a/n: I do not own Naruto

Naruto stared up at the sky, trying to focus his vision on the wide blue color overhead.

His body felt like lead, and even with the most prodding, Kyuubi wouldn't even respond. The fox just stayed at the bottom of the cage, the black blood eating away at not only the seals, but at the fox's life force.

He couldn't bring himself to tell Hinata, but he couldn't go back to the village like this. If he did, and the seal broke, he would destroy everything. His choices wouldn't matter. The fox would break free and destroy everything that he knew and loved. The only consolation was that the fox would probably died shortly afterwards.

Stupid fox.

"Naruto-kun?"

No matter how he pleaded, Hinata wouldn't leave him. She was just sticking with him because she felt some sort of an obligation to a sick person. He couldn't really tell her what the problem was without telling her the whole truth.

"Hinata," he told her, "You have to go back to the village. They need that information."

"I'm not leaving you here alone," she said, her eyes alarmed and worried, "You're getting worse, Naruto-kun. You're chakra," she blinked her eyes, "You're chakra is simply melting away. The red taking over the blue, with a hint of black below, that's the only way I can discribe it."

"I'm fine."

"You're lying," she said, "Tell me the truth."

Naruto closed his eyes. He could tell the fox was bleeding through again, turning his eyes red, "Hinata, you have to leave me here. It's the best for both of us," he told her, "Everyone will be in less danger."

"But what about you? You'll be here alone."

"Send for Tsuande. She and Sakura can probably figure out whats wrong."

"I'm not leaving you here!"

He jumped at the sudden raise in her temper. Hinata glared at him, "I'm not leaving you, so stop asking!" she said, "I'm not going anywhere, so stop trying to protect me and just tell me what it is!"

There were tears in the corners of her eyes, and Naruto lifted an arm to brush them away, "The seal on the fox is breaking. Whatever he injected me with, it's eating away at the seals. I can still feel the seals there, but it's almost like they're being nullified. It's killing Kyuubi, Hinata."

There was silence for a moment, and then she said, "It's killing you."

"You need to go back," he said, "You need to complete the mission. I'm not as important as the village, Hinata."

You're important to me, she thought to herself. Gripping the hand resting on her face, she turned her nose to the inside of his palm. A plan formed in her mind, something dangerous and tricky. She knew that they were being followed. Naruto probably couldn't sense it because his chakra was mostly drained, but she knew. Somewhere out there, someone was tracking them, probably watching them now. They would kill him first before the poison did the trick.

She had to make them think she was gone, and then she could trap them herself. She could catch their enemies, and get the data to Tsunade-sama all at once.

"I'll go," she finally said.

He seemed to relax. The village was the biggest worry on his mind. Not whatever was eating him on the inside, or the fact that he was going to die. Only the village.

Oh, Naruto-kun, can't you see that you're practically the Hokage already? She pressed her lips to the inside of his palm.

That got his attention.

Naruto blinked back at her, and she smiled back, "But I'll be coming right back here for you-"

"Hinata-"

"-and even if you tell me no, I still will. Do you think you can hide from me, even in this forest?" she replied, "I can find you anywhere, Naruto-kun. No matter where you hide, where you run," Hinata told him, "I'll find you."

He stared at her as she stood up, tugging the bag over her shoulders. She was quite magnificent when she was like this, and sometimes Naruto wondered if it had been the best thing that she was no longer the head of her family. She could be a shinobi and do whatever she wanted, and her confidence was so much better than when she was younger.

She was quite the accomplished young woman. He gave her a tired grin. And she was probably the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

The plan did require her to leave me a little bit, she worried to herself. She didn't want to do that, but she had to get the information out, and she had to set the trap.

"Hold on, Naruto-kun."

Then she was gone.

Sasuke sat in the hallway outside of the office. The meeting had been going on for a while. Since last night, they had been discussing with Tsunade over the turn of the events, and at one point, he was kicked out.

That was alright, he was no longer a shinobi after all. It was no business of his.

He mulled over the fact that Sakura had clearly put herself in danger, and he didn't like it. It was a welcome thought for once, since everyone in the hallway were giving him lethal glares. At the beginning, it would make him nervous, but now it didn't really bother him. What did those people know about him, anyway? He had been stripped of his rank, but did they even understand why he did what he did? He regretted hurting others, hurting the village...but he had been lost then. The death of his brother hitting him hard, and learning the truth about what happened.

No one else understood. Who gave a damn about what they thought anyway?

"Uchiha."

Shikamaru stood in the hallway. It was early to be up, but he knew that Shikamaru was the head of the shinobi school, and that was the way it was. With a yawn, Shikamaru sat in the chair beside him, not caring a hoot that people gave him an odd look. Nara Shikamaru walked to the tune of his own beat, after all.

"I heard you were attacked."

"Word travels fast, I guess," Sasuke replied.

"It does when you spend time with a kunoichi who can create her own earthquakes."

