Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Naruto had never been one for fancy words. He constantly failed essay writing in school and could barely keep up with Kiba in class. And even that was a miracle for him. He preferred to tell things like they were. He liked to keep things simple.

While he wasn't exactly great at writing, he sure as hell could make a speech. He could talk-no-jutsu the shit out of people. And as Hokage, he would have to take aside his subordinates and lift their spirits up. It was his job. His duty. And he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it.

So the question he constantly asked himself was this: who would be there to lift his spirit up?

And time and time again, the beautiful Hyūga girl would remind him that she was there for him. That his life was not his own. Time and time again, she would show her love for him. In her eyes, he could see forever.

He pressed his feet deep into the ground and kept running. Even in sage mode, it seemed he couldn't go fast enough. He was sure he had cut his time in half by speeding through the forest, but it just felt like he was being torn further apart from Hinata. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to reach her.

He ground his teeth together.

Hinata.

"I won't let you lay another finger on Naruto!"

The same girl who had risked her life to save his on countless occasions.

"What are you doing here!?"

The same woman who had stayed by his side, even when he wasn't looking.

"Get out of here!"

She was his friend.

"You're no match for—"

His lover.

"I know."

His wife.

"I'm just being selfish..."

But Hinata had never been selfish.

"What're you talking about!? What're you doing here!? It's dangerous!"

Not in Naruto's eyes.

"I'm here of my own free will."

She was pure and good.

"I used to cry and always give up..."

Kind and generous.

"I nearly went the wrong way..."

She was everything he wasn't.

"But you..."

And she was everything he was.

"You showed me the right way..."

Hinata was his light during times of darkness.

"I was always chasing you..."

She was his beacon of hope.

"...wanting to overtake you..."

Oh, but she already had. She had complete control over his mind, body, and soul.

"I just wanted to talk with you..."

She was his.

"I wanted to be with you."

And he was hers.

"You changed me!"

But she had changed him.

"Your smile saved me!"

And her smile saved him.

Naruto tried to keep the memory away, but it pushed forward to the front of his mind. How she jumped out to save him from Pain, standing in front of him, never taking her eyes away from her possible death...all the while telling him just how much she loved him. And then immediately proving it over and over again, no matter how much torture she had to go through.

She was the light to his darkness. She gave him courage and support when no one else could. She was the love he always had but never acknowledged until it was almost too late. Almost too late...

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

Hinata had been willing to sacrifice herself for him. She didn't care what she had to do to protect him.

And Naruto...

Naruto would do the same.

He pounded his feet into the ground, pushing himself as hard as he could go. He wouldn't stop. He wouldn't rest. Not until he caught up with Team Seven. And then...

"So I'm not afraid to die protecting you!"

He would tear whoever hurt her to shreds.

"Because I love you."

Now and forever.

"Thanks for coming, Tsunade-sama," Ino sighed, watching as the fifth stitched up Kiba's leg. "You saved our asses."

Tsunade rolled her eyes and held out her hand for another needle. Shizune gave it to her without a second thought.

When Tsunade had woken up that morning, she had no idea what the hell was going on. Some idiot of a nurse was babbling his head off at the foot of her bed and kept skirting around the gritty details. The gist of what she got was that Kiba and Shino were dying and needed her help. The next thing she knew, she was at the hospital, staring at the near lifeless bodies of two of Konoha's shinobi while Ino tried her hardest to keep them breathing.

"You should have called sooner," the blonde replied, digging deep into Kiba's skin with the needle. "They could be up and walking by now, if you had."

"Well, I was a little busy," Ino laughed uneasily, snapping Shino's leg back in place. The bone cracked under her fingers. "Can't do much with your fingers in a body."

Tsunade huffed irritatedly. "When is Sakura coming back?"

Ino sweat dropped. "Right to the point, huh?" She sighed and waited for Haruhi to finish wiping her sweaty forehead with a towel. "She's going after the guys that did this to Shino and Kiba."

Tsunade frowned. "So you're in charge?"

Ino's sweat drop went further down. Obviously, Tsunade was not pleased by this news. And if Sakura had to leave Konoha, Tsunade would be even less pleased. But Ino wasn't going to complain.

She had to admit, Sakura was the better medic nin.

She would admit that any day.

But she would be damned if anyone told her she didn't work as hard.

"For now," Ino confirmed, sucking away the excess blood.

"Hn," Tsunade hummed with a grin. "Ah, well." She clasped Kiba's wound shut with one final stitch. "Good luck!"

Ino stared at Tsunade. She had heard from Sakura how much of a hard ass the woman could be. All of those grueling hours training under the mad woman. Often times, Sakura would go hang out with Ino right after a session, managing only a polite, "Hello," before nodding off to sleep on her couch.

