~ To (Name) ~

You were being held in a cage somewhere while holding Rai, who had been crying the entire time. You held him close, knowing you couldn't attack Satoru when it would leave your son unprotected.

Satoru smiled as he watched you from where he sat. The rest of his men were relieved that the long chase for you was over. Kyokan stood beside Satoru, covered in bandages, frowning at the outcome of her battle with Naruto. Had Satoru not saved her, Naruto really would have finished her off.

"(Name), I'm so glad you're back where you belong."

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know the routine. Can I have a room along with some privacy so I can feed my son?" You rolled your eyes as you brought your focus back to calming Rai down. Satoru has a tick mark as you just brushed him aside like he wasn't important.

"Now, (Name) you'll be staying with me in my room since you're my woman now. As for that baby, you have two options. Get rid of him or leave him with a family to take care of him-"

"Like hell I'm gonna do that. This 'baby' has a name, and his name is Rai. He stays with me no matter what." You said as you stick the middle finger up to Satoru and earned a giggle from Rai. Satoru became even more furious but still decided to give you one more chance.

"You know what, I'm a nice guy. I'll let you keep that boy, it doesn't matter since you will be the mother of my kids-"

"Eat shit, bastard. Besides, aren't you supposed to be old as hell? You're like my mother's age, right?"

"Cheeky, bitch. I'm still young through forbidden ninjutsu. I've lived for so long and gathered so much wisdom that no one can possibly match my power-"

"So you're saying that you're an old geezer that's supposed to be strong even though you were beaten by an Uchiha with just one look. In other words, you're a weak pedophile." You said as you held Rai even closer, weirded out by Satoru.

"ENOUGH ALREADY! GET HER OUT OF MY SIGHT BEFORE I KILL HER MYSELF!" Satoru yelled as he crushed the handles of his throne in anger. The men began dragging the cage away into a closed, secluded area where the was no escape for you. As soon as the men sealed the wall and left, you exhaled in relief. You then began to nurse Rai, since it had already been so long since you last fed him.

"Don't worry, Rai. Once you're safe, I'll come get you so we can go home." You said as you finished feeding Rai. You gave him a kiss on his forehead and then performed the summoning jutsu. Kimi appeared once the cloud of smoked vanished.

"(Name)!! It's terrible!! The Leaf has been-!"

"I know... but right now, my top priority is the safety of Rai. Take him to Mount Myoboku to the Toad Sage. He'll be safe there..." you spoke as you ripped the bottom of your dress and wrapped it around Rai like a blanket.

"But what about you? Where are you? Are you imprisoned?"

"I don't know exactly where I am. But my scent is on this cloth that I ripped to cover Rai. Follow it to wherever I am. I'm gonna try to escape this place." You spoke as you tied your hair up and placed Rai next to Kimi.

"But it's dangerous! Why don't you just reverse summon back to Mount Myoboku with Rai?"

"It's too risky, not to mention I'm extremely low on chakra and you can only take one person with you. So I'll stay and try to recuperate as much as I can. Just inform anyone from the Leaf that I've been kidnapped. Understand?" You said as you pet Kimi. She only nodded sadly before she grabbed Rai from the cloth you tied around him with her mouth. Kimi then disappeared along with a cloud of smoke, taking Rai with her. You exhaled sharply as you tried to hold back your tears. You didn't want to be separated from your son, but he wasn't safe here. His only chance was to escape while you still had chakra to spare.

The walls quickly opened as you were sitting in the cage. Satoru ran in only to find you in the cage and not the baby. His eyes turned into red beast-like eyes as he approached you. You only responded by doing the same with your green beast eyes before Satoru raised his fist and everything turned black.

~ To the Leaf ~

Naruto had already engaged in battle with Pain and took them all down except for Tendo Pain. He was currently impaled in his hands by the chakra rod Pain used to immobilize him.

"How would you confront this hatred, in order to create peace?"

Naruto stayed silent as he looked to the ground, having no answer to respond to Pain's question.

"I want to hear your answer."

Naruto made a sad expression as he kept his focus on the ground. He tried to think of a solution but all he could think about was you and Jiraiya. How he failed to protect the closest thing to a family he had.

"I don't have an answer... to something like that." Not too long after Naruto spoke, Pain stabbed more rods throughout Naruto's body. He immobilized and crushed Naruto's resolve, so he could no longer fight back.

"Snap out of it, Lad!" Shima yelled causing Naruto's eyes to widen as he looked in her direction.

"No matter what he says, you must not listen! You're the child of prophecy! The savior of this world! Jiraiya-boy and Pa sacrificed themselves because they believed that! So you cannot lose! If you give up now, I won't forgive you!" Shima yelled and pleaded with all her heart as she tried to motivate Naruto so he can get up again and keep fighting. Her attempt only annoyed Pain. He raised his hand and used almighty push on Shima, sending her flying back along with leaving her unconscious.

"Noisy frog."

"Bastard!" Naruto yelled as he couldn't bare to watch anyone else endanger themselves for his survival.

'Dammit! Is this how strong I've become... I can't even move... HOW THE HELL IM I A SAVIOR WHEN I CANT EVEN PROTECT THE ONES I LOVE...?! Please... Nee-san... Pervy sage... Kakashi sensei... what should I do...' Naruto thought as he frowned at Pain.

