So Jiraiya and I were on our way home from our training trip and we were in a town near Suna and I really wanted to stop by Suna to say hi to Temari, Kankuro and Gaara. Mainly Kankuro because ever since I met him I fell for him and I really wanted to see him but Jiraiya said we had to get back to the village.

But the day we were leaving the town Jiraiya got a letter from Tsunade and suddenly said we were going to Suna and I didn't really care why I was just happy to go see Kankuro.

(2 days later)

We just arrived to the gates of Suna and we told the guards our names and we were told to head straight to see the Kazekage. And when we got there and told the secretary who we were she rushed us in. when I saw who was behind the desk I gasped in surprise

(Gaara's pov)

I was busy doing paper work when the door opened and I heard a gasp I looked up to see Naru and Jiraiya and gave a small smile to Naru and got up and went around my desk and put my hand out.

"Naru it's been a long time"

Naru grabbed my hand and pulled me into a hug "Too long my friend"

I eventually cleared my throat. Understanding, Naru pulled back and gave me a long look over. "So you're Kazekage, huh?" As she said it, her eyes curved slightly downwards but a smile still held a place on her face.

(Normal pov)

"Yes, and being so, I believe you and I have some things to talk about." He found his way back behind his desk and sat down at the chair he had originally occupied. Gesturing for the two to sit down, Naru and Jiraiya sat before Gaara, one looking confused while the other looked guilty.

Taking that in, Gaara looked at Naru in surprise. "You don't know…?" He asked.

"Know what?" Came her belated response. She glanced over to Jiraiya but he only watched Gaara with a weird look on his face. Something dropped inside her.

"If you have something to tell me, please do it…"

"Go for it, Gaara–sama," Jiraiya encouraged quietly.

"Naru, I don't know how long the councils were planning on keeping it a secret, but there's been a deal concerning you and someone else. Originally when Suna had attacked Konoha, a new alliance was set in place. Suna, fearing Konoha would not believe their sincere hopes of creating a good alliance between them, offered a political marriage between a man and a woman." Gaara paused as Naru thought it over.

"Okay," She complied quietly. "So what's this have to do with me?" Naru actually had started piecing two and two together

Jiraiya rolled his eyes at her naivety. "Naru–"

Gaara shook his head at Jiraiya and continued the story. "They came to the agreement during the time that both our villages had no leaders except the councils. When it was decided you were out looking for the Godaime Hokage, and we were looking for candidates for our Godaime Kazekage."

"The council…" Naru murmured, thinking of the people who had always played a constant part of ruining her childhood.

"Yes, and so they decided then that the marriage candidates would wait until they were older and more experienced in the life of ninjas before having to take on a family role. Sadly, that was a big mistake. I think you do know who I'm talking about." And as he said it, Naru sat there in shock. Those idiots had just ruined her life once again. If her life had any problems, she might as well blame the council. Somehow, someway, the blame could be placed upon them.

(Naru's pov)

As I thought about what I was told I thought of something.

"Who do I have to marry?" I asked

"Kankuro"

I stayed calm on the outside but on the inside I freaking out 'I'm going to marry Kankuro-kun!'

(Jiraiya's pov)

When Gaara told Naru it was Kankuro I saw her eyes light up telling me she was happy about it.

'I think Naru has a crush on this Kankuro I can't wait to meet him' I thought

"Also you guys can live in Konoha allowing you to still have your dream of being Hokage" said Gaara

"Does Kankuro know?" asked Naru

"Well I didn't expect you the two of you to be here that fast so I have yet to tell him"

"I see..." she said with a scared look

I could only guess she was scared he wouldn't be ok with this.

"Naru you seem oddly calm about this" said Gaara

"Well it not like I can do anything about this so there isn't a point in making a scene"

Gaara nodded

"When do we have to get married?" asked Naru

"By the end of the year" said Gaara

Naru nodded

"Do you wish to have a part of the details or should I have my sister Tamari take care of them for you?" Gaara asked his eyes focused on Naru's.

Naru thought about it for a second before answering him "I would like to have a part in the details"

Gaara nodded "Well you two may stay at my house while you're here"

"Thank you" I said

Gaara called one of his ninja to take us to his house and to tell Kankuro to come see him after helping us settle in.

And we left.

