The Charm

"Do you have any more questions concerning the mission I'm giving to you all?" He asked the squad of ANBUs standing in front of him. They chanted a stiff "no" to it. "If that's the case, everyone may go and pack your things except Hanamori. Dismiss!"

The others vanished into the thin air, and one's rooted in the spot he's standing. Under the heavy and thick ANBU gear, you could hardly tell the gender of the person, yet there's a feminine touch on the mask by using lighter colours and curvy slim lines.

There's solid atmosphere around the two of them. The Hokage's closed his eyes, and the ANBU stood motionlessly patient, waiting for the superior to speak his word.

"I'm not going to talk of the mission again, Sakura-chan." He finally spoke softly, his eyes still closed. "Feel at ease and don't be so tense; it's not like you in normality."

"I have always been like that, even in normality, Naruto-sama." She spoke back, in her glass-chime voice which has charmed the men in the streets of Konohagakure. She knew that she's granted to be at ease, yet she still held the formality in her voice.

Naruto, as Sakura's expected, didn't look too pleased with her choice of words, since he didn't really like to be addressed with the needed suffix of the Hokage by her. He didn't snap at her, but gazing at her with his azure eyes under frowning eyebrows. After a moment, he relaxed it and leant back in his chair, letting out a depressed sigh.

"You know," He began wearily. "We're the only team members of Team Seven." He paused for a moment for that soul-tearing pain to wash away a bit in their hearts. "You may not be a very excellent combater in the ANBU, yet your medic ability helps. Furthermore, you're the only one besides me who knows all 'his' fighting skills of all, which the best ANBUs may not know of until they encounter 'him'. By these reasons, I got no choice but to send you out, or else Konoha will be annihilated from its roots."

By this, he rummaged into his drawer, fished out a wrapped cloth and gave her. She opened the folds and there's a necklace with a weird pendant. It's rather special, made of aluminium for the lightness, probably layered with gold after its completion. It's circular, and in the circle was a multi-tailed fox crouching down for a good prance. Those eight tails of the fox were stretched to the front of it, each of its ends curled up. Little rubies were embedded in them, and a large one, five times bigger than others, was supported by the tips of the two longest tails at the upfront and the fox's nuzzle.

"It's a charm to protect you in this mission." Naruto said after she's studied it. "If you're out of chakra or weapons to battle, this'll help you in fighting and winning. Use it well, so you can return to Konoha safely from it." He smiled and dismissed her.

There's not much for Sakura to pack, because she's been fully prepared for this, ever since Naruto's issued this Super-S-rank mission to her seniors early this month. The mission's success now lay in their hands, for which failure was totally prohibited.

Again, she looked at the fox pendant and her thought wandered to the distance. In folklores she knew, foxes with one, three, five and nine tails are the most common, and the Nine-Tails are the strongest and wisest of all foxes, such as Kyuubi in Naruto. What's very weird with the pendant was that it's an eight-tailed fox with nine rubies. Naruto said the ultimate attack lay within the large ruby; perhaps that's the ninth tail. She got no time to care about it, so she directly put it round her neck and dashed off.

At the Main Gate, her squad assembled and she took the last glance of Konoha. Her eyes settled on the Hokage Tower and spotted something most intriguing to see. At the window of the office, Naruto's looking at their direction to bide them farewell.

'Don't worry, Naruto.' Sakura swore in her heart as they set off into the woods. 'With your unique charm, we won't die so easily out there in Orochimaru's hands…!'

"…Or not." A sickening voice hissed around them, and the fight began instantly.

"This can't be…" Sakura panted heavily as she concealed herself behind a tree. She got minor injury, but the others lay dead as they've never met such a combatant.

