Chapter 7

When Kakashi and Shikaku said they wanted to head out immediately with as many reinforcements as possible, they weren't joking. The four of us were stunned into silence when we were led, with maybe a hundred other people, to a parking lot a few blocks away where five school buses lay in wait.

Even as we were riding in silence, I was sitting still with wide eyes of disbelief. It's not that I was surprised they had buses. It's that I was shocked to the core that so many people were willing to stand up and fight for just one person: Shikamaru.

The young man proved more than once in the short time that we've known him that he's a force to be reckoned with while also having a massive heart. The personality he showed us must be sincere because the survivors we were traveling with were beyond inspired to come to his rescue.

I was worried. That's putting it lightly. With how quickly we were moving, we may end up beating Sakura's group to Suna, but that still left the others in extreme danger.

The Subakus, Shikamaru, and Matsuri are all extremely capable of being stealthy and making quick escapes, but evading thousands of enemies was simply expecting too much. All we could do was pray they'd realized what they were up against in time and had found somewhere to hide out as they waited for the rest of us to arrive.

Naruto's hand came down on top of mine on the seat and I looked over at him. He offered a reassuring smile, "Don't cry, Hina. I'm sure they're okay."

My eyes widened as I realized tears were slowly running down my cheeks. I reached up with my free hand and wiped them away, nodding with a bit of a red face, "Matsuri and Kankuro were already so beaten up when they left Konoha. I can't help but worry."

The blonde's smile fell slightly and he sighed in defeat, "Yeah, me too. Let's just hope if they were caught, they weren't killed and we can still save them." I turned my hand over under his so we could intertwine our fingers. It was silent between us for a few moments.

The air in the full bus became more tense the closer we got to our destination. It was almost inevitable that there was going to be some type of battle waiting for us, we just weren't sure what type of fight it would be.

"Promise me you'll be careful." I looked over at Naruto again and was surprised to see him resting his head on the back of the seat with his blue eyes closed and his jaw flexed stressfully.

My hand squeezed his and I did my best to keep my voice steady, "Only if you do too." He squeezed it back and then we fell into silence once more.

Hours passed before Tsunade and Shizune suddenly addressed us from the seat across the aisle. The dark-haired woman spoke first, "So, how has Sakura been since…?"

Naruto and I glanced at each other before turning our bodies slightly so it'd be easier to face them, "She wasn't doing well at first. I think she really struggled with solitary confinement."

Tsunade's frown got stronger and she bit her thumbnail, "She has always had a delicate mental state." We gave her a confused look and she elaborated, "I'm a therapist in Suna. Sakura has been one of my patients for a few years now."

Naruto seemed a bit lost, "Wait, why would Shizune go to you for advice if you're just a therapist?"

He was smacked lightly on top of his head and my eyes widened slightly before I had to cover my mouth to stifle a laugh at the offended look on Tsunade's face. "I'm not just a therapist. I'm a licensed surgeon and practicing doctor."

Naruto rubbed his head with a pout, "Okay, geez. Sorry."

My face warmed slightly as I gathered the courage to ask, "What was Sakura like before all this?"

The two women glanced at one another before the blond spoke again, a soft nostalgic expression on her attractive features, "She was scared of the world, but hadn't given up on trying to overcome it." Her caramel-colored eyes refocused on us and her smile widened, "I've always believed she'll succeed."

Naruto smiled, "Well, you're in for a treat then. She's the strongest out of our group, without a doubt."

"What do you mean?"

The Uzumaki man glanced at me and I responded on his behalf, "Healing isn't her only ability. She can break stone with her bare hands these days."

Shizune gasped, "You're kidding! That's impossible!"

Tsunade elbowed her in the ribs, "You saw her heal a bullet wound in seconds. Is it really that hard to believe?"

Her friend's face turned red and she reluctantly shook her head, "No, I guess not. It's just so unbelievable."

For a moment, I wondered if I should say something else because it was kind of personal for our pink-haired friend, but felt it'd be okay since all of us are at least aware of her aversion to men, "She also has a boyfriend now."

Naruto looked at me with wide eyes, "Wait, they're official? Since when!"

I shook my head with a grin, "They didn't say so, but they're practically inseparable."

"I find that harder to believe than everything else you've said," Tsunade admitted with wide eyes.

