They spent the rest of the day walking through the forest. Yumi argued with Riko about who should ride the horse. Yumi wanted to walk but Riko said that the princess had a long night and she should ride Hotaru. Eventually Yumi gave up and jumped on the horses back.

Later in the afternoon they noticed that the forest was starting to thin out. Yumi raised her head from the horses main and stared straight ahead. "We're here." She said under her breath.

Everyone looked up at her then straight ahead again. Yumi was right. Once the group broke through the forest the first thing they saw was a giant castle. The white stone shone in the afternoon sun. Many gardens surrounded the kingdom, full of rare flowers. A large village was found at the bottom of the hill where the castle perched on.

"Wow it's so pretty." Hinata said, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"You are so lucky to live here!" Naruto was sucking in the beauty like as sponge.

Yumi rolled her eyes. "It's not that glamorous… it's quite boring actually."

The group made their way up to a gate that had two men standing on either side. They noticed the group walking up to them.

"Princess Itabinei Yumi!" One of the guards said, his face gleaming. He walked up to the horse and held onto the rains. "We are so glad you made it unharmed. The king is very worried about you."

The other guard prepared to open the gate.

Yumi nodded at the man holding her horse. "Well that is expected of my father. He worries too much about me."

"That's because he cares about you princess. You are his only child. And you are to be crowned queen." The man guided the horse through the gates. The group of ninjas followed behind, admiring the view.

Yumi looked to the ground. "Yea I guess you are right." She said silently.

"I am." The guard smiled kindly and held out his hand to help the princess descend the horse. Yumi brushed his hand away and jumped off herself. The guard blinked at her action but he thought that this was expected from Yumi. He walked away with the horse towards a stable near by.

"Daughter! You mustn't descend the beast in such an ungraceful matter."

Everyone looked over to see a large man walking their way. He wore a colourful robe and a long black beard fell past his neck. His bright blue eyes twinkled in the sunlight.

Yumi ran up to the man and wrapped her arms around his round body. He returned the embrace and held out the princess in front of him to get a better look.

"I am so glad to see you well daughter." He smiled warmly.

Naruto blinked in confusion. "Wait so that's the…?"

"The king." Shino finished the sentence.

Yumi turned around and smiled at the group. "This is my father King Mikio." She introduced the circular man behind her.

The group bowed with respect.

"These young ninjas saved my life father." She said winking at the group.

"Did they now?" His voice was boomed. "Well I thank you for protecting my daughter from any harm. What happened exactly?" He turned to Yumi.

"Well…" She was afraid to tell her father exactly what happened. She searched for the right words to say.

"Bandits."

Everyone looked over to Shino. "Bandits attacked us while we sleeping." He said calmly.

The king studied Shino for a moment. "Bandits you say? Well then that is dangerous." The king looked over to Riko. "Ferica Riko."

Riko stepped forward at the sound of her name and bowed.

"Your father is worried as well. I suggest you go and apologies to him." The king said.

Riko bowed again then waved goodbye to everyone. They waved back and watched as Riko disappear in the distance.

The king turned back to his daughter. "Yumi." His tone was no longer cheerful.

Yumi gulped. She new this was coming.

"I would like to have a word with you." The King said.

Yumi nodded slowly. "Can I say goodbye to my friends first?"

The king nodded and started to walk away. "The payment for your efforts will be awaiting you at the gaits." He said to the young ninjas.

Yumi waited for her father to disappear into the castle. She sighed in relief and turned to her friends. "I am in big trouble."

"What did you do?" Kiba asked.

"Eh heh heh." Yumi didn't answer. She changed the subject quickly. "So thank you for everything you guys." She looked over to Shino. "And quick thinking with the Bandits thing. If my father found out about those two men, he would make such a big deal about it and would never let me leave the safety of the castle again." She rolled her eyes.

"You will be telling him later." Shino said.

"Huh?"

"This might be a big deal. I suggest you tell your father the truth. That attack might turn into a bug thing." Shino was right. And Yumi knew it. But she didn't want to admit it.

"Psh. Nah it was probably some men after my family riches or something… well once again, thanks a million guys. I had fun." She winked.

Well the mission was fulfilled. The danger was out of the way. The group of children left the kingdom and headed back to there village, thinking that they would never see the strange princess again.

They were wrong.