Chapter 9:

"Naruto! Yo, Naruto! Get up!" Naruto jumped to his feet and looked around. He was in a field of crocuses. He looked up and saw a beautiful blue sky.

"Where am I?" Naruto said as he spun around and saw Sasuke standing there.

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know it's your psych, not mind."

"Huh?" And then as realization dawned, he looked totally disgusted, "Are you telling me that you are in my head?"

Sasuke looked at him with a look that said, 'You tell me?'

"Agh! I hate when you do that! Why couldn't you just wake me up like a normal person?!" Naruto complained.

"Cause you're annoying, especially in the morning." Sasuke retorted. "Look I don't have much time, I've been called back to the village by the Sixth."

Naruto nodded in comprehension. They had figured that that would happen when Sasuke had sent his first messenger hawk the night before.

"Be on your guard. White Zetsu knows that we are in the area. I don't know if he's involved in this. But he likes to cause mischief."

"Understood!" Naruto nodded.

"And Naruto, take care of Sakura for me." Sasuke added.

"I knew it! I knew that you guys were together! I told Hinata…" Sasuke interrupted Naruto, "Idiot! It's not like that! Just watch out for her. White Zetsu might decide to get more annoying than he is already and I don't want Sakura caught in the middle."

"Aha". Naruto said with a knowing grin.

Sasuke walked up to his goofy smiling friend and touched his index finger to the middle of his friend's forehead, "Sleep" he ordered. As Naruto's subconscious sank into slumber at Sasuke's feet. Sasuke added softly, "Take care of yourself too, lame brain."

::

Sakura was awoken by a hand on her shoulder. She turned suddenly in fright and found Sasuke leaning over her with his finger to her lips. She raised up, resting on one hip, and asked curiously, "What's up?" She said with a smile on her face.

Sasuke gave her a slight smirk and motioned for her to follow him back to his room. Sakura followed him across the hall. When she entered, she noticed Naruto sprawled on his mattress, snoring away loudly.

Sasuke noticing her divided attention, smirked, and said "He'll sleep like that for the next hour or so."

Sakura gave Sasuke her full attention. She noticed his packed backpack laying on his bed.

"So you are leaving." She surmised.

Sasuke moved towards her and said, "Orders by the Sixth. I'm needed back in the village."

Sakura looked at him intensely, "This is about whatever it is that you found in the Akatsuki hideout, isn't it?"

Sasuke shrugged and put his hands on either side of her arms. He stared back at her just as intensely, "Take care of yourself." And then he enfolded her tightly in his arms.

Sakura stood there stunned. Sasuke prided himself on being aloof and distant. She rarely saw this side of him. She found herself putting her arms up to return his embrace.

They stood like that for several moments and then Sasuke said softly in her ear with a slight chuckle, "Looks like I have a lot of competition, Junichi, Gaara…"

Sakura started to deny the allegations but Sasuke shhed her quietly and brought up one hand to smooth her hair back.

He pulled back slightly and looked at her gently, "It's okay. I understand. It doesn't mean I like it but I'm not judging you. I have a lot to make up for." Then he pulled her back into his embrace. "By the time you get back to the village, I will be gone. But I need you to do me a big favor, promise me that you will keep that emerald on you at all times."

Sakura pulled back to look up into his eyes, "Um about that," she began but couldn't keep his gaze, "Maybe you should give it to Naruto. I mean since we aren't….together."

Sasuke shhed her again to stop her words. He cupped her chin to bring her gaze up to his, "I gave the emerald to the person I wanted to have it the most." He said simply and then urged again, "Promise me!"

"Yes, yes" Sakura managed to get out, "Once I'm back to the village I will make sure to keep it on me at all times."

Sasuke expelled a breath that Sakura didn't even realize that he was holding. He leaned down and kissed her gently, "Until we are together again." He said and teleported away.

Sakura stood looking at the empty space in front of her. She barely even heard Naruto's loud snores. She felt her heart begin to crack in her chest and she had to clutch her chest because of the pain.

