Chapter 6

Matsuri blinked and shook her head. She wasn't sure what was wrong, but everything she was looking at was extremely blurry. "It's me, Gaara," the blob with a red blob on top of it said.

Matsuri launched herself at the blob that had spoken. As she came to within a foot of him, her sensei and crush finally became clear to her eyes. Kissing him on the cheek, she whispered, "Thank you, Gaara-sensei."

Gaara blushed as red as his hair, at which point Matsuri couldn't help but giggle. Most of the people in the Sand Village might fear or hate Gaara, but Matsuri knew he was a good, strong person and would make a hell of a Kazekage someday. Hell, maybe that day would come sooner than anyone thought, if he won this tournament. "What are you thanking me for, Matsuri?" Gaara asked, interrupting the girl's thoughts. "If I hadn't put up that sand wall, you would have never gotten hurt like you did."

Matsuri pulled back and looked at the redhead she so adored with a small smile. "That may be true, but if you hadn't, we would have all gotten hit by that fireball and died. You saved us all, and I'll gladly take a hit on the head for that. So again, Gaara-sensei, thank you," she answered him.

Gaara chuckled, blushing even deeper. "Well, thank you, too, Matsuri. Seeing you sacrifice yourself to save someone else like you did reminded me what's really important. It was seeing you do that that gave me the strength to fight and protect my people from the Uchiha," he told her. "If I become Kazekage, it will be because you gave me the strength to do it."

Matsuri blushed and smiled, looking away from the redhead. Gaara turned her head back toward his and smiled at her gently, stroking her face with his hand softly. Tsunade, watching them from across the room, smiled at Shizune, who was standing beside her. Neither spoke, waiting to see what would happen. Gaara leaned down and pressed his forehead to Matsuri's, then touched his lips to hers gently. Matsuri responded willingly, and, when the two separated after their first kiss, the brunette was smiling and blushing happily.

Tsunade chose that moment to interrupt the two. "Is something wrong, Matsuri?" she asked. Matsuri tensed and groped for Gaara, who had backed up as Tsunade spoke. Matsuri turned toward Gaara, fear obvious in her eyes.

Gaara moved back toward the girl and rested a hand on her shoulder gently. "I'm right here, Matsuri," he said quietly, comfortingly. Matsuri seemed to relax at his words and gave her sensei a grateful smile.

Tsunade tried again. "I'm Tsunade," she said gently. "I'm the Fifth Hokage. You seemed to be having some kind of trouble when you first woke up. What was it?"

Matsuri looked toward the voice, her worry clear in her eyes. "I can barely see," she said after a moment, her voice shaky. "All I can make out is vague shapes. I couldn't see Gaara-sensei's face until he was right in front of me. Just...vague shapes and colors, that's all."

Tsunade came over by the clearly distraught girl's bedside and gave her a smile. "You're in good hands," she said. "I'm known as the best medical ninja in the world, and there's damn good reason for that." Reaching out, her hands began to glow green as she gathered her chakra and rested her hands on Matsuri's head. Probing inside the girl's head, she made her way to the optic nerve. "Interesting," she thought to herself. "It's not the nerve or the eye, and it doesn't seem to be brain damage, so that's good. But then...what is wrong here?" Then she ran her senses along the optic nerve again. "There!" she thought in triumph as she found it. It seemed as if there was an electrical current running through the nerve itself and causing interference between the young girl's eyes and brain.

Tsunade couldn't help giving off a small chuckle as she siphoned off the trouble-causing current. Matsuri blinked and looked around in wonder. "I can see!" she said happily. Tsunade withdrew her hands, letting the girl sit up. The brunette threw her arms around her buxom doctor's neck in gratitude. "Thank you so much, Lady Hokage!" she said, tears filling her eyes.

Tsunade smiled. It was times like this that made her remember why she became a medic in the first place. Extracting herself from the excited girl's arms, Tsunade smiled at them, then her face regained a serious look. "Matsuri, as you may or may not know, Gaara here took down a rogue ninja from this village during the fight where you were injured," she began. Matsuri sighed; she'd kind of figured that would happen when she saw the Uchiha attacking them. Tsunade continued after a moment, "As a result, we had to postpone the beginning of the Kazekage tournament. You haven't missed anything yet." Matsuri waved that off; that thought hadn't even occurred to her. Tsunade smiled; it was obvious Matsuri was just glad Gaara was safe. "On a brighter note, everyone made it here just fine, you and Hinata were the only ones really hurt, and Naruto was exhausted but fine. We all owe Gaara here a great deal; it's only because of him you, Naruto, and Hinata even made it back at all."

