Thanks to everyone who review.

Chewie Cookies: You're right, it wasn't easy. I guess it's easy to guess what our favorite villain will do. Thanks I will try.

Redsox31: I will let her know. But I have already corrected it. Thanks for letting me know.

Arymed: Thank you. I'm happy you saw it that way too.

chrysant: Thank you very much. I hoped that made sense, but it's how I think Naruto would feel. Thanks for pointing it out, I corrected it already. I thought it's fairly obvious what Orochimaru is planning, is it not?

I don't own Naruto.

-12-

"Kiba!" Karui stared at her boyfriend and the sight of him made her heart clench painfully.

The room was freezing cold, but Kiba sat in a chair facing the wall completely unmoving. Deep scratches across his chest told her that he had not only refused medical treatment but also didn't change his clothes. His hair was disheveled and bare of the forehead protector. She knew that he hadn't slept or eaten in days just by looking at him.

"Kiba?" Her voice almost broke as she reached out to him. He wasn't showing the slightest indication he knew she was there even when her hand touched his shoulder.

Helplessness and uselessness battled inside her over the most rank of the most prominent, gut-wrenching feeling. She didn't know what to tell him or what to do. Akamaru had been by his side since he could think and as much as Karui had loved the dog she couldn't phantom what he must feel.

"Kiba? Please look at me." She begged and rounded the chair to kneel before him.

His eyes were downcast and Karui's hands trembled as she forced his head to look at her. "Hey." Tears spilled out of her eyes. His dark eyes looked lifeless and dull back at her. It broke her heart to see him like that.

She choked on her suppressed cries and the tears were finally shaking her whole body. Unable to talk she kept his gaze on her. Her golden eyes didn't stray from his and her intensity forced him to keep looking at her. Suddenly Kiba got up and pulled her with him. Together they stood in the cold room, hugging each other and keeping the other one painfully close - and together they cried.

"I am so sorry, Kiba. I'm so sorry." Karui cried in his chest. Her sobs died down slowly. They had been standing there for a long time and during the last minutes Kiba had gone quiet again. By now his sobs had subsided completely.

Even when his arms slacked and hung by his side loosely, she didn't let him go. The thought that had been hidden in her mind was making his way into his consciousness. "You need to get your wounds looked at, Kiba."

At first he didn't react and Karui asked again, "Kiba?"

Karui felt his mood change and before she could stop it, she got shoved to the side. Karui hit the wall. She barely felt the impact and it was not physical pain that made her slide down the wall with tears rolling over her cheeks. She could only watch as Kiba burst with anger.

A chair crashed against the wall and splattered with the force of the impact. Kiba punched the spot where the chair had already left a dent and the bricks broke. The man raged on until there was nothing left in the room to throw or break.

He calmed down eventually and seated himself against the wall opposed from Karui. His knees probed up and his elbows rested above them, as he fixed his eyes on her.

"You done?" Her voice carried the faintest air of a smile.

Kiba picked up a metal tablet from the floor and threw it across the room. "Now I am."

Despite her tears Karui couldn't stop the quick laugh that escaped her lips. She crawled over to him and made herself comfortable between his long legs. "If you think I forgot about your wounds you are mistaken." Relieved she noted the tremor of a chuckle that went through his body. He rested his chin on top of her head and his body relaxed.

…

Killer Bee retreated his head from in between the door. He smiled at the sight of his former student and her boyfriend. The first time he had wanted to check on the Inuzuka he had found them in a tight embrace, the second time he had almost been hit by flying silverware and this time, he found the two of them sleeping on the floor.

Admittedly he had been very skeptical about his beloved student and her relationship with a foreigner. But somehow after seeing the effect her presence had on him, he might just change his opinion.

"Bee!" Naruto waved at his fellow Jinchuuriki from the end of the floor.

"Ah, Naruto, you are already here? Fool, ya fool."

"Yeah, I just came five minutes ago. I thought it would be best if I bring Kiba, Karui and Akamaru home." The clone hesitated. "How's Kiba?"

"I think he's doing better." Bee answered. "Maybe you should leave them alone for a while."

Naruto nodded.

"Can I ask why they're here?" Bee asked curiously.

"I assume you're talking about this mission." Naruto smiled and shrugged. He trusted Bee and saw no reason not to let him know the general idea.

"I see." Bee crossed his arms. "Is he really planning to marry Karui?"

Naruto shrugged, "It would surprise me if he didn't. But the problem of cross-border relationship does not only concern these two."

Bee nodded. "I guess you are right. I might speak with A 'bout it."

