A/N: There's going to be a lot happening here. It won't be a normal length chapter, but maybe longer than normal for me, so I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter Eight: Love Knows No Bounds
Hinata sat at the lake for hours, until noon. She was so saddened by Naruto's departure that she could not eat. Neji, Tenten, Sakura, Ino and even Lee were extremely worried about her, to the point that Lee offered to be Hinata's personal messenger to Naruto, so that she could still have some form of contact with him. Hinata didn't answer him, only turning her back and motioning for all of them to leave her in peace. She was too saddened, and she thought only of Naruto. She went to her room, and pulled a box out from under her bed, and ran her hand over it. It was a memory chest, of all her life's happiest moments. She rummaged through it, until she found her mother's wedding ring. Clutching it to her heart, she cried silently for almost three hours. Her mother was watching her, as was her father. She knew Naruto would send a messenger hawk to Hinata as soon as he arrived in Suna.
Naruto arrived at the front gate of Sunagakure, and was greeted by the Sand Siblings themselves, Gaara in the middle, with Temari to his left and Kankuro to his right. Gaara's green eyes met the blue of the blonde, and Gaara held his right hand out in greeting.
"Welcome to Sunagakure, Naruto-kun. If you'll come to my office, I'll debrief you on the mission you are to undertake for us."
They started to walk after Naruto had shaken the Kazekage's hand, and he sidled up to Gaara, and talked in a quiet voice.
"I have a favor to ask. While I'm here, I need to send a hawk to Konoha every day. I'm with Hinata now, and I need to let her know I'm ok. I was wondering as well. Does this mission have anything to do with Akatsuki?"
Gaara's eyes shifted from side to side at the mention of Akatsuki.
"We'll have to continue this in my office. And you are absolutely correct Naruto-kun. Akatsuki is involved. Not even the Hokage knows the truth to this mission."
As they reached the Kazekage's office, a girl of about 14 years of age accidentally slammed into Gaara's shoulder. She was carrying a heavy load of boxes. She looked at Gaara with a deep red blush on her face. She bowed low in apology, yet Gaara lifted her face up and she turned crimson red.
"Matsuri, what have I said before? Don't carry more than you have to. You're a Chuunin now. Let the workers in the building handle the heavy labor alright?"
She stood up, brushed her legs off, and ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction. Naruto tried to stifle a laugh, but he could not help it. Gaara gave him a quizzical look, and Temari and Kankuro burst out laughing as well. They had long known about Matsuri's crush on Gaara. The youngest of the Sand Siblings demanded to know why they were laughing. Naruto said it very bluntly, eyes watering from the laughter.
"Gaara, she's in love with you. Hinata used to look at me the same way, and she always turned red as I got closer to her. You should talk to her Gaara. Now, about the mission."
Gaara sat in his seat, and his older siblings sat next to Naruto across from Gaara, Temari to his right, Kankuro on the left. Gaara had not even told his brother and sister the news that had been given him by Jiraiya a week ago. He began the debriefing.
"One week ago, Akatsuki made an appearance in the Waterfall Village. The Waterfall Shinobi are leaderless, and Pein, leader of Akatsuki, struck a bargain with them. He left two members of Akatsuki to remain. We have information about them, but what we do know is limited. That is why the four of us, plus Nara Shikamaru, are going to the Waterfall Village tomorrow morning."
Temari's eyes danced as she heard that name. No one knew she was dating Shikamaru, and whenever asked about it, they both vehemently denied it. Now she was going on a mission with him. However, Kankuro was not too pleased with the news of Akatsuki
"Gaara… I know you want to find out what's going on, but you have to remember. These are all extremely dangerous ninja. Even if you and Naruto are to go, will it be enough?"
The Kazekage put on a rare smile, and nodded.
"I am confident that the five of us will be able to defeat our adversaries. Yet, it is the two in question who I am worried about. I was informed by Jiraiya that you have had a run-in with them Naruto-kun. Curious as to who they are?"
The blonde shinobi's heart sunk, as he knew who it was. It had to be them. He said nothing. Gaara misinterpreted his silence, and said the names aloud.
"Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. Both extremely dangerous, and extremely skilled shinobi."
