Chapter 8 : Rescue Mission - Downtime in Suna

It had been two days since Gaara's rescue. Both Naruto and the Kazekage had been admitted to the hospital right away and what wounds remained was quickly treated. Gaara woke up the next day but Naruto has remained asleep since he passed out after killing Sasori.

Sakura, Hinata and Ino worked on him with Sakura taking head of the operation. Naruto was suffering from an extreme case of Burn Out due to severe power and chakra backlash when he gained his seventh tail. To properly rebuild his reserves and readjust his coils his body entered a state of stasis sleep until he was back to full power. It didn't stop the girls from worrying though, even if he was alright and in no danger, he was still in a deep sleep and none of them had any idea when he would wake up.

Yugito Nii, a two tailed Hanyou and former Jinchuuriki of Nibi the Nekomanta, figured that he would be out for another day or so since with each tail gained the back lash is that much more powerful than the previous one. Naruto had helped her through hers, but since she only had two tails to gain the backlash wasn't near as bad as what Naruto had to deal with. She had shuddered to think of what the backlash for the ninth tail would be like since he would not only become a full demon then but gain truly limitless chakra.

All those involved with the rescue took this time to take a well deserved rest and regain their strength. Kakashi was often at the book store checking to see if the latest Icha, Icha Paradise had been released. Temari was busy helping Gaara and Kankuro restore peace to the village. Sakura, Ino and Hinata often helped at the hospital to both watch over Naruto and aid anyone else in need. Tenten was helping Temari with the mission paperwork...something neither really liked. Finally, Yugito was also helping where she could.

A messenger bird had been sent the day the group arrived back in Suna, Tsunade sent a reply back to stay in Suna until Naruto is fully recovered and to take this time to relax a bit. None of them argued, when you were a ninja you never turned down a free vacation.

At the moment it was late at night as Naruto lay in his hospital bed, the pale moonlight filtering through the partially opened window curtains. Naruto's body jerked and shuddered slightly as his eyes opened and he blinked a few times as his mind came to a more conscious state.

"Damn...another nightmare..." He whispered and swallowed hard as he tried to erase the visions still fresh in his mind.

Naruto sat up in bed and noticed he was no longer sore, meaning his body had made a complete recovery. He also noticed he was in human form rather than Hanyou form. His clothes had been cleaned and fixed and were folded next to his bed sitting with his swords.

Glancing down he noticed he seal was uncovered and letting off its usual glow. He was clad only in a pair of hospital sleeping pants. Sighing he got out of the bed and stretched a bit as his bones popped back into place. He then grabbed the longer length of his now cleaned black bandages and began wrapping them around his lower torso.

After that was done he wrapped the shorter lengths around his forearms and then put his gloves and arm guards on. He then got out of the sleep pants and put on his boxers and his black pants...which had been fixed. His boots and trench coat had been destroyed in the battle so his friends had replaced them with duplicates from a Suna tailor. The coat was a bit different this time since it fit more like a cloak and mantle without sleeves. He finally put on his forehead protector and then put on his belts and swords.

He walked over to the window and opened it. The cold dessert night air felt soothing to his skin. Without another thought he leapt out of the window and landed on a roof top across the way. As per his usual habit he found one of the taller structures in Suna and perched there like a gargoyle watching over its city.

"It seems old habits die hard...I figured I'd find you up here, Naruto-kun." Yugito said as she landed next to him.

"Hello, Yugito-chan, visiting Suna?" Naruto asked still looking over the dessert; he had sensed her presence a short time ago and had caught her scent on his trek to the tower he was perched on.

"No...a few days ago I sensed your battle. I was passing through Wind Country on my way to Fire Country to take up your offer...I found you exhausted and your friends attending to you so I gave all of you a ride back here to Suna." She answered.

"I see." Naruto answered. "Thank you...the backlash from the seventh tail really took a lot out of me. So...you want to join Konoha now huh...I'll talk to mom about it, I'm sure she'll accept it."

Yugito nodded and side glanced at her friend. "You know...your little girlfriends have been really worried about you since the fight." She said doing her best to be nonchalant.

