Gaara watched Naruto as the blond stared blankly out the window, he didn't even care about the report that Kakashi was giving him. There was something unnatural about Naruto sitting silently. With a sigh he forced himself to focus on the scroll he had rolled out and read it. Just basic sharing of information between allies, nothing to really worry about, no real need to send these two, sending Shikamaru again would have been fine, and so there must be a second reason for them to be here. Turning his head slightly he studied Naruto again and nodded by the barest of margins.
Kakashi watched Gaara's nod wondering what he was agreeing to. He traced the path of Gaara's sight, finding Naruto at the center of his focus. He knew that Gaara had found Naruto to be something of a brother since they had fought at that Chuunin exam all those years ago, it was only made stronger when Naruto had fought so hard to try and save Gaara from Akatsuki. After the fall of Akatsuki, they had grown closer. Gaara had even at asked Naruto for advice concerning the fairer sex, in particular his female apprentice. Kakashi suppressed a shudder at the thought of Naruto's 'advice' concerning woman, he had only seen worse advice coming out of Jiraiya. But it had worked for the jinchuuriki.
Gaara stood up and cleared his throat. "I thank you for your speed in bringing me this message Kakashi-san, if you would please stay the night I will have a reply ready for you to take back in the morning," Gaara offered while summoning his secretary from the lobby. "Jin, would you please show Kakashi-san and Naruto to the royal guest quarters. If they have any requests, put it on my expense account."
Gaara watched with a pensive frown on his face as the two left. It disturbed him to see something wrong with Naruto, he had to fix it. Looking out his window he smiled as he realized he knew what to do, and that he had the only access to the perfect place to do it.
Back in Konoha, Tsunade watched as Sakura went through her rounds at the hospital. She had noticed that all the members of the former rookie nine had been distracted and distant since she met them at the campsite and told them about Naruto's mission to Suna. It was almost as if guilt was eating them up from the inside.
Sighing Tsunade shook her head and walked away, she knew that Naruto would be back soon, but maybe she should try and solve this mess before he got home. How, was the only question she had. How would she get her ninja forces back into order? What would Naruto do?
Stopping dead in her tracks, a smile spread across her face evilly. She knew what Naruto would do; he'd go at it head on. And he'd go after the one that he knew the best. Turning her head slightly she looked at Sakura staring out the window silently and knew how she'd get her out of this slump, and through her, the others.
That evening, just after Sakura's shift at the hospital, Tsunade called her former apprentice into her office. After offering her a seat and a drink, Tsunade sighed as she settled back into her seat. "Sakura... I'm worried about you... in fact all of your classmates seem to be upset about something since Naruto left. Is there something that you want to get off your chest?"
Sakura paused for a moment, having been caught off guard by the direct questioning, she almost expected Naruto to be sitting there. Blinking away the mental image overlay, she sighed and shook her head, starting to explain that they had hurt Naruto, and were really feeling down for what they had done. Especially Hinata and herself, because they were the closest to Naruto, and had betrayed that closeness. It was at the end of this speech that Tsunade simply leaned forward and asked four words quietly. "What would Naruto do?"
Sakura paused in her answer as she thought about what Naruto really would do. He wouldn't mope around, he'd do something about it, something direct. He'd do something that showed he had no hard feelings about it, something that'd get him laughing along with the one he hurt. Standing up and walking out, Sakura began laughing. She couldn't believe what she was considering doing, but if the others would go along with it, and maybe get a stand-in for Sasuke, they could pull it off.
Tsunade watched as her apprentice left, laughing like a woman possessed. After a few minutes she shook her head and sighed. "Yeah, that's about what he'd end up doing..."
Late that night, in Suna, Kakashi was out wandering the grounds looking for Naruto. The unusually silent ninja had left over an hour ago, for a pick-up of the return message. At first he thought the two were just catching up, but his gut instinct was churning that something wasn't right. As he neared the Kazekage's office, he notices Kankuro and Temari sitting down outside of it, looking strangely worried at his prescience. Drawing near the office, he caught a glimpse of a swirl of sand, and the word 'Gourd' on the floor of the office. Sitting down next to the nearly panicked Suna nins he asked, "Where are they? And when can I expect Naruto back?" As he pulled out and opened his book to settle in for a wait, he heard Kankuro's explanation.
