"I . . . I wanted to fight for you," Naruto tells her ghost, reaching out.

"It's too late," she says back with finality.

ooo

It was like watching a candle being snuffed out. One second Naruto was nothing but redfuryhatred, and the next he is falling. All the crackling energy is gone, and the forest is quiet when Naruto hits the ground. Fighting his astonishment, Sasuke's sharingan flickers as he examines the body - no chakra, no danger. Safe. It's safe now.

Crows return to the clearing and sit on the high branches, shadows against the sunset sky, blinking as they watch Sasuke tentatively approach the fallen man.

Just to be sure, Sasuke sheathes his katana and pokes at the Hokage's head. He receives a groan in reply, and that's the only confirmation he needs before bending down to personally check. Pulse, good. Body temperature, normal. Of course there are broken bones and blood, and the damn missing arm, but the dobe is in one piece.

Sasuke breathes a sigh of relief.

"Idiot," he mutters, carefully arranging Naruto on his back. Sasuke looks apologetically at the half-arm hanging over his shoulder. "You deserved it."

The entire way back to Konoha, Naruto murmurs in his sleep. A few I'm sorry's, but mostly names. "Hinata . . . Himawari . . ." and Sasuke has to refrain from tossing the Hokage into the nearby ravine.

ooo

Cowards.

Cowardly men torturing a helpless boy.

This is what Hinata thinks as she rigs fifteen trees with flash tags.

It is almost dark enough.

ooo

He doesn't hate the Hyuuga, Sasuke ponders as he flies over the walls. She was a decent enough girl, and fractionally less annoying than the majority of the village. For the briefest of seconds he even considered her a breeder for Tsunade's twisted Uchiha Recreation Project.

He wasn't intentionally trying to ruin her life (not that he actually cared).

She was just . . . in the way.

In the way of the future Itachi had dreamed of.

In the way of Naruto fulfilling his duty and achieving his goal of a shinobi world without war.

Even if Hinata didn't have the potential to single-handedly destroy everything they had worked for, Sasuke still wouldn't approve of her presence in his friend's life. The dobe needed someone who could reign him in, someone who was just as passionate and loud as he was, who could be feared in her own right - Sakura. The Queen of Fists.

Timid, shy, weak Hinata would never fill that role. Could never fill that role.

ooo

Hinata wraps her daughter's eyes five times over with thick bandaging (three times too many). When she is satisfied with her work, she crouches, her own eyes screwed shut against her forearm, and pulls a thin string.

Detonation sounds like a match being struck, a loud hiss that echoes through the woods, and the soldiers look up in unison from their sick little game as the world goes a painful white.

Men scream as the light burns into their retinas, but Hinata has no time to be remorseful as she pushes off the ground and is flying through the air, landing right in the middle of the circle. The soldiers flail, many have fallen. It is mayhem. Despite this quickly finds the boy who is curled up into a ball, bloody and blind. He is easy to scoop into her arms though he struggles frantically against her grip.

"It's all right," she soothes as he whimpers against her chest. "It's all right."

And she retreats back into the forest. Himawari's hands flap happily in the air. The boy cries. And Hinata breathes.

ooo

His sharingan reads the chakra signature of at least a dozen shinboi. Several Anbu, the rest of Team Seven, and that bitter crone, Tsunade.

"He's unharmed," Sasuke says loudly, knowing that nearly all of the Anbu of Konoha A) hate him, B) want to see him punished in the most brutal fashion possible, C) always eager to try to dole out said punishment themselves.

Even though he can't see their faces, he can practically feel their disappointment when he gently sets Naruto onto the ground and raises his arms in compliance.

Sakura hops over the barrier of Anbu and is instantly in medic-nin mode, running glowing green hands over her husband.

"He's fine," Sasuke says when he sees how distraught she looks.

"His arm is missing!"

Shrug. "It's been missing for ten years."

"You two are always doing this!" She says irritably, ignoring his comment. "Going off and fighting about the STUPIDEST THINGS! If he were awake, I swear I would punch him so hard – I'm going to punch you too once I'm done with him."

I'd like to see you try, he thinks, but says nothing as she continues her work. Sakura has always been good at this. Covering up her true emotions with exasperation, long suffering sighs, and bouts of good-natured violence. It's not healthy, he thinks, but then again he's not really the expert at excellent mental health.

"What was it about this time, huh?" She snaps.

"Ask him," Sasuke answers nonchalantly, but what he really means I haven't figured out a cover story yet and hell will freeze over before I tell you the truth, Uzumaki Sakura.

ooo

Hanabi decides that she really, honestly, whole-fucking-heartedly, hates the desert. Though when the Kazekage politely asks her how was her trip, she answers with a curt, "Well, Kazekage-san." When she really wanted to say – My skin burns, sand is entrenched in places it shouldn't be, and if I don't get water soon I will pass out on your rug.

"Gaara," interrupts a woman with four ponytails. Hanabi has seen her before in Konoha with that lump of a Nara boy, though cannot remember her name. "They apparently having urgent news to share with you."

Gaara, who for all his blaring siren red hair, is a man as quiet as death. He surveys them calmly from his desk. "Please . . . speak."

"There is an army heading your way, Kazekage-san."

No change in his expression. Freak. "How do you know this?"

"I witnessed it myself alongside my attendant and sister. We were on our way here when we encountered them on the border of Kawa."

"Barely a twelve hour trek," he says to himself.

The woman with ponytails has gotten her hands on a manila folder and is rifling through it. "That puts them ahead of schedule, Gaara," she says, as monotone as her kage. She crosses the room and hands him the file.

"You knew about this?" Hanabi finds herself snapping before she could stop herself. "I hauled my ass across the desert in the burning sun, and you already knew!"

Temari's head snaps toward her. Ko, who up until this point, had been standing behind her hisses a reprimanding Hanabi-sama. And the kazekage remains as impassive as ever while he examines the paper.

"Your efforts to relay the message, while valiant, were ultimately redundant. We have known of the approaching army for a week now. My apologies," he says in a voice so flat that it resembled Moegi's chest.

Hanabi bites the inside of her cheek. "You understand that there is a force of, at the very least, 40,000 soldier, about to land on your doorstep, yes?"

"Yes, Hyuuga-san," Gaara replies diplomatically. "I would be a woefully incompetent kage if I were unable to see an army that large headed my way. I assure you, we are well equipped to handle them should they choose to attack."

ooo

Thankfully, it is only acute chakra exhaustion and few broken bones. Though Sakura rants and raves per usual the entire way to the hospital. Sasuke doesn't understand why she is so upset, she's seen far worse from the two of them before. She should be happy they bought her fractures this time instead of mortal wounds.

Naruto's fast asleep on the hospital bed, but knowing him his wounds will have healed within the next two hours. The bandages and casts are formalities.

Sasuke is not so lucky.

"I told you," he grunts, "I'm fine."

"Shut up," Sakura says as she all but shoves Sasuke onto the remaining bed. He doesn't have time for a reply before she's working him over a little bit too roughly.

Thankfully, she shuts up, and for that he is grateful as he reclines back into the bed. His muscles re-knit and bones repair beneath the green glow of her hands. I'm tired, he thinks in one of those rare moments where he allows himself to feel pain.

Just beyond Sakura's head is a window, and through the window he sees the brilliant starry sky. He loses himself in it, lets it all drift away, after all, even he deserves a bit of rest –

"Sasuke," Sakura breaks the silence. "Who is Himawari?"

.

.

.

TBC

Note: I got rid of the titles. The formatting has been so unreliable lately that I had to. Thank you for all your reviews and critiques, I appreciate them!

Goldking