Besides, Ino had experienced her temper first hand. Seeing Tsunade in such a calm state was a surprise to her. She figured the blonde would be a little irritated at having Ino take over the hospital for the time being.

But then Tsunade's grin turned into a smirk. "...You're gonna need it."

"Thanks," Ino laughed uncomfortably, "But Sakura should be back right after they find Hinata. I won't be in charge for much longer."

Tsunade nodded. While Ino was an excellent kunoichi, Tsunade did not trust anyone other than Sakura to run her hospital. She had passed the torch along to her disciple for a reason.

She looked closer at the bruises beneath her fingers. Whoever had made these marks on their bodies thoroughly enjoyed bloodshed. The way their wounds had been ripped open by bare hands and not a weapon was a sure sign of it...

Tsunade frowned. "These marks..." She glanced at the bruises along Kiba's leg. "They're fingerprints."

"A direct attack?"

Tsunade's brow furrowed. "Ino…"

She leaned in, hovering over Kiba's body in interest. Had it been just fifteen minutes before, Tsunade wouldn't have dared pause in her healing process. Now that Shino and Kiba were in the clear for a full recovery, she could take her time examining them properly.

"Whoever did this knew what they were doing," Tsunade said, "Obviously a ninja...but this was someone who did it for pleasure."

"I don't get it," Ino muttered. She looked at Shino sadly. "Who enjoys this shit?"

"Someone very sick," Tsunade replied, pressing a towel to take away some of the bleeding. "I haven't seen markings like these since..."

Tsunade had to stop herself. Orochimaru was gone. Long gone. And besides, his signature was the scalpel. This person preferred a hands on tactic. No, it couldn't have been Orochimaru...

"Should we be worried?" Ino asked. "I mean, Team Seven is strong, but—"

"Sakura is my student," Tsunade said tensely, "They'll be fine."

Ino bit her lower lip, healing Shino's chest. She couldn't suppress her concern. She was sure Sakura would be fine, but what about Hinata? After dealing with Shino and Kiba, as well as sending Akamaru to the village vet, she had some serious doubts as to whether or not Hinata was alive.

"You don't think Hinata will be held for ransom, do you?" Ino asked.

"It's a possibility," Tsunade contemplated. "But do you really think that Naruto will let that happen?"

Ino shook her head. "I don't even want to think of how he's holding up."

Tsunade laughed bitterly. "He isn't."

Tsunade's answer was short. But those two words held a world of pain. Ino hated to think of her friends going through something so horrible. But even more than that, she wanted Hinata and Naruto to be okay.

"That's why we need to heal these two as soon as possible," Tsunade said quietly.

Ino blinked back tears as her fingers pushed through veins to get at the infection in Shino's arm. Right. She had to focus on what she was doing. She needed to heal Shino.

And then maybe he could tell them what the hell was going on.

Sakura couldn't go fast enough. Of course, she was keeping up just fine with the rest of Team Seven as they sped through the trees. But still, Sakura felt she couldn't go fast enough. Each push she did was never strong enough, each jump she did was never high enough—it just wasn't enough for her. She wanted to get to the edge of Tsuchi no Kuni.

Sakura didn't dare turn her head to look back at the irritated Uchiha. It was bad enough that their planned "arrangement" had been postponed due to another mission, but now...

Now they had to go and meet up with the old Team Taka. While she was positive he looked forward to seeing Suigetsu and Jūgo again, the third member he probably wasn't so keen on seeing.

Sakura had to admit, she wasn't too excited to see Karin either.

She shook her head. She couldn't think of that right now. She had to focus at the task at hand. Just one foot in front of the other. One tree after the next.

"We won't be stopping tonight," Kakashi called from her left, "We need to keep going until we meet up with Gai and the others."

"Gai-sensei?" Sakura asked, perplexed. "Why is he there?"

"He's been monitoring their progress for a while now," he answered, leaping into a branch and shoving off of it just as quickly, "Apparently they're a good fit."

Sai raised an eyebrow. "A good fit?"

"Ah," Kakashi replied, "Something about Gai's eccentricity meshing well with theirs...?" He glanced over to Sai. "Apparently Gai even got Suigetsu to wear the green jumpsuit."

Both Sakura and Sasuke tried to hold back their shudders.

"It is rather fashionable," Sai said cheerfully. He glanced back to Sasuke. "I'm sure you're excited to see Karin-chan!"

Again, both Sakura and Sasuke tried to hold back their shudders.

"Why have they been stationed at the border?" Sakura asked lightly.

"They're watching over some bridge builders," Kakashi replied. "Kind of nostalgic, huh?"

Sakura smiled to herself. Their first real mission.

"Nostalgic?" Sai asked.

