"I am doing it!" Looking up at Naruto as he stood calmly next to her holding her hand, Orihime smiled a bright smile. She was actually standing in the middle of the river with him. She was standing on water!

Smiling Naruto nodded. "Alright now let go of my hand. Keep picturing that you are walking on glass and you will be alright. If you do start to fall, I will catch you alright?"

Nodding Orihime let go of his hand and then smiled as she still stood there. "I did it."

"Now walk toward me."

Looking up at Naruto, Orihime nodded and took several slow steps until she was standing right in front of him. "I did it!" Then she giggled as she looked back down at her feet. She was still a little shaky, seeing as she had fell in the water like a thousand times but she finally got it!

Lifting her and then jumping from the water to the bank Naruto smiled. "You are improving faster than before. You are catching on better."

Smiling up at him as she put her hands behind her back, Orihime nodded. "I think it is cause you are explaining it simpler than the others were." Then she dropped her head with a small laugh. "I have a hard time getting stuff like this. It took me forever to learn the mantras for my Shun Shun Rikka."

"Shun Shun Rikka?"

Blinking Orihime looked up at him. "That's right. I forgot I hadn't told you about them yet have I?"

"Nope."

Smiling Orihime looked down at the ground as she hugged herself. "Do you remember when I told you that I had the power to reject anything that happened to anyone?"

"Yeah."

Looking up at the evening sky Orihime smiled as her eyes shinned over with a mist. "My power came in the form of the berets that my brother gave me. I had to use them to save my friend Tatsuki one time. That was when they told me that the six of them together were the Shun Shun Rikka. Shuno and Ayame are the ones that I can use to do that. They can heal anything. With them I can even give someone a limb, repair burns. If I am there within minutes of death I can even reject that. Baigon, Hinagiku and Lily make a shield for me. Just like with the healing, it rejects anything that comes at me. And then there is Tsubaki. He is the one that I use to fight with." Then she dropped her head and sighed as her smile vanished. "I don't get to use him that much. Everyone makes sure I am nowhere near any fighting all the time, I just use my shield and healing ability."

Naruto smiled as he crossed his arms. "Well, I promised you that somehow we would get your berets back before you went home right? After we get to the Sand, and Gaara and I figure out how to get rid of Sasuke and all his lackies, I know Hinata, Neji, and even Hinata's little sister Hanabi if not their whole clan will help us find them for you."

Her eyes leaking tears, Orihime looked straight up at him. "But what if he already destroyed them? I can't exactly just go buy a new pair and they mean the same thing."

Smiling as he hugged her, Naruto laughed. "Don't worry about it. We will find them. I know it."

Clinging to his chest Orihime nodded. "I hope so."

X

Looking up at the sound of footsteps, everyone sighs when Naruto walks back into camp carrying Orihime in his arms. Sakura sighed. "So did she do any better this time?"

"She got it. I explained it to her the way I wish Pevy Sage would have me and I could have gotten it faster. She got it after a few tries." He then lay her down on a blanket that he sat next too. But as he sat down next to her and looked at her he sighed. "I feel really sorry for her though."

"Why is that?"

Looking up at Yamato Naruto sighed as he dropped his head. "Just think? Ripped from your own world to a time when your power does nothing against the ones that took you, and then get something precious taken from you. She was telling me that her berets appear to her a six tiny little people that help her do the different things."

"The healing power she told us about."

"And a shield and one she can fight with. I want to try as hard as I can to help her find them after we kill Sasuke. I know they are somewhere in that compound and if I can I wanna be able to send her home with them."

With a sigh as she smiled Sakura dropped her head. "Well that is noble and all but you know the possibilities right?"

"Yeah."

As Naruto talks with Sakura, Lee and the others around his age, Kakashi and Yamato stand back and watch with smiles. Naruto was a far cry from the snot nosed Genin that they both knew at one point in time. Yamato looks over Kakashi with a sigh. "You know this one is going to be harder for him to get over than Sakura and Hinata were right?"

Crossing his arms as his eye fixed on the girl lying next to Naruto. There was a love for him in her eyes that shined. "I don't know Yamato. You just might be surprised on this one."

"What are you talking about Kakashi?"

"Just trust me."

X

"My Lady, we got another message from Sai. And one from Hinata."

Looking up from her normal paperwork, Tsunade took the notes. Reading the one from Hinata first. Hinata telling her that the men that Gaara saved were coming along nicely and would be able to fight on par with a Chunin by the time the fight started. "Well then. I didn't expect that."

"What is that My Lady?"

"Well I knew they were training the men Gaara rescued in chakra so they could fight with us when it came time. But apparently one of them named Ichigo Kurosaki wants to know if we can get a message back to Naruto for Orihime. That must be the girls name."

"What message?"

"That he has her berets whatever that means." Then she opened the message from Sai. "Is his scroll beast still here?"

"Yes. I thought it was odd but I wanted to bring them to you."

Smiling Tsunade pulled out a small empty scroll. "They want to know for Orihime if we have heard anything about her friends." Then she wrote a note back to them, summing up what was going on in the Sand and the message for Orihime from Ichigo. "There. Send this back to them and tell that thing to go as fast as it can."

"Right My Lady!"

After Shizune was gone Tsunade stood and turned and looked out the window. The sooner that they get her back to the Leaf, and then the Leaf and Sand combine to eliminate Sasuke, the better. But she did have to wonder if just two of the villages would be enough to take Sasuke down?

Turning she pulled out three more scrolls and gave a summary of events over the last two weeks then headed out to the hawks. They were going to need more help. No one knew how many Sound Ninja Sasuke had, or what they could do. Just the Leaf and Sand could do it, maybe. But if they had help from the other villages it might go faster. When she reached the hawks she ignored the shocked looks as she looked at their care taker. "Which are your three fastest that are here?"

The girl pointed to three hawks that were black. "Them. They are all brothers born to the same mom and dad. They came out black, but they are extra fast."

"Good." Tsunade then held out the scrolls. "Send one to the Mizukage of the Mist, the Raikage of the Clouds, and Tsuchikage of the Stones. It is time that the Hidden villages untied to deal with Sasuke."

Gasping Shizune looked at her odd. "But My Lady, we only have to deal with the lower class ninja. Everyone knows that Naruto is the only one who can take out Sasuke."

Turning to go back to her office Tsunade gave Shizune a glare. "I know that! But we don't know how many ninja the Sound has. Or what they are capable of. Or if they have curse marks. We don't know anything about that! Better safe than sorry."