Time Apart Chapter 6
Sakura watched from the distant tree line as Naruto finished the match, beating Kakashi. He really has gotten strong, she thought to herself. She was sitting on a branch, idly swinging her legs back and forth as she watched her ex-teammate test for Jounin. She had spent a lot of time thinking about what had gone on between them last night. She didn't think she was ready to speak with him yet.

She watched with curiosity as he walked over to the collection of their friends, met with cheers. He would be the third one of them to make Jounin. Probably only because he had been away. She couldn't believe the progress he had made; from dead last, to this highly skilled ninja that fought in front of her. She watched him smiling easily and talking to Hinata and Rock Lee. Moments later the three went off, along with that fox that had been following him around.

"Don't you want to talk to him?" Kakashi asked from behind her. His sudden appearance was enough to scare her into falling off her branch. Landing roughly on her backside, she grimaced as she stood up.

"No," she said. Kakashi cocked his head to the side, and then joined her on the ground.

"Why not? You were friendly enough when you were on my team. As I recall, he had quite a crush on you," Kakashi said. It had been years since Team 7 had done anything. When Sasuke left and Naruto was considered dead, Kakashi knew his team was irreparable. Tsunade had taken Sakura as an apprentice, and Kakashi was left doing solo missions, or missions with other high level ninja.

"We already talked. He isn't the same," Sakura said cryptically. Kakashi nodded.

"If by that you mean that he has grown up, then yes. He's had some rough times in his day. You don't know the half of it. Being betrayed by Sasuke probably hurt him the deepest," Kakashi said. As always, when anyone mentioned Sasuke around Sakura she tensed up.

"He didn't betray us! He was tricked. He is still redeemable," she said, at this point trying to convince herself more than anything.

Kakashi sighed. "Sakura, Sasuke isn't coming back. He was tricked, but not how you think. Even the council has agreed that he is at least an A class missing nin. If seen, he is to be brought back dead or alive." That brought tears to her eyes. "Naruto is back now. We thought we lost him, but we didn't. He came back, stronger than ever, at a time when we need skilled shinobi more than anything."

"I told Sasuke I loved him before he left," she sobbed. "Naruto promised he would bring him back! When neither returned…" She cried harder. Inside, she railed against herself for being weak. Kakashi put his hand on her back in comfort.

"Naruto couldn't help what happened. Neither could you. It's stupid to blame him or yourself. Blame me for not being there in time. Blame Oroshimaru for tempting him. Blame Sasuke for actually causing this," Kakashi said. "Whatever happened between you and Naruto since his return isn't worth it."

Sakura wiped the tears from her face. Kakashi was right. It was stupid of her to be mad at Naruto. It was selfish of her to think that she was the only one who was betrayed. Thinking back on the scar that adorned Naruto's chest, she decided that she wouldn't be mad at him for searching out Sasuke in his own way. It just meant that she had to get to him first.

"If you need to talk, you know where to find me," Kakashi said in parting. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei," she said to the air. Sakura stood up, with new determination in her step, and walked towards the Hokage's office.

Naruto almost laughed aloud when he saw Kit trapped in Hinata's arms. Somewhere along the way, the fox had stopped struggling, and the end result was Hinata carrying him all the way to Hokage's office. Once they arrived, she put him down, and he immediately scampered over to Naruto, hiding behind his legs.

"Kit is such a sweetie!" Hinata said, full of sugar. Tsunade's eyes met Naruto's and they shared a knowing look and a wink. Having a seat, the three ninjas prepared for their briefing. Tsunade cleared her throat and started.

"First things first. This mission team is under the command of our new Jounin, Uzumaki Naruto. Hinata and Rock Lee, you have both been chosen because of your knowledge of his condition. The mission I am assigning to you is considered an A class," she paused, and ruffled through some papers for a moment. Getting out a file and some photographs, she continued. "We received these two days ago by carrier pigeon." Handing the pictures to Naruto, she leaned back in her chair.

"Sasuke!" Naruto hissed. The picture showed what was undoubtedly a small town, probably on the outskirts of the fire country. The marketplace was busy with people, but one in particular was circled. Wearing the traditional Sound uniform, this person, who was undoubtedly Sasuke, stood flanked by two other Sound ninjas. Growling, Naruto passed the photos to his other two teammates. Tsunade continued her briefing.

"Accompanying the photograph, was a letter from the head of the town council. Apparently, the Sound ninjas have suppressed the town, and are using it as a launching point for other attacks. The letter says that many of the citizens were killed, but a few were left alive to continue farming."

