Hello my peeps! What's up? So, happy belated (very) Thanksgiving! Hope you guys have fun xD. Anyways, thanks to Shikamaru'sLove for reviewing! You're awesome! And update your stories! ;)

"All my agony fades away

When you hold me in your embrace

Don't tear me down, for all I need

Make my heart a better place

Give me something I can believe, don't tear me down

You've opened the door now, don't let it close."

All I Need, Within Temptation

Chapter 25

Sky's POV

"Are we there yet?" Naruto whined, hanging his head. I sighed and looked over my shoulder at him.

"We'll get there when we get there." We had been walking for a day or two now and we were far away from Konoha. I hoped we would get there soon. Partially because I was excited about the mission and partially because I was tired of listening to Naruto complain.

"Kakashi-Sensei," Sakura said, "Aren't we supposed to get at the rendezvous point at a specific time?" Kakashi didn't answer immediately but rather continued looking at the map then looking around at the surrounding land. We were following a dirt path through the trees. The trees, like most in Konoha, were huge. The branches stretched out like the fingers on a hand and created a homemade canopy. Ahead, the path broke through the forest and into an open land.

"Yes, Sakura," Kakashi finally said, "It should be right up here."

"Whoo-hoo!" Naruto yelled and bolted ahead.

"Oi! Don't go too far ahead Naruto!" I yelled, not wanting to have to search for him if he got lost. He didn't answer but kept running. I sighed and shivered slightly. The weather was growing colder, winter wasn't far off. The shade from the canopy wasn't helping any. We picked up our pace and soon caught up to Naruto. He was standing at the base of a huge bridge stretching across a river. The water roared loudly under the bridge and over rocks off into the distance.

"Where's the Mizukage's daughter?" Sasuke asked, scanning the far bank.

"Yeah, shouldn't they be here?" I added, jumping up onto the rail of the bridge, stretching out my hands.

"They'll be here, we just have to wait," Kakashi said then noticed me, "Sky, be careful." I smiled at him.

"Relax. I do this stuff all the time." I put one foot in front of the other and walked across the railing. I felt Sasuke's eyes on me and glanced over at him watching me closely. I smiled at him faintly then turned away and jumped across to the other railing. I landed in a crouch and peered into the rushing water. Foam sprayed up at my face, sprinkling my cheeks with droplets of water. After a few minutes, I heard the sounds of hooves on gravel. From my spot on the railing, I saw a small carriage being pulled by two horses. As it approached, I noticed a door on one side and next to it a small window. I couldn't see inside, but I assumed that the daughter of the Mizukage was inside.

"I'm guessing that's them," I said, rising to get a better look. At the base of the carriage was a platform with a seat where the driver sat. He was chubby and had a beard and was mostly bald aside for the sides and back of his head.

"Sorry we're late," The driver said, pulling the horses to a halt.

"It's fine," Kakashi replied, "I'm Kakashi Hakate. This is Sky Raikai—"He gestured to me—"Naruto Uzumaki—"

"What's up?" Naruto said, grinning.

"—Sasuke Uchiha," Kakashi continued, "And Sakura Haruno." Sakura and I waved whereas Sasuke just watched him. The driver nodded.

"Good, good. I'm assuming that you're the ninja from Konoha?" Kakashi nodded.

"Ah, well then, I'm Tanu, Princess Cassandra's personal chauffer." While Kakashi and Tanu talked, I wondered to the side of the carriage. The curtain to the window was drawn open quickly and I jumped. Inside was a girl of about 18, watching me from inside. Uncertain of what to do, I just smiled and waved. She didn't smile back, or do anything for that matter. From what I could see of her clothing, she was wearing a dark green dress that dipped into a V. Dangling from her neck was a pale blue/grey necklace. I'm assuming that was the necklace Tsunade had mentioned. Her dark hair flowed past her shoulders and hung at the middle of her back. Two strands at her face were braided and pulled back then pinned together at the back of her head. I studied her a few more minutes and she studied me, then I turned and strode over to Sasuke. I leaned over and whispered, "She doesn't like to talk much. I hope she's not snobby." The Uchiha smirked.

"Aren't most princess' snobby?" I stepped back and crossed my arms.

"I'm not snobby!" The boy hung his head and sighed, his eyes lifting to look at me.

"I didn't mean you, geez." I allowed myself a small smile then scanned the field for Naruto, hoping he hadn't wondered off. I saw him crouched on the ground looking at something.

"Bird make a face at you again?" I called over to him. He looked up and grinned.

