The Reception Hall, Konoha.

"Can… can you repeat that, Kakashi Sensei?" Sakura's voice was quaking while her trembling hand was holding onto Sasuke's trembling hand. She couldn't have heard what she just heard… she couldn't have heard that Naruto, her closest friend, was dying. She couldn't have heard it correctly… there was no way. Because if she did hear correctly, then that would mean that she was enjoying herself - she was pouring her heart and soul into enjoying herself - while Naruto lay dying. She looked up towards Sasuke whose single visible Sharingan eye was widened in shock while the other one with the Rinnegan was covered by hair falling down the left half of his face.

Sakura could feel his hand continuing to tremble before she turned towards Kakashi, Choji, Tsunade, and Neji standing across from them. Sakura continued thinking that she heard it wrong, And so, with a quivering voice, she asked, "just repeat it again." No, she must have heard wrong. She and the others just listened to Naruto's toast. So how could he be in the hospital dying, 'and why aren't you giving out any details, Kakashi-sensei!'

The couple were standing on the roof of the building housing the reception hall with a stunned Temari and Shikamaru standing to their left and an equally stunned Kurotsuchi and Sai to their right side. It was only after Naruto – or who Sakura thought was Naruto - finished his speech that they were brought to the roof by Kakashi who earlier whispered he need to talk to the both of them. It would be a moment later that Tsunade's shadow clone, Neji, and Choji made their way to the roof as well.

Sakura, her lips parted into an 'O' shape, turned her head towards her Master before looking over at the regret on Neji's face, and then to the expression on Choji. She then turned to her husband who had his eyes closed and his face twisted in a mixture of anger and sorrow. As if sensing she was looking at him, Sasuke opened in eye with a downcast expression in his face before turning his head towards her. It was then that Sakura realized that Sasuke was in on it too – that he knew what happened to Naruto. And he hadn't told her.

"You knew," Sakura whispered at Sasuke. He closed his eyes once again before nodding his head and then looking away. In disbelief, Sakura then turned towards the surprise on Shikamaru's face.

"I didn't know," he whispered shaking his head at Sakura before she could ask. He then looked over at Choji, "when did you know? When did you…?"

"Before all of you get antsy," Tsunade said as she lifted her hand to stop any questions, "there were good reasons not to inform anyone of what happened to Naruto." Tsunade then glanced at Temari looking back at her.

"You thought it was an attack," Temari said after a second before she stared at Tsunade and then at Kakashi before she sighed and shook her head, "I guess that's what I'd have thought too I guess."

"There wasn't an attack? Nothing that could be traced to a culprit or…"

"That's just it," Tsunade said shaking her head as she recalled what happened back in Naruto's room at the hospital. She glanced at Neji who stifled a shudder as he crossed his arms over his chest. Sakura noticed the shudder from Neji, and she sensed fear.

'What could make him scared?' Sakura thought before she looked towards Tsunade. It was then she wondered about the other person who was missing, "Shishou, where's Ino?" Sakura then listened in stunned silence a she recounted what Ino had seen in her vision, followed by what happened in the hospital room. She asked if anyone had heard about something or someone called Lilith, but there was no answer. For now though, who this Lilith was didn't matter to Sakura… she just wanted to punch her. She wanted to pull away whatever it was that was draining Naruto's chakra and lifeforce; she wanted to destroy it… she wanted to tear it apart one piece at a time. Sakura was pulled out of her thoughts when Kakashi spoke.

"Kurotsuchi-san, Temari-san," the Hokage said as he placed his hands on his hips, "please contact your respective villages in regards to any information about Lilith."

"That's the only information we have? Just a name?" Kurotsuchi asked as she placed her left hand on her hip, "is there any other information the Yamanaka girl gleaned?"

"Something about a war," Choji said, "Ino said that there were these strange creatures looked like… well… demons that were lying dead. Demons and humans."

"Okay," Temari narrowed her eyes in confusion, "never heard of Lilith in any textbooks or about any war that involved demons and humans."

