Hello, and thank you for reading!

This story is told first person point of view between Gaara and Naruto, and I hope that I can do them justice. There are going to be some mistakes in here as I don't have a beta and this is a hobby piece to keep my mind clear for the novel I'm writing. However, this chapter is now updated, hopefully weeding out the worst of the issues.

I will not be using Japanese in this piece. I am not Japanese and though I love the language and culture I am not confident enough to insert it easily into my piece. So in place of Naruto's verbal tick, I use tsch and eh as that is the closest I can think if for an English verbal tick.

Thank you again, please review!

Naruto

I looked over at me and nodded as I coordinated my movements with myself. I gripped the body... No... I gripped Gaara from either side and jumped down to the clearing. He was cold, lifeless. I looked over at Sakura with my main body as I set him gently on the ground. Please...

She had to be able to save him. She just had to. She rushed forwards, falling to her knees and placing her hands above him, the gentle glow of her chakra emanating from her hands as I released my clones. I watched, my jaw clenched. Please, Sakura.

Her hands dropped and she trembled some in her shoulders. She turned her head towards me, then looked down. No.

He couldn't be. Something inside of me broke. No. I couldn't accept it. I was too late. What the hell?

Even Menma didn't match this. This was too personal, different. My entire body began to shake and I wasn't sure if I would be able to continue standing.

Gaara.

There was a soft touch to my arm. I opened my eyes and seen my ceiling at home. That dream again. I hated it. I turned to the culprit who had woken me from my nightmare. Beautiful silvery eyes stared down on me and I smiled just a bit at her. "Hinata."

"Naruto." Her voice was soft, comforting. Always comforting. "You dreamt of him again." She looked away, " You said his name." She trailed off with the explanation.

"Yeah." It wasn't the first time that she had woken me from that one. There were others, but lately that one seemed oddly prevalent above the others.

She smiled. "Isn't there a meeting in Suna soon? You will be able to see him. Maybe that will stop your nightmares."

I smiled back, brushing her face softly with my good hand. "Yeah, maybe." I looked out the window and groaned. "Way too early." I frowned. There was a lot to do. There was always a lot to do. "I should probably just get to work. If I don't get ahead there will be a ridiculous amount of paperwork when I get back."

"Naruto..." Hinata kept her eyes on me and I arched my brow at her in question. "Boruto is due back tomorrow."

"He is isn't he?" How long had he been gone for anyway? "I think he had a mission in Suna. That was pretty quick, eh?" I raised my arm and scratched the bank of my head, an odd nervous tick I picked up when I was a kid and never grew out of.

Hinata sighed, "Oh Naruto."

When I realized she wasn't going to continue I got up and dressed myself, finishing with the traditional Hokage robes I had worked so hard for. Just before I left the room, her soft voice called out to me again. I looked back to her, her dark hair glistened in the low light even if it was slightly disheveled. Her silvery eyes were almost surreal, she was the very definition of beauty. I smiled. I was a very lucky man. I wasn't however, prepared for her next question.

"I wonder, if gender and location weren't a factor, would I still be the one you chose?"

I stared at her. Huh? "What are you asking Hinata?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Her face went crimson and she looked down off to the side. I decided not to press her on it.

"You're weird as ever." I gave her a big smile, "Don't ever change." I waved to her and headed to my office. I felt the corners of my lips lift at that. My office. It felt so good to even be calling it that. My biggest dream, and I had it. Hokage. "Believe it."

With that I picked up my pace, running along the tops of the buildings until I arrived at the tower. I stood there a moment and held up my hand, the way I used to when I was younger until I had my own face in view of the monument. Seventh Hokage. I found it hard to believe it had nearly been ten years already.

I took a deep breath in through my nose, letting the cool moist morning air refresh my mind before I tackled the ever growing mountain of paperwork. I turned and headed inside, through the rounded hall and into the office where so many before me led the village. I found myself tracing my fingers asking the desk. I couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe my own father had done this same thing.

I left my nostalgia behind with a soft sigh, not wanting to go too far into my memories. I brought my hand up, fingers in a cross and summoned a couple clones. They popped into existence and looked over at me.

"Should I get the files?"

"I'll go check to see if there is anything new."

I gave a nod and sat down in my chair as they scurried off. The benefit of clones being my specialty, I could easily be in different places at once.

Before long one of my clones returned with a stack of papers. "Hey, we get through all this, maybe we can spend an extra day or two in Suna!" My other clone popped his head around the corner, "Yeah, do some catching up with Gaara! He isn't so much of an overachiever as us, I'm sure he can fit us in!"

I glared up at them from my paperwork. "I'll replace you."

They both smiled our awkward grin, scratched the backs of their heads and apologized.

The problem with clones, is that they don't have much of a filter. Whatever I was thinking at the time, they do. Whether it is to hold a full conference, go for an interview or random family things I'm just too busy for. At least I could remember most of what they did while I toiled away at the more boring stuff.

Roughly five hundred hours later and twelve more clones, I went through five stacks of paper and it was nearly time for my sleepy and bored advisor to arrive at work. Perfectly on time, not a second sooner.

I watched the clock. The second hand ticked away until it was nearly time. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three.

The door opened. Dang. Off by a couple seconds. "How long exactly have you been here? I just ran into you a couple times already trying to get in here." Shikamaru stood at the door, hands in his pockets with a casual lean. Like usual his eyes looked tired and he wore a slight frown. He yawned, removed his hands from his pockets and approached my desk.

"Just a few hours. Woke up early, so why not?"