Tenten butt in from the seat behind us, shocking both Naruto and I, "Kiba even said he heard them messing around in the bath! I wonder if they've fucked yet."

My face erupted in a hot blush, "T-Tenten!"

Naruto laughed loudly, but Tsunade cut him off before he could say anything, "Sakura? Sakura Haruno? Are we talking about the same girl?"

We all nodded and her stunned expression slowly morphed into a proud and warm one, "I can't believe it…" We all spoke about our other friends and some of the stuff we encountered after the invasion began while the traveling continued.

The trip should've taken anywhere from ten to twelve hours, but it only took eight because of how frantically the drivers were speeding. Unfortunately, our bus ran out of gas on the outskirts of town. The others stopped for us, but we simply had them go on ahead after agreeing on a meeting point.

There were eleven of us in total. Other than the four of us, the people in our group were Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya (the white-haired man from before), Iruka, a guy a year or two older than us named Genma, and a married couple in their thirties named Kurenai and Asuma.

To our surprise, we found out that Asuma is Konohamaru's uncle. He was overcome with relief when we told him we'd found the boy and he was waiting in a safe place for our return. Apparently the Hokage was beyond angry with him because Konohamaru had run away while under his care.

"It'll take at least a day to reach the center of town, but that's only if we don't rest overnight." Neji and Jiraiya were discussing a plan.

"If we don't rest, our ability to fight will be hindered. I think we should take at least a few hours to sleep so we're not useless."

Tenten jumped onto Neji's back, making him stumble a couple steps before regaining his balance and carrying her as though it was a normal thing, "We should do so in shifts then. Half of us sleep while the other half keeps watch."

Jiraiya nodded, "Agreed."

Tenten spoke in a warm voice, wrapping her arms loosely around Neji's neck, "I can scout ahead when we get close since I have my rifle." Her sniper rifle was resting against her back.

Genma spoke and I got the sense that he was quite a flirt by the overly familiar way he addressed her, "Beautiful and talented: scary." Tenten winked at him, but snuggled closer into Neji's hair rather than respond.

The man quickened his pace a few steps until he was on my other side, "Did I overhear you guys talking about Sakura Haruno on the bus?" His arms were behind his head and he had a toothpick in his mouth.

I nodded, "Yes. Do you know her as well?"

He glanced over and grinned at me, making my face warm, "We're not close, but I went to highschool with her." His grin widened and he brought his arms down to his sides, "Is Ino with her?" Naruto and I gave him a weary look, but nodded.

He looked positively giddy, forming a triumphant fist, "Yes! I've been wanting to see her again!" When he noticed our puzzled stares he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "She and I used to mess around a bit."

Naruto snickered, "Good luck getting past her boyfriend, bro."

I personally thought the news would dull the man's excitement, but I was wrong. Instead, it seemed to pique his interest, "I can take him."

The Uzumaki man and I shared a look before laughing. Sai wasn't the type to use words in a serious argument. That was something he and his brother have in common.

Feeling a bit bad, I hesitantly offered the man some words of warning, "I'd be careful if I were you. All of us have been trained to fight. Her boyfriend's very strong."

To this day, none of us know if Sai's the jealous type because a situation where we'd find out hasn't risen. Guiltily, I sort of hoped to be there when Genma approaches Ino just to see what happens.

Hours later, we broke into a hotel to rest for the night. We were on the first watch shift so we were walking the halls casually, weapons at the ready just in case. Iruka joined Naruto and I, taking the opportunity to catch up while they could. I simply listened in silence, happy to learn more about Naruto's life. Seeing the sparkle in his eye as he spoke with his brother brought a smile to my lips and a warmth to my heart.

A few hours passed before Naruto excused himself to go outside and relieve his bladder, leaving me alone with Iruka as we waited for him to return. "So, how long have you two been together?"

My face warmed and I adjusted my hold on my gun's grip, "N-Not long. A few weeks."

The man seemed a bit surprised, "Really? You seem much closer than that."

I averted my gaze down to the carpet, leaning against the wall, "A lot has happened in the short time we've known each other." We hadn't really told our new friends about M.A.T because it's hard to believe such a thing is possible without seeing it with your own eyes. They'd probably find us crazy.

"Well, if it means anything, I've never seen Naruto look so happy."

