A/N: My god, it's been a while.

It's so weird reading the beggining stuff of this chapter because it was written in February. I mean, wow. That was some time ago.

One thing I tried very hard with this chapter was trying to get Kiba and Hinata in character. I hope I accomplished it.

I explained why this took so long at the end of the story... so just enjoy!

Royal Delivery

Chapter Six – Can You Triumph?

Darkness enveloped him.

Taking small and tired steps he carefully left his bedroom and closed the door behind him. He whimpered slightly as he looked down the hall. He didn't like the dark. He tightened the grip around the teddy bear under his arm.

He stood up straight and puffed up his chest and walked bravely down the enormous hallway. He looked warily up at the ceiling, which was so high that it was hard to see because of the darkness that collected around it. He shuffled past the great tall windows that streamed little amounts of moonlight inside.

The rain outside the window pattered against the glass. The distant rumbles of thunder echoed in the distance.

Trying to warn him of the upcoming evil.

The darkness swirled around him, seemingly enclosing on his heart. He picked up his pace and turned down the long grand hallway towards the vast staircase. He heard distant footsteps and small creaks. They were the sounds that accompanied the night, usually nothing to worry about.

"Kurono!"

He turned around sharply and saw his mother halfway down the hall, her white nightgown fluttering in an unknown breeze. She was such a pretty woman, such a pretty mother, so tall and elegant. His heart warmed with the familiarity of her presence. Her familiar long black hair that hung gracefully down her shoulders and past her back, her familiar fair complexion that was so beautiful, her familiar piercing warm blue eye-

They were filled with panic.

"Mommy?" He questioned. He stood idle for a moment before shuffling towards her with open arms, a large smile present on his face. "Mommy!"

She rushed forwards, her dress billowing behind her, and quickly leant down and placed her hands under his arms and picked him up quickly. His bear fell out of his arms and landed on the ground. He pouted and tried to reach down for it but his mother turned around quickly and dashed off.

"Mommy?" he asked, his face was twisted with confusion.

"Ssh, be quiet," she whispered hurriedly. He observed her eyes, they were worried and concerned. Full of fear.

"Mommy, where are we going?" He asked. Seeing his mother so afraid was starting to make him scared.

"Kurono, I told you to be quiet!" She whispered angrily. But it was the anger that was derived from panic.

He whimpered slightly. She tightened the hold on her son and looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry my baby, I'm sorry." She opened the door in front of them quietly but quickly, hurrying inside.

She didn't waste any time and carefully placed him on the floor, in front of the vast tall windows. Her dress pooled around her as she kneeled in front of him. She stroked his hair tenderly and he looked up worriedly.

"Now Kurono, mommy needs you to stay here," his mother reasoned, a tear fell from each eye.

"W-where's daddy?" He asked timidly.

"Daddy's fine," she whispered to him. "Daddy's fine." A few more tears escaped as she stroked his hair again.

"Mommy?" He was very scared now.

"Ssh, it's ok, Kurono, everything's going to be ok."

"There you are, Akira-denka."

Akira shot upwards in front of Kurono. He couldn't see the man's face; it was only shrouded in darkness.

"Please…" she begged. "Please don't do this." She was crying, he could tell. He sat behind her in shock, petrified. "Please… don't."

He saw an evil glint that shone brightly. It shone in a metre long strip.

"Please!" She begged loudly. "Don't do this! I have a son! You know he needs me!" The tears were falling without control. Her voice was cracked and she was trembling. "Please…"

The man closed in on them, not even faltering.

"Please no… no…" He stood closer. "No, don't you dare hurt him." He was within her touching distance. "NO!" He felt her smother him, holding him so closely. He looked up at her face; the tear trails were so vivid. She was trembling dangerously. Then it happened.

He saw the evil glint pierce through her chest and push out past his face. It seemed to just stay there, for seconds of dead silence.

Then the blood began to flow.

