we'll head for the city that the U.N Naval fleet supposed to arrive."

Naruto nodded and replied "Gotcha. I'll be back with Kakashi in a while." He paused for a moment before asking "You sure you want to stay here by yourself? Shadow Snake's still out there and you know what he'll do to you if he catches you."

Sakura's body suddenly had a chill of fear. Thoughts were racing through her head as to what would happen to her if Shadow Snake caught her. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and turned to Naruto saying "Yeah…I'll be fine. Night Blade's probably keeping an eye on us, while at the same time keeping his distance away from us and trying to lure Shadow Snake into a trap. I'll be fine Naruto…don't worry about me. Go find Kakashi so we can get to the city."

Naruto nodded then thought for a moment. "Uh…Sakura" He asked in a voice of confusion "How will we get there? We don't have a clue where we're going."

Sakura shook her head and replied "No…I know where we're going. Night Blade gave me a map that shows our rout. We're going to the "Hidden Ocean Village." It's not far. If we run full speed for as long as we can…we'll be there in less than two days. Though if we walk…it would take us far longer, plus this little girl here doesn't have a lot of energy. She'll need food and water and I don't have enough to spare for her and the rest of us. We need to get her to the Hidden Ocean Village as fast as possible."

Naruto nodded and ran in a random direction after Kakashi.

TWO HOURS LATER

Naruto had found Kakashi and regrouped with Sakura. Kakashi had bee stings all over him and had also been sprayed by a Skunk. Which kept the other two up wind of him...

Sakura looked at Naruto and asked "Where did you fid him…and how in the world did he get sprayed by a Skunk?"

Naruto laughed quietly as he replied "I found him in a lake about four miles from here. Turns out a bee hive fell on his head for some unknown reason and the bees got…well…pissed is all I can really say. So they started flying after him and of course as human reaction, he pretty much up and ran like crazy to the nearest body of water. Which to his bad luck happened to be infested with Paraná's. So…I think you can picture the rest of that story in your head."

Sakura immediately busted out in laughter and collapsed on the ground. Her sides started hurting and she couldn't control her breathing. Naruto couldn't take it any more either. He immediately fell on his back and rolled on the ground laughing as hard as he possibly could.

Kakashi looked at them and said "I'm glad you two think it's so funny. After we get back to the Hidden Leaf…I'm retiring. Screw this Nature crap."

Sakura and Naruto stared at him for a moment, then cracked up and laughed again.

Sakura got a hold of herself and returned her attention to the girl lying on the ground in a shady spot Sakura had placed her. Sakura walked over too the girl and shook her lightly, trying to get the girl to wake up. Sakura smiled as the girls eyes slowly opened to reveal dark brown eyes. The girl looked scared at first, but didn't have the energy, nor the strength to scream or kick and let alone run away. However, once she saw the smile on Sakura's face…she felt safe. Safe enough to trust them a little at least.

"He-hello." The girl said shyly as her face turned a little read.

Sakura smiled as she said "Well it's about time you woke up sleepy head. You've been out of it for about two hours. How do you feel?"

The girl let out a yawn before replying "Great I guess. All I needed was a good nap apparently."

Sakura smiled and placed her hand on the girl's forehead checking for any signs of sickness. Her head felt a little warm, but not a fever or anything to worry about. Sakura pulled a few pills from her medical bag and handed them to the girl and her water holder. "Here, take these. They'll help you with your headache." Sakura said as she handed them to the girl.

Naruto walked up beside Sakura and looked at the girl before asking "What's your name?"

"Allie" The girl replied "My name's Allie."

Naruto nodded and replied "Nice to meet you Allie. My name's Naruto."

Sakura smiled at the girl and said "My name's Sakura. Nice to meet you Allie."

Allie smiled, then looked at Kakashi and asked "What about him? Who's he?"

Naruto turned his head to Kakashi and said "That's Kakashi. Don't approach him right now…he's kinda in a bad mood now."

Allie nodded, then asked "S-so…have you seen my parents? I remember people screaming and running. Then the ceiling above me collapsed before darkness took me. I also remember seeing a guy in a green robe kind of thing…or was that just a dream?"

Sakura's face turned sad as she replied with a sad quiet voice "I'm sorry. But I think your parents are gone."

"Wh-what do you mean gone?" Allie asked in an emotional voice. "When will they be back?"

Sakura shook her head as she replied "I don't think they're coming back Allie. They're gone…gone."

Tears started forming in Allie's eyes as she asked "Y-you mean…gone gone? As in…they went up there?"

Tears left Sakura's eyes as she nodded and replied "I'm afraid so."

