Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. However, the original characters and plot of this fic belong to me.

Author Notes: I am finally back after a long and very enjoyable vacation. It was an experience to remember but it's now back to the fic i began writing for your enjoyment. If there were any questions left unanswered over the past 7 or 8 weeks, it was because i wasn't here. I will try my best to answer those right away and accomplish any other things which need to be done. I was meant to inform everyone of my vacation in the last update but i couldn't upload the chapter so i ended up leaving a note on my profile before heading to the Himalayas. Enough blabbering for now and enjoy the latest chapter which was meant to come out 7 weeks ago. Hope you all didn't get frustrated waiting.

Chapter 12: Fading Dream

The sweltering atmosphere directly affected the group with visible beads of sweat flowing from their faces and arms. Ayame was let down onto the ground by Tenten, "It's much hotter this time."

Naruto looked at the split in the cliff in front of him. The split served as the entrance to the village of Suna. He wasn't tired since Gai had spent his energy in carrying him. The blonde wondered what the enigmatic ninja's response would be if he discovered that there was no need for him to exert all that strength. Surprisingly though, the spandex wearing man didn't seem tired and was beaming like always.

Lee stretched his legs, "That was a good workout." He gave a thumbs up to the rest of the group, "Wouldn't you agree?"

Neji looked at the sky which was a shade of red, "It took the whole day but we've arrived." The group had gotten up at dawn and wasted no time in setting off on the remainder of the journey.

They all began to walk closer to the path as a shinobi appeared and blocked their way. Tenten, who had all the information regarding the group, began to show various papers to the guard and was accordingly let through.

Gai directed his question at Ayame, "Will you be able to get your things today?"

Ayame nodded, "There shouldn't be a problem with that."

Gai was pleased with the answer, "Great, then we can leave tomorrow. There's no need to spend more time than necessary here."

Sakura had remained quiet throughout the duration of the journey and only answered when asked a question. Her mind was still on the altercation the day before with her target. She found the combination of the notes, which detailed some admittedly arousing scenes, and falling on top of a naked Naruto really made it hard to sleep. She also realised how the jinchuuriki himself, seemed a little stranger than she would have expected. She questioned whether the difference in attitude was to do with her or for some unknown reason.

The group of travellers entered the village of Suna which was covered entirely in dry land along with various buildings which were round. The architectural design made it a unique sight.

The group stopped as Gai turned to face them, "Now that we're here in our allied village, there's no need to be worried about protection. You're free to do what you want but I would suggest you rest up."

Tenten had a relaxed demeanour, "I want to take a look at the weapon's store. I picked up some really good things the last time I was here." She took off towards a large street which had a lot of people wandering on it.

Lee quickly shouted after her, "I need to talk to you about something!" He paused for a second as he discovered an idea, "And this is a good opportunity to distribute copies of my book!" The strange looking yet honourable shinobi ran after his comrade, leaving behind the rest of the group. Naruto took out a cigarette and lit it with a match before beginning to smoke.

Ayame held her hands behind her back, "We should get going too. Come on, Naruto."

Naruto raised an eyebrow upon being mentioned since he didn't expect it. Nonetheless, he shrugged as he didn't have any plans, "Okay."

The two Ichiraku Ramen workers made their way into the core of the village as Sakura faced the Hyuuga and Gai, "I need to see Temari-san. I'll be in the hotel after that. It's already been a long day."

Sakura walked away as Gai shook his head, "Everyone has a plan in one form or another."

Neji looked at his former mentor, "It's interesting."

Gai nodded in acknowledgment, "Truly, only me and you are left to train and work hard until we have exhausted ourselves."

Neji faced in the direction of Sakura who was becoming indistinct, "Not that. The fact that we had her added to the mission."

Gai listened to the Hyuuga, "What makes you say that?"

Neji held his backpack, "We were told the original mission was to protect Ayame of Ichiraku Ramen. When we were meeting her, another person was added for us to protect. At the same time, the Godaime decided to send her own apprentice as an escort when she wasn't needed."

Gai realised what he was saying, "You're suspicious of Naruto?"

Neji had kept a close eye on the blonde ever since he started travelling with him but didn't find there was a cause for concern. He had found it odd that at his initial meeting with the man; he could feel the chakra presence of Uchiha Sasuke. Later on in the same day, Sasuke's team mate was added to his mission when the man he had met earlier needed to be protected also. He didn't believe it was a mere coincidence, "I think there's more to him than we know."

XXXXXXXXXX

"What do you say then? This is an amazing opportunity!" Lee's voice travelled through the store as the clerk stuck his finger in his ear and made sure it was still fine.