The glint withdrew, pulling through his mother and out. Her eyes were large; the blood stained her pure dress. Her knees hit the floor and the blood followed. It streamed from the wound in her chest and down towards the floor, slowly puddling around her and him. He felt her blood under his fingers.

His eyes wide, the tears leaked on their own free will. His breaths were labored as he looked up at his beautiful, graceful, elegant mother and saw her slump onto the back of her legs and look him in the eye.

The blood passed through her lips as she spoke.

"Mommy loves you…"

Her body slumped onto the floor, her blood and hair fanned around her. He felt the blood all around him. Her blood and the darkness consuming him, suffocating him, crushing him, mocking him.

The murderer left them as Kurono fell to his hands and knees over his mother.

She wasn't breathing.

"MOTHER!"

He shot up and saw the darkness as it was that night. Enclosing on him. He felt another presence and he held onto them.

She didn't smell like Mother. She didn't sound like Mother. She didn't feel like Mother.

But he felt safe.

x. .X. .x

"Found anything yet?" Jiraiya asked softly.

Tsunade sighed deeply and leaned back in her chair slightly. She closed her eyes momentarily and laced her fingers together.

"If only… we've been trying all night…" Tsunade replied slowly. Jiraiya frowned; Tsunade was on the verge of collapse because she was so drained. She hadn't slept last night or yesterday.

"We?" Jiraiya asked carefully. He had to be careful with how he approached his questions and answers. Tsunade was at the end of a very long and thin rope. "Shizune and Sakura were helping you?"

"Hai…" She confirmed tiredly. She rested her fingers against her temples and kept her eyes closed. "I told them to get some rest, repeatedly," she began. "But they wouldn't listen."

"Hah, sounds like someone I know…" Jiraiya mused. Tsunade shot him a stern glare before leaning back, reclosing her eyes and recollecting her train of thought.

"Shizune, I can understand. She has been with me a long time and has grown used to this ridiculous schedule we lead. But Sakura…" Tsunade opened her eyes for a moment and Jiraiya could see the concern swimming in them. "That girl…"

He pulled up and chair and sat across from Tsunade. She glanced at him from the bottom of her eyes and Jiraiya kept her gaze. After a sigh Tsunade sat up straight and continued to elaborate on her thoughts.

"All she ever does is help and train. Whatever I say she does. She works so hard and is only ever rewarded with more work and hardly any praise. Yet, she still continues to work hard, to the brink of exhaustion, to become an outstanding medical nin and I am grateful that she is so loyal to me and her work. But…"

Tsunade reached over the table towards the sake bottle. Jiraiya sharply caught her hand and sent her a warning glance. She skewed her mouth severely in complaint but didn't reach for the bottle.

"…she is so young. She should be enjoying life, being with friends. Maybe even finding a boyfriend, I don't know! She should just be young and free, work shouldn't be taking up all of her life… she… just needs to rest sometimes." Tsunade looked down towards her hand that was now threaded with Jiraiya's.

"You do too, Tsunade," he commented needlessly. She raised her eyes to his and looked into them as she opted for silence so she could think.

"Yes, but, I am no longer young," She remarked playfully. "Regardless of my looks…"

Jiraiya did not laugh, as she expected.

The silence weighed down on her. She could hear the birds' soft callings outside her window; on any other day they would relax her but now all they did was highlight the fact that there was suffocating expecting silence. Jiraiya let go of her hand and leant back. Tsunade got the hint.

"I don't know what to do," she revealed. "Team 8 hasn't returned yet and I don't know what's going on… I don't like it." She chanced a glance at Jiraiya.

"Neither do I, but all we can do is wait." He paused for a moment before asking. "What is being done at the moment?"

"Protocol," Tsunade stated as she stood up and walked towards the window. "Shizune is looking at Kanketsusan's recent events; maybe we might find some abnormalities that could explain the absence of Yuuma."