"No, but check this out." He picked something up and jogged over. As he drew near, I realized that cupped in his hands was a frog. Naruto stopped by me and Sasuke and showed us the frog. Sakura shrieked at the sight and jumped back. I flashed her look (I mean really, who couldn't like frogs?). I generally reached out and stroked the frogs head with my index finger. Its skin was rough and somewhat bumpy. It remained frozen as it watched us.

"You know," I said, "When a frogs get scared they pee." Both boys looked at me oddly; Sasuke's finger froze on the frogs head.

"Ewww," Sakura commented, scrunching up her face, "I'd wash your hands Naruto." Said boy made a face and shoved the frog at Sasuke then dashed off to the river. He yelped slightly at the cold. I grinned and went back to stroking the frog.

"How can you touch that thing?" Sakura asked disgustedly.

"Oi! Frogs are awesome!" I said defensively, and then looked at Sasuke, "Right Sasuke?"

"Yeah sure." He said, and then set the frog down on the ground.

"Bye frog," I called as it hopped away.

"You're not gonna name it?" Sasuke asked, amusement in his eyes. Sakura raised an eyebrow in question.

"Sky likes naming things," Naruto said, walking up and seeing Sakura's puzzled face, "Like Bob." Sakura gave me a weird look. Before I could say anything thought Kakashi called over to us, "Alright, let's go guys."

"Finally!" Naruto exclaimed. Kakashi had Sasuke and I walk alongside the left side of the carriage while himself, Naruto and Sakura walk alongside the right. With that, we started off towards the Village Hidden in the Mist.

For a while, we walked in silence. The road we were following continued as far as the eye could see on open land. This made me somewhat nervous, since we had no cover in case someone ambushed. But then, the same went for the enemies. The grass came up to my shins and swayed in the cool breeze. The sun shone brightly but didn't provide any warmth against the cold weather. Butterflies chased each other, spiraling around each other. A few leaves were changing from green to vibrant red, gold and yellow. Squirrels scurried about, stuffing acorns into their cheeks and running back to their dens. All in all, it was a beautiful day. Turning, I smiled at Sasuke. He looked up from kicking a rick and smiled back. The seat Tanu was sitting on creaked as he shifted his weight then cleared his throat.

"Kakashi mentioned that you are part of the Raikai Clan, am I correct?" He asked, briefly glancing at me before watching the road. I nodded. "Yeah that's right."

"I had heard that there was a still a member of the Uchiha, but I thought that the Raikai Clan was gone forever." I shrugged and rubbed my left arm.

"Yeah, it's just me and my Mom thanks to the Hokages," I said, bitterness tainting my voice. Sasuke tched in agreement. He hated what happened to my Clan as much as his own. The carriage driver looked at us both.

"Ah yes, I remember that," He said, lashing the reins once to urge the horses, "That was a great tragedy. I am terribly sorry for your loss, you and Sasuke both—" He looked at Sasuke briefly—" The Uchiha and Raikai Clans will be remembered but luckily not gone." He smiled knowingly at us. Did he think Sasuke and I liked each other? Which, we did, but he certainly didn't need to know that. Sasuke and I exchanged looks. I mouthed, 'Do you think he knows?' The boy shrugged and mouthed back, 'I dunno, he better not.' I smirked then turned back to the carriage driver.

"Thanks." Tanu nodded his acknowledgement then said:

"What happened though? News of you disappearance was very puzzling." I blinked, surprised. My disappearance reached the other villages?

"I…..ah, was kidnapped….so to speak," I said, not really knowing how to put it.

"Yes of course, but by whom?" Tanu inquired. He was like a five year old finding a fake treasure map.

"I don't know actually," I replied, which I didn't, "I never found out." Tanu's shoulders seemed to droop.

"Ah, shame. Then how did you find your teammates?"

"I didn't. They found me," I said, remembering how they broke into my house. I glanced back at Sasuke and found him smirking.

"Did they now?" Tanu said, "And how did they do that?"
"Uhhh….let's see…how to put it…," I said, at a lost. I mean, I couldn't tell him I was from a different place entirely.

"We found her wondering around the close to the border of Konoha," Sasuke put in, saving me. I mouthed my thanks at Sasuke. He just put his hands in his pockets. Tanu smiled from where he sat.

"Liked wondering around did you?"

"Yup!" I said. It was true, I really did. Especially without a map. It just made it more interesting.

"What about you and Sasuke?" The driver asked. Both me and Sasuke looked at him.

"What about me and Sasuke?" I asked. The raven haired boy crossed his arms, watching Tanu, obviously curious as to what he'd say.

"You to seem close." Was all he would say.

"Yeah," I said quietly, "We've been through a lot." Tanu glanced at me at the quietness of my voice. The drive didn't ask any more questions and we walked in silence once more.