Tapping his head, the old man stared at Lee as he was getting tired of reasoning with him, "Sir, I've already told you; this is a weapon's store."

Lee grinned and looked around, "Taijutsu makes a person into a weapon, a beautiful one."

The clerk placed his hands on the counter and gave a long sigh, "What did I do to deserve this?"

Lee placed his hand on the old man's shoulder, "Something very pleasing, I'm sure. That is why fate has delivered you this gift."

The clerk shook his head despondently, "Just leave the book here."

Lee nodded and placed it in front of him, being careful as to not damage it in any way. Turning around, he moved to the other end of the store where his kunoichi team mate was analysing various weapons.

Tenten spun the long metal needle in her hand and carefully critiqued it. At one end it was slightly larger, to give the user a good grip, while the other end was thinner and had a small hole. The hole could be used to store various types of things, ranging from poison to even medicine. The weapon's specialist was pleased with what she saw and grabbed a whole pack of the metal needles and moved to pay for them.

Lee looked at the items curiously, "How do these differ from other needles?"

Tenten placed the pack of weapons on the counter, "The excellent craftsmanship makes it a better quality than your average needle. The grip has been created to allow the user to be able to hold it in a multitude of ways yet achieve the desired result all the time. The point at the end is sharp and will get the job done and there's no need to worry about damaging it." She looked back at the taijutsu specialist who was visibly confused, "Did that clear things up?"

Lee awkwardly scratched his head, "I'm not sure."

Tenten sighed before facing the clerk, "How much for the lot?"

The clerk waved his hand, "Take them for free. Just please leave."

Tenten was surprised by the request and simultaneously displeased. She didn't like taking things which she didn't earn or pay for, regardless of the circumstances. "I need to pay you for these items."

The clerk looked up at her before glancing at Lee who smiled at him. Shuddering, he spotted the book, "I didn't pay for this which your friend…forced on me. Because of that, you can have the items. Consider it equivalent trade."

Tenten had a disgruntled expression as she picked up the pack of metal needles and walked out of the shop. The sound of the bell ringing as she exited the store was followed by a shout from her companion, "Tenten!"

The kunoichi stopped as she faced Lee, her tone showing her anger, "If you're going to harass clerks and shop assistants, do it in some place where I'm not! This is the second store I've left without paying! And that doesn't even include the three places we were kicked out of!"

Lee gave a nervous laugh, "I'm sorry."

Tenten looked at the sky which was becoming very dark and a few stars were visible, "Never mind, we better go to the hotel and get some rest. Knowing Gai, he's going to have a competition to get back to Konoha tomorrow."

Lee didn't understand why that was something to frown about as he began to follow the kunoichi, "I had an ulterior reason for coming with you."

Tenten continued walking, "What reason?" Lee fidgeted before making a few weird noises which began to irritate the kunoichi, "Would you spit it out?"

Lee slightly jumped in shock, "Is it true you like Naruto's notes better than my book?"

Tenten stopped before folding her arms, "Yeah."

Lee's mouth fell open, feeling he had been betrayed, "Why? How could you like something like that?"

Tenten shook her head as she faced the spandex wearing jounin, "Lee, could you explain one thing to me? What's wrong with his writing?"

Lee was quick to answer as he put his finger up, "He writes gratuitous things about men and women which bring no benefit to anyone. The things he describes shouldn't be written in such a manner and degrade the love shared between people in the springtime of their youth."

Tenten acknowledged his answer as she responded, "There are a lot of books out there; some about training, some about adventures, some about mysteries. The point being that there's something for everyone's tastes. There are people out there, like myself, who would enjoy what he writes."

Lee still didn't understand, "What benefit is there from reading it though?"

Tenten slapped her head, "It's something you do to pass your time. You like to train in your spare time; others like to read about these kinds of things."

Lee accepted her answer but wanted to know something else, "Is that the reason you like his notes more? Because my book isn't more suited to your taste?"

Tenten stared at the man with an amused expression, "Honestly, there's more to it than that. There's a smooth flow to his story and he's just a better writer than you. Maybe if you spent less time complaining on how sex can't be written about and actually read his work carefully, it could benefit you."

Lee felt a little disappointed with the blunt reply but knew that Tenten was right with what she said. He hadn't ever tried to write before and his book on his taijutsu style was his first attempt at doing so. He didn't consider this to be an excuse for poor writing though as he believed in putting as much effort as possible in whatever a person does. A variety of things on his mind, he knew one thing for sure; he owed Naruto an apology.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ayame smiled at the store owner, "This is great. Thanks for your help." The woman had wasted no time going to her destination in order to pick up the special ingredients she had come to Suna for. She was thrilled to find that everything was ready and prepared when she arrived at the store. Paying for her things, she left the shop to find Naruto standing outside, smoking.