"So, you're assuming he's MIA?" Jiraiya questioned. Tsunade looked away from the window towards him.

"And you don't? Why would Yuuma's signature be forged if he was alive and well? Obviously something has happened to him."

"Someone could be acting as him behind his back; kind of like… two kings, albeit Yuuma doesn't know of the imposter," Jiraiya offered.

"Don't be so naïve Jiraiya. Kanketsusan's security isn't slack enough for that to happen." Tsunade turned back to the window and looked at the view. "No, something is definitely amiss."

Jiraiya accepted her thinking willingly and placed his hands behind his head. "And what about Sakura? What is she doing?"

"She is reading over the family tree of the Kanketsusan Royal Family. According to the Protocol of Monarchial Nations: if one shinobi nation suspects anything strange with another allied shinobi nation's leader we must contact the next of kin in the royal family," Tsunade tried to explain. Monarchies and Protocol often got confusing.

"So Sakura is looking for a relative of Yuuma, aside from Kurono, to… contact about our suspicions… correct?" Jiraiya tried.

"According to Shinobi Protocol, yes." Tsunade sighed deeply as she watched a flock of birds fly by the window. Jiraiya noticed this easily.

"Tsunade-hime?" He asked gently.

"I'm getting too old for this, Jiraiya. I think it's time I retired."

x. .X. .x

Shikamaru wished he could see the sky.

He glanced up moodily towards where the bright blue, cloud filled sky should be. Instead all he saw was dark grey and red ash. In a way this sky was beautiful, if you liked dark.

Because of the many active volcanoes in the Volcano Country the sky would forever be filled with ash. It was rumored that the inhabitants of Kyuukazan, (AN: Literally translated as "dormant volcano") the main city in the Volcano Country, hadn't seen sunlight in over 10 years. He had even heard from Sakura that every month the inhabitants of the city had to go to medical nins to receive 'medical sunlight' so that their skin and health was unaffected from the lack of sunlight. He wouldn't be surprised if they did become ill due to the fact that Kyuukazan was located on the world's largest volcano. The ash was extreme since they were so high up. At least the volcano was dormant.

Shikamaru sighed deeply. He had a reasonable amount of respect for those who lived in Kyuukazan; he couldn't even imagine waking up to this every day. Of course the other half of him thought that they were just plain insane. Who could actually live here, let alone want to?

He heard a cough from behind him and he glanced over slightly.

Temari carefully stepped down from the carriage, covering her mouth with her hand.

"God, the air is thick with ash," Temari muttered distastefully. She walked beside him and quickly became in step with his rhythm. "I'm assuming we're near the Enshi Mountains by the degree of ash." She coughed again.

"Yeah, we are," he confirmed as he looked at the sky again. "We'll probably arrive at the Enshi path in about five minutes, give or take."

"I see…" Temari glanced at Shikamaru and followed his gaze to the sky and then back to him. "The clouds look fabulous today, don't they," she asked sarcastically.

He glanced at her darkly and she stuck her tongue out at him. He then took a moment to look at her.

Her hair was messy and her yukata was creased and ruffled… and loose. Shikamaru's cheeks went pink and he looked away sharply. She scowled at him.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Your… uh… shirt is loose…" He muttered awkwardly. Out of habit his hand went behind his head. Temari looked down and hastily grabbed her drooping collar with one hand and held it up and closed. Even a hard woman like Temari couldn't contain the reddening of her cheeks.

"Thanks…" She held her collar tightly with embarrassment. Great. Now Shikamaru knew exactly what kunoichis wear under their clothes. Great.

When he was looking up at the sky again she began to fix her yukata. She didn't like this silence, especially in a place like this. Everywhere was dark and relatively quiet. Without conversation from a friend it felt as if you were being swallowed up by the silence. She didn't like it.

She looked down at her collar as she fixed it. "Figures, the first time I get to second base is with a ten year old." He glanced at her and couldn't help but crack a smile.

