Hello, again.

Now, I'd like to say that I'm sorry if you didn't expect this, but it ended up seemingly like a good idea to me. Harpy-Sakura isn't quite so gone as expected.

Perspective: Dash, Sakura/Sunset

Don't own MLP or Naruto, by the way.

Deliver Us!

"Dear Kami...please give me strength." Dash couldn't help but say when he saw the state of the country he found himself in on a random run, Nami no Kuni.

The fishing nation was once prosperous, but now it was beyond destitute as far as the rainbow-haired boy was concerned. A good many clothes were close to rags, hunger and sadness were rampant, and good, innocent people were left to crime to even remotely survive. All in all, it was a picture that Dash was going to get Ino or her father to get rid of the first chance he got.

And from his spot on a rooftop, it took every once of restraint he had in his body to not go straight to the one behind all of this and beat him up, taking a pound of flesh for every single person that had suffered during all of this.

[Deliver Us – Prince of Egypt (as done by Caleb Hyles and Jonathan Young]

"With the pain of despair on their shoulders." Dash intoned through song, not noticing that both sparks and a breeze started coming up around him in response to his emotions. "With the sight of their ribs by my brow. Lord Kami, God on high, can you hear these people cry? Help us now in this dark hour..."

Dash was slightly surprised when he started hearing a chorus from the people below, although he wasn't sure if it was actually them or in his head. "Deliver us, hear our call, deliver us, Lord of all, remember us, here in this dying land! Deliver us, back to what you promised us! Deliver us from the Tyrant's Hand."

He noticed a thug about to attack a mother and what was obviously her son, especially given how she was holding the boy. It didn't seem like they had noticed him, so the woman sang as the thug moved closer to grab her, "My Son, I have nothing left to give, but this chance that you may live. I pray we'll meet again, if He will deliver us..."

Just as he was about to grab her, Dash kicked him away as the onlookers started up again, only this time with slight fearful hope. "Deliver us, hear our prayer. Deliver us from despair, these months of slavery grow too cruel to stand. Deliver us, back to what you promised us! Deliver us out of bondage and...Deliver us to the Promised Land."

Dash then turned his attention to the woman and child again, who were crying in joy at not having to separate. "Hush now, dear friends. Be still, love, don't cry. Your freedom is coming soon. I'm alone, but at least I can try, to assure your not so alone." He then turned to the sky as he prayed. "Kami, make the wind, flow swiftly for me. Such precious info I bear. Please help me set these people free. Kami, deliver help here..."

Dash then rushed off, not noticing the rainbow-colored storm that people were seeing surround him. He then mistook it for an act of Kami when his speed suddenly increased as a sonic boom sounded out over the water, exploding in a ring of colors. What he knew, however, was that the last words he heard as he ran were not in his head.

"Deliver us! Send a angel to free our home! And deliver us from the Tyrant's Hand."

"Deliver us!"

[Song End]

Dash ran faster then he had ever gone, wanting to get help as soon as possible. He just didn't quite expect it when he crashed into Konoha's gates in a matter of minutes from when he started. It was usually a least a half an hour for a trip like the one he just took, also wanting to enjoy the scenery and the wind as he ran.

"Ow." he said as he pulled himself together to get the guards to open up the gate. "Hey, you gonna open, or am I going to have to run over this? This is important!"

"Okay, okay. Didn't expect your entirely myself, and with people usually going through the main gates, ones like this sent don't entirely need to stay open." a guard responded before opening said gates. "Take care, Dash."

"You too." he replied before continuing towards the Hokage. I'm not about to leave those people in danger longer than I can help.

XXHokage's OfficeXX

Dash sped into the mission office, where coincidentally Sunset and his team were in the process of getting another mission.

"Old Man!" he cried as he busted in the room, slightly panting.

"Dash? What's wrong?" Sun asked, concerned at how Dash just barged in like he did. Even with his general attitude, he was still polite enough to not barge in without a good reason. Especially when said boy is actually panting from it.