"Girlfriends...?" Naruto asked a bit confused. "Oh...you mean the ladies in my team. Nah, they're just good childhood friends and trustworthy teammates, nothing as serious as you thought." Naruto said not really wanting to get into this at the moment.

Yugito didn't buy it, she knew those girls had a thing for Naruto, hell she did too and if there was something going on she wanted in on the fun!

"Are you sure about that, they sure fussed a lot over you for just being friends." Yugito teased.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Naruto replied. "Why are you so interested anyways?"

Yugito flushed slightly. "Umm...no reason really." She cleared her throat and ran her hand through her blonde hair. "You know...your friends are going to crap themselves when they don't find you in the morning."

"Eh, they're used to it. I rarely ever stay in a hospital if I don't have to. I hate hospitals." Naruto stated. "How's Gaara doing?" He asked after a short silence.

"The Kazekage is doing fine. Apparently when the removal of his Biju was canceled it forced the Ichibi to merge with him...he's like us now, Shukaku is gone and he's a Tanuki Hanyou. Apparently he likes the better control over his sand and the complete lack of a crazed Tanuki jabbering on in his head." Yugito chuckled.

Naruto chuckled as well. "I can relate. If the damn fox doesn't learn to keep its yap shut soon I'm going to go into the seal myself and neuter the bastard with a dull kunai."

Within the seal, Kyuubi cringed and put its claws between its legs...the damn kid was a freaking sadist and it got worse with every tail he gained. The ancient demon didn't like it, but his vessel was now far more powerful than he was and there wasn't jack squat he could do about it.

Kyuubi had accepted his fate; he had ever since the boy became a Hanyou. But that didn't mean he had to like it, oh no, he wasn't going out of this world without causing as much trouble for the blonde Jinchuuriki as it could...without getting neutered that is.

"Hmm...the one, two and nine tails are safely out of Akatsuki's reach. The five tails is in a completely different dimension and I know Golbi wouldn't tolerate them trying anything anyways. Sanbi is a complete baka and has most likely been caught. As for the four, six, seven and eight tails...not even Kyuubi knew where those guys were. At any rate, Akatsuki's plans for using the Biju are completely ruined." Naruto mused.

"But what about when you become a full demon, don't some of the people in your village have ways of suppressing demonic chakra via Wood Jutsu and Seals?" Yugito asked.

"There is one guy named Yamato with an affinity for Wood. But in order for those jutsu to truly work to their fullest the target has to have been a born demon...I was born human and am slowly becoming a demon. Besides, no human is powerful enough to totally subdue a Biju, they can only stall for time unless they try the Dead Demon Soul Seal Fuuinjutsu and there is only two people alive right now that know how to perform that jutsu...myself and Ero-sennin." Naruto answered.

"What about the Akatsuki leader...he's supposed to have some kind of really powerful Doujutsu called the Rinnegan that gives him affinities for all the elements?" Yugito countered.

"According to the memories I gained from Kyuubi-teme, the Rinnegan was the first Doujutsu to exist. But it only grants the user control over the five primary elements...it's strong sure, but it's not invincible. The same could be said about the Byakugan, Sharingan and Magenkyo Sharingan. All three are prone to bright bursts of light and even if the two Sharingan types can see through high speeds the user has to be physically able to keep up. Itachi is fast, I'm betting Sasuke has gained some speed as well but can they match demonic speed? And don't forget about the Magenkyo's disease and the curse it holds...all gifts come at some kind of price...the Sharingan has one of the worst prices there is to pay." Naruto stated shrugging his shoulders.

"That's true, to gain Magenkyo you have to kill your best friend and then the power slowly eats away at your eyes until you go blind." Yugito mused.

Naruto nodded. "There is a way around that, an Uchiha with a brother who has the Magenkyo, can kill his sibling, take the eyes and gain a Magenkyo without the disease and immortality, or rather a cursed eternity. It's the reason why Orochimaru wanted Sasuke so badly, he wanted Sasuke to kill Itachi and then take Itachi's eyes to gain the immortality while he used him as a vessel for his own twisted soul. Sad fact of the matter is, no matter how you look at it, Sasuke was and still is nothing more than a glorified pawn for both Orochimaru and Itachi."

