Thanks to: VLD, Wal Otter, serenity wayne, , Sailor-Moon-Z, zodiac dragonHatori, and lady light for reviewing! It's great reading reviews, almost like extra Christmas presents :)

AN: I hope everyone has been enjoying their holidays so far. Don't go too crazy during the boxing day sales okay? So here's the next chapter. Unfortunately, I don't think that this story can be completed in three chapters. Hopefully no more than five, but it all depends on the almighty plot bunny. Again, dedicated to my wonderful beta, Cygnea-chan! Hope you feel better! Please ignore the mistakes, since this is a birthday fic, I couldn't exactly ask her for edit her own present =P

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Chapter 1: She Did What?!

"No!"

The scroll was slammed harshly onto the table. A small crack formed from the center and migrated to the edge of the desk. The tight fist threatened to break the S Class report into two even before it was formally documented.

"Minato-kun," Sandaime sighed. The old man calmly removed his pipe and banged it upside down, trying to dislodge the tobacco ashes inside. This was the first time he had ever seen the gentle mannered young man so enraged. Not even when Kyuubi attacked four years ago had the Yondaime so worked up. "Please reconsider. This could be a great opportunity for Konoha."

"Absolutely not," The blond man all but growled out in finality. He rarely put his feet down on any issues before discussing the decision with the more experienced Sandaime. However, this was one topic that he couldn't afford to budge. "I refuse to become the boy toy of a spoiled princess. If she's so desperate for a trophy husband, there are plenty of Kage from other villages still available for marriage, not to mention young lords at the Capitol. I do not understand why I must sacrifice my personal happiness for a girl who probably can't even point out Konoha on the map."

"Usagi-hime is the daughter of the Daimyo, Minato-kun. If we can gain her favour, it will put Konoha in an advantageous position both economically and politically compared to other villages," the older man explained patiently, using facts to diffuse the rampaging emotions of the younger man. "As Hokage, it is our duty to sacrifice all in our power for the good of the village. Is it not, Minato-kun?"

The fight drained out of the tense showers and the proud figure slumped back into his chair as he was reminded of the vows he took to become Yondaime. Once upon a time, he had made the greatest sacrifice of his life, in the hopes that one day, his son would be seen as a hero. But how poorly he had miscalculated. By a single mistake, he had ruined Naruto's future and happiness. Instead of the respect he had expected, there was nothing but hatred and fear in the villagers eyes directed at his little Naruto. "I just want happiness for Naruto. I don't want him to feel even more hated and alienated if I spend so much time with the Hime-sama. And I fear what may happen to him if I am forced to wed this Usagi-him. I need a mother for Naruto, I need someone who can love him for what he is, not fear him for what's sealed inside." A large hand reached out sadly, tracing the smiling picture of his little sunshine.

"One day, he will be seen as he was meant to be seen. Minato-kun, you should have more faith in Naruto-chan," the two men exchanged a look and Minato finally smiled. Yes, although Naruto carried the most fearsome tailed beast, he was still a bouncing ball of life.

"Anyways, I'll talk to the Counsel first before they make any rash decisions." Here the old man chucked at the grateful look he received. Well, at least an old man like him still had some use. If there was one thing he was capable of now in his retirement, it was stirring up trouble for his old teammates on the Counsel. "In the mean time though, I would still like you to welcome Usagi-hime when she arrives with her entourage. Be present during the meetings, if you can spare the time, please give her a tour of the village, or find a suitable replacement if you're too busy."

"Hai, Sandaime-sama," The wizened old man chuckled as he received a standing salute from his young equal. "Oh, before I forget, please keep Jiraiya-chan from meeting Hime-sama. I don't need that shameless perverted student of mine ruining Hime-sama's experience here." He finished as he closed the door of the office. The old man smiled as the conversation ended with laughter inside.

~*~*~*~

"No!" A blonde blur deftly avoided the dark haired girl and hid behind the quickly giggling Ami-chan. "I refuse to wear another twelve layered kimono and you can't make me!" the Hime-sama blew a raspberry at her glaring best friend, who for the last half an hour, had been trying to wrestle her into the traditional royal kimono.

"God help me Usagi. Hime-sama or not, the next time I catch you, I'm going to chop those stupid odango off forever!" The young priestess growled out as she advanced on the giggling bunny.

"But it's the summer, Rei-chan. Do you have any idea how hot it gets under twelve layers of cloth?"