No one answered him. Too lost in memory lane, Sakura smiled gently. It was the first of many times Sasuke had put his life on the line for her. And it was the first of many times Naruto had put his life on the line for her.

Right from the beginning, Naruto had been there for her. Supporting her nonstop, no matter what the cost. Her dreams became a reality because Naruto helped. And she was sure as hell his dreams became a reality because Sakura helped. Their relationship was constantly growing and changing. Hinata becoming his wife didn't hinder their love for each other.

It strengthened it.

And Sakura knew she had to do everything in her power to find Hinata. If she was injured or worse, it was Sakura's duty to make sure Hinata came out all right.

She narrowed her eyes.

Hinata would be all right.

She would make sure of it.

"Are you shitting me?" Shikamaru asked, pressing his forefinger and thumb to the bridge of his nose. "You left a clone to substitute as Hokage?"

The clone of Naruto grinned cheekily at his subordinate. "Pretty smart, yeah?" He placed a hand on his hip decidedly. "No one will know the difference!"

"Pretty dumb, you mean!" Shikamaru growled. "You can't just run off and save Hinata."

Naruto frowned. "Why the hell not?"

"Because you're the Hokage!" Shikamaru snapped, "It takes paperwork and guards for you to leave the village!" He felt a migraine coming on. "This is so troublesome...oh man..."

He let his head sink to his desk, wishing that he could go away. Far away. Like his favorite hill where he watched the clouds pass by. Or maybe he could just go off to dreamland and pretend this wasn't actually happening.

"That's why I left a shadow clone here," Naruto said happily. "So I can do all of the work before Naruto comes back." He gave Shikamaru a thumbs up. "No one will ever know."

"I know," Shikamaru moaned, "And I don't even want to know." He glanced up at the clone. "How long ago did you leave?"

Naruto looked up at the ceiling and crossed his arms in thought. "Yesterday."

Shikamaru sighed. "I just hope Naruto hurries his ass up. A village with the Hokage missing is screwed."

Naruto nodded. "That's why I'm here!"

Shikamaru smacked his head on his desk repeatedly. Why, oh why did he have to get involved? He understood Naruto's desire to save his wife—hell, he'd do the same if he were in Naruto's position. And with any other Hokage, Shikamaru would probably be reminding them how selfish this decision was. But with Naruto...

"I have a feeling that you're going to protect both the village and Hinata, aren't you?" Shikamaru sighed.

Naruto grinned. "Ah."

That knuckle-headed ninja had no problem knowing where he was needed at all times. It was one of his special talents. Something Shikamaru really admired about that guy. He knew there was no way he could talk Naruto out of doing something he had already set his mind to.

"So troublesome..."

A knocking came from the door, drawing both of their attention away from each other.

"I'll be back later to get your paperwork," Naruto said with a wave, walking away, "Just make sure you keep this a secret!"

"Secrets," Shikamaru repeated, "Secrets are going to be my downfall."

Naruto opened the door up and smiled gently at a very angry and pregnant Temari. She glared up at him.

"I'm not going to yell at you because your wife is missing," she hissed, "But did you have to send Sakura?"

Shikamaru frowned and stood up from his swivel chair. "What's wrong?" He took a step toward her out of worry. "The baby?"

"No," she snapped, "It's me." She looked at Naruto. "Leave me and the strategist alone for a second, will you?"

Naruto laughed uneasily and held his hands up in surrender. "O-Of course..."

Temari waited for the door to slam behind her before she stomped her way over to Shikamaru. He gulped nervously and backed up into the wall. He had already dealt with one major issue that day. He didn't need his wife bringing yet another to the table.

"I have been waiting to have sex with you for a good month now," Temari seethed, "And you keep saying, 'Wait until Sakura comes back and gives us the okay.'" She ground her teeth. "I am hormonal, temperamental and horny as fuck."

Shikamaru sighed. First the Hokage, and now Temari...this just wasn't his day.

"Look," he started to say, "It's been a long day and—"

"We haven't had sex in weeks," Temari said. "And it's like you're afraid to touch me." She frowned at him. "I'm still the same person I was before I was pregnant."

He scratched his head tiredly. "I know, but—"

"But what?" Temari asked impatiently.

Shikamaru smiled gently at her and pulled her close. "I don't want to do anything that could jeopardize our baby." He slid down to his knees so he could press his ear to her stomach. "I want to wait until Sakura tells us it's okay."

Temari huffed. "I can't exactly stay mad at you when you're just concerned for our little one..." She smiled down at him. "Okay. We'll wait."

Shikamaru closed his eyes.

"Arigatou."

"But as soon as she says it's okay," Temari pressed, "I'm fucking your brains out."

Shikamaru sweat dropped.

"H-Hai..."