"I sent him a clone to let him know I am here." Naruto told him. "Well, I'll go look how Kiba's doing. Thanks Bee!" His tone turned serious. "Really, thank you so much. If it wasn't for you, Hinata would be dead. I don't think I can put in words how grateful I am."

"There's no reason to thank me. Fool, ya fool. I'm glad I was there on time."

…

Naruto rounded the corner to the office of the Raikage. His assistant had already been informed that the Hokage was to arrive today. He was about to knock on the wooden door when it opened. Hanabi looked up at him and smiled. "Hi, Naruto."

"Hanabi, good to see you're alright." The Clone hugged her quickly. "Would you wait here for a moment? I'll just let the Raikage know that I'm here."

Hanabi sat down in front of the office. She wondered how many clones the blond had made and whether or not he had left only a clone in his office at Konoha or sent a clone to Hinata. She doubted that the original was in Konoha, however.

She looked up when Naruto came back out after quite some time. "Already done?" Her voice was laced with only a hint of sarcasm.

He shrugged.. "All I did was let him know I was here and he gave me the report from Bee, so that I could put all the pieces together. It took some time to discuss matters. Apparently this morning he got a letter from Gaara. He wrote that regarding the situation with Orochimaru the Kages should meet. I guess the Clone in Konoha got the same letter."

"Gaara's right. Orochimaru is a danger to all the villages." Hanabi fell into step next to him. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Not here." Naruto said and told her to bring him into the room she was staying.

"What's this all about?" Hanabi demanded to know after he had closed the door behind them.

"Look - Gaara is one of my best friends. And I'm guessing that he wants to make sure you're fine personally, at least that was how I felt when I heard about the attack on Hinata. So…" Naruto went through familiar hand signs and two more clones appeared. "I know that it's not completely legal, but I don't think Gaara would mind."

One of the Clones transformed into Hanabi, and her original turned to Naruto. "You really would? But aren't they suppressing the seal unless they know you're coming." She asked in surprise.

"They are… with the official seal..." He grinned and took her arm. In a flash they disappeared.

Nighttime had already fallen in Suna as Naruto and Hanabi appeared inside of Kankuro's bedroom. The seal Naruto had once left on Kankuro's bed wasn't gone completely. He had erased it to the eye, and made it invisible, but once a Hiraishin was placed, it didn't disappear.

"What the…?" Naruto wondered in a hushed voice.

Underneath Kankuro's dark blue sheets a blob of pink hair was visible. He barely felt Hanabi taking off next to him. Instead with a smile Naruto looked at his former teammate. He had known that she and Kankuro felt something for each other, but apparently they were closer to one another than he had assumed. Nevertheless he was glad for Sakura. It was time she moved on from Sasuke.

Quietly he left the room to wait for Hanabi in the kitchen.

…

The night in Suna was unusually black. The moon chose to stay hidden behind a thick layer of clouds and not a single star graced the sky. Rain season in Suna was quite beautiful during the day, but at night it kept the stars and the moon from shining. Gaara looked outside the window of his balcony. Yet another sleepless night was plaguing him. He had thrown on a white shirt and some lose pants to train. But even after hours of beating and crushing all kinds of training post the uneasiness didn't leave him. Out of his room he had a beautiful view over Suna given he could make out something in the darkness. Since Hanabi had left he was used to having a hard time falling asleep, but since the attack he had been deprived from any sleep at all.

He crossed his arms and let his eyes wander over the darkness that waited outside. Deep in thoughts he furrowed his brows when he felt a slight disruption of chakra. Gaara concentrated but there was no sign of attack or any evil intent. Nevertheless he should find the source quickly.

The door to his chamber flew open and Gaara let his sand whirl wild around him. He turned and the sand fell on the ground lifelessly. Hanabi looked beautiful slightly out of breath; Gaara only had the chance to see a glimpse of her, before she threw herself into his arms.

The Kazekage thanked Naruto in his head knowing he had brought her here and his arms tightened painfully around her small form. Having her in his arms alive and breathing made the knot in his stomach disappear piece by piece. His fingers tangled in her hair and he forced her up in a kiss. Desperately their lips crashed and his grip on her tensed. He pulled her head back to get a better look at her. The hand that wasn't tangled in her hair caressed the sore scratches on the side of her face.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there."

Hanabi shook her head. "You don't have to be sorry. It wasn't your fault. No one could have seen this coming."

"I wrote to the Kages. We have to get this situation under control." He said lowly.

"I heard." Hanabi hugged him close and the stress she had suppressed during the last days came undone.

She didn't even realize the tears that had started to soil her face and rolled down her cheeks. Her hands clutched the back of his shirt and she buried her head in his chest. All Gaara did was hold her close. His jaws clenched and he had the strong urge to take away all her pain.

