Author Notes: Here's is chapter 3 of TPB! Nothing much to say about it though...

Again, feel free to message and review. I'm open to anything that will help improve my writing. But if you just want to tell me how awesome the story is, that fine too! I'd really like to know how i'm doing so far...

In chapter 2, Naruto, Kiba and Hinata run into some trouble and are saved by someone unexpected... And finally some SASUKE!! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Other than Kitana Izanaki, I don't own anything...

Chapter 3 – Midnight Blues

Sasuke Uchiha sat on a log, staring blankly into the flames of the small fire he and his companions had started to keep themselves warm in the darkness of a cold autumn night.

"Oh man, I'm bored to death. When am I going to get some action around here?" Suigetsu complained as he lay on the ground, scribbling random things in the sand with a stick.

Sasuke ignored him and kept his eyes fixed on the flames and their elegant movements in the wind. It almost seemed like they were dancing and it was peaceful to behold.

"Sa-su-keeee," he heard a seductive voice say from behind him.

He didn't have to turn around in order for him to know who it was. He sensed her sitting down on the other end of his log and felt her sliding closer towards him. Too close for his liking. "Sasuke, would you like to take a walk with me?" Karin asked gingerly as she glomped his left arm. "That's not a bad idea," Suigetsu said as he looked up at Sasuke, "let's take a walk." Karin bent over, grabbed a pebble from the ground and threw it at Suigetsu. She had aimed pretty well and it hit him square in the face.

"You were not invited! This is going to be a private activity for me and Sasuke," she yelled and sat back down to once again clamp onto the poor Uchiha's arm.

"Let go of me," Sasuke said his usually cold voice, his eyes never wandering away from the fire.

"But Sasuke…" Karin started, but he quickly cut her off.

"I told you before not to come so close to me. If you feel like taking a walk, by all means do so, but do it without me," he stated calmly. Karin huffed, crossed her arms as she stood abruptly and stomped of into the forest.

Suigetsu snickered while he watched her retreat and carefully touched the bump that was forming were she had hit him with the rock.

"You do need to explain to me why you keep doing this," he told Sasuke as he sat up straight. "She is annoying," his comrade stated bluntly. Suigetsu bared his pointy teeth as he chuckled and shook his head. "It isn't just her, you know. Are you trying to tell me you find all girls to be annoying?" he asked. Sasuke closed his eyes briefly before responding. "No, not all of them. Just most."

Even though it was already late and there was nobody to accompany her, Kitana decided to go into the forest near the village gate to collect some of the medicinal herbs she used for the treatments in her clinic. It was dark under the trees as only a few streams of moonlight shone through the thick roof of leaves above her. She would gather the herbs she needed quickly and then return to the safety and warm comfort of her home as soon as possible.

She was almost ready to head back to the village, when the rustling of some leaves in the distance caught her attention. And although her head was telling her to go home immediately, there was another feeling inside of her that coerced her to walk towards the noise in order to find out what it was.

When she got closer, she could distinguish four different voices, one of which sounded terrified. Kitana put her herb basket down on the ground as she hid behind some bushes, allowing herself to size up the situation.

"You don't have to die here. All you need to do is give us the scroll," a dark, raspy voice said.

"N-never," a shaky voice hesitantly responded.

"Now is not the time for being brave. We will kill you if we have to. We will have that scroll," another male voice said. "We cannot do that. If you wish to kill us, then so be it. We will not surrender the scroll," the fourth voice spoke. Kitana couldn't help but wonder what this scroll was they were talking about. Whatever information it contained must have been important to both sides.

"Then you leave us no choice," a fifth voice said. This voice was deep, low. And as this man spoke, Kitana could almost feel the vibration of his voice flow throughout her body. It ran shivers up her spine and not in a good way. Kitana closed her eyes as she evaluated the situation. Five different voices, four of which were definitely male and one, the shaky one, most likely female. Three men on the same side trying to take a scroll with unknown content from the other two.

Kitana stealthily crawled a few feet away, wanting to peek through the bushes in order to see what was happening.

Two of the three assailants marched towards their prey, their kunai knives in their hands ready for a swift strike. Judging by their headbands, they were Shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Rain. But just before they had a chance to use their blades, four silhouettes bolted from out the bushes and landed in front of the man and woman on the ground.

"We can't let you do that," a voice that Kitana knew all too well spoke. It was Naruto's.

"Yeah, you'll be sorry you ever tried to mess with the Hidden Leaf's business," Kiba snarled and Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Uhm, guys, let's just be careful. We don't know what they are capable of," Kitana heard Hinata's soft voice say.

