DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from the Naruto universe.
Thinking (+ flashbacks, "Naruto speaking to Kurama in her mindscape," etc.)
Emphasis
Bijuu, etc. speaking
Bijuu, etc. thinking
Even with his seedy assignment and fearing that he was temporarily sealed into being little more than a tool of Yondaime-sama, Sasuke couldn't remember a time when he felt so free. Even when he was a small child there were so many expectations that he had to meet… Expectations that I didn't meet then. His father had been rather… overbearing. Or perhaps "demanding" was a better word.
Shisui told him that his brother had felt similarly. He couldn't wait to see Itachi again, even though it would have to be after this assignment.
Maybe it was being out of Konoha, out on his own. Maybe the sense of freedom he felt was simply being unshackled from the revenge he wanted to take on his brother: the person who had always been most important to him in his life, before and after the massacre.
Had there really been an attempted coup?
He'd apparently never be able to take revenge on Konoha: Yondaime-sama had made sure of that, (and Sasuke was afraid that seal might be permanent) although he didn't know how any of the various seals Yondaime-sama put on him worked. His godfather - godfather! - had also put a similar type of loyalty seal on Sakura…
Sakura: gods what a pain.
Crazy Sakura had barged into his room in the middle of the night after their sealing had taken place. At first, he feared that the highly-annoying girl would try to seduce him, but no. She wanted to talk about her ROOT training, barely managing to shut the hell up even when she seemed to want to. And that included talking about the Hokage…
"Sasuke-kun: do you think Yondaime-sama would be interested in a younger woman?"
She had blushed brighter than her hair after asking that, quickly explaining that because of a seal that had been on her tongue (it had disappeared the day before,) she couldn't make herself shut up.
He groaned just thinking about all of the crap she admitted and turned over in the surprisingly comfortable room he'd been given in one of Orochimaru's hideouts. Having been briefed on the known locations the snake nested in, Sasuke knew this one most likely wasn't his HQ. A knock on his new "bedroom" door irritated him. He sat up before grabbing the kunai he kept under his pillow. "Enter."
"Uchiha Sasuke," the redhead sneered, (the one that attacked Naruto after she saved her ass in the Forest of Death, Sasuke vividly recalled,) before giving him a slow once over and licking her lips.
Sasuke scoffed at the apparent she-pervert.
"I don't know what's so special about you, but I will find out," Karin said before slamming the door behind her again.
Sasuke laid back down, wondering why she needed to tell that in the middle of the night. He didn't understand women at all.
Naruto sneakily wheeled herself toward the biggest chakra signature, aside from her own, that was in the hospital. This was the fourth time she'd tried to get into Roshi's room and DAMN! She was going to be caught again!
This was really troubling since she was under investigation thanks to what her dumb clone said.
"Naruto-chan," Shizune sighed. "What have we told you about staying in your room?"
"It's just too boring, nee-chan," Naruto pouted. "I just want to talk to my jinchuuriki brother and his furry friend. Pleeeeeease?"
Shizune frowned but decided it was probably best just to let Naruto do her thing: at least that way she could get back to work. "Do you promise to make it quick, and only do this once?" she asked in a hushed voice. "We are alone, ne?"
Naruto reached out her senses again, confirming that they were alone, and thought more about it. "Yes?" she asked more than said. "And I have a clone in my room."
Reluctantly, Shizune decided to keep this a secret from her mentor, for now. She unsealed the Iwa jinchuuriki's room and pushed Naruto's wheelchair forward.
"It's about damn time," Roshi said to his fellow jinchuuriki. "I've got questions, kid, and Utakata and Son tell me you have answers."
Naruto bit her lip, wondering how true that was. "Shizune-nee," she said in a more serious but pleading tone, having turned to the brunette. "I need to talk to Roshi-sama alone. Please."
