Coming Back Home *Author's note* I'm posting this for a friend, who wanted to see my work. It was originally a oneshot that I did for another site. Compliments, critiques, and even raging flames are welcome. *Information about ALLcharacterswill be included in aseparatedocument* "Come on Tsuki can't you hurry up all ready and see when they'll strike next already. We need to be ready this time. We HAVE to get her back!," Ayame said banging her fists on the table, as she let her normally calm demeanor slip. "I never thought I'd say this but you need to calm down Ayame I'm working as hard as I can to find her and you know that. Pinpointing her in the future isn't exactly easy you know," Tsuki replied pouting a bit. Ayame sighed sitting down and resting her head in her hands, "I know Tsuki, but every other time that we've tried to kidnap her back from the Atusaki we've failed." Even bubbly Tsuki had been slightly less bouncy in the months that had passed since Lena's abduction. No one had been ready for the attack, not even Lena herself. It had been at a celebration party for their team's rise in the rank to Chunin when the Atusaki had attacked. Tsuki hadn't foreseen the attack and everyone was in their casual wear without a weapon on them, even the Jonin. After all who would expect the Atusaki to try and take a 15 year old girl away when in the presence of so many other nin, but they had all the same. Causing a diversion and knocking her out before anyone even knew what was going on. "We'll find her Ayame and this time we won't be alone we'll have help, I just know it." Tsuki said hugging her friend closely. Ayame sighed, "If they don't kill her first." .:.:.:In the Atusaki hideout:.:.:. Lena sat in her room crying again, recalling the words the man they called Pein had said, "If you attempt to leave for Konoha or to simply disappear altogether then do not think that we will hesitate to kill the entire village and everyone you love." That was the only reason she stayed, and it was slowly killing her though. A soft knock came on the door and Kisame poked his head in. "Lena it's time to go," he said softly. He was the only one of the Atusaki who bothered to treat her well, he looked after her on missions and made sure that she didn't kill Itachi and vise versa. Lena simply nodded, today they were going to try and rob a scroll from her old village. It was very old and important to these guys, she couldn't care less about it. She got up and grabbed her cloak that had been hanging on a hook by the door, quietly she left. .:.:.:Back at the village:.:.:. "Everyone knows the plan right," Ayame said looking around her at her fellow nin. "We've been over this at least a dozen times Ayame, don't worry we'll get her," Kiba said placing a hand on her shoulder with a sympathetic look in his eye. Ayame blushed slightly before shaking his hand off, "Focus on the mission and get Lena home, then you can flirt with him." She reminded herself. As everyone moved into their positions there was a definite tension in the air, because everyone knew what would happen if things didn't go according to plan. .:.:.:Just outside the village:.:.:. "The mission is a simple one get in, get the scroll, get out, and no one gets hurt," Itachi reminded her, putting a good amount of emphasis on the get out part. "I know, I know," she said irritably. He and Lena sat positioned in a tree while fish boy watched guard bellow. Suddenly Lena realized there was something wrong, there should be plenty of thoughts coming from the village, but there were only a few random thoughts of people in the farmers' market, not a ninja thought in range. She then quickly searched the area around her while trying to look bored so as not to raise Itachi's suspicions. Finally she found what she was looking for, the thoughts of UchihaSasuke. "You never could hide from me," she said sending the thought to him. Suddenly though everything changed people leapt out of bushes and trees attacking Itachi and fish boy, all of them nin that she knew. "No, No this can't be happening I warned them all to stay away," Lena thought to herself quietly. "Lena you work for us now, remember the words of leader? Don't just sit there do something!!" Itachi roared as several people all attacked him at once. She wanted to cry, not because they had done this for her, but because she knew she had to follow his orders. From her perch she began to strangle those she loved using the surrounding darkness her eyes turning to an even bleaker shade of grey than they had been the past few months if that was possible. She noticed that some of her closest friends were managing to evade her shadow's grasp, how though she had no clue. She watched as over 3/4 of the nin gathered drop like flies, her shadows knocking them out. There was only Ayame, Tsuki, Naruto, and Sasuke left to deal with and she watched as Sasuke and Tsuki faced off against Itachi. Then she turned to see Ayame and Naruto facing off fish boy, her eyes slowly became black. "Why couldn't they just stay home like I told them too. Then I wouldn't have to fight them and why does he have to be here I warned him most of all to stay away," She thought to herself angrily, "Now I have no other choice, and they know that." It looked like she might not have to help after all though, Itachi had managed to knock out Sasuke and Kisame had just finished with Ayame. She perched on the branch once more waiting for it all to be over, she turned her eyes to Naruto and watched him as he fought Kisame. Her eyes turned a thoughtful blue as they followed his movements. "If you won't take him out Lena then I might just have to," Itachi said carefully looking up to where Lena was perched. She looked beyond him to see Tsuki knocked out and badly wounded, pinned to a tree by several kunai. She watched him for a minute