Homecoming

Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.-Aeschylus

There was something about leaving Suna that all Suna shinobi noticed, but foreigners did not. After living in the arid wasteland that was their birthplace, crossing into another country was like slamming into a wall full force. The contrast in humidity became such that on a rare occasion a genin would pass out on their first mission away.

As Gaara ran with his siblings into the forest he felt the change despite his armor. This time however, it was different. Instead of a shocking coolness that stifled the ninja, it was more of a warm embrace. He could sense Temari stiffen as the feeling hit her, and Kankuro let out a hiss.

"G-Gaara." Temari questioned unsettled by the alien feeling on her skin. "Are you positive this is a good thing. I'm sure Baki-sensei would drop any charges if we go back." Gaara ignored her. He had already explained once that he wanted to go, and they were coming. There was no room for discussion.

Kankuro lagged behind them, one puppet attached to his back and the other crawling along the trees. While they were still moving in the dessert he had been able to keep pace but now with all the obstacles it was difficult to move the large puppet. "Damn it!" The child of the former Kazekage was beginning to regret putting his training off when it came to writing scrolls.

"Move it Kankuro! We'll have to wait another day if you don't hurry up!" Temari groused, briefly turning around and tree-hopping backwards. Not the smartest thing to do, but she had scanned the next few jumps and committed them to memory.

"This isn't as…wait a sec…I'm A GENUIS!" Kankuro shouted as he changed his trajectory and landed on the large salamander like puppet. He reached for a small indent on the back of the puppet for a handhold, and used his remaining free hand to manipulate it via chakra strings. "Bwahaha!"

Temari watched him essentially ride the huge thing though the tree's with apprehension. Now, why have no puppet users thought of that before? There must be some sort of drawback… shouldn't there be?

Kankuro turned his head to look at the blonde girl, grinning like a Cheshire cat with his make-up. "Come ON Temari. Who's falling behind now?"

Gaara growled out with a hint of satisfaction, "That's good, now we can be there by noon."

"Eh?!"

Gaara pushed off the branch with a bit more force than before, and his sand swirled in response easily increasing his speed. Kankuro groaned but said nothing else as the blue energy threads he used thickened. Temari wiped some sweat from her brow but said nothing as she focused her natural wind element to boost her velocity and hoped that her chakra held out. Gaara was a hard task master.

Temari was panting by the time he let them stop. Kankuro was mildly winded, but it was more from chakra exhaustion than physical work. Gaara seemed to be waiting for something and the girl took the opportunity to badger the one wearing face paint. "What the hell! Couldn't you let me ride with you?"

Kankuro yawned. "No."

She steamed and shifted her battle fan threateningly. "You are the biggest jerk I've ever met."

"Stop." Temari bit off her next few remarks and looked up. A man stood before them with a leaf forehead protector wrapped around his arm and an ANBU sword at his waist. Temari swallowed nervously, why would he not wear the uniform? Where is his mask? He could kill me, Kankuro. Not Gaara… but we don't have any passports.

The former ANBU crossed his arms and squat down. A smile slowly spread on the man's face and his eyes twinkled with something that the girl didn't like. As she stood there waiting for his decision, because it was completely acceptable for a native shinobi to kill an undocumented foreign nin. "So… what do we have here? Suna shinobi? Come back for another go at killing us all?"

Kankuro sneered. He wasn't the brightest crayon in the box when it came to analyzing situations. It was said that the puppet user was his field's greatest prodigy since Sasori. The praise did wonders for his ego that Temari often lamented. "Do you make a habit of talking in plural?"

"Actually…we do." The ANBU smiled wildly and Gaara sniffed the air. Blood. The man smelt of blood despite being perfectly clean. It was strangely pleasant.

"I am Gaara of the Sand, these are my siblings. We did not come with the intention to slaughter you all." Near the end of the sentence Gaara's normally monotone voice became deeper, more sinister. The ANBU paused but appeared unaffected.

"Gaara? I've heard about you." He clapped his hands together and stood up. "Why don't you come back to the village. Naruto-sama suggested that you should be welcomed. Couldn't figure out why until now."

Temari's heart nearly stopped. "N-naruto-SAMA?! That little shrimp?"

The cool touch of metal brushed against her throat and though she sensed the ANBU move, she would never have been able to keep up with him. "Never call Naruto-sama a shrimp in our presence."

Kankuro tensed. Gaara stood passively as the ANBU dragged his weapon across her throat to draw a thin line of blood. As the blonde stood under the scrutiny and smelled the life flowing from her, she recognized the scent wafting off her attacker. Blood.

"Blood." Temari whispered the word as he released her.

"What? We don't see any."

Temari wiped the red from her neck. "You must be insane."

"It is said that no one can go through ANBU without dying or developing some habits. Anywho, let's be off!"

"Like hell! You attacked-"

"Kankuro!" Gaara growled out in warning as he held his arm in front of his brother. "We will be following our guide."

Within two miles the threesome noticed distinct differences since the last time they had passed through Konoha's forest. Groups of civilians and shinobi were working on digging deep ditches in the earth. The smell of death permeated the air.

Just breathing set Temari and Kankuro's nerves on edge.

"Rai-san!" The voice that called out to the siblings crazed escort was far too high pitched to be anything but a child. The small girl had her hair streaming out behind her as she ran toward the group, several pairs of sharp scissors hung from her belt.