"Naru you like the person you have to marry don't you? That's why you weren't mad about this" I asked

She blushed and nodded

"Well I hope everything goes well for you"

"Thanks Ero-sennin" said Naru
I nodded
When we got to the house we knocked on the door who I assumed was Kankuro opened the door for us
When he saw Naru he seemed surprised to see her.
"Naru-chan?" He asked
She nodded and smiled "Hey Kankuro-kun"
"Kankuro-San, Kazekage-sama said to help these two settle in then to go see him" said ninja

Kankuro nodded and the ninja left

"So you're staying with us?" asked Kankuro

"Yep" said Naru "Oh Kankuro this is Ero-sennin or better known as Jiraiya"

Kankuro looked at me and sized me up for some reason

"Hm why do you call him Ero-sennin?" asked Kankuro

"Have you heard of Icha Icha?" asked Naru

"That horrible porn book?"

"Well this here is the author of said book and he's one of the legendary Sannin so Ero-sennin" said Naru

Kankuro looked at me with disgust. "I have half the mind to let you stay outside"

Naru laughed at me

I pouted a bit

"Well come on I'll show you to your rooms." Said Kankuro

We nodded and followed him.

(Kankuro's pov)

So after I help Naru and the pervert settle in I went to see Gaara

I knocked on the door

"Come in"

"Hey you needed me?" I asked

"Yes please sit down" he said

I was a bit nervous with what he needed to talk to me about.

(Gaara's pov)

When Kankuro was comfortable I explained to him what I told Naru but while I did this I felt Jiraiya's chakra by the window but ignored it for now

"So I'm going to marry Naru-Chan?" asked Kankuro

"Are you ok with this Kankuro?" I asked

"Well I get to marry the one I've had a crush on since the chunin exams so yes I'm ok with it not like I would have much chose if I wasn't ok with this" he said

I nodded "Well go home and get to know her more before she leave to Konoha in 2 days"

Kankuro nodded and left

I then went to the window and looked out it at Jiraiya

"You were listening why?" I asked

"Well I wanted to know how he felt for Naru and I must say I think this will turn out better than anyone thought it would" said Jiraiya

"And why is that?" I asked

"Naru likes Kankuro as well" I said

I nodded "Let's hope it turns out well"

Jiraiya nodded and left.

(Few days later Naru's pov)

Jiraiya were a day and a half from the Village Hidden in the Sand and I was already missing Kankuro. Suddenly I felt people nearing us and whipped out a kunai from her back pouch. Raising it in front of me defensively and facing where the newcomers were coming from, I immediately realized the direction was where Konoha was. Jiraiya put his hand up in a motion meant to relax me telling me these were not enemies.

Minutes later a group I easily recognized stopped before the us. Kakashi landed in front of me, not looking any older nor different. The gravity–defying, silvery and spiked hair was being held back from his face by the black hitaite, the same hitaite hiding his Sharingan eye. The blue face mask covered half his face as usual, hiding his mouth and nose. The one showing eye did not hold the usual lazy look, but the eye smile was not present either. Looking at his appearance, I realized he had the weapons for a mission.

Behind him was Sakura equipped for battle as well, and her clothes much different from before. She no longer wore the red dress but now sported a sleeveless red shirt, a pink skirt with black leggings that went to her knees, Gauze wrapped around her upper right thigh, pink elbow covers swathed her elbows tightly and black gloves were the highlights of her outfit. Like before I had left with Jiraiya, the hitaite was wrapped about her head and allowed her bangs to hang freely before her face.

Beside Sakura stood Temari, the Kazekage's older sister. Wearing a black dress with red cloth tied about her middle, Temari looked beyond different. I was used to her usual purple clothes but the large white and purple fan was a relaxing usual sight.

"Naru," Sakura started, surprised.

"What's going on?" I demanded, not at all surprised. The pieces had clicked together easily in her mind. The remaining people of Team Seven were headed to Suna, Naru had an internal sense that something was wrong

Kakashi gave her an even look before stating under his mask, "Suna was attacked by Akatsuki. They took the Kazekage, Gaara." That was all I needed before I dropped to a knee, pulled my pack from my back, and ravaged through it. Pulling out a hair tie, I yanked my bright yellow hair into a ponytail. When that was done, I then yanked my backpack on my back and stood up.

"I'm coming with you." Sakura and her sensei shared a look before Kakashi managed out a sighed 'Naru'.

"Don't be stupid, gaki. The Akatsuki is dangerous and would love to have you as well. If you were caught, every nation would be in trouble. Just come with me and we'll go see Tsunade. We'll give her our mission report and then we can talk about joining the fight."

Temari looked impatient, but no one commented on it.