Drunk Tsunade had told Shizune about her son and Naruto's supposed past life as well as their goals, so she believed that Naruto could handle herself, even though she was recuperating - incredibly quickly. Still, she refused to allow Tsunade's granddaughter to put herself into any jeopardy. Pulling a chakra suppression seal out of her jacket pocket, she placed it on the Iwa nin's forehead and watched it sink in while the man went limp. "You have two hours max, Naruto. He'll awaken soon, but will be weakened."
After Shizune closed the door behind her - Naruto really owed her despite what Shizune had just done to Roshi - the blonde closed his fist so that she could meet it with her own. Immediately they were in their shared mindscape.
"Hey," she said as she walked up to the redhead, bearded jinchuuriki. "Sorry about her." Son Goku greeted her and his siblings loudly and Naruto was so glad to see him safe again - he was even in an unsealed area that was a little plain, but allowed him to move! It was SO much better than the last time she'd seen him when he was all chained up.
"Let's face it: I'm in enemy territory; it's expected," Roshi said, sighing. "I'm surprised you were allowed to see me at all," he admitted before his years of frustration came rushing forward. "Uzumaki, I have questions! Han and I remember another time: a life in which we were killed by an organization we have WARNED Tsuchikage-sama about. Utakata - that bubble-blowing baka - agreed it's true. Naruto: what happened? Why has Son been… SCREECHING at me to find you for a decade and a half or more?"
Son did in fact screech at being accused of such a thing as Naruto sighed. She took a deep breath before beginning to go over the highlights (and mostly the very lowlights) of everything relevant that she remembered or had been told of both her past life and this one, knowing that she only had so much time with Roshi. They sat in silence for some time afterward as he regained consciousness.
"I found you in Grass Country and… What happened to leave you in such a weakened state?" she finally asked. "Did Danzo get you?"
"Danzo?" he asked, knowing of whom she was speaking, but not why. "No. A man in an orange mask proved to be a difficult opponent." Naruto paled dramatically, looking absolutely sick. "He was accompanied by Hoshigaki Kisame. Hoshigaki is the bastard who killed me before - after one of your Uchihas put me in a genjutsu."
Naruto swallowed hard, thinking about Itachi. "His sword probably took a lot out of you," she assumed about Kisame. He was easier to think and talk about than Itachi: definitely. Kisame's sword was also a real bitch to battle against.
And Tobi was obviously a nightmare.
"I killed him, and the man in the mask retreated soon after Han arrived. I think. …There were also some others" Roshi recalled.
"Tobi teleported out," Naruto guessed. Roshi nodded but said nothing else. She twisted her lips, guessing that Danzo's goons had perhaps retrieved Roshi's unconscious form after he'd keeled over from chakra exhaustion. She wondered where Han was now, and she bet Roshi was worried about him, too. From their brief conversation in their shared mindscape, it sounded like they'd been mostly traveling together for a long time.
She tried to squelch her hatred of the man in the mask and concentrated on the shark-man, instead. She wondered if Kisame was really dead: he'd escaped what clearly had looked like death via a Lariato-styled beheading to Bee once before, and she hadn't noticed his body around Danzo's cave or anything. "What happened to Samehada - the sword?"
"I'm… not sure," he drawled.
Naruto nodded, willing to bet money that Kisame was still alive then. It was best to plan for him and that damn sword's dramatic and nasty entrance into their lives at some point, anyway. And speaking of, "I bet I can get… Hokage-sama," Naruto said, downing the bitterness she felt toward her father, (and guilt for how mean she'd been to him,) "to let you stay in Konoha?"
Roshi gave her a grim smile. "Thank you, Naruto, but I need to get back to my kohai," he said, meaning Han. "And my village," he said more quietly.
Less than an hour later, Naruto had added some of Son Goku's chakra to her own. Once again, Kurama refused to reciprocate.
Kurama didn't want to talk to her or his siblings. He was in a really foul mood.
Leaving Roshi behind, Jiraiya met her in the hospital hallway. "You're not doing yourself any favors with the investigation into your activities by going to see an Iwa shinobi in private, Naruto," he scolded.
