So, I've already gotten one review that said they loved my story. As my thanks to for that review, as it really made me happy that someone loves it so much, here is a reward. (Points behind while grinning, where Sakura is encased in sand by Gaara, who looks ready to kill, with a bright red target painted on her face, the middle point being on her nose). You said you wanted to hit her, so take your best shot!! Anyone else is free to take a shot at her as well.

Chapter 2

It was early morning, just barely after dawn, as Gaara made his way down the main road, thinking to himself quietly. He was taking a break from it all, as he had been getting fed up with his village as late. So he had decided to take a break and go to Konoha, wanting to see the person who had completely changed his life. He only hoped Naruto would be as happy to see him. Gaara and Naruto had been exchanging letters lately. But despite the fact that Gaara had written three times now, Naruto had not sent a return letter.

"Why is why I am going to make sure he's okay in person!" He said outloud to himself with a grin. And he knew he was just using this as an excuse to see his friend. Truthfully, he didn't really care if there was an excuse or not. He wanted to see his friend. It's not like the village would miss him, as they still hated him so much for something that wasn't even his fault. Heck, they were probably glad to be rid of him for awhile.

Konoha's high gates loomed into view and Gaara quickened his pace. He finally made it to the gates and stopped by the check point at the gate. "I'm Gaara of the Sand. I was told I would be welcome here." He told the guards. The guards checked something on a clipboard, giving him a good lookover.

"Understood. Welcome to Konoha, Gaara of the Sand. Enjoy your stay in Konoha." They said cheerfully. Gaara walked into the village and kept an eye out for a guy in a bright orange jumpsuit. He didn't see Naruto, but he did spot someone from his team. It could only be Sakura, judging from the bright pink hair.

"Excuse me, Sakura?" Gaara asked tentatively. Sakura looked up from where she was sitting with her head in her hands. Worry and regret filled her eyes, and she looked very distressed over something.

"Gaara! How are you doing? It sure is a surprise to see you here in Konoha!" She said with fake cheerfulness, trying to hide whatever was bothering her.

"Yeah, surprised me too. But Naruto hasn't answered my last three letters. I was worried and decided to check on him in person. Do you happen to know where he is?" Gaara asked politely, trying his best to smile. "I needed a break from my village anyway, so I decided to come here to see him." Sakura looked distressed again at the mention of Naruto's name.

"No one knows where he is." She said, depressed. "Naruto and I had a big argument yesterday. He ran and we have not been able to find him since." Gaara was shocked to hear this. His friend needed him more now than ever. "It's all my fault. I was so insensitive to his feelings. He could be dead for all we know. And it'll be my fault." Gaara patted her on the back awkwardly.

"I'll look for him on my own then. I'll see if I can find him, and if I can, get him to come back." Sakura looked relieved.

"Thank you. I would go with you but...he would probably run again." Gaara nodded his agreement.

"I'll start now. Thank you for telling me all of that." Gaara said and left Sakura alone to a blonde shinobi who had walked up to Sakura. He kept his eyes out for Naruto, wishing he could make a pile of sand and use that to fly over the village and get an aerial view. But that would cause a ruckus, which would delay him finding him his friend.

He made his way through the village and noticed a park. The park offered a lot of places to hide in. "I often hid in playgrounds like this. Maybe he is doing the same right now." He said softly and went into the park, looking in all the hiding places he could see. Gaara spotted an unusual shadow under a large slide and looked under it.

He was rewarded by seeing his friend sleeping under the slide. His eyes looked slightly puffy, as if he had been crying. He was also shivering. He had no jacket on and had, presumably, fallen asleep like that during the night. It had been really cold last night, one of the last cold nights of the fading winter season. "Naruto." He murmured softly, pulling off his his own long jacket and draped it over his sleeping friend.

He settled down to wait until Naruto woke up on his own, making sand castles and other shapes in the sand while waiting. He was in the midst of making a small model of a village, a combination of Suna and Konoha, when Naruto stirred, making the jacket fall to the ground. Gaara had to move earlier to have room for his sand building, and was now out of sight.

Naruto fingered the jacket lightly. "Who left this here? Crap, it's morning. If I get sick, I only have myself to blame for sleeping like this outside." As if on cue, he sneezed. Gaara walked into the view of his friend and smiled genuinely.