Sakura tried to remember her Academy days for any information on a war against demons, 'well, we used to think that the Kyuubi was a demon.' However, other than their respective tailed beasts, Temari and Kurotsuchi confirmed that they hadn't learned about demons other than the Bijuu.

"However, I'll ask Gaara about it… and he'll get the research division to search for any clues on this Lilith character."

Kurotsuchi then agreed with Temari, "I'll have grandfather search for any information on Lilith and for information on any war with demons."

"I'll return to Kaguya's palace," Sasuke said as Sakura looked up at him, "maybe there's something there about this Lilith person." Kakashi nodded his head before telling both Sakura and Sasuke to tell their guests that they were leaving.

"Kinda rude if you don't," Kakashi said sagely before he continued, "and then we try doing everything we can to identify Lilith and get her away from Naruto." All of them then nodded their heads before Kakashi said, "dismissed."

Naruto's Room, Konoha Hospital, at that same time.

Ino still felt a cold chill running up and down her spine as she leaned forward while seated on the couch in Naruto's room. Her chills were not from the air-conditioning, instead she was thinking back several minutes to when Naruto spoke in a voice that wasn't his own. That otherworldly voice and the chakra outline that Neji described seeing still creeped her out. It almost sounded as if there was some kind of an invisible vampire that was trying to suck out Naruto's chakra instead of his blood.

'And it does sound like a vampire… a chakra vampire,' Ino thought to herself as she stood up off the couch and brought her arms over her head and stretched. She yawned while twisting her body from side to side before putting her arms back down by her side. Still dressed to the nines, Ino slowly glided… she had already taken off her slippers at the entrance to the room… over to Naruto's bedside and grasped the railing.

"Naruto?" Ino whispered as the machines around him silently beeped and hummed. She looked up to one of the machines that was hooked to his chest; one part of the machine measured his heart rate, the cuff attached to the machine and to his upper arm measured his blood pressure, and another device was hooked up to his forefinger to measure his blood oxygen.

Her eyes then shifted to the other machine that was measuring his chakra and how much was being drained and how fast. Her eyes focused on the number indicated on the screen, it was surrounded by other numbers that didn't make much sense to her; but all she was told by Tsunade and Shizune before they went home to change was that Naruto should be stable for the foreseeable future. The plan was that Ino would be relieved when Tsunade and Shizune returned. And then Ino could either return home and change before coming back to the hospital or she could return to the party and then come back at another time. Ino chose to go home immediately and change before returning to the hospital.

"It doesn't feel right, you know," Ino had said back then when Tsunade, the original one, returned home to change. As did the original Shizune.

As Ino stood over Naruto, she had her lips pressed together before looking away from the number on the screen which stated that Naruto was losing a small percentage of his chakra every hour.

'I really don't get it,' Ino thought to herself as she rested her arms on the bed railing and leaned forward. She turned her head towards Naruto and thought to herself, 'Sakura would know stuff about this far better than me.' She shifted her eyes off the peaceful expression on Naruto's face before looking at the tube going into his arm, 'Tsunade-sama ordered intravenous feeding for him. There's been no response so far… at least not after that whole possessed Naruto phase.' Ino still shuddered at recalling the tone of the voice that spoke through Naruto's lips before looking away from the machine and back to Naruto's face, "I don't know if you can hear me, Naruto. Fight. Whatever this is, you need to fight."

Ino was still uneasy about being this close to Naruto, and it wasn't because she was afraid of him. In fact, Ino could only mentally chuckle now as she remembered saying, "I think I could fall for him" after Naruto returned to the village after having defeated Pein. It was after he had convinced the latter to return everyone to life. She did not know herself if she was being serious, or if it was just an admission of the moment – she'd like to think that it was just an admission of the moment – but all she knew what that Naruto was a good person who saved them all.

