Wow

Wow! Halfway done already! All the wonderful reviews and critiques I've gotten have been spectacular thus far! I'm happy to receive positive feedback and not a single "flame" as most would put it. I have reviewed some things in the comments and I'm going to put my heart into improving my chapters and pushing forward the storyline. Also I apologize for the long wait- due to financial difficulties and medical issues, I wasn't able to update as much as I would have liked. So it's a job hunting I will go!! 

Behold! Part 2!

Chapter 11

Permanent Sunset: Time grows short…

A month and a half has passed…the new year had begun…our time is now…

She…was seven months pregnant…a result of being trapped since mid July…

He cared for her…took the duty of guarding and loving her…the man with the red tattoos on his face…

The others…gave their lives to protect…all…

--

January has begun…the elites roamed and destroyed miles of beautiful forestry, leaving scorch marks in its place. Lord Sasuke's elite guard located the burrow...under Lee's direction. Betrayal…but not by choice. They waited for an opportunity to strike, waiting for the blood red sunrise that could never be.

Soon…

--

Children had become even sicker; several were lost in the cold months. Snow touched the ground during December, freezing over the nearby lake. Water had become so cold, when the little ones drank, their bellies froze…and pneumonia set in despite the medications which were supposed to save them. A group of over 150 children had been drastically cut down to 22, the youngest being 8 years of age. Several tears were shed, as the children were buried…

"I don't think I can live like this anymore…." Sakura buried her face in her hands and slinked down into the corner of the hospital chamber. "I feel so responsible….for all of this…" She cried hard. Her pink hair draped over her hands as she fell forward, hiding her from the others view. Her locks had grown so long these past few months, they hid her face completely.

Naruto crouched down next to her and put on a hand on her shoulder, gently massaging it. He just didn't know what to say, which was good. Sometimes kind words can make a situation seem worse. His hand moved down her back, trying its best to comfort her.

Behind Naruto stood the others…Gaara, Temari, Shikamaru, Tenten, Choji, Shino, and Ino all in a row, in complete silence until Shikamaru broke the silence.

"Sakura, you need to rest, you have been awake for three days straight," he said. Shikamaru raised a hand to his temple and raked his fingers through his hair, trying to take in the situation. "It's not your fault, Hinata will come around eventually…and the children who died were extremely ill, it couldn't be helped."

"But Hinata wouldn't be in this state if I had properly cared for her to begin with!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs.

"We lack medicine, there's nothing you could have done to prevent it." Kiba added. He joined Naruto on the floor next to her. "Anyways, I'm hurting too. We all are."

Sakura sighed and nodded her head. She let her hands drop to her lap and she looked up at Naruto. Her eyes were puffy and red, tear streaks ran down her face. The past month she tried desperately to rehabilitate Hinata, but poor Hinata felt she couldn't trust anyone, not even Sakura. The emotionally scarred girl had become terrified of everyone and she hid from the others in the empty chamber by Shikamaru's sleep quarters.

Kiba and Shino both visited her on several occasions to try and gain her trust but she would tremble before them and back herself into a corner, curling up in a pile of furs. She wouldn't talk. Kiba would leave food for her in the chamber entranceway and she would eat it only if she was alone.

"It's going to be a while for her and we can't blame her for it." Kiba said. "Now…off to sleep with you, I've already made up a table here in the hospital wing for you. I don't want you in the room with the kids, it'll depress you again."

"Fine." Sakura wiped her eyes with her collar and let Naruto help her up.

As Sakura was guided to the table, the others left the wing. They divided into sleeping chambers for the night, save for Temari, Tenten, and Shino who would sleep in the main chamber to guard the remaining kids. Tonight was Choji's turn to guard the entrance.

Shikamaru and Kiba followed Gaara to his quarters, all three needed to decide the fate of the group.

"….Okay, we're running out of time. We know what's coming during this month."

Gaara nodded. "I'm aware. Two weeks remain until I turn seventeen."

"We have to take down the enemy. We have no choice now, if we lose you to the clouded then the rest of us don't stand a chance." Kiba cringed. "Sand..."

Shikamaru chimed in, "Not only that, Shino follows shortly after. We're going to lose two in one month and the rest of us can't defend with only seven. I suggest that we take the offensive this time and kill their leader. I have my suspicions that the permanent sunset is a genjutsu, a really powerful one."

"This will be our only opportunity to gain control of Konoha and rebuild." Kiba said. "The sooner we do this, the better off we will be. We should decide who's going to fight."

Gaara moved close to his bed of furs and placed his gourd on the floor next to it. He removed his overcoat and placed it on the bed. "We have to leave a strong shinobi behind, to look after the group. I definitely will be going to fight."

"I will be going also." Kiba said.

"No Kiba. It will be best if you stay behind. You have Akamaru to help you and we need your skills to protect the kids." Shikamaru said. "In your place, we'll take Sakura as a healer and she packs a pretty good punch when she concentrates."

Kiba was shocked at Shikamaru's analysis and shouted at him, "It's plain stupidity to take the women with us! They will be recaptured!"

Shikamaru rushed into Kiba's face and raised a fist at him, "We have to! Sakura will have to come; we need a healer with us. You are needed here! You and Akamaru are defense and can provide medical treatment to the kids, which is what we need most right now! We'll leave Tenten with you, since she is a long range fighter and can be offensive in the off chance of an attack on the burrow."

"Fine, I'll stay. But you need to take Tenten with you. There's no way I'm gonna let Ino go with you guys, she's the last person I would send into battle! And get the hell out of my face!"