"Morning. Why did you fall asleep here?" Gaara asked teasingly. Naruto moved to get up. "Oh, and please watch my sand village. I've spent quite a bit of time working on it."

Naruto looked at the village Gaara had made and then to Gaara. "How long have you been here then?" He asked, handing back the coat.

"I've been in Konoha for around two hours now. I've been waiting for you to wake up for about an hour and a half of that time. I heard about the fight you had with Sakura. A lot of people are worried about you now." Gaara explained, putting his jacket near his giant gourd which held his sand.

"That wasn't my intention to fall asleep and worry them. But..I was tired." Naruto said shyly. Gaara sensed he meant more than just the physical tired, though he did looked both physically and emotionally drained.

"And you weren't feeling the need for sleep. What else was bothering you?" Gaara asked as he sat down next to Naruto. Naruto shrugged. "And don't say it's not important. As your friend, I won't let you." Naruto smiled as Gaara said the word friend. "You haven't answered my letters. That's why I came here to check up on you. It's not like you."

Naruto's face grew dark. "I never got them. Probably the villagers just showing how much they hate me again." He said darkly. "Do you really want to know what's bothering me?" Gaara nodded. "It's this place. I hate it. Everyone hates me just because of what I have inside of me. It's not my fault. I didn't do anything wrong. For the slightest thing I do to annoy them, I get beaten. You are one of the few that I can trust. And you are one of the few that see me as a person."

Gaara remained silent for a moment. "Why do you stay here then? Why don't you leave?" Gaara asked.

"I can't do it alone. I try to stay positive and happy, but lately, that just hasn't been working out. I need help. I don't want to go alone." Gaara could only hug his friend as he said this, feeling Naruto's wet tears hit his bare arms. "I don't like being alone."

Gaara pulled out of the hug and looked at his friend square in the eye. "Then don't do it alone. I also feel the need to leave my village. Let's change our life's for the better together." Naruto looked at Gaara with hopeful eyes. "We can shed our last names, be just Naruto and Gaara, brothers, and start a new life elsewhere."

"But what if we labeled missing nin? Where would we go? I want to leave, but how?" Naruto asked, ready to both panic and leave right this instant.

"I don't know where we'll go. But I doubt they'll label us missing nin. Remember, we're both hated by our villages. They won't miss us. And we don't know any of their military secrets. They don't have any ground to really do anything about it. And if they do, we will at least be together. We'll fight off anyone who tries to separate us."

Hope sparked in Naruto's eyes much brighter this time. "I can go pack right now. We'll swing by Suna, grab your stuff, and leave. I think I know where we might be welcome." Gaara smiled.

"And where would that be?" Gaara asked, grinning.

"It's a bit far. In the Land of Snow. Awhile back I went on a mission there and the princess wanted me to stay there and help her rebuild her country. She's probably still there, wanting me to stay there. I'll go there, say you're my friend. She may let us both stay." Gaara grinned wider.

"We have a plan of action. But what was your fight with Sakura about?" Gaara asked. Naruto summarized their fight quickly. By the end Gaara looked angry. "I'll hold my peace. But she is not in my good book right now."

"Let's go. I'll show you my apartment." The two jinchuuriki sped off across town, ignoring the calls of the ninja who had been searching for the blonde intensely. The biggest thing was when Sakura saw him and called his name. Naruto was unable to keep the pain and anger from his eyes, causing his expression to look like a glare. Sakura shrunk back hurt and they made it to Naruto's small apartment.

It was a bit messy. Naruto hadn't cleaned in a few days. But it didn't take long for him to grab his few belongings and stuff them into a bag. "You live mainly off ramen, Naruto?" Gaara asked as he looked in his pantry, most of which was filled with instant ramen. "How do you survive without other foods?" Naruto grinned.

"I eat other foods. But ramen is really quick and easy to make." Naruto answered with a wide grin. Gaara was just happy to see Naruto back to his old self finally. "I'm ready to go. It might be wise to go through the forest and get to the main road from there though. I doubt they'll let us leave without a fight otherwise."

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Dude!! I love this story already! Everyone enjoyed taking a shot at Sakura? Sorry if you like her. I just can't stand her or Sasuke. Neither can Kuma in Pink.