"Not that it really matters anymore, the only way for the teme to gain his Magenkyo is to kill me and he isn't strong or skilled enough to do that anymore. Itachi will eventually go blind...if I don't kill him first and Madara...he's still a bit on the unknown side but I'll handle him when the time comes, just like I've handled everything else in my life up until this point."

"By beating the shit out of it and leaving a stain on the ground right?" Yugito asked dryly.

"Heh...pretty much. I know that way of thinking will likely get me killed on day, but hey...it is my nature to fight. One way or another, I will always be a fighter, it's always been like that and it probably always will be." Naruto said still staring at the moon, a slight smile on his face.

Yugito sighed; he cut such a handsome profile in the moonlight. For anyone who cared to actually look at him they would see a young man with a heavy burden hidden behind a calm and seemingly carefree mask. She knew better though...she had been just like him, a living sacrifice, hated, abused and generally used as a weapon for her village. Had it not been for him she would have given up on humanity...it was ironic in a way, one who had it just as bad, if not worse than she did...changed her whole perspective on life and gave her a reason to embrace her humanity despite being a Jinchuuriki and now a Hanyou.

He never let anyone get too close though, it saddened her. Since that time he helped her and Nibi to become one, she had gained feelings for him. But every time she tried to get things steered in a more serious direction he just let it blow over and continued to treat her like a good friend...nothing more, nothing less. From what she could see with the other girls, it was much the same with them. He was willing to be good friends with them but that seemed to be it.

For the life of her she couldn't figure out why though. She knew Naruto felt emotions like love and affection; she'd seen him give it to others...even those who didn't deserve it. Yet he never seemed to take any that was offered back to him in return. Perhaps it was his self-sacrificing personality or something more. She didn't really know but hopefully one day soon she could break past that barrier.

Yugito broke off from her thoughts and looked over to Naruto only to find that he had already left, completely and silently vanished from sight.

"Damn...I hate when he does that." She huffed.

The peaceful Suna morning was shattered by five exceptionally loud screams coming from the hospital. Screams so loud that they literately caused the sands to vibrate.

Naruto sweatdropped as he stopped in the middle of his kata. He was in a training ground on the other side of Suna...damn those girls had lungs on them.

Kakashi, who was perched on one of the training posts with his nose buried in his favorite orange book lazily peeked above its pages and gave his usual lazy eye smile towards his student.

"Sounds like the girls found out you checked yourself out last night." Kakashi mused.

Naruto just began going back through his kata while trying not to think about the monster class ass chewing he was going to get later...Kakashi wasn't so kind though.

"It's gonna take a lot of dates or special services to make this one up to them." The cycloptic Jounin chuckled.

Naruto stumbled in mid kata and ended up kissing the blunt side of his own sword, Kakashi just let out another chuckle.

"I fail to find the humor in this sensei." Naruto said dryly as he nursed his now tender nose.

"Really...I'm finding loads of it." Kakashi answered.

Naruto suddenly appeared behind Kakashi, a demented grin on his face. Kakashi sweatdropped and gulped slightly, karma really sucked sometimes.

"You're not supposed to drop your guard Kakashi-sensei, especially around enemies and irate former students." He muttered and formed the tiger seal. "1,000 years of Death!"

The civilians of Suna could only stare and blink as the famed Copy-Ninja, Kakashi Hatake, went flying over several buildings...screaming like a little girl while holding his own ass.

Yugito snickered from her spot a few feet away from Naruto.

"Think ya might have over done it a bit sugar?" She asked with a slight smirk.

Used to Yugito's flirting...since it was a lot like a cross between Ino and Anko, Naruto just shrugged.

"Let's just call it payback for my Genin test; I had nightmares for three weeks after he did it to me five years ago. Not to mention the fact it hurt like hell." Naruto grumbled.

"NA-RU-TOOOOO!!" Came the familiar scream from a short distance.

Naruto let out a shudder and broke out in a cold sweat. Yugito found the whole thing amusing...she had warned the blockhead after all. The poor sap didn't seem to understand that when you have females worried about you and then you just up and disappear on them...it adds to the worry and pisses them off.

"Aw...crap..." Naruto sighed.

The girls were getting closer as their voices filtered into the training grounds making Naruto either cringe, shudder or a odd combination of both. Hinata was the only one who didn't seem to be voicing an opinion...and for some odd reason that scared the shit out of him.