Allie's eyes suddenly filed with tears as she leaped into Sakura's chest and cried on her shoulder. Which took her by surprise, but she didn't force Allie away. Instead she wrapped her arms around Allie and rocked her back and forth, trying her hardest to get Allie to calm down a little.

Naruto clenched his fist as he thought to himself "Damn it! How can this world be so cruel?! Taking the parents of a seven year old girl just like that and leaving her to fend for herself! It's not fair! I always thought I suffered. But this…this is enough to make a man weep."

One hour later

Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi and Allie were heading for the Hidden Ocean Village. Since Allie had no way of matching speeds of the other three, Sakura carried her on her back. After running nearly twenty miles, they decided to stop and check out the map for a moment.

Sakura pulled the map out of her bag and studied it for a moment. After four or five minutes she put it back in her bag and said "We're almost there. Maybe another twenty miles or so."

Naruto looked at Allie, then looked at Sakura and asked "What are we going to do with her? I don't think the U.N Naval Sailors will allow her on the ships."

Sakura nodded as she replied "You're probably right. Plus you know how sailors are. Spitting, cussing and all that kind of stuff she doesn't need to be around. Maybe we could tell some one of her parent's fate."

Suddenly, an evil laugh echoed through the forest "I've finally found you HAHAHAHA!"

Sakura pulled out a kunai as she recognized the voice. "This isn't good!" She thought to herself "Where's Night Blade? We can't fight this guy on our own."

Suddenly, Shadow Snake appeared a few feet away. His face had death and blood thirst written all over it. He smiled evilly as he said "Well, well, well. Four humans out here in the middle of nowhere and no one around to protect them." He looked at Sakura and continued "Shall we try this game again my dear? Or would you rather die now? Either way…I'll kill you all. Starting with the boys." His smile turned even more wicked as he focused on Sakura "Then play around with you a little. Oh yes…this will be fun indeed. Your life is MINE!" He yelled as he ran at Kakashi and punched him in the face, sending him flying through the air.

Naruto ran at Shadow Snake with a kunai and tried stabbing him through the neck, but Shadow Snake blocked every swing, before grabbing Naruto by the throat and slammed him into the ground. Causing a massive crater to form in the ground.

Sakura dropped into a defensive stance and prepared herself to fight. Shadow Snake ran at her with his mouth open and a cobra shot from his mouth. Sakura dodged the snake, but couldn't prepare herself for Shadow Snake's attack. He grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. Then slithered his tongue around her neck and squeezed lightly.

Sakura tried her hardest to get the tongue off of her neck, but even with applying Chakra to her hands. Shadow Snake's grasp was too strong. She widened her eyes as Shadow Snake started clinging his blades together while saying "Let's see how much pain you can take before you pass out. I'm getting hungry."

Sakura widened her eyes and moaned in pain as a sharp stinging feeling went through her arm. Then she felt Shadow Snake's tongue extend and lick the blood from her arm. She heard a chuckle from Shadow Snake as he started pulling her shirt up.

Her shirt was nearly completely off, and Shadow snake started playing with the strap of her bra saying "Now what are you hiding under here?"

Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs as Shadow Snakes hand grabbed the back of her bra.

Suddenly, Night Blade appeared beside them, grabbing Shadow Snake's tongue and ripping out of his mouth completely.

Sakura scrambled forward and breathed in as much air as she could at a time, then put her shirt back on. She turned her head to see Night Blade had Shadow Snake's face in the dirt, and the spikes on the bottom of his boots sinking into Shadow Snake's flesh.

Sakura smirked as she thought "Serves you right you bastard!"

Night Blade rolled his eyes to look at Sakura, which she read them like an open book. Just by looking at his eyes. She could tell Night Blade wanted her out of the area ASAP! Taking the hint, she grabbed Naruto, and ran in the direction Shadow Snake had launched Kakashi.

Shadow Snake turned into a Cobra and slithered away from Night Blade. However, he was stopped by a wall of fire that shot up from the ground. Shadow Snake let out an angry hiss and turned into his "human form" again. He turned to look at Night Blade and said in an angry voice "You just can't give up can you?!"

"Not until you're dead!" Night Blade replied as his eyes turned black with four black slits.

Shadow Snake laughed as he replied "You're such an idiot. You can't kill me…I'm already dead. How do you plan on killing me?"

"I'll rip you limb from limb! How does that sound?!"

Shadow Snake smirked as he said "I'd like to see you try."

"Let's dance." Night Blade said as her threw four knives from his sleeve.