"I was so scared." Hanabi mumbled and he felt her lips move against his chest. In response he only tightened his hold on her.

Misted with tears her silver eyes looked up at him. Gaara wiped her tears from her cheeks. His fingers brushed over her silken skin and he put a strand of hair softly behind her ear. She smiled at him through her wet eyes. His arms found her waist and he brought her up to his eyelevel. Her arms wound around his neck and he pulled her closer for a kiss.

Soon enough the better part of their clothes were scattered on the floor and the heat in the room became unbearable.

…

"Where's Naruto?" Gaara traced his fingers along the scratches on her face and down her side careful not to hurt her sore spots.

Hanabi looked up at him sleepily. She had curled herself up next to him and her arm held him close around his torso. "He's probably downstairs."

…

"Good evening, Naruto."

The blond grinned. "You're a shadow clone I assume?"

Gaara nodded and crossed his arms.

"I'm sorry for intruding. I do hope this won't cause an international incident."

The red head smiled. "Of course not, though I would prefer if you would remove the seal. I am grateful to you, however. Thank you, Naruto."

"I figured how you would feel. I couldn't calm down until I saw Hinata." He scratched his head sheepishly. "About the seal. Well, once it's placed I can't remove it, but if you get Kankuro a new bed and burn the old one…"

"I rather not know why or how." The Kazekage said. "But I will see to it."

"I probably should bring her back soon."

With a nod the Clone dissolved.

…

Light purple eyes hushed over the outline of Naruto's sleeping face. Hinata bit her lip and smiled at him softly. She was grateful for him to be here, but she was still worried he would overwork himself. There were several Shadow Clones shattered around. She knew one was with her sister, because as he had told her he couldn't leave one of his best friend's girlfriend unprotected. His second one was most likely already back in Konoha with Kiba and Karui. She had only been able to bid him a short goodbye. One in which he didn't respond to at all. Hinata wasn't even sure Kiba knew she had been there. He had been holding Akamaru and his eyes stared through everything and anyone, except maybe Karui.

Left with no other choice but to remain here, Hinata wouldn't be able to help him or be there for him. She would write him, but sadly that was all she could do for now.

Naruto mumbled something incoherent in his sleep and pulled her closer. The bluenette closed her eyes and tried to sleep but it was no use. She had yet to tell Naruto that Sasuke was supposed to kill her a year ago. She didn't want to tell him in the letter, but telling him in person seemed even scarier now. Her fingers dug into his arm and she blinked her tears away.

A hand came up to stroke over her cheekbone softly. "What's wrong?" Naruto had been pulled out of his sleep by the slight pain on his arm.

"Oh, sorry." Hinata pulled her hand back. "I didn't mean to wake you." She sat up in bed and tucked her legs to the side. "There's something I have to tell you."

Rattled by the solemnity of her voice Naruto sat up opposed from her to catch her eyes. Halting and slowly she began to tell him about their conversation with Orochimaru and how he had revealed that he had sent Sasuke a year ago to kill her.

During the time she spoke, Naruto remained silent even if his facial expression had darkened.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Hinata played with her fingers nervously.

"Why would you be sorry? It's not your fault."

"No, but I just…It's Sasuke and…" Hinata didn't know how to put it.

For some time Naruto just stared at her. He wasn't sure what he felt about Sasuke having been out for Hinata. He couldn't be mad at someone who was already dead and Sasuke never touched Hinata. He somehow had gotten over not being able to safe Sasuke. The new knowledge about Sasuke wasn't making him feel better about what he had done, neither did it make him more angry at him.

"I love you. And if Sasuke had tried to hurt you, I'd …" He stopped. "But he didn't… And I'm glad he didn't get the chance." He pulled her into a hug. "I'm glad he met me before you. I gave him the choice, I wanted him back, but he refused. I did what I had to do."

Her hair fanned out on his naked shoulders as she leaned her head against his chest. It tickled him a bit and sent butterflies down his body. "I'm sorry. All of this was a little much to take in. I didn't realize that we ambassadors could be used against the alliance."

"We need to strengthen your protection. I know you're against it, but I will not let you travel like this anymore. I'll come along."

Hinata's eyes softened and she shifted in his lap, to look in his eyes she ended up straddling him. "Naruto, we talked about this. As the Hokage it is your duty to remain…"

"I don't care." He started to get annoyed again. "I love Konoha and I won't let anything happen to the village. But I gave the village everything for all my life. I forgave how they treated me, and I protected them. But this is different! This is about you. I love you. I don't care whether it is appropriate or not. I don't care whether I'm Hokage or not. The village owns this to me! Why won't you believe me?"