I shook my head angrily. "It'd be too late! We have to go now!"

"We can take care of Gaara, Naru, don't worry." Sakura insisted, eyes watching me with wary eyes. She didn't know why Akatsuki would want me, the dobe, but she didn't ponder on that too long. She and Kakashi could probably take care of the man or men who kidnapped the Kazekage...right? That's what Sakura wanted to think, but honestly…they kidnapped the strongest person from the Village Hidden in Sand. Of course she'd be scared.

"He's my kin! I won't leave him to die. As long as a part of me is alive, I'll never give my precious people up! I don't care if this isn't my mission. I will save Gaara!"

Kakashi and Sakura looked like they wanted to say something, but Jiraiya beat them to it. "Fine, gaki, go. But know that your life is as needed as Gaara's. I'll work something out with Tsunade-hime. That fine with you, Kakashi?"

Said man nodded, "We could use more people."

Not long after I was at the front of the formation, pushing the other three quicker and faster

(Back in Suna)

When we got to Suna we were told Kankuro was in the hospital because he went after the men who had Gaara but was poisoned in the process when we got to the hospital I wanted to cry seeing Kankuro in the state he was in.

"Sakura can you heal him?" I asked

"I'll try" she said and went over to Kankuro and examined him she then started to order 3 staff members around to get stuff she needed to heal Kankuro and soon she was extracting the poison from him and soon was done.

"He should be fine now" said Sakura

"Thank you Sakura" said Temari

"No problem" she said

After a while we were on our way out when Chiyo demanded to come with after a bit of arguing we let her come.

(Next day)

On our way to the place Gaara was taken and we were met by team 9 and when Sakura was about to try and destroy the boulder blocking the entrance I stopped her

"Sakura stop!" I said

"Why what's wrong?" she asked

I pointed at the boulder "There is a seal on it and we need to find the other seals connected to it and rip them at the same time" I said "Neji can you find them there should be 3 or 4"

Neji activated his Byakugan and looked around

"There are the one 1 mile north the 2nd northeast the 3rd is east and 4th is northwest that's all I see." Said Neji

I nodded and Kakashi had team 9 go deal with them after all they pulled the tags a doppelganger appeared and I told them how to fight them and then I let Sakura break the boulder

When the boulder was gone all we saw was all but the two who had kidnapped Gaara were gone already.

When they had walked in, the blonde one was sitting on Gaara's corpse. The sight itself nearly made me lose control. I chased after Gaara's corpse and the man who had stolen it, Deidara, an S–rank missing-nin from Iwa, the Hidden Village in Rock.

Even though Kakashi and I managed to defeat him, he got away but thankfully left behind Gaara's body.

Currently I sat with the whole group; Team 9 managed to defeat their clones and Sakura and Chiyo managed to kill Sasori, the puppet master. Sakura was attempting to heal Gaara but by the way she was frowning and Gaara was still not breathing, all hope appeared lost.

Sakura had grown, I could see. Not just physically but mentally and in her ninja ways. Her medical jutsus and knowledge rivaled Tsunade's at this point. But, even as her hands glowed with the jutsu at her fingers and her hands upon Gaara's non–breathing chest, Gaara was not reviving.

"Sakura – chan…" But the girl shook her head at me before extracting her hands from the Kazekage's chest. She sported bruises, scrapes, a healing stab in her abdomen and cut clothes. Her face was bruised and swollen, but none of that mattered compared to the pain in her eyes. The physical pain Sakura felt was nothing compared to the emotional kind that she was dealing with now. She could almost see the agony and hopeless look I had on. Her green eyes shut slowly and opened.

Nobody said anything as the wind picked up and I fought back tears. Sakura stood and walked towards me. Placing a comforting hand on my shoulder, she refused to look in my face but hoped that the gesture was enough for me.

My body shook, but my eyes stayed on Gaara. Walking away from Sakura's firm grip, I came to stop in front of Gaara's body. By now I was shaking so hard they could hear my teeth chatter and my breath coming out in gasps. Tears finally found their way down my face. Still nobody said nor did anything.

"Why? Why is it always Gaara?" I mumbled between my chattering teeth. "He can't–if he dies like this–he just became the Kazekage. He's the Kazekage. He found people to acknowledge his worth, he found his precious people. He can't die...He just became the Kazekage!"

Granny Chiyo looked on at the sad scene in front of her with exhausted eyes. "Please try to calm yourself, Naru Uzumaki."