Shadow Snake dodged the knives and ran at Night Blade, spitting four snakes from his mouth. Night blade cut the snakes in half with his sword, then concentrated lightning on his right arm and fire on his right. He then clapped his hands together, causing Lightning to encase his body. And fire rotated a few yards away from his body.

"FIZBERODIZDCH!" Night Blade yelled as the lightning encasing his body mixed with the fire, and formed into an electric flaming tornado, aimed for Shadow Snake.

Shadow Snake tried to dodge, but the width of the tornado was to far in length. The tornado made direct hit on Shadow Snake. Causing a massive explosion to rocket flames ten miles high into the air, and forcing the earth to split apart below them.

Shadow Snake was hurled through the air, slamming through trees and rocks before slamming hard into the side of a cliff.. "Damn you!" He hissed as he pushed some of the debris off his body.

Shadow Snake stood up once more and charged at Night Blade, this time with a sword in each of his hands.

Night Blade pulled out both of his swords and ran full speed at Shadow Snake.

They both jumped in the air and clanged their blades together, causing sparks to fly out and catch the grass on fire around them. Shadow Snake spit a greenish acid at Night Blade's eyes. But Night Blade blocked it with his swords.

Shadow Snake then tried to grab Night Blade, but Night Blade grabbed his arm and cut his blade through Shadow Snake's neck.

Shadow Snake's head rolled along the ground, and his body collapsed to the ground. Night Blade picked Shadow Snake's head up by pulling his hair, then carried him to a rapidly flowing river.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Shadow Snake yelled in fear.

"Finishing this fight." Night Blade replied before punting Shadow Snake's head into the river. He watched as Shadow Snake's face flowed along with the river, smashing into rocks, and getting dragged along the rocky bottom of the river.

"Austa Lavista ." Night Blade said as Shadow Snake's head flowed down stream.

Sakura watched as Naruto slammed his head against a tree while saying "I…can't…believe…I got…knocked out…again…!

Sakura walked over to him while saying "Look Naruto, it's really not that big of a deal." She put her hand on his shoulder as she continued "I like having to drag you out of battle every now and then. It helps me feel like I'm more useful around my squad."

Naruto looked at her and said "Yeah, but you're the medic of the team. You shouldn't be in that kind of danger. A medic should not EVER be on the front lines. You're the backbone of our squad. If we lose you, we're all dead. If I lose you…I'm dead. I could hardly handle losing Sasuke. There is no way in hell I'm losing you too. If God or Satan rips you out of my arms, I'm ripping you right back into them. I can't lose the only best friend I have."

Sakura smiled as she replied "Don't worry. You won't lose me. If you want me to stay away from the fight just give me some kind of signal that tells me to fall back. However, there is one thing I don't really feel to happy about."

"And what's that?" Naruto asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Sakura looked at the ground as she continued "It's just that…every time we go on a mission…you're the one who gets hurt. You're always the one who brings us back to the village. You're the one who always takes the punishment given. You're the one who wipes out the enemy." She looked into his eyes and asked "Why can't I be the one who does that at least one time? I feel like such a burden too you. All I ever do is get in the way."

Naruto smiled as he put his hands on her shoulders saying "How could you be a burden too me Sakura? You say that I always bring you back and get hurt doing it. Well there has to be somebody who helped me heal faster. I don't think it was Ino or Hinata who helped me through that. The only girl I know that has helped me through my most difficult times is none other than Sakura Haruno. You're the one who always heals me. You're the one who has saved my life a number of times. You're the one I trust most with my life. You're a long way from being a burden to me Sakura, and don't EVER call yourself that in front of me again!"

Sakura looked up from the ground and asked "You really mean it Naruto? I'm that special too you?"

Naruto shook his head and replied "No. You're far more special than that too me. Words just can't describe how special you are too me. You're the full moon on a starless night. You're the predator that stalks my prey. And…you're the hammer that nails me when I do something stupid."

Sakura busted out in laughter from his last saying. She fell on her back and covered her stomach as she rolled on the ground.

Naruto smiled as he asked "Feel better about yourself now?"

Sakura swept a tear from her eye from laughing so had and said "Y-yes Naruto. I do, I feel a lot better now. You hit me right where I needed it too."

Naruto smiled and looked around, then asked "Uh…where's Allie?"

Sakura looked around, then slapped her forehead as she thought "Damn! I'm such a fool! I shouldn't have let her run off in any random direction. She could be anywhere!"

Suddenly Night Blade appeared in front of them with Allie on his shoulders. He put Allie down while saying "I think you two may have lost something."

Sakura smiled as she said "Thanks Night Blade. You just saved us a life time of searching." She looked at Allie with a smile and asked "Are you ok?"