'You're still annoying as hell,' Ino thought to herself as her eyes settled on his whiskers before looking back up towards his closed eyes, 'but you're a good person.' Ino straightened out before stepping back and then turned back to walk towards the couch. She put her hands behind her back as she neared the couch when she suddenly stopped upon feeling a chill running up and down her spine. She felt her skin crawl before she brought her arms up to her chest and stared at the hair standing up straight while bumps formed down the length of her arms.

And then Ino felt a presence behind her. Her breath hitched at the feeling of cold that suddenly surrounded her. The temperature in the room started to fall quickly, she could even feel herself shivering while her breath condensed in the air. She felt compelled to turn around… there was something in her mind compelling her to turn. But she didn't want to turn… she felt if she did, then she would see something horrific. Ino was fighting her body as sweat formed on her forehead. She was rolling her hands into fists as she forced her body to remain facing the wall.

Ino felt a weight slowly coming down her shoulders as her breathing quickened and her heart started to race. Sweat beaded down her bare neck and down to her shoulders… a cool breeze suddenly brushing her skin. Ino shivered at the sudden cool before she stiffened at the feeling of having eyes on her… eyes that were drilling through the back of her skull.

"Who…. Who's there?" Ino stuttered while her body trembled; her eyes were looking straight ahead while her heart thundered in her chest. Her bottom lip was quivering as another chill ran up and down her spine. She breathed out, "Naruto… if… if you're in there… you… you have to fight…"

Ino had never felt as terrified as she did now… not even during the war when facing the Jyuubi… no, this feeling was something else. And the visions she had didn't help matters at all. The demons and the sight of Lilith was just terrifying.

"Answer me," Ino said. She was doing her best to keep her voice steady; she was trying to not show how terrified she was at that very moment. But in the forefront of her mind, she knew that her fear was showing. She gulped as the sensation of the air getting heavier around her started to become stifling. Ino needed to get out… the door was to her left, and she walked sideways as quickly and calmly as she could. She kept her back to Naruto the entire time, she did not want to turned to see his unconscious form nor did she want to see what it was that was staring at her. At least she did not want to see it while she was alone.

'I should have insisted Shizune-san stayed with me….' Ino thought as she nearly reached the door, 'she wanted to stay and keep me company, but nooooooo, I had to insist she go. I had to insist that I could handle it. After all Naruto's unconscious, and that thing spoke only when prodded.' Ino was closer to the door now, so she reached out and glanced at the door lever. She grabbed it, and then hurriedly pulled it down.

Without a word, she then turned and rushed out the door and into the hallway. Once she was out, Ino turned and shut the door behind her. Her hands were pressed against the door… the surface was cold… freezing cold… as she closed her eyes and recalled a glance from the corner of her eyes in the direction of the bed. She swore that Naruto was sitting up, a sickening smile on his face while his eyes were black in colour.

Ino turned and leaned back against the door and hung her arms by the side of her body. The weight around her body was gone once she stepped outside into the brightly lit hallway. She could breathe once again and a sense of peace overtook her. She felt relieved… so relieved that she slipped down the door as tears streamed down her face. Ino felt lucky… she felt so lucky to be out of that room.

Once she was on the cool floor of the hospital hallway, Ino pulled her bent legs to her chest and hugged them tight. Naruto was her friend, and now he terrified her.

'That's not Naruto, that's Lilith… that is Lilith,' Ino reminded herself. As she wiped the tears from her eyes. As she took in a deep breath, Ino froze upon feeling a hand falling on her shoulder. Her eyes opened wide… her body trembled for a seconds before she realized something. The feeling of the hand on her shoulder was warm, it wasn't cold… it wasn't like the horrible feeling in the room.

And then things started to change. Everything around her seemed to melt away to be replaced by a field of green, an unknown village in the distance from where she could hear the sounds of children playing and people going about their business. Ino had no control over her body, it was like her previous visions where she was simply a passenger. The hand on her shoulder gently turned her around – she found that she was on a hill beneath a giant thick trunked tree – and she came face to face with the man in her other vision… the man who looked so much like Naruto that it was eerie.

