Disclaimer: None of this is mine. I just borrow it to play with. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter and a special thanks to Studebaker1960 for their review! And now…

The Lessons a Hokage Needs to Know

Chapter Four-All together again

NARUTONARUTONARUTO

Tsunade looked at the four people standing on the other side of her desk and closed her eyes in resignation. 'Of every single possible thing that could have happened on their mission, this, of all things, had to.' She had just finished hearing the report of how the team's mission had progressed from the routine clean-up of the band of thieves, to the rest they had taken in Suna before proceeding back home. What had surprised her however was Temari's presence. The blond Sand-Nin was a welcome ally and part-time member of the Leaf Village, but hadn't been scheduled to be in Kohona again until the end of the month. Temari had handed her the Kazekage's correspondence and then proceeded to explain why three of her Jounin had the most shell-shocked expressions on their faces, which in turn had shocked her. 'Sasuke Uchiha, so you finally resurface.' After hearing Temari's explanation of the events surrounding their joint-mission all she had wanted to do was knock back a bottle of Sake and drown her headache in an even bigger headache. 'Ah well.'

She looked down the line of assembled bodies. "Is that all you have to report Kakashi? Sakura? Naruto?" All three ninja nodded their heads. "Very well then. Temari, your usual apartment should be waiting." She handed pay vouchers to Sakura and kakashi. "Sakura, kakashi, I appreciate the work you continue to do for Kohona. Thank you for sacrificing some of your vacation time to aid the Wind Country. Now." She turned her full gaze on Naruto. "I would like to speak to Naruto. Alone."

The other occupants of her office were visibly startled and intrigued by this announcement, but, being Ninja, collected themselves in almost the same instant and exited the room, some more reluctantly than others. Tsunade watched them go with apprehensive thoughts.

"Naruto." She questioned the still blond when the door had closed. "What do you know about project J?"

"Eh?" well that obviously wasn't a question that he was expecting. "Well…" He scrunched up his face in thought. "Project J is an S-Class secret project that was instigated by all the Kages of the five great shinobi nations after the war ended. Its purpose was, and still is, to catalogue all of the Bijuu, and the Jinchuuriki."

Tsunade nodded her head. "That's exactly right. But do you know who we have had doing the actual work on the project?"

Naruto shook his head negatively, then his blue eyes widened in realization. "No…" It came out like a mangle jumble of words.

Tsunade studied the Sake saucer set by her elbow. "I'm afraid so." Naruto looked at her. His expression was a mixture between disbelief, anger, sorrow, and pain. 'Probably betrayal actually.' Tsunade trudged onward. "Sasuke Uchiha has been traveling through the countries and documenting the histories of the great-tailed beasts."

Naruto looked at her with turbulent eyes. "So… all this time you knew. You knew he was alive all this time!?"

Tsunade took another longing glance at her Sake. "Yes I knew. In fact it was I who recommended that he be put on this assignment. It was perfect. I needed a shinobi who was good at what they did. And anyway, who better to document dead legends than a legendary dead man? As you can imagine the other Kage's were more skeptical."

Naruto looked at her aghast. 'OF COURSE THEY WERE MORE SCEPTICAL! THIS IS SASUKE UCHIHA WERE TALKING ABOUT HERE!" After all who hadn't heard about the red-eyed avenger? He had decimated full units of shinobi on all sides without any care in his mind but one. Destroying Itachi Uchiha.

Tsunade groaned as her temples throbbed at the sudden explosion of noise. "Naruto! Calm down! Yes I've known that he was alive. But so have you!" She pointed a finger at him accusingly.

Naruto's eyes widened even further if it was possible, and all color drained from his face. "How could you possibly know that?" He choked out quietly.

"Naruto. You don't think that I would send someone on a mission without knowing everything involved with it now do you? I'm fully aware of the fact that you almost killed him in the forest. In fact, he told me of it himself as I was healing him when you were off fighting the last of the Akatsuki."