"You have got to be kidding me! This is what the Great Leaf Village sends to stop us? That's just insulting," one of the men chuckled. He was tall and toned, but not muscular, so whatever jutsu he used probably didn't require a lot of physical strength. "Don't you even dare to underestimate us! I'll show you," Naruto snapped as he charged towards them. "Naruto, wait!" Kiba and Hinata called out in unison, but it was too late.

Kitana softly sighed at Naruto's never-ending recklessness and watched as he tried to lay a punch on the Rain Shinobi. But before he could, his opponent rapidly created a series of hand seals, moving his hands too fast for Kitana to memorize which ones, and smirked. "Ninja art, Ice-solation jutsu," he exclaimed as he stretched his arm out to Naruto and closed his hand into a fist. Hinata and Kiba watched in horror as an icy cocoon closed itself around Naruto, eventually trapping him inside.

"Naruto!" Hinata yelled.

Kiba grit his teeth, exposing his sharp canines, and Akamaru snarled at the triumphantly smirking Rain ninja. "Let's see. Which one of you squirts will be next?" he contemplated out loud as his finger went back and forth between Kiba to Hinata. "Why you…" Kiba muttered as he prepared himself for an attack. "Kiba, no!" Hinata protested, but it was too late. The Rain Shinobi once again did his hand signs and stretched his arm to execute the jutsu. "Shit," Kiba muttered when he realized the predicament he was in, "I really need to start thinking these things through."

He braced himself to be enveloped by the ice, but the cold never came.

"Hinata? Did you get him?" Kiba asked confusedly as he stood still.

"I-I-It wasn't me, Kiba," Hinata choked out.

And indeed, when Kiba turned his head, he found his team mate standing where he had last seen her. He spun around ready to see what his opponent had up his sleeve, only to find out that he wasn't moving. "What the hell…" Kiba murmured to himself.

"Hey, what the hell is going on? Hey, guys, help me. I can't move. I can't move! Why can't I move?" the Ice user yelped in panic.

"Because I won't let you," a calm voice came from behind the bushes.

"Who are you?" the second Rain Shinobi snapped. "Show yourself." Slowly a female figure emerged onto the clearing where the showdown was taking place. "No fucking way," Kiba said disbelievingly as he stared at the girl in front of him. "You?"

Kitana closed her eyes, opened them again and dangerously looked at the three Rain Village ninja. "I am less kind than these losers over here. I'm giving you one chance. Once chance of leaving this place while you're still breathing. If I were you, I would take it," she stated calmly.

"You've got a lot of nerve little girl. We're supposed to be scared of you? You don't even wear a head band," the second ninja mocked her. Kitana smirked and shifted her weight to her left leg. "I don't need to wear a headband in order for me to know that I'm better than you," she said nonchalantly while studying her nails. The Shinobi's chest heaved up and down and as rage built up inside him, he ran for Kitana in an impulse. But just before he could get to her, he froze where he stood.

"Is there a problem?" Kitana asked innocently. "What did you do to me?" he screamed in fear. Kitana crossed her arms. "Nothing compared to what you're going to do to yourself," she said darkly.

Kiba and Hinata watched as the Shinobi took two kunai from his weapon pouch and held one to his throat and the other to his stomach. His eyes shifted desperately between his comrades and Kitana as sweat drops of fear pearled on his forehead.

"That's enough," the cool and collected voice of the third Rain Shinobi, who had been carefully observing the confrontation, sounded suddenly. "We will do as you wish and leave," he said as he gazed at Kitana intently. "What? Takeo, our mission is to obtain the scroll. If we return without it..." the first Rain ninja argued, but his comrade interrupted. "Be quiet, Mitsuo," he cut him off and turned his gaze back to Kitana, "we will leave now."

"Not so fast," Kitana chuckled, "first release that idiot over there," she said with a nod towards Naruto, who was still trapped in Mitsuo's Ice-solation jutsu.

"I would love to, but, uhm… I can't move!" Mitsuo yelled furiously.

"My bad," Kitana snickered, closed her eyes and opened them again immediately.

When she did, both Mitsuo and the other Rain Shinobi that had been immobilized, fell to the ground with a dull thud. "Now release the brainless idiot," she commanded. Mitsuo's eyes burned with anger, but he nevertheless raised his hands, quickly made a couple of hand signs and slowly but surely Naruto's icy prison began to crumble. "Now, Mitsuo, Hisoka, let's go," Takeo said to this team mates.

"We will meet again, little girl," Mitsuo hissed as he pointed at Kitana before they disappeared into the darkness.

