Hinata kept going. She heard the sounds of the fight behind her and she tried to block it out.

"Arigato, Kasako-chan. Gomenasai." She said as she ran.

She found the room that Kasako had told her about and used her Byakugan to quickly find the secret passage.

Naruto paced back and forth frantically in front of the passage exit.

Kasashi read "Come, Come Paradise" by the moonlight. Kiba played a half-hearted game of fetch with Akamaru. Shino sat and watched the exit intently. Neji, Temari, Kankuro, and Shikamaru had gone to get TenTen and Sakura. Kakashi's team would meet them at a designated spot in the woods later on. For now, they waited on Kasako to bring Hinata out. Kiba's head popped up suddenly and he looked at the exit.

"She's coming!" he said excitedly.

Naruto ran over and opened the door. A teary-eyed Hinata stumbled into the moonlight. Naruto scooped her up in his arms and darted into the woods. The others quickly followed. Hinata wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and cried into his shoulder. Tears streamed down his face onto her arm.

Even after they stopped, Hinata and Naruto never let go of eachother. She bawled and he quietly cried. When she had calmed down a bit, she told them about her terrifying dinner with Hidekai and about Kasako's friendship and sacrifice. They told her about Kurenai and Hanabi's recoveries and of Ino's delicate condition. Hinata cried some more. Shikamaru and his team showed up around dawn. There was hugging and crying all around. Sakura, Naruto, and Kiba threw a few curses in the too, for good measure. Then, suddenly, Neji turned to look behind them.

"We have a pursuer." He said, on edge.

Hinata didn't have to look to know who it was.

"Kanaka." She whispered.

She trembled slightly and Naruto hugged her closer. Kanaka walked slowly into their view. She looked directly at Hinata. Naruto pushed Hinata behind him and glared at Kanaka. All of the boys and Temari formed a wall between Kanaka and the girls. Sakura and TenTen had evidently met Kanaka on several occasions. Their eyes widened and they took a step back. Hinata stood in front of them protectively. Kanaka laughed sadistically.

"Obviously I'm not going to take on all of you. I came with a promise." She said.

She pointed at Naruto and gave him a twisted smiled. She walked towards him.

"You can hide her away in the depths of the earth. You can travel for years to some far off land. But no matter where you go or what you do I promise you this:"

She was in Naruto's face now. She lowered her voice to a whisper.

"I will hunt her down until the day I die. And, if I ever get my hands on her again, I will rip her throat out with my bare hands." she hissed.

Naruto growled.

"If you so much as look at her again, I'll tear you apart bit by bit." He swore.

Kanaka humphed. She clapped her hands and vanished in a puff of smoke.

"She wanted to fight. That clone had a large amount of chakra in it. I wonder what deterred her?" Neji stated.

After the teams arrived back there was a teary and joyful welcome from Shizune. Tsunade pretended to wave it off, telling everyone that she knew everything would turn out alright.

Afterward, Naruto brought Hinata to his apartment for some much needed TLC. As soon as they shut the door,they started peeling eachother's clothes off. Naruto ran his hand across Hinata's shoulders, down her back and brought them around to rest on her baby bump. He knelled down and kissed the very top of her tummy. Hinata ran her fingers through Naruto's hair. He stood up and kissed her passionately. He pulled away gently and smiled down at her.

"I missed you so much." he said tenderly.

She reached up and kissed him softly.

"I missed you more." She whispered.

The next morning, they went to the hospital to check on Kurenai, Hanabi, and Ino. Kurenai and Hanabi were awake and alert now, but both needed to stay at the hospital for a few more weeks so their wounds could heal.

"At this rate, I'll get out of the hospital just in time to go back in and have my baby!" Kurenai joked.

Hinata went to see Ino by herself (Naruto was in desperate need of Ramen). She went in and nearly started crying again. Ino was hooked up to so many different machines that she looked like she was part robot. Hinata pulled up a chair beside her bed. She put her hand over Ino's gently. To her surprise, a small smile twitched at the corner of Ino's mouth. Tsunade had said Ino might be able to hear and understand but not respond to anything. Hinata decided to try to talk to her.

"Hello, Ino-chan. It's me, Hinata-chan…I…I want to say that I'm sorry…I'm sorry that you got hurt because of me…"

She looked at Ino's lifeless face. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Please…fight Ino. Fight to stay alive." she begged quietly.

Hinata wanted to wait until after Hanabi and Kurenai got out of the hospital to get married. Naruto, though reluctant, agreed and the two spent their time together as much as possible. Sakura and TenTen were checked into the hospital. They didn't have any major injuries so they were in and out in a day. They didn't talk to anybody about what happened to them after they were captured. TenTen only said that was infinately glad to be home. Sakura didn't speak to anybody. She didn't look anybody in the eye. The only person she felt comfortable around for a time was TenTen. Then, about three weeks later, she was completely back to normal. She acted as if nothing had happened at all. The only difference was that she spent quite a bit more time with TenTen.

Finally, five weeks after returning to Konoha, Hinata and Naruto were married. It wasn't as big and fancy as the first one; just a small group of their close friends and relatives. Tsunade married them (by the power vested in her as Hokage) and then they had a bigger reception. Nearly all of Konoha gathered to congradulate them. Temari and Kankuro came as well, this time they brought Gaara with them. Everyone was happy for them and wished them well. Their honeymoon was nothing special, just a quiet evening in Naruto's appartment. Life was slow and easy afterwards. Naruto opted out of as many missions as he could to stay home and take care of Hinata. He got a part time job at the Ramen shop and started saving up money for baby supplies. Hinata continued her regular visits to Tsunade and the news was consistently good. Two big, beautiful, healthy babies.

Then, the big day came. Hinata burst into the appartment.

"Kurenai-sensei just went into labor! " she said excitedly.