"That's not my problem. I wasn't the one born as the Hime. Be a woman Usagi, and swallow your lot in life. Don't you know how lucky you are? Millions of girls would kill to be you."

"Well, they're welcome to be me any time they want," the blonde murmured mutinously as she kicked a pebble. "What's so great about being a hime anyways? You can't talk freely, can't eat normally, can't walk or run normally. For god's sake, I even have to sit and sleep hime-like. Not to mention people only talk to me because of my position. Except for you guys of course," she bestowed a true smile to the four girls closest to her heart."

"If that's the case, why don't you just marry Mamoru-sama then?" Minako teased. "We all know that he doesn't treat you any different."

"Yeah, and he pulls my hair, makes fun of the way I eat, not to mention he's the biggest jerk alive!" That last outburst made all the girls laugh. It never failed to amuse them when the two bickered like cats and dogs.

"I don't mean to put a damper on the fun, Usagi-chan, but Rei's right," Makoto said, frowning at the sun, which was no longer at the zenith. "We've wasted too much time already. The Hokage-sama must be waiting already and we still have an hour's travel ahead of us."

"Yes Odango-atama. You never think about anyone else but yourself do you? Did you forget that you still have your ambassador duties?"

"Okay, okay. Stop your nagging already," the blonde whined as she came out of hiding behind Ami. "Mamo-baka doesn't like nagging girls, you know." She teased the dark haired beauty who immediately flushed tomato red. "Just let me go first before you bundle me up in that awful kimono. I drank too much tea at the last stop, and it's such a pain using the toilette in twelve layers of clothing." She grimaced as she remembered the last time it happened. It was an embarrassment she would rather not relive.

"Do you want me to go with you, Usa-chan?" Minako called out as Usagi bounced behind a cluster of bushes. Even Hime-sama had to make due in nature.

"Nope, I'll be done in a sec."

The four girls relaxed as they heard the Hime-sama and decided to give her some privacy, before she would have to resume her princess behaviours again.

"So, have you guys heard anything about the Hokage?" Minako asked slyly, eying the rest of the girls on duty. There was nothing like boy gossip to keep the boredom at bay.

"Which one? If you're talking about Sandaime, I heard that he's TOTALLY your type Mina," Makoto grinned. "He's about your height, smokes like a chimney, but that's okay right? Since you're totally into the whole 'bad-boy' look," All the girls laughed as the blonde took off a shoe and jokingly threw it at the Captain of Usagi-hime's personal guards.

"Yeah right! And he's just old enough to be my great-great-grandfather too. You knew I was talking about Yondaime!" Minako snickered as hearts appeared in Makoto's eyes. She might be as tough as a nail, but the mention of a cute boy reduces the Captain of the Guards to a puddle of goo.

"Rumour has it that he's a total drop dead gorgeous blond bishounen!"

"He also defeated the Kyuubi single handed. Not to mention he's an expert in chakra manipulation and sealing techniques."

All eyes turned to Ami as the blue haired girl gave her quiet input.

"Sounds like someone has a little crush." All three voices said smugly in a sing along voice.

A pink blush decorated the pale cheeks at the teasing. "Stop it you guys. I just wanted to find information for the meetings. I had to do research on all five kage of the shinobi villages."

"Yeah, that's what YOU say, Ami-chan!"

"By the way, don't you think Usagi should be finished by now?" The ever vigilant Rei asked, looking at the direction Usagi was. "I mean, she didn't drink THAT much tea."

"Yeah, but did you see how much she ate?" Minako mumurred. "Usagi-chan?" All waited for the response.

"Odango-atama! This isn't funny you know." Again, no sound except for the sound of rustling leaves.

"Okay, this is it. When I get my hands on you..." The priestess stumped into the bush, smacking the leaves away viciously.

An ear piercing, earth shattering scream suddenly disrupted the peace of the forest. The guards scrambled up and grabbed their weapons, waiting for the attack while the girls ran towards Rei, who was clutching a piece of paper tightly in her fist. "Odango-atama!"

~*~*~*~

Usagi giggled from her hiding place as she heard Rei's scream of fury. A part of her kind of wished that she could have seen the other girl's expression at the moment of discovery, but then again, she had no wish to be caught so soon. She did feel a little guilty for running away and dumping all the responsibilities on them... but... oh well!

The blonde giggled softly and turned around towards Konoha, or at least the direction she thought Konoha was located in.