"When I find that inconsiderate little...OHHHH! I'm going to rip his tails off!" Sakura screamed.

"Then I'm going to shove them up his ass! The least he could have done was wait until morning to go gallivanting around Suna!" Ino added.

"Target practice for me." Tenten stated.

"I'll settle for castrating him and then bronzing his jewels and putting them on my mantle!" Temari yelled.

Naruto let out a slight shudder. "Geeze...are these girls or barbarians...and just what is so damn funny Yugito-chan?" He asked with several twitches of the brow.

Yugito shrugged with a giggle. "I did try to warn you. It's not my fault you're such a moron when it comes to us ladies." Her tails were swishing to and fro in an almost happy manner.

Naruto sheathed his blades and glared at his friend. "Well excuse me for not being to experienced in the gentle arts dammit, I'm a Ninja, not a Casanova."

"True, but your also a Hanyou, meaning you should have some instincts in that department." She said nonchalant.

Naruto let out a frustrated growl. "The nine tailed pricks only instinct was to rut like a critter in heat as much a possible so I don't think I could very well use that since I am not like that nor will I ever be. I swear that damn fox didn't have an ounce of romance in its whole body."

Yugito arched her eyebrow. "And you do? Last time I checked you still get nose bleeds if you accidentally get too much of a view of a females cleavage or you freeze up and start babbling like an idiot if you see a nude woman."

Naruto had the decency to flush slightly at that. "It's not my damn fault! And you! You knew I was in the next room and you still waltzed around naked like you were in your own home. How the hell was I supposed to act? It was the first time I'd ever been in that kind of situation and Ero-sennin hadn't put me into it!" He snapped back.

Yugito gave him a rather feline grin. "Oh...you didn't like what you saw? I could have sworn that you did."

"Well I...err...that is..." Naruto fumbled.

"Behind you lover boy." Yugito smirked.

Naruto slowly turned his head and saw five rather irate looking Kunoichi behind him, Yugito just giggled at the situation and decided to enjoy the show...if only she had some pocky...

Naruto's nice tanned complexion turned a sickly pale in a matter of seconds...five sets of the evil eye...one enhanced by the Byakugan...was enough to make even someone as demented as Orochimaru soil himself. Naruto settled for abject panic...was Tenten playing with a Kunai?

"Heh...h-hey ladies...nice weather we're having huh?" He asked lamely. "Crap they look pissed off...did they hear Yugito...if they did..."

Ino stepped up, a disturbingly sweet smile of her face a sure sign to Naruto that he was screwed.

"So...Naruto-kun, you skipped out of the hospital to spend time with your girlfriend did you? When were you going to tell us about cat-girl over there hmm? You seem to know each other much better than we thought considering you've seen her naked." Ino asked in a sickly sweet tone while Sakura cracked her knuckles.

"Kid...unless you wanna be neutered...you better run." Kyuubi added with a slight snicker in his tones.

Running seemed like an excellent idea but since Ino had grabbed one of his tails and had it in a very tight grip the brilliant idea was wasted. It didn't help that the demented fox was snickering in his head or that Yugito looked utterly amused with the whole situation.

The irony of the situation wasn't lost on Naruto either. He had no problem or fear in facing down hoards of enemies, demons or monsters but put five pissed off and seemingly hurt females in front of him and he was scared shitless. The fact that Hinata had lost the angry look and was now staring at him with big hurt and tear filled eyes literately sapped all the fight out of him and made him feel lower than crap on a boot.

However...

This wasn't the same Naruto that was once a Knucklehead, he may have kept his unpredictable nature but he was no longer an idiot or easily freaked out. As such the old insecurities he used to show and fear of irate females passed as quickly as it came. Yugito noticed the sudden shift in his personality and was rather shocked...she hadn't expected this to happen. Naruto was usually so fun and easy to tease.

Naruto's color returned to normal and his eyes narrowed as he shot a hard glare at Ino...who for her part gulped and suddenly remembered that this wasn't the same kid she used to know and that she was holding the tail of a rather powerful Hanyou.

"Kindly let go of my tail, would you?" Naruto said in a sharp voice...he didn't ask, he demanded it be done.

