Naruto: Stray

By ghettomusick23

Summary: AU – After a month on the road Naruto and Haku finally found the information they set out for and returned home. After a little rest the next morning doesn't herald good news.

Chapter 02 – 2 Messages

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its many money making properties.

" " – Speech

Italics – Thoughts

"Temari, when did you become such a sap?"

He felt her tense up and immediately tightened his hold on her. Bringing her back to settle against his chest he leaned his head against the tree they were lounging against and silently wished something non-life threatening would happen to keep Naruto from spoiling the moment.

"Well, I would say it was about the same time you learned how to be a decent ninja."

He didn't up look because the sputtering and angry outburst was enough to clue him in. Sometimes Naruto was far too easy, at least when it came to arguing with certain women.

Point one, Temari.

"Last time I checked me and Haku royally kicked your ass," He paused, index finger idly tapping his chain. "I'm sorry I forgot, wasn't it you that had to take your exam three times to graduate to Chuunin?"

"You asshole!"

So much for Naruto being easy. Point two and three, Naruto.

That one hit the mark. He could see the muscles tightening in her neck and her rigid posture were clear signs that a fight was going to break out. It felt like watching his brother and his girlfriend fight over the most mundane situations, which in a way they were and they did.

Any other day he would have let them go at it, they always did anyway but after a month of constant travel and the most recent bombshell he came to visit her for some peace of mind and soothing of his soul. Why he still imagined that when Naruto opted to tag along baffled him.

Lightly rubbing his thumb across her stomach, he started dropping light kisses along the back of her neck trying to ease the agitation out of her. He figured the reason they couldn't get along was because give or take a few personality traits they were too alike. Standoffish, confrontational, proud, and tempers that were hot enough to fuel an entire village. Temaris inert pride was bad enough that he found himself praying for her safety on several occasions when he left.

When she settled back against him releasing a sigh he sent a glare toward his friend that clearly meant sit down and shut up, but went Naruto smiled back Haku was already bracing himself for the assault. Uncurling one of his arms he reached over and grabbed Temari's fan, sitting it up against the tree.

"Haku, out of all the women that throw themselves at you how did you end up with the troll?"

Her anger was swift in coming. Quickly rising from the pit of her stomach she latched onto the feeling. She easily broke out of his one armed hold, grabbing her fan in one smooth motion and took off after the rapidly retreating Naruto, easily trailing his maniacal laughter. He could already see several trees being uprooted no doubt Temaris' handy work.

It looked like they were going to have to leave a little early. When she was that angry she could easily decimate a good little bit of land and it would do neither of their groups any good by getting caught associating with one another.

Turning to the silent figure on his left, Haku asked the question that had been plaguing his thoughts recently.

"Are you sure there are only three of you? I believe your father failed to inform you all of a possibly abandoned brother."

Gaara wasn't one to find amusement in a lot of things, but the recurring arguments and fights between his sister and Naruto were… interesting.

"I guess he really did it this time."

Gaara nodded his head, his mind trailing along the same lines.

"You made need to take him for medical treatment when he returns."

"I don't think it's going to get that bad."

There was another explosion and a very male sounding voice screaming for all its worth.

"She won't kill him."

From the lack of response, Haku gathered that Gaara didn't share the same sentiments. Easing back into comfortable silence Haku took the time out to regard the newly appointed Jounin.

The very first thing that caught his eye was the absence of the sand gourd. He chalked it up to two reasons. Either the Sand-nin was relaxed enough to let his guard down around them now or he learned a way to create and manipulate the sand some other way. The former wasn't impossible though hard to believe and the latter was more than plausible. His eyes were drawn to the slight swirling of dust and dirt directly under the Gaara.

Secondly the black rings he noticed were much smaller than the last time they were able to meet face-to-face. He really hoped that it was a sign of his increasing ability to control the demon Shukaku. There were days when Naruto's seal fluctuated and the demon was far more pronounced than normal. When anything intentional or not would easily escalate in a deadly confrontation and nothing short of Itachi or Noriko knocking him unconscious would stop him from causing anybody serious bodily harm. With that in mind and Temaris recollection of their childhood was enough for him to give Gaara his eternal respect. If anyone knew hardship it was him and Gaaras dive into madness was more than understandable.

"Is there is a different reason for your visit."

Haku didn't bother pretending to act shocked or think of what to say. They deserved to know. It was part of the reason he made the journey.