"Inoichi-dono can look into my head all he wants. He might meet a new bunch of friends there, but he'll find I'll always be loyal to Konoha."
Jiraiya crossed his arms over his chest. "And to the tailed beasts," he said (a little sourly,) walking alongside her wheelchair and Shizune.
"AND to those of us who will be the last jinchuuriki. And to achieve peace!"
When Shizune wheeled Naru back into her room, they all lurched forward in shock before jumping/wheeling toward the large window in her room. They almost couldn't believe what they were seeing! Tsunade-hime and Dragon were fighting their way through the village rooftops.
Jiraiya groaned and decided to stay out of it. "So he finally told her."
"How could you not tell me! You had decades," Tsunade screamed as she threw another boulder at him.
Dragon grabbed it with chakra strings which allowed him to sling it right back at her. His sister, naturally, flicked the damn thing into tiny pebbles. "Tsunade, you were gone," he yelled back, still in his Dragon mask. "I TOLD you: that damn snake and DANZO passed me back and forth for YEARS!"
"YOU have been DRAGON for… DECADES," she bellowed, chasing him up the Hokage Mountain. They finally stopped when they reached the top of their grandfather's head.
"Tsunade, I was badly injured and SEALED! I didn't remember who I was for years, then my tongue was still sealed and… It was KNOWN that I was mostly mute until maybe ten years ago!"
"Bullshit! You used to pass me notes before I left the village!"
"And yet you never recognized my handwriting," Dragon said, thinking that would get to her. "And you left the village!"
Yeah, he still hadn't gotten over that.
"Your handwriting sucks! And it did before," Tsunade scolded.
Nawaki ran his hand through his hair, having to agree with that. "Yeah, I guess you're right, onee-sama."
Calling her his honored elder sister is apparently what did it. When they were young, he had only used that term in front of family, although he meant it very much.
Tsunade fell down to her knees and wept. Nawaki approached her slowly before bending down to wrap his arms around her. "I've missed you." He held her while she cried, patting her back, glad that Hokage-sama, (his somehow reborn nephew,) was letting them figure it out and not interfering.
"Can I see your face? Please, Nawaki."
"It ain't pretty, Tsu," he warned. Slowly pulling up his mask after making sure they were still alone and out of sight, Tsunade didn't seem to mind all of his scars: she only smiled so sadly through her tears. He shrugged and tried to laugh it off but really preferred to keep his mask on.
"You look old."
"You," Nawaki sputtered, not believing that Tsunade said that of ALL things! "You don't get to say that to me! You're using a jutsu to look young!"
Tsunade laughed and tried to dry her eyes and face. "Yeah," she sniffed and took a moment before deciding to momentarily drop her jutsu, (& later wanting to smack her newly-found little brother when he pretended to - hopefully he was only pretending to - gag.) "We both ended up getting Tobirama-oji's white hair, huh?"
"A little of it," Nawaki said, relieved that she hadn't landed a hit on him earlier - and that it looked like she was done fighting for now. "At least yours is pretty, nee-chan: they look like highlights, ya know."
"Oh, I have missed you!"
Shisui shivered as he watched his own (old) eyes swirl red. They were in his cousin's head and were really freaking him out. Itachi hadn't been doing much better with the whole thing, but now his cousin was getting angry.
"What kind of mission is my foolish little brother on?" he asked quietly. Dangerously.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh… One he's excited about?"
"Is that a question, Shisui?" Itachi asked, his eyes reverting back to black.
"No! And watch your chakra usage, 'tachi. Tsunade-hime said that just because we swapped eyes doesn't mean you should use them yet!"
Itachi snuggled back into his pillows again. The most recent medication he had been on for his damnable inflammatory disease had stopped working again. He looked out the window, a ghost of a smile on his face as he saw his doctor running up the Hokage Mountain with an ANBU. "Dragon," he realized, smiling more. Even with the distance he was from them, he could actually discern which ANBU was fighting with Tsunade-hime. He closed his eyes, upset with himself for getting aggravated that Sasuke had been through so much lately and now wasn't here. He was obviously doing well and was now an important shinobi for the Leaf. "Thank you, Shisui," he said, blinking slowly. "Your gift has allowed me to see again. …Is there an issue with one of my, or rather, your eyes?"