Ah, they had felt the earth shaking from her fists. "We were attacked by some strange Kiri nins. I think they were rogue. Something tells me that Kirigakure doesn't really know anything about this. Or if they do, they probably thought it was a contained problem."

"It wouldn't benefit them to become enemies with Konoha, I agree," Shikamaru nodded, "But then, who are these people?"

"Tsunade sent Hinata and Naruto over to the boundary of the territory to gather information. Could it be linked with the nins that attacked you?"

"It's hard to tell, but my hunch says yes."

"There's something that confuses me, though," Shikamaru folded his arms, "Why make a big scene? I mean, if they really wanted to harm Konoha, they could have done it by now. If they've been hiding as long as we think in Uzu, then why didn't they just attack Konoha sooner? There has to be some motive here."

What, indeed. Sasuke thought a for a moment, and then decided that it made him uneasy too. There would have been ample time to big up a force long enough to attack Konoha, so why hadn't they done it sooner?

The door opened, and Sakura stepped into the hallway. Her face was completely void of color, and she held a message in each hand. Both men were instantly on their feet.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked. He didn't give a flip of Sasuke heard secret nin business, even though it was a breach in protocol, "What happened?"

"We just received a message from Hinata, it seems that Naruto has been injured, so she sent the message by carrier pigeon, and set back off into the woods after him. The nins that are stationed on the end of the territory have built some large facility there, although the purpose is unknown. They were attacked before they could get too close," she said, "But, that's not all."

Sasuke frowned, "Sakura?"

She looked up at both of them, the worry and shock on her face was alarming.

"Gaara is missing," she said, "The Kazekage has been kidnapped."

Ryuien stood in Takashi's office, a grin on his face, "The Uchiha boy is stronger than we thought. We will have to make another plan in order to eliminated him. That kunoichi with him, however," his grin turned into a leer, "Quite amazing."

"The cursed seal could pose a problem," Takashi told him. Ryuien was his second, and quite a powerful nin in his own right. He was large and his brute strength was immense, but that didn't even start to touch the power of his chakra. Of course, Ryuien was just some rogue nin that Takashi met, and not a member of the Kaguya family, but there was no need to be picky on allies that were strong and in agreement with the cause.

Capture the Shukaku. Take over Kirigakure. Bring down Konoha.

Take down the Five Nations.

He glanced towards the window, and the forest lined the horizon. The chakra bleeding out of the woods was troubling, but not unmanageable. Uzumaki must be having a hard time of it, Takashi figured. Chakra acid was one of the few compounds ruled as forbidden, like some sorts of jutsus. Mostly because it was painful, and because it basically ate a person from the inside out. It was also one of the few poisons to kill a jinchuriki.

"I have a task for you, Ryuien. I believe that it's time to check on our guest in the woods," Takashi replied, "If the poison hasn't killed him, make sure to finish the job. That shouldn't be too hard, after all."

Ryuien grinned, "No, I believe not."

The door opened, and Hikaru came in without knocking. She grinned at Ryuien, and Takashi knew very well that she had a crush on his second. It made no matter to him.

"I've brought you a present, brother dear. He's secured in the cell block and waiting for you," Hikaru said, a smile on her face, "I believe he'll fight a little, but in the end, they all cave."

"Good work, Hikaru. And the Suna have lost the trail?"

"They didn't suspect a thing," his sister chuckled, "Poor bastard tried to fight it at first. What a mistake that was, although it did cost us a few men."

"No matter. As long as we achieved the end goal."

She grinned, "How is the other experiment?"

Takashi glanced towards the forest again, "Just about ready."

Hinata hurried through the trees. She knew that she had to go too far in order to send the message, and didn't like it. Now, she had to make up for lost time in order to catch Naruto. The red chakra was blending with the air, almost like bloody mist, and the forest itself was shivering in fear. Kyuubi Nine-Tails was so fierce, that he made the planet tremble.

Oh, Naruto-kun, I should have never left.

She could take him back to the village and have him treated, but where had he gone? The chakra was blending in so well that it was difficult to tell where the actual trail was. It wouldn't take Konoha long to send reinforcements, but it would still be a good ten hours before they were found. She would have to stick it out until the next morning.

Where was he? Hinata stopped on a branch, and glanced towards the valley. Everything was silent, and she turned her gaze to catch sight of a flash of orange.

He was standing beside the lake, and for a moment, she relaxed. When she had left, he could barely move. If he could stand, he must be getting better, right? The demon must be healing him.

"Naruto-kun!"

He didn't respond to her voice, and she jumped from the tree, running down the hill.

The first nin slammed into her, and Hinata shrieked as she slammed into the tree. He ran down the trunk after her, and planting her hands on the earth, she flipped upright, and gained her balance.

The next foot flew towards her head, and she ducked it, flipping over to dodge a third. The kunai dragged against her arm, but she ignored it, drawing one of her own to deflect the kunai of the fourth nin.

