Chapter 21:

Naruto sat on the stone bench, his head in his hands. He couldn't stop dwelling on what he had just learned. Between wallowing and rage, Naruto couldn't bring himself to come up with a plan to rescue Neji. He wanted so much to save him, but he couldn't think of anything that would help. He was still in shock that Shikamaru would go through with something so horrible. He never thought this would happen.

Their time together had been difficult, but Naruto actually had fun traveling with Neji all this while. It was a relief not being yelled at every few minutes for acting like a child or for doing what he wanted while on missions. He liked having a dragon around to protect him and keep him company, but he knew Neji wanted to be cured and return to his old life. That's what their journey was about. That was their priority. However, Naruto soon discovered that they had actually bonded during their travels. He didn't mind having Neji around and no longer thought of him as a stuck-up genius who didn't know how to play to save his life and took everything way too seriously. Now he could see that Neji really did know how to play and have fun.

He had seen Neji chase butterflies and birds. He had heard Neji purr and seen him laugh and have a great time. He saw how caring Neji could be and how vulnerable he could be as well. He saw a different side to Neji he never thought possible.

The more he thought about it, the more he wondered if that was really Neji. Was that him or the dragon in him coming out? Maybe that was how Neji behaved when he wasn't under stress or the watchful eyes of his superiors.

During their journey, Naruto had seen Neji change little by little when he noticed it. Now he was beginning to wonder if it was all his fault Neji was changing so rapidly. He was the one who encouraged Neji to use his talents as a dragon. The more he used his powers, the more he seemed to slip away. After flying at the clearing, Neji seemed more free. Perhaps letting go of his cares and worries made him also forget his time as a human. The freer he became, the more he seemed to disappear. Naruto was afraid that his encouragement was making Neji change faster. He was already starting to forget his friends from the look of things.

Yet he remembered Naruto and was able to calm down when he was near. Shikamaru said it was only a matter of time before Neji couldn't recognize him either. He would forget himself all together. What he wanted to know was why Neji still remembered him. Was it because they had bonded? Maybe it was because he remained by Neji's side all this while. He hadn't seen Lee or Tenten or the others in quite some time. Maybe that was why he seemed to be slipping away. He wasn't near them.

Maybe that was why Gaara had no idea who he was either. Who knew how long he had spent isolated in that mountain? Gaara spent his transformation all alone. Neji at least had Naruto with him. Gaara had no one so he must have changed more rapidly. It was possible that Neji remained as he was for so long because he was near someone familiar. He had friends with him, slowing his transformation.

Naruto frowned. "He's been changing all this time and I never noticed? What if it started sooner? I can't tell what's Neji and what isn't. Is it that when he's happy, he's a dragon and when he's miserable, he's Neji? No, I'm sure Neji has emotions that aren't all of rage and a bad attitude. But still... What about the things I haven't noticed? Am I really that clueless?"

Neji was going to be killed because of his curse. He wouldn't have gotten this curse if he hadn't touched the Dragon's Pearl. Which never would have happened if Naruto hadn't gone into the shrine; all because of some silly ghost story.

"It's all my fault. Neji's going to die and it's all because of me." The guilt almost made him start crying again. He had tried so hard to help Neji. He had worked all this time for a cure and this was where they ended up. All their efforts were worthless. They both journeyed so far and worked so hard only to have Neji die. "What the hell was the point? We did all this for nothing! He doesn't deserve to die because of me."

Naruto saw the sad downcast eyes of Neji in his mind and remembered their night in the cave together when Neji had looked so hopeless and scared. He could only imagine what Neji was going through right now, chained up like a dangerous animal. The look in his eyes just before he died, possibly wondering why Naruto hadn't kept his word. Wondering why Naruto allowed this to happen. He was asked to trust him and put his faith in him. All for this. Was his word worth so little? Did Neji put his faith in the wrong person? If only Naruto had done more. If only he had tried harder and taken a different path. If only he hadn't gone into that shrine with Neji. If only he had done as he was told and left when he did. If only he had done better, Neji wouldn't be put to death for his foolish mistake. For his carelessness.

