The day was too short. The moon had already risen halfway. There was still so much to be done, and so little time remaining to do it. The night was quiet. No small creature scurried throughout the forest. The demons of the volcano were on the move. They were ready for battle, a fight to the death. They moved slowly but skillfully to their destination: the Village Hidden in the Mist. They arrived within no time at all. It was quiet; the guards lay in front of the gate, blood splayed over the ground surrounding their limp bodies. Three young figures stood over them.

"You've done well," the saber leader growled. "I've been watching your progress in this village. It seems you have the potential to earn the trust of others quickly." His eyes flashed red for a brief second, then returned to normal. The three in front of him looked up, their eyes glowing red, just the same as all the others but the lead saber. "Now, as you have done many times before, destroy this village and everyone in it!"

The sabers crept in the village gates, careful to stay hidden in the shadows. The three figures that had once been standing over the village guards were now in saber form. Unlike their kin, they ran out into the streetlights. They let out a ferocious screech that launched the sabers into battle. They ran from the shadows hastily, charging at any humans that came from the buildings. One set a building ablaze. The fire spread throughout the village, licking the tops of the kage's tower and the lookout towers. The screams of the civilians drove them further into the darkness, as the demons targeted each one and killed them.

"Remember your training!" The lead saber yowled from the top of the kage's tower. His gaze followed every saber's kill, until his eyes rested on one of the three he met at the gates. "What are you waiting for Hikari! Kill those insolent brats!"

He watched as she stood over two small children, waiting for the opportunity to strike out. Her eyes were no longer red, but their usual smooth grassy green. Two small children cowered in front of her, begging, pleading with her to spare them. A flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a loud thunder clap. Large drops of rain began to fall from the sky, quelling some of the wild fires. The lead sabertooth yowled again from the tower. As the drops of water ran down her face, Hikari's eyes looked from the other saber and back to the children. She raised her hand reluctantly, claws unsheathed, and struck hard across the boy's throat. He choked up blood while his sister watched in horror. The saberess struck out again, claws scraping the little girl's cheek bone and snapped her neck.

The lead saber's laugh rang out through the empty village. "Set the village ablaze once more, we are done here! Dead this village is now, for we are the supreme rulers of this country!"

Raven woke with a start, gasping for air from the broken nightmare. Her comrades around her were still fast asleep; all except for Naruto. He was kneeling beside her, blue eyes flashing with concern.

"Are you ok?" He asked, putting his hand to her forehead. "Nightmare? You're a bit red."

She looked at him from the corner of her eye and tried to slow her breathing. "You can say that."

He moved his hand away, but said nothing, eyes searching her face for answers. The two of them were on a mission with a few other ninja their age to take down an S ranked outlaw. Their friends were in deep sleep; their breathing was slow and steady. Naruto had been the only one still awake, silently watching his new friend in an uneasy sleep. He had thought about waking her, but that probably would've been a bit rude.

"It's still early," he said. "Why don't you try to get more sleep."

She looked at him strangely. "No, thanks. And you? Do you not sleep?"

Naruto smiled at her and said, "I did, for a while at least. But I guess I just wasn't tired."

"Liar," she smirked.

"What?" He laughed. He couldn't avoid the amused look on her face. She shook her head and smiled. "Come on. You should at least try to sleep some more."

Her face paled. She looked away and mumbled, "Too many broken dreams."

"Can I ask what they're about?"

"Memories from my past." She sighed wearily. "Oh, Naruto, they cause so much pain." She hung her head in her hands.

He shifted a bit so that he was sitting next to her comfortably. "I know how you feel. I had a bad childhood too." He blinked, and looked down. "People hated me 'cause I was different. At that time I didn't know why, but when I did find out it was a bit too late. I didn't have any friends until I graduated from the academy not too long ago." He smiled sadly at her.

She looked up at him. "You were hated? Why?" She asked curiously.

"I'm a jinchuriki." Her eyes widened. He nodded. "To the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kyuubi. You know Raven, I can't be sure who's had the worst childhood between us. Maybe they're about the same, but I don't know." He laid his hand on hers, earning a confused look from her. "We share a lot of the same type of pain. Maybe that's why I'm so attracted to you."