"You! Shut up!" I finally turned to face the crowd of my friends, tears streaming down my face and falling into the grass below me. My hand swiped to the side, motioning for Chiyo to stop. Surprised, the old women's eyes widened and a small gasp fell from her lips.

"Just shut up! If you damned shinobi hadn't put a monster inside of Gaara, then none of this would have ever happened to him!" gasped for breath before continuing. "Did you ever consider how Gaara would feel? Did you even consider the hate and scorn he would have to live with? Did you even ask?"

(Normal pov)

Kakashi flinched, but his eternal rival, Gai, just stood solemnly. Together they watched the scene in silence despite the guilt in their eyes. Neji, Tenten and Lee watched their blonde female friend with wonder. Why was she so emotional over this? Of course Gaara was her friend but this? Chiyo observed with entranced eyes while Sakura bit her lip nervously. She felt bad for her friend. She couldn't imagine what Naru had gone through.

No one could ever know how a Jinchuuriki felt except another Jinchuuriki, that was obvious, but others knew the life of one was hard. People hate you, people blame you, there are assassination attempts, and your parents may even hate you. That was the life of a Jinchuuriki.

"What gives you the right to label us?" Naru continued between breaths, her sobs becoming louder and her words sounding somewhat slurred from the deep gasps for breath. "Who are you to decide someone else's fate?" Naru stumbled on her feet, her legs feeling like jelly. "I couldn't save Sasuke and I can't save Gaara, either! I've trained so hard for three years but nothing has changed!"

Everyone who hadn't known now knew the truth. Naru is a Jinchuuriki. This was her fate, be hunted and have her biju torn from her. Pain, loneliness and death were the fate of a Jinchuuriki.

A long moment passed where no one did or said anything with the exception of Naru's sobbing. Finally Chiyo stood up and brought his hands down on Gaara's chest. Ocean blue light soon shadowed her hands.

"What are you doing?" Naru demanded, curious. Wasn't Gaara dead?

"I'm running out of Chakra," the old woman responded, ignoring the question.

Sakura gasped. "No! That technique will–"

"I know; I must atone for my sins."

"If you know some medical jutsu to save Gaara and you need Chakra, then you can use mine!" Naru bounded over quickly and pushed her chakra into Gaara. As the two worked on healing the dead boy, she turned to Naru and said in a steely calm voice,

"I'm happy that someone like you has appeared in the world of shinobi that we foolish old people created. Everything I've ever done was a mistake. But now, at the end, it looks like I'll finally be able to do the right thing. The Sand Village and Konoha. Their future will be much different than the way things were back in my day. That strange power of yours that Kakashi mentioned… That power will have a strong influence on the future. Become a Hokage like none before you."

Naru, surprised, did not say anything else.

The old woman turned to Sakura next, hands still glowing, "Sakura…next time save people precious to you. Not me, some old hag. We're similar, there's not many gallant female shinobi out there. I bet you will one day surpass your master, Lady Tsunade." Just as the shadowy blue light around her hands began to fade, swiveled towards Naru one last time. "I request something of you, Naru…an old woman's last request…You and Gaara are the only one who know each other's pain…help him out, please." With that, the light disappeared and the old woman slumped backwards.

Sakura caught her, tears now falling from her eyes.

Naru watched Gaara. A few minutes passed and she heard a crowd forming around them. Looking around, she saw the villagers watching them with curious but sad eyes. When had they got here? Did they really care for Gaara that much?

Naru watched Gaara watching for a sign he was ok soon I saw his chest rise and fall a sign he was breathing

I was now crying tears of joy.

"Gaara!" The Naru cried

The crowd cheered, happy their Kazekage was alive.

"We knew you could do it!

"Thank goodness you're alive!"

"We missed you!"

"Thank you!"

Naru released him from the hug as his eyes roamed at the whole crowd that was the village. Trying to stand, Gaara got to a knee and tried to push himself up but found he was unable to. Naru gripped his arm and yanked him up, a large smile on her face

He glanced up at her. "Naru, what's going on?"

"The villagers wanted to make sure you were alright. How are you feeling?" Just as he was about to nod, Temari rushed over and forced herself into his arms.

Naru pulled away just before the two impacted for a hug.

(Naru's pov)

I moved to the back of the crowd and watch happy for Gaara.

Suddenly I felt weak.

"Naru are you ok" asked Kakashi as he came over to me

"I feel weak… all the sudden…" I said almost falling over but Kakashi caught me.