Allie nodded in response.

Sakura looked at Night Blade and asked "So what became of Shadow Snake? Is he gone for good now?"

Night Blade shook his head as he replied "No. I don't think this war between us will ever end. I "kill" him over and over and over again. But he just doesn't give up. You'd think he'd eventually get the point that I'm the more stronger."

"Yeah, you'd think he'd take a hint." Sakura replied.

Night Blade shook his head as he replied "I guess some…"people" just never learn."

Sakura turned her head to see Naruto standing on the top of a hill with a face in pure awe. He looked down at the others and yelled "YOU GUYS MIGHT WANNA CHECK THIS OUT!"

Sakura grabbed Allie's hand and took her to the top of the hill. When they reached the top of the hill, their jaws dropped from the sight in front of them.

From atop the hill they could see the ocean and beaches as yellow as a gold bar. They could make out the shadow of a city in the distance, which none of them doubted it was the Hidden Ocean Village.

Sakura shook her head with thoughts in her head "It's beautiful! I've never seen the ocean from this point of view."

Night Blade walked up beside them and said "Just makes you forget about life and what we're fighting to protect doesn't it?"

The other three nodded with smiles and continued looking into the distance.

Naruto looked at Allie, then looked at Night Blade and asked "What will we do with Allie? We can't just leave her at an orphanage. I suffered from an orphanage and it's not a life that she should be forced to live."

Sakura looked at him and said "We'll find someone for her." She turned her head to look at Night Blade and asked "So does this city belong to a "port city?" A "tourist attraction?" Or a naval supplying base?"

Night Blade looked at her and replied "It's a little bit of everything really. It's a major tourist attraction, much like the Crescent Moon Island. But it also serves as a naval port to resupply allied ships and armies."

Sakura nodded and asked "So how big is this fleet we'll be traveling with?"

"It's the third largest fleet from the Land of the Unknown." Night Blade replied. "It consists of more than four thousand ships, and carries hundreds of thousands of troops and weapons."

Naruto and Sakura looked at him in awe as they both asked "O-over four thousand ships? The third largest fleet? An army of over seven hundred million? Kakashi running from a Kangaroo?...WHAT?!"

U.N NAVAL FLEET ARIVES

Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi walked down the streets of the Hidden Ocean Village with faces of disbelief. All around them were casinos, clothing stores, gaming areas, arenas, zoos, and circuses. (Imagine a Las Vegas in the Naruto world if you can)

Sakura looked around and asked "Have you ever seen this many people in one town before? Night Blade wasn't kidding about the tourist part."

Naruto nodded and replied "I know. Ever since we went on that mission in the Crescent Moon, I don't think I've seen this many people."

"Really?" Sakura asked. "I figured you would've been in a lot of cities and tourist towns with Jaraiya when you left the village for two and a half years."

Naruto shook his head and said "Nope. Most of the time we were out in the middle of nowhere doing our training. Sure there were a couple of towns nearby. But they were just small size towns. Maybe around two hundred population. Nothing compared to this."

"I see." Sakura replied. "What should we do first? Night Blade said we'll have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves in this town. The U.N Naval fleet won't arrive for another three days. Then we have to wait around another fifty for the other armies to get here. I think we'll have plenty of time to enjoy this town to its fullest."

Naruto nodded and replied "Yeah, but first I want to check out the harbor. I want to see what it looks like before the area gets swarmed with ships and sailors."

Sakura nodded and asked "Just to take the view in?"

Naruto smiled and said "Well, that's part of the reason. I've heard that gazing out at the sea can kind of make you lose all your worries and make you feel at piece. I want to test it out."

Sakura looked at him for a moment, and then asked "is there something bothering you Naruto? I can leave you alone for a while if it's anything personal."

Naruto shook his head and said "No it's nothing personal. I just want to take a moment in while everything will be nice and slow for a couple of days."

"Ah, I see what you mean now." Sakura replied.

About ten minutes later Naruto and Sakura were sitting on top of a hill that over looked the harbor. Below them they could see a few cargo ships either docking or preparing to depart. Flocks and flocks of sea gulls flew over head. And of course the wide open blue ocean in the distance.

:"It's beautiful" Sakura whispered to herself.

Naruto nodded in response and asked "See why I wanted to come out here?"

Sakura nodded and said "It's just like you said! All of a sudden my worries are gone. I could do this everyday for the rest of my life and never get tired of it."

Naruto nodded in agreement and said "I don't think this view would get old very fast…I wonder if this is what book writers do to concentrate on their stories. I mean…they've got to do something right?"

