Three

"I never knew Hinata was this incredible…" –Naruto

"This is what we're going to do," Shikamaru said, after Pakkun had announced the possibility of Sasuke being nearby. "Kiba and Shino, stand by with Akamaru and your insects ready. Choji will stay with you two to keep guard, just in case. Lee, Neji, and Pakkun can be our bait to bring them closer in range so that I can get a hold of them with my shadow possession."

"What about me?" Naruto wanted in on the action, as always.

"Just stay behind me for backup. Don't get offended Naruto, but you tend to just rush right in when it comes to—"

"Sasuke. I know." Naruto wasn't too happy about this, but he didn't press the issue any further. Besides, the more successful this could be, the better. He was determined to finally bring back his former teammate.

Shikamaru and Naruto took refuge in the branches of a tall tree, waiting for the signal. Pakkun had run off with Lee and Neji in tow, leading by his keen sense of smell.

All of a sudden, Shikamaru whirled around and pulled Naruto down to a crouch with him. "Damn!" He glanced over at the paper bomb that was attached to the kunai knife that was now embedded into the tree trunk near Naruto's arm. "Get to the ground!"

They reached the base of the tree just as it exploded, and then the others ran up to them.

"Shinobi from the Hidden Mist," Kiba said, and Akamaru barked as if to confirm this. They looked just as thrown off as Naruto and Shikamaru. "No sign of Sasuke. What's going on here?"

"I don't know. All I know is that we're being attacked for some reason, and we need to resolve this quickly so that we can focus on the mission here." It soon became clear that Shikamaru was already forming a plan.

"Okay," he began, "here's what we're going to do…"

"We have to go back," Pakkun suddenly said, stopping in his tracks. "Something's wrong. I can hear signs of battle back where we left the others. I smell other people…but none of them seem to be Sasuke."

"What's going on?" Lee raised his thick eyebrows. "Battle? Let's go!" He was more than ready.

They began sprinting back the way they came, and stumbled upon everyone else almost immediately. There were three unrecognizable faces from the Hidden Mist, and Shikamaru had barely managed to grab hold of two of them. He was trying hard to reach the third but was having a difficult time.

"We've got this," Kiba said, and nodded at Akamaru. "Let's do it! Fang over fang!"

Shino had his insects out, and was trying to help as well.

"Aren't you the nine-tailed fox brat?" The one guy that was free of Shikamaru's shadow possession snarled. "Why don't you just give up quietly and come along with us so we don't have to have any of this unnecessary trouble?"

Naruto gave a hearty laugh. "I would like to see you try!" He clasped his hands together. "Shadow clone jutsu!" Several clones appeared, and they all began to run at the Hidden Mist shinobi while the real Naruto stayed behind them, forming his Rasengan. Neji and Lee ended up taking care of one of the guys while he had been held by the shadow possession, but time was running out. Shikamaru could only do this for so long, and Naruto knew this.

But he also wasn't completely thinking about everything, either. He was still a bit out of it from his earlier thoughts and worries, despite his fiery determination during any fights. He was running towards the rude little bastard, ready to unleash all hell on him.

Suddenly, he heard his clones disappearing all around him, and that's when he felt a heavy metal object make contact with his head. The Rasengan disappeared almost as quickly as it had formed, and then he could hear the others yelling at him from all directions.

"Naruto!"

"Uzumaki! You idiot!"

"Naruto!"

Naruto hadn't felt anything at first, but suddenly there was increasing pain inside of his temple that seemed to be throbbing and expanding inside so that it felt as if his head was going to explode. Normally he was able to stand pain, but this time seemed different.

It hurts. He slowly closed his eyes as his body finally hit the ground. Is this it? Is this how I'm going to go? How stupid.Suddenly, he felt an ache in his heart as well, because then he remembered, Hinata…

I love you.

Hinata…

Hinata woke with a start. It was still dark in Naruto's room, where she must have fallen asleep accidentally while paying a visit. She liked being at his place when she missed him, especially since it was the next best thing to him actually being there. Plus, his bed was really comfy—and he didn't mind that she always cleaned it up for him!

But she knew that something wasn't right.

"That was Naruto's voice," she whispered to herself, "he sounded like he needed help..." She yawned and slowly stretched before lying back down. There was a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she couldn't shake it. It had been present ever since he had left.

Suddenly, she missed him more than ever.