Shisui had recently been keeping one eye hidden, or had it closed.
"You could say that," Shisui said, glad to take Itachi's mind off his brother - something that was almost impossible. Those two are weird, he thought fondly. "Itachi. I don't want you to freak out, okay, but have you seen anything like… this?" He opened his purple eye and Itachi gasped.
"The Rinnegan!"
"That's what I thought," Shisui said, slumping down in his seat. "What am I supposed to do with the Rinnegan? I don't even know what it does!"
"Pein-sama had the Rinnegan in both eyes," Itachi said regarding one of the Akatsuki's leaders. "He is incredibly powerful, and that power is entirely linked to his eyes." He thought about it more, only knowing of the legend of the Rinnegan. "Jiraiya-sama was his first sensei."
"What?! Jiraiya's a Konoha shinobi and you said Pein leads Ame."
"Yes," Itachi said, beginning the tale Jiraiya had told him in two parts: after his first contact with Pein and following his retrieval when he learned that Jiraiya had faced the man a year before and had nearly been killed. "He met Pein: the name he chooses to go by now, shortly after he was named one of the Sannin by Hanzo. A young Pein was one of a group of orphans Jiraiya-sama chose to remain in Ame to teach."
"Huh," Shisui said. "You think he would know something about this eye?"
Itachi nodded hesitantly, wondering if the eye transplant was a mistake. Pein believed that his eyes made him a god. "No matter what, Shisui: you are not a god."
Shisui flinched back, putting a hand over his heart. "You wound me! I AM a god," he said before slowly raking his hands through his hair, "of love," he said in a low, sexy voice.
Itachi's lip curled up and he looked like he might vomit. Shisui cackled as he ran over to the front door. Someone was knocking. He peeked through the peephole and immediately opened it.
"Kakashi-senpai! To what do we owe your illustrious presence in our humble abode?"
Kakashi deflated, having forgotten about what a pain Uchiha Shisui was when not on duty. "Maa, sensei told me that my kawaii kohai is here." He couldn't help but grin a little when he heard Itachi groan in the back room of the special safe house he'd been sent to: it was sealed but in the middle of the village. Shisui invited him in and Kakashi followed him into a bedroom where Itachi was resting. "Itachi," he greeted his former subordinate with a nod of the head, keeping his hands in his pockets. "It's been a while."
"It has," Itachi agreed, giving his cousin a quick glare when he interrupted them.
"Love triangle," Shisui sang, then acted as if he lamented everything he was about to say as he covered his mouth.
Shisui just wanted to cause a little mayhem: he'd been locked in that ANBU persona for so damn long, he was bursting with ideas! "Kakashi-senpai has finally made clear that he sees you as cute and his, although he's married now, to a young lady whom we all know has been obsessed with my little cousin since she first saw him."
Itachi slunk down in his pillows again, trying to hide his pinkening cheeks while Kakashi gave Shisui a blank but threatening look that both of them knew very well. It took a while, (and Shisui was beginning to regret what he'd said [a little,]) but sure enough: their senpai began tapping his weapons pouch. Both Uchihas slowly lifted their hands in surrender at the same time.
"What do you mean, my wife's been obsessed with kawaii Itachi?"
"Your wife?" Itachi asked. It was hard to imagine the Kakashi-taicho he had known as being married.
"Yeah, it didn't seem important considering how sick and maimed your blind ass was," Shisui said rudely. Since they found out that his cousin was suffering from what would be a lifelong illness, Shisui always made sure not to treat the Uchiha heir any differently than he would any other comrade, (badly, he liked to claim,) especially in front of other people. And that meant ribbing him! Itachi would expect and allow nothing less. "...but Kakashi-senpai married Naruto-chan."