So she could feel it too, the darkness, and she didn't like it either. That put him at ease, knowing that there was someone here with him. And why were their suddenly butterflies in his stomach!

"You? First time?" He asked cheekily.

"What is that supposed to mean!" Without any thought she slapped him upside the head. He yelped slightly and rubbed his head.

"I was just joking!" Shikamaru defended.

"You're so troublesome!" she huffed. She blinked in realization. Oh no she didn't…

"Did you just-?" Shikamaru's smirk grew.

"Shut up!" Temari snapped and crossed her arms. She breathed out haughtily. Ugh, she could feel that stupid smirk of his.

A sudden sharp gust of wind ripped past them and whipped at her yukata and her pigtails. She stumbled slightly as she hastily pushed the stray hair behind her ear. It didn't go unnoticed.

Shikamaru turned to face her, she looked troubled. Her bright teal eyes narrowed slightly, her hand seemed to have frozen behind her ear. She was beyond alert.

"What is it?" he asked. All traces of their previous humour demolished by the sudden feeling of anxiousness.

"The wind-" Once again the wind ripped past and Temari teetered slightly. "The wind is giving me a bad feeling."

No further words were needed, Shikamaru could feel it too.

Something was going to happen.

"Come on, the Enshi path is up ahead, we should hurry." Shikamaru advised. Temari nodded and they soon began to quicken their pace towards the entrance of the tunnel path. The ominous wind blew around them as they entered.

"The Mountain of Death, Enshi Mountain…" She muttered before they were engulfed by the mountain.

x. .X. .x

"How is he, Sakura?" Kiba asked in concern. The pink haired medic untied her hair and it fell carelessly onto her shoulders. She heaved a great sigh before turning her tired eyes towards him and smiling brightly.

"He is going to be just fine," she informed. Kiba breathed a sigh of relief. "It's only because you got him to me so quickly." Sakura rubbed her hands together and glanced over her shoulder. "Shino was lucky."

Kiba shifted uncomfortably and winced suddenly. His hand gripped his bandaged arm. "Damn thing," he cursed under his breath. Sakura patted his shoulder gently. "Remember to take it easy, I may have healed the break but your arm is still tender and fragile." Kiba nodded. Sakura peered over his shoulder.

"I'll heal you next, Hinata," Sakura offered gently. Hinata gave her thanks before walking towards Sakura and showing Sakura her arm for an examination. Kiba quickly scattered off the spare hospital bed and offered it to Hinata.

"It appears you have fractured your arm, broken your wrist-" Hinata yelped in pain when Sakura placed her hands on Hinata's shoulder. "-and dislocated your shoulder." She frowned deeply. Hinata looked down in unnecessary shame. Kiba looked at his teammate with worry.

"Hinata, why didn't you tell me that you were hurt?"

Hinata looked down at her feet. "I didn't want to worry you about me when Shino-kun needed our help." Her habit of fidgeting that she tried to fight returned from the pressure of the situation. She heard a frustrated sigh before a hand gripped her shoulder.

"Oi, Hinata, stop talking like that," Kiba scolded. "And stop thinking lowly about yourself. You are a part of this team and just as important – if not more so! Ok?" He grinned at her sheepishly. "Trust me, we wouldn't be the same team without you to calm me down and pull Shino out of his sulks."

Hinata blinked a few times before her eyes brightened with gratitude. "Thank you, Kiba." And his wolfish grin was back. "But, Kiba-kun?"

"Hmm, what is it?"

"That's my dislocated shoulder you have your hand on," she informed sweetly.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Kiba shot backwards and tripped over Akamaru who was lying down and fell to the floor ungracefully. "Damn, that was brilliant," he growled sarcastically over his friend's soft laughter.

A few minutes later, just after Sakura was done with healing Hinata's injuries, Tsunade strode into the room looking thoroughly upset; until she laid her eyes upon Team 8.

