Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Note: OK, someone pointed out the fact that my ages were off in the family tree. And I changed them, but it was rather hastily, and might not fit perfectly. However, the character's ages have little to do with the story, so yeah. Thanks to KrakenGirl for pointing that out, though.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Ino+ Shikamaru: Toshi, now 13. Satoru, now 6 and a half years old.

Sakura+ Sasuke: Saeko, now 14 and a half.

Kiba+ Temari: Kiyoshi, 15.

Hinata+ Naruto: Kohana (F), and Atsuhiro (M), 11 and a half. Twins.

Tenten+ Neji: Hikari, 16 and a half. Hiroshi, almost 12 years old.

Kakashi+ Kurenai: Ayami, now 17 and a half.

Gaara + Crazy Lady (Grace/GaaraCutie): Hajime (M) and Mamoru (M), 8 months old. Twins.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"It's the Akatsuki! They've raided both the Village Hidden in the Rocks and the Village Hidden in the Grass. Not only have children and women gone missing, but now Chuunin and Jonin have disappeared as well. It's a crisis! The Akatsuki declared that they were after somebody, and they wouldn't hurt anyone if someone gave them information on whoever they were looking for, sir!"

Though everyone was staring at the man, and not at me, I could feel a thousand eyes facing me. I felt small and insignificant, and I knew who they were after in an instant. They were after me, and sooner or later, they would come here as well. In that moment, I knew exactly what I had to do.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

It was easy enough to slip away from the rest of the crowd unnoticed, what with all the chaos that ensued after the man had relayed the news. Everyone had started panicking, and the man had collapsed. Someone screamed, and I took the opportunity to leave the sight.

Panting, I tossed a fully-packed bag over my shoulders, reached up to make sure I was wearing my locket (I was), and looked around. If they really were after me, I had to get out of here. If they came here, they'd be forced to admit I was gone. I had to leave, and I knew it.

I had little to no idea of my parents' conditions, or their whereabouts for that matter. All I knew was that I couldn't bear to put anyone else in danger. And I had to leave secretly. No one could know.

Especially not Kiyoshi.

Thinking of him, I jumped up onto the windowsill, squinting my eyes, trying to make out the blurred, faraway figured. I couldn't see him anywhere. Good, it was better off that way. If he knew, he would try to stop me… Or worse, come after me. Hopping down, I thought about how him following me would defeat the purpose.

Sighing, I kicked the floor with the tip of my toes, and then wearily started towards the door. I threw it open, and stopped dead in my tracks. The Kazekage's wife was standing a few feet away, holding one of the twins. Behind her stood a maid, who was holding Mamoru and chattering anxiously. Hearing the door open, Grace turned to face me, and I shrank back in my doorframe, hoping she hadn't seen me.

She had. In an instant she was standing before me, looking at me, and the bag across my shoulders. Nodding over her head at the maid, Samiko, she stepped over the threshold of my room, and I grew silent.

"Where are you going?" Grace asked, straight to the point. Her voice was soft, and I could hint a touch of worry and concern. Not wanting her to see the lie in my eyes, I looked away.

"Nowhere," I said flatly, rubbing the tip of my shoes over the carpet again. She quirked an eyebrow, adjusting Hajime in her arms. Seeing the anxious look on Samiko's face, I walked forward and extended my arms. She more than willingly handed Mamoru over to me, and I held him close to me, bouncing up and down rhythmically. Grace continued staring at me, and I distracted myself by fiddling with the baby's onesie.

"Why is it that I don't believe you?" she asked, sitting down on the foot of my bed.

I wanted to tell her. Something about her –the way she spoke, perhaps- reminded me of my mother, and I found myself wanting to tell her everything. But I shook my head, and looked into Mamoru's blue eyes… So innocent and sweet… "I don't know," I said. "Trust issues?"

She laughed, and I felt myself longing for my parents even more as I realized how calm she was being, given the situation. Silently, I sat down beside her, patting Mamoru on the back softly, eyes on the floor.

There was a moment of silence before she spoke again. "You think they're after you, don't they?"

The fact that she had guessed that much made me spill everything. "They are! I know that they are, I just don't know why! But it doesn't matter why!" I jumped to my feet, pacing back and forth, Mamoru cooing, completely oblivious to the chaos in the surrounding world. "It doesn't matter why they want me. All I know is that I have to get out of here, now! I don't want anyone else to get kidnapped!"

She bowed her head, rocking a sleeping Hajime in her arms. "Do you really think it will help?" she asked, her voice barely that of a whisper; so soft that I had to strain my ears to hear it. "Do you really think leaving is going to protect anyone? If they come here, and we say you're not here, what's to stop them from searching every house, and punishing anyone who seems even the slightest bit suspicious?"

I shook my head. No, I had made up my mind. I wasn't about to let her talk me out of my decision. As much as I would have loved to stay here, I knew I couldn't.

The thirty-eight principle of shinobi conduct clearly stated that we should never let our guard down… That we should never let ourselves fall into a state of false insecurity… One moment of weakness could end everything. Once again, I shook my head. "No. No. It doesn't matter what I do. Nothing's going to stop them. They might have attacked that night. My parents could be…" I couldn't bring myself to utter the last word. For a third time, I shook my head, bringing my hand to my mouth to stop myself from saying anything else. Finally, I choked out, "I have to go. Please," I added, as she opened her mouth to say something. I turned to her finally, making no attempt to hide the tears streaming down my face. "Don't try and stop me."