See, her head said, this is why he's not good for you. When he leaves, it hurts too much, and you know he will always leave. She turned and went back to her room. She knew that sleep would allude her so she started making her plan for locating Niishi.

::

During the day, Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata made a big show of being tourists. They even booked a tour of the grand river that seemed to segregate the nation in half as it made its way down to empty out in the gulf at the border of the land. To any that saw the trio, they would assume that they were on holiday. That night, however, they packed up their things and made their way stealthily to the blacksmith's home.

Sota answered the door at their knock.

Sakura smiled at the youth, "Can I speak with Tairu for a moment?"

Sota agreed and let her in. She found Tairu in his chair near the fire.

Sakura had an idea in place but she needed to ask Tairu a few more questions. Tairu answered her as best as he could.

"I'm sorry. We left the village while Niishi was investigating the full properties of the kunai." He explained.

"I understand. I know that the kunai is the last link to your grandchildren, but may I have it. I promise to bring it back to you." The old man nodded and went into his bedroom. He came back and handed her the blade. As Sakura took it from him, she heard the old man give a little chuckle. She looked at him inquiringly.

"I just don't understand how you are immune to the effects of the blade. You must be very strong mentally to not be overcome."

Cha, cried Inner!

Sakura smiled and said, "You have no idea." And with that she went back out to her teammates.

"Did you get it?" Naruto asked eagerly. He was restless with the inactivity of the last few days.

"Yes!" Sakura said and showed them the weapon in her hands. Sakura looked over to Hinata and said, "I hope this works!"

Hinata smiled encouragingly, "I think it will. When it tried to bond with me, I felt a tug or rather a pull in this direction. Like it was trying to take me to Niishi itself."

"Okay" said Sakura, "Let's try this."

She closed her eyes and reached out to the weapon in her hand with her mind, "Can you tell me which direction that you feel Niishi's chakra?" The kunai remained silent for a while.

Sakura was about to give up when she felt a sudden tug. It was in the direction of Takumi village.

Sakura gave a big smile to Naruto and Hinata. "Looks like it's this way." She said.

::

The kunai led them to the outskirts of Takumi Village. They arrived a few hours before sunrise. They expected to see the remnants of an abandoned town. Instead they were surprised to see the early morning bustle. Villagers scurried from one building to the next. They could see several forges firing up through the early morning mist.

"What is this?" Sakura said out loud to her teammates, "I thought Tairu said that this village was pretty much dead. It looks pretty active to me."

"Yeah you said it Sakura. What gives with this place?" Naruto muttered.

Hinata activated her Byagukan and began her survey of the town.

"Looks like maybe 30 people." And then her breath caught, "I can make out about 10 children being held in that building on the outskirts though." She nodded to a building closest to their location but about 50 yards from the main buildings of the tiny village.

Sakura felt a whisper in her mind that she knew was from the chakra dart in her backpack, "Help them! Please help them!"

"I think those might be some of the children from the orphanage that Tairu mentioned."

Naruto started to stand up, "We need to rescue them." He said urgently.

Sakura put her hand on his shoulder to bring him back down, "Yes I know but we also need to find Niishi. This won't stop unless we get her out of here." Sakura turned to Hinata and asked, "How many guards do you see outside the building where the kids are?"

Hinata looked again and counted, "I only see one." She answered.

"Okay. Hinata do you think that you can handle the rescue of the children while Naruto and I infiltrate the village and try to get to Niishi? Take them as far away from here as you can. We will catch up to you once we've found Niishi."

"Hai". Hinata said and started to sprint away. Before she could stand up though, she felt Naruto's hand on her back. "Be careful!" He said as he locked eyes with her.

Hinata smiled back with shiny eyes, "Don't worry about me, Naruto. I'm a lot tougher than you think. You only get to see the softer side of me." The two smiled at each other tenderly and then Hinata started off.