wondering what he meant, then it suddenly hit her. She had shown resistance to the organization and Itachi meant to make an example of Naruto. "NO!!!" she called out leaping in front of Naruto, just in time to use her own body and chakra as a shield just as Itachi used his Fire ball technique. The pain was almost unbearable as the fire itself ripped through her body striking into her very core, she tried to stay awake but the darkness soon overcame her just as she heard a voice cry her name, "LENA!!!" Naruto held her bleeding body in his arms, under the impossible odds she was still breathing despite the great trauma her body had suffered. "LENA!!! Come on you gotta stay awake Lena!!!" He yelled in her ears trying to get her to open her eyes. "How pathectically weak," Itachi muttered to himself. Kisame looked at his partner like he wanted to kill him for once. "Come along Kisame let's get back to the base and tell Leader-sama that the girl allowed herself to die," he added as he began to walk off. Kisame hesitated for a moment looking at the girl who's life had been taken too soon. "Kisame come along," Itachi growled. With one last glance towards the girl that had almost friend Kisame headed back to the base. Ayame groaned, while she may heal more quickly than others it still hurt like heck to try and sit up. She glanced around her at the other passed out nin and sighed, "Another failed attempt then," she thought to herself gloomily. Then she noticed that Naruto was clutching something close to him, she couldn't see what it was though because it was so covered in blood and she was so far away. Groaning some more she managed to start up and walk over to him. He had his face turned down to look at the thing he was holding and she still couldn't see it, gently she touched his head. "Naruto come on let's check on everyone else and go home," she said quietly. He looked up at her and she stopped breathing, her heart even stopped beating, because there lay Lena in Naruto's arms. Her body badly cut up and bleeding, some of it burned badly. Her mind went numb at seeing the friend she had missed for so long lying here like this, luckily her body went into auto pilot. She quickly pried Lena's body from Naruto's hands and checked her pulse and breathing. Ayame's own heart rate relaxed at knowing that her friend was alive, just barely clinging to life, but alive all the same. "Naruto we can't move her it could kill her. Run to the village and get help, find," her mind tried frantically to try and think of who would be the best to get but it was all fuzzy. "Oh I don't know! Just hurry and get every medic ninja you can find," she yelled at him as she tried to heal her friend's wounds. "Got it!" Naruto said running off, understanding that there was no time to waste. Ayame poured her chakra into Lena, trying to encourage the wounds to heal as fast as they could. "Come on Lena you've got to make it, you just have to," Ayame said tears pouring down her face. .:.:.:Unknown:.:.:. Lena opened her eyes slowly, everything hurt she tried to sit up but pain shot through every inch of her body. "What the hell, where am I? Why aren't I dead?" she thought to herself the memory of the fight crashing back to here. She tried to sit up again but this time the pain was to much and she cried out, there was a rustling outside the tent and she watched as several nin all rushed in at once. Her vision was to blurry from the pain to see clearly, "W…w.who's there," she managed to get out fighting back sleep. She could see a blur come closer and without speaking it closed her eyes and sleep overcame her once more. .:.:.:Still Unknown:.:.:. Lena woke up again she could tell that her surroundings were different this time, determined to sit up this time she worked at it very slowly. Finally she managed to sit up after what felt like 20 minutes, she looked around and saw that she was in a hospital room not in the Atusaki base like she expected to be. "Hello is anyone here," she paused, "Or can anyone hear me for that matter," she called out hoarsely looking towards the door. In a moment there was a big shuffle outside the door and four people all burst in at once. The people were of course her teammates Ayame and Tsuki, and her friends Kiba and Naruto. She watched the people with an amused expression, Naruto and Kiba were arguing over something she could only assume that Naruto had stepped on Amateresu's tail on the way into the room. Finally Ayame bonked the both on the head, "Knock it off you to or else she'll go into a coma again of her own free will." Lena shifted her head to the side ignoring the gushing Tsuki next to her, "I've been in a comma?" Suddenly the4re was dead silence, it didn't even feel like anyone was breathing. Finally Naruto let out a big sigh, "You guys go I'll tell her." Tsuki bounced out of the room quickly saying something about getting dinner. Kiba began to protest, but Ayame took his hand and gently led him out of the room. Lena saw the looks that passed between them and smiled because she knew what had happened between them during her absence and apparent coma. Then it was only herself and Naruto left, she turned to look at him and watched him as he stared off into space. He turned to her and his cheeks went bright red at seeing her looking back at him. "Well," she started off, "are you going to tell me what happened or are you going to stand there looking like a tomato in an orange jumpsuit," she said teasingly. He walked over next to her an sat down taking her hand in his a much sadder look on his face, now it was her turn to look like a tomato. "You were very badly injured after saving my life from Itachi, I…I..I thought you were dead," he said his voice breaking slightly, "Then Ayame came to and told me that you were still alive. She told me to go and to get help, I ran as