"They went to a secret sand cavern that Gaara made shortly after learning to control his sand powers. No one's sure where it is, but it's the one place Gaara goes to when he needs to be alone to think..." the puppet user explained calmly while trying to get a peek inside the book, earning him a fan to the head from Temari.
"We don't know when they'll be back, but I'm sure that Gaara will bring him back once he's worked out whatever they need to work out," Temari finished as she pushed her brother into the corner.
"Maa..." Kakashi groaned as he read his porn novel. "I think I'll go back to bed then... good night."
As he lazily walked away, he wondered exactly what Naruto was doing.
Currently, the blond ninja was sitting in the cave, silently studying the walls. Gaara sat next to him, silently waiting for Naruto to talk to him, unsure on how to get his friend to talk to him. After several minutes Gaara took matters into his own hands. "This... is not you Naruto. You seem indecisive, uncertain... Not the ninja that save me from Shukaku."
"What would you have me do?" Naruto snapped, his voice a harsh growl. "I bared all my secrets to my friends before we left, and now all I can think about is them turning eyes filled with hatred on me when I get back. Those eyes will stab me deeper than any kunai could."
"I know those looks as well Naruto, but you taught me something special a friend is one that will stand by you regardless. They have gotten past the Kyuubi, I am sure that they will get past this as well," Gaara reasoned while looking at the far wall, "You and they even gave me a chance after I tried to kill you and everyone else during the invasion."
"You were just following orders, we're ninjas, we understand that..." Naruto replied with a shrug, "As for Shukaku... He was part of your arsenal..."
Gaara studied Naruto for a few minutes, before looking at the walls. "In here you and I could let out our demons, and never risk injuring anyone else... the seals on the walls prevent them from leaving without us in control."
Naruto sighed and rubbed his eyes. "It doesn't work that way with me Gaara... if I let him win just once... I risk letting him win again and again... it scares me."
Gaara smiled at his long time friend for a moment before answering. "There is another benefit to this place..." Gaara started quietly, "Anything that happens here is between you and me... so..."
Naruto turned to see what Gaara was going to do, when he felt arms wrapping around him, pulling him close. "It's okay to cry Naruto..."
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected move by Gaara, and yet he found his arms wrapping around the smaller redhead, returning the hug as tears dropped off his cheeks. After a few minutes he whispered, "Thank you," softly, his voice cracking with the sadness.
"I... I've always thought about how I'd have loved having someone do that to me... and I thought it would be nice to do it to someone else..." Gaara admitted quietly as he pulled back from the blond.
"If I can ever return the favor... just let me know man," Naruto answered with a small smile as he wiped his eyes. Standing up, he ran his fingers along the wall in thought as his smile slowly grew. "It feels good to know someone cares... thanks."
"You're welcome, Naruto... it is the least I could have done for you," Gaara replied quietly watching the life return to Naruto slowly. "Do you want to go back? Or would you like to stay here a while longer... maybe tell me about what this is all about?"
Naruto turned to look at Gaara curiously for a moment before sighing and sitting down next to the sand user. "There is so much to say... I guess I should just start at the beginning..."
Back in Konoha, a late night meeting was occurring, revolving around one Naruto Uzumaki. Sakura had pulled all the surviving Rookie 9 together in her apartment, and explained her plan to make everything up to Naruto. Now all eyes were expectantly on Hinata, since she would be the make or break point of this plan. After a few minutes, Hinata nodded, causing a ripple of relief to spread throughout the group.
"Alright, we have less than a week to pull this all together. Hinata, I'll go with you to try and convince Neji. I want Chouji and Shikamaru on snack patrol. Kiba and Ino are on drinks, a mix of both types please... remember Naruto's tolerance. Shino, can you set up an early warning line for us?" Sakura began directing the chaos of the planning, after getting a nod from Shino she smiled and looked at the group of ninjas filling the small room. "Remember people, this is going to be big, epic... and possibly break a few laws... So from here on out... don't get caught."