"I just came from Nami." He told them. "And it's terrible over there! It is bad enough for Fluttershy to be scarier than a Biju, and that's without animals being a part of the equation!"

Sun and Sakura stopped in shock at those words. Just how bad were things there?!

"Then how come we got a C-rank from there?" asked Iruka, confused at Dash's words, but he did understand that he wasn't exactly able to get the full story until someone actually told him straight.

Dash's answer told them everything. "I'm surprised they even had enough for that."

Hiruzen, after a few minutes of silence, ordered for a man named Tazuna to come in. When an old and somewhat drunk man walked in, he asked, "Care to explain why you lied to us about the intensity of the mission? You requested a C-rank, and yet new information has shown up that raises it to at least A-rank."

Tazuna tensed as he heard the demand, not knowing how they knew.

"Well?" Hiruzen asked.

Unnoticed to all, starting after Dash's report, Sakura was starting to feel a strange burning sensation, particularly around her eyes and extremities. It grew as Tazuna confirmed it, getting her to start twitching in slight pain.

Hiruzen sighed after Tazuna was finished. "It seems that no one bothered to tell you that something could've been sorted out to have it at the proper designated level and not bankrupt you?"

Tazuna shook his head. "All I remember is that when I first brought it up, I was turned away because 'I couldn't possibly have the amount for an A-rank.' Or something like that..."

The old man trailed off, trying to remember for sure what he was told, however his thoughts were cut off by the question from Sunset, "Who told you that?"

"I'm not quite sure." He shrugged. "I got it in a letter. It's what brought me here in the first place, so that I could request in person."

"How about this?" Sasuke cut in. "We take the mission, but also have a tail, in case whoever it was finds out and tries to interfere. If they don't, then they can just join the normal mission. Anyone else can try and find out at least something while we're out."

The ones from Konoha stared at him with their mouths partially opened. "What?"

"Did you just offer advice of your own volition? And useful advice at that?" Dash asked, suspicious of something.

His questions got on Sasuke's nerves. "Yeah, I did. What of it?"

Dash rushed into Sasuke's face and demanded, "Who are you and what have you done with Sasuke?"

The Uchiha's eye twitched in annoyance. "Is it really that hard to believe that I would be that helpful?"

"Yes."

Even though it was just one word, said word came from just about everyone in the room, causing Sasuke to facefault and slump in depression at the fact the Hokage, his academy sensei, his team, and his teammate's brother all said that instantly. I can't be that bad...right?

Hiruzen coughed to get everyone back on track. "Now, despite the...surprise...from Sasuke, it is a good idea. I'll have them ready at the gates in about an hour, so be ready by then to head out. However, Dash, I have a different job for you."

"What?" he asked, wanting to know why he couldn't join in.

Hiruzen pulled out a scroll and tossed it to him. "I want you to take that to the current Raikage, who is different from the one who attempted the attack on Hinata by the way, and wait for a reply. I'll be asking Fluttershy to help out, thanks to him having the strongest connection to animals around. Your tail will show themselves once you get close enough to your destination."

Dash scowled a bit but complied as Team 7 left to prepare. He didn't like having to stay out of it for the time being, but he did have a job to do. No to mention he had yet to have a message for Kumo anyways, so he was kind of wondering how things looked there.

Speeding off, he made his way towards Kumo, only slightly deterred by the occasional rock and crevis. He eventually found himself standing at Kumo's main gates. The guards at the time stared a bit at the suddenness, but knew who it was so it was quickly dealt with and they returned to business.

"Yo." He said to them. "Got a message for the Raikage."

"Okay, go on ahead."

With those words, the gates opened and he was on his way again. Thankfully, the village design wasn't all that different from Konoha, so Dash was able to find the Hokage's Office quickly enough. However, he ended up coming across a Kumo team that showed signs of Rare's pocket idea, but from a different tailor. The strange thing, though, was that they had two girls instead of the two boys that he knew.