Naruto stared hard at her again, this time in blank disbelief. "You dumb woman! I have whole lists of times where you have acted without knowing every single detail! And do you know how much trouble it causes? If you'd only read things more carefully, payed more attention, then everything would be better! And you healed him?! What were you thinking?" Naruto was breathing heavily at the end of his rant.

"Yes well." Tsunade had been taken aback by the blondes quick emotion change. 'So much for a quiet, obedient manner.' "Be that as it may. Very few people are aware of Sasuke's continued existence and it will stay that way. Naruto, I don't know why the Kazekage decided to break code and tell you about him, but it is up to you to figure out why. It is your mission alone. You will get no help but what is freely offered. I will say this though. I helped him because he asked."

"He asked?" The utter astonishment in his voice echoed around the room eerily.

"Yes he asked, very politely too. You managed to beat him up pretty severely, by the way. He also informed me that you let him go when I asked him what had happened to put him in such a rough shape. Immersed in the Foxes power though you were, You chose not to kill him then. In doing so, you essentially chose his fate for him in that instance. And as I trust your judgement, I had to agree with your decision."

Naruto looked at Tsunade in something akin to shock and wonder. "Had to…"

Tsunade nodded decisively. "Had to."

NARUTONARUTONARUTO

"Lady Hokage says not to tell anyone that Sasuke's alive." Were the first words out of Naruto's mouth when he met his team at the entrance to the Hokage's tower. "She says it's an S-Class secret."

Kakashi nodded. "I expected as much. If it were to get around that Sasuke was still alive the peace we worked so long for would be ruined. The question is however" He turned to his two pupils. "Will you be able to keep this a secret? What exactly will you do with this information?"

Sky blue eyes clashed with sea green as the teammates assessed one another. It was Sakura who broke the battle of wills playing out between them. "Sensei, I think I speak for both of us when I say that no one will ever find out through us that Sasuke is alive."

NARUTONARUTONARUTO

'So Garaa, you knew all this time.' Naruto walked down the well trod street and sighed. 'Why didn't you tell me?' His thoughts were agonized. If Garaa of all people had known that Sasuke was alive, and all the other Kages as well, then who else was privileged with this knowledge? How many more people knew of the story between him and Sasuke?"

"Hey Naruto?''

"Yeah Sakura?"

"What happens now? I mean, nothing changes right? Sasuke being alive doesn't change the last ten years. He's alive or he's dead, nothing changes. Not at all."

Naruto looked at Sakura. She had said that with such a meek and downtrodden voice that made his heart feel as if it had been pierced with multiple kunai. He didn't know what to do to comfort her, so he reverted to an old favorite. Naruto grabbed her hand and tugged her along.

"Come on Sakura! Let's go get some ramen!"

NARUTONARUTONARUTO

"So there you are. The Hokage said you were back in town, but we expected you to show up hours ago."

"Huh?" Naruto couldn't form words for the wonderful sight before him. Hinata sitting at a stool in Ichiraku's, eating a bowl of pork ramen. His two favorite things in one place. Hinata and steaming hot ramen. He couldn't help but smile. Maybe things were starting to look up?

"Hinata, and Lee. What are you two doing here?"

A feminine voice called out from the side. "Hey don't forget us now."

Naruto looked at the speaker and chuckled. "And how in the world could I forget about you Ino? Kiba," A dog barked up at him. "And Akamaru too, hello. Shikamaru, Neji, Tenten, Shino," He turned to the only other customer stuffing his face. "Chouji. You're all here too? What's the occasion?"

Ino offered the explanation to them. "Well, me and Hinata were talking and then we realized that if you two returned then the rookie nine would all be together in the village for the first time in over a year."

'And I," At this point Tenten continued the conversation. "Decided that if we were all going to be together again that we needed to celebrate. Of course we didn't know where you were…"

"And we didn't want to go all around the town looking for you." This time it was Neji of all people who took up the dialogue. "So…"

"We decided to wait in the one place that it was guaranteed that you would turn up in." Ino finished the conversation.