Kiba's arm was in a sling that was slung around his neck for support. He had a few scratches and bandages in random places and he had a deep gash up across his cheek that ended just below his eye.

Shino lay in a hospital bed seemingly unconscious with several bandages wound around his head. Yet, his dented and chipped glasses still remained on his face. (Kiba and Hinata had gently returned his glasses to their former place – Shino deserved to save some face.)

Hinata, the woman of the team, was definitely in the worst shape, by the looks of it at least. Her jacket was shredded and her net undershirt showed through clearly. Her arms were mapped with many scrapes and gashes that went deep into her skin. Small amounts of blood stained her clothes and fair skin. Her usual lilac tinted eyes were white as snow, a clear sign of chakra exhaustion in her eyes. And her once long beautiful hair was cut jaggedly above her shoulders.

"Hey Tsunade, sorry we're late," Kiba broke the silence with a forced joke.

She shut the door calmly; all traces of her former anger had all but evaporated.

Hinata tried to stand up to greet her but she staggered slightly before falling back onto the bed. She was too weak to move.

"Save your strength," Tsunade ordered quietly. Both Hinata and Kiba relaxed slightly but neither looked away from their Hokage. Tsunade pulled up a chair to face them. "Tell me what happened."

Hinata and Kiba exchanged glances before Kiba began to explain what he knew.

"Around sunset we made it to Hiroshi Palace in Kanketsusan, and we followed standard procedure. I sniffed out the area – it smelled awful, but it wasn't a physical smell-"

"Kiba-kun said it smelled like suffering and pain… and evil intent," Hinata added.

"Right." Kiba nodded at his teammate before he continued. "After I told Hinata and Shino Hinata activated her Byakugan and saw…" He offered for Hinata to continue. She nodded solemnly. "I thought that my eyes were lying to be at first because I saw a prisoner – In the Hiroshi Palace dungeon – that had a chakra system that matched Hiroshi-heika."

Tsunade made a sound of alarm. "You don't mean…?"

"Hai," Hinata responded. "Shino-kun sent out his Kikaichuu to confirm my suspicions."

"-And?" Tsunade pressed.

Hinata looked down and spoke slowly. "I was right, it was Hiroshi Yuuma."

"What? The King?" Kiba shouted. He had not known this information.

"But Shino's bugs could have been wrong. I mean, they are insects-" Tsunade reasoned. She was a bit desperate at this point.

"No." Hinata shook her head. "Hiroshi-sama's chakra system matched Kurono-heika's in a way that only a parent and child can possess. It was Hiroshi Yuuma."

Tsunade lay back in her chair in a dazed state. She never expected to receive information like this. Her hand rested on her temple as she tried to think in the hushed silence. Yuuma, the King of Kanketsusan, was in his own dungeon?! Then who was- This was a trail of thought for later.

"Please, continue." For now she needed all the facts.

"Alright," Kiba agreed. "After we made the discovery we began to travel back, having every intention of making the midnight deadline. But around the time when the sun was almost down… we were attacked."

"Attacked?!" Tsunade shouted, outraged. "By who?" She demanded.

"That's the thing. I'm not sure since they wore no headbands, but I think they belonged to Kanketsusan-"

"How can you decide something like that?"

"They wore blue sashes which, if I recall correctly, means they shinobi who protect royalty."

"Blue sash…" Tsunade held her chin as she wracked her brain. "What was their element?" She had a hunch… she hoped she was wrong.

"I'm actually not sure, it was so weird. It was transparent, and it was impossibly hard."

"It was diamond," Hinata revealed.

"Diamond?!" Kiba shouted. "No way!"

Tsunade winced, her hunch was correct. Their situation was getting worse by the second. Tsunade crossed her legs and closed her eyes for a moment. "How do you know this Hinata?" She was clinging to the hope that Hinata was somehow mistaken.