The jinchuuriki opened his eyes, "You're done?"

Ayame placed the bag in the blonde's hands, "Yes."

Naruto grabbed the bag before beginning to walk, "What do you want to do now?"

Ayame looked at the night sky, "I wanted to have a little fun but I guess I should listen to Gai-san. Getting some rest would be the best option."

Naruto nodded, "I'll drop you off at the hotel then."

Ayame walked alongside the retired shinobi as she turned her head to face him, "You're going somewhere else?"

Naruto took out his cigarette and blew out some smoke before reinserting it, "I don't think I'd be able to sleep." His mind was wandering all over the place ever since he had the meeting with Sakura the night before. He was reminded of Yuka and couldn't keep his mind off the scarlet eyed woman. For some reason, he felt guilty and wanted to see her.

Ayame whistled as she saw various couples laughing and walking down the streets, "Hey Naruto, do you have a girlfriend?"

Naruto was surprised with the sudden question, especially due to what he was thinking about. He resumed smoking as he responded, "Why do you ask?"

Ayame shrugged, "I just wanted to know. I'd think someone like you would have one."

Naruto recognised the genuine words. After a few moments, he answered her previous question, "I'm not sure. I care about her and we were together until about two years ago…but it's complicated."

Ayame listened to the blonde, "What happened?"

Naruto was embarrassed by her candour, "I'd rather not say."

The two Ichiraku Ramen workers stopped outside of a large building which was the biggest hotel in Suna. Naruto handed the bag of ingredients to Ayame as she spoke to him for the final time, "Whatever happened, you should make sure that it's something you both want. Otherwise, one of you is just going to end up hurt from all of it." She waved at the blonde before opening the doors to enter the hotel, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Naruto sighed as he took out his cigarette and blew out smoke. As he saw the smoke disperse into the night's air, his mind dwelled on Ayame's words. Her advice made sense to him and he was beginning to question a lot of things that he had done. The one objective that was lingering on his mind was to see Yuka and speak with her about everything properly once he returned to the encampment.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sakura knocked on the door as she waited for a reply. She soon heard her desired response as she opened the door and walked inside the room, "Temari-san, it's good to see you." She paused momentarily as she saw an unexpected face, "Eh, Kankurou?"

The puppeteer gave a quick wave, a little perturbed with the greeting he received, "It's good to see you too."

Sakura scratched her head, "Sorry about that."

Temari sat down on the desk, folding her legs, "We were expecting a messenger from Konoha but not you."

Sakura nodded, "A slight change of plans. I was on a mission escorting some people here so Tsunade-shisou decided to give me the list to bring instead." The kunoichi received the papers from her mentor the day she left Konoha which resulted in her arriving late. Suna was, for the first time since attacking Konoha, hosting the chuunin exams in a few months. The village in Wind Country had slowly been recovering and was now at the stage where they were capable of hosting the event, which would have a lot of different villages competing.

Temari held out her hand as Sakura gave her the documents. The blonde began to look through it, raising an eyebrow, "Only 2 teams? We gave you a maximum of 5."

Sakura walked over to a chair and sat down, "We're going for quality over quantity this time. Besides, this'll only make supervising the event easier for Suna."

Kankurou shook his head, "We don't need those kinds of favours."

Sakura looked at the puppeteer, "Why are you here?"

Kankurou was slightly insulted with the frank answer from the kunoichi but disregarded it since she had saved his life 3 years earlier when he had been poisoned. "I'm helping Temari with planning for tomorrow."

Sakura had a curious look, "What's happening tomorrow?"

Temari got up and walked around the desk, "The initiation of Gaara to the Kazekage seat."

Sakura was stunned with the revelation, "That's happening tomorrow? I thought they were going to wait until after the chuunin exams."

Kankurou folded his arms, "It's better to have a Kazekage in our first public event to show that we're not weak." Ever since the attack on Konoha and the murder of the previous Kazekage by Orochimaru, Suna had been governed by its council which made all the decisions.

Sakura had a thoughtful expression on her visage; when she had first met Gaara, she remembered feeling fear of the highest form. She didn't understand why she felt that way and couldn't understand how someone could enjoy killing so much. Soon after though, things became clearer and she began to understand the red haired man's situation better. Gaara had lived the perfect example of a horrible life by being shunned, and betrayed by the only person he believed to love him.

After his loss to Jiraiya, Gaara had helped shinobi from Konoha on their mission to retrieve the runaway Uchiha Sasuke. It seemed as if being spared his life when he would've expected someone to kill him changed him. However, the intimidating male hadn't wholly changed and held signs of how he used to be. These remaining signs disappeared 3 years ago when someone did the highest thing possible and that was to give their life for him.

