Chapter 3:Entering Sunagakure no Sato
The next morning~...
Tsuna was up before the sun could even rise.
The brunet woke up early to see if his trap had caught something and to prepare for departure.
And while he checked to see if his trap had caught anything,he left Natsu behind with Temari just in case something bad might happen.
Well,you never know,right?Anything could happen in the shinobi world.
Tsuna sighed tiredly.
Actually,he was planning to just create their breakfast with Mist flames,using real illusions.
(He dismissed the idea though as it might be a bad idea eating illusionary food made out of Mist flames all the time or something like that.)
...But he knew that it will only drain and exhaust him due to the fact that it is not his main attribute.
After all,he's been using Mist and Lightning flames since yesterday for necessities and protection:it was a surprise that he still hadn't collapse or fainted from exhaustion.
He also used Sun flames to heal Temari and a bit of Rain flames to numb the pain from the poison extraction,so...he felt a bit weary.
...Then again,he was trained by Reborn,so it was also expected that he shouldn't tire so easily;said hitman had took it upon himself to make sure that he can use every single one of the flame attribute,all except for the Earth flames which he had a difficulty in mastering.
The brunet couldn't help but wonder why he was so easily exhausted...then remembered that his parallel self was fighting mafia shinobi yesterday, a few minutes before he took over after they left when they thought that he had died.
...Which he did die.Just not the same Sawada Tsunayoshi that they knew,though!
After all,the reason why he was still bone tired was because his other self(the Tsunayoshi before him)had used up all of his flames in trying to keep himself alive;then when he failed to fight them and was nearing his death,he poured the last of his flames into his wish.
(He had made an empty grave and placed a headstone as a sign that his parallel self--which was the Tsuna of this world--had died,and it was to honor him,despite the fact that the grave was empty and he was in possession of the said body.)
Tsuna shook his head.
He should have remembered why he was tired after all...he must be slacking off if he can't remember important details then.
Tsuba blinked when he reached his destination.
It would seem that his trap had caught two four feet long rabbits.
"Wow...that's a big catch." He couldn't help to whistle in awe.
The brunet then proceeded to take them out of the traps and went to a nearby stream,skinning them before he began to make it bleed out and cleaning them with the stream's water before he set out to head back to the camp.
(Just a reminder,to those who wonder 'why is he suddenly in a forest when just a chapter ago,they were in a desert?'Well,obviously,they're in the forest where he woke up in and that's where they made camp. Tsuna made Natsu into a full-grown lion with his Sun flames to carry Temari and him to the forest so that it would be faster,before setting up camp.)
Humming the Tri-Ni-Sette to himself,Tsuna decided that he'd keep Reborn's fedora until said man takes it back himself.
There was a lingering question that he dare not conciously think too much of...will he ever see him and his guardians again?
Tsuna wasn't so sure about that:he could only hope that he will.
The brunet bit his lip and shook his head.
He'd never doubted his Hyper Intuition(well,maybe sometimes)and it had never let him down before;his guardians and Reborn were in this world too...he was sure of it.
He could feel the slight Harmonization with a slight bond made by his other self and this world's version of his guardians and Reborn.
Tsuna can feel it,though muffled it may be.
For now,he needed to focus on his present.
...Now where was that fruit tree that he saw before?
Groan.
A tired groan was heard from a bundle of sheets,shifting around as the owner of the bed roll sat up with a yawn.
Temari woke up in time to see the skies slowly turning to blue.
Disoriented,she looked around a bit to get a grip of her situation;before she finally remembered some of the events that transpired yesterday when she was snapped out of her trance by Natsu,who greeted her.
"Gao~!" Natsu mewled a greeting.
Temari stared at it for a while,her mind still rebooting.
"Ah...hey,Natsu." She greeted softly,petting him.
Natsu purred,rubbing his head against her hand.
Though when all of yesterday's events came rushing back,she jerked back to get to her feet.
Natsu jumped back in response in slight surprise at the sudden action.
"Gao,gao!"
She stumbled, about to tumble to hit the hard ground,when a pair of familiar and gentle hands grabbed hold of her just in time.
