Tests are over so I can update now. I finished it this morning and I reread for mistakes. Since I was in a hurry to get the story updated for you guys, i might not have edited as throughly as I could have (it doesn't help that I suck at grammar and spelling). I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Ch. 9: Home
Aya sat back with a sigh. She had been painting non stop for nearly four days. She hadn't even slept or eaten much since Gaara and the rest of the team left for their mission. She was too worried to eat or sleep. Since she wasn't sleeping or eating, she painted. The painting was coming together nicely. It would make a good welcome back home present for Sasuke. He would need it for the same reason Gaara needed the painting she gave him last year. It would remind the Uchiha of what he had here and why he should stay. Although the contents were different. Gaara's painting was made to show him that the world was a beautiful place and worth living in. Sasuke's would be to show him that he wasn't alone anymore. He had a family in the people here.
She stood up to work the kinks out of her muscles. The painter walked over to the window and stared out at the village of Konoha. Tsunade had given her an apartment to stay in while she was in town since no one knew how long the mission would take. Orochimaru wouldn't be an easy target so taking him down could take anywhere from a day to a month. Since Aya wouldn't return to Suna without Gaara, The Hokage decided that Aya might as well have someplace comfortable to live in while she was there.
Aya like the leaf village. The people were nice and seemed to care about one another. Although they did seem to have the same viewpoint on Naruto that the people of Suna had for Gaara. But that was changing here. Naruto's personality apparently made it impossible to hate him for very long. At least, that's what Iruka said. Aya hadn't met Naruto yet. She hoped she could soon. He sounded like an interesting person. She turned back to the painting and got back to work.
As usual, she was so absorbed in the world she was creating that she didn't notice anything else. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone tap her shoulder. Aya looked over her shoulder to see Shizune there. She smiled, "Hello, Shizune."
"I knocked but you didn't answer."
"I'm sorry. When I paint I have a tendency to ignore everything else. Did you want something?"
"The team returned just a few minutes ago. Gaara is in the hospital right now." Before Aya could rush off, Shizune grabbed her arm. "Let me finish. He's fine. He just used too much chakra but he will recover."
Aya relaxed a little, "Oh...Okay. Can you take me to him?"
Shizune nodded and led Aya through the village. It was the third time Aya had walked through Konoha. The first time had been her first day then when they had walked with Sasuke to the hokage's office. The second had been after the team left. She went exploring. Naturally she got lost several times. After that she stayed in the apartment that had been lent to her and painted. She wanted the painting finished before she left the village. Luckily she only had a few more brush strokes and then it would be done.
Shizune led Aya right to Gaara's room. Kankuro and Temari were inside sitting next to Gaara's bed. Gaara was sitting up. It relieved Aya to see that he wasn't unconscious. She walked up to him, "How did it go?"
"I'm not sure," Gaara replied. "I blacked out before the mission was finished."
"Orochimaru is dead," Temari informed them both. "That's what took up so much of Gaara's chakra. It took everything he had to kill the worthless snake."
"I'm just glad you're alright," Aya told them.
"Surprisingly, we didn't lose anyone. Sasuke and Gaara were the only two that we had to carry back. Sasuke is in the room next door," Kankuro said.
Temari nodded, "Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi are with him."
"Naruto's here?" Aya asked.
"Yes. Jiraiya, his trainer, got word of the attack and allowed Naruto to join the fight. He and Sakura helped Sasuke and Gaara fight Orochimaru."
"I hope I get to meet Naruto. I've heard a lot about him." Aya looked at Gaara, "Are you really alright?"
He nodded, "Just a few bruises."
She relaxed a little more. Aya smiled, "I'm going to check on Sasuke then. I'll be right back." Aya walked out of the room and into the one next door. Sasuke was in the same position as Gaara and didn't seem any happier about it than her friend. Sakura and Kakashi were there along with a blond boy. The four of them looked at her as she walked in. Aya smiled warmly.
"I just came from seeing Gaara. I figured I'd come check on Sasuke too. How are you feeling?"
"Tired," he replied simply.
"So articulate," she commented with a grin.
Sasuke's eyes lit with some amusement and he pointed to Naruto, "This is Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto, that's Aya. She's a civilian from Suna."