"Akashi." Ino felt the smile on her face as her lips moved; lips she wasn't controlling as butterflies formed in her belly and her heart raced at seeing the man. Ino felt warmth take over as the man then placed a hand on her cheek before she said, "mother said you wanted to see me."

'I am seeing things through Reana's eyes,' Ino thought to herself as she recalled her previous vision where the woman was killed by Lilith, 'but why? What is our connection?'

"And she was hiding something from me," Ino spoke as Reana to Akashi who was grinning while rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, "and don't deny it. I know my mother both as my mother and as the Supreme General of the Uzu armed forces; she was hiding something from me, Commander Akashi. And I will know what it is."

Akashi chuckled before he moved the hand on Reana's cheek down to her left hip. Ino felt her hand move to gently land on his right shoulder. He placed his other hand on her other hip and took in a deep breath.

"Someone looks nervous," Reana said playfully as she ran her other hand through Akashi's blonde hair.

Akashi then gulped before taking a deep breath, "a little nervous, but for a good reason." Ino could feel Reana's heart racing even faster in anticipation of her desire to know what had Akashi so nervous.

"Akashi?"

"I love you," Akashi said with a nervous smile as Ino felt a wide smile form on her face before she looked away. She felt her cheeks heating up as he continued, "I loved you ever since we were kids."

'What are you saying?' Ino thought to herself as Reana raised her head back up and locked eyes with him. Reana then spoke, "Akashi, I love you too."

Akashi then gently pulled her in close until their bodies were pressed together and their noses were nearly touching one another.

"Marry me," he whispered with nervousness in his eyes. Ino was stunned… she could feel that Reanna was about to open her mouth when Akashi spoke again, "Commander Izumi Reana." Reana, watched as he went down on both knees while looking up at her. She placed her hands over her mouth in surprise as he continued, "I, Commander Uzuna Akashi, ask for your hand in marriage." Ino just watched in disbelief. Ino stared at Akashi looking up at her through the eyes of someone who was a stranger to her as her head nodded in acceptance.

Akashi was laughing as he stood up quickly before pulling Reana in close. Their arms around each other, Akashi then picked Reana up and spun her around; the latter laughing as she was spun around. After a few seconds, Akashi stopped spinning her and leaned in for a kiss. Just before their lips touched, Ino heard him say, "I'll love you forever."

"And I you," Reana whispered before their lips touched. Ino could feel warmth all around her as she tried to pull her mind away, but she could not. She felt as if she was intruding on a private moment. She could feel Akashi's lips pressed against Reanna's, she could feel Reanna's hand on the back of his head while her other hand lay on his back between his shoulder blades. Ino could feel at ease with Akashi, but she also knew it wasn't her feelings… it was Reanna's. And having Reanna's feelings coursing through her forced Ino to remember her failed relationships; her first was Sai… she wanted to go out with him because he looked so much like Sasuke. But when she did, there wasn't any electricity between them at a romantic level. Even after three dates, there was nothing. She didn't know if it was her own petty grievance of not landing Sasuke himself that was putting her off from Sai. But in the end, she didn't want to string him along; however the two remained ood frineds. Then there was another shinobi who worked for T&I, the two of them dated for a month before he broke it off with her. There would be four other failed relationships – one guy discovered he liked other guys while they were out clubbing, another guy cheated on her after they were going out for three months, another one was a civilian who happened to be an obsessive Team Seven fan, and the fourth one was one she would later discover happened to be an ardent stalker who had a shrine in his closet that was devoted to her.

Sighing to herself, Ino wondered to herself why she hadn't asked Naruto out on a date. After all, she knew the blonde wasn't going to ask her out. But then again, the Konoha Twelve knew how much regret he had about not returning Hinata's feelings when she was alive. In the end, Ino didn't think he would want to go out with her… it was just a feeling she had and so Ino decided to just let the cards fall where they may.

Her thoughts returned to the here and now when Reanna and Akashi parted their lips, theirs arms still around each other. Reanna then whispered, "so you asked my mother?"