"Well… you see… when we were ambushed… they attacked Shino-kun first. He never saw it coming and he fell and... – Then Dokuya went to rescue him and I had to dismount."

"And as this was happening I was covering them," Kiba interjected. "Akamaru and I attacked them with Gatsuuga (Dual Piercing Fang). Any normal armored person would have been ripped to shreds but… their armor was perfectly intact, there was barely a single scratch… and then everything went black."

Hinata quickly jumped in before Tsunade began to question.

"Kiba-kun was knocked unconscious. It turned out that they could manipulate their armor into weapons." Tsunade frowned deeply.

"I see…"

"Shisho-" Sakura spoke up in concern.

Immediately she was silenced by a hand from the Hokage. "Continue please, Hinata."

Hinata began to press her fingers together; her way of fidgeting. Her cheeks turned slightly pink from embarrassment; yet her hair was filled with pride about what she was about to tell.

"When Kiba-kun was unconscious he fell from the trees and landed on the ground. I'm guessing that's when his arm broke." Kiba shifted slightly, feeling a bit ashamed. "I told Akamaru to take him away from the battle area. Dokuya never returned so I assumed she had done the same."

Hinata took her time to breathe before explaining further.

"As soon as Akamaru was gone I was ambushed by the shinobi again – there were two of them, two men – I defended myself and struck with a Juuken (Gentle Fist) to the chest. I made sure to infuse my hand with chakra so that it was strong and sharp… but as soon as I struck him my wrist broke." Hinata did not want to mention how excruciatingly painful it had been. "And that's when I knew it was diamond, only diamond is stronger than pure chakra."

Tsunade nodded in agreement, she knew full well.

"But how did you escape, Hinata?" Sakura asked in interest and concern.

"Well… when I was nursing my wrist I activated my Byakugan and I examined their armor. I managed to track down the source and flow of chakra and from that I found the weakest point in their armor."

"Weakest point? How could there be a weak point?" Kiba asked. "It's freaking diamond!"

"For them to be able to keep the armor on themselves and maintain its strength they need to supply it with a constant flow of chakra. The armor was arranged in plates which is why they were able to move so freely – there was no armor around their joints to slow them down."

"Ok, I understand that but how-?"

"You see Kiba, since the armor is designed in plate like structures the places where each plate joins are the most weakest points because the flow of chakra to those areas isn't as strong as in the rest of the armor, therefore if they are struck in the right place in the right way the armor will shatter; or fall from the body."

"Amazing…" Sakura commented in awe.

"And you saw all of this?" Kiba asked, shocked.

"Hai," Hinata muttered shyly. "I managed to pinpoint the weakest points and break their armor from their body. When they were exposed I attacked with Hakke Hyaku Nijuuhachi Shou (Eight Trigrams: One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms) to all their pressure points." Hinata looked away from everyone and spoke with a hint of sadness. "Nobody could survive that…"

"Hakke Hyaku Nijuuhachi Shou? Isn't that-?"

"Hai, Neji-nii-san has taught me a few things." Hinata smiled cutely.

Everyone turned towards Tsunade who had begun to chuckle to herself.

"Well," she spoke cheerfully. "As I see it, you have certainly proved yourself Hinata."

"Tsunade-sama-" Hinata was silenced by Tsunade.

"In my eyes you don't need any exams or tests… Hyuuga Hinata."

"Hai?"

"I hereby bestow the rank of Jounin to you." Hinata gasped in shock that was muffled behind her hands. "Do Konoha proud."

"H-H-Hai!" She began bowing and thanking profusely. Tsunade laughed lightly at the young woman who Kiba was now trying to relax.

"Sakura, are you done here?" Tsunade asked quietly over the thanking of Hinata and the calming words of Kiba.

"Hai shisho, everyone here has been healed," Sakura replied.

"Good, please follow me, we have serious matters to attend to." Sakura nodded and bid farewell before leaving with her master.