"Uhh...yeah...sorry bout that." Ino gulped and let go.

"What's up with him all of a sudden...oh crap...I forgot." Yugito sighed. "I should have remembered...he hates being dominated by females and the demonic blood in him will not allow it to happen anymore since he's kinda an Alpha. I should have remembered this would happen...you can only tease him just so much these days."

"Now...I left the hospital because I no longer needed to be there, it was my choice and my right to do so. I appreciate that you were all worried about me but don't get your panties in a twist every time I don't do something you like." Naruto started his tone not cold but not warm either. "I hate being controlled and no one will control me...not anymore. If you got a problem with me, fine, take it up with me but don't blow shit clear out of proportion and don't treat me like I am still the same Blockhead Genin that could be walked all over because he was starved for attention. That person died several years ago and you'd all do good to remember that."

The five girls suddenly got rather sheepish and meek as Naruto put them in their place. It didn't help that his power aura had come out full tilt and further enforced his intent and words. Naruto then turned on Yugito and the Nekomanta cringed slightly at the glare she was getting.

"As for you." He said sternly. "What happened back with the old pervert was an accident. I certainly didn't expect you to be running around naked and you shouldn't have been with Ero-sennin running around. If you wanted my attention there are better ways of getting it and don't even try the mating season excuse...demons don't have seasons, we do what we damn well please."

"Erm...yeah...sorry about that...heh, heh, heh..." Yugito giggled nervously.

"Good...now I'm going to go get some lunch, I'll see you ladies later." He said, took three steps and vanished in a swirl of fire.

"Well...that could have gone better." Yugito sighed.

Temari blinked. "I think we made him mad..."

"Way to state the obvious blondie." Tenten added dryly.

"Now, now...let's not fight." Yugito said. "It's partially my fault. I should have remembered about certain traits he gained when he became a Hanyou. Male demons, especially ones as powerful as Naruto, have a great dislike of being dominated. In a sense...you could say Naruto is an Alpha Male. You can tease him but only just so much before it either grates on his nerves or you step over the line."

"In other words if any of us want to have a chance with him we're not only going to have to learn to control our tempers but stop trying to control him like we used to when he was younger." Sakura pointed out.

"Bingo." Yugito chimed.

Temari giggled a bit. "I don't really mind him being dominant...it's kinda sexy if you ask me."

Ino, Tenten and Sakura face faulted while Hinata and Yugito flushed with less then pure thoughts running through their minds. The other three girls quickly regained their composure and did their best to block the improper thoughts that were now running rampant through their minds.

Ino glanced at Yugito and sighed. "I assume that you are also interested in Naruto-kun?" She asked plainly.

Yugito nodded. "Yes, but I don't think he is interested in me. It's hard to tell with him...he keeps things like that bottled up, locked up and hidden away. From the amount of admirers he has I'd assume that the old pervert was right about his clan practicing Polygamy?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah...it's mainly because his Clan in on the verge of extinction and the Namikaze was a well known and powerful clan in Fire Country."

"You are right though...Naruto is nice and all to us but he doesn't really seem to show any romantic interest in us. Then again the only one of us that was actually nice to him growing up is Hinata here." Tenten mused.

"N-Naruto-kun is just trying to sort things out...he needs to do that first." Hinata said quietly.

"I think it goes a bit deeper than that." Kakashi said as he walked up to the group. "A part of his dislikes the fact that he's not human anymore...though he did become a Hanyou by choice, he did it because he thought it would be for the best."

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto's been alone his entire life and hated by most for just as long. Every time he tried to make friends as a child it blew up in his face or the people that he tried to befriend would betray him. I don't need to tell you ladies, especially Yugito and Temari, about how hard the life of a Jinchuuriki can be or the abuses that come along with it. You ladies just need to give him some time...he's not used to people, women especially, wanting his affection or giving him affection. He'll come around eventually but not until he feels that he can trust you ladies." Kakashi said and then walked off with his nose buried back in his favorite book, pleased about his good deed for the day.

Sakura frowned. "I hope it doesn't take too long...with how dangerous our lives are...we never know exactly how much time we will have before we're dead."