Jiraiya had led the self imposed mission along with Sakura and Kakashi to bring back Suna's weapon. The frog hermit had insisted on someone coming along from Suna and was disgusted when nobody would help until Chiyo, one of Suna's legendary shinobi, volunteered. The rest of Suna had no desire to risk lives to bring back someone they believed was a nuisance. Chiyo, on the other hand, understood Jiraiya's reasoning and joined him in pursuing Akatsuki. Unfortunately, they had reached Gaara too late and found him after he had already died. Chiyo had sacrificed her life in an attempt to gain forgiveness for the mistakes of Suna's elder generation. This action changed Gaara completely as he was stunned that someone would want to save his life. Due to this, he became less violent. The future Kazekage tried his hardest to fit in and even took a team under his wing. His actions and changed demeanour helped him become the ideal candidate to lead Suna.

Sakura looked at Temari, "How is Gaara?"

Temari smiled, "He wants to help the people of this village but whether he believes he can is an entirely different subject."

Sakura understood what she was saying. "Oh…" Her sombre face soon turned into a more uplifting one, "I'm sure he'll succeed after everything he's been through."

Temari ran a hand through her hair, "So, you want to go for a drink?" She was met with a blank stare, "Right, you don't drink. I'll have a drink while you can have something else."

Sakura rose from her seat, "What about planning for tomorrow?"

Temari walked to the door, "The plans are basically finished. I'm sure Kankurou can handle the rest on his own from here."

Kankurou didn't bother saying anything as he saw the two kunoichi leave the room. He was in a good mood as his younger brother was becoming the Kazekage. He had found that, at most times, he was the one who Gaara would confide in even if they were only a few words. He knew that his younger brother wanted to help Suna and hoped that he would be successful as he began to finish the planning of the initiation ceremony.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto looked over the vast village of Suna from on top of the rocky hill. He could see everything clearly from his position as the streets were illuminated by sticks of fire. There was no structure to where the buildings were located as it seemed that they must have been made without planning. Regardless, the village was still amazing and a very different spectacle from Iwa or Konoha.

Naruto felt a sting in his hand to find that some ash had fallen on him. Taking out his cigarette and realising it was finished, he flicked it to the bottom of the hill. He brushed the hot substance from his hand before looking at the sky which was filled with bright stars.

"You should take advantage of the moments you're given; you never know when the last meeting is."

The words of Hajin echoed in his head as he tried to shake them away. He couldn't comprehend it but the peculiar words gave him a sick feeling in his stomach. Closing his eyes, he tried to calm himself.

"Having trouble?" The voice snapped Naruto out of concentrating as he turned to find Genkei looking over the village, "You look like you received some bad news."

Naruto rested his head on his hands as he sighed, "It's not that."

Genkei glanced at him, "What is it then? You don't need to be in this kind of condition now that we're so close to getting the scroll."

Naruto brought his knee closer to him before resting his arm on it, "Do you think I made the right decision with Yuka?"

Genkei was surprised with the unexpected question and wondered what made him think about the kunoichi at this point, "What brought this on?"

Naruto gave a solemn smile, "I'm not sure…"

Genkei listened to the wind howling as minutes passed by without anyone speaking. The dragon eventually decided to give his thoughts on the matter, knowing it would help the jinchuuriki in some form, "You're not in the most stable of conditions; you haven't been since Yuudai's death." He could see the slight twinge from Naruto as he mentioned his former summoner, "The lesser burdens you carry; the better it is for you. Because of that, I believe it is the right decision."

Naruto took off his hat, letting the wind ruffle his hair, "I thought that too at the time, but what if I hurt her instead of helping? I never asked what she wanted." He shook his head in regret, "And I still messed her about when I was with all those women. I didn't think of her feelings at all."

Genkei waved his tail as he spoke, "Yet your heart still belongs to her, which is what matters." He looked at the retired shinobi, "No path is straightforward; every decision one makes affects the people around him, positively and negatively."

Naruto took a deep breath, "2 years I've travelled this one. I wonder how much longer is still left."

Genkei turned around and began to walk, "The pain you feel…the path you walk…and the decisions you make; it is all for your dream. Don't forget this."

Naruto could hear the footsteps of the summon slowly fade away as he looked at the bright stars, "My dream?" His voice turned into a whisper as he closed his eyes, "…to be free."

Author Notes: The story has nearly been set up and will kick off in a big way in about 2 or 3 updates. I will try and have the next chapter up in a week or so. It's going to take a little time getting used to writing again and on schedule but it shouldn't be too hard. Laters.