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Ch. 8 Chibi Trips
The next morning went off pretty smoothly. If one doesn't count the small pouting session Naruto had over not getting Ramen for breakfast... Gaara almost considered requesting it, but Sakura simply hit Naruto in the back of the head, and he agreed to eat what was served. Somewhere, a very worried cook took a deep breath and relaxed, and swore to study making Ramen more. He hadn't realized the Kazekage's guests might want it more than once on their visit! The only thing that seemed a little off was the nervousness of the Kazekage's chosen shinobi whenever they glanced at Sasuke. It wasn't good for them to be getting so restless before a mission, but they swore they were fine.
Gaara adjusted the gourd on his back, comforted by its weight as he glanced at Naruto, who was fixing his hitai-ate across his forehead. The Kazekage had been -ahem- 'kind' enough to let the blonde sleep last night. Not like he needed it, and from what he could tell, the Kyuubi-container had been running almost non-stop all day and probably all night. He needed the rest more, especially if he was going to be doing any protecting on the way back. Gaara knew for a fact that Naruto would never accept being showed-up by Sasuke on a mission, much less Sakura. She was a talented medic-nin, and her chakra control was good, but she wasn't the best fighter on the group. So if she caught something that Naruto missed, even if it was because he was exhausted, he'd never forgive himself, and he'd end up training until he passed out. And the Kazekage couldn't have that.
As the trek began, it was painfully obvious that the group of Sand nin wanted to travel in the shadows as much as possible. Stay close enough to help if needed, and to see their leader, but far enough that, if they were whispering, then the conversation wouldn't be heard. While the others thought it unusual, yes, they just accepted it as a Sunagakure way, while Gaara thought it must be the nervousness of being around the Kazekage and the jounin from Konohagakure, and shrugged it off.
The small group wasn't about to mention the black-haired, red-eyed demon that had entered their homes and gave them the strictest of instructions, including the warning that even thinking about telling anyone about the visit, would result in him personally hunting them down and making them beg for death. In fact, they preferred not to even think of the person himself... It was just one of those things you really don't want to remember. Though they were reminded everytime they saw that shinobi from Konoha.
Sakura was reviewing all the things she had brought with her, the items she had just bought in the village, and what to do in multiple cases of injuries or illness. The last thing she needed to do on such a mission was to forget something and end up screwing up in front of the Kazekage, Naruto's boyfriend or not. Though she had to fight off a giggle everytime she tried to imagine one of them actually professing love. It's just that the idea was so laughable! Of course, her trying to fight off a major attack of the giggles resulted in some odd looks from the men in the group, who moved a little away from her, fearing for her sanity and their safety. Sasuke was also making Naruto a little nervous due to the slight smirk he saw on the pale Uchiha's face every now and then, especially when he'd glance in the direction of the other village's ninjas. The only person Naruto knew hadn't changed was Gaara himself, who was amusing both himself and the blonde by creating different sand sculptures.
"Awesome! Hey, could you make one of Kakashi-sensei? You know, the guy with the mask and weird hair and the hitai-ate over one eye?" Gaara nodded and complied, creating a replica of the silver-haired jounin, adding in a book at his blonde friend's insistence. Honestly, he liked the feeling he got when the fox-boy praised him. After all, no one else really ever praised him, only Naruto. Even if he had been praised by others, it wouldn't be the same as the praise he got from his friend. Naruto was just special to him. He wasn't about to tell anyone, though.
By the time they camped for the night, they were no longer walking through sand, but through forests and fields. The sand in Gaara's gourd moved restlessly, as it always did when he was no longer surrounded by the desert. He and Naruto agreed to keep watch while the others slept, though Sasuke seemed to be unwilling to sleep. He finally agreed to rest after serving a 2 hour watch. Everyone ended up following his example, keeping watch for 2 hours, then sleeping the rest of the time. The only people who stayed awake was, of course, Naruto and Gaara. They spent the night talking about things that had happened since their separation years ago. Gaara revealed the assassination attempts made by his father, including the first one, where his own uncle had betrayed him. Naruto had been horrified, but he said he was glad Gaara lived, and that he knew why he had carved 'love' into his forehead.