"That's a really special necklace round your neck, Sakura-hime." The voice said. She snapped her head up, and standing in front of her was their greatest enemy of all, in the body of her old teammate who form Team Seven with Naruto and her included. With him just right in front of her, there's not the slightest chance for her to escape…

"Each ruby contains great powers within, despite its tiny size…just like Naruto." Orochimaru's hissy voice erupted from Sasuke's throat, which Sakura growled at that. "It also comes with great cost, since you'd lose one ruby for every attack you launch, yet they've traded well for their monstrous power." The tip of the Sword of Kusanagi, which Sakura froze at in fright and terror, held up the pendant by the lingering hoop. "What will you do, Sakura-hime? In this situation, will you use the last ruby…or not?"

Sakura's mind was blank, but still she knew the Sword's removed from her neck, since she's going to be given the final blow, and soon lie down without any sensation.

"Don't fear it, for this'll end painlessly." He assured and swung down the Sword. Everything seemed to be in a slow motion in her eyes as she thought of her treasures. In the Village, there're her close friends who'd cheered her up when she's depressed, laughed together and shared her happiness, supported her when she's in the abysses, and battled with weapons for their own sakes, protecting their ambitions and future. Everyone's lovely when they lived out their lives merrily and helped each other out. Most of all, there's a person who exceeded the boundary of mere bonds of friendship. With strong faith and trust in her, she can never lose and betray him, and that one's…

"NARUTO…!" She yelled out, and the Sword's just a hair's breathe at her neck…

It blasted, and everything's engulfed in a blinding light. Sakura held up her arms, trying to protect her eyes from that. Orochimaru halted his attack and jumped away, making a little distance between him and her, as well as observing the ongoing safely.

Sakura opened her eyes to a narrow line and looked around to see what's going. To her surprise, the pendant's the source of the light, and the ruby gleamed crimson. The eye of the fox, originally closed, was now opened and glaring with killer's intents. It's impossible, but it crouched lower. With a deafening roar, it leapt out of the circle. The light got blindingly strong, and Sakura once again squeezed and braced her eyes.

In a split of the second, everything's so calm that as if nothing's ever happened.

"Are you alright, Sakura-chan?" This calming voice…no, it can't…it's impossible!

She opened her eyes and looked up what's in front of her which blocked the air. Standing with the broad back at her was a figure with a red cloak bloated in the wind, with an orange swirl in the middle. Black tails of cloth flapping under blonde spikes…

"Ho? That's really impressive, Rokudaime Hokage, Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, to come all the way from the Hokage Tower in the heart of Konoha to the battlefield." Orochimaru chuckled manically. "That's bad, for I can go and destroy your treasures."

"Don't you dare speak Hokage-sama's name by your foul tongue, Orochimaru!" Sakura shrieked in hatred and wrath at him who's shattered the harmony of the trio.

"What are you talking about, Sakura?" The face of their old teammate revealed, and she growled. "It's me, the one you've always chanted after crazily, Sasuke-kun…"

"You bastard…!" She roared, charging out to "Sasuke", but Naruto stopped her.

"Thanks for your defence, Sakura, so as your revealed action and words to me." He said, glaring at his opponent. Sakura's noticed the missing "chan" after her name. "Allow me to ask you these: do you want to have this man disappear in front of you?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama; at this very moment…" She hissed through clenching teeth.

"Can you forgive all his doings in this world that this may at least spare his life?"

"Never…!" She yelled out. "All he does brings everyone I love to be his victims!"

"Very well; now I'm going to kill him, but that means I'd also taking Sasuke's life. Can you bare the pain with me?" In his voice, Sakura could hear the lightest tremble.

"Yes…" She replied, trying to fight back the tears which this agony's causing her.

"Then, please forgive me, Sakura-chan…" He sighed. "I can't keep my promise."

Faster than any eye could see, he reappeared behind Orochimaru and attacked. The snake, barely activated the Sharingan, evaded the coming blow by a hair's breath. However, with difficulty in controlling the eyes known earlier to Naruto, they're even. After a few weapon-exchanges and some Taijutsu combating, they stopped for a rest.

"You've gotten stronger than we last met, Naruto-kun." Orochimaru snickered.

"Thanks for your compliment, and I know I should be grateful and happy at that, yet I despise the words from you. What's more, those blows are nothing to my ability. I can get really MORE serious if I want to be, Orochimaru." Naruto said emotionlessly.