"Orochimaru is about to move again. He's been recruiting a lot of upper level shinobi in preparation of an attack. We don't know where but more than likely it's going to be Konohagakure. I'd say in two months max he'll launch an attack."

He took it like he expected him to, in stride, nothing but the involuntary blinking letting him know that was still breathing.

"What course of action do you and your companions plan on enacting."

"They think he isn't worth getting too wrapped up about and decided to leave him alone."

Gaara turned to him and gave him a look as if he'd grown another head, but he could understand his reasons. What Gaara didn't understand was the way of thinking in the Akatsuki. Naruto, Noriko, and himself tried giving multiple reasons why leaving the snake Sannin alone wasn't a wise choice, but their arguments fell on deaf ears. Why? Because nobody feared him, nobody even regarded him as a threat to the organization.

One or two of them might actually detest the body stealing shinobi but the general feeling was contempt for his cowardice and fleeing. His departure was before his own arrival but if Naruto was correct then Itachi was the least of Orochimarus worries nowadays.

"I know it may sound off-key but nobody seems phased at all. The general consensus is let him be, as long as he doesn't confront any of us."

Gaara shook his head, opting not to voice his opinion on how foolish he thought they were.

"What are his allies, if any?"

"We don't know of anybody as of yet, but more than likely it's got to be Kumogakure."

Haku noticed the sands pattern changing from the slow, rhythmic swirling to a much more erratic pattern before the sand-nin spoke.

"It has been four years. With the recent cutback if we are attacked we will lose."

Silence descended upon them once again and Haku didn't offer any sound advice or give out any placating gestures. His concern wasn't for the nearly invulnerable shinobi and his problems, but for the young woman that was currently dragging a badly bruised Naruto by his collar toward their location.

She made her way toward them and watched with a sharp eyed gaze occasionally switching between her brother and her boyfriend and almost instantly picked up the weird vibe. Dropping Naruto face first into the grass, she walked forward and came to a halt in front of Haku. Rather than become a focal point for her left over anger he smartly stretched his legs and giving her room enough to sit and resume her former position.

He looked over at his friend and started to worry when he didn't see any movement.

"You didn't kill him did you?"

She took her time answering his question. Settling into his warm embrace, laying the crown of her head into the crook in his neck she tried to get rid of her all too permanent scowl.

"No, but he might not be waking up for a while."

"How did you catch him?"

She twined her fingers with his before answering in a softer voice repressed with laughter.

"He was so busy laughing out loud like some lunatic and throwing insults all it took was one well directed attack to send him flying into a tree."

Her story was almost too ridiculous to believe if he didn't know Naruto. The Akatsuki's number one prankster was far from being perfectly coordinated. He'd advanced as far as he did strictly through grit, heart, and trial and error.

"How can you two even get along?"

With all due respect he didn't think she had much room to talk and Gaaras very pronounced snort let him know he wasn't the only one thinking along those lines. Instead of voicing his thought he opted on a far less combustible statement.

"He's nowhere as energetic when you're not around."

Granted Gaara was a whole lot easier to deal with since his defeat to Naruto, she was still on edge around him sometimes so instead of trying to menace her younger brother she glared at her smirking boyfriend.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He had the smarts to play and not answer the question at all. His intelligence extended well beyond the battlefield.

Naruto stood, grumbling something about angry, mean spirited women before he drew a withering glare from Temari and a pleading look of peace from his friend, but before he could do anything in retaliation movement drew their attention. They watched as Gaara stood, motioned for the silent Naruto to follow and started off toward what he figured was a very small village a short distance from them.

Naruto waited several seconds contemplating whether to press his luck one last time before giving up in favor of not receiving another lump on his head. They had plenty of time before they left for him to get his revenge.

When she was sure they were out of earshot she grabbed Haku's hand and place it against her stomach. It wasn't easy for her to let her guard down with everyone around them. Even if they were her boyfriends' best friend and her little brother she was just hard wired to constantly be on guard around them, with demons sealed inside of them capable of easily destroying a country who wouldn't be. She didn't know how Haku would take it but he was always calm and collected and the last thing she wanted to do was make him uncomfortable.

But even with his gentle and caring nature she could never forget who he really was. The slash through the Hidden Mist symbol on his forehead was a loud, almost constant reminder that he was a fugitive, an extremely dangerous one. His companions were S-rank criminals that gave even the Kages pause and he was continually hunted by unknown third parties.

Even with all that she loved him, more than she ever intended to. Her curiosity was what led her to this point and now she was unsure of the direction they were heading in.

