Chapter 1
Thanks to Lizzy for the shout out in her story The Strength Of Those Left Behind. Check it out if you haven't done so already! First story by the way so please point out all the good and bad points, it would be a lot of help. I have no idea what pairings I will end up having but I don't think there will be any for a while. The main word there being 'think'. Anyway, on to the first chapter!
ΨΦΩΦΨ these funny little symbols will mean a time skip
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, only the sticky situation he is in :)
"Hey Naruto-kun!" said person looked over his shoulder to see who was calling
"Oh... hi Gaara-kun" Why won't that kid leave me alone already, I mean it's not like I saved his life or anything. Oh…wait…I did…crap…but still… Gaara reached his peripheral vision and brought Naruto out of his thoughts.
"So what do you want kid?"
"Well, I got a bit bored because my sister kept going on and on about the importance of having a range of jutsu in your arsenal so you won't get caught off guard so I fell asleep and the next thing I know I'm flying out the window and I landed in a tree and I was going to go back and see what had happened but when I did, Temari-baka just glared at me from the window so I walked away and I found you!" the little jinchuuriki had gone a bit blue in the face from talking on just one breath. Naruto pondered this. Temari, who was an academy teacher now, disliked children who didn't pay attention, and she being very fair didn't give Gaara any special attention. This unfortunately also meant Naruto would be stuck with the little redhead for the rest of the day.
"Come on then, I guess we had better go get some food. You want anything in particular?"
"RAMEN!" came the extremely enthusiastic shout. It was a no brainer. It had been discovered that demon jailers/hosts were addicted to ramen with Naruto being the first to make the connection after he found Nii Yugito, Gaara and himself all drooling from the smell of ramen as they walked by the stand. Teuchi had been very nice that evening and put everything on the house (Teuchi later regretted that…)
As they walked through Konoha towards the 'holy' stand (in their opinions anyway) they came across a laughing couple holding hands and singing very badly. This was of course Tsunade and Dan. They were almost always drunk, and were a good laugh to be around providing it wasn't morning and they had just woken up to greet their huge hangover.
"Well hey there kiddies, whatcha up to?" Tsunade slurred. Naruto swore he could smell the sake from 10ft away.
"We're going to get ramen, we're going to get ramen!" Gaara chanted, jumping up and down as he did.
"Awwwww well aren't you just the cutest little thing ever!" Patting his head in a very patronising way, she made her way over to Naruto.
"So brat, why weren't you at the Hokage's office this morning?" Naruto blinked. He blinked again. A light bulb appeared over his head and lit up. His eyes proceeded to widen as realisation hit him but then his eyes glazed over as the light bulb dimmed, indicating that he had forgotten what they were talking about. Then it lit back up again. Dan was rubbing his eyes. I've had way too much sake today! he thought.
"OHHHHHHH so that's why Mizuki-sensei was at my door and yelling this morning!" Tsunade, Dan and Gaara just face-palmed.
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Two hours later, Naruto and Gaara were still at Ichiraku's. Inhaling some more of the salty goodness/badness (depending on your viewpoint) they finished yet another bowl. A stack of exactly 24 dishes stood between them while Teuchi looked on fondly. Ah, my best customers live up to their expectations once again.
"Oi knucklehead" the shout of Temari shattered the feeling of peace and contentment.
"Who, me?" the two ramen lovers said in unison.
"No, you bakas, you!" she said pointing at one of them but of which, neither boy was sure.
"Who, him?" the unified voices spoke again.
"NO BAKAS, GAARA!"
"Ah." Came the small reply.
"You little twerp, you weren't paying attention again!" and so began the chewing out of Gaara. Naruto tuned her out while Temari screeched like a banshee at her younger brother, testing the reaches of her vocal chords. I wonder if I should help him…NAH…he'll be fine…I hope…but then again it is Temari we're talking about here…nah…I'm sure he'll be fine…once his ears stop bleeding…I guess I should go see the Hokage before he goes home, though I still can't believe he is Hokage. Who would have thought…ooh I wonder what I should have for dinner tonight? Maybe otosan will be home by now but then again he did go to Sunagakure. Thinking about Suna, I have to tell Kyuubi about the news of the Akatsuki 'visiting' there. Gaara should really tell Shukaku too but maybe when he's feeling a bit better. Naruto's expression darkened slightly as the Akatsuki threat once more entered his mind. Glancing over he saw Temari red in the face and still shouting but sounding a bit hoarse whilst Gaara just sat on the stool and faced his sister with the expressionless face he donned when he was facing a huge threat and blood trickling slowly down the side of his face from his ears. OK now I should probably save him before she has another go at him for making her lose her voice. Naruto thought carefully about how to approach this situation when Yugito appeared. Perfect timing he thought.
"Hey Temari-san, Naruto-kun, Gaara-kun, what are you a..." the spiking of killer intent stopped her mid sentence Oh crap what have I done? I just stopped Temari's rant! Burning eyes focused on her and the chewing out began again with renewed energy.
"Are you blind and deaf? I was in the middle of ranting! How could you? You should learn your manners blah blah blah" (etc. etc. etc.) Needless to say, Naruto and Gaara used this opportunity to escape.
And cut! Well that is my first chapter done and dusted. I have been told to socialise with family (bleh!) so see you round. Don't forget to review.
Tora