Naruto knew it had to be them. He rose and started to walk away from the debriefing, only to be stopped by Gaara. Gaara knew what he was going through, yet he had no choice. He needed Naruto's power. The Kazekage spoke to his dear friend in a gentle and soft voice.
"I want you to go to the east tower, and send my personal hawk back to Konoha, to reassure Hinata. It could be a very long time before you return. In the meantime, we'll prepare. You need to put her first. Even though you are a shinobi, we're human before anything else. Now go."
Naruto gave a weak smile, more out of fear than anything else. He knew the entire reason Jiraiya had trained him for three years was to prepare him for his inevitable destiny, as a target for Akatsuki. He had grown immensely in power and wisdom, yet he was still frightened about walking into a battle with Itachi, who stronger than even Kakashi. He walked the short distance to the east tower, and sat down at the wooden desk. With a scroll and a pen in his hand, he began to write to his beloved.
Hinata,
I know I promised to come back safely to you, and I will keep that promise. This mission is a test for me, for us. I miss you already, and the distance kills me, as tomorrow I will be leaving for the Waterfall village to pursue Uchiha Itachi. There is a good chance I could not come back for months, but I will come back to you. Do not worry about me, and instead focus on your clan. I will write to you once a week, and I love and miss you more than you will ever know.
Naruto.
As he finished writing the letter, his tears flowed freely. He placed the scroll in the little bag of the hawk, which flew towards to Konoha at an alarming rate. It took the bird only four hours to reach Konoha, and when Hinata read her boyfriend's letter to her, she immediately called for Neji and Tenten. She told them hurriedly of the situation, showing them the letter. Neji was the one to come up with the solution.
"We have to tell Tsunade immediately. Someone has to go as backup. If Itachi is involved… Naruto isn't coming back."
Hinata knew nothing of Akatsuki, and even less of Itachi. She went with them to the Hokage Tower, and the three of them stood before the Godaime Hokage. Tsunade listened intently, and called upon Shizune to gather the rest of the Chuunin. Shizune bowed and ran from the room, and all that was heard throughout the tower was Shizune's voice.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Shizune had used that jutsu so she would be able to gather everyone at once. In the span of a half hour, everyone was gathered before Tsunade. Ino leaned against the wall, her long blonde hair draped over her left shoulder. Chouji sat directly off to Ino's left, the traditional armor of the Akimichi clan over his body. Lee stood at attention, reassuring everyone that Naruto would be ok. Sakura and Tenten sat with Hinata, trying to console their friend in her time of need. Hinata was sobbing softly, and Sakura drew her into a gentle hug, as Tenten stroked her cheek the way Naruto did, to calm her and reassure her. Kiba and Shino were discussing strategy in low whispers. Tsunade calmly explained the situation, and Neji tensed as he was named squad leader. They all assembled at the main gate, and in teams of two, they each disappeared into the shadows of night.
Ino was with Chouji. They had both worked together for a long time as Cell Ten. Neji wanted Hinata with him to comfort her, but instead left that task to Sakura. Hinata and Sakura had been friends since they were children. Lee worked best alone, which left Kiba with Shino. Each of these nine was a close friend of Naruto and Hinata in some way, and Neji stopped them all once they were outside the Land of Fire.
"This mission will be more dangerous than any we have ever faced. Our enemies are Uchiha Itachi and Hoshikagi Kisame. You all know who Itachi is, but none of know anything about Kisame. So our strategy consists of finding Naruto first, and then Gaara. Hinata, you will be the key to convincing Naruto to give up the mission. Do whatever you have to. Sakura, Ino. You're both medical ninja. Stay out of the battles unless necessary. Lee, Chouji, Kiba. You're our physical attackers, and Hinata, Shino Tenten and I will provide top cover with our Byakugan and Kikiachu. Your lives are all in my hands, and we'll all come back together, with Naruto and Shikamaru. Now, let's move out."
Neji gave the signal to move out, and in their respective pairs, they all sped through the forests until they reached the borders of the Land of Wind a day later.
A/N: Wow, I finally updated. Just as news to you all, this was one fun chapter to write. The action is really heating up, and the next chapter will throw some new characters into the fray. Itachi, Kisame, Pein, Shikamaru, and a mystery character. Who could it be? Hehehe. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. Reviews would be very useful to me. Thanks for reading.