"HATAKE KAKASHI?!"

"Nice to see you too, Sakura. It's been a while." Kakashi said cheerfully and she could make out the smile on his face even behind his mask.

Sakura stared dumbfounded at the gray-haired male standing a few feet away from her. Oh my God! It was happening again! First Neji and now Kakashi? Honestly, she understood why Neji had chosen to approach her the way he did at first. I mean, you don't just go to someone and say 'Hey, I'm your Guardian. I'm here to protect you and your dragon from corrupted maniacs and their evil plans'. No, you just don't. But Kakashi too? What was going on? This was simply too much to be a coincidence.

"Took you long enough, sensei!" yelled Naruto and interrupted her thoughts "Two hours and a half is too much even for you!"

"Ah, you see, I met this old lady and I just had to help her pass the street-"

"Liar!" shouted the blonde boy while pointed an accusing finger at the masked man, which earned him a smack at the back of his head and a 'shut up, idiot' from Sasuke. Sakura tuned out their conversation that of consisted of loud 'temes' and 'dopes'. Instead, she focused her attention on the gray haired male. Sensing her stare his smile widened, something that made Sakura's irritation rise. She crossed her arms across her chest stubbornly and started tapping her foot on the floor.

"What the hell is going on?" she half-yelled and automatically all conversations ceased. Hearing the annoyance in her voice, Naruto immediately stopped and even Sasuke grew silent. Somehow they both knew that it would be better if they didn't anger her more. There was a certain fire in her emerald eyes that bordered to being a threat.

"Well done, Sakura. I am impressed. You managed to do something that I have been trying to do for the past four years. Fruitlessly, I must admit." said a smiling Kakashi, referring to the now silent teens. He either ignored the heated glares sent his way by his students or he was already used to them. Sakura suspected it was the later.

"Now, to answer your question" the gray-haired man continued "I am sure that you are very curious and more than a little annoyed-"

"Damn right I am."

"-so I'll try to be quick and explain the situation."

"About damn time." grumbled Sakura under her breath, though she suspected that Sasuke heard her, but nevertheless allowed the man to continue.

"As you have probably guessed, my position as a judge at the Art Competition was not a mere coincidence ." Kakashi said calmly ignoring the way Sakura was fighting hard to keep herself from making a sarcastic remark. "After your dragon was hatched, Kaien immediately contacted me. Protecting a dragon is hard but with Madara on the loose...You needed all the protection you could get."

"Excuse me, Kakashi but she has me to protect her. I am her Guardian." interrupted Neji calmly. However, Sakura knew better. With his arms crossed across his chest, the slightly tense shoulders and the almost unnoticeable frown on his face, it was more than obvious that he was offended.

"Forgive me Neji, I didn't mean to offend you. I do not doubt your abilities in the least. But it is the truth. Things were bad back then and Sakura was in grave danger."

Neji's frown didn't disappear nor did he seem especially satisfied with his answer but he let it be. For now…..

"Anyway" Kakashi continued "Kaien called for my help. It was a convenient coincidence that you took place in the Art Competition where I was requested to be judge. Frankly, I wouldn't have accepted the invitation had it not been for you."

"Wait a minute" All eyes turned to Toshiro who was looking at Kakashi with a frown on his face "You say that Kaien called you for help. Then how is it that you never came to our aid? You had plenty of chances. When Sakura was attacked by the Shadows and when we fought with Madara. In that fight Sakura and Tsuki almost died. Where were you then?" Toshiro had an unreadable expression on his face. It could be anger, annoyance, suspicion, sadness. Sakura couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was but it sure didn't belong on Toshiro's handsome face.

"That, young man" said Kakashi and Sakura could swear that something akin to guilt flashed across his face "was neither my doing nor my choice."

"Oh? How so?"

"It is true that I didn't help when I should have and I deeply regret that. But I didn't have a choice. Four days before Madara's attack I was called back here. We had some serious trouble to deal with. It was then that the first signs of Hade's plans started to appear. We didn't know what it was at the time but it was obvious that whatever it was it had to be dealt with. A large amount of Dark Creatures started surfacing from the Abyss not long after. Many of us had to be called back from missions from all over the world."

Sakura could see that Toshiro was still skeptical but he seemed satisfied enough by Kakashi's answer so he didn't question the older man any more on the matter. She squeezed his shoulder in a comforting manner and felt the previously thick atmosphere lighten when Toshiro sent her a small yet heartwarming smile.

"What's done is done and we cannot change the past. But we can still make sure that we have a future. That's why we must act immediately, before it's too late." said Sarutobi and motioned for everyone to gather around the fire. Once they were all sited comfortably- as comfortably as someone can sit on a log-, Sarutobi crossed his hands under his chin and passed his wise eyes over all the occupants of the cave. After a few moments of silence-that seemed endless to the others-the man released a cloud of smoke from his pipe and began talking.