"Woah,easy there.You're not yet fully recovered from the poison that your body took in.I just discovered it last night before I went to sleep.So no sudden activities that might strain you,okay?" Tsuna explained,concerned.
Temari flushed at the closeness,before she stubbornly shook her head.
"I-i'm alright,Tsuna-san."
The brunet sighed at her stubborn personality:turning his head to the side,he briefly greeted his long-time partner,Natsu,who greeted back.
He then continued to slowly guide her and gently made her sit on the bed roll(mattress),before he picked up his catch and lay them near the fire place.
Tsuna also shook his head at the blonde.
"No,you're not.Stop acting tough and being so stubborn."
"I do not like being weak."
"I never said you were.Plus being unable to stand due to the poison doesn't mean that you're weak...sometimes,you just need to let your body rest." He sighed once again when he saw her trying to stand up.
Finally,he decided to make a deal with the kunoichi while smiling in exasperation.
"Ne,Temari-san...look.Once you've had a day or two of rest,then I'll allow you to get up and do whatever you want." He offered.
Temari furrowed her brows and opened her mouth to protest,but was cut off.
"Buuuut~!That's after we get to the village.Any activities before we reach the village for you to rest,I will add more days--perhaps even a week or two--to your resting days." He added hurriedly in a mischievious tone, smirking slightly.
"What?!That's unfair!" She gawked.
"No,it's not.It's actually a fair e on,it's not like resting will kill you!Whoever said that you can't get a day off whenever you get injured or something?Plus you need to let your body rest for a while to also naturally mend itself..." Tsuna reasoned out.
Temari thought for a moment and sighed before agreeing.
"Well...point taken."
Tsuna whistled cheerfully as he hummed a song or two every now and then despite the ongoing sandstorm,not at all fazed by how hard it was trying to blow him over.
Temari,seeing this,huffed in a worried manner as she shook her head in exasperation.
"You know...I still can't get over the fact that you're not even tired for who-knows-how-long while carrying me AND keeping up a barrier of these...flames."
Tsuna hummed for a moment,before chuckling.
"Well,I don't really mind carrying you;after all,you hardly weight to me.I am an adult,and you,a teen.Plus,I don't mind walking a mile or so as long as I finally see the village;all I've been seeing is deserts,forest,etc.The only other person that I've come across so far was you and those rouge shinobis.Honestly,my mind is still a bit muddled,so I find it hard to travel back to Suna." Tsuna said with a shrug,trudging along the shifting sands.
Then he added,
"As for the flames,we need protection from the harsh wind and the small particles of sand mixed in.I can't afford for you to get hurt than you already were."
Temaru huffed.
"I can handle myself,you know?I wasn't a kunoichi for nothing."
"Ah,but look who's being carried now~!" Tsuna teased,chuckling.
The blonde's face burned a deep scarlet in embarrassment.
"U-urusai!(S-Shut up!)"
After a few more days of walking,they finally made it to Sunagakure.
It was the first time that he personally(and not just from seeing it from his other self's memories)laid eyes on the village of Sunagakure and he was filled in wondrous awe by it.
For others,Suna might not look that impressive,beautiful,or even the slightest bit charming and might even be seen as a dry,ugly,poor place where all sorts of bad guys live in.
But to people who were like Tsuna,it was beautiful:there was this certain charm in it that draws you in like a moth to flame.
Splendid,even.
"Uwaah ...Kono bashō wa utsukushii desu!(Wow...this place is beautiful!)" He gasped in awe and wonder.
Temari chuckled at what he said.
"You're saying that like you haven't been living here for 21 years now!" She exclaimed and rolled her eyes at his excited expression.
"Well,yeah,but I'm usually away doing...who-knows-what,so it's been a while." Tsuna lied smoothly,mentally saying sorry for his white lie.
He wasn't exactly lying,but he wasn't telling the entire truth either.
Temari smiled at that as they slowly approached the village.
"...I've lived here for years now,and I still can't believe how beautiful it can be." She sighed contentedly, absentmindedly running her hands through the brunet's gravity defying fluffy hair.
