Soaring from tree limb to tree limb, Naruto crossed off the events of the day. Slowly, he emptied his mind of everything lingering within him.

The mission of escorting a wayward girl back to her family was complete. Disagreements were smoothed, everyone was satisfied, the fees were collected, and he was trailing Sakura and Yamato back to Konoha. The forest seemed to sing in time with the birds in their midst, and Naruto could swear the scents grew fresher as he drew closer to home.

The thought of home brought the image of little Yukimaru's face before him. It had only been a few weeks since they said their farewells, but it seemed like an eternity. He was glad the tyke had somebody to go home to, but still, Naruto wanted to show Yukimaru around Konoha. But that wasn't to be. Yukimaru was happy where he was with Guren, somewhere safe and free of any ninja seeking to manipulate either of them.

Finally, all Naruto's thoughts ran their course, and nothing else came to mind.

He felt at peace, in the sort of way he knew Jiraiya had often wished everyone could feel.

It would be nice to feel like this all the time, dattebayo, he thought.

"Naruto!"

Naruto looked far ahead and saw Sakura glancing over her shoulder at him, pink hair flapping like a flag in a child's hand.

"Hurry!" she shouted back. Naruto could almost feel her words flicking his face, like a scolding wind. "You're falling too far behind! Don't make me drag you!"

"Ah, ne, ne ne! Don't disturb yourself, Sakura-chan! I'll catch up!" Naruto promised. He took a few big leaps to narrow the gap between him and Sakura, which had grown very wide, even by his own standards.

Yamato, leading a few paces ahead of Sakura, pretended to hear nothing and no one. Naruto snickered and assumed he was bracing for a mock ambush, ANBU-style. He often acted as if Kakashi - or senpai, as he was to Yamato - would materialize any minute to poke fun at him.

Naruto turned his mind back to nothing (with an occasional interruption from a vision of a bowl of ramen). He forgot to keep up, slipping further and further behind Sakura and Yamato.

As if on cue, the last person he associated with peace crashed the calm in his mind. Sasuke. His brow puckered and his lips drew thin.

Even after years, his rogue teammate still left wounds in his wake. Naruto and Sakura grieved almost as if Sasuke had died. In a twisted way, his absence was worse than death. Death would have taken Sasuke against his will - but Sasuke had chosen to break his bonds of friendship and leave them and their village. His village.

Brooding further, Naruto grew upset and frustrated, as if the recent mission had been a disaster. No amount of success could make up with his failure to bring Sasuke back. Yukimaru finding a home in Guren's heart made Naruto's own heart ache, because he wanted so badly to be that home, or at least that magnet to home, for Sasuke. Nothing would satisfy him, not even the title of Hokage, until he convinced Sasuke to fight by his side for Konoha again.

If only Naruto could convince Sasuke that his quest for revenge will only deepen his wounds. If only Sasuke would agree that the Akatsuki as a whole, and not just his rogue elder brother Itachi, were a threat to eliminate.

He can wake up his Sharingan, why can't I wake up his bond again? Naruto pondered. Good morning, Sasuke's almost-good-side. The side that makes Sasuke protect people, even though he scoffs at them. You've had a long nap, now time to get up and steer Sasuke back to the Hidden Leaf, straight to Ichiraku's to eat ramen with me!

He sighed. He'd have to come up with better arguments than that. He didn't have a gift for clever speech, like Sasuke. It was ironic, since Sasuke spoke little and Naruto loved to jabber. Not even Kakashi could get through to Sasuke now.

But Naruto wasn't going to give up on Sasuke, either. As always, he would make up for everything with sheer guts - even if it meant spilling them. In a fit of morbidity, Naruto imagined his innards streaming out behind him, and looked back. His eyes caught a flash of purple streaking between tree trunks.

Sasuke! It has to be Sasuke! he told himself gleefully.

Without another thought, Naruto pivoted on a branch and rocketed straight towards the trees that had blocked his view. They wouldn't block his view for long. Sasuke couldn't hide, not from Uzumaki Naruto!