Forgotten

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Naruto (Shippuden). This is a story inspired by the original made up for entertainment purposes only. - Krystal

Chapter 45: Feeling free

He was entered the village with roaring cheers as they were all delighted to see that he was well. He, however, asked for everyone to remain silent as he allowed for Chiyo's corpse to enter the village first before him. She was brought back into the village by her brother and Sakura with whom she had formed an unbreakable bond. Yuki and the rest of them followed them. Gaara was walking right by her side, concerned about how she was feeling, but dared not to say a word.

Chiyo was given a grand funeral as Gaara wanted everyone to know of her exploits. He wanted everyone to know of her sacrifices for the village. He also wanted to thank her for his own life. As everyone bid their farewell, Gaara and his siblings, as well as the rest of the Konohagakure shinobis, stayed back at Chiyo's tombstone. Sakura was still unwilling to leave. She stood there still as her eyes were unable to part with the engraved letters spelling out Chiyo's name. Naruto stood by her side as it was his only way to comfort her. Kakashi was leaning onto Gai as he was still recovering from his usage of the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Gaara suddenly tapped lightly on Yuki's shoulder who was standing apart from everybody else. She turned around and looked at him. He then grabbed her wrist and dragged her further away from everybody else and away from any looks. She followed him. There were many things that were left unsaid between them. They had to be said. As she followed him behind a tree, she saw in the corner of her eye that Neji was looking at them. As he noticed that she saw him, he quickly looked away as he lowered his chin towards his chest, his gaze now directed towards his feet. There were things that were also misunderstood between them.

When they were finally away from everybody's eyes, Gaara let go of her wrist. He gazed into her eyes. She looked away as she wasn't used to eye contact. Her eyes his many secrets and direct stares made her feel like they were able to read into her soul.

"If you need to cry, you should cry. Don't hold it back in." Gaara told her. "If you are scared, just say so. Don't hide it. If you don't want to talk about anything, don't. I'll just be here for you so you don't feel alone."

"I..."

"You told me those words once." Gaara said. "I followed your advice and allowed myself to be more vulnerable. It helped me get to where I am today."

"Gaara, I'm really glad you became the person you are today." Yuki told him. "I... I wished I was there to witness all the changes you had to go through the last few years."

"I know you had your reasons for leaving. I've never blamed you. I just... I was just hoping you would think of Sunagakure as home. I just kept waiting for you to come home, but I didn't realize that this was never home for you."

"It was home... at least for a little bit."

"I'm glad that it was at one point."

Yuki looked at her feet and started kicking the sand around as she did not know how to thank Gaara for his understanding and kindness. He always told her he didn't know how to love, but, to her, this was now someone who knew how to love more than she did herself. Suddenly, she felt his embrace. She froze. She didn't move any longer.

"I missed you." He whispered. "I can't ask you to stay, I know that. Just know that I'll always be here waiting for you."

He then let go. He turned around and walked back towards the rest of the people who were there. Yuki looked at his back as he walked away, head held high and shoulders lighter from unloading all he wanted to say to her for the past three years. He never seemed more loving to Yuki than at that very moment. Her heart was pounding, but, at the same time, she felt relieved that she didn't have to say much to Gaara. He somehow understood how she felt better than she did herself. He felt different to her in a good way. He had matured a lot. He wasn't that kid that felt like he was shunned from the world and did not belong. From a distance, she saw him shaking hands with Naruto who was seemingly awkward at first. He truly wasn't a kid anymore. He was a grown adult who knew how to handle himself and others. As they bid their farewell, Yuki made her way over to the group. She looked at Gaara who smiled at her. She waved a silent goodbye as she followed everybody to where home truly was: Konohagakure.

On their way back, Gai decided that Kakashi, in his current state, was too slow. He swung Kakashi around and piggybacked him swiftly back to Konohagakure while Lee was trying to race with him. The rest of them tried to match their speed, but in vain. Nobody had the energy those two had.

"Yuki, if you had enough chakra to flash yourself back to Konoha, you would make it there before them." Tenten told her jokingly.

"I'm not that competitive, unfortunately." Yuki replied, half chuckling.

They eventually all made it back to the village. As the rest of them entered the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village, they could spot Lee and Gai cheering and glossing about being first place and what not. Kakashi, meanwhile, even though he didn't run himself, was exhausted and moved around like a rag doll on Gai's back. Yuki smiled at the scene. She needed this lightheartedness. She forgot how cheerful Konohagakure actually was outside of the shadow she stood in. She walked pass them and said:

"Kakashi-senpai should really be brought to the hospital to recover."