Said brunet chuckled at this,amuse at the fact that the blond girl that he was carrying behind his back had gotten fond of his hair.
"You're lucky then...for someone living in this beautiful village." He commented,smiling warmly even though the other couldn't see his face.
"I guess I am--"
"Halt!Your papers and identifications?" A guard demanded,squinting through the terrible sandstorm at them.
"Yare,yare...don't be so demanding.You're gonna scare the people coming here by being so uptight about it..." Another yawned.
(These two guards are random mobs for now,but I will have use of them later.)
"Rufa,Fara!It's me,Temari!" The blonde snapped out,noticing that the other must be slacking off for they sounded like they were sleeping earlier.
The guards,Rufa and Fara,snapped to attention immediately and squinted their eyes at the silhouette(s) amidst the raging sandstorm.
When they came nearer,they were able to see the blonde...on the back of someone else?
"Daijōbu desuka,Temari-sama?Dōshita no?(Are you alright,Lady Temari?What happened to you?)" The two worriedly asked.
Temari nodded,slowly being helped down by the stranger(?)that she was riding on.
"Iie,shinpaishinaide,watashi wa genkidesu.(No,don't worry,I'm fine.)" She replied,letting herself to tiredly lean back for support against the young man.
Wait...the stranger looked familiar.
An ever present warm,charming smile...sunset orange orbs and gravity defying brown locks that seemed to stick up in every direction...a calm demeanor filled with grace and elegance...an aura that seemed to radiate with warm and kindness despite being a shinobi...
He didn't seem to be he slightest bit bothered by the sandstorm that threatened to blow them over,unfazed and calm despite the fact that there was sand everywhere and his head and face wasn't even protected by desert gear and was smiling ever so pleasantly.
"..."
"...E-eto...Temari-sama,who's that with you?"
Is that who they thought it was though?!
Temari paused,before turning slightly her companion;who smiled warmly and charmingly at the two guards.
The two kunoichi guards flushed at the warm smile aimed at them,awkwardly smiling back.
Temari turned to look at them again.
"Oh,this guy here--Tsunayoshi-san--is one of us:he's been gone for a year long mission and has finally come back.He actually got a bit lost in the desert,where he came across me after I got ambushed by rouge shinobi.I was lucky enough to have met him there,or worse...I could have died from the poisoned wound inflicted upon me." She replied as she bobbed her head in thanks towards the brunet while retelling her story and a bit of his'.
"Ah,but you can just call me 'Tsuna',though.Calling me by my full name,my last name or full first name is too much of a mouthful.I'd be delighted if you adressed me without any honorifics as well." Tsuna smiled that kind of smile that made any girl weak in the knees.
(Good thing that Temari had a bit of immunity to it!)
The two kunoichi gasped,both at the fact that Temari nearly died and the young man's identity:and of course,the smile,because who wouldn't?!
"W-what?!He's the Sawada Tsunayoshi?!The Young Lion?!The Legendary Cielo?!" They gaped in disbelief.
Temari looked a bit confused at the last title,but nodded.
"Well,yes,of course he is."
Tsuna gave them a closed-eyed smile,waving a hand at them in a friendly manner.
"Chaos."
Which made the three confused at his greeting,but the other two returned their greeting.
Then they remembered that the other had gotten injured earlier and they panicked.
"Ah!Daijōbo?!Ano...we can escort you to the hospital and inform Kazekage-sama!" Rufa exclaimed,glancing from time to time in adoration at the legendary shinobi within their midst.
Tsuna gave a slightly confused aura as he continued smiling on at the other two's attention:though he dreaded the fact that these two seemed to be another addition to his fanclub.
Temari shook her head.
"No,no.Really,its fine.You can just go back to what you were doing;Tsuna-san here will bring me to the hospital.Plus you can't just abandon your duty,I wouldn't want to do that." She replied with a tired smile.
The two other kunoichi hesitated,before saluting and nodding in agreement.
"Well...at least let one of us report this to Kazekage-sama?" Fara asked hopefully,concerned for her wellbeing.
"Fine.Go ahead then...we'll be going now." Temari sighed,nodding at them as she and the warmly smiling brunet went on.