"I guess I'll be taking you now." Pain spoke as he raised his hands above Naruto. Then suddenly, time froze as Hinata appeared behind Tendo Pain in the air while Naruto watched her awe. Pain dodge it and backed away as Hinata landed in front of Naruto. Hinata used her Byakugan and noticed Naruto was immobilized with those rods stabbed right in his chakra points. She then shifted her attention back to pain.

"I won't let you hurt Naruto anymore!"

"Reinforcements?" Pain questioned as he watched Hinata from where he stood, a bit surprised another person tried to come to Naruto's rescue.

"Why'd you come out here?! Get away quickly! You're no match..." Naruto pleaded as he got into a panic. Hinata's hands were trembling until she clenched her fist, determined not to let the enemy have Naruto.

"I know. I'm just being... selfish."

"What are you talking about?! Don't put yourself in danger like this!" Naruto yelled in anger since he did not want Hinata to suffer the same fate as Fukasaku. She was the last person Naruto ever thought would come to the middle of the battle with Pain. However, Hinata stood her ground. She was more determined than ever to stay by his side and protect him.

"I'm here because I want to be. This time... I'm going to save you, Naruto!" Hinata stood her ground as she felt like the moment would most likely be her last with Naruto. She closed her eyes for a second, then opened them to speak the words she had always wanted to tell Naruto.

"I was always crying, and giving up before even trying. I made the wrong turns so many times... But you helped me find my way and take the right path, Naruto. I always chased after you. I wanted to catch up to you. I wanted to walk beside you all the time. I want to be at your side, always. You changed me, Naruto! Your smile is what saved me! That's why I'm not afraid to die... if it means I can protect you!" Hinata paused, smiling before Naruto and the enemy who stood in her way to him. Naruto looked up to Hinata, still trying to make sense of her words, until she finally spoke.

"Because... I love you, Naruto." A strong wind hit both Naruto and Hinata as she smiled. A weight finally lifted from her shoulders. She could now give the battle her all. Naruto's eyes widened, he couldn't process Hinata's words. All the adrenaline in his body kicked in, he wanted nothing more than to break free and take Hinata far away from Pain.

'Hinata...'

In that moment, Hinata could only think about her last conversation with you. She let it be her motivation to pursue her feelings for Naruto and become stronger.

~ Flashback ~

"So Hinata, when are you going to tell Naruto that you love him?" You spoke excitedly as you sat beside Hinata. She had came to your home because you asked her to come and have a serious talk. Hinata turned red as she was fidgeting her fingers.

"I... I don't know when I will work up the nerve to tell him... nowadays he just seems focused on getting stronger to protect those he cares about. I don't want to bother hi-"

"BULLSHIT! No way in hell would you ever bother Naruto, Hinata. And there's many different ways for people to show how much they love each other."

"Like what?"

"Hmmm, not sure but I'll tell you this. Actions speak a hell of a lot louder than words. I mean look at Kakashi. He followed me into a mission that was a trap to either kill me or force me to join the Akatsuki, asked me out, and saved my life. I mean I don't know about you but I definitely knew that Kakashi was the one. Only he would do something insane as following me into a lion's den." Hinata blushed as you told her how you and Kakashi ended up together. She paused for a second in a daze, her eyes widened a little bit when she realized she had an idea.

"I actually have an idea... do you think fixing a scarf that belonged to him is good enough? I mean it's not a lion's den but..." Hinata spoke as she pulled out what looked to be a piece of a red scarf. Your eyes widened as you remembered giving Naruto a scarf for his birthday. You smiled softly at Hinata and hugged her.

"No, I think it's perfect. It really shows who you are and it's a great way to tell him how you feel. I bought Naruto that scarf, it was his favorite... he grew up so fast. Before I could even blink, he just grew up and became a man..." You spoke with a smile as you suddenly remembered Naruto from when you first held him as a baby, growing up to his current age of 16.

"Don't wait around for Naruto to see you, he's too oblivious to recognize that there is someone like you waiting to love him. You have to make him look at you, Hinata. You'll never know unless you to take the risk. Remember, lion's den." You flashed your grin as you rested your hand on Hinata's head, causing her to smile.

"Right... Lion's den..."

"I can't wait to meet my niece or nephew! I'm sure your kids with Naruto will be a spitting image of him!" You laughed hysterically while causing Hinata to turn red and panic from embarrassment.

~ End of Flashback ~

Hinata got into a fighting stance as she came back to her senses. She knew coming out to face Pain was suicide. But she made a promise.

'I'll protect him and keep my promise... Lion's den...'

~ Unknown place ~

Kakashi had been walking for sometime now in a pitch black place until he saw a fire lit up.  He stopped and noticed a man sitting on a rock in front of the fire.

"That you, Kakashi?" Said the man in front of the fire. Kakashi took another step forward and realized who the stranger was.

"So this is where you've been." Kakashi said as he approached the man and sat on a rock beside him.

"Would you tell me your story?" The man spoke as Kakashi looked at him.

"Yeah, but it's really long, so it's going to take awhile."

"Yeah, that's fine." The man said as he turned to Kakashi and revealed his face while smiling. Kakashi returned the smile and spoke.

"Well, you see, Father..."

A/N: I know I wasn't the only one crying tears when Kakashi died. At the moment in time, I've had enough PTSD from Jiraiya and Itachi's deaths.