"Ya' think?!" Shikamaru yelled. "I wouldn't dream of forcing an expectant woman into combat" He lowered his fist and backed off. "This is a waste of time…we'll discuss it in the morning."

"No. We'll discuss it now!" Gaara shouted. "I'll make the decision, since the two of you can't control your tempers. We leave tomorrow night, with all but Ino, Kiba, and Akamaru. I will lead with defense, and Shikamaru you will take offense. Plan your strategy tomorrow morning; I want to have a battle plan ready before we leave. Now go to your sleep chambers, I am exhausted from all the shouting." With that, Gaara flipped over on his furs and closed his eyes.

Stunned, Kiba and Shikamaru glanced at each other and quickly left the room.

--

He couldn't help it. He had to try and reach Hinata somehow. Would she accept him? Naruto twisted and turned on his bed of fur. He knew about Hinata's little crush on him, but he never payed much attention to it. His training was all that mattered to him before the permanent sunset, before the death of his master, Jiraya.

Naruto sat up and listened to the gentle breeze flowing through the caverns. It was so cold these past few nights. He touched his forehead and rubbed it gently. "I hope Hinata is warm enough. I should bring her another fur." He touched the fur beneath him, still warm from his body heat and slipped it out from beneath him. Quickly and quietly he got up and exited the chamber. The cavern was dark, he run his hand against the wall as a guide, closing in on the chamber next to Shikamaru's. Hinata should still be in there, she wouldn't leave the room for anything. Naruto peeked inside and couldn't see anything. He gently called out her name. "Hinata?"

No answer.

"Hinata?" He could sense her presence in the room and could hear her scuffling to a back corner, lightly whimpering. "Please don't be afraid of me Hinata, its me, Naruto."

There was still no response but tiny cries and whimpers.

"I've brought you another fur. One of my own, its still pretty warm and I was hoping…you would like to have it to stay warm." Naruto said as softly as he could.

Suddenly…

"Na..Nar..uto"

Was that Hinata speaking? It was so light and tender, a scared voice, one that could only sound like a frightened child. Naruto stepped into the room a little further, towards the corner where the tiny voice came from. He heard her gasp and he slowed his steps, trying his best not to scare her even more.

"You can take this blanket from me. I don't want to scare you again. You can come to me for it instead, so I don't have to come to you. I want…you to trust me again." Naruto said.

Hinata didn't leave her corner. She was staring at him through the darkness, reluctant to get up and take it herself.

"Well…since you don't seem to be moving Hinata, I want to bring this to you. I'm worried about you." Naruto gently stepped towards her again; he heard no signs of flinching. He reached the corner she was in and crouched down. His hand gently reached out into the darkness and he touched her knee. She jumped a little and his hand withdrew itself. He moved the fur to the front of himself and let it drape over her leg. "See? I just want to put this fur around you."

Hinata was letting him close and even let him drape the fur around her shoulders. He was ready to leave the chamber. So he slowly stood up and turned for the door but something touched his leg and held onto his pant. His hand slipped down to his leg to feel a little hand grabbing onto his pants.

Hinata didn't say anything.

Naruto ran his fingers over hers and she let him hold her hand. Naruto once again crouched down and now held her hand with both of his. She was shaking and unsure, but she didn't flinch. Her other hand touched the top of Naruto's.

Naruto could feel the tears welling up into his eyes. His dear friend was beginning to accept him once again. He removed one of his hands from hers and reached for her cheek, gently stroking it and he could feel wetness on her face. She had also been crying.

The night continued on….

--

"Kiba!! Kiba!! Come quickly!" Sakura shouted into the hospital wing.

"What?! Can't you see I'm busy? I just woke up and I have to tend to Ino." Kiba was leaning over Ino's exposed belly and he seemed to be touching for movement.

"This is something you have to see!" Sakura said happily.

"Alright already, I'm coming." Kiba covered Ino with a fur and followed Sakura down the cavern hall towards Shikamaru's chamber.

Sakura stopped and peeked into Hinata's sleep chamber. She turned and whispered to Kiba, "keep quiet, don't want to wake anyone."

Kiba sighed, "Fine…now let me see."

Sakura stepped out of the way to let Kiba look. There in the corner of the room was Hinata and Naruto, curled up against the wall, wrapped together in a big black fur comforter. It was Naruto's by the looks of it. Hinata's head was propped against Naruto's chest and her hand was grasping onto his shirt. Both were asleep.

Sakura smiled. "Isn't it great, I think Hinata may be willing to trust in us again."

Kiba was astonished in the progress that Hinata had made last night. No words came to him and he couldn't help but smile. "Naruto always had a way of inspiring people. He is exactly what Hinata needs."

Sakura nodded. "As long as I knew him, Naruto always what to say or what actions needed to be taken to get things done. We should tell Shino about this."

"I'll do it. As Hinata's friend and teammate, I should be the one." Kiba said.

"Good. I'm going to tell the others, maybe we can rehabilitate Hinata enough to come out and interact with all of us." Sakura said. She left Kiba's side and sped off to the main chamber to spread the good news.

Kiba stared at the two of them. He watched as Naruto snored lightly and somewhat woke himself up in doing so.

Naruto's nose twitched and he quickly brought a hand up to scratch it. His eyes blinked themselves open and he saw Kiba in the doorway. A blush spread across his cheeks and he smiled at Kiba, who returned the gesture. It was a respectable gesture between the two and Kiba quietly left the doorway, headed back for the hospital wing.

The burrow remained quiet all morning. Everyone had heard the good news and waited patiently for Naruto to emerge, hopefully with Hinata at his side.