Itachi sat up more in his bed, trying to decide how he felt about that. "I'd like to see her."
"No," Kakashi said firmly. All of his "protect-Naruto-from-good-looking-Uchiha" senses were firing off.
"She might be a little anti-Uchiha right about now," Shisui admitted with a dramatic sigh. "I mighta approached her inappropriately."
"Explain," Kakashi said after a beat. The cousins wondered when he'd begun twirling his kunai because it had seemed to suddenly appear in his hand. Kakashi's KI had perhaps thrown them for a second.
"Hokage-sama asked me to check the seals in her mind, which I couldn't see, by the way," Shisui explained. "I introduced myself but when my Sharingan activated, she lost it. I don't know how, but she did punch me out of her mind."
Itachi coughed, covering up a bark of laughter before he spoke. "Did you give her any warning?"
"No," Shisui said, slumping into a chair and gesturing for Kakashi to sit down. "I didn't know how the seal would activate, or if it would."
"But she doesn't remember me," Itachi said sadly. Feeling the air change in the room thanks to his perhaps jealous former commander, he rephrased. "Us."
"That's right: it's a bummer," Shisui said before turning to Kakashi. "Ya see, senpai, I was Naruto's primary guard when she was a little brat. She was a hoot to guard and so full of inappropriate wisdom and advice - not sexual, of course: that's not what I mean - she just knew too much, it always seemed."
Itachi nodded, remembering those times well - and having reflected upon them for years after the massacre in those terrible years while he was stuck with the Akatsuki. "She saved Shisui," he said, his new eyes beginning to get heavy, "and advised me in advance repeatedly from making a huge mistake. I can't imagine I would have ever done that…"
"We'll let you sleep, Itachi-kun," Shisui said, giving Kakashi a brief look that dared him to argue as he tucked his cousin in.
"I just wanted to say… thank you, I guess," Kakashi said awkwardly, drawing his hand through his hair. "Sensei told me what your assignment was, and… a little of what really happened," he continued regarding the Uchiha massacre. "Thank you for your service: I'm proud of you, Itachi."
Itachi smiled and fell asleep, too tired to reply.
Once in the common area of the safehouse, Shisui began to make them tea. "What now?" Kakashi asked.
Shisui stretched and finally shrugged. "I'm going back to Jonin duties. I'm hoping Yondaime-sama will give me a part-time team since he plans to permanently begin having Academy kids do D-ranks, rather than Genin. It'll be easy work, plus the ladies love a man who's good with kids," he said shamelessly. "Shizune-san's supposed to continue looking out for Itachi and considering THAT," he said, pointing to a Hiraishin kunai that was hanging in the hallway, "I think he'll be okay." Itachi had one of those kunai that he was ordered to keep with him, too.
Shisui worked his lip as he took the kettle off the stove. "I hope," he sighed. "He's really sick, senpai."
Kakashi nodded. "And he was working blind?" he asked. His sensei had told him that, too.
"Hai. I was close to it, but we're both seeing better than ever now."
Kakashi took his tea, sipping a bit but understanding that he needed to let Shisui rest, too. He remembered how painful his own eye transplant was and how much it had taken out of him, especially in those first years. "You're not feeling tired? Maa, I suppose since you're both Uchihas…"
"Hai," Shisui said, picking up on what he was saying. Kakashi wasn't an Uchiha, so he didn't possess their natural ability and biology to activate and deactivate the chakra-intensive Sharingan. "I am tired, though."
"What can I do for you? Konoha owes you both a lot."
"Get me a date! With a girl! A pretty girl!"
Kakashi later waltzed into Naruto's hospital room, ready to stop her from trying to escape again but found an interesting scene. "Interesting" was one way to describe it.
"HI," Naruto called excitedly. She was so sparkly, bright, and so glad to see him that - as usual - it stunned him lovesick and stupid.
"Hey, Naru-chan."