"I'm sorry." It was all his fault. He should have been more attentive. He should have tried harder. He should have done so many things different. Neji didn't deserve this. "I'm sorry, Neji. I'm sorry."

"Naruto!"

He looked up and saw Shikamaru running towards him, waving his arm. Naruto stood up from the bench and turned his back on him.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru's voice was at his back. He was breathing heavily. He must have run this entire way. "Naruto, listen to me."

"Why should I?" Naruto growled. "Putting orders before friends? I can't believe you would actually stoop to killing a friend just because-"

"I didn't do it." Shikamaru saw Naruto's shoulders stiffen. "I didn't kill him. Neji's still alive. I let him go."

Naruto threw his arms around Shikamaru, nearly knocking him over. Then he pulled away, jumping up and down, laughing and slapping him hard on the shoulder.

"I knew it!" he laughed. "I knew you couldn't go through with it! I knew you'd see that it was still him. I knew you wouldn't kill a friend. You had me worried there for a minute. Cutting it close, huh? I was about to slug you."

"Naruto, shut up and listen." Shikamaru held up the piece of paper. "I think I figured it out."

"What, the riddle? I thought you said it didn't give you an answer."

"It doesn't." Shikamaru smoothed out the paper on his leg and held it up for Naruto to see. "Normally a riddle only has one answer. This one has two and they're both right. The riddle was a riddle in and of itself. That's why I couldn't solve it. I was looking for only one answer, but it can be both, just like you said."

"So what's it mean? What's the answer? Or answers?"

Shikamaru pointed. "Right here where it says Dragon's Pearl... I think it means both. A pearl as in the real thing or as in moon."

"Ok... so it has to do with nighttime or something?"

"I was more interested in this part down here. Where it says dragon scales. It could mean music or the real thing. But there's something else I didn't realize until you mentioned that the Dragon Priestess was Chinese. Naruto, what was the name of the mountain you said you found Gaara at?"

"Oh, um... Yáo lán Mountain."

"That's what I thought. And she was Chinese..."

"So what?" Naruto didn't understand any of this.

"Naruto, it turns out that Yáo lán means 'a cradlesong' in Chinese."

"Ah, of course... And that would mean...?"

Shikamaru knew it was wasted on Naruto. He had bouts of genius but he was still an idiot. "Cradlesong is actually an anagram."

"An ani-what?"

"An anagram is when you take the letters of one word and scramble them up to make another word." Shikamaru pointed to the paper. "Yáo lán means 'a cradlesong' in Chinese and that's an anagram for the words 'dragon scales'. In other words, I think the cure you guys are looking for is at Yáo lán Mountain."

"Are you serious?!" Naruto screamed in his ear. "Ah, man! Are you kidding me?! I was just there!" Naruto calmed down for a moment realizing the good news. "So that's where we need to go to get the cure? That's it, right? That's the cure? It's there?"

"If I'm reading this right, then yeah."

"Yes!" Naruto jumped into the air. "Then let's get going!"

Shikamaru grabbed his wrist. "Naruto, there's something else I should mention that I've sort of been keeping from you."

"Yeah, what?"

Shikamaru looked ashamed for a moment. Then he looked at Naruto, eyes completely serious. "Lady Tsunade did send a search party for you when you disappeared. There were reports of a disturbance near that particular mountain. They're heading that way."

"Yeah."

"Isn't that where Gaara is supposed to be?"

Naruto started to understand. "So... so, they're going to that mountain?"

"And they were ordered to eliminate the threat. Naruto, if they find Gaara there, they're going to kill him."

"What?! No, they can't!"

"They don't know it's Gaara. They think it's the creature that kidnapped him. The team's bound to be close to that mountain by now. There's no time to send a message to them either. We have to beat them there and get that cure!"

This good news just became a race against time.

"We have to get going! Quick!"

Shikamaru grabbed his arm again. "Naruto, they've already had a week's head start. We'll never make it in time! We can't fly there."

Naruto started to smile. "No, we can't. But we can get a ride from someone who can. You said you let Neji go, right?"

"Yeah, but who knows where..?"