~*~*~*~

"What is the meaning of this?!" Rei all but screamed as she shook the paper in her hand. " 'I'll see you in Konoha?!' What the hell is she thinking?!" The poor girl grabbed her hair and pulled with all her might. It was a surprise that the innocent piece of paper had't burst into flames yet with the way Rei was glaring at it.

"Okay, let's all calm down and think rationally," Makoto gently led the priestess out and sat her down on a large rock. "It looks like Usagi's hand writing, and none of us heard any sounds of struggling, so I guess we can safely deduct that she wasn't kidnapped."

"Yes, right now, the most important decision to make is do we send out a search party for her or do we continue to Konoha and meet her there?"

"If we send people out now, a large search party will be easily noticed. If news that Usagi-hime is lost is known, I fear of what may happen if the information lands in the wrong hands," the blue haired diplomat said carefully, her quiet voice laced with worry. "It will be better if we leave a few men to look for Usagi here, while the rest of us continue to Konoha. Once there, we can wait for her at the village and send more men to look for her both inside and outside the village."

"I agree with Ami. We can't allow her to be kidnapped and be used against the Daimyo," Rei murmured bitterly. Although she did not say it, everyone knew she was more worried about what could happen to Usagi than the political consequences. The Hime-sama have grown up sheltered inside the palace, she only left the place a handful of times in her nineteen years of life. With no physical training at all and too trusting for her own good, she wouldn't last more than ten minutes in the real world.

"That's all good, but what about Konoha? Do we tell them what happened and ask for their aid?"

Four pairs of eyes looked at each other, not knowing what to do with the mess that Usagi left them with.

Finally, it was Minako who broke the silence. "I think we should keep it quiet. If news came out that Usagi-hime ran off on her own, it will ruin her reputation forever." The other three nodded. No respectful girl would run off on her own into the wild without a chaperon. God knows what could happen to her out there. Usagi was a perfect target with her long blond hair, big blue eyes, delicate features and silken skin. A cold shiver broke out as each girl let their imagination create the worst case scenario that could happen. Shinobi were known to be lawless ruffians capable of the worst atrocities, and Usagi had the biggest misconception on ninja imaginable, all because of those silly Icha Icha books she was so obsessed with.

"In that case, we'll need someone to be the Hime-sama while we look for Usagi-chan." Three pairs of eyes zoomed in on Minako, who swallowed nervously and slowly backed away. "Err... guys, I know what you're thinking, but I don't think I'll make a very good hime at all." Not to mention she didn't want to be boiled alive under all those layers of clothes.

"Nonsense Mina," Rei brushed away the complaints and advanced on the blonde with the royal kimono in her hands. "You're the only blue eyed blonde here, not to mention you two are cousins."

"Yes, and it'll only be for a couple of days until we find Usagi."

The blonde whimpered as her friends advanced from three directions and effectively cut off her escape routes.

Ten minutes later, the palanquin finally started moving towards Konoha, with a different blue eyed blonde inside.

~*~*~*~

Minato looked at the setting sun for the umpteenth time before he glared at the empty road. Behind him, the ANBU and jounin shifted listlessly in the hot sun. Minato didn't blame them, if he was baking in his Hokage robes, he could only imagine how uncomfortable it must be for his men in their dark clothing, porcelain masks, and ninja vests. All for the sake of welcoming a Hime-sama who obviously didn't have the common courtesy to send word that she would be late. Indeed, the only one who didn't look murderous was Sandaime, who stood under the shadow of the gates, calmly puffing away on his pipe.

The shadow kept getting longer, and Yondaime started to fidget uncharacteristically. He had to be home soon when Naruto comes back, he had been so busy the past couple of days that he wasn't able to spent as much time as he wanted to with his son. A sudden poof and a shinobi suddenly appeared kneeling in front of him. The blonde recognized him as Ebisu, the jounin who had been assigned to watch Naruto today... only he couldn't see his little blond offspring anywhere. A fit of hysterics gripped him even before he registered the huge black permanent words written across Ebisu's forehead and cheeks.

"Yon... Yon... Yondaime-sama!" The sun-glass wearing jounin stuttered at the panicked look he was given.

"Ebisu, where's my son?!"

Suddenly, the jounin found himself hanging off his feet, being dangled by the front of his vest and staring into enraged blue eyes.

"I... I..." Ebisu began but suddenly stopped. He couldn't admit in front of all his peers and both Hokage that he fainted from a nosebleed after the brat pulled the Oiroke no Jutsu on him, and left him fainted with the words 'Konoha's biggest pervert' written across his forehead in permanent black marker, could he? "I...I don't know Hokage-sama. One minute he was there, then I turned around and he was gone! I swear I looked for him everywhere, but I can't find him anywhere in the village."