I looked over at him in shock, face warming further, before returning my gaze to the ground, "...I-I want to make him happy, so I'm glad to hear it."

It was quiet between us for a few long moments before Iruka spoke once more, but with a quieter voice, "Has he told you anything about his past?"

I nodded, understanding immediately what he was referring to, "Is that man still alive?" Ever since I was shown that awful memory, I've wanted to ask Naruto if Kizu was still out there somewhere, but couldn't bring myself to do it.

"If he is, he's got to be close to death. All those drugs and all that drinking isn't healthy."

My grip tightened on my gun as a ghost of the unbearable rage I felt toward the man bubbled up, "If I ever meet him…" I sensed Iruka look over at me in surprise, but ignored it and took a calming breath so as to not get worked up.

Naruto returned then and we pretended to not have just had the conversation we did. The rest of our watch was fairly uneventful and then it was our turn to settle down for some rest. Unlike last night, we didn't have a heated home to sleep in so it was back to cuddling closely to share body heat.

Despite trusting his foster brother, Naruto was uncomfortable completely letting his guard down around the other strangers in our new traveling group and sat in the corner of the room, pulling me down to sit in between his bent legs before pulling the blanket over us.

I gave him a look, pressing my hands against his chest, and he returned it, "I can sleep like this just fine. Get some rest."

Knowing it'd be fruitless to argue, I turned slightly so I could rest my ear against his breastplate and hear his heartbeat, my legs curled loosely up to my chest. One of his arms was around my middle, in between my stomach and thighs, and the other was on the ground at his side, holding the grip of his gun just in case. It was cold, that much was a fact, but I felt incredibly warm as I snuggled against him.

Even if I was a bit unsure about the strangers with us, I surprised myself by easily falling asleep. I only realized this because I was awoken sometime later by the sound of hushed voices, Naruto's chest vibrating slightly beneath my ear as he spoke. I simply stayed as I was, eyes closed and breathing even as I lulled in and out of consciousness.

"-like I'm a completely new person. All that fucked up stuff we went through…its like it doesn't even matter anymore."

Iruka's voice was easily distinguishable by now and he sounded either relieved or proud, maybe a mixture of the two, "I'm so happy for you, man. To be honest, by the time I got out I was worried you were going to either kill yourself or end up making some bad choices and getting into trouble."

There was a long silence before the man I was cuddling responded, "I thought about it a lot before I turned eighteen, I won't lie. Things got better after that, though, so I'm glad I didn't go through with it."

"Does that girl have anything to do with your new outlook on life?"

The arm around my middle tightened slightly, "She's a big part of it, yeah, but it's not just that. After meeting her and the rest of our group from The Program, I realized it's okay to be happy. I don't have to spend the rest of my life wallowing in my own self-pity. For the first time in my life, I have friends that I can be myself around and they still love me."

His other hand suddenly came up to run through my hair and his voice was leagues softer, "I have something to protect now."

Another long pause occurred before Iruka found the words he wanted to say, "She said you've only been dating a few weeks. You're not rushing into things are you? I'm happy that you're happy, but I don't want you two to break up and it be bad enough to ruin your life."

"You don't understand, bro. I'm not sure you ever will. The things we've gone through together…not many others can say they've done the same. I've never been so sure about something in my life: I love her."

The older of the two sounded bashful suddenly, "Geez, Naruto. When did you get so corny?"

Naruto chuckled, "So are you gonna stay in Konoha after all this?" A sound of affirmation left Iruka. "We should get together sometime for dinner or something, then."

"Sounds good, man. I'm sure Kakashi will be happy to break out the grill again."

"Kakashi? That silver-haired guy from before? You guys are together?"

Iruka sounded bashful once more, "We're married, Naruto. I thought you knew I was-"

"No! Please don't think I'm judging you! I didn't know, but I also don't care. If you're happy, then I'm happy for you, bro."

"...Thank you. That means a lot to me."

"So how long have you been a married man? And why the fuck didn't I get a wedding invite!"

Their conversation continued, but I fell back asleep and couldn't hear the rest of it. A warm feeling enveloped my entire being as I reminisced on all the beautiful and doting words of love Naruto often relays to me. Being with him is just so comfortable and reassuring. Past me would've never guessed I'd end up with someone so perfect.