Maybe they didn't have enough for the two-boy-one-girl layout? Dash mused before they noticed and the red-haired girl of the team noticed him and laughed.

"What kind of shinobi has rainbow-colored hair?" she asked out loud in a joking manner, angering Dash.

"And what kind of shinobi insults a visiting messenger pretty well in front of their Kage? Pretty pathetic if you ask me." He retorted, getting into a glaring contest with the girl while her teammates groaned. "And for the record, I'm not a shinobi."

"Karui!" came from the Raikage's Office, revealing that the door was open and the Raikage himself was standing there looking at them. The red-haired girl backed off, not wanting to anger the really big man that slightly scared Dash with his muscles. The man then turned to Dash. "So what brings 'Rainbow' Dash to my door?"

Dash showed the message. "Just this, although I would like to know just how you knew who I was, both my name and my nickname."

The man laughed. "Very few people don't know who and your brothers are by now. The six of you are affectionately in the Bingo Books actually."

While Karui paled at hearing who she just seemingly insulted, Dash was silent at the news for a bit. "...WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE'RE IN THE BINGO BOOKS?!"

XXKonohaXX

While Dash was delivering the message, Sun, Sakura, and Sasuke had finished prepping for their mission and were waiting for their teacher and the client at the gates. None of them knew who their tail would be, but weren't too concerned. They just preferred if it was someone they could personally trust.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before Kakashi and Tazuna showed up, ready to go themselves.

"Alright, everyone's here now. Let's get going then." said Kakashi, signaling them to start moving. However, he noticed Sunset bring out a notepad and pencil, and grew curious. "What's with those, Sun?"

Sakura was the one who answered. "I was the one who got him started. While we may need to change a few things, there might be some things that we come across that could be useful for a book. It'll primarily be private between the two of us and his brothers for the time being, but we should be able to make something half-decent in time."

Sunset chose that time to plant a kiss on Sakura's lips, getting a minute gag from Sasuke and some giggling from Pinkie as he whispered to the Uchiha, "Don't gag it till you try it yourself."

The raven-haired boy started before growling quietly, not wanting the others to know.

"And I thought it was a great idea." finished Sun. "I'm certain we can contribute to the world of literature better than Jiraiya can."

"I'd like to see you try." Kakashi challenged, skeptical. "It'll be hard to achieve a higher level of art than Icha-Icha to the world."

"THAT'S NOT ART!" The couple yelled as one, getting laughs from Kakashi as they continued moving. They openly growled as they silently accepted the challenge, wanting to prove their sensei wrong.

Tazuna was somewhat confused, and expressed so to Sasuke. "Any idea as to what's going on?"

"As far as I can tell," answered Sasuke, "they hate Icha-Icha, and they are going to try and make a better seller than it. Though I have no idea how they'll do that, considering that Icha-Icha is pretty well the 50-year-old virgin's companion for the lonely nights. So it's quite popular."

Kakashi stumbled as he heard the boy's words, grumbling at how the book series was described. Sakura and Sun laughed before returning to their brainstorming, with Sun lightly spreading his chakra just in case.

It wasn't long before Sun's chakra found something ahead of them, but it wasn't quite what he expected. Manipulating it, he latched onto the source and pulled hard, catching them off guard as they flew towards them.

"The Demon Brothers." Sun spoke as they surveyed the two before them on the ground. "Not quite expected with what we heard before, but still expected nonetheless."

"At the very least, we have an idea as to what to expect from Nami's side of things." Kakashi added. "Where the Demon Brothers are, Zabuza of the Bloody Mist is not far behind. Just how far is the question?"

"How did you know?" one of the brothers asked.

Sun placed his hands on their foreheads as his chakra flared a bit. The last thing they heard before they fell asleep was, "You don't need to know."

Tying the two up, Kakashi sent a message back to Konoha to pick the two up before the group continued on their way, this time plotting ideas to use against Zabuza.