The blond boy turned and she saw Naruto for the first time. His blond hair was spiked much like Gaara's. He had the bluest eyes she had ever seen that held friendliness and a sense of mischief. He gave her a goofy grin. Aya couldn't help but smile in return. She knew he would make a great friend.
"Hello, Naruto. I've heard a lot about you."
"Sasuke and Sakura mentioned you once too. They said that you were Gaara's friend."
She nodded, "I at least hope I am. Gaara hasn't said one way or the other."
"Yeah, he doesn't talk about stuff like that much," Naruto agreed.
The four of them talked for a while as Aya got to know Naruto a little more. The goofy grin suited him perfectly. He had a fun loving nature and she was willing to be he never let himself be miserable for very long. He seemed determined to be strong and happy. She liked him. He was a good person at heart. She also wanted to paint that goofy smile. From what she heard from others, that goofy smile had to hide many years of suffering. It would be interesting to see what it would look like on canvas.
"Ummm, Naruto-kun?"
Everyone looked back to see Hinata standing in the doorway. Aya saw it. In the shy girl's eyes. Hinata liked Naruto...a lot. Aya glanced at Naruto and saw that he was absolutely clueless. It was amusing. Poor Hinata wouldn't be able to tell Naruto how she felt. She was too shy, especially around him. Naruto apparently had no idea how to tell when someone was in love with him, unless someone hit him over the head with the information.
"What is it, Hinata?" he asked her cheerfully.
"Master Jiraiya said to tell you to hurry up. You still have training to complete."
"Right." He turned back to the others, "I better go. Jiraiya wants to make sure that if the Akatsuki attack me I'll be ready for them."
Sakura gave him a hug, "Be careful, Naruto."
"I will. Sasuke, you better still be here when I get back, or I'll hunt you down and make you miserable," Naruto informed his friend.
Sasuke smirked, "If you could."
Naruto glared, "That's it, Sasuke. I'll show you how strong I am."
Sasuke started to get up. He had missed the fighting matches with Naruto. However Sakura wasn't going to let it happen. She pushed Sasuke back onto the bed and ordered Naruto to go. The two boys sulked just a little, though Sasuke did his sulking mentally where no one could see him. Naruto said one last good bye and headed out. Aya also left and returned to Gaara. She stayed there until dark when Gaara ordered her to go get some sleep. Aya didn't argue mostly because she was too tired.
The next morning, she finished the painting. Since she got to see Naruto, she added on last thing to the painting. Once it was finished she stepped back to take a look. It was perfect. She smiled as she wrapped it up to take to the hospital with her. Aya saw Sakura outside and grinned. "Good morning, Sakura. What are you doing out here? I thought you'd be at the hospital with Sasuke."
"I was on my way. I realized that you would want to go see Gaara so I was coming to get you. That way you wouldn't get lost between here and there."
"You've been talking to Temari and Kankuro, haven't you?" Aya asked. It wasn't like Sakura could have figured out that Aya had a habit of getting lost already. She hadn't been here when Aya got lost in the village. That meant someone told her. Since Gaara wasn't the talkative time she knew it had to be Temari and Kankuro.
"Kankuro told me about your habit of getting lost. He said that you could get lost in your own home."
Aya laughed, "He might be right. Thank you. I'd hate to get lost today. I have a present for Sasuke and I can't wait to see what he thinks."
"Is that what the painting is?"
The painter nodded, "Yup. Let's go."
The two of them walked to the hospital. Aya followed Sakura to Sasuke's room. The Uchiha was up and moving today, much to the nurses annoyance. Sasuke was not the type to stay in bed longer than he had to. Still he wasn't ready to move around too much. His muscles were screaming at him with every movement. When he saw Sakura and Aya, he sat on the edge of the bed. Sakura was glaring at him.
"You should be resting, Sasuke-kun."
"I am resting. It's not like I went out and sparred with anyone."
Sakura refrained from hitting him. He was in the hospital and still recovering after all. She could hit him after he was better. He'd end up right back in the hospital but that was beside the point. Aya stepped forward before they started to argue more. She set the canvas down and smiled at Sasuke. He couldn't see the painting because she had it covered at the moment. Aya was practically vibrating with excitement so he suspected that it was something she created.
"This is for you, Sasuke. A welcome home present," she told him with excitement.