Screaming alerted them to the commotion down the street. A large scaly creature was bounding up the road, sniffing around for his friends. Neji had found his way to them after all.

"Neji!" Naruto called, waving.

Neji's head picked up. The second he spotted Naruto, he gave a joyous roar and bounded up the street towards them. Neji and Naruto met in front of the stone bench. Naruto leapt up, embracing the dragon's snout and laughing happily while Neji lifted him off the ground, purring and growling with glee.

"Oh, man! I never thought I'd be so happy to see this big scaly face of yours! I'm so glad you're not hurt!"

Neji crooned, nuzzling Naruto's face.

There was no time for a celebration. They had more important matters to deal with.

"Neji, we have to go back to that mountain where we found Gaara. Shikamaru thinks we've found a cure. And we have to get there quick before the group they sent out kills Gaara!"

Shikamaru looked down the road, hearing voices. "We'd better get a move on. I'm sure they've noticed the spectacle and are coming this way right now. I wasn't supposed to let him go. We're all going to be in massive trouble."

"Then what are we standing around here for? Let's go!" Naruto jumped up onto Neji's back, sitting on his long neck. Naruto looked down. "Well?"

"Well what?" Shikamaru frowned.

"Get on!" Naruto pointed to the spot behind him on the dragon's back. "Hurry up!"

Shikamaru took a big step back. "No way. I'm not-"

"I can't do this without you, Shikamaru! Please!"

Shikamaru still had the paper and he was the only one who could figure it out. If they didn't beat the other ninja to that mountain, Naruto would need his help in stopping them.

"Come on, hurry!" Naruto extended his arm down. "Get up here, Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru saw the crowd of people coming their way and knew he had no choice. He reached up, taking the hand offered to him and was pulled onto the dragon's back. He sat behind Naruto, looking around at how high they were from the ground. He looked back and saw the ninja coming toward them brandishing their weapons. They were out of time.

"Let's go, Neji!" Naruto gripped the dragon's horns tightly in both hands, lowering himself to the neck.

Shikamaru looked around, his face draining of its color. "W- wait a minute. Is he going to-?"

Neji shot off like a rocket. With no warning whatsoever, he was in the air, climbing fast. The air pressure nearly knocked Shikamaru off. He screamed, grabbing for anything he could get his hands on. He wrapped his arms tightly around Naruto's waist and hung on for dear life as the dragon rose higher and higher off the ground. Shikamaru dared and looked down. The village was getting smaller and smaller. The sudden climb into the sky had taken his breath away and he started to feel dizzy. The dragon's twisting movements didn't make him feel any better. His lungs sank into his gut while his stomach lurched into his throat. Shikamaru shut his eyes tight, squeezing Naruto around the middle.

Feeling the pressure on his waist, Naruto looked back. Shikamaru had his head buried in his back, eyes shut tight. Shikamaru was hugging him so tightly he could feel his ribs cracking. "Come on! Don't tell me you're afraid of heights!" Naruto called over the wind roaring in their ears.

"No! I'm not afraid of heights! I just don't want to get thrown off!"

"It's not that bad! The ride evens out once he gets high enough."

Shikamaru clung to him tightly. "Easy for you! At least you have something to hold on to! It's not like this ride comes with seat-belts!" Naruto was holding onto the dragon's horns. Shikamaru on the other hand had nothing. The dragon's long body kept twisting and turning and he was too big around for Shikamaru to wrap his hands around. The only thing he had to grab hold of was the dragon's mane and something told him he wouldn't appreciate that. The next best thing he had was Naruto. Besides, if he got thrown off at this height he would surely die and he didn't trust Neji to swoop down and save him in time. If it was a choice between looking like a coward or falling to his death, Shikamaru would much rather cling to Naruto and not care who thought what.

After what seemed like minutes, the ride evened out. He could feel Neji change his position, flattening himself to the horizon. Neji's body wasn't twisting anymore, but his body in flight made Shikamaru feel as if he were riding on a waterbed. It was a smooth, rhythmic ride. Taking a chance, Shikamaru opened his eyes again and looked down. He could no longer see the village. The trees below looked like strokes of a paintbrush. He had never been so high before. Still clinging to Naruto's back, he leaned over to get a better look below. Feeling dizzy from the height, Shikamaru shifted back into his first position.