That statement...true as it was, caused the other girls to frown in thought. It was very true. The life of a Ninja was one that meant that they could die at anytime if they weren't careful...even then caution isn't always enough.

Gaara Sabaku, fifth Kazekage of Suna and newly appointed Ichibi Hanyou wandered down the streets of Suna as dusk settled in. The young man marveled at how much better he felt now that the irritating Tanuki had been forever silenced. In a way he supposed he should thank the Akatsuki...but he'd rather beat them to bloody pulps for trying to kill him with their damn demon extraction. Still he was alive and now he had all of Shukaku's powers as his own. Though the Tanuki tail, ears and raccoon-like features he could have done without...especially when Mitsuri had exclaimed about how cute they made him. He'd probably never understand that girl...but he supposed it was part of the reason he'd grown to care for her.

His keen eyes spotted a familiar now seven tailed blonde perched up on one of their many water towers. Focusing his chakra and willing his sand to obey he was hoisted up to his friend on a pillar of sand.

"Yo! Gaara, it's been a while. How ya feeling buddy?" Naruto asked not looking behind him but sensing the presence of the new Hanyou.

"I am well, Uzumaki-san. Much more so now that, that irritating Shukaku has been silenced." Gaara answered in his trademark monotone.

Naruto chuckled. "I feel you...I still got an annoying kitsune pissing and moaning all the time. The trick is to either tune it out or threaten to go into the seal and rip its nuts off...the later seems to work the best."

Gaara blinked for a second and then barked out a laugh surprising Naruto. Gaara couldn't help it...only Naruto Uzumaki had the stones to actually threaten a demon lord...even if said demon wasn't as strong as it used to be.

"Only you my friend would ever dare be brave enough to threaten a demon and actually be able to get away with it." Gaara chuckled.

Naruto smirked. "Oh I think you could get away with it now yourself. That's the dangerous things about our kind...the Hanyou. All the chakra you had gained throughout your life combined with Shukaku's has easily made you twice as strong as that insane motor mouth ever was. If we had to go by tails in strength you'd easily be about two and a half."

Gaara nodded and went silent for a moment. "Might I ask what your intentions towards my sister are...she seems quite taken with you. I trust you but I do not wish to see her hurt...or I will hurt you."

Naruto was unaffected by the polite but lingering threat as he shrugged.

"I really don't now Gaara. I've spent my entire life being hated and feared for being a monster that I wasn't. Now I really am one and I'm suddenly attracting girls left and right...ironic in a way. Truth of the matter is I don't really know what to do about them, your sister included. I don't want to hurt anyone...I'd rather lop off a tail than do that. But I have some issues I need to work out...surly you would understand since your childhood was as bad as my own." Naruto sighed.

"I want to trust them...let them in and let them know that I do care for them as more than friends. But the only ones I actually feel like I could even slightly trust right now are your sister, Tenten and Hinata. Maybe Yugito too...but I had many problems with Sakura and Ino in the past. I can tell that they have indeed grown up but until I can get past my own issues and they can regain my full trust then I can't in good conscious do anything with any of them." Naruto explained.

"Hmm...I can understand your feelings on that matter. It took a long time for Mitsuri to gain my own trust but she did and it was worth it. A piece of advice my friend...do not wait too long, they do not have the advantage of our extended life spans and will eventually have to move on...or...they could be killed in battle. Don't wait to long to follow your heart or you may regret it...I believe it was you who taught me that lesson four years ago. Perhaps it is now time for you to take your own advice." Gaara said and summoned his sand once more. "I will see you again soon...I have much paperwork to do now, until then." Gaara vanished in a swirl of sand.

"My own advice huh..." Naruto said ruefully to himself as he glanced back out to the last visages of the sun setting in the distance. "...if only it were so easy."

"Still...I can't string them along...it would be dishonorable. I just don't know if this is right though...it's too dangerous to be thinking about relationships right now with the Akatsuki and Sasuke running around."

"Then again I really don't know how I feel about them...each is special in her own way and I do care for each of them...more than I care to admit at the moment. Maybe I should take a chance...I need to think about this some more...maybe some sleep will help me think better." Naruto thought and bounded off towards the Sabaku Compound since that is where everyone was staying.

Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto