Disclaimer: Not mine.

Chapter 30

Hiro ran with his team through the trees, heading for the desert. He hoped they were in time to help for Naruto's sake since he was apparently friends with this Gaara. Ibiki ran ahead of them with Naruto at the back and Sakura parallel to Hiro. Naruto had the back as he had the best senses while being in the middle meant that Hiro could back up whoever needed it and Sakura as the medic could quickly reach anyone that was injured.

They finally reached the desert and began running across the sand. Hiro was glad he didn't wear the standard shinobi sandals as the sand had to be hot when it got in them. No boots were much more practical as far as he was concerned and Ibiki apparently agreed going by his footwear. He caught sight of Sakura flinching and whispered under his breath, using magic to seal off both her and Naruto's sandals. "Thanks." Sakura shot him a smile and he nodded.

They suddenly stopped and looked around as they felt the sinister chakra being released. Naruto growled softly, eyes flickering red as he reached out to track the other. "That way!" He called, pointing to the east.

"I'm guessing either this Gaara is very mad or…."

"We need to hurry." Ibiki stated flatly, they all knew the other option.

Hiro stared into the distance, he couldn't take them all the way but he could lessen the distance. "Okay everyone grab on." He ordered.

"You sure?" Ibiki asked and Hiro nodded. They all moved closer and held onto him, then they vanished, reappearing much closer to where Gaara was being held. They took off running again immediately. They reached a river and then scattered as it seemed to explode.

Hiro grabbed Sakura and threw a shield up around them, keeping the water safely away from them. "Okay?" He asked and she nodded. As soon as the water stopped they were moving, the shield vanishing. Ibiki had already engaged their attacker and they heard Naruto groan something about fish people and chakra eating swords. Hiro got a look at their attacker and grimaced, he recognised him from the bingo book Ibiki had shown them several weeks ago. This was not going to be an easy fight at all.

"Hiro go!" Ibiki ordered and Hiro stared at him in confusion. "Find Gaara and then call backup!"

"But…."

"Go Hiro, we can handle this guy." Sakura agreed as she pulled on her gloves. She slammed her fist into the ground, cracking it and sending Kisame reeling. Hiro nodded and then vanished as he apparated via line of sight well away from the battle. He made good time using several small jumps. He finally stopped and ran across the uneven ground, looking for any sign of where they had taken Gaara. He stopped and stared at the cave sealed by a massive boulder and sighed, it figured. A thought had Fawkes appearing and he quickly gave the phoenix a note for the Hokage. With the aid of magic he was pretty much invisible as he watched the cave for any movement.

Fawkes reappeared with Kakashi and Team 10 clinging to his feathers. They looked around and then Ino nearly jumped when Harry appeared and indicated the cave. "Team 7?" Kakashi asked.

"Keeping Kisame occupied back at the river. Ibiki ordered me ahead."

"He did the right thing." Asuma agreed as they moved to study the stone. They suddenly went on the defensive only to relax as Team 9 joined them.

"Sealing array, complicated one." Kakashi commented and Hiro looked at Fawkes who trilled in amusement before flying closer.

"Might want to move back." He warned and they did so curiously. Fawkes flared his wings and then it seemed like everything was on fire for a few seconds. When it passed the boulder was gone.

"Well that was easy." Ino commented before they moved silently into the cave, alert for anything.

Ibiki locked a kunai against Kisame's sword even as Sakura lunged in to hit the shark-like man. He managed to dodge the strike and take out a dozen Naruto clones. Naruto wasn't actually very useful in this fight due to Kisame's sword. Kisame had tried to go after Hiro but nearly one hundred clones had dog piled him in order to let Hiro get enough distance. Kisame had not liked that one bit though thankfully only clones had fallen to his sword considering the damage it did to flesh. Sakura moved in again and to everyone's surprise her fist slammed into his spine, shattering it. But as the body dropped it changed to someone none of them recognised.

"What?" Naruto frowned and Ibiki swore.

"Move out!" He ordered, taking off in the direction Hiro had.

They stared into the chamber, seeing several figures in red and black as well as a redhead lying motionless on the stone floor. Hiro was surprised to feel disgust and anger coming from his immortal familiar. That probably wasn't a good thing. At least Gaara was still alive, though fading. Fawkes trilled loudly and then vanished in a flash of flames, reappearing over Gaara before vanishing with him. The Akatsuki members stood frozen in shock for a split second and that was all they needed to retreat. They weren't there to kill Akatsuki members but to rescue Gaara and Fawkes had done that already. They bolted out of the cave and Gai brought the entrance down in seconds to slow them down even as they ran to find the rest of Team 7. With them they found Gaara and Fawkes, the phoenix singing and crying over the Suna shinobi. They all relaxed as Gaara's colour and breathing improved, the tears working their miracles.

The two teams approached the village openly, Gaara carried by Asuma. They were soon surrounded by Suna ninja and medics who swiftly took their Kage to the hospital.

"Thank you for finding our brother." Temari told them as she approached.

"You're welcome." Ibiki answered, inclining his head slightly in respect.

"Come, I'll show you to a hotel so that you can rest. I know the Council would like to hear what happened once you have." They followed her through the village, all eager to rest after running and fighting so much.

The three teams plus Kakashi made their way back to Konoha at a slower pace, all on the lookout in case Akatsuki decided to come looking for payback. However the trip back to Konoha was uneventful and soon they were all heading to their individual homes for a few days off while Kakashi, Gai, Asuma and Ibiki reported to the Hokage.

Hiro opened the door and smiled as he saw his cousin working at the table. Iruka looked over and smiled in relief when he saw him home safe and in one piece. "Kakashi?" He asked when he didn't spot his lover.

"Reporting to the Hokage, he'll be back soon." Hiro went to dump his gear and say hello to his other familiars before going to prepare dinner.

TBC…