Sakura giggled and said "why don't you just go ask Jaraiya?'

Naruto sweat dropped and replied "Ok…book writers other than him."

Sakura laughed and replied "I'm sure they do something similar to what we're doing now. I bet they do this a lot when they get stuck on a character or some part of the story. That's what I'd do anyway."

Naruto nodded and gazed out into the sea for a moment. Then looked at Sakura and said "Just think. In a few days this entire harbor will be lined up with ships…three thousand at that. It'll be a site. I have to say that much at least."

Sakura nodded and said "I wonder how many troops will be departing with us on this fleet. I mean…it's got to be a pretty high number right?"

Naruto put his chin in his palm to think for a moment, then looked at Sakura and said "Well, most military ships can carry well over a thousand troops. Some even well over seven thousand some times. Depending on the type of ship and its specific job. There's no telling how many troops we'll have."

Sakura nodded. Then looked at Naruto and asked "Ready to go? Let's go explore the town some."

Naruto nodded and pulled her up from the ground. "Where would you like to go?" Naruto asked as the started walking towards the market area.

Sakura looked back to study the harbor one more time, but something caught her eye. She tugged on Naruto's shirt while saying "Hold on a sec Naruto. Take a look at that ship over there."

Naruto followed the direction her finger was pointing and located a ship with some kind of black Titanium steel. He studied the numbers and letters on the ship's hull. It read U.N.N 4326

Sakura looked at Naruto and asked "You don't suppose…that's a scout ship for the U.N fleet do you?"

Naruto shook his head and replied "No…it's too big for it to be a scout ship. U.N.N? Does that stand for "Unknown Navy?"

Sakura studied the dock around the ship "Hey look!" She said as she pointed towards some people on the docks. "Looks like they're unloading things. Look at all that cargo on the ships deck! Maybe it's a trading ship?"

Naruto shrugged and replied "Nothing's impossible I guess. Let's go check it out."

Sakura nodded and they both walked down to the docks.

"I see." The owner of a hotel said in a sad tone of voice. "So she was the only survivor of the village?"

"Yes." Night Blade replied. "She lost her entire family due to a fight that another member of the Seventeen pulled me into. I don't know how she survived, but she did. She deserves another shot at life, and you're going to take her in as your own."

The man smirked as he asked "Why should I? She's worthless to me." The man flinched as a sharp sting went through his shoulder. Five seconds later his shirt ripped and blood spewed out of the cut. "YOU WOULD DARE ATTACK ME?!" The man yelled. "SECURITY!"

The door slammed open and four security guards ran at Night Blade with weapons drawn.

"Give me a break" Night Blade said as the security guards surrounded him. Night Blade vanished, and a moment later reappeared with his swords out. The bodies of the security guards fell into piles of tiny pieces of flesh and blood spilled allover the floor. Night Blade pointed his sword at the man and said "You'll share their fate if you don't take her in."

"Alright alright alright !" The man yelled in fear. "Just don't kill me!"

Night Blade grabbed the man's shirt and held him in the air with one arm saying "You rich people are all the same! You act so high and mighty amongst the rest. You think you're dangerous because you have gangs and hit men! You act tough…yet that's all it is. Just acting. The second someone of a higher level than you steps up…you're nothing but a bunch of cowards." Night Blade held a blade next to the man's throat and his eyes turned red with black slits and his voice changed demonically as he continued. "I could kill you right now so easily. You have no idea how long it's been since I've actually tasted human blood, and had the hunger of flesh run through my stomach!"

The man started sweating and a rather dark spot was appearing in his pants. He held his breath as he stared into the eyes of a demon and tried his best to keep his sanity. However, it was a losing battle. "OK OK I'LL TAKE HER!" the man screamed in fear.

Night Blade smirked and slammed him into the wall, making a hole into the next room. Night Blade looked at the man with evil demonic glowing red eyes and said "If I come back and she's like your men.. I'll kill you!" Then vanished into shadow, turning off all of the power in the building and shattering the lights. Leaving a group of very scared people in the darkness.

"Have you ever seen a busier port?" Sakura asked as she and Naruto walked along the docks to the U.N ship. All around them were weapons, arrows, needles, swords, shields, bows, crossbows, ammunitions for ship cannons, and piles and piles of amour.

Naruto folded his arms behind his head and said "Yeah, and just think. This is all just one ship. Imagine this place whenever the whole fleet arrives."

"Jeez, will there be any room?" Sakura asked. "I think this city might end up under the ocean's surface in the next few days. Wonder what time they'll be arriving. "

Naruto stopped in front of Sakura, causing her to bump into his back. "Ow." She said as she rubbed her nose. "Naruto?" She asked "What's wrong?"