fast as I could because the only thing I could see in my mind was your maimed body and that look o pain on your face as you protected me." He had begun to cry now but continued on, "I reached the village in time and told every medic-nin I could find, even the ones that were still just being trained to go to the spot in the forest where I left you and Ayame. They all went as fast as they could and when I had told every one possible I ran back myself. When I reached the spot where I had left you there were tents everywhere and medic-nin caring for the wounded. I asked everywhere for where they had put you, but everyone just told me to 'go home' or 'to get some rest.' Finally I Ayame and she told me that they were executing an emergency procedure and that you probably weren't going to make it. I felt like my heart was going to break right in two again, you were going to die and all because I couldn't protect myself." Tears streaked down his face, "I don't know if I managed to sleep that night, I barely remember it. All I remember was sitting outside the tent they put you in watching them rush in and out with every medical instrument out there. When they told me that you had managed to pull through against all odds, I broke out crying right there in front of everyone. I just couldn't believe it, I was so happy you were still alive." Lena stared at him for a few moments, she could have cried herself. She had worried so many people just by doing what was right. Naruto spoke again, "The only thing I don't get is, why? Why did you save me?" Lena took her hand from his and placed it on his cheek bringing his face up to look her in the eyes, "Because when we first met you talked about not having a family, about becoming kazege. I wanted you to be able to do those things, to have the chance to live your life out like you wanted to," Lena blushed a deep tomato red, "and because when I was first captured by the atusaki they threatened to kill everyone that I loved. The first person that I thought about was you, not my friends, not my teammates, you. I thought of the way you smiled at me the first day we met, of the way you looked when you got your headband form Izuki, of the different times that we’d hung out together over the years. I don't know why I couldn't stop thinking of you but I couldn't and when I saw Itachi about to kill you I did the only thing I could think of. I don't know if this is love, but I think it comes pretty close." "Lena," Naruto whispered. Unknowingly they moved their faces closer and closer together till their lips met. It felt right to both of them, an in both their minds fireworks exploded. Their lips moved together in perfect harmony and they fitted like a lock to a key as well. The kiss was short lived however as Kiba choose that moment to enter the room again, "Woah!!" he exclaimed covering his eyes, "give a guy some warning will ya. Images like that might just scar me for life." "Oh shut up puff ball, like you and Ayame aren't doing the same," exclaimed a now red Lena. Kiba uncovered his eyes quickly, "How the heck do you know about that you've only been awake for five minutes!" Lena raised an eyebrow, "I can read minds remember baka. Now get out of here before I tell Shino about you and Ayame." Kiba went red, "you… you.. You wouldn't dare." "Want to bet on it." "Fine, I'll leave," Kiba said throwing his arms up. He left pouting like a child, closing the door behid him. Lena sighed, "Things haven't changed as much as I thought." Naruto placed his hand over hers, "You do need to get some rest though, doctor's orders." Lena sighed and closed her eyes, gripping Naruto's hand to make sure he didn't leave. "Wait, before I forget there's something missing," he said quickly removing his hand from hers. "Keep your eyes closed, that's an order," he added quickly. Although Lena couldn't see it Naruto had removed his forehead protector glancing at hers on the bedside table. It had a scratch across it, the sign of a missing-nin but she wasn't missing anymore. She had come back to her village… no…… her family. He placed his forehead protector around her forehead tying the knot gently. "Alright you can open them now," Naruto said softly. Lena opened her eyes and seeing that Naruto's forehead protector was missing touched her own forehead softly, "Naruto I…." she started before Naruto interrupted her by pressing his lips softly to hers. "Shhh," he said softly after pulling out of the kiss, "I can get a new one later, you need to sleep." Lena looked at him sleepily, "Will you sit with me for a bit? Please..." secretly she was scared that the Atusaki would come for her again, but she wasn't going to tell him that. "Sure," Naruto said settling down into his seat by the bed again. Slowly she began to fall asleep, and as he sat there watching her he couldn't help but to think how lucky he was that she had chosen him above all of the rest. .:.:.:Later Life:.:.:. Lena and Naruto moved in together after she was released from the hospital, they began dating at the same time. After Sasuke's disappearance to join Orochimaru she helped to look for him, although she was not present during Naruto's battle with Sasuke. When Naruto announced his intention to leave the village and go train with Jiraiya she got into a fight with Naruto about his decision and they temporarily broke up, they began dating again though when he came back. The Atusaki attempted to recapture her during Naruto's absence, but were defeated. They have caused some problems for her since then, but have not since attempted to recapture her. Currently she and Naruto are engaged and waiting for Ayame to have her first child before getting married (Ayame's kid belongs to Kiba and he's planning on proposing to her; they are waiting to get married since Ayame will be the maid of honor). <3 .: The End :. <3