The hand holding the jounin started to shake in rage and fear. His worst nightmares were coming true. What is his little baby was kidnapped by hateful villagers? What if he was hurt somewhere crying for his father while Minato was stuck here waiting for the Hime-sama? What if Naruto was bleeding to death in a ditch and...

"Minato-kun," blue eyes opened as he felt a hand on his arm. "Let go before you choke Ebisu-san to death." Sandaime said gently as he felt the bunched up muscles under his hand slowly relax and the whimpering jounin finally felt sold ground under his feet.

"Why don't you take Hyuuga-san, Kakashi-kun, and Itachi-kun with you to look for Naruto-chan. I'll stay here and wait for Hime-sama's arrival." The wise old man nodded at the grateful look he received, not only from Yondaime but from the three shinobi who was offered an escape from the dull waiting. "Send me a message if you need more people."

~*~*~*~

A cheerful bunny was humming as she skipped on the sandy beach along the lake. Laughing out loud suddenly, she flung her arms out and swirled in the wet sand, giggling as the cool water lapped between her toes. She watched giddily as the water swept away her footsteps. It was just like Icha Icha paradise! The water covered her tracks perfectly so her enemies could not track her down.

It felt so good to be free from all those people who constantly followed her nagging about one thing or another. Sure, she felt a little bad about leaving her friends; no doubt they would be pulling their hair from worrying, but she just need a little time to herself.

A slim foot kicked at the waves as she thought about her journey so far. Finding love and hunting for a husband was harder than she expected, and all those ninja she encountered in Sunagakure, Kirigakure, Amegakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure were nothing like the ninja she read about in Icha Icha Paradise. Not to mention that the kage of each village was worse than the lords in the Capitol, each trying to gain her favor just because of her position. The only difference was that the kage were probably more underhanded in their wooing than any lord in the Capitol. After being trapped in a genjutsu by Mizukage, drugged at Amegakure, forcefully chained to the bed by Kazekage, and trapped in the hot spring by a naked Raikage, she was beginning to think that shinobi were not the hero that she imagined them to be, but were rather the villains who stole innocent maidens away from their the safety of their homes. So, she was definitely not in a hurry to face another disappointment in Konoha. According to the Kazekage, Konoha's current Sandaime Hokage was a lecherous old man who used his magic crystal ball to spy on young married girls at bathhouses and the Yondaime was a power hungry evil man who trapped a demon into his own son to be used in the future as the ultimate weapon.

Was this her destiny? To go home empty handed and admit defeat to her father before she got married off to Mamo-baka? No! She refused to give up. A look of fierce determination appeared on her face. That was why she made her decision to escape her friends. If she could just pretend to be a normal girl, maybe she would finally be able to meet some real shinobi, like the ones that she dreamed about at night. Like in Icha Icha Paradise when Minamoto-sama who saved Yuuki-hime from the fearsome demon who demanded a human sacrifice. The blonde suddenly covered her mouth, but couldn't hide the squeal as the image of a dashing shinobi carrying away the fragile princess after slaying the demon with his katana.

"Usagi-sama! Where are you?"

Damn it! She thought that she had more time, apparently she underestimated the girls. The bunny picked up her kimono and ran down the beach. As the sand changed to grass underneath, she slipped into her shoes and climbed back into the woods. She paused before making her way in. The sun was setting, and the thick foliage was already caste in dark shadows. Suddenly the wind felt much cooler as it penetrated through the thin silk of her kimono, eliciting a shiver to run from her head to toe.

"Usagi-sama! Please come back!"

The voices were getting closer, but the forest looked so gloomy and frightening! The bunny looked behind her, and her blue eyes hardened. As the future wife of a brave shinobi, she would not be stopped by something as trivial as a dark forest! Usagi took a deep breath and counted to ten. "Here we go..." She murmured to herself as she took the first step into the forest, before....

"BOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

~*~*~*~

The guards looked up in alarm as a shrill scream sent the birds flying for their lives. It was definitely Usagi-hime's voice. It was unmistakeable. They recognize it from the countless times Mamoru-sama sneaked up on their unsuspecting Hime-sama. The guards looked at each other and nodded; before the five men set off towards the forest as fast as their legs could carry them.

AN: Reviews, comments, criticisims all appreciated!