"Arigatou!" Hinata called after them.

"Jeez Hinata, don't bottle up your gratitude," Kiba remarked sarcastically. Hinata went pink with embarrassment. Kiba grinned at her before he slung his arm around her shoulders. She just went a darker shade of pink.

"You know I'm just joking around." Kiba lead her out of the medical room. "Congratulations." Kiba gave his teammate a friendly hug. "You deserved it."

"A-Arigatou Kiba." Hinata still slightly resembled a deer caught in the headlights.

"And hey, look at it this way, now Naruto has no reason not to ask you out!" He grinned, gave her a slap on the back and bolted. Hinata went crimson.

"K-K-Kiba!" Hinata stuttered in embarrassment.

Her only reply was his laughter echoing down the hall.

x. .X. .x

Temari had never been in this country before. And she had never seen magma.

There was a first time for everything, apparently.

Temari choked on a new wave of ash and steam that washed over her. The ground beneath her feet was dusty and slippery with dead ash that had been dormant for a while. Even though this country was a hellhole; it was beautiful. It was proven as her and Shikamaru walked into the vast cavern inside the volcano.

"My God…" Temari uttered. To say the cavern was vast would have been an understatement. It was large enough for loud echoes and the corners were pitch black with thick shadows; it was unaffected by the bright crimson and orange light dancing up the walls. The light was emitted from the thick pool of magma yards below them. It bubbled and spat ferociously as if it was threatening to engulf them.

Although the cavern was large the path was not. It was about the width of double of Konoha's main road. But the path was in a triangular shape; wider from the back and got thinner towards the front.

A bright stream of white light appeared at the very end of the path, signifying life and breathable air.

"And I thought Suna was potentially life threatening…" Shikamaru remarked after peering over the edge of the path.

"Hey, watch what you say about my homeland," Temari warned.

He smirked at her. "Yeah, I know, you have warned me before."

"Then, you'd be wise to take that warning," she replied smoothly. Shikamaru noted that her strut had returned and she walked confidently again. It was getting harder and harder to ignore any feelings he might have for her, but they agreed that that would be for later.

A few moments later the carriage door opened and Kurono elegantly descended onto the path. He had his head held up high and his lip was tightly shut. He looked just as he did on the day they had met him.

He glanced around at his surroundings, a pinprick of fear echoed throughout his body; but he ignored it. Instead he turned towards his "escorts".

Temari looked at him gently and stopped Shikamaru from walking so she could address him.

"Hey Kurono, how are you feeling?" She asked softly. This was certainly alien for Temari, and it felt so strange to say things in that tone of voice. But scarily enough she found that she didn't hate it completely. Shikamaru leant back and stared at Temari disbelievingly.

Kurono tightened his lip and regarded her. And then he opened up his mouth to speak.

"Are you moving us out of here because I don't like it," He stated pompously.

Temari leant back and appeared slightly confused. "Well we can't move very fast on this road because-"

"I don't care about what you have to say, I just want to get out of here," Kurono replied. Temari growled and grinded her teeth together. Shikamaru glared at the kid angrily. Temari went out of her way and tried to be gentle and this is how he acted.

"Now look here kid, I know you feel vulnerable about what happened last night and you are defending yourself but you cannot act like this, you understand?"

"Shut up, commoner." Shikamaru was taken aback like Temari. He was about to reply before Temari took matters into her own hands.

"Now you look here you little brat. You do not speak to me with that attitude and you certainly don't treat Shikamaru like that. He is a jounin and you must respect him. Just because you are royalty doesn't make you anymore important to me."

Kurono glared at her in return and sniffed stubbornly. "You are just jealous that you aren't a royal like me, you are just being mean because you're jealous. I don't have to respect anyone."

Temari snapped. She grabbed the prince by the collar and lifted him off the ground.

"Temari!"