Sasuke enjoyed the silence as he still sat on his log, staring up at the dark blue, starlit sky. Suigetsu and Karin had been engaged in their usual bickering until they had both grown tired and had called it a day, and he for one was thankful they finally were sound asleep. Now he just sat there, admiring the stars. The night sky always calmed him, it soothed him, always put his mind at ease no matter how troubled it was. If only for a moment.

"Who is she?" a voice behind him asked suddenly.

"Who is who?" Sasuke retorted, still gazing up at the endless skies.

"The girl you're thinking about when you're staring at the stars of course," Jugo chuckled as he sat down next to Sasuke.

"What makes you think there is a girl?" Sasuke rebutted. Jugo shrugged and turned to glance at his companion. "Hmmm, I don't know. It's just a hunch," he replied with a smile. Sasuke didn't respond. Jugo nodded curtly, stood up from the log and turned to walk off.

"Her eyes were just like the midnight sky," he heard Sasuke say and sat back down. When he looked at his friend he spotted a faint smile gracing his lips as he spoke. "They were the darkest of blue and yet they always sparkled as if they were lit up by billions of shining stars. I haven't seen those eyes for years," he said, sadness seeping into his voice as he gently stroke the handle of his katana. "Were the two of you close?" Jugo inquired, causing Sasuke to snort. "I don't know if 'close' is the right word. I guess we used to be. But things changed. They always do," he replied bitterly.

"Well, who knows," Jugo tried to cheer him up, "maybe you will see those eyes again sometime soon. But for now you'll just have to do with the sky."

Naruto's teeth clattered as he rubbed his arms trying to warm himself up. "Uhm, Naruto, are you okay?"Hinata asked worriedly. Naruto gritted his teeth and stared into the darkness of the forest. "Just wait till I get my hands on that guy," he snarled dangerously. "Hey, how did I get out of there in the first place? Did you guys get him?" he asked with a sheepish smile plastered across his face.

"Not exactly," Kiba responded as he scratched the back of his head. "She did," Hinata said as she pointed to Naruto's left.

"Her?" He exclaimed, not believing his eyes.

"Jeesh, don't bother thanking me," Kitana spat as she crossed her arms and looked the other way.

"What where you doing out here in the first place?" Kiba snapped.

"That's none of your business Dog Boy!" Kitana yelled back at him.

"Uhm, guys," Hinata's tiny voice interrupted them, "we still have to escort the messengers to the Hokage, remember?" Kiba, Naruto and Kitana turned to the man and woman who where still kneeling on the ground holding onto each other for dear life.

The man stood up slowly and walked towards them, followed by the woman. "You are Leaf Shinobi aren't you? Did the Hokage send you to protect us?" he asked, still a little cautious. Hinata nodded. "Very well," he said and sighed deeply in relief. "Then I'm glad you're here. My name is Yori and this is Shizuka," he continued, pointing at the woman who curtly nodded at them.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet the both of you, but let's not waste any more time out here. We'll take you to see the Hokage right away," Kiba said and Yori nodded in understanding.

As the group started to make way to leave, Kitana was in no hurry to join them. "Aren't you coming?" Yori asked her confusedly. "No," was her simple reply. Yori turned to the others. "But aren't you guys supposed to escort us?" Kitana sighed as she retrieved her herb basket from behind the bushes. "They are. I'm not. I am not a Shinobi," she responded harshly.

"Will you stop saying that?" Naruto exclaimed. "It doesn't matter whether or not you want to be a Shinobi. It's who you are! You didn't have to come out and save us back there, but for some reason you did. And that reason is really simple. After all you've been through, you've always been and always will be a ninja. There's no use in fighting it, Kita," he practically yelled at her.

"Stop it! I did what I did because your idiocy would have gotten two innocent people killed. I've already sacrificed everything for the Shinobi world and look where it has gotten me. I'm left with nothing and nobody," Kitana retorted.

"Is that so?" Kiba interfered. "You had me. I tried to be your friend when you most needed one. I tried to reach out to you, to be there for you and you just bitchslapped me in the face!" he yelled as his eyes bore deeply into Kitana dark blue ones.

She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it and swiftly averted her eyes.

"Kita, I'm alone as well," Naruto said sadly, "but hating people because of it won't get me anywhere. And even though bad things may happen, I am never going to turn my back on my friends or our village. Believe whatever you want, but I know you are a true Shinobi. That's why you've been healing civilians in your clinic for the past years and that's why you saved us and these people. Just think about it. And when you have, know that you can always come back to us."