Hey everyone! Just fair warning..this is the sequel to my other fic 'When Three Meet Again' so if you haven't read that one, don't read this one. You won't get stuff. Also, for those of you who did read my other fic, thanks a bunch and i hope you like this one!

disclaimer is i don't own Naruto but i wish i did! Onle problem is, Kishimoto won't give me any of his charecters except Lee ang Gui and they scare me more than Itachi and Orochimaru do:shudder:

this chapter is not as long as i wanted it to be but i don't want to rush it (which i have a bad habit of doing!) so sorry guys! but i hope it's worth the wait!!

Now that that's all said and done...on to the fic!! Enjoy!

Sasuke sat with Kiba, Neji, Shino, and Shikamaru. They had just returned from the funeral for all the people lost in the previous mission. It had been two years since Sasuke had returned and most of the people in the village had finally accepted him as a member of Konoha once again. Sasuke had completely adjusted to living again in the leaf village. He had quickly become a high ranking and trustworthy ANBU. He'd been allowed, by Naruto, to live alone again, though he chose to keep his friends close now, and had even started dating Hinata in the hope that one day he could marry her and revive his clan.

Right now, though, he and his four friends were just sitting in the living room of Sasuke's large home. Kiba lived with him now. He claimed it was because Akamaru was too big for his previous home, but everyone knew that he and Sasuke had become very close while Kiba had been guarding Sasuke when he first came back.

"Sasuke," Shika called in a bored tone. The raven turned to face him.

"What's up?"

"Where's Naruto?" he asked, his voice not hiding his concern. Sasuke shrugged, but he was worried too. Lately, there had been allot of deaths. Naruto hated to see them die. He felt like he wasn't doing his job as the Hokage. He wasn't protecting the people. He was sending them to their deaths on missions outside the village. Naruto had become depressed and spent most of his time either at his house or locked up in his office, only coming out when necessary.

Kiba and Shino got up and walked to the front door. Neji looked up from the book he was reading and asked, "Where are you going?"

"To find Naruto!" they said simultaneously. Neji nodded and continued reading. Shika murmured a 'troublesome' and leaned back in his chair, eyes closed. Sasuke watched them leave before excusing himself and going to his room. It had been a sad and busy day. What he really needed right now was rest. The others knew the house and they knew that they were welcome to whatever they wanted while they were there.

oOo oOo oOo

Naruto sat and listened to Gaara talk about all the things that had been happening Suna, the Sand village. The walls were being expanded, treaties were being made, ninja's were being trained using new methods that seemed very affective. Everything was going well for them. Naruto was glad to here it. It calmed him to know that, at least, someone was doing his job right. Gaara tried to encourage his friend. He tried to tell him that he was the reason they were doing so well. But the blonde wouldn't listen. He refused, it seemed, to believe that he was doing anything worth praising!

They were sitting in Naruto's bedroom right now. Gaara had come to visit. He'd come to try and help hi friend, his best friend! Nothing had helped, though. Naruto was just too upset! He needed an escape, a back door, a place to get away from all the pressure for a little while. The village could take care of it's self for a while. Shikamaru was Naruto's assistant now, after all. He could take care of things for a bit, right?

"Naruto!" Gaara said suddenly. "Come home with me for a while! It'll do you good, I know it!" Naruto thought about it for a second.

"I would like to see what's been done in Suna since my last visit." he thought aloud. "and it would be nice to see Konkuro and Temari again." the blonde thought about it a little longer. "I guess Shika could handle things while I'm gone." Gaara smiled knowingly. "Alright!" Naruto finally said, "I'll go!"

"Great! I'm leaving tomorrow before dawn. Think you can be ready by then?"

"I will be! We can meet at the gate!"

"Ok!"

"Later, Naruto!"

"See you tomorrow, Gaara!!"

oOo oOo oOo

As Gaara left Naruto's small apartment, Kiba entered.

"Hey, Blondie!" he called, a hand raised in greeting. "How you been?" Naruto turned to look at the dog lover and smiled. This shocked both Kiba and Shino, who had just walked in.

"Hey, guys!"

"What's up, Naruto? You seem..uh...happier than you have been." Shino said cautiously. Naruto nodded, his smile growing.

"Yea! I'm going to Suna with Gaara tomorrow. Do you know where Shika is? I need to tell him!" Kiba and Shino looked at each other, both happy and confused at Naruto's sudden attitude change.

"He's at Sasuke's place," Kiba finally said.

"Then let's go!" Naruto called, already at the door. He felt like a kid again. The idea of going to Suna with Gaara had completely pushed all of Naruto's worries to the back of his mind.

The three boys walked through Konoha's streets. Naruto wore glasses and a black coat similar to Shino's to hide his face and hair. He knew there were still many people who hated him, though some had accepted him fully and loved him like all the Hokages before. Even so, he'd personally rather just avoid the death glares he got from the haters. The poor blonde was absolutely jumping inside but had to keep his cool so not to blow his cover. Kiba and Shino said nothing the way there, but both boys were a bit worried that this was all an act to make his friends stop worrying. Neither of them would put it past the blonde to do something like that, but they hoped it wasn't true and he really was as happy as he was acting!