"Hello, Minako-chan." The girl skipped around the group, her dirt marred nose testament to her efforts on the ditch project. Rai, as the former ANBU had been identified, watched her carefully. He didn't trust children running with scissors. "Where is your mother?"

"She's arguing with Hebi-san about slopes. Who are these people?"

"This is Temari-san, Kankuro-san, and Gaara-sama. They're guests of Naruto-sama."

She clapped her hands excitedly. "Really? Like really really? I didn't know we had visitors." She rounded on the Suna nin. "Where are you from? Was it nice there? What's your favorite dish? Do you prefer paper or plastic? What's the square root of 1? What is 'I'? Why do you have your hair in four ponytails? My mommy doesn't let me play with her make-up-"

"That's enough Minako-chan. Our guests must be going. Do you know where Iruka-sensei is?"

"Nope!"

"Well then… we shall press on." Rai lead his group away from the girl and into the city proper that looked surprisingly well for its history. The business section was already back up and running, and the residents had taken the opportunity to install the latest technology.

Functioning street lamps lined the paved walk ways establishing a somewhat lighter atmosphere for the foreign shinobi. "Rai-san." Kankuro hazarded tentatively, most unlike himself. "I am curious… what exactly did you use to give the streets such a unique shade?"

"We haven't the faintest idea what you mean."

Gaara studied the cool cement. "It's blood."

Temari clasped a hand over her mouth and forced herself forward, trying not to puke. For so much death in one place, she couldn't understand how they could stand it. Even a hardened shinobi would be affected by the dark miasma of energies surrounding the village.

"Temari-san? You look pale." Worried. And it wasn't either of her brothers. It was some…chuunin? With a scar across his nose and a file of papers in his arms.

"Iruka-sensei! Guess who we found in the forest!"

"I can see them…" to himself he mumbled, "ANBU, take away their dress-up outfits and they're just like big kids."

"Heh. Well kiddies this is where we leave you." He vanished.

Iruka eyed the group. "I can set you up with some separate rooms if you would like, or you can have your own in the mansion."

"Mansion?" Kankuro questioned.

"The Uchiha district has been converted to a residential. The main house is used as head-quarters for all shinobi."

Gaara hesitated only a moment. "I would like that."

His brother and sister exchanged a look. It didn't seem wise for them to stay surrounded by the people they had attacked. Despite helping out on a previous mission it wasn't unknown for a village to hold grudges for generations. What was Gaara's goal?

"Could we get a room for all three of us?"

Gaara walked through the village to familiarize himself with the new layout. It was comforting. No one looked at him with fear in their eyes. There was something, but it was more of unknown apprehension than out right fear of his inner demon. Naruto had done well for himself. Now though, he just wanted to find the blonde that inspired him to try taking care of those fragile things called bonds.

The two of them he actually recognized.

Naruto was easy to spot. The blonde walked with a sort of happy gait that seemed much more natural on him than before. Gaara remembered the boy being much more cautious, only speaking out when he was sure of himself. It was a forced joy that the red head admired, it was Naruto refusing to become what the villages see him as… saw him as.

The boy had changed much from when they fought. His whisker marks, the sign of demon containment, were far thicker and edgier than last time and his eyes had changed from a crystalline blue to deep purple with slits. His hair was marginally longer, and Gaara thought he caught a bit red at the tips, but it may have been a trick of the light. Inch long claws grew from his hands, and matching canines reminded Gaara of the boy Naruto had fought during the preliminaries. Naruto had changed, but his smile was the same.

"Naruto." Gaara spoke in his normal, almost lazy voice but Naruto instantly turned from the person he had been in conversation with. It was the girl he had cheered on when no one else would, the small girl Hyuuga. Her name? Hinata. After returning to Suna he had requested information on all the genin that his idol had taken noticeable interest in. With Gaara's memory he could tell you her favorite dish and color at the drop of a hat.

"Hey, Gaara! I didn't know you were here!" The blonde shouted happily and dragged his companion over to the stoic red head. She let herself be herded, a small content smile adorned her face. "When did you arrive?"

"Late this afternoon. We wanted to request official title as Leaf Nin."

Hinata's eyes focused in and she stepped up. "We?" Gaara is strong, but weak. He couldn't step up to the challenge Oni-sama did. Does he deserve to be part of this dream?

Gaara stared at her for several seconds before answering. "My siblings and I. We have defected from Sunagakure."

"There would be-"

"Of course! You're always welcomed here." Naruto broke in Hinata's speech and quickly hugged the red head. Gaara stiffened and his sand threatened to wedge itself between the two bodies and burst them apart. Oddly enough, it suddenly calmed and Gaara took his cue from that.

Hinata watched the exchange quietly. If Oni-sama liked the weak demon, she would too. But he would always be weaker in her eyes. She placed a hand a hand on each of the boys shoulders and nudged them apart. "Gaara-san, there is a minimal amount of paper work that needs to be done, in order to keep track of who we have and who we do not."

He nodded. "It shall be done." Gaara turned back to his first true friend. "What made you decide this course of action?"

Naruto smiled and wrapped his arms around Hinata's waist. She positively glowed at the attention. "Hinata."

Gaara decided that Suna's intelligence network wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

END.