Aya pulled the cover off of the canvas and the two leaf shinobi got their first look at Aya's handiwork. It was the training grounds where Team 7 trained together for the first time. The three wooden polls stuck out of the ground and the sunlight made everything seem cheerful. White puffy clouds littered the sky and somehow seemed to be moving lazily through the sky. In the clearing stood Rookie 9 in various positions suited to their personality. Shikamaru was laying on the ground staring at the clouds. Ino was knelt next to him poking his shoulder to pester him. Choji watched them with hidden amusement as he ate his chips. Hinata stood next to one of the wooden polls watching Naruto with a soft smile. Kiba was running across the clearing with Akamaru at his side. Shino stood at the edge of the forest examining something on the ground no one could see, probably a bug. She even put Kakashi in it. He was sitting at the base of a tree reading his favorite book. Front and center of the painting stood Sasuke with Sakura on one side and Naruto on the other. Naruto had that goofy grin on his face as he punched Sasuke's arm gently. Sakura had a warm smile on her face as she watched the two of them. Sasuke seemed arrogant, with the smirk on his face, but something was off. It took a moment for them to figure out what it was. He didn't seem cold and distant in the painting. Sasuke's eyes held an unfamiliar warmth as he gave Naruto a mock glare.
"Wow, Aya," Sakura whispered. "It's beautiful."
"Thanks. I worked on it while you guys were gone." She smiled, "Well, what do you think, Sasuke?"
He could only stare. Aya was amazed by how similar his reaction was to Gaara's. Sasuke seemed so shocked and surprised by what he was seeing. Gaara had once said that Sasuke and him were very similar in personality. She could see now that he had been correct. Why did that not surprise her? Gaara's experiences in life gave him a fine skill for seeing people for what they really were. Well, he was good at that with everyone but himself. He still considered himself a monster even after a year of changing.
Sasuke finally stood to get a closer look at the painting. He felt something in him loosen as he stared the people he had known all his life. There was an air of friendliness and warmth in the painting. As if everyone in it was one big family. They surrounded Sasuke as if saying, 'Come here and be a part of our family, Sasuke. We've been waiting for you.' That call was irresistible to him. He found himself touching the faces of his closes friends.
"Say something, Sasuke. You're driving me nuts here," Aya demanded.
He finally managed to make himself speak and even sounded relatively calm, "It's...good, Aya. You're very skilled."
She grinned, "I'm so happy. I figured it would be perfect for you because it'll be a great reminder. This way if you ever think about leaving again you can just look at it and see why you shouldn't. It's called 'Home and Family'."
He nodded and tried to speak casually past the lump in his throat. "Thanks."
Aya grinned, "No problem. Now I'm going to see Gaara. He should be moving if you are." She walked out of the room humming a cheerful tune and a bounce to her step. She couldn't wait to see Gaara.
Once she was gone, Sakura looked over at Sasuke, "You really like the painting don't you?"
Sasuke nodded as he looked at the painting then at Sakura. "Aya is very good."
"Yes, she is. I didn't realize how good until now. Then again, I hadn't even had a chance to see one of her sketches before, let alone a painting. She also had a knack for painting exactly what other people want to see." Sakura looked at the painting, "What will you do with it?"
"I'm going to return to the Uchiha compound. I let my anger and pain drive me away from it. It's time I go back. I think I'll hang it there since it will be my home now."
Sakura smiled, "I'm glad."
Meanwhile, Aya had just walked into Gaara's room. Like Sasuke, he was up and moving against doctor's orders. She shook her head at the stubbornness of men and greeted Gaara cheerfully, "Hello, Gaara. How are you feeling today?"
"Fine."
"That's good. Temari said that we won't be able to go home until you recover."
"I've recovered."
Aya restrained herself from taping one of his many bruises to remind him that was still injured. What was it with shinobi that they always had to be able to fight? She would never understand it. Then again, she wasn't a shinobi for a reason. Aya preferred spending her time painting and sketching to training and fighting. Her clan had accepted this with some relief. Her habit of getting lost had worried them just a little. If she could get that lost in her own village what would happen when she went into enemy territory? They hadn't wanted to think about. Hence how she managed to stay a civilian despite her clan being one of the top shinobi clan's in Suna.
"If you say so but I'm not convinced," Aya told Gaara.