They watched her make her way to where the children were being held. She dispatched the guard in less than a minute with a few swift jabs of her small hands. Then she dragged his body inside the building out of sight.

"Well that was quick!" Sakura said with admiration.

Naruto smiled with pride, "That's my girl!" He said.

"Come on! There's a few more hours until full sunup. Let's take advantage of this fog and find Niishi." They stealthily made their way through the village. Pausing from building to building. Eventually they tracked Niishi's chakra to the largest building in the village.

"Wish we had Hinata's Byagukan to give us a possible estimate of the people inside." Sakura said.

Naruto cracked his knuckles and gave her a cheeky grin. "Don't worry, Sakura! I can handle these guys! Especially after what they did to those kids!"

Sakura gave a nod of agreement. Her face hardened and she said, "Okay, let's go!" Together they entered the building on silent feet. They surprised one guard who was half asleep in the entry way. Sakura took him out with a shot to his jugular.

"Not bad!" Naruto praised.

"Come on! She's this way!" Sakura followed the strong pull of the kunai. It seemed like it was basically pulling her forward with its need to reunite with its master. They raced silently down a flight of stairs and came to an unlocked door.

Silently they opened the door and were surprised to find the form of a tall woman sitting in a chair with her head in her hands.

Without looking up, she asked, "Is it time again already?"

Naruto replied, "I don't know what you are expecting but if you're Niishi then yeah it's time to get out of this hell hole!"

Niishi looked up in surprise and swiveled to stare at the two of them. "What? Who are you two?!"

Sakura stepped further into the room and showed her the kunai in her hands, "We are sent by your grandfather, Tairu. We are shinobi from the Land of Fire. This is Naruto Uzamaki and I'm Sakura Haruno. We've come to get you out of here."

Niishi's face crumbled and she stood up suddenly. She towered over the two shinobi.

"Wow you are tall!" Naruto said as he looked at the woman who easily stood a foot taller than him.

She smiled as she looked at the two of them, "I get my height from my mother's side and my brawn from my father's." Then she looked over at the kunai, "I thought that I'd never see it again." Sakura handed it over to the tall woman.

Instantly she smiled and said, "Yes, yes, I should never had left you. No I won't leave you again. I promise."

Naruto looked at Niishi and asked, "Heh?" As he looked over to Sakura to see if she understood.

Sakura smiled and whispered to him, "She's reuniting with the kunai. It's a special moment."

"Aha." Naruto said knowingly, "okay if you two are done getting reacquainted, we really need to get out of here, and get back to Hinata and those kids."

Sakura started to grab Niishi's hand to escort her out but Niishi drew her hand back.

"I can't go!" She said with feeling.

Naruto looked back and asked fervently, "Why?" He could sense that they were running out of time.

Niishi put her hand to her face and started to cry. It was weird seeing such a large woman cry.

Sakura put her hand up to Niishi's shoulder, "Hey no one will blame you for this. We all know that you were held against your will."

"That's not it! They have my father. They will kill him if I don't do what they ask." She sobbed.

"Your father? I thought he died in the war." Sakura said.

Niishi sniffed, "I did too, but it's him! They brought him to me, bound and gagged. I know my father and it's him! They started to torture him right in front of me until I did what they asked. I didn't want to do it." She shook her head and started to sob, "All those children….their eyes follow me in my sleep. That's why I can't sleep anymore. I'm haunted by them, but I also can't bear to hear my father's screams. I should never have pursued this research. Nothing is worth this agony."

Sakura rubbed Niishi's back in a soothing way, "Okay we will find your father and then we will get the both of you out of here. But first you have to help us. Do you know where he is being held?"

Niishi nodded. "Yes they've taken me to his cell. It's the floor above the main one where you probably came in."

"Great. Let's go now! We are running out of time!" Naruto commanded. Sakura looked over at Niishi who gave a determined nod.

They left the room silently, as they approached the main floor they could hear the voices of two men as they entered the building.