"Now Sakura..." Tsunade drawled from the entryway, with Shizune, Iruka, Hiashi, and Anko with a manic grin on her face. "Don't you think we'd like to help out too?"
Kiba looked at the assembled elders and began chuckling. "This... is going to be wild..."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Evil little shit aren't I? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"And that's what's happened," Naurto said, finishing his explanation. "I just don't know what to do right now..."
"Give them a chance... your friends are good people, and I think that they will surprise you..." Gaara mused quietly as he looked into the distance. "The sun should be rising soon... are you ready to return?"
Naruto paused for a moment in thought, before laughing with a wide, honest smile. "Yeah! I have to get back home in time to be married... you are coming right? I mean I know you can't be my best man because of how busy you are... but you are coming right?"
"Yes I am... and I may be taking you up on that 'and guest' part of the invitation..." Gaara answered with a slight blush to his cheeks.
"Finally asking out that apprentice of yours?" Naruto teased, grinning like the Fox-demon himself when Gaara turned even redder. "I KNEW IT! Way to go man... hey, maybe I can be your best man... or one of the others that stand up on your side... if you'd rather have Kankuro or someone..."
"Dating first Uzumaki..." Gaara growled as he fought down his blush, "Wedding later on... if it is a favorable match..."
Naruto laughed evilly, thoughts of matchmaking springing to mind already.
His laughs were cut off when a swirl of sand scooped the two of them out of their little cavern, and deposited them back in Gaara's office. The two looked at Gaara's sleeping siblings for a moment before Gaara stood, walked over to his desk, and tossed Naruto a marker, holding one up himself. A minute later, the sleeping duo was covered with writings and doodles. Gaara had even signed them both on the upper lip.
Naruto and Gaara snuck out of the office shortly after, running into Kakashi who was lazily reading porn in the hallway. "Well Naruto, it's good to see that you're back to normal... or close to..." Kakashi drawled out turning a page, "We should probably get ready to go... if Gaara gave you the message for the Hokage that is..."
Naruto pulled out a scroll that Gaara had given him last night before they left and tossed it to Kakashi, who caught it without looking up from his book. "Maa... and it was just getting to a good part..." Kakashi bemoaned as he tucked the scroll away. "We'll be seeing you soon Kazekage-sama... and good luck with your siblings..."
As Kakashi meandered away, Naruto turned to his friend, and somewhat brother with a smile, showing he was back into his normal mood. Holding out his hand, he laughed at Gaara looked at it for a moment, before clasping it and pulling him into a one armed hug. "See ya man, and don't let her run you too ragged."
Gaara's blush almost matched his hair, when he saw the very apprentice Naruto was referring to appearing in the hallway behind the blond. It did match his hair when he saw the devilish glint in Naruto's eyes, telling him that the orange clad ninja knew she was there as well. As Naruto parted from his friend and began walking past Matsuri, he nearly died when he heard Naruto tell her, "Oh Matsuri-chan... Gaara was just talking about you... seems he has something to ask you..."
Gaara swore right then and there that Naruto Uzumaki had to pay... and dearly at that.
Five minutes found Kakashi and Naruto on their way home, Naruto more energetic, and asking tons of questions about the Fourth Hokage, the prankster that had captured his heart, and even about his old team. Kakashi for his part welcomed someone to travel down memory lane with, especially since this one kept him thinking about the happier times.
A few days later, Naruto smiled as he made his way home from making his report to Baa-chan. He really wanted to talk to Hinata, and figured that she'd be home, or at least Hiashi would be around probably so Naruto could just ask him. Getting to his house, he smiled finding the locks undone, and was just about to open the door, when he saw Hiashi approaching.
"Hey Hiashi-san..." Naruto called out, running over to the older man, "Sorry about missing out gardening time... mission."
"It's quite alright Naruto, Hokage-sama explained what'd happened to me, and I understand entirely. I was just about to visit Hinata," Hiashi answered, with a fond smile to the cheerful Naruto. "I fear to say that she has been rather... distant lately, but I'm sure seeing you again will bring her spirits back up."