XXXXX

"Alright, this is as far as I can go. Good luck."

That was the parting words of the boatman that granted them passage to Nami no Kuni. The entire way from the encounter with the Demon Brothers up till then was without incident, so they figured that it would be once they were within Nami's borders. Also, as far as they could tell, it looked like the issue that made Tazuna lie was from Konoha's end of things. Meaning someone there decided to be arrogant and refuse the man service. They couldn't worry too much about it though, considering what was expected.

After Tazuna thanked the man, they made their way inland to the man's house, until a signature caught Sun's attention.

"We've got coming." he told the others, stopping his movement. "Big man with a big sword, who just switched with a snow hare."

His teammates went into formation around Tazuna as Kakashi called out "You can come out now Zabuza. We know you're there."

A few moments of silence followed before a pretty big man wearing nothing but sandals, pants, and wrappings around his mouth, while on his back was a cleaver like sword easily as big as himself.

"Is it just me, or does that paint a compensation issue?" Sakura asked, getting a giggle from Sun and an irritated look from Zabuza.

"I'll cut to the chase, then." He said to them. "I'm here for the old man, and you're obviously here to stop me."

Kakashi nodded as he stepped forward. "Correct, but I have to ask: do you happen to know the state of Nami no Kuni? I highly doubt your client would be willing to actually honor whatever agreement you have with him, seeing as our client could only afford a C-rank thanks to him."

That caught Zabuza's attention fast. "You're bluffing."

When he didn't get an answer, he said "You're not bluffing...ugh, I told that dwarf Gato that I want all information from the beginning. Haku, get over here!"

A person about Sun, Sakura, and Sasuke's age and size appeared by Zabuza's side, wearing a white schemed battle kimono and an ANBU style mask with Kiri's symbol. However, they had no real idea as to whether Haku was a boy or a girl, and revealing the face didn't help matters at all.

"Yes, sir?" Haku asked, wondering what was happening.

"Our contract was violated on the lack of actual information." Zabuza explained. "Gato apparently thought that we didn't need to know that Nami's condition was at least as bad as yours before I found you."

Haku paled at what he was hearing.

Zabuza then switched to orders. "We'll be joining them until we can express our irritation to Gato in person. Despite being a missing-nin, I do have enough honor to require any and all available information straight up. Any random additions don't count."

"Yes, sir." Haku acknowledged, right before Haku's attention was turned towards Sun who said, "Hey, I have a question real quick."

"What?" Haku asked.

"Are you willing to do something such as expose your chest?" Sun asked, gauging Haku and Zabuza's reaction.

Haku raised an eyebrow while Zabuza chuckled. "Why would a guy want to look at another guy's chest?"

Sun and his teammates breathed in relief. "We had no idea what your gender was, but girls would either flirt or get angry from a question like that. A guy would not care as much."

"Oh."

Zabuza understood their issue with Haku. Even when he found the boy, it was hard to truly tell if Haku was male or female. Thankfully, he learned quick enough, which gave him a bit of an idea to deal with pursuers that came across Haku. They would have trouble with figuring it out themselves as well. Although it did come with the problem of having to figure out how to give Haku 'The Talk," so he was still somewhat confused on that front.-

"This does bring up another issue, though." Sun said, turning to Zabuza. "Exactly why was he so confused about my question in the first place?"

-And now he needs to give it to the boy, before the Konoha nins do so. He should've expected something like this coming up sooner or later.

The part with Zabuza and Haku may be a bit unorthodox when compared to most, but it was how things ended up going. Haku's more on the innocent side, and Zabuza is smart/honorable enough to request all information on the job that the client had from the beginning. He doesn't count changes during the job, because that is to be expected, but he won't like it if something is kept from him at the start.

Also, sorry if a few spots seem a bit different from my normal style of writing. Had trouble keeping focus on the chapter.

Until next time. Please let me know what you think.