"There are three phases in Hade's plan. The first has been already completed. I'm afraid that we were too late to prevent that and it is unfortunate that we are already going through the second phase. But that is hardly in our immediate interests. The simplest and at the same time most dangerous phase is the third. The simplicity of it consists of one simple goal: destroy everything and everyone. And that is something we must not allow. At all costs….."

"Then it is worse than we thought." Neji said gravely and focused his pearly eyes on the brightly burning fire. Few had had the chance to actually look into those eyes and even fewer had managed to understand even a small fraction of the mystery those eyes held. However, Sakura took pride in the fact that she was probably the only person alive-or to have ever lived-who could read the enigmatic Guardian like an open book. And at that moment it was obvious to her that he was deeply troubled. Sensing her gaze, Neji looked up and found emerald orbs looking at him with a worried expression. Trying to calm her worries, he sent her a small but warm and grateful smile. Had it been any other time, that smile would have immediately put her panicking mind at ease. But what with the graveness of the situation and their worst fears regarding Hade's plans confirmed, it was hard keeping her heart from bursting through her ribcage.

"That means nothing! We can't just sit around doing nothing while Hade's causes havoc!" yelled Naruto with anger in his voice and Sakura caught Sasuke nodding his head in consent.

Taking a deep yet shaky breath to calm her erratic heart, she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists hard enough to make her nails turn white. Sakura had secretly hoped that she wouldn't have to face anything akin to the situation with Madara ever again. But life had a strange habit of twisting and turning, messing with plans and futures as if they were nothing but leaves in the wind. It was hard but true and sometimes dangerous to defy the commands of life and Fate. All humans could do was go with the flow…

'But I am not mere human' thought Sakura and held back the smirk that threatened to bloom on her lips 'I am a dragon rider!'

With clenched fists, head held high and fiery emerald eyes alight with determination, she met the eyes of each of her comrades. Wise brown, curious dark grey, friendly cerulean, cold onyx, warm pearly, caring turquoise….

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

Six pairs of eyes focused on her, each holding different emotions. Sakura met them all head on, not backing down even for a moment. Heavy silence fell around them, though in the corner of her eye she caught Sarutobi smiling knowingly. She heard a deep chuckle and found Toshiro sending her that particular smirk that made her heart leap. His eyes were shining brightly as he looked at her and with his bare arms crossed across his chest, showing off strong muscle-a result of hard and endless training, he made her fight hard to keep her face from heating up.

"Sakura-chan is right! Let's go!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically and pumped his fist in the air, effectively snapping Sakura out of her reverie. The pink-haired girl was thankful for that.

"Then it's settled." Sarutobi said with a smile and released a cloud of smoke. However his expression grew serious after a moment. "To defeat Hade's we'll need much more than just swords, bows and magic staffs. The hard truth is we can never really kill him or any other of the Twelve. However, we can imprison him in Tartarus for the next 3,000 years and hopefully more. To achieve this difficult task you must find the Spear of Light."

"The Spear of what?" asked Naruto.

"The Spear of Light. It is a powerful, ancient weapon that was forged by the Gods in the First Age. It contains all the wisdom and powerful magic that was used to create the world. It was used 3,000 years ago when Hade's tried to overthrow Zeus. And, as it seems, it shall be used again."

"Where can we find it?" asked Sasuke, voice cold and expression serious.

Sarutobi shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid that I can't help you with that. The Spear of Light isn't a common weapon and there is not a specific place where you can find it. Three thousand years ago, Zeus used it to send Hade's back to his dark residence. The clash of the Gods caused a huge amount of powerful energy to be released. The Wise Zeus used that energy to enforce the Spear of Life and managed to defeat the Lord of the Dead. After the battle was over, the ancient weapon was no more needed and Zeus knew that he had to protect it. For the Father of the Gods knew that as it could be used for good, it could also be used for evil. And with such power…..Zeus separated the Spear of Light into pieces and hid them in different parts of Greece."

"So, all we have to do is find these pieces." Naruto said simply and Sakura felt her lips turn upwards to form a smile at his confidence.

"I wouldn't say that it's that easy but yes, that's the main idea."

It was silent for a while as each member of the party was lost deep in thought, contemplating about what was waiting ahead.

"We better get going then. Time is running short and we have a lot to do." Neji said and stood up. His expression was serious but Sakura could detect something almost playful in his voice.

Sarutobi passed his eyes over every member of the fellowship that was meant to carry out the most difficult of missions. His eyes stopped briefly on Toshiro and Sakura and a knowing smile reached his lips.