Soon, they arrived at Sasuke's house. The three found Neji reading, and Sasuke and Shika both asleep. Naruto laughed and shouted, "Wake up, you two!!" Both sleepers jolted to a sitting position, even Sasuke, though he was in his room. Neji looked up, annoyed at the blonde for yelling. Sasuke came out of his room.

"What the heck are you yelling for?!" he snapped, not realizing who it was doing the yelling.

"Good, old Sasuke-teme!" Kiba said through a laugh. "Naruto has something he has to tell Mr. Lazy over here." Naruto laughed at the nickname. Shika scowled and Neji sighed.

"It's really too hard to read with everyone shouting like this!" He complained. Naruto laughed again, which surprised Sasuke who was totally awake now and had finally registered the fact that the blonde was there. Shika stood.

"What exactly is it you want to tell me?" he asked Naruto. The Hokage smiled at him, his eyes curving into U's.

"I'm about to give you a whole lot of trouble!" he sung out. Shika groaned.

"Another mission?!"

"Better!"

"Wonderful!" Shika through his hands over his head. Naruto chuckled.

"I'm going to Suna with Gaara and you are going to take care of the village while I'm gone! In fact, it's almost like you'll be the Hokage since I'm leaving everything entirely up to you! From missions to meetings! Everything!!" Shika sighed out a "How troublesome!" but he knew that this trip was probably the best thing for his blonde friend, so the brunette didn't argue.

"Alright, Naruto. Enjoy yourself!

"Thanks, Shika! I have to go take care of a few things so I'll be leaving now! Thanks again, Shikamaru! Bye everyone!" The boys watched as Naruto bound out the door on his way back to his own home. Shika looked over at Sasuke.

"You want met o follow him?" the raven asked. Shika nodded.

"Just make sure he's ok." Without another word, Sasuke leapt out the window to follow his friend as he walked home.

oOo oOo oOo

Sasuke arrived back home around midnight. Everyone except Shika had gone home. He and Kiba sat together in the kitchen. Kiba had a notebook out in front of him. It looked like he was writing a list of some kind. Sasuke didn't ask. He instead too the seat next to Shika, who was reading a missions report. The boys looked up when Sasuke sat down.

"How is he?" Shika asked. Sasuke sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"He seems genuinely happy. All he did was go to the Hokage tower for about half an hour, then go home, pack, eat, and go to bed. Maybe this really is good for him, but I have a bad feeling about it."

"Yeah, me too."

"I don't want to talk about Naruto getting hurt!" Kiba said, standing from his seat across the table. "Nothing's gonna happen! He's strong! Now I'm going to bed!" Kiba made his way to his room, trying to hide tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. Shika and Sasuke stared at Kiba's closed door in silence. But it was quickly broken by Shika.

"He really watches out for Naruto, especially since..."

"...since our battle at the Valley of the End." Sasuke finished for him. Shika nodded.

"And since you came back and everything that happened around that time." The raven looked down at the table top. Another long silence followed. Again, Shika was the one to break it.

"Sasuke," he said calmly. He waited for the raven to look up. They locked eyes. "would you mind following Naruto to Suna?" Sasuke looked surprised for a minute.

"Why me?" he asked slowly.

"You seem most qualified," Shika shrugged. "Naruto is very god at knowing when he's followed. Even if he acts oblivious allot of the time, Naruto is very good. He is the Hokage, after all." Sasuke nodded. "Besides, you are the one who hid from him for over three years and followed him around all this evening. A few weeks more won't hurt, will it?" Sasuke smirked.

"Ok," he said, standing up. "I'll follow him, but you have to promise me something."

"What?"

"If it comes down to something really bad and Naruto gets hurt somehow or disappears for a period of time, promise you won't blame me!" Shika looked at Sasuke for a moment, taking in what he had said.

"Those ties you had with Naruto were never broken, were they?" Sasuke smirked

"If anything, they were made stronger."

"Distance makes the heart grow fonder." Shika teased. Sasuke chuckled but became serious again almost immediately.

"Promise me, Nara!"

"Troublesome!" Shika sighed, "Alright, Uchiha. You have my word. You will not be blamed for anything that may happen."

"Thank you," the two shook hands. "Shika, it's past 1 in the morning. Stay here tonight." Sasuke offered.

"Thanks, Sasuke, but I'm afraid there are things at the Hokage Tower I need to get to! How troublesome!" he sighed for the millionth time that night. "It seems I won't get any sleep at all tonight!"

"Ok, then. I'm going to bed. Stay as long as you need to."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"Good night, Uchiha!"

"Good night, Nara!" Sasuke walked into his room and collapsed onto his bed without even changing. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. He was a very light sleeper by nature, though, and woke about half an hour later when he heard the front door open and close. The raven got up and locked the door before going back to sleep. Tomorrow, he knew, would be full of trouble! If only he knew just how much trouble it be!

did you like it? did you hate it? should i give up my pathetic attempt at being an author now and go hide forever under a rock in the middle of nowhere?!

whatever you thought, please leave me a review! it helps me write faster! i think...XP thanks for reading!

Ja ne!