Hello readers I am back with a new chapter to my lovely story. I want to apologize because I was stupid and didn't mention on the last chapter that this story is drawing to a close. I know, sad but all things must come to and end. Chapter 10 is going to be the last chapter of this story and I just want to apologize in advance for this filler sounding chapter. It was a pain to write but I had to be incorporated. The next chapter should be better, now without further delay here's the newest chapter.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Naruto or anything related to Naruto. If so Sasuke would have never ran off with the snake pedo and Itachi would still be alive.

'text' means thinking

Chapter 9: Reunion

Outside of Nagato's hide away the moon shone bright from its high position in the sky. Its lit face casted a light glow that gently set over everything it came in contact with covering it like a blanket. A few feet away from the worn down building near the edge of the forest sat Mizuki and Naruko. They were both hidden within a wide hollowed out tree trunk with tree branches over them. Mizuki sat with Naruko in her arms holding her as she stared out into space. Her face was pale and she was still disorientated from the drug in her system.

They sat there for hours not moving an inch with nothing but the forest sounds to keep the silence at bay. After a while Mizuki broke the silence feeling it was safe enough to talk.

"Naruko, you're going to be ok" she whispered looking down at Naruko.

Naruko, who was still facing the branches and staring out into the open gaps left, reached up and held Mizuki's hand in a tight grip. Mizuki gave the girl's hand a light squeeze for comfort.

"They finally came to take you home, soon you'll be with those you love" she said comforting Naruko.

Silence reclaimed its hold over them as they sat waiting once more. Mizuki began to stare at Naruko's bandaged wounds and how soaked they were. As she got lost staring at the flowing crimson liquid she heard a noise. She cringed and held Naruko tighter as the noise began to appear more frequently. With a sudden jolt, Mizuki realized it might be those she was waiting for. She gently let go of Naruko and removed the tree branches that covered the entrance of their save haven. She quickly climbed out before turning around to look at Naruko.

"Naruko, I'll be right back. Stay here and please don't make a sound," she said.

Quickly placing the branches back to cover Naruko from view, Mizuki headed towards the edge of the forest. She walked carefully staying behind the cover of the trees making sure no one else saw her. As she walked closer to the clearing she began to hear voices. Slowly peeking from behind a tree she found who she was looking for. Pealing her self from the tree she hastily made her way towards the trio approaching in her direction.

Sasuke and the others heard the noise of running footsteps and stopped in their tracks. Kurama stepped in front of Itachi ready to protect him and his younger brother. At the sight of the Mizuki hastily running towards them, Kurama slightly lowered his guard.

" Thank goodness your safe, I was beginning to worry you would never come" she said to them with slight gasps.

"Sasuke-Sama, is this the person were looking for" asked Kurama.

"Hn, I met her before I fought Nagato. Where is she?" asked Sasuke looking at Mizuki from Itachi's hold.

"Follow me it's not far," she said turning around heading back towards the forest.

The trio of men followed Mizuki towards the forest path from where she appeared to them. They followed her until they reached a big tree covered with multiple branches. They watched silently as she removed the branches to reveal a curled up Naruko with her eyes closed. At seeing her, Sasuke pushed away from Itachi's hold and stumbled his way towards the tree. He collapsed next to Naruko and gathered her in his arms. He buried his face in her pale hair and breathed in her scent before a smile graced his lips.

'Finally, I found you'

Kurama walked from behind Itachi towards Mizuki before bowing until his knee touched the ground.

"Thank you for taking care of Naruko-sama. I along with my master are in debt to you, how could we ever thank you for keeping her safe" he said looking at Mizuki.

"Oh no, there's no need for that. I did what any good person would do," she said stammering.

" I still like I let her down in not being able to protect her from Nagato" she said looking down sadly.

" She's here and that's all that matters" spoke Sasuke entering the conversation.

"Sasuke's right, you still managed to save Naruko" spoke Itachi.

" Well since were all here and in one peace, I say we get some sleep and head back first thing in the morning" said Kurama while glancing at the sky.

"Good idea, Sasuke needs to rest to get that poison out of his system," said Itachi looking at his brother.

