Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Naruto or Zelda franchises. Comments/criticism is fine as long as it isn't straight up hate or flaming. If you do not like, then no one is forcing you to read and you can just leave.

Thank you and please enjoy

The Legend of Zelda: Interloper of Time

-Chapter 20-

-Chamber of the Sages-

Naruto and Saria found themselves back inside the Chamber of Sages once again when the light finally died down. They were currently facing the red tile on the ground as like last time a person slowly rose from it with a glow.

"Aha! Brother, Sister, it's good to see you two are well!" Darunia said boisterously with a laugh as he clapped a hand over his belly, his previous wounds somehow completely healed. "You too Darunia, you had us scared for a bit there." Saria said as she and Naruto pulled down their masks to show their smiles. Navi and Elia took this opportunity to stretch and settled onto the blonde and greenette's heads respectively.

"Yeah, Volvagia was as tough as in the tales of old, and I was sadly no match for him." The goron said with a frown as he sighed. "Oh cheer up Darunia, you would of done just as good as we did if you had this awesome hammer." Naruto said, hefting said hammer onto his shoulder while he spoke. "Maybe, but now isn't the time for what ifs," Darunia said with a grin, "I will do what I can to help you defeat Ganondorf as the sage of fire, I can't wait to give him a good walloping."

"You'll have to get in line rock head." "Hahahah! Oh, I bet I will." Darunia's laughter died down after a few seconds as a sad smile crossed his lips. "Alas, it's time for you two to be off on your next adventure, but if you could, do me a favor…"

The light returned, blinding them again.

"…make sure my children and wife are okay… and tell her I'm sorry I won't be there to see them grow up."

-Goron City-

When the light died down, the four of them found themselves at the destroyed entrance to Goron City. Navi and Elia were pleasantly surprised to find they no longer had to hide inside the masks as the volcanic activity had calmed down substantially.

Entering the ruined city, they could see the gorons were now out and about, a general air of relief yet grievance surrounding them. Many were by the bodies of deceased loved ones, crying their eyes out now that they had a chance to mourn as others were moving said bodies to be properly buried. They could even see some of the gorons they freed reuniting with loved ones.

"Hello you two, glad to see you managed to get the job done," Turquoise said from behind them, causing them to jump in surprise and turn around. The large goron towered over them, a large smile on her face as she held two infants within her arms. "Now where is that coal brained husband of mine? I wanna have a few words with him about leaving our children all by themselves." She asked while looking around.

"Wait, your Darunia's wife?" Saria asked in surprise, getting a nod. 'Well that's convenient' The four thought in sync. "Yep, we got married just before that stupid dragon started causing all sorts of trouble. Then little Naruto and Saria here came along." She said while leaning down to show them the sleeping infants faces, a boy and a girl.

"It definitely is nice to meet the ones they were named after, back during the dodongo incident I was too busy stuffing my face to properly thank you." Standing back up again, she took another look around the area as a deep frown crossed her face. *Sigh* "He's not coming back… is he?" She asked sadly.

"…No," Saria said, "He… he has bigger responsibilities to take care of, he says he's sorry he can't be here." Turquoise sighed again as she turned away from them, "Should have known, Darunia always did have 'bigger responsibilities', guess I shouldn't be surprised about it now." Her voice cracked slightly as she spoke. "I think it would be best if you two get going soon, we gorons have much work cut out for us. As acting chieftain, I give you permission to take the Megaton Hammer with you, I have a strong feeling you'll be needing it much more then we will."

Both nodded without speaking as they headed back out of Goron City, doing their best not to react as loud sobbing broke out behind them.

-Kakariko Village, thirty minutes later-

The descent down Death Mountain was made in total silence. They may have won the battle, but the victory itself was bittersweet, again. Reaching Kakariko, they informed Impa on what had happened and then headed straight to Anju's to rest. Dinner was a somewhat awkward affair as they simply sat around quietly and ate their meals.

It wasn't until the four were settling in for the night that someone finally broke the silence. Navi and Elia were sleeping comfortably inside miniature hammocks that Anju had set up for them, while Naruto and Saria were back on the makeshift bed. "Are we actually doing any good?" Saria asked Naruto as she stared out the window. Naruto sat up from his spot and looked at her with a confused expression. "What'cha mean? Of course, we are." Saria snapped her gaze over to him, her eyes watering. "Then why does everything keep ending so terribly, what are we doing wrong?"

Naruto laid down next to her and wrapped her up in a hug, causing Saria to lightly blush. "We're not doing anything wrong. Some things just can't be avoided Saria-chan, no matter how much we wish for it." He told her as he pulled her close. "We just have to believe that we are actually making a difference in all this, that we are managing to do something." He said while stroking her hair softly.

Saria nodded her head slowly as she settled into his arms, "I guess that makes sense… Naruto?" "Yea-" Naruto was cut off as a pair of soft lips gently pressed against his own. The kiss was chaste, only lasting a brief few seconds, before Saria broke it off and snuggled into his chest to hide her bright blush. "Thank you,"

Naruto just laid there with a stunned look across his face for several minutes before a small smile crossed his face. "You're welcome, Saria-chan."

-End Chapter-

AN: I apologize for the short chapter and will make it up in the next. Also, as a thank you for all of those who have been so kind to me during my time writing, I'll be posting the first chapter of the story I will be posting when this one is finished early. Thank you for reading and please review.