"Hey isn't Keishi on duty? Where is he?" One man asked. The other responded, "You know Keishi, he probably found somewhere to snooze. That fool is always lying down on the job."

Naruto looked over at the two girls. "You go" he mouthed to Sakura, "Be with you in a minute." And then he jumped out of hiding and yelled ' shadow clone jutsu'.

"Come on Niishi!" The two of them bounded up the stairs. Sakura motioned for Niishi to stop when they got to the edge of the corridor.

"My father is in that room at the far end of the hall on the right." Niishi whispered.

Sakura took a deep breath and then said, "Okay let's go!" The two women hurried down the hall. Sakura grabbed the door knob, expecting it to be locked. She was mildly shocked to find that it opened easily.

She cautiously entered the room. Niishi, however, bounded by her and went to a figure who was tied to a chair in the mostly dark room.

"Oh father!" She cried, "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry that this had to happen to you."

Niishi was fumbling with the robes tied around the man. She looked imploringly at Sakura, "Please help me!" She cried.

Sakura nodded and knelt next to the captive man. Her insides were screaming that something wasn't right but she couldn't think clearly. She found her fingers untying the unconscious man. Niishi picked her father up and started to drag him out of the room and into the hall. They made their way halfway down the hall when Naruto came up to meet them.

"Sorry it took a lot longer than I thought. You see a few of their friends showed up too and…" He let his voice trail off. He suddenly resumed his fighting stance and commanded, "Sakura step away from that man. Niishi put him down, now!"

Sakura felt herself start to take a step away but before she could make it a reality, her blood froze with the sound of a familiar laugh. She turned and saw the form of Niishi's father turn into White Zetsu. She stood there in horror as the figure continued to laugh. Even Niishi seemed frozen in place before she dropped the form like a hot potato and began to walk away.

"Where's my father?" She demanded.

White Zetsu laughed and said, "Silly girl! Your father died in the war! He was never here! You humans are so easy to fool!"

Naruto started to form his Rasengan while White Zetsu had talked.

White Zetsu grabbed hold of Niishi and dragged her in front of him to shield himself. He had his arm around her throat and he started to make his way towards the exit on the other side of the corridor.

"Haha. I would think again if I were you, Naruto. Wouldn't want Niishi here to get hurt now would we?"

"You bastard!" Niishi roared and she brought down the kunai in her hand down into the stomach of White Zetsu. A normal kunai would have just issued a mild scratch on his wooden surface. However this kunai was not normal. It amassed into a sword as it began to suction out all the chakra from White Zetsu. His face stilled into an expression of awe as his whole body transformed into wood and then crumbled into ash on the floor.

Niishi stood there still holding the handle of the blade in her hands.

"I did all this for nothing! Nothing! I murdered those children for nothing!"

Sakura went over and took Niishi in her arms. "It was not you. It was White Zetsu and whoever he may be working for." Sakura whispered.

Niishi continued to cry. Naruto walked over and looked down at the white ash remains of White Zetsu and then looked over at the two women.

Sakura looked up at Naruto while she waited for Niishi to get a hold of herself, her emerald eyes met Naruto's blue ones, "Is this the reason for Sasuke's sudden departure back to the village?"

Naruto gave her a smile and put his hand up to rub the back of his neck self consciously.

Sakura's lips twitched, "I guess I'm part of the 'need to know' group now."

Naruto chuckled, "Yeah I guess you are." They started to hear a ruckus going on beneath them.

"Let's get out of here!" Sakura commanded. Together both Naruto and Sakura took either side of Niishi and they escaped through an open window into the early morning sunlight.

::

"Thank you so much for your help. My people are so happy that you were able to rescue these children." The daimyo of the Land of Rivers said as he shook the hands of the three shinobi from the Land of Fire.

Then he looked at them curiously, "How was it that you knew they were being held there, again?"

Sakura smiled, "Well it was the craziest thing! You see when Naruto and I came here last month as ambassadors for the new trade agreement, we were so enamoured by the scenery here." She elbowed Naruto who looked as if he was bored.