Naruto pointed to two piles of armor labeled "U.N.A.F" and the other labeled "U.N.M.C"

"I wonder what those mean."

"Well, you'll just have to wait and see shrimp." A voice said from behind.

Naruto and Sakura turned their heads to see a man in a suit who looked to be the U.N ship's caption.

Naruto and Sakura both turned around to see a man in uniform. His suit had badges and stars all over it.

Naruto studied the man for a moment, then asked "Are you the ship's caption?"

The man nodded and put his hand out for a handshake saying "I'm admiral Tanckriss. I'm second in command of the fleet."

"Tanckriss?" Sakura thought to herself. "These unknown names are a little…weird. Then again our names probably seem weird to them. Only natural I guess."

Naruto shook the man's hand and asked "So what are you guy's doing out here? That's not a scout ship is it? It looks a little…big and not very maneuverable. But what do I know? This is your ship after all."

'Hmm." The admiral smirked. "You're half right. This ship IS a scout ship. However, it is also a second line of defense ship destroyer."

"So then, what are you doing so far ahead of the fleet?" Sakura asked as she shook the admiral's hand.

"We were requested by our command ship to proceed ahead." The admiral replied. We also had a small accident going through one of the canals." He pointed to the bottom of the ship's hull saying "See that hole? We ran into a few high rocks under the water. The ship barely made it here."

"Ah, I see" Sakura said as she studied the hole. "If you didn't proceed ahead of the fleet, this ship would be perched wouldn't it?"

"Aye, that it would." The admiral replied.

Naruto looked out into the harbor and asked "So…is this fleet really over three thousand ships? It seems a little…unrealistic to me. I mean…how do you pay for that amount of ships?"

"Well, it's more of like four thousand now. You must be referring to the to the fleet about half the year ago. That's when Lord Night Blade last visited."

"LORD?!" Sakura and Naruto asked at the same exact time.

"Oh no." the admiral replied with fear in his voice. "He told me to never call him that. Listen you two, don't tell him I called him that ok. This is just between you and me."

Both of the Leaf ninja raised eyebrows, but nodded nonetheless.

"Good." The admiral said as he returned his attention back to his crew. "You two best be running off now. A mad sailor isn't a sailor you'd want to get in the way of."

Naruto nodded and started walking down the docks toward the town. Sakura walked right beside him and asked "Four thousand ships?! FOUR THOUSAND?1?! Their economy must be doing pretty good in order to make that!"

Naruto nodded and replied "On top of that Night Blade said that was the third largest fleet. Can't imagine the largest of them all." He looked at Sakura and asked "Did you pay attention to the ship's amour?"

"It was black…that's all I really I looked at." Sakura replied.

"That ship was outfitted with advanced Titanium amour! Just that ship alone had to cost over five-trillion to build!"

"THAT MUCH?!" Sakura yelled in disbelief. "Their economy has GOT to be booming!"

Naruto nodded while saying "and that was only a small ship. Imagine the bigger ones. Like destroyers, troop transports, supply ships…and God knows what else."

Sakura looked back at the ship and said "I just can't get over that cost Naruto. Night Blade said this was the THIRD largest fleet from the Land of the Unknown. How much do you think they spent on just that fleet alone?"

Naruto shook his head "I have no idea." He replied.

"But, anyway" Sakura said as she grabbed Naruto's hand, making him blush. "We never got to finish our little competition the other night. What say we have a round two? If you can handle losing to a girl all night that is."

Naruto laughed as he replied "I'm pretty sure I can handle it Sakura. Besides, I have to put up with you everyday."

Sakura just gave him a glare, but eventually a smile crawled on her face. "ALRIGHT, YOU'RE ON!" She yelled. "Tonight we'll do round two of Naruto Uzumaki….loser. VS Sakura Haruno…winner!"

"Pfft, in your dreams." Naruto replied as he let out a yawn.

"Tired?" Sakura asked. "I never thought it possible for you."

"Har, Har" Naruto laughed as he started walking again.

"Ok, fine." Sakura replied. "You go on ahead to the hotel. I want to do a little bit of shopping before we go to the games."

Naruto nodded and they separated ways.