"And they decided that Shino, me and Chouji all needed to come along with them. How bothersome." Shikamaru rubbed the back of neck and resumed leaning against the counter.

Naruto's face broke into a brilliant smile. And even Sakura looked happier.

"By the way, how was your mission? You went to assist Suna right? Something about bandits?"

Naruto glanced nervously at Sakura, who, despite the pain he knew she was feeling, was being surprisingly strong. He rubbed the back of his head. 'Eh he, well it was a mission. Nothing too special happened. Right Sakura?"

"Huh?" Sakura visibly snapped out of her thoughts. "Yeah. Nothing at all. Just a bunch of weak guys who smelled of booze." Sakura looked down again with a sigh, and then perked up instantly. "So. We going to get this party started or what? I thought this was a celebration?"

Naruto pumped his hands in the air before taking a seat by Hinata. "Yeah! Party!"

There was a general cacophony as everyone chuckled at Naruto's enthusiasm.

"They weren't being entirely truthful. Sakura and Naruto are visibly agitated."

"You think?" Chouji looked around to where the two people in question were sitting next to their respective others, laughing at an inside joke from some movie that they had recently seen. "Doesn't seem like it to me." Chouji buried his face in his food again.

Shino looked in mild disgust at all the food pieces that littered the counter. "You weren't paying close enough attention then. Naruto visibly whitened at the mention of that topic. And Sakura was unduly quiet in response. They both also just brushed it off, something that is unusual to two people who like to recount their experiences, like those two."

"So you noticed it too?" Shino nodded at Shikamaru. "Yes, it would be hard not to if one knows them well enough, it's not like either of them to be so secretive. And my Kikai insects sensed raised levels of stress and panic rising off both of then when they appeared." A shiver went through the area at the mention of the famous Aburame chakra bugs. Shino ignored it. "And speaking of secrets, do either of you know if there is any truth in another thing I've been hearing? Is it true that Naruto has been going to the Hokage's office everyday for the last two weeks or so?"

"He has been what? Neji joined the small circle of talkers. "That's new to me. I thought he was training?"

"So he says. But he's never at the training grounds anymore. And the Hokage's secretaries have reported seeing him at the tower numerous times."

"You know the Hokage's secretaries sufficiently enough that they'll tell you the office gossip?" Neji seemed amused by this. Shino made an expression behind his sunglasses. "It would be ill founded of me to ignore a potential source of information, no matter its nature. You'd be shocked at what those two know."

Neji thought on that point for a minute before looking in the direction of the red tower with trademark pupiless eyes. "Huh, office gossip. Who'd have guessed?"

"Well either way, I'm sure that the reason is really bothersome. Nothing that Naruto get's involved with is ever easy."

The four men looked at each other before uttering a synchronous "True."

"So Naruto," Hinata snuggled further into his warm body. "When are we going to have our day-long outing?"

"Huh?" Naruto slurped down some more ramen noodles. "Well, anytime you like I suppose." He shrugged.

"Oh good." Hinata looked up into his puffy-cheeked (from food) face. "Do you suppose that it could be tomorrow then?"

"Sure, but why?"

Hinata blushed just a little. "Well… We haven't seen each other in a week, I really, really would like to spend an entire day with you, and…"

Naruto put his food bowl down. "And?"

"And my father wishes to see you tomorrow."

Naruto chopsticks fell out of his nerveless hands. "Huh?"

Lee grabbed Sakura's hand from where it was resting on his shoulder and encased it in his palm. "Is something wrong Sakura? You have been unusually quiet this evening."

"Hum? What's that?"

The Taijustu master looked at his longtime love. Her hair was highlighted just right; her eyes were beautiful in this light. She looked like a goddess, and yet…

Lee leaned down and, unusually for the energetic jounin, whispered in her ear. "Did something happen? You do not seem to be your own cheerful self today."

Tears started streaming silently down Sakura's face. "Oh Lee…" Sakura choked out, and then she grabbed the green clad ninja in a tight hug.

Lee was startled; they did not usually have displays of affection out in the public. "Sakura…"

"Just hold me okay?" Her voice was so soft it was a miracle that he heard it.