Naruto explained to his friend how he had learned of his inner demon, and the fight against Mizuki, as well as his training with Jiraiya, where he had begun to get hints as to who his father really was. Gaara had been a good listener, as usual, often times asking questions about his story, things like: "So Jiraiya wrote Icha Icha Paradise? Didn't you say that was the book your sensei read? Did he really make you spy on a girl's only hot spring?" Apparently, he wasn't used to hearing such interesting tales.
They finally reached Konohagakure by the next evening.The group separated,allowing the blonde to lead the red-head to see Tsunade, where they were in for a surprise. Apparently, Gaara had a choice. He could stay in a nice, well-furnished room in the Hokage's tower, or he could choose to stay in Naruto's little apartment. Of course, how could he pass up staying with his best friend? Though as soon as he heard this, the blonde had panicked and declared he had something to do, and would be back in an hour or so, leaving a surprised Kazekage and an amused Hokage.
"You know," Tsunade said, smirking as the young man looked at her, "Really, you're supposed to stay with me. But I've seen how close you two are, and Sakura already came in here when everyone disbanded at the gates. For some reason, she thinks you two should stay together. I'm not completely sure why she was so persistent about it, but I'd like to see where this ends up." The blonde woman called for Shizune and asked for her to send Iruka to her. "I don't know if you know Iruka, Gaara, but he can show you where the brat lives. He's probably just cleaning up. That place is usually a mess anyway... I wonder if he still keeps spoiled milk..."
A familiar young chuunin walked into the room, the scar across his nose identifying him instantly.
"Iruka." Gaara stated quietly, looking at the man who had once treated him to ice cream. The brunette smiled at him and replied a hello, before listening to his Hokage give him his instructions. Afterwards, they headed out of the building and down the road towards a familiar apartment.
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei... Though I do remember how to get there." A wide-eyed look was his reward, and the red-head focused on the road in front of them. "I regained my childhood memories. I do remember you and Naruto. I am... sorry for attacking the village."
Iruka smiled at Gaara and rested a hand on his shoulder, like any caring parent-figure would. To Gaara, it just felt comforting.
"We all do things we regret, Gaara. No one's led a guilt-free life. But you're working hard to make up for it." He smiled warmly at the younger man. "And I don't hold people's pasts against them. You should know that by now." Gaara nodded silently, remembering Naruto's mention of having learned that the nine-tailed fox inside him had once killed Iruka's parents. "I am surprised you and Naruto got back so quickly. I expected him to take another day or two... After all, his letter said for me to water his plants every other day, as though he was going to be gone a week, at least.. not 4 days!" He laughed. "Though he probably should've asked Kakashi. He knows how to take care of plants better than I do. He has Ukki-san, after all..."
Gaara blinked and looked up at his friend. "Ukki-san?"
"Eh? Oh, it's a plant that Kakashi keeps on the windowsill by his bed. I couldn't keep plants, I never know just how much water they need..." He winced. "I tried not to give Naruto's too much..." Gaara fought back the urge to smile and merely watched the brunette.
"Iruka-sensei? How do you know what Kakashi-san has on his bedroom windowsill?" It was out of habit he called him 'sensei', but it didn't seem to affect the chuunin as much as the question did.
"Ah! Well, um... You see... uh... Hey, why don't we go buy some groceries for Naruto! I noticed he was running low!" He quickly changed the subject and looked away.
"Um... Iruka-sensei..." Iruka spun back around, his face red from a blush.
"It was one time! I don't know how it happened, it just did!" Gaara merely blinked at the outburst.
"I was just going to ask which way was the market..." A flushed Iruka blinked and turned redder before pressing his lips together and silently leading the way.
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Elsewhere, Naruto was flying around his apartment, clones rushing past each other. One was doing laundry, another was cleaning the kitchen, a third was cleaning the bathroom, a fourth was in the kitchen, and Naruto was doing the rest. The clone from the kitchen began to freak out.
"A lot of this stuff expired days ago! We're even out of Ramen! We've got nothing to eat or drink!"
A loud and frustrated bunch of screams made their way to many nearby ears. It was decided that no one would go near Naruto's apartment for a few days...
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lol! Hope you liked! Shorter than normal, but it was too perfect to leave it there... See you soon!