"And she said Yes," Akashi answered with an excited tone.

"And if she said no?" Reana asked with her eyebrow arched upwards and a smirk on her face.

Ino couldn't help but blush when Akashi answered with a kiss on Reanna's lips before pulling back and saying, "then she'll be really pissed off when I'd ask you to marry me anyway." The two were about to kiss again when the ground shuddered and there was a brilliant explosion of blue and red light in the distance. The two closed their eyes and looked away while hearing the sounds of yells and bells ordering the return of soldiers to the village. When the light faded away, Reana and Akashi opened their eyes and looked towards the direction of the brilliant light… and she felt fear. She felt evil in the air… she felt darkness emanating from the distance.

"It's from the mainland," Akashi said before looking at Reanna, "we need to get back to the village."

Reanna nodded her head – Ino felt her lips curl upwards before Reana leaned in to kiss Akashi once again. They two of them parted before rushing back towards the village. Suddenly, Ino gasped before finding herself back under the bright lights of the hallway. She could hear footsteps rushing towards her, along with Tsunade's voice yelling out, "Ino!"

Ino shook her head, the vision she experienced still fresh in her mind, before turning towards the rushing Tsunade and Shizune.

"Ino, are you alright?" Shizune asked once she reached Ino's side and crouched down.

"Why are you sitting out here?" Tsunade asked with concern in her voice as Shizune helped Ino to her feet; her still trembling feet at the thought of what she experienced in Naruto's room. However, Ino mentally told herself to control her emotions… she was a Kunoichi who needed to be present so that she could help. No matter how frightened she was feeling.

Ino then told in another deep breath, turned her head towards the door, and then looked back at the concern expression on Tsunade and Shizune's face. Ino then recounted, in a calm voice, what happened… from the dark atmosphere in the room to her vision after having run out into the hallway. Shizune listened in surprise while Tsunade was rubbing her chin as she shifted her eyes from Ino to the closed door.

"Ino," Tsunade whispered as she stared at the door with a cool expression on her face, "I want you to go home and then rest. I…"

"Tsunade-sama, Naruto's my friend and… and I'm not leaving him."

Ino stood steady while her heart was racing as she tried to push aside the memory of Naruto sitting on the bed and staring at her with black eyes. Immediately, her mind went back to the kiss Reana shared with Akashi and she felt warm and at ease. Her thoughts then turned to Sakura, Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, and the others as she started to feel more at ease. She didn't know what to make of this as she turned her head towards the door and then back to Tsunade. The Sannin then said, "you need rest. Shizune and I will stay here and keep Naruto company"

"Tsunade-sama," Ino said, "I… I'll go change and then return." Before Tsunade could say anything, Ino spoke. She was afraid to go back into that room… in fact she was afraid to be in the hospital. In fact, there was a voice in the back of her head telling her to run out of the building and never come back. But Naruto was her friend too… true they weren't as close as he was with Sasuke and Sakura, or Shikamaru and Choji. But they were still friends, there was no animosity there between herself and Naruto… and it was because of that she took in a deep breath and mentally told herself that she would return after a shower, "I'll get a bed in one of the unused rooms. I… I just want to stay close." Ino also suspected that the others such as Sakura and Sasuke would be staying close by, and she wanted to stay close in case they wanted to talk to her about what she had seen in her visions.

Tsunade then nodded her head before pulsing her chakra. Ino watched an Anbu appear from a puff of smoke and falling leaves before the former Hokage said, "Raven, accompany Ino to her home. Stay close to her until she returns to the hospital."

"Understood, Tsunade-sama," the Raven masked Anbu said as he placed a hand on Ino's left shoulder, "are you ready, Ino-san?"

Ino nodded her head just as she watched Tsunade grab the door lever. She then said, "be careful, Tsunade-sama… Shizune-san." And then she was gone after Tsunade and Shizune nodded their heads. Tsunade opened the door, and then walked into the room followed by Shizune.

The door was then closed shut.

TBC.