His arms had constricted around her. Hinata calmed him by treading her fingers through his hair. "Naruto, you can't just abandon the village."

"I'm not abandoning anything. I love the village and I would never let anything happen to it. If one of my clones pops, I'm in Konoha in a second!"

"Even if that was acceptable, we can't take the Hokage with us!"

"I'll henge." He had obviously thought about it.

Hinata was about to protest but he cut her off with his lips on hers. "Let's discuss this later." His hands wandered under her tank top and his thumbs caressed her flat stomach. A quiet moan escaped her when he lowered his head to nibble at her earlobe.

…

"You summoned me, Raikage-sama?" Hanabi tilted her head in expectation.

"Indeed I did. I hope you had a pleasant night?"

Hanabi kept the face splitting smile from emerging and settled for a silent nod instead. There was no need to raise any suspicion regarding her night life.

The dark skinned man continued after motioning her to take a seat. "I have read over your proposal and I have decided one a course of action."

Hanabi held her breath but her façade of calm and indifference never wavered.

"Considering the recent events I believe, a profounder connection between the villages can only play out in our favor." The tall black man interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on top of his hands.

Still Hanabi didn't react. She had no intention of giving away her opinion.

"I will bring forth the offer in the council." He closed his speech. "I can't guarantee that they will agree and we have yet to discuss some details, especially about the handling of blood line limits and such. But in case the council should sign the basic contract off, the five Kages shall meet about the details."

"I understand. I'll write a statement to the Hokage and the Kazekage informing them of your wish to negotiate the final terms and ratify the treaty between the five of you. I suspect in Iron Country?"

"Indeed."

Earnestly she looked at him. "Thank you, Raikage-sama. The peace between the five nations will continue on."

The large man just smiled.

…

"Wanna play a game?" Naruto blew up his cheeks and let the air out slowly. "I mean it's great that A agreed to the treaty and all, but I'm bored."

"You're a clone, just pop or something." Hanabi rolled her silver eyes and ended her letter to Gaara. She wanted to let him know about the good news as soon as possible.

"No can do! I promised Gaara to keep you save."

"I am in the Raikage tower. Nothing will happen." She argued. "Besides I'm tired, I'm gonna go to bed."

"Didn't get much sleep last night, did you?" He wiggled an eyebrow at her.

"No, and I bet your original didn't either. Too bad you're stuck with me and not with Hinata."

"That was low, Hanabi. That bastard always takes the best parts for himself."

Hanabi only snickered and slipped under the covers. The Clone sat on a chair in the middle of the room and looked at her pensively. She had closed her eyes and only seconds later Naruto spoke up.

"Hanabi?"

"What?" She sat up in bed and her annoyed expression turned to curiousity. It wasn't often that she saw a somber concerned expression on his face.

"Why won't Hinata believe me when I tell her that I need her and that she's just as important as the village?" If not more…He didn't dare to say it out loud. "It's like she won't even believe me that I love her."

Hanabi lied back down and kept her eyes trained on the white wall of the ceiling. "Well…" She began hesitantly. "I can only guess."

Hanabi remembered her doubts about Naruto loving Hinata as much as she loved him. She remembered the reasons that made her believe it before Gaara presented her with the proof.

"But you see, there was never anyone but you for Hinata. And you know that there wasn't. It gives you confident in the relationship. You know she always loved you and you know you're the only person she ever wanted to be with. You know that she always looked at you, and only you, with love and desire. It kind of gives you the upper hand or rather the assurance in the relationship. It keeps you from being insecure. – But for Hinata it's different. She's not been the first one for you, nor has she been the only one you ever wanted to be with. For the longest time you liked your teammate. And during the time you and Hinata were only friends you went out with some women. All of which have been pretty much the opposite of her. She doesn't have the same reassurance you've got. There have been others. Girls she barely has anything in common with, maybe she can't really see why you love her or why you chose her. I guess that maybe she's just afraid that she loves you more than you love her."

"That's not true. I love her so much, I can't put it in words. And I don't know how to let her know. I never felt this way before. I never thought about a woman the way a thought about her. I have told her, when I confessed to her, I told her all of this. She's…"

"Naruto!" Hanabi interrupted him. "Why are you telling me this? Tell her. – And now let me sleep."

"Thanks Hanabi." Naruto leaned back in his seat. His thoughts circled around Hinata. What Hanabi said made a lot of sense, but it wasn't true. He loved her more than anything. He might have thought about other woman before he understood his feelings for her. But he had never thought about anyone in the way he thought about Hinata. He had never been that desperate to make someone understand, to make someone – Hinata - feel loved and to make her stay with him. How could he make her see?

Any suggestions how?

Let me know what you thought.