He glanced at her and flashed a brief smirk. "The bruises aren't serious. I wasn't nearly as injured as Sasuke and Naruto. My sand protected me."
"But you were still injured. Would it kill you to cut yourself some slack and take a break?" she demanded.
"I suppose not."
"Good." She looked at the time and realized the morning was gone. Her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten breakfast this morning. "Let's go eat lunch. I haven't had any yet and Naruto said I should try the ramen place."
"Naruto left again, right?" Gaara asked as they left the room.
She nodded, "Yes. Yesterday afternoon. He said that his trainer, Jiraiya, wants him ready when the Akatsuki attack him again."
Gaara didn't respond. There wasn't anything to say really. Naruto wasn't the only one who had to be ready. The Akatsuki were trying to gather all of the tailed beasts and he hadn't forgotten the one of them was in him. Gaara chose not to tell Aya this. She worried enough as it was. He didn't want to think about how much she would worry if she knew that Naruto wasn't the only one the Akatsuki wanted.
They met Temari and Kankuro at the ramen shop along with Rookie 9. Sasuke had convinced Sakura that he was well enough to leave the hospital and was listening to everyone talk around him. Sakura sat next to him while talking to everyone. Aya noticed that she kept glancing at Sasuke as if to make sure he was still there. It would probably take weeks for Sakura to convince herself that Sasuke wasn't going anywhere. Aya and Gaara were greeted cheerfully when they joined the group.
After they ate, Sasuke said that he had to get to work. He had to clean out his clan's compound since no one had been living in it for several years. Sakura glared at him, "Sasuke-kun, if you think for one minute I'm going to let you work when you've just gotten out of the hospital then you had better think again."
The Uchiha met her glare with calm eyes, "It's got to get done, Sakura."
Sakura drew in a breath to begin giving Sasuke a piece of her mind but felt a hand on her shoulder. Aya hadn't wanted things to turn into a fight and with Sakura's temper that was a possibility. She placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder to get her attention then smiled warmly.
"Why don't we help him?" Aya suggested. "Then he won't have to work as hard and it'll get done. It does need to be done if he's going to have a place to sleep tonight, Sakura."
The pink haired medic nodded, "Alright."
The group left and gathered at the Uchiha compound. The place looked like a ghost town. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere. Windows were broken and shojis torn apart. It would take a lot of work to make the place inhabitable again. They didn't waste any time. First thing to do was get Sasuke's bedroom cleaned out and repaired. They talked as they worked to pass the time and perhaps make cleaning a little less miserable. The rest of the afternoon was spent getting Sasuke's room ready.
After a week, Temari dubbed Gaara well enough to travel. The sand siblings and Aya were packed and ready to head home. Aya couldn't wait. As much as she loved the friends she made in Konoha, she missed her home. Although she still hated saying good bye. There were promises to visit and write. Aya hugged her friends and waved as her and the sand siblings walked out of the gate.
"I can't wait to get home. I have to tell Dad and Mom everything I've seen. Oh, and I have to tell Hana all about the people I've met," Aya said excitedly.
Temari chuckled, "I'll admit, it was nice to have a break from work. I hope that Hajime waits at least one more day before becoming a pest."
Aya glowered, "Don't mention him. It'll ruin this perfectly good day."
Kankuro laughed, "If the two of you would just stop making your hatred so obvious he wouldn't bother you so much. He seems determined to make you like him."
"Well, I won't. I don't care who he is. As long as he treats Gaara like a monster then I'm not going to like him," Aya snapped.
Gaara felt a little warmth at her defense of him. He shook his head, "What Hajime thinks doesn't bother me."
"Liar," Aya grumbled so that the other's couldn't understand her. She looked up at the blue sky and the thick forest around them. The air was fresh and warm. There was a light breeze making everything seem so pleasant. She smiled, "Who care about Hajime? This is a beautiful day."
"Come on," Kankuro said. "Let's go home."
That's it for now. I'll try to get the next chapter up asap.
On a side note. I have a problem for those of you who read yu yu hakusho fics and like my writing style. I have an idea for a YYH fic but I'm not sure it's a good one. Before I waste my time writing more than the 2 chapters I have, I would like to have someone read what I've got and tell me if it's a good idea or not. If you're willing please e-mail me and let me know. (my email is by the way).
