Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or Naruto. R&R please.

Chapter 12

Plans

For two weeks after the birth of Garnet's child, mother, daughter, and protector, were never seen apart from one another. Haku watched his girls with growing admiration while Garnet refused to be parted from her child. As the trio sat down for lunch, they were visited by one of Garnet's Leaf Ninja protectors.

"Good afternoon Your Majesty," the ninja said bowing.

Garnet lowered her chopsticks and replied, "Good afternoon Kakashi. I trust you and the others have fully recovered?"

Kakashi nodded. "Please forgive us for failing to protect you," Kakashi bowed again as he apologized.

Garnet motioned for Kakashi to stand. "I will not hold the entire group to blame when only one person within the group should be held responsible."

"And who would that be Your Majesty?" Kakashi asked.

"I mentioned several disturbances on our way here to the ninja, Sai," Garnet explained. "All he did was shrug me off and continue to draw."

Kakashi nodded in understanding. "He has a tendency to do that," Kakashi explained. "I shall send him home for different assignments. And have someone else take his place."

"That shall be acceptable," Garnet said. "When the replacement arrives, let everyone come to me for new instructions. I would prefer to only give them once instead of several times."

"Understood Your Majesty," Kakashi bowed and left to do her bidding in a circle of leaves.

Three days passed with the same procedure as before. Haku shadowed Garnet and her child wherever they went. One evening, Haku decided to ask one of the questions that had been on his mind for some time.

"What shall you name her?" he asked.

Garnet thought for a few moments, rocking her baby girl in her arms. "I'm not sure," she said truthfully. "I never really thought about it much. Zidane and I didn't really have much time to talk about it."

"She'll need a name before you both go home," Haku told her.

She nodded. "You're right," Garnet agreed. "How about Sita?" The infant giggled and Garnet laughed. "That's your name then. From now on you will be known as Princess Sita til Alexandros." She swung Sita in the air then cuddled her close.

"She will be a wonderful princess," Haku speculated, smiling.

"And you will make a wonderful father," Garnet said facing him.

"Are you sure?" Haku asked his face and tone betraying none of the emotions that were raging throughout his body.

Garnet nodded. "Sita's father is now a minor god so he cannot be with her," she explained. "But the Goddess has sent us you. If she hadn't, I would still be with the snake man and whoever pays him. Without you, we would not be safe and protected. We owe you our lives." Her voice dropped to a whisper as she added, "And I love you." Haku heard her anyway. He picked up Sita from Garnet's arms and placed her down on the large bed. He turned back to Garnet who had turned her face to look down at the floor.

Haku placed his right hand gently underneath Garnet's chin and forved her to look into his eyes. "Even if Selene hadn't come to me, I still could have found you. Master Zabuza and I were tracking him before Selene came to me. Now that she has, I have found the most wonderful woman in all of the world. I care not if you were married before or that you are a queen of a distant country. I love you for the girl you were, the woman you are, and the mother that you are becoming," Haku finished his small speech looking into Garnet's eyes. Before she could respond, Haku placed his lips gently upon hers, delighting in her sweet taste. When Haku tried to pull away, Garnet wouldn't let him. She placed her right hand behind his neck forcing his lips back down to meet hers. Haku licked her closed lips, begging for entrance. Before she could open her lips, a knock rang out on the door. The two jumped apart, startled by the sudden noise. Sita awoke and started crying, demanding attention as the person knocked again.

Garnet picked up and cradled Sita as Haku answered the door. The Leaf ninja that accompanied Garnet to the Sand Village were on the other side. Haku let them in at Garnet's nod shutting the door behind the last person.

"Please everyone, take a seat." She motioned to the various chairs around the room.

The ninja complied, moving to create a half circle around Garnet and Haku. Haku grabbed a chair setting it behind Garnet and stood respectfully behind her eying the other ninja. The ninja dog, Akamaru, walked up to Garnet and sniffed at Sita. He sneezed as Sita's tail smacked him in the face. The infant giggled and reached for Akamaru's muzzle petting him. The huge dog laid his head gently on Garnet's knee, and allowed the infant to explore his head. Garnet smiled, then turned her attention to the gathered ninja. She noticed that Sai was missing and an unfamiliar ninja sat next to Kakashi with a bored look on his face. She looked quizzically at Kakashi and he nodded.

"Your Majesty may I present Shikamaru Nara," Kakashi said. "He has agreed to fill in for Sai."

"So troublesome," Shikamaru mumbled. "Ow!" He yelped as Ino kicked his shin. She smiled and winked at Garnet.

"Don't mind him," Ino said. "He is a lazy ninja, but he is the smartest among us and will do his job. All he needs is to work on his attitude."

Garnet smiled back in understanding. "It's alright," she said to Ino. "A good friend of mine was the same way. The only way to get him moving was to present him with a fight." Garnet's heart clenched thinking of her red-headed friend. She fought back her tears and schooled her face into the calm demeanor of her royal position. "My plan is very simple. But one part does require travel for one or two of you. The rest will stay with me as we wait for them to return. I understand that the port I arrived in has ships that can sail for long distances. I need one or two of you to take one of those ships to deliver both a verbal and a written message to my castle. Once they have the message, some they will send back reinforcements. While they are gone, the rest of us will stay in a small area close by off the radar of Orochimaru and whoever he is working for. Now who would like to go to my home to deliver my message?"

Silence followed Garnet's announcement as the ninja contemplated the request. "I will go," the ninja Neji said. Garnet noticed that his eyes were as white as Hinata's own eyes.

"As will I," another named Tenten.

Garnet nodded. "Alright. I shall finalize both messages and you shall receive them before you leave on the ship. As soon as all of us are ready, we need to leave for the port."

"Which port are we talking about?" Sakura asked. "There are several ports of which you could have arrived at."

Garnet looked back at Haku, who answered for her. "She arrived here from the Land of Waves," he explained. "Orochimaru or whoever controls him has a ship docked there. Zabuza and I know which one it is."

The ninja looked to Sakura and Kakashi as they looked at each other. "We should grab Naruto," Sakura said to the jonin. "If we don't, both he and Inari will have our ears and heads for months."

Kakashi sighed and nodded. "Go ahead and report to Lady Hokage Sakura," Kakashi said. "Hopefully Naruto can keep his mouth shut." Sakura nodded and disappeared in a circle of pink sakura petals.

"That settles that then," Ino said breaking the silence.

"Right. As soon as everyone is packed and rested, we will leave," Garnet instructed. "So we shall leave first thing in the morning."

The ninja nodded, stood, bowed respectfully, and waked out the door.