Then he looked forward. Over Naruto's shoulder, he could see the clouds. It took his breath away. For so long he had dreamed of being among the clouds, so far away from anyone or anything. The stress drained out of him along with his fear. It was as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt free. Free from his duties and free from his stress and free from his battles with everyday life. Up here, no one could yell at him. No one could give him orders or ask him to do things he had no energy to make an effort of. He didn't have to do anything up here. He didn't even have to think. Up here, all he could hear was the wind caressing his face and hair and his sighs of relief. This truly was bliss.

Comfortable, Shikamaru loosened his grip and reached out into the clouds passing by, touching them. He took in a deep breath, finally able to breathe freely. The smooth ride made it easy for him to relax and forget his troubles. Everything seemed so far away. He rested his head on Naruto's back, watching the clouds pass by and enjoyed the ride. If only he could stay up here forever.

"You doing ok back there?" he heard Naruto ask.

"Yeah," he answered lazily. He breathed another contented sigh. "If only I could stay up here forever and never have to do anything ever again. I never have to hear my mom yell at me again or get missions... or have to listen to Ino complain all the time about everything and how stressful it is to go on a diet..."

"Yeah. I like it up here, too." Naruto breathed in the free air. It was wonderful. Riding on the back of a dragon through the fluffy clouds was like a dream.

But this was no time to get sidetracked. Soaring among the clouds almost made him forget about their important mission.

"Hey, Shikamaru."

"Hn?" he mumbled into his back. He could feel Shikamaru's grip growing slack.

"Hey, don't you fall asleep on me!"

Shikamaru lifted his head. "I'm not." He couldn't let himself relax too much on this soothing ride. He had to stay alert.

"So where exactly is this group? They can't be at the mountain yet, can they?"

It was time to get serious. "I have no idea," Shikamaru answered. "They could be there already or they could be close. They were asked to hustle. All I know is that they're going to take the shortest path to get there."

"Ok." Naruto leaned down, touching the side of Neji's neck. "Let's see what we can see, Neji."

The dragon snorted a response and suddenly threw itself into a drive. Shikamaru clung to Naruto again as they drove below the clouds. This land looked familiar to Naruto but not to Shikamaru. Off in the distance they could see the mountain.

"It's up ahead. But I don't see anyone."

While Naruto looked ahead, Shikamaru chose to look down. "Naruto, below us. I see movement."

"Is that them?"

"I don't know. I can't make it out."

"We'll have to get closer to tell. Neji."

The dragon flew lower. Staying above the trees, Naruto and Shikamaru looked at the spec getting larger, moving quickly along the natural dirt path. It was human, for sure, and they were carrying something that looked like a large scroll. Naruto knew who it was once they got even closer.

"Sai!" he shouted. "Hey, Sai!"

The person stopped and turned around, seeing no one behind him.

"Up here!"

He looked up. Sai's pale face turned up to see them. A moment later, he dropped the scroll he had been carrying, his mouth falling open.

"Take us down, Neji."

Neji twisted his long body, coming in for a landing. He settled down right beside Sai and let Naruto do what he needed. Naruto didn't climb down. Still sitting on the dragon's back, he called down to Sai.

"Sai, what are you doing out here? Are you on that special assignment?"

Nothing should have surprised him this much, but seeing a living dragon landing right beside him was enough to make even Sai gasp. He quickly recovered and picked up the fallen scroll. "Yes," he answered calmly. "As part of Anbu, I was asked to assist the ninja going to the mountain. They said my skills and training would be of great help to them."

"Is anyone else from Anbu going there?"

"No. Lady Tsunade asked only me to come along while the others remain behind to protect the village should it be attacked again."

"Again?" Naruto was puzzled.

Shikamaru nudged him. "The whole 'dragon attack' in the street a week ago when he carried you off."

"Oh, that."

Sai was looking at the dragon again. He seemed curious but unafraid. "So what is this, Naruto? A strange summoning?"