"When will you be coming back?"

He hated when she asked him that, because he could never give her an answer. He visited every chance he could but there was no humanly way possible to predict when he could return. It could be one month or several depending on what the higher ups wanted. Despite what he wanted the mission always came first.

"I don't know. There is a situation that may need our attention whether we want to give it or not."

She turned around, straddling his legs and locked gazes with him looking for the unheard in his sentence. He had the female protection gene flaw in his system just like almost every other male she knew. If there was trouble coming she would have to draw it out of him.

"Does Gaara know?"

He didn't break eye contact.

"Yeah."

"Does it concern us?"

He narrowed his eyes, not surprised but still slightly annoyed at her wordy manipulation.

"In a way."

She took both hands and cradled his face in her palms.

"Are you in trouble?"

That was a loaded question if there ever was one. Naruto was always in trouble and being his partner he indirectly became a target, but that was no different than one or three years ago. Naruto would be hunted till his deathbed and even then he doubted his friend would be able to rest in peace.

"No."

Temari didn't believe him. Tilting her head she pressed a small kiss to his neck and decided to change course. A small part of her conscience secretly didn't want to know what trauma was about to befall them. Callous as it may have sounded she would rather enjoy the moment. Lately they were coming few and far in between and his presence was easily erasing two months of built up tension.

"I meant to ask you earlier but where is Kankuro."

"Mission."

He smiled at her tight lipped response. Her foul mouthed brother was obviously the last person she wanted to comment on. It seemed she hadn't gotten over his shampoo swapping stunt from a couple of months ago.

"You plan on taking the special admission exam?"

"Haku."

"Hmm," he replied while idly running his hand down her back.

"Shut up."

She felt hi chest rumble with repressed laughter. For him to be so straight faced and calm he could talk a whole lot and she had no doubt it was from always being around that damn Naruto.

If she didn't live with two brothers who personalities were on opposite ends of the spectrum she would have wondered how did he function with the stamina freak sround 24-7.

"Do you think about the future?"

His hand stopped and she felt his body stiffen. She didn't know why she asked the question now of all times but she needed to know where his thoughts were now. Two months was a long time and it took only days for people to change.

"In our line of work isn't it smart to just focus on the next couple of hours."

It was sad that he could relate to her brother more than he could her. She couldn't think of anything to ease the tightening in her chest so she decided to display her affection and kissed is neck again.

"I love you."

"I know."

He couldn't offer her the answer she needed. His heart no longer carried an emotion strong enough to be labeled love. What was his; was hers. If needed he would gladly forfeit his life for her safety but he could only let his actions speak for him and for that he hated himself.

She raised her head from his neck and cupped his face once again. He was so beautiful that at times she found herself jealous, hesitant to stand next to him. She knew there were others before her, a point Naruto continually nailed home, and they may have given even Noriko competition but he was hers. Only hers and she continually made sure he knew.

Bringing her face barely centimeters apart she let her lips grace his in a phantom kiss.

Haku closed his eyes as her tongue slowly traced his lips before descending upon his own. Relaxing, he allowed her the freedom of taking the lead. Her hands entangled themselves in his hair and he could feel the increasing urgency in her kisses. Using one arm he pulled her tighter against him and brought the other under her shirt to trail a path down her spine.

She shuddered against him and pulled away from his lips to regain the ability to breath. He was laving kisses across her collarbone while rubbing agonizingly slow circles on her back and thighs, drawing her attention to too many places at once. Almost at once the compulsion, no the need to see his face came over her and she stopped his ministrations and brought his face in to view.

His eyes were hooded, glazed with desire and if that wasn't enough for her his very prominent arousal was pressing in on her backside. She stared into his eyes reveling in the feeling of the moment and the union between them.

"I love you."

His expression didn't change but she could feel the difference in him. He tucked his head against her neck and sighed.

"I know."

Smiling to herself she relaxed against him, cradling his head and combing through his hair. Two months was a damn long time and this just wouldn't be enough. Temari ease herself from his embrace, mischief shining in her eyes and took of her top.

"Now Haku, show me how much you missed me."

Naruto didn't try to fill the void with conversation. His current companion was the poster child for giving somebody the silent treatment.

The little non-descript village they were currently in was almost barren its population was so small. He looked to Gaara for an explanation before looking around.

"This village was built when the giant oasis we are currently on was found. A few years ago a sandstorm suddenly appeared and swept through the village, nearly wiping out the whole population. What you see here are the survivors who chose to stay and rebuild."

