Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Author's Notes: Okay, so Chapter 2. It's not that long and it's mostly just setup for the following chapters but hopefully it's enough to satisfy. As mentioned before this is the first Multi that I'm putting up so bare with me. I wrote the majority of the chapters a long time ago and am editing and writing new to fill in the gaps. It might be a bit between updates but I'll try to keep it close together. Review please, I would love to hear what you think! ~Luna

The woman sat behind her desk and smiled when she heard the loud voice sound outside her door. The arguing that ensued only served to enhance her amusement and she listened intently for a moment before schooling her features as the door was opened without a knock and a tall blond stepped through.

"Brat you know you're supposed to knock before entering the Hokage's office"

Her voice was light but she forced her face to look dark, and wasn't surprised in the least when the one in front of her didn't seem fazed. He even had the nerve to smile. Granted a smile from him usually got him out of whatever trouble he was likely in, so she couldn't tell if he really thought she was mad or not.

"Hello Baa-chan, long time no see"

"I've told you many times not to call me that Brat"

And with that she let a small smile grace her lips and he sank loose limbed into a chair in front of her desk. The exchange was a tradition, especially after long missions when she wanted to make sure he was alright.

"Come to give your report?"

A single nod and then silence and she sensed something was wrong as the sunny smile slipped and the blonde floundered for words.

"Well? Were you hurt Brat?"

"No, nothing bad happened really, it was just a little harder than I thought it would be."

"Really? How?"

"Well I got attacked the first day and pretty much had to fend off bad guys the entire time. They were tough bastards too. Anyway, they weren't anything I couldn't handle, it was just the number of them. There were so many and I didn't hear anything about a gang starting up in the area lately."

"Neither have I, I would have warned you if I had."

"I know, well the mission was ok other than that, I completed it within the perimeters and time lines, the client should be pleased. The full written report is in the mission office."

Insert big grin here and she stopped frowning as well and looked him over again, a healer's eyes noticing things that a normal person wouldn't. He was tired and needed rest, he'd depleted a lot of chakra and if it had been anyone else she might have felt the need to hospitalize them. There were some red marks on his face which indicated that there had been scratches there recently that had healed. Considering his healing ability this made her frown again as she realized they must have been very bad for the marks to remain. When she met his eyes again he seemed to know exactly what she was thinking and the blue darkened slightly.

"I'm fine, really. I've been experimenting with controlling the healing."

Her eyes widened and her frown deepened.

"You shouldn't be experimenting at all with things like that without someone aware and you know that. If you mess something up Brat I'm not sure I can fix you"

His smile widened and he shook his head. Blue eyes closing to slits, whiskers spreading he looked like a fox and she almost laughed. He pulled that face whenever he felt she was getting to serious about the Kyuubi.

"I know Baa-Chan, I'll be careful and I won't mess with it anymore without talking to you first. Now tell me what's been up these six months I've been gone."

She let the endearment slide this time and looked a little closer. For a second when his eyes had opened again the blue had looked strange. But on second glance they were the same as always.

"Don't lie to me you Brat. You and I both know that you'll do as you please, get yourself in trouble and then I'll have to clean up after you."

He just shrugged and grinned again. Not for the first time she wondered why he smiled so much anymore and what had changed. Not two years ago he'd barely smiled, he was often frowning with his brows wrinkled and then suddenly he'd shown up in her office smiling like crazy and asked for a mission, one that would "take awhile". Not that she'd really minded what with Akatsuki pretty much obliterated and the Sound on the run in small groups, but there was still the issue of Sasuke. She'd been hesitant at first but then decided that a three month mission wasn't bad and so he'd left. Upon returning however he'd not seen his friends or even really rested, he'd come straight to her office, completed their ritual greeting and demanded another long mission. This one was the latest six month one and while he seemed to have gone home first this time she wasn't sure what to expect. Deciding the best course of action was to stop anything before it happened she shifted a few things around in her mind and made a mental note to let Shizune in on what was going on.

"Not much has happened since you left. Missions have slowed and we haven't had much trouble with rogues lately. Kakashi and Sakura went out on a mission and reportedly drove Sai nuts. Which as we all know is quite an accomplishment."

Naruto's smile brightened and she was interrupted by a soft chuckle. And before Tsunade could continue there was a knock on the door. She couldn't stop her frown even though she wanted too. She was the Hokage and people needed to see her. As much as she hated to admit it to herself she really liked just talking to the Brat. He also knew that she didn't do this with any other shinobis besides Shizune, Jiraya and possibly Sakura on occasion. He knew he was special and didn't take advantage which was one of the reasons that he was so special. When the knock sounded he immediately stood and moved to stand a short distance away. When she opened her mouth to yell come in he moved quickly to her side and kissed her on the cheek. This of course caught her off guard and she stiffened. Moving to reprimand him she found that he was gone. Blinking she was jolted when the knock came again.

"Come in"

A slim pink haired girl stepped through the door and by her flushed face the Hokage could tell she'd come in a big hurry. By the way she looked around the room Tsunade could also tell she was looking for Naruto.

"He's already left, a few seconds ago actually"

Sakura's shoulders slumped and she moved closing the door behind her.

"He's avoiding me. Well I think he's avoiding everyone right now, expect for you of course"

The spark of hurt and annoyance in the green eyes made Tsunade smile. And then she frowned and once again wondered what was going on with Naruto. He was social by nature and while he seemed to be happy and smiling non-stop he didn't seem to be spending anytime interacting with other people.