Hinata gasped, her hand going to her mouth. "Those poor people."

Rock Lee, who had been unusually quiet this whole time piped in, "Hokage-sama, why only send three ninja's?"

"Because your mission isn't to liberate the town," she answered. Tsunade got a map out of her drawer and rolled it out on her desk. Pointing at another town several miles away, she continued, "Jiraiya is stationed here, heading up our intelligence people. My guess is that he already knows about the attack, and is trying to counter, but we haven't heard from him. Your mission is to get in contact with Jiraiya, and help to counter the attacks that Sasuke's group is engaging in. Your secondary mission is to kill Uchiha Sasuke, or take him alive if possible. Keep them busy, and in about three weeks I will have most of my Jounins back in from all their missions. We will meet up and liberate the village."

Naruto nodded. So we are a diversion. Getting the attention of Sasuke by countering his attacks into our territory. We keep him busy until Tsunade can rally the strength to oust him completely. After a moment, he stood up. "We leave tomorrow morning at 0800. Meet me at the gates with your packs, ready to go. We travel light, and fast." He turned to Tsunade and flashed a smile, "We will have a successful mission."

Sakura had been planning on talking to Naruto after he left Tsunade's office. That's why she was in the hall. That's why she overheard the name Sasuke. That's why she decided to get her things packed and follow them. Sasuke would listen to her this time. He had to, or Naruto was going to kill him.

Hinata was the happiest girl in the world. Yesterday she discovered that the boy she had looked up to, and had a crush on, throughout most all of her childhood, was alive. Then she discovered he was a hero, a capable fighter, and really handsome as well. Now today, she had been told that she was going on a prolonged mission with him. The only problem right now was herself. She had always wanted to say things, but they never got out. She always wanted to do things, but then she would second guess herself and mess everything up.

I have to do this right, she thought to herself. This could be my only chance to win Naruto's love, and I am going to do whatever it takes. She was walking the nearly empty streets home, pepping herself up for the coming mission. I can handle this. I can show Naruto that I am strong, like him. Over the last several years, Hinata had spent considerable amounts of her free time both training her body, and training her mind.

She was trying desperately to break out of the shell that she had made for herself. Though it seemed that no matter what she did, it was never enough to please her father. Every day, she left early in the morning, and every day, she returned home after dark in order to avoid him. She trained hard, but Hiashi never saw it. He was too busy teaching Hanabi, or spending time perfecting Neiji's techniques. Today though, she had to go straight home in order to pack.

Walking into the compound, she was surprised to see Hiashi waiting for her. "Good evening father," she said, bowing low. Hoping to avoid a conversation, she started to walk by him to get to her room.

"Wait," he said, his command halting her immediately. "I've been told you were involved in the coup two days ago." He said. Hinata thought for a moment that her father might have noticed something she had done as praise-worthy. Those thoughts were shot down quickly. "You know about the Uzumaki boy now. You must know why I have never approved of your obsession with him."

She winced. Had she been that obvious that even her father noticed? She looked down to the ground in embarrassment. "I-I don't think there is anyth-," she was cut off.

"You don't think do you!" he shouted. "You are part of the greatest clan in this village. I will not have you fawning after demons!" His accusation stung Hinata. For the first time in her life, she was so angry that she had the courage to stand up to him.

"He isn't a demon! You should be thankful for him!" she shouted, tears starting to form. She could see the cold fury in his eyes, and knew that she had gone too far. He raised his hand to strike her, and she closed her eyes. The blow never landed.

"Release me, now," her father said menacingly. Opening her eyes, Hinata saw Neiji holding her father's wrist. He was still dressed in his Anbu uniform.

"You will not hit her," Neiji said. After a moment, he released his uncle's wrist. If it actually came to a fight, Neiji had no fantasies that he could win. Sometimes a ninja did what was needed, without thinking of personal safety first.

"So you defend him as well?" Hiashi asked coldly.

"I defend what is right. Should we be glad that you were on a mission two nights ago? Would you have sided with them?" Neiji asked. Hinata could feel the situation spiraling out of control. Before her father could incriminate himself, she spoke.

"That isn't important. I am here to pack my things. I am leaving on a mission tomorrow. Excuse me." The two men parted as she walked quickly down the hallway to her room. She could here Hiashi telling Neiji not to expect any more training, as she finally reached her room. She closed the door, and started crying. What was I thinking, talking back to father? After a few minutes, she collected herself and gathered what she would need for the trip.

She wasted no time. She wasn't about to stay here tonight while her father was still so angry. Throwing her things out the window, she was right behind them. She ran down the street, until she finally caught up with Neiji.