It wasn't the first time he'd ever laid eyes on a disaster site and he knew it wasn't going to be his last but the sight always gave him a wrong feeling. Having everything you ever worked for taken away by some random force was something he couldn't begin to relate but it brought a humility that several of his associates seemed to have forgotten.

"Why the hell they aren't getting any help?'

Gaara frowned at Narutos tone of voice but decided to answer instead of play upon the swift thought of snapping his neck.

"The reason the military was scaled down was because of a shortage of internal funding. The government is looking for ways to keep money in their pockets and reducing the workforce of the village is their favorite option."

Naruto thought about it before turning toward the Jounin. Something about his statement didn't make sense.

"I thought the villages funded themselves by going on missions and whatnot."

Stopping in front of a food stand, Gaara took a seat and handed the watress a hand full of money before speaking.

"That's true to some extent. The hidden village is sometimes thought of as an independent entity. When in reality it's merely an extension of the government, its own personal military."

Looking at the menu Naruto spotted the only dish he would ever need and ordered an extra large bowl. From this little stop alone Gaara had managed to move up a good five space on his favorite people list. Something Itachi hadn't managed in eight years.

"What happened to the gourd?"

Nodding at the waitress as she delivered his bowl of miso soup, Gaara eyed his meal for several seconds before taking a well measured spoon full; childishly delighting in the frustrated glower coming from the patience absent Naruto.

"I have managed to gain a more acceptable level of discipline over my powers."

Satisfied and happy with the simple answer Naruto wholeheartedly dived into his bowl of ramen.

"Th:t's g:'ood, I'm gl'd yo:'r, ge+ng better."

Years own iron tight mental discipline prevented him from showing how disgusted he was at Nrautos eating habits. He'd known him so long that his lack of anything resembling decent manners was somehow expected.

Naruto made to open his mouth full of food to speak again when a red hot flare of pain shot through his skull. So agonizing he barely registered his flailing arms knocking over his bowl of ramen away or his body falling off the stool and coming into hard contact with the ground. Grabbing his head in a vain attempt to ease the throbbing it took everything in him not to let out an agonizing scream.

Someone was trying to break through his mental shield. Quickly crashing through his barriers layer by layer but they were going about with the subtlety of a rank Genin. Not trying to hide the intrusion or their location in anyway.

'Hmm, hmm, hmm. Naruto-kun what are you doing all the way out here?'

He was angry, pissed off more than ever. An invasion of privacy was bad but to let the traitor run rampant in his own mind was unforgivable. He could feel the Kyuubi begin to rear its head, eager and willing for any reason to cause destruction.

'Orochimaru.'

His voice was laced in poisonous mirth. Far too happy in catching who he considered the Akatsuki's favorite lapdog unaware.

'I though I'd pay you a little visit since I was already around.'

The pain was slowly receding, the demonic chakra involuntarily flaring up and quickly countering the invasion of its host. The fox had something of a protective streak in him, probably because of the fact that if the body died- the spirit would go right along with it.

He was slowly getting his bearing and frowned at the taste of dirt and gravel in his mouth. That bastard had really did a number on him and without laying a single punch. Oh Itachi would have his hide if he ever found out about this one. Making sure his mental walls were redoubled and reconstructed he turned toward the stone faced Sand-nin. Naruto tried easing the tension out of his bunched shoulders and only partially succeeded.

"Tell Haku to meet me. Don't ask where because he'll know where I'll be."

Only a fool wouldn't suspect a trap, but for whatever reason the bastard, that was his official name now, had purposely sought them out. Naruto prided himself on the fact that he never disappointed and he would make sure it would be Orochmarus final mistake in calling him out.

"We got a reptile problem that needs to be addressed."

AUTHOR'S NOTES

I got to give credit in this chapter because I failed to do it in the last. The name for the bloodline Noriko has, I have to thank Geno Calamri; the god of everything Sakura and Naruto. I tried emailing him for permission so if you're reading or if anybody contacts him drop a word and I'll change it if need be.

Also the fight scene was getting a little too long and involved so it had to have a chapter all on its own, sorry. Hopefully because of the winter breaks coming up and college somewhat slacking off I can update sooner.

Lastly but not least, if anyone has any information on the rest of the Akatsuki members, along with bloodlines, jutsus, and anything in between give me a shout out. In all honesty I want to keep the OC's to a bare minimum and I can't wait for the manga or this story will never take off.