"No, this is Neji." Naruto patted the dragon on the horn. "Long story short, I accidentally got him cursed and now he's stuck looking like this until we can get him cured."

Sai took a few steps closer, which Neji allowed. "A curse, you say? I've never heard of a curse like this. I've certainly never seen one. This is interesting."

"No time for that now," Naruto called. "We have to get to that mountain. That creature you guys were assigned to go after isn't an enemy. It's Gaara."

"Gaara?" Sai looked away from the dragon and back at Naruto. "You mean the Sand Village's Kazekage?"

"Yeah, yeah! He ended up getting the same curse put on him, too. But now he's been a dragon too long in isolation so he's forgotten everything. He doesn't remember being human or the Sand Village's leader or any of us or anything. If you guys attack, he'll defend himself and he might end up killing someone. Or all of you."

"Jutsu doesn't work on him, either," added Shikamaru. "None of you guys will stand a chance. Besides, if they succeed in what they were set out to do, they'll end up killing the Kazekage. We can't let that happen."

"I see." Sai looked ahead and then back at the group. "If that's the case, then why not explain it to them? If they don't know they're targeting the Kazekage..."

"No good," Naruto shook his head. "Not everyone's as gullible as you."

"What he means is..." Shikamaru interrupted. "... is that they won't believe us without proof. To make matters worse, if they do happen to believe us about the curse and that being Gaara, they may want to kill him anyway since he can't remember being human. They'll consider him a threat."

Sai nodded. "Which makes perfect sense. Sometimes we've had to kill our own comrades because they were under the influence of an enemy's jutsu and posed a great threat to us and our mission. I can see why they would do that."

"But we can cure him!" Naruto pipped up. "And Neji, too. We just have to get to that mountain and find it. Once we have it, everything will go back to normal. You have to help us."

Sai looked torn for a moment. "I would, but my assignment was to go after the creature and help defeat it. My assignment is to aid the other ninja in their attack."

"But it's Gaara they're attacking! Not some threat!" Naruto yelled.

Shikamaru touched his shoulder, gesturing him to calm down. Then he addressed Sai. "Consider this, Sai. Your primary assignment was to defeat the threat that posed a danger to the Kazekage and to retrieve him, seeing him back home to his village. Correct? That creature those ninja are after is the Kazekage, the one you're supposed to protect. As of right now, they're the threat. They wish to do harm against Gaara. So wouldn't it make more sense to help us help him which would be the best thing for both villages since we were asked to help him and get him back to his village safe and sound? Plus, if we succeed in getting the cure, that would change Gaara back to the way he once was and would no longer be a threat to us or anyone. He'll go back to his village and the Leaf's assignment to rescue and aid the Kazekage would be complete. We'll succeed. This helps everyone."

Sai contemplated this for a moment. Then he nodded, smiling at them. "For the sake of the mission, that would make the most sense. Some pretty sound logic there."

Naruto returned Sai's grin. Shikamaru did a much better job explaining things than Naruto would in such a short amount of time. "So...?"

"Ok, I'll help you," Sai agreed.

"Yes! Alright!" Naruto cheered. "Now we don't have much time."

"He's right." Shikamaru looked ahead toward the mountain. "Where are the other ninja?"

"They've gone on ahead." Sai pointed toward the mountain. "What should I do?" He was willing to help but wasn't sure how to go about it without looking like a traitor.

"Just try to stall them as much as you can," Naruto told him. "Try to keep them from hurting Gaara until we find the cure for him. We can't let them kill him or Neji."

"Understood."

"Come on," said Shikamaru. "You'll get there faster with us. Get on."

Neji was already rising off the ground. Sai quickly jumped up grabbing onto Neji's arm. Sai held on with one hand as Neji took them over the trees toward the mountain. As they passed the narrow river, they heard voices calling loudly from up ahead. They could see the other ninja getting ready for an attack. Sai let go and started running the moment he hit the ground.

"I'll see what I can do to stall them," he called, running toward the mountain with his scroll.

"Good luck, Sai. Thanks." Naruto patted Neji, telling him to move ahead. He changed directions, flying toward the charred land ahead.