Tsunade and Jiraiya were sitting fairly close to each other, talking quietly and seemingly in their own world. Two of Gai's minions were playing cards - and apparently betting weapons - at the small table in the room, while Naruto was trying to style Gai's hair. "What's going on here?"
"Rival," Gai said worriedly in a quiet voice. "I am preparing for a blind date."
"It's not a blind date, Gai-san," Naruto reminded him as she sat up more so that she could reach Gai's bangs. The cast on her leg was a real hindrance. Using her brush to sweep them over and to the side, she turned him around to see him better from the front and found Kakashi standing in front of her instead. "Hey!"
"Too close," Kakashi scolded, looking down between her open legs where Gai would have been facing. He internally groaned as he looked at her: it had been a while and he REALLY wanted to get her back home and alone. He turned around and faltered as he looked at his best friend. "Maa, you look… good?" He didn't realize how much hair Gai had until now.
"It looks nice like that, right?" Naruto asked. Tenten said that her sensei refused to get his giant eyebrows waxed, but styling his hair over to the side and flinging it out, taking advantage of all the layers she didn't know were in it really made the taijutsu master look different. "I think Ayame-nee-chan's going to be very impressed."
"Maa, the ramen girl's our unlucky lady?"
Gai grumbled about Kakashi's lack of youthful assistance until Asuma stepped into the room, asking to see the two of them and waving at Naruto. They exited, but not before Kakashi glared at everyone in the room, wondering if he needed to threaten Gai's minion away from Naruto. He finally supposed it was unnecessary, especially as Naruto seemed to have read his mind and was giving him the most humanly-possible unimpressed look as she rubbed her forehead. He winked at her and left.
"I need you guys to come with me," Asuma said seriously. Both men nodded, although Gai worried that he'd be late to pick up Ayame. "I'm gettin' married. Right now!"
Two hours later, after a lovely little ceremony that was (technically) much like Kakashi's own except that the couple had friends present at the Sarutobi manor and AT the ceremony, surprisingly enough, the Sandaime presided over his son's wedding. Asuma's naughty nephew was there, as were the couple's students or those they'd mentored, past and present, some with their dates. Gai and his date, Ayame, seemed to be getting along quite well, while Raido, Ebisu, and a monk Kakashi had met named Chiriku were chatting with the happy couple. Some of their other classmates and a few decent civilian women he recognized were also in attendance.
Asuma had arranged the supposed near "shotgun wedding" and had given Kurenai little choice after she was injured in her last mission. She seemed very happy: they both did.
Genma was still sniffling over being asked to be Asuma's "best man" while Anko was, unsurprisingly, Kurenai's maid of honor. Kakashi approached her warily as always: Anko was a wildcard.
"No date, Anko-chan?"
Anko clicked her tongue. "Are you offering, Porny? Cuz if you are, I'm tellin' Naruto," she said, chuckling darkly. "...can't believe you're married," she muttered to herself sarcastically.
"Maa, maa! Nothing like that. I just thought that I might know of a guy you'd be interested in."
Anko hummed. She was fed up with Iruka at the moment and it might be good to go out with someone else. Just to see… and to make Iruka jealous! "I'm game, depending on the dude."
Kakashi pulled her farther away from their friends, unknowingly right toward Konohamaru, who was actually hiding well, for once, behind a table after finding an unattended cup of sake. "Did you know that Shisui-san is back?" he asked quietly.
Anko nodded eagerly. "I ran into him after he had his eye surgery," she said in what sounded like an extended gasp. "I was visiting Kurenai! HE needs a date?" Kakashi nodded. "Sure! Why not?!" Shisui was hot!
And that scar… Oh, how Anko loved a man with a scar!
Konohamaru covered his mouth, lest he be heard. Anko was going to cheat on Iruka-sensei?! How dare Naru-nee-chan's tall, weird-haired, one-eyed masked husband split them up! He had to put a stop to this! He was pretty sure they Iruka-sensei and the scary lady were dating… He decided to go ask him.