Another maid, Yuriko, appeared in the doorway. I jumped up, gently pushed Mamoru into her arms, and then darted past her.

"Saeko, matte!" But I was already at the end of the hallway, jumping down the stairs two at a time, running across elegant carpets, and then out the front door. People were running all around through the streets. I had no idea where I was going; but three months and a week in this village had taught me a lot about the layout of the village, and the world beyond it.

My feet slammed against the cobbled streets, but I couldn't hear my own footsteps through the noises of the terrified crowd. Soon, the paths faded into sand; I had passed through the village gates.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The desert was a pitch black wasteland. My feet led me on through the black sheet of darkness that surrounded me. I was freezing; it was hard to believe that a place could be so hot during the day, yet so cold during the night… The only sounds were my own beating heart and my sobs, and my footfalls on the hard sand. I held my hands in front of my face; I could barely see my own pale skin in the dark.

Silently, I cast a glance over my shoulder. The village was far away now; I could only see a dark online, speckled with shining diamonds of light. Had Grace informed anyone that I was gone? Would anyone come after me? What was going on now?

I was overwhelmed with thoughts. One more worry was going to kill me, I knew, and I found myself sinking to the ground, running my hands over my face. I longed to turn around and go back. But I couldn't. I had come too far… How stupid would I look returning now? Then again, pride was the last thing on my mind at that particular moment. Right then, there were too many things going on in my mind for any to be the most important.

I raised a shaking hand to my face, wiping away the tears. I couldn't stop now. I had to keep going. Hesitantly, I pushed myself back onto my feet, and staggered a few steps before collapsing against a large rock, sobbing once more.

But through the sobs, I still managed to hear it. It was soft, almost inaudible, but unmistakable. Footsteps. They grew quiet as I did, whoever it was, they were well aware that I knew they were there.

I was shivering, and it wasn't because of the cold. "Who's there?" I asked, looking around in the darkness.

"Sae, what are you thinking?"

I let out a sigh of relief as I recognized Kiyoshi's voice, but it quickly disappeared. "Kiyoshi! What do you think you're doing here? Go away, go back! Get out of here-"

"Whoa, calm down for a minute."

I let out an angry scoff, and folded my arms across my chest as I leaned against the boulder. "Why are you here?" I demanded, my voice heavy and laced with venom.

He sighed. "Why do you think I'm here?"

"For me?"

"Wow, you're good at this."

Despite the situation, I smiled, but quickly shook my head, remembering that I was mad at him for being here. "I didn't want anyone to come after me. That's why I didn't tell anyone I was leaving! And I'm not going back!"

"Then I'll just have to go with you."

I shook my head again. "NO!" I screamed. "No, Kiyoshi, you can't go with me! They'll come after me, and I don't want you to get-"

"Hurt?" he asked, in a calm voice. Once again, I sank down to the ground, burying my face in my knees and hugging my legs tightly.

"No," I said again. "No, you can't come with me. No, no, no! You can't! Just go back, Kiyoshi!"

For the first time in as long as I can remember, he seemed angry as he spoke. "Listen, I know why you think you have to go on your own, but you need to stop worrying about me. Worry about yourself, ok? Nothing you say is going to change my mind. If you're leaving, I am too."

I bit down on my lip, almost hard enough to taste the metallic blood… "I'm not worried about myself."

"Well, you should be. What if you run into one of them?" he asked, and when I said nothing, he continued. "That's why I'm going with you! Someone has to be there to protect you." He no longer sounded angry. In a moment, I looked up, and he was kneeling before me, brushing damp hair from my forehead, smiling reassuringly. I tried to protest again, but he shook his head, and then his arms were around me, and I was burying my face in his shoulder, like I had done so many times before…"

After what felt like hours of silence, during which we stared at the faraway black dot of Sunagakure, he spoke up. "So, what's the plan?" he asked.

We were lying on our backs now, staring up at the clouds in the sky, and the occasional star that glinted in between them. I rolled over onto my side, resting one arm on his chest. "What do you mean?" I asked.

He blinked. "Well, we obviously aren't going back now. Where are we going, and when?"

I shrugged. "I don't know," I said, and then rolled back onto my back, pressing against him. "We can't stay down long though, especially not lying out in the open like this."

He nodded, and then he was helping me to my feet, and as I looked around, I recognized the area we were in as the one we had walked along on the way back from our mission… When we had been so carefree, racing and tackling each other, laughing and trying desperately to catch up to Minoshi and Koshibana-sensei… I wondered if they were ok.

As we walked, we talked about them. About all the missing people and their families, though not my parents. Even if he had asked about them, I would have answered… Kiyoshi was probably the only one who I could comfortably talk to about the whole thing.

We camped in a forest that night, beneath a balcony of vines and branches. He stayed up, keeping guard, though I told him it probably wasn't necessary. I found myself comforted in his presence; I felt safe, like nothing in this world mattered anymore. Like everything was ok. Like I was five years old again, and there wasn't a care in the world. But when I woke up, I knew that everything would be all business and unanswered questions.

A/N: Well, I'm amazed at how fast these updates are coming. If it weren't midnight at the moment, I'd start on Chapter 12, seeing as I've pretty much already got it planned out.