And in that moment Lee could do nothing but bewilderedly reciprocate her hug as her tears stained the front of his outfit. As he wrapped his arms around his beautiful cherry blossom, he vowed to help her through whatever it was that had her so upset.

"Their all so cute."

Looking at all the mushy stuff that was going on between their resident couples, Ino couldn't help but agree with Tenten's statement. It had taken all of them a long time, down dangerous and deadly roads to get to this point.

"True. And would you look at that, Lee's hugging the stuffing out of Sakura."

"And here I thought that Sakura was against public displays of affection."

Ino shook her head from side to side. "Only when it's Lee." Ino threw her hair back flippantly. "Humph, she's all modest around Lee. But we all know she had no problem feeling up Sas…." Ino cut off her sentence when she realized what she was about to say. Or more importantly, who's name she was about to utter aloud.

Tenten looked at her knowingly, but had the common sense to change the topic anyway. "So do you think Shino is right? About Naruto spending a lot of time at the Hokage's tower?"

"I don't know. I mean what possible reason could Naruto have to even be going to see lady Tsunade?"

Tenten looked on a Naruto dropped his chopsticks to the ground. "Your guess is as good as mine. He keeps on saying that it's only training Maybe she's teaching him something?"

"Maybe. But what training could keep you locked up someplace for hours at a time? And why would she teach him and not anyone else?"

"She teaches Sakura things all the time." Tenten pointed out, but Ino waved it off.

"True, but that's just medical stuff. She is a medical ninja after all. Hey you don't suppose that's actually it do you? That Naruto is training to be a medical ninja?"

Tenten actually broke out into a fit of giggles and raised a challenging eyebrow. "Do you really see Naruto as the concerned medical technician type?"

And no matter how hard she thought about it, Ino really couldn't see it either.

Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, and Iruka watched from a conveniently placed rooftop as their pupils and teammates hung out at the ramen shop.

Kurenai sighed. "Well it's been a while since we've seen that sight hasn't it?"

"Yes it has! Just look at the fires of youth that shine in their generation! It's astounding!"

"Gai if you don't keep it down then they are going to find us."

"You are right as usual my eternal rival!"

Kakashi looked up from his book. "Gai! Keep it down!" Gai gave kakashi his trademark thumbs-up and blinding smile, but didn't say another word.

"It's hard to believe that they were all just genin not so long ago. Time sure does fly."

"Yes, it sure does." Iruka smiled. "I remember when I taught all of them at the academy. They have all grown and developed in ways that I never dreamed they could have."

Kurenai laughed softly. "True. True. But you know what I find most surprising?"

Iruka looked at the ruby-eyed ninja. "What?"

She continued gazing at the partying group. "They haven't changed all that much. Not really. They've just molded their personalities and folded them into society. Along with all the skills and relationships that they've honed and sharpened over the intervening years, they are practically unstoppable."

Gai's distinctive voice rang out once again. "Yes, truly they are all truly wonderful ninja! So strong! So brave! It makes my heart weep."

"It does sort of make you feel old doesn't it? In many ways they have matched and even surpassed us."

Iruka smiled at Kurenai reassuringly. "They worked hard for it. All of them. It would be petty of us as their teachers to begrudge them all they have earned over the years. They all have potential. They've all made us proud."

"Yes, they have surely done justice to our teaching!"

Kakashi sighed. "What did I say about keeping you voice down Gai?"

"Oh my eternal rival I am just expressing my appreciation of the wonderful people we see before us!"

Kakashi buried himself back in his book (Icha-Icha Paradise. New Volume!) "Yeah, Yeah."

NARUTONARUTONARUTO

Well that's it for this chapter. And now I'm taking a reader poll. I already know how I want the story to go, but I want some feedback. So should I keep Lee and Sakura together, or do you think there's any hope at all for a Sakura and Sasuke as a couple? And I'm saying sorry now, Sasuke has to go back to Kohona. Any thanks for reading. Please review and tell me what you think! KG.