Naruto fidgeted nervously hearing about Hinata being down, his smile turning slightly sheepish. "Well, I hope so too. Would break my heart to see her cry..."
"Indeed... Shall we?" Hiashi asked, waving for Naruto to lead the way.
Naruto smiled and led the way into the house, shutting the door behind him gently. He was slightly puzzled why the lights were out, but decided to check the living room first, since that's where Hinata tended to spend most of her time at the house. Turning on the lights, he wasn't prepared for what his eyes found.
Shikamaru was standing in front of a wheel out blackboard, posed like he was in mid-lesson. Chouji was in sweats and seemed to be in the middle of some exercise routine. Hinata was sitting in front of a training dummy, painted to look like a ventriloquist's dummy. Kiba and Neji were pose in mid-wrestle, Neji holding the canine user in a headlock while giving him a noogie. Shino was dressed up as a, thankfully male, nurse, seeming to hold an immunization station for his bugs. Iruka was seated on the love-seat, cuddling up with Kakashi-sensei as they both read their books. And what he could see of Ino and Sakura, who were halfway under the table, threatened to create a nasal discharge of vital fluids. If it wasn't for the fact he could see and hear them breathing, he'd almost swear they were statues instead.
Naruto finally blinked when his camera was lowered into his hands, and the Hokage hat was placed on his head. Turning around he saw Tsunade, Hiashi, Shizune, Tenten, Lee, Gai, and Anko all grinning at him. Tsunade pointed beyond him. "Go ahead and take some pictures, so the party can begin."
"Party?" Naruto asked curiously, as he turned to look at his friends again. "What party?"
"Why your bachelor party Naruto, all thanks to Sakura..." Shizune pointed out with a small laugh from the rest of the group. "So, relax and have fun... but first get your pictures so they can relax."
Ten minutes later, the various ninjas were sitting around the living room laughing at the pictures from Naruto's camera. The others were bringing up the pranks that had been pulled on them and laughed about it. Naruto looked around after the laughter died down, with a slightly puzzled look. "Where's Kurenai sensei?"
"She's holding down the Hokage office for Shizune and me, while we're here. That and her son's not feeling well, so she didn't want to try getting a sitter," Tsunade explained while Sakura signaled something to Anko.
Anko walked out in front of Naruto. "Ya know kid... this is a combined bachelor/bachelorette party... and we all tried to figure out what type of stripper to get you... so instead, we just hired out a few friends of yours..." Anko's grin was positively evil as the Konohamaru corps popped out of nowhere.
A few bouts of sexy no jutsu, and its subsidiary jutsus later, everyone was laughing with the matching blushing couple. Who knew that the best way to get Naruto to blush was to have two pairs of him and Hinata performing strip teases and... interesting poses before him.
The snacks and booze flowed freely throughout the night, and the laughter abounded. No one was quite sure when the ANBU had been called, but Tsunade sent them away with just a wave of her hand and a laugh, before kissing Shizune passionately.
The following afternoon, when they finally started waking up, several of them were in for a rude surprise. First were Sakura and Ino, who were trying to remember where their clothes disappeared to... and what they had done in the closet they woke up in... and why Tenten was there with a huge grin on her face. Next were Iruka and Kakashi, who had the unpleasant task of trying to figure out how to get unglued from the ceiling. Finally were Hinata and Naruto, who woke up in the same bed, buck naked. They weren't sure, but they were fairly certain that their celibate until marriage vow had just been busted, and by the looks of the room several times over. Not that they were complaining.
Kurenai meanwhile had the pleasant, almost sinfully delightful task of editing together a 'best of' compilation from the various camera feeds she had Anko sneak in. Turning to Asuma Jr. she rubbed his sleeping stomach gently before asking, "Should mommy be naughty or nice sweetie? Oh, maybe a bit of both..."
That would be a wedding present for the ages, and it would make sure that the gossip lines, aka the Yamanaka family, would have material for months to come.