"Thank you," she said, falling into step beside him.

"You really have it bad for Naruto don't you?" Neiji asked. "I've never heard you talk back to Hiashi like that."

She nodded her head silently. Her and Neiji had grown closer over the years, and they were more like brother and sister now. Ever since Naruto beat him in the Chuunin exam, he had changed.

"You can stay in my apartment tonight," he offered. She nodded.

"Thank you," she said.

Sasuke, Naruto thought. The name went through his head over and over as he walked alone, back to his apartment. He'd had eight years for the pain of the betrayal to subside, but it hadn't really. Every time he thought about it, his anger would flare up. I won't miss my chance this time. I won't falter or pull my punches. That jerk has caused too much pain in this village for that.

Kit followed close behind. He knew what Naruto was probably thinking about. Having heard his thoughts for twenty years, he knew Naruto's mind pretty well. He was pretty anxious to pay that Uchiha brat back himself. Not that he could really do anything in his current body, but that new jutsu Naruto was working on was promising.

"Can you believe that Hinata girl picked me up! Like a housecat!" Kit complained when they finally reached Naruto's apartment. Naruto didn't respond. He was busy packing his bags. "I bet Kakashi was surprised by some of those moves you pulled." Naruto still didn't respond, lost in thought. "HEY!" Kit shouted.

"What?" Naruto said finally. "Can't you see I am busy!" He threw another couple shirts in his bag.

"Look, you are going to have to be clear headed to pull this off. That brat has been training with Orochimaru for four years. You've got experience on him, but he isn't alone, and neither are you," Kit said. Naruto sat down in a huff.

"I can't believe what I am hearing. A several thousand year old demon advocating clear thought and looking after my teammates," Naruto said. "Got a soft spot for one of them? Hinata huh? She is cute, I will admit that."

Kit growled. "I am several thousand years old, so you should listen to me. I'm not about to let us get killed because you are so focused on Sasuke that you get ambushed." Naruto was normally a pretty upbeat guy. He only got like this when he thought about Sasuke. He took a deep breath and sat down.

"You're right," Naruto said. "I've never led a team before. I need to do this right. Besides, he might not even still be there when we arrive."

Rock Lee woke up early in the morning. He was excited that he was going to be going on an A class mission. Not many chuunin got the opportunity. He was definitely looking forward to it, and soon, he would be able to apply to test for Jounin again. The last time he did it, everything was going well until his opponent caught him in a genjutsu. Every now and then he would try practicing some jutsu out on the practice field, but as usual, nothing happened. He entered the kitchen.

"Good morning Gai-sensei," Lee said to his idol, who was now his adopted father. Gai was cooking a large breakfast, as usual. He always claimed that a good breakfast and early rising made a ninja great. Just one of the many sayings of Gai's that Lee had written in his notebook.

"Good morning Lee. Are you prepared for your mission?" Gai asked, scooping an assortment of food onto Lee's plate. Lee nodded while eating hungrily. "Good. Remember, if you must fight the Sharingan, stare at his feet, and fight with burning passion. If you do these things, you cannot fail!"

Lee stood up from the table and flashed Gai a thumbs up. "I won't fail Gai-sensei!" he said. The pair finished breakfast, and then they headed out to the practice field for warm ups. When they arrived, Naruto was there already, sparring with a single clone while his pet fox looked on. As the combat moved back and forth, the fox would calmly follow it. Lee could have sworn that he saw the fox nodding occasionally.

Lee spent some time on push-ups and sit-ups before he began punching his log. After he and Gai had warmed up, they started sparring together. Lee always enjoyed sparring with Gai, because he was really his only equal in terms of Taijutsu. Of course he hadn't had the chance to spar with Naruto, but he imagined it would come soon. As usual, the two of them fell into a rhythm of attack and counterattack, punches and kicks.

He heard Naruto shout, "See you at the gates," as he left, but he wasn't really paying attention. After a few more minutes of sparring, Gai stopped.

"Enough, it's time to go. I have a meeting with the Hokage," the larger man said. Lee nodded. He jogged back to his house to gather his things, and then headed for the gate.

When Hinata woke up, Neiji was already gone. She quickly took a shower and got dressed. Gathering her things, she grabbed a quick bite to eat and ran out the door. Walking through town, she was delighted to see the members of the council that were involved in the coup two days ago picking up trash. Two Chuunin that had returned were guarding them, shouting at them to work faster. She was glad to see that their punishment had continued.