She smiled at him. She kissed him quickly on the cheek, then said, "Sleep. Now. We have a mission we must complete in the morning."

"I just love your accent," he laughed, stretching and laying back. She looked up at the moon, before lying down next to him. She felt his arm around her waist and sighed, drifting into a peaceful sleep.

The sun had just risen over the trees when the small group of ninja had awoken from their slumber. They had decided to set off immediately to finish their mission.

"So Naruto." Kiba grinned and laid his hand on his friends shoulder playfully and lowered his voice. "You and Raven hittin' it off, eh?"

Naruto's face turned bright red. "W-What are you talking about?"

"I heard you two last night," his friend said. He laughed as Naruto blushed even deeper.

"Leave him alone Kiba," TenTen scolded from in front of them. She kept walking but sighed as she saw Kiba smile and stick his tongue out at her. She turned back to Raven and said, "Guys are so stupid."

She only laughed. After a few minutes of walking she stopped short and looked around cautiously. "Found him," she said quietly. She raced away, leaving the others to run after her. Her target fled into the depths of a dark cave.

"Quick after him!" TenTen shouted. The four ran into the cave in pursuit. The darkness soon swallowed them whole as they made their way deeper into the cavern. "Man, I can't see a thing."

"I can. My eyes have been trained to see in even the darkest places," Raven said. "Return to the entrance and wait there."

"Right!"

Once alone, Raven raced through the cave as if her life depended on it. She was alone, as far as she could tell. Their target had fled even deeper, sensing the leaf ninja couldn't see in the dark. She kept running, and after what seemed like forever, she finally caught up to the fugitive. He stopped short, and twisted around to try to slit her throat with a kunai.

'He is not too smart,' Raven thought to herself as she flipped backwards, kicking the kunai out of his hand. He pulled a sword from a sheathe clipped to his back and struck out, catching her across the arm. She hissed and ducked another swing, jabbing two fingers into the fugitives arm. His fingers locked around the hilt of the sword and he swung again, miscalculating the distance between the two. Catching the smooth side of the blade with her palm Raven snapped the metal in half with her other hand.

In the dark she saw his eyes widen as he fumbled in his pouch and staggered backwards. Growling once she let out a jet of black flame. She heard him cry out in pain as the fire scorched his flesh and the scent of melting skin tickled her nose.

"Sheesh, what's taking her so long?" Naruto asked, pacing back and forth impatiently.

"Why are so you worried?" Kiba grunted. "Dude, chill out man she'll be fine." Akamaru barked in agreement.

TenTen nodded. "Yeah, you said you've seen her fight before. If she's as good as you say she is there's nothing to fret over."

They heard muffled speech coming from the darkness. Out walked Raven, holding the fugitive still. His hands were tied behind his back, but that didn't hide the burn marks and the deep cuts on his arms or face. The trio looked at her in disbelief as she pushed him down on his knees in front of their eyes.

"Wow," they commented.

"Well," Kiba yawned. "Standing here won't complete this mission. Let's go pal," he said, pulling their target to his feet. He shouted in protest, trying to inch away from Raven.

TenTen laughed and scratched her head. "Damn what did you do to him?" She shook her head and ran after Kiba and Akamaru.

Raven and Naruto followed them more slowly. He held her hand in his and kept walking when she didn't protest. It had been a fair mission. They acquired their target within the required time given for the mission. He wasn't hard to catch; they were still wondering how he was an S-Ranked outlaw. After dumping him in the nearest village's prison, they raced back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Naruto, TenTen and Kiba went to report to the hokage, but Raven was held back by her brothers.

"Getting comfortable?" Sasuke asked, his amber eyes laughing at her.

"Shut it," she growled.

Dave shook his head and pressed hard against her wound, earning him a punch in the gut. "Nope. But, the closer you get to him, more so will the people here trust us, so much as to bring us closer to our goal."

They wrapped their arms around her shoulders. She growled and said, "True, true. Just worry he does not show too soon. It might ruin our plan."

CHARACTERS I OWN: 1) Raven

2) Dave