Naruto entered his room at his hotel and collapsed on his bed, not bothering to take his jacket off or any other clothing he was wearing. "What has gotten into that girl?" He asked himself. "Ever since I tried to kill myself, she's acted…weird around me. Maybe she's…no, she'd never think that way of me. As much as I'd like her to, she never will. I guess it is true what they say about your first crush. You never get over them no matter how hard you try. It's not that I don't like her…I love her more than life its self, it's just…how can I tell her? She doesn't like me the same way I like her, she never will. Should I just go out and tell her how I feel about her and have a chance to make her mine? Or do I hide it and let her choose her own and let her be happy in her life? Just as long as I don't lose her completely…I'm happy. Just so long as there's a smile on her face…it's worth it." His eyes started to get heavy, and darkness took him.

Sakura jumped from shop to shop picking out things she could wear to the carnival that coming night. She had several different styles of clothes, but she just couldn't get what she needed.

"Dang it!" She screamed. "I need something more than this. I need something that can distract Naruto from the games and focus on me. But everything is so high here it's hard to get a good deal." Something in a shop window suddenly caught her eye and an evil grin appeared on her face. "Oh…now that's more like it." She said as she entered the store.

Eight hours passed and it was nearing 9:30p.m. Naruto was almost ready. He was wearing a black T-shirt with black shorts with white dragons on them. His hair was still its usual messed up goofy look, but it didn't really bother him.

Ten minutes later he heard a knock on the door, which he had no doubt is was Sakura. He looked through his peep-hole and asked playfully "who's there? Store's closed."

"Oh really?" A female voice asked from behind the door. "Well, I have a friend in there who's supposed to take me to the carnival tonight."

"What's his name?" Naruto asked with a smile appearing on his face. "I'll see if I can find him."

"Oh you're such a dear." The female said. "His name is Naruto Uzumaki if you know him."

Naruto started to laugh and unlocked the door. "I think I may have found hi….." His jaw dropped two stories to the lobby when he laid eyes on Sakura. She was wearing a black high top that barely reached the top of her stomach. It split into a "V" at the top of her chest. On her lower body, she wore black pants with a black belt that had a silver chain on its left side. She also wore black boots, and was also sucking on a sucker. Sakura giggled at her "dates" reaction to her new outfit.

"I take it you like my new outfit Naruto?" Sakura asked as she shook her hips left to right causing Naruto to go speechless.

"W-w-h-k-t-t-how? Who? Wha…hi Sakura!" Naruto said with a heavenly voice.

"May I come in?' Sakura asked while taking her sucker out of her mouth.

"P-please" Naruto replied as he stepped aside, making room for Sakura to come through.

"Thanks" Sakura said as she walked into the room and playfully pushed Naruto into the wall.

"What is it with her?" He asked himself. "She' acting like a completely different Sakura. The Sakura I know would never have worn something like that, or play with me this way. Hell, she's never even batted an eye at me. What does it all mean?"

"So Naruto." Naruto was brought out of his thoughts by Sakura's voice. "Same rules apply as last time right?"

"Uh, sure, we never really came up with a rule though." Naruto replied.

"This is true." Sakura said with a laugh. "Are you ready? Or do you want to wait a while?"

"I'm ready when you are." Naruto replied.

"Ok, let's go now. I'm hungry and I'm ready for a…date I guess you could call it." Sakura said.

"Wait, what? A date?" Naruto asked.

"Mhmm and it's my treat." Sakura replied.

Naruto's head suddenly got filled with millions of questions. The girl of his dreams was taking him on a date and she was paying. He swore that if this were a dream he'd commit suicide ten-thousand times over.

"If that's ok with you that is.' Sakura said, snapping Naruto out of his thoughts again.

'Nah, let me pay for it." Naruto said as they walked out the door and started down the hall. "It is the man's job after all."

"No. I insist Naruto.' Sakura replied with a smile. "I've got this one. Honestly."

"Ok Sakura. If you insist." Naruto said.

"By the way...how do you like my new outfit?" Sakura asked as she stopped and gave a pose. "I bought it just for tonight."

"It makes you look…beautiful, is an insult to call you Sakura. That's how amazing you look." Naruto said with a blush on his cheeks.

"Oh really Naruto?" She asked as she walked to him and grabbed his hands. "Is that really what you mean? I honestly don't think I look all that great. I mean look at me. I wear a bra sure, but what is there to hide? I'm about as flat as a table."

"Sakura" Naruto said as he gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "Breasts aren't everything in a girl. If that's how you think is the only way you'll ever get a boyfriend then don't worry about it. Men will have to wake up to reality some time and decide on what kind of girl they want."

"W-what do you mean exactly?" Sakura asked with a confused face.

