AN: In the timeline of this particular story, the events of The Last Movie, didn't happen, although Naruto and Hinata did married, I may change the story behind their relationship.
Chapter Four: Brotherhood
Shikamaru
It was good to be back home. That was the first thing Naruto Uzumaki thought when crossing Konoha's gate after almost a week away from the village. Their mission had been a hard one, quite dangerous at times, yet nothing they couldn't handle. He glanced at his now wife and gave her a wide smile that she returned, even when she was fully aware that it meant a short trip to his favorite ramen shop, the Ichiraku's. He was about to invite everyone, when an ANBU guy, suddenly jumped right in front of their group.
"Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru, your presence is required immediately at the Hokage Tower." The man said, before jumping back to the trees from which he had come down.
"Wait… What?! Oh, come one, we just got here, Granny…" Naruto yelled in protest, while Shikamaru only frowned in worry. If the Hokage was summoning then as soon as they arrived in the village, it meant something important had happen in their absence that he wasn't sure he wanted to finds out. Naruto however, just kept complaining that he wanted to have some ramen, because he was starving after days or running to rush back home.
"But Naruto… it must be something urgent if Lady Tsunade wants to see you right away. We can have ramen afterwards, okay? I will be more than glad to make as much ramen as you want when you come home." Hinata offered a bit sympathetically, yet pleading him at the same time.
"Come on Naruto, we must not keep the Hokage waiting. You know how short her temper is, the same as someone else we know well…" Shikamaru intervened as well, pulling the idiot by the collar of his black and orange jacket. He knew that remaining him of an enraged Hokage equals an enraged Sakura Haruno as well, which translate in an unavoidable beating from the last one. He had mistakenly thought once, that after getting married, Sakura was going to go easy on him and stop beating him when doing something stupid and he had found quite painfully of how wrong he was assuming it.
"Yeah, yeah… I'll see you back home Hinata, as soon as I can." He said waving at her, before jumping to a near roof and following Shikamaru hurried pace.
"So, what do you think we were summon for?" Naruto asked, while jumping from roof tops to the next ones.
"No idea, but I'm sure it will be nothing less than troublesome." He answer.
"You don't really think that something bad happen while we were away, right?" Naruto asked with worry this time.
"I truly hope not." He said while praying that was not the case. In the Shinobi world, so many things could go wrong as they were always at the mercy of some of the craziest man alive, and sometimes of the death ones. They had already witness some of the biggest bizarre things in generations, so nothing was impossible anymore and he had a bad feeling that soon, they would be involved in yet another different kind of nightmares.
Shortly after their summoning, they reached the Hokage Tower and as soon as Shikamaru open the door, he knew that something was indeed wrong and that it somehow related with Naruto's team, as well as his, if the body language of the already present in the room was any indication. Sai was already there, paler than usual, which usually meant he was worry for something possibly related to his girlfriend Ino and so was Kakashi, who looked a bit trouble, yet there was no Sakura, no Ino nor Choji anywhere near. Oh, please, not something like that again… Shikamaru inwardly pleaded, remembering Asuma's death, for the fraction of a second.
"Well, it was about time…" Tsunade said, already annoyed with them.
"Hey, we came as soon as possible Granny, we just got here you know and…" Shikamaru's hand over his shoulder stopped him for complaining any further.
"Not now Naruto. We report for duty, Lady Tsunade, as you requested." Shikamaru said, while holding on his inner turmoil. He may just be assuming way too much on his own.
"Thank God, for the sensible man." She said while Naruto ignored her.
"Yeah, we are here, so… what happen that is so important to rush back?" Naruto asked and Shikamaru swallowed fearing the worse.
"Just a few days ago, we have a request for a medical team to heal… someone who had been poison while on a mission. Because of the poison, I sent Sakura, Ino and Choji to treat the injured to Suna…" Shikamaru's heart begin to race wild inside his chest. Oh come one, not Suna of all places… not her, please.
"Suna? Who was poison there? I mean, it can't be Gaara, right? I know that some idiots tried to get to him sometimes, but with his ultimate shield and all…" Naruto said not really worrying for Gaara's safety, as he knew the Kazekage was always careful and especially wary of poisons since he was a kid, not to mention he was more than capable to defend himself as well as his village.