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Gai said. "Would you mind reporting on the mission to Tsunade for me then?"

"Please leave that to me." Yuki replied as she was already walking towards the Hokage's office.

"Yuki, wait! I'm coming with you." Sakura said as she rushed after her and waved goodbye to the rest of them.

They arrived at the Hokage's office's door just before the sunset. As they were about to knock on the door, it opened and Shikamaru walked out looking exhausted. He looked at Yuki, slightly surprised as he wasn't aware of her return. He smiled and pointed towards the ceiling. Yuki nodded and smiled back. She figured there were a few people she would have to talk to upon her return. He was one of them.

Yuki and Sakura walked into Tsunade's office and closed the door behind them. Yuki quickly reported about the mission and the events that happened during it, as well as any information related to the Akatsukis and their members. As she finished, she looked at Sakura who seemed hesitant about sharing something. Yuki figured that it was best for her to leave. She was just about to bid her farewell when someone knocked on the door. Tsunade bit her lip before allowing whoever was outside to join them. It was none other than Danzo. Just as somber as he had always been, he slowly made his way into the office followed by one of his ANBUs. Yuki glared at him.

"Yuki, you don't have to look at me in such ways. I've already agreed to Tsunade to let you leave the Foundation." He told her. "However, you do know a lot about us, therefore I cannot remove that curse seal off of you."

"I don't need to speak for anyone to know of your dirty secrets." She replied coldly. "Tsunade-sama, I'll take my leave then."

Tsunade nodded. Yuki left quickly. She couldn't stand breathing the same air as that man. She stood by the door for a bit, however. She felt relieved that she was now free, in a way, of the Foundation. However, part of her remained fearful of the fact that they were after her eyes and that they were now all in the same village. As she stood there for a bit longer, the door opened again and the ANBU who was previously in the room also came out. He stood by the door. Yuki bit her lip and started walking away.

"You remember me, right?" He asked.

"How could I possibly forget." Yuki replied in an icy tone.

"It was my mission."

"That's such a lame excuse."

"As an ANBU, you know the importance of a mission."

"Not when the mission involves harming someone from the same village as you."

"A mission is a mission."

"A friend is a friend." Yuki said as she vanished from the scene.

She found no purpose in talking more to him. He wasn't worth her time any longer. He felt like trash to her. The stench of his actions were still so pungent to her. She couldn't stand him. Despite the lack of it, she would always smell the blood that stained his weapons and his hands. Even more than Danzo, she hated him. He, who had no name, couldn't be trusted in her books. As she appeared on the rooftop with a frown on her face thinking about such things, she was greeted by a smiling and relaxed face.

"Shikamaru, I see you still love watching the clouds." She said as she, also, relaxed a little and took place next to him.

"And you are still as troublesome as ever." He replied.

"I know you never found me troublesome." Yuki said, grinning.

She didn't know why, but he also always made her feel at ease. He was one of these characters who didn't need to say much or to hear much to understand. He didn't like things that were complicated, yet the most complex things were understood by him. He had a depth that nobody else she knew had, including herself. He was wise beyond his age. She appreciated that.

"Was it that obvious?" He jokingly asked her.

She nodded before asking:

"Why did you ask me to come up here?"

"I felt like I needed to thank you."

"Huh?"

"Back then, you saved Neji, didn't you?"

"Who knows... Maybe he wasn't meant to die back then."

"Regardless of that, without you, he probably would have died and I probably would have never let that go. I would have blamed myself every single day for his death."

"So, you are saying that I managed to save you from a life of remorse? I'll take that." Yuki said as she stood up and yawned.

"You are leaving already?"

"I haven't rested in a few days." She replied. "I'll see you around."

She then disappeared. He sat there with a smile on his face. He had been waiting for her to come back for that very thank you. Despite other factors coming into play, he knew that without Yuki, he would have quit being a ninja long ago. He looked at the spot where she had vanished from. It left behind a trail a smoke from the ice meeting the warmth of the sun that was setting. He lied back down and enjoyed the sky that had now turned pink and the clouds that seemed lighter than ever.

End of Chapter 45

Thank you for reading.

xox

Krystal