Lightning fast, all happened in the interval of hesitation whether to blink or not. Everything light-blasted again, and Sakura braced herself from the blinding explosion.

When she regained her consciousness, Sakura felt the wind blowing at her face, and there're even light steps, which made the journey rather smooth without bumps.

"You're awake, Sakura-chan?" She heard his voice and felt assured and secured. The steps halted, and she's put down to sit on the damp rough bark of a gigantic tree.

"What's happened back then, when you're fighting and that flash of light is—?"

"Worry not, Sakura-chan." Naruto calmed her. "I've created a few Kage Bunshin, and they've hid in the treetops, waiting for the chance to ram Rasen-Shuriken at 'him'. That's resulted in the blast of blinding light, and Orochimaru's gone for good by now."

Sakura felt her heart's being squished by the pain. Gone for good? So, he's died.

She then felt his gaze on her chest and so noticed only the fox's in the pendant.

"Each ruby contains some of my power, but they're all indeed my Kage Bunshin. The first one started off with simple Taijutsu combats which lasted for a few seconds, and those attacks gradually increase in endurance and power." He's silent for a while. "In desperate situations, we'd call forth our potential powers that are most invincible, and the last ruby would call forth the Emperor of Foxes, which would be Kyuubi itself. However, since it's sealed within me, I've come instead to be your ultimate weapon."

"But why did you give it only to me?" Sakura asked, not knowing those reasons.

"It's because…" He gazed into her emerald-green eyes for the first time till now. "I want to protect you, to see you're safe; even it means sacrificing my very own life."

"Even I can tell that Naruto loves you." The words had never left Sakura's heart, even Naruto's a Hokage and she's one of the many soldiers under his command now. This so-obvious-even-to-Sai fact surfaced that Sakura's heart had another great pain, all by staring into his azure eyes, shimmering with seriousness on this "trivial" matter.

"We should go now. I've gone too long from Konoha that I'm getting worried." She nodded, and he once again got her onto his back and headed towards the village. On their way, Sakura pursed her lips in thought. No, she had to make this clear now…

"Naruto…" She murmured into his shoulder, but she's sure that he'd heard her.

"Yes?" He muttered back, never slowing his even jumping paces in the process.

"Please," She leant and kissed his cheek. He's startled, but never lost his footing. "Allow me to thank you for your devoted love, and I love you as well…Naruto-sama."

He's surprised, stopped and put her down just at the tree nearest to the Gate. He faced her with bulged eyes, joy and surprise written clearly on his handsome face.

"I'm sorry that I'd made you wait for so long, but I'm thankful for all your love." Hormones rushed in her veins that she didn't give second thoughts and kissed his lips. After he's returned it, the charm gleamed a while before restored to its original form, with rubies in place, yet there's the ninth tail with the large ruby, now smaller in size. From it, Sakura could sense those continuous flowing strong tides of Naruto's chakra.

"So, I'm going to protect you for the rest of my life." He ripped into his foxy grin, and together they returned in hands under the bright Sun, shining the path to future.

Somehow, it happened to me that I like the ending "the path to future" in my stories: the second story with such an ending, and the first story which took me within a week's time to finish the whole thing, from plotting to the end of writing.

My family had our almost-annual visit to Hong Kong Ocean Park, and my mother granted each of us a gift on a whim. I'm kinda dazzled by them, but finally chose on a necklace with a dolphin (It's not the best among the accessories [bracelets, necklaces, telephone straps], but the best among necklaces.) I counted the embedded glass stones in the charm and surprisingly, it's nine, and this stirred up my inspirations. Thus, this story emerges.

I took some time in designing the charm in the story, and the final design was inspired by a scene in "Okami", which Amaterasu confronted the Demon Lord Nine Tails and the red moon had the fox on it. (For those who don't get the thought, go to youtube and watch the fight.)

Thanks for your support to read the story. Please review/comment!

Drops of Chastity