Matsuri smiled. "I'm glad to hear that," she said softly.

It was at this point that Gaara decided to speak to his student as her sensei. "That was foolish and reckless of you to risk your life like that, Matsuri," he said, his voice stern.

Matsuri looked somewhat apologetic, but she responded, "I couldn't just let them get hurt, Gaara-sensei!"

Gaara chuckled at the girl's protest. "No, I know you couldn't, and I'm glad you didn't," he said, his voice full of pride now. "It may have been foolish and reckless, but it's also the bravest, most selfless thing I've ever seen someone do, and it made me incredibly proud to be your sensei."

Matsuri blushed, but she couldn't hide her pleased smile; that was the kindest thing anyone had ever said to her. "Thank you so much, Gaara-sensei," she said back. Turning to Tsunade, she asked, "Is there anything else you need with me, Lady Hokage?"

Tsunade shook her head. "If you're feeling up to getting up, you're free to go. I'm sure I'll see you both around," she told the brunette, including Gaara in the latter comment.

Gaara nodded, then held out a hand to Matsuri, who took it and rose to her feet. She was a little shaky for a moment, but that passed quickly, and the two left the Hokage's office, their hands linked.

Tsunade watched them leaving with a small smile on her face, then turned to Shizune, her eyes worried. "Where the hell did Sasuke learn to do that?" she asked rhetorically.

xxxxxx

As Gaara and Matsuri made their way out of the Hokage Tower, the redhead's face was slightly pink due to the constant contact between himself and his student. Looking over the village from the door to the tower, Matsuri commented idly, "It's beautiful here, isn't it?"

Gaara smiled and answered, "Yeah, it really is, isn't it?" The two began to walk around the village. Neither of them was particularly surprised to find Kankuro chasing an attractive girl a few minutes later. They were surprised, however, to find Temari talking to a black-haired boy wearing a flak jacket and with his hair pulled up into a topknot that gave his head a distinct resemblance to a pineapple. The two were walking down the street toward Gaara and Matsuri when they first saw them. "Just couldn't wait to find Shikamaru, huh, Temari?" Gaara teased his sister.

Temari blushed slightly, and Shikamaru looked back and forth between the two siblings, his face clearly confused. Shaking his head, the lazy genius kept walking, muttering, "This is too much of a drag for me to get involved in."

Temari snarled at Gaara briefly, then smiled at Matsuri. "Don't pick on me about my boyfriend, I won't make fun of you about your girlfriend," she told Gaara in return before leaving to follow after Shikamaru.

Matsuri looked up at Gaara, her eyes surprised. "Did she just call me your...girlfriend?" she asked after a moment. Gaara nodded. Matsuri shrugged and linked her arm with his.

Gaara smiled. "I think she also admitted to dating Shikamaru," he said. "The world must be ending."

Matsuri giggled. "Nah, that won't happen until he admits it," she said back.

Gaara chuckled again. "You do have a point, my dear," he teased. "That would indeed be the end of the world, if that lazy bastard ever admitted to being involved in something that's 'such a drag'." The redhead's voice matched Shikamaru's perfectly as he said the genius's favorite expression, causing Matsuri to giggle yet again.

Kankuro, who had happened to see the four meet, snarled in frustration. "How can those two be so lucky when every girl I try to talk to tells me I should hit on one of my puppets?" he asked himself in frustration.

"You're a puppet-master?" a voice asked from nearby. Turning, Kankuro was surprised to find a young-looking woman with purple hair looking at him curiously.

"Why, yes, I am, as a matter of fact," he told her.

"That is so cool!" she said. "How do you get your chakra so thin in the strings?"

Kankuro grinned and began to tell the young woman everything he could about his craft. "Maybe I'll get lucky yet," he thought to himself.

xxxxxx

Neji sighed as he walked down the main street of the village. The last few days had just been insane. Sasuke was declared a rogue ninja, then killed by Gaara of all people, Lee was disillusioned about Sakura when the pink-haired girl tried to attack the unconscious Naruto, and now he had seen Shikamaru with Gaara's blond-haired sister and Kankuro, Gaara's brother, talking to a purple-haired woman that he would have sworn he recognized as one of the ANBU who had fought against the Sand and Sound during their invasion not long ago. Had the entire world gone insane? On the other hand, though, who was Neji to question forgiveness? As he had said himself to Sakura not long ago, if anyone understood forgiveness, it was him.