"I'll go and get some branches to make some bedding for you all" spoke Mizuki walking further into the forest.

"We'll go with you" Spoke Kurama walking behind her with Itachi at his heels.

After the three of them left a peaceful silence set into the forest. The once tense atmosphere with the feeling of danger lurking around the corner completely evaporated. Sasuke shifted to get more comfortable within the tree trunk before looking at Naruko. He gently brushed her hair with his fingers before running his hand down her face. He studied her and with a lurch to his heart, he noticed just how much she had gone through in the past couple of months she was away from them. He noticed the multiple bleeding wounds that decorated her now frail and thin body. Her eyes had black circle under them that spoke of the nights she had lacking sleep. Closing his eyes from the painful sight, Sasuke let out a sigh before burying his face in her hair once more and kissing her golden halo.

' No one is going to ever separate us ever again, I promise on my life'

Morning came fast the as the sun began to shine and grace the world with its warm rays of light. It wasn't long before people began to awake from their slumber and begin their morning routine. The Uchiha palace was no exception; servants were running around doing their job each with a content look on their face. One maid with long black hair wearing the clothes of a personal maid, walked towards the wing of the castle that held the rooms of both princes. She walked until she came to a stop in front of Sasuke's room door.

"Sasuke-Sama, breakfast is ready," she said knocking gently.

She stood at the door and waited for her master's reply but heard none. The usual grunt of acknowledgement wasn't heard.

"Sasuke-Sama? Are you ok" she spoke again knocking once more.

Once again hearing silence she twisted the doorknob to find it unlocked. She hesitated slightly before turning the knob and opening the door. What graced her shocked her and made her nervous. The room was bare and the bed looked like no one had slept on it for the night. She rushed to the restroom only to find it empty; Sasuke was nowhere to be found. Taking a quick breath to calm her nerves she walked out of the room closing the door before walking further down the hall towards Itachi's room.

"Itachi-Sama, Sasuke-Sama isn't in his room. Do you know where he might be?" she asked while gently knocking.

Once again she was met with silence, which caused her to panic and try the door again. Once the door opened she was met with the same scene as earlier. Itachi was nowhere to be found in his room. The maid began to hyperventilate a little as she dropped to the floor.

"They're not here, Oh God what if someone took them! How am I going to tell Mikoto-Sama! She's going to kill me," she said hysterically rocking slightly.

She continued to rock herself for a while before snapping out of her mental break down and rushing out of the room. She ran down hall and into the dinning room where the Uchiha's along with the Namikaze's were gathering to have breakfast. She burst into the room not caring at the commotion she was causing and ignoring weird looks the occupants of the room were giving her.

"Mikoto-Sama, Fugaku-Sama!" she spoke stopping in front of the royal couple.

"What is it dear child" answered Mikoto

" Sasuke-Sama and Itachi-Sama are missing," she blurted quickly.

"What!" shouted Mikoto.

"I went to get them for breakfast and couldn't find any of them in their rooms" she said stepping back from the empress.

"Are you sure they're not somewhere else on the castle grounds?" asked a stern Fugaku.

"Yes sir" she said.

"Come to think of it, we haven't seen Kurama at all either," said Minato rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"You don't think they left to go find Naruko do you," gasped Kushina

"It's very possible that they did, I was hoping Sasuke wouldn't resort to this" said Fugaku.

"We have to go find them, Sasuke is in no condition to be out there. What if he get's in a fight and get's even more injured." Spoke Mikoto.

"Of course dear," said Fugaku, "You may leave now," he told the maid.

She quickly gave a bow to both royals before leaving at a much more calmer pace.

"We have to assemble a small group of men to go find them," said Fugaku looking at his wife and friends.

" I want to go with them" spoke Minato looking at Fugaku.

" Are you sure of that Minato" spoke Fugaku.

"I want to go and find my daughter, I also want to be there in case we come across that scum bag Nagato" spoke Minato in a deep voice laced with anger.

"Minato should go if he wants to dear" spoke Mikoto placing her hand over her husbands.

"It's settled then, you shall accompany my men," said Fugaku holding his wife's hand.