"It was Gaara's sister… Temari." Tsunade responded while Shikamaru's heart almost stopped for good and paled as much as Sai had before him. "Don't worry Shikamaru, Sakura was able to neutralize the poison in time, so she is out of danger. However, when Sakura and her team rushed back home, they were ambush by a group of strong unknown ninja's. They all were poisoned during the intense fight and…" This time it was Naruto's turn to panic and before Tsunade could continue, he was already assuming the worse.
"No, no, no! No way! NO WAY! Come on Granny, you can't mean that Sakura and…" Naruto interrupted slamming his hands over her desk, when the implication hit him harder than anything else in his life. Involuntary, his eyes became red, with a mix of fear for Sakura's life as well as for rage.
"Calm down you idiot before you go out of control! She and her team were seriously injured, but luckily for them, they were rescue before it was too late." Tsunade clarify, before the knucklehead could really push her limit. Both, Naruto and Shikamaru sighed in relief, after knowing their teammates were fine.
"Who rescue them?" Shikamaru asked curiously, expecting someone from Suna. However and most surprisingly, he only earned a smirk from the Hokage.
"Uchiha Sasuke in the flesh…" She said, taking them all by surprise. Naruto widen his electric blue eyes, barely believing her words. He had never doubted that Sasuke was going to come back home, but he was certainly taking way too long to do it.
"So, the bastard is back for good? Is it true? You are not joking, right?" Naruto asked, while unable to contain a huge grin.
"He truly is back Naruto. Just a few hours ago, we receive a message from Sakura herself, telling us what happen and how Sasuke rescue them in the nick of time. They all are currently staying in Suna, under the Kazekage protection, while they fully recover from their injuries. Apparently, the Kazekage and Uchiha had temporally make an alliance to investigate the nature of the attack that could become a threat to us all, if not properly deal with, and so that's why you are here. As for now, team ten and team seven, along with Neji Hyuga will be assigned the S Rank mission to uncover whatever plot is being played by the unknown ninja's that poisoned the Kazekage sister and ambushed our meadic-nin team. You are to stop them before their plans could escalate into any kind of danger to our villages or worse."
"All right! The full team seven is finally back in action! Believe it! Just you wait Sasuke, it will be just like the old times!" Naruto exclaimed while half dancing in happiness, his previous hunger and tiredness suddenly forgotten and both Shikamaru and Kakashi couldn't help but smile at the over exited Naruto.
"Shikamaru, you are to give Sakura this scroll personally, and tell her this is a request the Uchiha is not allowed to refuse if he wished to come back to Konoha after the mission from which he will be granted the title of Jounin if he successfully complete it. Make sure to keep it safe at all cost and undamaged. Are we clear?" She asked, making him stand a little straighter.
"Crystal clear, Lady Tsunade." He reply, relived and glad that both Ino and Choji were alive and well, not to mention Sakura and his own fiancé, Temari.
"Good, now go and gather whatever you need for an extended mission and come back here in two hours fully equipped. You will be sent to Suna by summoning after that, so you can rest there and have your reunions. Now, you are dismissed!" Tsunade added making Naruto even happier.
Oh man, this is going to be a very long night. Shikamaru thought while watching Naruto rush pass him, probably to tell his wife about the so awaited reunion with the best friend he had work so hard to save and bring back home. Still, seen him so happy, he didn't mind an all-nighter. Knowing Temari when he was back in Suna, it was not like she would let him rest, either.
Sasuke
After the antidote was administrated to Sakura, Ino and Choji and their remaining wounds healed, the Kazekage had assigned them rooms, to stay for the night. Despite Sakura's insistence that they were fine, Gaara had make clear that he wished for them to have a well needed rest to replenish their spent chakra during their fight, for which Sasuke was glad. There was no real need to keep them repeating what he had already told Gaara about the attack and his suspicions, from which they were beginning to form their investigation.
They had talked about possible places to begin their search as well as for those who were coming to be on it. Sakura had summon the small version of the slug Katsuyu, which allowed them to communicate with Tsunade. Therefore a plan was formed and later in the night, the rest of team seven along with Shikamaru and Neji were expected to be summon to Suna. Of course, that only meant that he was going to be reunited with Naruto and Kakashi, along with his replacement, Sai.
