After Hisa preformed her jutsu I led her to the cave. We didn't get a lot of rest being attacked and it was starting to show. I quickly got her into our makeshift shelter laying her on the hard stone surface. I wish I could have gotten something for her to sleep on but I didn't have my bag or any of my supplies. I'm working with essentially nothing. I decided after Hisa got settled that I would look for supplies in the area. I would be able to keep an eye on the cave while Hisa slept.

I'm able to collect wood for a fire and food from the river but there wasn't much else around. I finally understood what Emiko sensei meant about saving my jutsu strictly for when I needed it. I had used my jutsu earlier today to help light the fire I may have been too drained to start one now. I can't even describe the feeling of knowing that I would be warm tonight if nothing else.

I was so tired when I finished collecting supplies that I fell asleep immediately but I woke up a few times when Hisa tossed and turned in her sleep. This disaster was really affecting her. Hisa finally couldn't sleep anymore and she woke me up. I looked at the shadows of the bluffs and determined that it was around midday. We had been alone for around a day and a half now. I hoped someone would show up soon.

Hisa and I continued to take shelter for the next four days. While we stayed in the cave there weren't any signs of danger. I don't think anyone human had been around these parts for months. I'd hoped that Emiko sensei and the rest of squad 5 would show up but luck didn't seem to be on my side. We have already stayed here for a while and the chances of them showing up now are slim to none.

I need to make a decision. Should I take Hisa and leave our makeshift camp and try to find help or stay put and hope Emiko comes soon. We haven't experienced any problems so staying may work for a few more days. But there aren't many materials that I could use for defense, which is my biggest concern. All I really have are my jutsu and if there was someone who wanted Hisa were to show up I had no doubt all we could do is hide.

I decided that the best thing I can do is move us. I look over toward Hisa. She is sitting by the river splashing her feet in the water. Thankfully she's warmed up a lot since we were teleported here. I can even get her to smile every once in a while. She reminds me of myself when I was younger. I fell like I've take Sasuke's role caring for her and making her smile. Sasuke could always make me smile even when I was upset.

"Hey," I say, "How are you doing?"

"Good" she responds. "What's going on?" I sit down next to her and stick my feet in the water.

"I think it's in our best interest to try and find help," I respond. Her eyes widened and she's quiet for a few seconds.

"What if we get attacked again?" she asks.

"If it happens" I tense "it will happen," I sigh. "We can be attacked her too. But if we try to find help maybe we could be able to defend ourselves better. I thought about this for a while and I know this is the best chance we have of getting through this." I was being blunt with her. I didn't want Hisa to be afraid but in order for her to truly trust me I need to be completely honest with her. She looks more frightened but I see resolve in her eyes as nods her head. We gather our items and plan to leave at nightfall. We lay down hoping to get more rest before we leave. There is no telling what we're going to encounter.

Meanwhile

Isamu and Ayumi are sitting together. They're on a log talking quietly to each other away from everyone else.

"Hey." Hiro walks over to Isamu and Ayumi sitting down to join then. Ayumi seems upset and Isamu is trying to comfort her.

Ayumi looks up to see who spoke then looks back down to the ground. "I don't understand why Asako won't tell use were Hisa and Nami are," she clenches her knuckles. "I'm sorry."

Isamu looks up at the sky and flinches. His lower torso is aching. He got stabbed with a kunai in his gut. Thankfully it isn't critical right now but putting to much pressure on the injury could change that. He looks toward Hiro. His arms pretty sliced up but he's otherwise fine. They were forced to retreat once Hisa and Nami disappeared. Isamu and Hiro were too injured to fight and Nami and Hisa had disappeared. Isamu had to be carried by Emiko while Asako and Ayako helped Hiro and Ayumi. Thankfully the enemy didn't pursue them.

"It's not your fault," Isamu spoke to Ayumi. "Asako made that decision on her own. Besides you told Emiko sensei everything you knew. She did everything you could." Ayumi didn't look too pleased.

Once Emiko had determined they were momentarily safe she treated Hiro and Isamu's wounds first then immediately demanded that Asako explain where Nami and Hisa were. Asako refused. Then Ayako started yelling saying that she knew they weren't safe with Hisa. She spoke bitterly saying the world would be better off without her. It took a while to calm Ayako down but she knew nothing about where Hisa and Nami were. Only Asako knew and she was keeping her mouth shut.

Emiko was still in the process of getting Asako to talk. Everyone else took the time to recover from their injuries.

Ayumi sighed, "I know."

Hiro looks at Isamu. They're both anxious about Nami. They know she can hold her own but they also know she can also get very emotional at times. There is also a chance she could be attacked. It would be terrible if anything happened to her.

"So tell me again why Hisa is so special," Hiro asks Ayumi.

"She has the ability to make seeds into fruit bearing plants in a matter of minutes. One day Asako found her playing with a strawberry bush when she was hungry. In our town we are constantly plagued with droughts. Asako hoped to help Hisa control her abilities. She had hoped that Hisa could save the lives of our people. But there were a lot of people after Hisa. Her grandmother struggled to keep her safe. Asako took a great risk and took Hisa in."

"So them why didn't you request better protection when you were traveling?" Hiro asked.

Ayumi clenched her teeth. "It was supposed to be taken care of. We payed a lot of money to the Village Hidden in the Sand to ensure no one would be troubling us. They were supposed to protect us. They were supposed to track and arrest everyone who attempted to kidnap her. Nearly every villager donated money for the mission. I guess it failed though." She frowned.

Isamu looked at Hiro. Ayumi had answered enough questions for now. Hiro stopped talking and instead looked around. The three of them sat in silence. All they could do was wait and hope that Asako would say something soon.

Back Along the River

It has been a few hours since Hisa and I left our camp for good. I decided that if we traveled parallel to the river there was a good chance that we would run into a small town or village. Even an inn would work. There I could find a way to contact the leaf village and get the help I needed. I was putting all my effort into looking for potential threats.

I hear Hisa yelp and turn quickly to her to make sure she's ok. "Look!" she shouts. "I see lights up ahead," she says gleefully. I look downriver and she's right. It's about an hour before dawn and it's a little hard to see but they are definitely lights. I heave a sigh of relief. I didn't realize how hard it was protecting someone until I was forced to. I have a ways to go if I want to become a great ninja and protect the entire village.

I pull her into a tight hug. "We made it kid" I smile and she smiles back.

"Well you almost made it anyway," I hear a smooth and calm voice reply. I turn around to find a man in front of me. I push Hisa behind me and take up a defensive position. I guess I spoke to soon.

Authors Notes: Wow this one was a doozy. This is the first chapter where I have a section not from the point of view of Nami. For some reason I felt a little jumbled writing this chapter so please read and review so I can get some feedback. Once again thank you all for reading my story. I am so grateful to each and every one of you. Hopefully I will be able to update again in the next two weeks. Until next time, thanks again!