"Shut up!" She ordered. She looked back to the boy in front of her face. "Actually you know what, brat. I don't want to be like you, in fact I hate being like you. Yeah that's right, look surprised. I am like you. In reality, I'm a princess of sorts. Daughter to the Kazekage and sister to the new one." She judged up the little prince who now looked lost for words. "And I hate it and I don't find myself any more important than anyone else. You can't hide behind royalty as a reason for your actions. In actuality you are just a spoiled brat!"

Chink!

"Temari!" Shikamaru shouted.

"I know!" Her reaction had been lightning fact, purely based on reflexes. The prince now laid at her feet a few metres away from a kunai embedded deep in the ground where they had been a second ago.

Ino reared in a panic and rushed forward towards the light and charged causing Shikamaru, Kurono and Temari to avoid him. Before they could react he made a break for the exit and escaped into the daylight. Shikamaru got up off the ground quickly.

"Show yourself!" Shikamaru ordered.

"Oh, look, the little leaf nin is getting bossy," someone taunted.

"That won't do at all…"

Shikamaru kept his distance as the three shinobi dropped from the shadows in front of them. Kurono scuttled behind Shikamaru in fright.

One woman with long baby blue hair that ended at her waist laughed cruelly. Her eyes were crystal clear and she wore a pristine white kimono.

"Shut up, Fuu, I can't stand your laugh," another snapped. This woman had dark blue hair that was cut sharply below her chin. Her eyes were crystal clear like her sister's and she wore a dark grey low cut shirt and shorts with bindings.

"Well, I can't stand your face!" The other replied childishly.

"Fuu, Rei! Stop arguing!" The third shinobi scolded. This one was a man with powder blue hair that swept across his face. Just like his sisters' eyes; his eyes were crystal clear. He worse a uniform that closely resembled Shikamaru but it was light grey and he wore no mesh.

"Aoi's right, we should welcome our new… visitors," The one named Fuu said with a deadly grin.

"We were just passing by; wanted to see the neighborhood." Temari replied slyly. The woman called Rei laughed loudly.

"Temari," Shikamaru whispered in warning. "Stop taunting them!"

"I'm sure you were, Princess." Suddenly a sharp transparent whip like strand shot out of her knuckles. "But you see…" She lovingly stared at the whip. "We were given orders to end your little travel."

"What my dear sister means to say is, this is the end of road for you two," Aoi stated confidently.

Shikamaru furrowed his brows. His brain worked furiously trying to figure out a strategy. If only he knew what they were dealing with! He needed more time.

"Fine then." Temari laughed and grabbed her fan and withdrew it slowly. "We'll play how you want."

"Temari!" Shikamaru shouted. This woman! How could she - She can't just jump into battle!

Temari ignored him and smirked dangerously at the three shinobi in front of her who were grinning confidently.

"But I'm just warning you." She drew her tessen in front her and whipped it open completely, displaying all three moons. "I play to win."

x. .X. .x

"Update."

"Hai, Hiroshi-sama. Aoi, Rei and Fuu have intercepted the Konoha ninja. Kurono should be returned to you shortly."

"Excellent."

Laughter.

"Everything is going according to plan."

A/N: It is finished!

Finally after all this time!

I cannot even begin to explain the hardships I have gone through with this thing. But I'll try. Around Janurary I dislocated by finger on my right hand so I couldn't write for a bit. Then I was hit with work at school and then I had writers block. Towards February my finger was ok but I began to extensively plan the story (this will help in future) and you can see the work I put in. Well you sill see ;) Around March I ripped my fingernail on my right hand and I couldn't type because it was too sore and then I wasn't motivated to write.

So here I am, around 4 months later and this chapter is done! Hopefully the writing will come more naturally now because I know exactly what happens from here on out!

Please, please show that you still love me and review.

I've worked so hard and experienced pain!

P.S. A new story that I'm working VERY hard on will be published before this is updated. Keep your eyes open!

Ze-chan