When she neared the gate, she saw that Naruto and Lee were already there. Noticing that Naruto's pet was missing, the first thing she asked upon arrival was, "Where is Kit?"

Naruto smiled, and pointed down the street. "Getting breakfast," he said. Hinata's gaze followed his finger, and she saw Kit trotting down the street, one fish in his mouth. She giggled.

"Somehow, I doubt that he paid for that," Lee said. Moments later, the fish seller rounded the corner, chasing after him. The fox ran faster, and Naruto went out to meet them.

"That pest stole my fish!" the man said, obviously hoping to get Naruto to stop the animal. When Kit stopped and crouched behind Naruto the man figured it out.

"Oh, he's yours." Noticing the whisker marks on Naruto's face, the man took a step back. "K-keep it, I don't want any trouble with your fox."

Hinata's face fell. There were still people who feared Naruto. Now there were even more superstitious about him, thanks to the fox that followed him around. She had heard some people even whispering that Kit was the demon. She had already considered that, but then decided that Kit was way too cute for that.

"No, it's ok. I will pay for it," Naruto said, reaching back into his wallet. "How much?"

The man eyed Naruto's full purse and said, "Ten." Hinata knew that was a lie.

"You sell them to my family for five," she said. The man looked at her for a second, and then recognizing her eyes, bowed.

"Forgive me Hyuuga-sama! I did not know you were with him," he said, panicked now.

"Hinata, it's ok," Naruto said. He handed the man a ten piece and said, "Now get out of here." The fish seller complied. "I'm used to paying more than everyone else." He turned to Kit. "You need to stop making trouble for me. I thought you were going to hunt for your breakfast. I always knew you were lazy."

Hinata watched in amazement as Kit seemed to understand the words, and growled at Naruto. He must be really smart like Akamaru, she thought to herself. She walked over and gave him a pat on the head. Then turned to Naruto.

"Let's get going," she said.

"Yeah," Naruto said. Walking back to the gates to join Rock Lee, Naruto got his map out of his pack. Once he was confident that he had memorized the way to their first night stop, he put it back in his pack. After Kit had finished devouring his fish, he jumped up on Naruto's back. "Let's do this thing!" he shouted. In moments, the three Konoha ninjas were zooming from tree to tree, on their way to their first mission as a team.

Sakura watched as Naruto's group sped off. Shouldering her pack, she walked out the gates slowly. She was going to take a different route than them, so there was no hurry. Instead of going to meet with Jiraiya, she only had one target, Sasuke.

Tsunade sat in her office, with her head down on her desk. I hope they can handle things. This is the first time Sasuke has been seen since his betrayal. Just as she was about to doze off, Shizune burst through the doors. Coming alert quickly, the Hokage shouted, "Can't you knock!"

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama. Sakura has not reported for her lesson with me today," the younger girl said. Being the Hokage meant being busy. For the more elementary lessons in medic techniques, Sakura went to Shizune.

"It's probably no big deal. Kakashi said she had some fight with Naruto, so she is probably just sulking. Give her a few hours, then check her apartment if she still hasn't shown up." Tsunade said, with a yawn.

The journey itself was really uneventful. Naruto was disappointed, and more than a little put off that there had been no brushes with Sound troops. Rock Lee had told him that he almost always ran into one or two small groups while he was out on missions. Days went by quickly, and the three of them talked during the journey. Hinata had really opened up in the last four years, and at least talked like a normal person now, minus the occasional stutter.

At night, Naruto would take the first watch. After the other two were asleep, he would go and practice the Beast Transformation with Kit. It was going to be important for Kit to become a useful part of the team if they were to fight a lot of high level Sound Ninjas. Naruto was good, but he couldn't handle more than two or three jounins at once.

In the first few days of travel, Naruto and Lee would get up early, and do their warm ups separately. Every morning, Rock Lee would watch Naruto fight a clone, although he never fought more than one anymore. The only time that Lee had seen him do more was that first morning. Soon enough, Hinata was also getting up early to join the boys in their warm up. After five days of travel, the group was pretty tight nit. Kit had finally resigned himself to being carried around by Hinata every now and then, and Naruto had decided that Kit secretly liked it, even though he complained about it every night.

After the sixth day of travel, Naruto's team arrived at the village where Jiraiya was supposed to be. It was time for the mission to begin.

Chapter 6 complete. Tomorrow is my wife's birthday, (the editor), so everyone please be sure to wish her a Happy Birthday. She works hard to fix all my stupid grammar mistakes. One day, she even says she is going to write her own fanfiction.

Anyway, as always, let me know what you think. More action soon, obviously. Cheers.