"You should take a break sometime. You are one hell of a shinobi and leader, but even the Hokage needs a day off every once in a while." He waved his hand passively, "It's starting to show. Too much more time like this the circles under your eyes will be comparable to the Kazekage's ."

Gaara. I blinked at him. Why was he coming up so much today? First I dream about him, then the clones mentioned him, though that wasn't surprising since they are me and I dreamt about him, then Shikamaru. Yes, I must be looking forward to this trip. Maybe I did need to get away for a little while.

"That is why I'm working so hard on this. I think I might try to stay a couple extra days in Suna if I can."

He looked at me silently for a moment and shrugged. "If you say so. Don't get me wrong Naruto, but you have made that statement the last three times you have gone and every time you return early because you have more work to do." He turned, paused at the door and looked at me with a stern face. "Hey, try to actually take some time for yourself this time?" He turned away and muttered something about not being cut out to be a shinobi .

I sighed. That was true. I had made this same plan a few times before. I smiled to myself, made a fist and hit my open palm with it. This time would be different. "I'm definitely taking a day. Tsh!"

A few hours later one of my clones came back with a few bowls of Ichiraku ramen. "Aha, all right!" I took the chopsticks out of the container, snapped them and began downing the ambrosia that was relatively known as miso ramen.

On the third bowl of ramen I was interrupted by a tapping on my door. I frowned at my last bowl of soup and had a clone take it away.

Shikamaru appeared at the door. "A request has come in. An old lady, requesting a personal audience with the seventh Hokage. She won't say what it's about. Should I let her in?"

I folded my hands on my desk and gave a curt nod. He left, and returned shortly with a small statured older woman. Gray hair, brown tunic. Nothing to really be too identifiable. I narrowed my eyes as I attempted to figure out what she might want. Shikamaru took his place standing behind me.

"I would like to have an escort to the land of tea. You see, my grandson is getting married and though we live in this era of peace," she paused a moment for a breath, "I would like to have some peace of mind while traveling."

"Land of tea?" Well, that is easy.

"Yes."

"Do you know of any threats or dangers that may be present while traveling?"

"None. I do however need to rest a while every now and then. I'm planning on a two week travel regimen."

Eh? "The land of tea is only a couple days of travel."

"I'm an old woman." She folded her arms and I groaned inwardly.

I could tell granny. "I could send a team of genin. Since this will be a low ranking mission, the fee will be considerably lower." I took a deep breath, "However, simply due to the amount of time, I will have to have a price that can pay for their absence."

The old woman smiled and put a bag on the table, loosened the tie and revealed more money than would be needed for this mission five times over. "I have this. I also would like them to stay, then escort me back."

"But, granny-" a sudden sharp pain came from the top of my skull. I groaned.

"Lady Akemi."

Did anybody tell me? I really couldn't recall. "Lady Akemi, this is far more than I can accept."

The woman eyed me a moment with a small 'hmm' "Are you happy, Lord Hokage?"

I stuttered and blinked at her question. "Yes, why do you ask?"

The woman gave a lopsided smile at me. "A hunch."

I pursed my brows together a bit confused. This granny was a bit weird.

"Now then, this is the price I want to pay, and it is what I shall give you. I want no arguments, Hokage or not. The land of tea had become quite prosperous and I hear that partly is because of you." She reached a hand from underneath her cloak. "Deal?"

I sighed. What she would pay could fund other higher ranking missions that couldn't be paid so readily. I would be a fool not to accept. "Fine. We will take your job." I stood and reached out my hand for her to shake.

Without warning she shot forwards, speaking words I couldn't quite catch coming from her with hand signs I could barely see as her hand hit my chest with a flat palm. A hot searing pain spread out from where her palm met my chest and I grabbed at my cloak and looked down expecting to see my flesh burned, but there was nothing. I reached forwards and grabbed the old woman by her cloak. "What the hell!"

"Oh calm down, Lord Hokage, and goon." She was oddly calm for just attacking me.

I looked up to where the old woman was now looking and seen Shikamaru not even an inch away from the old woman's neck, holding onto a kunai. "Tell me what have you done to the Hokage, and maybe I'll spare your life." His words were acidic, laced with a deep rasp that was even more accentuated than his normal speech.

"Consider it part of your payment, Lord Hokage." She stood still, not even flinching from the kunai at her throat. "It was a risk to pay it, but well worth it." She smiled. "I'm originally a ninja from the valley of fortune. What I've given you is my specialty. A wish jutsu that grants the deepest wish of the person it is given within parameters. It cannot bring back the dead, but can do a great many things."

"Wish jutsu?"

Shikamaru lowered his kunai. "Yeah, I've heard of this. Some time ago there were rumors about a special jutsu that could grant good and bad luck to whoever it was used on. It was said that the head of the family could grant wishes, but it was said to be a simple rumor. Lady Tsunade had an investigation ordered on it once. I came across the papers a few months ago while going through some old files. Nothing was ever found on the family and was put aside."

"That woman had more bad luck than even our jutsu could fix. We actually tried helping her once, but then she left with a big IOU."

"You know grandma Tsunade?"

The woman laughed. "I still know her. Why, just a few months ago we had some sake together. She was quite happy to hear of my grandsons wedding." She smiled before we responded, "She also asked me to give you a wish. Quite odd if you ask me. Doesn't always work the way you want it to, so be careful."

"A wish?" How odd.

Note: Before I upload a new chapter, I have decided to actually spend a little time and fix this some. I should be able to get this done in the next couple days.