His sister might not be talking to him, but Shikamaru couldn't deny that he was otherwise incredibly happy. Temari seemed to have enjoyed her time at Asuma and Kurenai's wedding - finally, he thought to himself in relief, considering what happened to the couple in his last life - and it was obvious that he was taking Temari with him as a date and not simply as a fellow ambassador.
Wasn't it?
"That was really nice, Shikamaru," Temari said as she smiled into the sunset that evening. They were walking through the village that she was coming to really like, perhaps too much, after attending a wedding. "Thank you for taking me. It was VERY informative."
"'Informative?'" Shikamaru asked, his elated mood sinking.
"Yes! It's… so different from Suna."
"The ceremony?" Shikamaru asked curiously. He'd marry her in Suna: he didn't care at this point.
"There are differences, and Suna ceremonies are certainly much longer, but I was referring more to the collection of clan compounds surrounding Konoha," Temari said, thinking about it more.
"What a drag," Shikamaru whined.
Temari began to get irritated. If her handsome fellow ambassador didn't stop calling things "troublesome" or "a drag" she might have to pull out her fan, and that could cause an international incident.
"Are you hungry?" he asked.
Alright, so maybe he's not SO bad, Temari thought. Shikamaru didn't have a problem with how much she liked to, no: NEEDED to eat like a lot of men (and civilian women) in Suna did. "What are you thinking?"
"More barbecue?" There had been some at the reception, but shinobis ate a LOT, and supposedly Asuma only let his father know that the whole wedding was going down a few hours before the ceremony. Temari had a beautiful but aggravated look on her face which worried him. "Something on your mind?"
Temari huffed, knowing she should be glad that she was assigned to such a nice place, but feeling like she wasn't missing Suna enough. "Konoha is nice."
Shikamaru smiled, remembering a time when she told him that she wouldn't mind one day settling down with him here. "We're blessed with a moderate climate and Hi no Kuni has an abundance of natural resources. Honestly?" he asked, hoping to score points, "I can't wait to see Suna. Your people have had to do as much as ours have with less, from everything I've read. I'm looking forward to you showing me around there next week."
Temari hummed, somewhat pleased; however… "Are you saying that Suna or the Land of Wind doesn't have as much to offer as Konoha and Fire Country?"
"I'm simply saying that your land is HOT and full of SAND," Shikamaru said with a smirk.
Temari's eye twitched, then she realized he was either teasing her or WANTED to argue with her. "Hmph! That's not very diplomatic!"
"Maa, I AM a bit of an asshole," Shikamaru said, agreeing with her. Temari began giggling and took his arm.
Shikamaru kept his mouth shut as he escorted her through the village, but had to swallow hard and force himself not to turn into a puddle of goo.
"YOU CANNOT USE WIND CHAKRA TO REMOVE A CAST," Tsunade bellowed.
"Obviously I CAN AND DID," Naruto yelled right back, scratching her newly-freed leg like a maniacal animal. It was SO good to have that damn cast off, and Tsunade hadn't wanted to take it off. She knew that she was healed! She tried to jump out of the window, but Tsunade grabbed her and threw her back into the bed. Wind blew through the room and Naruto shrieked when the Hokage appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.
Kami! Is that what she looked like when she used a wind sunshin? Like a (*gulp*) ghost?!
"Minato, you cannot simply sunshin into a lady's room," Tsunade scolded, also having jumped when he arrived - although Tsunade had moved to attack while Naruto just completely freaked out.
"I, I'm sorry," Minato apologized - for oh, so much - knowing that it was woefully inadequate. "I heard you two yelling at each other from outside and needed to… Well, I'd like to clear Naruto-hime, but I need to get a report from her. You," he said, redirecting his words toward his daughter with a nod. "Chunin Hatake," he said quietly, reluctantly, "are you feeling well enough to report on what you learned from Roshi-san?"
Tsunade left the room and shut the door behind her, leaving the father and daughter alone with each other, (and ensuring that Naruto would prank the old woman for it.) "Yes, sir," she said, trying not to be awkward. She watched as her father put down an additional silencing seal, only using his fingertips to do it. "I was just about to leave."
