I have ran away.

But please forgive me,\

I just don't want you to get hurt.

The curse that is one me, will probably cause you to be killed

If you were killed, I would never forgive myself,

Never again…

"Hey, you there, wake up!" said a voice, one that was childish sounding, sweet and innocent. Temari looked up, and staring down at here were two adolescent boys, both the same age. One had sleek ebony black hair, and black eyes. He was standing a bit off to the side, his face was handsome, yet emotionless. The other had messy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. This boy was smiling at Temari.

"Who are you?" Temari asked the two, standing herself up straight and brushing off her dress. Now as she got a better look at them, they looked very poor. They had clothes that were torn here and there and where covered with dirt.

"I'm Naruto and he's Sasuke!" Said the blonde.

"What's with this kid?" Temari thought, she said, staring directly at this boy. "Naruto." That was his name. He is so very pour, but yet he was just so happy? It makes no sense.

"Your arm. Is it ok?" Asked the other boy, Sasuke, trying to be nice.

"Oh, its fine. I just cut it a bit while I was running awa….. I mean while I was traveling here! As well as my leg, but they will be fine."

"Are you sure? I can wrap it up for you if you want." He said, then looked around for something to use, then picked up a cloth that was lying on the street, and wrapped it around her arm, and ripped a bit off to use for her leg.

"Thanks. By the way, my name is Temari. Nice to meet you!" she said, and was about to curtsy like how she was taught to in the palace, but then quickly remembered. "I'm not in the palace! Better be careful about how I act towards the people here, or they might find it funny that I act like royalty if they don't think that I am, and that might ruin the whole plan!" she thought to herself, and resisted from using her manners the way she was taught to.

"Oh! Are you two hungry? I have loads of bread here, and I don't mind sharing." She said, smiling. She was enjoying sharing with her new friends, as it was very new to her. She never had to share with her brothers in the palace before, so it was a bit refreshing to be able to.

The three sat together in the alleyway and talked and laughed as they ate the bread.

Meanwhile, back in the castle,

"Any sign of Princess Temari?" one of the head knights in the castle asked the servants, who where all sent out to look for her. "No sir, but I went to her chambers and there was blood all over the place. I believe that someone must have taken her." Said one of the servants. It was Shikamaru. he was defiantly the most worried of the group, but trying to hide his sadness and anger.

"Well, just don't stand here, you stupid idiots, go and alert the king and the all of the neighbouring villages! We can't waste anymore time!"

"Yes sir!" They all said in unison, then quickly ran off. Almost as if it was fate, Shikamaru was sent out the same path that the Princess had taken as she ran off.

"I hope I am not to late. I Have to save her, I can't let her be killed." Shikamaru thought to himself as he ran. He stopped at the pond just outside of the town. Peering into the water, he saw Temari. She was dressed in rags, and was covered in dirt, from head to toe. But yet, she looked happy. She was with to people who Shikamaru did not know. But before he could see who they where, the water cleared and all that he could see was his own reflection. "Damn it!" He said, as he splashed the water. It changed to soon. Now he won't know who she was with. He didn't even know if she was headed in this direction.

But, just then, he saw something shine from within the water. Curious, Shikamaru leaned to pull it out. The water was very cold on his skin, but he continued dipping his arm in trying to reach whatever it was. When he finally pulled his arm out of the water, that was Shimmering in the light of the mid-day sun, he had the object in his hand. It was a pretty hair clip. The clip was light blue in colour and had a beautiful flower attached to it.

"This hairclip. It's the same one I gave Temari for her 18 birthday. It was always with her. She must have went in this direction. I should hurry." He said, then ran off towards the small village a bit ahead.

Meanwhile, Temari had spent the entire day with Naruto and Sasuke. Temari had to make a fake story up so not to cause a commotion about how she was actually the Princess of the land. Instead, she said that she had traveled to this village to look for a few special herbs that where only found in this area, and how she needed to gather a lot of them to make a medicine for her sick mother. Luckily, the to boys believed her, and said they would help her find the herbs.

"Sadly," She said, "Quite a few of the herbs I am looking for only come out once every three years, so I am supposed to live here to gather them when they come out so that we don't miss the season for them. They have enough to last until then, but if I miss this season, she will surely die, so I have to stay here for another few years until it is the time to collect them." Temari lied, astonished about how the two boys, who had lived in this town for there whole lives, actually believe her about the made up herbs. "But that means that I will stay here for quite a bit longer, so at least I made a few friends already. Otherwise it would be a very sad and lonely three years for me. But it is such a long journey from where my family lives, and most of them are to old to be able to survive the trip"

"Well, don't worry, we will be your friends! Plus, you could also hang out with the rest of the gang." Naruto said to her, with that same smile that had been on his face for the entire day.

"What gang?" Temari asked.

"Well, there is a whole bunch of us. We all live together in this house on the side of town. We built it ourselves. It is hidden. Most of us are either orphans, or we ran away from home, and the occasional of us just wanted to live with the rest of us, wanting some friends instead of just having to live with there parents for there whole lives, with no control over what happens to them. They wanted to be free. Naruto and I are both orphans. You could stay with us, if you want." Said Sasuke coolly.

"Orphans? That's horrible! These pour, pour, children!" Temari thought to herself, then said, "I am very sorry about your parents. But, of course, I would love to live there with all of you. That sounds wonderful!" Temari said, smiling at them. "At least since it's hidden no one will find me." She thought to herself.

"Come on! It's this way!" Said Naruto. The three walked out of the alleyway into the busy street. There were people headed in every direction. Now that Temari got a good look at the place, as she didn't have the chance the day before because it was so dark, she realized that this town was really very beautiful. There where cute little tailors and bakeries around every corner. Suddenly, the three turned down into another dark alleyway, until they reached another street. This was obviously the center of town. Here was the location of town square. In the center there was a huge fountain with shimmering, clear, water showering down. There where small little roads that lead to practically any part of town you wanted to visit.

The three ran through the one strait across from where they where standing, which seemed to lead to a dead end.

"There isn't anything here, just a brick wall and a few boxes you know." Temari said, very confused with the two boys.

"What makes you quite so sure?" asked Sasuke slyly, as he slid the largest block and, sure enough, was a secret tunnel.

They snuck down and slid the box back into place. Temari was very happy with how well hidden this place might actually be, despite the fact that this was a very creepy tunnel, but if this was what it took to prevent Shikamaru from getting hurt, than this is what it took. Temari, Naruto, and Sasuke climbed up a wooden ladder at the end of the tunnel.

"Close your eyes!" said Naruto, as he pulled back a large curtain. "Now open them again."

Behind the curtain was a huge building. As they opened the door, Temari gasped. It not only looked huge outside, but the size INSIDE was huge! It wasn't split up in a way like there was a separate room for everything, like inside the palace, but it was split up into a main room and several separate bathrooms. In the main room, there were fifteen hammocks of various colours and patterns hanging from the high ceiling. There was a fireplace with a large pot and a flat piece of metal overtop, to be used as a sort of grill. And, as well, there where so many children and teens running around.

"Welcome home." Sasuke said with a slight smile.