As soon as they got close, Neji started to get uneasy. Naruto and Shikamaru could feel him vibrating. Naruto tried to calm him but it was useless. Neji knew what was ahead and was getting into attack mode.

"Does that riddle say anything about where the cure is?" Naruto asked Shikamaru.

"No idea. All it's giving me is the location. But it's got to be somewhere. Maybe it's only visible at night under a moon."

Naruto looked at the sky. "Nightfall is hours away. We can't wait that long."

"Just fly around the mountain. Let's see if we can find some clues."

"Ok. Let's go, Neji!"

Neji roared and turned his body, moving closer to the mountain. As they approached, Neji began to snarl. Something was wrong. Nearing the mountain, Neji suddenly stopped in midair and tried to change his course.

"What's wrong, Neji?" Naruto couldn't sense the danger until it was too late.

Something huge and red came from the cracks in the mountain and attacked. Roaring, the red dragon shot his molten-like flame at them, leaping from its hiding place. Neji twisted in the air to avoid it. Shikamaru was nearly thrown off, grabbing Naruto's jacket to steady himself.

"That thing is Gaara?!" he gasped.

"Yup. That's him alright."

The red dragon thundered, preparing for another attack. Something from below distracted him and he changed targets, firing at the ninja on the ground.

Now Naruto got a good look at the situation. The group of ninja on the ground started their attack the moment Gaara leapt from the mountain. They were firing anything they had, jutsu and weapons alike. Gaara changed targets, attacking the ninja who had entered his territory. Gaara swooped down and slashed at the men throwing their knives and spears at him.

"Gaara, don't!" Naruto tried but it was pointless. Gaara was too far gone. He didn't know who he was attacking. In his eyes, these ninja were the enemy. He had every right to defend himself.

"Forget him," Shikamaru said. "We have to concentrate on finding that cure first. Then we can worry about him."

Shikamaru had a valid point. There was nothing they could do right now. The cure came first. Then everything would fall into place.

Naruto patted Neji's head. "Let's go, Neji."

He wasn't budging. He kept his eye on the red dragon, itching for a fight.

"Neji!" Naruto called loudly. Neji turned, finally listening to him. "Let's go and find that cure, Neji."

The dragon turned away heading toward the mountain. The red dragon would have to wait.

Below, the red dragon had landed to be as close as possible to the ninja. His fire wasn't enough to keep them at bay. Some knew water-style techniques and were able to douse his fire quite easily. Their weapons were useless but his claws were not. He slashed at them with everything he had. He managed to cut one across the chest, tearing right through his vest and into his lung. He tossed the man aside and aimed for another. It was a mortal wound but thankfully there were medical ninja there who could help.

Gaara roared, sending a warning to all who dared come closer. The ninja didn't back down. They came at him from all sides with chains and ropes. If they could pin him down they had a chance. One managed to snag his left leg and pull him down. As Gaara turned to snap the chain another found its way around his neck. He was pulled down. Two ninja came at him with pegs and another came with a sword and another with a mace. Gaara pulled against his chains. Another chain was wrapped tightly around his muzzle.

"Get it! Bring it down! Kill it!" they screamed. As the ninja with the pegs got closer, something tripped them on the ground. The ninja carrying the sword stumbled, something wrapping around his ankles. "What the hell was that?"

"Sorry!"

They turned around and saw Sai kneeling nearby with his scroll out and a brush in his hand. The ink snakes slithered away, their job done.

"I was aiming for the dragon!" he called out to them. "It was a trap you tripped. Sorry about that."

This gave Gaara enough time to pull himself free. Still holding onto the chain, one ninja was sent flying into the air as Gaara bucked his head. The man was toss aside into a comrade.

Sai watched from the sidelines. He was beginning to wonder if Gaara truly needed his help. It seemed from where he stood that they were the ones in trouble. Gaara could easily tear them apart and burn the flesh off their bones. But if the ninja managed to get Gaara on the ground and pin him down they would go straight for the kill. He had to do his best to keep that from happening while protecting his fellow ninja.

Now we get into a big battle with dragons. Yay!

Please review! ^-^