"You'll leave when Kakashi returns," he said, all business about that.
Naruto closed her eyes and took another shallow breath, (it was too difficult to breathe normally,) reminding herself - once again and as if she had to - that this was her village leader. "Hai. Roshi reported that he had been in a battle with Tobi and Kisame: the shark guy, ya know?" She cleared her throat and tried to be more professional and look her father in the eyes. For a second, she wondered where the blue in them came from. "Samehada, Kisame's sword, repeatedly took his chakra. Roshi was prepared for it since something similar happened in the past, but he didn't know Tobi's abilities."
Minato nodded, feeling sick. So that's where you were, Obito. "Continue."
"Han, Kokuo's jinchuuriki, arrived late in the battle, and Roshi and I are concerned about him." Naruto looked at her father, wondering what he was thinking.
He couldn't help but smile painfully when he saw his daughter looking up at him with almost watery blue eyes. Clearing his throat, he sat down in the chair across from her bed. "The Yamanakas looked at the minds of the missing ROOT nins that were killed at their battle site. Han got away safely, and it was the ROOT nins that ended up saving Roshi, although they lost their lives, battling Han and the Akatsuki."
"I wonder if Han and Kokuo are still okay, though," Naruto said worriedly. "If Tobi and Kisame were working together and in the area," she began but changed course mid-sentence. "Why would they go after him when last time they had to take Kurama's siblings from Shukaku on up, in order. In order of tails, ya know," she explained.
"I'm afraid that the Akatsuki may be grasping at anything they can get right now," Minato replied. "And that's what makes them more dangerous. They may be willing to kidnap the jinchuurikis and wait until they have all nine of you."
"Us," Naruto said, reminding him of his status. She wondered why her father's part of Kurama wasn't reaching out to her and could admit that it stung a little. She loved him, too, no matter what. "Gaara and Shukaku need help first! There's no WAY he can keep those sandstorms up 24/7."
Minato agreed but did not want to let Naruto spend any more time in Wind Country than she'd be forced to as the Kazekage demanded as a part of their ongoing negotiations. "Pakura-sama is a formidable kage, and I have it on good authority that she is keeping Gaara and Fu close by or monitored."
Naruto nodded but didn't look convinced. "I need to send them a toad."
"No need. You'll be taking our ambassadors back to Suna as soon as Tsunade-hime says you're a hundred percent."
Naruto couldn't help but smile a little. It would be good to see Gaara and Fu again.
"Naruto," Minato said, grasping his hands together, "I am going to be formally introduced to the entire population again, the day after tomorrow. I would like very much if… Would it be too much to ask to have you at my side?"
Naruto thought about it and became flustered when she could only think of one thing: family. It's what she had always wanted, more than anything. "Pack sticks together. If Kakashi, Ero-sennin, and Baa-chan are at my side, I can do it," she said quietly. She realized afterward that she was blushing furiously.
"I'm glad to hear that," Minato said as he blinked away tears.
"Then we'll have a family dinner together," Naruto said, suddenly feeling demanding.
"Oh," Minato exclaimed, feeling both surprised and delighted. Naruto looked so cute, pouting in a challenging way, her chin jutting out just like Kushina's used to as she looked out the window. He moved forward a little in his chair but Naruto almost flinched back into her pillows. She seemed fearful, but at least she was giving him a chance! "Thank you."
"No problem," she replied, waving her hand as if it was no big deal and her heart wasn't pounding. She was an emotional mess about this stuff with him. "What's your favorite food, anyway?"
"Ramen," he said for more than one reason.
"Well, crap. I can't make ramen as well as Ichirakus does, and I've given up trying," she admitted. "So you'll have hotpot and maybe some barbecue - and you'll fucking like it!"
Minato held back a flinch at her language and attitude but then began quietly laughing. "Yes, ma'am. Whatever you say."