They circled her, all hooded and cloaked. They meant to kill her, and then to kill Naruto-kun. In his weakened state, he wouldn't be able to defend himself. Hinata braced herself, a kunai in each hand. She knew how to defend herself in a full circular area around her, but there was no way to tell how strong her opponents worked. Sometimes a fail-safe defense wasn't enough.

They charged her, and Hinata dipped low, sweeping her legs under the first nin, planting a foot in the face of the second. Someone called out a jutsu for water, and Hinata cursed. Raising her fists in front of her, the blue chakras of the lions surrounded her, and she used her fist to deflect a row of shurikens. She managed to keep herself from loosing an arm, but the metal still tore through her skin.

The water dragon rose over the trees, and flew towards her. She leapt foreward onto a tree, running to the edge of the branches.

Juho Soshiken! Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists!

She wouldn't let them kill Naruto-kun. Even if she lost her own life, she wouldn't let them hurt him.

The dragon slammed her head-on, and the water froze into sharp pieces. It was like meeting hundreds of kunai, all slamming into her at once. She screamed as she was shoved into a tree, the water stretching out into a big hand, grabbing her and throwing her into the ground.

"You're not our target," one of the nin replied, the bigger of the others, "But were told eliminate the target by any means. You don't have to die, but we'll kill you if you keep interfering."

Hinata gritted her teeth, "I won't let you hurt him!"

She watched the man's eyes grow wide as the lion's swirled around her once again, and she smashed her fist into his chest. She was about to move to the next nin, when a terrifying burst of power filled her mind.

The nin turned away from her and looked at the clearing.

Even the trees burned as Naruto stepped through the clearing. She saw the red chakra, the kind that she had seen during his fight with Pain, and from the stories that the others told. The chakra of the Nine-Tails swirled about him, forming tails and ears.

She counted six tails.

She remembered hearing from Tsunade-sama and Captain Yamato that the more tails that were visible, the more in danger Naruto was from the Nine-Tails chakra. Bone was beginning to cover half his face. Hinata gasped, "Naruto!"

He dashed towards them.

Matsuri ran down the hallway, and yanked open the door to the main study, not even caring that she was only a Jounin and not a member of the council.

Temari, Kankuro, and Baki stood in there with a host of other nins. They all looked at her in shock, "Where's Gaara-sama?" she asked, "I demand to know!"

Temari was the first to break away from the group, taking Matsuri's arm, and leading the girl away despite the protest. Closing the doors, they made their way to one of the residence halls, and Temari pulled her into the private library.

"Temari-san," she said, pulling her arm away, "Is it true? Is Gaara-sensei-"

"Gaara has been taken by a group of rogue Kiri nins that were posing as representatives from Kirigakure. It looks like..." Temari sighed, like she still didn't want to believe it, "They've taken him hostage. We're not sure how they managed it, or for what purpose, but they have him."

"I knew it," she said, pacing around the room, "I had a bad feeling from the start."

She remembered standing on the docks at the ship took Gaara away to the land of Kiri. He had been promised to marry a girl from there in order to strengthen relations. Matsuri had watched them together, thinking it was for the best.

The girl had been beautiful, highly-educated, and well spoke. She was obviously from nobility, and knew exactly what to say and when to say it. She was graceful. Had she mentioned beautiful? So beautiful that every man had stared at her as she walked down the street on Gaara-sensei's arm.

They had boarded the ship two days ago. Gaara had told them he would be returning in a week's time to finalize preparations, and he had shook hands were Kankuro and hugged Temari. Matsuri remembered standing on the dock as he walked past, stopping momentarily in front of her.

"Gaara-sama."

His eyes gave her a look, and suddenly she wanted to cry. There was a red pendant around his neck, the same one she had given him so many years ago at the holiday celebrations. Back when he had first danced with her, and kissed her.

Since then, they had always been friends, but she loved him with every fiber in her being. Not like he was the leader and she was his subordinate, even though she did admire and respect him. She loved him. Telling Temari one year when she had drank one too many sakes at the end-war celebration had probably been a mistake, but she couldn't help that Temari-san knew. Had Temari told her brother the truth?

He nodded back, and then disappeared down the docks. Matsuri had stood there and watched, long after the crowd left, and long after the boat was gone. Gaara-sensei was gone, and she was alone.

"They used his weaknesses on the boat as a way to get to him," Temari sighed, "Most people can logically figure out that his weakness is water. We should have sent a small group of bodyguards, but-"

"Gaara-sensei wanted it to be in good faith," Matsuri stood in the library and stared out the window, "I'll go after him."

a/n This story is a little disjointed ::sigh:: Hopefully, it'll start coming together a little better soon, and won't have like...four plots going on at once. I intended for it to be complex, but I shouldn't loose track of my own story. Gah!

Anyway, thank you for all the lovely reviews! :D