"I admire your courage but I must warn you. You have never faced anything like this. It will probably be the most dangerous situation you'll ever find yourself in. Some of you…..might not survive…"

Sakura's eyes widened and her heart clenched. It was true that her battle with Madara was probably a walk in the park compared to this but it had never once passed through her mind the possibility that any of her friends might not survive. The sudden realization of the real graveness of their predicament almost took her breath away. The cold fingers of fear tightened around her heart and she had to fight the dizziness that almost made her lose her balance. How could she not have thought of that possibility? They were going against enemies far more powerful than themselves. But still….Her friends and her family were the certainties in her life. She knew that no matter what happened she would always have them by her side. It had never once passed her mind that even one of them might get hurt or worse…..killed.

"Well, I don't see the problem." Toshiro's confident statement broke her out of her disturbing thoughts. She stared at him in disbelief. How could he be saying that at a time like this? As it seemed, the rest of the company shared the same thoughts as they all sent Toshiro incredulous looks.

However, the snow-haired young man appeared unfazed and he continued to smirk confidently. "Well, it's not like we haven't faced crazy, bent on world domination maniacs before. This one is going to be just another addition to the list."

"Toshiro, you do understand that we might not make it out alive…."said Kakashi and focused his uncovered eye on the boy.

"I seem to recall something similar being told right before the battle with Madara. As you see, we are very much alive; I don't know about you but I don't plan on dyeing here. After all, it's been a while since I last got some action. This looks promising, don't you think?" His smirk remained in place and it vaguely reminded Sakura of his old, arrogant self; the one that got on her nerves but also made her heart flatter. It really shouldn't have come as a surprise to them when the pink-haired girl started laughing. At first it was obvious that they were taken aback by the sudden change in mood but they soon found themselves joining in. Even Sasuke allowed a chuckled to escape his lips.

"High possibility of death. Small chance of success. What the hell are we waiting for?" said Sakura with a smirk.

Sarutobi watched them with a smile; a smile that held hope. "Then it's settled. Your mission starts here. There is a small village no more than a mile east from here; nice, simple folk but very hospitable and kind. There resides a girl about your age; she's my apprentice in a way. I have already informed her that you'll be arriving there. She'll be waiting for you. She will inform you of your next step. She might be young but she already has much experience with mythical creatures. She is more than capable to help you. Don't worry, you won't miss her."

The rest of the party glanced at each other, each with newfound determination in their eyes.

"Let's do this!"

XxxOxOxOxxX

It didn't take long for the party to find the village Sarutobi was talking about. It was small and fairly simple-looking. It consisted of simple but clean and prim two-storey buildings with triangular roofs and stone chimneys. Some of the houses were made of some kind of light grey stone while others had crème colored walls and big, flower filled gardens and stone paved paths. Sakura smiled at the sight of the simple yet beautiful, small village. As they made their way through the streets, she was amazed at how friendly the people here seemed. There were women cleaning the windows and sweeping the yards while others were tending to their gardens and flowers. The pink-haired girl's ears were filled with mirthful laughter as kids of all ages ran around them kicking a ball or riding a bicycle. Sakura laughed when a little girl who couldn't be more than 4 years old stopped and waved at them with a wide grin on her cute face. She waved back happily, watching as the little girl ran off following her friends.

They continued wandering around for about half an hour, searching for Sarutobi's apprentice with no luck. It was probably more than obvious that they were not from here as not long after they arrived, a man in his mid-forties offered to help them find their way in case they were lost. It was true that even without their weapons, which they had left back in Sarutobi's cave where Tsuki and Uragiru were waiting for them, they were a weird company and probably quite unmatched to an outsider's eye.

"There you are!"

The six of them turned around and were met with a strange sight: A couple of feet away from them stood a young girl about their age, panting slightly obviously from running. She had dark brown hair that reached her mid-back and matching, almond-shaped eyes with long and thick eyelashes. She was tall with a nicely built body and harmonic features. The girl looked at them with a breathtaking smile on her lips.

"I've been running all around the village searching for you!"

"Umm….Sorry if we caused you trouble. I am Sakura and these are my friends."

"I know who you are Haruno Sakura. But how rude of me! Excuse my manners; I am Elizabeth, Sarutobi's apprentice."

"Nice to meet you Elizabeth-san. There are Toshiro, Kakashi, Narut-"

"No need to be formal Sakura. I know who they are too. How are you doing Neji? It's been a while!"

The Guardian smiled at the girl. "It's been a while indeed, Elizabeth. How about you? I've been hearing that you've been doing a great job for the past four years."