Sakura stepped out of the office closing the door quietly behind her. She moved slowly across the hall and sank into one of the chairs left there for those who waited to see the Hokage. She was shaking slightly and confused. Why didn't he want to see her? Why would he leave when she came? She was his teammate and his friend damnit. Anger and hurt warred with sadness and worry in her mind. Determination came soon after and she stood and made her way from the building, if he wouldn't stick around the Hokage's office to say hi then she would chase him back to his apartment and beat it out of him.

Running as fast as he could he crossed rooftops with ease. As he neared his apartment he slowed, enough to tell that there were traces of chakra there that hadn't been before. 'Damn', they knew he was back then. Figuring he had about five minutes before Sakura showed up at his door, he rushed in and with little care for the majority of his possessions or the fact that dust can choke a person he tore through everything throwing it into a bag and catapulting himself out his window. Heading for the woods, he figured he could hide there for a time before he went back to the Hokage and demanded another mission.

She arrived just after him and couldn't detect his chakra. Considering it was his apartment she found this discouraging. She landed on his step and stilled, listening and straining her senses for any hint to his presence, she detected a very faint trace of chakra heading off to the woods. Without waiting another second she turned on her heel and followed it. If she didn't find him soon she knew she'd miss him again as he would undoubtedly have another mission and most likely a long one.

As she ran she periodically lost the trail and finally was forced to slow to make sure she wouldn't miss it altogether. 'He's gotten much better' but she figured that would make sense. He'd taken missions for the last year that required stealth, not to mention they hadn't been team missions so he had needed to be able to rely on only himself. It was completely by accident that she caught a glimpse of orange in the distance, but when she did her heart started racing even more. Immediately tamping down on her chakra she quickened her pace and was soon close enough to confirm it was indeed her idiotic teammate.

"NARUTO!"

At her scream he quickened his pace and she could have sworn he was swearing, the words just barely drifting back to her. Angered that he would ignore her and even try to escape after her making it painfully obvious that she saw him she shoved more chakra to her feet and moved as fast as she could. When she was close enough she drew back her fist and swung as hard as she could. The tree splintered and Naruto started swearing even louder but he dropped to the ground and waited and she descended. Of course the first thing she did was hit him and send his face plowing into the earth.

"Sakura-chan! Ow, that hurts!"

"Don't you dare call me 'Sakura-chan' you moron"

"So I take it your mad huh?...Ow!"

"Yes I'm mad, how dare you run away from me!"

The blonde remained on the ground his hand rubbing his throbbing skull and looking up at her with a sheepish expression and one of his puppy grins. She looked him over and noticed just how much he had changed. He'd put on more muscle but was still lean. His whiskers seemed deeper which worried her a little and he looked tired. Not just physically, the light from his smile didn't quite reach his eyes and his body was too relaxed. Usually he seemed keyed with energy, his very presence causing a buzz in the air around him and infecting those near him. She sank down in front of him and was annoyed to feel her eyes mist. His smile slipped slightly and he seemed like he was getting ready to dodge another blow. When her arms circled his neck his eyes widened and he stopped breathing. She rested her head on his shoulder and let her tears soak his jacket, shaking and holding on tight.

"Aw, come on Sakura-chan. I'm really sorry don't cry"

His voice was ruff and his arms came up hesitantly to close around her. She realized it was in fact the first time she had every hugged him. The thought mad her even more angry, the tears came harder making her gasp for breath. He didn't seem to know what to do to make her feel better either, his arms tightened slightly. It occurred to her that he probably wasn't used to the physical contact, forcing her breath to slow and the tears to stop she moved back and looked at his face. The worry and care there made her wonder even more why he was avoiding her.

"You complete idiot"

His arms loosened even more and dropped when she pulled away. Moving to sit in front of him she waited.

"Um….I'm really sorry, I didn't want you to cry" His hand rubbed the back of his head and his face was red with embarrassment.

"Why have you been avoiding me? Why are you suddenly taking all these long missions?"

He shook his head as his eyes darkened and he moved to sit more fully on the ground.

"I really don't know. I…well I don't know."

"Why won't you talk to me?"

"It's not that I won't talk to you Sakura, it's that I don't know what to say"

"I don't understand"

"I know"

The quiet voice was filled with so much feeling that she couldn't distinguish one separately from the others. His eyes said he was hiding something and then his face darkened further before suddenly splitting into a smile. His eyes slitted and his whiskers deepened more, the fox face, fool proof get me out of trouble face, and it was working. She started to relax and gave him a small but stern smile in return.

"I really hate to say this now that you've kind of stopped being mad at me but…well my time is almost up and I just want you to know that I'm ok. I just need to work some stuff out and I'll tell you as soon as I know what exactly it is. Really Sakura-chan, I'm sorry. I miss you. You know you hit really hard, it wasn't easy sticking around even this long."

When the words registered she stiffened and reached for him, trying to stop his from leaving. All she got as a popping sound and a face full of smoke. And he was gone and she was mad again. He'd sent a goddamn clone, he'd left a fake trail and a clone behind to draw her away. He probably knew she wouldn't have let the real him leave, that she would have forced him to stay and a small part of her chirped up, he might not have wanted to leave or been able to if he had seen her in person.

Several miles away and carefully hiding his chakra, Naruto felt the clone disappear and assimilated everything that had happened. Damn, she'd cried, he slowed and almost turned around, but he was almost to the tower and he needed to move fast before someone else found him.

"Sorry Sakura-chan" he whispered before landing on the ledge outside the old lady's office. Sensing no one other than her inside he hopped up on the window sill and was completely unprepared for the hand that fisted itself in his collar and yanked him inside.