Speaking of Sakura, there she was, coming toward Neji with a shy look on her face. "Neji?" she said hesitantly when he came within earshot of her. He nodded, an eyebrow raised curiously. "You said yesterday that you'd see me around...I was hoping...can I talk to you?" she asked.

"You may. What can I do for you, Sakura?" Neji said, his voice friendly. As he spoke, he continued walking, and Sakura fell into step beside him.

Sakura sighed deeply. "I'm sure Naruto's heard by now what happened," she said. Neji could easily tell the girl was deeply distressed. "I know I wasn't always the best friend to him, but I did consider him a friend. Now, I'm afraid I may have lost that...and I don't know that I deserve to have him forgive me."

Neji gave the girl a small sidelong smile. "I didn't deserve his forgiveness, Sakura," he said. "I nearly killed my own cousin, insulted him grievously, and, in all reality, tried to kill him. Even after all that, he forgave me when he saw that I had legitimately changed. If he can forgive me, I'm sure he'll forgive you." Neji paused briefly, then added, "At least, if you show him you really want to change, he will."

Sakura gave Neji a small smile. "Thanks, Neji. I'm sure you're right, now that I think about it," she commented, her voice low. She took a deep breath, reaffirming her determination. "Yeah, I'll talk to Naruto, show him I've really changed...I'll earn his forgiveness."

Neji chuckled and rested a hand on Sakura's shoulder. He gave her a genuine smile, one of the very few he had ever bestowed on anyone outside his own family, and told her, "I'm glad to hear you say that, Sakura." Just then he looked up and saw Naruto and Hinata making their way toward them down the street. He chuckled again and added, "And here comes your chance now."

Hinata was the first one to notice Neji and Sakura coming toward them. She froze momentarily, which drew Naruto's attention to the pink-haired girl. Naruto froze as well. His eyes filled with a look of such betrayal and fear Sakura's heart hurt for him. "I really did hurt him, didn't I?" she thought to herself. She sighed. "Oh well, I guess I just need to try harder." As she thought this, Naruto came within earshot. "Hey, Naruto!" she called out. Naruto stopped and tensed up, clearly not happy that she was addressing him.

Hinata rested a hand on Naruto's arm gently and leaned up to whisper something in his ear. Naruto looked at Sakura hesitantly a moment, then shook his head, giving a smile to Hinata, seemingly grateful. Hinata nodded in understanding and looked toward Neji, then back to Naruto with a question in her eyes. Naruto nodded this time. Hinata came forward, gripped Neji's hand, and dragged him off. Neji knew better than to protest. That look in Hinata's eyes...he was pretty sure if he tried to protest, he'd be in some pretty serious pain. When they were out of earshot, Hinata said quietly, "He wants to talk to Sakura alone, let's let them be." Neji smiled at his cousin and nodded.

Sakura turned to Naruto, her green eyes nervous. Naruto, his blue eyes cold, raised an eyebrow and waited for her to speak first. Sakura sighed. "Well, I guess I'm going to have to speak first," she thought. "Naruto," she began, her voice quiet.

Naruto held up a hand. "You don't have to worry, Sakura, I'm not going to ask you out anymore," he said seriously, his voice steady, his eyes curious but still cold.

Sakura gasped; for some reason, that kinda hurt. "That's not what I was worried about, Naruto," she said. "I'm sure you heard what I did." He nodded, his eyes hurt. "I'm so sorry, Naruto, I wasn't thinking straight...I was just so upset, I lashed out at you, and I really shouldn't have. It was stupid of me to do that...and I know I don't deserve it, but can you ever forgive me?"

Naruto thought for a moment, then turned his usual cheerful smile on Sakura. "Sure, I can, Sakura. After all, we're friends, right?" he said.