A few days later:

A few days later and we emerged from the mist to stand at the gates to the village. Nothing exciting happened during the journey here. Well, occasionally, we would catch a glimpse of something, possibly ninja, but it would be gone before we could figure out what it was. There was no ambush, so I'm assuming it was just an animal or something. Surprisingly, Naruto had coaxed the princess into talking on our second day on the journey. She told us about life as a princess and other things while Naruto and the rest of us told her about a few of our adventures. Except the one where we went to rescue Sasuke. To awkward. Anyway, she was actually pretty nice. Sure, she had her moments but all in all, a nice girl. As we walked into the village by the carriage, a few people stopped and watched us. A few whispering others just staring. It was a little weird. We traversed the streets until, towards the back of the village, we stopped at a huge house. Stairs led up to the big double doors. On the second floor there was a balcony held up by two pillars on the left and right corners.

grass was a vibrant green and by the stairs were lots of flowers and plants. The side door on the carriage swung open and Sasuke and I stepped back to avoid being hit. Cassandra stepped out and for the first time I saw her full outfit. The dress went to her ankles and brushed the ground slightly but didn't drag. Her long sleeves opened up at the wrist. Warily, I noticed that the sleeve was big enough to hold a dagger. The seams along the side of her body were done in a gold thread. She smiled briefly at me and Sasuke and we started towards the house. Me, Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi followed behind her. As we walked up the steps, Tanu lashed the reins and the carriage went around back, I'm assuming to a stable. Cassandra pushed open the doors and we walked into the house. The room we were in was huge. It was obviously the main one. The floor was marble with a huge carpet in the center. On the carpet were chairs, couches and a big coffee table. On the far side of the room was a stair case leading to the second floor. At the top was a balcony looking out over the room we were in. To our left and right were big hallways leading to various parts of the house. The furniture was velvet and very expensive looking.

"Whoa…." Naruto said, looking around.

"Whoa indeed," I said, gaping at the hugeness. Footsteps echoed in the room and I looked around for the source. A man garbed in royal robs walked up to us. He smiled when he saw Cassandra and opened his arms in a hug.

"Cassandra," He said, pride in his voice. The princess smiled and ran up to him, hugging him.

"Daddy," She said. They stepped apart and the man started towards us.

"Ah, you must be the ninja from Konoha," He said, addressing Kakashi. Our Sensei nodded

"You must be Nidaime," Kakashi said, watching him. The Mizukage nodded and ran his eyes over us, as if evaluating our skill. Kakashi introduced us like he did with Tanu and Nidaime nodded, his eyes lingering on me. A few minutes later and Cassandra's Mother joined us.

"Honey, why don't you show them around the house while we talk with Kakashi," She said to Cassandra. The princess nodded and gestured for us to follow her.

"Come," She said, walking down a hallway. We followed and she gave us a full tour. Downstairs was a kitchen (a very big one), dining room, library and the servants quarters, which had its own small kitchen, restrooms and bedrooms. There were separate quarters for the maids and man-servants. Next, the Mizukage's daughter took us upstairs. Mainly all that was up there were the bedrooms for Cassandra's parents, her own bedroom, her siblings and the spare ones. Then she took us back to the balcony that looked out over where we entered. There was a window much like the one in the Hokage's Office back at Konoha. It looked out on the backyard, which was huge. A mile or two away was the stable, which had a dirt path leading from it to the front of the house. The rest of the yard was a garden. There was a small stone path lined by hedges leading from the house to a circle with a fountain in the middle. The rest of the garden was covered with various plants, flowers and trees. A stone patio was by the house with a table, chairs and benches.

"It's beautiful," Sakura said.

"It is, isn't it?" Cassandra agreed, joining us by the window. Once we were done admiring the garden, the princess showed us to where we would be staying. Our rooms were the size of a master and had their own bathrooms, which was awesome. I walked into my room and flopped onto the red, sighing contentedly. I was tired after the journey.

"Dinner is at six o'clock," Cassandra told me, "My Father wishes that you would join us."

"Ok," I told her. Cassandra then left us to do what we wanted. I sat up on the bed and looked around the room. In front me was the entryway to the bathroom and closet, also of master bedroom size. On the opposite wall of the bed was a dresser. The wood was a dark, almost black, color with a hint of red. It had an antique look to it, suggesting that it had been passed down through generations. Why you would pass down a dresser was beyond me. I stood and walked over to the far wall where there was a window. I pulled back the curtain and looked out upon the backyard again. By the stables, I could just make out horses roaming about in the pasture. Some walking, others rolling on their backs, others grazing. Hearing feet on tile, I whirled tensing. My hand flew to my weapon pouch, fingers wrapping around the handle of a kunai. I relaxed as a little girl—maybe six—looked at me from the bathroom, a confused and curious look on her face.