Sasuke was kind of looking forward to see Naruto and his former Sensei again, but he honestly didn't know how to approach Sai. The guy was weird on his own right and by far, a worse idiot than Naruto and socially hopelessly worse than him. The reason he was chosen was more because Ino had demand it quite stubbornly to the Kazekage, that after her near death experience she wanted to see him again, than for anything else.
It was not that the guy was useless, as they all knew of his former ANBU status, but the reason Gaara was having a second thought about him was because somehow, Gaara had felt his uneasiness in dealing with him. However, much like his own sister, who insisted in the Nara prodigy who was currently her fiancé, the Yamanaka girl persistence, kind of forced him to request his presence in the team in order to avoid Sakura's rage on the girl for daring to demand something to a Suna Kage of all people, when she shouldn't even consider it. The following discussion and the many Foreheads and Ino-pigg's yelled at each other, had make him felt strangely nostalgic, making him fully realize of how much he had missed about the ones he should had shared his life with.
Sighing, he looked up at the night sky. The rooms in which they had been assigned were on the top floor, so from the hallway across his room door, he had quite the view of the sky to stare and contemplate while trying to find his place in his new reality.
"Are you worry, about something Sasuke?" Sakura asked behind him and Sasuke turned to look at her. For some reason, he had been assigned to the room next to hers, although it didn't exactly surprise him. Apparently Gaara really wanted Sakura's happiness and he was already pushing him toward such path.
"Not really, just thinking. Sakura, why are you here? You should be resting and it's colder outside…" He said, while watching her extending one of her arms that held a mug of hot liquid that smelled like his favorite tea for him to take and another for her.
"That's what this is for and come on Sasuke, you know that Naruto will be here soon if he comes back home tonight and who can rest with the loudest ninja alive just making racket next door? He had waited three years to see you back, I'm sure he will not leave you rest all night. It's most likely he will want to have a welcoming party to celebrate your return, even when you are not technically back yet." Sasuke smirked, while finding no flaws in her reasoning. The stupid Dobe will definitely put on a show all night long.
"True…" He said, having a sip of his tea. It was warm, just like her presence beside him.
"So… what were you thinking of, if I may ask?" She fired away, while looking at the shining stars as well.
"Of how much I have missed about all of your lives while away…" He keep on, drinking some more of his tea.
"Oh… it was because of Ino and me fighting earlier?" She asked, a bit sad to have cause him to remember things from the past.
"Don't be sad, Sakura, it wasn't exactly a bad thing. I just realize I don't know much of all of you anymore. Before I left, both you and Ino were fan-girling about me, calling yourselves the exact same names. I thought you have move on from that and be more… friendly with each other." Sakura couldn't help but giggle.
"But Sasuke we are friendly with each other, that's just the way we show we care for one another, the same way you and Naruto fight for silly things that at the end bonds the two of you together. Hum, about not knowing anything about us anymore, I can update you about the changes we have experienced over the years and the who's dated whose or the…"
"Wait… did you dated?" He asked giving her a deeper look, making her intensely blush under his obsidian gaze. It was the first time he had looked at her that way and she kind of hoped it wouldn't be a onetime event only.
"Well, not exactly. I… was too busy training with Tsunade and the rest of the time too busy working in the hospital or on missions, but Naruto…"
"Still loves you…" He added having another sip of his tea. She giggle again with gusto. He was indeed out of date.
"No, Sasuke. He got over me a long time ago. He is married now…" Sasuke almost choke himself with his own tea, spitting most of it forward, luckily away from her, in his vast surprise. Not in a million years he would have imagine Naruto married with someone else other than her.
"He… is what…?!" She laughed with good humor. He could still be handsome and cute.
"He married a few months ago… to be honest, he was angry that you haven't return in time to be there…" She continue, still laughing at his priceless expression.
"To whom?" He asked, not having any idea of who cold committed herself for a lifetime with him. It was not that he thought that Naruto couldn't be the ideal man for a woman, nor that the Dobe couldn't attract someone that could genuinely love him back as he was now the biggest hero their age, it was that Naruto had been chasing Sakura for so long, it felt somehow… strange.
"You won't believe it…" She said looking back at the stars, noticing something strange.
"Surprise me…" Sasuke said. Leaving his mug safely over the wide rustic iron railing, just in case she truly did it.