"Yes, enamoured! That's what I was. That's why I had to bring my girlfriend back here to visit."

Hinata interjected with a shy smile that caught the daimyo's eye, "Your country is so beautiful. I've never seen rivers so grand before. And the fish here are just amazing!" Hinata had found out the very useful information that the daimyo was an active fisherman.

"Oh dear!" he said as he took Hinata's hand in his, "You are indeed a lucky man Naruto! To have a beauty like this and she likes to fish! Lucky indeed!" He said with a smile . Hinata gave a pretty blush which seemed to seal the deal and effectively change the subject.

"As you know, I sent my men to the village but it seemed that everyone had cleared out. We could not find a single trace of them but my men will definitely be on alert." He promised.

Sakura smiled and said graciously, "We are just so glad that we could be of help."

The three bid farewell and started back to Konoha. Once they made it outside and were a few miles from Tanigakure they met up with Niishi.

Sakura smiled at the tall woman, "Do you mind leaving your village to come to Konoha?"

Niishi smiled sadly, "It was hard to leave Grandfather and Sota, but the village no." She said sadly. "Now there are just too many bad memories and ghosts. I need a fresh start. I'm hoping that I can be of use to someone and try to make up for what I've done."

Sakura nodded. She understood. She smiled at the woman as they started for home, "I think you will fit in great in Konoha. Just wait until you meet Tenten!"

"I'm just so happy that your Hokage agreed to my visit." Niishi added as they walked along.

::

The group was finally on the last leg of the journey. Niishi turned out to be quite the gambler and enjoyed the stay in Tanzaku Quarters. The town was a lot less lively since the poker tournament had gone through so they were able to find a place to stay without any trouble.

They were getting close to the village when Naruto whispered something in Hinata's ear. She giggled and nodded. He ran up to Sakura and Niishi.

"Hey um I was wondering if you two wouldn't mind going on to the village without us. I mean," he cleared his throat which made his voice deepen, " we have some business to attend to and it might take a while." Sakura raised an eyebrow and then looked around him to a brightly blushing Hinata.

"Okay, I guess. But you better make it quick. You know The Sixth will be expecting a report from all of us later on today."

"No problem, Sakura! We will be there, right Hinata?" Naruto said with a thumbs up sign.

Hinata yelled out clearly, "Hai!"

"Okay you two. See you in the village later on today." And with that she continued to walk down the road telling Niishi about the different restaurants and such that the village offered.

The lovebirds waited until they could not see the two anymore and then raced into the woods.

"Come on!" Hinata giggled, "It's this way!" They finally reached the meadow and their breaths were taken away. In just a mere week of so the field had blossomed. There were purple, yellow, and white crocuses for several yards around.

Hinata raced out into the middle and cried, "Beautiful!" As she twirled around.

Naruto stood there in awe. He knew that this day would be embedded in his memory for all eternity. Hinata looked over at him and beckoned him over into the field shyly.

Naruto approached her slowly. Once he was standing right in front of her, with her shining eyes looking right into his soul, he bent down on one knee and brought out his left hand upwards holding a ring.

"Hinata Hyuuga, would you do me the honor of being my wife?" When she just stood there silent and stunned.

He chuckled and added, "You see, I do still owe you a birthday present. This is what I should have given you, what I wanted to give you all along."

Hinata gave a squeal of delight and launched into his arms sending him flying backwards into the bed of flowers, "Uh is that a yes?" He asked a bit dazed.

"YES! YES! YES!" She started kissing him so much that he could barely breathe and the both of them laughed happily together.

The End.

Hello everyone! Yes this is the end of the story. I'm sort of sad, but proud at the same time. Thanks to all of you that follow/faved. I wouldn't have done this without you. The sequel is out "A Visit to the Sand" if you are interested and want to read more. Thanks again! Hopefully I'll see you on the next ride!