"Well, let's take me for example." Naruto said. "If a guy is like me, he could care less about big boobs and pay more attention to the girl's face. I for one, like a pretty face with a kind soul. Much like you Sakura." Sakura blushed as he continued. "Let's put it this way. If you were a guy and had an interest in women, which would you choose? A girl with big breasts who treats you like dirt, or hardly even talks too you? Or would you want a small breasted woman who treats you with respect? I know my answer, but what's yours?"

"Probably the same as you." Sakura replied.

"So see there?" Naruto asked. "You've got nothing to be ashamed of. After all there is nothing you can do about it."

"I-I suppose you're right. Thanks Naruto." Sakura replied.

"Any time Sakura. Now what shall we do first when we get too the carnival?" Naruto asked.

"Let's get a bite to eat." Sakura replied. "I'm getting hungry."

"Candy? Ramen? Hotdogs? What do you want? I'll pay." Said Naruto.

'Hmm, hotdogs sound nice." Sakura said with a smile.

Sakura grabbed Naruto's hands and led him out the door. Naruto's face was now redder than tomato ketchup and his cheeks were burning violently.

"Oh, by the way Naruto." Sakura said snapping Naruto out of his daydreaming. "I'm paying for the entire night. Tonight is all on me."

'W-what?" Naruto asked in shock and disbelief. 'No it's the man's job to pay for the woman. Let me pay." Sakura shot a death glare at Naruto and stopped him from saying anything else. 'Or you can pay, that's fine too.' He finished.

"Good boy. Now…shall we get going?" Sakura asked.

"Race ya!" Naruto yelled as he ran off.

"HEY NO FAIR! YOU GOT A HEAD START!" Sakura yelled while laughing as she chased after Naruto.

As the walked down the streets of the carnival, they stopped at several stands that were not only selling food, but games, jewelry, some new kinds of technology said to have been brought in from the Land of the Unknown.

Naruto grabbed an item that looked like some kind of advanced crossbow and asked "What is this thing? It's really heavy!" He pointed it at Sakura knowing it was unloaded "Freeze or I'll shoot!"

Sakura giggled and took the weapon away from Naruto. "I think I'd be more valuable as a prisoner to you." She said as she leaned in and pressed her chest against his. Sakura leaned her lips in closer and closer. She could feel his heart beating faster and faster and could see the sweat building on his face. She then leaned back as f she were teasing him and put the cross bow on the table. "What is this thing? She asked. "I'm interested in buying."

"This, my dear is a "6MP580 Automatic Crossbow." It's used by U.N soldiers as a primary infantry weapon. It can fire fifty arrows in a single magazine. Would you like to try it out?"

"Sure why not?" Sakura looked at Naruto to see he was still frozen from her move. "It's probably going to take him a while to get out of that state. Can you load this for me?"

The stand owner chuckled and nodded. "Now I'm only going to give you some fake arrows. That cross bow has enough power in it to send the arrows through seven people. But with a fake arrow, it will only knock the wind out of someone." The clerk handed Sakura the cross bow and said "when I get out of the way, aim for the targets behind me and take your shot. But hold on to that thing. It has a kick to it."

Sakura nodded and took the cross bow from the man and waited for him to duck behind his desk. People walking along the street even stopped to watch her. She took her aim and held her breath t steady her aim. When she pulled the trigger, the cross bow released the arrow with a loud "BANG" and so much force that it pushed Sakura back two feet. Her eyes were wide and she could feel the bruise on her shoulder. "What the hell just happened?" She asked herself.

The clerk stood back up and waved for her to follow him. When they reached the target Sakura shot at, she scored a direct hit in the middle of the target, but the arrow didn't stop there. Another seven yards away the arrow had dug itself half way into a concrete wall.

"Yeah, sure, knock the wind out of someone? Or knock the wind out of someone followed by their internal organs?" She could hear weeping on the other side of the wall and looked through the door to see who it was. The person was no other than Kakashi. She looked at the arrow to see the tip was barely an inch from his forehead. She laughed and walked back outside to talk to the clerk. "So this is what the U.N forces are using?"

"Most infantry units yes." He replied. "But they're trained with their weapons. They know how to shoot an entire round and stay in the same spot. But if you think that's tough, you should see the size of their ships. I saw a small scout ship or something like that at the docks earlier. But that's small compared to how big their battle ships get."

"I see, well, thank you for showing me how it works." Sakura said in a kind voice.

"Anytime. Enjoy your visit to the Ocean Village." The clerk replied.

Sakura then walked over to Naruto and clapped her hands "WAKE UP!" She yelled.

Naruto shook his head and looked around. "So did you try out the gun he asked?"

"Mhmm, you missed it. See those tracks? It scooted me back that far when I shot a single arrow" Sakura said as she pointed at the tracks.

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