Disclaimer: I only own my OC(s) and the twists and turns along the way. Still, Rock Lee eludes me :(


So Little Time

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Restraining myself from barging into Grandma Tsunade's office, I knocked on the door that seemed to be separating me from Sasuke. Before she could even give me permission to enter, I opened the doors and walked in.

"Don't you even wait for permission?" Tsunade sighed and gave me one of the hopeless looks she used to give me when I was a Genin.

"You're on time," Neji commented from his place in front of her desk.

Nodding, I walked over to stand beside my fellow Captain. My nerves left the palms of my hands sweaty. My hands shook as if they would, at any time, fly away.

"Under the circumstances, I would send a hunter-nin to retrieve Sasuke's body, but...that isn't possible now. Some villagers are under the impression that Uchiha Sasuke will relinquish his title as a missing shinobi and return to Konoha, since he has slain his brother. If that is the case, I'd send ANBU to retrieve him." Tsunade looked between Neji and me with a calculating gaze. "Don't screw this up." She handed a folder of information to Neji, and her eyes settled on me.

"I'm an ANBU Captain now, Grandma, I won't get into trouble," I smiled and took the papers Neji offered me.

"Hn," She engrossed herself in the daily newspaper and gave us the briefest of nods to signal the end of our meeting.

"What about a team?" Neji stopped on his path to the door and looked back at me.

"Not running in blindly?" Tsunade smiled at my question and nodded to the folder she'd given Neji. "You can have two others, one of which has to be a medic-nin."

With that simple meeting, I had my life back into my own hands. I tried being more like you, you bastard. Calm. Calculating. Emotionless. Two of the three I accomplished; the last wasn't even an option.

"We're not taking Sakura," Neji and I said at the same time, though he used different words.

"Good decision," Neji said with an approving smile.

"I know how much it'd mean to her, but she'd just let her emotions get in the way," I said as determination clouded my gaze and forced me deeper into planning.

"I know someone. She is a friend of Hinata's." Neji handed me the file as we came to the fork that separated our homes.

"If it were seven years ago, I'd choose Gaara," I said with a crooked smile.

"If it were seven years ago, I'd refuse to even consider this suicide mission," Neji said with a quiet chuckle.

"Who would want in on this? Who could even meet his level of fighting?" I found myself thinking as I stared up at the clouds.

"What about Lee?" Neji suggested his former teammate.

"He's busy," I said, remembering Lee's position at his sensei's wedding.

"There is always Kakashi." I looked over at Neji, but did not reply.

I did not want Kakashi-sensei present when we found Sasuke. He always made me feel inferior. I wasn't a child that he could command. He was no longer a superior. He would always be my sensei though...

"Shikamaru." I thought of the missions I had been on under his direction.

"His wife is expecting," Neji said and gently shook his head.

"It's been nine months already? Shit...," I said as a wry smile bloomed on my face.

"Sleep on it, Naruto." Neji turned and began to walk down the winding path that led to the Hyuuga compound.

Would I really be able to bring Sasuke back? I'd have to. Words—pleas—were not enough. Now, after years of more training, I would use force to drag his ass back!

Jamming my hands into the pockets of my black pants, I let my eyes fall on the ground as my legs carried me home. I kicked an acorn from the path, and I remembered how scared and angry I was when I thought I'd lost Sasuke in the Land of Waves.

"You're out late." Sitting outside of my apartment, Sai had a bento box in the palms of his hands. "Thought you could use something to eat."

"Since when are you so damn thoughtful?" I gave him a half-grin and unlocked the door to my apartment.

"Since I carried Uchiha Itachi back to Konoha on my back," Sai said as his voice slipped into its old emotionless rut.

"So you know," I sighed and motioned for him to set the food down onto the counter.

Even as my mind focused on the issue at hand, my stomach growled. A light blush covered my cheeks, and I rested my hand on my empty stomach. Knowingly, Sai handed me a pair of chopsticks.

"You're going to go after him," Sai said as I shoveled the delicious food into my mouth.

"..." I knew that he didn't need an answer; it wasn't a question.

"You need another person for your team." Sai handed me a napkin to wipe the excess sweet sauce and rice from my mouth.

"Who told you that?" I wiped my chin and licked the sweet sauce from my lips.

"A little bird," Sai said as he looked away.

"Ino...," I said quietly. "Yeah, but you don't give a damn about Sasuke. You'll probably pull a stunt like last time and try to kill him," I said coldly and wondered if he'd poisoned the food.

"It's been...-," I cut him off.

"I know, okay?! It's been seven years, it's been four years-!" He put a finger to my lips, and my eyes widened in surprise.

"You still talk too much," He said as a fleeing smile appeared.


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Author Rant

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Yeah, does anyone else sense a moment? On that note, I would like to stress the fact that I do not write smut; however, I might reconsider. It depends on how I feel.

I have this filed as NarxSas, and I included Sai as a part of the confusing relationship in my summary. To be honest with you (the reader), I have not decided on the ending pair. Maybe they'll all move in together have "wild" parties? I kid.

I adore Gai-sensei (I prefer this spelling), so I had to have him find a woman that could put up with him. It's not important who the woman is, and I doubt it'll ever come up again. I can't make promises though.

Can anyone guess who Shikamaru married? Readers that want to know if they're right, go to Naruto's first suggestion on his third teammate.

Reviews are loverly, people!

Ja ne.