"Who're you?" She asked, not moving.

"I'm Sky, I said, walking over, "I'm part of the ninja from Konoha."

"Oh," The girl said, "Well my names Trianna." I smiled and slipped my hands into my pockets.
"Nice to meet you." Trianna nodded and looked around the room. "Have you seen a black cat? I can't find him." I shook my head, going through my tour of the house in my head.

"No, but if I find him I'll let you know." The girl smiled and nodded then skipped out of the room. Once she had gone, I quietly shut my room then strode to the bed, suddenly tired. I lied down on top of the covers and closed my eyes, sighing.

I felt someone shake my shoulder and moved the hand away then rolled onto my side. I just went to sleep, couldn't people leave me alone? The person, whoever it was, persisted. They shook my shoulder and prodded my sides. Faintly, I heard someone sigh in exasperation. The bed shifted as someone crawled onto the bed. A minute later and I felt a pillow smack my face. With a growl, I opened my eyes.
"What?" I snapped. I was about to give them the what for but stopped as I realized it was Sasuke.

"It's time for dinner," He said, setting the pillow down and jumping off the bed. Did I seriously sleep that long?

"Already? How long have I been asleep?" I asked, following suit and standing next to him.

"An hour and a half." Sasuke looked at me then frowned and pointed a finger at my head. "Your hair is messy." Quickly, I combed my fingers through my hair.

"Better?" The Uchiha nodded and we went down stairs. A few minutes of wondering the halls led us to the dining room. The table was long and probably could seat at least twenty people. But now, it was only the Mizukage and his wife, Cassandra, a boy about Cassandra's age I didn't recognize, Trianna and the rest of Team 7. I sat between Sakura and Sasuke with Naruto and Kakashi across from us. A big ham sat on a platter in front of me. To the left was a bowl of….something gooey and to the right was a bowl of rice. There was also some garlic bread, various vegetables, dumpling and tea. I grinned and started to put food onto my plate, as did everyone else.

During dinner, we talked about lots of things. One of which was my Clan. Again. The Mizukage's wife was very interested so I told her what I told Tanu. We also told her about some of our travels. She was very impressed that Naruto and Sasuke carried me through the blizzard on the journey to the Alakar Mountains. She asked the usual questions like 'wasn't it cold?' and 'weren't you scared?' To which the boys replied, 'Duh,' and 'Nah, *pause* well….' Sakura of course was impressed to but I could tell she was jealous that Sasuke cared for me as much as he did. Then the conversation drifted to the Full Moon Ball. Neither me, Sasuke, Sakura or Naruto really talked much through that one. It was mainly Kakashi and the Mizukage discussing various strategies. During all of this, I found out that the boy I hadn't recognized was Cassandra's brother, Ichigo. He was nice and had a good personality, although very sarcastic.

After dinner we all went up stairs to our rooms. I went to my room and shut the door, but since I had taken a nap, I wasn't really tired. So, I opened the window and climbed up onto the roof. I found a good spot and brought my knees to my chest and watched the stars. The sky was clear and they twinkled with their small radiance. The moon was almost full and bathed the house in its pale light. The wind blew gently and played with my hair. I closed my eyes, enjoying its feel on my skin. The wind was cold, but I didn't mind. I don't know how long I sat there, but soon, I heard footsteps walking towards me. I looked up and was surprised to see Sakura.

"Oh….hi Sakura," I said, "What're you doing up here?" The pink haired girl sat next to me and shrugged.

"I dunno. Couldn't sleep I guess." I nodded.

"So, what's up?" She didn't answer for a few minutes then she said:

"You like Sasuke don't you?" I considered lying, but what would be the point? She would find out soon enough. I looked at the moon as I thought about how to reply.

"Yeah," I said, fixing my violet eyes on her, "I do." To my surprise, Sakura actually smiled. I raised an eyebrow although she probably couldn't see it.

"Why are you smiling? I thought…." I trailed off, uncertain as to whether I should finish.

"That I would be mad?" She laughed, "No. As long as Sasuke's happy I'm happy." I stared at her for a moment then smiled.

"Good." With that, we both went back inside the house. I climbed back into my window and onto my bed. Pulling back the covers, I crawled beneath them and closed my eyes. Even though I was perfectly content and happy at that moment, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen tomorrow.

A/N: Heyy! Sorry for the late update! I couldn't figure out how I wanted to write this chapter *sweatdrop* Hehe anyways, again, thanks to Shikamaru'sLove for reviewing! Your awesome;) and review!