To Naruto's disappointment, Sakura never noticed that his smile was fake. She forced a smile herself, which he could easily tell was more relieved than happy. "Right," she said simply. The two friends parted, Naruto heading off toward where Hinata and Neji had gone, Sakura continuing toward the Hokage tower, where she'd been going when she first saw Neji.

xxxxxx

Sakura slowly entered Tsunade's office when she was told the Hokage would see her. Tsunade looked up at the pink-haired girl with annoyance obvious in her brown eyes. Sakura winced slightly at the glare being leveled at her by the legendary medic. "What can I do for you, Sakura?" Tsunade asked, her voice hard, cold.

Sakura winced. This wasn't going to be easy. "I'd like to request a long-term C-rank, Lady Hokage," she said.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. That was the last thing she'd expected Sakura to request. Thinking about it, she realized there was an obvious reason for it. "You're trying to avoid Naruto and the others," she said. Sakura nodded after a moment. "I have to deny your request, Sakura. You need to set things straight with Naruto, and avoiding the others will just make them more angry at you, not make this go away. You tried to attack a fellow Leaf shinobi who was completely defenseless and who has never done anything but try to help and befriend you. If you simply vanish, it will seem to them like you have so little respect for them that you would simply turn your back on what you did. I cannot allow you to do that."

Sakura took a deep breath. "I understand, Lady Hokage," she said. Bowing deeply, Sakura left the Hokage's office.

Tsunade sighed. "I hate to admit it," she said to herself, "but I probably would have lashed out at Jiraiya just like she lashed out at Naruto. That girl is so like me it's more than a little creepy. I guess it falls to me to protect her from herself." Shaking her head, she groaned, "What have I gotten myself into?"

xxxxxx

Arriving at his building, Naruto was slightly surprised to find Hinata waiting for him outside. "Hinata?" he said. "What are you doing here?"

Hinata smiled at him. "I wanted to make sure everything was okay with you and Sakura," she said. "That, and I can't really go home yet, our mission isn't done yet, so I figured I'd come here for the time being."

Naruto chuckled, then the two entered the blond's building together. After making their way up to the blond's small apartment, Hinata asked Naruto, "Is everything okay with Sakura?"

Naruto sighed. "Well, not entirely, given what she did...I think she's sincere in her apology, though, so I'm willing to give her a chance," he said back. "And don't worry, I'm all yours," he added when Hinata looked distressed.

Hinata blushed furiously and boldly approached Naruto. She wrapped him in a hug and whispered into his chest, "Finally...I've wished for this for so long t-that I just want to be selfish. I just want you to be all mine."

Naruto pulled back a bit and smiled at her. "I am. And you're all mine," he told her back, winking at her. He chuckled when she blushed again, then wrapped her in his arms and spun her around playfully. Hinata squealed and giggled at her boyfriend's antics. Naruto smiled at his girlfriend, then stopped and set her down. He thought a moment, then said, "Is it just me, or is it still really hard to believe that we're...you know, a couple?"

Hinata blushed as he said that, but her smile was all the brighter. "It's hard to believe, but I, for one, have never been happier in my life," she said.

Suddenly, Naruto backed away from Hinata, holding up his hand to signal her to stay put. Reaching into his bag, the one he'd had with him during their trip, he rummaged around a bit, eventually pulling out a scroll. Hinata raised an eyebrow at it. Naruto handed it to her. "Open it," he said, clearly giddy.

Hinata opened the scroll and found a containment seal drawn into it. She looked at her boyfriend questioningly. Naruto nodded and gestured for her to unseal it. Hinata did. A large bouquet of flowers, wrapped in some kind of purplish wax paper, sprang from the seal. Hinata gasped, then gaped at the flowers, not sure what she was looking at was real. Naruto chuckled. Hinata looked up at him and asked, "What is this?"

Naruto chuckled again. "This is what I was doing during the trip. I was gathering flowers. I heard before we left that you like to press flowers, so I went out and looked for some that we don't have here and some rare ones and what not to give to you as a gift. This...is what I found," he told her.

Hinata blushed, looking through the massive collection he had amassed during their trip. Suddenly, she let out an excited squeal and threw herself at Naruto, hugging him tightly. Naruto hugged her back, chuckling quietly at her antics. "She is just too cute for her own good sometimes," Naruto thought.

The young couple breathed deeply of one another's scent, loving how close they felt to one another, how safe they felt together, and how complete they felt. It had been far too long since either of them felt this way. They both knew that moments of peace like this were rare indeed in the life of a ninja, so both were determined to enjoy it to its utmost. Their decision was wise indeed, for this was the last moment of peace either of them would enjoy for a long time.