The four royals tried to have a normal breakfast but seemed to fail at it. No matter what they did they found themselves unattached to the conversations and rushing to finish their meal. After the rushed meal, both couples walked out into the main hall of the palace. There they stood as Minato walked to the room he and his wife were staying in. They waited for him to come out before continuing to the entrance of the castle. They stepped outside and saw the group of men ready waiting for their commands. Minato was preparing to say goodbye when the guards at the gate of the palace announced someone's appearance.

The four royals looked up to see three figures in the distance on horseback approaching fast. It wasn't until they came closer that they could identify the first rider as being Itachi. Soon the other riders behind him caught up with him and entered the palace grounds. The royals ran up to where the riders were dismounting dismissing the small crowd of men that had assembled.

"Itachi, Sasuke" cried Mikoto hugging her oldest son.

"Are you ok, you're not hurt are you?" asked Mikoto looking over Itachi.

"I'm fine mother" spoke Itachi.

"I was so-"

"Naruko!" gasped Kushina cutting off Mikoto.

At Kushina's gasp everyone turned to face Sasuke who was carrying a still unconscious Naruko in his arms. Kushina and Minato rushed to Sasuke and took their daughter out of his arms. Kushina began to shake as tears spilled down her face as she hugged her daughter.

"She's…not" trailed of Minato

" No, She's been drugged and has lost a lot of blood, she should be fine now that she's home." Spoke Mizuki from Kurama's side.

All eyes turned to Mizuki before quickly focusing on Naruko.

"Kushina, Minato we should take Naruko to a spare room, Itachi go call for Tsunade and tell her it's an emergency" Spoke Fugaku.

"Yes father," he said quickly before disappearing.

Fugaku quickly lead Minato and Kushina to a spare room for Naruko to be place in while everyone else followed. Once she was adjusted everyone stepped out and left the reunited family to spend some time alone. It wasn't long before Tsunade and her assistant Shizune appeared and made her way into the room. Minato and Kushina were forced to step away from their daughter's side to let Tsunade work. As they stepped out of the room Mikoto ushered them to the nearby living room for them all to take a seat. It took a few minutes before Fugaku broke the silence.

"By the way, who may you be" he asked looking at Mizuki.

Mizuki looked at Kurama who gave her a slight nob before answering.

"My name is Mizuki, I was in charge of Naruko," she said.

"She also helped me get Naruko somewhere safe," said Sasuke leaning back on his chair.

Mikoto looking at her utterly exhausted sons ushered them into near by rooms to rest from their long journeys.

"Please wake me up as soon as she wake's up" spoke Sasuke to Kushina getting a nod in return.

" I'll also be taking my leave," said Kurama following both of the princes into the hall of empty rooms.

All eyes returned to Mizuki making her nervous and uncomfortable. Kushina suddenly stood up and walked over to Mizuki. She bend down and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you for taking care of my daughter, you don't know how much it means to me" she spoke before letting go of Mizuki and returning to her husband's side.

"It was all I could do," she said looking at the happy parents.

"We still appreciate your kindness" spoke Minato

The opening door put an end to the conversation between them and they all scrambled to see what Tsunade had to say.

"How is she, is she doing to be ok" asked a worried Kushina

" I gave her something to flush the remainder of the drug in her system and treated her wounds. Some of them were really deep and will take time to close but she should be fine. None of her wounds will leave permanent damage." Spoke Tsunade.

"Thank goodness" sighed Minato.

"I'll be back to treat her wounds every so often, you may take her home after she wakes up and I assess her once more." Spoke Tsunade.

"Thank you Tsunade-Sama, you have once again helped us greatly" spoke Mikoto.

Tsunade nodded at her praise before walking away with her assistant. With the news of being able to go home for the first time in a long time, The Namikaze's left to prepare their things while the Uchiha's left to finish some other business that has been put off since the kidnapping of Naruko. Mizuki took residence in one of the spare rooms in the hall after the insistence of Mikoto and let the exhaustion wash over her as she fell on the bed and fell to sleep.

Once again sorry for the filler and for not telling you sooner that the end comes next week. It will be a sad moment but thank you to those who stuck with me until the end.

Please review and thank you for your support, it is very valued.