The brunette laughed. It was a melodic sound, full of mirth and kindness. "It's true that things are going great for us! Another couple of years and I'm positive that we will be able to restore part of the damage."

"Umm…sorry to interrupt but….what the hell are you talking about?" asked Naruto while glancing between the two with a confused expression on his face.

Elizabeth laughed once more. "You'll find soon enough. Follow me, now. I'll take you somewhere we can talk freely, in no hearing distance of unwanted ears. " she said glancing around warily. "Come on, now. There is something I'd like to show you."

Sakura couldn't help but glace around too. It was true that at first sight, this peaceful village hardly seemed the right place for creatures of the dark. But Sarutobi had warned them that many would try to stand in their way. The enemy had many spies all over Greece and they had to be careful about what they said and did while out in the open. The party of six silently followed the brunette girl who guided them through small and slightly darker paths and they soon found themselves leaving the beautiful village behind them.

It didn't take for them to realize that they were heading back to the mountain though it was on the opposite direction of Sarutobi's cave. The path they followed was difficult. It was steep and narrow; many times they had to skate over rocks and external roots of lush trees. Elizabeth on the other hand seemed quite at home and she walked ahead of them with ease, expertly making her way over obstacles and around thorny bushes. Sakura couldn't help but smile at the energetic brunette who every now and then made sure to check on them in case they needed help. She didn't lose the chance to point out different kinds of plants that could prove useful in the future especially those meant for healing. It was impressive how well she spoke their language despite the slightly strange accent. When Kakashi commented on that she laughed it off with a 'thank you', saying that after spending so much time with Sarutobi it was only natural that she would learn the language as well among other things.

After half an hour of following the steep path, they found themselves walking down a wider, much easier to follow dirt road. Sakura could hear Naruto complaining about the distance they had to walk but he was soon silenced by a smack at the back of his head from Sasuke.

"Here we are!" Elizabeth said happily and stopped walking in front of-

"A rock? Is this what you wanted to show us?" Naruto said obviously dumbfounded at the rather disappointing sight.

Elizabeth laughed wholeheartedly at his confused expression. "Of course not, silly. What kind of person would I be if I dragged you all the way out here just to see a rock?"

"This is just a waste of time." All heads turned to Sasuke who didn't even try to keep the annoyance off his face and voice. He had a scowl on his handsome face and even Naruto made sure to stay away from him. Toshiro was about to say something when Neji put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. The white-haired dragon rider looked at the Guardian surprised but Neji only shook his head and motioned to Elizabeth.

The girl narrowed her beautiful, expressive eyes at the raven-haired teenager, all traces of her previously mirthful and kind attitude gone. Almost threatening brown and cold onyx clashed and immediately the air around them became thick with tension. Without breaking her eyes away from Sasuke's, Elizabeth touched the huge, dark grey rock with her right hand and placed two fingers of her left hand on the middle of her forehead.

"Όρκο βαρύ δίνω εδώ, κάτω απ' τα μάτια των Θεών. Προστάτιδα του μυστικού στα βάθη των αιώνων, ο Δίας και η Αθηνά δύναμη ας μου δώσουν. Σεμέγακαθήκον, ιερόζωήνααφιερώσω."(1) Her voice was clear as she spoke melodic words in Greek. For a moment her brown eyes flashed silver and her hands started glowing. In the blink of an eye the seemingly solid grey stone disappeared and the entrance of a big cave stood in its place. Kakashi and Neji didn't seem affected by the display, obviously having witnessed it before, but Sakura, Naruto and Toshiro were clearly rather impressed. Elizabeth didn't even try to hide the smirk that bloomed on her lips when she saw Sasuke turn away with a 'Hn'.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she said, her previous mirthful attitude returning once more. "Let's go!"

They followed her inside the cave and for a few minutes no one said a word until Naruto decided to break the silence.

"So, Eli-chan, where are you taking us?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon. There is someone I want you to meet!"

"Oh, come on! Tell me!" the apprentice sorcerer whined earning a laugh from their guide.

"Ok, then. Get ready, my dear Naruto, to see something extraordinary. Get ready to meet Unicorns!"

TBC

(1)-"Heavy oath I take here, before the eyes of the Gods. Protector of the Great Secret throughout the centuries. May the Mighty Zeus and the Wise Athena give me power, in great and sacred duty my life to dedicate."

I know that you probably hate me for not updating for so long but I can honestly say that it was not my intention. I am going to college in a couple of weeks and I had MANY things to do! Find an apartment, clean it thoroughly, get new furniture and electric devices and the list goes on! I've been running like crazy from one place to another to prepare everything and I'm still not done! So damn stressful! Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter! I had fun writing especially the part where Elizabeth challenges Sasuke! So, READ AND REVIWE! Lots of love!