"It's Hinata Hyuga, you bastard and why did it take you so long to come back?" A familiar voice he knew too well said from somewhere in front, yet above him and in a flash, Sasuke was pushed against the wall, barely having time to hold Naruto's fist on his own.
"Dobe…" Sasuke smirked, briefly feeling like returning to their old times and he was glad he could still hold his own against Naruto, even when he throw a sneak attract at him.
"Teme! I should punch you senseless for not coming to my wedding…" Naruto said seriously, still keeping Sasuke pinned to the wall.
"I never got the invitation…" He simply said. It was good to see that things were beginning to become normal again.
"And how should I know where to send it?! You have been missing for three freaking years!" Naruto yelled, momentarily forgetting a pink haired girl that was beginning to show signs of anger, deep anger. She was having such a beautiful rare caring good time with the man she loved and he had just ruined the moment she had waited for most of her life! Oh, he was going to pay…
"Naaa…ruuu…tooo…" She whisper half trembling with rage, making both Sasuke and Naruto look her way. Naruto immediately let go of Sasuke, slowly backing away from him while beginning to sweat. He had never felt her that mad before.
"You should run Naruto…" Shikamaru advised, walking the hallway toward them from the opposite side.
"Sa… Sakura… wait… I was just… you know… having a… friendly talk…" He kept baking away.
"You idiot, you just ruined my precious moment! Shannnnarooo!" And before he could run, her fist send him flying a fair distance away.
"I told you to run…" Shikamaru repeated, sighing. This was just too common these days, strong Kunoichi's in general were way too troublesome. "Sakura, good to see you healed, but please, try not to kill your teammate, he just got married."
"I didn't use that much chakra. Good to see you again, Shikamaru." She said, sweetly smiling at him, although those acquainted with her knew that it was a faked one and for a second he wanted to run himself, she was truly mad this time.
"Geez, you are truly scary sometimes. Sasuke, I hope you are prepare to deal with this every day." He said looking at the Uchiha for the first time.
"I don't mind at all." Sasuke reply, feeling at home for the first time in long years. Normalcy was what he was looking for and he would cherish it one at a time.
"Then, you are prepare to have this back…" Shikamaru said, taking out something from one of his pockets. A blue headband with a steel piece in the middle, which have the Konoha symbol incrusted.
"Hey! I was the one who wanted to give it to him!" Naruto protested, recovering from Sakura's punch.
"You were so excited that you didn't notice that you leave it behind. Hinata give it to me when she came to say goodbye."
"Oh... Sorry, then." He said, coming closer again, taking the headband from Shikamaru and offering it to Sasuke.
"Here Sasuke, you are now officially a leaf ninja again… welcome back." Sasuke was left speechless for a second, but recover quickly taking the headband from Naruto's offering hand. So much had happened between them and the headband was their symbol of both hope and despair, yet, he felt his bond with Naruto and Sakura reconnecting, and while his relationship with her was still in the making, his bond with Naruto was already strong. He had regain a home, a possible relationship with a strong woman he was sure he could love for as long as he lived and most of all, an unconditional brother that had risk it all to save him… and he felt blessed.
"Thank you, Naruto… for everything." Both Sakura and Shikamaru smiled. This was something Naruto had been patiently waiting for years.
"Well, it was about time… now, let's party! I'm starving here, I asked Gaara for the best ramen in Suna and it's already on the way, so let's go and meet with the others, we have a lot to catch on…"
"Sure…" Sasuke reply, letting Naruto pull him away. Sakura was going to follow when Shikamaru stopped her.
"Just a moment Sakura, we need to talk." And his serious expression meant he was going to throw a bomb at her. She sighed.
"Go ahead Shika…"
"This is for you, from Lady Tsunade." He said, taking away a scroll Sakura knew too well. "And she won't have a no from answer." He added and Sakura took the scroll in which Sasuke's new arm was kept.
"Oh boy…" She whisper, fully knowing he would not like it. He had strongly refuse it years ago.
"Indeed. Good luck with that, now let's go, before Naruto can swallow all the ramen in Suna." She giggle. She will worry about replacing Sasuke arm tomorrow. Tonight, she would enjoy the so long awaited team seven reunion.
AN: Thanks for reading. Dear BlankMC, I hope you love this one too, because your words inspired me to write this little piece of heartwarming bonding. Thank you for liking this work, despite the many mistakes, it's made with a lot of love. Until next time.
